DEUTERONOMY 8:1-10: Stop! Look! Listen! Think!

TOPIC: Blessing; Obedience, Preparation, Sanctification, Voice (of God)
TITLE: "Stop, Look, Listen and Think! Hear the voice of God!"

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: Why did God encourage Israel to stop, look, listen and think?
CONCISE OUTLINE

I. That they might profit from their past! (v. 2a)
II. That they might be perfected in their present! (v. 6)
III. That they might be possessors of His promises in their future! (vv. 7-10, 16b)

TRUTH CLAIM/CONTEXT: [Cf. Deuteronomy 1:1-14] Israel's forty years in the wilderness has come to an end; Moses' life is also at an end; God tells Moses to confront His children with His words . . . one last time.

They are to leave the plain of preparation and go to the land of promise to possess it!

Here in chapter 8, God has Moses challenge the people to think (a.k.a.: reflect) upon their past, their present and their future.

The question we will want to answer is WHY?

[RR Crossing] In the mid-west, as a youth, I recall rail crossing signs . . . each looked like a big, white, letter ex. Three arms had a single word written on it: one read, STOP; another, LOOK; the third, LISTEN; while the last was unmarked.

Considering those who take liberties at railroad crossings today perhaps that fourth arm should read, THINK! The money and effort consumed in the attempt to prevent accidents at these crossings is staggering. Why? Because . . .

1. people don't focus on what is important in life
2. people don't think before they act and
   
3. people are prone to take risks . . . ignoring consequences!

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: Why did God encourage Israel to stop, look, listen and think?
EXPANDED OUTLINE

I. That They Might Profit from Their Past! (v. 2a)

"And you shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years . . . "

Deuteronomy 8:2

A. "all the way which the LORD your God has led you"
B. What was God's purpose for wanting to remind them of this?

1. Read v. 3 (to be humbled, to hunger, to understand)
2. Read v. 4 (clothing=provision)
3. Read v. 5 (to know in their heart that God, as any good father, was at work in their discipline and that it was for their own good)

"Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days."

Proverbs 19:20

II. That They Might Be Perfected in Their Present! (v. 6)

"Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God . . . "

v. 6a

Why?

A. "to walk in His ways"
B. "to fear Him"

III. And That They Might Be Possessors of His Promises in Their Future! (vv. 7-10, 16b)

"... to do good for you in the end."

v. 16b

How?

A. By ...

"bringing you into a good land . . . "

v. 7a

B. To ...

"a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land where you shall eat food without scarcity, in which you shall not lack anything; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper."

vv. 7b-9

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: Now that we've answered the question "How?" let's answer the question "Why?"

So that . . .

"When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you."

v. 10

So how did things turn out? Not well, as we know. People tend to get familiar with things and then take them for granted . . . like trains at rail crossings.

[HEAVENS] In a book by H.G. Wells, Wm. Clissold, one of his characters is quoted as saying: "There was a time when my little soul was uplifted at the starry enigma of the sky. That's absolutely gone. I remember looking at the stars one might, and I was in ecstasy . . . but now I can go out to look . . . [like I would] at the pattern on the wallpaper [on a theater wall]." [H. G. Wells; in Outlines and Illustrations, MacPherson, p.46]

But you don't do that with God. Israel and all they experienced were "examples for us, that we should not crave" what God does not want for us! [1 Corinthians 10:6]

God challenged Israel to remember what He had done for them but , by the end of their 40 year camping trip, they had taken Him for granted and still longed for the garlic and onions of Egypt.

READ ALOUD: Deuteronomy 8:11-20

As a nation we have the same dilemma . . . do we look at the history of our great nation and see the hand of God in every blessing. And we claim its wealth comes from the power of our own hand?

In the light of God's unchanging character, would He encourage us to STOP, LOOK, LISTEN, and THINK about this latter day failure? Would He want us to look forward and consider His promises in the shadow of this time?

1. If so, what lessons would He have us learn?

[LIVING STONES] That we aren't bricks made by human hands in a kiln over a few hours. We are "living stones." [1 Peter 2:5]

Stones take ages and ages to form in the crucible of the earth's crust; followed by ages of washing and weathering . . . to smooth out the roughness and round them. This is done to so they can be clearly differentiated from plain old rough, ragged rocks.

Francis de Sales said, "This [life] is but a quarry where the living stones of the heavenly Jerusalem are cut and washed."

God is preparing us to be good "Christians"; He is preparing us for our place in the wall of His eternal Holy Temple.

2. If so, what commands are we to keep?

We are not of the law but of righteousness by faith!

"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."

John 14:15

"If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love ..."

[John 15:10a

This is the paradox of obedience: We can't keep His commandments unless we first acknowledge His authority to command; yet we cannot (it seems) acknowledge His right to command unless we begin by desiring to keep them.

"For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day."

2 Timothy 1:12

3. If so, what promises have we been given?

"seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, . . . for by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust."

2 Peter 1:3a,4

"But it isn't as though the word of God has failed. For they're not all Israel who are descended from Israel; neither are they all children because they are Abraham's descendants, but: THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED. That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants."

Romans 9:6b-8

Above us are the blinking reminders of our heavenly future; below us is the dust of our earthly past; and in between . . . ???

Well, between:

"there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus."

1 Timothy 2:5

And we have taken to heart the promise of Jesus our Lord, our God, and our Savior: "lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." [Matthew 28:20]

Christianity, Deuteronomy, Expository,
Homiletics, Outlines, Preaching, Sermons