Major Series / Old Testament / Deuteronomy
[0:00] So I'll be there. Well, we're going to turn to our readings now, and we're back in the book of Deuteronomy, and chapter 33.
[0:10] If you have one of the church Bibles here, that is page 175. And we're reading from the end of chapter 32 at verse 48, this last paragraph about Moses, the man of God, and then his message in chapter 33.
[0:30] So last week we read the first part of Moses' last oration to Israel, a great song that he was to teach them in chapter 32. And having done that and urged them to take it to heart as the word of life for them, we're told in verse 48, that very day the Lord spoke to Moses, go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is on the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I'm giving to the people of Israel for a possession.
[1:05] And die on the mountain, which you go up and be gathered to your people as Aaron, your brother, died in Mount Hor and was gathered to his people. Because you broke faith with me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah, Akadish, in the wilderness of Zin, and because you did not treat me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel.
[1:27] For you shall see the land before you, but you shall not go there into the land that I'm giving to the people of Israel. This is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the people of Israel before his death.
[1:41] He said, the Lord came from Sinai and dawned from Seir upon us. He shone forth from Mount Paran. He came from ten thousands of holy ones with flaming fire at his right hand.
[1:54] Yes, he loved, and I think the footnote is probably better here, he loved peoples, peoples of this earth. All his holy ones, that is in heaven, were in his hand.
[2:08] They followed in your steps, receiving direction from you. And Moses commanded us, that is the people of Israel, a law as a possession for the assembly of Jacob.
[2:22] Thus the Lord became king in Jeshurun when the heads of the people were gathered, all the tribes of Israel together. Let Reuben live and not die, but let his men be few.
[2:39] This he said of Judah. Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him in to his people. With your hands contend for him, or with his own hands he contends for himself.
[2:52] Be a help against his adversaries. And of Levi he said, give to Levi your Thummim and your Urim to your godly one whom you tested at Massah, with whom you quarreled at the waters of Meribah, who said of his father and mother, I regard them not.
[3:08] He disowned his brothers and ignored his children, for they observed your word and kept your covenant. They shall teach Jacob your rules and Israel your law.
[3:20] They shall put incense before you and whole burnt offerings on your altar. Bless, O Lord, his substance and accept the work of his hands. Crush the loins of his adversaries, those who hate him, that they rise not again.
[3:37] Benjamin, he said, the beloved of the Lord dwells in safety. The high God surrounds him all day long. He dwells between his shoulders. And of Joseph, he said, blessed by the Lord be his land with the choicest gifts of heaven above and of the deep that crouches beneath.
[3:54] With the choicest fruits of the sun and the rich yield of the months. With the finest prodges of the ancient mountains and the abundance of the everlasting hills. With the best gifts of the earth and its fullness and the favor of him who dwells in the bush.
[4:12] May these rest on the head of Joseph, on the pate of him who is prince among his brothers. A firstborn bull, he has majesty and his horns are the horns of a wild ox.
[4:24] With them he shall gore the peoples, all of them, to the ends of the earth. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim. And they are the thousands of Manasseh. And of Zebulun, he said, rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out.
[4:39] And Isaac, in your tents. They shall call peoples to the mountain. There they offer right sacrifices. For they draw from the abundance of the seas and of the hidden treasures of the sand.
[4:53] And of Gad, he said, blessed be he who enlarges Gad. Gad, Gad crouches like a lion. He tears off arm and scalp. He chose the best of the land for himself.
[5:04] For there a commander's portion was reserved. And he came with the heads of the people, with Israel. He executed the justice of the Lord and his judgments for Israel. And of Dan, he said, Dan is a lion's cub that leaps from Bashan.
[5:19] And of Naphtali, he said, O Naphtali, seated with favor and full of the blessing of the Lord. Possess the lake. That's the lake of Galilee. And of Asher, he said, most blessed of the sons be Asher.
[5:33] Let him be the favorite of his brothers. Let him dip his foot in oil. Your bars shall be iron and bronze. As your days, so shall your strength be. There is none like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies in his majesty.
[5:54] The eternal God is your dwelling place. And underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, destroy. So Israel lived in safety.
[6:07] Jacob lived alone in a land of grain and wine, whose heavens dropped down due. Happy are you, O Israel, who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, the sheard of your help, the sword of your triumph.
[6:23] Your enemies shall come fawning to you, and you shall tread upon their backs. Amen. May God bless us. This is his word.
[6:44] Turn with me, if you would, to Deuteronomy and to the passage we read at the end of chapter 32 and 33. I wonder what your thoughts will be focused on right before you die.
[7:02] What will you and I be thinking about and speaking about? Will we be singing and savoring the gospel of Christ? Well, in chapter 32 and 33 of Deuteronomy here, that's what we see Moses doing just before he dies.
[7:20] He's singing the gospel story. We saw that last week in chapter 32. And here in chapter 33, in his final words of blessing of Israel, he is savoring that gospel's glory.
[7:34] And surely that's an example for us all to aspire to. But of course, it's unlikely that that is going to mark our last days if it isn't what fills all our days between now and then, is it?
[7:47] And one of the reasons we have these verses recorded here in our Bibles is to help us savor the glory of the wonderful message of God to man. And this chapter, in so many ways, summarizes the glory of God's message to the world.
[8:03] We're going to look at it together. But first, we mustn't forget this last paragraph of chapter 32, which focuses first on the messenger.
[8:16] The one that verse 1 of chapter 33 calls the man of God. Look at this paragraph. Moses, the man of God, the servant of God, as he's called in chapter 34, who goes at God's command, says verse 49, up the mountain.
[8:34] Verse 50, to die. So that at last the way is open for his people to enter the promised land, to the place where God will be king in the midst of his people.
[8:47] Very striking image, isn't it? And here, actually, in verse 51, we have the only reference in Deuteronomy that Moses himself was in some way to blame for his exclusion from Canaan.
[9:01] We're told he broke faith publicly and failed to treat God with the reverence that he deserves. And that's a reminder, isn't it, that even this great man of God was a sinner. Even Moses had no right to enter into God's kingdom, even despite all his years of faithful service to God and to his people.
[9:23] There was another side to it, of course. We've seen that at least three times already, way back in chapter 1 and then in chapter 3 and in chapter 4. Because remember, we're told there that God was at least in part angry with Moses because of Israel's sin.
[9:37] He was angry with me because of you. And in a very real sense also, Moses' exclusion from the promised land was, to some extent, vicarious.
[9:50] It was on behalf of his people. And so, Moses' life resonates with echoes of a pattern that we tend to see all the way through the Bible story of those who represent God, who find themselves suffering for that cause and very often suffering at the hands of God's own people because of God's people's sin.
[10:14] Think of Joseph. Or think of David. Or think of Nehemiah that we studied not long ago. Or so many of the prophets. Or in the New Testament, think of Paul.
[10:26] Think of Peter. And indeed, all who would come after them. Because the apostles said, All who are faithful to Christ will share in the sufferings of Christ. It's an abiding pattern that we see all the way through the Bible.
[10:39] Why? Well, because all reflect the true man of God. The one who was not just a man, but who was himself God in the flesh.
[10:51] Although he had no sin of his own, our Lord Jesus, he became sin, says Paul. Bore the sin of his own people. The one who was enveloped in dazzling glory on the mind of transfiguration.
[11:04] But who then, at God's command, climbed another mountain to die. In order to open the kingdom of heaven to his people.
[11:16] So that they might go in and possess it forever. But of course, he, the Lord Jesus, overcame death. And he himself did become the leader forever for his people.
[11:28] Leading them into the promised kingdom. Leading them into everlasting life forever. You see, every page of this unfolding story of our Bibles resonates with echoes of a melody that leads, ultimately and inexorably, to the great crescendo of the divine symphony that is revealed in all its glory, in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[11:55] It's all leading to the glory of Jesus. So it shouldn't be a surprise to us that even here in Moses' words of joy and blessing, that we see and we hear that same glorious music of God's unchanging grace.
[12:10] And the unfolding promise of a God who comes down from the glory to bless his people. And to lift them up with him to share in his glory forever.
[12:23] Moses wrote of me, is what Jesus said. Remember? Moses, as the apostle considered the reproach of Christ far, far greater than any of the treasures of Egypt.
[12:35] Moses savored the glory of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's as clear and wonderful in these last two chapters of Deuteronomy as anywhere else, where he proclaims the wonderful gospel.
[12:47] Not only in telling us the song of redemption story, as we saw last time, but here in this chapter, giving us a window on the sheer glory of that truth.
[12:58] So let's turn then to chapter 33 and look at this message of God that Moses, the man of God, brings us so wonderfully.
[13:09] You'll see, I think it falls into three parts. It begins and it ends with God and his praise. Verses 1 to 5, we're seeing that God alone is the lover and the leader and the Lord of his people.
[13:24] And then at the end, after all the blessings, in verse 26 to the end, you see that God alone is their rescuer. He's their refuge.
[13:34] He's the one who brings them their great rest. And inside these two bookends, verses 6 to 25, enfolded, as it were, in the everlasting arms of this God, we have the people of his promise.
[13:51] People who are uniquely blessed by him. People who are given this glorious future with their God. So let's try and savor with Moses the sheer glory of this gospel that he reveals to us here.
[14:05] The message of God from God to man. What is that message that Moses is bringing us here? Well, verses 1 to 5, I think what he tells us is, the Lord our God is the God who appears on earth to his people.
[14:23] He comes down personally to reveal his glory and to be king in their midst. Look at verse 2. The Lord came from Sinai and dawned from Seir upon us.
[14:35] He shone forth from Mount Paran. He came from the ten thousands of the holy ones. And he came down into the midst of his people. The picture is God coming down from the glory of heaven to shine forth on the earth for the sake of his people.
[14:55] At Sinai and then going with them from Sinai all through the wilderness right to the very borders of the promised land where they now are. A God who comes down and draws near to bring the light of heaven to his people.
[15:11] And that's the constant witness of the Bible to our God. We sang Psalm 50 at the beginning. The mighty one, the God who is the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
[15:23] Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. Our God comes. He does not keep silent. How different that is to all the deities, the idols of the pagan peoples who have mouths but cannot speak, who have ears but can't hear and are mocked by the prophets of God.
[15:47] How different to the dark and the inscrutable mystery of the God of Islam that we hear so much of today. Unapproachable, unknowable, distant, far off.
[15:59] But our God comes. Our God draws near. Our God is not silent, says the Bible. He shines his light upon this world because, well, verse 3, because he loves the peoples of this world.
[16:15] It could be right for the ESV to translate it as it does, as his people. But if you look at the footnote, you'll see that the Hebrew text says peoples. And I think it probably is better to take it that way.
[16:26] It's the same in verse 19 where it certainly is the peoples, the Gentile peoples. I think what this is saying is that God so loved the peoples of this earth that just as the holy ones in heaven, the angels, follow his steps or bow at his feet or under his direction.
[16:47] Because God so loves the peoples of this world, verse 4, he commands for Israel a law. God's heavenly truth is given to God's special people Israel as a possession for them so that they will bring that light of heaven to all the world.
[17:08] Remember back in chapter 4 of Deuteronomy, God makes that so clear. He gives Israel his law so that in the sight of all the peoples round about, they will see the wisdom and the majesty of their God in this people that have such a word of light to guide them.
[17:26] They are called to shine forth the light of heaven to all the peoples. So here is God's love for the world, sending the light of heaven to be embodied in the life of Israel.
[17:40] Jeshurun, verse 5, that pet name, that nickname for a child, for Israel, his own firstborn son. And so in his chosen assembly, verse 5, he gathers them around his words so that he will be king and ruler in their midst.
[18:00] God's love sends his law into the world as light by which he rules over his people as Lord in the sight of all the peoples and for the sake of all the peoples so that his glory will be revealed and known all over this earth.
[18:20] That's the God of Scripture right from the very beginning. So it shouldn't surprise us, should it, when we turn over into our New Testaments and we open, well, John's Gospel, for example, and we hear about the only God who made all things coming down as a light shining in the darkness.
[18:41] And that heavenly word becoming flesh in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ so that this world would see the glory of the only begotten Son, of the Father, speaking words of grace and truth, words which are, says Jesus, words of eternal life.
[18:58] It shouldn't surprise us to read that it's because God so loved the world, the peoples, that he gave his only Son to bring the perishing, everlasting life, to be their king, to be the Lord, to the leader of his flock, to be the great shepherd of his sheep who know his voice, who are safe in his hands, so that none can pluck them out of his hands, out of his everlasting arms of grace and mercy.
[19:28] It shouldn't surprise us, should it, when we read the beginning of Luke's Gospel and hear of John the Baptist's father, Zechariah, singing of the Messiah who is to come as being like a sunrise who visits us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness, to guide our feet into the paths of peace.
[19:47] Because our God is the one who comes down, who has dawned upon us, who has shone forth, who so loved the peoples that he came down into the midst, even of a sinful people, a rebellious people, to become king in their midst forever as Emmanuel, as God with us in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[20:11] That's the story of the Bible right from the beginning, right to the very end. The God who comes into our midst to bring light and love and true leadership to human beings.
[20:22] That's what we're seeing right here in Moses in Deuteronomy 33. You read right to the very end of the Bible. That's what you find in the very last chapter. What is John's great vision?
[20:33] It's of the glory of heaven coming down to earth. It's of the Lord Jesus saying, Behold, I'm coming soon. To be in the midst of his people forever, to be king so that his people will reign with him in the glory of his kingdom forever and ever.
[20:52] That's the glory of the gospel. Moses saw it and sang of it and spoke of it. It's the very opposite, isn't it, of all human religion, of all philosophy.
[21:03] Where man has to go seeking and searching for God who's not drawn near but is far away. We have to go and find him. We have to go to seek him afar off. With temples, with rituals, with sacrifices, with all sorts of mysteries, with learning, whatever it is.
[21:21] No, no, no. The God of scripture is the God who has come down, who has drawn near to speak, to reveal his glory, to be king in the midst of his people. He's the God who has appeared on earth to his people right from the very beginning.
[21:39] And of course, uniquely and ultimately in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you want to know what that looks like for God to be in the midst of his people on earth, well, turn over and just read the gospels and you'll see the personal presence of the Lord of heaven shining all around when the lame were healed, when the blind saw, when the deaf were healed.
[22:06] That's what it will be like when the Lord once again comes to fill this earth with his glory, to be king of this world in the midst of his people. And of course, for those whose eyes are unblinded by his gospel, we know him now, don't we, as the one who is near.
[22:26] Jesus says, I will not leave you orphans. And he sent his own Holy Spirit right into our midst to be among us, to be within us, to show the light of his kingdom of glory right in our midst as we're gathered here.
[22:40] That's the picture here in verse 5, isn't it? When God's people are gathered, he is in the midst as king and lord through his word. And that's what Jesus says, where even two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst.
[22:56] Paul says, when the church is gathered together in Jesus' name, the power of the Lord Jesus is in the midst. Because we are his temple. We're the place where he makes his name dwell and he will never leave us or forsake us.
[23:15] And that's the glory of our gospel, the God who has appeared on earth to his people to make himself known, come down to reveal his kingly glory and to rule in the midst of us and to lead us in his light forever.
[23:32] That's Moses' gospel. But look at verses 6 to 25 because what these blessings that Moses pronounces here, proclaims, is that the Lord our God is the God who pronounces a future for his people.
[23:52] His word promises blessing on his people forever. That's what he comes down on earth to do for his people. Now these blessings echo the blessings that Jacob gives on his sons way back in Genesis chapter 49 and now we've got Moses, if you like, as the father of the nation giving his fatherly blessings on all the tribes of Israel as he goes to die.
[24:21] And God is pronouncing his sovereign purposes on his people both as one people, his people Israel, but also recognizing all the diversity of their tribes and their territories.
[24:35] And it's a general sweep from the south to the north. Moses is standing, looking over the Jordan, looking west as it were, and seeing Judah in the south and all the tribes right up to the very north to Naphtali and Asher and so on, right up and bordering on Lebanon.
[24:53] It's a vivid picture of all these people of God filling the land that God has given them. It's a bit like in Genesis chapter 1 where God says, let the land and let the waters team with life.
[25:05] And God said and it was so. And here it is, God is saying, let this land be filled with my people and so it will come to pass.
[25:17] And yet, as always, God's sovereign purpose never ignores man's responsibilities, never ignores our response, our behavior.
[25:30] and it is our sin as well as God's grace that will shape our character and indeed shape our destiny and shape that which is transmitted to our posterity.
[25:42] These verses, well, they tell of an entail of sin among God's people as well as the entail of God's grace because God never overlooks our responsibility.
[25:55] And so, there are sober warnings in these verses if we see them. the very first one who's mentioned there in verse 6, Reuben, receives a pretty terse word, doesn't he?
[26:07] A very subdued blessing. Let him live and not die but let his numbers be few. Well, that meager blessing is explained if you go back to Genesis. In Genesis 49, Jacob is quite explicit.
[26:20] Reuben's blessing will be meager because of his sin. He went and committed adultery incestuously, didn't he, with Jacob's concubine. So, although he was the firstborn of Jacob, to a degree, to a great degree, he forfeited that preeminence.
[26:37] And then, Jacob's second son, Simeon, is missing altogether in these verses. Simeon was enveloped in Judah, right in the middle of the Judean territory, eventually just became subsumed into Judah.
[26:51] and his name is admitted here, most likely because, again, back in chapter 49 of Jacob's blessing, Simeon was cursed along with Levi because, if you remember the story, Simeon and Levi took a very violent revenge, vengeance, against the prince of Shechem because their sister, Dinah, was defiled by him.
[27:19] And, in a very violent and deceitful way, they caused great damage, not only to the people of Shechem, but also to the reputation of Jacob.
[27:32] He said, my name is a stink in Canaan because of you, instead of a blessing as it was supposed to be. So, in Genesis 49, Jacob cursed the anger of these two brothers for their cruelty.
[27:45] He said, you'll be divided, you'll be scattered in Israel. And, it seems here as there we're faced with that sobering reality of a disqualification brought about by sin because sin can and it does often leave an entail right down the generations.
[28:06] And, that's a truth I think that we have to realize, isn't it, especially those of us who are parents. If parents, especially a father, lives dangerously and in a damaging way, it's very likely, isn't it, that he will inflict damage upon his children, perhaps even on subsequent generations.
[28:28] We can see that all around us today in all kinds of ways in social matters, can't we? But, it's also true according to the Bible in spiritual life. And, we know that if parents, and especially fathers, if we treat the gospel lightly and scornfully, with contempt, then it is highly likely, isn't it, that we're going to lead our family in a direction which will inevitably lead our progeny to drift, and perhaps even to abandon the way of the Lord.
[29:00] children. It's really important that we realize that as parents. We can't expect our children to grow up more godly, more committed, more enthusiastic to the gospel than we are.
[29:14] No amount of excellent church children's work and youth work can possibly make up for that kind of influence that is there all the time from our lives on our children. That's just realism, isn't it?
[29:25] Actually, the sad thing about the Christian youth work and children's work in so many evangelical churches is that it does reflect the disinterest and the lack of commitment among so many parents who call themselves evangelical Christians, but actually who firmly try and resist serious biblical training for their young people.
[29:51] They just want Christianized entertainment for them. And the real reason, they say, oh, we don't want to put them off the gospel, but the real reason is they're not that committed to the gospel themselves.
[30:05] They don't want to hear too much themselves about the true gospel of challenge and of sacrifice and of commitment to the Lord Jesus. So it's hardly surprising, is it, that families drift away because there's been never anything of substance to hold them.
[30:22] And that's a tragedy, isn't it, for those who have been blessed with enjoying the inheritance among God's people, having exposure to the scriptures and the gospel of Christ, who have tasted of the God of promise.
[30:37] But what's said here of Reuben and the omission of Simeon is a reminder that those who don't value their heritage as part of the people of God, they do tend to fade away to the margins of God's story.
[30:49] And that's a sober warning. And the New Testament is just as full of those sober warnings for us. But, there is nothing fatalistic about it.
[31:04] And that's something that the wonderful words that are written here about Levi in verses 8 to 11 make very, very clear to us because although along with Simeon, Levi also was blighted by Jacob's blessing, here you can see the Levites receive an extraordinary commendation from God, an honored future.
[31:23] They're set apart as those who are going to bring God's word to Israel, bring the guidance of God to the people of Israel. The Thumen and the Umin, those were the things that went on the priestly garments on the tribes of Levi to guide God's people.
[31:39] Verse 10, you can see more clearly they are going to be set apart as the principal teachers of God's word. And the principal priests, those who offer incense and sacrifice, the prayers of the people to God.
[31:52] Wonderful privilege is given to Israel to speak to people for God and to speak to God for the people. And Levi's future was restored by his progeny, including Moses and Aaron who were of the tribe of Levi, who stood with God when the people contended with God at Meribah and Kaddish.
[32:12] And in verse 9, who stood with God even against many of their own family who rebelled against God at the time of the golden calf and they would not stand with them and put God first even before their family.
[32:26] So don't miss that great truth. God's grace can reverse even the entail of sin where people do turn in obedience and bow to the Lord and commit themselves to him.
[32:37] God's grace is extraordinary. But notice, again, it's not cheap grace, is it? God grants Levi high privilege.
[32:50] But as someone has said, excruciating consecration was demanded of him. And that is the way, isn't it, of the true gospel of the true kingdom. Look at verse 9.
[33:02] Look at these words of Moses and listen to the words of Jesus. If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he can't be my disciple.
[33:16] Whoever doesn't bear his own cross and come after me can't be my disciple. So an entail of sin, a sober warning to all of us, but an even greater entail of grace to overcome sin, to reverse sin.
[33:35] So that even these people with a violent streak in their past become victorious proclaimers of the kingdom of God.
[33:48] That was true of the apostle Paul, wasn't it, in just the same way? A persecutor, violent, became a vehement preacher of the grace of God. Because, you see, God promises a future for his people.
[34:05] Even a people who are tainted and touched by sin in so many different ways. We don't have time to look in detail at all the rest of these promises here, but notice in the words to Joseph, notice the sheer bounty, the beauty of what's put upon him.
[34:22] Their territory would be the most fertile of all the land of Israel. And notice verse 16, they get the best gifts of earth in all its fullness, but they come not from the fertility gods of Canaan, the Baals and the Ashtoreths, but from where?
[34:38] From him who dwells in the bush, the covenant Lord, the one who revealed himself to Moses by these great words of promise, I will be what I will be, all that my people ever need.
[34:53] And notice also verses 18 to the end, these more minor tribes, the names that we tend to forget, up in the north, Zebulun and Isaac and Gad and Naphtali and Asher and so on.
[35:07] Notice verse 19, we're told they will call peoples, that is Gentile peoples, to the mountain to offer right sacrifices to the one true God, along with Naphtali there by the lake, the lake of Galilee.
[35:22] And they too are going to have a particular part to play in the unfolding plan and purposes of God. What does Isaiah say at the beginning of his prophecy? In the latter days, the mountain of the Lord's temple will be raised above all the peoples and all nations and all peoples will flow to it to partake of the blessings of the one true God.
[35:42] And in Isaiah chapter 9, so familiar from Christmas, the prophet says in the latter days, the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, Galilee of the Gentiles, will see the light shine on a people who walked in darkness when at last the one comes to rule on David's throne forever and ever.
[36:03] And what do you see at the beginning of Matthew's gospel, at the beginning of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ? Matthew quotes those words, doesn't he? The land of Zebulun and Naphtali, Galilee of the Gentiles.
[36:15] There we see the Lord Jesus proclaiming the coming of the kingdom of God and calling all peoples into the light of its dawn. See, right from the very beginning of the Bible, our God has pronounced the future for his people.
[36:34] And it includes calling other peoples into that future with them. And God's word announces it and assures it, despite the entail of sin, that he doesn't hide away or pretend away, which is all too real, which will no doubt blight the lives and the futures of some.
[36:53] But cannot limit, cannot stop, cannot ever prevent the unfolding wonder of the glory of the kingdom of God. I will build my church, says the Lord Jesus.
[37:07] And not even the gates of hell can prevail against it. Far less the sin of my people. And if you read John chapter 17, Jesus' own last words before he went to the hill of Calvary to die for his people.
[37:21] You'll find the one greater even than Moses saying the same kinds of things about his people and their future. Praying for them.
[37:33] And not only for his disciples, his apostles, but for all who would believe through their word that all of them would be one and that they will be with me where I am to see my glory and to share my glory.
[37:45] I will glorify you, he says to the Father. And I will glorify you again when I, like a seed, fall into the ground and bear much fruit. And I, when I'm lifted up, will draw all peoples to myself.
[38:01] And I'll lift them up to share in my glorious victory. And that's what Moses is depicting here, isn't it, in these last words after all the blessings and the promises in verses 26 to the end.
[38:17] He's saying that our God is a God who rides through the heavens with his people, who lifts them up to share in his heavenly victory. There's no God like your God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help.
[38:34] He's the eternal God, verse 27. Your resting place, underneath you, are his everlasting arms. And he's going to lift you up with those arms into his glory, thrusting out all your enemies in front of you.
[38:49] He's the rescuer. He's the one who's come down into the darkness of the place of sin to bring victory to his people, to give refuge, to give rest to his people forever.
[38:59] Verse 28. Look, so Israel will live safely, alone, untroubled in peace in a place of abundant blessing in a land of grain and wine where heavens drop down and do you.
[39:13] Happy are you, O Israel. Who is like you, a people saved by your God, the shield of your help, the sword of your triumph. Your enemies will come fawning and you will tread upon their banks.
[39:28] That's the glory of the gospel that Moses savors right from the beginning. Your God is a God who appears on earth to show you his glory, to reveal yourself, to reveal himself to you.
[39:41] He's a God who comes down to pronounce a future of blessing and of glory that can't be overcome even by all your worst sin and shame. And he's a God who rides through the heavens for his people, taking you with him to his place of refuge and of rest and of victory and of glory.
[40:04] Can you see why Jesus said, Moses was always talking about me? And he said that everything that was spoken by Moses and the psalmists and the prophets must all be fulfilled in him.
[40:18] Because all of this, all of this that Moses is talking about came to its climax in the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, God spoke from the beginning in many and diverse ways through the prophets, but in these last days he's revealed himself on this earth to us in the person of his son.
[40:35] And he came down, the word himself becoming flesh to dwell among us so that we could behold his glory. And he promised everlasting blessings, didn't he?
[40:48] To all who are his own. I'm the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never hunger, never thirst. In my father's house are many rooms. I'm going to prepare a place for you.
[40:59] And when I come again, I will take you in my everlasting arms to be with you where I am in my glory. And he lifts us up and promises to do so.
[41:13] To the glory of his father. And he prays, promising that I desire that they might be with me where I am to share my glory.
[41:23] And the apostle Paul affirms to us, doesn't he, that that is sure and certain. Those he foreknew, he predestined to be conformed to the image of his son.
[41:36] And those he predestined, he also called. And those he called, he also justified. And those whom he justified, he also has glorified. It is sure and certain.
[41:47] Happy are you, O Israel. Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord. The Lord who is from everlasting to everlasting for his people.
[41:58] The Lord who comes down from the glory of heaven to earth to carry his people back to glory and to share with them his great victory. Friends, that is the gospel of Christ.
[42:12] That is a word to savor. Not only as you contemplate your own death when that day comes, but every day, whatever battles, whatever struggles you're facing in your life today, whatever sorrow you're bearing, whatever disappointments there are today, whatever fears or anxieties are stalking you and the things you have to think about in this coming week.
[42:39] This is our God. He is the one who has come and has revealed himself and has promised us a future. And through the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ has secured that future with certainty.
[42:57] How much more than Moses should we be rejoicing in that glorious gospel, the gospel of Christ? When now in these last days he has shone into our hearts the light of the glory of the gospel of Christ.
[43:13] The light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We have a great gospel and we have a glorious future.
[43:26] So let's stand with Moses and sing this glorious song. Let's pray. Lord, who is like us, a people saved by you?
[43:37] You have given us in its fullness the light of your glorious truth in our Lord Jesus Christ. And so we pray that you would help us to be a people who savor that glory.
[43:54] So that we will indeed, even now, trample down every enemy of our souls. Crush Satan under our feet.
[44:05] Whenever he seeks to divert us and turn our eyes from the beauty that we have in Jesus. Hold us, Lord, we pray, in your everlasting arms.
[44:18] Guard us and keep us. Now and always. For the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
[44:28] Amen.