Deuteronomy 11 - HEAVEN ON EARTH?

 NUGGETS…from the WORD of GOD

HEAVEN ON EARTH?

“But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.” —Deut. 11:11-12

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Here is a remarkable text in a remarkable context (vv. 11-21). It is the divine description of the “promised land.”  Now we have before noted that Canaan is not a type of heaven, but it is a figure of the potential of the grace and goodness of God to provide tranquility and blessing in the midst of a tragic and troubled world. In fact His description and exhortation includes the emphasis, “That your days may be multiplied…as the days of heaven upon earth.”

The thoughtful reader may be taken back to “the beginning,” before the catastrophe and conflict brought in by sin, when “…the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden… [Gen. 2:8-10].” 

So, the prospect set before Israel is settlement in “God’s garden,” furnished by Him, cared for by Him, suited to satisfy every legitimate need of theirs. In a world of conflict, under the hand of the Almighty, they could look forward to true and proper peace and prosperity, once they were settled there.

There was, however, a prerequisite. The affirmation of God’s maintenance of the land is couched between two verses delineating the condition of this settled peace. And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul (v.13)—and—“Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them” (v.16). It is the same condition iterated positively and negatively.

This is not a promise of salvation. That had already been accomplished in their deliverance from Egypt. It is rather a prescription for enjoying the potential of their deliverance as God intended it. 

There is a lesson here for New Testament believers. We are called out from the world into “the redemption which is in Christ Jesus,” with the Savior’s promise, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid [Jn 14:27].” We are assured, “My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus [Phil. 4:19].” 

We tend to take these promises of peace and provision for granted, too often missing the fact that while salvation is a free gift depending only upon faith in Christ, the enjoyment of that salvation is conditional. The Savior Himself said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” We are throughout the New Testament urged to abide in Christ, to “walk as He walked,” and, if we love Him to keep His commandments.å

In addition, we are reminded that we enjoy His rest in the midst of an imperfect and uncertain world. ”These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world [John 16:33].” Christ, not Canaan, is to  be our abiding place and His will our first concern. And we must keep ever in mind that we are surrounded by the influences of the adversary that will ever war against the promises of God. 

Too often our quest is to make our nest too comfortable this side of eternity. As believers we have no reason to expect “heaven on earth,” nor to make that our goal. ”For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name [Heb. 13:14-15].” Our goal must be the Lord, not the “land.”

“But first seek his Kingdom and the righteousness that he requires, and then all these things shall be added for you.” 

—Mt. 6:33 (TCNT)

—"Pastor" Frasier

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9/22/12

These "Nuggets," including past issues, are now available online at

 http://wmf14227.blogspot.com/ - or - http://pastorfrasier.blogspot.com/ prior to 4/1/12

Deuteronomy 10 - DIVINE REQUIREMENT

 NUGGETS…from the WORD of GOD

DIVINE REQUIREMENT

“And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul” 

—Deut. 10:12

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If as New Testament believers we were asked to summarize God’s requirement fir His own, I think we would be inclined to answer in one word, “faith.” “For without faith it is impossible to please Him [Heb. 11:6].” Given that response, it is important to inquire what faith is. For many, I fear, faith is regarded as an act; “I put my  faith in Christ,“ e.g. Of course anyone who has gained familiarity with the Bible knows better than that, but we too often know better than we behave.

My suggestion is that our nugget for today is indicative of the components of genuine faith, and we propose to look at it from that perspective.

The first and foremost ingredient of true faith is the fear of the Lord. Rotherham translates the word fear as “revere.” Reverence incorporates awe, wonder, profound respect. Those who “fear” the Lord are overwhelmed by His majesty and His glory. Perhaps the best illustration of it in scripture is found in Isaiah’s reaction when he “saw the Lord,” to which we have called attention on other occasions:

“In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple…Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts [Isa. 6:1, 5].”

Our faith may not result in the same visual experience, but it should elicit a similar spiritual reaction. In less dramatic terms a poet asked, “How big is God,” and responded, “He’s big enough to build this mighty universe, and small enough to live within my heart.” Faith generates that peculiar sense of His majesty on the one hand and His condescension on the other that which results in awe and a proper humility, “the fear of the Lord.” This is “the beginning of wisdom.” ( Ps. 111:10)

Faith incorporates not only a sense of reverence, but also a disposition to to obey Him—to “walk in all His ways.” Recall those most familiar verses in Ephesians; “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them [Eph. 2:8-10].” Faith does not rest upon good works, but it does result in them. We do not respect a God to whom we do not respond in obedience. That was Adam’s problem in the beginning, and it is what Christ came to undo.

A third component of genuine faith is love. The Savior’s penetrating question to the broken apostle Peter, after His resurrection was, “do you love me?” and when Peter responded in a tentative way, the Son of God said simply, “feed my sheep.” Obedience and love are ever linked in God’s assessment of our faith. And the apostle Paul integrated faith and love in the believer’s hope when he concluded, “Now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love [I Cor. 13:13].” 

Finally God said to Israel, “serve the Lord thy God.” Faith—real faith—eventuates in spiritual fruit.” The Savior said to the faithful, God with Whom our faith is engaged.

The last phrase in our  text is a key to the whole. At first glance it appears to apply to service; I am convinced that it embraces the who verse. “with all thy heart and with with all thy soul.” Genuine faith is not half hearted. It reaches deep into the roots of our being and changes everything. The phrase is echoed by the Lord Jesus Christ when He was asked “Which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said…Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind [Matt. 22:36-37].”  

If God is real to us, as faith alone can generate, then we should revere Him, obey Him. love Him and serve Him with “all [our] heart and with all [our] soul.” Anything less undervalues our God and marks the deficiency of the “faith” we profess.

          “Oh to grace, how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be.

          Let Thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to Thee.” —Robinson 1758

—"Pastor" Frasier

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9/15/12

These "Nuggets," including past issues, are now available online at

 http://wmf14227.blogspot.com/ - or - http://pastorfrasier.blogspot.com/ prior to 4/1/12

Deuteronomy 9 - THE INTERCESSOR

 NUGGETS…from the WORD of GOD

THE INTERCESSOR

Ye have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you. —Deut. 9:24

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Few statements in scripture are more telling, or more heartbreaking, than this indictment by Moses of God’s “chosen people.” Sadly, the same charge will apply to much of the professing church. And few statements are more devastating than the commentary,  “rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry  [I Sam.15:23].” Connecting these two references to “rebellion” against God, the wonder is that either Israel or the church still exists.

The answer to that dilemma is found in the context that follows, summed up in this case by the declaration of Moses, “The Lord had said He would destroy you [but] I prayed therefore unto the Lord…” (v. 25b, 26a) It is a powerful illustration of the role of the intercessor in the process of redemption. 

Moses’ intercession rested first upon God’s investment in His people: “O Lord GOD, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness, which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand.” (v. 26) Divine power had been invested in the deliverance of His people from their bondage in Egypt. Then, he prays on the ground of God’s integrity with respect to His word, His promise; “Remember thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…” (v. 27) To each of these God had given unconditional promises that would, in effect, have been  broken if Israel were “destroyed.” Happily, God cannot deny Himself and a powerful incentive for “grace upon grace” is implemented by this appeal. It is not Israel’s character, but God’s that is “front and center” in this prayer. A third aspect of Moses’ plea rests upon God’s ability: “Look not unto the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor to their sin: Lest the land whence thou broughtest us out say, Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land…” (v. 27-28)

From a historical perspective the preservation of the nation rests on Moses’ intercession. That is based altogether on the character of God and not at all on the merits of Israel.

Moses is properly regarded as a type of Christ. He himself declared, “The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken… [Deut. 18:15].” That Prophet is Christ, and as Israel’s survival rested on the intercession of Moses, so ours rests upon the intercession of Christ. “But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens… [Heb. 7:25].”

And as with Moses, that intercession rests upon God’s investment in us: He gave His only begotten Son for our deliverance from the bondage of sin; an incalculable price. It embraces God’s faithfulness to His promise: “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved [Rom. 10:13].” And, it relies upon God’s infinite power and His determination to demonstrate it before the “watching world” for all eternity: He is “able…to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him.” 

Within the ranks of professing Christendom there are those who believe that salvation is obtained by our “good works,” or “keeping the commandments.” There are others who teach that salvation is obtained by grace, but maintained by good works. This”nugget” is intended to show that redemption from start to finish rests solely upon the redemptive grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. From beginning to end it is “not of works, lest any man should boast.” 

Let us glorify Him and rejoice with the apostle who said, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice… in [Him] whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”  (I Pet. 1:3-9)

“My hope is built on nothing less (and nothing else) than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.” When (if) we reach the “glory land” the universal cry will be “To God be the glory, great things HE hath done!!”

—"Pastor" Frasier

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9/8/12

These "Nuggets," including past issues, are now available online at

 http://wmf14227.blogspot.com/ - or - http://pastorfrasier.blogspot.com/ prior to 4/1/12

Deuteronomy 8 - THE PERIL OF PROSPERITY

 NUGGETS…from the WORD of GOD

THE PERIL OF PROSPERITY

But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.  —Deut. 8:18-19

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The Son of God made the explicit statement to His disciples, “without Me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Subsequently the apostle Paul declared to the pagans in Athens, “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things…[Acts 17:24-25].” Life and breath are essential to productivity, and these are given and extended by God Himself. Take God out of the mix, and “nothing” is the result.

Mankind in general is either ignorant of or indifferent to this monumental fact, but for the believer it should not be so. In the context of our nugget for today God describes the riches of the promised land into which Israel was then entering, and the prosperity that would result for His people. In the same breath He issues this warning that His people need to keep ever before them their dependence upon Him for the maintenance of their wellbeing. 

There is a very real danger that believers will assign success and wealth to their own efforts and lose their sense of dependence upon and respect for God. The Savior told the story of “the rich fool” whose “ground…brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God [Luke 12:16-21].”

The rich man in this instance, of course, was not a believer in the true sense of the word, but his attitude has destroyed the spiritual potential of many a “successful” Christian. It is God who gives the “power to get wealth,” and in the life of the prosperous Christian this should generate praise, not pride, and commitment to God, not self indulgence and self glory. God is the first cause in everything, and this we are to recognize and respond to appropriately. Paul asks, “…what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” (I Cor. 4:7) Whatever I have as a Christian, be it little or much, it is not “mine,” but His, committed to my trust.

We live in a nation where prosperity has generated a false sense of security and self-sufficiency that is threatening to destroy us. It is vital that believers resist that danger. We cannot change the attitude of the nation, but we must carefully check our own interpretation of wealth, its Source and significance.

With our text and its context as a backdrop, let us hear the words of the Savior to His disciples following the parable of the rich fool: 

“And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you [Luke 12:22-31].”

If our prosperity tempts us to “forget the Lord our God,” it threatens to induce a poverty of eternal dimensions.

—"Pastor" Frasier

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9/1/12

These "Nuggets," including past issues, are now available online at

 http://wmf14227.blogspot.com/ - or - http://pastorfrasier.blogspot.com/ prior to 4/1/12