A Wise and Understanding People

Sermon from: August 30, 2009
13th Sunday after Pentecost
From Scripture: Deuteronomy 4: 1-2, 6-9

Opening

One of the highest compliments we can say about someone is “she or he gets it.” “To get it” means to understand, to have a grip on what’s really happening, or to know what needs to be done.

If you are a man and married, and your wife says to others, “My husband gets it,” you are in rare company.

If you are a boss, and your employees say of you, “My boss gets it,” you are a very good boss.

If you are a worker, and your supervisor says of you, “My employee gets it,” you are truly respected.

In this morning’s Scripture reading from Deuteronomy 4:6, the Lord shares His hope that the people whom He has helped will become a nation with “a wise and understanding people.” In other words, they will be citizens who get it.

God wants us to get it, too. In Deuteronomy 4, God gives us some pointers on what it takes for us to have wisdom and understanding.

Before we look at these lessons, here is little background on Deuteronomy chapter 4.


Setting

Deuteronomy is one of the most authoritative books in the Old Testament. The New Testament quotes or refers to Deuteronomy about 100 times.

The word Deuteronomy comes from two Latin words: Deu -- where we also get the word “deuce” which means two or second, and nomos which means law. Deuteronomy then means literally second law.

This book is called second law because in Deuteronomy, Moses declares the law of God a second time. The first time was on Mount Sinai. This second time is about 300 miles away from Mount Sinai at a place called Moab.


The time is about 1400 years before birth of Christ. The people have been wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. They are just about ready to enter the Promised Land.
Moses is prepping the people for life in the Promised Land. As mentioned, he highlights the laws God gave the people on Mt. Sinai


Deuteronomy can be divided into three sermons delivered by Moses.
Chapter 4 is the end of the 1st Sermon. Moses is describing the vision God has for his people. God wants his people to have wisdom and understanding.




In Order to Get It, We Need To Follow Through

Deuteronomy 4:1 states, “Now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the just decrees that I am teaching you, and do them . . .” In other words, God is saying, “Follow through on what I the Lord command.”

Mike Myatt who has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal says that when he was just starting out in business an old timer said to him, “Just do what you say you’re going to do, and that, in and of itself, will place you in a very select group within the business world.” Myatt thanked the old school person for his advice, but said to himself, “It can’t be that simple.”

Well years later Myatt concluded that what the common sense businessman said was indeed true. He concluded, “It doesn’t matter where you went to school, how smart you are, what your title is or any number of other considerations, if you want to succeed learn to honor your commitments and execute.”

There’s a reason though why it is so hard to find people who will follow through on things. There is an undisciplined streak in all of us. It’s so easy to talk and so hard to deliver. Jesus said that in many of his dialogues.

Our help then to follow through is to rely totally upon the Holy Spirit to give us the motivation to do what we are unable to do. We depend on God to jump start us to take action and get going on those activities which He wants done. It is only because Jesus followed through on God’s plan to save sinners that God sends us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit then compels us to finish what has been started.