A Church who have adopted God’s Wisdom and Understanding for life

Deuteronomy 4:5-6

5) Surely I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should act according to them in the land which you go to possess. 6) Therefore be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’

The Lord instructed Moses to strengthen and encourage Joshua to assume leadership because he himself would not be allowed to enter the promised land, because of his own unbelief and disobedience of his Lords instruction before the Israelites (Numbers 20:10-12). He was also to remind Israel of the victories that the Lord caused them to have against kings and nations in order to get to the land of promise. His instruction to them is in view of all of this witness in Deut. 4:1, listen to the statutes and judgments that I teach you to observe.” Moses here is speaking to the Israelites from the perspective of one who has received discipline from the Lord because he chose not to believe and listen to how the Lord was directing him to lead Israel and also from the witness he had of all of the Lord’s mighty acts done to overcome His and their enemies. In Deut. 4:5, Moses addresses God’s covenant people as “taught,” as he was commanded as the appointed leader. The word is used in Piel Perfect tense which emphasizes the active and perfective result or state brought about. They have learned religious regulations and verdicts that they were to practice in thought and behavior to prepare them for the appointed land that they would possess and become a sacred covenant society in order to demonstrate their received (adopted) wisdom and understanding concerning covenant life to the heathen nations around them. In other words, Israel as God’s people are to be His hearers, observers, and doers, to establish within the covenant nation a “remembering, protecting, and serving people of the Lord’s voice in their heart Who delivered them from every enemy to His appointed place which provides the as freedom for them to become reverent and adhering servants to the person and purposes of Yahweh.” The Lord was transforming and displaying them to be people of His righteous law. Because they are now taught, they are exhorted in Deut. 4:6, “to be careful to observe or to keep and do them,” this is their covenant obligation. This is the call to a complete inward action of protecting and guarding the “statutes and judgments in heart that the Israelites would complete the work of them.” Through the keeping of these precepts the people of Israel should love the Lord, obey His Word, cling to Him, knowing that He is the Source of their life and longevity. Israel as a changed people was to become the transforming work put on display before surrounding nations to see His Wisdom, His Understanding and His Nearness to them as His chosen nation. Yahweh is using Israel to draw the heathen nations to Himself and His righteousness. They are reminded by Moses that as they keep and do the Lords statutes and judgments, these become their life wisdom and understanding that the heathen nations see demonstrated and reach a definite conclusion concerning the value of these statutes that proclaim Yahweh. Because the Lord God was near to covenant Israel, they could pray to Him and be helped by His presence and His words of direction and promise. Why is it important for them and us to recognize that we have been taught? The teachings help us discern the life and relationships that we have been called away from and then, appointed to, that is, to revere their Lord Who saved them Deut. 4:10; Prov. 1:7; 2Tim. 3:14-17. There is now covenant responsibility to call on the Lord because He is near us, and continue to observe the Lord’s righteous statutes and judgments, and most importantly to make sure that they don’t forget to examine themselves or forget what they witnessed when the Lord spoke to them (Deut. 4:11-20). They were to pass these truths on to their children. Israel’s obedience to the Lord God was to be the hallmark of their manner of life, government and society. God’s covenant law was to establish the holy structure in personal, marital, family, social, governmental relations and duties, to the allegiance of their Lord Who delivered Israel from Baal Peor (Numbers 25:1-9;Deut. 4:3).

Like Israel who was under God’s law, Christ kept God’s law for us and therefore, we must be transformed by Christ renewing our minds to keep and do His word that we don’t succumb to the heathen influence around us but rather, proving that which is upright, well pleasing and complete in integrity and virtue, (Romans 12:2). What is the importance of understanding this truth? Many of God’s people seem to succumb to taking sides in unregenerate matters and unregenerate decisions in various parts of our society around us rather than operating there thoughts and taking their stand according to their adopted knowledge received from the Lord who saved them and set them apart as His upright representatives in the world to win many to saving knowledge. When we are taking sides with any part of this world are we negating that the Lord saved us, set us apart with His power and wisdom? Do we negate His ways in our own lives in order to revert back to being identified with the world again? In 2 Tim. 3:14-17, Paul commands Timothy to gain knowledge and skills by sticking to the sphere of gospel learning taught by his mother and grandmother. Because of consistent learning from childhood Paul reminds Timothy that opposite of them who are growing to be evil, impostors, deceived, he can declare his life according to the transcendently pure and royal writings of God taught him. Timothy’s knowledge of scripture would be the cause of a developed understanding to a relatively sophisticated degree, to teach or instruct, that is, to appropriate it to himself or grant it to someone else. This authoritative scripture is God-Breathed and useful for instructing a warning, expressing strong disapproval/censure, to set one straight again or restoration (correction), for upbringing or ‘culture nurturing,’ according to upright behavior in Christ. These effects are not isolated but are interdependent and set forth an entire process of sanctification. This process of sanctification should identify the church as being made fit for special aptitude for given uses, thoroughly equipped to perform deeds acceptable to God. Our children struggle many times to place their trust in Jesus as their Lord because though we claim allegiance to the only true God and His Son, they instead may see us parents and others in Christ taking sides on unregenerate politics or social issues, trusting politicians, rather than speaking the words of Christ against the whole carnal matter that dishonors the Name of Christ. They need to see sanctification active among the Church in public life. When it comes to matters concerning government, politics, taxation, economy, education, entertainment, industry, etc, do we take sides on who deserves the best benefits, care, protection, lifestyle? The world will withhold law enforcement, taxation rules, allocating housing, in order to serve choice cities and neighborhoods based upon marketability and economic growth, while limiting resources and assistance for the needy of society. God is not a respecter of persons. The gospel of Christ is supposed to be the wisdom, understanding and life to which we are converted. The generations coming behind us need to see a church that adheres to the transcendently pure and royal writings from God that is counter to purely earthly methods of life. The apostle Paul’s message through the Holy Spirit to the church, which is theocratic is “do not be conformed to this world,” in other words Romans 12:2, is a command to stop the habit of letting oneself be guided by the external and fleeting fashions of the present time, but undergo a deep inner change. Our politics, policies, laws, economy, markets, education, business, healthcare, science, and philosophies are fleeting based on influence, popularity, status, habits, behavior, research from a

purely carnal perspective. These various entities operate according to the influence of who dominates in power, ownership and popularity, but in Christ, the covenant mind is to be transformed by a progressive renewal of reason as we continue to present our bodies to God as being filled with His divine life in order to be life-productive in our personal and shared covenant lives in proving the “good, acceptable and perfect will of God.” This is “adopted knowledge,” which is countercultural and counterintuitive in thought and behavior. The covenant of our (Kurios Iesous Christos) Lord Jesus Christ is against any form of idolatry, a meaningless or thoughtless use of the Lord’s Holy reputation, is supportive of rest in observance of being delivered from oppressive labor and the Lord God’s creation work, and in children honoring covenant keeping parents, but against destructive activities of murder, adultery, stealing, vain (false) testimony towards neighbor, coveting someone or something belonging to another. Do we recognize any of these descriptions among governmental or political officials, businesses or business owners, professional entities, entertainment, etc? All of these entities and individuals are supposed to witness the covenant keeping people of God, the church that Christ died for and say that the Church who adopted the words of Christ is a wise and understanding people! Taking sides of any important societal issue from a carnal perspective rather than a covenant perspective can lead us to misrepresent the holy identity that we have been called to. Adopting the words of God or Christ should develop us as a countercultural and counterintuitive church in thought and behavior. We are to listen to God and Christ as the Savior who delivers us from our oppressors and sins. Living by this displays us as set apart, adopted people of God. So what should be taken from this study?

The Lord’s Church as the people who have adopted His promises and commandments for their lives offers themselves to Him and His righteousness. He put their lives on display as a transformed answer to the society around them. In a world of idolatry, bigotry, greed, and sexual immorality, the church must be progressively identified as growing more sanctified through the words of Jesus Christ guiding our thoughts, desires and actions in covenant life. As we work out our lives through the warnings, disapprovals, restoring and upbringing power and wisdom of the word of God, our transformed lives should clearly stand opposite of all purely heathen influences to resolve life issues in home or in public life.