Schoolmaster to Christ
DEUTERONOMY CHAPTER 10

Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 10 (KJV)

"At that time the Lord said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood: and I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brokest, and thou shalt put them in the ark. And I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand. And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the Lord spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire, in the day of the assembly: and the Lord gave them unto me. And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made? and there they be, as the Lord commanded me" (vv. 1-5).

The beloved and revered servant of God seemed to never weary of rehearsing the interesting, momentous, and significant sentences of the past in the ears of the people. To him they were always fresh, always precious. His heart delighted in them. In his eyes, they could never lose their charm; in them he found an exhaustless treasury for his own heart, and a mighty moral lever to move the heart of Israel.

In these powerful and deeply affecting addresses, we are constantly reminded of the inspired apostle's words to his beloved Philippians, "To write the same things to you, to me is not grievous, but for you it is safe." The poor restless, fickle, vagrant heart might long for some new theme; but the faithful apostle found his deep and unfailing delight in unfolding and dwelling on those subjects clustered in rich luxuriance around the Person and cross of his adorable Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He found in Christ all he needed for time and eternity. The glory of His Person had completely eclipsed all the glories of earth and nature. He could say, "What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ" (Phil. 3:7, 8).

This is the language of a true Christian, of one who had found an absorbing and commanding object in Christ. What could the world offer to such a one? What could it do for him? Did he want its riches, honors, distinctions, and pleasures? He counted them all as dung. How was this? Because he had found Christ. He had seen an object in Him that riveted his heart so much that to win Him, know more of Him, and be found in Him was the one ruling desire of his soul. If anyone had talked to Paul about something new, what would have been his answer? If anyone had suggested to him the thought of getting on in the world or seeking to make money, what might have been his reply? Perhaps something like this, "I have found my all in Christ; I want no more. I have found in Him 'unsearchable riches' – 'durable riches and righteousness.' In Him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. What do I need and want of this world's riches, wisdom, or learning? All these things pass away like the vapors of the morning; and even while they last, are wholly inadequate to satisfy the desires and aspirations of an immortal spirit. Christ is an eternal object, heaven's center, the delight of the heart of God. He will satisfy me throughout the countless ages of that bright eternity that is before me. Surely if He can satisfy me forever, He can satisfy me now. Shall I turn to the wretched rubbish of this world, its pursuits, pleasures, amusements, theatres, concerts, riches, or honors to supplement my portion in Christ? God forbid! All such would be an intolerable nuisance. Christ is my all – now and forever."

Though the above reply was not actually stated by the blessed apostle, still, such thoughts represent his whole life; and should also be ours. A Christian who turns to the world for enjoyment is deplorable proof that a satisfying portion has not been found in Christ. Here is a fixed principle: a heart filled with Christ has no room for anything else. It is not a question of the right or wrong of things; the heart simply does not want them and will not have them; it has found its present and everlasting portion and rest in that blessed One that fills the heart of God and will throughout the everlasting ages fill the vast universe with beams of His glory.

We have been led into the foregoing line of thought in connection with the interesting fact of Moses' unwearied rehearsal of all the grand events in Israel's marvelous history from Egypt to the borders of the Promised Land. To him they furnished a perpetual feast; and he not only found personal delight dwelling on them, but he also felt the immense importance of unfolding them before the whole congregation. To him it was not grievous, but for them it was safe. How delightful for him; how good and needful for them, to dwell on the facts connected with the two sets of tables – the first set smashed to atoms at the foot of the mountain and the second set enclosed in the Ark.

What human language could unfold the deep significance and moral weight of such facts? Those broken tables! How impressive. How full of wholesome instruction for the people – how powerfully suggestive. How could one who believes in divine inspiration of the Pentateuch presume to say that what we have here is merely a barren repetition of the facts recorded in Exodus?

No, the tenth chapter of Deuteronomy fills a niche and does a work entirely its own. In it the lawgiver holds up past scenes and circumstances to the hearts of the people in such a way as to rivet them in the soul. He allows them to hear the conversation between Jehovah and himself; he tells them what took place during those mysterious forty days on that cloud-capped mountain. He lets them hear Jehovah's reference to the broken tables – the forcible expression of the worthlessness of man's covenant. Those tables were broken because the people had shamefully failed. Those shattered fragments told the humiliating tale of their hopeless ruin. All was gone. The obvious meaning was striking, impressive, unmistakable. Like a broken pillar laying over a grave; at a glance it tells that the prop and stay of the family lies moldering beneath. There is no need of any inscription, for no human language could speak with such eloquence to the heart as that expressive emblem. So the broken tables were calculated to convey to the heart of Israel the tremendous fact that as far as their covenant was concerned, they were utterly ruined, hopelessly undone – their righteousness completely bankrupt.

But what about that second set of tables? Thank God, they told a totally different tale. They were not broken. God took care of them. "I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the Lord commanded me."

What a blessed fact – "There they be." Yes, covered up in that Ark that spoke of Christ, that blessed One Who magnified the law and made it honorable, Who, to the glory of God and the everlasting blessing of His people, established its every jot and tittle. So, while the broken fragments of the first tables told the sad and humbling tale of Israel's failure and ruin, the second tables, shut up intact in the Ark, set forth the glorious truth that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile.

Of course, we do not mean to say that Israel understood the deep meaning and far-reaching application of those wonderful facts that Moses rehearsed in their ears. As a nation, they certainly did not. We are blessed to see and understand the precious truth set forth in those two sets of tables: the failure of everything in the hands of man, and the eternal stability of God's covenant of grace.

"And the children of Israel took their journey from Beeroth of the children of Jaakan to Mosera; there Aaron died, and there he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered in the priest's office in his stead. From thence they journeyed unto Gudgodah; and from Gudgodah to Jotbath, a land of rivers of waters. At that time the Lord separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant, to stand before the Lord to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day. Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the Lord is his inheritance, according as the Lord thy God promised him."

We should not allow the mind to be disturbed by questions of historical sequence in the foregoing passage. It is a striking and forcible parenthesis in which the lawgiver skillfully groups together circumstances culled from the people's history, illustrating the government and grace of God. The death of Aaron exhibits the history; the election and elevation of Levi presents the government and grace of God. Both are placed together not with a view to chronology, but for the grand moral end that was always present in the mind of Moses, the lawgiver – an end that lies far beyond the range of infidel reason, but that commends itself to the heart and understanding of the serious and devout student of Holy Scripture.

When looked at in the brilliant light of Divine inspiration, infidel quibbles are contemptible. How miserable the condition of a mind that can occupy itself with chronological hair splitting in order to hopefully find a flaw in God's Volume, instead of grasping the real aim and object of the inspired writer.

But why, in such a parenthetical and apparently abrupt manner, does Moses bring in those two special events in Israel's history? Surely he does so in order to move the people toward obedience. To this end he culls and groups according to the wisdom given to him. Do we expect to find in this servant of God the petty preciseness of a mere copyist? Infidels may affect to do so; but true Christians know better. A mere scribe could copy events in their chronological order; a true prophet will bring those events to bear in a moral way on the heart and conscience. Thus, while the deluded infidel is groping amid the shadows of his own creation, the pious student delights in the moral glories of that peerless Volume that stands like a rock against which the waves of infidel thought dash themselves with contemptible impotency.

Our present focus is on the Deuteronomic bearing of the facts – the use that the lawgiver makes of them to strengthen the foundation of his final appeal to the heart and conscience of the people, giving pungency and power to his exhortation as he urged on them the absolute necessity of unqualified obedience to the statutes and judgments of their covenant God. Such was his reason for referring to the solemn fact of Aaron's death. They were to remember that, notwithstanding Aaron's high position as the high priest of Israel, he was stripped of his robes and deprived of his life because of disobedience to the Word of Jehovah. So, how important it is that they should take heed to themselves. The government of God was not to be trifled with – the very fact of Aaron's elevation only rendered it all the more needful that his sin should be dealt with, in order that others might fear.

They were also to remember the Lord's dealings with Levi in which grace shines with marvelous luster. The fierce, cruel, self-willed Levi was taken up from the depths of his moral ruin and brought nigh to God, "to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name."

But why would this account of Levi be coupled with the death of Aaron? No doubt they were coupled together in order to set forth the blessed consequences of obedience. If the death of Aaron displayed the awful result of disobedience, the elevation of Levi illustrates the precious fruit of obedience. Hear what the prophet Malachi says on this point:

"And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips; he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity" (Mal. 2:4-6).

This is a remarkable passage, throwing light on the subject now before us. It distinctly reveals that Jehovah gave His covenant of life and peace to Levi "for the fear wherewith he feared" Him on the terrible occasion of the golden calf that Aaron (himself a Levite of the highest order) made. Why was Aaron judged? He was judged because of his rebellion at the waters of Meribah (Num. 20:24). Why was Levi blessed? He was blessed because of his reverent obedience at the foot of mount Horeb (Ex. 32). Why are both grouped together in Deuteronomy 10? They are both grouped together in order to impress on the heart and conscience of the congregation the urgent necessity of implicit obedience to the commandments of their covenant God. How perfect is Holy Scripture in all its parts. How beautifully it hangs together. How plain it is to the devout student that the lovely book of Deuteronomy has its own Divine niche to fill, its own distinctive work to do, its own appointed sphere, scope, and purpose. It is so obvious that the fifth division of the Pentateuch is neither a contradiction nor a repetition, but a divine application of its divinely inspired predecessors. Finally, we cannot help but add how convincing the evidence that when infidel writers dare to insult the Oracles of God they know neither what they say nor what they affirm – they greatly err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.¹ At verse 10 of the tenth chapter, Moses returns to the subject of his discourse:

"And I stayed in the mount, according to the first time, forty days and forty nights; and the Lord hearkened unto me at that time also, and the Lord would not destroy thee. And the Lord said unto me, Arise, take thy journey before the people, that they may go in and possess the land which I sware unto their fathers to give unto them."

Jehovah would accomplish His promise to the fathers, in spite of every hindrance. He would put Israel in full possession of the land He had sworn to give to the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: "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. To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day, for thy good."

It was all for their good, their deep and full blessing to walk in the way of God's commandments. The path of whole-hearted obedience is the only path of true happiness; and those who love the Lord can always tread this path.

This is at all times an unspeakable comfort. God has given us His precious Word, the perfect revelation of His mind. He has given us what Israel did not have, His Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts whereby we can understand and appreciate His Word. Hence our obligations are vastly higher than Israel's. We are bound to a life of obedience by every argument that could be brought to bear on the heart and understanding.

Without a doubt, it is for our good to be obedient. There is "great reward" in keeping the commandments of our loving Father. Every thought of Him and His gracious ways, every reference to His marvelous dealings with us – His loving ministry, His tender care, His thoughtful love – all should bind our hearts in affectionate devotion to Him and quicken our steps in treading the path of loving obedience to Him. Wherever we may turn our eyes, we are met by powerful evidences of His claim on the affections of our heart and on the energies of our ransomed being. Blessed be His Name, the more fully we are able by to respond to His precious claims, the brighter and happier our path must be. There is nothing in this entire world more deeply blessed than the path and portion of an obedient soul. "Great peace have they that love thy law, and nothing shall offend them." The lowly disciple who finds his meat and drink in doing the will of his beloved Lord and Master, possesses a peace the world can neither give nor take away. True, we may be misunderstood and misinterpreted; we may be dubbed narrow and bigoted, etc.; but none of these things move us. One approving smile from our Lord is more than ample recompense for all the reproach that men can heap on us. We know how to estimate the proper worth of man's thoughts; they are to us as the chaff driven away by the wind. As we steadily move along the sacred path of obedience, the deep utterance of our heart is "Let me my feebleness recline, On that eternal love of Thine, And human thoughts forget; Child-like attend what Thou wilt say Go forth and serve Thee while 'tis day, Nor leave Thy sweet retreat" (Dr. Wm. Harrison).

In the closing verses of this tenth chapter, the lawgiver seems to rise higher and higher in his presentation of moral motives for obedience, coming closer and closer to the hearts of the people. He says, "Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord's thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is. Only the Lord had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day."

Chosen and loved by the Possessor of heaven and earth – what a marvelous privilege. What an honor to be called to serve and obey Him. Surely nothing in this entire world could be higher or better. To be identified and associated with the Most High God, to have His Name called on them, to be His peculiar people, His special possession, the people of His choice; to be set apart from all the nations of the earth, to be the servants of Jehovah and His witnesses. We may ask what could exceed this, except it be that to which the Lord's church and individual believers are called?

Our privileges are higher because we know God in a higher, deeper, nearer, more intimate manner than the nation of Israel. We know Him as the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and as our God and Father. We have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, shedding abroad the love of God in our hearts, and leading us to cry, Abba, Father. All this is far beyond anything that God's earthly people ever knew or could know; and because our privileges are higher, His claims on our hearty and unreserved obedience are also higher. Every appeal to the heart of Israel should with augmented force come home to our hearts; every exhortation addressed to them should speak far more powerfully to us. We occupy the highest ground on which any creature could stand. Neither the seed of Abraham on earth nor the angels of God in heaven are able to say what we can say or know what we know. We are eternally linked and associated with the risen and glorified Son of God. We can adopt as our own the wondrous language of John: "As he is so are we in this world." What privilege and dignity can exceed this? Surely nothing save to be in body, soul, and spirit, conformed to His adorable image, as before long we shall be through the abounding grace of God.

Let us always bear in mind – deep, deep, down in our hearts, that along with our privileges come obligations. Let us not refuse the wholesome word, "obligation," as though it had a legal ring about it. Far from it; it would be impossible to conceive anything further removed from legality than the obligations that flow out of the Christian position. It is a very serious mistake to be continually raising the cry of "Legality" whenever the holy responsibilities of our position are pressed on us. Surely, every pious Christian will delight in all the appeals and exhortations that the Holy Spirit addresses regarding our obligations, seeing they are all grounded on privileges conferred on us by the sovereign grace of God through the precious blood of Christ, made good by the mighty ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Let us further hearken to the stirring appeals of Moses. They are truly profitable for us because of our higher light, knowledge, and privilege. "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart and be no more stiff-necked. For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward. He doth execute the judgement of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment."

Here Moses not only speaks of God's doings, dealings, and ways, but he also speaks of God Himself, of what He is. He is high over all. He is great, mighty, and terrible. But He has a heart for the widow and fatherless – those helpless objects deprived of earthly and natural props, the bereaved and broken-hearted widow and the desolate orphan. In a special way God thinks of and cares for such; they have a claim on His loving heart and mighty hand. God never fails those who are cast on Him. Whatever relationship He takes, He is always true to His own Name. Let all widows and orphans remember this and be comforted and encouraged. "A Father of the fatherless, and a Judge of the widow is God in his holy habitation." "She that is a widow indeed and desolate trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day." "Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me."

The stranger is not forgotten. "He loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment." Our God cares for all those who lack earthly props, human hopes, and creature confidences. All such have a special claim on Him to which He will certainly respond according to the love in His heart. The widow, the fatherless and the stranger are special objects of His tender care, and should look to Him and draw on His exhaustless resources.

But, He must be known in order to be trusted. "They that know thy name will put their trust in thee; for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee." Those who do not know God would no doubt prefer an insurance policy or a government annuity to His promise. But the true believer finds in that promise an unfailing stay of his heart, because he knows, trusts, and loves the Promiser. We delight in the thought of being totally dependent on God. The very thing that is likely to drive an unbeliever out of his senses is the deepest joy of heart to the man of faith. The language of such a one will always be, "My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock." What a blessed position; precious portion. By the mighty ministry of the Holy Spirit, may we know it as a living power in our hearts; as a divine reality. Then will we be able to cut loose from earthly things. We will be able to tell the world that we are independent of it, having found all we want and need for time and eternity in the living God and His Christ.

Let us specially note the provision that God makes for the stranger. It is simple – "food and raiment." This is enough for a true stranger, as the blessed apostle says to his son Timothy, "We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us be therewith content."

We need to ponder this cure for restless ambition. It is an antidote against covetousness; a blessed deliverance from the feverish excitement of commercial life, the grasping spirit of this present age. If we were truly content with the divinely appointed provision for the stranger, what a different tale we would tell. The current of our daily life would be calm and even. Our habits and tastes would be simple. Our spirit and style would be unworldly. Our moral elevation would be above the self-indulgence and luxury so prevalent in the religious world. We would eat and drink to the glory of God, keeping the body in proper working order. To go beyond this is to indulge in "fleshly lusts which war against the soul."

Sadly, far too much of this is present in this age, especially regarding stimulants. It is appalling to think of the consumption of intoxicating drink among professing Christians. It is our conviction that the devil has succeeded in ruining the testimony of many, causing them to make shipwreck of faith and a good conscience by the use of stimulants. Thousands ruin their fortunes, their families, their health, their souls through the senseless, vile, and cursed desire for stimulants.

We are not going to use this study to crusade against stimulants or narcotics. The wrong is not in the things themselves but in our inordinate and sinful use of them. Those who fall under the dominion of stimulants often seek to lay the blame on medical advice; but surely no proper medical man would advise a patient to indulge in the use of stimulants. He may, for example, prescribe the use of "a little wine, for the stomach's sake and frequent infirmities," and he has the highest authority to do so; but why should this lead anyone to becoming a drunkard? Each one is responsible to walk in the fear of God regarding both eating and drinking. If a doctor prescribes a little nourishing food for a patient, is he to be blamed if that patient becomes a glutton? No, the evil is not in the doctor's prescription, the stimulant, or the nourishment, but in the lust of the heart.

We are persuaded that the root of the evil lies here; and the remedy is found in that precious grace of God which while it brings salvation unto all men, teaches those who are saved "to live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world." We must remember that " to live soberly" means much more than temperance in eating and drinking; it certainly means this, but it also takes in the whole range of inward self-government – the government of thought, the government of temper, the government of tongue. The grace that saves not only tells us how to live, but teaches how to do it. If we follow its teachings we will be content with God's provision for the stranger.

It is interesting and edifying to notice the way Moses sets God's example before the people as their mode. Jehovah "loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. Love ye therefore the stranger; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt." This is very touching. They were not only to keep God's model before their eyes, but in order that their hearts might be drawn out in sympathy and compassion toward the homeless stranger, they were to remember their own past history and experience. It was the bounden duty and high privilege of the Israel of God to place themselves in the circumstances of and enter into the feelings of others. They were to be the moral representatives of that blessed One Whose people they were, and Whose Name was called on them. They were to imitate Him in meeting the wants and gladdening the hearts of the fatherless, the widow, and the stranger. If God's earthly people were called to this lovely course of action, then how much more are we who are "blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus"? May we abide more in His presence and drink more into His Spirit, so that we may more faithfully reflect His moral glories on all with whom we come in contact.

The closing lines of this tenth chapter give us a fine summing up of the practical teaching that has engaged our attention. "Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name. He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen. Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the Lord hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude" (vv. 20-22).

How thoroughly bracing all this is to the moral being; how unspeakably precious is binding of the heart to the Lord Himself by means of all that He is, and all His wondrous actions and gracious ways. We may truly say that it is the secret spring of all true devotedness. God grant that each of us may abidingly realize its motive power.

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