Last of the Stipulations

Deuteronomy 26: 1-19

The Great Covenant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Max A Forsythe

Introduction:  Every time I hear Rush Limbaugh declare that the secular socialists in the Democratic Party take their political theories as a divine mandate for totalitarian implementation, I am reminded of a Russian writer by the name of Igor Shafarevich, who described a similar fixation for the Russian Soviet.  “All religions proceed from a recognition of some higher meaning in life, some goal deriving from a higher sphere, …  Socialism, on the other hand, proceeds in almost all its manifestations from the assumption that the basic principles guiding the life of an individual and of mankind in general do not go beyond the satisfaction of material needs or primitive instincts.”

However, socialist orders usually proceed to showcase messianic trends in their deification of the state.  We can see these trends in the utopian theories of Aristophanes, The Congresswomen, Plato, The Republic and Laws, Sir Thomas More, Utopia and Deschamps, Truth or the True System.  Certainly, we understand that Karl Marx’s Das Kapital aims at more than mere social commentary.  And in the implementation of the Russian “Soviets”, the state was primarily interested in the abolition of private property, the family, and religion, so as to gain communality and equality.  Early feminists praised the Soviet system for the fact that the early theorists did not want children to know who their fathers were, so that the State could adopt the affection and respect once given not only to good old dad, but also to the Father God, whom decent fathers are encouraged to imitate in the familial relationships.

There is much more that could be said, of course - in regard to the communist experimentation in Russia, China and other places in the past and the present.  Totalitarian socialism has been tried in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, ancient and modern China, as well as under the Inca Empire and an intriguing Jesuit experiment in Paraguay, where living conditions became so desperate that the slaves were ordered to engage in family planning every evening when the village bell rang out.

Communistic socialism fails every single time, if it is not subsidized from outside of the system for some political reason or another.  Now what can we say of such a phenomenon?  How and why do humans fall into such utopian dreams that become nightmarish in their implementation?  Quite simply, it is because of human sin, sin that has been part of humanity since our first parents Adam and Eve sinned before the Creator God of heaven and earth!  Ever since false gods and goddesses of every kind have flourished wherever mankind becomes all that they really want to be.

Old Covenant Milieu:  It is for this reason that the Creator God imposes the covenantal order on those who would be His people.  They are a people set apart, and while He will claim His rightful titles as God and King, the wisdom of His stipulations transcends time and space.  Here and there across time, the settled prosperity, very often enjoyed by the Lord’s people, is envied by less blessed tribes and nations.  Today, one has only to compare the minimal existence behind the Devil’s curtain, in Muslim controlled areas – with the prosperity of those western states whose foundation was once the Judeo-Christian oriented civilization.

It is for the promised settled prosperity that the people of Israel are being prepared in this deuteronomic presentation of that Great Covenant before the new generation.  And as we come to the end of twenty-one chapters of stipulations, the present chapter lays before us as Dr Kline describes them:  “The long stipulations division draws to a close with the liturgies for two cultic confessions and a declaration of the ratification of the covenant.”  And the purpose of the liturgies: simply to confess ”God as Redeemer-King” in thought word and deed.

So in that thought we have three divisions before us in our text.  Verses one through eleven describe the offering of the first fruits of the ground.  Verses twelve through fifteen highlight the necessity to share the bounty of the land with the Levites, strangers and the poor.  And finally in the last four verses set before the people the blessed terms for covenantal ratification.

Now, let me observe that the various commentators see complexity in these simple expedients to establish the cultic rituals for sharing the Lord’s tithes wherever necessary.  I am going to go with what I comprehend as a simple establishment procedure.  Within the first year of occupation, the offerings of the first-fruits is to be begun and within the limits of the third year, the offerings shall be distributed according to regulations already in force in other parts of the scriptures.

Thus and so are the necessary rituals performed according to all that the Lord our God would command and commend.  At first, we may appreciate the necessity of formulating ongoing habits of offering and sharing the bounty of the land.  But, eventually – we would hope that the people of Israel would sense something more than the necessity of such habits to insure a stable state.  In fact, as Dr Brown outlines this section – we may learn something about not only the necessity for the worship implicit in these offerings, but also the blessedness associated in that worship and offering. 

Everlasting Continuum:  For Dr Brown, this chapter becomes an outline for learning what happens when we worship in every age.  He notes:  “As we read of these times when God’s people brought their gifts, we can discern some outstanding features of true adoration, praise and thanksgiving.  Whenever we offer sincere worship to the Lord we acknowledge his generosity, recall his faithfulness, honour his uniqueness, obey his commands, and affirm his truth.”

1. Look at the implications of the first four verses. Of course, in our day and age, the weekly, bi-weekly or monthly paychecks contain the fruits of our labor in the contemporary medium of exchange.  Time was, when the people of Israel and even our own ancestors dealt in garden commodities which those of you who still garden know full well how bounteous is the Lord’s blessing of the seasonal crops.  The story is told of a western farmer, who started with one grain of wheat and dedicated the increase of several years to the service of the Lord.  The second year there were a dozen plants or more.  The third year another twelve-fold increase and so on until the crop filled the farmer’s land from one horizon to the next.  In such a manner is nature’s bounty made manifest from the water of heaven and the genetic creativeness of our Father God.

Further, the early Israelites could seriously claim that they had received the long Promised Land looked forward to by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants who possessed the promise.  The first lesson that we should learn from this text is that the special people of the Lord are to acknowledge public ally the great generosity of the Lord our God who has not only called us to Himself, but has also given us blessings beyond the general worldly expectation.

2. In the next five verses, the worshipper is challenged in every day and age to recall the faithfulness of the Creator God.  The promises of the Lord are certain in every time and place.  Of course, we must realize that those promises convey both blessings and curses dependant upon the behavior of those called into His eternal service in this life and the next.

The Israelites are encouraged to remember the history of their people and what great things the Lord had accomplished with the “wandering Aramean” described in our translation as “a Syrian.”  Dr Brown and others well note: “The word wandering may also be translated ‘perishing’ and is particularly suited to Jacob whose vulnerable existence was often in the balance.  … In arresting phrases the confession highlights the radical transformation experienced by Jacob and his family.  … God is to be praised by his people for what he does in history as well as for what he gives in nature.”

We in America, have only to remember the handfuls of settlers in Jamestown and Plymouth, from whom has descended our own religious heritage in this fair land.  Any of you who know first hand the labor of cutting trees and clearing fence-rows down the hill in our little meadow, you can truly appreciate the transformation of this wilderness continent.  Of course, the seven to seventeen inch thick trees with which you have wrestled are mere striplings of the mighty oak, walnut and hardwood forests, which originally dominated the land.  I can still remember one ancient tree outside my elementary school, which was more like seventeen feet across.  Even with chain saws, that was a difficult task to remove when the leaves and life finally gave out.  As the father of our country, George Washington testified, only the hand of God allowed his defeated army to escape not once, but seven times.  ”God is to be praised by his people for what he does in history as well as for what he gives in nature.”

3. In verse ten we read:  “And now; behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me.”  In this confession, the people of Israel would testify to the uniqueness of the God of Israel.  They were not to include the local pagan rituals as part of their worship of the One True God.  Syncretism is just as dangerous as idolatry.  We are not allowed to worship the Lord according to the common worldly rituals, which Israel became all too aware of.

Neither should the Christian church have included, evergreen trees, bunnies and chicks, or human saints in its worship of the only Creator God.  And yet, the religious festivals of the church year are filled with these elements, from Christmas, Easter and Mother’s Day.  In fact – the very church of the feminist activist who pressed the establishment of Mother’s Day, is no longer a church, but a memorial museum to her memory.  The worship of the Lord is to be kept free of such entanglements.  That is why we have such minimal notice of such things here at Christ Covenant.  And while we are some months away from the last cycle, may I quietly observe that I think we got a little too carried away last season and would urge one and all to be more circumspect in another year.

4. Verses eleven through nineteen encourage us to “obey his commands”.  We should note as Dr Brown brings it out:  “Worship is meant to be a radiantly happy experience for the people of God.”  And what brings out the true happiness in our relationship with our Father God?  Just as we see in this passage, it is in the sharing of the Lord’s spiritual and material bounty that we extend the kingdom.  Obedience to the Lord’s regulations in this matter down through the ages has lifted countless pagans up out of the spiritual and material poverty of their worldly existence. 

One media commentator, not noted for spirituality, suggested that what needed to be done in Afghanistan was the conversion of the people to Christianity.  Sadly, in the post-war world of the last century, the Lebanese Christians were enabled to reorganize their economy and that resultant prosperity brought down the envy and then the wrath of their neighboring Muslims who seem to believe we should all continue to live in the thirteenth century.  So while we know what will work in the impoverished parts of the world, it is the continued apathy of and wrath against the God of Israel that prevents the improvement so desperately desired.

5. Finally, the last four verses of our chapter encourage all the people of God to “affirm his truth.”  Dr Brown summarizes:  “The concluding verses of this chapter bring to a close the ‘stipulations’ section of this book’s treaty-structure by summarizing some of the outstanding covenant-themes which have been expounded earlier … Whilst underlining the necessity of total obedience, this reiteration of key ideas emphasizes the correlation of commitment and privilege.”

As you all know, every time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper here, we use the Nicene Creed in the context of that special worship service.  This is what it means to “worship Him in spirit and in truth”, and our holding fast to “the faith once given to the saints.”

Contemporary Application:  This creedal and confessional obligation is not only at the heart of the Great Covenant, but also in the new administration of that Covenant under the Lordship of Christ – still a necessary commitment for those elect of every nation called into the Kingdom ruled over by our Lord Jesus Christ.  Notice the two-fold emphasis of the Mosaic challenge in these final verses.  In verses sixteen and seventeen is the covenantal obligation, which is laid upon Israel and also upon us.  But, look further to verses eighteen and nineteen to see the special mercy of the Lord God who “has proclaimed you to be His special people, just as He promised you, that you should keep all His commandments, and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken.”

Thankfully, because of Christian parents and a semblance of a Christian nation inherited from our forebears, many of the habits, customs and commandments in these last twenty-some chapters have already been learned and practiced.  However, we must not take these for granted as the main-line churches once did within my own memory.  Never, in the context of Sunday school instruction or the preaching ministry was it ever made known why we did things as we did.  It was just expected and learned from habit, not conviction.  Still today, some of you will ask me why we do things the way we do, and there are still too many times that I do not know the answer because it has been several generations since the habits of Christianity have been carefully explained in their relationship to this Great Covenant given to the people of Israel.

Now in our time, all these things are being dismantled and destroyed because the worldly no longer are willing to live within the spiritual, moral and material regulations once appreciated for their source and wisdom – coming from the mouth of God Himself.  May we recapture the civilization of the Law of God, which is escaping so rapidly in our day and time.  And may we in so doing lift up not only the law, but also the mercy and grace of our Lord, who would have us as His special people.  Amen.

Resources Used:   

Copyright (C) 2002                      Christ Covenant Reformed (Presbyterian Church in America)                                      

      10 March 2002                        Box 13926 - Columbus, Ohio 43213-8049

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