Welcome to The Light in Grace. The Teaching Ministry of Rich Powell. Pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. Deuteronomy 32 describes not only the story of Israel. but of mankind throughout all time.
a loving God, seeking to pour out life and love on man. A people who become enamored with God's gifts, over God himself. The disaster and emptiness man opens himself up to Again and again. Do we want God's stuff? Without him?
Do we allow his good gifts To become idols. Thankfully, God doesn't leave mankind in this vicious cycle. but provides Christ. Whose spirit can give us a heart of flesh, and In the place of the heart of stone. May God's great work through His Word and Christ's Spirit grow us to love him above all else.
Let's listen to this message titled, Ascribe Greatness to Our God. Good morning. Our text for today is is Deuteronomy 32. I'll be reading um 32 verses 1 through 9. ESV, if you want to get that out, follow along on your Bible or on your device.
Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth. May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like gentle rain upon the tender grass. and like showers upon the herb. For I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Ascribe greatness to our God.
the rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. a God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is He. They have dealt corruptly with them. They are no longer his children because they are blemished. They are a crooked and twisted generation.
Do you thus repay the Lord, you foolish and senseless people? Is not He your Father who created you? who made you and established you? Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations. Ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, And they will tell you.
When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, He fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. But the Lord's portion is his people. Jacob his allotted heritage. And now let's pray. Dear God, you are our Father and the Author of us all, and of all that there is.
and was and will be. This is your story that you have graciously invited us to respond to and to witness and to witness to. Put us this day and each day in proper relationship to you and to your story. You have called us. You have chosen a people not because of anything that we have done, but quite despite much that we have done and much that we have left undone.
This is your miracle for us and to us. that you have invited us to be a part of your glorious story for your own purposes, not for ours, but for yours. Thank you for preparing Pastor Rich to help explicate your message. In fact, your self-disclosure of your nature and of yourself contained in. this scripture, Deuteronomy thirty two.
Please prepare us to receive your message, to hear it and to respond to it in just the way that you desire with joy and awe that you have spoken to us. Thank you. Amen. Thank you, Nathan. Good morning, church.
You have your copy of the scriptures open to Deuteronomy chapter 32. The title of today's message is Ascribe Greatness to Our God, a line taken from the very text itself. This is in the sixth section of Deuteronomy. We divide it up into six sections. I'm going to get out one of these days six sections.
All right, and uh this one this last section The sixth. is called benediction and succession. We started Deuteronomy Back in April of last year, I believe. And so we are coming close to the end. If you remember, God has brought his people, Israel, out.
to take them to the land that he promised Isaac, Abraham. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And they were about ready to go into the land. And then Israel said, we can't do it. The people are too strong for us.
Walls are too high. We can't do it. And God said, really? That's a rich power translation. Really?
I brought you out of Egypt across the Red Sea. And you think you can't take the land. It's not you doing it anyway. And so, because Israel rebelled, God said. You want to wander?
Let's wander for 40 years.
So Deuteronomy happens after those 40 years. And now the next generation is about ready to go into the promised land, and now Moses is giving them the law a second time. That's the word Deuteronomy. Deutero nomas, second law. The second time he's given the law, they're ready to go into the land.
Now Moses has has finished now giving that. And he's given warnings. He has promised blessings. This is God speaking through Moses, Moses the prophet. He says, if you go into the land and you follow me, And you love me, and you walk with me, you will prosper.
But if you forget me You will dry up. Deuteronomy chapter 32 is the Song of Moses. And I have entitled it, Ascribe Greatness to Our God. And it sounds like a great title for a sermon, doesn't it? But don't be fooled by that.
Because this is largely a polemic. God knows. Because he is transcendent in his knowledge, his understanding. He knows that his people will forsake him. And that's what he told them.
Moses told them in verse chapter 31. And now here's the song of Moses. And this is a song that God said to Moses. Give this people to the children of Israel because this song will be witness to them. when they have forgotten me.
as I said they would. Not because God desired that they would forget him, not because God desired ordained that they would forget him. It doesn't make sense. But he knew that they would.
So this is the Song of Moses. Put your seat belts on. Because this is going to be a challenge. Right? This is going to be a challenge.
This was written a long time ago. but it's so appropriate for us today. It begins with the goodness of God in verses one to four. Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak. Let the earths hear the words of my mouth.
May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like gentle rain upon the tender grass, and like showers upon the herb. I will proclaim the name of the Lord, ascribe greatness to our God, the rock. His work is perfect, for all his ways are justice, a God of faithfulness and without iniquity. Just and upright is he.
Sounds like a good call to worship, doesn't it? And it would even fit in three minutes. That's a thing we have going in the staff. Anyway, never mind. Moses is saying, all creation, listen.
God is speaking. And the words that he says are like raindrops, like the dew. What does that mean? God's words are life-giving. Life-giving.
And he says, Ascribe greatness to our God. What is the title that he uses most often for God in this chapter? Did you catch it by any chance? The rock. The rock.
Even as he's comparing himself to the false non-gods. They're not a rock. I am the rock. He is perfect. Perfect meaning he is without defect.
There's no darkness. No deceit. Nothing like that in God. He is unfailingly and absolutely Good. And he is just.
in everything that he does. This God. Is speaking. And what does he go into next? Look at verse 5.
They have dealt corruptly with me. They are no longer the children, his children, because they are blemished. They are a crooked and twisted generation. The corruption. of his people.
In verses 5 and 6, they have dealt corruptly. And that word, I think, specifically refers back to chapter 9, Deuteronomy chapter 9 and verse 12, where it recounts. The golden calf, remember that when Moses came down? When he was up on Mount Sinai, speaking face to face with God. And the people got impatient.
Do you know what impatience does to you? Believe me, I know what impatience does because I am an impatient person. And it has gotten me in trouble a lot of times. Impatience got the people of Israel in trouble. And they decided they were going to find something else to worship.
My people have acted corruptly. is what he's referring to. And he says, interesting what he says here, verse 6: Do you thus repay the Lord, you foolish and senseless people? Do you thus repay the Lord? In other words, the one to whom you owe your life?
This is what you give him? Foolish, you foolish people. What does it mean to be foolish? It means. You engage action without a sense of consequence.
That's what children do. Isn't it? Children do that. That's why they need parents. Parents, did you know that's your job to drive folly out of the heart of your children?
Because they act without thought of consequence. And when that's not driven out of their hearts, those foolish children will grow up to be fools and scoffers. That's Proverbs in a nutshell. Not only are they foolish, but they're senseless. Senseless meaning unreasonable.
unreasoning They follow impulse. They would rather live like an animal, simply following their impulses. than be governed by principle and reason. They're governed by their felt needs. What do I feel I need right now?
I'm just going to pursue that. Did you know that's not God's design? That is not a fruit of the Spirit. But this is what his people were doing. In contrast to that, God now recounts his tender care.
of his people. You've been listening to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. To hear this message and others, check out www.delightandgrace.com. to discover how to live by grace, Tune in with us on weekdays at 10 a.m.
