““But be very careful! You did not see the Lord’s form on the day he spoke to you from the heart of the fire at Mount Sinai. So do not corrupt yourselves by making an idol in any form—whether of a man or a woman, an animal on the ground, a bird in the sky, a small animal that scurries along the ground, or a fish in the deepest sea. And when you look up into the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars—all the forces of heaven—don’t be seduced into worshiping them. The Lord your God gave them to all the peoples of the earth. Remember that the Lord rescued you from the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt in order to make you his very own people and his special possession, which is what you are today. “But the Lord was angry with me because of you. He vowed that I would not cross the Jordan River into the good land the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession. You will cross the Jordan to occupy the land, but I will not. Instead, I will die here on the east side of the river. So be careful not to break the covenant the Lord your God has made with you. Do not make idols of any shape or form, for the Lord your God has forbidden this. The Lord your God is a devouring fire; he is a jealous God. “In the future, when you have children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time, do not corrupt yourselves by making idols of any kind. This is evil in the sight of the Lord your God and will arouse his anger. “Today I call on heaven and earth as witnesses against you. If you break my covenant, you will quickly disappear from the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy. You will live there only a short time; then you will be utterly destroyed. For the Lord will scatter you among the nations, where only a few of you will survive. There, in a foreign land, you will worship idols made from wood and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. But from there you will search again for the Lord your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him. “In the distant future, when you are suffering all these things, you will finally return to the Lord your God and listen to what he tells you. For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the solemn covenant he made with your ancestors. “Now search all of history, from the time God created people on the earth until now, and search from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything as great as this ever been seen or heard before? Has any nation ever heard the voice of God speaking from fire—as you did—and survived? Has any other god dared to take a nation for himself out of another nation by means of trials, miraculous signs, wonders, war, a strong hand, a powerful arm, and terrifying acts? Yet that is what the Lord your God did for you in Egypt, right before your eyes. “He showed you these things so you would know that the Lord is God and there is no other. He let you hear his voice from heaven so he could instruct you. He let you see his great fire here on earth so he could speak to you from it. Because he loved your ancestors, he chose to bless their descendants, and he personally brought you out of Egypt with a great display of power. He drove out nations far greater than you, so he could bring you in and give you their land as your special possession, as it is today. “So remember this and keep it firmly in mind: The Lord is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other. If you obey all the decrees and commands I am giving you today, all will be well with you and your children. I am giving you these instructions so you will enjoy a long life in the land the Lord your God is giving you for all time.””
Deuteronomy 4:15-40 NLT
As the people of Israel neared Moses death, he continued to emphasize the nature of their relationship with YHWH. He is to be their God and they are to be his people. This is the reason that they were called out of Egypt and it is to this end that they will be successful. But they must take heed that it is also to this end that the previous generation, including Moses, was not successful. The idea of a works based righteousness had been moved off of one’s merit, to one’s faith. If a person kept their faith in God, this was now the measure of their success. This is on brand for the God who offered legacy to Abraham by faith. Nevertheless, with a new levitical system in place, it would be important to emphasize that without faith, all merit works against you. It simply makes you more culpable and foolish as you work for a god’s favor, in whom you do not worship. We too, are in a similar position, as we live in a society that allows us the freedom to exercise our own merits. We can achieve great things because our freedom is based on God given ideas. But without a faith to guide our actions, they quickly devolve. We revert back to paganism. We become the idol worshippers we took the place of. We must first worship God alone, then we can live freely in his blessings.
Relationship with God: Israelites are to be God’s people, and their success depends on their faith in God, not on their own merits.
Importance of Faith: Faith in God is crucial, as without it, even good works can lead to greater culpability and foolishness.
Modern Application: Freedom in modern society, based on God-given ideas, can lead to paganism if not guided by faith.
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