Deuteronomy 4:23, commentary and pictures

Moses in his final review as Israel, taken from the iron furnace of Egypt to be God's people of inheritance, prepared to go over to possess the promised land, charges them not to forget the covenant made with them, the Ten Commandments declared at Sinai where they heard His voice from the fire but saw no form. Forgetting that covenant means making a graven image or the likeness of anything forbidden, whether fashioned after created things or the sun, moon and stars worshiped in the land they were entering, because God is holy and jealous, a consuming fire against unfaithfulness. Keeping His statutes and commandments is the condition for possessing the good land, for prosperity and security, for its going well with them and their children, and for prolonging days upon the earth He gives, while corrupting themselves through idolatry and doing evil will cause them soon to perish from the land, be destroyed and scattered among the nations, and serve lifeless gods made by men. Yet even in exile and tribulation and distress in the latter days, those who turn to the Lord, seek Him with all heart and soul, and obey His voice will find Him, for He is merciful and will not forsake nor destroy them nor forget the covenant sworn to the fathers, because the Lord alone is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. The latter days of the warning are now, when God will vindicate His word as He did then if His people depart from His commandments, so the whole fourth chapter with its instruction on what God requires for His people to be holy is to be carefully studied by those who would be counted among His covenant-keeping people. That study stands joined to obedience to the law proclaimed at Sinai, including keeping God's Sabbath holy, and to living out correct principles toward God and one another in loving as brethren, doing no injustice, and showing liberality, tenderness, compassion and true courtesy, because the world is nearing God's great final review when every character is investigated and every case decided for eternity.

Setting and Meaning

Moses gave the warning in his final review of Israel's instructions as, after being taken from the iron furnace of Egypt to be God's people of inheritance, they prepared to go over to possess the promised land. It called them to take heed to themselves lest they forget the covenant of the Lord their God and make a graven image or the likeness of anything He had forbidden. The abundance and security of the good land were gifts held under the condition of obedience, and prosperity must not lead them to forget God.

The covenant not to be forgotten was the Ten Commandments declared at Sinai and written on stone. There Israel heard God's voice out of the midst of the fire but saw no similitude or form, so they had no divine likeness to copy or worship. That chapter belongs with obedience to the law proclaimed at Sinai, and its commandments and promises tied to obedience are to be carefully studied by those who would be counted among God's covenant-keeping people.

To forget the covenant is to corrupt the worship of God by making a graven image or the likeness of anything forbidden, including images fashioned to represent created things. As they entered a land ruled by idolatry, the warning also shut out worship of the sun and moon and stars. The reason given is who God is: holy and jealous, a consuming fire against unfaithfulness.

The charge came after Christ as the light of the world in the pillar of cloud had guided them all the way, halting over the place where they should rest and lifting to signal when they should move. All along the way angels watched over them and protection was given, even though murmurers and complainers were among them. So great light and privilege requires knowing when God guides, praising and honoring Him and glorifying His name, and being careful and kind and tender to give the right example to children and all around.

Its specifications were spoken by God's voice from the pillar of cloud, telling what to do and what not to do in keeping the covenant. They never lose force because they are expressions of the mind of the infinite God, and every word is to be cherished.

Judgment and Mercy

Possession of the good land was set under the condition of keeping His statutes and commandments, with its abundance and security given as gifts of which prosperity must not lead to forgetting God. Obedience was the condition for going over to possess the land and for prosperity from it, while forgetting the covenant by idolatry forfeits that promise. Keeping the commandments brings it to go well with them and with their children after them. It prolongs their days upon the earth He gives, even forever.

If they corrupt themselves through idolatry and do evil by breaking the covenant, they will soon perish from the land. They will be destroyed from the land and scattered among the nations. There they will serve lifeless gods made by human hands. This word was verified when disobedience left only two of the adults who came out of Egypt to enter Canaan while the rest died in the wilderness.

Yet even in exile, tribulation, and distress in the latter days, those who turn to the Lord will find mercy. Those who seek Him with all heart and soul and obey His voice will find Him. For He is merciful and will not forsake them, nor destroy them, nor forget the covenant sworn to the fathers. This stands because the Lord alone is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.

The latter days spoken of in the warning are now. God will vindicate His word today as He did then if the leaders of His people depart from His commandments.

Study and Obedience Today

The whole fourth chapter is to be carefully studied by those who would be counted among God's covenant-keeping people, that they may understand what He required of His people in order for them to be holy. That study centers on the charge to guard against forgetting the covenant the Lord made and turning to forbidden images, set within Moses' final review of Israel's instructions after deliverance from Egypt. Particular attention belongs to the declaration that the Lord alone is God in heaven above and on earth beneath, and to the charge to keep His statutes and commandments so that it may go well with them and their children and they may prolong their days in the land He gives. The instruction of Deuteronomy 4-11 is to be observed in every detail by those entrusted with sacred responsibilities, and its warning against forgetting the covenant and its prohibition of idolatry are lessons for God's people now as well as for ancient Israel. Israel's wilderness history shows the serious consequence of disobedience, when only two of the adults who came out of Egypt entered Canaan while the rest died in the wilderness.

That study is bound to obedience to the law proclaimed at Sinai, including keeping God's Sabbath holy. This obedience is to be maintained amid efforts to obstruct its observance. The instruction applies to later times as well as to ancient Israel, reaching even to those in later distress who seek God wholeheartedly and obey His voice. Those entrusted with sacred responsibilities must observe its directions in every detail. It is to be studied with profit now because the world is nearing God's great final review, when all must stand before the Judge of all the earth to answer for their deeds, in the present time of investigation when every character is investigated and every case is decided for eternity.

The chapter teaches a return to God's true platform and faithfulness to His instruction against deceptive influences. Its warnings must be heeded, and truth must not be treated as something to accept at certain times and set aside at will. Truth will triumph. The charge to take heed calls for correct principles in everything toward God and toward one another, which are the principles of God's law acted out in loving as brethren, doing no injustice, and always showing liberality, tenderness, compassion, and true courtesy. All who depart from His word in action misrepresent the character of God, who will not be trifled with and will be represented by His people.

Its specifications, spoken by God's voice from the pillar of cloud telling what to do and what not to do in keeping the covenant, never lose force because they are expressions of the mind of the infinite God, every word to be cherished. The chapter belongs to the light shining across the pathway that must be walked in by faith combined with works, not held as mere theory. Its charge to take heed lest the covenant be forgotten therefore calls for earnest, untiring service for the Lord of the kind the Lord has specified, including medical missionary work given as reading to be obeyed in that connection.