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GIVE OTHERS THEIR DUE LOVE
A Sermon on Deuteronomy 5:17–21
Jason S. DeRouchie, PhD (4/12/2026)

This is now my seventh sermon on the Ten Commandments as found in Deuteronomy 5. As I have preached through these Ten Commandments, I have preached Moses’s law more often from Jesus than to Jesus. Yet the law bears both functions: getting us to Jesus and then guiding us after we have met him. It crushes under the weight of our inability and then guides us once God becomes for us in Christ.

For Israel, this law of Moses was to kill, to destroy (2 Cor 3:7, 9), helping them see their need for Jesus (Rom 3:20; 5:20; 10:4). The law itself declares, “It will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment” (Deut 6:25), yet no mere human is able to obey fully, and therefore no mere human is righteous. Instead, “cursed if everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them” (Gal 3:10; cf. Deut 27:26). This is why it took one who is not a mere human but the God-man to come in our stead.

Hearing Moses’s law should have broken Israel and moved them to see their need and embrace God’s provision of a substitute. Yet they should have also known that the blood of bulls and goats could not forgive their sin (Heb 10:4), and so they would be forced to hope in the one to whom their sacrifices pointed, the one whose perfect blood would satisfy God’s just wrath against our iniquities (Isa 53:5, 12; Rom 5:9; Gal 3:13; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 John 4:10) and whose righteousness validated through the resurrection would secure our justification (Rom 4:25; 2 Cor 5:21). Thus, we can preach Moses law in a way that gets us to Christ.

Yet through these sermons, I have been talking to a gathered community of saints who have already encountered the living God and already come to Christ as their righteousness. On this basis, having a God who is already for you 100%, we find that the law of Moses can still guide us in paths of righteousness. The only sin we can conquer is forgiven sin, and standing on Christ and considering how he fulfills the old covenant law, we are in a position to move ahead from Jesus and benefit from Moses’s law as a guide for Christians. That is what I mean that I preach from Jesus rather than to Jesus.

Today, we come to the last six of the Ten Commandments. We have covered Commands one through four, each of which stands independently. These final six, however, Moses here groups together by linking each with the conjunction “and” (the Hebrew וְ). Following the prophet’s lead, today’s sermon focuses on all six of these commandments as a group that expresses how mature followers of God should live for the wellfare of others over themselves. Read with me Deuteronomy 5:17–21…. Pray with me….

Never Murder (Deut 5:17)

The fifth commandment forbids the murder of another human being and thus stresses the need to value and show dignity for every human life (Deut 5:17; cf. Exod 20:13). As our own Member Affirmation of Faith says, “We believe that all humans bear intrinsic and equal value as those made in God’s image and that every human life is valuable from fertilization to natural death” (#14).

The verb translated “murder” in Deuteronomy 5:17 (Qal רצח) is a neutral term meaning to “slay or kill” a human (Num 35:12), yet it most commonly refers to criminal behavior performed by persons against the community by purposefully (i.e., intentionally; Num 35:16–19, 21, 31; Deut 22:26; Judg 20:41; Job 26:14) or accidentally (i.e., negligently or recklessly; Num 35:6, 11, 25–28; Deut 4:42; 19:3, 4, 6; Josh 20:4, 5–6) killing another person. The Bible has categories for justifiably putting others to death when one is defending himself (Exod 22:2–3; Matt 26:55; Luke 22:38) or others (Acts 7:24–25; cf. Ps 82:4; Prov 24:1),[1] when a relative avenges the death of a family member (Num 35:12, 21, 25–28; Josh 20:3, 5; cf. Josh 21:13, 21, 27, 32, 38),[2] and when the government rightly uses the sword (Rom 13:4), whether through just wars (Deut 7:2, 16; 20:13–17; cf. 2:34; 3:6; 25:19; Josh 6:21; 8:2, 26; 10:40; 11:14; 1 Sam 15:3) or through the death penalty as retributive justice for capital crimes like premeditated murder (Gen 9:5–6; Exod 21:12, 14, 23–25; Lev 24:17; Num 35:16–21, 30–31, 33; Deut 19:11–13, 21; Matt 26:52; Rev 13:10).[3] However, what this fifth of the Ten Commandments prohibits is any form of unlawful homicide, whether by premeditation or negligence.

Growing out of the principles of human dignity and justice evidenced and taught in the creation covenant (Gen 1:26–28; 9:5–6; cf. 4:8–11, 23–24), Paul notes that, from the fall, humans have been “filled with all manner of unrighteousness” including “murder” and that, “though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them” (Rom 1:29, 32). Today we live in a culture of death that devalues the precious lives of the unborn and the elderly. Yet one’s stage of development does not determine the value of one’s life. Size, level of maturity, environment, and degree of dependency are unjustified grounds to assess who can live or die. Abortion, euthanasia, and assisted suicide are all the intentional killing of innocent human beings and are, therebore, reprehensible, morally evil acts of murder. When a culture affirms murder and governments legalize murder in the name of woman’s health or the love of a sufferer, they open themselves up to “the wrath of God [that] is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” (Rom 1:18). To Christians, God continues to command: never murder.

And Never Commit Adultery (Deut 5:18)

The verb rendered “adultery” (Qal נאף) in Deuteronomy 5:18 (cf. Exod 20:14) refers principally to illicit, consensual sex with a woman who is engaged or married to another man (Lev 20:10; Job 24:15; Prov 6:32; Jer 7:9; 23:14; Ezek 16:38; 23:45; Hos 4:2).[4] This sixth commandment highlights the value of sexual intimacy in marriage and the need to respect every married man’s sole right to such intimacy with his wife. From the moment the first man declared of his bride, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh,” and the two became “one flesh” (Gen 2:23–24), Yahweh God affirmed that sexual expression was solely for the context of marriage between one man and one woman in lasting covenant relationship.[5] The author of Hebrews charged, “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous” (Heb 13:4).

Why is sexual morality and the sanctity of the marriage bed so important to God? It’s because the union in marriage of one man and one woman represents the intimate relationship Yahweh makes with his people in the old covenant and that Christ has with his Church in the new. Within the Old Testament, Yahweh’s relationship with his people was always akin to a marriage, and one way we see this is in how Judah’s idolatry is regarded as spiritual adultery. Thus, Yahweh declares of Judah, “Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree” (Jer 3:9; cf. 5:7; Ezek 16:32; Hos 3:1). Every husband is to love his wife “as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Eph 5:24), and every man must guard himself from violating another man’s marriage bed. The proper display of the glory of Christ is at stake, and every person who engages in adultery denounces the sanctity of human marriage and belittles the glory of Christ. To Christians, God continues to command: never commit adultery.

And Never Steal (Deut 5:19)

In contrast to the justifiable taking of plunder in times of war, to “steal” (Qal גנב) in the seventh commandment (Deut 5:19; cf. Exod 20:15) refers to secretly or unexpectedly taking something belonging to another and doing so without permission or legal right and without intending to return it (Lev 19:11; Josh 7:11; Prov 6:30; 9:17; 30:9; Jer 7:9; Hos 4:2; Obad 5; Zech 5:3).[6] This prohibition assumes that personal property is justified and that other people’s property and very lives are to be respected and preserved rather than claimed.

Within the old covenant, God counted the theft of material goods as a civil offense concerning private disputes between citizens or organizations; in such instances justice demanded return or restitution two to five times the value of what was stolen (Exod 22:1, 4, 12 [21:37; 22:3, 11 MT]; cf. Gen 30:33; 31:19, 30, 32, 39; 44:8). However, the same verb is used of man-stealing, most commonly in relation to the capital offenses of “kidnapping” (Exod 21:16; Deut 24:7) or “abduction” (2 Sam 19:42); in these instances, the theft of a human life required the death penalty for the perpetrator.[7]

Jesus associates stealing with the devil, when he declares, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Having come to Jesus, Paul asserts, “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need” (Eph 4:28). Stealing reveals a discontentment of the soul and a lack of trust in God knows what you need and will provide. With Paul, we must affirm, “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil 3:19), and with Paul we must learn “the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (3:12–13). To Christians, God continues to command: never steal.

And Never Bear False Witness against Your Neighbor (Deut 5:20)

The eighth commandment addresses just dealings when one serves as a witness in a legal proceeding. When justice is on the line, truth must prevail.  “And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Deut 5:20; cf. Exod 20:16).[8] False testimony can easily destroy, for as Proverbs says, “A man who bears false witness against his neighbor [אִישׁ עֹנֶה בְרֵעֵהוּ עֵד שָׁקֶר] is like a war club, or a sword, or a sharp arrow” (Prov 25:18).

Justice is about giving to people what they deserve, and this principle is built into the very nature of creation with humans made in the image of God, of whom Moses says, “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he” (Deut 32:4). And again, “He is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing” (10:17–18; cf. Acts 10:34–35). The call of this commandment is to live justly, even as God is just (Exod 21:1–3; Lev 19:15–16; Deut 16:18–20).

After reflecting on the dangers of showing partiality (Jas 2:1–7), James notes, “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors” (2:8–9; cf. John 7:24; 1 Tim 5:21). For those who testify falsely, Moses warns later in Deuteronomy:

If a malicious witness [עֵד־חָמָס] arises to accuse a person [לְעֲנוֹת בּוֹ] of wrongdoing, then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness [עֵד־שֶׁ֫קֶר] and has accused his brother falsely [שֶׁ֫קֶר עָנָה בְאָחִיו], then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. And the rest shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you. Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. (Deut 19:16–21)

With this, Revelation 21:8 warns: “As for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” To Christians, God continues to command: never bear false witness against your neighbor.

And Never Covet Your Neighbor’s Wife (Deut 5:21a)

The ninth commandment in Deuteronomy partners with the charge against adultery by prohibiting “coveting” (חמד) a neighbor’s wife (Deut 5:21a; cf. Exod 20:17). A “neighbor” (2-רֵעַ) is someone nearby (cf. Gen 15:10), usually one within your community that you would count among your people (Lev 19:18). The verb translated “covet” means to “desire” and consistently relates to a longing to obtain something. The object of desire is almost always tangible or material,[9] but context alone determines whether a subject’s craving an object is sin. Negative objects of desire include the forbidden fruit of the Garden (Gen 3:6), another’s house (Exod 20:17), another’s wife, servants, or moveable property (20:17; Deut 5:21a), land (Exod 34:24), silver and gold from an idol (Deut 7:25), Yahweh’s war spoils (Josh 7:21), the forbidden woman’s beauty (Prov 6:25), unjust gain (12:12), large trees (metaphorically of foreign influence, Isa 1:29), and idols (44:9).

Significantly, desiring or coveting is an internal act of the heart (Prov 6:25) involving a premeditated choice (Isa 1:29; cf. Mic 2:1) that God alone can judge until it goes public in outward action (e.g., in “taking” [Deut 7:25; Josh 6:18 LXX; 7:21] or “seizing” [Mic 2:2]). At this point in the Ten Commandments, however, the focus is that evil desire is itself sin, regardless of whether wicked deeds follow.[10] Specifically, Moses asserts that wishing another man’s woman was yours is evil (cf. Lev 20:10; Deut 22:24; Prov 6:29; Ezek 18:6, 15; 22:11). Jesus will go so far as to say that “everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt 5:28). To Christians, God continues to command: never covet your neighbor’s wife.

And Never Desire Your Neighbor’s Property (Deut 5:21b)

The tenth of the Ten Commandments prohibits “wanting or craving” (אוה) the moveable and immovable property belonging to a neighbor. Whereas Exodus 20:17 uses the verb “covet” (חמד) twice, in Deuteronomy Moses varies his prohibitions with a synonym: “And you shall not desire [or want] your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male servant , or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s” (Deut 5:21b). The book of Proverbs tells us that wicked people are always longing for more, whereas the righteous person gives and keeps giving (Prov 21:26). Some crave for and acquire wealth, possessions, and honor yet never enjoy them, says the Preacher in Ecclesiastes, and this is a great evil (Eccl 6:2; cf. 5:19 [18 MT]). This prohibition in the Ten Commandments refers to a discontented soul that remains ever unsatisfied.

In contrast, “godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Tim 6:6). So, we must heed the charge of the author of Hebrews: “Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for [God] has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Heb 13:5). And as Paul says, the rich are “to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasures for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life” (1 Tim 6:18–19). To Christians, God continues to command: never desire your neighbor’s property.

Conclusion: A Call to Servant-Leadership, Not Male Domination

As I bring this sermon to a conclusion, I want to reflect on the portrait of leadership Deuteronomy’s version of the Ten Commandments displays. Changes made to the Deuteronomic Decalogue suggest that after forty years in the wilderness Moses is intentionally confronting abuses to headship in the community. We already saw this in command three. In Exodus 20:11, Moses elevated God’s rest on the seventh day as a reason Israel needed to keep the Sabbath. This is never mentioned in Deuteronomy, however, as Moses instead recalls how the Israelite community was a slave in Egypt to clarify why household heads must ensure that every household member down to the male and female servants gets to rest (Deut 5:15).

Similarly, in Exodus 20:17, the charge not to covet a neighbor’s wife is embedded in a list of possessions after a neighbor’s “house,” but in Deuteronomy 5:21 the “wife” stands alone. As Daniel Block has said, this implies that the Deuteronomic version of the Decalogue reveals “a deliberate effort to ensure the elevated status of the wife in a family unit and to foreclose any temptation to use the Exodus version of the command to justify men’s treatment of their wives as if they were mere property, along with the rest of the household possessions.”[11] Indeed, this is the first of several examples in Deuteronomy that stress how the community must value and protect its women.[12]

What I am proposing is that the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy affirm the patricentric nature of Israelite society, in that they are addressed to male heads of households who are themselves under God and called to lead by serving, honoring, and looking out for others’ welfare, including their family members and neighbors. That is, the Ten Commandments define biblical leaders as those who must preserve other’s rights and not their own. Love of others and not love of self is what drives the Decalogue.

The United States has a Bill of Rights that ensures essential individual liberties for citizens such as freedom of speech, press, and religion and the right to private property and speedy trial while limiting federal power. The Ten Commandments are set up similarly but draw attention away from self to the rights others have as those made in God’s image. Paul speaks in a similar way in Romans 13, when he writes:

Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to who revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. (Rom 13:7–10)

In a way distinct from any other creature, humans bear a capacity to reflect, resemble, represent, and revere God, and this fact establishes human worth and clarifies why, for example, the murder of the innocent demands the death of the perpetrator, “for God made man in his own image” (Gen 9:6).[13] Every one of the Ten Commandments is shaped with the deepest conviction that Yahweh and those made in his image are the highest values in the universe. The Decalogue is about God not only in the way the laws themselves portray his character but also in the way they display his worth by calling humans to respect his divine rights and those conferred on everyone made in his image.

Fig. 1. Deuteronomy’s Ten Commandments as a Bill of Others’ Rights[14]

The biblical communities in both the old and new covenant are a collection of families at the center of which is the father or male household head. The layout of the Ten Commandments defines his role as leader principally as love for God and neighbor––not self-exalting but other serving. By focusing on the rights of others, the Deuteronomic version of the Decalogue confronts present or potential pride, self-elevating power, and abuses by a household head toward God, wives, other household members, and property. And if the male head could love Yahweh and neighbor rightly, the rest of the community would follow in line.

May God grant Sovereign Joy to be a community in which male servant leadership flourishes and where its members recognize that love fulfills the law and that we owe love to each other as we display God’s character in our lives and as we value each on another as those made in God’s image. “‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does not wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom 13:10). Pray with me….

[1] See also Neh 4:13–14, 17–23; Esth 8:11; 9:1–2, 5, 10.

[2] The old covenant specifies that the blood vengeance can happen before or after the congregation has rendered a judgment but can only justly occur while the original manslayer is outside a city of refuge and before the high priest alive at the time of the slaying has died.

[3] Other crimes worthy of the death penalty include the following: kidnapping (Exod 21:16; Deut 24:7); rape (Deut 22:25–27); sustained insubordination to parents (Exod 21:15, 17; Deut 21:18–21); religious malpractice like Sabbath breaking (Exod 31:14–15; 35:2; Num 15:32–26), false prophecy associated with following gods other than Yahweh (Deut 13:1–5; 18:20), idolatry (Exod 22:20; Lev 19:4; Deut 13:1–18; 17:2–7), child sacrifice (Lev 20:1–5), witchcraft (Exod 22:18; Lev 19:26, 31; 20:27), and blasphemy (Lev 24:14–23); sexual offenses like adultery when married or engaged (Lev 20:10; Deut 22:22–24; cf. Gen 38:24), concealed premarital unchastity (Deut 22:20–21), rape of an engaged girl (Deut 22:25), prostitution of a priest’s daughter (Lev 21:9), incest (Lev 20:11–12, 14), homosexuality (Lev 20:13), and bestiality (Exod 22:19; Lev 20:15–16); false witness in a capital case (Deut 19:16–21). While a ransom could be paid for some capital offenses, no ransom was allowed in cases of premeditated murder; the violator was always to be put to death (Num 35:31).

[4] Deuteronomy strongly distinguishes between adultery, which includes mutual consent and demands the death penalty of both parties (Deut 22:22, 23–24), and rape, which is a form of abuse and demands only the death of the violator (22:25–27). Deuteronomic law fights for the protection and value of the vulnerable. For more on this, see below.

[5] For an argument that these verses elevate sexual intimacy as the covenant sign of marriage, see Gordon P. Hugenberger, Marriage as a Covenant: Biblical Law and Ethics as Developed from Malachi (Baker Books, 1994).

[6] By extension, it can even refer to a storm “stealing” away the life of the wicked (Job 21:18; 27:20). W. R. Domeris notes that גנב specifically refers to “secretive stealing and cheating” (e.g., Gen 31:27; 2 Sam 19:3 [4 MT]), whereas גזל (“to rob”) denotes “taking something by force.” W. R. Domeris, “גָּנַב,” NIDOTTE 1:863. On the distinction between “stealing” and “robbery,” with the latter being specifically against the weak, see Leviticus 19:11, 13 and Gordon J. Wenham, The Book of Leviticus, NICOT (Eerdmans, 1979), 267–78.

[7] In two instance, the verb “to steal” is cast as a justifiable action in contrast to the evil schemes of enemy rulers: (1) the “stealing” of Saul and Jonathan’s bodies after their death in battle at the hands of the Philistines (2 Sam 21:12) and the “stealing” of Joash from the rest of the king’s sons who were about to be murdered (2 Kgs 11:2; 2 Chr 22:11)

[8] Very literally, this eighth commandment prohibits anyone from ever “answering” (ענה) “a witness of falsehood” (עֵד שָׁוְא, Deut 5:20) or “a witness of a lie” (עֵד שָׁקֶר, Exod 20:16) against his neighbor.

[9] The only partial exceptions are the words of God, which are “coveted” more than gold (Ps 19:10 [11 MT]), and scoffing, which scoffers “covet” (Prov 1:22).

[10] While the promise in Exod 34:24 that “no one will covet you land” connotes that no one will devise plans to take the land and act upon it, the verb חמד only denotes an internal desire. So, too, William L. Moran, “The Conclusion to the Decalogue (Ex. 20:17 = Dt. 5:21),” CBQ 29 (1967): 544.

[11] Daniel I. Block, “‘You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbor’s Wife’: A Study in Deuteronomic Domestic Ideology,” JETS 53.3 (2010): 156.

[12] Block notes Deuteronomy evinces a high concern for widows (Deut 10:17–18), invites women to participate in worship (Deut 12:12, 18; 16:11, 14; 31:12), requires the release of female slaves (15:12; cf. Exod 21:2–11), exempts new husbands from military service (Deut 20:7), guards the rights of captive brides and second-ranked wives (21:10–14, 15–17), stresses the authority of the mother over a rebellious child (21:18–21), protects a wife who is falsely accused of lying about her virginity (22:13–21), assumes the innocence of female victims of rape (22:23–29; cf. Exod 22:16–17 [15–16 MT]), shields a divorced woman from abuses from her previous husband (24:1–4), and secures the integrity of families and estates through levirate marriage (25:5–10). Block, “‘You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbor’s Wife’: A Study in Deuteronomic Domestic Ideology,” 160–67. For a detailed analysis of all relevant texts in Deuteronomy related to the role and restrictions of the head of the household, see Rebekah Josberger, “Between Rule and Responsibility: The Role of the ’āb as Agent of Righteousness in Deuteronomy’s Domestic Ideology” (PhD diss., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2007); cf. Rebekah Josberger, “For Your Good Always: Restraining the Rights of the Victor for the Well-Being of the Vulnerable (Deut 21:10–14),” in For Our Good Always: Studies on the Message and Influence of Deuteronomy in Honor of Daniel I. Block, ed. Jason S. DeRouchie, Jason Gile, and Kenneth J. Turner (Eisenbrauns, 2013), 165–87.

[13] My former student, Dr. Matthew Rowley, established the following syllogism that clarifies why the concept of human rights is nonsensical apart from beliefs in God and in human being made in the divine image: If we give up the biblical God, then we give up the imago Dei. If we give up the imago Dei, then we give up inherent or conferred human worth. If we give up human worth, then we give up human worth violations (since a worthless thing can’t be violated). If we give up human worth violations, then there is no real enforceable wrong done by a human to another human.

[14] Adapted from Block, “‘You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbor’s Wife’,” 145–46.

The post Give Others Their Due Love: A Sermon on Deuteronomy 5:17–21 appeared first on Jason DeRouchie.

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HONOR YOUR PARENTS
A Sermon on Deut 5:16
Jason S. DeRouchie, PhD (02/22/2026)

Today’s sermon seeks to clarify the meaning and lasting significance of the fourth of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy––the call to honor parents. In Deuteronomy 5:16, Yahweh charges the Israelite community to honor their parents and then motivates this expression with dual promises: long life and good life in the land that God was giving them. Read along with me as I read Deuteronomy 5:16…. Pray with me.

Three Preliminary Observations

Three preliminary observations are noteworthy when interpreting this command. First, notice that no age-range is given. Those Yahweh calls to honor parents are the very household heads he just told to ensure that their son and daughter and servants rest on the Sabbath. The very ones he’ll tell not to murder, commit adultery, or desire a neighbor’s house are the ones who must honor Dad and Mom. God ordained that whether through procreation or adoption, we all have parents. And Yahweh here tells Israel that parents deserve honor from their sons and daughters, regardless of the age or stage of these progeny.

Second, this command is not bound to the old covenant era, for the need to honor parents is part of nature’s law and thus is necessary in all cultures and all times. This is clear in the fact that Jesus reaffirms the command, “Honor your father and mother” (Mark 7:10; 10:19), as part of his kingdom ethic, and Paul charges, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother (this is the first commandment with a promise), that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land” (Eph 6:1–2). Furthermore, the apostle attaches the principle of honor to creation order itself, saying at the end of Romans 1 that, “though [those in the world] know God’s decree that those who practice such things [like disobedience to parents] deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them” (Rom 1:30, 32). Just as God as creator and sustainer deserves honor, so too do our parents, who naturally operate as secondary procreators and sustainers. Yahweh uses a similar argument at the head of the book of Malachi when he writes, “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear?” (Mal 1:6; cf. 2 Sam 10:3).

Third, Yahweh does not say that honoring parents is conditioned on whether our parents are honorable. Some parents do disgraceful things, so in a sermon like this we must consider what it means and does not mean to honor parents, how we do it faithfully, and why we must show honor even to those who are dishonorable.

These things stated, let me read the verse one more time: Deuteronomy 5:16…. We will now approach this verse in reverse order, considering first the motivation to honor parents and then the call and nature of doing so.

A Long and Good Life in the Land:
A Motivating Promise

Throughout Scripture God uses promises to motivate how we are to live. What we hope for tomorrow changes who we are today, especially when the goal can only be reached by a certain pattern of life. The Apostle Peter says, “[God] has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire” (2 Pet 1:4). We battle sin and become more like God by believing his promises.

In this fourth of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy, Yahweh gave a two-part amazing promise to motivate the Israelites to honor the dual leaders of their homes. When recalling this command in Ephesians 6, Paul is even explicit that “this is the first commandment with a promise” (Eph 6:2). Moses urges his people to honor parents “that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you” (Deut 5:16). Scripture consistently portrays a long and good life as a fruit of covenant loyalty to God. Thus, in 5:33 the prophet synthesizes the hope of all the commands when he says, “You shall walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land you shall possess” (cf. 4:40; 6:1–2; 11:8–9; 22:7; 25:15).

Within Deuteronomy, life and good are covenant blessings, whereas death and evil are covenant curses, and the community’s experience of blessing or curse depended on whether they would obey (30:15–20; 32:47; cf. 28:1–14, 15–68). Some scholars interpreting Deuteronomy treat the promise of lengthened days and wellbeing more as a general principle with exceptions, for as Solomon says in Ecclesiastes, “There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his evildoing” (Eccl 7:15; cf. 8:12–13). Others simply treat this promise as a hypothetical reality never fully enjoyed by a disobedient people but that, nevertheless, supplied a foretaste for eternal life.

In contrast, I propose that the provision and protection God promises was an absolute promise of eternal life that would have been enjoyed by any who perfectly obeyed (cf. Lev 18:5; Deut 4:1; 6:24–25; 8:1). Like Adam in the garden, whose obedience could have resulted in lasting life but whose disobedience resulted in exile, Israel was called to obey but would instead walk in unrepentant sin and experience death, not life (Deut 4:25–26; 31:16–18, 27; cf. Ezek 20:11, 13, 21 with 37:1–14). Nevertheless, Moses envisioned a day when life would triumph (Deut 30:6; 32:39), when Yahweh’s word would be in the mouth of a new prophetic mediator (18:18), and when the new covenant community would listen to him because the same word would be in their mouths and hearts (18:15; 30:8, 14; cf. Rom 10:5–9). Jesus is this mediator who represents Israel, obeying where they failed. He perfectly honored his parents (Luke 2:48–49; John 19:26–27), including his Father in heaven (Luke 22:42; cf. John 13:31–32; 17:1, 4; 21:19). Thus, he secures the long life and wellbeing for himself and all who are in him.

Deuteronomy itself anticipates this when, in 17:20, we learn that that the ideal king, ultimately embodied in Jesus, must “not turn aside from the commandment … so that he may lengthen days in his kingdom, he and his children, amidst Israel” (author’s translation). Then, Isaiah adds in 53:10 that, if Jesus, Yahweh’s servant, will heed Yahweh’s will to the end and operate as a guilt offering for sinners, then “he will see offspring, he will lengthen days, and the will of Yahweh will prosper in his hand” (author’s translation), thus realizing in himself the promise God gave both to Israel and her king (cf. Ps 21:4; 23:6; 91:16; Prov 3:2, 16; 28:16). Paul notes that God’s promise to Abraham and his offspring was that “he would be heir of the world” (Rom 4:13), and this global inheritance is likely what he is envisioning in Ephesians 6:2–3, when he charges children, “Honor your father and mother … that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” The “land” to which Paul refers is not the limited land of Canaan but the greater world-wide inheritance that is secured through Jesus and that will be realized in the newly transformed earth (Gen 22:17–18; 26:3–4; Isa 65:17–18; Dan 2:35; Heb 11:13–16; Rev 21:1–2, 9–11). This land will be enjoyed by those who, with the Spirit’s help, honor their parents. Or, as Jesus says in Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

Giving Honor: What Does This Entail?

We’ve addressed the motivation for honoring parents. Let us now consider the first part of the verse and reflect on what honoring parents entails. The verb rendered “honor” (Piel כבד) at base means “to make heavy” or “to ascribe weight” to something and so, by extension, it grows to mean “to dignify, respect, honor, or glorify.[1] Thus, a king should honor the one who gives him victory (Num 24:11), those visited from heaven ought to honor the messenger (Judg 13:17), people are to honor wisdom (Prov 4:8), servants should honor their masters (Mal 1:6), and those honoring God will be honored by him (1 Sam 2:30).

With respect to honoring parents, we gain a sense of what it means by considering its opposite. “Cursing, insulting, rebuking, reviling, shaming, despising, treating with contempt, doing violence against, and bringing reproach against” are all expressions that describe a failure to honor parents or the aged, and Yahweh declares that all who practice such things deserve to die. Thus, we read “Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death” (Exod 21:17; cf. Lev 20:9; Prov 20:20). And again, “The eye that mocks a father and scorns to obey a mother will be picked out by the ravens of the valley and eaten by the vultures” (30:17). Recalling Moses, Jesus also says, “‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die’” (Mark 7:10).[2]

More positively, honoring parents takes three principal forms in Scripture. We honor parents by (1) revering, (2) respecting, and (3) recognizing and returning. Let me unpack each of these.

Revere

We should revere our parents for the office they hold and because they have been seasoned with more life than us. Thus, Moses charges, “Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father” (Lev 19:3), and “You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the LORD” (19:32). The children of the wife of noble character in Proverbs “rise up and call her blessed,” thus revering their mom (Prov 31:28). Joseph was the second most powerful man in Egypt, yet he still “bowed down with his face to the earth” when his father Jacob arrived (Gen 48:12). If placed in a comparable position today, how many children would honor their father in like order? Even Solomon, perhaps the most powerful of all Old Testament kings, “bowed down” before his mother Bathsheba when she entered the royal hall (1 Kgs 2:19). To honor our father and mother means that we will revere them for the office they hold and because they have been seasoned with more life than you.

Respect

We should respect our parents as instruments of potential wisdom, and if you are still a child who is dependent on your parents for food and shelter, this respect also requires that you obey them in the Lord. The book of Proverbs opens with Solomon asserting, “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching” (Prov 1:8). Indeed, “My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, … then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God” (2:1, 5; cf. 3:1; 4:1, 20; 5:1; 6:20). “Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many” (4:10; cf. 7:1–2). “A wise son hears his father’s instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke” (13:1; cf. 15:5; 19:27; 23:19).

Scripture seems to distinguish the form respect takes based on one’s station in life. When Paul says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and your mother’” (Eph 6:1–2), he clarifies that the children are not any sons and daughters but specifically those whom a fathers could provoke as they “bring up [their children] in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (6:4). Similarly, writing to Timothy as pastor of the same Ephesian church, Paul stressed that the elder “must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church” (1 Tim 3:4–5). Children are those still under the watch care and responsibility of parents, and it is these children who have the responsibility to honor parents by obeying.[3] Yet God calls all sons and daughters, even when we are no longer children, to honor our parents by respecting them as instruments of potential wisdom.

Recognize and Return

Finally, we show honor to parents when we recognize the gifts they’ve supplied us and the sacrifices they’ve made for us and we return some of their investment. This recognition and return happens in two ways.

First, we are called to care for our parents as they age, and this includes using our own financial resources to meet their needs. In Mark 7 Jesus confronts the Jerusalem leaders on their failure to honor parents in this way. Building on the old covenant rules on vows that were absolutely binding (e.g., Num 30:1–2), many were declaring property that they could have used to support aging parents to be dedicated as an offering to the Lord, likely to be donated to the temple after death. Jesus says to the Pharisees,

You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, “Honor your father and your mother”; and, “Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.” But you say, “If a man tells his father or his mother, ‘Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban’” (that is, given to God)—then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do. (Mark 7:9–13; cf. Matt 15:1–9)

A similar example comes in 1 Timothy when Paul stresses the need to care for widows. He first highlights how our familial responsibilities extend to our relationships with others, especially in household of God. “Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity” (1 Tim 5:1; cf. 3:15). He then writes,

Honor widows who are truly widows. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God…. But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (1 Tim 5:3–4, 8)

Within the framework of “honor,” Paul recognizes certain obligations or demands. In the light of how much parents invest in the raising of their kids, we as sons and daughters need to “make some return” to our parents when their own needs arise.

A second way we give some return to our parents is by living in ways that gladden and bless them rather than shame or sorrow them. In this manner, we honor them. Solomon notes, “A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother” (Prov 10:1; cf. 15:20). “He who does violence to his father and chases away his mother is a son who brings shame and reproach” (19:26). “There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers” (30:11). Nevertheless, “Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old…. The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice” (23:22, 24–25). Twice Solomon emphasizes how the facts that “your father … gave you life” and “your … mother … bore you” obligates you to seek their joy. He even adds that this obligation extends into their later years: “do not despise your mother when she is old.” How you and I live elevates or denigrates our family name, and we honor our parents with joy by being sons and daughters who live righteously, successfully, and faithfully as adults.

Summary

So, in summary, Scripture gives us three ways to honor our parents. (1) We revere them for the office they hold and because they have been seasoned with more life than us. (2) We respect them as instruments of potential wisdom, and if still a child, this respect demands obedience in the Lord. (3) We recognize the gifts our parents have supplied and the sacrifices they have made, and we return some of their investment by caring for them in their old age and by always living in ways that bring them joy and blessing, not grief and shame.

But What If Our Parents Are Dishonorable?

But this now raises the question. Are we still called to honor dishonorable parents who stand hostile to Christianity or who have acted shamefully, even despicably abusing their children?

Jesus maintains the charge to “honor your father and your mother” (15:4; 19:9) and stresses that our enemies––even when coming from within our own household––deserve our love (Matt 5:44; 10:36). John Piper has noted seven biblical reasons why honor should be extended, regardless of whether the object is honorable. I will simply list them here, but I will send out to all members a link to his Ask Pastor John podcast titled, “How Can I Honor My Parents If I Don’t Respect Them?”[4]

1. We must honor those made in the image of God, knowing that how we treat the creation informs our view of the Creator (Jas 3:9–10).
2. We should honor those who are, by nature, our source of life or older; whatever is more seasoned demands more honor (Lev 19:32; Matt 15:4). “Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old” (Prov 23:22).
3. We ought to honor all people, especially the leaders whom God appoints. “Honor every. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor” 1 Pet 2:17; cf. 1 Thess 5:12).
4. We honor others whose work is valuable to us: “Esteem [your leaders] very highly in love because of their work” (1 Thess 5:13).
5. We honor those who serve us (1 Thess 5:13).
6. We honor what is weaker. Like treating fine china with care, husbands are called to “live with [our] wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel” (1 Pet 3:7).
7. We honor even the dishonorable because we are to emulate Christ’s own grace toward us when we were dishonorable. “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves…. Having this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who … emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant” (Phil 2:3, 5–7; cf. Rom 5:6, 8).

Jesus said that those who fail to revere, respect, and return honor to their parents are “rejecting the commandment of God” (Mark 7:9). This means that to dishonor parents is to dishonor God. Whether child or adult, may we commit with the help of Christ to honor our parents, revering them for their office and seasonedness, respecting them as instruments of potential wisdom, and returning some of their investment by caring for them as they age and by living in ways now that make them glad. As we do, we will walk in the hope of enjoying every provision and every protection on the new earth in the coming age. Let us pray….

[1] The related noun כָּבוֹד can refer to “wealth” (Gen 31:1; Isa 61:6), “reputation, importance” (Gen 45:13; Isa 8:7), “glory, splendor” (Ps 66:2; Hag 2:3), and “honor” (2 Chr 26:18; Hab 2:16).

[2] See also Deut 27:16; Prov 19:26; Isa 3:5; Ezek 22:7; Matt 15:4; 1 Tim 5:1–2.

[3] In alignment with several old covenant texts (e.g., Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9; Deut 21:18–21; 27:16; Prov 20:20; 30:17; Matt 15:4; Mark 7:10), Paul stresses that from creation humanity’s has recognized that those who are “disobedient to parents” deserve to die (Rom 1:30, 32; cf. 1 Tim 1:9).

[4] John Piper, “How Can I Honor My Parents If I Don’t Respect Them?” Ask Pastor John, Aug 23, 2021; https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/how-can-i-honor-my-parents-if-i-dont-respect-them.

The post Honor Your Parents: A Sermon on Deuteronomy 5:16 appeared first on Jason DeRouchie.

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RESTING IN GOD WELL:
Applying Commandment 3 in Deuteronomy 5:12–15
Jason S. DeRouchie, PhD (02/08/2026)

Physical and spiritual rest are gifts from our gracious God. Rest often includes ceasing from striving or from work or movement to relax, recover, refresh, or renew ourselves. We step away from this life’s cares or activities to restore our souls or to regain strength, health, or energy. Rest often involves being placed or supported to stay in a specified position or state. It can also mean to be based on or grounded in something. Thus, rest often comes only in a context of stability and dependence. God often strips us of all secondary supports to remind us that our hope and help are alone in him. We find rest in being still and reminding our souls that he alone is God and that he is our God.

Returning to our sermon series on Deuteronomy 5–11, we are taking extended time to unpack the lasting significance of the Ten Commandments for Christians. Deuteronomy 5:12–15 supplies Moses’s command to Israel to keep the Sabbath holy, and today we seek to consider how Jesus fulfills the Sabbath and what this means for us in relating this law to our daily lives. With so many cares and stresses battling our church and the lives of our members, I sense God’s kindness in elevating before us a passage addressing rest and trust. Follow along as I read: Deuteronomy 5:12–15…. Pray with me….

The Sabbath command is often confusing to folks. The New Testament is explicit that we must not engage in idolatry, not bear God’s name falsely, honor our parents, not murder, not commit adultery, etc. Indeed, the law of Christ in the new covenant reaffirms all nine other commands. Yet the New Testament is silent about keeping the Sabbath, leaving it for many a mystery as to what its significance is for Christians. Does the Sabbath continue as a new covenant ordinance? If so, does it retain its former shape and significance, not allowing people to work, or has it somehow been transformed? Is Sunday the new Christian Sabbath, and if so, what does this mean?

My desire today is to summarize the purpose of the old covenant Sabbath, consider how Jesus fulfills Israel’s Sabbath hopes, and clarify the lasting significance of the Sabbath for the church. My greatest hope is to remind our souls that we can rest now that Jesus has come.

The Purpose of the Old Covenant Sabbath

Sabbath was a sign of the old covenant, and its violation resulted in the death penalty. In an earlier sermon I proposed that the Sabbath supplied Israel a weekly pattern of anticipation that is now realized in Jesus. Israel would work six days and then trust God to supply on the seventh, making rest their weekly goal and reminding them of their mission to see God’s blessing enjoyed and rest realized in relation to God across the world. That to which the old covenant Sabbath pointed Jesus now fulfills, reestablishing and securing sovereign rest for all who are in him.

Deuteronomy 5:14 says that Israel’s Sabbath was “to the LORD” (cf. Exod 16:23, 25; 20:10; Lev 23:3; 25:2, 4) in that it displayed him as exalted over all things. The weekly Sabbath emblemized a future reality in which both Israel and the world were to hope. That is, Sabbath keeping served as an eschatological symbol, capturing the goal of the old covenant, for which it was a sign. Within the framework of covenantal thought, the Sabbath pictured the blessing of “life and good” that would come to all who were faithful, and violating the Sabbath equally symbolized the curse of “death and evil” that would come to all unpardoned covenant breakers (Deut 30:15–20). This is why breaking the Sabbath was a criminal offense deserving death (Num 15:32–36).

Jesus Fulfills Israel’s Sabbath Hopes

Jesus saw himself as establishing God’s kingdom and as the source of mankind’s ultimate rest. “All things have been handed over to me by my Father…. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt 11:27–30). Directly after this assertion, Matthew includes the story of Jesus allowing his disciples to pluck heads of grain on the Sabbath and then declaring himself “lord of the Sabbath” (12:6, 8). Such a testimony was an overflow of the fact that not only was “the kingdom of heaven … at hand” (10:7) but also “the kingdom of God has come upon you” (12:28; cf. Luke 17:21).

Jesus’s redeeming work brought Israel’s global Sabbath mission to fulfillment. He is the one through whom the world is blessed (Gen 22:17b–18; Acts 3:25–26; Gal 3:8, 14), and by his victorious resurrection he inaugurated the end-times Sabbath rest as a culmination of his new creational work. Jesus stands superior to Moses (Heb 3:1–6), and those of us in him have already entered rest, even though we await its full consummation (4:3–10).

The Sabbath Command’s Lasting Significance

How should we think about the Sabbath today? As the sign of the old covenant, the Sabbath pointed toward a goal. It stood at the end of every Israelite’s week and symbolized sovereign rest as life’s aim. In contrast, for believers, Christ has already inaugurated the fulfillment of God’s sovereign rest, as the “shadow” now finds its “substance” in Christ (Col 2:16–17). Already God has put “everything in subjection to him,” leaving “nothing outside his control”; nevertheless, “we do not yet see everything in subjection to him” (Heb 2:8; cf. Matt 28:18; 1 Cor 15:25–28). The period of the church includes an overlap of the ages, wherein believers are truly but not yet fully enjoying Sabbath rest under Christ’s lordship seven days a week (Matt 11:28–29; Heb 4:8–11; cf. Acts 2:34–36; Rom 15:5–6). Because we already “share in Christ” (Heb 3:14), we have already entered the Sabbath rest he secures (4:9–10), but we also persevere in faith for the day when what Christ has already accomplished will be revealed fully at the future consummation.

In the new covenant there is not one specific day as opposed to others that marks the Sabbath (cf. Rom 14:5–6; Gal 4:9–10; Col 2:16–17). Christ’s resurrection initiates an eschatological shift from old creation to new (2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15), from Sabbath anticipation to Sabbath realization. Now, all week long, those in Christ enjoy Sabbath rest fully, though not finally.

Like the early church, our corporate worship follows a 1 + 6, gathering on the week’s first day to recall for our souls what is true and to ready us for all that follows (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor 16:2). We gather on Sunday because this is the day Jesus defeated death (Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:2, 9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1), thus initiating on that resurrection Lord’s day the Sabbath for which Israel longed (Rev 1:10). On that first day of the week, light dawned into darkness, God initiated new creation, and God’s kingdom in Christ became visible. Sunday worship reflects that inaugurated nature of rest that we relish the remaining part of the week. It also nurtures within us hope for the day when our faith will become sight (2 Cor 5:7) and when the rest we already taste will be completed through the removal of all evil, pain, and death at the glimpse of our Savior’s face (Rev 21:4; 22:3). As we presently delight in Sabbath rest every day of the week, we magnify Christ’s curse-overcoming work, even as we continue to pray, “Your kingdom come … on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10).

To help us consider the significance of the Sabbath Christians now enjoy, I have observed at least fourteen ways that Scripture calls us to rest in Christ. I pray they will move your soul to become satisfied and hopeful in Jesus.

1. Rest by trusting God to supply your daily bread. In the wilderness, God withheld the gift of manna on Saturdays but supplied double on Fridays in anticipation of the Sabbath to remind Israel that he was the one who supplied their needs every day of the week. God could give or take away at will, and he was working for them through their laboring and working for them during their resting. So, even when we have savings in the bank for tomorrow’s needs and have strength to engage in all necessary tasks, we must continue to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matt 6:11), ever recognizing, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that” (Jas 4:15). And in this season where Sovereign Joy is praying for a senior pastor and the provision to pay him and praying for a more extended, non-transient, healthy core so we have a stable, mature base from which to send and support those who go, may we be a people who depend on God to meet our every need. We will rest by trusting God to supply our daily bread.
2. Rest by ceasing from anxious toil. The psalmist declared, “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for [the LORD] gives to his beloved sleep” (Ps 127:2). Working and guarding the ground was part of humanity’s responsibility before the fall (Gen 2:15), yet after the fall that labor became toilsome and humans’ physical bodies began breaking down (3:17–19). Those in Christ have now regained citizenship in paradise (Phil 3:20) where we already enjoy the presence of God the judge and Jesus the mediator (Eph 2:6; Heb 12:22–24). And having been freed from the curse through Christ’s Sabbath-initiating, blessing-securing work (Gal 3:13), we do not lose heart, even in a care-filled world. Indeed, “though our outer man is wasting away, our inner man is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor 4:16). In Christ we can engage our relationships, parenting, schooling, homemaking, or public square job without carrying the strains, worries, or fears associated with the cursed world. “The Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:5–7; cf. 1 Pet 5:6–7). Our souls can be at rest even while we are working. Rest by ceasing from anxious toil.
3. Rest by obeying God in faith. Through Israel’s journey in the wilderness and through their tenure in the promised land, God motivated obedience by promising that all who followed him would find rest (Exod 33:14; Ps 95:6–11). Yet because they did not believe, they failed to obey and experienced punishment (Num 14:8–11; 2 Kgs 17:13–15). When Christians entrust our future into God’s hand, what we hope for tomorrow impacts who we are today, shaping our decisions, desires, patterns, and pleasures. We find rest in God’s will, ways, and purposes. Our lives are not like the thorny soil of which Jesus said, upon hearing God’s word, “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things enter and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful” (Mark 4:19). Do you know the uneasiness that comes when walking in sin? In contrast, walking in right paths supplies a steady and clean conscient. We rest in God by obeying God in faith.
4. Rest by celebrating that the living God is your King. Moses called Israel to keep the Sabbath holy in a way like how Yahweh God rested on the seventh day (Exod 20:11). After God finished creating the universe including his earthly kingdom, he refreshed himself through a rest of sovereignty, wherein the world was rightly ordered and at peace with him (Gen 2:1–3; Exod 31:17; cf. Ps 132:7–8, 13–14). By restoring Sabbath rest in Jesus, God reasserts his sovereignty as the one from whom, through whom, and to whom are all things (Rom 11:36). Already “God has made [Jesus] both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36); already Jesus is seated at the Father’s right hand “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion” (Eph 1:21); already God has “put all things under [Jesus’s] feet and gave him as head over all things to the church” (1:22). Nevertheless, we still await the day when “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (Rev 11:15). The true King has already secured Sabbath rest for us, and we will enjoy it fully when Christ returns. If you are part of the church, let your future desire become present delight and rest by celebrating that the living God is your King.
5. Rest by being assured that you are right with God and at peace with him. The fall disordered the world, replacing Sabbath rest with chaos and requiring God to initiate his redemptive purposes climaxing in Christ. Thus, Jesus claimed, “My Father is working until now, and I am working” (John 5:17). Yet through our spiritual rebirth, God reestablishes our proper place in his world by helping us revel in his kingship over all (Ps 47:2; Zech 14:9). Righteousness is about right order in God’s world, and right order exists where he is at the top. Justice is about giving to persons what they rightly deserve, and the greatest injustice in this world is the failure to give God the glory he deserves. All mere humans fall short of this glory (Rom 3:23), but Jesus––the God-man––was perfectly righteous because he lived for God’s glory in all things (Isa 50:8; 53:11; John 17:4; 1 John 2:1). Therefore, Jesus could be a just substitute for us, bearing on the cross the wrath we deserved and making a way for us to be forgiven (Rom 3:26). For all who believe, God counts our sins to Jesus and counts his righteousness to us (Isa 53:11; 2 Cor 5:21)––“not … a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (Phil 3:9; cf. Tit 3:4–7). And having “been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:1). “There is … now no condemnation” (8:1). We enjoy life, not death, so do not let your failures result in despondency. In Jesus, you can rest by being assured that you are right with God and at peace with him.
6. Rest by knowing God is the one who sanctifies you. Through Israel’s 6 + 1 rhythm of life, God tested them to see whether they would walk in his law or not (Exod 16:4) and to teach them that he was the one who could make them holy (31:13). Jesus died and rose not only to justify us but also to sanctify us. Through seasons of suffering and uncertainty, God tests our faith and obedience in the way gold is purified through fire. He heats us to strengthen us and to shape, prod, and whittle us into the holy likeness of his Son, and by this he shows us his love (Rom 8:28–29). Those who have been declared righteous in Jesus prove themselves new creations by living righteously, doing all in Christ’s name and for his glory (1 Cor 10:31–33; Col 3:17, 23; 1 John 3:3). Yet the only sins we can conquer are those Christ has already addressed at the cross. So, knowing that we have been declared righteous in Christ means that the King is even now one hundred percent for us and will give us all we need (Rom 8:31–32). Indeed, because Christ, who has all authority in heaven and on earth, is with us (Matt 28:18, 20), our souls can be still (Ps 46:10). God has promised that “among those who are near me I will be sanctified” (Lev 10:3) and he said that in the new covenant era he would show himself holy through the lives of his people before the eyes of the nations (Ezek 36:23). So, pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name … on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:9–10). And approach God, trusting in his provision of the substitute, and see your life transformed. As you pursue holiness today, rest knowing that “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6). Rest, being certain that “he who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it” (1 Thess 5:23–24). Rest by knowing God is the one who sanctifies you.
7. Rest by remembering that the God who is greater than all redeemed you. In Deuteronomy’s version of the Ten Commandments, Moses stresses Israel’s freedom from bondage in Egypt to emphasize the need to let everyone in the Israelite households cease from work the last day of the week (Deut 5:15). Thus, Sabbath rest symbolically portrayed redemption accomplished and liberation from enslavement and pointed to the great redeemer and liberator. Israel had been impotent under Egyptian oppression, but Yahweh interceded with an arm stronger than Pharaoh and his gods. Thus, the Sabbath celebrated God’s supremacy to save, free, and remove fear of evil powers. Through the new exodus, Christ delivers us from a greater enemy and thus supplies a greater freedom. Jesus “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Tit 2:14). Whereas we were once “slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness,” we are now “slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification,” whose end is “eternal life” (Rom 6:19, 22). Because the Spirit of God in us is “greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4), we can rest, knowing that when we “resist the devil,” “he will flee” (Jas 4:7). Indeed, “if God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Rom 8:31–32). Brothers and sisters, do not let sin have an upper hand in your life. Rest by remembering that the God who is greater than all redeemed you.
8. Rest by extending the grace you enjoy to others under your care.
9. Rest by finding refreshment in God and his gifts.
10. Rest by embracing that you are home, no longer in exile.
11. Rest by settling into paradise and enjoying God’s presence and people.
12. Rest by being confident you are safe in God, protected from every enemy.
13. Rest by rejoicing that you receive and extend God’s international salvation.
14. Rest as one who knows all these blessings come in Christ alone.

Conclusion

As the sign of the old covenant, the weekly Sabbath dramatized for Israel that the goal of their existence was that they and the redeemed from other nations would enjoy rest with God, which included absence of toil, the blessing of his presence, complete redemption, perfect provision, and freedom from all enemy hostility. In Jesus, these hopes are realized. If you are among the saints today who have been bought with the Passover Lamb’s blood, you are among the redeemed who get to delight in his deliverance and all it means for you. Amid a care-filled world, we can know peace. His presence remains with us, and he is constantly speaking over us that “there is no condemnation.” The greatest power in the universe is now working for us, ensuring that no evil force will have the final word in our lives. In short, because Jesus has fulfilled Israel’s Sabbath hopes, you and I have rest and hope today. We have hope that God will supply our every need according to his riches in glory. We have hope that we our selfishness can be slain, that tomorrow will include fresh mercies, and that a future is coming when there will be no more terrors, toils, or tears. The Sabbath realized means Christ reigns now, that Satan’s time to deceive and destroy is short, and that full rest is coming. Let your desire for that ultimate rest generate true delight in rest today. “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body” (Col 3:15). Because the substance of the Sabbath belongs to Christ (2:16–17), he realizes rest for you and me, even amid the brokenness of this age. Rest in Christ.

The post Resting in God Well: Applying Commandment 3 in Deuteronomy 5:12–15 appeared first on Jason DeRouchie.

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REPRESENTING GOD WELL:
Applying Commandment 2 in Deuteronomy 5:11
Jason S. DeRouchie, PhD (02/01/2026)

In our sermon series on Deuteronomy 5–11 we have given time up front to consider more deeply God’s Ten Commandments given to Israel, which the Bible calls the Decalogue. These Ten Words use positive directions and negative prohibitions to clarify what love for God and neighbor was to look like for God’s people. And because Yahweh’s character is unchanging, these laws still guide believers today when understood through Christ.

Yahweh did not give the Ten Commandments to Christians directly. The church is a new covenant reality, and the Ten Commandments provided the foundational charter for the old covenant community. When Israel’s disobedience and failure to heed God’s law led to their destruction in physical exile and their spiritual separation from God, the old covenant showed that its ultimate ministry was one of death and condemnation and that it would need to be superseded by a better covenant (2 Cor 3:7, 9; Heb 7:22). In Jesus’s death, Israel’s curse reached its climax (Gal 3:13; cf. 2 Cor 5:21), and Jesus’s resurrection marked the dawn of new creation and a new covenant (Luke 22:20; 2 Cor 5:17; Heb 8:13). Those related to Jesus stand under his law, not Moses’s (1 Cor 9:20–21), but we can still benefit from the old covenant law. Indeed, Moses’s law positively communicated for Israel the moral principles of justice, maleness and femaleness, marriage and family, and the value of human life that have been binding since creation. Through Jesus we can discern how these same principles that are formalized in the old covenant law retain lasting value for believers today.

The previous two messages considered the lasting significance of the first commandment, and today I hope to apply more specifically the second. Follow along as I read all of Moses’s account of the Ten Words in Deuteronomy 5:6–21…. Pray with me….

Faithfully Reflecting Yahweh (v. 11)

Let me read verse 11 again: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.” In a previous sermon, I noted that taking God’s name in vain has less to do with casual, crass, or disrespectful use of God’s name in speech and more to do with how we represent God in our daily lives. In surrendering ourselves to the Lord, we bear his name––we embrace his team and align ourselves with his authority, his laws, and his purposes. Our actions and words should, therefore, testify that we value God above all else. Moses’s call here is that we do not bear Yahweh’s name in vain and so misrepresent him to the world. We must reflect Yahweh faithfully.

A Sign on the Hand and Forehead (Deut 6:8)

To help us apply this command, let’s consider some other texts that relate to bearing Yahweh’s name faithfully rather than falsely. First, consider what Jesus refers to as the first and greatest commandment in Deuteronomy 6:4–5. Moses declares, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Yahweh’s name is repeated multiple times, showing how his uniqueness calls for unequivocal loyalty. Our love for Yahweh-Yahweh is to be total. We then read, “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart…. And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes” (6:6, 8). As is common in the Old Testament, “hands” and “eyes” are short for behavior and perception. For example, in 21:7, the elders of a city speak in response to an unsolved murder: “Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it shed.” Moses is stressing that the command to love Yahweh, Yahweh––the one God––with all needs to be implanted on our hearts and needs to impact all we do and all we perceive. Yahweh-centeredness was to be the identifying feature of one’s life. To bear Yahweh’s name necessitated radical, life-encompassing love that shapes our deeds and discernment.

Putting Yahweh’s Name upon the People (Num 6:23–27)

Next, turn to the priestly blessing in Numbers 6:23–27 (cf. Deut 21:5). Yahweh says to Moses,

Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, “Thus you shall bless the people of Israel; you shall say to them,

‘The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face to shine up on you and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his face upon you and give you peace.’

So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”

Whereas prayers address God, blessings usually address others, but both are equally dependent on God to fulfill. The blessing itself that the priests were to declare has three pairs, each with Yahweh’s name explicit and with the second half of each pair likely expressing the result of the first half. Thus, enjoying Yahweh’s blessing results in his keeping us, which implies that we are guarded or protected in every way with no assault of curse. Next, basking in the light of Yahweh’s face results in us enjoying his grace or favor, which means that causer of all things is for us, not against us. Finally, Yahweh not having a downcast face but lifted face toward us results in us experiencing peace, freedom from relational tension with God and, therefore, experiencing an inner tranquility or serenity because our greatest problem––animosity with God––has been overcome.

Notice how verses 25–26 repeat the term “face” twice and how the act of “blessing” in verse 24 summarizes everything the priests are told to declare (v. 23). These facts suggest that verses 25–26 are explaining verse 24, such that encountering Yahweh’s face shapes the content of the blessing itself and that resting in his grace and peace clarifies the experience of being kept.

Now, for our purposes what is important is that Moses says in verse 27 that by declaring Yahweh’s blessing over the people the priests were putting Yahweh’s name upon them. “May Yahweh bless you…. May Yahweh make his face to shine upon you…. May Yahweh lift up his face upon you.” And when he does, we bear his name faithfully and not falsely by testifying in our lives that he is keeping us, being gracious to us, and showing us peace.

Practically, then, what does it look like to bear Yahweh’s name and to represent him well? First, we bear Yahweh’s name faithfully when we show we are kept by God, not giving into temptation but resisting the devil and being guarded from his evil schemes. Second, we display Yahweh’s name when we enjoy his grace, resting in his gracious pardon and believing his gracious promises for life and godliness. Third, our lives magnify Yahweh’s name when our souls enjoy peace––when we’re not fighting God but following him, and when the world’s cares move us to hope in God rather than to stress, anxiety, and worry. We bear Yahweh’s name faithfully and display his greatness and sovereignty rightly only when we live protected, grace-empowered, peaceful lives.

Practical Examples of Bearing
Yahweh’s Name Faithfully, Not Falsely

More tangibly, consider these questions. In your wanting and buying, are your motivations and purchases testifying that your greatest desire is to love God and others more than yourself? Are you content while delighting in God’s good gifts, or are you driven by unhealthy cravings that never satisfy? Do you use what God supplies for your ends or his, and when he takes away material things through loss or accident, does your life suggest to others that your hope and foundation have changed? Things of earth have their proper place only where God is our greatest treasure and hope.

Similarly, in your work, are you serving your employer faithfully and truthfully? Do you fight sloth and laziness and look to the Spirit to give you all necessary discipline and drive, care and consistency? Do you find your identity and sense of value in your labor or from your relationship with the Lord? Is your quest in your job principally to please God or men? Our daily grind is still to be done in godliness, and we are to carry Yahweh’s name as we bear all other duties.

In your leisure and play, do you pursue wholesome stewardship and pure pleasure? Do you work hard so that you can play hard, or do you rest so that you can run? Do you approach time off as a distraction or coping mechanism to help you forget life’s burdens, or is your God-given rest truly a time to recoup and reform your soul so that you are ready to return to the principal tasks to which God has called you? When life’s cares have drained you past any ability to strive, rest becomes his tool to recalibrate your life so that you can honor him as you ought (Ps 127:2). The grace and peace that are ours in Christ should help us relax and recharge, and when we embrace Yahweh as our keeper, we rightly bear his name.

As a student, are you being diligent and honest, stewarding the time God grants and walking in integrity with respect to assignments, quizzes, and tests? Are you above reproach in all things, and are you measuring your success semester by semester not by grades alone but also by the level at which you are balancing all the priorities in your life in a way that keeps God at the center, whether your family, friends, health, ministry, devotions, or other spheres?

In your speech and demeanor, are you crude and arrogant, or humble, kind, and affirming? Are you careless or careful, wise, and discretionary? Are you self-centered or Christ-centered in how you think, talk, and act? Do your frustrations derive from a sinful sense of entitlement and confrontations to your kingdom, or do they grow out of your commitment to God’s kingdom? Are you angry and impatient, or do you walk in humility and gentleness by the power of the Spirit?

In your suffering, are you displaying that he is worthy of your fear and faith simply because of who he is and not because of what he gives or takes away? Are anxiety and grief ruling your life, or are you able to cast your cares upon the Lord, knowing that he cares for you (1 Pet 5:5)? Do you endure and wait with patience, believing that he is indeed for you and not against you, that he is greater, and that he is working through the tears and trials for your good (Ps 84:11; Rom 8:32; 1 John 4:4)? Only by such faith do we align ourselves with the great suffering saints of old who were “destitute, afflicted, mistreated––of whom the world was not worthy” (Heb 11:37–38). When we cry out to God from our need, we get help, and he is magnified as our Helper.

In your family relationships, do you seek to encourage and build others up in godliness? Having received divine grace, are you extending grace to others? Having enjoyed peace with God, are you fueled to do all you can to live at peace with others? For richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, are you trusting in your keeping God, hoping in the one who can restore and sustain and who can grant you patience and endurance with joy for all your family relationships? Are you walking humbly, being quick to forgive and quick to ask forgiveness? Are you striving to see your own selfishness defeated and love and compassion reign? Such are the characteristics of our Father, whose name we bear.

Are you the same person in public as in private, or would those closest to you consider you a dirty cup with a clean outside or, even worse, a whitewashed tomb (Matt 23:26–27)? Does your profession of faith align with your lifestyle? Do unsaved onlookers, all of whom follow the god of this world, consider you to be walking the same direction as them, or do they recognize that you follow a different King who has different values, different loves, and different hates?

The Goal of Representing Yahweh Well: Living on Mission

Just before his ascension, Jesus promised his disciples, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). True discipleship is about bearing witness to Jesus in our words and deeds. Through this, missions is accomplished. As Jesus said earlier, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matt 5:16). Or as Peter says, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light…. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation” (1 Pet 2:9, 12).

From this framework, alluding to the priestly blessing from Numbers 6, the psalmist in Psalm 67:1–4 petitions, “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy.” When Moses charges Israel, “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain” (Deut 5:11), he recognizes that God’s people must rightly display God if the nations are to marvel and magnify him. Thus, in Deuteronomy 4:6, Moses says of Yahweh’s statutes and rules: “Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’” And as Moses says later: “The LORD will establish you as a people holy to himself, … if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. And all the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD” (28:9–10; cf. 4:6–8).

Yet Moses and the rest of the prophets also recognized that old covenant Israel would never bear Yahweh’s name faithfully. As Yahweh declares later in Deuteronomy, “This people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them. Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured” (31:16–17). When Israel was cast among the nations in exile, Yahweh says through Ezekiel, “They profaned my holy name” (Ezek 36:20), but then he promises: “I am about to act … for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name…. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes” (36:22–23). When we pray, “Hallowed be your name … on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:9–10), we are asking God to fulfill what he promised through Ezekiel and to realize what Moses commanded when he said, “You shall not take the name of the LORD in vain.”

Bearing the Mark of a Name

Building off the Old Testament imagery of bearing Yahweh’s name, the book of Revelation portrays all of humanity as having one of two identifying marks: one group has the Lamb’s “name and his Father’s name” written on their foreheads (Rev 14:1; cf. 3:12; 22:4), and the other has “the mark of [the beast’s] name” written on the hand or forehead (14:11; cf. 13:16–17; Deut 6:8). Greg Beale has convincingly argued that “the mark of the name” in Revelation is figurative and not physical and relates to spiritual identification with either God and Christ or the Satanic beast. Listen to Beale’s reflections on Revelation 13:16–17 (Revelation, 716):

Since the seal or name on the true believers is invisible, so also is the “mark” on the unbeliever. That the two are parallel in being spiritual in nature and are intended to be compared is evident from the immediately following mention of God and Christ’s name “written on the foreheads” of the saints (14:1). Those who have believed in Jesus have been identified with him and are protected by the power of his name against ultimate deception. His name is none other than his very presence with them (as 22:4 makes explicit). Their refusal to identify with the beast will result in suffering and even death, but they will have the ultimate reward of eternal life (so 20:4). Those not trusting in Christ are identified with the beast, are under the devil’s power, and are unable to avoid deception by the beast (… 2:17). While identification with the beast has given them temporary prosperity in this life, they will ultimately be punished with eternal death (… 14:9–11)….

That the mark of the name is figurative and not literal is evident from the “blasphemous names” on the head of the beast (13:1), which figuratively connote false claims to earthly divine kingship. Likewise, the point of the saying that the beast’s worshipers have his name written on their heads is to underscore the fact that they pay homage to his blasphemous claims to divine kingship. Just as the seal and the divine name on believers connote God’s ownership and spiritual protection of them, so the mark and Satanic name signify those who belong to the devil and will undergo perdition.

Beale further notes that “the mark may also connote that the followers of Christ and the beast both are stamped with the image (i.e., character) of their respective leaders” (216). He adds that “the ‘forehead’ represents ideological commitment and the ‘hand’ the practical outworking of that commitment” (217).

Conclusion

Paul charged the Colossians: “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col 3:17). To Timothy he says that bondservants must honor their masters “so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled” (1 Tim 6:1). He also adds: “‘The Lord knows who are his,’ and ‘Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity” (2 Tim 2:19). Peter says, “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1 Pet 4:14). He then adds, “But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name” (4:15–16).

May our God help us not bear his name in vain, knowing that he “will not hold him guiltless who bears his name in vain” (Deut 5:11). With this, let us greatly hope, for having been baptized into “the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” we now enjoy the presence of the reigning Christ with us even “to the end of the age” (Matt 28:18–20). And the day is surely coming when “the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (Rev 11:15). Then, “no longer will there be anything accursed,” and the servants of God and the Lamb “will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads,” meaning that all that we ponder and perceive will testify to the centrality of God’s name in our lives. We will bear his name, and “night will be no more. [We] will need no light or lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be [our] light, and [we] will reign forever and ever,” bearing his name faithfully and not falsely for eternity (Rev 22:3–5). Come, Lord Jesus.

The post Representing God Well: Applying Commandment 2 in Deuteronomy 5:11 appeared first on Jason DeRouchie.

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CONFRONTING IDOLATRY, PART 2
Applying Commandment 1 in Deut 5:6–10
Jason S. DeRouchie (01/25/26)

This spring American Idol premieres for its 24^th season, as three music icons serve as judges in a quest for new vocal talent. TV shows rarely declare so blatantly our culture’s idolatry, but there it is in all its glitz and glamour. Certainly, one can celebrate the skill of a strong and brilliant voice without committing idolatry, but our world quickly elevates power, prestige, position, and pomp to the level of ungodly praise, making sports figures, musical artists, and Hollywood stars into true idols. We treat as gods whatever we value most, and too often we value the created over the Creator, thus minimizing our joy and moving us toward destruction. Follow along as I read Deuteronomy 5:6–10…. Pray with me….

We Become Like What We Worship

This is our second sermon that applies through Christ the first of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy 5––the prohibition against trusting, shaping, and serving false gods. A sermon fully devoted to application is not my normal practice, but the significance of God’s centrality in Deuteronomy calls for it. Deuteronomy 5:6–10 addresses proper Worldview and Worship by supplying a single main command followed by two explanatory prohibitions. Yahweh asserts in verse 6, “You shall have no other gods before me,” and then he clarifies in verses 7 and 8: “You shall not make for yourself a carved image” and “You shall not bow down to them or serve them.” A proper worldview stresses that Yahweh is the only supreme being and is, therefore, rightly, necessarily, and lovingly jealous that we worship only him and not misrepresent him or elevate rivals.

This first of the Ten Words confronts the human tendency to “exchange the glory of the immortal God for images” (Rom 1:23). When Yahweh confronts idolatry, he is speaking in love for he knows we will become like what we worship. Psalm 115:4–8 says of the nations:

Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. Those who make them become like them; so do all who trust in them.

If you go after worthlessness, you will become worthless (Jer 2:5; cf. Ezek 22:31). As said of Israel, “They went after false idols and became false” (2 Kgs 17:15). “[They] became detestable like the things they loved” (Hos 9:10). We become like what we worship. What you revere, you will resemble, whether for restoration or ruin. What do you trust, and what do you treasure? If we go after emptiness, we will become empty. Do you know what that is like––to turn from the living God’s ways and to find your soul whither? In Word One of the Ten Commandments, Yahweh is calling us away from idolatry for our good.

Last time, we considered three reasons why idolatry is attractive to our human hearts: (1) Idolatry is tangible, focusing on what we can see. (2) Idolatry is self-righteous, promoting pride. (3) Idolatry is covetous, treating gain in this life as an end. Today we are going to consider four more attractions to idolatry. Idolatry is (4) easy, (5) normal, (6) logical, and (7) sensuous.

Attraction 4: Easy––
Idolatry Is Undemanding and Convenient without Covenant Obligations

Yahweh told the exodus generation, “You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes” (Lev 18:3). In Deuteronomy, Moses clarifies that no other nation on earth had “statutes and rules so righteous” as all Yahweh’s law (Deut 4:8). By removing covenant obligations, idolatry resulted in people doing “abominable practices … for their gods” (20:18), working evil “on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree” (12:2; cf. 1 Kgs 14:23; 2 Kgs 17:10).

Idolatry is the easy way, characterized by lack of self-control and weakness rather than strength, for when temptations rise, idolatry lets us give in without a fight. Jesus notes, “The gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction,” but “the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life” (Matt 7:13–14). Idolatry’s path is simple; we worship however and whatever we want, defining for ourselves what is right and wrong, good and evil. In idolatry we do not value God as King or value his image in others.

When declaring how some “knew God” but “did not honor him as God” but “exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images” (Rom 1:21, 23), Paul notes:

They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobe-dient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (1:29–32; cf. 2 Tim 3:1–5)

Yet such actions are foolish for “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” that he is God alone (Rom 1:18).

Joshua charged, “Choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Josh 24:15). Similarly, Elijah said, “If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him” (1 Kgs 18:21). Every day we decide whether we will “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matt 6:33) or follow a different path. Guarding our hearts and our eyes for Jesus’s sake is not the easy way, for it demands that, with God’s help, we deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow him (Matt 16:24; cf. 19:26). In our interactions it means that we will emulate the one who “came not to be served but to serve” (20:26–28; cf. Phil 2:4–8).

The old covenant required that Israel destroy pagan shrines (Deut 7:5; 12:3; cf. 16:21–22) and heed the sacred calendar, including gathering three times annually for community worship at Yahweh’s central sanctuary (12:2–14; cf. 16:16). The people were to love their neighbor (Lev 19:18), execute justice for the weak (Deut 10:18–19), work for righteousness always (16:22), and aid rather than ignore a neighbor suffering loss or an accident (22:1–4). They were not their own; they had been bought with a price through the exodus.

In the new covenant, those purchased through Christ’s blood (1 Cor 6:20; 7:23; cf. 1 Pet 1:18–19) continue to maintain order in our corporate gatherings (1 Cor 14:40), and we bring holy, pleasing, and acceptable worship by continually presenting ourselves spiritually as living sacrifices. We do this by proclaiming God’s excellencies, abstaining from fleshly passions, living honorably, doing good, and sharing what we have (Rom 12:1; Heb 13:15–16; 1 Pet 2:5, 9, 11–12). In contrast to idolatry, true discipleship and faithfulness often require toil and hardship for the good others (Luke 14:26–28; 2 Cor 12:10). Yet the rewards of the hard way are great, including eternal life (Matt 16:25–27; Mark 10:29–30).

Attraction 5: Normal––
Idolatry Is the Common Way of Worldliness

In Deuteronomy, Yahweh regards idols as abominations (27:15) and counts idolaters as forgetting the covenant (4:23), acting corruptly (4:16, 25), and deserving curse (27:15). He, therefore, pleads with Israel: “You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you—for the LORD your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the LORD your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth” (6:14–15; cf. 7:4–5; 8:19–20; 11:16–17; 30:17–18; 31:18). Like today, idolatry was the normal way of life in the ancient world, and it constantly drew Israel away from the belief that Yahweh their redeemer was alone God (4:32–40). If you are ever prone to follow the crowd and give in to peer pressure, even when you know the majority is wrong, you recognize how attractive idolatry is.

Paul defines “the course of this world” when he notes: “we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Eph 2:1–3; cf. Rom 8:7; 1 Cor 2:14). When Jesus says, “The gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction,” he adds, “those who enter by it are many” (Matt 7:13–14). Indeed, “many walk as enemies of the cross of Christ” (Phil 3:18).

Throughout history, idolatry has included three common features: (1) polytheism––the embrace of many gods (2 Kgs 17:16; Zeph 1:4); (2) syncretism––the blending of worldviews (2 Kgs 17:29–33; Zeph 1:5); and (3) pantheism––the belief that nature is divine (Jer 8:2; Zeph 1:5). Yet against polytheism, Christians must affirm in word and deed “‘that an idol is nothing in the world,’ and that ‘there is no God but one’”––“one God, the Father, … and one Lord, Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 8:4, 6; cf. Deut 32:39; Isa 45:21–22). Jesus alone is “the way and the truth and the life,” and “no one comes to the Father except through [him]” (John 14:6). Contrary to syncretism, “no one can serve two masters” (Matt 6:24). Either God has declared that you have no condemnation and empowered you to live as his child, or you remain condemned and live according to the flesh as a child of the devil (John 3:18; Rom 8:13; 1 John 3:10). Moses urges, “Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them” (Deut 11:16). Paul too warns, “Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor 6:9–10). Syncretism leads to death. Finally, against pantheism, Yahweh God is eternally and wholly distinct from his creation yet sovereign over it (Gen 1:1; Isa 45:7; Heb 1:3; Acts 17:24–28), and humans uniquely bear the capacity and calling to display God’s glory as those made in his image (Gen 1:26–28; Rom 8:29; 2 Cor 3:18; Col 3:10). The idolatry that is normal for the world should not be normal for Christians. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor 5:17).

Attraction 6: Logical––
Idolatry Makes Sense within Its False Worldview

When you are sick, would you rather see a specialist or a general practitioner? Ancient peoples believed that most gods of the nations specialized in aspects of the world or nature. For example, Baal of Canaan was the young weather god (Judg 2:11, 13); Ashtoreth his consort was the mother goddess of love and fertility (2:13); Chemosh of Moab was the god of war (11:24); and Dagon of Philistia was the god of grain (16:23). Other gods controlled life, death, light, evil, water, etc. Such specialization made it logical for people to seek “expert” help rather than go to Yahweh, who had to manage all spheres of life.

Nevertheless, the Bible’s testimony is that God in Christ makes and guides all things and is the only source of lasting help. He holds life and death: “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no God beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand” (Deut 32:39). He controls all disease and disability. “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?” (Exod 4:11). He decrees every storm and natural disaster. “He makes his wind blow and the waters flow…. Fire and hail, snow and mist; stormy wind fulfilling his word!” (Ps 147:18; 148:8). As the great hymnist Isaac Watts wrote in verse 3 of “I Sing the Mighty Power of God”: “There’s not a plant or flower below but makes your glories known; and clouds arise and tempests blow by order from your throne.”

Yahweh also declares, “I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these” (Isa 45:7). God alone “changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning” (Dan 2:21). “He works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Eph 1:11), and this even includes human sins, which he permits and guides for his ultimate good ends. Of Israel’s enemies we read, “It was the LORD’s doing to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, in order that they should be devoted to destruction and should receive no mercy but be destroyed” (Josh 11:20). “The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble” (Prov 16:4). “They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do” (1 Pet 2:8). God opposes all forms of unjust killing, declaring, “You shall not murder” (Exod 20:13); nevertheless, he ordained the very death of his Son: “For truly in this city there were gathered against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan predestined to take place” (Acts 4:27–28).

In view of God’s vast and dreadful greatness, “it is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man” (Ps 118:8). As Yahweh declares, “I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior” (Isa 43:11). Yet when the bills pile up or sickness strikes or tensions rise in the relationship, we can be so prone toward idolatry, looking for help from so many other places than God. This should not be.

The news of our day urges us to heed the “experts,” who claim to know better than parents what kids need, what kids should read and be taught, and what kids should believe. I recall in our adoption journey how the “experts” declared how the process for disciplining troubled kids falls outside the guidelines given in the Bible, as if the Scriptures were written only for “stable families” with kids who never experienced trauma, loss, or pain. The “experts” of our day say all sorts of things about abortion, education, politics, gambling, sexual morality, business ethics, and the like that explicitly counter the clear teaching of God’s Word. Yet Christians are a people of the Book, guided and governed in all things by the teachings of Scripture. Let us take comfort in Jesus’s prayer for us, where he says, “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:15–17).

What must guide the church are the values and instructions in God’s unchanging Word. Yahweh sits on the throne of the universe (Deut 4:35, 39; 32:39)––a truth that should inform all our lives (5:7; 6:4–5). “You shall have no other gods before me” (Deut 5:7), for from him, through him, and to him are all things (Rom 11:36; cf. Eph 1:11). While knowing God’s eternal power and divine nature, humans quickly suppress the truth, dishonoring God, not giving him thanks, and even approving of others who turn from him (Rom 1:18–21, 32). Exchanging God’s glory for idols (1:23), they are darkened (Eph 4:17–18) and “stupid,” becoming “worthless” like what they worship (Jer 10:14–15; cf. 2 Kgs 17:15; Jer 2:5; Ps 115:8). Paul declares, “This world’s wisdom is folly with God” (1 Cor 3:19). James adds that it promotes “confusion and every base practice,” whereas God’s wisdom “is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, sincere” (Jas 3:16–17).

Those who follow “the course of this world” are “following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience” (Eph 2:2). “All that is in the world––the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life––is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:16–17). While idolatry may be logical in a world absent of the true God, may we, knowing he exists, “abhor what is evil” and “hold fast to what is good” (Rom 12:9), always placing his truth above the voice of worldly “experts.”

Attraction 7: Sensuous––
Idolatry Appeals to the Senses in Ungodly Ways

Focused on what is earthly, idolatry gratifies the physical senses and fleshly desires, working with what is sensuous and often moving into what is sensual. In Scripture, idolatrous worship included smells and visual (often pornographic) images (Ezek 8:10–12), bowing before and kissing idols (1 Kgs 19:18), cutting the body, loud cries, and weeping (1 Kgs 18:28; Ezek 8:14), heavy feasting and drunkenness (Amos 2:8; Acts 15:20–21; 21:25; 1 Cor 8:4–13), and immoral sex (see the close association in Acts 15:20; Eph 5:5; Col 3:5). Some even thought that going to the temple of the god of fertility and engaging in temple prostitution would obligate the gods to generate fertility on earth (e.g., Amos 2:7–8; Mic 1:7).

Righteous King Josiah destroyed the houses of “the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the LORD” (2 Kgs 23:7; cf. 1 Kgs 14:24; Job 36:14; Jer 5:7; Ezek 23). Such was the proper response, since Moses forbade cult prostitution (Deut 23:17) and Yahweh declares such idolatrous acts “abominations” against which he “will act in wrath” (Ezek 8:17–18; cf. Deut 6:14–15).

Sexual immorality and impurity of all sorts abound around us. Immodesty and the perversion of creation norms catch us at nearly every turn. You usually can’t watch football or go through the checkout lane without facing it. The world is filled with idolatry––different gods and alternative lords vying for our allegiance. Those who live “in the passions of the flesh” are “by nature children of wrath” (Eph 2:3; cf. 1 John 3:16). Yet God’s saving grace trains believers so that, “having denied ungodliness and worldly passions, we may live sensibly and righteously and godly in the present age” (Tit 2:12, author’s translation). May we “make no provision for the flesh” (Rom 13:14), while still celebrating God’s good gifts in their proper context and measure (1 Tim 4:4–5). May we remember that “neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men practicing homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor abusers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor 6:9–10). Then may we revel that, though “such were some of you,” “you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (6:11).

Conclusion: Flee Idolatry!

John ends his first epistle saying: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21). His conclusion to Revelation clarifies why––idolaters will end up “in the lake burning with fire and sulfur” (Rev 21:8). Idolatry is attractive because it is tangible, self-righteous, covetous, easy, normal, logical, and sensuous. Yet regarding other gods, Yahweh declares, “You shall not bow down to them or serve them” (Deut 5:9), and Jesus says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matt 6:33).Our God remains justly, necessarily, and lovingly jealous for our love, and the prohibition against idolatry remains in the new covenant because God in Christ remains the only one worthy of our worship. We must not misrepresent God or elevate rivals to him. I am praying that Sovereign Joy Baptist Church will be known as a people that flees idolatry because we value God and treasure Christ above all! God declares, “You shall have no other gods before me” (5:7), for his glory and our good. Let us pray….

The post Confronting Idolatry, Part 2: Applying Commandment 1 in Deuteronomy 5:6–10 appeared first on Jason DeRouchie.

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PURSUING A LIFE OF SIGNIFICANCE
An Advent Sermon on Luke 1:57–80
Jason S. DeRouchie, PhD (12/21/2025)

Merry Christmas! Today I bring you all “good news of great joy … for unto you [has been] born … a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10–11). On this fourth Sunday of Advent, 2025, God wants us to query about our significance as we consider John’s life in the light of our Savior. What makes a mere human life count? What makes a person consequential, special, impressive, important, or remarkable? What gives a person’s life meaning and purpose?

How desperately we grope for glory, longing to be noticed, admired, or seen, to add a line to the resumé, a medal to the trophy case, or some other recognition. Yet God measures significance in the light of not our greatness but his. The most remarkable human lives are those that magnify the magnificence of God, that value what he values and love what he loves, and that help others revel in his redeeming work climaxing in Christ. We ask today, “What made John’s life significant?”

Our passage is Luke 1:57–80, which has three parts: (1) the birth (vv. 57–58), (2) the declaration (vv. 59–79), and (3) the growth (v. 80) of John’s significant life. Biblical narratives often capture a passage’s main idea in direct speech. Zechariah and Elizabeth’s neighbors raise the question of John’s significance by asking in 1:66, “What then will this child be?” Then in the poetic prophecy of verses 68–79, Zechariah clarifies the meaning of John’s life. Follow along as I read Luke 1:57–80…. Pray with me….

The Birth of John’s Significant Life (vv. 57–58)

Mary, mother of our Lord, is no longer on the scene. She had departed in Elizabeth’s ninth month of pregnancy. Verses 57–58 open with the birth of Elizabeth’s miracle-son and with her neighbors and relatives celebrating with her. These loved ones rejoiced upon hearing “that the Lord had shown great mercy to her” (v. 58). A miracle conception in Elizabeth’s old age was not something she earned from God. This newborn was an expression of manifold divine mercy––of unmerited heavenly love … for not only Elizabeth but also the world.

The Declaration of John’s Significant Life (vv. 59–79)

In accordance with Yahweh’s instruction to Abraham (Gen 17:18), the loved ones gathered to circumcise the boy on the first day of his second week. The Jews were the only ancient people who removed the foreskin, thus distinguishing them from all non-Jews and marking every male member of the covenant community. Through this people God had promised to raise up the offspring through whom he would overcome the world’s curse with blessing. Every male’s birth included a mark on the reproductive organ, thus highlighting the hope in the coming male leader who would rise through Abraham and ultimately David.

This day also marked the time when the child would officially receive his name, often signaling the parents’ longings for the child. Against the ESV, verse 59 clarifies that the neighbors and relatives were already calling him “Zechariah after his father.” However, apparently having learned from her husband the angel Gabriel’s instruction (Luke 1:13), Elizabeth corrected the onlookers, declaring, “He shall be called John,” which means “Yahweh has given.” Yet this was against the custom, for “John” was not a family name (v. 61). So, those gathered sought direction from the boy’s father, who after nine months remained deaf and dumb, following his failure to believe the promise that his barren, aged wife would have a son. In verse 20, the angel had declared to Zechariah, “You will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place.” Now, the promised son was born, and responding to their sign language, Zechariah “asked for a writing tablet and wrote, ‘His name is John.’ And they all wondered” (v. 63). At this, this father’s mouth and tongue were opened, and “he spoke, blessing God” (v. 64).

The Question about His Significance (vv. 65–66)

The prophecy in verses 68–79 likely shapes the content of his speech, yet Luke first gives us a lens to understand the oracle. Zechariah’s earlier encounter with the angel at the temple would have caused quite a stir, especially because it resulted in the priest’s silence and in his wife’s absence from the community for five months (1:20, 24). She then arose a very pregnant woman with a clear understanding of God’s redemptive purposes climaxing in Christ (1:41–45). Now, the newborn son receives a non-family name, which frees Zechariah’s lips to proclaim praises to God. It’s no wonder that verses 65–66 declare, “And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, and all who heard them laid them up on their hearts, saying, ‘What then will this child be?’ For the hand of the Lord was with him.”

“What then will this child be?” This is a question about John’s significance. What role will he play in God’s purposes? What will mark his importance or his legacy? The Lord made numerous features related to John’s birth remarkable to motivate the onlookers and readers like you and me to query, “What makes his life significant?” What follows answers this question.

The Prophecy about His Significance (vv. 67–79)

Verse 67 opens by noting the divine origin and the nature of what Zechariah declares: “filled with the Holy Spirit” of the living God, this elderly father “prophesied.” The prophecy comes in two parts: (1) praise to God for the Savior (vv. 68–75) and (2) guidance to the son to be a pointer (vv. 76–79).

Praise to God for the Savior (vv. 68–75)

Verses 68–75 shape a single, extended sentence that declares praise and clarifies the reason for praise. “Blessed be the Lord the God of Israel” (v. 68a). In view of all that has happened, Zechariah indicates that the sovereign God of the old covenant people is one who is adorned with blessing and who is, therefore, praise worthy. Calling him “the God of Israel” situates the prophecy in the context of Old Testament hopes; the God who punished Israel in exile had promised to redeem them through the Messiah, the Christ.

Next, we get the reason for praise, which includes both the gift of the Savior (vv. 68b–71) and the motivation for the gift (vv. 72–75). The Sovereign God of Israel is worthy of praise because “he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David” (vv. 68b–69a). The old covenant prophets (v. 70) foretold that God had appointed a day of visitation both to punish rebels (Isa 29:6; Jer 10:15; Zeph 1:8, 12) and to restore a believing remnant (Zeph 2:7). Zechariah believed the latter manifestation had come (cf. Luke 1:78; 7:16; 19:44), for the miracles and utterances associated with John’s birth provided certainty that Yahweh, as if already accomplished, had “redeemed his people” (cf. Ps 111:9; 130:7; Isa 63:4) and raised up a strong Savior from David’s house.

As an image of strength, the “horn” was associated with the hope of a rising royal deliverer in David’s line. Thus, Hannah––Samuel’s mother whose song Mary had already recalled––celebrated in hope how “the LORD will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed” (2 Sam 2:10). Similarly, as if envisioning this great deliverance already accomplished, the psalmist asserted that the most foundation reason all the earth should praise the Lord is because “he has raised up a horn for his people … for the people of Israel who are near him” (Ps 148:14).

As the angel had already told Mary in 1:32, the prophets foretold how the coming Son of God would reign on David’s throne forever (2 Sam 7:12–16). And the result would be, as verse 71 says, “that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.” As noted in the prophecy of Malachi to which Gabriel had alluded nine months earlier when he approached Zechariah, Yahweh’s day of visitation would distinguish “between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him” (Mal 3:18). At that time, “all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble,” and “the day that is coming shall set them ablaze … so that it will leave them neither root nor branch” (4:1). As Malachi also says, when the messianic messenger of the covenant arrives, to whom John served as a pointer, he would operate as “a refiner’s fire and like a fuller’s soap,” both refining and purifying while also being the agent of swift judgment (3:1–5). All this clarifies why Zechariah’s prophecy stresses that the result of the Savior’s coming is “that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us” (Luke 1:71).

Sin is no light matter, and this Christmas we should remember that the sovereign Savior is also the sovereign magistrate, “the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:42). God will slay his enemies and the enemies of his people. Everyone who has not confessed with their mouths that Jesus is Lord and believed in their hearts that God raised him from the dead will experience eternal shame and suffering. Christmas brings into the world not only the Savior but also the judge, and part of the good news for the redeemed is that the enemy is overcome.

Verses 72–75 now clarify two purposes that motivated God’s action. Speaking as an Israelite to the Israelites surrounding him, Zechariah says that God raised up a Savior “to show the mercy [or steadfast love] promised to our fathers and to remember the holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.”

God’s love and promises demanded that he act in history. In the wake of the flood judgment and the scattering of the world’s families across the globe at the tower of Babel, Yahweh had set apart Abraham and his offspring to serve as the agents through whom he would overcome the world’s curse with blessing (Gen 12:3). By providing a substitute sacrifice in the place of Isaac, the Lord displayed the hope of forgiveness for his people (22:13–14). Then he promised Abraham how one of his male offspring would possess the gate of his enemies and be the agent of blessing to the nations (22:17–18). To claim enemy territory implies victory over hostility and kingdom expansion. For nations to regard themselves blessed in Jesus implies that they have become right before God with their sins forgiven and their lives now surrendered to the true King (see Mic 7:20). Thus, the hope of God’s promises to father Abraham was that a multi-ethnic community would enjoy peace and pardon and protection, all without fear (Zeph 3:11–20).

While shadows still exist, dawn has come and noon is coming. Believe today that the child-King is now reigning and one day will complete what he started. At the cross he became God’s enemy so that you and I could become his children; Jesus rose from the grave so that you and I could walk today without fear of enemies. As he declares later in this book,

Do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do…. Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are more value than many sparrows. And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before me, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God. (Luke 12:4, 6–8)

If our hope today is in Jesus, we have nothing on earth to fear, for we’ve been “delivered from the hand of our enemies” (1:74). We need not fear loss or lack, harm or hatred, failure or defeat. We should fear neither evil nor the evil one, for the child-King is greater, knows our need, and cares. However, if you have not surrendered and trusted in King Jesus, you have someone to fear. As Jesus will say, “Fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.… The one who denies me before me will be denied before the angels of God” (12:5, 9).

All this helps explain the significance of John’s life. Yet what is amazing is that all Zechariah’s praise to God relates to Jesus and not John. John’s life is like a window, designed not to be focused on but looked through to another object. His life is a sign that simply points us in the right direction. Zechariah looked beyond his son and celebrated him whose way his son would prepare. In John’s own words from another gospel, “After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me…. He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 1:30; 3:30). What makes John’s life significant is the one to whom he pointed. The measure of John’s greatness is in the attention he would draw not to himself but to Christ. What gives John’s life meaning and purpose is Jesus and Jesus alone. Luke wants us to consider this fact and its implications for our own sense of significance.

Guidance to the Son to Be a Prophetic Pointer (vv. 76–79)

Zechariah now makes this idea of John’s significance clear. He has praised God for the Savior, and now he guides his son to be a prophetic pointer. Addressing his newborn, he asserts, “You, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways” (v. 76). All the praise Zechariah declared to this point was in past time. John’s life made the coming redemption so certain that this new father could praise God as if the great salvation were already fully accomplished. But now Zechariah notes the truth that John’s role was as a pointer to the Savior who was still to come.

In 3:4, Luke says that John’s ministry fulfills Isaiah’s prophecy of “one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord.’” Yahweh had told the prophet Malachi, “I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me” (Mal 3:1). Yet in Isaiah, Malachi, and Luke’s gospel, the one who comes is Jesus, the “messenger of the covenant,” “God with us” (3:1). As already hinted at in the fact that Jesus is regarded as the “Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:32), the “Lord” whose ways John will ready is both God and Christ.

How will John prepare his ways? Verse 77 clarifies that God will use him “to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins.” Sins burden the soul. When we drink from broken cisterns, we can’t help but be unsatisfied. When we pursue emptiness, we become empty. Whether open sins or secret sins, they weigh us down and eat away at us––gnawing, hounding. We may be able to suppress the truth for a time, but the immorality, the evil, the covetousness, the malice cannot be ignored forever. So, to know that you can be truly free, fully forgiven and declared clean in Jesus should fill us with hope. John would proclaim “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (3:3), and his calling for his listeners to pass through the waters of judgment was a true signal that the new exodus was occuring and that light had dawned on a new creation. Those who are “gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless” (Rom 1:29–31)––all these, indeed, all of us can know salvation in the forgiveness of our sins. “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Later in this book, John will say, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” (Luke 3:16–17).

I hope you sense “the tender mercy of our God” in this Christmas message. Verse 78 says that it is this mercy that fueled the locomotive of God’s saving love to which John’s ministry points. Verse 72 told us that Yahweh had promised the fathers that he would one day manifest his “mercy” in space and time. Verse 58 said that in supplying elderly, barren Elizabeth with John, the Lord was displaying “great mercy.” And it is this heart of steadfast love and “mercy” that allows you and I to enjoy a “knowledge of salvation … in the forgiveness of … sins” (v. 77).

We’ve read how and why God will use John. The end of the prophecy now unpacks what God will accomplish. Zechariah declares that by “the tender mercy of our God … the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (vv. 78b–79). In the days of Moses, the prophet Balaam declared, “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel” (Num 24:17). Seven hundred years later Isaiah declared,

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined…. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end. (Isa 9:2, 6–7)

And again, “Behold, my servant, whom I uphold…. I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring … from the prison those who sit in darkness” (Isa 42:1, 6–7). Finally, in response to the exilic plea, “Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the nations” (Ps 106:47), Book 5 of the Psalter opens, “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love [or mercy] endures forever! Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands…. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and burst their bonds apart. Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love [or mercy]” (107:1–3, 14–15).

Friends, in Christ God “has visited and redeemed his people” (Luke 1:69). The sunrise that Zechariah envisioned has dawned, and today you and I can know peace with God, the forgiveness of our sins. Consider the tender mercy of God and thank him for it this Christmas.

The Growth of John’s Significant Life (v. 80)

The question the neighbors raised regarding John was, “What then will this child be?,” for it was evident the Lord’s hand was upon him (v. 66). In what was John’s significance found? What special meaning or purpose did his life have? Zechariah’s prophecy gives the answer: John’s life would be remarkable in the way it pointed to God’s tender mercy shown in Christ. God measures significance in relation to how we point to our Savior.

In a passage that opens focusing on this boy’s name, the conclusion keeps him unnamed. “And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel” (v. 80). This son would mature, and then, as a voice from the wilderness, he would prepare Israel for the coming Lord. He would point God’s people to their Savior and Judge. John’s purpose and significance would be marked by elevating the seriousness of sin and the tender mercy of the magnificent one to lead our steps in the way of peace.

Do not seek popularity and the applause or praise of men. A true legacy is a life that leads others to Jesus. Join our passage’s remarkable man in saying, “[Jesus] must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). God measures significance in the light of not our greatness but his. Our significance grows the more we point to our Savior. Pray with me….

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