In today’s Scripture reading we will see an emphasis on the importance of obeying Yahweh since He is God and there is no other. This statement about Yahweh being the only God corrects a false understanding that is very common in today’s world.
When we stopped reading yesterday, Moses was stressing to Israel the importance of obeying Yahweh. Moses had just reminded Israel that Yahweh is a consuming fire, a jealous God; therefore, He needs to be obeyed.
Deut. 4:25 ¶ “When you become the father of children and children’s children and remain long in the land and act corruptly and make a graven image in the form of anything and do that which is evil in the sight of Yahweh your God so as to provoke Him to anger,
Look at the words “evil”, “provoke”, and “anger”. Doing evil provokes Yahweh to anger.
Deut. 4:26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will surely perish quickly from the land where you are going over the Jordan to possess it. You shall not prolong your days on it, but will be utterly destroyed.
Yahweh had promised to give the land of Canaan to Israel. However, it was somewhat of a conditional promise. If Israel did not obey, they would not last in the land.
Deut. 4:27 And Yahweh will scatter you among the peoples, and you will remain few in number among the nations where Yahweh drives you.
Unfortunately, Israel did not obey Yahweh, and they were scattered among the peoples. That is recorded in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles.
Deut. 4:28 And there you will serve gods, the work of man’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell.
Deut. 4:29 But from there you will seek Yahweh your God, and you will find Him, for you will search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.
Moses predicted that after Israel had been scattered, they would seek Yahweh.
Deut. 4:30 When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the last days you will return to Yahweh your God and listen to His voice.
Deut. 4:31 For Yahweh your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them.
Notice the word “compassionate”. While Yahweh is a jealous, consuming fire, He is also compassionate. Yahweh made a promise to give the land of Canaan to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and He will fulfill that promise. However, notice that Yahweh’s compassion came after Israel sought Yahweh. Ultimately, Israel will possess the land because they will follow Yahweh.
Deut. 4:32 ¶ “Indeed, ask now concerning the former days which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and inquire from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything been done like this great thing, or has anything been heard like it?
Deut. 4:33 Has any people heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard it, and lived?
Deut. 4:34 Or has a god tried to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation with trials, with signs and wonders and with war and with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with great terrors, as Yahweh your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
Deut. 4:35 To you it was shown that you might know that Yahweh, He is God; there is no other besides Him.
Take note of the phrase “there is no other besides Him”.
Here is a story to illustrate a belief that is common in today’s world.
Marcus believed with quiet certainty that every religion is valid and equal. He said it often, usually with a calm smile that made disagreement feel impolite. “We’re all climbing the same mountain,” he liked to explain at dinner parties and book clubs. “We are on different trails to the same summit. Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Christians, and atheists are all seeking meaning. Each path is true for the one who walks it.”
He lived the idea carefully. On Sundays he sometimes attended a progressive church, on Fridays he joined a local interfaith meditation group, and on random weekdays he read passages from the Quran, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Tao Te Ching with equal reverence. He kept a small shelf of sacred texts arranged side by side, none higher than the others. When friends argued about doctrine, Marcus would raise both hands and say, “Truth is bigger than any single book. Who are we to rank them?”
His neighbors respected him for it. The interfaith council even asked him to speak at their annual gathering. Standing at the podium beneath strings of paper lanterns, Marcus told the mixed crowd that exclusivity was the real danger. “Claiming one way is the only way divides us,” he said. “But if we accept that every sincere faith is equally valid, we find peace.” Applause followed. People shook his hand afterward and called him wise.
The common belief in our world today is that all religions are valid and equal. Most people reject the idea that Christianity is true while all other religions are false.
However, Moses stated very clearly that Yahweh is God, there is no other. Yahweh is the only God. All other so-called gods are false gods. Christians must not cave in to the culture on this. We must not compromise on the truth that the God of the Bible is the One and only God.
Deut. 4:36 Out of the heavens He caused you to hear His voice to discipline you; and on earth He caused you to see His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire.
Deut. 4:37 Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their seed after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power,
Deut. 4:38 dispossessing before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in and to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is today.
Deut. 4:39 Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that Yahweh, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.
Once again we see the statement that Yahweh is God and there is no other god.
Deut. 4:40 So you shall keep His statutes and His commandments which I am commanding you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days on the land which Yahweh your God is giving you for all the days.”
Verse 40 is a promise that Israel would prosper in the land if they obeyed Yahweh. This promise was given only to Israel. It does not apply to the church. This verse should not be used to teach a health and wealth prosperity gospel in the 21st century.
The conventional wisdom in the West today is that all religions are valid and equal. However, the Bible is clear that Yahweh is the only God and all other gods are false gods. Christians must not compromise on this truth. The God of the Bible is the One and only true God.
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”