Lesson Outline 17: “Beware Lest Thou Forget”

Lesson 17: “Beware Lest Thou Forget”, Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, 77

1. Introduction

a) Moses and the children of Israel are camped on the plains of Moab, just across the Jordan River from the Promised Land of Canaan

b) Moses knows that he will not enter the Promised Land

c) Moses is 120 years old

i) 40 years in Egypt

ii) 40 years in Midian where he fled and married one of Jethro's daughters before returning to Egypt

iii) 40 years in the wilderness leading the children of Egypt

d) Studying Deuteronomy Today

i) Origin of the name Deuteronomy - Latin deuteronomium, from Greek deuteronomion, a second law (deuteros, second + nomos, law), Septuagint mistranslation of Hebrew mišnê hattôrâ hazzō't, a copy of this law) - a second statement of Mosaic law

e) In Deuteronomy, we read Moses' last words to the Children of Israel

i) Reminiscent in some ways of the great sermon of King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon.

ii) Reading 1 - "Moses speaks like a dying father to his children. The words are earnest, inspired, impressive. He looks back over the whole of the forty years of their wandering in the desert, reminds the people of all the blessings they have received, of the ingratitude with which they have so often repaid them, and of the judgments of God, and the love that continually broke forth behind them; he explains the laws again and again, and adds what is necessary to complete them, and is never weary of urging obedience to them in the warmest and most emphatic words, because the very life of the nation was bound up with this; he surveys all the storms and conflicts which they have passed through, and, beholding the future in the past, takes a survey also of the future history of the nation, and sees, with mingled sorrow and joy, how the three great features of the past--viz. apostasy, punishment, and pardon--continue to repeat themselves in the future also." (Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary quoted in a previous Old Testament Student Manual, p216)

f) Most of Deuteronomy consists of three great sermons or discourses

i) Restate the laws and commandments of the Lord

(1) In some cases, prophetic modifications are made to earlier statements

(a) Example – Reason for the Fourth Commandment to Keep the Sabbath Day holy

(i) Exodus 20:11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

(ii) Deuteronomy 5:15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

g) Great Themes of Moses' Sermons

i)

Remember Your Covenants

ii) Obey God's Commandments and Remember Him

iii) The Lord is the Rock of our Salvation

2. Moses gives instructions to the Israelites to help them remember their covenants.

a) Reading 2 – Deuteronomy 6:1-9

1 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:

2 That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.

3 ¶ Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:

5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

i) Verse 1 - these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you

ii) Verse 2 - That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God

(1) Respect and remember God

iii) Verse 2 - keep all his statutes and his commandments

iv) Verse 2 - thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life

(1) Eternal laws and commandments for the children of Israel for all time

v) Verse 3 - Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it

vi) Verse 3 - that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily

(1) There are blessings associated with these laws

vii) Verse 4 - Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord

(1) This is the beginning of the Shema, or Jewish daily prayer, consists of passages from Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11:13-21, and Numbers 15:37-41

(a) Recited by all observant Jews morning and evening

(b) Daily prayer is one way for Israel and for us to remember our God and our Covenants

viii) Verse 5 - thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might

(1) Place the Lord first

(2) Give Him all our heart, soul and might

(3) READ Doctrine and Covenants 59:5 - Wherefore, I give unto them a commandment, saying thus: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind, and strength; and in the name of Jesus Christ thou shalt serve him.

ix) Verse 6 - these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart

x) Verse 7 - thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children

xi) Verse 7 – [and thou] shalt talk of them [the words and commandments] when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up

(1) When though liest down and when thou risest up – origin of the Shema – Jewish morning and evening prayer

(2) The same counsel we are given today for morning and evening prayer

(3) All of these things help the children of Israel and us to remember the Lord and His Commandments

xii) Verse 8 - thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes

(1) Discuss the Tefillin

(2) We are to bind the words of God to ourselves

(3) King Benjamin, speaking of the scriptures, taught that it was important for us to "have his commandments always before our eyes" (Mosiah 1:5)

xiii) Verse 9 - thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates

(1) Discuss the Mezuzah

(2) Reading 3 – President Ezra Taft Benson said: ". . . men captained by Christ will be consumed in Christ . . . . Enter their homes, and the pictures on their walls, the books on their shelves, the music in the air, their words and acts reveal them as Christians" (Ezra Taft Benson, "Born of God," Ensign, Nov. 1985, 6,7).

(3) Reading 4 – President Howard W. Hunter said - "Let us be a temple-attending people. Attend the temple as frequently as personal circumstances allow. Keep a picture of a temple in your home that your children may see it" (Howard W. Hunter, "Exceeding Great and Precious Promises," Ensign, Nov. 1994, 8).

b) Compare Ourselves with Children of Israel – Ways of Remembering

i) Daily Prayer

(1) Shema – morning and evening

(2) We are counseled to have daily prayer, including prayer morning and evening

ii) Daily Remembering and Studying Scriptures

(1) Tefillin

(2) Daily scripture study

iii) Weekly

(1) Jewish Sabbath

(a) Friday at sundown until Saturday at sundown

(b) Attendance at synagogue on Friday

(2) Our Sabbath

(a) Every Sunday we attend church and take the sacrament

(b) Reading 5 – Then-Elder Spencer W. Kimball taught: "When you look in the dictionary for the most important word, do you know what it is? It could be "remember." Because all of you have made covenants--you know what to do and you know how to do it--our greatest need is to remember. That is why everyone goes to sacrament meeting every Sabbath day--to take the sacrament and listen to the priests pray "that they may always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them." Nobody should ever forget to go to sacrament meeting. Remember is the word. Remember is the program." (Elder Spencer W. Kimball, Charge to Religious Educators, pp. 9-12).

iv) At Various Times During the Year

(1) Moses commanded the Jews to have three great religious celebrations each year

(a) The Passover, with its accompanying feast of unleavened bread, specifically commemorated the great deliverance of Israel out of Egypt. It was to be held in the first month of spring.

(b) The feast of Weeks was held seven weeks after the end of Passover (Deut. 16:9-12). It was also called the "feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labors" (Exodus 23:16) Also called Pentecost. Timed to coincide with the first harvest each year.

(c) At the end of the harvest season, Israel was to hold their third and final annual spiritual celebration, the feast of Tabernacles (Deut. 16:13-15)

(2) Our Celebrations

(a) ASK – What happens on the first weekend in April?

(i) General Conference

(ii) Often occurs at Passover or Easter

(iii) Helps us remember Christ and His Atonement

(b) ASK – What happens the first weekend in October?

(i) Coincides with the harvest season or feast of Tabernacles

v) Just like the children of Israel, all of these things help us to remember the Lord, His commandments and His Atonement.

vi) ASK – How well do we remember our covenants?

(1) The most important covenants we make on this earth are those we make in the temple, principally when we are endowed and sealed.

(2) We do not speak in any detail about these covenants outside the temple, but we make five covenants and receive one charge or solemn instruction during the endowment.

(3) ASK – How many of us remember what these covenants are?

vii) In many different ways, the Lord was establishing religious and cultural practices among the children of Israel that would separate them from the world, mark them as different, protect them from taking up the practices of the idolatrous people who would surround them.

3.


Moses counsels the Israelites to obey God’s commandments and remember Him.

a) Reading 6: Deuteronomy 8:7-20

7 For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills;

8 A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey;

9 A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.

10 When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.

11 Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:

12 Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;

13 And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;

14 Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;

15 Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;

16 Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end;

17 And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.

18 But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

19 And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.

20 As the nations which the Lord destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God.

i) Moses is speaking of the Promised Land into which the children of Israel will shortly enter.

ii) Verse 7 - For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land

iii) Verse 10 - When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee

iv) Verse 11 - Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day

v) Verse 14 - Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God

vi) Verse 17 - And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth

vii) Verse 18 - But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day

viii) Verse 19 - if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish

ix) Verse 20 - As the nations which the Lord destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the Lord your God

b) These dangers, the dangers of prosperity, are those which many prophets have warned are the greatest dangers for Latter-day Saints in our day.

i) READ - President Brigham Young said: “The worst fear that I have about [members of this Church] is that they will get rich in this country, forget God and his people, wax fat, and kick themselves out of the Church and go to hell. This people will stand mobbing, robbing, poverty, and all manner of persecution, and be true. But my greater fear for them is that they cannot stand wealth; and yet they have to be tried with riches, for they will become the richest people on this earth” (in Preston Nibley, Brigham Young: The Man and His Work [1936], 128).

ii) Reading 7 – Doctrine and Covenants 59:21

21 And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments.

4. Moses counsels the Israelites to be mindful of the Rock of their salvation

a) Deuteronomy 32 is part of the Song of Moses

b) Reading 8 – Deuteronomy 32:1-4, 30-31

1 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:

3 Because I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.

4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

SKIP

30 How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up?

31 For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.

i) Verse 3 - I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.

(1) One of the names of Jehovah and Jesus Christ is the Rock or the Rock of Our salvation

ii) Verse 4 - He is the Rock

(1) The wise man builds his house upon a rock – Matthew 7:24

iii) Verse 4 - his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he

iv) Verse 31 - For their rock is not as our Rock,

v) Verse 31 - even our enemies themselves being judges.

(1) Israel had already fought enemies who worshipped false gods, e.g. Balak and the Moabites, who worshipped Ba'al, and even Israel's enemies could testify that Jehovah had power and their false gods did not.

c) READ – 2 Nephi 9:45 - O, my beloved brethren, turn away from your sins; shake off the chains of him that would bind you fast; come unto that God who is the rock of your salvation.

d) READ – Doctrine and Covenants 50:44 - 44 Wherefore, I am in your midst, and I am the good shepherd, and the stone of Israel. He that buildeth upon this rock shall never fall.

5. Conclusion

a) READ – Deuteronomy 30:19-20

19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

20 That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

b) READ – Deuteronomy 32:46-47 – Moses' very last words to the children of Israel

46 And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.

47 For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

c) READ – 2 Nephi 2:27-28 – Lehi speaking to his sons shortly before he dies

27 Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.

28 And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit;

6. END