The Scrolls is a weekly Bible study written by pastors and other leaders at Central Bible Church, based on that week’s sermon topic. Use The Scrolls as a personal Bible study tool, for family devotions, and for small group discussions. You can read part of it below. The downloadable PDF also includes discussion questions, more in-depth commentary, end notes, and a kids’ page designed for families to study the topic together. This lesson goes with the sermon " Carbon Copy."
The covenant the Lord makes with Israel (Ex 20-24) and then renews with Israel (Ex 34)—after the golden calf debacle renders it temporarily null and void—demands single-minded obedience to its commandments. If God’s people are to enjoy the covenant’s benefits, which boil down to blessings in the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, it must be reinstituted, and they will have to obey it. Most importantly, occupation of the land seems to be contingent upon their obedience. The Lord says, “Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites” (34:11-12; cf. 23:23; 33:2). The contingency isn’t explicit, i.e., “if then . . .”, but it is implied. One commentator explains: “A requirement precedes a promise in this verse [v. 11]. The requirement is that of covenant obedience—the sine qua non of any expectation for divine blessing in the long term. ‘Obey what I command you today’ is nothing less than a demand for complete adherence to the complete Sinai covenant as it is reinstated by a merciful God on this occasion. What Moses and the Israelites would especially desire as a first sort of blessing once they reached the promised land was then added as a promise: the expulsion of the groups currently occupying the promised land, in accordance with the original covenant guarantees to Abraham” (Douglas K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2, NAC, 721).
Immediately following his opening command, “Obey what I command you today,” the Lord warns his covenant people twice to “Be careful” (vv. 12, 15)—both times in connection with making treaties or covenants with the occupants of the land. The reason behind this commandment is obvious. Such agreements would ultimately lead to fraternizing with the enemy, which would inevitably lead to idolatry (cf. 23:32-33). In the first place, accepting invitations to participate in the sacrificial meals of their gods would invite the worship of those gods. In the second, socializing around the same sacrificial meals would integrate them into pagan culture, introduce their sons to Canaanite daughters, and result in some of those sons taking Canaanite wives, which would inexorably lead to the importation of their pagan gods into Israelite households. The Lord puts it this way, “When you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same” (v. 16; cf. 1Ki 16:29-33, regarding Ahab and Jezebel). The same commentator above explains: “If the Israelites made the mistake of binding themselves n any sort of covenant with any Canaanite group, or all the Canaanite groups, they could expect the natural consequence: a comfortable social and political interaction followed by a comfortable willingness to consider the validity and efficacy of the Canaanite lifestyle, including its worship practices, followed by an embracing of Canaanite religion” (724-25). Personal relationships have the power to transform lives—for good and for evil. To live in the world without becoming like the world requires a single-minded focus on obeying God’s commandments.
The New Testament echoes the same “obedience” theme but not with regard to obeying the covenant of Moses, rather with regard to obeying the commandments of Christ (Mt 28:20) and the words of the apostles (Ac 16:4). In fact, the same words, “Be careful,” appear eleven times in the NIV. Here are a few examples from Paul’s letters: “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone” (Ro 12:17); “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak” (1Co 8:9); “So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1Co 10:12); “This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good” (Tit 3:8).
Central Message of the Text
Just as the Israelites must resist conforming to the lifestyle of the Canaanites through obedience to the Old Covenant, so also must Christians resist conforming to the lifestyle of the world through obedience to the New Covenant.
Family Talk
There’s something special about reading aloud to your kids. I can’t tell you how many countless hours our family gathered together to read book after book. When the kids were little, we had several family favorites, one of which was Todd Parr’s Do’s and Don’ts. We read that book at least a million times a day and my kids always cracked up at the author’s outlandish suggestions. In the early years my parenting seemed to be filled with lots of don’ts, “Don’t… Stop… Quit…” My kids would stop misbehaving or doing whatever I told them not to do, only to go right back to the poor behavior after just a few minutes. Someone shared a discipline hack along the lines of this little book that helped a ton: instead of telling the kids only what they couldn’t do, the don’t, help them understand what they could do instead. When the kids were running around like wild hyenas (every day, all day), I shouldn’t just scream at them to stop running, but help them to understand the behavior I actually expected. For example, “You can run outside after lunch. Inside, we walk.” Ohhhh. Telling a child what they can’t do doesn’t really help them understand what they can do. I see this fabulous parenting skill in our passage today. God told His children, the Israelites, what not to do, while at the same time letting them know His expectations, what they should do. Well, that’s helpful! See, friends. The Bible truly is our parenting manual! This week, take God’s lead and help your kids understand what they can do. After all, God is the perfect Father.