Deuteronomy 8 Thanksgiving)

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Deuteronomy 8:1-20Brothers and sisters,A couple of years ago Nathalie and I had the opportunity to sit down with a lawyer andwork on our wills. Our lawyer was very helpful. For about an hour he asked us a series of questions about our property, our children, and other issues that are dealt with typically ina will.It was a very straightforward process. He asked the questions, took some notes, andfinally thanked us for our time and told us to come back in a couple of days to sign thecompleted will.So we came back later that week. Our lawyer brought us into his office and give us acopy of the will to look over while he finished some other things he had to do. Thenabout 5 or 10 minutes later he came back and asked if we had any questions.I’m really convinced that this is the favorite part of most lawyers days.I can read Hebrew, Greek, even a little bit of French—but that piece of paper sitting infront of us—not a clue.It took us about another hour to go through the document with him. And as he explainedeach part of the will it started to make sense to me. The questions that he asked us weretranslated into the legal language which made it clear exactly what we wanted.This is why a will is so important. While we are alive we have a chance to explainourselves—to clear up any misunderstandings. But when we die we don’t have thatluxury—A will takes the guess work out of what we mean.This morning we turn to Deuteronomy 8 because we have a little translation work to do.You see thanksgiving isn’t really one of our holidays. We celebrate it—we even have aspecial service for it—but we do so because we have adopted it from the outside. Withthe exception of our service, our thanksgiving looks an awful lot like everyone else’s.What we need to do this morning is look at how our thanksgiving is different. Why isthanksgiving an appropriate holiday for Christians to celebrate? How is it that when wego home and spend time with our family, eat some turkey, and maybe watch a footballgame—how is it that we are doing something unique.What does it mean for God’s people to be thankful?This morning Israel’s History helps us with our perspective. God’s people are about tofinish their journey through the desert. They are making their way through Moab aroundwhere the Jordan flows into the Dead Sea. And now god’s people are about to enter the promised land.

The book of Deuteronomy contains Moses’ last instructions for the people. He is preparing them for life in the land. The people suffered in Egypt, they suffered in thedesert, but now they were about to enter into a life of blessing and prosperity.Our text gives us a model for thanksgiving. It lets us know how we should respond whenGod has blessed us. And in our text, this morning, we are going to find three things thatmake our thanksgiving distinct from the society around us. Now these three differences come right from the text this morning. To make themmemorable I have three letters for you to remember—and they’re easy to remember because being a Christian means we’ve been given a new chance at life—C. P. R.

C

ommands

P

raise

R

emembrance

I. Verse 6 deals with the commands:Moses tells God’s people – “Observe the commands of the Lord your God.”

Now I don’t know about you but when I was a kid one of the most exciting times for mewas going shopping for the new school year. My parents would load the three of us kidsup into the back of the car and we drive for about 45 minutes into Zellers to buy clothesand new school supplies. Now while we were driving my mom would always turn around and she would tell ushow we were supposed to behave when we got to the store. It was the same speech everyyear: no running around, no yelling, no fighting, and no begging for toys or treats. Andwe had incentive because we knew if we were good we would go to McDonald’s after wewere done—and they always got us a toy at the store which they would give us when wegot home. All we had to do was follow the rules.This is exactly what Moses is describing for the people. In verses one through five Mosesis saying: Look at how god delivered you. He got you through that long ride in the desert.40 years and you ate the whole time. 40 years and you were clothed the whole time. Nowit wasn’t always easy but here you are and now you’re ready to receive your reward.Listen to the reward promised to Israel beginning in verse 7:For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with streams and poolsof water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills;

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a land with wheat and barley,vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey;

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a land where bread will not bescarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.

Now when we were kids our reward was a greasy burger covered with ketchup, a box of salt was some fries in it, and a cup of high fructose corn syrup. And some of you parentsout there think lawyers have a twisted sense of humour.Israel was about to enter the good life. They were about to receive more than what theyneeded. They were going to get everything that they wanted. Economic prosperity.Political stability. A place to call home.And Moses was telling the Israelites when you get there follow the rules—pay attentionto the commands that the Lord your God has given you. Apply the ten commandments toyour life in the promised land.It’s important for us to see that this is not the price of admission. Moses doesn’t tell theIsraelites observe the commands so that you can enter the land—he’s saying observethem because God has brought you here.Observing the commands of God is our first distinct act of thanksgiving as His people.This is what the Law was meant to be.Heidelberg Catechism A 86:

To be sure, Christ has redeemed us by his blood. But we do good because Christ by his spirit is also renewing us to be like himself, so that in all our living we may show that weare thankful to God for all he has done for us.

We don’t know what it’s like to enter the land of Canaan—but we do know what it’s liketo be delivered by God. That’s what Jesus did. He took us right from Our slavery to sinand delivered us into a new life that we can be thankful for.And Jesus himself said that he didn’t come here to get rid of the law but to make it full.To reclaim it for what it was meant for – as a means of showing our thanksgiving to God.Our first letter:

C – observe the commands of the Lord your God.

II. Our second letter:

P

– comes from verse 10

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When you have eaten and aresatisfied Praise the Lord Your God for the good land he has given you.

My friends, let’s be honest this morning—what are you thinking about—turkey! Youknow it, I know it—we have got turkey on our brains today. Some of us are Thinkingabout how good it’s going to taste—and some of us are nervous wondering whether or not it will be cooked in time for dinner. I am getting hungry just thinking about it.There is, however, an unfortunate byproduct of the turkey dinner. Leftover turkey!For the next two weeks the unfortunate remains of our beloved bird will find itself reusedand recycled in a number of ways. Turkey soup, turkey sandwiches, some people don’t

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