Read This Law Deut. 31:11-13 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
In Deut 31:11-13 Moses commanded the priests to read this law every seven years when all the people were gathered together at the feast of tabernacles. He was referring to the exact words that were given to him by the Lord which he wrote down in a book and gave to the Levites. Then he said that every man, woman and child was to hear it, learn it, fear the Lord and observe to do it. Today we are going to spiritually apply what Moses commanded the priests to preachers and churches. In our churches we are to:
Read this law that they may hear – first of all notice that the Lord told them to read THIS law. He was talking about the specific words of God not some man-made compilation of His words with changes, additions, subtractions and deletions like you find in modern Bibles. He wasn’t talking about some traditions of men based in part on something God had written. He was talking about God’s words. I can assure you, without reservation, that you will find God’s words today in the King James Bible. And when God’s people gather together, these are the words that they should hear. When I began to read and believe this Bible, I left the church I was attending and found a church that believed the words of God. Men, women and children cannot grow without hearing these words. You don’t need to hear man’s opinions about these words. You don’t need hear psychology cleverly disguised as if it had come from the Bible. You don’t need to hear religious tradition with a little Bible thrown in. You need to hear God’s words.
Read this law that they may learn – they need to hear God’s words so that they can learn them. People attending Sunday school classes that are taught based on a Sunday school quarterly are generally very weak when it comes to the Bible. They learn stories and they learn concepts, but they don’t learn the words of God. People attending Sunday school classes where everyone “shares” their views are starving to spiritual death for the lack of learning the words of God. People attending Sunday school classes where a book by a Best-selling Christian author is taught may learn a lot about what the author of the book believes but they know very little about what the author of the Bible said. You need to learn the words of God. And the only textbook you need for that is the King James Bible!!
Read this law that they may fear – you won’t really start growing on what you hear and what you learn until you fear the Lord. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Hearing the words of God and learning the words of God should cause you to fear the Lord [Prov 2:1-5]. When Israel heard God speak from Mount Sinai they trembled in fear. So did Moses [Heb 12:20-21]. Even Jesus feared God and learned [Heb 5:7-9]. The fear of the Lord is the greatest thing missing in so-called Christian churches today. The Bible isn’t being read. The words of God are not being heard. People aren’t learning what God said and so there is no fear of God before their eyes. You must fear the Lord.
Read this law that they may observe – the whole idea of reading, hearing, learning and fearing is that the words of God will change your life continually and completely. We are to be doers of the word and not hearers only. Israel quit reading, hearing and learning the words of God [2 Chr 34:14-21] and, thus, they quit following what God told them to do. They turned to idolatry and, as a result, they ended up in captivity. Today, so many Christians have turned away from the words of God to spiritual idolatry and now they are held captive by the devil [2 Tim 2:25-26] and by their own sins [Prov 5:22]. You need to observe to do all that the Bible tells you to do.
Note: we are to read this law when the people are gathered together [Deut 31:11]. In other words, the Bible, the word of God written in a book, is our text for everything we teach and preach. Today many church members are starving to death for the lack of hearing and learning the words of God. It appears that preachers are not studying or they are not getting their sermons from the words of God. And so the folks are not learning His words. Furthermore, we are to read this law so that the children can hear it, learn it and fear the Lord [Deut 31:13]. Today in children’s programs like Sunday school and Vacation Bible School there is very little Bible being read and taught. Children need the same Bible that you are getting, albeit they need the Bible taught at their level. Children don’t need to be entertained, though learning should be fun. They need Bible if they are ever going to grow up in the fear of the Lord.
Conclusion: Many people gather in churches to practice their religion, to socialize with their friends, to fulfill their weekly obligation and to ease their conscience. I have done all of these. Not many go to hear the words of God and to learn the words of God and to fear the Lord God and to observe to do all that the words of God tell them to do. If you are not in a Bible believing, Bible reading, Bible preaching, Bible teaching church you need to find one and you need to regularly gather together with the people of God to hear, learn and observe to do all that the words of God show you to do in the fear of the Lord. You are welcome to come to our church where you will definitely hear the words of God every time we meet.