Dt 1:1-18 "Covenant Elders"

1:1-4 Moses as Covenant Mediator

1:9-18 Elders/Judges as God's leaders

We now move 40 years past Sinai.

Moses is about to die.

But before he dies there are certain things that he wants Israel to remember.

So Moses reminds them of what God has done for them.

And what God has said to them.

The book of Deuteronomy consists of three sermons

which Moses gave to the children of Israel on the plains of Moab before his death,

as they were about to enter the Promised Land.

And right up front, in the first sermon of Deuteronomy,

Moses reminds us of the importance of who leads you.

While Moses speaks of many issues in Deuteronomy,

one of the primary concerns he has

is to ensure that the coming generations will have godly leadership.

Therefore the book begins with his reminder to the Israelites of what happened

when they listened to the wrong leaders;

and it concludes with the transfer of authority from Moses to Joshua,

the one who will be a godly leader. (Cf Dt 1:38 with Dt 31)

Deuteronomy is, in many respects, the foundation of the Old Testament.

The historical books constantly refer back

to the promised blessings and curses of Dt.

The Psalms constantly echo the themes which Dt raises

The Prophets remind the people how they have failed

to keep the law revealed in Dt

But not only that, Deuteronomy is also quoted in the NT more than 50 times,

and alluded to hundreds of times.

Only Psalms and Isaiah are quoted more often.

Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy three times

when he rebukes the Devil during the temptations in the wilderness

In a quick survey, I counted at least twelve quotations and allusions to Deuteronomy

in the Book of Hebrews,

and at least twenty in Romans.

So our Lord and the Apostles certainly thought

that understanding Deuteronomy was important.

What is Deuteronomy about?

To put it simply: Deuteronomy was preached by Moses

to the Israelites in the wilderness.

These people were uncertain of their future.

Forty years before, their parents had been brought out of Egypt.

Some of them had been children during the Exodus,

and would have remembered the mighty acts of God;

but most had been born in the wilderness,

and weren't sure that God would bring them safely into the Promised Land.

So Moses calls them together and preaches these three sermons.

They rehearse God's saving acts in history,

remind the people of God's covenant,

of his promises,

and of his law.

They call the Israelites to a life of repentance, obedience, and love.

[OT narrative-placing ourselves in the story; reading the Word/preaching the Word as remembering]

But the continual theme running through these sermons is God's covenant.

What is a covenant?

A covenant, in the Old Testament

--and throughout the ancient world

--was an agreement between two unequal parties.

Often these covenants were made after a war,

when the victorious king would impose his terms

on the people he had conquered.

The covenant would be ratified by sacrifices

--by the shedding of blood.

This is why O. Palmer Robertson defines a covenant as

"a bond in blood, sovereignly administered."

The Great King is the one who determines what the covenant is.

God is the sovereign who proclaims his covenant to his people.

He is the one who determines what we must do and how we must live.

He is the one who declares the blessings he will give to those who keep his covenant,

and the curses he will give to those who break his covenant.

In fact, the whole book of Deuteronomy is shaped like an ancient covenant.

1) Preamble identifying the King or Covenant mediator--Moses (1:1-5)

2) Historical Prologue where the Great King sets forth what he has done for the people,

despite their unworthiness (1-4)

3) Stipulations setting forth how the Great King expects his people to live (5-26)

4) Declaration of sanctions: blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience (27-30)

5) How the covenant is to be maintained after the death of the king or mediator (31-34)

There are numerous treaties and covenants from the ancient Near East

which have this sort of structure.

God uses language that his people can understand

--the language of a covenant.

But even more deeply, covenant is the expression of the relationship between Father and Son.

Genesis 1-2, Genesis 5-6, Exodus 4.

But while Adam, Noah, Abraham and Israel are portrayed as sons,

Moses is not.

Moses is a covenant mediator, but the covenant is not made with him.

Moses is the one who proclaims the covenant law of God to the people.

But Moses was insufficient (v9-12).

He himself recognized that he could not bear the weight of God's people alone,

And so he appointed rulers and judges--elders for Israel.

The full story is told in Exodus 18:11-27

Ultimately,

Moses points us to Christ.

Jesus Christ is the covenant mediator who CAN bear our problems and our burdens.

Moses was a faithful servant in the house.

But Christ is the faithful Son over the house.

Just as Moses was the one who spoke the Word of God to God's people in the wilderness,

so now Christ has come as the Final Word of God to his people;

Jesus, through his own blood--the blood of the covenant--

has redeemed us and called us to himself.

He is the Great King who has sovereignly established his covenant with us.

He has called us to be his people,

and given us stipulations as to how we should live,

and given us promises of blessing to those who walk in him

and given us warnings of judgment to those who rebel against him.

And just as Moses appointed elders & judges over the assembly--or church--in the wilderness

Christ has appointed elders and judges over his Church,

who are to rule by his authority and in his name, until he returns.

Jesus said to his apostles, "all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,

Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

This is why it is such an awesome task.

This is why no one should enter it lightly.

Because it is Christ's authority that is exercised,

and he will not be pleased if his elders use his authority for their own purposes.

In verses 13-14 we are told ...

Moses told the people to choose "wise, understanding, and experienced men."

from among them, and he would appoint them as rulers or heads over the people.

The people were to nominate men,

but the final authority of appointment was given to Moses

(who had been ordained directly by God at the burning bush).

In Exodus we are told of their qualifications:

"able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating coveteousness."

(NOTE that Exodus 4:29 indicates that there were already elders)

So how do these judges relate to the already existing elders?

The term "elders" in Exodus 4 refers to those who by age and position in their families,

functioned as tribal elders.

In the tribal system of Israel,

each family would have its "head" who spoke for the family in the council.

This was not an elected office,

but a position one attained by virtue of seniority and inheritance.

But these tribal elders had no religious authority.

They were tribal elders-not covenant elders.

In Exodus 18 we discover that Moses was the only judge in Israel.

He spent his whole day deciding cases between man and man.

And his father-in-law asked him why he did this.

Moses said: "Because the people come to me to inquire of God;

when they have a dispute, they come to me

and I decide between one person and another,

and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws."

Then his father-in-law urged him to appoint elders or judges

to take care of the routine cases.

Why weren't the people going to the tribal elders?

Because they knew that they could not inquire of God from the tribal elders.

The tribal elders did not have authority from God

to determine and declare the will of God.

Moses was going to die someday.

How would the covenant be sustained when Moses was gone?

They needed covenant elders

-elders who had God-given authority to determine and declare the will of God.

Now, is it likely that many of the tribal elders became covenant elders?

Sure. The tribal elders were likely the wisest and most experienced men

in the community (v15-so I took the heads of your tribes...).

BUT, it is important to see that Scripture does not equate tribal elders

with covenant elders.

Christ is our covenant mediator who rules over his church.

And he promises that he will in fact be with his elders (Mt 28).

Unlike Moses, Christ will never leave his people,

but like Moses, Christ also has called elders to exercise his authority.

And the NT confirms that covenant elders still must be chosen by the people,

and appointed (or ordained) by those who themselves are already covenant elders

At their "installation" (in Dt 1:16-18) Moses gave a charge to these men.

They are not to show partiality, because the judgment is GOD'S.

It is not their own word which they proclaim,

it is not their own law which they administer,

but God's.

Covenant elders do not exercise their own authority,

They exercise the authority of God himself.

God gives his own authority to the elders and judges of Israel

so that there might be justice and holiness among the people.

It is interesting how similar the qualifications in Exodus and Deuteronomy are

to those which Paul gives Titus in Titus 1:5-9:

"For this reason I left you in Crete,

that you should set in order the things that are lacking,

and appoint elders in every city as I commanded you

--if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife,

having faithful children not accused of dissipation or insubordination. For a bishop must be blameless,

as a steward of God,

not self-willed,

not quick-tempered,

not given to wine,

not violent,

not greedy for money,

but hospitable,

a lover of what is good,

sober-minded,

just,

holy,

self-controlled,

holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught,

that he may be able, by sound doctrine,

both to exhort and convict those who contradict."

Those who rule and govern in the church must be godly men.

They are called to lead the people.

They are called to make decisions as God's judges,

as the stewards of Christ.

A steward is one who rules the house while the Master is gone.

He is in charge, and has the full authority of the Master.

Of course, the Master has the final say,

but until the Master comes home,

the steward must rule.

This is why Jesus tells the apostles (and through them, the elders of the church today):

"Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,

And whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Mt 18:18).

This is in the context of church discipline.

The decision of the elders on earth is considered binding in heaven.

Because the elders do not operate on their own authority,

They exercise the authority of Christ.

The judgment is God's.

I can already hear some of you saying, but what if the elders are wrong!!!!????

We will look at that in more detail next time.

But for now, let me just say that if the elders are wrong, then it needs to be reversed.

Let me take an example from another situation:

A friend of mine was in a non-Reformed church.

He was excommunicated for studying Reformed theology.

He then came to a PCA church.

But he was excommunicated-so he could not partake of the Lord's Supper!

Should they just say-oh, who cares about that censure?!

No. Christ did not give authority to his elders for nothing.

The proper approach is for the session to contact the elders of the other church,

ascertain the issues, and if the excommunication was unwarranted,

then the session should formally proclaim the censure lifted.

If we wish to uphold the exercise of church discipline,

then we must respect the discipline of other churches.

We will look more at this matter next time-when we look at the failure of Israel's leaders.

But today we are looking at how God has set up the leadership of the church.

God sets up a series of commanders,

so that small cases can be decided at the local level,

harder cases at the intermediate levels,

and only the most difficult cases are brought to Moses himself.

In Exodus 22:28-as God speaks the Book of the Covenant to Moses,

he says, "You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people."

Why is cursing a ruler of your people placed next to reviling God?

Because the elders of the church exercise the authority of God.

They are his representatives.

To speak evil of those whom God has set over his church,

is, in the end, to speak evil of God himself.

Paul cites this in Acts 23:5 when speaking to Ananias the High Priest.

Paul may be using it in a somewhat sarcastic fashion,

but he affirms the principle.

Be very careful of how you speak of your elders.

If they are wrong, there is a proper way to correct them-through the session.

I am not just talking about complaining to an elder.

If an elder is guilty of serious sin,

and he refuses to listen to your respectful claims,

and he refuses to listen to you when you bring witnesses,

then you must take the matter to the whole session

(which of course requires two or three witnesses-1 Timothy 5).

Now, if you are convinced that the session has erred,

and the session refuses to hear you,

then you may appeal their decision to the presbytery.

I pray that none of you will ever have to go through this.

It can be a very painful process

-but the goal of the process is the peace and purity of the church.

The alternatives are far more painful-and far more destructive.

You can shut up and watch sin destroy both yourself and the church;

Or you can "curse a ruler of your people" to your neighbors,

and watch sin destroy both yourself and the church.

In the end, the patient and faithful observance of Matthew 18

is the only way to preserve both the peace and the purity of the church.

Repentance and forgiveness is the only way that the church can live in this world.

As you consider whom to nominate as covenant elders,

look for wise, understanding and experienced men.

Look for men who will exercise the authority of God over you.

This is why Paul urges us to examine how they rule their households.

How does he handle covenantal obligations in other areas.

If he is married, how does he treat his wife and children?

But a single man is not to be overlooked.

Remember that the household includes economic life as well.

You are not to be overly impressed with economic success

(the bane of many Pbn churches).

How does he treat those who work under his authority?

How does he treat those he works for and with?

Does he reflect the mind of Christ in a Philippians 2 way?

Does he lay down his life for those under his care?

And is he respectful of those who were elders before him?

A man who curses elders is not ready to be an elder himself.

Is he blameless?

Because an elder must be blameless.

He must be above reproach.

Any of you can meet this qualification.

Blameless, or above reproach, does not mean sinless.

It means that no one can hold anything against you.

How do you achieve this?

If you have sinned, then you must repent.

You must ask forgiveness of both God and man.

The one who is forgiven is blameless.

Does anyone have a right to point their finger at you and say,

"He has not repented of what he did to me"

or "He has not repented of what he said to me"?

If so, make it right.

At some point the session will announce a list of nominees.

If you know of anything against one of those men,

then you will need to make sure that it is dealt with.

Sometimes we do not even know how we have offended others.

Therefore, if you have something against one of the nominees,

then you will need to go to him and, in love, show him his fault.

(And since all Christians should desire to be blameless-you should do it with anyone!)

And remember, when you go-go with the humility of Christ.

Go with the goal of reconciliation and restoration.

Go with an eager desire to forgive.

But also go with a clear statement of precisely how they sinned.

Be direct: "I believe that on this day you sinned by doing X, or saying Z.

This is contrary to the Word of God in this particular way..."

I'll never forget the day that a man came up to me and said,

"Pastor, I've never attempted to rebuke a pastor before,

but you were wrong to say X"

It was that day that I knew that man was ready to be an elder.

He both gave correction gently,

and took correction patiently.

Such a man has learned wisdom.

As you nominate and elect elders-look for such men.