Deuteronomy 27:8 “And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.”
There is a story told of a man who went on a journey The trail he took was very bad. As he came to a place to rest a moment, an old man going the other way said unto him, “Take trail is bad.” “That, my good man is obvious!” said the man on his journey. There was a particularly bad section of road going down a steep incline. Another person called out, “Be careful for it is dangerous!” The man on the journey thought to himself, ‘That is obvious!’ Just as he made it to the bottom the trail went around the corner. The man who journeyed had a large backpack and the trail was narrow. “Be careful!” called an old woman. The man who journeyed shook his head. These people were telling him something that he could see for himself. Why did they bother?
Just as he was going around the sharp corner in the narrow trail, his backpack shifted and his foot slipped. Over the edge he went, breaking his leg. The old woman saw it and called for help to get the man back on the trail. One of the old men that had spoken to him came to help her. He said, “I told you to be careful!” he said.
The man who journeyed said, “Thank you, Captain Obvious!” To him the warnings had seemed to be plain, yet since he didn’t take extra precautions when he was warned, he fell damaging his leg.
The term Captain Obvious seems to have been invented in the 1990’s. What is the Captain obvious mascot? In February 2014, the actor Brandon Moynihan, the Captain made his debut, giving us a personage to see and laugh at.
As I read the scripture for our text I find a message hidden there. People do not truly understand truth or heed warnings. Moses is almost done with his life. He is telling the new generation of Israel what was taught to the older generation that had perished in the wilderness. He wanted to make sure they understood for there was only three of the last generation still alive. Moses would soon be gone. Joshua and Caleb would lead Israel into the promised land. Moses, as instructed by God, covered the laws from Exodus and Leviticus so they would be fresh on the minds of this generation that was now going to enter the Promised Land.
Moses was telling the new generation about the conditions that must be met to continue to be blessed by God. But by the Law in Deuteronomy 4:1 they should each already know what was being taught. Deuteronomy 4:1 “Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you.”
Hearken – pay attention! I’ve heard it before, Captain Obvious! Besides that is old news, Old Testament! It is never a wrong thing to remind people what is right. Think of stop signs for a second. We are taught that we must come to a complete stop at a stop sign, look both directions, then proceed, yet how many car wrecks do we have every year by someone violating the obvious?
Knowing the Law and Obeying the Law are to distinctly different things. In the Old Testament there are many different kinds of laws. There is a law of sin, another of death, another of honor, another of nature, another that is moral actions, another gives dietary laws for the age. The term law is “a rule of action”. We know the laws of our land, yet when it is inconvenient for us to obey them, we break them. Most people think they will not get caught and for a time that might be right, but all of those broken laws accumulate in the books spoken of in Revelation 20:12 “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”
Moses commanded the people in our text to write the words “plainly” so there is no way a person could tell anyone that they didn’t understand. We do not have the space for me to tell you what the conditions God placed on His blessings in the Promised Land, but I can tell you what is necessary for a person of this age to go to Heaven. I heard this week that a preacher said, “People want to go to Paradise, but want nothing to do with Jesus or the Church.”
Where is a written law that will be true until this present world destroys itself by failure to live by the Laws of God. John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
And again it is stated in Acts 4:12 “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
This is an immutable law…it will stand as long as the earth stands. This is God’s plan for man to be saved and it stands to be repeated over and over again, especially to the next generation. They know, but they don’t know.
Make sure you stop at that stop sign and look both ways! Thank you, Captain Obvious, you say right before you need to slam on your brakes because someone was coming from the other direction you hadn’t seen accept in the last second.
Don’t ignore the Laws of God then try to plead ignorance at the Judgment Seat. Tell others they need to place God first in their lives. Warnings are never wrong. I told you so, is never right. Make sure they know “plainly” what the consequences are for ignoring God and living the life they want instead of including God in their lives. After all, He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
