Last Words

Scholars in this century have very ably demonstrated the covenantal character of the Bible and in particular, the law. The legal form and structure of covenants is carefully followed through out. We can however say that the covenantal form came from God, came from the Bible and was adopted by the nations of antiquity from God’s covenants with men. But in any case it is clear that we have, in Deuteronomy for example, the legal form of a covenant. But this should not lead us to limit Deuteronomy to a covenant form. It is also a series of statements by a man facing death. The whole of Deuteronomy, from beginning to end is a series of discourses by Moses knowing that his time is short. Now we are familiar with the idea of a dying man’s last words but we are not familiar, most of us, with the actuality. A man’s last words were common facts over the centuries and into my own life time. They do not necessarily refer to a statements made by a man as he lay dying. They were often made early in illness, in anticipation of death, and to as many children, grandchildren and kin folk as possible. We know from historical records that once the Christian faith became established in Christendom it was common place when a man became old and infirm and he felt the approach of death, perhaps a year in advance he summoned his family, children, grandchildren, relatives, to bid them a farewell. To issue words of reproof and warning, a rebuke to them as well as to bless them. As I say this took place even in my own life time, coming from a culture that was still very old, and had roots and what was common once in Christendom. I doubt that Mark or Joanna remember it but before his death, but in the last years some time or other, their grandfather placed his hand on their heads and prayed for them and blessed them.

The family came from near and far. The dying man’s words were a blessing, a warning. A passing on of the wisdom of years of living and also of bequest. Now the bequest attitude disappeared as statist power grew, and paper authority ousted other forms of willing property. The warning aspect is perhaps the least remembered of last words. Although in the Bible we see it for example in Genesis 48:1 through chapter 49:33 in Jacobs last words. The warning aspect of a man’s last words called attention to a person’s weakness and sin. So that when the children and grandchildren and kin folk came, they received not only a blessing, but a warning. In our own thinking we all usually stress the positive aspects of our nature and of our genetic inheritance. We tend to overlook the fact that there are people in our ancestry who are bad characters, thoroughly bad, we want to remember the good. In our thinking we stress the positive aspects of our nature. We over look our sins and short comings, for example our laziness, our bad temper, our selfishness, and so on and on. We don’t want to remember those things in ourselves and in our forebears. But this is why Moses in what we’ve already seen reminds the people of their sins. Reminds them of what their Fathers were. And that the entire generation with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, was under the judgment of God. So he's telling them, don’t get proud. To do so leads to false chosen people mentality that is I am God’s chosen because I am superior. Not because of his amazing and sovereign grace, and both Israel and the church are prone to this. Yet in our thinking we either excuse or separate ourselves from those in our near family or our ancestry who remind of us the bad seed in our line of decent. But Moses calls attention to this. As he gives his last words to the nation he calls attention to their bad ancestry and then he calls attention to God’s law as their blessing.

So what Moses does in his last words, a rite as I said very common in Christian history, is to remind Israel of their aptitude for sin and rebellion. Israel stupidly and immorally assumed its virtue. But Moses says, this is your wisdom and understanding: In verse six, to keep and do what Gods law commands. Here is your problem, your ancestry, which you are genetically and here is your blessing, God’s law. Towards the end of blessing Israel, Moses teaches Israel statutes and judgments. Even as the Lord my God commanded me, verse five. The bequests made by a dying man were not limited to property. A moral bequest could be made. Such bequests often had a preface. Most commonly the preface, which took in the whole family, but was directed to the main heir: my son. This tells us a great deal at once about a man’s last words. They had as the central object of address, the son who was the main heir and had the responsibility to care for the whole family. The book of Proverbs again and again, speaks to my son. It is not only, which is a commentary on the law, but a moral bequest of the law and wisdom to an heir. Now in the last words, the warning and the moral bequest were very closely linked. And we find this in our own history, here in this country, in a man who being a backwoods man, still had the old faith and tradition. A hard core Calvinist named Patrick Henry. He had a written will, but as he lay dying, he made a bequest to his children, and to the United States. He willed to the United States, the Bible. “Live by this and live”, he said. And to all his children, to the doctor who was taking care of him, this was in the biblical tradition.

The person making the bequest would warn the person saying, this is what your family has been, so don’t put your trust in blood. This is what you are and this is what you should be. You are not to be bound by the past. Gods law, Gods word, will enable you to be more than your past. A man’s dying or last words was thus a final reminder of a person besetting sin or sins, and at the same time a reminder that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Well it should be apparent by now that a man’s last words were in part a repetition of warnings made over a life time which now in the presence of death are given a moral urgency. The moral urgency of Moses’s last words is heightened by the fact that Moses can remind them that he has the authority of God in his covenant, behind his every word. Israel has seen Gods amazing revelation of himself, so they were without excuse. Moses there for says, “only take heed to Thyself.” verse nine, “ and keep Thy soul diligently lest thou forget the things which thou eyes have seen and lest the depart from Thy heart in all the days of Thy life”. They were a privileged people, because God had given them his law according to verses ten through thirteen. And the same applies to the church; its privilege is God’s law, not so many centuries of white Christian civilization. Those come from God and his law, and to abandon Gods law is to abandon God and his covenant and to lose the blessing that will fall under the curse. In the words of a Christian commentator, Lewis Goldberg, I quote: “Moses announces that he will teach the decrees and laws to the second generation, the bequest to follow the law did not ask for blind obedience to it but rather the people needed to be willing to understand the word and know what they were to do. These decrees and laws were the very life of the people as the sought to take the land which the Lord God their Fathers was about to give them.” Unquote.

According to verse nine, the law was to be taught to their sons and their son’s sons. This is Moses’s key bequest, the God given law. The life of the people and the nation depended on this knowledge and obedience. For this reason at every celebration of the Passover, the youngest male child capable of understanding asked the question about the meaning of the rite. The significance of their moral inheritance had to be kept alive. This stress on the moral bequest became a part of a man’s last words into our own time. Throughout Deuteronomy Moses made a simple, basic correlation. Obedience to God’s covenant law means life and blessings, whereas disobedience means curses and death. This is set forth very powerfully in Deuteronomy twenty eight in particular. Obedience means survival and prosperity. In verses seven through nine Moses stresses two things. First, God has established a close relationship with Israel, by giving them his law. This is an act of grace, with no merit on Israel’s part, no other nation had been so favored.

Think ahead a few centuries from this, to the last supper. Where our Lord takes his leave of the disciples and he is making a bequest. And what does he say to his disciples? “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” He’s echoing Moses. Second, Israel’s pride should be in God’s law, not in themselves. Their advantage over the nations was not in themselves, but in the fact of Gods law. Of which they were custodians. In which now we are custodians. While many faults can be find of the nations of great antiquity, one fact is clear. They had a high regard for law, as Mays pointed out and I quote: “The idea that the collection and prolongation of the law is the proof of wisdom is ancient. And is to be found in the prologues and epilogues of ancient near eastern law codes, for example [Indiscernible].” Unquote.

Our Father we thank Thee that we have through this Thy word, for see the warning and a blessing. A bequest ordained by Thee. Give us grace day by day to walk, mindful that it is not of us, but of Thee, and it is Thy grace that hath made us whole. Thy grace that has prospered and protected us. Give us the wisdom to pass on a like inheritance to our children and our children's children, in Christ’s name, Amen. Are there any questions now about our lesson? Yes?

[Man from crowd] One of the things that has always troubled me since 1947, when the US supreme court centrally replaced Christianity with atheism, there was really no great public outcry and success of departure from Christian principles that his country was built on here has been essentially no outcry, so if this bequest of higher generations. Has been made the..essentially the covenant has not been kept, the chain has been broken.

[Rushdoony] Yes, and it is interesting that in the newest history text books in schools, public schools. Patrick Henry is commonly omitted entirely, no mention of him, nor of Nathan Hale. So we have denied the blessing, we have changed the whole direction of our country. This last week there was a very devastating cartoon in the Sacramento Union on the editorial page. It showed three people standing before a court I assume. One was Hitler, another a member of the KKK and the third was the clergy ready to pray at a school, and underneath was written, which one of these three has been outlawed by the supreme court? A very devastating cartoon. And it tells us a great deal about what our problem is in this country.

Are there any other questions or comments? Well, this has been a very important section of Deuteronomy because we have forgotten the whole aspect of bequests, and that this is not only a covenant what it bequests. The last will and testament of Moses and one of the things the modern state has done is in effect to render such things as null and void. A book I read recently, a very interesting book by a woman born in 1920, in the far, far north of Scotland in a castle. And the Father was not sure that the son and heir was worthy of assuming headship in the family, so in his written will he left everything to his wife and the discretionary power since she herself had brought money into the marriage and renovated the castle and bought back many of the art treasures that a previous generation had sold. She was to have the discretion, in due time to name the person who was to be the heir. But on a minor technicality the courts ruled that even that document was invalid, it was set aside and in terms of the law primogeniture the oldest son, was the target of the document received everything and promptly threw out his mother and brothers and sisters. Now that’s statism, it has replaced the Christian heritage of the last words and bequest. So we are in trouble, yes?

[Man from crowd indiscernible]

[Rushdoony] Yes, and the word that is given there where there is no vision can also be translated where there is no revelation. No word of God, it refers to scripture, it’s the word that is used interchangeably with it. Where the word of God in other words set aside, the people perish. Or the word perish is another word that has an ambivalent meaning, it can mean they run wild or they run naked. They’re defenseless. They have descended to the lowest wrong. Well our time is nearing an end let us bow our heads now in prayer. Our Father, we thank thee for this Thy word. Give us grace day by day that we may grow in what thou has given to us. And by Thy miraculous providence our children’s children, might know Thee as the Lord. Might receive a goodly bequest and pass it on to the generations yet to come. All things are possible with Thee, oh Lord, and we look unto thee. And now go in peace, God the Father, God the son and God the Holy Ghost, bless you and keep you, guide and protect you, this day and always, Amen.