Deuteronomy Instructions Pt. 2
Moses continues to give the people the Lord’s instructions. Never forget the lessons of the past, don’t look away when things are good, and it’s GOD’S righteousness that brought them into the land.
Moses is still going over the reminders of the past. He lets the people know that they were being ‘tested’ by God along the way. There were times they almost failed the test. He chooses the golden calf experience to drive that point home.
God makes two additional points through Moses. First, when things start going good, don’t forget about Him and claim the glory for yourselves. And, Second, the people are not receiving the land of promise because of their righteousness, but because of the wickedness of the people currently in the land. Let’s drop in as the congregation receives part two of God’s instructions through Moses.
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The people are ready to continue their instructions with Moses. They await his presence at the gate of the Tabernacle. Moses will not be rushed though. He finishes watching the morning sacrifice being laid on the altar. When it is burning well, Moses steps over to his customary place before the people.
Moses looks out at the congregation and sees eager faces. Moses says a silent prayer first. “Their hearts are open Lord. Fill them with knowledge and understanding. Let Your words sink DEEP into their hearts.”
“Good morning. I am please you all are here already. It demonstrates to me that you desire to hear what the Lord has to say to you. We must complete our time of refreshing our memories BEFORE the Lord will take you into the land. Once again, I will not be going with You. But the Lord WILL. He will lead you through Joshua, His servant.”
“Be certain that you live by ALL the Lord’s commandments, so that you will prosper in the land that He is bringing you to. ‘And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years.’” (Deuteronomy 8:2-4)
“The Lord has disciplined you so that you will be ready to receive the good things He has for you. To go into a good land that will provide for you. ‘A land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.’ (Deuteronomy 8:7b-10)”
Moses sees the excitement and eagerness in the people’s eyes. It is a good thing. But it also something to be cautious about. Having all that they want can be trouble. He must prepare them for this too.
“’Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God.’ (Deuteronomy 8:11-14a) Remember from where the Lord had brought you and all that He has done to bring you to that place of safety.”
Moses fixes the people with a stern stare. “Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God.” (Deuteronomy 8:17-20)
“You are going into the land to ‘dispossess nations greater and mightier than you, cities great and fortified up to heaven, a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you have heard it said, “Who can stand before the sons of Anak?”’ (Deuteronomy 9:1-2)
Moses spreads his arms wide in the direction of Canaan. Then he turns back to the people and points towards the pillar of cloud. “Know therefore today that He who goes over before you as a consuming fire is the Lord your God. He will destroy them and subdue them before you. So you shall drive them out and make them perish quickly, as the Lord has promised you.” (Deuteronomy 9:3)
Moses fixes his eyes like flint on the people. There is steel in his voice as he continues. “Do not say in your heart, after the Lord your God has thrust them out before you, ‘It is because of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in to possess this land,’ whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out before you. Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm the word that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
“Know, therefore, that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people. Remember and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord. Even at Horeb you provoked the Lord to wrath, and the Lord was so angry with you that he was ready to destroy you.” (Deuteronomy 4-8)
Moses raises his hands and then drops them suddenly to his sides in exasperation. “I was gone 40 days and 40 nights on the mountain with the Lord. I was sent there by YOU! God wrote with His own finger on two tablets of stone His commandments. But when He saw what you were doing, He was ready to kill you where you stood. I interceded on your behalf and on Aaron’s behalf. He spared you that day. But you did not escape punishment. MANY of your numbers died that day by the sword and ALL of you drank the water containing the ground up abomination.”
Moses pauses for emphasis. His eyes and his voice soften. “And He forgave you. When you turned again and followed Him, He forgave you. Because He loves you and He called you to be His own.”
“Make no mistake though” Moses says with firmness again. “If YOU reject HIM. HE WILL remove you from the land. He will scatter you among all the people and make you few in number.” Moses holds up a finger. “BUT when you call out to Him and repent, He will hear you and restore you to Himself. YOU have a choice to make. YOU have to impress this same responsibility of choice onto your children and your children’s children, forever more.”
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear. He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen.” (Deuteronomy 10:12-21)
“You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth. For if you will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the Lord your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him, then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than you. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours. Your territory shall be from the wilderness t the Lebanon and from the River, the river Euphrates, to the western sea. No one shall be able to stand against you. The Lord your God will lay the fear of you and the dread of you on all the land that you shall tread, as he promised you.” (Deuteronomy 11:18-25)
Moses holds out his hands to his side, imitating a scale. “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse:” Moses lifts one hand and lowers the other. “the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today,” Moses reverses the position of his hands, “and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known. “ (Deuteronomy 11:26-28)
Moses drops his hands back at his sides. “And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, you shall set the blessing on Mount Gerizim…” Moses points out this mountain. “…and the curse on Mount Ebal.” (Deuteronomy 11:29) Moses points to the second mountain.
“We will go into more detail regarding the Lord’s statutes tomorrow. As well as explain in more detail the ‘blessing’ and the ‘curse’ that you will leave on the mountains. For today, return to your tents and contemplate the words the Lord has shared with you today. We will meet again tomorrow morning.”
(to be continued)
Did you notice in here we see one of the verses Jesus uses to battle Satan in the wilderness? “That he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 8:3b) I LOVE seeing the ‘finger prints’ of God. And this is just one among MANY.
Father God, there was SO MUCH to share with Israel. Thank You for letting me break out a few parts. I KNOW that EVERY WORD is precious and perfect. Help me continue through Deuteronomy, sharing Your words to Israel.
