Front matter (continued, part 27)
Gratitude to the Lord (6:10–25) Moses was equipping the new generation to enter and claim the Promised Land, and he knew that Canaan would be a place of temptation as well as a place of triumph. For one thing, when they conquered the nations in Canaan, the Israelites would inherit vast wealth and would be tempted to forget the Lord who had made their victories possible. The second temptation would be for Israel to compromise with the pagan
To love God and worship and serve Him is the highest privilege we can have, so when the Lord commands us to love, He is inviting us to that which is the
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turned to the Lord for help, and God supplied the water that they needed. But that place was given two special names: "Massah," which means "to test," and "Meribah" which means "contention, quarreling" (v. 7; Ps. 95; Heb. 3:7–15). By their attitude and their words, Israel defied the Lord and proved that they neither loved Him nor trusted Him. Their bodies were in the camp of Israel, but their hearts were still in Egypt. If God had not been gracious and longsuffering, He could have judged them severely, but He knows that His people are only clay (Ps. 103:8–14).
nations around them and not maintain their separated position as the people of the Lord. (Moses will deal with this second temptation in 7:1–16.)
Most people find it easier to handle adversity than prosperity (see Phil. 4:10–20), because adversity usually drives us closer to God as we seek His wisdom and help. When things are going well, we're prone to relax our spiritual disciplines, take our blessings for granted, and forget to "praise God from whom all blessings flow." The material things that we wait for and sacrifice for seem to mean much more to us than the gifts that fall in our laps without our help.
The Lord tests our faith, not just in the great crises of life, but even more in the small unexpected events, such as a travel delay, an irritating interruption, a sudden sickness, or a lost wallet. The way we respond in these situations will indicate what's in our hearts, because what life does to us depends on what life finds in us. If we love and trust the Lord, we'll leave the matter with Him and do what He tells us, but if we question the Lord and rebel because we're not getting our own way, then we're in danger of tempting Him. One of the best protections against tempting the Lord is a grateful heart. If we're in the habit of thanking the Lord in everything, including the painful experiences of life, then the Holy Spirit will fill our hearts with love and praise instead of Satan filling us with bitter venom. How many "Massahs" and "Meribahs" are marked on the map of our journey of faith?
Moses named some of the material blessings the Lord would give the Israelites in the Promised Land: large prosperous cities, houses filled with different kinds of wealth, wells, vineyards, and olive groves, as well as the land itself. Whenever the Jews took water from the wells or fruit from the vines and trees, they should have looked up with gratitude to the Lord. Water is a precious commodity in the East, and the people didn't even have to toil to dig the wells! Nor did they have to plant the vineyards or the olive groves and then wait for the plants to grow and mature. God used these spoils of war to compensate the Jews for the wages they didn't receive when they were enslaved in Egypt, and at the same time He reminded them of His bounteous grace.
With privilege always comes responsibility, and Israel's responsibility was to fear Jehovah and obey Him (Deut. 6:13), the verse that Jesus quoted when He replied to Satan's third temptation (Matt. 4:10). When we cultivate a reverent and submissive heart, we will have an obedient will and won't even want to mention the names of false gods. Israel needed to remember that the Lord owned the land (Lev. 25:23) and that they were merely His "tenants." Their inheritance in the land was God's gift to His people, but if they disobeyed His covenant, they would forfeit the land and its blessings. The Lord is jealous over His people and will not share their love and worship with any false god (Deut. 5:8–10; 32:16–26). Moses warned the people not to tempt (test) the Lord as the older generation had done at Massah (Ex. 17:1–7). We tempt the Lord when we openly and unbelievingly question His ability or defy His authority by what we say or do. After He delivered Israel from Egypt, the Lord deliberately led them through difficulties so He could teach them to trust Him. First they came to bitter water at Marah and complained about it instead of asking God to help them (15:22–26). Then they got hungry for the "fleshpots of Egypt" and murmured against the Lord and the Lord provided the daily manna to sustain them (16:1–8). When they came to Rephidim, there was no water to drink, and once again they complained against the Lord instead of trusting the Lord (17:1–7). "Is the Lord among us or not?" was their question, meaning, "If He is among us, why doesn't He do something?"
Of course, the greatest blessing for which Israel should have been thankful was their deliverance from Egypt (Deut. 6:20–25). In his farewell address, Moses frequently referred to this miracle, and in later years, so did the prophets. Had Israel remained in Egypt, there would have been no nation, no sanctuary, no priesthood, and no hope, but the Lord delivered them and brought them into their land and fulfilled His promises. Today, we have a Bible and a Savior because Moses led his people out of Egypt, an event that was celebrated annually at Passover. Jewish fathers were commanded to teach their children the meaning of Passover, and of the laws God had given Israel, so that the next generation would understand how to trust Jehovah, love Him, and obey His laws. When our children are ignorant of the past, they will have no hope for the future.
An attitude of gratitude is a wonderful weapon against unbelief, disobedience, a hard heart, and a bitter spirit. "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thess. 5:16–18). Instead of complaining about what we don't have, let's be thankful for what we do have, because God always gives His best to those who leave the choice with Him.
B.Obeying God—7
Separation unto the Lord (7:1–16) "A people dwelling alone," said the hireling prophet Balaam about Israel, "not reckoning itself among the nations" (Num. 23:9 nkjv). From the call of Abraham to the exodus from Egypt, the people of Israel were expected
Moses did what the people should have done: he
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but because it had been associated with demons, the precious metal took on a new character that made it useful to the enemy. Anyone who used that metal, even to make a beautiful thing, would be dealing with something that was associated with evil.
to be a separated people, not because they were better than any other nation but because they were different. They were God's chosen people. God commanded Abraham to leave Ur of the Chaldees and go to the land that He would show him (Gen. 11:31—12:4), and when Abraham left that land and went down to Egypt for help, God had to chasten him (vv. 10–20). Throughout her history, when Israel maintained a separated position by obeying God's laws and seeking to please Him, she succeeded in all that she did. But when she began to compromise with the other nations and to worship their gods, it led to failure and defeat.
Separation means blessing (Deut. 7:7–16). The Lord's choice of Abraham and Sarah was an act of sovereign grace. They were idol-worshippers in Ur of the Chaldees when "the God of glory" appeared (Acts 7:1–3; Josh. 24:1–3). They had no children and yet were promised descendants as numerous as the sands of the seashore and the stars of the heavens. They later had one son, Isaac, and he had two sons, Esau and Jacob, and from Jacob's twelve sons came the twelve tribes of Israel. When Jacob's family gathered in Egypt, there were seventy people (Gen. 46), but by the time they were delivered from Egypt, they had become a great nation. Why did this happen? Because God loved them and kept the promises that He made to their ancestors.
Separation means safety (vv. 1–6). In Scripture, separation is not isolation, for if believers are isolated, how can they be "the salt of the earth" and "the light of the world" (Matt. 5:13–16) and influence others for the Lord? Believers can be separated from sin and to the Lord and still be involved in the normal challenges and activities of human life. Abraham was allied with some of his neighbors in Canaan and together they defeated the invaders and rescued the people of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 14), yet Abraham never lived or worshipped as his neighbors did. Jesus was the "friend of publicans and sinners" (Matt. 11:19), and yet He was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners" (Heb. 7:26). Jesus had contact with the real world and its people but He wasn't contaminated from that contact. True biblical separation is contact without contamination. We're different from the world but not odd. When you're different, you attract people and have opportunities to share the good news of Christ, but when you're odd, you repel people and they slam the door on your witness.
We must not overlook the parallel between Israel and the church. All who are born again through faith in Jesus Christ are "chosen in him [Christ] before the foundation of the world" (Eph. 1:4). This salvation came to us "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy" (Titus 2:5). One of my seminary professors once said, "Try to explain divine election and you may lose your mind, but try to explain it away and you will lose your soul." Like Israel, the church is God's chosen people and His treasured possession, a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (1 Peter 2:5, 9), and like Israel, we are called to be a light to the lost world (Matt. 5:14–16).
Privilege always brings responsibility, and Israel's responsibility was to obey God's commandments, for then He could bless them as He promised. God's covenant was a covenant of love, and He would show His love by blessing them if they obeyed and chastening them if they disobeyed. The Lord would bless them with children and grandchildren and increase their numbers greatly. He would also increase their crops and livestock so they would have enough to eat and a surplus to sell. Because of their obedience, Israel would escape the terrible diseases they saw in Egypt as well as the plagues that God sent to the land.
God promised to drive out the pagan nations and deliver them into the hands of the Jewish army. With the Lord's help, Israel would defeat those nations and destroy them and everything connected with their religion.4 Israel was to keep herself separate from these nations. The Lord would not permit intermarriage, political treaties, or any toleration of or interest in the pagan religion of the land. The reason was obvious: any link with the godless Canaanite religion could lead Israel into alliances that would undermine their relationship with the Lord and invite His chastening. Israel is God's chosen people and treasured possession, and their separation from idolatry in Canaan was important to the nation's spiritual health and political future.
All these blessings on Israel would bring glory to the Lord. The other nations would see the fruitfulness of the land and the people and ask, "What is the reason for this?" The Jews would then reply, "This is the blessing of the Lord on His people!" It would give the Jews opportunities to share the truth about Jehovah with unbelievers and perhaps persuade them to trust the true and living God. Their national blessings would also give parents the opportunity to teach their children the importance of obeying God's Word.5
As an example of the kind of caution Israel had to exercise, the same God who allowed Israel to spoil the Egyptians warned them not even to covet or remove the precious metals that covered many of the Canaanite idols (Deut. 7:25). It was logical to destroy the idols, but why not keep the gold and silver? Since idolatry is associated with the demonic (1 Cor. 10:14–22), bringing idolatrous gold and silver into the camp of Israel would defile the camp and open the way for satanic attack. Of itself, neither the gold nor the silver was evil,
This section of the law opens with, "You shall conquer them [the nations] and utterly destroy them" (Deut. 7:2), and it closes with the same admonition (v. 16).6 Moses repeated this warning several times in his
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one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you" (Josh. 23:14 nkjv).
farewell speech, because he knew how easy it would be for Israel to compromise with the enemy, fraternize with them, and eventually imitate them. Most Christians today live in pluralistic societies in democratic nations and don't have the authority to annihilate everybody who worships a false God, nor should they want that authority. Our task is to love those we disagree with and seek to win them to faith in Christ. But at the same time, we must maintain a separated position and not be contaminated by the ideas or activities of the lost world (Ps. 1:1).
God was faithful in the past (vv. 17–19). The older generation didn't believe that victory was possible in Canaan (Num. 13—14), so they rebelled against God and eventually died in the wilderness. But the new generation should have had no problem believing God's promises after all that He had done for them. The Lord defeated Pharaoh and humiliated all the gods and goddesses of Egypt. The Lord also helped Israel defeat the Midianites; Sihon, King of Heshbon; and Og, King of Bashan. He enabled the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh to settle their families east of the Jordan while the men of those tribes prepared to march into Canaan and take the land. Ever since Israel had arrived in the area of the Jordan, not one nation had been able to stand against God's people, because God's people trusted the Lord. The same God who gave victory in Egypt and in the territory east of the Jordan could also give victory in the land of Canaan.
The key passage in the New Testament on separation is 2 Corinthians 6:14—7:1. In it Paul points out that there are both negative and positive elements in biblical separation. Because of what we are in Christ—righteousness, light, the temple of God—we have nothing in common spiritually with unbelievers whom he describes as unrighteousness, darkness, and worshippers of idols. Separation is simply living up to what we are in Christ. If we separate ourselves from sin, God will be able to deal with us as obedient children. He will commune with us and bless us. "Let us cleanse ourselves" is the negative part of godly living, but "perfecting holiness in the fear of God" is the positive part, and the two go together (Deut. 7:1).
God would go before Israel (vv. 20–21). The terror of the Lord went before Israel and brought fear to the hearts of the people of Canaan (Josh. 2:11; Ex. 15:16). The news about the defeat of Egypt, the opening of the Red Sea, and the slaughter of the nations east of the Jordan couldn't help but paralyze even the strongest in the land. Bible students don't agree on what is meant by "the hornet" in Deuteronomy 7:20 (Ex. 23:27–30; Josh. 24:12), but it's likely that it was the familiar stinging insect that swarmed into the land and attacked the people. The Canaanites were a superstitious people who saw omens in every unusual happening and they may have interpreted this strange occurrence as an announcement of defeat. Insects are sometimes used as metaphors for nations (Isa. 7:18), and some students understand "hornets" to refer to invading nations that God sent into Canaan prior to Israel's arrival. These local wars would weaken the Canaanite military defenses and prepare the way for Israel's invasion. Whatever the interpretation, and the literal one makes good sense, two facts are clear: God goes before His people and opens the way for victory, and He can use even small insects to accomplish His purposes.
We aren't supposed to isolate ourselves from the world (1 Cor. 5:9–13) because the world needs our witness and service. We cooperate with different people at different times for different reasons, but we're careful not to compromise our witness for Christ. We do some things because it's for the good of humanity and other things because we're citizens or employees. But whatever we do, we seek to do it to the glory of God (vv. 19–20).
Promises from the Lord (7:17–26) The first motive Moses mentioned for Israel's obedience was love for the Lord (6:1–9), because love is the greatest motive in life. "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15 nkjv). The second motive is gratitude (Deut. 6:10–25), for showing gratitude is one way of expressing love. We must never forget what the Lord has done for us. The third motive is separation from sin and unto the Lord (7:1–16), for we want to live up to all that God has called us to be. He's called us to be a holy nation, a chosen people, a people to bring to bring glory to His name, and we can't fulfill any of those honorable callings if we don't separate ourselves from what is wicked and cleave to the Lord.
The assurance that the Lord was with His people as they invaded the land (Deut. 7:21) should have encouraged the Israelites to be brave and obedient. Forty years before, when the older generation rebelled at Kadesh-Barnea (Num. 13—14), Caleb and Joshua used the promise of the presence of the Lord as an argument for courage and obedience: "The Lord is with us: fear them not" (14:9). The distinctive thing about the nation of Israel was that the Lord was with them (Ex. 33:12–17). The assurance of God's presence goes all the way back to Isaac (Gen. 26:24) and Jacob (28:15) and was often repeated to Israel when they needed encouragement (Isa. 41:10; 43:5; Jer. 46:28; Hag. 1:13; 2:4), and this wonderful assurance has been
But these three motives all depend on faith in the promises of God, for "without faith it is impossible to please God" (Heb. 11:6). Israel wasn't operating on what the world calls "blind faith" because they had God's covenant promises to encourage them and the long record of God's care to assure them. God's people don't live on explanations; they live on promises. At the end of his life, Joshua reminded the people, "And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not
Deuteronomy 7
detest" and "utterly abhor" the abominable things they encountered in Canaan (Deut. 7:26). No doubt Achan helped to destroy many abominable things when Israel conquered Jericho, but he decided that some silver and gold and beautiful garments weren't really abominable, so he took them (Josh. 7:20–23). He would rather have the spoils of war than enjoy the blessings of obeying the Word (Ps. 119:14, 72, 127, 162), and it cost him dearly. King Saul made this same mistake and lost his crown (1 Sam. 15).
given to the church today (Matt. 28:18–20; Heb. 13:5–6). The British expositor G. Campbell Morgan told of visiting some elderly sisters when he was a young pastor and reading Matthew 28:18–20 as part of his ministry to them. The phrase "Lo, I am with you always" struck Morgan with power and he said, "Isn't that a wonderful promise!" One of the ladies replied, "Young man, that isn't a promise—it's a reality!" How true! "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge" (Ps. 46:7, 11).
As we grow in grace, we learn to love and enjoy what pleases God and to despise and reject what displeases Him. It's not just a matter of our will obeying God's commands; it's also a matter of developing a heart that enjoys obeying God (Eph. 6:6). It's possible to do God's will in such a way that others get the blessing but we don't! This was true of two of God's prophets, Moses and Jonah. Moses arrogantly smote the rock and God provided water, but Moses lost the privilege of entering the Promised Land (Num. 20). Jonah eventually obeyed the Lord's will but he didn't do it from his heart, and became a bitter person (Jonah 4). This brings us back to the first motive Moses discussed—love for the Lord (Deut. 6:1–9). Love makes obedience a blessing and not a burden.
God had a timetable for the conquest (vv. 22–23). Obeying the Lord means doing the right thing in the right way at the right time for the right reason, which is to the glory of God. "Do not be like the horse or like the mule," warned David (Ps. 32:9), because the horse wants to bolt ahead and the mule wants to lag behind and balk. God has a time for everything (Eccl. 3:1–8), and when Jesus ministered here on earth, He followed a divine schedule (John 11:9; 2:4; 7:6, 8, 30; 8:20; 12:23; 13:1; 17:1). Happy is the believer who can honestly say, "My times are in thy hand" (Ps. 31:15). As they gradually made their way through the land of Canaan, winning one victory after another, the Jewish people would grow in their faith and learn better how to trust the Lord. But by following God's timetable, they would take better care of the land (Ex. 23:28–30) and prevent the wild beasts from multiplying rapidly and becoming a threat. According to the record in the book of Joshua, it took Israel about seven years to get control of the whole land. First Joshua cut straight across Canaan and divided the land (Josh. 1— 8); then he conquered the nations in the south (Josh. 9—10) and then those in the north (Josh. 11). But this still left "mopping up" operations for the individual tribes, some of whom never did eliminate the enemy from their territory (13:1; Judg. 1—2). These pockets of paganism brought great temptation and trouble to the Jews and led to divine discipline.
It's good for God's people to pause occasionally and ask, "Why are we doing what we're doing?" Is it to please ourselves or others, or to impress the world? Are we doing the will of God because we want Him to bless us? Or are we "doing the will of God from the heart" (Eph. 6:6) because we love Him? To obey God just to avoid punishment and receive blessing is a selfish motive that follows the philosophy of Satan (Job 1— 2), but if we obey God out of love, it pleases His heart and He will give us what is best and what glorifies Him the most.
Like Israel of old, the church today must move forward by faith, conquer the enemy, and claim new territory for the Lord (Eph. 6:10–18; 2 Cor. 2:14–17). But unlike Israel, we use spiritual weapons, not human weapons, as by faith we overcome the walls of resistance that Satan has put into the minds of sinners (John 18:36; 2 Cor. 10:1–6; Eph. 6:17; Heb. 4:12). The apostolic church had no buildings, budgets (Acts 3:6), academic degrees (4:13), or political influence, but depended on the Word of God and prayer (6:4), and God gave them great victory. Can He not do the same for His people today? Jesus has overcome the world and the devil (John 12:31; 16:33; Eph. 1:19–21; Col. 1:13; 2:15); therefore, we fight from victory and not just for victory. "If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Rom. 8:31).
God expected the nation to obey Him (vv. 23–26). "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:14–20) because true faith always leads to obedience. "By faith Abraham … obeyed" (Heb. 11:8). People may talk about faith, analyze faith, and seek to explain it, but until they do what God commands, they will never understand what faith is all about. The people of Israel had to obey God's clear command to wipe out the heathen nations and their religion. Everything in the land was to be devoted to God, and nobody had a right to claim it. The detestable things were to be completely devoted to destruction so they wouldn't become snares to the Jews. Anybody who stole a devoted thing from God and took it home would also be devoted to destruction, which is what happened to Achan (Josh. 6—7). But it wasn't enough for the Jews simply to obey the command to destroy what God had condemned; they must obey from their hearts. They were to "utterly
1 When Korah, Dathan, and Abiram rebelled against God and Moses, they called Egypt "a land flowing with milk and honey" (Num. 16:13 niv), but God compared Egypt to an iron furnace (Deut. 4:20; 1 Kings 8:51; Jer. 11:4). Israel's bondage in Egypt helped to refine them ("an iron-smelting furnace," niv)
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the people of Israel as they really were, "warts and all." It was important for their spiritual life that Moses do this, for one of the first steps toward maturity is accepting reality and doing something about it. But let's not point the finger at Israel and fail to look at ourselves, for the pictures that Moses painted apply to us today. We need to see ourselves as God sees us and then, by His grace, seek to become all that we can become in Jesus Christ.
and prepare them for their new life as a nation. However, all that the older generation seemed to remember about Egypt was the food they ate so freely (Ex. 16:1–3; Num. 11:4–6). The pain of their slavery in Egypt was overlooked or forgotten. 2 Moses often reminded the people of God's promises to the patriarchs: 1:8, 11, 21, 35; 6:3, 10, 19; 7:8, 12; 8:18; 9:5, 27; 11:9; 19:8; 26:3; 29:13; 30:20; 34:4. 3 The Scriptures written on four pieces of parchment and put into the phylacteries are Exodus 13:1–10; 11—16; Deuteronomy 6:4–9; and 11:13–21. The mezuzah contains 6:4–9; 11:13–21, plus the phrase, "The Lord our God is the Lord." 4 In verse 5, the "groves" (kjv) or "wooden images" (NKJV) were "Asherah poles" (niv) dedicated to the goddess Asherah, the consort of Baal. The poles were designed to be phallic symbols and her worship was associated with grossly immoral practices. The word translated "destroy" is a Hebrew word (herem) that means "to be devoted to God, to be under a ban." When Joshua conquered Jericho (Josh. 6—7), the city was put under a ban and nothing could be taken as spoils of war. Because Achan took some of the spoils, he robbed God and led the nation into defeat at Ai. 5 We must remind ourselves that the promise of health and material blessing belonged only to Israel under law; it is not promised to the church under the new covenant. Nor should we conclude that the absence of health and material blessing is an evidence of God's displeasure. This was the error Job's friends committed when they tried to explain his suffering, and their suggestion was, "Get right with God and He will restore all your blessings." Of course, that was also Satan's philosophy (Job 1—2), a philosophy I call "commercial Christianity." "Commercial Christians" worship and obey God only because He rewards it. In the childhood of the Jewish nation, God used rewards and punishments to teach them obedience, and then He sought to lift them to a higher level. 6 Deuteronomy 20 is the key chapter on Israel's conduct of war. In verses 10–15, Moses deals with how Israel should attack cities outside the land of Canaan, and verses 16–18 apply to cities in the land of Canaan.
Children in the wilderness (8:1–5) The three essentials for Israel's conquest and enjoyment of the Promised Land were: listening to God's Word, remembering it, and obeying it. They are still the essentials for a successful and satisfying Christian life today. As we walk through this world, we can't succeed without God's guidance, protection, and provision, and it also helps to have a good memory. Four times in these chapters Moses commands us to remember (v. 2, 18; 9:7, 27), and four more times he admonishes us to forget not (8:11, 14, 19; 9:7). The apostle Peter devoted his second letter to the ministry of reminding God's people to remember what the apostles had taught them (2 Peter 1:12–18; 3:1–2). Moses pointed out four ministries God performed for Israel and that He performs for us today as He seeks to mature us and prepare us for what He has planned for us.
C.Showing gratitude to God—8:1—10:11
God tests us (vv. 1–2). God knows what's in the hearts of His children, but His children don't always know—or want to know. "And all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and the hearts" (Rev. 2:23 nkjv). Life is a school (Ps. 90:12), and we often don't know what the lesson was until we failed the examination! People sometimes say, "Well, I know my own heart," but the frightening fact is that we don't know our own hearts. "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jer. 17:9 niv). How we respond to the tests of life reveals what's really in our hearts, especially when those tests involve the everyday experience of life. The people of Israel were frequently hungry and thirsty and weary from the journey, and it was on those occasions that they became fretful and critical. The devil tempts us to bring out the worst in us, but God tests us to bring out the best in us. When God allows a difficult circumstance to test us, we will either trust Him and become more mature, or we will tempt Him and become more miserable. The difference? Believing the promises of God and relying on the Lord to care for us and bring us through for His glory and our good.
CHAPTER FOUR Deuteronomy 8—11 SEE WHAT YOU ARE O
liver Cromwell told the artist painting his portrait that he refused to pay even a farthing for the painting unless it truly looked like him, including "pimples, warts, and everything as you see me."1 Apparently the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland was as courageous sitting for a portrait as he was leading an army on the battlefield. Most of us aren't that brave. We're uncomfortable looking at unretouched proofs of our photographs, and we'd certainly willingly pay for a painting that improved our appearance.
God teaches us (v. 3). Each morning during their wilderness journey, God sent the Jewish people "angels' food" (Ps. 78:21–25) to teach them to depend on Him for what they needed. But the manna was much more than daily physical sustenance; it was a type of the coming Messiah who is "the bread of life" (John 6:35).2 When Satan tempted Him to turn stones into bread (Matt. 4:1–4), Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3 and
In this part of his farewell address, Moses painted
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with Christ, a great beginning, to be sure, but only a beginning. If like Israel at Kadesh-Barnea, we rebel in unbelief, then we will wander through life and never enjoy what God planned for us (Eph. 2:10; Heb. 3— 4). But if we surrender to the Lord and obey His will, He will enable us to be "more than conquerors" (Rom. 8:37) as we claim our inheritance in Christ and serve Him.
indicated that the Word of God is also the bread of God, for we "feed on" Jesus Christ when we "feed on" the Word of God. God was teaching the Jews to look to Him for "daily bread" (Matt. 6:11) and to begin each day meditating on the Word of God. Those who obeyed God in the daily responsibility of gathering manna would be inclined to obey the rest of His commandments. Our relationship to the Word of God (manna) indicates our relationship to the God of the Word.
Enjoying God's blessing (vv. 6–9). The "key" that opened the door to the Promised Land was simple: obey God's commandments, walk in His ways, and reverence Him (v. 6). If the people of Israel disobeyed God's Word, walked in their own way, and showed no fear of the Lord, this would invite the judgment of God on the nation. But why would Israel not want to enter and enjoy the Promised Land, the good land that God had prepared for them? It was a land that offered them all that they could want or need to lead a happy life.
God cares for us (v. 4; 29:5). Not only did God feed the Jews "miracle bread" each morning, but He also kept their clothes from wearing out and their feet from swelling. The three pressing questions of life for most people are, "What shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear?" (Matt. 6:25–34) and the Lord met all these needs for His people for forty years. "Casting all your care upon Him; for He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7 nkjv). "For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things" (Matt. 6:32 nkjv). God doesn't miraculously deliver bread, water, and clothing to our front doors each day, but He does give us jobs and the ability to earn money (Deut. 8:18) so we can purchase what we need.3 The same Lord who provided Israel's needs without human means can provide our needs by using human means.
Since water is a precious commodity in the East, Moses mentions it first: streams, pools, and springs flowing in the hills and valleys. Later he will mention God's promise to send the rains each year (11:14), the early rain in autumn and the latter rain in spring. With God's blessing, an abundance of water would make possible an abundance of crops, and the Israelites would harvest grain, grapes, figs, and olives, and they would also find honey. There would be plenty of pasture for flocks and herds, and copper and iron were buried in the rocks and the hills. Indeed, it was a land of milk and honey, a land where nothing was lacking. All of this typifies for believers today the spiritual wealth we have in Christ: the riches of His grace (Eph. 1:7; 2:7), the riches of His glory (1:18; 3:16), the riches of His mercy (2:4), and "the unsearchable riches of Christ" (3:8). We are complete in Christ (Col. 2:10) in whom all fullness dwells (1:19), and therefore we have everything we shall ever need for living a full Christian life to the glory of God. God has a wonderful life planned for each of His children (Eph. 2:10) and He provides all we need to fulfill that plan.
God disciplines us (v. 5). God saw the children of Israel as His own children whom He greatly loved. "Israel is my son, even my firstborn" (Ex. 4:22; see Hos. 11:1). After years of slavery in Egypt, the Jews had to learn what freedom was and how to use it responsibly. We commonly think of "discipline" only as punishment for disobedience, but much more is involved. Discipline is "child training," the preparation of the child for responsible adulthood. A judge justly punishes a convicted criminal in order to protect society and uphold the law, but a father lovingly disciplines a child to help that child mature.4 Discipline is an evidence of God's love and of our membership in God's family (Heb. 12:5–8; Prov. 3:11–12).
Forgetting God's goodness (vv. 10–18). There's peril in prosperity and comfort, for we may become so wrapped up in the blessings that we forget the One who gave us the blessings. For this reason, Moses admonished the Jews to praise God after they had eaten their meals so they wouldn't forget the Giver of every good and perfect gift (v. 10; James 1:17). When I was a lad, my Uncle Simon—my Swedish "preacher uncle"—occasionally visited our home, and I recall that he not only gave thanks at the beginning of the meal, but he always closed the meal with a prayer of thanksgiving. I didn't know until years later that he was obeying Deuteronomy 8:10. It's natural to give thanks for food when we're hungry, but it's also wise to give thanks after we're full.
When you think of the Lord's discipline of His children, don't envision an angry parent punishing a child. Rather, see a loving Father challenging His children to exercise their muscles (physical and mental) so they will mature and be able to live like dependable adults. When we're being disciplined, the secret of growth is to humble ourselves and submit to God's will (Deut. 8:2–3; Heb. 12:9–10). To resist God's chastening is to harden our hearts and resist the Father's will. Like an athlete in training, we must exercise ourselves and use each trial as an opportunity for growth.
Conquerors in the land (8:6–20) After being set free from Egypt, Israel's destination wasn't the wilderness; it was the Promised Land, the place of their inheritance. "And he [God] brought us out from there [Egypt] that he might bring us in" (6:23). So with the Christian life: being born again and redeemed from sin is only the beginning of our walk
Moses spelled out the dangers involved in forgetting that God is the source of every blessing that we enjoy. If we forget God, then success has a way of making us proud (v. 14), and we forget what we were before
Deuteronomy 8—9
Barnea, when they saw the obstacles in Canaan but forgot the power of their God (Deut. 9:1–2; Num. 13—14). God assured His people that there was no need to fear the future because He would go before them to help them defeat their enemies. He wouldn't do it instead of them, for they had to do their part and fight the battles, nor would He do it in spite of them, for they had to be obedient and respect His laws, but He would work in them and through them to conquer the nations in the land (Phil. 2:12–13; Prov. 21:31).
the Lord called us. The Jews had been slaves in Egypt, and now they would be living in fine houses, watching their flocks and herds increase, gathering gold and silver, and forgetting what the Lord had done for them. They had been nomads in the wilderness, and now they would be settled down in a rich land, enjoying peace and prosperity with their children and grandchildren. How easy it would be for Israel to become proud, to forget how helpless they were before the Lord rescued them, and to think that their success was due to their own strength and wisdom—and that they deserved it! "But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth" (v. 18).
Once again, Moses reminded the nation that the land was a gift from the Lord, not a reward for their righteousness. God had graciously covenanted with Abraham to give him and his descendants the land of Canaan (Gen. 12:1–3; 13:14–17; 15:7–21), and He would keep His promise. The people in the land were wicked and ripe for judgment, and even though Israel wasn't a perfect people, God would use them to bring that judgment. The emphasis is on the grace of God and not the goodness of God's people, and this emphasis is needed today (Titus 2:11—3:7). When we forget the grace of God, we become proud and start thinking that we deserve all that God has done for us, and then God has to remind us of His goodness and our sinfulness, and that reminder might be very painful. That's the theme of the next part of Moses' message.
Rejecting God's authority (vv. 19–20). The climax of this spiritual declension is that the "wealthy Israelites" would turn from the Lord, the true and living God, and start worshipping the false gods of their neighbors. Idolatry begins in the heart when gratitude to the Giver is replaced by greediness for the gifts. "Because, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful" (Rom. 1:21). An ungrateful heart can quickly become a haven for all sorts of sinful attitudes and appetites that cater to the flesh. What would the Lord do? He would treat His own people's idolatry the way He treated the idolatry of the nations that they dispossessed, and He would destroy Israel and their false gods. Before Moses finished his speech, he outlined the terms of God's covenant with Israel and the chastening God would send if the people persisted in worshipping idols.
The discipline of God (9:7—10:11). Moses was addressing a new generation, but they needed to hear this part of the message and realize that they were sinners just like their ancestors. The theme is expressed bluntly in 9:24, "You have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I [the Lord] knew you [chose you]" (NKJV). God called Abraham and led him to the Promised Land, but then he fled to Egypt to escape a famine (Gen. 12:10ff.). No sooner were the Jews delivered from Egypt than they began to complain about the way God led them and fed them (Ex. 15:22ff.). The scenery in the drama of the life of faith may change, but the actors and the script are pretty much the same: God blesses, we enjoy the blessings, then we rebel against His disciplines and miss the blessing He planned for us.
Prosperity—ingratitude—idolatry: three steps toward ruin. But these aren't ancient sins, for they're present in hearts, homes, businesses, and churches today.
Rebels against the Lord (9:1—10:11) For the fifth time in his address, Moses says, "Hear, O Israel!" (See 4:1; 5:1; 6:3–4.) He was giving them the Word of God, and when God's speaks to His people, they must listen. The word "hear" is used over fifty times in Deuteronomy, for God's people live by faith, and "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17). The Jews couldn't see their God, but they could hear Him, while their pagan neighbors could see their gods but couldn't hear them (Ps. 115:5). In this section, Moses reminded the people that their conduct since leaving Egypt had been anything but exemplary, in spite of His longsuffering and grace.
In his review of Israel's history of rebellion, Moses started with their worship of the golden calf at Mount Sinai (Deut. 9:7–21; 25–10:11; Ex. 32) and then simply mentioned the places where they rebelled on the journey from Sinai to Kadesh-Barnea (Deut. 9:22). After that, he declared the nation's unbelief and rebellion at Kadesh-Barnea (vv. 23–24), followed by a second reminder of the episode of the golden calf (9:25—10:11). Moses didn't follow a strict chronological account of all the events in Israel's history but emphasized their two greatest sins: the worship of the golden calf at Sinai and the refusal to enter the land at Kadesh-Barnea.
The grace of God (9:1–6). The phrase "this day" doesn't mean the very day on which Moses was speaking, for Israel didn't enter the land of Canaan until over forty days later (1:3; 34:8; Josh. 4:19). The word "day" refers to a period of time during which God is doing a special work, such as the day of creation, which was six days (Gen. 2:4), or the "day of the Lord," when God will judge the world (Joel 2). God reminded Israel of the unbelief of the previous generation at Kadesh-
Israel committed a very great sin when they worshipped the golden calf (Ex. 32—34). Behind them was the history of their deliverance from Egypt, a demonstration of the grace and power of the Lord, and
Deuteronomy 9—10
(Ex. 32:31–34). A true shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11).
yet they rebelled against their Redeemer! Israel was the people of God, redeemed by His hand, and yet they manufactured a new god! Before them was Mount Sinai where they had seen God's glory and holiness demonstrated and from which they had received the law of the Lord. In that law, God commanded them to worship Him alone and not to make idols and worship them. They had accepted that law and twice promised to obey it (Ex. 24:3, 7), and yet they broke the first and second commandments by making and worshipping an idol, and the seventh commandment by engaging in lustful revelry as a part of their "worship."
After reviewing Israel's great sin at Sinai, Moses mentioned Israel's repeated rebellions on the way to Kadesh-Barnea (Deut. 9:22). At Taberah, the people complained about their "hardships" and God sent fire that consumed some of the people on the outskirts of the camp (Num. 11:1–3).5 Then the people who complained to Moses begged him to pray for them, and God listened to Moses and stopped the judgment. "Taberah" means "burning," and the name should remind all of us that it's a sin to complain (Phil. 2:14–15; 1 Cor. 10:10). At Massah, the Jews complained because they were thirsty, so Moses struck the rock and God provided water abundantly (Ex. 17:1–7). "Massah" means "testing" and is joined with "Meribah" which means "quarreling." "Kibroth Hattaavah" means "graves of lust" and refers to the time Israel became weary of the manna and craved meat to eat (Num. 11:4ff.). God sent flocks of quail over the camp of Israel and all the people had to do was knock the birds down, dress them, cook them, and eat them. It was the old "Egyptian appetite" asserting itself again, the flesh rebelling against the Spirit. While the people were eating the meat, God's judgment fell and He sent a plague to the camp. "So he gave them what they asked for, but he sent a plague along with it" (Ps. 106:15 nlt). Sometimes God's greatest judgment is to let us have our own way (Rom. 1:22–28).
Impatience and unbelief prompted Israel's great sin at Mount Sinai, for Moses had been on the mountain with the Lord for forty days and nights (Ex. 24:1–18). Aaron should have opposed their request for a new god, but instead he compromised and went along with their demands, hoping it would bring peace to the camp. Imagine the first high priest making an idol! Moses had given his brother authority to act in his absence (v. 14), and Aaron could have rallied the tribal leaders and urged the Israelites to obey the Lord; but he wanted to please the people and avoid conflict. Centuries later, Pontius Pilate would make the same mistake when he obeyed the crowd that wanted Jesus to be crucified (Mark 15:15).
Never underestimate the importance of spiritual leadership that encourages obedience to the Word of God. Aaron failed God, who had appointed him as high priest; he failed his brother who was depending on him to guide the nation; and he failed the people who desperately needed strong spiritual leadership. When Moses confronted him, Aaron tried to excuse his way out of his sin by blaming the people! All he did was take their golden jewelry and throw it into the fire, and out came a calf! (See Ex. 32:22–24.) Moses spent another forty days and nights on the mountain, interceding for Aaron and the people. God was ready to slay Aaron, wipe out the nation, and begin a new nation with Moses, but Moses prayed for Aaron and the people and refused God's offer to make him the father of a new nation. Moses faced this same test at KadeshBarnea and again put the glory of God and the good of the people ahead of personal promotion (Num. 14:12). Moses was more concerned with the glory of God and His reputation before the pagan nations, for he knew that the fear of God had to go before Israel if they were to conquer the land and claim their inheritance.
Finally, Moses rehearsed Israel's great failure at Kadesh-Barnea (Deut. 9:23–24; Num. 13—14). During the march from Egypt to Kadesh, the Jews had seen the hand of God at work day after day, meeting their every need, but at Kadesh, they felt that God wasn't great enough to give them victory over the nations in Canaan. They had "an evil heart of unbelief" (Heb. 3:12), which is actually rebellion against the Lord. Unbelief is a sin of the will; it's tempting the Lord and saying, "I will not trust the Lord and do what He commands me to do!" The ten unbelieving spies walked by sight, not by faith, and saw only the problems in the land. Moses, Aaron, Caleb, and Joshua walked by faith and believed that God could defeat any enemy and overcome every obstacle.
This review of Israel's sins is quite an indictment, but God never forsook the people of Israel and often forgave them when He should have judged them. "He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities" (Ps. 103:10; see Ezra 9:13). God is always faithful to His promises; when we don't allow Him to rule, He will overrule and still accomplish His purposes. However, we will miss the blessings that He planned for us.
We can't help but admire Moses as the leader of God's people. He spent forty days on the mountain, learning how to lead the people in their worship of God, and then he spent another forty days fasting and praying, interceding for a nation that complained, resisted his leadership, and rebelled against the Lord. But leaders are tested just as followers are tested, and Moses passed the test. He showed that his great concern wasn't his own fame or position but the glory of God and the good of the people. In fact, he was willing to die for the people rather than see God destroy them
Every believer and every Christian ministry, whether it be a local church or a parachurch ministry, must trust God to meet their needs a day at a time. If we complain along the way, we're only giving evidence that we don't trust God but think we know more than He does about what's best for us. When we come to those "Kadesh-Barnea" places in life, when we must
Deuteronomy 10—11
claim what God has planned for us and move forward by faith, we must not rebel against God and refuse to trust and obey. If we do, we may find ourselves wandering through life, failing to accomplish what God has planned for us. Claiming our inheritance in Christ is one of the major themes of the book of Hebrews, and the writer uses Israel as the main illustration (Heb. 3—4).
balanced fear of the Lord and love for the Lord is the result of a growing understanding of the attributes of God, and these attributes are described in the Scriptures. He is the Creator (v. 14); "all things were created by him, and for him" (Col. 1:16). While living in Egypt, the Jewish people saw the power of the Creator as He sent fire and hail, darkness, frogs and lice and even death, proving that He was in control of all things. He opened the Red Sea to allow Israel to escape, and then He closed the waters so the Egyptian army couldn't escape. He gave water from the rock and bread from heaven. When the Creator of the universe is your Father, why should you worry?
Servants of the Lord (10:12—11:32) "And now, Israel" (10:12) forms a transition as Moses moves into the closing section of this part of his address, a section in which he reminds the people why they should obey the Lord their God. This was not a new topic, but it was an important topic, and Moses wanted them to get the message and not forget it: loving obedience to the Lord is the key to every blessing. Jesus often repeated truths He had already shared, and Paul wrote to the Philippians, "For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe" (Phil. 3:1 nkjv). Not everybody listening gets the message the first time, and some who do might forget it. The Jewish people didn't carry pocket Bibles and had to depend on their memory, so repetition was important.
D.Fearing God—10:12—11:32
As we look at creation, we can easily see that there is a God who is powerful and wise, for only a powerful Being could create something out of nothing, and only a wise Being could make it as intricate and marvelous as it is and keep it working harmoniously. Whether you gaze through a telescope or peer through a microscope, you will agree with Isaac Watts
Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed Where e'er I turn my eye, If I survey the ground I tread Or gaze upon the sky!6
Obey because of God's commandments (10:12–13). The sequence of these five imperatives is significant: fear, walk, love, serve, and keep. The fear of the Lord is that reverential awe that we owe Him simply because He is the Lord. Both in the Old Testament and the New, the life of faith is compared to a walk (Eph. 4:1, 17; 5:2, 8, 15). It starts with a step of faith in trusting Christ and yielding ourselves to Him, but this leads to a daily fellowship with Him as we walk together in the way that He has planned. The Christian walk implies progress, and it also implies balance: faith and works, character and conduct, worship and service, solitude and fellowship, separation from the world and ministry and witness to the world. Obeying Him is "for our own good" (Deut. 10:13), for when we obey Him, we share His fellowship, enjoy His blessings, and avoid the sad consequences of disobedience.
Creation doesn't clearly reveal the love and grace of God, but we do see these attributes of God in the covenants He has made with His people (Deut. 10:15–16). God chose Israel because He loved them, and because of that love, He covenanted to be their God and bless them. The seal of that covenant was circumcision, given first to Abraham (Gen. 17:9–14) and commanded to be practiced on all his male descendants. So important was circumcision to the Jews that they spoke of the Gentiles as "the uncircumcised" or "the uncircumcision" (Judg. 14:3; 1 Sam. 17:26, 36; Acts 11:3; Eph. 2:11). But Israel so magnified the physical ritual that they forgot the spiritual reality, that circumcision marked them as God's people with spiritual privileges and responsibilities. Circumcision wasn't a guarantee that every Jewish man was going to heaven (Matt. 3:7–12). Unless there was a change in the heart, wrought by God in response to faith, the person didn't belong to the Lord in a vital way. That's why Moses exhorted them to let God "operate" on their hearts and do a lasting spiritual work (see Deut. 30:6), a message that was repeated by the prophets (Jer. 4:4; Ezek. 44:7, 9) and the apostle Paul (Rom. 4:9–12; see Acts 7:51). Unfortunately, this same spiritual blindness is with us today, for many people believe that baptism, confirmation, church membership, or participation in the Lord's Supper automatically guarantees their salvation. As meaningful as those things are, the Christian's assurance and seal of salvation isn't a physical ceremony but a spiritual work of the Holy Spirit in the heart (Phil. 3:1–10; Col. 2:9–12). Jewish circumcision removed but a small part of the flesh, but the Holy Spirit has put off the whole "body of the sins of the flesh" and made
The central element in these five imperatives is love, a word that Moses uses six times in this section (Deut. 10:12, 15, 19; 11:1, 13, 22). Is it possible both to fear and love the Lord at the same time? Yes, it is, for the reverence we show Him is a loving respect that comes from the heart. Moses used the word "heart" five times in this section of his address (10:12, 16; 11:13, 16, 18), so he made it clear that God wants more than external obedience. He wants us to do the will of God from the heart (Eph. 6:6), a loving obedience that brings joy to our Father in heaven. Love is the fulfillment of the law (Rom. 13:10), so if we love God, serving Him and keeping His commandments will not be a burden or a battle. These five elements are like the sections of a telescope that belong together and work together.
Obey because of God's character (10:14–22). A
Deuteronomy 11
turned the matter over to the Lord. God opened the earth, which swallowed up the three rebels, and He sent fire to destroy the 250 tribal leaders.8 It was important for the new generation to learn to respect God's leaders and obey His commandments concerning the priesthood. Even today, arrogant people who want to promote themselves and be "important" in the church had better beware of God's disciplines and judgments (Acts 5:1–11; 1 Cor. 3:9–23; Heb. 13:17; 3 John 9–12).
us new creatures in Christ (Col. 2:11). Old Testament Jews knew they were in the covenant because of a physical operation; New Testament Christians know they're in the covenant because of the presence of the Holy Spirit within (Eph. 1:13 and 4:30; Rom. 8:9, 16).
The God we worship and serve is also holy and just. "God is light and in him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5). After they had crossed the Red Sea, the Israelites sang, "Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?" (Ex. 15:11; and see Ps. 22:3 and Isa. 6:3). The love of God is so emphasized today that we tend to forget that it is a holy love and that "our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29). Because God is holy, all that He does is just, for it is impossible for God to sin. People may accuse God of being unjust because circumstances didn't work out as they expected, but a holy God cannot do anything unjust. He is impartial in His dealings and cannot be bribed by our promises or our good works. God has a special concern for the helpless, especially the widows, the orphans, and the homeless aliens (Deut. 27:19; Ex. 22:21–24; 23:9; Lev. 19:33; Ps. 94:6; Isa. 10:2). God cared for the Jews when they were aliens in Egypt, and He expected them to care for other aliens when Israel was settled in their own land.
Obey because of God's covenant promises (11:8–25). The key word in this section is "land," used at least a dozen times, referring to the land of Canaan which God promised to Abraham and his descendants when He entered into a covenant relationship with him (Gen. 13:14–17; 15:7–21; 17:8; 28:13; 5:12; Ex. 3:8). Canaan was not only the Promised Land because God promised it to Israel, but it was also "the land of promises" because in that land God would fulfill many of the promises relating to His great gift of salvation for the whole world. The land of Israel would be the stage on which the great drama of redemption would be enacted. There the Savior would be born and live, and there He would die for the sins of the world. He would be raised from the dead and ascend to heaven and to His born-again people in that land He would send the gift of the Holy Spirit. From that land, His people would spread out across the world and share the message of salvation.
Obey because of God's care (10:21—11:7). The phrase "what he did" or its equivalent is used six times in this paragraph, because the emphasis is on the mighty acts of God on behalf of His people Israel, "his greatness, his mighty hand, and his outstretched arm" (v. 2). What did God do for Israel? To begin with, when they were slaves in Egypt, He cared for them and multiplied them greatly. Jacob and his family journeyed to Egypt to join Joseph (Gen. 46), and seventy people became a mighty nation of perhaps 2 million people.7 God certainly kept His promise to Abraham to multiply his descendants as the stars of the heavens and the dust of the earth (13:14–16; 15:5; 22:17; 26:4). While the Jews were in Egypt, they saw the mighty power of God unleashed against Pharaoh and the nation as God sent one judgment after another that finally led to Israel's release. God's power not only ruined the land and destroyed Pharaoh's army, but it demonstrated that Jehovah was the true God and that all the gods and goddesses of Egypt were but dumb and powerless idols. Once Israel settled in the land, they would annually celebrate Passover and remember what the Lord had done for them.
If Israel wanted to possess the land, remain in it, and enjoy it, they had to obey the commandments of the Lord, because He owns the land of Israel (Lev. 25:2, 23, 38). Only He could open the Jordan River so Israel could enter the land, and only He could give the Jews victory over the nations already living in the land. Those nations were stronger than Israel, and the people were living in walled cities. But even after Israel entered and conquered the land, they wouldn't remain in the land to enjoy it if they failed to listen to God's Word and obey it. The same principle applies to believers today: in Christ we have "all spiritual blessings" (Eph. 1:3), but we can't possess them or enjoy them unless we believe God's promises and obey His commands.
The Promised Land was "a land of milk and honey," but if the rain didn't come at its appointed seasons, nothing would grow and the people would starve, and only God could send the rain. Baal was the Canaanite storm god, and often in their history, the Jews turned to this false god for help, and God had to chasten them. Elijah's dramatic encounter on Mount Carmel with the priests of Baal proved that the Lord Jehovah was the true and living God (1 Kings 18:16ff.). Unlike the land of Egypt, which depended on irrigation from the Nile River,9 the land of Israel received the life-giving rains from heaven, sent by the Lord. Often in Jewish history, God shut up the heavens and disciplined His people until they confessed their sins and returned to Him (Deut. 28:23–24; 2 Chron. 7:12–14). God would watch over and care for
Moses also reminded the new generation that God cared for them during their wilderness wanderings, but he mentioned only one specific event, God's judgment of Dathan and Abiram (Deut. 11:5–6; Num. 16; Jude 11). Korah, a Levite, enlisted Dathan and Abiram and 250 leaders in Israel to stand with him in challenging the authority of Moses, because Korah wanted the Levites to have the privilege of serving as priests. This was against the will of God, so Moses and Aaron
Deuteronomy 11
Moses had two horizons in mind when he gave this warning. The first was the nation before him that day (Deut. 11:26–28) and the second was the nation after they had entered the land (vv. 29–30). Their future victories depended on their present decision, the determination in their hearts to love the Lord and obey His Word. They would soon be on a battlefield and only the help of the Lord could give them victory over the enemy. The offer was a simple one: if they obeyed the Lord, He would bless them; if they disobeyed, He would chasten them.
the land and its inhabitants (Deut. 11:12). If the nation of Israel feared God, loved Him, and obeyed Him, He would send the crops in their seasons and feed the people and the flocks and herds. God wasn't "buying" their obedience; He was rewarding their faith and teaching them the joys of knowing and serving Him.
The problem wasn't with God or the land; it was in the hearts of the people. "Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived" (v. 16). If the people turned aside from worshipping Jehovah, His anger would be kindled and He would have to discipline them. Since their idolatry polluted the land, God would have to remove them from the land and cleanse it,and this He did when He sent the Jews into captivity in Babylon. The greatest deterrent to idolatry was the Word of God (vv. 18–21; see 6:6–9), the treasure that God had given to Israel and to no other nation. That Word was supposed to govern their lives and be the topic of their conversation. As we have seen, the Jews took this commandment literally and made phylacteries for their arms and heads and mezuzahs for their houses but failed to receive the Word into their hearts. Christians today face the same danger. It's much easier to wear a gold cross on our person than to bear Christ's cross in daily life, and to hang Scripture texts on the walls of our homes than to hide God's Word in our hearts. If we love the Lord and cleave to Him, we will want to know His Word and obey it in every area of our lives.
After the Jews entered the land and began to conquer it, they were to conduct a special ceremony at Shechem, which is located between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. (The details are given in Deut. 27— 28 and the fulfillment in Josh. 8:30–35.) At Mount Ebal, Joshua was to write the words of the law on some large plastered stones and also build an altar. Mount Ebal was to be "the mount of curses" and Mount Gerizim "the mount of blessings." The tribes on Mount Gerizim would be Simeon, Levi, Judah, Isaachar, Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh), and Benjamin, and the remaining tribes would gather on Mount Ebal. In the valley between the two mountains Joshua, the priests and Levites and the tribal officers would stand with the ark of the covenant, and from that location the Levites would loudly address the people and recite the curses and the blessings. After each curse was spoken, the people on Mount Ebal would shout, "Amen," meaning, "So be it—we agree!" After each blessing was read, the tribes on Mount Gerizim would shout, "Amen!"
How do we claim God's blessings? By stepping out by faith (11:24–25). This is what God commanded Abraham to do (Gen. 13:17) as well as Joshua (Josh. 1:3). It was this promise that Caleb claimed when he asked for his inheritance in the Promised Land (14:6–15), and it's the promise all believers must claim if they expect to enjoy the blessings God has for them. You don't "claim the land" by studying the map and dreaming of conquest. You claim the land by stepping out by faith, believing God's Word, and depending on His faithfulness. J. Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission, now the Overseas Missionary Fellowship, said: "Not by striving after faith, but by resting in the Faithful One."10
The priests would offer on the altar on Mount Ebal11 burnt offerings, symbolizing dedication to God, and peace offerings, symbolizing fellowship with God, and they would eat "before the Lord" and enjoy a covenant meal. This important ceremony would be a reaffirmation of the covenant which Israel accepted at Mount Sinai and heard a second time in the Plains of Moab in Moses' farewell address.
Spiritually speaking, believers today live between two mounts: Mount Calvary, where Jesus died for us, and the Mount of Olives, to which Jesus will one day return (Zech. 14:4; Acts 1:11–12). But God hasn't written the old covenant law on stones and warned us about curses; rather, He has written His new covenant on our hearts and blessed us in Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 3:1–3; Heb. 8; Eph. 1:3). "There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1). However, the fact that Christians are under grace and not under law doesn't mean that we have a license to sin (6:1–14). God's dispensations change but His principles never change, and one of those principles is that God blesses us when we obey and chastens us when we disobey. As we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, we overcome the appetites of the flesh, and God's righteousness is fulfilled in us (8:4) and we never hear the voices from Mount Ebal.
Obey because of God's chastening (11:26–32). The upshot of the whole matter was that the nation had to make a choice whether to obey God and enjoy His blessing or disobey Him and experience His chastening. They could enjoy the land, endure chastening in the land (the book of Judges), or be evicted from the land (the Babylonian captivity). You would think that the choice would be an easy one, for who would want to be chastened by the Lord? But just as children defy their parents' commands, knowing full well that their disobedience will bring punishment, so God's people deliberately disobey God and defy His will. They have no fear of God and really think they will escape His chastening hand! This is what the Bible calls "tempting God."
Deuteronomy 12
(China Inland Mission, 1949), 114. Every believer should read this classic book on faith and spiritual victory. 11 Since Mount Ebal was the mount of cursing, the altar was needed there for sacrifices that could bring forgiveness and restore fellowship with God. The Old Testament sacrifices speak of the work of Jesus Christ on the cross (Heb. 10:1–18), and He bore the curse of the law for us (Gal. 3:10–14).
1 Horace Walpole, Anecdotes of Painting in England, vol. 3, chap. 1. 2 In His sermon on the bread of life (John 6), Jesus pointed out that, like the manna, He came down from heaven, but that He came to give life while the manna only sustained life. God sent the manna to Israel alone, but He sent His Son to the whole world. Unless we receive Jesus within our hearts, just as the body receives bread, we are not saved. Our Lord's sermon in John 6 has nothing to do with the Lord's Supper (Eucharist) or any other religious ceremony. It focuses entirely on having a personal relationship with Jesus through faith. "Eating His flesh and drinking His blood" is metaphorical language for receiving Him personally within. 3 However there are many recorded incidents of God's provisions for His people in ways that are just as miraculous as anything He did for Israel. For more than thirty years, George Mueller of Bristol, England trusted God to feed thousands of orphans, and he was never disappointed. Without promoting for funds, J. Hudson Taylor trusted God to provide support for the missionaries of the China Inland Mission, and the Lord was faithful. 4 Hebrews 12:1–15 is the classic text on God's disciplining of the believer. For an exposition, see chapter 11 of my book Be Confident, published by Cook. 5 "The outskirts of the camp" was where the "mixed multitude" lived, the non-Jewish people who had left Egypt with Israel (Ex. 12:38). According to Numbers 11:4, it was this crowd that caused the problem, just as unsaved people and carnal believers create problems in churches today. However, the Jews shouldn't have listened to them and joined them in their complaining. 6 "I Sing the Mighty Power of God" by Isaac Watts. 7 The persons in Jacob's family are listed in Genesis 46:8–25 according to his wives: Leah—33; Zilpah—16; Rachel—14; Bilhah—7, which totals seventy persons. But Er and Onan were dead (46:12), so we have a total of sixty-eight, and Joseph was already in Egypt with his two sons, which gives us sixtyfive. Adding the daughter, Dinah, gives us sixty-six persons who went to Egypt with Jacob, as stated in 46:26. When you add Jacob and Joseph and Joseph's two sons, you have a total of seventy persons (Deut. 10:22). Stephen used the number seventy-five (Acts 7:14), which was taken from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament which was popular among the Hellenistic Jews. The Septuagint number includes the five grandsons of Joseph (Num. 26:28–37; 1 Chron. 7:14–15, 20–25). 8 Dathan and Abiram lost their lives, their families, and their possessions; but Numbers 26:8–11 indicates that the family of Korah wasn't judged. The sons of Korah served as Levites and are credited with writing at least eleven psalms (42; 44—49; 84—85; 87—88). 9 The phrase in verse 10 ("watered it with your foot") suggests that one of the tasks of the enslaved Jews in Egypt was to keep the irrigation ditches open so the water flowed into the fields. There's no evidence that the Egyptians had foot-powered irrigation equipment that lifted water from the Nile and distributed it in the fields. 10 Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor, Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret