Remember God's Mercy

The new tablets showed that God’s mercy was greater than Israel’s rebellion.

Deuteronomy 10:1-5 "At that time the LORD said to me, 'Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones. Also make a wooden Ark-a sacred chest to store them in. Come up to me on the mountain, 2 and I will write on the tablets the same words that were on the ones you smashed. Then place the tablets in the Ark.' 

3 "So I made an Ark of acacia wood and cut two stone tablets like the first two. Then I went up the mountain with the tablets in my hand. 4 Once again the LORD wrote the Ten Commandments on the tablets and gave them to me. They were the same words the LORD had spoken to you from the heart of the fire on the day you were assembled at the foot of the mountain. 

5 Then I turned and came down the mountain and placed the tablets in the Ark of the Covenant, which I had made, just as the LORD commanded me. And the tablets are still there in the Ark."

In my recent post we have seen that Moses is preparing God's people for life without his leadership after they cross the river to the Promised Land. The message that Moses has for them in Deuteronomy chapters 6-11 is a call to remember your history with God so that they can possibly learn from it. 

In my previous post, Moses forces them to look at their shameful and rebellious past, perhaps remembering how quickly they turned away from God will make them realize how easy it is to do and make them far less likely to rebel in the future. It is a difficult message to receive because their short history as God’s people is already filled with failure.

Their miraculous encounters with God should have produced greater faith, but spiritual growth is slow. Even the greatest evidence of God’s love does not easily overcome our tendency toward unbelief, pride, and rebellion.

When Israel left Egypt, all they knew was God had promised them an amazing land filled with abundant resources. But they did not know the full route or understand all that God intended to accomplish before they entered the land. God had revealed himself in Egypt but that was just the beginning, in the wilderness he would continue to teach them.

Their journey is similar to Abraham’s journey. Abraham also left a pagan world when God called him toward Canaan. He had to learn that the Lord alone is God, had to learn to trust, worship, and obey. Abraham experienced failure and mercy, just as Israel would.

Abraham had many lessons to learn before he received the promised son, and Israel had much to learn before it received the Promised Land. Both Abraham and the nation that came from him remind us that no matter how hard we try, none of us trusts and obeys God perfectly.

Deuteronomy 10 opens by reminding Israel of one of the clearest examples of their rebellion and their need for mercy. 

God had already revealed himself in amazing ways through the ten plagues while they were in Egypt, he revealed himself in their amazing exit, and in their safe Red Sea crossing.

God continued to reveal himself by supplying daily food and water, a miraculous military win and then he brought them to Sinai where they would experience God in a most unique way.

After all of that revelation from God and their commitment to "do everything the LORD has commanded." (Exodus 19:8)

Israel Broke the Covenant, Moses Broke The Tablets

Yet while Moses was on the mountain receiving the Ten Commandments directly from God on the first set of stone tablets, the very same people demanded that Aaron make an idol for them.

Israel had broken the covenant almost as soon as they had agreed to it. Moses shattered the first tablets as a visible picture of what Israel had done. The golden calf made Israel’s rebellion visible, and the broken tablets showed what that rebellion had done to Israel’s covenant relationship with God.

By every human measure, Israel, like Abraham, had forfeited its right to receive God’s promise.

God Gave New Tablets, Same Commandments

Moses reminds God’s people that their sin had not canceled God’s commitment to them. Because of His compassionate love and mercy, He would write the same words again.

The first tablets came from God with His commands already inscribed on them. But after Israel’s rebellion, Moses had to chisel out the second tablets, which God would use to write the same commands all over again.

Think about the fact that Moses had to make the second tablets and then climb the mountain carrying those heavy stones. He was not a young man when he had to do this.

New Tablets, New Reminder

God was merciful to write the same commands again instead of immediately judging His people. The people would look at the commandments on the tablets and be reminded of God’s commands, but the fact that these are replacement tablets should remind them of their need for mercy.

When Moses returned to the mountain of God with the new tablets, God made it clear why there would be a second set:

Exodus 34:6 “The LORD passed in front of Moses, calling out, ‘Yahweh! The LORD! The God of compassion and mercy! I am slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.’”

The new tablets proved that God had not abandoned His people. They reminded Israel that God is holy and that His commands do not change, but they also reminded them that His mercy had allowed rebellious people to remain His people.

God’s people then and now struggle with sin every day. Our ability to trust and obey will never be enough to remove our need for mercy. Thankfully, our God is the God of compassion and mercy, slow to anger, and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness. 

God's people then and now would have a struggle with sin daily, our ability to trust and obey will never be enough to avoid the need for mercy. Thankfully our God is the God of compassion and mercy that cannot be found in any other "god."

New Reminder, Better Proof

We hold the greatest proof that God's mercy is far greater than our sin. Even greater than the second set of stone tablets, we have the old rugged cross as our ultimate proof of His grace.

The cross shows us the true weight of our sin and the unwavering holiness of God. Yet at the exact same time, it puts His infinite love and mercy on full display. Jesus bore the judgment we rightly deserved so that rebellious hearts could be forgiven, restored, and welcomed home to God.

Thank You, Lord, for this new covenant that displays your amazing mercy to your rebellious people.

Remember Your Rebellion

God’s faithfulness is way better than ours.

Deuteronomy 9:4-5,7-8 "After the LORD your God has done this for you, don't say in your hearts, 'The LORD has given us this land because we are such good people!' No, it is because of the wickedness of the other nations that he is pushing them out of your way.

5 It is not because you are so good or have such integrity that you are about to occupy their land. The LORD your God will drive these nations out ahead of you only because of their wickedness, and to fulfill the oath he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Moses has been talking to God's people in a series of final speeches before he dies and they enter the Promised Land without him. Much more important than Ted Talks, Moses's talks really matter for the peace and prosperity of the nation.

God is gracious to bless all mankind, but He goes above and beyond for His children. When we are in the wilderness with God, we need to remember that being with Him there is a far better place than being in Egypt without Him.

Moses warned them that they need to remember God's blessings in the wilderness while they are uncomfortable, but they also need to remember Him in times of prosperity and comfort. Our rebellion cannot be blamed on our circumstances. In problems or prosperity, in little or in luxury, we have to stay alert.

Remember How You Provoked the Lord (Deuteronomy 9:7)

Before they get to the Promised Land and feel like they earned it, Moses makes sure they realize they didn't do anything to deserve being there.

Deuteronomy 9:7 "Remember and never forget how angry you made the LORD your God out in the wilderness. From the day you left Egypt until now, you have been constantly rebelling against him. 8 Even at Mount Sinai you made the LORD so angry he was ready to destroy you.

Their rebellion started as soon as they left Egypt, and it wasn't going to stop anytime soon. To make his point crystal clear, Moses reminds the nation that they have rebelled in the past and will surely do it again.

God revealed himself to his people to help them believe:

• The display of his power in Egypt through the 10 plagues, 
• The fact that they didn't have to leave Egypt forcefully instead the were told to leave, 
• The miracle Red Sea crossing that eliminated their enemy
• The daily provision of food and water
• God grants them a miraculous military victory when the Amalekites attack
• God showed them a small portion of his glory on Mount Sinai which was a fearful sight

The trip from Egypt has only been about three months long, it has been filled with a growing amount of revelation of God to his people but instead of belief and trust, their response is complete rebellion. (Exodus 19:1)

Remembering Our Rebellion Matters

Moses forces them to look at their shameful past to help them avoid repeating it. He hopes that by remembering how quickly they turned away from God before, they will be far less likely to rebel in the future.

While executing God's judgment on the Canaanite nations, Israel would naturally be tempted to take credit for something they didn't do. Taking credit for God's work is a very dangerous trap.

Moses warned in Deuteronomy that if Israel acted like the Canaanites, they would face Canaanite judgment.

We can always look around and find someone whose sin seems bigger than our own. God's people were at risk of losing focus while working for Him, arrogantly viewing their victories as proof that they were simply His favorites.

Working for God and seeing victory in ministry can be just as blinding as winning battles against evil nations. It is easy to lose perspective and forget that we are doing God's work strictly out of His grace and mercy. We could just as easily be the ones punished for our sins.

History would quickly prove after the death of Joshua that choosing Israel to execute judgment wasn't about their goodness.

Remembering Is Soon Forgotten 

Judges 2:7,10-11 And the Israelites served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and the leaders who outlived him-those who had seen all the great things the LORD had done for Israel.

10 After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the LORD or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel. 11 The Israelites did evil in the LORD's sight and served the images of Baal.

Israel Forgot

Israel was faithful until they forgot. What a simple reminder to keep God's perspective at the front of our minds! The book of Joshua shows us the success of a people who trust and obey their God. But the book of Judges shows us the heartbreaking consequences of forgetting.

Egypt Forgot

I am reminded of the nation of Egypt. They were blessed and prosperous until they forgot. Over the course of 400 years, they went from a thriving nation that saved God's people from famine to a nation destroyed by plagues and a devastating military loss at the Red Sea.

Exodus 1:8 Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done.

Forgetting Joseph led them to oppress the very people who had preserved their empire, directly setting up the plagues and the downfall of Pharaoh's power.

The consequences of forgetting God are devastating. It is the easiest and most subtle form of rebellion. It catches us off guard because it so often happens while we are busy doing God's work. Victory in Canaan was a gift of God's grace that required ongoing humility and a clear memory of their own tendency to forget and return to rebellion.

Remember Your Deliverance

Despite my own lack of goodness, God delivered me from the kingdom of darkness so that I could live for Him and do His work. Just as Moses interceded for God's people and asked for mercy and forgiveness, I must do the same.

Deuteronomy 9:27 Please overlook the stubbornness and the awful sin of these people, and remember instead your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

My righteousness is far less than my rebellion. I must intentionally remember my deliverance that came out of God's mercy and confess my rebellion and my tendency to fall short of trusting and obeying God and being thankful for his goodness in my life.

Yet my rebellion must not dominate my thoughts or lead to despair. I need to keep things in perspective so I can live with gratitude for the great things He does through me.

Thank You, God, for Your deliverance from the kingdom of darkness through Your Son, who never rebelled. Help me stay in Your Word daily so I can remain faithful as I cross the wilderness on my way to the Promised Land.

Remember The Lord In Prosperity

The greatest danger is not the wilderness, it is forgetting God after the wilderness.

 

Deuteronomy 8:1-2 Be careful to obey all the commands I am giving you today. Then you will live and multiply, and you will enter and occupy the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors. 2 Remember how the LORD your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands.

In my recent studies I have seen that it is so important to remember God that He filled the book of Deuteronomy with repeated calls to do exactly that. Moses has been giving God's people this important lesson again by reviewing the blessings that God has given his people since they left slavery in Egypt.

Moses conclusion that God's people are blessed is probably a surprise for this nation of wilderness grumblers to hear. The abundance of blessings they had experienced everyday while they wondered around were usually overlooked as God's people focused on the hardship that they were enduring because of their fear and lack of faith.

Moses knows that the same people that couldn't trust and obey in the wilderness with the blessings they had there would certainly be in danger of forgetting God or showing disrespect to him when they are showered with even greater blessings in the Promised Land.

As God's people enter into times of prosperity:

Remember the Wilderness (Deuteronomy 8:1–5)

Look back and remember where you came from and how you arrived here. God did not lead Israel through the wilderness merely to move them from Egypt to Canaan. He used those forty years to humble them, test them, and prepare them.

The hunger, the manna, the water from the rock, the deadly snakes, and the long years of waiting were all part of the process. Through every hardship and every provision, God revealed who He is and showed His people what was truly in their hearts.

The testing was for their benefit, but it was also recorded for ours. It may seem unfair to view their suffering as a lesson for us, but their wilderness experience was preserved in God's word for us to remember as we walk through this life.

Remember Who Gives the Blessings (Deuteronomy 8:6–17)

The wilderness would not last forever. God was bringing the Israelites into a rich and abundant land. Moses knew that the abundance carried its own danger. A deliberate choice needed to be made to remember God and thank Him for the blessings.

Deuteronomy 8:7, 11, 14  For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water, with fountains and springs that gush out in the valleys and hills. 11 But that is the time to be careful!

Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the LORD your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today 14 Do not become proud at that time and forget the LORD your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.

When their homes were built, their herds had multiplied, and their wealth had increased, their hearts could easily become proud. Comfort and success become spiritually dangerous when they produce pride and self-reliance instead of gratitude. These ancient sins are still very popular today as we see them in our own hearts, homes, businesses, and even in churches today. 

Remember Who Gives the Power (Deuteronomy 8:18)

The power of God has been displayed over and over since the plagues of Egypt, he performed visible, indisputable miracles to defend Israel and provide for them, yet physical evidence of His power rarely translated into lasting faith.

They had already won against the attack from powerful kings back in Numbers 21 and they will have plenty of success over the kings of the Promised Land but all of this victory can be taken for granted.

Deuteronomy 8:18 Remember the LORD your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.

We like to give ourselves credit for creating our own destiny, we like to ignore the fact that we are not in control but the fact that our plans fall apart and have to be adjusted prove to us everyday that we do not have the power to control anything. 

Remember the Consequence of Forgetting (Deuteronomy 8:19–20)

There is no reason for God's people to believe that they can exercise God's judgment on Gentile nations and then become worse than those nations are and still continue to be blessed.

Deuteronomy 8:19-20 But I assure you of this: If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods, worshiping and bowing down to them, you will certainly be destroyed. 20 Just as the LORD has destroyed other nations in your path, you also will be destroyed if you refuse to obey the LORD your God.

Forgetting God is the road to ruin for any people, even God's people, they would not be allowed to administer his justice on the nations and then be exempt from the same demands. God does not have two sets of scales, Israel's power, position, or religious status would never shield them from God's moral standard. (Romans 2:11)

The Same Temptation Today

We face the same situation today in the abundance of the Western world. We have the same tendency to enjoy God’s gifts while slowly forgetting the Giver. It's the same gameplan that Satan used on Jesus. The testing that Jesus overcame by using the scriptures found in Deuteronomy is an example for us.

Israel failed to trust and obey even though they spent 40 years being fed by God everyday, Jesus went 40 days without any food yet he was able to trust and obey and resist Satan. Jesus relied on the truth of Deuteronomy to remain perfectly obedient and faithful.

We must be diligent to not allow all of our blessings to become a source of pride as the religious leaders did. The Pharisees serve as the ultimate example of what happens when religious privilege turns into spiritual pride.

Remember the Lord always, give him the credit for your blessings and stay humble, remember your redemption from the kingdom of darkness and his protection and provision as you cross this wilderness to your Promised Land.

Remember God's Greatest Command - The Shema

Jesus remembered what Israel forgot.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 "Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.

5 And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.

6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.

7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.

8 Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 9 Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

The greatest challenge in the Christian life is not gaining new knowledge, it is remembering God's faithfulness. We are prone to forget His goodness, slow to love Him with our whole heart, and often fail to pass that faith on to the next generation.

It amazes me how much knowledge we are expected to gain during our lifetime. Just when we have accumulated enough wisdom and experience to recognize God's faithfulness through both our successes and failures, our opportunity to pass those lessons on to the next generation begins to slip away as our lives soon come to an end.

Spiritual Growth Is Always A Slow Process

That observation came to me recently while studying the Old Testament. Even in the lives of the heroes of the faith, we see people very much like ourselves. There is surprisingly little spiritual growth over the course of a lifetime. They die, and their children begin the journey again.

Consider Father Abraham

He didn't have a relationship with the one true God when he was called to leave his homeland. Abraham made some serious mistakes along the way as God patiently increased his capacity to trust and obey.

But by the time Abraham had matured in his faith, his life was nearly over. Isaac inherited only a small part of what his father had learned and still had to develop his own faith. Jacob continued the journey, and then the twelve tribes carried it forward.

Consider Israel's History

Spiritual growth and maturity did not increase over the years. When Jesus began His ministry, the nation had a strong belief in the one true God, and its knowledge of Scripture had grown considerably. Yet the deeper issue of the heart remained. Wholehearted love, trust, and obedience were still a struggle, just as they had been with Abraham.

We grow way to slow and then we are gone. Each generation began with a slight advantage over the previous one, but the tension between personal spiritual growth and passing our faith to the next generation runs throughout Scripture. 

Moses knew that he was about to die, and Israel was preparing to enter the Promised Land without the leader God had used for the last forty years. Before Joshua took command and before Israel crossed the Jordan River, Moses gathered the people one final time to remind them of the truths they must never forget.

This helps explain why Deuteronomy is such an important book.

As Moses spoke to Israel on the edge of the Promised Land, he renewed the covenant with a new generation, calling them to love the Lord with all their heart, soul, and strength. Moses knew that before Israel could truly obey God's law, they first had to love the God who gave it.

The success of God's people depended on this, both then and in the future. That is why God expected parents to love Him wholeheartedly and pass this truth on to their children. The Jews understood the importance of Deuteronomy and still recite the Shema today, but somewhere along the way the church largely forgot.

I think that is part of the point I am trying to make. We have largely stopped passing on the importance of Deuteronomy to our children, and the significance of the theology found in Deuteronomy on Christianity today seems surprisingly small. While researching this study, I found very few sermons on Deuteronomy, and many commentaries and study Bibles skim the surface without emphasizing its central message.

This book carries unusual weight throughout the rest of Scripture. Jesus quoted Deuteronomy more than almost any other Old Testament book, using it to resist Satan's temptations and identifying the Shema as the greatest commandment. Where Israel failed to trust and obey God in the wilderness, Jesus remained perfectly faithful. He not only taught the heart of Deuteronomy; He lived it.

The historical books that follow evaluate Israel's faithfulness by Deuteronomy's standards, and the New Testament reveals that the heart transformation Deuteronomy ultimately requires is provided through Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant.

The first four chapters review God's faithfulness throughout the wilderness. Chapter five repeats the Ten Commandments, and chapter six reveals the foundation upon which every other command rests:

God's people must love the Lord above everything else.

The Jews call these verses the Shema, named after the Hebrew word for "Hear" or "Listen." For centuries it has been recited morning and evening as a confession that the Lord alone is God and deserves our complete devotion.

All other loves must be secondary. This is a wholehearted commitment that places God above every other affection. Such love does not come naturally, and that is exactly why it must be passed on to the next generation.

That is our hope today. As we journey toward our own Promised Land, we face the same temptation to forget God's goodness. We have Jesus as our example. He lived the life we could never live and became the first and only perfect fulfillment of the Shema.

The desire of every believer should be:

Psalm 103:1–2 "Let all that I am praise the LORD; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me."

Like Abraham, Israel, and David, we all fall short of loving God with our whole heart, soul, and strength. Jesus alone fulfilled the Shema perfectly.

As we journey toward our own Promised Land, may we remember God's goodness, love Him above everything else, and point the next generation to the One who perfectly lived the Shema for us.

Remember God's Commands

Renewing their covenant before entering the land 

Deuteronomy 5:22 The LORD spoke these words to all of you assembled there at the foot of the mountain. He spoke with a loud voice from the heart of the fire, surrounded by clouds and deep darkness. This was all he said at that time, and he wrote his words on two stone tablets and gave them to me.

So far the book of Deuteronomy has been about remembering, God's people need to Remember God's Blessing as his redeemed children and we need to Remember God's Purpose as his redeemed children. Moses wants God's people to stay focused on God and keep on remembering him as they enter the Promised Land.

Now Moses turns their attention to remembering God’s commands, beginning with the foundation found in the Ten Commandments. It seems the commandments had not been applied very well in the wilderness, the people seem to be doing whatever they want as they continued to worship idols, grumble, and refuse to trust and obey. 

The Life Application Study Bible raises a pointed question: 

What good would the Promised Land have been if Israel became just as wicked as the nations they were replacing?

As Israel stands on the threshold of the Promised Land, Moses understands that victory will not come simply because they are God's chosen people. They cannot cling to sin and expect to enjoy God's blessing. 

The judgment that is about to fall on the Canaanites is not evidence of God's favoritism toward Israel but of His holy and righteous character. If Israel forgets the Lord, abandons His covenant, and walks in disobedience, they too will experience His discipline. Two truths that we must also remember: God does not change and his justice is as constant as his mercy.

The prophets, together with the fulfillment of their words, remind us that God is faithful to everything He has spoken. He does not overlook sin because of a person's identity, heritage, or privilege. His dealings with both Canaan and Israel reveal the same unchanging truth: God is holy, and He desires a people who reflect His holiness.

The people’s fearful response leads to Moses becoming their mediator.

Deuteronomy 5:23-24 "But when you heard the voice from the heart of the darkness, while the mountain was blazing with fire, all your tribal leaders and elders came to me. 24 They said, 'Look, the LORD our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice from the heart of the fire. Today we have seen that God can speak to us humans, and yet we live!

God's message at Sinai was unmistakable. No one doubted who was speaking "from the heart of the fire, surrounded by clouds and deep darkness." The people knew this was God's mountain and these were His commandments. 

 Confronted with His overwhelming holiness, they responded correctly with fear and reverence. Recognizing God's glory and greatness, they asked Moses to go before the Lord on their behalf and promised that they would obey whatever He commanded.

What they did not yet understand was the depth of their own sinfulness and inability to keep that promise. Their fear produced a sincere emotional response, but emotion alone could not produce long lasting reverence or faithful obedience. 

The people’s fearful response isn't always reverence and obedience.

Deuteronomy 5:29 Oh, that they would always have hearts like this, that they might fear me and obey all my commands! If they did, they and their descendants would prosper forever.

Deuteronomy 5:33 Stay on the path that the LORD your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives in the land you are about to enter and occupy.

God knew that their passion at Sinai would not last. The first generation boldly declared, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do" (Exodus 19:8; 24:3, 7), yet they repeatedly chose unbelief and disobedience. And then just before the next generation entered the land, God told Moses they too would turn away and break their covenant with God just as their parents did. (Deuteronomy 31:16-27).

The problem was never God's law—it was the human heart. Sinai revealed God's holiness and man's inability to keep the covenant. That is why in the New Testament the book of Hebrews points us to a better mountain.

A tale of two mountains.

Hebrews 12:18 You have not come to a physical mountain, to a place of flaming fire, darkness, gloom, and whirlwind, as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. 

Hebrews 12:22 No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering.

Hebrews reminds us of the terror of Sinai, where the people stood at a distance and begged God to stop speaking. That mountain revealed God's holiness and man's separation from Him. It also exposed a problem that Israel could never solve: sinful people could not keep a holy covenant by their own determination.

Fear can make us back away from the fire, but only a transformed heart can keep us walking on the path. As Hebrews 12:22-24 points us to another mountain of God, Mount Zion. 

Through Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, we are no longer kept at a distance but are welcomed into God's presence. His blood speaks forgiveness and removes our judgment, and through Him God gives us the new heart that Israel lacked.

As Israel prepared to enter the Promised Land, they renewed their commitment to obey God. Yet history proved that good intentions were never enough.

Our hope is not in making better promises to God, but in trusting the One who fulfilled the covenant for us and is transforming us from the inside out.

Remember God's Purpose

Living faithfully so the nations can see God's glory.

Deuteronomy 4:1-2 "And now, Israel, listen carefully to these decrees and regulations that I am about to teach you. Obey them so that you may live, so you may enter and occupy the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. 2 Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you.

In my previous post, we looked at Moses' first lesson for Israel as they prepared to enter the Promised Land, Moses wanted God's people to know that they needed to remember God's blessings so that they would trust and obey him enough to cross the Jordan River and face "the giants in the land."

You see the giants are still there, they didn't go anywhere in the past 40 years, and I am sure that the Israelites did what we would all do. They often focused on the negatives, whether it's the giants in the land or the hardships of the wilderness instead of focusing on God's faithfulness.

But this is exactly how God works. He often leads His people into situations where their own strength is clearly not enough. Why? So they can see His power, His faithfulness, and His love more clearly.

Now Moses reveals the only strategy Israel would ever need for success in the Promised Land. They didn’t have superior military strength or better weapons but that is okay because they didn’t need them.

God's strategy to overcome the "giant" problem was remarkably simple:

1. Listen carefully.
2. Obey faithfully.

If Israel would hear God’s Word and obey it wholeheartedly, they would experience His blessing. But those blessings were never meant to end with Israel. God blessed His people so they could become a blessing to the nations.

From the moment God called Abraham, His purpose had always been bigger than one family or one nation. Israel was chosen to reveal the one true God to a world that did not know Him. Their obedience would serve as a living testimony that drew other nations to the Lord.

Three visible blessings the nations would recognize in faithful Israel:

1. Wisdom and Discernment

Deuteronomy 4:5-6 "Look, I now teach you these decrees and regulations just as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy.

6 Obey them completely, and you will display your wisdom and intelligence among the surrounding nations. When they hear all these decrees, they will exclaim, 'How wise and prudent are the people of this great nation!'

Before repeating the Law given at Mount Sinai, Moses wanted the new generation to understand why God had given it. These commands were not arbitrary rules. They were the revelation of God’s own wisdom for their good and His glory.

Israel would never look more attractive to the world than when they faithfully obeyed God’s Word. Their wisdom wouldn’t come from human achievement, but from living according to God’s perfect wisdom.

2. Intimacy With God

Deuteronomy 4:7 For what great nation has a god as near to them as the LORD our God is near to us whenever we call on him?

Israel’s greatest privilege wasn’t just possessing God’s Law—it was that His Law made intimate fellowship with Him possible. God didn’t redeem them simply to give them rules. He redeemed them so they could know Him personally.

Their obedience wasn’t cold religion. It was the expression of a loving relationship with the God who had rescued them. As the nations watched Israel walk closely with the Lord, they would be drawn to a God so near to His people.

3. God's Way Is The Best

Deuteronomy 4:8 And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today?

God’s commands were never meant to make life miserable. They were given so His people could flourish. His instructions reflected His holy character and showed that His ways are always good, always right, and always best.

When Israel lived according to these righteous ways, the surrounding nations would clearly see that the Lord’s way of life was superior to anything their false gods could offer.

A Life That Points Others to God

Moses wanted Israel to understand that their lives mattered. After forty years in the wilderness, it would have been easy to feel that their story had been wasted.

Many had grown up knowing nothing but desert wandering. Even Joshua and Caleb, though faithful, had shared in the nation’s long season of discipline.

They must have felt like all of their days were meaningless, but Moses wanted Israel to know that the wilderness was not wasted time.

The Life Application Study Bible brings up a good point:

What good would the Promised Land have been if Israel became just as wicked as the nations they were replacing? The journey was a painful but necessary part of their preparation.

Through it God taught the Israelites who he was: the living God, the Leader of their nation. He also taught them who they were: people who were fallen, sinful, and prone to rebellion and doubt.

He gave his rebellious people the law to help them understand how to relate to him and to other people

There wasn't any reason to allow God's people to exercise God's judgment over wicked nations if they were no better. They needed to be different so that the Canaanites would see their testimony and their victories and turn to God.

God was preparing His people.

• He taught them who He is, the living God who faithfully leads His people.
• He also taught them who they were, fallen people who desperately needed His grace and His guidance.
• He prepared them to become a holy people living under the rule of a holy God.

God has always desired more than outward obedience. He desires a relationship with His people that transforms the way they live.

The same principle applies today.

God's commands are still an expression of his love. They are an invitation to know him more deeply, experience his blessing, grow in holiness, and display his goodness to a watching world.

We are called to be distinct from the world, not as a requirement for salvation and not as an unnecessary burden. The purpose of our uniqueness as God's people is so that others might come to know and draw near the God who has drawn near to us.

RELATED ARTICLES

Video: Redeemed To Be Redeemers (diggingtheword.blogspot.com)

Remembering God’s Blessings

We need to prepare for our future by remembering our past.

Deuteronomy 1:1-5 These are the words that Moses spoke to all the people of Israel while they were in the wilderness east of the Jordan River. They were camped in the Jordan Valley near Suph, between Paran on one side and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab on the other.

2 Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea, going by way of Mount Seir. 3 But forty years after the Israelites left Egypt, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses addressed the people of Israel, telling them everything the LORD had commanded him to say. 4 This took place after he had defeated King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and at Edrei had defeated King Og of Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth.

5 While the Israelites were in the land of Moab east of the Jordan River, Moses carefully explained the LORD's instructions as follows.

Deuteronomy 1:8 Look, I am giving all this land to you! Go in and occupy it, for it is the land the LORD swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to all their descendants.'"

In my previous post we saw that God brought the second generation of his chosen people back to the Plains of Moab. That's the place where the first generation did not have enough faith that God would take them safely to their promised new home.

Moses knows that his own time on earth is coming to an end, so he focuses on preparing the people for what lies ahead. He understands that this new generation was either small children or not yet born when God unleashed the plagues on Egypt, buried their enemies in the Red Sea, or when God spoke from the thunder of Mount Sinai. After all of those miracles, their parents still failed to trust and obey God, but we will also see that their children will be no better.

The wilderness years should have been a forty-year lesson in faith, passed from parent to child, but the parents failed their children. Instead, the older generation taught mainly by negative example, their children grew up seeing their parents complain, fear, rebellion, and unbelief instead of learning a deep trust in God.

After forty years of wandering, the people have learned almost nothing about themselves or their Creator. The book of Deuteronomy is Moses’ final effort to teach the new generation what they must know and do in order to enter the Promised Land successfully.

God brought them to the land twice.

Deuteronomy 1:26-27 "But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God and refused to go in. You complained in your tents and said, 'The LORD must hate us. That's why he has brought us here from Egypt-to hand us over to the Amorites to be slaughtered.

The new generation must learn about God's love and what he has done for them to prove his love. They unfairly complained about God and swore that he must hate them and he must have brought them so far just to kill them. But the truth is, they have always been treated better than they deserved. As bad as they were God could not be convinced that he should curse them and he went out of his way to prevent Balaam from cursing them.

Moses wants to help them learn from the past to see that the evidence of God's love for his people and even though they can't win against the Canaanites, God still can. They can look to God who can or they can look at their lack of resources or the giants in the land and say "we can't."

God controls history and blesses his children.

Deuteronomy 2:7 For the LORD your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these forty years, the LORD your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing."'

The new generation needed to learn that their circumstances were not a measure of God's love for them. For centuries, their circumstances have been marked by hardship and tragedy. 

Think about their past, before Egypt they endured famine. In Egypt, after a brief period of prosperity, they suffered under slavery. Then, in the wilderness, they faced conditions that were impossible to survive, but through it all God remained faithful, providing for them and keeping His promises.

Israel survived the wilderness only because God provided for them, they had a supernatural supply line that Egypt could not duplicate. Egypt had no such provision to rely on, and after the plagues and the loss of their military at the Red Sea, they were hurting severely. Egypt had already been weakened by God’s power so that the wilderness that looked like a curse to God's people was actually an incredible blessing

I wonder how God's people, who had done little but complain for forty years, reacted when Moses told them, "You have lacked nothing." If anyone was complaining at that moment, I bet they stopped!

God is able to defeat even the strongest enemies and giants.

Deuteronomy 3:21-22 "At that time I gave Joshua this charge: 'You have seen for yourself everything the LORD your God has done to these two kings. He will do the same to all the kingdoms on the west side of the Jordan. Do not be afraid of the nations there, for the LORD your God will fight for you.'

The same God that protected and provided for his people as they survived the impossible for forty years would also provide military strength for them to get rid of the Canaanites. 

It is remarkable that they could wage war at all, they didn't have raw materials and a plant to manufacture weapons, they didn't have food to send to the front line and they didn't have a mobile hospital unit to take care of wounded troops. 

But they didn't need logistics, they already survived for 40 years despite the lack of logistics. These former slaves without military training were supposed to have faith by now that the same God who brought them out would also bring them in.

It sounds silly to us but we do the very same thing.

Colossians 1:13-14 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

God's people are no different today. We have been rescued from slavery to the kingdom of darkness and are being led through our own wilderness—a place where God teaches, refines, and shapes us. Yet, like Israel, we are often quick to focus on what we lack instead of recognizing how faithfully God has cared for us. He has sustained us, taught us, and provided exactly what we need, yet we still grumble. 

Deuteronomy 4:20 Remember that the LORD rescued you from the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt in order to make you his very own people and his special possession, which is what you are today.

We need our own Moses today to teach us the same lesson. Despite being delivered from the bondage of sin, we often complain while living in blessings that previous generations could scarcely imagine. Our hearts can still be marked by unbelief and rebellion against our loving God, just as the writer of Hebrews warns: 

Hebrews 3:12 Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.

God intentionally leads us through seasons where our own strength and resources are insufficient. The wilderness exposes our dependence on Him so that His power, faithfulness, and love become unmistakable. What seems unsustainable apart from God becomes the very place where He proves that He is enough.

Preparing For The Future

God's people will cross the river to the Promised Land despite our failures.

Numbers 27:12-14  One day the LORD said to Moses, "Climb one of the mountains east of the river, and look out over the land I have given the people of Israel. 13 After you have seen it, you will die like your brother, Aaron, 14 for you both rebelled against my instructions in the wilderness of Zin.

When the people of Israel rebelled, you failed to demonstrate my holiness to them at the waters." (These are the waters of Meribah at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)

In my study of the Torah, I have seen that God has given us plenty of overwhelming evidence of his majesty, power and his everlasting love for us, but I have also seen that it isn’t enough, we have all rejected the evidence and gone astray (Isaiah 53:6).

God's people drift so easily:

• The first generation that came out of Egypt saw God’s mighty acts before they left. They watched as He split the sea wide open, walked through it on dry ground, and still had the nerve to complain about lunch the next day (Exodus 14–16).
• The second generation of God’s people, almost 40 years later, were still reluctant to believe and commit to God’s ways. After the generation that worshiped the golden calf had died, the younger generation also broke the first commandment en masse by worshiping the Moabite gods—just a few months before entering the Promised Land.
• The second generation was still complaining about their situation. Life was harder now and the food was worse than it had been in Egypt. Even Aaron and Miriam complained. All of this was too much for Moses to handle (Numbers 11:1-15, 12:1-16).

Drifting away from God is what they did best. It is no wonder Moses was concerned about what would happen to God’s people after his departure. As God prepared Moses for his death, Moses became especially concerned about the nation and their future

God Prepares Moses

Numbers 27:16-17 "O LORD, you are the God who gives breath to all creatures. Please appoint a new man as leader for the community. 17 Give them someone who will guide them wherever they go and will lead them into battle, so the community of the LORD will not be like sheep without a shepherd."

God tells Moses that his ministry to God's people is almost over because of the incident at Meribah where Moses struck the rock instead of speaking to it. God is going to keep his promise to Moses that he would not enter the Promised Land, a fact that is difficult for us to understand, Moses was a reliable leader that served Israel faithfully in many ways.

Moses served God's people as a picture of Jesus (Hebrews 3:1-6), he was a man that knew God intimately (Deuteronomy 34:10) and God came to his defense when Miriam and Aaron criticized him. (Numbers 12:5-9)

Moses tells God that his people need a replacement, something that God already knew and had been preparing for, the new guy was already being trained for almost 40 years even though it seems that nobody realized it. 

Moses Prepares Joshua

Numbers 27:18 The LORD replied, "Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him."

Moses did what God told him to do to transfer his power to Joshua, he laid hands on him and presented him to the priest in front of everyone so there would be no question about who the new leader is.

God has been preparing the new leader for a very long time, the smooth transition of power was easy to accomplish because Joshua had been serving under Moses beginning with the first military conflict with the Amalekites not long after the Red Sea crossing. (Exodus 17:8–16)

The Bible does not tell us how Moses knew that Joshua was the right man to lead that battle 40 years ago. Maybe Moses knew Joshua before they left Egypt, maybe Joshua served in slavery in Pharaoh's household or in some way that supported the military.

Joshua proved to be a man of God as he served under Moses, he relied on God for that first victory in battle, he was not in the camp when the people worshiped the gold calf and he was one of the two spies that gave a favorable report when the people refused to enter the Promised Land.

Moses Prepares the People

A new beginning is almost here with new leaders and a new generation of God's people that will enter the promised Land. Moses will remind the people before his death that they are on a mission from God despite their unfaithfulness to God.

It looks like a long goodbye when you look at how many chapters it spans from the last section of the book of Numbers through the entire book of Deuteronomy, that's 44 chapters, but it all happened rather quickly. (See the timeline here)

Moses goodbye message will be a reminder of God's goodness to them over the years as he chose them, redeemed them, protected them through the wilderness and now he can be trusted to take his people home. But all of this experience will not keep them faithful unless they wrestle with the natural tendency to drift.

To fight the urge to drift from God, remember:

• Obey God’s commands when they enter the Promised Land
• Don’t forget God when life becomes comfortable and easy
• Every moment presents a choice, choose life and blessing by following Him 
• Teach the next generation what God has done so they can know him

They had plenty of experience with God over the past 40 years but as the old hymn says "prone to wonder, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love." 

God sought them and bought from their slavery as a picture of the truth found in that same hymn, "Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God; he, to rescue me from danger, interposed his precious blood."

Grace To Start Over

Psalm 103:7-12 He revealed his character to Moses and his deeds to the people of Israel. 8 The LORD is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. 9 He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. 10 He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. 11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. 12 He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.

There is hope for our drifting, unfaithful hearts! As sad as the history of God's people is in the wilderness (Psalms 78:1-72), God refused to curse them despite the fact that they were still the same people 40 years later, a truth that is still true for us thousands of years later.

Our fickle hearts still rebel against God as much as they did back in the Garden of Eden, the same as they did in Babylon as we built a tower to Heaven and the same as the multiple rebellions in the wilderness.

God's faithful heart to his people is greater than our fickle hearts! He has compassion and mercy that are new each day to forgive us that he has promised not to curse. We can be sure that he will bring us home to our Promised Land. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

Timeline - Moses To Joshua

The last phase of Moses' life and the transition to Joshua.

Numbers 27:12-13,18-19  One day the LORD said to Moses, "Climb one of the mountains east of the river, and look out over the land I have given the people of Israel. 13 After you have seen it, you will die like your brother, Aaron,

18 The LORD replied, "Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. 19 Present him to Eleazar the priest before the whole community, and publicly commission him to lead the people.

Moses is barred from entering the land due to the incident at Meribah (Numbers 20:12; Deuteronomy 32:48-52). The biblical text provides specific Hebrew calendar dates for some events, showing a compressed period of roughly 6-7 months from early in the 40th year to Moses' death.

The beginning of the end for Moses is found in the last section of Numbers through the entire book of Deuteronomy, that's 44 chapters of Moses talking to the people, giving them final instructions and talking to God about his successor. 

The following timeline was created using Grok.com to help me understand the last days before Moses death and the transfer of leadership to Joshua.

The Last Phase Of Moses' Life

The appointment of Joshua as Moses' successor is a key event in this final period. It is first recorded in Numbers 27:12-23, where God instructs Moses to commission Joshua publicly by laying hands on him before Eleazar the priest and the assembly, transferring some authority. 

This occurs shortly after the second census (Numbers 26) and the case of Zelophehad's daughters (Numbers 27:1-11), placing it in the sequence of events after the Israelites' arrival in Moab but before the bulk of Deuteronomy's farewell speeches. 

Timeline of Events (40th Year After Exodus)

1st month (Nisan/Abib, roughly March/April):

• Israelites arrive back at Kadesh. Miriam dies (Numbers 20:1).
• Water crisis at Meribah, Moses strikes the rock and God decrees neither Moses or Aaron will enter the land (Numbers 20:2-13).
• Edom refuses passage (Numbers 20:14-21).

5th month (Av, roughly July/August):

• 1st day: Aaron dies on Mount Hor at age 123; 
• 30 days of mourning. (Numbers 20:22-29; 33:38-39)

Following months (roughly 6th–10th/early 11th months):

Continued journey and events in Moab area:

• Victory over Arad (Numbers 21:1-3).
• Fiery serpents and bronze serpent (Numbers 21:4-9).
• Conquests of Sihon (Amorites) and Og (Bashan) (Numbers 21:21-35).
• Encampment in plains of Moab opposite Jericho (Numbers 22:1).
• Balaam hired to curse Israel but blesses them (Numbers 22–24).
• Sin at Peor with Moabite/Midianite women; plague (Numbers 25).
• Second census of the new generation (Numbers 26).
• Case of Zelophehad's daughters and inheritance laws (Numbers 27:1-11).

Appointment of Joshua as successor: 

God tells Moses to view the land, announces his impending death, and commands him to commission Joshua publicly. Moses obeys, laying hands on Joshua before Eleazar and the people, transferring authority so the congregation will obey him. (Numbers 27:12-23)

In standard biblical timelines (using an early Exodus date around 1446 BC), both the commissioning and Moses' death fall in 1407–1406 BC, confirming they were close together in the final months of Moses' life. 

The focus is on a smooth transition of leadership rather than a long delay. Moses lived only a short additional time, probably several months, after commissioning Joshua in Numbers 27:22.

End of the book of Numbers:

• Daily/weekly offerings, vows (Numbers 28–30)
• War against Midian (Numbers 31)
• Land allocation east of Jordan to Reuben, Gad, and half-Manasseh (Numbers 32)
• Journey summary (Numbers 33)
• Land boundaries, cities of refuge (Numbers 34–35)
• Final inheritance rulings (Numbers 36)

Deuteronomy begins, 11th month (Shebat, roughly January/February):

Moses begins his extended farewell addresses (Deuteronomy 1:1-5 dates this explicitly to the 40th year, 11th month, 1st day). 

Deuteronomy records these speeches: 

• Historical recap (chapters 1–4), 
• Law restatement (chapters 5–26)
• Covenant renewal/blessings/curses (chapters 27–30) 
• Moses' song/witness (chapters 32)
• Tribal blessings and final instructions (chapters 33)

Within these addresses, Moses reaffirms Joshua's role as successor and he encourages Joshua publicly including a tent of meeting ceremony where God commissions Joshua directly.

God instructs Moses to ascend Mount Nebo (Pisgah/Abarim) to view the Promised Land and die (Deuteronomy 32:48-52; 34:1-4).

Shortly after (likely still 11th month or very early 12th):

• Moses ascends Mount Nebo, views the land, and dies at age 120 (Deuteronomy 34:1-7)
• God buries him in an unknown spot in Moab (Deuteronomy 34:5-6)
• Israelites mourn for 30 days (Deuteronomy 34:8)
• After mourning, Joshua assumes full leadership and leads the crossing of the Jordan in the 41st year, 1st month (Joshua 3–4; Joshua 4:19)

This final stretch from their arrival in Moab through Joshua's commissioning to the Deuteronomy speeches and Moses' death emphasizes preparation, a review of the law, covenant renewal, and orderly leadership transition.

One More Day - Sons Of Sunday

What more can I say but hallelujah, thank you Jesus!

Video: One More Day | Sons Of Sunday

I'm a sinner grace is still healing
I'm a story time is revealing
I'm all of these things
But mostly, I'm thankful, yes, I am
I'm a fighter caught in a struggle
A survivor rising above it
I'm all of these things
But mostly, I'm thankful

'Cause You gave me one more day
To say I love You
You have brought me all this way
To testify Your grace
What more can I say but Hallelujah
Thank You, Jesus
Thank You, Jesus
Thank You, Jesus
'Cause You gave me one more day
One more day

Ooh, when the night was closing in on me
Didn't know if I'd see the morning
You held onto me
And Jesus, I'm grateful, yeah
When my enemies turned up the fire
El Shaddai, You were right there beside me
You showed up for me
And Jesus, I'm grateful

'Cause You gave me one more day (Hallelujah)
To say I love You (oh, God)
You have brought me all this way
To testify Your grace
What more can I say but Hallelujah
Thank You, Jesus