Deuteronomy Study. Week #1

Deuteronomy Study

Week #1: The Story.

“These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel…”

As I prepared for this study, several people asked me, “Why Deuteronomy? What’s that about?” I have loved this amazing book for ten years or so… Can’t imagine why everyone else doesn’t…? Ha! Along with that question, many would ask me theological questions and give doctrinal perspectives on this Book of the Law; and I would always grin because theology is great…I love my God…. And doctrinal issues are important…vital in fact… However, I love the story of God’s Word; and the story is so rich, so deep in the book of Deuteronomy.

I’m blogging my notes and thoughts throughout this study at the request of a dear and precious – and persistent – friend, but I hope it will be a help to those in class at Cropwell with me over the next six weeks to reiterate or rehash our sessions…or maybe you just “accidentally” clicked over here… I pray you are encouraged.

Please know this: I do not have a seminary education. I’m a stay-at-home-wife-homeschool-mom who dearly loves the Word of God. I pray whomever reads here finds divine affirmation. Indeed.

Psalm 72:18-19 (ESV)

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, 

who alone does wondrous things.

Blessed be his glorious name forever; 

may the whole earth be filled with his glory!

Amen and Amen!

Let’s begin our study of Deuteronomy where this part of God’s story, in my opinion, really began. Let’s look at Numbers 13-14.

Numbers 13:1-2 (ESV)

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.”

·      How many spies does Moses send in? He sends 12 men because there are 12 tribes.

·      Which two spies do we remember? Joshua the son of Nun from the tribe of Benjamin; and Caleb the son of Jephunneh from the tribe of Judah.

·      Did you know Caleb was from Judah??? That’s huge to me!!!

Of course, we remember only these two men because they demonstrated great faith and they urged the people to obey God and go in to take the land that God promised. Sadly, that’s not how the story goes. The people did not listen to Joshua and Caleb.

Numbers 13:27-33 ESV

And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit*. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.”

But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

*this is its fruit (Remember the spies brought back a cluster of grapes that was so huge, a single branch was carried on a pole between two men.)

These twelve men had been handpicked from their tribes. They would represent their tribe and their nation. They were responsible to bring back a trustworthy report to Moses, Aaron, and the rest of the people of Israel. There are several things to consider about these men:

·      They were adult men of character, known for their leadership qualities, chosen for their integrity and their strength.

·      Their report swayed an entire nation.

o   The Bible tells us that (and I got this wrong in class) Jacob’s family was about 70 persons when they joined Joseph in Egypt during the famine. (Exodus 1:1-7)

o   At this point in Israel’s history, there are well over 600,000 family members – according to Matthew Henry’s commentary, this is the approximate number of fighting men… Therefore, we can conclude: THERE WERE MORE OF THEM….!!!

·      They brought a “bad” (or “evil” in other translations) report.

o   This word fascinates me! Up to this point in my own life, I assumed this word bad or evil simply meant they brought a negative report, a pessimistic report, or an “Eeyore” perspective… but according to Strong’s Concordance, the original word actually means “slander.”

o   These guys were dishonest in their report. They brought back a report that was distorted, exaggerated, misleading.

The implications here are huge. They misused their influence, their impact. They abused the trust of their people, their family. They were bad leaders…just to be frank.

We must be mindful of this in our own lives. We have influence. Our words and deeds will make an impact on those who are around us, those who are following our lead. People watch you. You sway them.

As a stay-at-home mom, I may have a tendency to think that I’m not making a big impact, or to think that I have little influence – aside from removing stains from the dirty laundry or washing the dishes…not to mention changing diapers and grading a math test… Big leadership role, right? No big deal…? However, that way of thinking is not true. What I’m doing in this house with these children, what you do at your house, in your car, in your office, behind your desk, in front of your classroom… I am, we are impacting people. I have an impact on friends. I have a say into the lives of other moms and homeschool moms around me. Honestly, I have to realize, I’m having an impact on YOU right now…!!! Oh my.

YOU make an impact in the world. Wherever and whoever you are. Someone is watching, taking notes, following your lead.

·      How are you swaying them?

·      Is their faith increased by your example?

·      Is your leadership trustworthy?

·      Would someone, anyone follow you into the Promised Land?

Numbers 14:1-4 (ESV)

Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

This passage is to me one of the most dismal parts in the story of Israel, God’s chosen people. The fact that they stand on the edge and they turn away. Twelve men have already seen and tasted it, and yet the walk away. They pivot.

If you read chapter fourteen carefully, you’ll notice the strong language that describes their actions.

·      Caleb says, “…do not rebel… do not fear…”

·      God says to Moses, “How long will this people despise me?”

I worry that often when we read this passage, we shrug and talk of how they simply lacked faith; or they just missed out. The language here is stronger… much stronger than a shrug!

The text emphasizes that these very people had experienced the wondrous deeds of the LORD God. They had seen the signs, the plagues. They experienced the institution of the Passover. They walked out of Egypt with the gold of the Egyptians – they had the spoils in their hands. They had cross the dry riverbed of the Red Sea and had watch as the Egyptian army had drowned as God returned waters to their flow. They had eaten manna, eaten quail, water from a rock, pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night… Yet, somehow they’d decided that tall people were too much for God. Somehow after all God had done, they still longed for Egypt.

Let me ask you this. Why?

·      Why did they not move forward?

·      Why did they not obey God?

·      Why did they not listen to Caleb?

·      Why did they want to go back to Egypt?

May I suggest a reason… Truth be told, they never really left Egypt. Maybe we could say it like this: You can take the slave out of Egypt, but you can’t get the Egyptian slavery out of the mind – and heart – of the former slave… God had brought them out with His Mighty Hand. They were physically out of Egypt, out of bondage, out of slavery.

Isn’t that convicting? I’m assuming you’re like me… sometimes our hearts are somewhere else!!! We DO all the right things, even say all the right things, maybe go to the right places; but our hearts and minds are NOT on the right things.

Verses like Matthew 6:33 come to mind: Seek first his kingdom… these other things will be added…so don’t worry about them. What about Luke 12:34, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Funny thing about the heart…it’s not necessarily always with the body!

On a personal note, this passage spoke volumes to me in relation to an ongoing battle in my flesh with overeating. I’ve been working hard to lose weight, running, eating better, etc.; but over the Christmas holiday, I had a major set back and couldn’t seem to get back to my exercise routine and back to healthy eating habits.

On Epiphany Day, January 6, I had an epiphany… You see, the truth is, if I do not change the way I think, if I do not change my heart’s obsession, if I do not change my mindset, I will always be a slave to overeating. Think about it. I can run and lose weight and even look good on the outside, but if my way of thinking has not change, my good looks will not last long… I’ll be right back to my old ways in no time…IF MY MINDSET DOES NOT CHANGE. It’s no wonder the Bible tells us in Romans 12 to “be transformed” on the outside? No! “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” then the correct actions come, the obedience comes, the faith comes. Thankfully, God doesn’t leave us to transform ourselves on our own. He does the work.

The Israelites were still slaves. Not physically, but in their minds, they never left Egypt. How sad to think they missed it…they missed the Promised Land. That’s so very sad. Don’t you think?

How often do I miss out on the good things God has for me….

HHhhmmm… definitely something to really think about…

BUT GOD… Two things we need to know about God here.

·      He will get His Glory.

o   Look at Numbers 14:21. The earth will be filled with His Glory. Just like our key verse this week out of Psalm 72:19.

·      His plan will come to fruition.

o   Look at verse 31. “But your little ones…they shall know the land you have rejected.”

This is so important for you and me. I by no means have grasped an understanding of the Sovereignty of the Lord God, but I will tell you this, He has a plan and it will be accomplished. For you and me, we must decide if we are to be a part of His plan or will we let it pass on by.

Let me illustrate it this way… Let’s say I’m in my kitchen making a cake and I call my 2½-year-old daughter into the kitchen to help me make that cake. Now she can come into that kitchen and be a part of making that cake, and if she does stay beside me as I make that cake she can know when the finished product comes from the oven, she was part of making that cake… and if she stays in the kitchen next to me, I will teach her how to make cake; she will become more like me as she stays with me in that kitchen; and all the while, we will enjoy sweet time together as we make that cake. However, she might say, “Nah, I’m not really into that cake-making stuff.” She may leave the kitchen… But, the cake WILL BE MADE.

Are you getting this?

God is at work. He invites you into the kitchen. If you stay there, you will learn His ways. If you stay there, He will teach you to be more like Him. If you stay in the kitchen, you will enjoy sweet fellowship. When the cake is done, you will know you’ve been part of His plan. However, you walk away… The cake will get made. The plan will come to fruition. But you will have missed out on some sweet dessert!!!

That’s where Deuteronomy comes in.

When Moses speaks the words, he’s looking into the faces of the generation that have grown up in the wilderness; watched their parents disobey; and watched their parents die. This generation has known only the wilderness and only Moses’ leadership. This generation will walk into the Promised Land, experience the milk and honey, and Joshua will lead them.

Deuteronomy 1:1 “These are the words...”

·      The English translation being Deuteronomy means “second law” or copy of the law or giving the law a second time. (This comes from Deuteronomy 17:18.)

·      The original Hebrew title comes from this first line:

o   Eleh ha-Devarim

o   Sounds like: Aye Lay Ha Dev-Are EEm (my way of saying it anyway!!!)

And precious are these words… from the old leader, Moses, 120 years old now; to the eager ears of a young generation who so desperately wants to get it right this time.

I challenge you as we study to live in the moment. Here and see Moses and his words with the hearers. Don’t think about how bad it’s going to get later... They don’t know that!

Hear the love and passion in Moses’ voice, and see the longing and commitment in the eyes of this young generation…so desperate to know this God and to truly BE His people.

 May God bless you as you read these words.