What I Noticed Today (Deuteronomy 1-2)
There is a short introduction available for the book of Deuteronomy. You can read it here.
The book of Deuteronomy is more than a repetition of the laws and commandments that God passed on to Moses at Mt. Sinai. In Deuteronomy, Moses not only restated much of the law but applied it to their way of life in the Promised Land.
The Israelites owned the land based on God’s grace. They possessed the land through God’s power. But they could only enjoy the land by being obedient to God.
Deuteronomy 1
In verses 1-5, the book opens with Moses’ address to the people in the wilderness across the Jordan River in the 40th year, on the 1st day of the 11th month since their exodus from Egypt.
In verses 6-8, the Lord our God spoke to Moses instructing the Israelites to proceed into the Promised Land.
Note: The phrase “The Lord (Yahweh) our God” is used 23 times in Deuteronomy.
In verses 9-18, Moses recounted the Lord’s promise to multiply the Israelites into a great nation and bless them. Moses appointed leaders from among each tribe over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens to judge the people. Any cases that were too difficult for them were to be brought to him.
In verses 19-46, God promised to give them the Promised Land. But the people, lacking faith, wanted to spy out the land. Moses selected 12 men, one from each tribe to spy out the land. The men returned saying the land was good, but ten of the men said they were afraid to go up and conquer the land. The false report from the ten spies caused the people to turn away from God. The penalty for their rebellion was to wander the desert until all the fighting men had died. The two spies who were not afraid to conquer the land, Joshua and Caleb, were the only ones of this generation who would enter the Promised Land.
- Despite the Lord’s rejection, the people decided to go up into the Promised Land anyway. The Amorites came out against them and defeated them.
Deuteronomy 2
In verses 1-7, 40 years past and all the fighting men of the first census had died when God directed them to turn north and go through the country of the descendants of Esau.
- They were told to avoid making trouble with the people of Esau because this land was given to them as their possession.
In verses 8-14, the Israelites journeyed past Edom and Moab:
- The Israelites were to pass by the Edomites and travel toward the land of Moab.
- But the Israelites were not to fight with the Moabites either since this land had been given to them as their inheritance.
In verses 16-23, the Israelites journeyed past Ammon:
- The Lord spoke to Moss and instructed the Israelites to journey past Moab toward the Ammonites.
- They were not to fight with the Ammonites because the Lord had given them this land as their inheritance.
Note: The Ammonites were descendants of Lot. Ammon was the son of Lot born through his incestuous relationship with his daughters.
In verses 24-37, the Lord instructed the Israelites to take possession of the land of Sihon the Amorite King of Heshbon:
- Moses sent messengers to Sihon asking permission to travel through the land, but the Lord had given Sihon a stubborn heart.
- Sihon sent his army out against the Israelites, and the Israelites did battle with Sihon the Amorite king of Heshbon, defeated him, and took possession of his cities. They completely destroyed the people, took the livestock, and took plunder from all the cities for themselves.
- But the Israelites avoided all the lands and people where the Lord had forbidden them.
Some thoughts for additional consideration:
- A lack of faith at Kadesh Barnea kept the people out of the Promised Land for 40 years! How much of our lives do we waste by not following God in faith!
- God told the Israelites who to leave alone, and who to do battle with. How often do we do battle with the wrong people, either by doing battle with those whom we should leave alone, or not doing battle with whom we should?!
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.
