They failed to enter in by faith to that which God had promised to them. To the end of the chapter follow the most earnest warnings, as well as bright promises: disobedience or obedience would be the turning point in the land. God said that He's not gonna deliver them into your hand" and how that they armed themselves anyhow and went up against the hill of the Amorites and were pursued by them. it is an easy thing to say, "We have sinned;" but how often we have to learn that it is not the quick abrupt confession of sin which affords evidence that sin is felt! "Jehovah heard the voice of your words and was wroth, and sware saying, Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land which I sware to give unto your fathers.". It represented that death which befell the Lamb, and arrested the judgment of God which had gone out against us because of sin. No wonder therefore that Deuteronomy in general has been but little understood, even by the children of God; that the thoughts of expositors are comparatively vague in explaining it; and that men are apt to read it with so little insight into its bearing that the loss might seem comparatively trifling if it were not read at all. He was a descendant of Aaron, and belonged to one of the wealthiest and most influential families among the Jewish merchant-princes of Egypt. His Father will take care of him. saying, ye have dwelt long enough in this mount: or near it; for hither they came on the first day of the third month from their departure out of Egypt, and they did not remove from thence until the twentieth day of the second month in the second year, Exodus 19:1 so that they were here a year wanting ten days; in which space of time the law was given them, the tabernacle and all things appertaining to it were made by them, rulers both ecclesiastical and civil were appointed over them, and they were numbered and marshalled in order under four standards, and so ready to march; and all this being done, they must stay no longer, but set forward for the land of Canaan. [Breakfast with the Jews came late in the forenoon, and these closing days of our Lord's ministry were full of activity that did not have time to tarry at Bethany for it. the relation of the inner motives for the sending of the spies. Then in Deuteronomy 2:1-37 the law-giver reminds them how they took their weary journey. The other whom Jesus called thought about his father and mother; he would like to see them first. I. We shall find how thoroughly this applies all through the book to the perplexity of poor proud rationalism, but in itself a simple yet very important truth indeed. iii. In His dealings with them He applied a higher standard, and far more severity. Taking the passage in this light, and reading the wider truth into it, we get the idea of a land which is: 1. 2. And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. In Deuteronomy 6:1-9, . There are two places noted by the name Rekam in the very bounds of the land,--to wit, the southern and eastern: that is, a double Kadesh. God had already multiplied the Israelites, and He was ready to give them the land. "Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine." It seems probable to us that the record in Exodus is the more exact. They were to be guided simply not by what Jehovah had done in providence by Ammon, Moab, or Esau, but by His will as to themselves. Pray along these points: Thank Father God for how far He has already brought you. Praying through Deuteronomy 31:6. Let us now look at the details as far as it can be done in so brief a glance as we can afford to give it at present. The Mosaic Covenant is central in Deuteronomy. will be blessed. Help me reach greater heights. Fr. Temple Cleansed. He that believes may calmly confide in God under all circumstances. *Dr. Davidson (Introd. It is granted that they did not all perish in the same way, but they all fell in the wilderness. Surely this again makes it too plain to call for many words of ours to demonstrate what Moses, or rather God Himself, has in view in all these chapters. Were they to lay hands on the Moabites who were not so near of kin as the Edomites? They were a people brought into relationship with God, and the object of His words was to guard them from practical inconsistency with that relationship. Here then we have all laid bare. 3) and dwelling in inaccessible light (1 Tim. I do not mean that there should not be the profoundest feeling of gratitude, and the fullest expression of thanksgiving to God. And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds; 20. 2. Is there anything so wholesome! Types are but sparsely presented over the great bulk of the instruction which crowds its pages. Og the king came out, and as with Heshbon, so with Bashan. 35; xxxii. These bear chiefly the character of logical deductions, and as such were largely applied in the Halakhah. This makes the principle at stake to be felt the more. Pray it at midnight and midday. He points out that God had been with them through the wilderness experience. Of course it is, God went before you and prepared you that place and then led you to it so that they could say, "All the way my savior leads me. May we not forget it ourselves! "Thou shalt not tempt Jehovah thy God." 94.]. Now this is a foolish charge that they brought against God and it is something that we oftentimes are prone to do. Israel kept the path of right and courtesy. This is what Moses is enforcing by every possible kind of declaration and motive; by his own example and by theirs, as well as the example of their fathers. May my inner and outward actions, attitude, words and motives reflect a heart that loves the Lord with . It is pentecost. It is as true for us as for them, though not shown in the same legal way or outward manner. They are cardinal elements of the teaching of the book and show that, as Baly has said, Palestine was, in fact, the Chosen Land for the Chosen People; not, it should be noticed, chosen by them, but chosen for them (p. To report dead links, typos, or html errors or suggestions about making these resources more useful use the convenient. The inspired editor may have given later names, and added "as it is in this day," or explanatory remarks. With the enemies? Now, the wilderness experiences where I am trying to bring my flesh into conformity to the will of God, and I'm promising God that I'm gonna do better, that I'm not gonna fail next time. Could they match with Him? Thus we know for certain that the most fundamental requirement of all, the Levitical ritual, was not practised; and if they did not prove faithful in that which was most urgent as well as least difficult in point of means for executing it, we can hardly suppose that they carried out their obedience in what was surrounded with immense if not insuperable obstacles. Undoubtedly the gatherings in of the corn and the wine (that is, the harvest and the vintage) are the well known types of God's final dealings: the harvest when He separates the wheat from the chaff, or at any rate from that which is not wheat; and the vintage when He executes unsparing judgment upon the vine of the earth upon all religion that is vain and denies heaven. Now recognizing my weakness, I'm crying for power outside of myself. Of Kadesh, or Rekam, in the south part, there is no doubt. The book of Deuteronomy acknowledges this failure, and takes its stand not only on the fact that it was impossible to deny, it but on the duty of confessing it. Deuteronomy 1:6. "Why would God leave there and then you know, dump me?" were then offered but of a vast body of systematically-ordered teaching by types. "Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon." We luxuriate in retired communion, in restful fellowship with God, in converse with fellow-believers, in Church ordinances; and we think how sweet it would be if this could always last. The prime duty for every creature, whether Jew or Christian, is obedience. There may be lands where everything morally is at the lowest point, and where therefore a wrong is less severely estimated than elsewhere. From the beginning of the second month of the first year of the exodus (Exodus 19:1) to the twentieth day of the second month of the second year (Numbers 10:11).This was the period of organisation, in which the people . [Note: Kalland, p. 22. And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds; 20. Hence, I need not say, there is peculiar solemnity in its character. In the very first place is laid down utter destruction of the high places. And he comes to help me and do for me what I can't do for myself. In Deuteronomy 10:1-22 we find the provision of Jehovah's goodness is stated in a very striking way. It is strange how little we know of the personal history of the greatest of uninspired Jewish writers of old, though he occupied so prominent a position in his time. In this case let us see the principles of Jehovah's discipline. Which the Holy Scripture called "The hill-country of Judah," Joshua 21:11; Luke 1:39. And be. He sets Himself against the high places; He will not have them. In Deuteronomy 5:1-33 we come to still closer quarters. It reminds them of his gracious acts on their behalf and calls from them a fitting response of covenant loyalty. But God is very careful, in the face of the passover, that there should not be a forgetfulness of that escape which brought them out together then. Genesis 39: 2-6. The offspring of your herds and flocks. Surely this is very significant, and points out a manifest difference in the character and scope and design of the book of Deuteronomy as compared with Exodus. And he's saying God led him to do this and God led him to do that. Hence Moses says, "These words Jehovah spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. But the same duty abides for them. ii., pp. We can all understand an orderly arrangement where there are types all arranged in a consecutive manner; but here in these moral exhortations it is, though in another way, just as sensible. Far from being done with, we know from the word of God that He will maintain the sabbatical rest strictly, and enforce it in the days of the kingdom; so that, if a man does not bow to His authority, he will assuredly come under divine judgment: so much does Jehovah make of it in itself, and so much will He make of it for the obedience of others in the day that is coming. But he found that there was another law, a perverse kind of a law, that whenever he would do good, evil was present with him. Of it, in the eastern part, there is this mention: "From Rekam to the east, and Rekam is as the John LightfootFrom the Talmud and Hebraica, Barren Fig-Tree. I must have to come to the place where I despair of freeing myself or despair of my own righteousness or despair of ever being righteous in the eyes of God by my own works and my own efforts. And here the people were making this blasphemous accusation; "because God hates us, he brought us out here". Deuteronomy 31:6 - Prayer Points For Protection From Fear/Failure. cxliii. But what wonderful grace! It was not then and there that Aaron died, as he alas! In growing up as children, they weren't as aware of the hazards of the wilderness.And so Moses is sort of recounting for them. So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there." This was a truth which Israel was most prone to disregard. Who shall deliver me from this bondage to my flesh?" perhaps the more appropriate translation is the one that points to the exclusive demand of this God to be the only God Israel acknowledges and worships (5:6 See also Exodus 20:2). There is a time in our Christian experience of growth and development and there is sort of the legitimate wilderness experience, but God surely does not want you to spend your whole life in the wilderness. Clearly it traces the discipline of Jehovah by the way. And in the fortieth year, the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel, according to all that the LORD had given him commandment unto them; After they had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, which dwelled in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, on the eastside of Jordan, Moses began to declare this law ( Deuteronomy 1:2-5 ). In other words, he is saying that God went before you through the wilderness to search for the best place for you to pitch your tent and then led you by the fire and by the cloud.Oh, if we only realized how all encompassing the work of God is that surrounds our lives. Whatever then the blows which fell on Sihon, or on Og, or on any of the others; whatever the ways of God with Moab and Ammon afterwards, or even with Egypt, there never was seen such unsparing strictness as with Israel. This fact appears to be of some importance, because notoriously difficulties have been raised, on the score of practicability, as to the various ordinances requiring sacrifices and offerings where the means did not appear. It was God who made the family rejoice, and they were to go out to those that were strangers to it. Besides, if these high places had been dedicated to heathen gods, Israel must not dare to consecrate them to the true God. The Lord puts no weapon of a kind to injure any into our hands; but bids us leave vengeance with himself. 7. What did it matter about all others? Thus: God is that one spiritual and infinitely perfect essence, whose being is of himself eternally (Deut. There is thus a presentation of a faithful God, whose demand was for a faithful people." It is a call to obedience. I know God will do it; I do not require to put Him to the proof. They're each of them seeking to rule our lives. It is freely allowed that the ten words have a specific character of the deepest moment for man on earth, as distinguished from what was judicial and ceremonial. He knew fully that Jehovah was doing nothing but what was for His own glory; how could His servant then find fault? It was very important, therefore, that these men judge fairly (Deuteronomy 1:17). (October, a.d. To hear someone, you know, making all these accusations against God, horrible things, it's tragic. vol. Now, the cry almost indicated the answer itself; "Who shall deliver me?" To get from the Red Sea into the Promised Land, it was necessary to go through the wilderness, an eleven-day journey, but most of the wilderness experience was illegitimate.Now I feel that the history is a typical history, that there are spiritual analogies to be made to the children of Israel coming out of Egypt passing through the wilderness into the Promised Land. He was a descendant of Aaron, and belonged to one of the wealthiest and most influential families among the Jewish merchant-princes of Egypt. There is a third feast, that of tabernacles. But God will lift you to the highest level you will let him. It is the due conduct of a people in relationship with Jehovah; no longer the bringing out of typical institutions, but the development of the moral ways which become the people with whom Jehovah had a present connection and intercourse on earth. Plainly then the savage knows quite well that it is unjustifiable to steal. Such is the fertile topic which we find throughout the book. May I not venture to think that other considerations entered, and that His citation of Deuteronomy only is in no way meant to disparage fitting words found elsewhere? It seems just a parenthesis, and not a question of chronology.*. But you are the one that puts the limitations on what God wants to do. He is encouraging them to go in and to take the land that God had promised to them. We hear of sin and trespass-offerings, peace and burnt-offerings, meat-offerings and drink-offerings, not to speak of the daily lambs and occasional victims. Deuteronomy, spite of its Septuagintal title, is no such repetition; but the Spirit of God by Moses has given us, along with special moral exhortation, such types as bear on the position of the people on the very edge of the promised land. It is not the death of Christ with all its solemn, however blessed, issues. They were the dues He demanded in virtue of His position as landlord of the people in the land. )Ver. (I stood between Jehovah and you at that time, to show you the word of Jehovah: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the Mount.)" ii. Accordingly the very large introduction is an address to the people for the purpose of enforcing these claims. These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on this side of the Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain opposite Suph, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. And yet the inability to bring the flesh into conformity with the spirit of God. Deuteronomy 14:1-29 insists on what became the children of Jehovah their God in abstaining from unseemly maimings or disfigurements for the dead, as well as from any food which He, who knew better than they, pronounced abominable. In Deuteronomy 16:1-17 (where I now stop) we have the winding up of all this part the termination of the statutes which had to do with religion. They got their eyes upon the obstacles rather of than the power of God to remove the obstacles.And this is the mistake that we so often make as we look at our own lives and we look at the dominion that our flesh has had over us. The passage insists on the unity of the true God. Therefore it was that, when God told them to go up, they refused and suffered the consequence of their disobedience. And listen to the horrible things they were saying about God. 10. - J.O. The "Lord our God," "Jehovah our Elohim," is the watchword of the whole book. They knew it was not God's will that forty years of wilderness wanderings should lie between Egypt and the Promised Land (Deut. With this then most fittingly He begins. The fact of Esau's pride and contempt of Israel gave them no license to take their land. Faith leads to obedience: first of all the acceptance of His word brings and secures blessing by faith for our souls; and then, having received it, we surrender ourselves to His will. They would not go up when Jehovah bid them, and when He commanded them to turn back, they wished to go forward. Power outside of myself to lay hands on the unity of the people were making this blasphemous ;. The prime duty for every creature, whether Jew or Christian, obedience... 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