(Focus: Deut 1:1-5)

Deut 1:1 These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the desert east of the Jordan --that is, in the Arabah--opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab.

I must be honest, as I start out in this new set of meditations, that until recently Deuteronomy has been a dry book to me, and that is perhaps an understatement, and yet just recently I find myself drawn back to it again and again and I find it a source of wisdom in the light of all of the negative things that have been said by crusading atheists in the early years of the twenty-first century. It has answers that challenge their shallow assumptions about God and it provides a foundation of belief that is excellent.

It starts out with an explanation of what it is: “the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the desert,” (v.1) and in case you aren't sure which desert, the writer goes on to describe it, the land that is “east of the Jordan” and then goes on to locate it by reference to no less that seven geographical locations. Those who do not read the Bible often appear to have the idea that the Bible teaching and accounts are vague, probably made up, and therefore highly suspect, but the actual accounts throughout the Bible do not allow for that interpretation of the Bible in any way at all. Again and again we find the events being tied down by other historical events and by reference to many geographical locations. We will see this coming up in this book again and again. Everything is tied into time-space history. It did happen at a particular time and it did happen in a particular location. There is no vagueness about this!

So we have this opening introduction that this book is made up of what Moses said to Israel when they were located in the desert to the east of the Jordan . Now the only time that Moses came there was immediately before his death and before Israel moved in to start taking the Promised Land. We find this confirmed in the two verses that follow: “(It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road.) In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the LORD had commanded him concerning them.” (v.2,3) Yes, this took place near the end of the fortieth year of their desert wanderings and the scribe writing this can't help adding that little reminder that in fact it normally only takes eleven days to get to the southern end of Canaan from Mount Horeb (or Sinai) but because of their disobedience it had taken them forty years!

But there is an additional point included in verse 3, that what we are about to read is “all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them.” This is a God-sent message or series of messages. In many ways this book is a summary of all of what had happened between God and Israel so far and all that He had said to them. In that sense it is a very useful book.

We have had one time-reference locating when this happened and now we are given another which also has strong geographical indications in it: “This was after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, and at Edrei had defeated Og king of Bashan , who reigned in Ashtaroth.” (v.4). This is highly significant. On their way up to their present position, they had asked to pass peacefully through the lands of two other kings but those kings, feeling defensive about Israel , had fought against Israel and lost. Israel were now feeling a lot better about themselves than they had forty years ago. Now they have two victories under their belt. So again the time and place have been located by reference to two recent episodes in their life involving two other nations.

Thus the writer eventually sums up, “East of the Jordan in the territory of Moab , Moses began to expound this law.” (v.5) All that follows is Moses ‘report'. But note again, this ‘report' comes in a clearly defined historical context – at a specific time in history at a specific place – and it is going to refer back to other specific times and places. This is not fiction; this is an historical record.

This point needs to be made again and again because many of us fail to realise the significance of it. Our faith today is founded on factual history. The same is true when we come into the New Testament. I particularly like Luke's Gospel for this reason: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar --when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene -- during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas , the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.” (Lk 3:1,2). Luke, in those two verses, anchors the coming of John the Baptist by reference to seven historical figures and five geographical locations and one very specific time reference!

The message should come over loud and clear: our faith is founded in historical fact that involves real time and space anchors. It happened and because it happened, we can believe it. It happened with Israel , it happened with Jesus – we have a book full of information upon which to build our faith. Let's read it and take it in intelligently.

(Focus: Deut 1:6-8)

Deut 1:6-8 The LORD our God said to us at Horeb, "You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates. See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land that the LORD swore he would give to your fathers--to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob--and to their descendants after them."

Now for the next two chapters of Deuteronomy, we are going to find Moses reminding Israel of their history. Now you may think this is a bit tedious as he recounts what has happened but it is vital to see the significance of it. In our opening meditation we observed, even from the opening comments, that everything Moses speaks about is based in history. This was an historical event – him addressing Israel outside the Promised Land – and he is about to speak about other historical events, things that actually happened in time-space history. What makes them so significant is that they are historical events that involved God. God's history is interwoven with our history. When we examine this area of history, we find God active in it. Everything He says and does is within an historical context.

Now there is a second reason why these historical events are so significant and it is that the past is to be the foundation of the future for Israel . The call to covenant relationship with the Lord at Sinai meant, on Israel 's side, that they were to obey the Law, God's design-rules for how they should live as a people called back into relationship with the Creator. Their past history with God is to act as a motivating force to help them keep the Law.

Many centuries later, Isaiah, who was having trouble with people trying to contact the dead for encouragement for the future, declared, “To the law and to the testimony!” (Isa 8:20) Go back to the Law, he was saying, and go back to the testimony that you have, the record of God's dealings with you, and there you will find all your answers. Their history with God was their testimony, the account of what they knew had happened; that was why it was so important for it to be handed down through future generations.

So Moses starts by reminding Israel of what had happened since they met with the Lord at Sinai. He doesn't deal with the Exodus, he only deals with what happened after Sinai because only then were they designated God's people, only then has the covenant been established between them and God. He reminds them that at Horeb (another name for the area where Mount Sinai was) the Lord had told them to move on. Their movement had been initiated by the Lord. The Lord had prompted them to leave there. They had to travel up through the neighbouring lands to take a land that the Lord had promised to the Patriarchs.

This takes them back to their very origins in Abraham. It was to Abraham that the Lord had promised this land, and subsequently to his son and grandson. What was taking place now was a direct fulfilment of what God had promised four centuries ago! This should challenge us to understand that God sometimes takes a long time (by our timescale) to do what He says He will do, but He WILL do it!

So what is happening to Israel is not merely because of the covenant at Sinai, but also because of the promises the Lord had made to Abraham, all that time before. This is the framework that Israel needs to keep in their minds in the years ahead. They are God's chosen people and have been for over four hundred years, although the practical reality of it as a nation had only been seen in the last forty.

Moses is now reminding Israel of what happened forty years ago. We can say those words so easily, but when we think back forty years from this moment, how many people that we know weren't alive then? How much has happened in that period of time. Forty years seems a long time ago and it is easy to forget in the mists of a hazy memory what actually happened. All of these present adults had been there then but all under the age of twenty. Twenty year olds see things differently than sixty year olds. These present sixty year olds need reminding just what happened back there then. it was all part of their life with God and as such tells them much about God.

So of the moment we have seen God who initiates relationships (with Abraham etc. as individuals, and then with Israel as a nation) and God who leads us out into life (as when He led them out from Sinai).They are WHO they are because of God and they are WHERE they are because of God and they have a particular future because of God. Everything about them is tied in with the Lord – and they will need to remember that in the future.

(Focus: Deut 1:9-18)

Deut 1:9,10,12,13 At that time I said to you, "You are too heavy a burden for me to carry alone. The LORD your God has increased your numbers so that today you are as many as the stars in the sky. But how can I bear your problems and your burdens and your disputes all by myself? Choose some wise, understanding and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will set them over you."

We have seen in the first two meditations how all that Moses is about to say, which is recorded in this book, is grounded in history. There is an historical context which shows why Israel are where there are, to the east of the river Jordan , and why Moses is speaking to them. In the previous meditation we saw how Moses reminds them of the start of their walk with the Lord, back at Mount Sinai , which in itself is founded on promises that the Lord made to Abraham four hundred years beforehand!

While they were at Sinai something had happened and Moses now goes on to remind them of that. It actually had been at the prompting of his father-in-law that he had appointed judges for the people (see Ex 18:13 -26). Moses had referred this problem back to the people and had asked them to choose wise, understanding and respected men from each tribe who could act as leaders and judges to share the load. That appealed to the people and so that was what had happened and Moses had charged those leaders, “Hear the disputes between your brothers and judge fairly, whether the case is between brother Israelites or between one of them and an alien. Do not show partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be afraid of any man, for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too hard for you, and I will hear it.” (Deut 1:16,17)

Now what we have here is a simple recounting of what had happened and it is legitimate to ask the question, why was Moses bothering to include this account in this book now? We can make several suggestions.

First, as we have gone to some lengths to show, Moses is setting everything in the context of history so that Israel can see that everything about the Law and everything about how they should live is set in the context of all of their dealings with the Lord – except this is more about Moses than it is about the Lord.

Second, it is possibly a gentle attempt by Moses to show the people that he had not been a domineering leader but had always had their welfare at heart and had sought to share the burden of leadership among the tribes.

Third, it is an explanation of how the nation is now being run, and why it is being run like it is. We may take this for granted but Moses is speaking to the many older people and their younger family members and is seeking to put everything in context. There is a reason that they are a people ruled by judges, and it goes back to that time at Sinai when Moses alone was their leader and he wanted to ensure they were better cared for.

Fourth, although we have said this passage is mainly about Moses it does bring a reminder, as we saw above in verse 17, that judgment and justice are essentially things that belong to God or, if you like, all such judgment is answerable to God. They ARE a people under God and answerable to him. The very application of the Law, or its administration, if you like, is through the judicial system that Moses established back at Sinai. It is still like that and nothing has changed! These judges are the means of applying the Law that Moses will go on to expound.

There is, within all this, an implied duty laid upon those judges to uphold the Law rightly and wisely before the Lord. What starts out appearing a rather mundane passage about Moses not being able to carry the burden of Israel alone, produces a legal system through which the Law will be administered. Without it, the Law could not be administered in the years and centuries ahead. This actually becomes a vital reminder, a foundation stone, for the administration of the Law.

Yes, it might have started out as a means of lifting the burden from Moses, but it has resulted in raising up a large number of judges from each tribe who are now responsible for applying that Law. Moses brings the Law and it will be down to them to apply it in the centuries to come. This comes as such a gentle recounting of history that many of us miss the significance of this.

This is Moses saying, very gently, this is the administrative foundation that was established right back at Sinai to help you administer all the laws that I have brought you from the Lord. Again, we may take the laws for granted, and they do bring the greatest thrust through this book, but unless these appointed judges fulfil their roles, these laws will not get to be applied. This is the primary significance that lies just below the surface of these verses! So, no, they are not a mundane recounting of history, they are a foundation stone for the life of the nation.

(Focus: Deut 1:19-46)

Deut 1:19-21 Then, as the LORD our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites through all that vast and dreadful desert that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea. Then I said to you, "You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving us. See, the LORD your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the LORD, the God of your fathers, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

  The next ‘historical reminder' we find Moses bringing to Israel, as they wait in the area to the east of the Jordan getting ready to enter the promised Land, is in respect of their spectacular failure to enter the land forty years ago. Now you might think that Moses was trying to build their faith in preparation for entering the Land now and so it would be prudent to forget this particular episode, but instead, I suggest, Moses uses it as a blunt reminder to Israel of the consequences of not obeying the Lord.

  In the chapters of this book we are going to find countless exhortations to obey the Lord. As far as Moses is concerned, obedience is the all-important issue for the life and very existence of Israel in the years to come. We cannot emphasise that enough, for it is something that many today almost think is an optional thing. No, in the kingdom of God obedience to God is always the all-important thing! The other side of this particular coin, is a recognition of the consequences of disobedience – hence this passage running from verse 19 to the end of chapter 1 is vitally important. We may prefer to forget our past failures, but the Lord allows us to remember them simply as a means of helping us avoid them in the future.

The story may be summarised as follows: after travelling from Sinai, Israel reached the southern borders of the Land at Kadesh Barnea, and so Moses had instructed them to go in and take the Land. Putting together this account and that found in Numbers 13 it would appear that the people suggested sending in spies, Moses took it to the Lord, and He confirmed it as a course of action. The spies went in and when they returned came back with a mixed report: “Taking with them some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down to us and reported, "It is a good land that the LORD our God is giving us.” (v.25) That was the good news, but the bad news was that some of them reported, “`The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.'” (v.28)

This caused much doubt among the listeners and so Moses had sought to encourage them: “Then I said to you, "Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt , before your very eyes, and in the desert. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.” (v.29-31) but it was to no avail: “In spite of this, you did not trust in the LORD your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.” (v.32,33)

As a consequence of this the Lord swore, “Not a man of this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your forefathers, except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly.” (v.35,36) Because of that Israel felt the better course was to go into the land. Note; they did not repent – that is clear by the language: “Then you replied, "We have sinned against the LORD. We will go up and fight, as the LORD our God commanded us." So every one of you put on his weapons, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country.” (v.41)

The Lord saw that this was a self-centred response and warned them against doing it but when they continued they were severely beaten by the inhabitants of the land. The result was that they had wandered in the desert for forty years!

Now within this story are some very obvious lessons. First, as stated before, when God instructs, we are to obey. Maturity means we realise that whatever God instructs is for our good. We don't need to question it; we can trust Him. Second, when we disobey – and realise our folly – we should not turn back and do what it was for our own benefit. That is self-centred and godless. Instead we should genuinely repent, confess our sin and declare our sorrow and our willingness to do God's will – because it is HIS will! Third, we need to realise that whatever the Lord calls us to do necessitates involving Him in it. Without Him we cannot do it. Jesus said to his disciples, “apart from me you can do nothing.” (Jn 15:5)

These are key lessons for the Christian life as well as for the life of Israel over two thousand years ago. We should learn from their mistakes. Moses recounted that episode so that they would learn – but they so easily forgot it. May we not do the same!

(Focus: Deut 2:1-23)

Deut 2:1-3 Then we turned back and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea , as the LORD had directed me. For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir. Then the LORD said to me, "You have made your way around this hill country long enough; now turn north.

  There are parts of Scripture which, to be honest, are not as alive and vibrant as others. In other words, the temptation may be there for us to think they are boring and uninteresting, but the truth is that, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” (2 Tim 3:16) So what is this present, apparently mundane passage from verse 1 to verse 23 of Deuteronomy going to tell us?

Moses reminds Israel of the consequence that followed their disobedience and refusal to enter the land forty years ago. So they “turned back and set out towards the desert.” What a contrast. Instead of entering the land of plenty they were going to live in the desert for forty years. So, “for a long time” they wandered in the desert until the Lord had decreed the time was up. Now Moses is going to cover the period between leaving the desert wanderings and arriving where they are now – and there are some significant things that happened during that time. We'll only cover the first of them in this meditation.

Observe the instructions that the Lord had given them: “Give the people these orders: `You are about to pass through the territory of your brothers the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir.'” (v.4) So, to approach Canaan from half way up the Jordan they have to pass through the lands of various other peoples, but look what the Lord says about them: “They will be afraid of you, but be very careful. Do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own. You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.'” (v.4-6) Summarised, the Lord's instructions are that you are to respect and honour them. They will be afraid of you but you are not to provoke them to fight you for I will not support you. In fact you are to honour them and pay for any food or water you take from their land.

Sometimes people think the Lord was looking for any excuse to deal violently with any godless peoples, but this passage shows that this is just not so! In case Israel feel negative about paying the inhabitants, the Lord reminds them that they have plenty: “The LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast desert. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.” (v.7)

Thus Moses then reminds them how they passed peacefully through the first lands: “So we went on past our brothers the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned from the Arabah road, which comes up from Elath and Ezion Geber, and travelled along the desert road of Moab .” (v.8) Note also, in the light of our earlier considerations in these meditation, the geographical locations that tie this all into history.

We then find the same instructions were given by the Lord to pass peacefully through the land of the Moabites: “Then the LORD said to me, "Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any part of their land. I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as a possession.” (v.9). That was the second nation they were to pass through without provoking war. But it goes on: “ When you come to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them to war, for I will not give you possession of any land belonging to the Ammonites. I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot ." (v.19) So there was a third nation through whose land Israel had to pass without giving cause for attack.

So three times the Lord had instructed them to pass through lands without attacking the peoples there. Israel were NOT on a ‘kill anyone in sight” campaign! God was NOT bringing judgment on these three people groups and so Israel had passed through these countries without upset.

So why was Moses reminding them of this? First because it had happened! This was part of their recent history. It showed that they were not total isolationists, they were not enemies of every nation. No, they had passed peacefully through these three areas without there being war. God's intent was not willful destruction. Where there were nations to be fought against, there was a reason for it. Where a nation did not rise up against them, they were not to fight it. This further historical recollection should give a further dimension of understanding to who they were and what they did. The lesson is, let the Lord lead and often the outcome will be peace.

Psa 23:3b   He guides me in paths of righteousness

In the early years of being

Psa 23:3c He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

All around us people are conce

Psa 23:4a   Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

Have you ever walked along a

Psa 23:4a   Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil

It is sometimes too easy

Psa 23:4c     your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

We need to remind ourselves

Psa 23:5   You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

Throughout the Old Testament we

Psa 23:5b    You anoint my head with oil;

The subject of anointing is foun

Psa 23:5c   my cup overflows.

How easy it would be to just dash p

Psa 23:6a    Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,

There are two words that stand out

Psa 23:6b   and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

For the person of shallow thoug