Walk like an Egyptian?

 

”But the magicians of Egypt did the same things by their magic arts. So, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said.“ Exodus 7:22 BSB

We are like Pharaoh who believed he was in control and defied God’s command. He called his magicians and showed he could do what Moses said God would do to him (and his citizens). He felt he did not need God because he could do and have whatever he wanted. He was stubborn and rebelled against God.

How often do we tell ourselves, and then God, “I can get what I want, so why do I need God or need to call on Him? See all I have provided for myself with the job I found. I don’t need God.” We are being stubborn when we say this aloud or within our minds. We forget God gave us the mental and physical capacity to have that job. He led us to that job. God provided the goods that we buy with the money from the job He gave us. We rebel against Him and steal His glory by saying these things and acting this way. This is sinful. 

Will we turn to God before extreme measures happen to change our focus from ourselves to God? Will it take a major incident like the “dying-of-firstborns” (like God did with Pharaoh) for us to recognize God as supreme and recognize our need of and reliance on Him? We must remember, too, that our stubbornness and rebellion affect people around us.

I pray today that I never again consider who I am, what I have, and what I think to be more important and have supremacy over who God is, what He’s done, and the love He gives. What will you pray—confession and submission to God—or will you turn away from Him again

Times of Our Lives

 

“Now it came about in the course of those many days…” (Exodus 2:23a [NASB])

Throughout the Bible, we read about men who encountered God, then sought for a secluded place. We read that God sent people to a place to prepare them for the next task, too. Often these times of preparation lasted forty days or forty years. The number forty denotes the separation of one epoch from another in Hebrew numerology. Sometimes the forty days/years was a time of rest and renewal and other times it was a time of testing. In each time, God intended it to be a time of growth in their faith in and relationship with Him. Let’s consider several passages that tell of God’s people and forty days/years.

Consider Moses. After he killed the Egyptian for severely beating a Hebrew (Exodus 2:11-14), he ran to Midian, helped water the sheep of the priest Reuel/Jethro (Exodus 2:15-22), and lived there for forty years before God commissioned him to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt (Exodus 3:1-9). The years he spent shepherding sheep prepared Moses for the next epoch in God’s plans, to lead His people through the wilderness to His Promised Land. God used that time to attune Moses’ spiritual awareness to Him and grew him to learn how to lead, protect, provide, and intercede to Him. This epoch of 40 years changed Moses from being an Egyptian-taught Hebrew to be a man seeking God in all things.

If we continue considering other instances of forty days or years, we remember the Israelites spent forty years wandering in the wilderness. The Israelite adults, who feared the people of Canaan when their spies returned from scouting the Promised Land, would not see the land God promised to them. The forty years of their wandering separated two periods of time-the people who trusted God enough to leave all they knew in Egypt, but then lost faith in God and the time of God leading the new adults of Israel into the land He promised. The epoch of the forty years wandering in the wilderness changed the Israelites from fear and rebelliousness to newly maturing adults of faith. God grew the faith of the adults of the post-wilderness-wandering as they saw His hand in providing for and protecting them during the wilderness years. They became the people of God again and trusted Him completely during that epoch.  

Moses spent forty days on Mt Sinai. He often ventured up the mountain to be alone with God so He could speak to him, tell him how to lead the people, instruct him in how to handle and decide issues among the people, and grow him closer to Himself. During the time in which Moses spent forty days on Mt. Sinai, he received the Ten Commandments from God for the Israelites (Exodus 20). This forty-day’s-time signaled a new epoch for the Israelites. The new epoch occurred of Moses’ time on the mountain heralded in a time in which God’s laws would govern the people. The Ten Commandments provided a way for the Israelites to follow God. This epoch signified that God chose these people as His own. Before Moses’ forty days on Mt. Sinai, God called the Hebrews His people. Moses declared it to Pharaoh when he said, “Let my people go.” After his forty days on the mountain, the Israelites understood without doubt, as they bent their knees and committed with their mouths, minds, and heart, God chose them, and they chose Him to be their God. Their commitment to the Ten Commandments avowed this. For Moses, these forty days gave time for him to recharge and renew himself with God. He listened to God and committed himself anew to be His servant and lead His people. This epoch of time for Moses was renewal, recommitment, and continued guidance on how God wanted him to lead the Israelites. For the Israelites, this time was of rebellion and a time of recommitment to the God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses came down the mountain the first time to see them worshipping a golden calf. He returned from the mountain with a second set of tablets holding God’s Ten Commandments to find the people submitting to God.

As we continue forward in time, we recall Elijah battling for the Lord to combat the pagan priests of Jezebel. After he slew hundreds of them, Jezebel declared her wrath on him. She wanted Elijah dead. Elijah, in fear, traveled with his servant into the desert. He walked for forty days to Mt. Horeb (Mt. Sinai). While at Mt. Horeb, Elijah stayed in a cave until God told him to stand before Him on the mountain. He experienced a strong wind, an earthquake, and a fire while on the mountain. When this prophet heard a gentle voice after these three powerful acts of God, Elijah realized it was God’s voice. God knew about Elijah’s obedient deeds for Him. He told him to return to Damascus and anoint a new king and his own successor (1 Kings 19). These forty days for Elijah were an epoch of rest, reassurance, and revelation. Elijah went from a time of defeating priests of false gods and fleeing for his life to another time of God showing His love, favor, and provision with the anointing of a new king and prophet. Elijah would not walk alone. He believed God cared about him and understood his time was ending. A new prophet of God would speak to the people for Him. Elijah remembered anew God cared for him.

Before we leave the Old Testament, remember Noah and his family experienced forty days and night on the ark while it rained (Genesis 7). God took the world from one epoch to another. He cleansed it from the sinful people of the world. God used Jonah, too. He sent him to Nineveh to tell the people there that God’s judgment would fall on them in forty days. The Ninevites repented and returned to God during those forty days, and God withheld His judgment. The people confessed and repented of their sins (Jonah 3). God used that epoch of time to make them aware of their sin against Him and other people and to forgive and restore them into His good grace. The Ninevites had renewed life with God.

In the New Testament, after the dove of God descended from heaven on the day John the Baptist baptized Jesus and proclaimed God’s giving of the Messiah through Jesus (Matthew 3:13-17), Jesus walked in the wilderness for forty days (Matthew 4:1-11). During those forty days, He fasted, endured hunger, and resisted Satan’s three temptations. These forty days, this epoch in the wilderness, heralded a new time of the Messiah’s ministry on earth and His call to each person to believe He is the Son of God (John 1:29 & 36).  This instance shows the difference between the times in the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament shows movements of time as they relate to a person’s spiritual life on physical life on earth-a growing in faith, in doing God’s purposes, or rest and renewal. The New Testament shows the transitioning between Jesus’ life before baptism and after baptism and how that relates to a person’s spiritual life and eternity. Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness was an epoch that showed He is the Son of God and stronger than Satan. It served as the door-opener to Jesus’ ministry and thus, the door-opener for people to have more than just a law in how to see, seek, see, and follow God. Jesus is the door for each person to receive cleansing from their sins and be in God’s presence for eternity. With Jesus’ forty-day epoch, people grew from knowing about God to being able to be in a righteous and eternal relationship with Him. The epoch of forty days did not change Jesus. Before the wilderness He was the Son of God who came to take away the sins of the world. After this epoch, He was the Son of God who came to take away the sins of the world. God never changes, and no one thwarts His purposes. He is always faithful.

A last instance of epochal change occurs after Jesus’ resurrection and before His ascension (Acts 1:1-26). During the forty days of that time, Jesus gave the people many proofs He is the Son of God, the Messiah, by coming back to life after being dead (Luke 24:1-9), by walking with two of the disciples to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), by “explaining the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures” (Luke 24:27), by breaking bread with them (Luke 24:30), by showing His nail-scarred hands and feet (Luke 24:39-41), by eating with the disciples (Luke 24:42), and by opening their minds to the Scriptures (Luke 24:45-49). He spoke about the kingdom of God. Jesus heralded His Spirit coming upon His disciples and all believers (Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:4-5). Then, while His disciples watched, He rose into heaven (Acts 1:1-11). This epoch of forty days rang in the time of salvation and victory over death for all people who believe in Him. From this point, with the power of Christ, believers could defeat temptation and were victors over death. Before this epoch-Christ’s resurrection and ascension-death had victory over people. No hope existed for resurrection from death or power to defeat Satan. With Jesus’ resurrection, believers can know Jesus will resurrect them. They can defeat Satan’s temptations with the Holy Spirit Jesus gives them. People no longer must be the lambs led to slaughter by Satan. Jesus has the victory and gives it to each person who believes in Him. Before Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, people had their own limited strength to fight Satan and had no promise or hope of eternal life with God. After His ascension, with His Spirit living in each believer, they could have His power to defeat Satan and would have His hope of victor over death and eternal life with Him in His kingdom.

Notice, many of the people in these Bible passages experienced difficulties before their forty-day epoch that brought with it a newness with God. They faced hard times, then spent time alone with God. In other instances, some people went into a period of seclusion with God before a hard time. Jesus is the only one who experienced difficulties before, during, and after his forty-days’ seclusion with the Father. He is the model for how to go through difficulties and how to be with God, being nurtured and grown for His purposes.

We need to notice God had a purpose for the forty days/years each person or the group of people experienced. That purpose was to prepare them for God’s next task, to give him/her a chance to recover, and to renew and recommit themselves to God. We can recognize evidence of God’s hand in the lives of the people during the forty days/years of seclusion. God grew their faith in Him. He provided their sustenance and restored them. God taught them leadership skills. He tested each person’s resolve.  God used the forty years to discipline His people. He used the forty days to protect, provide for, and prepare His people.

Some people experienced spiritual highs during the forty days, but none of them stayed on the mountain or in the wilderness. Each of them walked from their epoch with God to His next goal, whether anointing the next leader, leading a people to God, or providing a sufficient salvation and eternal life. The epochs each person faced changed them; it improved them and their relationship with God. The epoch did not change Jesus. It told Satan he had limited time remaining to deceive and tempt people. Jesus’ epoch heralded His ministry on earth where He proclaimed Himself as the Messiah God prepared as their salvation from the beginning of time.   

What does this mean for us today? Does God still give people epochs with Him? Do we need these epochs? Without doubt, people still need epochs, times, with God. Just as the people of the Bible needed these times with God for recuperation, renewal, recommitment, and for God to grow them for His purposes, we need them. As we live in this world filled with sin, persecutions, trials, doubts, and needs, we need time with God for His infilling of us. Whether this time is a day, weekend, month, or long sabbatical, time with God is a necessity for each person. We need time to meet with and be with Him. Epochs with God are especially important for Christians.

Being a Christian, a follower of Christ, means living like Jesus lived and wants us to live. He experienced difficulties before, during, and after his forty days in the wilderness. Those time periods in Jesus’ life on earth were epochs for humanity. Christians cannot expect anything different. Jesus experienced daily, continual communion with the Father before, during, and after that epoch, too. God wants Christians to have that relationship with Him, daily and continual relationship. Whether we are doing the most menial things (like mopping, cleaning a house, or taking care of a sick person) or things that gain us attention (like leading an organization or country, teaching at a prestigious school, or finding a cure for a dreaded disease), God wants to be with us through the days. The epochs for Christians are each time we spend communing with God. He grows us through obedience to Him. Times of communion should occur day. They can be times we set aside seeking God’s will in certain situations or seeking recuperation, too. Most noted for all Christians is the day each person believes in Jesus as his or her Savior and confesses and repent of his or her sins.

Each person is on a journey in life. For Christians, the journey is to be with God and bring Him glory. In each journey, epochs of time will arise where we seek and be with God. These epochs often are at times in our lives when things are in flux or need to change. A transition is about to occur. Jesus’ life and His own epoch in the wilderness remind us we can face persecution before, during, or after our time with God. No believer is immune to those times. Yet, the epochs of time that God gives each believer rejuvenate, renew, and equip us for what we have faced and will face. Epochs can cause strain, but strain/stress can grow us to be the person we need to be for God’s purposes. These times of epochs grow us to be closer to God, be on a higher plateau in our relationship with Him. They will make us more obedient to Him, too. One thing we each must remember is what occurred after each person’s epoch. They did not stay on the mountain or in the wilderness. They each obeyed God and served Him to lead people to Him so they could come to know Him as their Savior and to help them grow in their faith with God so they could be more like Jesus. We should not seek to stay on the mountain or in the wilderness, but should always desire to do God’s will and bring Him glory.

Where are you today? Have you heard God calling you to Himself to accept His sacrifice for your sins and believe in Jesus as your Savior? Have you heard Him calling you to draw near to Him for rest, renewal, growth, and a new task? Have you responded to God’s call to meet with Him, but refuse to leave the mountain or the wilderness in which you met Him? Each of these questions brings you to a time of decision. God loves each of us. He wants us to grow to know Him better and become more like Christ. He has a purpose for each of us, a purpose about love, life, and victory. Choosing to say, “No,” to God and not believing in Jesus, not going to Him for rest, renewal, and growth, and not leaving the place He called you for an epoch is rebellion against God, others, and yourself. This rebellion is sin.

We each have a decision to make now. Will you deny yourself and submit to God’s will of blessing, purpose, forgiveness, and eternal life?

“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But, seek first His [God’s] kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:31-33 [NASB])

Yahweh, Revered Teacher

Then Moses said to the Lord, "Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue."  (Exodus 4:10 [NASB])

We each understand Moses’ hesitation here, his fear. Who am I that I should lead a million people? Who am I to question the leader? Who am I that I should stand up for God and what is right? Where do these doubts originate? They originate with fear, fear of inadequacy. Mostly these doubts begin with the fear that the still small voice in my conscience does not come from the all-wise and all-powerful God, Yahweh. When we doubt, we question God’s ability, wisdom, and love, and we put into question our love of God and people, our neighbors.

What did Moses say in verse ten? He said, “I have never been eloquent…for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” Moses realized his natural inadequacies, or rather his fear of inadequacies, but he did not take into consideration the training God had given him or the power of God. Moses was not a servant or slave in Egypt like the other Israelites. His own mother taught him at her breast and knee about their God, Yahweh. She taught him orally about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the One who is all-knowing, all-powerful, Creator of all things, the Provider and Protector, and the faithful, covenanting God. Moses learned about Yahweh. Moses received the education of a prince of Egypt, too. God ensured His future leader of His chosen people was educated. Now the LORD would show Himself mightily to Moses to give him a personal knowledge of Himself.

In Exodus 3, God told Moses to go back to Egypt, speak to Pharaoh, and tell him to let His people go three days into the desert to worship Him. God realized Pharaoh would not allow it and had a plan to convince Pharaoh that He is the One and only almighty God. First, He had to prove to Moses He is absolutely God. In Exodus 4:1, Moses’ doubts about Pharaoh not listening to him about Yahweh reared its head. God proved His power to Moses with two miraculous signs (a staff turned to adder then back to staff, and a non-leprous hand turned leprous then back to non-leprous), yet Moses’ fearful mind overwhelmed his belief in the power of God. Moses’ fear overwhelmed his understanding of God’s love for himself and the Israelites. He had forgotten the faithful LORD of the Israelites who covenanted with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants. Moses allowed his fear to put a blanket (blinders) over his heart’s eyes so he could not see almighty God, just his human, fallible self.

Moses pleaded his case with Yahweh of his own inability, not recognizing Yahweh’s ability to make Moses what He called him to be, His spokesman. Three times in the next five verses, Yahweh unveiled to Moses who He is. He used anoki statements in verses eleven, twelve, and fifteen. Remember, anoki statements are God’s revealing His nature to humanity. Anoki in Hebrew means “I am.” With anoki statements, God showed His nature to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Abimelech in Genesis. The LORD told Abraham He is His King, Protector, and faith. He told Abimelech He is all-knowing and all-powerful. The LORD told Isaac and Jacob He would bless them, be with them, protect them, lead them, and is ever-present, almighty, faithful, transcendent, and imminent. Yahweh disclosed His nature to Moses in the burning bush giving His ultimate statement saying, “I AM WHO I AM” in Exodus 3:14. This meant to Moses the LORD is the self-existent One, unchanging, eternal, the One Who was before time, is during time, and will be after time ends. Each time Yahweh reveals Himself to humanity, He seeks for people to know Him better, to draw near to Him, and to grow in likeness to and trust in Him. Yahweh is not just these things, He is the source of these things for those people who believe. God does not call people to do things without providing what they need to accomplish the task. Moses’ fear caused him to doubt or forget the revealed Yahweh.

Yahweh God replied to Moses in verses eleven and twelve. He reminded him He is Creator and has all power and authority. God said to Moses, “Who gave man his mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, sighted or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go! I will help you as you speak, and I will teach you what to say."  He told Moses, I am Yahweh, the self-existent One and I am all-powerful. Next, Yahweh gave him a command. “Now go!” Moses’ fear still blinded him to the reality of God, His power, wisdom, might, and authority. He heard God’s command, but just like a frightened mule, he would not budge. Moses said in verse thirteen, “Please Lord, send someone else.” Notice Moses didn’t call God the LORD, but Lord. He gave Him the title for one revered but didn’t recognize Him in his heart and mind as almighty God. His doubting caused him to falter and faint.

Next, we read the LORD’s anger “burned” against Moses. This brings a fear into my heart and it should have to Moses, too. Why do we doubt and fear until God’s anger at our unbelief burns against us? Why can’t we act when asked? The LORD realized Moses’ faith in Him was too small and so provided what He needed to bring His people, the Israelites, out of slavery in Egypt. God recognized Moses trusted most what he could see and what he knew. Moses knew and trusted his brother and so God sent Aaron to Moses. With verse fifteen, God said, " You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will help both of you to speak, and I (anoki) will teach you what to do.” Moses realized he heard God, but he feared Pharaoh more than God. He recognized Aaron “was glad in his heart" to see him (verse 14) and respected him because he trusted that Moses had encountered God at the burning bush. So, when God told Moses to tell Aaron and put His words into his mouth, Moses believed God. Moses trusted Aaron and feared God more than him. He trusted God to help them both speak and to teach them what to do. God showed Moses something new of His nature in this verse. He taught him He is Teacher. Being the most wise, power, Creator God is also the most wise, most knowledgeable Teacher. Moses, as a highly educated man, revered teachers and looked up to them. God as Teacher got Moses’ attention and reverence. God, being greater than Aaron, was the One Moses wold fear more in this new equation.

Yahweh prepared Moses for the task to which He called him. He told him what his task would be. The LORD gave Moses miraculous signs to remind him of Who He is. Still, Moses doubted and feared. He chose to be more afraid of what or who he knew personally, the Pharaoh, than the God of whom he learned about from his mother and the God with Whom he spoke in the “hard-to-believe” encounter at an unconsumed burning bush. Only when Yahweh provided someone tangible whom Moses recognized and feared less than the LORD, did Moses agree Yahweh could use him for the mighty task only He could do-set His people free.

God calls each of us who are His children to tasks for His purposes. He doesn’t call us then leave us to our own devices. God gives us from Himself everything we will need to do what He told us to do. From God who is (anoki) all-power, all-wise, all-knowing, all-mighty, Creator, faithful, love, Protector, Provider, Teacher, Shepherd, Savior, et al., He gives to each of us what we need to do what He asks. God is these things and the source of these things. These are gifts from His nature. God shows Himself to us to grow us, teach us, draw us near to Him, and to show us He is all we need for all things in life.

What keeps you from saying yes to God and becoming His child through faith in Jesus Christ? What keeps you from saying yes to God in doing the task to which He calls you now? It’s fear. Fear you are wrong to believe in God Whom you think you cannot see. Fear people will laugh at you and mock you. Fear instead of love. A love for God Who saves. A love for the people to whom He tells you to speak. We should remember what Paul said in Romans 8:31. He said, “If God is for us, who is against us?” Nothing we fear can stop God. With God, nothing can stop us. Consider what David said in Psalm 27:1, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the defense of my life: whom shall I dread?” David and Paul both realized God casts out fear. With God there is nothing to fear because He is our shield, our Protector, our King, our faith.

What keeps you today from obeying God’s command? After Yahweh called Moses, He said, “Now go!” When God calls you, He equips you with His power, His words, and His love to go and do what He said.

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us.  (1 John 4:15-19 [NASB])

LORD, God, You are almighty and all-knowing and I am not. I have doubted Your calling of me. I have allowed fear to stop me from accepting Your gift of forgiveness and salvation from cleansing me and making me Your child. LORD, I have run away in fear when you called me to do something that set me apart as Your child. I understand this shows my love for You and for other people is very small. Please forgive me my doubts, fear, and lack of love. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so I am fit to do the tasks to which You call me. Be my strength and shield. Be my Savior and King. Amen.

A Birthday and a Callling

A Birthday and A Calling

Today marks 41 years to the day since I accepted Jesus as my Savior and Lord. I wasn’t naughty. If you lived in my home, you didn’t dare be naughty. I didn’t take drugs or drink alcohol. I made mostly A’s in school. I was working on being self-sufficient. It’s necessary in today’s world to take care of yourself because no one else would, right? Still, I was like most people; I ran from God as He pulled on my heart.

I don’t know of what I was afraid; I had experienced love in the church and from the church staff for years. No one in the church had ever hurt me, but instead showed and taught me about God’s love. I learned the endearing songs “Jesus Loves Me” and “Jesus loves the little Children” as a preschooler in church. I heard the stories of Jesus’ birth, Lazarus’ resurrection from the dead, Jesus turning water into wine, and His healing of people-the leper, the blind man, the woman who bled for years. Still, when God called to my heart and mind, I ran. When I say I ran, I mean I literally ran. I couldn’t tell you who was at the door, but I knew it was church people when the bell rang. I ran upstairs to my room, out the back door, and down the fire escape.

Why did I run? I really don’t know still. Maybe it had to do with that drive to be self-sufficient. Maybe I didn’t want to lean on anyone. It’s possible, the Father figure of God scared me, like my father scared me. I think the biggest reason I ran from God is why most people run. I was afraid of what He would ask me to do.

Remember all the stories in the Bible of which you’ve heard. God called Abraham to be His man. He told Abraham He would make him the father of a great nation, then told him to go to a land he would show him. God told Moses to go to Egypt and set His people free. God called Samuel while a little child and used him to be His prophet. He called Isaiah, convicted his heart of his sin, then sent him out to be a prophet. Jesus called each of the disciples to follow Him. They didn’t know they would follow Him to the cross. You get my point here. It seemed when God called people, He called them to sacrifice themselves, their lives, and their stuff. I had my whole life ahead of me. I was afraid of what God would call me to do. I was afraid. That’s how I re-entered my parent’s house at 14 years old.

I remember nothing else about that night except that I didn’t run from God anymore. My life started revolving, by my choice, around church-choir, youth group, Sunday School. I didn’t go to church anymore just for a haven or to be with people who loved me. I went to church to know God more. I couldn’t get enough of Him. When the youth played on a Friday night, I read my Bible on the church steps. When a special youth week occurred, I was there devouring the Word. During that week, I sensed God telling me I would be a minister’s wife. That was the second time I realized God was speaking to me. Then I remembered, when I was nine years old and in Sunday School, I felt God softening my heart for missionaries. My teachers taught about them that day and the page they gave me to color was about Thailand.

That fourteenth summer of my life one other thing happened that brought me to the foot of the cross. A young adult woman took an interest in me. She was ten years older than me, but she decided to include me in her life. This young lady picked me up and took me to the mall, to burger restaurants, to choir, and to church. One snowy day, we arrived at her apartment to sled down the hills around her apartment complex. After sledding, we made hot chocolate in her kitchen and then sat on the floor. After some quiet (remember, God was working on my heart), I asked her why she cared about me. I had never known her before she chose to care about me. Her response changed me forever. She said, “I love you because Jesus loves you and me.” My glass wall shattered! Why? Because someone loved me when she didn’t have to.  She chose to love me.

God’s love through Jesus Christ shattered my wall and I have never been the same. His love shattered my defenses of self-sufficiency and fear. I realized without Him I could do nothing. Paul said this positively in Philippians 4:13 when he said, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Jesus stated it explicitly in John 15:5. He said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

At that time, I realized I need not fear. God loves me more than anyone. His love wants only the best for me, so why should I fear what He may call me to do. The greatest Bible verse we all have memorized expressed God’s love. John 3:16 tells us how great God’s love is for us. It says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” Since God loves me enough that He sent His Son to die for me (for my sins), and for the whole world for all time, then I can trust Him and not fear. David wrote about the coming Messiah throughout the Psalms. In Psalm 27:1, he declared his faith in Yahweh. He said, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread?”

At that point in time, when I was 14 years old, God told me He loved me enough to send His Son to die for me. He told me He is my light and salvation; I have nothing to fear. Through the Bible, God also told me that without Him, I can do nothing. Faced with these three absolutes, I realized my mortality, sinfulness, and need of the Savior and Lord. Without fearing to what He would call me in the future, I walked into His loving, open arms and gave my heart and life to Him. God gave me a new birthday, a spiritual birthday. Today, I say, “Happy birthday, to me. Thank you, Jesus.”

We don’t know to what God will call us. Neither do we know what we will face in the future without God. The future without God is unknown. A future with God, we understand, holds love, guidance, strength, and provision. There is nowhere we can go that God won’t find us. Likewise, there is nowhere God can send us that He won’t love, protect, provide, and guide us. What is fear? It is fearing the unknown. With God, nothing is unknown. We realize He loves us. That is what is important. I didn’t know where God would call me to walk or work in the future, but I trusted Him and His heart implicitly.

Where do you stand today? Are you afraid of the future? Do you feel unloved? God loves you now, just as you are. Go to Him and His love and you will never need fear what will come against you, or of being alone and unloved. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31 [NASB])

We know that God causes all things to work together for the good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Just as it is written, “For your sake we are being put to death all day long; we were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:28-39 [NASB])

Lord, God, I realize I am a sinner in need of a Savior. Thank You for dying for me and for Your forgiveness. Thank You for Your love that never gave up on me and never will give up on me. Please take my heart today and make it anew for Your purposes. I trust You and have no fear. You are God and know all things. Whom shall I fear? I am Yours for Your purposes. Amen.

NEVER FORSAKE YOU – DEUTERONOMY 31

Introduction

In the study of Deuteronomy 30, Moses told the Israelites when they were in exile or captivity because of their unfaithfulness to their covenant with God, God would heed their pleas and requests for forgiveness. God promised they would continue to be His chosen people. He would forgive them and take them back to the Promised Land.

In the second part of Deuteronomy 30, Moses encouraged the Israelites to “choose life.” The Israelites who stood on the brink of crossing the Jordan River were not the ones who made the original covenant with the LORD at Mount Sinai. The current Israelites were infants at that time or were born after the Sinai covenant. Moses exhorted the current Israelites to choose to be in a covenant relationship with the LORD. He encouraged them to “choose life.”

In Deuteronomy 31, we find three distinct sections of text – Moses speaking to the Israelites, God speaking to Moses and Joshua, and Moses speaking to the priests, elders, and officers. Threaded throughout these sections are the words of encouragement “be strong and courageous” and “do not fear or tremble.” Besides these, we read a few times, “God will cross ahead of you” and “God is the one who goes with you.” In the middle section, where God spoke to the Israelites, He foretold the Israelites future disobedience and turning away from Him to serve other gods. It appears Deuteronomy 30 was suitable for the Israelites to listen to before they heard God foretelling their turning away from Him. By doing so, they would understand God would always forgive them if they repented. In addition, by foretelling the Israelites’ future, God showed the Israelites once again He was not just the God of their past and present, but of their future, too.

Moses Speaks

Moses to the Israelites.

In the first section of this chapter, which encompasses verses one through thirteen, Moses spoke to three sets of people – the Israelites, Joshua, and the leaders – priests and elders. The time Moses spoke with the Israelites is in verses one through 6. Verses seven and eight record Moses speaking to Joshua. His command to the priests and elders is in verses nine through thirteen.

Moses began his speech to the Israelites reminding them of his age. He was 120 years old. Moses spent forty years in Egypt learning how to lead people, forty years shepherding and learning to follow the LORD, and forty years with the Israelites learning from God how to lead/shepherd His people. In the Bible, the number forty often reflects times of trial – to learn and discipline oneself to be a better follower of God. We see Moses’ life as just such a case. Besides reminding them of his age, Moses told them he could not lead them any longer and would not cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land. If you remember, the latter was God’s punishment of Moses from Numbers 20. At that time, the people grumbled about having no drink. God told Moses to tell the rock to yield its water. When Moses arrived before the people, he hit the rock and water came from it. He did not give the credit and glory to God (Num. 20:12); therefore, the people did not learn God provided for them again. Remember, part of Moses’ task was to help them know (yada’ – progressively come to know) of and who the LORD was. At this point in Deuteronomy 31, Moses told the Israelites he would lead them no longer. He reminded them God would cross before them as He had previously gone before them.

Besides God crossing the Jordan with them, their next God-appointed leader, Joshua, would cross before them, too. Remember, Joshua was one of the twelve spies who scouted the Promised Land. He was one of the two spies who said the Israelite should have gone into the land forty years before when God told them He would give them the land. As God would have done forty years before and did to the Amorites on the east side of the Jordan, He would do to the Canaanites when the Israelites crossed the Jordan River at their current time. The LORD would deliver the Canaanites to them. The Israelites were to do as the He commanded them do to the Amorites (vs. 4-5).

Moses encouraged the Israelites in the last part of this sub-section when he said God would be with them. He told them to be “strong and courageous” and “do not be afraid or tremble.” Because God was with them, the Israelites had no one and nothing to fear. They were strong because God is strong. Moses told them to be bold and step out in faith because of that fact. From experience, they would be acquainted with the LORD God and His strength and omniscience. The Israelites could stand in faith knowing what God commended them to do would occur as long as they followed Him.

Moses to Joshua.

This sub-section of the chapter is just two verses long. In front of the Israelites, Moses called Joshua to him. While standing before the people, Moses told Joshua God chose him to lead His people into the Promised Land. He encouraged Joshua by telling him to “be strong and courageous” (vs. 7) and “do not fear or be dismayed” (vs. 8). You will notice Moses said the same to the Israelites in verse six. He said it again in verse twenty-three.

Moses next told Joshua he would go with the people into the Promised Land (vs. 7), but with God going before them (vs. 8). This may have been the first time Joshua discovered Moses would not be going into the Promised Land. He may have felt fear. Moses encouraged him when he said, “The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail or forsake you” (vs. 8). The last part of this verse is a promise many Christians have held on to over the centuries. We understand Joshua reminded the people of this in Joshua 1:5 and the writer of Hebrews used it in Hebrews 13:5. God proved Himself faithful to the Israelites and His covenant with them. We read of it in the Bible many times.

Moses encouraged the Israelites by saying God would go ahead of them, just as he did to Joshua. He told them to be strong and courageous; do not fear or be dismayed, just as he did Joshua. Moses was their leader. From him the Israelites learned about God. They learned how to recognize Him, and how to hear and obey Him. Moses prepared the Israelites for his departure by giving them a God-appointed leader, Joshua. He encouraged them further with his words by reminding them who God was and is for them and who He would continue to be. Just as Moses called out Joshua from the Israelites, he spoke directly to their leaders – the priests and elders of the tribes.

Moses to the Leaders.

In this sub-section of section one in the chapter, Moses directed his speech to the Israelite leaders – the priests and elders of the tribes. Moses wrote the law – the commands, laws, statutes, and ordinances – God gave to the Israelites over their forty years’ journey. He finished writing them with Deuteronomy 31. Moses next gave the book of the Law to the priests with a command (vs. 9).

Moses commanded these leaders do two things with the Law and at two specific times. First, he charged the priests to read God’s Law every seven years at the remission of debts and every year at the Feast of Booths (vs. 10). These two feasts and festivals were when God required every Israelite and resident of Israel to worship at the sanctuary or temple.

The second command Moses gave the priests and elders was to gather every person of Israel to listen to the reading of God’s Law so they would learn and fear the LORD being careful to observe all of it (vs. 11-12). We must remember what the Hebrew words for “hear,” “learn,” “fear,” “careful,” and “observe” mean to understand the depth of this command. “Hear” comes from the Hebrew word shama’ and means to hear, listen, and obey. Remember the Hebrew culture taught when students learned things they should listen to and act upon them else the person did not truly hear. “Learn” derives from the Hebrew word lamad, which means to exercise in and learn. Practicing the laws by acting upon them was important. “Fear” comes from the Hebrew word yare’. It means to fear and revere. The Israelites were to revere the LORD from whom the laws came and by association hold fast to His laws. They carried great weight and influence amidst the people of Israel. “Careful” comes from the Hebrew word shamar, which has the same root as shama’. Shamar means to hear, listen, preserve and guard, and to give heed. Finally, “observe” comes from the Hebrew word ‘asah and means to observe, accomplish, and do. Over the forty years that Moses lived with and led the people of Israel, he taught them about God and they saw His might and power. They gained a first-hand impression of Him. By itself, that should have made them fear and revere the LORD enough that His commands would carry great weight and impel them to love and obey Him.

Moses closed this sub-section of the chapter by impressing on the people one other matter. By assembling and reading/hearing the Law of God at these two festivals/feasts, they would make sure later generations heard and knew God, His actions, power, and laws. They would obey them and not go astray. Moses said it in verse thirteen, “Their children, who have not known, will hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live on the land, which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.” Moses gave a very similar statement to the Israelites in Deuteronomy 11:19. He told them, “You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up.” The parents had the responsibility for training their children to know and obey the LORD God. In this sub-section, Moses made the priests and elders responsible for ensuring the people of Israel heard and understood the Law of God at these two festivals/feasts either yearly or every seven years. So, for this section, Moses told his age, of Joshua becoming the leader of the Israelites, and the requirement for the priests and elders to recite the Law and teach Israel.

God Speaks

Section two of this chapter encompasses verses fourteen through twenty-three. God commanded Moses and Joshua to go to the tent of meeting. He foretold to them of the Israelites’ forsaking Him and breaking His covenant. God explained what His reaction would be. He commanded Moses to write a song about this for the Israelites as a testimony and witness against them when they sin. At the end of this section, God chose and commissioned Joshua as the new leader of the Israelites.

Obedience and Affirmation.

The first verse of this section, verse fourteen, is significant. It says, “The LORD said to Moses, ‘Now the day of your death is near. Call Joshua and present yourselves at the Tent of Meeting, where I will commission him.’ So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the Tent of Meeting.” The first thing we note is the LORD told Moses his death was imminent. Moses realized he would not enter the Promised Land. This statement explained it would happen soon.

In the second sentence of this verse, God gave a command to Moses and Joshua. For Moses, obeying that command began his descent from leadership and inaugurated Joshua’s rise to Moses’ position. God prepared Joshua for the leadership position and now He would commission him.

The third important fact of this section is their obedience to God’s command. They did not linger where they were, but went at once to the Tent of Meeting. When God gives a command, a person should obey it right then. We should recognize one other important fact. By being at the Tent of Meeting, the Israelites would be around and would see and overhear God’s commission of Joshua and decommissioning of Moses. They would hear the LORD’s voice for themselves. Moses could have explained what occurred after the fact, but God wanted them to listen to and see Him. It became an affirmation by God of Joshua’s commissioning and Moses’ descent from leadership. It confirmed what Moses said to Joshua and the Israelites.

LORD’s Foretelling.

The second sub-section of this section, verses fifteen through twenty-two, tells us what the LORD said in the doorway of the Tent of Meeting. Remember, by being at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting, the Israelites could listen to the LORD’s voice and apprehend what He said to Moses and Joshua. The LORD appeared as a pillar of cloud, a familiar sight for the Israelites.

In the first part of His speaking, He reiterated what Moses said before to Joshua. The LORD said Moses would soon die (vs. 16). Moses realized he would soon have rest from leading the fickle Israelites and would receive his punishment, which God assigned to him for taking His glory.

The second part of verse sixteen, in the same breath as the first part, revealed the Israelites would soon be unfaithful to God. The biggest part of this section is God’s foretelling of the Israelites’ disobedience to Him and His covenant. God spoke about their unfaithfulness and His resultant actions against them in verses seventeen through twenty-one because of their forsaking Him and breaking His covenant (vs. 16). He expounded on what the Israelites would do when they forsook Him and broke His covenant. The LORD said, “They will turn to other gods and serve them, and spurn Me and break My covenant” (vs. 20). Notice this reflects a progressive turning away from God beginning with turning to other gods to completely separating from the LORD God.

What were the LORD’s reactions and actions because of the Israelites forsaking Him and breaking His covenant? They kindled His anger against them. He said in verses seventeen, eighteen, and twenty-one He would be angry with them. The LORD would forsake them and hide His face from them. Evils and troubles would come upon the Israelites and consume them. The LORD explained why the latter would happen. He said in verse seventeen, “So that they will say in that day, ‘Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have come upon us?’” God reiterated for emphasis in verse eighteen what He said in verse seventeen. He said, “But I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they will do, for they will turn to other gods.”

The LORD explained the tendency of humans when He explained why the Israelites would forget Him when things were going well. He said in verse twenty when the people had eaten, became satisfied, and became prosperous, they would feel no need for the LORD. They would become lax in their faithfulness to Him and His covenant. That would lead the Israelites to begin turning to other gods. First, they would turn to the other gods, then serve and worship them, spurning the LORD completely. In the end, the Israelites would break His covenant.

In verse nineteen, God commanded Moses to write this in a song – to write about God’s history with the Israelites, their covenant with Him, their falling away and God’s anger, and God’s grace and forgiveness when they returned to Him. He explained why He wanted a song written. God said at the end of verse nineteen, “So that this song may be a witness for Me against the sons of Israel.” The LORD said this again in verse twenty-one, too. He said, “This song will testify before them as a witness (for it shall not be forgotten from the lips of their descendants); for I know their intent, which they are developing today, before I have brought them into the land which I swore.” [NASB] In verse twenty-eight, Moses said the words of this song would “call the heavens and earth to witness against them.” The song obediently sung through the generations would remind the Israelites of God and their faithfulness to Him, His anger for unfaithfulness, and forgiveness for repentance. It would be a teaching and reminding tool. In that way, the heavens and earth would witness what the LORD and Moses told them about God and their covenant with Him. The song would teach them of God’s judgment for unfaithfulness, too. No Israelite could say he or she was unacquainted with God, His laws, and His judgments. The song would give a witness against the Israelites for disobedience. Most of all, the song would remind them to be faithful to God. God perceived the intent and weakness of the Israelites’ hearts.

God knows the intent and possibility of humankind to turn their backs on Him when they are prosperous. As we learned in Deuteronomy 30, He is willing to forgive His children who repent of their sins/disobedience. This song reminds people of every age who God is, what He did and will do, what He requires of His children – faithfulness, and what will occur because of faithfulness and unfaithfulness. In his faithfulness to the LORD God, Moses wrote the song and taught it to the Israelites (vs. 22). Deuteronomy 32 is this song. 

God Commissions.

The final sub-section of this section concerns Joshua’s commission. Moses recorded Joshua’s commissioning by God in verse twenty-three. He said, “Then He [God] commissioned Joshua son of Nun, and said, ‘Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the sons of Israel into the land which I swore to them, and I will be with you.’” [NASB] Each part of this commissioning repeats what Moses told Joshua and the Israelites in verses seven through eight and verses three and six. The LORD commanded and encouraged Joshua – be strong and courageous. Be strong because the LORD is strong. Be strengthened in your mind and heart, the LORD meant, because of who He is and because He was with him and went ahead of him. Joshua had no one and nothing to fear because of the LORD’s presence and might. The LORD would never fail or forsake him. God stated the same thing Moses did in verses six and eight to emphasize and add weight to it.

The Israelites listened to what occurred in the doorway to the Tent of Meeting. It could have encouraged them to stay faithful to the LORD and His covenant. The Israelites received words of encouragement from Moses. They noted the LORD’s words of command and encouragement to Joshua. This may have encouraged them to be faithful to the LORD and His covenant.

Moses’ Commands

The last section of this chapter are verses twenty-four through twenty-nine. Verse thirty is part of Deuteronomy 32. In this last section, Moses finished writing God’s laws in a book. He then gave commands to the priests.

Moses commanded the priests to take the book of laws, place it beside the Ark of the Covenant, and gather the elders and officers of Israel. He said the book of the Law must lay beside the Ark of the Covenant so it would be a witness against the Israelites (vs. 26). They could not say they did not learn the laws of God since Moses and God both told them. Moses wrote them in a book to be a visible testament available to them, too. Moses and the LORD recognized the Israelites were rebellious and stubborn. The priests had the responsibility to teach the Israelites God’s Law. God and Moses held them accountable to this task.

Next, Moses commanded the priests to gather the elders and officers of the tribes of the Israelites. Moses told them the words of the Law. He told these leaders what God foretold about the Israelites, too. By doing this, Moses ensured they heard and knew God’s Law and knew what He expected of the Israelites. In speaking aloud to make sure they caught what he, Moses, said, the heavens and earth bore witness against them should the Israelites forsake God and His covenant. Moses understood the Israelites - their fickleness and stubbornness. He recognized they would “act corruptly and turn from the way” he commanded them (vs. 29). From God, Moses understood when they turned from God evil would fall on them because, in His anger, God allowed it. Moses had been accountable to God for the Israelites the last forty years. Now the elders, officers,  and priests would be accountable to teaching and enforcing God’s Law, too.

Moses ensured the leaders of the Israelites and the tribes of Israelites hearkened to and knew the laws of God. He wrote those laws in a book and had the priests place it next to the Ark of the Covenant. Moses commanded the priests, elders, and officers of the Israelites to teach and enforce the Law because he realized the hearts of the Israelites would forsake God and His covenant. By making the leaders accountable for the obedience of the Israelites, Moses hoped the people would stay faithful and not endure God’s anger after he died. By their faithfulness, God would not allow evil and troubles to befall them. Moses did what he could as a human leader to help keep his people from falling away from God and His laws.

Recap

This chapter began with Moses speaking to the people and Joshua, preparing them for their crossing of the Jordan River, and for the claiming of Canaan as the Promised Land of the LORD. He told the tribes he would die soon and Joshua would take over leadership of the people. Moses commanded the priests read the Law of God at the Feast of Booths every year and at the seventh year remission of debts. These festivals and feasts would regularly remind the Israelites of God and their covenant with Him. The future generations of Israelites would learn, too, of the LORD and His covenant. Moses reminded the priests in verse twelve to read to and teach the people to “hear and learn and fear the LORD [their] God and be careful to observe all the words of this Law.”

With the second section of the chapter, the LORD commanded Moses and Joshua to go to the Tent of Meeting. He appeared as a pillar of cloud at the doorway of the there. The LORD proclaimed that Moses would soon die. Next, God foretold the Israelites forsaking Him and breaking covenant with Him. He explained how His anger would be kindled, he would forsake them, and hide His face from them. When that occurred, evils and troubles would consume the Israelites. They would recognize that the LORD was not with them while they were in the midst of troubles and evil. Because God perceived the intent of the Israelites’ hearts, He commanded Moses to write a song for the Israelites about Him and their relationship with Him. The song would help them remember God and His covenant and would aid them in teaching their children. It would readily be on their lips. The Israelites could not say they did not comprehend because Moses taught them for the previous forty years and the song testified to God and His covenant with them. They were accountable for their obedience to the Law of God. As Moses taught the people the song and as they listened to the LORD foretelling their future (of their stubborn and rebellious hearts), the heavens and earth could witness against the Israelites if they forsook God and disobeyed His laws.

The last part of God’s speaking in the Tent of Meeting was His commissioning of Joshua in front of the Israelites – priests, elders, officers, and tribes. They bore witness to God’s commission of Joshua. As Moses told the Israelites and Joshua at the beginning of this chapter, God told Joshua to be strong and courageous. He would be with Joshua to instruct and lead him as he leads the Israelites. God would bring the Israelites into the land He swore to give them.

The final section of this chapter tells us of Moses completing his writing of God’s laws in a book – the book of Law. He then commanded the priests to place it beside the Ark of the Covenant. Next Moses called the elders and officers to tell them the words of God. He told them this book of the Law and the heavens and earth would be witnesses against them and their people if they forsook the LORD and His covenant. These leaders of Israel were held accountable for the Israelites’ faithfulness to God and His covenant. Moses reminded them that forsaking the LORD meant His anger would be kindled against them and evil would come upon them.

Relevance and Conclusion

In this chapter, a change of leadership and a command to be accountable to the LORD and His covenant occurs. God held the leaders of Israel accountable for teaching and enforcing those laws when Moses gave and told of the book of God’s Law. The leaders understood it was a difficult responsibility to keep the Israelites faithful to the LORD God. They had experienced the people’s disobedience and stubbornness. These leaders had seen God’s anger kindled against the Israelites before and listened to God’s foretelling of their disobedience and His punishment in the future. Because they did not want this to occur, they would teach God’s laws to every generation of Israelite and resident of Israel, out of either faithfulness and reverence or fear and trembling. Before, Moses was the leader and Aaron the priest. They were the only human leaders. After Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, counseled him, he called for other leaders from the different tribes. Upon Moses’ death, other leaders would be accountable for the Israelites’ faithfulness to God and His covenant.

We understand from history the Israelites were not always faithful to God and their covenant with Him. They failed several times, repented to God, and He took them back to Israel. Was the fault due to the leaders – priests, elders, and officers? Were the Israelites at fault for their faithlessness? We could point fingers, but we would miss the point. God held each person accountable for faithfulness to Him and His Law. Individual people can forsake God. When enough did that, the nation fell. The leaders were there to teach God’s laws and encourage faithfulness to Him. When a person became unfaithful, the leader was to help bring that person back to faithfulness and covenant with God. If the person wandered from God too long, his or her failed faith and turning to other gods could lead more people to forsake God. This interweaving of responsibility – leaders and individual - makes and keeps a society strong or weakens it and makes it susceptible to God’s anger and judgment.

We need to ask ourselves if we are falling away from God. Is something becoming more important in our lives than the Lord? What is it and what do we need to do to restore our relationship with Him? On the other side of this, we Christians, as part of the royal priesthood of believers, are accountable to help other Christians grow in their faith so they do not slide and turn away from the Lord. We are not to point fingers and yell “sinner” at them. Out of love and knowledge that God wants them to have the best possible life, life that comes only through Jesus Chris, we teach, guide, and encourage them. So we are each individually accountable to God for our faithfulness and corporately accountable to Him for encouraging, teaching, and nurturing other believers to stay true to the Lord. When we are faithful to the Lord, He is pleased and promises abundant life here on earth as we live in our human bodies. As Christians, we have received the promise of eternal life in heaven. Obedience and faithfulness to God now brings abundant life, not just a trudging, toiling drudgery to which to awake everyday.

We have a choice to make each day –

Stay faithful to God and love Him with our heart, soul, mind, and strength

Or

Walk the road we want not caring if it is in God’s plan.

What do you choose?

Deuteronomy 31 A Devotion

Deuteronomy 31  A Devotion

In Deuteronomy 31, we read about four types of leaders and a group of people making one community. Moses, who was about to die, and Joshua are the leaders called and commissioned directly by God. God set aside the priests from the tribe of Levi to lead the spiritual life of the Israelites. Since Israel was the only true theocracy, they lead the spiritual life involved civic leadership, too. The elders helped instill and keep civic laws that came about from God’s laws. They were the wiser and sometimes older people of the community. The officers generally were the ones who led bands of men in armies, but they could also be the keepers of peace in the towns, cities, and countryside. These sets of leaders led groups of people.

Moses directed a portion of chapter 31 to the leaders, but he directed his speech to the tribes of Israel, too. He reminded them to remain faithful to the LORD God. He encouraged them to stand strong and be courageous; the LORD was with them. In this chapter, too, Moses reminded them what God said in the doorway of the Tent of Meeting. The LORD foretold their future unfaithfulness to Him and their covenant with Him. This, He said, would result in His anger being kindled and evil falling on them.

Were any of these groups of people not accountable to God? No, there were not. All of them individually were accountable to God for their own faithfulness to God and their covenant with Him. God, though, created a distinction between the leaders of people and the individual people. They led the people to follow the will of the LORD as laid out in His Law. Besides that, they were accountable to God for teaching His Law and encouraging the Israelites’ faithfulness to Him and His covenant. Both groups of people – individuals and leaders – God held accountable to Him individually. The leaders had the greater burden of being accountable to God for education and encouragement to faithfulness of other people.

Today is the same. Today when you are a child of God, a Christian, you individually are saved from your sins, enter into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ,  and are given eternal life when you earthly life is done. Besides that, we are part of the priesthood of the believer. We are commissioned by Christ to go tell other people about Him and God’s salvation plan – the Gospel. Jesus told us to go make disciples (Matthew 28:19). Making disciples is not a once-off event. This requires teaching, encouraging, mentoring, training, and much prayer. God holds us accountable to go tell and to disciple. Discipling and encouraging helps a person not rebel and turn away from God. This makes us like the priests, elders, officers, Joshua, and Moses.

Just as the Israelites one by one began to turn away from God and then the nation turned away from God, this happens today. The LORD set up leadership back then to teach, train, and encourage people to stay true to Him. Today each of us as “priests” (messengers and teachers) for God are accountable. The leaders back then were to help keep the nation strong and faithful to the LORD. We, too, can do this. We are accountable to the Lord as Christian and as priests/disciples called out by God to help our brother or sister in Christ remain strong in the Lord. Yes, God wants us to go out and tell the Good News. He also wants us to disciple and strengthen the people who are already Christians.

We are accountable as individual Christians, disciplers, and preachers who tell the Good News.

Have you fallen back on one of some of these roles? You are accountable to God for each of them.

Turn back to God and let Him lead you to be leader and individual – one who cares for God, his brother or sister and Christ, and one’s self.

What will you choose to do and be?

Following the Leader (part 1) Deuteronomy 16:17-17:20

Deuteronomy 16:18-17:20

INTRODUCTION

            When God chose a people, the Israelites, from among another nation, He created a new nation with one of the smallest people groups. When nations begin, foundations must be laid – laws, covenants, leaders, structure, etc. Moses spent a large amount of time teaching God’s laws, commands, statutes, and ordinances to the Israelites. In the next two chapters, he will declare to them God’s means of ensuring order, righteousness, and fairness. Moses spoke in Deuteronomy 16:18-18:22 about the leaders God ordains to keep His order within the nation He created. These leaders are judges and officers, kings, priests, and prophets. Most of them are not new to the Israelites, but in these chapters, God proclaimed them as ordained leadership positions. This week we will study through chapter seventeen reading about judges, officers, and kings.

RULERS

Judges

            Moses dedicated almost a whole chapter to the role of judges and officers. The judge was a particular leader who would have profound impact on the social structure of Israel – civil and religious. God’s ordained judges and officers were men who judged righteously (16:18). Since Israel was a nation created by God, the nation’s base was religio-political. God’s laws undergirded every statute, ordinance, and judgment. So though this Bible passage does not state the judges and officers are ordained, because God founded the nation, the officers and judges were to be men of God.

Another aspect of this passage needs clarity. The word “judge” comes from the Hebrew word shaphat. It means judge, governor, and ruler. This person’s duty was to be a lawgiver and decider of controversies – civil, religious, political, and social. Judges enforced the law, too. Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, introduced Moses to the leadership style that used judges and elders to manage minor disputes. Moses decided major disputes (Exodus 18:22). Since Moses was the God-ordained leader of the people, he based his decisions and rule on the laws and commandments of God. He was the first example to the Israelites of a religio-political leader – judge, priest, and prophet. Moses solved religious and societal disputes using God’s guidance. Jethro gave the first substructure to law making, decision making about laws, and enforcing of the law in Exodus 18. Deuteronomy 16:18-17:13 gives us God’s system for this, which is very similar to Jethro’s.

The other leader Moses mentioned in Deuteronomy 16:18 was officers. The word “officer” comes from the Hebrew word shoter. It means official or officer. The usage of this word in the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy give a better understanding of what this person did. These men held positions where they worked as foremen (Exodus 5:6, 10, 14, 15, and 19); subordinate officers in matters judicial, civil, and military (Deuteronomy 1:15); minor or under-judges (Deuteronomy 1:15 and 10:5, 8, and 9); and overseers (Deuteronomy 16:18). In Deuteronomy 29:10 and 31:28, Moses listed officers in rank order of importance. Officers ranked above captains of tribes and elders, notice not above priests, judges, prophets, and kings. Officers were people who upheld the verdicts of the judges, led companies of people, and judged over smaller matters than judges, like junior judges.

As is noticable in verses eighteen through twenty, Moses spelled out the basis for the position of judge and officer. God gave the Israelites the ability to appoint/employ judges and officers. Moses said the purpose of the judges was to judge/govern the people. The mandate from God for the judges was that they were to do their jobs with righteousness (vs. 18c). He stated explicitly what He meant by saying they were not to pervert justice (case decisions) with partiality or bribe taking (vs. 19). Moses told the Israelites in Deuteronomy 10:17 that God does not show partiality or take a bribe. Since that is the case, they, as God’s judges for His people and nation, must live by the same standard. Exodus 23:2 and Leviticus 19:15 speak about not perverting justice or being partial to one person or group over another. This way of life was not new to the Israelites. Solomon said in Proverbs 23:23, “To show partiality in judgment is not good.” Verse 19d of chapter sixteen says, “A bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous.” A judge’s righteousness is so important that Moses repeated this requirement a second time and included God’s promise with it. In verse twenty, Moses said, “Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue that you may live in and possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you.” This shows that justice and righteousness are tied to their covenant with God. It carries the formulation of Old Testament covenants and carries great weight. The men appointed as judges and officers must be righteous to be in covenant with God and receive His blessing of life.

From Deuteronomy 16:21 through 17:13, Moses reminded the Israelites how to handle conflicts and disputes. He taught them when to seek the counsel of a higher judge, rather than using God’s commands and laws by one’s self. In these verses, Moses reminded the Israelites of God’s commands not to set up Asherah poles or sacred pillars because the LORD hates them. Deuteronomy 7 and Leviticus 26 noted this, too. God was to be their only God. He commanded the ox or sheep they offered to Him not have any defect – sickness or disease. God should receive the best of the produce and animals they received from Him that year. (We know from our studies in the New Testament God gave a perfect sacrifice for the sins of humanity through His Son, Jesus Christ.) Moses said God finds a blemished sacrifice detestable – abominable and disgusting. So far, Moses reminded the Israelites their worship of God was to be unadulterated and pure. Next, he recalled for them that no evil should live among them for they are a holy people set apart for God. If they found out about a person who is evil – transgressing God’s covenant (Deut. 13:6-11), serving and worshipping other gods, and serving and worshipping the sun, moon, or the heavenly host – that person was to be stoned to death. Moses reminded them of the rules God provided for inquiry and resolution so they maintained order. He told them to inquire thoroughly (Deut. 13:14) into the matter. If true, then the person was to be stoned at the town’s gates on the evidence of two or three people, never based on one testimony (Deut. 17:4b-7a). By doing these things, they would purge evil from among themselves. These are things individual and community elders and priests can judge for themselves.

When the conflict or problem in the community, tribe, or nation involved difficult cases – homicide, decisions of lawsuits, assaults, and cases of dispute – then the people involved were to take the matter to the Levitical priest or judge in office. God differentiated between a lawsuit and cases of dispute. The first involved a dispute over law while the latter dealt with quarrels and strife. Haggai mentioned the latter in Haggai 2:11 and told the people to ask a priest for a ruling. God planned for when Moses would be dead. He provided for a high court to decide and enforce a verdict. Deuteronomy 17:8-13 speaks of these difficult cases and what the Israelites were to do if a person did not abide by the verdict. Moses told them if anything surpassed their understanding of the law or was extraordinary, then the people were to take their claim to the place where the LORD chose – the temple where the men of higher learning and discernment were – to inquire of God what to do. Deuteronomy 12:5 and Psalm 122:5 speak of the thrones that God set up for judgment. Verse 9 alludes to and supposes the verdict given by the Levitical priest or judge would come from consultation with God. The Levitical priests knew more about the laws of God than anyone else in Israel did. They, too, were the ones who mediated between the people and God about sins and forgiveness, health, protection, and provisions. When a problem was too big for humans to decide, the obvious recourse was to seek the mind of God on the matter. As the intermediary between God and humanity, the Levitical priests were the ones to seek.

When a person sought recourse, more than one party was involved. Generally, two or more people and a mediator were part of the process. In Israel, God provided for this and His will superseded and interposed on the proceedings. As such, each party to the dispute and judgment held responsibility to abide by the judgment. Moses couched the command to do according to the terms of the verdict in the command from God that they carefully observe (shamar) what the priest/judge dictated as resolution. This drew attention to the fact that the judgment was not a choice, but a demand. The decision of the priest/judge was paramount as if God spoke it. It carried that much weight. Moses told the Israelites, “You shall not turn aside from the word which they declare to you, to the right or to the left.” If the person chose not to follow the verdict of the priest, judgment fell on him or her. Because the person acted arrogantly and presumptuously by not listening (shama – hearing and obeying) to the priest, who stands over the case to serve the LORD, that person must die and not receive the promise of the LORD, life (vs. 17:12). People were to consider the disobeying person evil. God commanded them to purge the evil person from Israel because he or she chose to go his or her own way instead of the way God told the priest/judge to command the parties of the case. Moses told the Israelites in Numbers 15:30, “The person who does anything defiantly, whether he is a native or alien, that one is blaspheming the LORD and that person shall be cut off from among His people.” Why did God cut off a disobedient person from His people, from life? Moses explain it in verse thirteen when he said, “Then all the people will hear (shama) and be afraid and will not act presumptuously again.”

God required obedience just as a parent does. God is not the author of chaos. His laws established peace and righteousness among humanity if they chose to be obedient and live by them. To make sure the people of Israel understood the validity and weight of the verdicts given by the Levitical priests and judges, God had Moses say that obeying the judgments of the priests and judges was equal to obeying Him. God established Israel and created a system of laws, statutes, and ordinances to keep it peaceful and set apart for Him. To keep it that way, He provided judges for the people to help solve conflicts and enforce the laws of God. The priests and judges are the governors of God’s laws upon the people. They are God-ordained. Their verdict carries the weight of God’s when they decide the cases with righteousness and justice, not perverting justice or accepting a bribe.

Kings

            God preferred He be the only King of Israel. He knew, though, that the people would want a king of their own like the countries that surrounded Israel. In 1 Samuel 8:7, God told Samuel, His prophet, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.” He told Samuel this was like the deeds the Israelites did since He brought them out of Egypt. They chose to follow their own wills and submit to a willful, human king. In Deuteronomy 17:14-15, God provided the choice of a human king to rule Israel. The Hebrew word used for king in this passage and most of the Old Testament is melek.

The king of Israel was supposed to be a visual representation of the heavenly King. God gave two commands about who could be king of Israel. The primary requirement is that the LORD would choose the king of His people vs. 15a. The second is that the king would be an Israelite (vs. 15b). God did not want a foreigner to be king of His people because he would lead the people to stop following Him with all their hearts. They risked following other gods and ways of life if that happened.

Added to this, God gave four things that the king could not do and two He required the king to do. Each of these the king must or must not do to keep Israel safe from being unfaithful to their covenant with God. God said the king must not multiply horses, cause the people of Israel to return to Egypt, have multiple wives, and increase his gold or silver for himself (vs. 16-17). The Egyptians bred horses used to pull chariots. God wanted Israel to have no dealings with Egypt. He went so far as to say they must not cause the people to return to Egypt. The value of these horses was high and nations often traded their people for horses and chariots from Egypt. God fiercely protected His people and mandated the king and Israel have no relations with Egypt. God protected the king from the influence of the beliefs and cultures of other nations by commanding he have just one wife (vs. 17). The way to protect a nation’s foundation is to protect the leaders of the nation so their beliefs are not softened and eroded by ideas from other nations. David’s heart turned from God by his want of multiple wives and their influence upon his life (2 Kings 5:13, 12:11). The final thing God commanded a king not to do involved his treasure. God mandated the king not want to increase his wealth (vs. 17c). His seeking for more gold or silver would remove his focus from God to worldly, created things. God’s command was prevention against the erosion of the king’s trust in God by trusting in himself and his wealth.

God gave two positive commands for a king who presided over His people. In verse eighteen, He said, “He [the king] shall write a copy of the law (Torah) on a scroll in the presence of a Levitical priest.” Why would that be important? God told why in verse nineteen. He said it was because the king must read it every day of his life so he can learn to fear/revere the LORD by doing what God commanded. This is why Christian leaders teach other believers to have a quiet time or devotion time every day with God. When people read God’s Word every day, their hearts become inclined to follow God every day. The word Moses used in verse nineteen to mean obedience is one of the favorite words in Deuteronomy, shamar. It means to hear, listen, and obey. When reading God’s Word, a fear and reverence of the LORD grows in the person so that the person desires to show his or her love for God with obedience. So a king who reads the laws of God every day would revere and obey the LORD and then lead the people of his nation in the LORD’s way. It keeps the king’s heart focused on God and the good of the people instead of himself (vs. 20). That provides the second reason the king must read God’s law every day. The final reason God commanded the king to read His law every day was so the he would not turn away from God’s commandment, the mitzvah. Moses said this in Deuteronomy 5:32 and the royal chronicler said it of David in1 Kings 15:5.

 As an encouragement, God gave a promise to the king who followed His commandments closely. He said that the king who did this and his sons would continue in the kingdom of Israel. Moses used the word ‘arak in verse 20c. The English words in this verse, “continuing long,” do not adequately rephrase ‘arak. ‘Arak means to be long, prolonged, and grow long. This word gives the gist of the promise God gave to the Israelites. God’s promise was for the present day and would go into the infinite future. This meaning goes along with the prolonged life in Israel God promised to the Israelites who remained faithful to Him (Deuteronomy 4:40, 5:16, 5:33, 6:2, 11:9, 22:7, 25:15, & 32:47). Prolonged life meant eternal life with God for the Israelites. A king who followed God’s commands would have prolonged life with God and would lead the Israelites to have it, too.

Conclusion

            God chose the Israelites, the smallest people group of the time, to be His people. From them He made a new nation. The foundation of this nation was the LORD God. Because of this, the nations’ foundation rested on the standards of God and required faithful commitment to their covenant with Him. The covenant established a just and right social and religious code. These codes of law and life led to a peaceful, just, and ordered nation under God. If the people kept their covenant with God, God promised them life. Life meant sufficient food and drink, protection from enemies, a deep relationship with God, and the provision of all other needs. This defines fulfillment on all levels - physical, spiritual, and emotional. God appointed leaders for the Israelites. These leaders, when they followed the commands of God in chapters sixteen and seventeen, would give a visual, godly role model for the Israelites. This would encourage, lead, and require the people to stay faithful to God.

            God calls each person to be in relationship with Him. He allows each person to vote or appoint people as their leaders. When people vote or appoint a person who follows God’s laws, statutes, commands, and ordinances, they are most likely to stay faithful to their commitment to God. God still gives the promise of eternal life with Him to everyone who believes in Him and accept the salvation His Son’s death and resurrection provides.

If you are currenly a believer in Jesus Christ and have accepted Him as your LORD and Savior, it is still important to stay faithful to Him. As Christians, God assures people of eternal life with Him. Their faithfulness to Him in this life determines if they will have abundant life. Abundant life is joy in knowing God protects and provides for them now. It brings the promise of life with Him in heaven into their present reality so they have hope in the midst of their day’s walk – good and bad days. Abundant life is knowing nothing in this world can separate us from the love of God. Romans 8:35 says, “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?” The answer comes in verses thirty-seven through thirty-nine. It says,

“But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth not any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

If you are not a Christian, God’s promise awaits you. What keeps you from accepting His gift of forgiveness and salvation from your wrongdoings in life? Why do you hold on to your life as if you have ultimate and eternal control over it? God is the Creator and almighty one. There is no one and nothing greater than He is. He is the one who controls life. God gives life now on earth and He offers life for eternity with Him in heaven. What are you allowing to keep you from abundant life now and eternal life with God? You get to make the choice. You decide for yourself; no one can make you decide. It is up to you. What do you choose?