As we saw on the introduction, the
first verse of the book of Deuteronomy (Heb. Devarim) reveals to us
the theme of this book…
(Deut. 1:1) These
are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the
wilderness…
It begins by saying: “These are the words” (in Hebrew: Eleh
Devarim). In the book of Devarim,
the words that Moses spoke to the people of Israel on his last days of life are
written (he was almost 120 years old by this time). We could think of this as
“Moses’ legacy” before he died… but it wasn’t exactly like that. These Words
(Heb. Devarim) didn’t come from
Moses’ mind, but from the very heart of God. Moses spoke them just as God had
told him.
As we’ve already mentioned, Devarim is the “repetition of the Torah” (Heb. Mishne HaTorah). “Torah” means: instructions, teachings. The Torah
had already been taught to the Israelites on the foot of Mount Sinai. But now
it was necessary to repeat it for the next generation. For Moses it was very
important to repeat the Torah in that moment, not only before the new
generation entered the Promised Land, but also before he died, because he was
almost 120 years old. Moses not only taught the Torah verbally, but he also wrote
it down to make it available for the following generations…
(Psalms 78:5-8) He established
a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their
children, (6) that the next generation might know them, the children yet
unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, (7) so that they should set
their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments;
(8) and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious
generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not
faithful to God.
Devarim is not
Moses’ legacy, but it is God’s legacy for His people Israel… but not only for
that generation, but for all generations.
Before “repeating the Torah”, Moses began his speech by
giving a historical introduction…
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Many people might find history to be boring, but the Bible
places a lot of emphasis on it because of its importance. Biblical history is
not just a recollection of facts and dates, but it serves us as an example and
a lesson.
(1 Corinthians 10:11-12) Now these
things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our
instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. (12) Therefore let anyone
who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.
As the famous saying says: “if we don't learn from history we are doomed to repeat it”.
On the other hand, history gives us an identity: if we know
where we came from, we will know who we are; and if we know who we are, we can
figure out where to go…
WHERE?
Moses begins by pointing out to the Israelites where their
camp is at that time…
(Deut. 1:1-2) These are the
words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness,
in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. (2)
It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to
Kadesh-barnea.
Not all of the places mentioned here are known today, but it
is enough for us to know that they encamped on the east side of the Jordan
River, on the plains close to the Arnon River, north of Moab.
WHEN?
When Moses began the speech of the book of Devarim, forty years had passed since
the Israelites left Egypt. The “Desert Generation” (the adults that had left
Egypt) had already died, so the message was for the New Generation, who would
enter to conquer the Promised Land.
(Deut. 1:3) In the fortieth
year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people of
Israel according to all that the LORD had given him in commandment to them
The trip should have taken them eleven days, starting from
Horeb (Mount Sinai) to Canaan, but it really took them 38 more years.
(Deut. 1:2) It is eleven
days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.
This was not because the other generation “got lost” in the
desert. They arrived to the doors of the Promised Land (in Kadesh), but they
did not enter because of lack of faith (Num. 13:25-26).
Now the new generation was ready to conquer the Promised
Land. But on this occasion they wouldn’t enter through the south (from Kadesh
on the Paran desert), but from the east side (from the land of Moab), crossing
the Jordan River.
(Deut. 1:5-6) Beyond the
Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law,
saying, (6) “The LORD our God said to us in Horeb, ‘You have
stayed long enough at this mountain.
Forty years had already passed since they left Egypt… and it
was time to enter the Promised Land.
YOU’VE STAYED LONG
ENOUGH…
On verse 6, Moses remembers a very interesting phrase that
the Lord said: “You have stayed long enough at this mountain”. The mountain
refers to the Sinai, where Israel received the Torah. This event was one of the
most important in the history of Israel, without a doubt. However, although
Torah is very important we must not forget that it is not the goal, it is only
an instrument that helps us do God’s will.
There are some people that spend their whole lives studying
the Bible, and they become experts and theologians; but what good is it if they
don’t live it? The worth of the Word of
God is not in the knowledge but in the practice. Therefore, let’s not be
satisfied with “learning it”, but with living it. This is the same message that
James gave in his letter:
(James 1:22-25) But be doers of
the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (23) For if anyone is a
hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his
natural face in a mirror. (24) For he looks at himself and goes away and
at once forgets what he was like. (25) But the one who looks into the
perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets
but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
TIME TO CONQUER
God certainly took the people of Israel to Horeb (Mount
Sinai), and there he gave them the Torah. But He didn’t want them to stay
there. The time had come for them to take the Land that God had promised them…
(Deut. 1:7-8) Turn and take
your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all their
neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in the
Negeb and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as
the great river, the river Euphrates. (8) See, I have set the land before
you. Go in and take possession of the land that the LORD swore to
your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their
offspring after them.’
 |
| From the Nile River to the Euphrates River |
Note that the dimension of the Promised Land is in its
maximum expression, which goes from the Nile River to the Euphrates River, just
as God had promised Abraham:
(Genesis 15:18-20) On that day
the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I
give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river
Euphrates, (19) the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the
Kadmonites, (20) the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, (21) the
Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”
Israel has never actually owned all that extension. But the
prophecy says that Egypt and Assyria will recognize and summit to the God of
Israel (Isaiah 19:17-25). This will happen on the last days, probably until the
Messiah comes.
JUDGES
In his narrative, Moses also mentioned the need of naming
leaders among the people, more specifically: judges. Moses couldn’t just carry
the burden of guiding the people all by himself.
(Deut. 1:9-12) At that time I
said to you, ‘I am not able to bear you by myself. (10) The LORD your
God has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as numerous as the stars of
heaven. (11) May the LORD, the God of your fathers, make you a
thousand times as many as you are and bless you, as he has promised
you! (12) How can I bear by myself the weight and burden of you and your
strife?
What was the solution?
(Deut. 1:13-15) Choose for your
tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as
your heads.’ (14) And you answered me, ‘The thing that you have spoken is
good for us to do.’ (15) So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and
experienced men, and set them as heads over you, commanders of thousands,
commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, commanders of tens, and
officers, throughout your tribes.
Why does Moses mention the judges at this time, before
repeating the Law to them? It might be for two reasons:
a.
Because he knows that his time is coming to an
end, and he wants to remind them that they can go on ahead without him. Firstly
they have Eternal God as their King, and they also have leaders who will guide
them on their way.
b.
So that they know that, although they do have
judges, they are not the ones who write the rules (like the ruling kings of
other nations), but they simply are judges that help maintain an order that has
been established by God.
The appointment of leaders had already been established by
the previous generation. Interestingly, this order was established BEFORE
receiving the Torah (the instruction) on Mount Sinai (Ex. 18:21-22).
Note: We won’t do
a deep study about the judges for now, since we will see it later in the book
(Deut. 16).
THE SPIES’ SIN
In the introduction of Devarim, Moses reminds the New
Generation the reason for which their parents did not enter the Promised Land:
the Spies’ Sin. On the previous entry (Devarim: Introduction) we studied this
story from the book of Numbers, today we will see it from the book of Devarim
(Deut.).
(Deut. 1:19-21) Then we set out
from Horeb and went through all that great and terrifying wilderness that you
saw, on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as the LORD our God
commanded us. And we came to Kadesh-barnea. (20) And I said to you, ‘You
have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD our God
is giving us. (21) See, the LORD your God has set the land
before you. Go up, take possession, as the LORD, the God of your fathers,
has told you. Do not fear or be dismayed.’
It took the Israelites that left Egypt about two years to
get to the doors of the Promised Land. The moment had come for them to arrive
to their destination. No doubt there was a high expectation… but they also had
questions (What is the land like? Are there inhabitants, and how powerful are
they?). Moved by curiosity, the Israelites asked that explorers or spies would
be sent out BEFORE they entered. What was their reason?
(Deut. 1:22) Then all of you
came near me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, that they may explore the
land for us and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up and the
cities into which we shall come.’
Why did the Israelites ask to have spies sent out to the
land? They said that their reason was that they wanted to be informed about the
place where they were about to enter.
They supposedly were not wondering if they should enter or
not, but they were wondering “how” to do it. Under that understanding, Moses
agreed.
(Deut. 1:23-25) The thing
seemed good to me, and I took twelve men from you, one man from each tribe.
(24) And they turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley
of Eshcol and spied it out. (25) And they took in their hands some of the
fruit of the land and brought it down to us, and brought us word again and
said, ‘It is a good land that the LORD our God is giving us.’
The problem was that they allowed hesitation to enter. It is
interesting to read the way that Moses described the problem: he does not say
that they “were afraid”, but that they “rebelled”. Many times the problem is
not “being afraid”, but “losing faith”. We can feel fear when faced by certain
circumstances, but instead of getting carried away by panic we have to remember
that God is with us and He can guide us through the storms of life.
However, the Desert Generation was led by fear, to the point
where they stopped believing in God, and they decided not to enter the Land and
not follow God’s plan.
(Deut. 1:26-28) Yet you would
not go up, but rebelled against the command of the LORD your
God. (27) And you murmured in your tents and said, ‘Because
the LORD hated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give
us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. (28) Where are we going
up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, “The people are greater and
taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides,
we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.”’
Moses still tried to help them overcome their fear…
(Deut. 1:29-31) Then I said to
you, ‘Do not be in dread or afraid of them. (30) The LORD your God
who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt
before your eyes, (31) and in the wilderness, where you have seen how
the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way
that you went until you came to this place.’
The problem was that the people believed in the
circumstances more than in God.
(Deut. 1:32-33) Yet in spite of
this word you did not believe the LORD your God, (33) who went
before you in the way to seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night
and in the cloud by day, to show you by what way you should go.
Because of lack of faith in God, the Desert Generation did
not enter the Promised Land… only Caleb, Joshua and the New Generation entered.
(Deut. 1:34-40) And
the LORD heard your words and was angered, and he swore, (35)
‘Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land that I
swore to give to your fathers, (36) except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He
shall see it, and to him and to his children I will give the land on which he
has trodden, because he has wholly followed the LORD!’ (37) Even with
me the LORD was angry on your account and said, ‘You also shall not
go in there. (38) Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall
enter. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. (39) And as
for your little ones, who you said would become a prey, and your children, who
today have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there. And to them I
will give it, and they shall possess it. (40) But as for you, turn, and
journey into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.’
The incredible thing is that Moses didn’t enter either. But
it wasn’t because of the Spies’ Sin, be because of something else (which we
will study on chapter 3).
For a moment, the people seemed to have reacted and repented,
since they admitted they had sinned against God…
(Deut. 1:41) Then you
answered me, ‘We have sinned against the LORD. We ourselves will go up and
fight, just as the LORD our God commanded us.’ And every one of you
fastened on his weapons of war and thought it easy to go up into the hill
country.
The people seemed to have repented, since now they were
willing to fight for the land. But God stopped them…
(Deut. 1:42) And
the LORD said to me, ‘Say to them, Do not go up or fight, for I am
not in your midst, lest you be defeated before your enemies.’
Unfortunately, the people did not listen to the warning…
instead, they did the exact opposite of what God had said.
(Deut. 1:43-44) So I spoke to
you, and you would not listen; but you rebelled against the command of
the LORD and presumptuously went up into the hill country. (44) Then
the Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you
as bees do and beat you down in Seir as far as Hormah.
The people did everything backwards: they didn’t want to
enter when God took them to the door of the promise; but when God warned them
not to enter, they threw themselves to danger (without being protected). They
tried to conquer the promise by their own strength, and that is impossible (the
giants are real, but they can be beaten ONLY with God’s help).
Why did they act this way? They simply didn’t listen. They
didn’t want to hear what God had said nor what Moses warned; they just wanted
to do their will… and things don’t work out like that in God’s Kingdom.
GOD WASN’T WITH THEM
There is an important point that the Israelites ignored: God
wasn’t with them!
(Deut. 1:42) And
the LORD said to me, ‘Say to them, Do not go up or fight, for I am
not in your midst, lest you be defeated before your enemies.’
This phrase should have made them quake and bow down in
repentance. This was very serious, but apparently the Israelites weren’t even
altered when they heard God wasn’t with them. Probably all they were worried
about was doing their own will - with God or without God. This attitude
confirmed their lack of repentance. Instead of trying to conquer the Land, they
should have tried to reestablish their relationship with God… but obviously
that was not their priority – or even a thought.
What should have they done, then? Moses gives us an
excellent example.
After the Sin of the Golden Calf, God told Moses to guide
the Israelites to the Promised Land because He wouldn’t go with them anymore…
(Ex. 33:1-3) The LORD said
to Moses, “Depart; go up from here, you and the people whom you have brought up
out of the land of Egypt, to the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give it.’ (2) I will send an
angel before you, and I will drive out the Canaanites, the Amorites, the
Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. (3) Go up to a
land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume
you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.”
The Lord was saying that they would enter the Promised Land…
but without His Presence. Let’s see how Moses reacted when he heard this:
(Ex. 33:15-16) And he said to
him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from
here. (16) For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your
sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are
distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”
Moses would rather stay in the desert with God than enter to
the “land flowing with milk and honey” without His Presence.
On the contrary, the people were not focused on their
relationship with God, but only on what they could get from Him… and in the
end, they lost it all…
(Deut. 1:45-46) And you
returned and wept before the LORD, but the LORD did not listen to
your voice or give ear to you. (46) So you remained at Kadesh many days,
the days that you remained there.
Do we love God for who He is, or do we just like Him for
what He can do for us?
More lessons on Deuteronomy: @ Devarim (Deut.)
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