Saturday, June 13, 2009

Today's Passage: Deuteronomy 1-3


Today we start the fifth book written by Moses. It must have been pretty hard for him to write some of this stuff down. The reason I mention that is because he mentions that God was even angry with him on account of the Israelites and so he was to die out in the wilderness with them.

I'd like to point out two things that I got from today's passage that maybe you did not recognize when reading it. First was what I thought was an emphasis on listening to God. The Israelites always seem to miss this very important factor in following God. So, God explicitly said to them that He had given them land to take possession over and what do they do? They gather together, talk to Moses, and decide it best that they should send out men who can explore and find the best way to take the cities. Then, get this, Moses records, "The thing seemed good to me..." There's a big problem right there! I know that if God told me something specific to do, then I thought of a "better" way to do it, it's probably not the wisest thing I could ever do. God knows a little more than I do. Furthermore, it angered God for their refusal to listen and take matters into their own hands. Verse 26-27 says they murmured in their tents that God hated them so much and He gave them over to the Amorites to be killed. They've missed it...once again!

The second thing I wanted to point out is chapter 2, verse 7. I have this verse highlighted in my Bible. "For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He knows your going through this great wilderness..." God never forgot the people. The end of that verse says that they lacked nothing. So we see here that God brought them away and supplied their every need! Sometimes I get this mixed up with my wants. I sometimes grumble to God about things I've wanted to see happen, when God has given everything I need.

While there is much more to be said, I wanted to end on the one last thing that caught my attention. At the end of chapter three, Moses is denied passage into the land. Then, God commands him that Joshua is to take his place, and that Moses is to strengthen and encourage him. Wow. Moses, would have been a very strong and obedient man! I know that many times when I'm told I cannot have something, I tend to get restless and set on getting what I was told I could not have. However, we see that Moses remained obedient in the midst of the (what may have been somewhat painful) news.