Deuteronomy Review Concluded.

Through the rest of Deuteronomy, we have an account of the wanderings and then the organization of the Israelites. Moses led in this under the leadership of God.  We today as the church need to be organized under the leadership of the Holy Spirit so that we are united in doing God's work.  The people were given their inheritance by the division of the land by God, including the two and a half tribes who remained in the land across the river.  They got their inheritance before the Promised Land was claimed, but they were still required to go and help the rest of the people claim it.  We as Christians already have our heavenly home assured to us, but we still have a responsibility to help others come to Christ so they can claim their's as well.  We cannot just sit back content as long as there are lost people in the world, and we also need to be content with what God blesses us with and not always want more and more.  The Levites, the priests, did not inherit any land, but were to rely on God's provision for them.  We today as followers of Christ are the priests of God, and will never have an inheritance in this world.  The people of Israel were given a promise of success in capturing the Promised if they remained faithful to God, and we have the promise of everlasting life through faith in Jesus Christ, and because of that, we need to remain faithful to Him in all that we do.  We have the record of the appointment of Eleazar to replace Aaron, which happened when Moses was still alive.  Though Aaron was the priest of God, he like Moses never went into the Promised Land on earth, but he went on the the everlasting Promised Land called heaven.  Then, we have a record of the appointment of Joshua to replace Moses,  and then the death of Moses.  Though Moses was a great man of God, he was still expected to obey God's commands and so are we as Christians today.  When we are saved by putting our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, then we are to live by the directions of the Holy Spirit.  Moses was not indenspinisble in God's kingdom, and neither is anyone today.  Next,we will look at the book of Colossians. 

Deuteronomy Review Continued

The people Isreal were called on to be impartial in their judgment of others, and we must be too if we are called on to judge others.  The people were reminded of the report of the spies who first went into the Promised Land, and how they reported on the goodness of the land and brought back proof.  They, except for Joshua and Caleb, also said that the people there were too powerful for the people of Israel to defeat, and this was without proof or faith in God.  We too often see proof of the goodness of God but cannot see proof that He that He will protect us in the face of the enemy.  This is the problem with living by sight and not faith.  After the report of the spies, the people began to murmur against God.  This is also something that we often do if things are not going our way in life.  We want to blame God.  This led to the promise of God to make the people of Israel a great nation in a land that He would give them, the land that they were just across the river from, being passed on to their children.  We don't want to be a generation that refuses to put our faith in God and therefore have His promise of everlasting life pass over us.  Still, God would continue to lead them throughout their wilderness wanderings, even though they would still murmur.  If we have truly put our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, we are forever a part of His kingdom, even though we may murmur in doubt and miss many of the blessings of God.  They were also told that they were not to bother the Edomites, who were descendants of Esau, nor were they to battle the Moabites, who were descendants of Lot.  They were not a part of the people of Israel that God chose to work through but they were a part of His promise to Abraham. We are not all a part of the same physical family of God today as Christians, but we are all a part of the same family spiritually, and we should not be at war with one another. 

 

Deuteronomy Review

First in Deuteronomy, we see that the people of Israel had wandered in the wilderness for forty years.  This was because of their unwillingness to put their faith in God when they first arrived at the Promised Land.  If we encounter Jesus Christ today when we are lost, we are on the edge of the Promised Land, but if we refuse to put our faith in Him, we will wander in the wilderness of sin until or unless we do.  A whole generation of the people of Israel were denied access to the Promised Land because of their lack of faith, but we cannot afford to lose a whole generation today because they refuse to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord, because the gospel of Christ is passed from one generation of Christians to the next.  Now, it was time for the people of Israel, that next generation, to go in and claim the Promised Land under the power and authority of God.  We will not go into our Promised Land, Heaven, in this lifetime, but we must claim our place now by putting our faith in Jesus Christ and living under the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit.  They were to appoint wise rulers under the leadership of God.  God had led them by Moses and Aaron, but they were not to be with them in the Promised Land, but God still would.  We today as Christians must appoint wise leaders in the church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and we need to acknowledge that when one leader dies or moves on that God will appoint another and we must then follow him.  The first time the people of Israel were at the edge of the Promised Land, they lacked the faith to go in, and Moses called on them to not do so again.  This generation for the most part had not witnessed the miracles that God did to gain their release from Egypt, but Moses called on them to put their faith in Him still.  We did not see Jesus as He walked and talked on the earth and was crucified for our sins, but we must put our faith in Him if we are going to get to go into Heaven one day.  Though they had refused to put their faith in God and go into the Promised Land, God did not desert them, but guided them throughout their wilderness wanderings.  God does not give up on people easily, but continues to call them to Him even if they first refuse to accept Him.  Still, lack of faith caused one generation, those who should have been the first generation in the Promised Land, to never enter.  Lack of faith in Jesus Christ will cause us to never be allowed to enter into Heaven and claim what would have been our place.

Deuteronomy 34:1

Deuteronomy 34:1 says, And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan,   Moses went up Mount Nebo to the top of Pisgah and God showed him the Promised Land.  He did't get to go in, but he did get to see the earthly Promised Land.  Moses went willingly and alone to the place where he knew he was going die, because he knew he was going to the heavenly Promised Land then.  We should never desire anything in this world more than we desire our heavenly home as Christians.  Verse two adds,  And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea,  Verse three continues, And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar.  This was quite a view, but it was nothing compared to the one that he was soon to have.  No matter how great things may look in this life, they are nothing compared to what Heaven will be like. Verse four states, And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.  God told Moses that this was the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and that He was allowing Moses to see it, but He was not allowing him to enter it.  Of course, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob never even saw the Promised Land here on earth, but they were all now in the Promised Land of Heaven.  God's promises may not happen in our lifetime, but they will surely happen in His time schedule.  Verse five adds, So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.  Moses died in accordance with God's word, and so will we, but as followers of Christ that is just the beginning of our life in heaven.  Verse six continues, And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.  God buried Moses in an unmarked and unknown grave.  If they had known where Moses was buried, they might have turned his grave into a place to be worshipped.  I believe that is why we aren't told nor do we need to know where the tomb of Jesus is.  Verse seven concludes, And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.  When Moses died at one hundred twenty years of age, he was still physically strong.  His not going into the Promised Land was not due to his failing health, but due to his act of disobedience in the desert.  Verse eight says, And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.  After Moses went up the mountain to die, the people of Israel mourned for him thirty days.  They knew why he was going up the mountain and that he wasn't coming back down.  Verse nine adds, And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the LORD commanded Moses.  Joshua, who had been appointed Moses's replacement was said to be full of the Spirit of Wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him in accordance with God's direction.  It wasn't Moses who gave Joshua the Spirit of Wisdom, but it was God Who did.  When one Christian leader dies today, God will call someone to replace him, and we like the people of Israel did with Joshua need to listen to him as he leads us by the Spirit of God to follow God's way.  Verse ten continues, And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,  We are then told that there was never another prophet in Israel like Moses whom God knew face to face.  Of course, there is One greater Who came, and that is Jesus Christ, but He was not a prophet, but the fulfillment of all prophesy.  Verse eleven states, In all the signs and the wonders, which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land,  Verse twelve adds, And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel.  Then, the book of Deuteronomy concludes by referring briefly of all the great things that God had done while Moses was the leader of the people of Israel.  At the end of our life, it would be wonderful if people could remember great things that God has accomplished for His glory and the advancement of His kingdom through our life.  We will next review some of the things we learned in Deuteronomy. 

Deuteronomy 33:13

Deuteronomy 33:13 says, And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the LORD be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath,  Moses began to pronounce blessings on Joseph, which would be fulfilled through Ephraim and Manasseh.  Verse fourteen adds, And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon,  Verse fifteen continues, And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills,  Verse sixteen continues, And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren.  There were quite a few blessings pronounced on the descendants of Joseph, because he had been faithful to God.  Moses also said that the descendants of Joseph would be richly blessed because of the mistreatment that he that he had suffered at the hands of his brothers.  Later, Jesus would be mistreated by the Jews, who should have been His family, but after His death, burial and resurrection He is blessed above everyone.  Verse seventeen concludes, His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.  Moses said these promises would be carried out through Ephraim and Manasseh, but more so through the descendants of Ephraim, though he was the younger of the two.  Verse eighteen states, And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; and, Issachar, in thy tents.  Verse eighteen adds, They shall call the people unto the mountain; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness: for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand.  Next, Moses pronounced the blessings on Zebulun and Issachar, Jacob's sons by Leah.  Moses said that Zebulun would be blessed in his going out and Zebulun in his tents, and that they would call the people to the mountain and offer sacrifices of righteousness.  Verse twenty says,  And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: he dwelleth as a lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head.  Verse twenty-one adds, And he provided the first part for himself, because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated; and he came with the heads of the people, he executed the justice of the LORD, and his judgments with Israel.  Moses pronounced the blessings on Gad, who had received their inheritance by his word, and said by war they would enlarge their borders.  Not all of the people of Israel received the same blessings, but all were expected to be obedient to God in using their God given abilities for His glory.  The same is still true for Christians today.  Verse twenty-two states, And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion’s whelp: he shall leap from Bashan.  Moses said the tribe of Gad would be blessed with the strength of a lion by the power of God.  We today as Christians are given all the strength we need to overcome any enemy we might need to overcome of the forces of evil in the world.  Verse twenty-three states, And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the LORD: possess thou the west and the south.  Moses then pronounced the blessings on the tribe of Naphtali and said they would be full of the blessings of the LORD and possess the west and the south.  We need to be full of the blessings of the Lord as followers of Christ, no matter what is going on in our life.  This does not mean material wealth, but spiritual wealth.  Verse twenty-four says, And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.  Verse twenty-five adds, Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.  Moses finished stating the blessings on the people of Israel with the tribe of Gad.  Just because they were the last blessed didn't mean that they would be any less blessed.  As followers of Christ, we all receive our blessing according to our faith and willingness to do what God calls us to do.  Verse twenty-six declares, There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky.  Moses then declared that there was no God like the only true and living God, and this should be our declaration today.  Verse twenty-seven adds, The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.  Moses said that the eternal God was their refuge and that they were to rest safely in His everlasting arms and that He would give them victory over all their enemies.  We still need to rest easy under the protection of God today, and if we do, He will give us victory over all our enemies.  Verse twenty-eight continues, Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew.  Moses said that when the people of Israel remained true to their covenant with God that they would live in safety and abundance.  Verse twenty-nine concludes, Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.  Just as Moses said that there were none like Israel because of their covenant relationship with God, there are none like Christians today because of our covenant relationship God through our faith in Jesus Christ. We just need to remain true to Him.  These were the last words spoken by Moses, and they were to pronounce blessings on Israel because of their covenant relationship with God.

Deuteronomy 33:1

Deuteronomy 33:1 says, And this is the blessing, wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.  Moses, referred to here as the man of God, pronounced a blessing on the people of Israel before his death.  They had been rebellious against God quite often, and caused Moses many problems, but he still wanted the best for them.  We should want the best for people today, especially our fellow Christians, even if at times they cause us lots of problems.  Verse two adds, And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.  Moses reminded them of the awe inspiring glory of God shining down on them from Mount Sinai as He came to give His law to them, that was so bright it lit up Mount Seir and Mount Paran as well.  The people in those areas did not hear or accept the law and glory of God though.  There is enough evidence of God's glory today for all to be drawn to Him, but most still refuse to come to His light.  Verse three continues, Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words.  Moses said the people of Israel all sat at the feet of God, ready to receive and obey His law.  As followers of Christ we must sit at His feet, ready to hear and obey His commandments.  Verse four states, Moses commanded us a law, even the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.  Moses said the people acknowledged that he shared the words of God's law with them, which came as a fulfillment of the promise to Jacob.  Verse five adds, And he was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together.  Moses said they acknowledged him as the king, or leader of all the people of Israel.  We today have One greater than Moses as our leader as Christians, and that is Jesus Christ.  Verse six continues, Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few.  Moses blessed the tribe of Rueben, though Matthew Henry said he had lost his birthright.  No one is ever so lost that they cannot be saved, and Jesus stands ready to restore anyone who puts their faith in Him.  Verse seven says, And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people: let his hands be sufficient for him; and be thou an help to him from his enemies.  Moses then asked God's blessing on the tribe of Judah, asking that God allow Judah's hands to be sufficient to defeat his enemies.  Though God could defeat all our enemies Himself, He works through us as followers of Christ to do so by His power.  Verse eight adds, And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;  Moses asked that God be with the Levites, the priests of Israel, to guide them in doing God's will.  Christian leaders today need to make sure that they are obeying God's word and following His leadership.  Verse nine states, Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant.  Moses said they had stood with God against those worshipping the golden calf, even if they had to condemn their closest relatives.  We must stand with God above everyone and everything else as Christians.  Verse ten adds, They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar.  Moses said the Levites, the priests, would be responsible for teaching the people to obey God and leading them in worshipping Him.  We as followers of Christ are the priests in the world today, and it is our responsibility to teach the world about Jesus and lead in the worship of Him.  Verse eleven continues, Bless, LORD, his substance, and accept the work of his hands: smite through the loins of them that rise against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again.  Moses asked God to bless the substance of the Levites and accept the works of their hands while protecting them against their enemies.  God will still do this for us spiritually today as Christians as long as we remain faithful to Him.  Verse twelve says, And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him; and the LORD shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.  Moses then asked that God protect the tribe of Benjamin, who is referred to as the beloved of the LORD.  As followers of Christ, we are all the beloved of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 32:19

Deuteronomy 32:19 says, And when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters.  Verse twenty adds, And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.  Moses said God abhorred the idolatry or the people of Israel,  and He removed Himself from guiding them.  God also said that He would see what their end would be.  We may grow rich and content as Christians, but if we allow this to turn us away from God, He may remove His protective hand from us.  Verse twenty-one continues, They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.  God said that since they had provoked Him to anger by following after false god's that they would no longer be His people.  I don't believe that once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord that we will ever not be a part of God's kingdom, but if we are we should never give in to the temptation to follow other gods either.  Verse twenty-two states, For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.  God said the fires of hell would burn against those who rejected Him, especially those who were supposed to be His people but did not worship Him alone.  We cannot worship God and idols, or the things of this world, at the same time.  God was and is a jealous God.  Verse twenty-three adds, I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.  God said that when the people of Israel, people called by His name turned away from Him that He would punish them with mischiefs and His arrows.  When we turn away from following God's will, He will remove His protective hand from us.  Not everything that goes wrong in the life of Christians is a punishment from God, but I believe that we will know if it is.  Verse twenty-four continues, They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.  God said instead of being in a land of peace flowing with milk and honey, that because of their disobedience the people of Israel would suffer from hunger and a bitter heat that would destroy their crops.  Verse twenty-five says, The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.  God said everyone, from babies to old people, would be destroyed by the sword or their own fears.  We as followers of Christ should never live in fear of what might happen to us in this world.  Our heavenly home will always be our final destination, so we need not live in fear. Verse twenty-six adds, I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:  Verse twenty-seven continues, Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the LORD hath not done all this.  God said He would scatter the people of Israel to the corners of the world, except for the fact that their enemies might say it was them, and not God, who had done this.  It was only for God's glory that He did not just totally blot the people of Israel off the earth and out of remembrance.  As those who are called God's people today, if we turn away from Him, it may be that it is only for His glory that He doesn't just blot us out of memory in this world.  Verse twenty-eight continues, For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.  God pronounced the people of Israel a people devoid of counseling when they would not listen to His voice.  If we are to be a Christian nation today, we must seek the counsel of God and obey it when He gives it.  Verse twenty-nine declares, Oh that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!  God said that He desired that they were wise enough to consider them latter end.  This was before they even entered the Promised Land.  We need to always consider our latter end as Christians, and that is everlasting life with God in heaven, and be wise enough to remain faithful to Him everyday.  Verse thirty adds, How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?  God reminded them of His deliverance of them when one Israelite was able to defeat a thousand enemies.  We as followers of Christ need to always remember that as long as we are faithful to God, we already have the everlasting victory over the world and all its false gods.  Verse thirty-one continues, For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges. God said that the rock of the world, what they put all the faith in, was not the Rock of the people of Israel, which is God Himself, unbreakable and unshakable.  Verse thirty-two continues, For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:   God said the vine of the world was the vinexof Sodom and the fields of Gomorrah, which lead to their total destruction because of their idolatry and disobedience to God.  Verse thirty-three concludes, Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps. God said the wine of Sodom and Gomorrah was poisonous, because even though it might have satisfied or even tasted good, it led them away from God.  The things of this world may be enjoyable today,  but if they lead us away from God they are spiritually poisonous.