In our study of Deuteronomy, we look at Moses' final words to the people of Israel before he died and they entered the promised land. In this first chapter, Moses reviews their journey and the fact that he had made mistakes along the way.
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These are the words Moshe spoke to all Isra'el on the far side of the Yarden River, in the desert, in the 'Aravah, across from Suf, between Pa'ran and Tofel, Lavan, Hatzerot and Di-Zahav. It is eleven days' journey from Horev to Kadesh-Barnea by way of Mount Se'ir.
We get the location of these events and see that they are just opposite of the promised land. It is also noted that their journey from Mt Sinai to this point should have taken eleven days but, in fact, had taken about thirty-eight-years.
On the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year, Moshe spoke to the people of Isra'el, reviewing everything ADONAI had ordered him to tell them. This was after he had defeated Sichon, king of the Emori, who lived in Heshbon, and 'Og, king of Bashan, who lived in 'Ashtarot, at Edre'i. There, beyond the Yarden, in the land of Mo'av, Moshe took it upon himself to expound this Torah and said:
We get the exact timing of Moses' farewell address and the fact that he did not get to enter the promised land is stressed. The Israelites had achieved military victories on the east side of the Jordan and were preparing to invade the west and the land of Canaan.
"ADONAI spoke to us in Horev. He said, 'You have lived long enough by this mountain. Turn, get moving and go to the hill-country of the Emori and all the places near there in the 'Aravah, the hill-country, the Sh'felah, the Negev and by the seashore - the land of the Kena'ani, and the L'vanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates River. I have set the land before you! Go in, and take possession of the land ADONAI swore to give to your ancestors Avraham, Yitz'chak and Ya'akov, and their descendants after them.'
Moses begins his address to the people by calling them to remember the words of God. He reminded them that their possession of the land of Canaan had been promised to their fathers and was being fulfilled to them.
"At that time I told you, 'You are too heavy a burden for me to carry alone. ADONAI your God has multiplied your numbers, so that there are as many of you today as there are stars in the sky. May ADONAI, the God of your ancestors, increase you yet a thousandfold and bless you, as he has promised you! But you are burdensome, bothersome and quarrelsome! How can I bear it by myself alone? Pick for yourselves from each of your tribes men who are wise, understanding and knowledgeable; and I will make them heads over you.'
Moses recounts his first mistake of the journey in the fact that he had let advice of men supercede the call of God on his life. He had appointed leaders over Israel even though God was with them and he was to take the problems to God on their behalf. These leaders would become the basis for the Jewish rulers (the Sanhedrin) which would arrest Jesus Christ.
"You answered me, 'What you have said would be a good thing for us to do.' So I took the heads of your tribes, men wise and knowledgable, and made them heads over you - leaders in charge of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens, and officers, tribe by tribe. At that time I commissioned your judges, 'Hear the cases that arise between your brothers; and judge fairly between a man and his brother, and the foreigner who is with him. You are not to show favoritism when judging, but give equal attention to the small and to the great. No matter how a person presents himself, don't be afraid of him; because the decision is God's. The case that is too hard for you, bring to me and I will hear it.' I also gave you orders at that time concerning all the things you were to do.
Moses reminds the people of the fact that he had bowed to their desire for leaders and he had instructed them. This might all seem good but we must remember that Israel was to be different. They were to be led by God Himself and not by a governing body like other nations. The effects of this mistake linger to this day and will continue until Jesus returns for the Millennial Reign.
"So we left Horev and went through all that vast and fearsome desert which you saw on the way to the hill-country of the Emori, as ADONAI our God ordered us; and we arrived at Kadesh-Barnea. There I said to you, 'You have come to the hill-country of the Emori, which ADONAI our God is giving to us. Look! ADONAI your God has placed the land before you. Go up, take possession, as ADONAI, the God of your ancestors, has told you. Don't be afraid, don't be dismayed.'
Moses continues by reminding the people of their travel to Kadesh Barnea where they were ready to enter the promised land. He reminds them that it was a "dreadful wilderness" where nobody would want to stay. He also encourages them to trust God and to not let fear into their lives. We are also reminded that fear is the opposite of faith and should not be a part of our lives as Christians.
"You approached me, every one of you, and said, 'Let's send men ahead of us to explore the country for us and bring back word concerning what route we should use in going up and what the cities we will encounter are like.' The idea seemed good to me, so I took twelve of your men, one from each tribe; and they set out, went up into the hills, came to the Eshkol Valley and reconnoitered it. They took some of the produce of the land and brought it down to us; they also brought back word to us -'The land ADONAI our God is giving to us is good.'
Moses continues his parting words by remembering his second mistake which was sending men to spy out Canaan. This was not of God because He had already told them that the land was good. Instead of trusting in the Lord and telling the people to trust in God, Moses agreed to sending men to look it over. This lack of faith would open the door to disobedience as we shall see. A part of the job of any good leader is to get the people to grow in their trust in God. When faced with the opportunity, Moses did not seek the will of God but went with what seemed like a good idea.
"But you would not go up. Instead you rebelled against the order of ADONAI your God; and in your tents you complained, 'It's because ADONAI hated us that he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, only to hand us over to the Emori to destroy us. What sort of place is it that we're heading for? Our brothers made our courage fail when they said, "The people are bigger and taller than we are; the cities are great and fortified up to the sky; and finally, we have seen 'Anakim there."'
Moses reminds the people that they had refused to trust in God and to follow His instructions. Even though Moses had made a mistake in sending the spies, they still had the opportunity to have faith in God and to go in and take possession of the land. The same thing applies to us in our Christian walk. No matter what others (the spies) say, we can trust in what God has revealed to us. We have to choose to follow Him no matter what we see or think.
"I answered you, 'Don't be fearful, don't be afraid of them. ADONAI your God, who is going ahead of you, will fight on your behalf, just as he accomplished all those things for you in Egypt before your eyes, and likewise in the desert, where you saw how ADONAI your God carried you, like a man carries his child, along the entire way you traveled until you arrived at this place.
Moses continues by reminding them that he had tried to tell them that God would take care of them. He reminded them of what God had done for them in the past and that is a picture of our testimony as a Christian. When we see others that are struggling, we can share what God has done for us in the past to build them up in their faith.
Yet in this matter you don't trust ADONAI your God, even though he went ahead of you, seeking out places for you to pitch your tents and showing you which way to go, by fire at night and by a cloud during the day.'
Even with the past experiences, the people had refused to trust in the Lord. Moses reminded them that they had the pillar of fire and the cloud as a visual representation of the fact that God was with them but they still refused to trust in Him.
"ADONAI heard what you were saying, became angry and swore, 'Not a single one of these people, this whole evil generation, will see the good land I swore to give to your ancestors, except Kalev the son of Y'funeh - he will see it; I will give him and his descendants the land he walked on, because he has fully followed ADONAI.'
Moses reminds the people that their lack of faith led to disobedience which led to their ancestors perishing in the desert. He reminds them that only Caleb had trusted in the Lord and so survived to this point.
"Also, because of you ADONAI was angry with me and said, 'You too will not go in there. Y'hoshua the son of Nun, your assistant -he will go in there. So encourage him, because he will enable Isra'el to take possession of it. Moreover, your little ones, who you said would be taken as booty, and your children who don't yet know good from bad - they will go in there; I will give it to them, and they will have possession of it. But as for yourselves, turn around and head into the desert by the road to the Sea of Suf.'
Moses reminds them of his own disobedience and the fact that even he would not be entering the land. He reminds them of how their ancestors were told to go back towards the Red Sea. This was a return to the place where God had delivered them from the hand of the Egyptians.
"Then you answered me, 'We have sinned against ADONAI. Now we will go up and fight, in accordance with everything ADONAI our God ordered us.'And every man among you put on his arms, considering it an easy matter to go up into the hill-country.
Moses reminds the survivors of the fact that their ancestors had realized that they had sinned against God. Their lack of trust in Him to provide the victory was their sin. So, why did God still punish them and not let them enter the land? They were still thinking that they could take possession of the land through their own efforts. Like the Israelites, we do not have the ability to walk with Him under our own strength.
But ADONAI said to me, 'Tell them, "Don't go up, and don't fight, because I am not there with you; if you do, your enemies will defeat you."' So I told you, but you wouldn't listen. Instead, you rebelled against ADONAI's order, took matters into your own hands and went up into the hill-country;
Moses informed the people that God had made up His mind and that they were facing defeat if they tried to go against His word. He had already decreed that none of them would see the land. In the same way, God has given us His word which tells us how we can live in this world and still glorify Him. We cannot have possession of the life that He desires for us if we are unwilling to listen to and follow His word.
where the Emori living in that hill-country came out against you like bees, defeated you in Se'ir and chased you back all the way to Hormah.
The Israelites tried to take the land but were soundly defeated by the Amorites just as God had said. In the same way, we can try to walk in this world on our own but we can expect the same result as Israel had. It is arrogant of us to think that we can do anything on our own. We must be humble enough to admit that we need the Lord's guidance for all things.
You returned and cried before ADONAI, but ADONAI neither listened to what you said nor paid you any attention. This is why you had to stay in Kadesh as long as you did.
The Israelites wept before the Lord but still did not want to humble themselves enough to accept the words of God. The first step to being right with God is a repentance which is acknowledging that you are headed in the wrong direction.
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