Bible Study March 12

Sunday March 12, 2023

So we have read Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and portions of Job and Psalms in our 2023 quest to read through the Bible.

After the Lord delivered the Israelites out of Egypt slavery He led them to the Sinai wilderness, entered into covenant with them, and gave them His law. One year later they departed Sinai, and God led them to the entry of the promised land. However, because the people feared the Canaanites, they refused to take the land. Therefore, they wandered in the wilderness for forty years.

The fifth and final book of the Pentateuch is Moses farewell address to the second generation of the Israelites. Moses’ message to the Israelites is a simple one to obey or disobey God’s law. Deuteronomy is a convenantal book. Through it, God tells His people that He will bond with them based on their adherence to the covenant of His kingdom.

Chapter 1 –

Moses is peaking to Israel on behalf of the Lord who is Israel’s lawgiver and leader. He is the man who God has chosen to speak through. When the Israelites sinned Moses interceded for them, he had led them for forty years never shrinking back a bit.

Moses was a faithful leader but he could not do it all by himself. So leaders from every tribe were appointed to help Moses – wise, understanding, ad respected men. When they reached the edge of the promised land Moses sent out twelve spies who came back with this report. See, the Lord your God has set this land before you. Go up and take possession of it…do not be afraid.

But things rapidly went downhill from there. The people rebelled against the Lord and grumbled when ten cowards claims the inhabitants were like giants. Moses tried to rally the people to move on but their fear made them deaf and blind to his words although he assured them the Lord would go before them.

On their first opportunity to enter they refused claiming their children would be plunder for the nations living there. Ironically, God turned their excuse against them. In reality they would be excluded from the promised land and die in the wilderness, while their children would inherit the promised land.

Chapter 2 –

Following the failure at Kadesh, God told the Israelites to turn back and head into the wilderness where they wandered for the next few decades.

Moses recounted how they encountered three groups of relatives along the way, whom the Lord had told them not to pick a fight they were the Edomites, the Moabites, and the Ammonites. The first group the Edomites refused to allow them to pass through but God still provided for them. They lacked nothing while in the wilderness for forty-two years.

From Edom they traveled to Moab and received the same command from God not to provoke the nation of Moab. When God’s judgement on the older generation had been carried out Israel was ready to move on in preparation for entering the promised land. Once again, they were to cross the border of Moab thus bringing the close to the Ammonites again, they were not to provoke these people.

The next move was to take the Transjordan the land east of the Jordan River beginning with the defeat of King Sihon. Through this victory God would begin to make people fear the Israelites and their mighty God. God knew in advance the king would reject their peace offering. Notice what God told the Israelites I have begun to give Sihon and his lane to you. Begin to take possession of it which raises a question. Did God give it to them, or did they have to take possession of it? The answer is both. Even if god promises us something we must be obedient to possess it.

God handed the army of Sihon over to the people when they came out to battle, the Ammonites were destroyed and Israel took all their possessions. There was no city inaccessible to Israel.