Obedience and Devotion: Deuteronomy 17 – Joshua 4

You can find a one-year Bible reading plan here.

I may have erred last week in not discussing the Shema, the charge in Deuteronomy 6 that Israel should listen to the Lord (Hear, O Israel) and devote themselves to him (You shall love the Lord). But good news! The verses are full of implication for this week’s writing, for they speak of Israel’s need (and our need) to listen with an intent to obey, and to love God with a devotion that acts rather than an emotion that fades.

The implication has much to do with the charge Moses lays before the people as he teaches this younger generation the law and then renews the covenant with them. Before Moses dies and passes leadership to Joshua, he takes the people to two mountains in Moab just to the east of the Promised Land. He stations six of the tribes on Mt. Gerizim to represent God’s blessings, and six on Mt. Ebal to stand for God’s curses on them. Moses makes a list of the ways God will bless them if they obey the law, but then gives a much longer account of the curses they will endure for disobedience. The people pledge themselves to the covenant, but how are they to keep it? This is where the Shema comes in. If they listened to the law with an intent to keep it and not just hear it, and if they loved the Lord with acts of devotion rather than a passing emotion, their faithfulness could last.

God knew their heart, however, and in one of the greatest prophecies of the Old Testament he reveals the true nature of their commitment.

…this people will arise and play the harlot with the strange gods of the land, into the midst of which they are going, and will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them.Then My anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide My face from them, and they will be consumed, and many evils and troubles will come upon them; so that they will say in that day, ‘Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have come upon us?’But I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they will do, for they will turn to other gods. Deuteronomy 31:16-18

Yet God remained faithful to the Israelites, even though they abandoned him. This was a covenant, after all, and not a mere contract which one could tear up and walk away from. God promised that after their captivity he would restore them to the land and then

…your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live. Deuteronomy 30:6

Though God’s plan for Israel has not yet been fulfilled, we can see and give thanks for the way he has circumcised the hearts of Christians through the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. We can say together with believers throughout history that “the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” By the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit we can now confidently pledge to love the Lord “with all our heart, and all our soul, and all our might.” And God, who began this good work in us, will be faithful to complete it.

About this blog

During 2020 I plan to post weekly writings covering the material you would read during each week as you proceed from Genesis to Revelation in one year. And so for this week I have covered Deuteronomy 17-Joshua 4. Next week I will write about Joshua 5-Judges 2. I hope you will continue along with me. You can find daily posts about these chapters archived here on the Bible in a Year blog. For your convenience here are the previous posts covering Deuteronomy 17-Joshua 4.

The King’s sins: Deuteronomy 17

What about astrology? Deuteronomy 18

Messy Lives: Deuteronomy 21-23

(No) Fear of the Lord: Deuteronomy 25

Deeper in debt: Deuteronomy 28

Grace in a pair of shoes: Deuteronomy 29

Predicting the future: Deuteronomy 31

The end of an era: Deuteronomy 34

Strong and courageous: Joshua 1

Don’t be discouraged: Joshua 1-4

Image by PeteDz Photography on Flickr, CC by-nc-sa 2.0

Beware! Numbers 35 – Deuteronomy 16

You can find a one-year Bible reading plan here.

One warning shows up repeatedly in Deuteronomy. Take heed! Beware! Watch out! Moses warns the people over and over again, not to be on guard for enemies, but to know that they will be tempted to abandon their commitment to God.

Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. Deuteronomy 4:23

Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Deuteronomy 6:12

Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day. Deuteronomy 8:11

Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; Deuteronomy 11:16

The greatest dangers to their commitment would be the prosperity they would experience in the Promised Land and the example of the native people who would tempt them to abandon God. Moses could rightfully make this case for steadfastness because the people pledged their faith to God back at Mt. Sinai. Now they would make that same commitment a second time as Moses gave the law to them a second time.

God and Israel entered into a conditional covenant. It was conditional because there were requirements which the people had to follow. Only then would they receive the benefits or blessings of the agreement. There were also curses which fell upon them if they broke the agreement. The contract was not unconditional like God’s promise to bless Abraham and give his descendants the Promised Land. But it was a covenant, meaning that the relationship between the two parties went much deeper than a contract. God was not simply going to walk away if Israel proved unfaithful.

As you read these laws and think about the agreement the Israelites made, remember that we do not live under this covenant. There are timeless principles here including the demand to keep God first, the importance of respecting life, compassion, honesty, and others.  We relate to God, however, under a new covenant of receiving grace through faith in Christ’s work on the cross. We have our own commands to follow (be holy, pray without ceasing) but the agreement between God and the Israelites is not binding upon us. Both covenants were necessary because of the underlying condemnation of sin which weighs upon every man and threatens to send us to Hell unless remedied. The old covenant of Sinai still teaches us, as Paul said, that we are much in need of grace and cannot find an escape from Hell on our own. One final question: do you consider the new covenant to be conditional or unconditional?

About this blog

During 2020 I plan to post weekly writings covering the material you would read during each week as you proceed from Genesis to Revelation in one year. And so for this week I have covered Numbers 35-Deuteronomy 16. Next week I will write about Deuteronomy 17-Joshua 4. I hope you will continue along with me. You can find daily posts about these chapters archived here on the Bible in a Year blog. For your convenience here are the previous posts covering Numbers 35-Deuteronomy 16.

Running for refuge: Numbers 35

Here be giants: Deuteronomy 1-2

No idle thing: Deuteronomy 4

Give it a rest: Deuteronomy 5

Teach your children well: Deuteronomy 6

The Problem of Prosperity: Deuteronomy 8-9

How does your garden grow? Deuteronomy 11

The Poor, always with us – Deuteronomy 15

Image by Helmuts Guigo on Flickr, CC by-sa 2.0

Victories and Defeats: Numbers 18-34

You can find a one-year Bible reading plan here.

A tumultuous mixture of highs and lows buffeted the Israelites as they finished their desert wanderings and prepared to enter the Promised Land. The older generation passed away as exemplified by the deaths of Miriam and Aaron (Ch. 20). Moses himself was disqualified from entering Canaan because of his disobedience in striking the rock at Meribah. Joshua was appointed as Moses’ replacement (Ch. 27).

There are several important early victories on the east of the Jordan River. Arad is defeated, followed by Sihon of the Amorites and Og of Bashan. But before these battles even begin the Israelites are plagued again by their old complaining spirit and God sends poisonous snakes among them to discipline them. God does not remove the poison, the consequence of their sin, but gives them an antidote instead: they are saved by their faith in God’s promise to heal them through the bronze serpent raised above them (Ch. 21).

After the string of uninterrupted military victories, the men of Israel proved faithless to God by worshiping the Baal of Peor, a Moabite/Midianite idol. The prophet Balaam could only speak words of blessing over Israel, but he taught the Moabites/Midianites how to seduce the men of Israel in both a physical and religious sense. Victory over the wicked scheme is gained by zealous Phinehas, but only after 24,000 Israelites die (Ch. 25). In the end, Balaam and many Moabites/Midianites die as God takes vengeance on them (Ch. 31).

Reuben and Gad decided to settle in the fertile pastures east of the Jordan and outside of God’s land of promise (Ch. 32). Their choice of second best is another defeat, and will reap unwanted results in the end, but for a time they maintain unity by agreeing to fight alongside their brothers.

The frailty of men and the power of God are fully on display in these chapters. Even Moses, the greatest among them, stumbles and shows how all men fail to live up to the righteous requirements of God. But in spite of their weakness God’s strength and mercy brings them through the wilderness and into his place of blessing.

About this blog

During 2020 I plan to post weekly writings covering the material you would read during each week as you proceed from Genesis to Revelation in one year. And so for this week I have covered Numbers 18-34. Next week I will write about Numbers 35-Deuteronomy 16. I hope you will continue along with me. You can find daily posts about these chapters archived here on the Bible in a Year blog. For your convenience here are the previous posts covering Numbers 18-34.

Broken against the rock: Numbers 20

Snakebitten: Numbers 21

The rest of the story: Numbers 23-25

The daughters’ request: Numbers 27

True to your word: Numbers 30

Settling for less: Numbers 32

Looking back to move ahead: Numbers 33

No Satisfaction: Numbers 3-17

You can find a one-year Bible reading plan here.

The Israelites spent almost their entire first year of freedom camped at Mt. Sinai, and though they were no longer slaves in Egypt they could not escape the prison of their own discontentment. But as they left Sinai and headed towards Canaan, their anguish boiled over repeatedly in complaints about food, leadership, and perceived dangers. At its root their dissatisfaction always went back to a lack of faith in God. Though they might not have admitted it, they were telling God that his provision was not good enough. They knew better than he did about what they needed.

First they complained about their hardship (11:1) and God sent fire that consumed those around the outskirts of the camp. Then they moaned about the lack of variety in their diet (11:4-6), and after satisfying their craving with quail he struck them with a severe plague. Miriam and Aaron objected to Moses’ special position (12:1-2) and Miriam was made leprous for a week. The majority report of the twelve spies who went to Canaan said that there was not way they could defeat the people living there and that they should return to Egypt (13). God struck down the ten men who doubted him and condemned the remaining adults (except for Caleb and Joshua) to die in the wilderness (14).  Finally, a group of 250 men led by a Levite named Korah challenged their exclusion from the priesthood (16) and all of them died along with their families.

You can’t miss the discontentment of the Israelites, but you also can’t overlook the anger of the Lord. Why was there so much conflict? I think in part it was because of the close proximity of God and the Israelites. He was dwelling with them right in the midst of their camp. In addition, the people were extremely accountable to God because they had seen his mighty hand of deliverance repeatedly. John Piper’s mantra helps us understand God’s righteous anger. If God is most pleased with us when we are most satisfied with him, then surely he will be most displeased with us when we are least satisfied with him.

About this blog

During 2020 I plan to post weekly writings covering the material you would read during each week as you proceed from Genesis to Revelation in one year. And so for this week I have covered Numbers 3 – 17. Next week I will write about Numbers 18 – 34. I hope you will continue along with me. You can find daily posts about these chapters archived here on the Bible in a Year blog. For your convenience here are the previous posts covering Numbers 3 – 17.

The firstborn are the LORD’S: Numbers 3-4

Taking matters into your own hands: Numbers 5

The Nazirite vow: Numbers 6

A love letter: Numbers 7

Sacrifices that open our ears: Numbers 7

How do I know God’s will? Numbers 9

The anger of the LORD: Numbers 11-12

The Crisis of Belief: Numbers 13-14

Faithless: Numbers 14

Between life and death: Numbers 16

Image by Robert Körner on Flickr, CC by-nc-sa 2.0.