Deuteronomy 1-3
Let's Make
Another Deal

Psalm 26:8-12 Clean Hands; Loud Voice; Firm Feet

8.Yahweh, I love the habitation of your house, the place where your glory dwells.9.Don’t gather my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men;10.in whose hands is wickedness, their right hand is full of bribes.11.But as for me, I will walk in my integrity. Redeem me, and be merciful/favoring to me.12.My foot stands in an even place. In the congregations I will bless Yahweh."

Observation

26:8-12.

David loves the place where God's glory dwells, because that's where God is praised for answering prayer and delivering those who trust in Him. David asks God to not include him with the sinners when God judges, but to show him favor because of his integrity. He ends with an affirmation that he will stand firm in the congregation of the righteous and bless the Lord.

Application

Those who have integrity and trust God, have many things for which they can bless and praise Him.

Prayer

God, thanks that I can trust You to redeem me from my enemies, and show me favor; may I walk in integrity so that You can bless me, and I can bless You in the midst of those who love you. Amen.

Proverbs 7:13-15 A Prize Victim

13.So she caught him, and kissed him. With an impudent face she said to him:14."Sacrifices of peace offerings are with me. This day I have paid my vows.15.Therefore I came out to meet you, to diligently seek your face, and I have found you.“

Observation

7:13-15.

The adulteress aggressively catches and subdues her prey by appealing to his desires and ego. The majority of a peace offering sacrifice was consumed by the worshiper in a feast. She implies she was specifically looking for him as her heart's desire.

(A virtuous Proverbs 31 woman could learn a few things from the competition.) He, of course, is interested and flattered, little realizing that he is really her victim being led to slaughter.

Application

Temptation is mobile and on the offensive. If we're not wisely doing God's will (7:5), it will seek us out and ensnare us.

Prayer

God, may I keep Your wisdom in view, and stay out of the range of temptation. Amen.

Deuteronomy 1-3 Let's Make Another Deal

This book, whose title means “Second Law” tells the “new” Israelite generation how to get blessed in the Promised Land. (Hint: the answer has something to do with loyal faithful obedience.) It renews the covenant that God first made with the Exodus generation, and with the next generation, their children, on the brink of entering the Promised Land. The recipients just spent the last 39 years wandering in the wilderness burying their disobedient parents at the rate of one every six minutes of daylight, because of the parents' disobedience at Kadesh-Barnea (Numbers 14).
Deuteronomy takes the form of a standard Ancient Near East Document, which makes it easier to understand the purpose of each section. It advances the chronology about a month between Numbers and Joshua. See Digging Deeper for the structure.

Deuteronomy 1 Recap of the Forty Year Failure of Faith

1.These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness,2.It is eleven days` journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.3.In the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel, according to all that Yahweh had given him in commandment to them;6.Yahweh our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying, You have stayed long enough in this mountain:7.turn and take your journey, and go to the hill-country of the Amorites...8.I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their seed after them.10.Yahweh your God has multiplied you, and you are this day as the stars of the sky for multitude.11.Yahweh, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are, and bless you, as He has promised you!18.I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do.19.We journeyed from Horeb...as Yahweh our God commanded us, and we came to Kadesh-barnea.20.I said to you, You are come to the hill-country of the Amorites, which Yahweh our God gives to us.21.Behold, Yahweh your God has set the land before you: go up, take possession, as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you; don`t be afraid, neither be dismayed.22.You came near to me and said, Let us send men before us, that they may search the land for us...25.They took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down to us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which Yahweh our God gives to us. 26 Yet you wouldn`t go up, but rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh your God:27.and you murmured in your tents, and said, Because Yahweh hated us, He has brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.29.Then I said to you, Don`t dread, neither be afraid of them.30.Yahweh your God who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all that He did for you in Egypt before your eyes,31.and in the wilderness, where you have seen how that Yahweh your God bore you, as a man does bear his son, in all the way that you went, until you came to this place.32.Yet in this thing you didn`t believe Yahweh your God,33.who went before you in the way, to seek you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to show you by what way you should go, and in the cloud by day.34.Yahweh heard the voice of your words, and was angry, and swore, saying,35.Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see the good land, which I swore to give to your fathers,36.except Caleb the son of Jephunneh: he shall see it; and to him will I give the land that he has trodden on, and to his children, because he has wholly followed Yahweh.37.Also Yahweh was angry with me for your sakes, saying, You also shall not go in there:38.Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall go in there: encourage you him; for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.39.Moreover your little ones, whom you said should be a prey, and your children, who this day have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there, and to them will I give it, and they shall possess it.40.But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.41.Then you said, We have sinned against Yahweh, we will go up and fight42.Yahweh said, Don`t go up, neither fight; for I am not among you;43.you didn`t listen; but you rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh, and were presumptuous, and went up into the hill-country.44.The Amorites, who lived in that hill-country, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and beat you.45.You returned and wept before Yahweh; but Yahweh didn`t listen to your voice, nor gave ear to you.

Observations

1:10-11.

God is fulfilling His promise to Abe from Genesis 15:1-6.

1:26-27.

Rebellion is following in Satan's hoofprints, as is lying about the goodness of God; both fatal errors.

1:32.

Focus on themselves and their problems led to fear and failure to believe God.

1:36-38.

Caleb and Joshua fully and faithfully followed and reaped the promise the others forfeited for lack of faith in God's word.

1:43.

The three stooges of sin, which result in God losing His hearing.

Application

Keep your focus on faithfully obeying God, and you'll reap the fruit of your faith.

Prayer

My Good God, may I never doubt, disbelieve, nor disobey You. Amen.

Deuteronomy 2 God Gives, We Contend (or we don't get)

1.Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea, as Yahweh spoke to me; and we circled Mount Seir many days.2.Yahweh spoke to me, saying,3.You have circled this mountain long enough: turn northward.4.Command the people: You are to pass through the border of your brothers the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir; and they will be afraid of you: take good heed to yourselves therefore;5.don`t fight with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on; because I have given Mount Seir to Esau for a possession.6.You shall purchase food from them and buy water.7.For Yahweh your God has blessed you...these forty years Yahweh your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.8.So we passed by our brothers the children of Esau...9.Yahweh said to me, Don`t bother Moab, neither contend with them in battle; for I will not give you of his land for a possession; because I have given Ar to the children of Lot for a possession.14.From Kadesh-barnea, until we came to the brook Zered, were thirty-eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were consumed from the midst of the camp, as Yahweh swore to them.15.Moreover the hand of Yahweh was against them, to destroy them from the midst of the camp, until they were consumed.16....when all the men of war were consumed and dead...24.Rise up, take your journey, and pass over the valley of the Arnon: I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land; begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.25.This day will I begin to put the dread of you and the fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole sky, who shall hear the report of you, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of you.26.I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,27.Let me pass through your land:30.But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him; for Yahweh your God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into your hand, as at this day.31.Yahweh said to me, Behold, I have begun to deliver up Sihon and his land before you: begin to possess, that you may inherit his land.32.Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Jahaz.33.Yahweh our God delivered him up before us; and we struck him, and his sons, and all his people.34.We took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed every inhabited city, with the women and the little ones; we left none remaining:35.only the cattle we took for booty to ourselves, with the spoil of the cities which we had taken.36....there was not a city too high for us; Yahweh our God delivered up all before us:37.only to the land of the children of Ammon you didn`t come near; all the side of the river Jabbok, and the cities of the hill-country, and wherever Yahweh our God forbade us.

Observations

2:5-9.

God gave Seir to Esau's descendents and Moab to Lot's by driving out giants (Deut 2:10 and Deut 2:20), just like He would do for Israel.

2:7.

Even in disciplining the nation, God was gracious in providing for all the needs of the people.

2:24.

Even though God had given them the land, they still had to obey and fight to possess it. He energized the sword and put fear into their enemies, but they had to use the sword. God had promised the land to Israel forever, but their occupation of it was contingent upon faithful obedience. If they disobeyed they'd be disciplined, if they repented and obeyed they'd be blessed (cf. Romans 11).

2:30.

As with Pharaoh, God hardened or fixed the heart (in the position which Sihon had determined), so God could justly judge him.

Application

Believe that God will do what He promised if you do what He commands.

Prayer

God, thank You for promising good things to Your children, as well as the means of attaining and enjoying them. Amen.

Chapter 3 God Fights Our Battles but Doesn't Budge from Our Discipline

1.Then we turned, and went up the way to Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.2.Yahweh said to me, Don`t fear him; for I have delivered him, and all his people, and his land, into your hand; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon.3.So Yahweh our God delivered into our hand Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people: and we struck him until none was left.4.We took all his cities...5.All (60) of these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars; besides a great many unwalled towns.6.We utterly destroyed them...7.But all the cattle, and the spoil of the cities, we took for a prey to ourselves.11.(Only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim; his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; isn`t it in Rabbah of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length of it, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.)21.I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, Your eyes have seen all that Yahweh your God has done to these two kings: so shall Yahweh do to all the kingdoms where you go over.22.You shall not fear them; for Yahweh your God, He it is who fights for you.23.I begged Yahweh at that time, saying,24.Lord Yahweh, you have begun to show your servant your greatness, and your strong hand: for what god is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to your works, and according to your mighty acts?25.Please let me go over and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon.26.But Yahweh was angry with me for your sakes, and didn`t listen to me; and Yahweh said to me, Speak no more to me of this matter.27.Get up to the top of Pisgah, and lift up your eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and see with your eyes: for you shall not go over this Jordan.28.But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you shall see.29.So we abode in the valley over against Beth-peor.

Observations

3:1.

Og was a scary giant (v11), but God gave them complete victory.

3:22.

Fear and faith have difficulty co-existing in the same mind. Ditch the fear.

3:23.

Moses had successfully bargained with God a number of times in the past, from getting Aaron as a spokesman to sparing the Israelites (many times), but was unable to undo the consequence of his sin of striking rather than speaking to the rock (a failure to fully believe God).

Application

If the mighty and faithful Moses can't get God to budge on reducing his sentence, we'd be wise to never get into a position where we're reaping the consequences of not fully believing and obeying.

Prayer

My Mighty Warrior, thank You for fighting my battles so You can fulfill Your promises to bless me; may I never be on Your enemy list. Amen.

Digging Deeper

Structure: Understanding the structure of a “covenant renewal document” helps you not get lost in the details. Generally speaking, Chapters 12-26 successively elaborate the Ten Commandments. There is some discourse interspersed as well.

I. Preamble: Covenant mediator 1:1-5 

II. Historical prologue 1:6-4:49 : Identifying the parties to the covenant and the events necessitating the renewal of the covenant, ending with a plea/warning to not break it again.

III. Stipulations: Terms of the Covenant Ch 5-26 

A. The General Stipulations: Ten Commandments Ch 5-11 

Summary Principle: Be loyal to Yahweh Ch 6 

Application of the Principle: Be holy and obey to get blessed Ch 7-11 

Dt 10:12 "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?

B. The Specific Stipulations: Elaborating upon the General Ten Ch 12-26 

IV. Sanctions:

Covenant ratification Ch 27-30 

A. Covenant celebration and confirmation Ch 26-27 

B. Blessings that follow obedience Ch 28-30 and Curses that follow disobedience 

C. Witnesses

V. Moses' last words and deeds Ch 31-34 

God in a nutshell:

God keeps His promises to bless or curse His people depending on their faithful obedience to Him, or lack thereof. He takes care of them even while disciplining them, like a perfect parent. He provides all we need to do His will, fighting the battles He calls us to.

Us in a nutshell:

We reap the consequences of our choices and actions. To deny that is to be demonically deluded. When we focus on God, we develop faith and obey. When we focus on our problems, we develop fear, and disobey, in the interests of self-preservation from our limited perspective. When we do what God wants, He fights our battles, energizing the sword as we swing it. If we fail to use it, we will fall on it.

Where to go for more

Truthbase.net