Key Scriptures
1:3-31 Forty years after leaving Egypt, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses made a proclamation to Israel regarding everything the Lord had commanded him about them. … “While we were still at Horeb,” Moses exclaimed, “The Lord spoke to us, saying, ‘The time has come to leave this place and go up into the hill country controlled by the Amorites. …It is a land I shall give to you for the mere price of going in and taking it. It is the very land of promise that I told your forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that the Lord their God would give to their descendants.’ …But you decided it was too risky to go in and take it and in the process rebelled against the Lord by disobeying his direct command to you. …I told you your fears were groundless; that there was no need for concern because the Lord himself would go before you and fight on your behalf just as he did in Egypt. For your own eyes witnessed the wilderness years when the Lord your God bore you in his arms like a loving father carries his son—bringing you this long distance to the edge of the Promised Land. …But you refused to trust the Lord…”
1:34-2:1 “The Lord’s anger flared when you turned away from his guidance. And he issued a decree: ‘There is not a single person here among this rebellious generation of Israelites who will have the chance to see the bountiful beauty of the land I promised your forefathers would be your inheritance. No one except Caleb…who with total devotion followed my leading and commands.’ …That’s when you realized your errant ways and confessed, ‘We have done evil in God’s sight. We’re ready now to go into Canaan and do battle in accordance with God’s commands.’ …But it was too late. The Lord said to me, ‘Instruct the people not to go, for I will not be present with them and their adversaries will crush them.’ Although I told you all this, you decided once again not to obey God’s command and you arrogantly swaggered into the hill country on your own accord. It turned into a field-day for the Amorites…who attacked you like a swarm of angry bees, and sent you fleeing all the way back here…crying in disgrace before the Lord who provided you no comfort. …At that point we turned back from the edge of Canaan to head once again into the desolate wilderness by way of the Red Sea Route… gradually circumventing the land of Seir in the hill country.”
2:2-36 “Finally, the Lord told me ‘Turn north…and cross the Valley of Zered.’ …The journey to reach Zered took us thirty-eight years of desert wandering; that was the time needed for all those who refused to enter Canaan to live out their lives—an entire generation of rebellious soldiers whom the Lord swore would not set foot in the Promised Land. …Once we did cross the Zered, the Lord gave me these further instructions: ‘Continue on your way north and cross the gorge of Arnon. There you will look upon the land ruled by the Amorite king Sihon whose lands are my gift to Israel. Go in and take possession of the area.’ …There was not a single town in the whole region that withstood our forces, from Aroer by the Arnon Gorge all the way to Gilead; the Lord gave us victory over them all.”
3:1-13 “From there we moved further north by way of the Bashan road. Og, the king of Bashan and all his troops battled us at Edrei, but the Lord had already told me, ‘You have no reason to fear this king, for he and his lands will fall into your hands.’ …And the Lord did just as he said, giving us victory over Bashan and allowing us to conquer every one of his towns. …We also took possession of the lands ruled by two more Amorite kings, extending our control from Arnon to the heights of Mount Hermon to the north. …Among those conquered lands, I turned over to the Rebenites and Gadites the region from Aroer and into Gilead in the hill country. The half-tribe of Manasseh was given the remainer of Gilead…and all of…Bashan.”
3:21-28 “Then I spoke words of courage to Joshua, saying ‘You have seen for yourself the Lord’s hand in our victory over these kings. He will do no less when you encounter the many kingdoms that lie beyond the Jordan where you are going. Fear none of them, for it is the Lord your God who will win your battles for you.’ And then I pleaded with the Lord for permission to go there myself, imploring, ‘Lord of All, your servant has had the chance to see your majestic greatness and overwhelming power that brought Israel here. …Please also grant me one more thing: to cross over the Jordan and see for myself the bounty and beauty of the Promised Land…’ But the Lord would not do so; for his anger had not abated on account of your rebellion in which I was implicated. His reply was simply this: ‘The matter is settled and you are not to bring it up again. But you may ascend Mount Pisgah and from the summit have a good long look in every direction. From there you will be able to view the Land of Promise that you cannot enter. Once you have seen it, your only remaining task is to strengthen and encourage Joshua to lead the people of Isreal into the land of their inheritance.’”
Basic Message
Forty years after leaving Egypt, Moses addressed the People of Israel on the verge of their entry into the Promised Land. He recounted that thirty-eight years had past since God first gave the command to enter the Promised Land; but because of fearful of reports of its inhabitants the Israelites rebelled and refused to go in. God became angry with them and vowed that none of that generation, save Caleb, would actually enter the Promised Land. Moses then recounted that once the people realized they had sinned, they determined to make things right by going into the hill country and taking it. But it was too late, and even though Moses told them God would not be with them at that point, still they went up into the Amorite-held territory and suffered a sound defeat.
Moses then reminded the Israelites that God sent them back into the wilderness where they wandered for thirty-eight more years, until all the people involved in the original rebellion had died. Moses recalled that God then instructed him and the Israelites that finally it was time to cross the Valley of Zered where they encountered and defeated Sihon, the Amorite king. Afterward, God instructed them to proceed further north where they crossed the River Arnon and defeated the Amorite king Og, who ruled the region of Bashan. Moses described how, after taking possession of both territories, he divided the land among the three Israelite tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Mannasah. He emphasized that God was fighting for them and had given them each and every victory.
Moses then recalled his words to Joshua to be strong and courageous because Joshua had seen what God did to the Amorite kings, and he promised do the same to the peoples across the Jordan. Then Moses told the Isrealites of his plea to God to let him cross the Jordan with them so he could see in person the Promised Land he had worked so long and hard to reach. But God wouldn’t allow it, reminding Moses of his own rebellious act in the wilderness when he misrepresented God before the people. Moses told the people that, rather than allowing him to cross the Jordan, God instructed him to climb Mt. Pisgah at the northern end of the Dead Sea. From there he saw all the lands the Israelites were soon to possess. God told Moses that his final task was to give strength and courage to Joshua to lead the People of Israel successfully into the Promised Land.
Comments
* Moses began his final instructions to the people by detailing their forty-year history in the wilderness. He wanted them to realize that God was with them the whole way, overcoming all manner of odds on their behalf. But Moses also wanted the people to realize that their constant rebellions came at a price and jeopardized the entire enterprise. Both lessons would be critically important after they crossed the Jordan. God would continue to give them victories over opponents who, without his intervention, would easily repel the invading Israelites. But if the Israelites continued to rebel, failing to follow God wholeheartedly, they would ruin for themselves all God was doing for them.
* The lesson Moses gave wonderfully illustrates the only positive reason to dwell on the past. It is to identify God’s faithful presence and to recall one’s mistakes so they might be avoided in the future. All other reasons for looking back tend to be driven by either an unhealthy nostalgia or by useless regret. Both hamper the present and the tasks we face for the future. But when we recognize that God is lovingly directing us despite our repeated failings, we can gain the strength and resolve needed to face everything an apparently uncertain future might bring our way.
* Moses probably felt entitled to enter the Promised Land after all he had done to bring the Israelites out of Egypt and through the trials and tribulations of the long wilderness years. But he was forced to accept his fate when God told him that he would not enter it. Moses was to prepare his successor, Joshua, to do what he so wanted to do himself. The important lesson here is that if God’s plans and purposes are our first and foremost desire, they often come at the expense of our individual aspirations. “It’s not about me,” as Rick Warren famously stated in the introduction to The Purpose-Driven Life. It’s about God and conforming to his intentions for us and others. The ego with its individual goals usually just gets in the way. Despite Moses’ lofty spiritual life, he had this one last lesson to fully learn himself. Moses’ last act, that of strengthening and encouraging Joshua, was to be a selfless one, and he did not shy away from it.
Biblical Themes
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13
