If you find the data in these chapters so tedious that you wonder why they are in the Scriptures, you are not the first to have such feelings. Those long-ago persons known as the early church fathers apparently had the same concerns. They concluded that the details of the journey were intended for our instruction, as symbolic of the steps by which Christians leave sin and advance from virtue to virtue, until they come at last to their final abode in God’s eternal home. Does that help you appreciate these chapters more?
Nevertheless, there are also some practical lessons of character to be learned. I admire Moses’ wisdom and firmness in dealing with the tribes who decided to have their inheritance on the other side of the Jordan, and his adaptability, too. As a young man I thought that if I made one wrong decision, the rest of my life would be ruined; I’ve come since to learn that God works patiently with what we give him, even when the pieces do not fit easily into a coherent whole, just as accommodations were made for the tribes that wanted to alter the original plans. God’s laws are strict, but God’s character is gracious.
The warning of 33:55 seems harsh to our ears; but as the history of Israel unfolds, we will see that it was not without foundation. Our problem is still the same. If we become comfortable with an ungodly lifestyle, it will eventually corrupt and destroy us.
PRAYER: It is better, dear Lord, that I learn from the experience of the Israelites than from my own errors. Please? Amen.
The command in Numbers 33:50-56 to “drive out all the inhabitants of the land” seems severe. What justification do you see for such an order?
| NUMBERS 35–36; PSALM 47 | Week 9, Day 5 |
The Levites, as I have mentioned before, had no inheritance of land; their inheritance was the Lord. They were given forty-eight cities in which they could live, but as residents rather than owners. Among those cities were the six cities of refuge. In a culture where family vengeance was practiced, these cities provided safety until fair judgment could be had, and afterward if the person was innocent. It was a wonderfully simple and effective plan for its time and place, and it was appropriate that the Levites were the keepers of this security.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful, in our day, if there were some sort of refuge where we could be protected against character assassins until all the facts were in? At one time or another, all of us would have occasion to run to such a refuge, if it existed.
In any event, we Christians ought to fill such a role. Taking the Levites as our pattern, we should protect and sustain those persons whom life is treating badly, whether they be victims of something so vast as political injustice or as ever-present as the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” Every human being has times when he or she wishes there were a place to run and hide, not out of cowardice but out of necessity. Such a refuge is available in prayer, of course; but I’m sure God intends for us to become a physical and active place, in heaven’s stead, for those who are pursued by destruction.
PRAYER: Help me, O God, to provide shelter for those who are victims—by fault or faultless—in the struggle of life; in Christ. Amen.
What logic, other than economics, can you see in regulations that insist on a woman’s marrying within her tribe?
| DEUTERONOMY 1–3; PSALM 48 | Week 9, Day 6 |
Some things need to be said twice. The Book of Deuteronomy, which gets its name from two Greek words meaning “second law,” fills that role. It is presented as a kind of valedictory address by Moses, as he bids farewell to the people he has led for forty years and tries to prepare them for the new land they are about to enter.
He begins by reviewing their history. Philosophers say we should study history in order to learn from it. No doubt this is part of Moses’ intention, but there is more than that. For Israel, history was the story of their encounter with God; so to review history was to recall God’s involvement in their lives.
Even so, Moses reminds the people of the sharing of leadership (1:9), and of the crucial decision their ancestors made to turn back at Kadeshbarnea. That decision led to a generation of wandering in the wilderness before at last there could be victories over Sihon and Og—victories that would be celebrated often in song (Psalm 136).
In all of this the people are reminded of the faithfulness of God and also of their own erratic ways. As we read the account, we get a strong feeling that the history of Israel is the history of every person who sets out for God’s promised land. Every spiritual biography has its uneven path between victory and defeat, good judgment and stupidity. And in it all, whether in Israel’s story or ours, God is at work.
PRAYER: Give me the humility and the attentiveness, O God, to learn from the past, so I can make a better future; in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Moses says that because of Israel’s sin, the Lord also became angry with him (Deuteronomy 1:37). Do you think Moses is justified in this statement?
| DEUTERONOMY 4–5; PSALM 49 | Week 9, Day 7 |
The laws of God are not arbitrary restraints, but directions to a fulfilled life. So Moses warns Israel that they must give heed to the statutes he is teaching “so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you” (4:1). As an introduction to the laws, Moses reminds the people of the miracles God has done on their behalf. What other great nation, he challenges, has a God so near to be called upon; and what other has a Law as helpful as the one he is about to review (4:7-8)?
But with all that God has done for Israel—bringing them “out of the iron-smelter . . . of Egypt” to be God’s own people (4:20) and making them a nation “by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm” (4:34)—there is nevertheless the danger that their descendants will go astray when they “become complacent in the land” (4:25). Our spiritual memories tend to be very short. Yesterday’s miracle easily becomes today’s non-event.
The commandments in Chapter 5 are in the same order and possess essentially the same content as recorded in Exodus 20. It is interesting that the laws of measurable conduct (murder, adultery, theft, false witness) are stated directly, without commentary, while those that have to do with the more subtle issues of our minds (the sabbath and coveting) are spelled out with specifics.
PRAYER: I want to remember, O Lord, that your laws are for my benefit, and that my best happiness is in loyal obedience; in Christ. Amen.
What difference, if any, do you find between the Ten Commandments as recorded in Exodus 20 and in Deuteronomy 5?
Prayer Time
When do we pray for God to show us new obligations? Perhaps it is time to make such a request to God. Let us pray daily with George Matheson, “Make me a captive, Lord, / and then I shall be free.”
How the Drama Develops NUMBERS 22—DEUTERONOMY 5
We need at times to stop long enough to remember where we have come from, what promises we have made (whether to ourselves, to others, or to God), and to see where we are now. The Book of Deuteronomy fulfills that function for the people