Deuteronomy 1

Intro

THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY consists primarily of speeches that Moses gave to the Israelites shortly before he handed over the leadership to Joshua.

They aim to prepare the people to conquer Canaan and live faithful lives in their new land.

The speeches give some strong teaching that would be somewhat unpopular today.

Our natural tendency would be to dismiss this teaching as not being relevant to our lives. However, this book claims to contain the very thoughts of God.

Deuteronomy 1:3 says, “Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him in commandment to them.”

If these are indeed God’s words, we are forced to take them seriously.

The name Deuteronomy means “second law.”

It was the second giving of the Mosaic Law, the first being at Mount Sinai.

Moses felt compelled to bring this reminder of the Law to Israel, because those ready to enter the Promised Land were only children – if born at all – when the Law was originally given at Mount Sinai.

The Israelites usually used the first two words in the Hebrew text of Deuteronomy, “elleh haddebarim,” meaning “these are the words,” as their title for the book.

Sometimes they simply used the shortened form debarim (“words”).

The name that has become popular in English comes from a translation of Deuteronomy 17:18 in the Septuagint, the most important ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, usually abbreviated as LXX.

Here Moses is asked to make “a copy of this law,” and the LXX translated that as “second law” or “repetition of the law.”

The Latin Vulgate version of the Bible, which was completed by Jerome in ad 405, titled the book Deuteronomium meaning “second law.” And that is from where we get our English title.

Is Moses the author?

In this book we will view Deuteronomy as essentially coming from Moses though it contains several editorial touches by others.

Moses’ aim in his final speeches is to ensure that the people will remain faithful to God. He reminds them that they are a people under a covenant with God.

Moses is an aged leader who has led his people from slavery to the brink of possessing a land that will be permanently theirs. He knows he is soon going to die. Now he speaks for the last time to these people whom he has led for forty years.

What the people needed most was not eloquence or attractive speeches. They needed a word from God.

Our great responsibility as leaders is to get our people into the Word

At this pivotal point in Israel’s history – on the threshold of the Promised Land, and ready to adopt a true national identity, Moses spoke to Israel in this book of Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy is therefore a book of reminding and a book of preparation.

We never outgrow our need to be reminded, as Peter said,

2 Peter 1:12 I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth.

Deuteronomy is also a book of note, because it was a useful book of reminder and preparation for Jesus.

In His temptation in the wilderness, it seems obvious that Jesus meditated on Deuteronomy because in answering Satan, He quoted from it three times. Deuteronomy was a precious book to Jesus and it was used to prepare Him to be used of God. We should not think any less of it.

i. When tempted by Satan to use His divine powers to turn stone into bread, Jesus answered Satan from Deuteronomy 8:3: man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.

ii. When tempted by Satan to tempt God the Father into demonstrating Jesus as Messiah before it was time, Jesus answered Satan from Deuteronomy 6:16: You shall not tempt the Lord your God.

iii. When tempted by Satan to short-cut the cross by bowing down to worship the devil, Jesus answered Satan from Deuteronomy 6:13: You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him.

iv. “Deuteronomy is one of the greatest books of the Old Testament. Its influence on the domestic and personal religion of all ages has not been surpassed by any other book in the Bible.

It is quoted over eighty times in the New Testament and this it belongs to a small group of four Old Testament books [the others being Genesis, Psalms, and Isaiah] to which the early Christians made frequent reference.”

Read Deut 1:1-8

I. Command to Leave Horeb vs. 1-8

In Deuteronomy, Moses reminds the people of the things they were taught at Horeb

Horeb is another name for Sinai

The Israelites were at Sinai a year where they were given and taught the law

On this side of the Jordan: At this point Israel was camped on the great plains of Moab, able to see across the Jordan River into the Promised Land. This was the land of Canaan that God promised them but which they had not occupied for 400 years.

The Arabah was a rift valley running from the Sea of Galilee in the north all the way to the Gulf of Aqaba, which is some distance south of the Dead Sea.

Vs. 2 It was only a 11 day journey from Hored to Kadesh-barnea

Kadesh-barnea is where they camped after leaving Horeb. This is at the border of the promised land, and it is from here that they sent the twelve spies to check out the land

Kadesh Barnea: This was the place where, in Numbers 13 and 14, Israel believed the report of the unfaithful spies and rebelled against God, refusing to go into the Promised Land.

They traveled for about two years before coming to Kadesh.

This means it took about thirty-eight years to go from the border of Canaan to Canaan itself and only eleven days to go from Horeb to the border. That is the price of disobedience!

The thirty-eight-year wilderness wandering was a punishment for the stubborn disobedience of the people. Deuteronomy will refer to this many times

Disobedience never pays. God will forgive us when we repent, but the consequences of sin make it sheer folly to disobey. Disobedience slows down our progress!

Vs. 5 Moses undertook to explain the law

On this side of the Jordan: This was one of the last things Moses did to prepare the people of Israel to finally enter into the Promised Land.

Moses knew they needed to know the Word.

Moses began to explain this law: Moses will now serve as an expository teacher to Israel. The Hebrew word translated “explain” comes from the ideas “to dig deeply” or “to mine.”

Moses will mine out the riches of God’s truth to the people, and prepare them to enter in.

Vs. 8 I have set this land before you. Go in and take possession of that land swore to your fathers

You have dwelt long enough at this mountain: Simply, God told Israel to move on.

A year at Mount Sinai was enough; He did not bring them out of Egypt for them to live forever at Sinai. It was time to move on in faith and take the land of promise.

Galatians 4 and Hebrews 12 symbolically identify Mount Sinai with the Old Covenant of works and law. For the Christian today, it is important to spend some time under the law as a tutor (Galatians 3:24-25), so we know the holy character of God and our need for a Savior.

But God never intended the Christian to live their spiritual life at Mount Sinai. The believer must move on in faith to the Promised Land.

Though it would be a challenge, God had set the Promised Land before Israel – and Moses here remembered when He spoke to them at Sinai and told them to move on and take the land.

II. Leaders Appointed vs. 9-18

vs. 9-12 As numerous as the stars

As Israel was in the wilderness they grew in number

vs. 10 is a fulfillment of the promise God gave Abraham in Gen 15

There were so many Moses couldn’t handle them

He realized the burden was too great so appointed Elders

vs. 13 Choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men from among your tribes, and I will make them heads over you:

Some think that the appointment of leaders described in Deuteronomy 1 referred to the appointment of Judges in Exodus 18.

Some others believe it refers tp the appointment of elders described in Numbers 11.

It could possibly be either, but from the flow of Moses’ context in Deuteronomy 1, it seems best to consider that it was the appointment of elders in Numbers 11.

I alone am not able to bear you: Moses experienced this crisis in Numbers 11 when the people complained again about the food God provided. To help Moses bear the burden, God directed him to appoint seventy elders to assist him in bearing up under the pressure of leading the nation.

As described in Numbers 11, these elders had a precious function: To stand there with Moses (Numbers 11:16), to have the same Spirit as Moses, and to bear the burden of the people with Moses (Numbers 11:17).

vs. 15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and knowledgeable men, and made them heads over you:

Moses chose the elders of Israel by using a combination of approval by the congregation, and approval by Moses himself.

Moses then instructed the elders in principles of righteous leadership, and thus relieved himself of many burdens.

III. Israel’s Refusal to Enter Land vs. 19-33

vs. 19-21

Look, the LORD your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it: After seeing God’s faithfulness in enabling them to cross the land of the Amorites, Moses was ready to lead the nation into Canaan.

Do not fear or be discouraged: This encouragement was important because this was the critical moment for Israel. They were a little more than a year out of Egypt and ready to go into the Promised Land. It was there before them, ready for them to take by faith if they would not fear or be discouraged.

vs. 22 And everyone of you came near to me and said, “Let us send men before us”:

As Moses remembered this suggestion, he looked back with regret. There really was no compelling reason to send forth spies into the Promised Land.

God had told them that the land was good. Unless they did not believe Him, there was no reason to confirm it on their own.

God had told them they would take the land and defeat the nations living there. Unless they did not believe Him, there was no reason to take a look at the enemies and see if God was somehow up to the challenge.

And the plan pleased me well:

Moses must have had regret as he remembered this. The people suggested it and Moses agreed to it. Yet when ten of the twelve spies came back with a report filled with fear and unbelief, the nation believed them and refused to believe God’s promised and enter in.

They brought back word to us: Significantly, Moses didn’t mention the evil report of the unbelieving spies (Numbers 13:28-29).

It is almost as if the memory was so painful that Moses wouldn’t even deal with it.

It is a good land which the LORD our God is giving us: It was enough that the nation of Israel had the report from the godly spies, Joshua and Caleb.

In addition to that, all the twelve spies were united on saying “It is a good land which the LORD our God is giving us” (Numbers 13:27).

Nevertheless: In this context, this is a haunting word. It was the exact word in the mouth of the ten fearful spies when they began to give an evil testimony to Israel (Numbers 13:28).

Essentially, the ten spies and all Israel said, “We went into the land of Canaan and found it to be a wonderful land, just as the LORD said it would be. God’s word was true on that point.

Nevertheless (essentially saying, ‘despite all that’), we don’t believe God when He says He will enable to overcome the enemies of the land and to possess it.”

Nevertheless! Despite the fact we have seen that God’s word is true, we will not trust Him for great things in the future. This is a terrible testimony.

You would not go up, but rebelled… and you murmured in your tents… you did not believe the LORD your God:

God had done nothing but show Himself faithful to Israel. They could not point to one instance where He had let them down, though the journey had not been easy. Yet they answered God’s faithfulness with rebellion, murmuring, and unbelief.

They were not persuaded of the love of God, and they found it hard to trust a God they did not believe loved them. Christians today also need to be persuaded of the love of God. Many believers are hindered in their walk with God because they are not genuinely persuaded of the love of God for them. They should ask, “What would it take to finally convince me that God really loves me?” We don’t wait for God to give us everything we want before we love Him. That is the selfish demand of a short-sighted child, like the child who thinks mommy doesn’t love him because he can’t have all the candy he wants.

God has already given the ultimate demonstration of His love: But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) The death of Jesus for guilty sinners is the ultimate demonstration of God’s love; He can do nothing greater than what He has already done in Jesus. Now we can simply receive His love.

The LORD your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes: With these words, Moses did his best to encourage the people. He called on them to specifically remember God’s past faithfulness and consider that He was able to give them victory in the land of Canaan.

IV. Penalty for Rebellion vs. 34-36

Was angry, and took an oath: In response to Israel’s unbelief and lack of trust in God’s love, God swore an oath (Psalm 95:11) that the adult generation which came out of Egypt would not inherit the Promised Land, but would die in the desolate wilderness instead.

Except Caleb the son of Jephunneh: The only exceptions were Caleb and Joshua. These were the faithful two among the twelve spies which came back with the report from the Promised Land (Numbers 14:6-10).

Even you shall not go in there: Even Moses himself would not enter the Promised Land. Though this was not specifically said in Numbers 14 (it came later in Numbers 20), it could be inferred then, because Moses was not among the exceptions named (only Joshua and Caleb).

Joshua… he shall cause Israel to inherit it: As great as Moses was (and truly, he was one of the giants of the Bible), he could not and would not lead Israel into the Promised Land. That was left up to one who came after Moses, Joshua.

Moses was the great lawgiver, and represented relationship with God through the Law. This could give a person a wilderness kind of relationship with God, but could never bring them into the Promised Land kind of relationship with God. Only Joshua could do that – and the Hebrew name Joshua exactly corresponds to the name Jesus. Only Jesus can bring us into a Promised Land relationship with God.

Moreover your little ones and your children, whom you say will be victims… they shall possess it: The great excuse of Israel for their unbelief at Kadesh Barnea was, “If we go and take the land, our children will be killed” (Numbers 14:3). God answered their unbelieving excuse by saying, “You will be killed, and your children will possess the land.”