Bible: Beginning to End - Deuteronomy 1-14: Preamble, Moses' First Address, Narrative Interlude, & Moses' Second Address Part 1

Episode Date: January 29, 2022

*For copyright reasons, I had to combine these episodes into one episode. Read Deuteronomy 1-4 (Read) Read Deuteronomy 5-9 (Read) Read Deuteronomy 10-14 (Read) Contact Us Visit our Website      ��   On Instagram @biblebeginningtoend     On Twitter: @biblebeginning1      Via email: [e-mail] Discuss each episode on Reddit Click Here for our YouTube Channel. Supporting the Show Financial contributions are never required, but if you'd like to support the show, here are a couple of ways: Be a listener and share the show with your friends! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to become a monthly supporter via Spotify.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠* ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Click here to make a one-time contribution via Paypal⁠⁠⁠.* *Note that the Bible Beginning to End podcast is not a registered 501(c)3 or charitable organization. Therefore, any monetary support provided is not tax deductible. 10% of any profits made from this podcast via ad revenues or listener support will be donated to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Asha's Refuge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, a Christ-centered nonprofit that "exists to assist the most disadvantaged refugees/asylees in achieving a successful resettlement in the Memphis, TN area.". Episode Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 1  2:23 - Ad Break 2:24 - Deuteronomy 1  14:08 - Deuteronomy 2  22:34 - Deuteronomy 3  31:37 - Deuteronomy 4  43:30 - Outro 1  44:42 - Intro 2  46:14 - Deuteronomy 5  53:43 - Deuteronomy 6  58:16 - Deuteronomy 7  1:05:45 - Deuteronomy 8  1:13:34 - Deuteronomy 9  1:22:40 - Outro 2  1:24:28 - Intro 3  1:25:36 - Deuteronomy 10  1:33:28 - Deuteronomy 11  1:41:58 - Deuteronomy 12  1:50:32 - Deuteronomy 13  1:57:24 - Deuteronomy 14  2:04:09 - Outro 3 Bible Verse Copyright Statement Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. To purchase an NLT, please visit https://amzn.to/3wUpUef

Hello and welcome back to Bible beginning to end, where we are reading through the scriptures a little bit at a time. As we read, I'll be offering questions along the way, but as always, no commentary from me. This is just a time to listen to God's word and reflect on what he's saying to you in the moment and what's being said in the scriptures. We have made me. We have made I'm excited through numbers and I'm excited because today we are going to be starting a brand new book. But it's part of the same story. We're starting Deuteronomy. And I do like to give a little background before we start a new book.

So remember where we're coming from. Numbers and Exodus, the Israelites have left Egypt finally. and they are traveling through the wilderness. It's been 40 years after the Exodus. And Deuteronomy is a book about renewal. It is leading up to the promised land, which we know Moses isn't going to enter. Deuteronomy sees Moses giving all the information

he needs to the Israelites so that they can successfully enter the promised land. It is all about God renewing his covenant with Israel. Do you guys remember the original covenant God made with Abraham and Israel? Think on that and remember all the promises God gave them because that is about to come into fruition. Not in Deuteronomy, but very soon. So today, let's get started with Deuteronomy. And as we read, I want you to think about renewal. Think about areas in your life that may need renewal, remembrance of where God's brought you from and where he's promised to take you. Deuteronomy 1 starts with a preamble to the narrative setting, because it's just going to kind of be a narrative

of what's happened so far. So this first section is introduction to Moses's first address. These are the words that Moses spoke to all the people of Israel while they were in the wilderness east of the Jordan River. They were camped in the Jordan Valley. near Suf, between Peron on one side, and Toffel, Laban, Hazaroth, and Dezahab on the other. Normally, it takes only 11 days to travel from Mount Sinai to Kadesh Barnea, going by way of Mount Sayre. But 40 years after the Israelites left Egypt on the first day of the 11th month, Moses addressed the people of Israel, telling them everything the Lord. had commanded him to say. This took place after he had defeated King Syhon of the Amarites,

who had ruled in Hesbun, and King Og of Boshan, who had ruled in Ashtaroth and Edriai. While the Israelites were in the land of Moab, east of the Jordan River, Moses carefully explained the Lord's instructions as follows. Okay, so let's pause there real quick. What did that little preamble tell us who is going to be talking, what is he going to be saying, and to whom is he talking, and who is telling him what to say. Okay, so the rest of chapter one in these next few chapters are grouped into a section called First Address, Historical Review. So that's describing Moses' first address to the Israelites, which is going to offer us a historical review of what's happened. So the first section we're going to read is God's guidance of Israel,

and it starts with the command to leave Sinai. So remember, this is Moses speaking to the Israelites. Verse 6. When we were at Mount Sinai, the Lord our God said to us, you have stayed at the mountain long enough. It is time to break camp and move on. Go to the hill country of the Amarites and to all the neighboring regions, the Jordan Valley, the hill country, the western foothills of the Negev, and the coastal plain. Go to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, and all the way to the great Euphrates River. Look, I am giving all this land to you. Go in and occupy. it, for it is the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to all their descendants. So let's pause there. Why is Moses starting the history here?

You can sort of think of this as a previously on last week's episode of, because it's sort of recapping where we've been, but why does Moses start with this command to leave Sinai? Why doesn't he start with the Exodus story of them leaving Egypt? Why start here? The next section is Moses appoints leaders from each tribe, verse 9. Moses continued, at that time, I told you, you are too great a burden for me to carry all by myself. The Lord your God has increased your population, making you as numerous as the stars. And may the Lord, the God of your ancestors, multiply you a thousand times more and bless you as he promised. But you are such a heavy load to carry.

How can I deal with all your problems and bickering? Choose some well-respected men from each tribe who are known for their wisdom and understanding, and I will appoint them as your leaders. Then you responded, your plan is a good one. So I took the wise and respected men you had selected from your tribes and appointed them to serve as judges and officials over you. Some were responsible for a thousand people, some for a hundred, some for fifty, and some for ten.

At that time, I instructed the judges, You must hear the cases of your fellow Israelites and the foreigners living among you. Be perfectly fair in your decisions and impartial in your judgments. Hear the cases of those who are poor as well as those who are rich. Don't be afraid of anyone's anger. For the decision you make is God's decision. Bring me any cases that are too difficult for you and I will handle them. At that time, I gave you instructions about everything you were to do.

So pause there. In that section, we were hearing about leaders. What makes a good leader? Are these qualities, things we should still look for as we lead or find and seek leaders among us? The next section is, scouts explore the land. then just as the Lord our God had commanded us, we left Mount Sinai and traveled through the great and terrifying wilderness, as you yourselves remember, and headed toward the hill country of the Amarites. When we arrived at Kadesh Barnea, I said to you, you have now reached the hill country of the Amarites that the Lord our God is giving us. Look, he has placed the land in front of you. Go and occupy it as the Lord, the God, the God,

of your ancestors has promised you, don't be afraid. Don't be discouraged. But you all came to me and said, first, let's send out scouts to explore the land for us. They will advise us on the best route to take in which towns we should enter. This seemed like a good idea to me, so I chose 12 scouts, one from each of your tribes. They headed for the hill country and came to the valley of Eskul and explored it. They picked some of its fruit and brought it back

to us and they reported the land the Lord our God has given us is indeed a good land. Pause there. Do you guys remember what happened after that? What land were they talking about? What land had they just found? Okay, the next section is Israel's

rebellion against the Lord. But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God and refused to go in. You complained in your tents and said, The Lord must hate us. That's why he brought us here from Egypt to hand us over to the Amarites to be slaughtered. Where can we go? Our brothers have demoralized us with their report. They tell us the people of the land are taller and more powerful than we are,

and their towns are larger with walls rising. high into the sky. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anok, but I said to you, don't be shocked or afraid of them. The Lord your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you just as you saw him do in Egypt. And you saw how the Lord your God cared for you all along the way as you traveled through the wilderness just as a father cares for his child. Now he has brought you to this place. But even after all of the world, you know, All he did, you refused to trust the Lord your God, who goes before you, looking for the best places to camp, guiding you with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day.

When the Lord heard your complaining, he became very angry, so he solemnly swore, not one of you from this wicked generation will live to see the good land I swore to go. give your ancestors except Caleb, son of Jephanah. He will see this land because he has followed the Lord completely. I will give to him and his descendants some of the very land he explored during his scouting mission. And the Lord was also angry with me because of you. He said to me, Moses, not even you will enter the promised land. Instead, your assistant Joshua, son, of none will lead the people into the land. Encourage him, for he will lead Israel as they take possession of it. I will give the land to your little ones, your innocent children. You were afraid

they would be captured, but they will be the ones who occupy it. As for you, turn around now and go back through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. Then you confessed, we have sinned against the Lord. we will go into the land and fight for it as the Lord our God has commanded us. So your men strapped on their weapons, thinking it would be easy to attack the hill country. But the Lord told me to tell you, do not attack, for I am not with you. If you go ahead on your own, you will be crushed by your enemies. This is what I told you, but you would not listen. and instead you rebelled against the Lord's command and arrogantly went into the hill country to fight.

But the Amarites, who lived there, came out against you like a swarm of bees. They chased and battered you all the way from Sayer to Horma. Then you returned and wept before the Lord, but he refused to listen. So you stayed there at Kadesh for a long time. Okay, so pause there before. we start chapter two. Why do you think it's important that God is having Moses rehash all of this history? Is it important for us to sit down and remember things that have happened in our past? Deuteronomy might be a tougher book for some people because you might be thinking,

I already know all this, why are we going over this again? We've read it just recently. but really sit with it. Something is repeated in scripture. There's got to be a reason for it. So try to figure out what that is and use it as a time as well to reflect on where you've been in your own life. All right, we're about to start Deuteronomy 2,

remembering Israel's wanderings. So this could be a good time to remember your wanderings. when were the times in your life that you felt like you were wandering aimlessly through the desert Deuteronomy two then we turned around and headed back across the wilderness toward the red sea just as the lord had instructed me and we wandered around in the region of mount sayer for a long time then at last the lord said to me you have been wandering around in this hill country long enough turn to the north give these orders to the people. You will pass through the country belonging to your relatives of Edomites, the descendants of Esau, who live in Sayre. The Edomites will feel threatened,

so be careful. Do not bother them, for I have given them all the hill country around Mount Sayer as their property, and I will not give you even one square foot of their land. If you need food to eat or water to drink, pay them for it. for the Lord your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these 40 years, the Lord your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing. So we bypassed the territory of our relatives,

the descendants of Esau, who lived in Sayer. We avoided the road through the Araba Valley that comes up from Eloth and Ezzion Geber. Then, as we turned north along the desert route through Moab, the Lord warned us, Do not bother the Moabites, the descendants of Lot, or start a war with them. I have given them R as their property, and I will not give you any of their land. A race of giants called the Emites had once lived in the area of R. They were as strong and numerous and tall as the Anakites, another.

race of giants. Both the Emites and the Anachites are also known as the Refiites, though the Moabites called them Emites. In earlier times, the Horites had lived in Sayre, but they were driven out and displaced by the descendants of Esau. Just as Israel drove out the people of Canaan when the Lord gave Israel their land. Moses continued, then the Lord said to us, moving. Cross the Zared Brook. So we crossed the brook. Thirty-eight years passed from the time we first left Kadesh Barnea until we finally crossed the Zerid Brook. By then, all the men old enough to fight in battle had died in the wilderness as the Lord had vowed what happened. The Lord struck them down until they had all been eliminated from the community. When all the

the men of fighting age had died, the Lord said to me, today you will cross the border of Moab at Ar, and enter the land of the Ammonites, the descendants of Lot. But do not bother them, or start a war with them. I have given the land of Ammon to them as their property, and I will not give you any of their land. That area was once considered the land of Rafiites, who had lived there.

But the Ammonites called the Ammonites called them, Zamsumites. They were also as strong and numerous and tall as the Anokites, but the Lord destroyed them so the Ammonites could occupy their land. He had done the same for the descendants of Esau who lived in Sayre, for he destroyed the Horites so they could settle there in their place. The descendants of Esau lived there to this day. A similar thing happened when the Kafterites from Crate invaded and destroyed the Avites, who had lived in the villages in the area of Gaza. Moses continued, then the Lord said, Now get moving. Cross the Arnhun gorge. Look, I will hand you over to Cyan, the Amorite, king of Hesham, and I will give you his land. Attack him and begin to occupy

the land, beginning today, I will make people throughout the earth terrified because of you. When they hear reports about you, they will tremble with dread and fear. So pause there at the end of that section. And think about the 40 years that Israel spent wandering in the desert. Did they have to do that? Did they have the opportunity to get to the promised land before the wandering? When is a time in your life that God has given you the promised land and for whatever reason you went the other way? What did you learn from that experience?

Did God get you back to that promised land? Was that period of wandering necessary to grow and to stretch your faith? The next section is Victory over Sihon of Hesham. Moses continued from the wilderness. of Ketamath, I sent ambassadors to King Syhon of Heschman with this proposal of peace. Let us travel through your land. We will stay on the main road and won't turn off into the fields on either side. Sell us food to eat and water to drink, and we will pay for it. All we want is permission to pass through your land. The descendants of Esau, who live in Sayer, allowed us to go through

their country, and so did the Moabites, who live in our. Let us pass through until we cross the Jordan into the land the Lord our God is giving us. But King Sihon of Heschman refused to allow us to pass through because the Lord your God made Sihon stubborn and defiant so he could help you defeat him, as he is now done. Then the Lord said to me, look, I have begun to hand King Sihon and his land over to you, begin now to conquer and occupy his land. Then King Scyon declared war on us and mobilized his forces at Jaha'az. But the Lord our God handed him over to us, and we crushed him, his sons, and all his people. We conquered all his towns and completely destroyed everyone, men, women, and children. Not a single person was spared. We took all the livestock as plunder for ourselves,

along with anything of value from the towns we ransacked. So pause there. How do you feel about that? That might be a hard section to take in, so really sit with that and think, why did God allow them to kill every single person in their path? Verse 36, The Lord Our God also helped us conquer a roar

on the edge of the Arnon Gorge, and the town in the gorge, and the whole area is far. as Gilead. No town had walls too strong for us. However, we avoided the land of the Ammonites all along the Jabbek River and the towns in the hill country, all the places the Lord our God had commanded us to leave alone. So pause there at the end of chapter two. How are the Israelites following God's commandments? Are they listening at this point? Are they following what God has called them to do. How is God fulfilling his promises? All right, Deuteronomy three starts with the victory over

Og of Boshan. Next, we turned and headed for the land of Boshan, where King Og and his entire army attacked us at Edriah. But the Lord told me, do not be afraid of him, for I have given you victory over Og and his entire army, and I will give you all his land. treat him just as you treated King Sihon of the Amarites who ruled in Heshmann. Okay, so pause there. How would you enter into a tough situation if you knew, because God told you himself, do not be afraid. I have already given you victory over this situation.

How would that change the way you approach a tough situation? Are there places in scribes? that God tells us, listen to me and go faithfully, for I have already given you victory. Why can we live in that promise? And does victory mean we're going to be happy? We're going to get everything we want. We're going to get money and riches and blah, blah, blah, things like that. Or does victory mean God is with you, even if it turns out in your favor? or not. How can we live in that strength of God? Verse three. So the Lord our God handed King Og and all his people over to us and we killed them all. Not a single person survived. We conquered

all 60 of his towns the entire Argob region in his kingdom of Boschen. Not a single town escaped our conquest. These towns were all fortified with high walls and barred gates. We all also took many unwalled villages at the same time. We completely destroyed the kingdom of Bosham. Just as we had destroyed King Sihon of Heshman, we destroyed all the people in every town we conquered, men, women, and children alike. But we kept all the livestock for ourselves

and took plunder from all the towns. So we took the land of the two Amarite kings east of the Jordan River all the way from the Ardenen Gorge to Mount Hermon. Mount Hermon is called Syrian by the Sidonians, and the Amorites call it Sainir. We had now conquered all the cities on the plateau and all Gilead in Boshan

as far as the towns of Saleca and Edriai, which were part of Agg's kingdom in Bosham. King Og of Boshan was the last survivor of the giant Refiites. His bed was made of iron. and was more than 13 feet long and 6 feet wide. It can still be seen in the Ammonite city of Raba. The next section is land division east of the Jordan. When we took possession of this land,

I gave to the tribes of Rubin and Gad, the territory beyond Aurora along the Arning Gorge, plus half of the hill country of Gilead with its towns. Then I gave the rest of Gilead and all of Boshan, Ogg's former kingdom, to the half-trib of Manassah. This entire Argob region of Basian used to be known as the land of the Refiites. Jair, a leader from the tribe of Manassah, conquered the whole Argob region in Boschon, all the way to the border of the Jeshurites and Ma Cothites.

Jair renamed this region after himself, calling it the towns of Jair, as it is still known today. I gave Gilead to the clan of Mocker, but I also gave part of Gilead to the tribes of Rubin and Gadd. The area I gave them extended from the middle of the Arnon Gorge in the south to the Jabic River on the Ammonite frontier. They also received the Jordan Valley all the way from the Sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea, with the Jordan River serving as the western boundary, to the east were the slopes of Piscca. At the time, I gave this command to the tribes that would live east of the Jordan. Although the Lord your God has given you this land as your property, all your fighting men must cross the Jordan ahead of your Israelites relatives,

armed and ready to assist them. Your wives, children, and numerous livestock, however, may stand behind in the towns I have given you. When the Lord had given security to the rest of the Israelites as he has to you, and when they occupy the land the Lord your God is giving them across the Jordan River, then you may all return here to the land I have given you. So pause there and think about all of the land and how it's being divided up and think about the work that went into getting that land.

Could God have gotten them there without using his people? Could he have just picked them up and put them in the promised land? God has the Israelites doing his work. Why does God do that? Why does he choose to use people to fulfill his promises and his covenant? All right, we're about to go into this section that reminds us about Moses being forbidden to enter the promised land. So really think on that throughout this time of, do you think that was fair? Has there been a time in your life where you felt like God was going to give you this thing?

Maybe it's something that you desire. Maybe it's something you thought was a godly desire. That God was saying, I'm going to give you this. And when the time came, for whatever reason, he said no. And then that dream, that desire disappeared. How did you react? Why do you think that happened? and why is that happening here with Moses?

All right. Moses forbidden to enter the land. Verse 21. At that time, I gave Joshua this charge. You have seen for yourself everything the Lord your God has done to these two kings. He will do the same to all the kingdoms on the west side of the Jordan. Do not be afraid of the nations there. For the Lord your God will fight for you.

At that time, I pleaded. with the Lord and said, oh, sovereign Lord, you have only begun to show your greatness and strength of your hand to me, your servant. Is there any God in heaven or on earth who can perform such great and mighty deeds as you do? Please, let me cross the Jordan to see the wonderful land on the other side. beautiful hill country in the Lebanon mountains. But the Lord was angry with me because of you, and he would not listen to me. That's enough, he declared. Speak of it no more.

But go up to Piscopique and look over the land in every direction. Take a good look, but you may not cross the Jordan River. Instead, commission Joshua and encourage and strengthen. strengthen him, for he will lead the people across the Jordan. He will give them all the land you now see before you as their possession. So we stayed in the valley near Beth Payor. So pause there and think about Moses's fate. What do you think about Moses's response and how he explained the situation? What do you think about his punishment? Why do you think God is allowing Moses to at least see the promised land. How do you feel toward Moses in this moment and how do you

think Moses feels? And then what can this situation teach us about our own lives? Where are those moments in our own lives where we missed the good God had for us? Okay, so the last section we're going to read today is Deuteronomy 4, which goes through sort of the 10 commandments again as Moses urges Israel to obey and listen to God and honor the covenant. So this section is called exhortation to covenant faithfulness. Moses urges Israel to obey. Deuteronomy 4 verse 1. And now Israel, listen carefully to these decrees and regulations that I'm about to teach you.

Obey them so that you may live so you may enter. and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. Do not add or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands of the Lord, your God, that I am giving you. Okay, pause there. First question is, why is he having to tell the Israelites these laws again? Were the original Israelites who received the Ten Commandments the first time, are they still alive?

And then also, that little piece of advice he gives about not adding or subtracting, but just obeying, how does that sit with you? How can you listen to that and still follow that today? Verse three, you saw for yourself what the Lord did to you at Ball Payor. There the Lord your God destroyed everyone who had worshipped Ball, the God of Payor. But all you who are faithful to the Lord your God are still alive today, every one of you. Look, I now teach you these decrees and regulations just as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy.

Obey them completely, and you will display your wisdom and intelligence among the surrounding nations. When they hear all these decrees, they will exclaim, how wise and prudent are the people of this great nation. For what great nation has a God as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us whenever we call on him? And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today? But watch out. Be careful. Never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live, and be sure to pass them

on to your children and grandchildren. Never forget the day when you stood before the Lord your God at Mount Sinai, where he told me, summon the people before me, and I will personally instruct them, then they will learn to fear me as long as they live, and they will teach their children to fear me also. You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while flames from the mountain shot into the sky. The mountain was shrouded in black clouds and deep darkness, and the Lord spoke to you from the heart of the fire. You heard the sound of his words, but did not see his form. There was only a voice.

He proclaimed his covenant the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to keep, in which he wrote on two stone tablets. It was at that time that the Lord commanded me to teach you his decrees and regulations so you would obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy. Okay, so pause there. Do you remember the scene that he's talking about? Also, why is it so important to remember these important events in their history? Is it important for us today to remember the things, the significance, the secret?

significant things that have happened in our lives. Okay, the next section is a warning against idolatry. But be very careful. You did not see the Lord's form on the day he spoke to you from the heart of the fire at Mount Sinai. So do not corrupt yourselves by making an idol in any form, whether of a man or a woman, an animal on the ground, a bird in the sky, a small animal that scurries. along the ground or a fish in the deepest sea. And when you look up into the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars, all the forces of heaven,

don't be seduced into worshipping them. The Lord your God gave them to all the peoples of the earth. Remember that the Lord rescued you from the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt in order to make you his very own people and his special possession, which is what you are today. But the Lord was angry with me because of you. He vowed that I would not cross the Jordan River into the good land. The Lord your God is giving you as your special possession.

You will cross the Jordan to occupy the land, but I will not. Instead, I will die here on the east side of the river. So be careful not to break the covenant the Lord your God has made with you. Do not make idols of any shape or form for the Lord your God. has forbidden this. The Lord your God is a devouring fire. He is a jealous God. In the future, when you have children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time, do not corrupt yourselves by making idols of any kind. This is evil in the sight of the Lord your God and will arouse his anger. Today I call on heaven and earth as witnesses against you. If you break my covenant,

will quickly disappear from the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy. You will live there only a short time, then you will be utterly destroyed, for the Lord will scatter you among the nations where only a few of you will survive. There, in a foreign land, you will worship idols made from wood and stone, gods that neither see nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. But from there, you will search again for the Lord your God, and if you search for him, with all your heart and soul, you will find him. In the distant future, when you are suffering all these things, you will finally return to the Lord, your God, and listen to what he tells you. For the Lord your God is a merciful God, he will not abandon you, or destroy you, or forget

the solemn covenant he made with your ancestors. So pause there and think about this. That section where God is saying, you might stray, but if you do seek me and I will be there, you will find me. So what does that teach us about God? What does that show us about his presence? Is he there whether we believe in him or not? The next section is, there is only one God. Now search all of history from the time God created people on the earth.

until now and search from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything as great as this ever been seen or heard before? Has any nation ever heard the voice of God speaking from fire as you did and survived? Has any other God dared to take a nation for himself out of another nation by means of trials, miraculous signs, wonders, war, a strong hand, a powerful army, and terrifying acts? Yet that is what the Lord your God did for you in Egypt right before your eyes. He showed you these things so you would know that the Lord is God and there is no other. He let you hear his voice from heaven so he could instruct you. He let you see his great fire here on earth so he could speak to you from it.

Because he loved your ancestors. He chose to bless their descendants, and he personally brought you out of Egypt with a great display of power. He drove our nations far greater than you so he could bring you in and give you their land as your special possession as it is today. So remember this, and keep it firmly in mind the Lord is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other.

If you obey all the decrees and commands I am giving you today, all will be well with you and your children. I am giving you these instructions, so you will enjoy a long life. In the land, the Lord your God is giving you for all time. Okay, so pause there. Out of all of the Ten Commandments, why does Moses focus on these two? You are not to make idols and you are not to follow any other God but the one true God. Do you think the Israelites will listen to Moses? What does it mean for them if they follow God's laws?

And what does it mean for them if they don't? The final section we're going to read today is the narrative interlude is what it's called, but it's just this little, broken up section right before Moses' second address to the Israelites. And the first piece of that is the eastern cities of refuge. Deuteronomy 4 verse 41. Then Moses set apart three cities of refuge east of the Jordan River. Anyone who killed another person unintentionally without previous hostility could flee there to live in safety. These were the cities. Bezor on the wilderness plateau for the tribe of Rubin, Rameth and Gilead, for the tribe of Gad, Golan in Boshin for the tribe of Manasseh. The next section is Introduction to Moses's second address.

This is the body of instruction that Moses presented to the Israelites. These are the laws, decrees, and regulations that Moses gave to the people of Israel when they left Egypt, and as they camped in the valley near Beth Paior, east of the Jordan River, This land was formerly occupied by the Amorites under King Syhon, who ruled from Hesham. But Moses and the Israelites destroyed him and his people when they came up from Egypt. Israel took possession of his land and that of King Og of Boshan, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan. So Israel conquered the entire area of Aurora at the edge of the Arnon Gorge all the way Mount St.

Syrian, also called Mount Hermon, and they conquered the eastern bank of the Jordan River, as far south as the Dead Sea, below the slopes of Piscay. Okay, so that's where we're going to stop for this time at the end of chapter four, right before we go into Moses's second address. So we've gotten a good introduction into Deuteronomy. It's leading up to when the Israelites will finally get to occupy and partake in the promised land. So be thinking until next time about what you expect from the promised land, what you think Moses is going to talk about in his second address, and why you think this history has to be

included. Why can't they just go straight into the promised land? Why do they have to take this time to discuss the laws and the commandments once again? I hope you guys are enjoying each episode. I'm loving getting emails from you all and hearing about how this is helping you connect with scripture. Keep reaching out. All of our contact and social media is in the description of this episode. You can email me at Bible Beginning to End at gmail.com. And I will talk to you in the next one. Hello and welcome back to Bible Beginning.

to end where we are reading through the scriptures one book at a time. As always, I will be offering no commentary, but we'll be asking questions along the way so that you can sit with the scriptures and really figure out what they mean on your own with God. Last time, we read through Deuteronomy 1 to 4, where we've been sort of going through the journey that the Israelites have taken from Egypt up until now in this interim time before they enter the promised land.

Moses is speaking to them before they get to encounter this place they've been waiting for. This section, chapter 5, starts Moses's second address, the covenant text. This is going to cover quite a few chapters in Deuteronomy. So we will just read a piece of this today and finish it up over the next few episodes. So remember that Moses is saying his final words to this new generation of Israelites before they go into the promised land. He is reminding them of what God has done, what God has said, and what God expects of them. So as we enter into this text, think about why it's important for Moses to say these things

to the Israelites again. Is this a new audience than the audience who was there when the Ten Commandments were first given. Deuteronomy 5. The Principles of the Covenant, Ten Commandments for the Covenant Community. Moses called all the people of Israel together and said, listen carefully, Israel. Hear the decrees and regulations I am giving you today, so you may learn about them and obey them. The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Mount Sinai. The Lord did not make this covenant with our ancestors, but with all of us who are alive today. At the Mount Sinai, at the Mount Sinai, the Lord did not make this covenant with our ancestors, but with all of us who are alive today. At the mountain, the Lord spoke to you face to face

from the heart of fire. I stood as an intermediary between you and the Lord, for you were afraid of the fire and did not want to approach the mountain. He spoke to me, and as I passed his words onto you, this is what? He said. So pause right there. Do you remember the scene at Sinai when God gave him the Ten Commandments. Do you remember what the Ten Commandments are? And if you've read the New Testament, what does Jesus have to say about the Ten Commandments? Verse 6, I am the Lord your God,

who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. You must not have any other God but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God,

who will not tolerate your affection for any other God. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children. The entire family is affected even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.

Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy as the Lord your God has commanded you. You have six days each week for your ordinary work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day, no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your oxen and donkeys and other livestock and any foreigners living among you. All your female and male servants must rest as you do. Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt,

but the Lord your God brought you out with his strong hand and powerful arm. This is why the Lord your God has commanded you to rest on the Sabbath day. Honor your father and mother as the Lord your God commanded you. then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you. You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.

You must not covet your neighbor's wife. You must not covet your neighbor's house or land, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor. The Lord spoke these words to all of you assembled there at the foot of the mountain. He spoke with a loud voice from the heart of the fire surrounded by clouds in deep darkness. This was all he said at the time and he wrote his words on two stone tablets and gave them to me. But when you heard the voice from the heart of the darkness while the mountain was blazing with fire, all your tribal leaders and elders came to me.

They said, look, the Lord our God. has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice from the heart of the fire. Today we have seen that God can speak to us humans, and yet we live. But now, why should we risk death again? If the Lord our God speaks to us again, we will certainly die and be consumed by this awesome fire. Can any living thing hear the voice of the living God from the heart of the fire as we did and yet survive? Go yourself and listen to what the Lord our God says. Then come and tell us everything he tells you and we will listen and obey. So pause there, what do you think of their reaction to seeing God's glory? Are there ways that we still see God's glory today? Verse 28, the Lord heard the

request you made to me. And he said, I have heard what the people said to you and they are right. Oh, that they would always have hearts like this, that they might fear me and obey all of my commands. If they did, they and their descendants would prosper forever. Go and tell them, return to your tents, but you stand here with me so I can give you all my commands, decrees, and regulations. You must teach them to the people so they can obey them in the land I am giving them as their possession. So Moses told the people, you must be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God following his instructions in every detail. Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives in the land you are about to enter and occupy.

So pause there. Why was it a good thing that they feared God? Why did God see that as something good? What does it look like to have a healthy fear? of God? What does that mean? And then what does God mean when he says that if they follow his instructions in every detail, they might live a prosperous and long life? How does our relationship with God differ from the relationship the Israelites had with God? How is it that we are able to be in relationship with God and still make mistakes and be forgiven? And yet, despite our mistakes,

still enter into a long and prosperous life. And I want to be careful with what I'm saying, because I don't want you to think that I'm saying, because you follow God, your life on earth will be long and prosperous and happy, and you'll get all the things that you want. That's not what I'm saying. Because what does God teach us?

When will we actually see the fullness of God? when will we actually see the fruits of our labors on earth? Are we promised prosperity and longevity and happiness here on earth? Or are those promises for prosperity and true fullness of God revealed in heaven? Deuteronomy 6. A call for wholehearted commitment. These are the commands, decrees, and regulations that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you. You must obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy, and you and your children and

grandchildren must fear the Lord your God as long as you live. If you obey all his decrees and commands, you will live a long life. Listen closely, Israel, and be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you. And you will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors promised you. Listen, O Israel, the Lord is our God. the Lord alone and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart all your soul and all your

strength and you must commit yourself wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today repeat them again and again to your children talk about them when you're at home and when you're on the road when you're going to bed and when you're getting up tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders write them on the doorsteps of your house and on your gates. So pause there. Why was it so important for people during this time, for the Israelites during this time, to literally write down the commands? And then how can we take that practice and apply it now? Is it still important for us to memorize scripture and remember what God's promises are and remind ourselves what God says to us to talk about it with our

family to talk about it at the dinner table, etc. Are those practices still important? Verse 10, the Lord your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land, be careful not to forget the Lord who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. You must fear the Lord your God and serve him. When you take an oath, you must use only his name. You must not worship any of the gods of neighboring nations,

for the Lord your God who lives among you is a jealous God. His anger will flare up against you and he will wipe you from the face of the earth. You must not test the Lord your God as you did when you complained at Masa. You must diligently obey the commands of the Lord your God. All the laws and decrees he has given you. Do what is right and good in the Lord's sight, so all will go well with you. Then you will enter and occupy the good land that the Lord swore to give your ancestors. You will drive out all the enemies living in the land, just as the Lord said you would. In the future, your children will ask you,

what is the meaning of these laws, decrees, and regulations that the Lord our God has commanded us to obey? Then you must tell them, we were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand. The Lord did miraculous signs and wonders before our eyes, dealing terrifying blows against Egypt and Pharaoh and all his people. He brought us out of Egypt so he could give us,

this land he had sworn to give our ancestors. And the Lord our God commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear him so he can continue to bless us and preserve our lives as he is done to this day. For we will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the Lord our God has given us. So pause there at the end of Deuteronomy 6. Why is it important for the Israelites to remember and tell future generations that God is the one who brought them out of slavery. Why is it important to tell our children, or if you don't have children, people around you, or people in your life where God has brought you from? Deuteronomy 7 is called The Privilege of Holiness.

What a great title that is. I want you to really think about those words and what that means before we even jump into this. God's love is a gift. The ability to be holy in God is a gift. It is a privilege. What does that mean? What does that mean for the Israelites? Okay, Deuteronomy 7 verse 1. When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are about to enter and occupy, he will clear away many nations ahead of you. The Hittites, Gurgashites, Amurites, Canaanites, Parasites, Hivites, and Jebocytes. These seven nations are greater and more numerous than you. When the Lord your God hands these nations over to you and you conquer them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaties with them and show them no mercy. You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters, for they will lead your children away from me to worship other God.

Then the anger of the Lord will burn against you and he will quickly destroy you. This is what you must do. You must break down their pagan altars and shatter their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah, poles, and burn their idols, for you are a holy people who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure. The Lord did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations. Rather, it was, simply that the Lord loves you, and he was keeping the oath he had sworn to your ancestors. That is why the Lord rescued you with such a strong hand from your slavery and from the oppressive hand of Pharaoh, King of Egypt. Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his command.

he does not hesitate to punish and destroy those who reject him. Therefore, you must obey all these commands, decrees, and regulations I am giving you today. If you listen to these regulations and faithfully obey them, the Lord your God will keep his covenant of unfailing love with you, as he promised with an oath to your ancestors. He will love you and bless you, and he will give you many children. He will give fertility to your land and your animals. When you arrive in the land, he swore to give your ancestors, you will have large harvests of grain, new wine, and olive oil, and great herds of cattle, sheep, and goats. You will be blessed above all nations of the earth. None of your men or women will be childless and all your livestock will bear young,

and the Lord will protect you from all sickness. He will not love. Let you suffer from the terrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all your enemies. You must destroy all the nations the Lord your God hands over to you. Show them no mercy and do not worship their gods, or they will trap you. So pause there. Can a God of love and mercy feel so strongly about destroying all of these nations? Why do you think God is doing that? Is it about justice?

Is it about something else? Are these other nations also a part of God's creation? Are they also made in God's image? And if so, why does God put this in here? Why does God tell the Israelites to destroy them? Were they also given the chance to know and experience God's love? Verse 17, perhaps you will think to yourselves, how can we ever conquer these nations that are so much more powerful than we are?

But don't be afraid of them. Just remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all the land of Egypt. Remember the great terrors the Lord your God sent against them. You saw it all with your own eyes. And remember the miraculous signs and wonders and the strong hand and powerful arm with which he brought you out of Egypt.

The Lord your God will use this same power against all the people you fear. And then the Lord your God will send terror to drive out the few survivors still hiding from you. No, do not be afraid of those nations, for the Lord your God is among you, and he is a great and awesome God. The Lord your God will drive those nations out ahead of you little by little. You will not clear them all at once. Otherwise, the wild animals would multiply too quickly for you, but the Lord your God will hand them over to you.

He will throw them into complete confusion until they are destroyed. He will put their kings in your power, and you will erase their names from the face of the earth. No one will be able to stand against you, and you will destroy them all. You must burn their idols in fire, and you must not covet the silver or gold that covers them. You must not take it, or it will become a trap to you, for it is detestable to the Lord your God. Do not bring any detestable objects into your home, for then you will be destroyed just like them. You must utterly detest such thing, but they are set apart for destruction. So pause there at the end of Deuteronomy 7.

God feels very strongly that the Israelites should not become caught up in the idolatry of these other nations. Why is that? And how does he tell them to avoid? falling into these other ways of living. And now this is for the Israelites, but for us today, there are also many things of the world around us. We're called to avoid as we live in Christ's promises.

What has God given us to, one, tell us what those things are, and two, help and equip us to fight those desires. Are we just following another list of things? rules and things that we can and cannot do? Or are we living in God's spirit and letting the spirit lead us and change the desires of our heart into the ones that match God's desires so that our nature becomes new and the things that we cling to and the things that we gravitate toward are actually becoming those things that are of God? Okay, Deuteronomy 8 is called a call to remember and obey. Be careful to obey all the commands I am giving you today. Then you will

live and multiply, and you will enter and occupy the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors. Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these 40 years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands. Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone. Rather, we live by every word that comes out of the mouth of the Lord. For all these 40 years, your clothes didn't wear out and your feet didn't blister or swell. Think about it.

Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good. So pause there. Are we learning any new information here? Are we gaining any more insight into that time of wandering, into those tests that God put the Israelites through? Why did God test them? Why did God allow the Israelites to go through some hardships? And then how also did God protect?

the Israelites. What do you think about discipline? What does it mean? What does God's discipline look like? And then in this passage, we hear that verse, man does not live on bread alone. Where else have you heard that? If you've read the New Testament, this might sound familiar. What does it mean? Who quotes it in the New Testament? What is he saying? Verse 6. So obey the commands of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and fearing him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water with fountains and springs that gush out in the valleys and hills. It is a land of wheat and barley, of grapevines, fig trees, and pomegranates, of olive oil and honey. It is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking. It is a land where iron is as common as

stone and copper is abundant in the hills. When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the Lord your God, but the good land he has given you. So pause there. What are we learning about the promised land? What is it going to be like? And how can we compare this promised land that the Israelites will receive to our promise of heaven if we trust in God? What is heaven? What is heaven going to be like. How will the work that we do here on earth and the things we experience here on earth be amplified and multiplied in heaven? Verse 11, but that is the time to be careful. Beware that in your plenty, you do not forget the Lord, your God, and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. Okay, pause there. I know we just pause, but let's

pause again because I think that this verse is very important. It says, beware that in your time of plenty, you do not forget the Lord. So my question to you is, what times in your life is it the easiest for you to cling to God and to hold fast to his promises? Is it the times in your life when everything is going well? You have all that you need. You have abundance. Or is it the times in your life when you're struggling and you feel that struggle and you can really tell that you are relying on God for your daily need. When is it easier to cling to God for you? To put it a different way, in times of abundance, are you attributing those blessings to God and recognizing that he's the one who's providing them? Or are you only reaching out to God

when you need him, when you're in the depths. And I don't want you to think that there's anything wrong with reaching out to God when you're in the depths, but are we praising God in the depths, just as much as we're praising Him in times of abundance? Are we reaching out and seeing our need for God in times of abundance? Are we recognizing that that need is still there, just as much as that need is there when we are in the depths and strong? So why do you think Moses is warning the Israelites of this? To beware that you don't forget God during the plenty. Verse 12, for when you have become full and prosperous and have built fine homes to live in,

and when your flocks and herds have become very large and your silver and gold have multiplied along with everything else, be careful. Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. Egypt. Do not forget that he led you through the great and terrifying wilderness with its poisonous snakes and scorpions, where it was so hot and dry. He gave you water from the rock. He fed you with manna in the wilderness, a food unknown to your ancestors. He did this to humble you and test you for your own good. He did all this so you would never say to yourself, I have achieved this well. with my own strength and energy. Remember, the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.

But I assure you of this, if you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods worshiping and bowing down to them, you will certainly be destroyed. Just as the Lord has destroyed other nations in your path, you also will be destroyed if you refuse to obey the Lord, your God. So pause there at the end of chapter 8 and just let it sink in about why it is important to remember God and remember the things he has done and where he has brought you from. Okay, the final chapter for today's episode is Deuteronomy 9, victory by God's grace. Listen, O Israel, today you are about to cross the Jordan River to take over the land belonging to nations much greater and more powerful than you.

They live in cities with walls that reach to the sky. The people are strong and tall descendants of the famous Anachite giants. You've heard the saying, who can stand up to the Anokites? But recognize today that the Lord your God is the one who will cross over ahead of you like a devouring fire to destroy them. He will subdue them so that you will quickly conquer them and drive them out just as the Lord has promised you. After the Lord your God has done this for you,

don't say in your hearts, the Lord has given us this land because we are such good people. No. It is because of the wickedness of the other nations that he is pushing them out of your way. It is not because you are so good or have such integrity that you are to occupy their land, the Lord your God will drive these nations out ahead of you only because of their wickedness,

and to fulfill the oath he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You must recognize that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land because you are good, for you are not. You are a stubborn people. Okay, so pause there at the end of that section. None of these verses said the actual word, grace. But what did we learn about God's grace in this section anyway? Why is this section called victory by God's grace? What does grace mean?

What did Moses say is the reason God is bringing them into the promised land and giving the Israelites victory over these other nations? Was it because of something the Israelites did? Was it because they were so great? Or was it despite their shortcomings, God still fulfills his promises? Grace is going to be a huge theme throughout the Bible, especially in the New Testament.

But what are we already learning about grace here in the Old Testament? Okay, the next section is remembering the gold calf. Remember and never forget how angry you made the Lord your God out in the wilderness. From the day you left Egypt until now you have been constantly rebelling against him. Even at Mount Sinai, you made the Lord so angry, he was ready to destroy you. This happened when I was on the mountain receiving the tablets of stone inscribed with the words of the covenant that the Lord had made with you. I was there for 40 days and 40 nights, and all that time I ate now.

no food and drink no water. The Lord gave me the two tablets on which God had written with his own finger all the words he had spoken to you from the heart of the fire when you were assembled at the mountain. At the end of the 40 days and nights the Lord handed me the two stone tablets inscribed with the words of the covenant. Then the Lord said to me, get up. Go down immediately for the people you brought out of Egypt have corrupted themselves. How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live. They have melted gold and made an idol for themselves. The Lord also said to me, I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are. Leave me alone, so I may destroy them and erase their name from under heaven. Then I will make a mighty nation of your descendants, a nation

larger and more powerful than they are. So while the mountain was blazing with fire, I turned and came down, holding in my hands the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant. There below me, I could see that you had sinned against the Lord of your God. You had melted gold and made a calf idol for yourselves. How quickly you had turned away from the path the Lord has commanded you to follow. So I took the stone tablets and threw them to the ground, smashing them before your eyes. So pause there and think about this story and how quickly the Israelites abandoned God and created their own idol and started worshipping a false God.

And think about the juxtaposition of what's going on on top of the mountain. On top of the mountain is one of the most. sacred covenants being formed and at the bottom of the mountain is one of the most perverse acts that could be happening. Think about this. God is literally telling Moses in the Ten Commandments that you are not to make idols and what's going on right at the bottom of the mountain. And this is not to shame the Israelites. This is a question to look inward. Why is it so important to have a relationship with God daily, to spend time with him daily. If left to our own devices, how quickly will we turn and run the other way? How easy is it for us to turn and run the other way?

Okay, let's go back to what's going on in this recap of the story of the golden calf, verse 18. Then as before, I threw myself down before the Lord for 40 days and nights. I no bread and drink no water because of the great sin you had committed by doing what the Lord hated, provoking him to anger. I feared that the furious anger of the Lord which turned him against you would drive him to destroy you. But again, he listened to me. The Lord was so angry with Aaron that he wanted to destroy him too. But I prayed for Aaron and the Lord spared him. I took your sin, the calf you had made, and I melted it down in the fire and grounded into fine dust. Then I threw the dust into the stream that flows down the mountain.

You also made the Lord angry at Tabara Masa and Kibrof Hatava, and at Kadesh Barnea, the Lord sent you out with this command, go up and take over the land I have given you. But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God and refused to put your trust in him or obey him. Yes, you have been rebelling against the Lord as long as I have known you. That is why I threw myself down before the Lord for 40 days and nights, for the Lord said he would destroy you. I prayed to the Lord and said, O sovereign Lord, do not destroy them. They are your own people. They are your special possession whom you redeemed from Egypt by your mighty power and your strong hand. Please overlook the stubbornness and the awful sin of these people, and remember instead your servants, Abraham,

Isaac, and Jacob. If you destroy these people, the Egyptians will say the Israelites died because the Lord wasn't able to bring them to the land he had promised to give them. Or they might say, he destroyed them because he hated them. He deliberately took them into the wilderness to slaughter them. But they are your people and your special possession, whom you brought out of Egypt, by your great strength and powerful arm. Okay, so pause there. That's where we're stopping for today, but I want you to think about this final section. What does Moses do for the Israelites when he is on Mount Sinai after they have committed this grave sin? What does this show us about prayer and interceding for people in our lives? Is it important for us to remind God of the promises he's made?

And why are we doing this? Has God forgotten the promises he's made? Or does God want us to do the work, to intercede, and to come to him with everything? With everything we need, everything we have, everything we desire, and work it out with him first. Okay, so that's where we're going to stop for today. The Israelites are going through a lot. They're being reminded of a lot. They are being prepared. to enter the promised land. And that's another good thing to think on is how much work is going in to getting the Israelites to the promised land, just getting them there. And how can that reflect the amount of work it takes for us in our lives here on earth before we're ready to enter our promised land? And don't mistake what I'm saying because I'm not saying that it's the work that gets us there. What I'm saying is that relationship with God sparks our desire to work.

Because we are living with Him with the Spirit in us, we want to be changed and we want to be sanctified and we want to be made new. And we are made new. And because of our newness, we begin the work that God has set for us. And that might be challenging. And it might look different for every person who believes in God. but God has work for all of us and time for us to complete it. So I hope you'll join me next time as we keep going through this journey with the Israelites.

Keep reaching out. Love getting your emails. All our contact information and ways to support the show are in the description. It is great reading with you guys in each episode. And I hope that it continues bringing you closer to God. and my prayer is that God speaks through His Word into your life. So stay strong and I will talk to you in the next one. Hello and welcome back to Bible beginning to end

where we are reading through the scriptures together from Genesis to Revelation. There won't be much commentary, but there will be questions along the way so that you can really sit with the scriptures and see what God is trying to tell you through them. use this as a time for devotion, for meditation on the scriptures, however you want. The important thing is to really sit with them and hear what God is saying to you about these words. We are going through Deuteronomy right now, and last week we finished up Deuteronomy 9, and Deuteronomy, we are revisiting what has happened so far on the Israelites' journey, as Moses tells them where they've been.

and prepares them to enter the promised land. Last time, we ended with Deuteronomy 9, where they retold the story of the golden calf, where God is giving Moses the Ten Commandments, and down below on Mount Sinai, the Israelites are worshipping a golden calf. Deuteronomy 10 picks right up where Deuteronomy 9 left off, and this section is called a new copy of the covenant.

Deuteronomy 10 verse 1 At that time the Lord said to me Chisle out two stone tablets like the first ones Also make a wooden ark A sacred chest to store them in Come up to me on the mountain And I will write on the tablets The same words that were on the ones you smashed

Then place the tablets in the ark So I made an ark of acacia wood and cut two stone tablets like the first two. Then I went up the mountain with the tablets in my hand. Once again the Lord wrote the Ten Commandments on the tablets and gave them to me. They were the same words the Lord had spoken to you from the heart of the fire on the day you were assembled at the foot of the mountain. Then I turned and came down the mountain and placed the tablets in the Ark of the Covenant,

which I had made, just as the Lord commanded me, and the tablets are still there in the ark. The people of Israel set out from the wells of the people of Jekon and traveled to Mazar where Aaron died and was buried. His son Eliezer ministered as high priest in his place. Then they journeyed to Goudgada, and from there to Jopitha, a land with many brooks and streams. At that time, the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the Ark of the Lord's covenant and to stand before the Lord as his ministers and to pronounce blessings in his name. These are their duties to this day. This is why the Levites have no share of property or possession of land among the other

Israelites tribes. The Lord himself is their special possession, as the Lord your God told them. As for me, I stayed on the mountain in the Lord's presence for 40 days and nights, as I had done the first time, and once again the Lord listened to my plea and agreed not to destroy you. Then the Lord said to me, get up, and resume the journey, and lead the people to the land I swore to give their ancestors, so they may take possession of it. Okay, so pause there at the end of that section and just reflect on the world. that story again. We've heard it before, but what is it revealing to us about God? What are we learning

about the Israelites from this story? What are we learning about Moses in this story? And how can we take what we've learned in this story and apply it to our own lives? The next section is a call to love and obedience. And now Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? He requires only that you fear the Lord your God and live in a way that pleases him and love him and serve him with all your heart and soul. And you must always obey the Lord's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good. Okay, so pause there. What are we learning from this? What did Moses just say? The Israelites are asking this question, what does God require of me? And what is Moses telling us right here? Is this a good summary of what God requires of us?

Does Jesus reaffirm this message in the New Testament of loving the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and following him? How can you apply this to your daily life? How can you serve God in this way each day? Verse 14, look, the highest heavens and the earth and everything in it, all belong to the Lord your God. Yet, the Lord chose your ancestors as the objects of his love, and he chose you, their descendants, above all other nations, as is evident today. Therefore, change your hearts, and stop being stubborn. So pause there. What are we learning about God right here? Did he create some of the world or every single thing in the world? And then what does it mean?

when Moses says, yet the Lord chose you to be the object of his love. Why is that so significant? How can we live in to that promise and realization? If God chose us, people, human beings to be the object of his love, what does that mean for us? Verse 17, for the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of Lords. He is the great God, the mighty and awesome God, who shows no partiality and cannot be bribed. He ensures that orphans and widows receive justice. He shows love to the foreigners living among you and gives them food and clothing, so you too must show love to foreigners, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt.

You must fear the Lord your God and worship him and cling to him. Your oaths must be in His name alone. He alone is your God, the only one who is worthy of your praise. The one who has done these mighty miracles that you have seen with your own eyes. When your ancestors went down into Egypt, there were only 70 of them. But now, the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky. So pause there. What did we learn in this section about God's character? Who does he care about? How does he provide daily needs for those who are suffering? How does he rescue people?

And God's character and actions toward the less fortunate, how do those impact how we should see the fortunate. And then finally that last little section where Moses is saying, but now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky, why is that a significant declaration? Where have we heard that phrasing? What is that a part of? What covenant? What promise is being fulfilled here? Okay, Deuteronomy 11 picks right up where that last verse left off. Deuteronomy 111, you must love the Lord your God and always obey his requirements, decrees, regulations, and commands. Keep in mind that I'm not talking now to your children who have never experienced the discipline of the Lord your God or seen his greatness and his strong hand and

powerful arm. They didn't see the miraculous signs and wonders he performed in Egypt against Pharaoh and all his land. They didn't see what the Lord did to the armies of Egypt and to their horses and chariots, how he drowned them in the Red Sea as they were chasing you. He destroyed them, and they have not recovered to this very day. Your children didn't see how the Lord cared for you in the wilderness until you arrived there. They didn't see what he did to Dothan and Abiram, the sons of Elieb, a descendant of Rubin, when the earth opened its mouth in the Israelite camp and swallowed them, along with their households and tents and every living thing that belonged to them. But you have seen the Lord perform all these mighty deeds with his own eyes.

So pause there. Why is Moses making this point to say, your children haven't seen these things? I'm not talking to them. I'm talking to you who have seen them with your own. eyes. Why is that significant? Why is it important that he makes this point? You've actually seen these things. Why is it important for us to remember the things that we have seen God do? And what are those things that you have seen God do that you can hold onto? The next section is the blessings of obedience. Therefore, be careful to obey every command I am giving you today

so you may have strength to go in and take over the land you are about to enter. If you obey, you will enjoy a long life in the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors and to you, their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey. For the land you are about to enter and take over is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you planted your seed and made irrigation ditches with your foot, as in a vegetable garden. Rather, the land you will soon take over is a land of hills and valleys with plenty of rain, a land that the Lord your God cares for. He watches over it through each season of the year. If you carefully obey the commands I am giving you today and if you love the

Lord your God and serve him with all your heart and soul, then he will send the rains in their proper seasons, the early and late rains, so you can bring in your harvest of grain, new wine, and olive oil. He will give you lush pasture land for your livestock, and you yourselves will have all you want to eat. But be careful. Don't let your heart be deceived so that you turn away from the Lord and serve and worship other gods. If you do, the Lord's anger will burn against you. He will shut up the sky and hold back the rain and the ground will fail to produce its harvests. Then you will quickly die in that good land the Lord is giving you. So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine.

Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are going on the road. when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates so that as long as the sky remains above the earth, you and your children may flourish in the land that the Lord swore to give your ancestors. So pause there.

Why is it so important for the Israelites to write these things down and talk about them to each other and to their children and pass them on? Did they have a written word like we do now? Or were they relying on this oral passage to keep the word of God strong in the community and in the world? And looking at us today, is it still important for us to memorize God's word and write down the scriptures and share them with our family and pass them on to other people? And what is Moses saying here for the Israelites?

What are the blessings they will receive for their obedience? And shifting focus to us here in present day, what are the blessings we receive if we are obedient? Does obedience and faith in God equal prosperity and blessings here on earth? Or are our blessings more eternal? Where we will see the fruits of our labors here on earth in heaven one day. Verse 22, be careful to obey all these commands I am giving you.

Show love to the Lord your God by walking in his ways and holding tightly to him. Then the Lord will drive out all the nations ahead of you, though they are much greater and stronger than you, and you will take over their land. Wherever you set foot, that land will be yours. Your frontiers will stretch. from the wilderness in the south to Lebanon in the north, and from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. No one will be able to stand against you for the Lord

your God will cause the people to fear and dread you as He promised wherever you go in the whole land. Look, today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse. You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the Lord your God. God that I am giving you today, but you will be cursed if you reject the commands of the Lord, your God, and turn away from him and worship gods you have not known before. So pause there. Why is it important that Moses reminds them this is a choice? Does God still give us a choice today?

And again, does that mean that if we choose to follow God, we will be blessed here on earth and see prosperity and money and all these worldly things be given to us? And does it mean that if we don't follow God will be cursed here on earth and our life will be bad? Or is it more eternal for us? Does it mean that if we follow God, we will be blessed eternally? And if we don't follow God, there will be eternal suffering. Verse 29, when the Lord your God brings you into the land, and helps you take possession of it, you must pronounce the blessing at Mount Garrism and the curse at Mount Ebel. These two mountains are west of the Jordan River in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Jordan Valley, near the town of Gilgul, not far from the oaks of Morah.

For you are about to cross the Jordan River to take over the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you take that land and are living in it, you must be careful to obey all the decrees and regulations I am giving you today. Okay, so that was the end of Deuteronomy 11, and now we're switching into Deuteronomy 12, which starts a section called the specific stipulations of the covenant. And the first section is the Lord's chosen place for worship. Deuteronomy 12 verse 1 these are the decrees and regulations you must be careful to obey when you live in the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must obey them as long as you live. When you drive out the nations that live there, you must destroy all the places where they worship their gods, high on the mountains, up on the hills, and under every green tree. Break down their altars and smash their sacred pillars. burn their Asherapoles and cut down their carved idols, completely erase the names of their gods. So pause there. Why do you think God is having them do this? Remember, the people who are using these items are not there anymore, so they're not taking them from those people. The Israelites are taking them away from their own site and from their own new space.

so why would it be important for them to clear false idols and altars to other gods out of their way? Verse 4. Do not worship the Lord your God in the way these pagan peoples worship their gods. Rather, you must seek the Lord your God at the place of worship he himself will choose from among all the tribes. The place where his name will be honored. There, you will bring your burnt offering. your sacrifices, your tithes, your sacred offerings, your offerings to fulfill a vow, your voluntary offerings, and your offerings of the firstborn animals of your herds and flocks. There, you and your families will feast in the presence of the Lord your God, and you will rejoice

in all you have accomplished because the Lord your God has blessed you. Your pattern of worship will change. Today, all of you are doing as you please, because you have not yet arrived at the place of rest, the land, the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession. But you will soon cross the Jordan River and live in the land the Lord your God is giving you. When he gives you rest from all your enemies and you're living safely in the land, you must bring everything I command you, your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your ties, your sacred offerings and your offerings to fulfill a vow,

to the designated place of worship, the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored. You must celebrate there in the presence of the Lord your God with your sons and daughters and all your servants, and remember to include the Levites who live in your towns, for they will receive no allotment of land among you. Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings just anywhere you like. may do so only at the place the Lord will choose within one of your tribal territories. There,

you must offer your burnt offerings and do everything I command you. But you may butcher your animals and eat their meat in any town whenever you want. You may freely eat the animals with which the Lord your God blesses you. All of you, whether ceremonially clean or unclean, may eat that meat just as you now eat gazelle and deer. but you must not consume the blood. You must pour it out on the ground like water. But you may not eat your offerings in your hometown, neither the tithe of your grain and new wine and olive oil, nor the firstborn of your flocks and herds, nor any offering to fulfill a vow, nor your voluntary offerings, nor your sacred offerings.

You must eat these in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose. eat them there with your children, your servants, and the Levites who live in your towns, celebrating in the presence of the Lord your God in all you do. And be very careful, never to neglect the Levites as long as you live in the land. So pause there, because I kind of want to go back to the section when Moses said, when you enter the promised land, your worship will change. So how is the Israelites worship changing? Why is the Israelites worship changing?

And how will our worship change when we enter our promised land of heaven? How will that affect how we worship God and how we see him and how we live in community and with each other? Verse 20, when the Lord your God expands your territory as he is promised and you have the urge to eat meat, you may freely eat meat whenever you want. It might happen that the designated place of worship, the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored, is a long way from your home. If so, you may butcher any of the cattle, sheep, or goats the Lord has given you, and you may freely eat the meat in your hometown as I have commanded you. Anyone, whether ceremonially clean or unclean, may eat that meat, just as you do now with gazelle and deer. But never consume the blood, for the blood is the life.

and you must never consume the life blood with the meat. Instead, pour out the blood on the ground like water. Do not consume the blood so that all may go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what pleases the Lord. So pause there. Why is it important that they not consume the blood of the animals? What reason is Moses giving here? And why does God take life blood so seriously. Verse 26. Take your sacred gifts and your offerings given to fulfill a vow to the place the Lord chooses. You must offer the meat and blood of your burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, your God.

The blood of your other sacrifices must be poured out on the altar of the Lord your God, but you may eat the meat. Be careful to obey all my commands. so that all will go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and pleasing to the Lord your God. When the Lord your God goes ahead of you and destroys the nations and you drive them out and live in their land, do not fall into the trap of following their customs and worshiping their gods. Do not inquire about their gods, saying, how do these nations worship their gods? I want to follow their example. You must not worship their gods. You must not worship

the Lord your God the way other nations worship their gods for they perform for their gods every detestable act that the Lord hates they even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices

to their gods so be careful to obey all the commands I give you you must not add anything to them or subtract anything from them okay so pause there at the end of Deuteronomy Why do you think God tells them not to even ask these people about their gods in the way that they worship?

And then what does God tell the Israelites that gives us a little insight into these people and their worship practices? And why do you think God includes that one little piece of information to share with the Israelites about their sacrificial practices? Okay, Deuteronomy 13 is called a warning against idolatry. Suppose there are prophets among you or those who dream dreams about the future, and they promise you signs or miracles, and the predicted signs or miracles occur. If they then say, come let us worship other gods, gods you have not known before, do not listen to them.

The Lord your God is testing you, to see if you truly love him with all your heart and soul. Serve only the Lord your God and fear him alone. Obey his commands, listen to his voice, and cling to him. The false prophets or visionaries who try to lead you astray must be put to death. For they encourage rebellion against the Lord your God who redeemed you from slavery and brought you out of the land of Egypt. since they try to lead you astray from the way the Lord your God commanded you to live,

you must put them to death. In this way, you will purge the evil from among you. So pause there. What does that little section teach us about false prophets? Are you surprised that their predicted signs or miracles might actually occur? Why is this? And then how does God say that they'll know these are false prophets? will they say after the sign where miracle has occurred? And then how can we discern whether or not

what's being told to us is of God or from man from a false prophet? How are we able to tell the difference? Verse 6. Suppose someone secretly entices you, even your brother, your son or daughter, your beloved wife or your closest friend and says, let us go worship other gods, gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known. They might suggest that you worship the gods of peoples who live nearby or who come from the ends of the earth, but do not give in or listen,

have no pity, and do not spare or protect them. You must put them to death, strike the first blow yourself, and then all the people must join in. Stone the guilty ones to death because they have tried to draw you away from the Lord your God who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of slavery. Then all Israel will hear about it and be afraid and no one will act so wickedly again. So pause there.

In this passage, God is telling the Israelites to be careful of idolatry. and he's telling them ways they may easily be tricked into idolatry. So I want you to think about modern day, your life right now. What are some areas that are possible pitfalls for you when it comes to idolatry? What are those temptations that make you desire something or someone other than God? Where are those temptations coming from? And how do we fight those temptations? And then how do you feel about what God tells them to do when they find someone who is

worshipping false gods? This may be one of those hard passages to wrestle with, so really sit with it and think on it and see what God is telling you. Verse 12, when you begin living in the towns the Lord your God is giving you, you may hear that scoundrels among you are leading their fellow citizens astray by saying, let us go worship other gods, gods you have not known before. In such cases, you must examine the facts carefully. If you find that the report is true, and such a detestable act has been committed among you, you must attack that town and completely destroy all its inhabitants,

as well as all the livestock. Then you must pile all the plunder in the middle of the open square and burn it. Burn the entire town as a burnt offering to the Lord your God. That town must remain a ruin forever. It may never be rebuilt. Keep none of the plunder that has been set apart for destruction. Then the Lord will turn from his fierce anger and be merciful to you. He will have compassion on you and make you a large nation just as he swore to your ancestors. The Lord your God will be merciful only if you listen to his voice and keep all his commands that I am giving you today doing what pleases him. So pause there. Here God lays out a rule for the Israelites and how they're supposed to react when a town has turned from God and is worshipping false gods. But why does he give this

instruction that they must make sure all the facts are right before? or they take any action on this town. And then how do you feel about what God is telling them to do? Why do you think this is his instruction? Again, this might be a difficult passage to read. It might make you think about God's character, what we're learning about him. So really sit with it and ask God to reveal the truth about this passage to you.

And remember that we're reading all of the story. these things in the context of the New Testament where Jesus's sacrifice really fulfills the old covenant and really redeems us and changes the way we interact with the law of the Old Testament. So really take some time to critically think about these things. The final chapter for today is Deuteronomy 14 and it starts with ceremonially clean and unclean animals. Since you are the people of the Lord your God, never cut yourselves or shave the hair above your foreheads in mourning for the dead. You have been set apart as holy to the Lord your God, and he has chosen you from all the nations of the earth to be his own special treasure.

You must not eat any detestable animals that are ceremonially unclean. These are the animals you may eat the ox, the sheep, the goat, the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the attics, the antelope, and the mountain sheep. You may eat any animal that has completely split hooves and choose the cud, but if the animal doesn't have both, it may not be eaten, so you may not eat the camel, the hare, or the hyricks. They chew the cud, but do not have split hooves, so they are ceremonially unclean for you. And you may not eat the pig. It has split hooves, but does not chew the cud, so it is ceremonially unclean for you. You may not eat the meat of these animals or even touch their carcasses. Of all the marine animals, you may eat whatever

has both fins and scales. You may not, however, eat marine animals that do not have both fins and scales. They are ceremonially unclean for you. You may eat any bird that is ceremonially clean. These are the birds you may not eat. The griffin vulture. The bearded vulture. The kite. The falcon.

Buzzards of all kinds. Ravens of all kinds. The eagle owl. The short-eared owl. The seagull. Hawks of all kinds. The little owl. The great owl.

The barn owl. The desert owl. the Egyptian vulture, the cormorant, the stork, herons of all kinds, the hoopoe, and the bat. All winged insects that walk along the ground are ceremonially unclean for you and may not be eaten. But you may eat any winged bird or insect that is ceremonially clean. You must not eat anything that has died a natural death. You may give it to a foreigner living in your town, or you may sell it to a stranger, but do not eat it yourself. For you are set apart as holy to the Lord your God.

You must not cook a young goat in its mother's milk. So pause there. This is a lot of information that we've heard in the laws before, but remember Moses is re-giving this information to the current Israelites, but why does God have these rules about which animals they can? and cannot eat. And why, for example, might the list of birds include a lot of birds of prey? Why might that make those birds ceremonially unclean? Okay, so the last section for this episode is the giving of tithes, Deuteronomy 14 verse 22. You must set aside a tithe of your crops, one-tenth of all the crops you harvest each year. Bring this tithe to the designated place of worship.

the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored and eat it there in his presence. This applies to your tides of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn males of your flocks and herds. Doing this will teach you always to fear the Lord your God. So pause there. Why has God put this law about tithing in place for the Israelites? What are they supposed to give to God? how are they supposed to give these tithes to God? What are they doing with these tides? And what broader message is this ideal teaching us about giving and having a giving spirit?

How is our giving and tithing different now in modern day in light of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and the new covenant coming in to replace and fulfill the old covenant? How does that change the way we look at this scripture? Verse 24. Now, when the Lord your God blesses you with a good harvest, the place of worship he chooses for his name to be honored might be too far for you to bring the tithe. If so, you may sell the tithe portion of your crops and herds,

put the money in a pouch, and go to the place the Lord your God has chosen. When you arrive, you may use the money to buy any kind of food, you want, cattle, sheep, goats, wine, or other alcoholic drink. Then feast there in the presence of the Lord your God and celebrate with your household. And do not neglect the Levites in your town, for they will receive no allotment of land among you. At the end of every third year, bring the entire tithe of that year's harvest and store it in the nearest town. Give it to the Levites who will receive no allotment of land among you, as well as to the foreigners living among you, the orphans and the widows

in your towns so they can eat and be satisfied. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all your work. So pause there. In that section, what other purpose did the tithing serve in society? And what does all of this teaching about tithing teach us about God and how we should position our hearts? where is God supposed to be? Is he supposed to come first or is he supposed to come after something else? So in modern times where we're living right now is tithing supposed to be a legalistic thing we have to do to check off on a list? Or is it something we do out of our love for God and a desire to put him first? Okay, so that's where we're going to stop today. And when we pick up next week, we're going to keep going through these laws that Moses is reminding the Israelites of.

I hope that you are enjoying going through Deuteronomy as we're going through it a little bit at a time. Keep reaching out. We've got social media and email address and all that good stuff in the description of the podcast. I love hearing from you guys. And I am continuing to record as much as I can. and it's just honestly been such a huge blessing to hear how many of you out there God is speaking to through this podcast. So I really appreciate that.

And I hope you're enjoying it. And I will talk to you in the next one.