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  • Deuteronomy 8

    Deuteronomy 8

    Editor’s Note

    As we start this new book, here is a head’s up that we’ll be going back to our normal six chapters per week rhythm as we read through Deuteronomy. Sundays will go back to being a rest (or catch-up) day. For an overview (or refresher) on Deuteronomy, click here.

    We want this to continue to be a helpful resource, so invite someone to read along with you! To sign up and receive the BRP daily in your inbox, go to www.biblereadingplan.org and scroll to the bottom of the page! 

    Read Deuteronomy 8

    Do Not Forget the Lord

    8 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lordpromised on oath to your ancestors. 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and testyou in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teachyou that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.

    6 Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to himand revering him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; 8 a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9 a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.

    10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the Lordyour God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied,14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth,and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

    19 If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. 20 Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.

    Go Deeper

    Deuteronomy 8 calls the people of Israel to remember the Lord their God and all that he has done for them in the past. This remembrance calls to mind God’s nature as a provider for us. Throughout this chapter, the writer highlights ways that the Lord has provided for Israel in the past, is providing for them now, and will provide for them in the future–both on this earth and forever in eternity.

    In the past, God carried the Israelites out of Egypt, dwelt with them personally, and led them every step of the way through the wilderness (v. 2). The Lord fed his people with manna daily, even when they grumbled and complained against Him. What a perfect reminder of the way that the Lord provides us with our daily bread even when we have done nothing to deserve it from him. Their clothing did not wear out even though they wandered for years and years, and the Lord preserved their health and wellbeing (v. 4). He was the provider and sustainer of the Israelites in the past, and, as the chapter continues, we see He is still providing for and sustaining them in the present.

    Verse 7 tells the Israelites about the land that the Lord is bringing them to, “a good land…of olive trees and honey” (v. 7-9). If the Lord was so closely acquainted with their needs and provided for them in the past, what would make the Israelites think that He wouldn’t do the same in the future?

    In verses 7-10 we are given a wonderful description of the beautiful land the Israelites are being led to. And this promise is just a small image of the eternal “promised land” that He has in store for those who know Him as Lord and savior. He is not just providing for our present and future needs here on earth, but he is also providing for us an eternal inheritance that is beyond our wildest imagination. John 14:2 tells us that Jesus has gone to prepare this place for us. We have eternity to look forward to! He promises to provide us a place without suffering or pain where we can worship Him forever and we will truly “lack nothing”(v. 9). Verse 18 tells us that this is all part of the covenant that He has made with His people, revealing that He is, by nature, a God who provides. 

    We don’t have to be discouraged by our circumstances because we know that God is providing for us presently and for our future just like he has provided for us in our past. More importantly, He will provide us with a perfect, beautiful union with Him for all of eternity.

    Verses 17 and 18 give the Israelites and us one last word as caution. They warn that against forgetting that God is the source of every blessing and provision we experience both in this age and in the age to come. Let us heed the call of Deuteronomy 8 and remember what God has provided for us in the past, recognize that he is providing for us even now, and hold fast to His promises for the future so that we may live with an eternal hope that shines a light in this dark world.

    Questions

    1. What are some examples of ways the Lord has provided for you in the past that you can use to encourage your faith in Him in the present?
    2. How consistently do you remember that the Lord is the source of every blessing in your life by thanking Him for what He’s given you?
    3. How does Deuteronomy 8 help you live with eternal hope?

    Did You Know?

    The name of God Jehovah Jireh meaning “The Lord will provide” comes from the book of Genesis. In Genesis 22 the Lord provides a ram for sacrifice in place of Issac, and Abraham names the mountain “the Lord will provide.” Since the beginning of creation, the Lord has been a provider!

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  • Deuteronomy 7

    Deuteronomy 7

    Editor’s Note

    As we start this new book, here is a head’s up that we’ll be going back to our normal six chapters per week rhythm as we read through Deuteronomy. Sundays will go back to being a rest (or catch-up) day. For an overview (or refresher) on Deuteronomy, click here.

    We want this to continue to be a helpful resource, so invite someone to read along with you! To sign up and receive the BRP daily in your inbox, go to www.biblereadingplan.org and scroll to the bottom of the page! 

    Read Deuteronomy 7

    Driving Out the Nations

    7 When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites,Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you— 2 and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally.[a] Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. 3 Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4 for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. 5 This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles[b] and burn their idols in the fire. 6 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lordyour God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.

    7 The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. 10 But

    those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction;
        he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.

    11 Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.

    12 If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your ancestors. 13 He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land—your grain, new wine and olive oil—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you. 14 You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor will any of your livestock be without young. 15 The Lord will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all who hate you. 16 You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God gives over to you. Do not look on them with pityand do not serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you.

    17 You may say to yourselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?” 18 But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. 19 You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lordyour God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear. 20 Moreover, the Lord your God will send the hornet among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished. 21 Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God. 22 The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. 23 But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed. 24 He will give their kingsinto your hand, and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand up against you; you will destroy them. 25 The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire. Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the Lord your God. 26 Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Regard it as vile and utterly detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.

    Go Deeper

    At the beginning of Deuteronomy 7, God reminds Israel they are set apart as His. He sovereignly chooses Israel as His people and showers His love and compassion on them. His love is not based on Israel being the best, the greatest, or the strongest. God elected them as His chosen people as a free gift to them they could never repay. However, the Lord instructs Israel to cast off any idols and corruption in order for them to reach the Promised Land. They are also instructed to eliminate the Canaanites. God wants them to walk in obedience since He offers them a life that is better than anything they could imagine.

    In verses 12 through 19, Moses reminds the Israelites that blessings will come if they are obedient. This is a promise the Lord makes to them, and the Lord is not a promise-breaker. However, Israel is terrified of the Canaanites since there are so many of them. In the final verses, Moses reminds the Israelites of God’s previous faithfulness and provision and tells them not to fear the Canaanites. Then Moses instructs them not to take the Canaanites’ belongings or covet anything that the Lord did not give them. It is clear the Lord hates idols.

    One key takeaway from this chapter is found in verses 7 through 9. The Israelites have done nothing remarkable to obtain God’s favor, but God chooses them because He loves them. Verse 7 even says that the Lord has “set his love” on them. He is fixated on the Israelites and deeply desires them. This is true of us. We did not earn our way to a relationship with God nor did we do anything remarkable to prove ourselves, but the Lord has set His gaze upon His chosen people simply because He loves.

    Additionally, we are reminded of God’s faithfulness and promises, and we can be confident in the promises He makes. However, like the Israelites, we are forgetful. Our failure and flesh can get in the way of us reflecting on God’s faithfulness. We are tempted to worship things besides God alone. Despite the ways God knows the Israelites can and will fall short, the Lord blatantly tells Israel He will make them prosperous against the Canaanites. They are still afraid, but even in their fear, God grants them favor over their enemies. What a truth to hold onto! Even in our fear and doubt, the Lord is unchanging and good. 

    Questions

    1. If you remember that the Lord has fixed His love on you, how would that change the way you view yourself and others?
    2. How can you reflect on the Lord’s faithfulness in a time of doubt or fear?
    3. How can you remember to walk obediently with the Lord, not to earn God’s favor but as a result of God’s favor?

    A Quote

    Pastor David Guzik, in his Enduring Word commentary, says the following about the beginning of this chapter: 

    “This principle of battle until absolute victory is the key to victory as we take the Promised Land of blessing and peace God has for us in Jesus. We show no mercy to our enemies in the land, but we destroy them utterly. Many of us, truth be told, simply do not want to completely destroy the sins which keep us from God’s Promised Land of blessing and peace – we want to weaken them, and have some control over them, but we do not want to utterly destroy them.”

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  • Deuteronomy 6

    Deuteronomy 6

    Editor’s Note

    As we start this new book, here is a head’s up that we’ll be going back to our normal six chapters per week rhythm as we read through Deuteronomy. Sundays will go back to being a rest (or catch-up) day. For an overview (or refresher) on Deuteronomy, click here.

    We want this to continue to be a helpful resource, so invite someone to read along with you! To sign up and receive the BRP daily in your inbox, go to www.biblereadingplan.org and scroll to the bottom of the page! 

    Read Deuteronomy 6

    Love the Lord Your God

    6 These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fearthe Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. 3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

    4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

    10 When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

    13 Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; 15 for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. 16 Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah. 17 Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. 18 Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lordpromised on oath to your ancestors, 19 thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said.

    20 In the future, when your son asks you, “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?”21 tell him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 Before our eyes the Lord sent signs and wonders—great and terrible—on Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. 23 But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land he promised on oath to our ancestors. 24 The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. 25 And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.”

    Go Deeper

    We have read so far in Deuteronomy a review of the history of the Israelities, a renewal of the covenant between God and His people, and the coming fulfillment of the land promise to Abraham’s descendants back in Genesis 12. Moses is now recapping the Law and going over the relational stipulations for possessing the Promised Land. In chapter 5, Moses reviews the 10 commandments and calls them to walk in obedience (5:33). The Mosaic Covenant was conditional, meaning that they could obey and prosper or disobey and perish. Their future depended on their faithfulness, and faithfulness looked like following God’s commands. In this passage, the Israelities are commanded to love God above all else. This is summarized in what is called the Shema, which in Hebrew means “hear” or “listen”. The Shema is one of the most significant passages of Scripture for the Israelities. It was cited at the beginning of worship for hundreds of years and is still used in the Jewish faith in synagogues today.

    The Shema is one of the most famous prayers in the Bible (v. 4-9). The prayer begins, “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Moses is telling the Israelites to listen and to obey what they hear. He is reminding them that the Lord is one. The concept of God being one is significant because it was in complete contrast to the polytheistic cultures surrounding the Israelites for many generations. In the Canaanite territory, people were worshiping numerous pagan gods and goddesses. Monotheism set Israel apart in the ancient world. God is one yet also triune: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Israel needed to follow the one true God as they entered into the Promised Land and not fall into worship of the false gods of the day.  

    The prayer continues, “You shall love the Lord God with all of your heart, with all of your soul and with all might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.” God wants us to love Him with our whole self. He wants us to love Him with every fiber of our being and that love to be evident in everything we do. For the nation of Israel, loving God meant obeying His Word. Jesus repeats this in Mark 12:28-30 when He is asked what the greatest commandment is. Jesus tells them that it is loving God with all of our heart, soul, and might, and loving our neighbor as ourself. The Shema also states, “You shall teach [these words] diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise.” In order to teach God’s Word to our children, we must first treasure it in our own hearts. 

    The prayer ends saying, “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorpost of your house and on your gates.” It is a Jewish tradition to place a mezuzah (a small piece of parchment) on the doorpost with Scripture on it. Some Jewish traditions also apply this verse by using phylacteries, which are small leather boxes that literally contain the Law of Moses in it. It is strapped around the wrist and over a person’s head. For us today, binding God’s Word on us looks like remembering it and meditating on it day and night. God’s Word should fill our hearts and minds as we go throughout our day. We love the Lord by remembering and holding fast to His Word.

    Questions

    1. Is the love of God your greatest motivation for everything you do? 
    2. What does it look like for you to write God’s Word on your heart? Is there a verse or passage you could memorize today? 
    3. Take some time today to reflect on the Shema. Think and pray about how the Lord has led you and how He has been faithful to you.

    Watch This

    Check out this helpful video from The Bible Project about the Shema!

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  • Deuteronomy 5

    Deuteronomy 5

    Editor’s Note

    As we start this new book, here is a head’s up that we’ll be going back to our normal six chapters per week rhythm as we read through Deuteronomy. Sundays will go back to being a rest (or catch-up) day. For an overview (or refresher) on Deuteronomy, click here.

    We want this to continue to be a helpful resource, so invite someone to read along with you! To sign up and receive the BRP daily in your inbox, go to www.biblereadingplan.org and scroll to the bottom of the page! 

    Read Deuteronomy 5

    The Ten Commandments

    5 Moses summoned all Israel and said:

    Hear, Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 It was not with our ancestors that the Lord made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today. 4 The Lord spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain. 5 (At that time I stood between the Lord and you to declare to you the word of the Lord, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:

    6 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

    7 “You shall have no other gods before me.

    8 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,10 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

    11 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

    12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,14 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

    16 “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

    17 “You shall not murder.

    18 “You shall not commit adultery.

    19 “You shall not steal.

    20 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

    21 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

    22 These are the commandments the Lord proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness; and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.

    23 When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leaders of your tribes and your elders came to me.24 And you said, “The Lord our God has shown us his glory and his majesty,and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a person can live even if God speaks with them. 25 But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we will die if we hear the voice of the Lordour God any longer. 26 For what mortal has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and survived? 27 Go near and listen to all that the Lord our God says. Then tell us whatever the Lord our God tells you. We will listen and obey.”

    28 The Lord heard you when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me, “I have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said was good.29 Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!

    30 “Go, tell them to return to their tents. 31 But you stay here with me so that I may give you all the commands, decrees and laws you are to teach them to follow in the land I am giving them to possess.”

    32 So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. 33 Walk in obedience to all that the Lordyour God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.

    Go Deeper

    Some families like to tell stories of joint memories or have “inside jokes” from shared experiences. While they may share these stories with younger generations, the details can fade, and the full meaning can become diluted over time. The memories may not hold as much emotion, and the inside jokes just aren’t as funny. We walk into this type of situation in Deuteronomy 5.

    When we first read this chapter, it may seem like a simple repetition of Exodus 20 (when God spoke to the Israelites and gave them the Ten Commandments). While the words of the commandments are the same as in Exodus, the context is completely different. The Israelites in Deuteronomy were a different group of people with a different plan than those in Exodus. 

    The Exodus group had lived around and among the Egyptian deities and beliefs for all their lives. Moses came, and God delivered them from the plagues, the passover, and the Red Sea. Then, God Himself spoke directly to them, setting out the Ten Commandments, teaching them how to be faithful to the one, true God, and how He was different from all the other gods they knew. 

    About 40 years later, Moses calls the Israelites together and we see the beginning of his speech in Chapter 5. The Deuteronomy Israelites are the next generation, and they are warriors. They were raised by the Exodus generation and had heard all the stories. They just defeated other nations and are preparing to settle the Promised Land. Moses gathers and reminds them of the Ten Commandments and God’s faithfulness. He does this to reinforce that their God is the one, true God, and warn them not to be led astray by other gods they will encounter in the new lands. 

    In verses 32-33, Moses declares why this is so important:

    “So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.”

    It is for the people’s good. This is true for us, as well. God gives us the Ten Commandments, Jesus’s teachings, and the whole Bible, for our own good. God is true and faithful whether we follow His words or not. All the gods of Egypt, the deities encountered in the Promised Land, or the idols we see in our society require something from their believers to receive favor, but not our God. He made us; He knows us; He loves us; and He gave His son Jesus for us. He knows the way.  God gave us His commandments so that we may know the way too, and can “live and prosper” with Him. Not to hold us back by rules and regulations, but to free us through obedience to His all-knowing wisdom.

    Questions

    1. Re-read the Ten Commandments, verses 6-21. Which command feels restricting? How might God’s wisdom in that command protect and free you?
    2. What are two practical ways you can carefully follow that command today?
    3. What does this chapter teach us about God’s character?

    By the Way

    A mechanical translation of Hebrew in verse 32 is “you will safeguard to do just as YHWH your Elohiym directed you…”  The Hebrew word used for safeguard is šāmar meaning “to guard” or “to keep.” It is the same word used in Genesis 2 when God put man in the Garden of Eden to guard or keep it.

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  • Rest Day

    Rest Day

    Rest Day

    Today is a Rest Day. There is no new Bible reading to do. Today, the goal is simple: rest in the presence of God. Maybe you need to use today to get caught up on the reading plan if you’re behind, maybe you want to journal what you’re learning so you don’t forget what God is teaching you, or maybe you want to spend time in concentrated prayer–do that. Above all, just spend time in God’s presence.

    Understanding Israel’s Rebellion

    Interested in learning more about what happened right before Deuteronomy? Check out this helpful blog post from The Bible Project to understand Israel’s rebellion in the book of Numbers right before Deuteronomy took place.

    Worship With Us

    Join us in person or online at 9a, 11a, or 7p at harriscreek.org/live. We’d love to worship with you! We also desire to connect everyone with a local church body where they can thrive in community and use their gifts to serve. If you’re following our Bible Reading Plan from outside of Waco and are eager to get connected with a great local church, email us at [email protected].

    Leave a Comment Below
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  • Deuteronomy 4

    Deuteronomy 4

    Editor’s Note

    As we start this new book, here is a head’s up that we’ll be going back to our normal six chapters per week rhythm as we read through Deuteronomy. Sundays will go back to being a rest (or catch-up) day. For an overview (or refresher) on Deuteronomy, click here.

    We want this to continue to be a helpful resource, so invite someone to read along with you! To sign up and receive the BRP daily in your inbox, go to www.biblereadingplan.org and scroll to the bottom of the page! 

    Read Deuteronomy 4

    Obedience Commanded

    4 Now, Israel, hear the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. 2 Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.

    3 You saw with your own eyes what the Lord did at Baal Peor. The Lord your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor,4 but all of you who held fast to the Lord your God are still alive today.

    5 See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commandedme, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdomand understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” 7 What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lordour God is near us whenever we pray to him? 8 And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?

    9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.10 Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teachthem to their children.” 11 You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. 12 Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. 13 He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. 14 And the Lord directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.

    Idolatry Forbidden

    15 You saw no form of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, 16 so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, 17 or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, 18 or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. 19 And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticedinto bowing down to them and worshiping things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. 20 But as for you, the Lord took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of his inheritance, as you now are.

    21 The Lord was angry with me because of you, and he solemnly swore that I would not cross the Jordan and enter the good land the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance. 22 I will die in this land; I will not cross the Jordan; but you are about to cross over and take possession of that good land. 23 Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. 24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

    25 After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evilin the eyes of the Lord your God and arousing his anger, 26 I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. 27 The Lord will scatteryou among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. 28 There you will worship man-made godsof wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. 29 But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lordyour God and obey him. 31 For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.

    The Lord Is God

    32 Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? 33 Has any other people heard the voice of Godspeaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? 34 Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?

    35 You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other. 36 From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. 37 Because he loved your ancestors and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength, 38 to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today.

    39 Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. 40 Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time.

    Cities of Refuge

    41 Then Moses set aside three cities east of the Jordan, 42 to which anyone who had killed a person could flee if they had unintentionally killed a neighbor without malice aforethought. They could flee into one of these cities and save their life. 43 The cities were these: Bezer in the wilderness plateau, for the Reubenites; Ramoth in Gilead, for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, for the Manassites.

    Introduction to the Law

    44 This is the law Moses set before the Israelites. 45 These are the stipulations, decrees and laws Moses gave them when they came out of Egypt 46 and were in the valley near Beth Peor east of the Jordan, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses and the Israelites as they came out of Egypt. 47 They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan. 48 This land extended from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge to Mount Sirion (that is, Hermon), 49 and included all the Arabah east of the Jordan, as far as the Dead Sea, below the slopes of Pisgah.

    Go Deeper

    Spoiler alert: the very next chapter in Deuteronomy is one of the most important in the entire Old Testament. Since that’s the case, it only increases the necessity for us to understand today’s reading. Deuteronomy 4 is a set up to the giving of the 10 Commandments and explains why they will be so important for the people of God. These are not given just so that the Israelites follow rules to make sure God isn’t mad at them. His commands will give them order so that others might see that they live with divine wisdom and understanding. As Moses says in verse 40, these instructions are given so that it might go well for the people of God. Furthermore, these directions aren’t an example of God distancing Himself from His people, but rather moving toward them (v. 7). He wants to show them the way of life that will not only honor Him, but benefit them.

    The problem is that Moses reminds the people that if they are not careful, they will forget what God has said and done. He says multiple times, “Only take care, lest you forget”. While the people might initially feel like the commands are a blessing, they can become a burden without the proper context. This is why Moses instructs the old to teach the young about the faithfulness of the Lord. He has been their savior and sustainer time and time again, and they must retell the story so they don’t forget. He didn’t leave them in slavery, but delivered them from it. In a similar way, these commands are given so that the people of God don’t fall slavery to sin. These instructions will serve as a guardrail so that they don’t forsake the Lord to follow other gods.

    We must also remind ourselves that the law of the Lord is for our benefit. He is not just out to make sure we follow rules, but He wants to give us the path that leads to life. Take great care to not forget what He has done for you! If you believe in Him, He has saved you from the death that you deserved so that you might have a life of abundance. Follow his decrees, and remind others of his faithfulness so that it might go well for you!

     

    Questions

    1. What most stood out to you about this passage?
    2. Where have you seen God’s faithfulness in your life?
    3. What are some ways that you can remind yourself of God’s faithfulness? Who in your life is God putting on your heart to remind of His faithfulness?

    Keep Digging

    Moses mentioned in this chapter that God was not allowing him to enter into the promised land. Do you know why? Check out this article from GotQuestions.org for an explanation.

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  • Deuteronomy 3

    Deuteronomy 3

    Editor’s Note

    As we start this new book, here is a head’s up that we’ll be going back to our normal six chapters per week rhythm as we read through Deuteronomy. Sundays will go back to being a rest (or catch-up) day. For an overview (or refresher) on Deuteronomy, click here.

    We want this to continue to be a helpful resource, so invite someone to read along with you! To sign up and receive the BRP daily in your inbox, go to www.biblereadingplan.org and scroll to the bottom of the page! 

    Read Deuteronomy 3

    Defeat of Og King of Bashan

    3 Next we turned and went up along the road toward Bashan, and Og king of Bashan with his whole army marched out to meet us in battle at Edrei.2 The Lord said to me, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.”

    3 So the Lord our God also gave into our hands Og king of Bashan and all his army. We struck them down, leaving no survivors. 4 At that time we took all his cities. There was not one of the sixty cities that we did not take from them—the whole region of Argob, Og’s kingdom in Bashan. 5 All these cities were fortified with high walls and with gates and bars, and there were also a great many unwalled villages. 6 We completely destroyed them, as we had done with Sihon king of Heshbon, destroying every city—men, women and children. 7 But all the livestock and the plunder from their cities we carried off for ourselves.

    8 So at that time we took from these two kings of the Amorites the territory east of the Jordan, from the Arnon Gorge as far as Mount Hermon.9 (Hermon is called Sirion by the Sidonians; the Amorites call it Senir.) 10 We took all the towns on the plateau, and all Gilead, and all Bashan as far as Salekah and Edrei, towns of Og’s kingdom in Bashan. 11 (Og king of Bashan was the last of the Rephaites. His bed was decorated with iron and was more than nine cubits long and four cubits wide. It is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites.)

    Division of the Land

    12 Of the land that we took over at that time, I gave the Reubenites and the Gadites the territory north of Aroer by the Arnon Gorge, including half the hill country of Gilead, together with its towns. 13 The rest of Gilead and also all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (The whole region of Argob in Bashan used to be known as a land of the Rephaites. 14 Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, took the whole region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maakathites; it was named after him, so that to this day Bashan is called Havvoth Jair.) 15 And I gave Gilead to Makir. 16 But to the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave the territory extending from Gilead down to the Arnon Gorge (the middle of the gorge being the border) and out to the Jabbok River, which is the border of the Ammonites. 17 Its western border was the Jordan in the Arabah, from Kinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea), below the slopes of Pisgah.

    18 I commanded you at that time: “The Lord your God has given you this land to take possession of it. But all your able-bodied men, armed for battle, must cross over ahead of the other Israelites. 19 However, your wives, your children and your livestock (I know you have much livestock) may stay in the towns I have given you, 20 until the Lord gives rest to your fellow Israelites as he has to you, and they too have taken over the land that the Lord your God is giving them across the Jordan. After that, each of you may go back to the possession I have given you.”

    Moses Forbidden to Cross the Jordan

    21 At that time I commanded Joshua: “You have seen with your own eyes all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. The Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms over there where you are going. 22 Do not be afraidof them; the Lord your God himself will fight for you.”

    23 At that time I pleaded with the Lord: 24 “Sovereign Lord, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your strong hand. For what godis there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works you do? 25 Let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan—that fine hill country and Lebanon.”

    26 But because of you the Lord was angry with me and would not listen to me. “That is enough,” the Lord said. “Do not speak to me anymore about this matter. 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and look west and north and south and east. Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross this Jordan. 28 But commission Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.” 29 So we stayed in the valley near Beth Peor.

    Go Deeper

    The third chapter of Deuteronomy is a continuation of the previous two chapters as Moses remembers all that Israel has been through. Right in the middle of this remembrance of the march on to Canaan and the appointment of Joshua, Moses makes a bold proclamation of his faith. Deuteronomy 3:22 says, “Do not be afraid of them; the Lord your God himself will fight for you.”

    Fear is a battle for many of us. Fear of the unknown. Fear of failure. Fear of sickness. Fear of rejection. Fear of change. The list could go on and on. Just as Moses reminded Joshua that he did not need to be afraid of the challenges set before him, God divinely preserved this scripture to remind us that we don’t have to be afraid.

    God doesn’t just command us to not be afraid, though. He gives us an explanation as to why we don’t need to be afraid. We don’t have to waste the time, energy, and emotional/physical strength battling all the fears that plague us because the Lord is already fighting those battles on our behalf! The million dollar question of “How do you fight fear?” is succinctly answered here: By trusting in the God who fights for you.

    In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses models for us that an important step in trusting God is to remember what God has done for you. We just read a few chapters ago in Deuteronomy 1:30-31 “The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.” Moses desired for the Israelites and Joshua to remember that they had faced some very real and challenging fears, but not only had the Lord carried them through, but He had gone before them and led them to where they were now, on the verge of finally entering the Promised Land.

    Psalm 139:5 says “You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.” God goes before us and comes behind us. Our finite minds have difficulty understanding his omnipresence, but scripture reminds us time and time again that it’s true. When the fear starts to bubble up and cloud our view of the Promised Land, we can boldly state “Do not be afraid, because the Lord your God fights for you” and then we confidently trust that he is.

    Questions

    1. What fears do you battle on a consistent basis?
    2. Do you have difficulty trusting God with those fears?
    3. Spend some time remembering how God has fought for you in the past. What steps can you take to trust God with your fears in the future?

    Listen Here

    Listen to the song “You’ve Already Won” from Shane & Shane and pay close attention to the following lyrics:

    “I don’t know what you’re doing 
    But I know what you’ve done 
    I’m fighting a battle that You’ve already won”

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  • Deuteronomy 2

    Deuteronomy 2

    Editor’s Note

    As we start this new book, here is a head’s up that we’ll be going back to our normal six chapters per week rhythm as we read through Deuteronomy. Sundays will go back to being a rest (or catch-up) day. For an overview (or refresher) on Deuteronomy, click here.

    We want this to continue to be a helpful resource, so invite someone to read along with you! To sign up and receive the BRP daily in your inbox, go to www.biblereadingplan.org and scroll to the bottom of the page! 

    Read Deuteronomy 2

    Wanderings in the Wilderness

    2 Then we turned back and set out toward the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea, as the Lord had directed me. For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir.

    2 Then the Lord said to me, 3 “You have made your way around this hill country long enough; now turn north. 4 Give the people these orders: ‘You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, but be very careful. 5 Do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own.6 You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.’”

    7 The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. These forty yearsthe Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.

    8 So we went on past our relatives the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned from the Arabah road, which comes up from Elath and Ezion Geber, and traveled along the desert road of Moab.

    9 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any part of their land. I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as a possession.”

    10 (The Emites used to live there—a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites. 11 Like the Anakites, they too were considered Rephaites,but the Moabites called them Emites. 12 Horites used to live in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out. They destroyed the Horites from before them and settled in their place, just as Israel did in the land the Lordgave them as their possession.)

    13 And the Lord said, “Now get up and cross the Zered Valley.” So we crossed the valley.

    14 Thirty-eight years passed from the time we left Kadesh Barnea until we crossed the Zered Valley. By then, that entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them. 15 The Lord’s hand was against them until he had completely eliminated them from the camp.

    16 Now when the last of these fighting men among the people had died,17 the Lord said to me, 18 “Today you are to pass by the region of Moab at Ar. 19 When you come to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them to war, for I will not give you possession of any land belonging to the Ammonites. I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot.”

    20 (That too was considered a land of the Rephaites, who used to live there; but the Ammonites called them Zamzummites. 21 They were a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites. The Lord destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place. 22 The Lord had done the same for the descendants of Esau, who lived in Seir,when he destroyed the Horites from before them. They drove them out and have lived in their place to this day. 23 And as for the Avvites who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorites coming out from Caphtor destroyed them and settled in their place.)

    Defeat of Sihon King of Heshbon

    24 “Set out now and cross the Arnon Gorge. See, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his country. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in battle. 25 This very day I will begin to put the terror and fear of you on all the nations under heaven. They will hear reports of you and will tremble and be in anguish because of you.”

    26 From the Desert of Kedemoth I sent messengers to Sihon king of Heshbon offering peace and saying, 27 “Let us pass through your country. We will stay on the main road; we will not turn aside to the right or to the left.28 Sell us food to eat and water to drink for their price in silver. Only let us pass through on foot— 29 as the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, and the Moabites, who live in Ar, did for us—until we cross the Jordan into the land the Lord our God is giving us.” 30 But Sihon king of Heshbon refused to let us pass through. For the Lord your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate in order to give him into your hands, as he has now done.

    31 The Lord said to me, “See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his country over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land.”

    32 When Sihon and all his army came out to meet us in battle at Jahaz, 33 the Lord our God delivered him over to us and we struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army. 34 At that time we took all his towns and completely destroyed them—men, women and children. We left no survivors.35 But the livestock and the plunder from the towns we had captured we carried off for ourselves. 36 From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge, and from the town in the gorge, even as far as Gilead, not one town was too strong for us. The Lord our God gave us all of them. 37 But in accordance with the command of the Lord our God, you did not encroach on any of the land of the Ammonites, neither the land along the course of the Jabbok nor that around the towns in the hills.

    Go Deeper

    Deuteronomy is the last book of the Torah, so it happens to glance back at the first four books. Chapter 2 of this book is a call to covenant faithfulness from the mouth Moses. As Moses recalls the 40 years they’ve just experienced, he reminds the people of Israel that the Lord was present in the same way that the Lord will continue to be with them. Moses specifically mentions the wilderness years to remind the people’s call to patience.

    Patience is known to be an esteemed virtue. It’s a fruit of the spirit (Galatians 6:9), an instruction during tribulation (Romans 12:12), and a posture to hear God (Psalm 40:1). The difficulty of patience is temptation in the perceivably delayed timing. While the people of Israel wandered through the wilderness, they were told to disengage with the people that were a source of opposition. God, the people of Israel, and the Land was something meant to have full integrity. When there was a threat coming close, God asked Israel to trust Him in His timing.

    We have been granted the privilege of similar things to the ancient people: a relationship with God, a kinship with others, and a place to call home. While we are on the journey of our faith walk, we can be met with opposition. Maybe the relationship with God has found a lull, relationships in life are fractured, or frequented environments are harshly opposing Christian values. Integrity is desired for these things, but there’s a possibility that an unideal season is meant as a reminder: we do not need to be the first line of defense for a matter that is already being worked by the One, True God.

    God is right alongside us, during the highest of our highs and the lowest of our lows. “The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything” (v. 7). As Moses glanced at a time of threatened integrity, he recalled that God offered blessing. We may need to be reminded that He is a God of provision and protection; we just need to be patient to watch it be worked out.

    Questions

    1. Set aside a few minutes to reflect on your own life. How has God been faithful with provision and protection to you thus far? What’s the most recent example you can think of?
    2. Have you invited God into the things you are trying to hold together with integrity?
    3. Who do you need to come alongside you as you are living out patience in this season?

    A Quote

    The twentieth century pastor and author A.W. Tozer said this about developing patience:

    “What then are we to do about our problems? We must learn to live with them until such time as God delivers us from them. We must pray for grace to endure them without murmuring. Problems patiently endured will work for our spiritual perfecting. They harm us only when we resist them or endure them unwillingly.”

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  • Deuteronomy 1

    Deuteronomy 1

    Editor’s Note

    As we start this new book, here is a head’s up that we’ll be going back to our normal six chapters per week rhythm as we read through Deuteronomy. Sundays will go back to being a rest (or catch-up) day.

    We want this to continue to be a helpful resource, so invite someone to read along with you! To sign up and receive the BRP daily in your inbox, go to www.biblereadingplan.org and scroll to the bottom of the page! 

    Deuteronomy Overview

    No matter how old we get, sometimes we need to be told something more than once. We all need to be reminded of what’s true and what’s good. In a nutshell, the entire book of Deuteronomy is Moses reminding the Israelites of the Law that had been given to them. This wasn’t, however, merely a carbon copy of the instructions given to the Israelites in Exodus and Leviticus. Instead it’s a restatement and retelling of the Law for a whole new generation of Israelites. 

    As a reminder, the Israelites had been wandering in the wilderness for some 40 years at this point. They were on the verge of entering the land that had been promised to them generations before. This was a huge moment in the life of the Israelites! But before they could settle the Promised Land, God wanted to reiterate his Covenant with them. They needed to be reminded of what the expectations were. Unlike the Abrahamic Covenant of Genesis (which was unconditional), the Mosaic Covenant was conditional: God would keep His promise to bless the Israelites if they remained faithful to Him. As Moses explains all of this to the next generation of Israelites, they have a choice to make: Will they wander away from God’s Law or remain faithful to it? 

    So, what can we learn by reading Deuteronomy? Any time we open up God’s Word, we can learn from it because God’s Word never returns void (Isaiah 55:11). The stories in Deuteronomy can help deepen our theology and shape what we believe to be true about God. Second, like the Israelites, we need constant reminders of what is true. We wander from what God has called us to be, so we need to be reminded over and over what is true (and what isn’t). Finally, Moses sums up the choice to pursue the things of God in this sermon found in Deuteronomy 30:19-20:

    This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life,and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

    As Christians reading the book of Deuteronomy, we’re reminded that choosing to follow Jesus means choosing life. By listening to His voice and holding fast to Him, we can live the life that God has intended for each one of us. As we read Deuteronomy together, take great notes, highlight the things that stick out to you along the way, and make connections to the New Testament. Above all, ask God each day what He wants you to learn and apply from this book.

    Read Deuteronomy 1

    The Command to Leave Horeb

    1 These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan—that is, in the Arabah—opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab. 2 (It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road.)

    3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them. 4 This was after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, and at Edrei had defeated Og king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth.

    5 East of the Jordan in the territory of Moab, Moses began to expound this law, saying:

    6 The Lord our God said to us at Horeb, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7 Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates. 8 See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the Lordswore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.”

    The Appointment of Leaders

    9 At that time I said to you, “You are too heavy a burden for me to carry alone. 10 The Lord your God has increased your numbers so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky. 11 May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised!12 But how can I bear your problems and your burdens and your disputes all by myself? 13 Choose some wise, understanding and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will set them over you.”

    14 You answered me, “What you propose to do is good.”

    15 So I took the leading men of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them to have authority over you—as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens and as tribal officials. 16 And I charged your judges at that time, “Hear the disputes between your people and judgefairly, whether the case is between two Israelites or between an Israelite and a foreigner residing among you. 17 Do not show partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be afraid of anyone, for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too hard for you, and I will hear it.” 18 And at that time I told you everything you were to do.

    Spies Sent Out

    19 Then, as the Lord our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites through all that vast and dreadful wilderness that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea.20 Then I said to you, “You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. 21 See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

    22 Then all of you came to me and said, “Let us send men ahead to spy out the land for us and bring back a report about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to.”

    23 The idea seemed good to me; so I selected twelve of you, one man from each tribe. 24 They left and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshkol and explored it. 25 Taking with them some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down to us and reported, “It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us.”

    Rebellion Against the Lord

    26 But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. 27 You grumbled in your tents and said, “The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. 28 Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.’”

    29 Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. 30 The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 31 and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”

    32 In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, 33 who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.

    34 When the Lord heard what you said, he was angry and solemnly swore:35 “No one from this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your ancestors, 36 except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly.”

    37 Because of you the Lord became angry with me also and said, “You shall not enter it, either. 38 But your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage him, because he will lead Israel to inherit it. 39 And the little ones that you said would be taken captive, your children who do not yet knowgood from bad—they will enter the land. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it. 40 But as for you, turn around and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.”

    41 Then you replied, “We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight, as the Lord our God commanded us.” So every one of you put on his weapons, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country.

    42 But the Lord said to me, “Tell them, ‘Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.’”

    43 So I told you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the Lord’s command and in your arrogance you marched up into the hill country. 44 The Amorites who lived in those hills came out against you; they chased you like a swarm of bees and beat you down from Seir all the way to Hormah. 45 You came back and wept before the Lord, but he paid no attention to your weeping and turned a deaf ear to you. 46 And so you stayed in Kadesh many days—all the time you spent there.

    Go Deeper

    One fun aspect of reading a book like Deuteronomy is that we’re able to picture the setting in our minds as the narrative plays out. The book of Deuteronomy (which means “second law”) takes place around 1406 BC, just to the east of the Jordan River. The Israelites, after about forty years of wandering because of the previous generation’s disobedience, are on the verge of entering the Promised Land. But there’s a catch: their leader wouldn’t be going with them. Moses, who had led the Israelites for decades, wouldn’t be allowed to enter the Promised Land due to his own disobedience (see Numbers 20:1-13). With the Israelites all gathered around, Moses has one final chance to address his people before he would pass away. 

    What unfolds over the next 34 chapters is a mashup of sermons, history lessons, a review of the Law, and a final motivational speech to remind the Israelites to remain faithful to the Covenant they had established with God. The word “remember” is scattered throughout the pages of Deuteronomy fifteen different times. It is evident Moses wanted to make something clear to this new generation: it’s important to learn from the mistakes (and faithfulness!) of those who came before you. As he begins the recounting of history, he reminds them of how they ended up near the Promised Land (v. 6-8), the appointment of leaders over smaller groups of Israelites (v. 9-18), and the sending out of the spies (v. 19-25), and ultimately, the rebellion of Israel and Moses (v. 26-46). He points them to these past failures as a way to remind them to move forward into the Promised Land abiding in the Lord and following His commands.

    As we read this chapter (and book) through the lens of twenty-first century Christ followers, we have an opportunity to learn from the mistakes of the Israelites. Each time they rebelled, it strained their covenant with God. While we’re under the New Covenant because of Jesus, we still have a tendency to forget God’s faithfulness to us in our own lives. In the same way Moses wanted the Israelites to stop and remember, it would benefit us to do the same. Remember the times that God has shown you grace. Remember the times God blessed you abundantly. Remember those seminal moments in your life when you knew without a shadow of a doubt that God was on the move. God designed our brains to remember. We’re all standing on the shoulders of those whose faith came before us and, much like the Israelites, we need to stop and remember His faithfulness today.

    Questions

    1. What stuck out to you in this chapter? Were there any stories Moses told the Israelites that were new to you or that you had forgotten?
    2. Why does Moses begin Deuteronomy with a history lesson for the Israelites?
    3. As you take time to remember God’s hand on your life, what are 2-3 moments that stick out most to you? It could be times that you saw God move, times you repented and were shown grace, etc.

    Watch This!

    As we begin this journey through Deuteronomy, check out this helpful video overview from The Bible Project!

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  • Proverbs 31

    Proverbs 31

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    As we begin a new year, we’ll be studying the book of Proverbs for the first 31 days of the year. The new year is a great opportunity to invite your friends, families, and Life Groups to read along with you in 2023. If you missed the first day’s reading or are looking for an overview of the book, click here to catch up!

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    Read Proverbs 31

    Sayings of King Lemuel

    31 The sayings of King Lemuel—an inspired utterance his mother taught him.

    2 Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb!
        Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers!
    3 Do not spend your strength on women,
        your vigor on those who ruin kings.

    4 It is not for kings, Lemuel—
        it is not for kings to drink wine,
        not for rulers to crave beer,
    5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed,
        and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.
    6 Let beer be for those who are perishing,
        wine for those who are in anguish!
    7 Let them drink and forget their poverty
        and remember their misery no more.

    8 Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
        for the rights of all who are destitute.
    9 Speak up and judge fairly;
        defend the rights of the poor and needy.

    Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character

    10 A wife of noble character who can find?
        She is worth far more than rubies.
    11 Her husband has full confidence in her
        and lacks nothing of value.
    12 She brings him good, not harm,
        all the days of her life.
    13 She selects wool and flax
        and works with eager hands.
    14 She is like the merchant ships,
        bringing her food from afar.
    15 She gets up while it is still night;
        she provides food for her family
        and portions for her female servants.
    16 She considers a field and buys it;
        out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
    17 She sets about her work vigorously;
        her arms are strong for her tasks.
    18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
        and her lamp does not go out at night.
    19 In her hand she holds the distaff
        and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
    20 She opens her arms to the poor
        and extends her hands to the needy.
    21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
        for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
    22 She makes coverings for her bed;
        she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
    23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
        where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
    24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
        and supplies the merchants with sashes.
    25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
        she can laugh at the days to come.
    26 She speaks with wisdom,
        and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
    27 She watches over the affairs of her household
        and does not eat the bread of idleness.
    28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
        her husband also, and he praises her:
    29 “Many women do noble things,
        but you surpass them all.”
    30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
        but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
    31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
        and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

    Go Deeper

    Today we’ve made it to the last chapter of the Book of Proverbs, the infamous Proverbs 31. This chapter of the Bible is well-known for great reason as it includes the description of the wife of noble character (v. 10-31). The chapter is often quoted and referenced in describing what has come to be known as the “Proverbs 31 Woman.”

     The first nine verses include a challenge from a mother to her son when she encourages him to defend the rights of the afflicted and to speak up for those who cannot speak for or defend themselves. This is certainly not just appropriate for King Lemuel and those in leadership, but rather for every one of us to speak up for those who need a voice. Proverbs 31:10-31 describes the wife of noble character who is hard to find and priceless and of great value. While the passage describes a godly wife, there’s so much for us all to learn from this chapter. Whether you are male or female, old or young, married or single, student or grandparent, take note of some of the characteristics we can all strive for in life and character.

    First, we see how hard she works (i.e., v. 13, 15, 17). Contrast this with the sluggard seen many times in prior chapters of Proverbs. She’s not idle, she rises early, and she stays up late. How are you doing at your work? Whatever season of life you’re in, would others say you work hard? 

    Second, we see how well she serves those around her. She serves her family (v. 15) and “extends her hands to the needy” (v. 20). When we serve like this woman, we serve like Jesus who did not come to be served but to serve others (Mark 10:45).

     Third, we see how faithful the woman is in all she does. She plants a vineyard (v.16), planning for the future. Bad weather doesn’t hold her or her family back because she’s faithfully planned ahead (v. 21). In doing this, she’s like our Lord who, even when we’re faithless, is faithful (2 Timothy 2:13).

     Last, and we could say much more about her, she fears the Lord. We see repeatedly in the book of Proverbs that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. She is extraordinarily wise in every way. Again, every one of us has much we can learn from this wife of noble character.

    Questions

    1. How do you do at speaking out for those who have no voice or cannot defend themselves (v. 8-9)?
    2. What’s one way you can grow as you follow Jesus—working harder, serving others, faithfulness, or your fear of the Lord?
    3. Who is someone you know who exemplifies what the wife of noble character looks like? Send them a text and encourage them for their faithfulness.

    Watch This!

    JP preached a sermon at The Porch at Watermark Community Church on Proverbs 31 called “Six Qualities to Look For In a Wife”. Whether you’re male or female, single or married, check out this great sermon to learn more about Proverbs 31.

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