God's Call to Obedience: Deuteronomy 1:1-3:20

From: The Place of Blessing: Bible Talks on Deuteronomy

Narrator: Ivona Gentwo

Deuteronomy 1:1‑3:20 • 4 min. read • grade level: 10

Deuteronomy 1:1-3:20¹These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab. ²(There are eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadesh-barnea.) ³And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the Lord had given him in commandment unto them; ⁴After he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, which dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, which dwelt at Astaroth in Edrei: ⁵On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying, ⁶The Lord our God spake unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount: ⁷Turn you, and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates. ⁸Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them. ⁹And I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone: ¹⁰The Lord your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude. ¹¹(The Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!) ¹²How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife? ¹³Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you. ¹⁴And ye answered me, and said, The thing which thou hast spoken is good for us to do. ¹⁵So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes. ¹⁶And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. ¹⁷Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it unto me, and I will hear it. ¹⁸And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should do. ¹⁹And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which ye saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-barnea. ²⁰And I said unto you, Ye are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which the Lord our God doth give unto us. ²¹Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged. ²²And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come. ²³And the saying pleased me well: and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe: ²⁴And they turned and went up into the mountain, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out. ²⁵And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the Lord our God doth give us. ²⁶Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God: ²⁷And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. ²⁸Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there. ²⁹Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them. ³⁰The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes; ³¹And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place. ³²Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God, ³³Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to show you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day. ³⁴And the Lord heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying, ³⁵Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers, ³⁶Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the Lord. ³⁷Also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither. ³⁸But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. ³⁹Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it. ⁴⁰But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea. ⁴¹Then ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the Lord, we will go up and fight, according to all that the Lord our God commanded us. And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill. ⁴²And the Lord said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies. ⁴³So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hill. ⁴⁴And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah. ⁴⁵And ye returned and wept before the Lord; but the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you. ⁴⁶So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there. ¹Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as the Lord spake unto me: and we compassed mount Seir many days. ²And the Lord spake unto me, saying, ³Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward. ⁴And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore: ⁵Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession. ⁶Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink. ⁷For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing. ⁸And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath, and from Ezion-gaber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab. ⁹And the Lord said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession. ¹⁰The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; ¹¹Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites call them Emims. ¹²The Horims also dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel did unto the land of his possession, which the Lord gave unto them. ¹³Now rise up, said I, and get you over the brook Zered. And we went over the brook Zered. ¹⁴And the space in which we came from Kadesh-barnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the Lord sware unto them. ¹⁵For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed. ¹⁶So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people, ¹⁷That the Lord spake unto me, saying, ¹⁸Thou art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this day: ¹⁹And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession. ²⁰(That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims; ²¹A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the Lord destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead: ²²As he did to the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims from before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even unto this day: ²³And the Avims which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah, the Caphtorims, which came forth out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.) ²⁴Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle. ²⁵This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee. ²⁶And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying, ²⁷Let me pass through thy land: I will go along by the high way, I will neither turn unto the right hand nor to the left. ²⁸Thou shalt sell me meat for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: only I will pass through on my feet; ²⁹(As the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did unto me;) until I shall pass over Jordan into the land which the Lord our God giveth us. ³⁰But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the Lord thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day. ³¹And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land. ³²Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz. ³³And the Lord our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. ³⁴And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain: ³⁵Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took. ³⁶From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the Lord our God delivered all unto us: ³⁷Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the Lord our God forbad us. ¹Then we turned, and went up the way to Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. ²And the Lord said unto me, Fear him not: for I will deliver him, and all his people, and his land, into thy hand; and thou shalt do unto him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon. ³So the Lord our God delivered into our hands Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people: and we smote him until none was left to him remaining. ⁴And we took all his cities at that time, there was not a city which we took not from them, threescore cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. ⁵All these cities were fenced with high walls, gates, and bars; beside unwalled towns a great many. ⁶And we utterly destroyed them, as we did unto Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children, of every city. ⁷But all the cattle, and the spoil of the cities, we took for a prey to ourselves. ⁸And we took at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites the land that was on this side Jordan, from the river of Arnon unto mount Hermon; ⁹(Which Hermon the Sidonians call Sirion; and the Amorites call it Shenir;) ¹⁰All the cities of the plain, and all Gilead, and all Bashan, unto Salchah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. ¹¹For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man. ¹²And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, and half mount Gilead, and the cities thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites and to the Gadites. ¹³And the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, being the kingdom of Og, gave I unto the half tribe of Manasseh; all the region of Argob, with all Bashan, which was called the land of giants. ¹⁴Jair the son of Manasseh took all the country of Argob unto the coasts of Geshuri and Maachathi; and called them after his own name, Bashan-havoth-jair, unto this day. ¹⁵And I gave Gilead unto Machir. ¹⁶And unto the Reubenites and unto the Gadites I gave from Gilead even unto the river Arnon half the valley, and the border even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon; ¹⁷The plain also, and Jordan, and the coast thereof, from Chinnereth even unto the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, under Ashdoth-pisgah eastward. ¹⁸And I commanded you at that time, saying, The Lord your God hath given you this land to possess it: ye shall pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel, all that are meet for the war. ¹⁹But your wives, and your little ones, and your cattle, (for I know that ye have much cattle,) shall abide in your cities which I have given you; ²⁰Until the Lord have given rest unto your brethren, as well as unto you, and until they also possess the land which the Lord your God hath given them beyond Jordan: and then shall ye return every man unto his possession, which I have given you. (Deuteronomy 1:1‑3:20)

The book of Deuteronomy, which we begin today, is most interesting.

It gives us God’s call to Israel to walk in obedience, and a rehearsal of His faithfulness which should have given them every cause to want to obey. Sadly, it only revealed that they had no heart for God or His Word, and that they earned the curse pronounced for disobedience. There are many reminders of God’s mercy throughout the book, for He was ever ready to forgive and bless if they would only turn to Him, but, as we have remarked, they had no heart to walk in His ways. In spite of this, it is beautiful to turn to the end of the book and read of the promises of future blessing in that day when God gives them a new heart (Jeremiah 31:33-34³³But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:33‑34)), and blesses them according to His own purpose in grace, and not according to what they deserved at all.

God Overcoming Our Difficulties

The first chapter reminds the people of how they could have crossed the wilderness in eleven days and entered the land, but unbelief kept them out of it. They did not count on the power of God, but thought only of the difficulties which were too great for them. How often we look at difficulties in this way, and suffer, as Israel did, under the government of God for our unbelief, but if we would only turn to Him we would find Him greater than all our difficulties, and He would overcome them for us. When the children of Israel saw the position in which their unbelief put them, they sought ways of their own to get out of it, but all in vain. It is a blessed, yet serious, thing to have to do with the living God, and human prudence is useless in this path “which the vulture’s eye hath not seen: the lion’s whelps have not trodden it,” (Job 28:7-8⁷There is a path which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's eye hath not seen: ⁸The lion's whelps have not trodden it, nor the fierce lion passed by it. (Job 28:7‑8)). Truly man’s wisdom or strength could neither find it, nor walk in it.

The Advance Toward Jordan

After rehearsing their journeys, we come to the point where the people are about to start in their advance toward the river Jordan, which they had to cross in order to enter Canaan. They passed by the land of Esau, Moab, and the children of Ammon, buying food and water from them, but not entering into any conflict. It is wonderful to see in all this how God is the disposer of hearts and kept these hostile nations from harming them as they passed by. Let us remember that His Word says, “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him,” (Proverbs 16:7⁷When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. (Proverbs 16:7)). Sometimes we are asked, “What would you do if...?” but that is reasoning and not faith. God may never put us in such circumstances, and if He does, His Word will guide us, and His arm is able to protect us.

When they came to the country of Sihon, king of Heshbon, Moses sent messengers asking that they might pass through his land peaceably, but Sihon refused and came out against them to battle. As a result of this, God told the children of Israel to destroy them utterly, killing every man, woman, and child among them, and keeping only the cattle alive. They then took possession of their land for the two and a half tribes who settled on the wilderness side of Jordan. Og, king of Bashan, also came out against the children of Israel, and he and all his people were destroyed, as those of Heshbon had been. The children of Israel then took their land for a possession also. How foolish to oppose God or His people!

Further Meditations

1. What kept the people from crossing the wilderness in only eleven days?

2. Why can’t we count on human prudence to find our way through this world without dishonoring God? What makes it essential to obey the Lord in everything?

3. Obedience: The Saint’s Liberty is a short little booklet by J. N. Darby that covers the essential nature of obedience from a Christian and not a legal perspective.

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