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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>In the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that Yahweh had given him in commandment to them-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Moses was now at the end of his life; Israel stood on the borders of the promised land, which he was disallowed from entering. He now gives his swansong, perhaps in the last month or even day of his life he gave Israel the address transcripted for us as ‘Deuteronomy’, literally ‘the second (giving of the) law’. He repeats some of the laws he had previously given them, with some additional comments and clarifications, and shares with them his reflections upon their journey. In this book, therefore, we perceive a man at the point of spiritual maturity.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>after he had struck Sihon the king of the Amorites who lived in Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan who lived in Ashtaroth, at Edrei- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Ashtaroth was the name of one of the deities which the surrounding tribes worshipped; Edrei means "strength". The message is that the apparent strength of the idols and those who trusted in them had been overcome. And having won victories which were foretastes of those Israel would win in Canaan, Moses now urges the people to go forward in faith. In Yahweh's strength, they could overcome the idol worshipping tribes, despite their apparent strength. But Israel still kept those idols with them.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses began to declare this law saying-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"This law" suggests that the law he was now given was significantly different from the previous law that it could be spoken of as "this law". Clearly, God's law was open to change and reinterpretation, from its very beginning. It is mere literalism and legalism which insists that a Divine law cannot be changed by Him and is therefore eternal in a literal sense.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Yahweh our God spoke to us in Horeb saying-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The phrase "Yahweh our God" is used 46 times in Deuteronomy but hardly ever earlier in the law. Moses is exalting in the fact Yahweh was really their God, He was abiding by His promise to Abraham to be the God of Abraham's seed- despite their weakness. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You have lived long enough in this mountain- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>They arrived at Sinai in the third month after leaving Egypt (<em><a href='B:20 19:1-2'>Exo 19:1-2</a></em>); and left it on the 20th day of the second month of the second year, so they were there nearly a year. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>turn, and take your journey and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the places near there, in the Arabah, in the hill country, in the lowland, in the South and by the seashore, the land of the Canaanites and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This was the boundary of the land promised to Abraham. But sadly Israel lacked the spiritual ambition to even go there, let alone settle and inherit the land. It may well be that we inherit the Kingdom, but not to the extent that we could do. We in this brief life are deciding the nature of how we will spend eternity.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Behold, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, to give to them and to their seed after them- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"Drive out" is s.w. "possess". We must note the difference between the&nbsp; Canaanite peoples and their kings being "struck" and their land "taken" by Joshua-Jesus; and the people of Israel permanently taking possession. This is the difference between the Lord's victory on the cross, and our taking possession of the Kingdom. Even though that possession has been "given" to us. The word used for "possession" is literally 'an inheritance'. The allusion is to the people, like us, being the seed of Abraham. The Kingdom was and is our possession, our inheritance- if we walk in the steps of Abraham. But it is one thing to be the seed of Abraham, another to take possession of the inheritance; and Israel generally did not take possession of all the land (<em><a href='B:60 11:23'>Jos 11:23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 13:1'>Jos 13:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 16:10'>Jos 16:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 18:3'>Jos 18:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 23:4'>Jos 23:4</a></em>). The language of inheritance / possession is applied to us in the New Testament (<em><a href='B:560 1:11'>Eph 1:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 1:14'>Eph 1:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:580 3:24'>Col 3:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:510 20:32'>Act 20:32</a></em>; <em><a href='B:510 26:18'>Act 26:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:670 1:4'>1Pe 1:4</a></em> etc.). Israel were promised: "You shall possess it" (<em><a href='B:50 30:5'>Deu 30:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 33:23'>Deu 33:23</a></em>). This was more of a command than a prophecy, for sadly they were "given" the land but did not "possess" it. They were constantly encouraged in the wilderness that they were on the path to possessing the land (<em><a href='B:50 30:16'>Deu 30:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 30:18'>Deu 30:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:3'>Deu 31:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:13'>Deu 31:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 32:47'>Deu 32:47</a></em>), but when they got there they didn't possess it fully. <em></em></p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>I spoke to you at that time saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Jethro had advised Moses to appoint elders so that "they shall bear the burden with you" (s.w. <em><a href='B:20 18:22'>Exo 18:22</a></em>). These words recorded here were presumably said after Moses had accepted Jethro's advice. <em><a href='B:20 18:12'>Exo 18:12</a></em> says that this happened before they arrived at Sinai; whereas here we have the impression it happened afterwards. Although "at that time" can be vague. I suggest Moses is here recollecting the incidents of that broad period, but arranging them in terms of their significance and not chronologically. Or it could be that Moses accepted Jethro's advice, but not until some time later did he operationalize it. After their sin with the golden calf he may have realized more fully the weakness of the people and his own inability to personally cope with all the stress.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Yahweh your God has multiplied you and behold, you are this day as the stars of the sky for multitude- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>He reminds them of the fulfilment of the promises to Abraham in them, although this is sandwiched in between his lament at their unspirituality (:9,12). The new covenant, which is based upon the promises to Abraham, is fulfilled only by grace. The idea is that the stars could not be counted, but we have in Numbers a very precise account of the numbers of the people. So we can assume that Moses is seeing the fulfilment as potential. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>May Yahweh the God of your fathers make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, as He has promised you!- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The allusion is to the blessing promised to Abraham's seed; but that is interpreted in the New Testament as the blessing of forgiveness (<em><a href='B:510 3:25-26'>Act 3:25-26</a></em> etc.). And Moses is speaking here in the context of their spiritual weakness (:9,12). The fact the people had been numbered (see the book of Numbers) showed that the promises of the seed becoming innumerable as the stars had not in fact been fully fulfilled. Moses wished for the fuller fulfilment to come; and we might detect in that wish a desire for the coming of the Messianic seed through whom alone that could happen.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>How can I myself alone bear your encumbrance and your burden and your strife?-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Jethro had observed how stressed Moses was with the burdens of the people, and we get the sense that they were at constant strife amongst themselves. Moses' sense of inability to bear the effects of the sins of the people could be read as a desire for the Messianic figure who would bear those sins and their effects; which was to come to full term in the sin carrying of the Lord Jesus on the cross. For the "burden" was of sin (s.w. <em><a href='B:230 38:4'>Psa 38:4</a></em>). These feelings of Moses were not of themselves to be read as frustration or weakness; for the same words are used of how God Himself was weary of bearing the "encumbrance" of His people (s.w. <em><a href='B:290 1:14'>Isa 1:14</a></em>). Moses was sharing God's feelings. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>But Moses didn't respond to this burden as he might have done; for in frustration he asks God to slay him, as he just couldn't bear the "burden" of the people (s.w. <em><a href='B:40 11:11'>Num 11:11</a></em>). God responded at that point by giving 70 Spirit endowed elders to assist Moses (<em><a href='B:40 11:16'>Num 11:16</a></em>), and we can assume this was because the sharing of the "burden" with a system of many elders (as suggested by Jethro and as described in <em><a href='B:50 1:13-16'>Deu 1:13-16</a></em>) hadn't worked. Because those men were themselves weak and unspiritual. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"Strife" specifically refers to legal arguments, which were common amongst the Israelites (s.w. <em><a href='B:20 23:2-3'>Exo 23:2-3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 23:6'>Exo 23:6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 17:8'>Deu 17:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 19:17'>Deu 19:17</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 21:5'>Deu 21:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 25:1'>Deu 25:1</a></em>). Paul's command not to take our brother to court is an appeal for us to not be like natural Israel in this matter.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Take wise men of understanding and well known according to your tribes and I will make them heads over you-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>As explained on :12, this system didn't really work. The 70 Spirit endowed elders had to be appointed. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You answered me and said, The thing which you have spoken is good to do- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The people liked the idea of a lay leadership, but it didn't really work. They were effectively rejecting the idea of direct Divine rule over them. It was the essence of their later desire for a human king and princes (<em><a href='B:350 13:10'>Hos 13:10</a></em>), which was a rejection of God's rulership over them. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men and known, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, captains of hundreds, captains of fifties and captains of tens and officers, according to your tribes- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This system didn't really work, because Moses again felt the burden was too great for him, and the 70 Spirit filled elders were appointed (<em><a href='B:40 11:16'>Num 11:16</a></em>). But this too didn't really work; because in <em><a href='B:50 17:11'>Deu 17:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 21:5'>Deu 21:5</a></em> we seem to read of the priests effectively being the judges, under the direct control of Moses and Aaron. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>I commanded your judges at that time, saying, Hear cases between your brothers and judge righteously between a man and his brother and the foreigner who is living with him- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>We can deduce from this that one of the frequent causes for interpersonal strife was the tension between the "mixed multitude" and the Hebrews. But the entire community was to be accepted as the Israel of God. It was refusal to accept this which led to so much strife; just as happens today, due to a like rejection of the idea of all Christian believers being members of the same body of Christ. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike; you shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me and I will hear it- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Hebrew <em>mishpat</em>, "ordinances", has a wide range of meaning. The idea is of judgment, as if God and His Angels gave these laws as their considered judgment after considering the human condition, and Israel were to abide by them. But the word also the idea of a right or privilege; and that is how we should see God's laws. They are only felt as a burden because of human hardness of neck towards God's ways. His laws are not of themselves burdensome, but rather a privilege and blessing. The law was indeed "holy, just and good" (<em><a href='B:520 7:12'>Rom 7:12</a></em>), designed to inculcate a holy, just and good life (<em><a href='B:630 1:8'>Tit 1:8</a></em>), a way in which a man should "walk" in daily life (<em><a href='B:30 18:4'>Lev 18:4</a></em>), a culture of kindness and grace to others which reflected God's grace to man. If we dwell upon the idea of "rights" carried within the word <em>mishpat</em>, we note that the law begins in <em><a href='B:20 21:1-2'>Exo 21:1-2</a></em> (also <em><a href='B:50 15:12-18'>Deu 15:12-18</a></em>) with the rights of a slave- those considered to have no rights in the society of that day. The "rights" to be afforded by us to others are the essence of God's rightness / justice.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Moses repeated to them the various laws he had received on Sinai, as recorded in the Exodus record. Or the specific reference may be to the commandments given there about how to judge. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>We travelled from Horeb and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw, by the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as Yahweh our God commanded us, and we came to Kadesh Barnea-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This journey was indeed through a terrible wilderness, full of aggressive snakes. It speaks of how terrible indeed is our journey after the experience of baptism / crossing the Red Sea. It was by God's grace alone they were preserved. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>I said to you, You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which Yahweh our God gives to us- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The "mountain of the Amorites" could be a way of describing the land of Canaan. The following context seems to imply this because Israel send out spies into Canaan to assess how possible it was to take the land. Thereby they lacked faith in the simple statement that it was God's will to give them the Kingdom. We can fail to accept the simple implications of the same promise to us (<em><a href='B:490 12:32'>Luk 12:32</a></em>). Hence GNB summarizes :20,21: "You have now come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD our God, the God of our ancestors, is giving us. Look, there it is. Go and occupy it as he commanded. Do not hesitate or be afraid". </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Behold, Yahweh your God has set the land before you; go up, take possession, as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you. Don’t be afraid, neither be dismayed- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>“Let not your heart be troubled… neither let it be afraid” (<em><a href='B:500 14:1'>Joh 14:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 14:27'>Joh 14:27</a></em>) repeats Moses’ final encouragement to Israel “fear not, neither be dismayed” (<em><a href='B:50 31:8'>Deu 31:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 1:21'>Deu 1:21</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 1:29'>Deu 1:29</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:18'>Deu 7:18</a></em>). "Afraid" can carry the idea of hesitation (as GNB). If they had entered immediately, in faith in God without feeling the need to send out spies, then victory would have been certain. Quick response, "yes straight away", is part of the life of faith. This is not reckless abandon, but the way of faith. So often the way of disbelief takes refuge behind all manner of delaying tactics which the flesh suggests to us, often in the name of wisdom and prudence.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The command to subject the animals in Eden (the land promised to Abraham?) corresponds to later commands to subject the tribes living in the land (<em><a href='B:10 1:28'>Gen 1:28</a></em> = <em><a href='B:40 32:22'>Num 32:22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 32:29'>Num 32:29</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 18:1'>Jos 18:1</a></em>). The “fear and dread” of humans which fell on the animals after the flood is clearly linkable with the “fear and dread” which was to come upon the inhabitants of Canaan due to the Israelites (<em><a href='B:10 9:2'>Gen 9:2</a></em> = <em><a href='B:50 1:21'>Deu 1:21</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 3:8'>Deu 3:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:25'>Deu 11:25</a></em>). </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You came near to me every one of you and said, Let us send men before us that they may search the land for us and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up and the cities to which we shall come-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The sending out of the spies was a concession to human weakness; <em><a href='B:40 13:17-20'>Num 13:17-20</a></em> says that they were sent in order to find out whether the land of Canaan was a good land, and the feasibility of overcoming the people who lived there. But God had categorically given assurances on these points already; yet Israel preferred to believe the word of men than that of God. They had been told not to hesitate but immediately enter the land (see on :21). However, God made a concession to their weakness, and gave the command to send out the spies (<em><a href='B:40 13:2'>Num 13:2</a></em>). But when Israel heard their faithless tales of woe, they decided they didn’t want to inherit the Kingdom prepared for them. When we make use of concessions to human weakness, we often end up in situations of temptation which we find too strong for us. The best way is to simply go straight forward in faith in God’s word of promise rather than relying on human strength.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>The thing pleased me well and I took twelve men of you, one man for every tribe-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>In this time of final spiritual maturity, Moses was keenly aware of his own spiritual failings (as Paul and Jacob were in their last days). This is one of the great themes of Moses in Deuteronomy. He begins his Deuteronomy address by pointing out how grievously they had failed thirty eight years previously, when they refused to enter the good land. He reminds them how that although God had gone before them in Angelic power (<em><a href='B:50 1:30'>Deu 1:30</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 1:33'>Deu 1:33</a></em>), they had asked for their spies to go before them. And Moses admits that this fatal desire for human strength to lead them to the Kingdom "pleased me well". It seems to me that here Moses is recognizing his own failure. Perhaps he is even alluding to his weakness in wanting Jethro to go before them "instead of eyes", in place of the Angel-eyes of Yahweh (<em><a href='B:40 10:31-36'>Num 10:31-36</a></em>). Moses at the end was aware of his failures. And yet he also shows his thorough appreciation of the weakness of his people. Moses admits at the end that Israel’s faithless idea to send out spies “pleased me well”- when it shouldn’t have done (<em><a href='B:50 1:23'>Deu 1:23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 1:32-33'>Deu 1:32-33</a></em>). He realized more and more his own failure as he got older. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>They turned and went up into the hill country and came to the valley of Eshcol and spied it out- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The idea seems to be as GNB "as far as Eshcol". <em><a href='B:40 13:24'>Num 13:24</a></em> explains: "That place was called the valley of Eshcol because of the cluster which the children of Israel cut down from there". The Hebrew word for "spied out" in <em><a href='B:50 1:24'>Deu 1:24</a></em> also means 'to slander' (s.w. <em><a href='B:100 19:27'>2Sa 19:27</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 15:3'>Psa 15:3</a></em>). Their slander of the land was in that they misrepresented the strength of the people there, who were in fact fearful of the Israelites. They brought up an evil report of the land (<em><a href='B:40 13:32'>Num 13:32</a></em>).</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>They took of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which Yahweh our God gives to us-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This is a very positive perspective on what the spies said; they said that Canaan was a good land, but the inhabitants of the land were far too strong for Israel, effectively calling God a liar. Moses is very positive about Israel in Deuteronomy. It’s a sign of spiritual maturity that we impute righteousness to others and seek to focus on the positive rather than for ever dwelling on the terrible failures of God’s people.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>They brought up an evil report of the land (<em><a href='B:40 13:32'>Num 13:32</a></em>), characterizing it as not "good" but "evil", as if inhabited by insuperable forces of cosmic evil. They disbelieved God's simple statement that He was bringing them a "good land" (<em><a href='B:20 3:8'>Exo 3:8</a></em>), although here they accept on one level that it was true. Moses therefore repeatedly calls the land a "good land", denying their wrong idea that the land was inhabited by 'evil spirits' (<em><a href='B:50 3:25'>Deu 3:25</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:21-22'>Deu 4:21-22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 6:18'>Deu 6:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 8:7'>Deu 8:7</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 9:6'>Deu 9:6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:17'>Deu 11:17</a></em>). We see here how belief in 'evil spirits' or 'demons' militated against their faith in God and His eagerness to give His good Kingdom to His people. That continues to be His "good pleasure" (<em><a href='B:490 12:32'>Luk 12:32</a></em>) toward us, but like Israel, we are tempted to disbelieve this and allow our own perceptions and empirical conclusions to lead us away from simple faith in this. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>If they had accepted the power of God, then <em>whatever</em> ‘adversary’ was in the land, in whatever form, was ultimately of no real power (<em><a href='B:40 13:32'>Num 13:32</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 14:36'>Num 14:36</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 1:25'>Deu 1:25</a></em>). And yet it was not God’s way to specifically tell the people that there was no such dragon lurking in the land of Canaan – instead He worked with them according to their fears, by making the earth literally open and swallow up the apostate amongst them (<em><a href='B:40 16:30'>Num 16:30</a></em>) – emphasizing that by doing this, <em>He</em> was doing “a new thing”, something that had never been done before – for there was no dragon lurking in any land able to swallow up people. And throughout the prophets it is emphasized that <em>God</em> and not any dragon swallowed up people. “The Lord (and not any dragon) was as an enemy; <em>He</em> has swallowed up Israel” (<em><a href='B:310 2:5'>Lam 2:5</a></em> and frequently in the prophets). The people of Israel who left Egypt actually failed to inherit Canaan because they believed that it was a land who swallowed up the inhabitants of the land (<em><a href='B:40 13:32'>Num 13:32</a></em>), relating this to the presence of giants in the land (<em><a href='B:40 13:33'>Num 13:33</a></em>). As Joshua and Caleb pleaded with them, they needed to believe that whatever myths there were going around, God was greater than whatever mythical beast was there. And because they would not believe that, they failed to enter the land, which in type symbolized those who fail to attain that great salvation which God has prepared.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Yet you wouldn’t go up- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This of course applied to a generation previous to that whom Moses was addressing at this point. There are examples of where the individual Israelite had the actions of the body of Israel in the past imputed to him (<em><a href='B:50 1:26'>Deu 1:26</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 5:2'>Deu 5:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 29:1'>Deu 29:1</a></em>). This isn’t ‘guilt by association’, but rather an example of the ineffable unity of all God’s people, wherever and whenever they lived, over time as well as over space. Thus the most lonely individual can read the historical records of God’s people in the past and feel a true sense of community with the people of God, knowing that these things are his very own personal legacy and spiritual inheritance. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>But rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh your God- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>We are left to imagine in what tone of voice Moses said that. Israel had rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh through disbelief, and therefore couldn't enter Canaan (<em><a href='B:50 1:26'>Deu 1:26</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 9:7'>Deu 9:7</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 9:23-24'>Deu 9:23-24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:27'>Deu 31:27</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 27:4'>Num 27:4</a></em>); they were as the rebellious son who rebelled against his father's commandment (s.w. <em><a href='B:50 21:18'>Deu 21:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 21:20'>Deu 21:20</a></em>). For he himself had rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh and because of this was also barred from entering Canaan (<em><a href='B:40 20:24'>Num 20:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 27:14'>Num 27:14</a></em>). One reason for this was that he had called the Israelites "rebels" (<em><a href='B:40 20:10'>Num 20:10</a></em>), and no sooner had he done so, than he himself rebelled against Yahweh's commandment just like them, but in a different way. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>and you murmured in your tents and said, Because Yahweh hated us He has brought us forth out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Israel continually "murmured" against Moses (<em><a href='B:20 15:24'>Exo 15:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 16:2'>Exo 16:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 16:7-8'>Exo 16:7-8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 17:3'>Exo 17:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 14:2'>Num 14:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 14:27'>Num 14:27</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 14:29'>Num 14:29</a></em> cp. <em><a href='B:50 1:27'>Deu 1:27</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 106:25'>Psa 106:25</a></em>; <em><a href='B:530 10:10'>1Co 10:10</a></em>). Nearly all these murmurings were related to Israel's disbelief that Moses really could bring them into the land. Likewise Israel disbelieved that eating Christ's words (<em><a href='B:500 6:63'>Joh 6:63</a></em>) really could lead them to salvation; and their temptation to murmur in this way is ours too, especially in the last days (<em><a href='B:530 10:10-12'>1Co 10:10-12</a></em>).</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>We marvel at how the passionate love of God for Israel at this time, falling in love with them and not beholding iniquity in Jacob, could be perceived now as hatred for Israel. It is a psychological classic, revealing the fickleness of the human mind when it is not firmly based in faith in God's stated words.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our heart melt, saying, ‘The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to the sky, and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there’- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The ten spies perceived the people as so strong that they could never defeat them, whereas Joshua and Caleb perceived how things really were- which is how Rahab described it. The paradox is that the hearts of the Canaanites melted (<em><a href='B:60 2:11'>Jos 2:11</a></em>), and this is the phrase used of how the hearts of the Israelites melted (<em><a href='B:50 1:28'>Deu 1:28</a></em>). Both sides were scared of each other; but victory could have been with Israel. They wasted so much potential. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Israelites were aware of the existence of unusually large people – the Zamzumin, Zumin, Rephaim, Nephilim, Emim, and Anakim (<em><a href='B:50 1:28'>Deu 1:28</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 2:10-11'>Deu 2:10-11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 2:20-21'>Deu 2:20-21</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 3:11'>Deu 3:11</a></em>). The bed of Og, King of Bashan, a Rephaim, was nine cubits long, over four meters (14 feet) – <em><a href='B:50 3:11'>Deu 3:11</a></em>. In Canaanite mythology these giants came from intermarriage between human beings and the gods; but Moses in <em><a href='B:10 6:1-22'>Gen 6:1-22</a></em> is surely addressing this myth and correcting it. He’s saying (by implication) that this didn’t happen, but rather the Godly seed and the wicked intermarried; and yes, at that time, there were giants in the earth, but they were judged and destroyed by the flood, and the implication surely was that the Israel who first heard Moses’ inspired history could take comfort that the giants they faced in Canaan would likewise be overcome by God.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Then I said to you, Don’t dread, neither be afraid of them-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The fact we were called to baptism therefore inspires us to believe that we really will be there in the Kingdom. This is prefigured by the way in which Moses pleaded with those who doubted in the wilderness that the fact they had been brought through the Red Sea was a guarantee that God would likewise bring them into their inheritance in Canaan (<em><a href='B:50 1:29-33'>Deu 1:29-33</a></em>). Yet they failed to believe this; they forgot the wonder of their Red Sea deliverance, just as we can forget the wondrous implications of our baptism, and thus lose faith in our ultimate salvation.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Yahweh your God who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all that He did for you in Egypt before your eyes- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>God had 'gone before' Israel through the Angel which was to lead them through the desert (s.w. <em><a href='B:20 23:23'>Exo 23:23</a></em>). But as with all religious but not spiritual people, they wanted a visible leader. And so when Moses apparently disappeared in the mountain, they demanded that gods be made to "go before us". It was only by grace that God responded that despite their apostacy, He would still "go before you" through the Angel (<em><a href='B:20 32:34'>Exo 32:34</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 33:14'>Exo 33:14</a></em>). Even the Gentile world had more faith than Israel in this; they believed that Yahweh "went before" His people in an Angel (<em><a href='B:40 14:14'>Num 14:14</a></em>). But Israel themselves at the time of the golden calf didn't believe that. Moses in his final speech therefore urges the people to believe that indeed the Angel was going before them (<em><a href='B:50 1:30'>Deu 1:30</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 1:33'>Deu 1:33</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:6'>Deu 31:6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:8'>Deu 31:8</a></em>).&nbsp;</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>and in the wilderness, where you have seen how Yahweh your God carried you as a man carries his son in all the way that you went, until you came to this place- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This is again a reflection of repentance by Moses. For in <em><a href='B:40 11:12'>Num 11:12</a></em>, we note the alternative reading of the LXX, quoted in <em><a href='B:510 13:18'>Act 13:18</a></em>: "as a nursing father He (God) carried them in the wilderness". It was God who carried the people, but Moses had been trying to do it in his own strength, without sharing it fully with God; and so he had wrongly complained that God was unreasonably asking <em>him </em>to carry them, and in frustration and depression wanted God to kill him. We note how God is there likened to a woman, a nursing mother, of a very difficult infant child; although as God He is presented as a "father". In those days it was common for a wealthy woman to employ another woman to be a 'nursing mother' for her infant child. But God likens Himself to such a woman, or to a poor woman who couldn't afford to hire such a woman.&nbsp;</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Yet in this thing you didn’t believe Yahweh your God- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Again Moses is quoting the words of his own condemnation, for not believing Yahweh his God (<em><a href='B:40 20:12'>Num 20:12</a></em>). Disbelief in God was the reason Israel too were barred from entering Canaan (s.w. <em><a href='B:50 1:32'>Deu 1:32</a></em>). When Moses reminded them of this, he was alluding to how he was in essence no better than them, having also been rejected from entering Canaan for disbelief (<em><a href='B:40 20:12'>Num 20:12</a></em>). So we wonder in what tine of voice he reminded them of this. For he appealed to them as a fellow sinner, in this sense no better than them. And this was the potential power of his appeal.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Who went before you in the way, to seek you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night to show you by what way you should go, and in the cloud by day-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>See on <em><a href='B:40 10:31'>Num 10:31</a></em>. Moses accepted Jethro's advice on the basis that he will "surely wear away" (<em><a href='B:20 18:18'>Exo 18:18</a></em>); even though his natural strength never abated (<em><a href='B:50 34:7'>Deu 34:7</a></em>), and God surely would not have asked him to do the impossible. Jethro at this time seems to have seen Yahweh as only one of many gods; he was a pagan priest. He prophesied that if Moses followed his advice, "all this people shall go to their place in peace"- which they didn't. <em><a href='B:40 10:31'>Num 10:31</a></em> suggests Moses saw Jethro's knowledge of the desert as better than the Angelic " eyes" of Yahweh (<em><a href='B:140 16:9'>2Ch 16:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:240 15:3'>Pro 15:3</a></em>) who were going ahead of the camp to find a resting place (<em><a href='B:40 10:33'>Num 10:33</a></em> cp. <em><a href='B:20 33:14'>Exo 33:14</a></em> cp. <em><a href='B:290 63:9'>Isa 63:9</a></em>). It seems Moses recognized his error on the last day of his life, when he admits Yahweh, not Jethro's wisdom, had led them (<em><a href='B:50 1:33'>Deu 1:33</a></em>). Likewise Paul in his final communication comments on the way that Mark with whom he had once quarrelled was profitable to him (<em><a href='B:620 4:11'>2Ti 4:11</a></em>).</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Yahweh heard the voice of your words and was angry and swore saying- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>As noted on <em><a href='B:50 1:26'>Deu 1:26</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 1:32'>Deu 1:32</a></em>, Moses is pointing up the similarities between himself and Israel. Yahweh was angry with him and barred him from entry to the land (<em><a href='B:50 1:37'>Deu 1:37</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:21'>Deu 4:21</a></em>), just as He had been angry with Israel and barred them likewise (<em><a href='B:50 1:34'>Deu 1:34</a></em>). He however became their representative, having sinned in essence as they had, but having found forgiveness. <em></em></p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land, which I swore to give to your fathers- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Time and again in the Biblical record, Abraham is held up as a very real example, in whose steps all God's people are to tread. For example, as Abraham was bidden leave Ur and go and "see" the "land" of promise which God would "give" him (<em><a href='B:10 13:15'>Gen 13:15</a></em>), so the spies were told to go and "see" the "land" which God had "given" them (<em><a href='B:40 13:18'>Num 13:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 32:8-9'>Num 32:8-9</a></em> - the same three words as in the promises to Abraham)- yet they lacked the faith of Abraham to believe that really, they could possess that land. They did "see" the land, yet they were punished by being told that they would not now "see the land" (<em><a href='B:40 14:23'>Num 14:23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 1:35'>Deu 1:35</a></em>). They saw it, but they didn't "see" it with the eyes of Abraham. And so it can be with our vision of God's Kingdom. Remember that Moses was the author of both Genesis and Numbers- such connections aren't incidental. Moses wished the people to see themselves as going forward in the spirit of Abraham- and hence he wrote up the Genesis record for Israel's benefit an inspiration. </p>&nbsp;


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it and to him I will give the land that he has trodden on, and to his children, because he has wholly followed Yahweh-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Joshua and Caleb were earlier characterized by the comment that they “wholly followed the Lord” when they went to spy out Canaan (<em><a href='B:40 14:24'>Num 14:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 32:11-12'>Num 32:11-12</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 1:36'>Deu 1:36</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 14:8-9'>Jos 14:8-9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 14:14'>Jos 14:14</a></em>), and urged Israel to go up and inherit it. This refers to the way that the Angel had gone ahead of them, and they faithfully followed where the Angel had gone, and believed that Israel could follow that Angel wherever it led. When Israel finally did go into the land, they were told that Joshua would ‘go before’ them, and they were to follow him and thereby inherit the land (<em><a href='B:50 31:3'>Deu 31:3</a></em>). From this we see that circumstances repeat in our lives.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Caleb was head of a household within the tribe of Judah. It could be argued that he was directly related to Judah through Hezron and Pharez (<em><a href='B:130 2:5'>1Ch 2:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:130 2:18'>1Ch 2:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:130 2:25'>1Ch 2:25</a></em>). But "Kenizzite" (also <em><a href='B:40 32:12'>Num 32:12</a></em>) could refer to the Gentile tribe of <em><a href='B:10 15:19'>Gen 15:19</a></em>; or to a man called Kenaz, memorialized by Caleb naming his son with that same name (<em><a href='B:130 4:15'>1Ch 4:15</a></em>). And <em><a href='B:720 1:13'>Jud 1:13</a></em> could mean that Caleb's father was called Kenaz. ‘Caleb’ means ‘dog’ in Hebrew, and God alludes to this in describing Caleb as His faithful follower (<em><a href='B:40 14:24'>Num 14:24</a></em>). The intimacy between a man and his dog can be seen between God and His man. The genealogies are constructed in such a way that they don't preclude Caleb having been a Gentile who was fully accepted into the tribe of Judah.&nbsp;</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Although not recorded in <em><a href='B:40 14:24'>Num 14:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 1:36'>Deu 1:36</a></em>, it appears Caleb was specifically promised Hebron at that time. Caleb had explored that area as a spy (<em><a href='B:40 13:22'>Num 13:22</a></em>) and taken a special liking to it. We see therefore his spiritual ambition; 'this shall one day be mine'. And we can do the same, as we in this life spy out our future inheritance.&nbsp;</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Also Yahweh was angry with me for your sakes saying, You also shall not go in there-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>See&nbsp;on&nbsp;:34.<em>&nbsp;</em>Moses truly was made spiritually strong out of weakness. His faith fluctuated, until at last he came to a spiritual height at the end of his life. He was willing to give his physical and eternal life for Israel's salvation (<em><a href='B:20 32:32'>Exo 32:32</a></em>). In a sense, his desire was heard. Because of the sin of a moment, caused by the provocation of the people he loved, God decreed that he could not enter the land of promise. <em>For their sakes</em> he was barred from the land; this is the&nbsp; emphasis of the Spirit (<em><a href='B:50 1:37'>Deu 1:37</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 3:26'>Deu 3:26</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:21'>Deu 4:21</a></em>); and <em><a href='B:230 106:32-33'>Psa 106:32-33</a></em> says that Moses was provoked to sin because Israel angered God, and that <em>therefore</em> "it went ill with Moses for their sakes". Truly, God works through sinful man to achieve His glory. Thus Moses says that he must die “Because <em>ye</em> (plural) trespassed against me” (<em><a href='B:50 32:51'>Deu 32:51</a></em>). This all helps explain why Christ had to die, apart from the fact that he was mortal. He died the death of a sinner for our salvation, he felt all the emotions of the rejected, the full weight of God's curse; for "cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree" in crucifixion (<em><a href='B:550 3:13'>Gal 3:13</a></em>). We have seen that Moses is a superb and accurate type of the Lord Jesus. Therefore Moses in his time of dying must grant us insight into the death of our Lord, the prophet like him (<em><a href='B:50 18:18'>Deu 18:18</a></em>). See on <em><a href='B:20 32:32'>Exo 32:32</a></em>.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em><a href='B:330 20:38'>Eze 20:38</a></em> says that the rebels in the wilderness “shall not enter into the land”, with reference to how when Moses called the people “rebels” and beat the rock, he was disallowed entry into the land. Because he called them rebels, i.e. unworthy of entry to the Kingdom, he also was treated as a rebel. If we condemn others, we likewise will be condemned. On another level, he was simply barred for disobedience; and on yet another, his prayer to the effect that he didn’t want to be in the land if his people weren’t going to be there was being answered; and on yet another and higher level, his offer to be blotted out of the book of inheritance for Israel’s sake was also being heard. Thus God works within the same incident in so many ways!</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Joshua the son of Nun who stands before you, he shall go in there; encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This<em>&nbsp;</em>states clearly that “Joshua… he shall cause Israel to inherit (s.w. possess)” the land. Yet by the end of Joshua’s life, Israel were not inheriting the land in totality. He didn’t live up to his potential. Joshua didn’t give the people rest (<em><a href='B:650 4:8'>Heb 4:8</a></em>); but he said he had (<em><a href='B:60 22:4'>Jos 22:4</a></em>). He failed to fulfil the potential of <em><a href='B:60 1:13-15'>Jos 1:13-15</a></em> - that he would lead the people to “rest”. The Messianic Kingdom could, perhaps, have come through Joshua-Jesus; but both Joshua and Israel would not. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Moreover your little ones, whom you said should be a prey- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This is a classic example of "But think of the children!" being used as an excuse for personal lack of faith and commitment. In fact it was their little ones whom they were hurting, and condemning them to wasting much of their lives wandering in the desert as a result of their parents' sins and unbelief.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>And your children, who this day have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there and to them will I give it, and they shall possess it- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>What were the motives of Adam and Eve for sinning, for accepting the serpent's suggestion? Considering this can help open a window onto the question of the <em>origin</em> of Adam's sin. They were attracted by the idea of "knowing good and evil". But this phrase is elsewhere used in the Bible about how an adult 'knows good and evil', but a child can't (<em><a href='B:50 1:39'>Deu 1:39</a></em>; <em><a href='B:100 19:35'>2Sa 19:35</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 7:16'>Isa 7:16</a></em>). Adam and Eve were immature; like children, they wished to 'grow up', they resented the restraints which their immaturity required them to be under; they wanted, just as children want, to be the all-knowing adults / mature people whom they had seen the Elohim as. As children long to escape from what they see as meaningless and onerous restrictions, whilst having no idea what this would really mean in practice and how un-free it would really be- so Adam and Eve were attracted by the idea of having the knowledge of good and evil just for the bite of the forbidden fruit. I find this a perfectly understandable explanation of the <em>motive</em> for Adam and Eve's sin. It seems a quite imaginable exercise of the freedom of choice and behaviour which God had given them. There is no hint that 'Satan made them do it', or that they were 'possessed' by some sinful spirit. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>But as for you, turn, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This looks ahead to the terrible sending away of the rejected from the judgment seat at the last day. "Turn" is s.w. "turn away". They had turned away from God in their time of opportunity, and often wished to return to Egypt. And so it was appropriate for them to be told to return / turn away from the Kingdom. Condemnation is really self chosen, and will be a living out of the decisions already taken by the condemned. Truly "we make the answer now"; the essence of judgment is now. <em></em></p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Then you answered and said to me, We have sinned against Yahweh; we will go up and fight, according to all that Yahweh our God commanded us. Every man of you put on his weapons of war and presumed to go up into the hill country-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>They recognized they had "sinned", but it was jus a passing flush of conscience, just as Saul and Pharaoh used the same phrase but without meaning in the words. Their sin was that of disbelief; and so it was inappropriate for them to now talking of going up with weapons to "fight" for entry to the land in their own strength. We must enquire whether our own 'repentance' is likewise just a passing feeling of bad conscience. For if they had perceived in what they had sinned, i.e. in the matter of faith, then they would have realized that all talk of weapons and fighting was inappropriate. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Yahweh said to me, Tell them, ‘Don’t go up, neither fight, for I am not among you, lest you be struck before your enemies’-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Moses had pleaded so strongly for Yahweh to "go among" them. He realized that those prayers had been answered at the time, but not ultimately. The Angel in the pillar of cloud had already turned away into the wilderness, and was not going to go up before them into Canaan. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>So I spoke to you and you didn’t listen, but you rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh and were presumptuous and went up into the hill country-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>These Israelites who had crossed the Red Sea (cp. our baptism) and were now rejected from God’s Kingdom, because they themselves had said they didn’t want to inherit it, now wanted more than anything else to be there. This is a major Biblical theme- that the rejected will desperately ask to be allowed in to God’s kingdom; the foolish virgins will knock on the closed door begging for it to be opened (<em><a href='B:470 25:11'>Mat 25:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:490 13:25'>Luk 13:25</a></em>). Our ultimate destiny is to stand before the Lord wanting to enter His Kingdom with every fiber in our being. But this must be our attitude now, for then it will be too late to change anything.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>The Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you, as bees do, and beat you down in Seir, even to Hormah- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>It was as if the Israelites had knocked the bee hive, and provoked the bees to attack them; hence the Amorites chased Israel "as bees do" (<em><a href='B:50 1:44'>Deu 1:44</a></em>). The hornet had been sent ahead of Israel to as it were chase out the Amorites; but now it was as if this was reversed, and they chased the Israelites. For in their hearts they were no better than the Amorites. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You returned and wept before Yahweh; but Yahweh didn’t listen to your voice, nor gave ear to you-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Israel did not obey / hearken to the voice of Yahweh, and He did not hearken to their voice in prayer (<em><a href='B:50 1:45'>Deu 1:45</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 9:23'>Deu 9:23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 28:15'>Deu 28:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 5:6'>Jos 5:6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 2:20'>Jdg 2:20</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 6:10'>Jdg 6:10</a></em> cp. <em><a href='B:50 8:20'>Deu 8:20</a></em> s.w.). <em><a href='B:120 18:12'>2Ki 18:12</a></em> states this specifically. God hearkened to Joshua's voice in prayer (<em><a href='B:60 10:14'>Jos 10:14</a></em>) because Joshua hearkened to His voice. It was to be the same with Saul. He didn't hearken to God's voice (<em><a href='B:90 15:19'>1Sa 15:19</a></em>) and God didn't hearken to Saul's voice in prayer in his final desperation at the end of his life (<em><a href='B:90 28:18'>1Sa 28:18</a></em>). If God's word abides in us, then our prayer is powerful, we have whatever we ask, because we are asking for things according to His will expressed in His word (<em><a href='B:500 15:7'>Joh 15:7</a></em>).</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Those rejected by God at His judgment still desperately want to enter His Kingdom (<em><a href='B:470 25:11'>Mat 25:11</a></em>). In that day of final judgment, all present will desperately want only one thing- to enter the Kingdom. Nothing else will matter. We should have that spirit with us now.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>So you stayed in Kadesh many days, according to the days that you remained-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The ecclesia in the wilderness were ‘types of us’. They were rejected from entry into the Kingdom; and when that finally sunk in, they “returned (s.w. convert, turn back) and wept before the Lord; but the Lord would not hearken to your voice” (<em><a href='B:50 1:45'>Deu 1:45</a></em>). The rejected will “return (s.w. convert) at evening: they make a noise like a dog (whining for acceptance), and go round about the city (cp. the foolish virgins knocking on the closed door)” (<em><a href='B:230 59:6'>Psa 59:6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 59:14'>Psa 59:14</a></em>). Nobody will be indifferent at the final judgment. All will desperately seek to enter the Kingdom; and we must realize that now. Like Israel at this point, they will not want to return to Egypt (the world), but will be unable to enter the Kingdom. It will be an unbearable limbo, of weeping and gnashing of teeth. The descriptions of condemnation in figurative language all refer to this awful psychological anguish. Knowing the terror of the Lord, we are to persuade men now, to in faith go ahead and inherit the Kingdom. </p>


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<em>Then we turned and took our journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea as Yahweh spoke to me, and we circled Mount Seir many days- </em><p style='margin-left:1em'>The territory of Edom / mount Seir was within the territory promised to Abraham. But they were told to circle around the southern part of it. And for a long time, to teach them that they were not being allowed to enter the land promised to them. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Yahweh spoke to me saying-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The directions for travel were apparently given directly to Moses at this point, rather than through simply following the cloud. This may be a tacit reflection of the peoples' disobedience, or because at this critical time they had to understand very clearly that they were to move away from the border of the promised land and retrace their steps back to Egypt- which they had earlier wished to do. They were being made to realize what their desire to return to Egypt really felt like. Their condemnation was in fact only what they themselves had asked for. And that will be equally true in the judgment of the last day.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You have circled this mountain long enough; turn to the north- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This may be a reference to mount Seir, or "mountain" is being used to refer to a kingdom, in this case that of Edom (:1). </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Command the people saying, ‘You are to pass through the border of your brothers the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir, and they will be afraid of you-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em><a href='B:50 2:4'>Deu 2:4</a></em> was but a conditional promise. For in <em><a href='B:40 20:18'>Num 20:18</a></em> we learn that "Edom said to him, You shall not pass through", and they came out against them. I suggest that instead of believing these words, and the promise that the hearts of all would fear them (<em><a href='B:20 15:16'>Exo 15:16</a></em>), the Israelites feared Esau- just as faithless Jacob had done. And so things were transferred the other war around. Esau was not afraid of Israel, as potentially they could have feared. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Take good heed to yourselves therefore-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Paul's "Take heed therefore unto yourselves" (<em><a href='B:510 20:28'>Act 20:28</a></em>) is quoted from many places in Deuteronomy (e.g. <em><a href='B:50 2:4'>Deu 2:4</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:9'>Deu 4:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:15'>Deu 4:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:23'>Deu 4:23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:16'>Deu 11:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:13'>Deu 12:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:19'>Deu 12:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:30'>Deu 12:30</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 24:8'>Deu 24:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 27:9'>Deu 27:9</a></em>). Paul warned the new Israel that after his death ("after my departing", <em><a href='B:510 20:29'>Act 20:29</a></em>) there would be serious apostasy. This is the spirit of his very last words, in <em><a href='B:620 4:1-22'>2Ti 4:1-22</a></em>. it is exactly the spirit of Moses' farewell speech throughout the book of Deuteronomy, and throughout his final song (<em><a href='B:50 32:1-52'>Deu 32:1-52</a></em>) and <em><a href='B:50 31:29'>Deu 31:29</a></em>: "After my death you will utterly corrupt yourselves". </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>don’t meddle with them, for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau for a possession- </em>And yet it was within the territory promised to Abraham<em>'</em>s seed, who were now interpreted as the Israelites. We have here another recalculation of God's purpose and intended scope of salvation with His people. The whole territory was eventually reduced to Canaan, and even that was limited- for Israel lacked the spiritual ambition to accept the full extent of God's potential Kingdom promise.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You shall purchase food of them for money that you may eat, and you shall also buy water of them for money that you may drink’- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em><a href='B:50 2:4'>Deu 2:4</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 2:6'>Deu 2:6</a></em> sounds like definite prophecy: “Command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau... and they shall be afraid of you...ye shall buy meat of them for money.... ye shall also buy water of them for money”. And yet when Israel came to these people and tried to pass through, and offered them money for bread and water, they were rejected by them (<em><a href='B:40 20:16-21'>Num 20:16-21</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 11:17'>Jdg 11:17</a></em>). The condition- that Edom had the freedom to reject them, and Israel had the faith to believe- isn’t mentioned, but it nonetheless stood. Prophecy is an imperative to action- it isn’t just a fascinating study of how predictions have been matched with reality. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>For Yahweh your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand; He has known your walking through this great wilderness; these forty years Yahweh your God has been with you and you have lacked nothing- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Because God ‘knew’ Israel’s journey through the wilderness, therefore they “lacked nothing”. The Hebrew language reflects certain realities about the nature of God's ways. The common Hebrew word for 'to see', especially when used about God's 'seeing', means also 'to provide' (<em><a href='B:10 16:13'>Gen 16:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:10 22:8'>Gen 22:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:10 22:14'>Gen 22:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:90 16:17'>1Sa 16:17</a></em>; ). What this means in practice is that the fact God sees and knows all things means that He can and will therefore and thereby provide for us in the circumstances of life; for He sees and knows all things.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>So we passed by from our brothers the children of Esau who dwell in Seir, from the way of the Arabah from Elath and from Ezion Geber. We turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The brotherhood between Jacob and Esau is stressed (:4). Perhaps this was to remind rejected Israel that they were no better than faithless Esau. And yet God later shows His awareness that Esau was indeed Jacob's brother, and condemns them for joining in the desecration of Jerusalem. We see here the way that the ties that bind in family life are respected by God over the generations.&nbsp;</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Yahweh said to me, Don’t bother Moab, neither contend with them in battle, for I will not give you of his land for a possession, because I have given Ar to the children of Lot for a possession- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Moab was within the territory promised to Abraham<em>'</em>s seed, who were now interpreted as the Israelites. We have here another recalculation of God's purpose and intended scope of salvation with His people. I suggest that this statement is a 'new' decision of God. The whole territory was eventually reduced to Canaan, and even that was limited- for Israel lacked the spiritual ambition to accept the full extent of God's potential Kingdom promise.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>(The Emim lived there before, a people great and many and tall as the Anakim- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Israelites were aware of the existence of unusually large people – the Zamzumin, Zumin, Rephaim, Nephilim, Emim, and Anakim (<em><a href='B:50 1:28'>Deu 1:28</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 2:10-11'>Deu 2:10-11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 2:20-21'>Deu 2:20-21</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 3:11'>Deu 3:11</a></em>). The bed of Og, King of Bashan, a Rephaim, was nine cubits long, over four meters (14 feet) – <em><a href='B:50 3:11'>Deu 3:11</a></em>. In Canaanite mythology these giants came from intermarriage between human beings and the gods; but Moses in <em><a href='B:10 6:1-22'>Gen 6:1-22</a></em> is surely addressing this myth and correcting it. He’s saying (by implication) that this didn’t happen, but rather the Godly seed and the wicked intermarried; and yes, at that time, there were giants in the earth, but they were judged and destroyed by the flood, and the implication surely was that the Israel who first heard Moses’ inspired history could take comfort that the giants they faced in Canaan would likewise be overcome by God.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>these also are accounted Rephaim, as the Anakim, but the Moabites call them Emim- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>As noted on :12, the point is that unbelieving Moab drove out these tribes, and so how much more should Israel be able to, with God on their side and the weight of the promises to Abraham behind them. But as so often happens, the unbelieving secular world have more faith, hope and brave commitment to their principles than do God's people. <em></em></p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>The Horites also lived in Seir before, but the children of Esau succeeded them, and they destroyed them from before them and lived in their place, as Israel did to the land of his possession, which Yahweh gave to them.)-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This history had been arranged by God to encourage His people; if those in the unbelieving world could do this, then how much more could they with God behind them. God arranges our lives so that we sometimes encounter others who without faith in God have achieved great things in their lives- in order to inspire us that if they can do it, how much more can we. See on <em><a href='B:50 2:21'>Deu 2:21</a></em>.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Now rise up and cross over the brook Zered. We went over the brook Zered- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This was a tiny brook that could be walked over easily without hardly getting the feet wet. The idea is that they had been unable to cross this tiny river which was seen as the boundary of the promised land- for 38 years (:14). The tiny brook is given such significance to demonstrate to them how easy entrance into the land really was. It seems this was when the manna and water from the rock ceased (hence :28).</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>The days in which we came from Kadesh Barnea until we had come over the brook Zered were thirty-eight years, until all the generation of the men of war were consumed from the midst of the camp, as Yahweh swore to them- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em><a href='B:10 15:13'>Gen 15:13</a></em> had predicted 400 years of bondage in Egypt, a period which was increased to 430 (<em><a href='B:20 12:40-41'>Exo 12:40-41</a></em>). The "fourth generation" were to return to the land of Canaan, when the iniquity of the Amorites was "full" (<em><a href='B:10 15:16'>Gen 15:16</a></em>). That is exemplified in the genealogy given at <em><a href='B:20 6:16-20'>Exo 6:16-20</a></em>: (1) Levi, (2) Kohath, (3) Amram, (4) Moses. But the extra 38 years stretch this, and is an example of where time periods can be expanded or decreased. The 70 years captivity in Babylon was thus reinterpreted to 70 x 7 in <em><a href='B:340 9:1-27'>Dan 9:1-27</a></em>. It is all multi factorial, and we cannot discern all the variables; only God can. Perhaps in this case, the sin of the Amorites took a bit longer to fill up (witness the repentant attitude of Rahab, an Amorite); and the sin of Israel took longer to punish.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Moreover the hand of Yahweh was against them, to destroy them from the midst of the camp until they were consumed- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>AV "from among the host" (i.e. army), seeing the reference was to men of military age being destroyed (:16 "the men of war"). </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>So it happened. When all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>LXX "when all the men of war dying out of the midst of the people had fallen". We get the impression of these men dying in the midst of the people, falling as warriors fall in battle, but dying when no man pursued them. <em><a href='B:230 91:5-7'>Psa 91:5-7</a></em> describes Joshua surviving this kind of destruction of that generation: "You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day; nor of the plagues that stalks in darkness, nor of the destruction that wastes at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it will not come near you".</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Yahweh spoke to me saying-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Some texts read "to us", hence GNB "the LORD said to us". What was spoken to Moses was spoken to the people. He was fully their representative, looking ahead to the nature of the Lord Jesus. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You are today to pass over Ar, the border of Moab- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>It could be implied in <em><a href='B:40 21:13-15'>Num 21:13-15</a></em> that some significant action occurred here, perhaps even a miraculous parting of the waters similar to that at the Red Sea (<em><a href='B:40 21:14'>Num 21:14</a></em>). The essence of the Red Sea deliverance continues throughout our wilderness journey, just as the cloud of water which enveloped them at the Red Sea actually continued over them throughout the journey. This was the spot where Balak and Balaam were to later meet (<em><a href='B:40 22:36'>Num 22:36</a></em>), at the border of Moab. The internal agreement of geographical details within the Bible is significant, seeing that the writers lacked maps and geographical information. The chances of a contradiction are huge- but these records are Divinely inspired.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>and when you come near to the children of Ammon, don’t bother them or contend with them, for I will not give you of the land of the children of Ammon for a possession, because I have given it to the children of Lot for a possession-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>As also commanded about other areas in :5 and :9. I suggested on those verses that these areas were within the land promised to Abraham, but God was now recalculating the land intended for Israel, in accordance with their own lack of vision. Or perhaps the idea was that Israel weren’t to take anything less than the real promised land; they weren’t to seek to develop their own kingdom wherever seemed easier and more convenient to them, they weren't to be satisfied with anything less than the Kingdom intended for them. Likewise we are surrounded by temptation to have our own pseudo-Kingdom of God in this life; but we are to keep focused on the one and only true Kingdom of God which is yet to come.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>That also is accounted a land of Rephaim. Rephaim lived there before, but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Again the point is made that the Ammonites had cast out giants, and Israel should do likewise in their intended territory. They were given these encounters with those who had done so in order to encourage them that it was possible. We too are given such meetings with people and situations in our lives; people who have already done what we are intended to do.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>a people great and many and tall, as the Anakim; but Yahweh destroyed them before them and they succeeded them and lived in their place- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>If giants weren’t a barrier to the children of Lot taking land for a possession, neither should they be for Israel; but they greatly feared them (<em><a href='B:40 13:28'>Num 13:28</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 13:33'>Num 13:33</a></em>). If worldly people can achieve as they do, quitting alcoholism, achieving amazing goals... how much more can we with God on our side.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>as He did for the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir, when He destroyed the Horites from before them and they succeeded them and lived in their place to this day- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Although Esau had chosen the way of idolatry, God still worked with him and his seed in order to destroy the tribes of giants in his intended inheritance. It seems God at times works with those who are not truly His people; and this is all encouragement for us to go ahead in His strength, as His true people.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>and the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorim, who came out of Caphtor, destroyed them and lived in their place- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The point is that giants as far as Gaza had been destroyed by Edom. But Jacob's sons were to struggle to subdue Gaza; it was a continual source of Philistine opposition to them until the days of David. <em></em></p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Rise up, take your journey and pass over the valley of the Arnon. Behold, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite king of Heshbon and his land; begin to possess it and contend with him in battle- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The implication could be that Moses was disobedient to this and tried to avoid confrontation with him (:27). But we can’t ultimately avoid the confrontations which God at times puts in our path (:32). Moses seems to express his own weakness in his final speeches to Israel in Deuteronomy. He recalls how even towards the end of the wilderness journey, God told him to contend with Sihon in battle (<em><a href='B:50 2:24'>Deu 2:24</a></em>); and yet Moses admits: "I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying, Let me pass through thy land: I will go along by the highway, I will turn neither unto the right hand nor to the left. Thou shalt sell me food for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: only let me pass through on my feet" (<em><a href='B:50 2:26-28'>Deu 2:26-28</a></em>). And yet God by grace to Moses hardened Sihon's heart so that there was a battle in which, again by grace, he gave Israel victory.</p>&nbsp;


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>This day will I begin to put the dread of you and the fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole sky, who will hear the report of you and will tremble and be in anguish because of you- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Just as all the animals and everything in the <em>eretz </em>promised to Abraham was 'delivered into the hands' of Noah (s.w. <em><a href='B:10 9:2'>Gen 9:2</a></em>), and were given fear and dread of humans, so the nations of that<em> eretz</em> were delivered into the hands of Israel (s.w. <em><a href='B:20 6:8'>Exo 6:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 23:31'>Exo 23:31</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 2:24'>Deu 2:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 3:2-3'>Deu 3:2-3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:24'>Deu 7:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 21:10'>Deu 21:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 2:24'>Jos 2:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:720 1:2'>Jud 1:2</a></em>). Tragically, like Adam in Eden (perhaps the same <em>eretz </em>promised to Abraham) and Noah in the new, cleansed <em>eretz</em>, Israel didn't realize this potential. What was delivered into the hand of Joshua (<em><a href='B:60 2:24'>Jos 2:24</a></em>) actually wasn't delivered into their hand, because they disbelieved (<em><a href='B:70 2:23'>Jdg 2:23</a></em>); and this looks ahead to the disbelief of so many in the work of the Lord Jesus, who has indeed conquered the Kingdom for us. They considered the promise of the nations being delivered into their hand as somehow open to question, and only a possibility and not at all certain (<em><a href='B:70 8:7'>Jdg 8:7</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 21:2'>Num 21:2</a></em> cp. <em><a href='B:40 21:34'>Num 21:34</a></em>). Some like Jephthah (s.w. <em><a href='B:70 11:32'>Jdg 11:32</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 12:3'>Jdg 12:3</a></em>), Ehud (<em><a href='B:70 3:10'>Jdg 3:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 3:28'>Jdg 3:28</a></em>), Deborah (<em><a href='B:70 4:14'>Jdg 4:14</a></em>), Gideon (<em><a href='B:70 7:15'>Jdg 7:15</a></em>) did, for a brief historical moment; but as individuals, and their victories were not followed up on. Instead they were dominated by the territory. And so instead, they were delivered into the hands of their enemies within the <em>eretz</em> (s.w. <em><a href='B:30 26:25'>Lev 26:25</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 13:1'>Jdg 13:1</a></em>).<em>&nbsp;&nbsp;</em></p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace saying- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>See on :24. The Divine intention was that the victory over Sihon would put fear into the hearts of all the other tribes (:25). But it was God's ideal intention that Sihon would have accepted the message of peace- perhaps implying peace with God, as "peace" often means in the Bible. We see here the complexity of God's workings with men. Little surprise, therefore, that at times we fail to perceive what God is doing in our lives. Things appear to be left hanging, or events lack apparent meaning, or things could have various possible outcomes, some of which are quite contradictory when compared against each other. This offering of peace before fighting was to be typical of Israel's approach (<em><a href='B:50 20:10'>Deu 20:10</a></em>).</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Let me pass through your land; I will go along by the highway; I will turn neither to the right hand nor to the left-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The king's highway; they promised not to eat food from the fields nor drink water from the wells (<em><a href='B:40 21:22'>Num 21:22</a></em>). Such a large body of people would have required a huge amount of food and water each day.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat and give me water for money, that I may drink; only let me pass through on my feet- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The implication would be that the water from the rock "which followed them" and the manna had ceased- as soon as they entered the land by crossing the brook Zered (:13). To drink water for money was a sign of being subservient to the seller of the water (<em><a href='B:310 5:4'>Lam 5:4</a></em>). Water was to be freely provided to travellers; Israel were being taught humility by offering to pay for it. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>as the children of Esau who dwell in Seir, and the Moabites who dwell in Ar, did to me, until I shall pass over the Jordan- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>says that the Edomites and Moabites sold Israel food and water as they passed through. But <em><a href='B:50 23:3-4'>Deu 23:3-4</a></em> says that the Moabites didn't do this and were cursed because of it. Perhaps a few Moabites did do so, but Moab generally didn't. Or perhaps the sense of <em><a href='B:50 2:29'>Deu 2:29</a></em> is that Moab and Edom did let Israel pass through without harassing them, hence GNB "All we want to do is to pass through your country... The descendants of Esau, who live in Edom, and the Moabites, who live in Ar, allowed us to pass through their territory". But Edom didn't let Israel pass through (<em><a href='B:40 20:18'>Num 20:18</a></em>). So the point of <em><a href='B:50 2:29'>Deu 2:29</a></em> may be that Sihon was warned that Edom and Moab had been asked to do this but had not done so, and Sihon was to take warning from this, to learn from the mistakes of others. However, we should note that <em><a href='B:50 2:29'>Deu 2:29</a></em> speaks of "the children of Esau who dwell in Seir". These Edomites perhaps did let Israel pass through, whereas the Edomites in the Kadesh area didn't. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Into the land which Yahweh our God gives us- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This phrase or idea occurs many times in Deuteronomy. Moses was urging the people to believe the most basic reality- that God would really give them the promised Kingdom. And we too are likewise continually encouraged by God’s word. In this particular example, Moses quite openly tells a Gentile people about their destination, in the same way as we should be unashamed to speak of our hope of the Kingdom to unbelievers.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him, for Yahweh your God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand, as at this day- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The same Hebrew words used of the hardening of Gentile heart occur in a positive context- for God also hardens or strengthens the hearts of the righteous (<em><a href='B:230 27:14'>Psa 27:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 35:4'>Isa 35:4</a></em>). Indeed, <em><a href='B:290 35:4'>Isa 35:4</a></em> speaks of how the righteous shouldn’t have a weak or (Heb.) ‘fluid’ heart, but rather a hardened one. Clearly enough, God solidifies human attitudes, one way or the other, through the work of His Spirit upon our spirit. This is a sobering thought- for He is prepared to confirm a person in their weak thinking. But on the other hand, even the weakest basic intention towards righteousness is solidified by Him too. "Obstinate" in <em><a href='B:50 2:30'>Deu 2:30</a></em> is the word used when appealing for Israel and Joshua to be "of good courage" (<em><a href='B:50 31:6-7'>Deu 31:6-7</a></em>). The strength of heart in <em><a href='B:50 2:30'>Deu 2:30</a></em> was given by God's activity upon the heart of Sihon, confirming him in the way he wanted to go, 'hardening his spirit' in that way. And so the exhortation to have a courageous of strengthened heart was an appeal to let God's Spirit work upon their spirit, to allow themselves to be strengthened in their mind, that they might inherit the Kingdom. And that appeal comes to us too. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Yahweh said to me, Behold, I have begun to deliver up Sihon and his land before you; begin to possess, that you may inherit his land- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The victory against Sihon was a beginning, in that it was a guarantee of further success (:25,26). "Drive out" is s.w. "possess". We must note the difference between the&nbsp; Canaanite peoples and their kings being "struck" and their land "taken" by Joshua-Jesus; and the people of Israel permanently taking possession. This is the difference between the Lord's victory on the cross, and our taking possession of the Kingdom. Even though that possession has been "given" to us. The word used for "possession" is literally 'an inheritance'. The allusion is to the people, like us, being the seed of Abraham. The Kingdom was and is our possession, our inheritance- if we walk in the steps of Abraham. But it is one thing to be the seed of Abraham, another to take possession of the inheritance; and Israel generally did not take possession of all the land (<em><a href='B:60 11:23'>Jos 11:23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 13:1'>Jos 13:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 16:10'>Jos 16:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 18:3'>Jos 18:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 23:4'>Jos 23:4</a></em>). The language of inheritance / possession is applied to us in the New Testament (<em><a href='B:560 1:11'>Eph 1:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 1:14'>Eph 1:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:580 3:24'>Col 3:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:510 20:32'>Act 20:32</a></em>; <em><a href='B:510 26:18'>Act 26:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:670 1:4'>1Pe 1:4</a></em> etc.). Israel were promised: "You shall possess it" (<em><a href='B:50 30:5'>Deu 30:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 33:23'>Deu 33:23</a></em>). This was more of a command than a prophecy, for sadly they were "given" the land but did not "possess" it. They were constantly encouraged in the wilderness that they were on the path to possessing the land (<em><a href='B:50 30:16'>Deu 30:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 30:18'>Deu 30:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:3'>Deu 31:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:13'>Deu 31:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 32:47'>Deu 32:47</a></em>), but when they got there they didn't possess it fully. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Jahaz- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"Jahaz" is the word for 'threshing floor', and suggests the victory was therefore a foretaste of judgment upon the tribes opposing Israel. But they could have avoided that condemnation- for peace was offered to them first (:26). </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Yahweh our God delivered him up before us and we struck him and his sons and all his people- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This would have been Israel's first battle experience. And God gave them a total victory, in order to encourage them that the opposition in Canaan would likewise crumble before them. We continually sense His hand working to educate us in the path of faith. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>We took all his cities at that time and utterly destroyed every inhabited city, with the women and the little ones. We left none remaining- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Even on our wilderness journey, before we have possessed the Kingdom, we do have some foretastes of that Kingdom; in the same way as Israel began to possess the promised land in some limited sense whilst still in the desert. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>There is a harder side of God, the side we'd rather not see. God almost seems to underline the hardness of it in the way He records His word; thus He emphasizes that the "little ones" of the Canaanite cities were to be killed by the sword (<em><a href='B:50 2:34'>Deu 2:34</a></em>), the male babies of the Midianites were to be killed by God's command (<em><a href='B:40 31:17'>Num 31:17</a></em>; which was exactly what Herod ordered). The unfulfilled believer will accept the gracious side of God (which is undoubtedly the aspect more emphasized in the Bible), but refuse to really accept this other side, while passively admitting that this harder aspect of God is revealed in His word. But it's all or nothing. We either accept the self-revelation of God in the Bible, or we reject it- that's how <em>He</em> sees it. Our temptation is to think that God sees things as we see them, to think that God is merely an ideal human being. But the day of judgment will reveal otherwise (<em><a href='B:230 50:21'>Psa 50:21</a></em>). He is God, not man. It is not for us to set the terms. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Only the livestock we took for a prey to ourselves, with the spoil of the cities which we had taken- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>We see here the widely differing possible outcomes for Sihon and his people. They were offered peace with God and fellowship with His people (:26); and the opportunity to materially benefit by selling Israel a huge amount of food and water for money. They refused, and so they ended up losing their lives, families, cattle- everything. In the end, these are the choices facing those who encounter the gospel of peace.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>From Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the valley, to Gilead, there was not a city too high for us; Yahweh our God delivered up all before us- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"Too high" recalls how earlier the people had turned away from Canaan because they thought that walled cities were impossible to conquer. These victories were to lead them towards faith that even the legendary walls of Jericho would fall before them. God likewise gently educates us in the path of faith; victory over a relatively small wall leads us to believe in victory against far taller walls which we will later encounter in life.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Only to the land of the children of Ammon you didn’t come near, all the side of the river Jabbok, and the cities of the hill country, and wherever Yahweh our God forbad us-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Paul speaks of how he had been given areas in which it was potentially possible for him to preach in, and he didn’t enter into those areas which had either already been preached in, or which were another brother’s responsibility (<em><a href='B:540 10:16'>2Co 10:16</a></em>). This seems to suggest that God does indeed look down from Heaven and as it were divide up the world amongst those who could preach in it. This is why Paul perceived that he had been ‘forbidden’ from preaching in some areas (e.g. Macedonia) and yet a door was opened to him in Achaia. This language is allusive to the way in which the Lord forbad Israel to conquer certain areas on their way to the promised land (<em><a href='B:50 2:37'>Deu 2:37</a></em>). The point is, between us, our preaching is a war of conquest for Jesus, pulling down strong holds and fortresses as Paul put it; or, as Jesus expressed it, taking the Kingdom by force, as storm troopers. </p>


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<em>Then 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- </em><p style='margin-left:1em'>God gives us potential victories, but we still have to fight the human battle. Og lived in Ashtaroth (<em><a href='B:50 1:4'>Deu 1:4</a></em>). Ashtaroth was the name of one of the deities which the surrounding tribes worshipped; Edrei means "strength". The message is that the apparent strength of the idols and those who trusted in them had been overcome. And having won victories which were foretastes of those Israel would win in Canaan, Moses now urges the people to go forward in faith. In Yahweh's strength, they could overcome the idol worshipping tribes, despite their apparent strength. But Israel still kept those idols with them.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Yahweh said to me, Don’t fear him, for I have delivered him and all his people and his land into your hand; you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>See on <em><a href='B:20 34:27'>Exo 34:27</a></em>. Moses seems to have appreciated fully his representative role when he addressed Israel: "The Lord said unto <em>me</em>... I will deliver (Og) into thy (singular) hand... so the Lord our God delivered into <em>our</em> hands Og" (<em><a href='B:50 3:2-3'>Deu 3:2-3</a></em>). David recognized this unity between Moses and Israel; David describes both Israel and Moses as God's chosen (<em><a href='B:230 106:5'>Psa 106:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 106:23'>Psa 106:23</a></em>). All these things looked forward to our victory on account of being "in" Christ; through baptism, and then through a life lived in Him and in identity with Him.&nbsp;</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>So Yahweh our God delivered into our hand Og also, the king of Bashan and all his people, and we struck him until none remained- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Just as all the animals and everything in the <em>eretz </em>promised to Abraham was 'delivered into the hands' of Noah (s.w. <em><a href='B:10 9:2'>Gen 9:2</a></em>), so the nations of that<em> eretz</em> were delivered into the hands of Israel (s.w. <em><a href='B:20 6:8'>Exo 6:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 23:31'>Exo 23:31</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 2:24'>Deu 2:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 3:2-3'>Deu 3:2-3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:24'>Deu 7:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 21:10'>Deu 21:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 2:24'>Jos 2:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:720 1:2'>Jud 1:2</a></em>). Tragically, like Adam in Eden (perhaps the same <em>eretz </em>promised to Abraham) and Noah in the new, cleansed <em>eretz</em>, Israel didn't realize this potential. What was delivered into the hand of Joshua (<em><a href='B:60 2:24'>Jos 2:24</a></em>) actually wasn't delivered into their hand, because they disbelieved (<em><a href='B:70 2:23'>Jdg 2:23</a></em>); and this looks ahead to the disbelief of so many in the work of the Lord Jesus, who has indeed conquered the Kingdom for us. They considered the promise of the nations being delivered into their hand as somehow open to question, and only a possibility and not at all certain (<em><a href='B:70 8:7'>Jdg 8:7</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 21:2'>Num 21:2</a></em> cp. <em><a href='B:40 21:34'>Num 21:34</a></em>). Some like Jephthah (s.w. <em><a href='B:70 11:32'>Jdg 11:32</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 12:3'>Jdg 12:3</a></em>), Ehud (<em><a href='B:70 3:10'>Jdg 3:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 3:28'>Jdg 3:28</a></em>), Deborah (<em><a href='B:70 4:14'>Jdg 4:14</a></em>), Gideon (<em><a href='B:70 7:15'>Jdg 7:15</a></em>) did, for a brief historical moment; but as individuals, and their victories were not followed up on. Instead they were dominated by the territory. And so instead, they were delivered into the hands of their enemies within the <em>eretz</em> (s.w. <em><a href='B:30 26:25'>Lev 26:25</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 13:1'>Jdg 13:1</a></em>).<em></em></p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>We took all his cities at that time. There was not a city which we didn’t take from them; sixty cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>As noted in <em><a href='B:40 21:33'>Num 21:33</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 3:4'>Deu 3:4</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 3:10'>Deu 3:10</a></em>, some of the places they had known in their wilderness journeys (cp. our life now after baptism, which is like crossing the Red Sea, <em><a href='B:530 10:1-2'>1Co 10:1-2</a></em>) were revisited and taken by Joshua (<em><a href='B:60 12:4'>Jos 12:4</a></em>), and incorporated into God's Kingdom. Perhaps situations and places we know in this life will then become eternally ours when we possess them in God's Kingdom.&nbsp;</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>All these were fortified cities with high walls, gates, and bars, besides the unwalled towns very many- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>No wall was "too high" for them (<em><a href='B:50 2:36'>Deu 2:36</a></em>). This recalls how earlier the people had turned away from Canaan because they thought that walled cities were impossible to conquer. These victories were to lead them towards faith that even the legendary walls of Jericho would fall before them. God likewise gently educates us in the path of faith; victory over a relatively small wall leads us to believe in victory against far taller walls which we will later encounter in life.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>We utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying every inhabited city, with the women and the little ones- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"Utterly destroyed" is the word <em>herem</em>, used of 'devotion' to Yahweh; see on :8. Their complete destruction therefore was as if these cities were whole burnt offerings, offered to Yahweh. And yet it would see from <em><a href='B:50 2:26'>Deu 2:26</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 20:10'>Deu 20:10</a></em> that they all had the opportunity to accept peace with God. They refused to devote themselves to Him- and so they devoted to Him in their death. In this we see the logic of absolute devotion to Yahweh. The death of unbelieving rebels is not as it were a victory for sin; but it is all the same the glorification of God, His victory over flesh. But if we consciously choose to devote ourselves to Him, then we shall be as living sacrifices.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>But all the livestock and the spoil of the cities we took for a prey to ourselves-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>I explained on :6 that the "utter destruction" of these cities is described in terms which present them as sacrifices. But the people were allowed to eat their animals. This recalls the&nbsp; priests eating parts of the sacrifices, and confirms the desire of God for all Israel to see themselves as a nation of priests (<em><a href='B:20 19:5-6'>Exo 19:5-6</a></em>); just as we are all a priesthood (<em><a href='B:670 2:5'>1Pe 2:5</a></em>), not leaving spiritual work to others, but ourselves taking responsibility for it.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>We took the land at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>It is significant that there were mountains called Hermon in the extreme north and south of the land. It is a form of the word<em> herem</em>, the term used in :6 for the 'devotion' of the conquered land to Yahweh. Perhaps that was the idea. But we note that already, God has recalculated Israel's inheritance, bounded now by these mountains; whereas His initial intention was to give them the far wider area promised to Abraham. He likewise adjusts His hopes and expectations of His individual people, never giving up on any of us, but always seeking to lead us to at leas some inheritance in His Kingdom. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>(The Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir)- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This is an example of how some parts of the Bible which we have were written for its primary readership, and the language used reflects this (<em><a href='B:50 3:9'>Deu 3:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 3:11'>Deu 3:11</a></em>). Thus the early church possessed the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, which have now been withdrawn; yet the New Testament records commands concerning them which were relevant only to the New Testament church. We can learn general principles from these accounts, but their existence is no proof that we can possess the gifts today. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>We took all the cities of the plain, all Gilead, and all Bashan, to Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>These areas were as far north as the west of the sea of Galilee; a very large area is in view.&nbsp;</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>(For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron. Is it not in Rabbah of the children of Ammon? Nine cubits was its length and four cubits its breadth, after the cubit of a man.)-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>We note that the <em>Rephaim</em> had children like other human beings (<em><a href='B:100 21:16'>2Sa 21:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:100 21:18'>2Sa 21:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 3:11'>Deu 3:11</a></em>), inhabiting an area known as the valley of Rephaim (<em><a href='B:60 15:8'>Jos 15:8</a></em>). The "giants" of <em><a href='B:10 6:2-4'>Gen 6:2-4</a></em> were therefore humans and not celestial beings. The record at this point seems to have been edited, under Divine inspiration, at some later point. For the bedstead or sarcophagus of Og was now in Ammonite hands, presumably having taken it from Israel. And that was a challenge to Israel at the time- they ought to be able to take Ammon, seeing that with God's help they had destroyed Og.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Israelites were aware of the existence of unusually large people – the Zamzumin, Zumin, Rephaim, Nephilim, Emim, and Anakim (<em><a href='B:50 1:28'>Deu 1:28</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 2:10-11'>Deu 2:10-11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 2:20-21'>Deu 2:20-21</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 3:11'>Deu 3:11</a></em>). The bed of Og, King of Bashan, a Rephaim, was nine cubits long, over four meters (14 feet) – <em><a href='B:50 3:11'>Deu 3:11</a></em>. In Canaanite mythology these giants came from intermarriage between human beings and the gods; but Moses in <em><a href='B:10 6:1-22'>Gen 6:1-22</a></em> is surely addressing this myth and correcting it. He’s saying (by implication) that this didn’t happen, but rather the Godly seed and the wicked intermarried; and yes, at that time, there were giants in the earth, but they were judged and destroyed by the flood, and the implication surely was that the Israel who first heard Moses’ inspired history could take comfort that the giants they faced in Canaan would likewise be overcome by God.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>This land we took in possession at that time: from Aroer which is by the valley of the Arnon, and half the hill country of Gilead and its cities I gave to the Reubenites and to the Gadites- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"Drive out" is s.w. "possess". We must note the difference between the&nbsp; Canaanite peoples and their kings being "struck" and their land "taken" by Joshua-Jesus; and the people of Israel permanently taking possession. This is the difference between the Lord's victory on the cross, and our taking possession of the Kingdom. Even though that possession has been "given" to us. The word used for "possession" is literally 'an inheritance'. The allusion is to the people, like us, being the seed of Abraham. The Kingdom was and is our possession, our inheritance- if we walk in the steps of Abraham. But it is one thing to be the seed of Abraham, another to take possession of the inheritance; and Israel generally did not take possession of all the land (<em><a href='B:60 11:23'>Jos 11:23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 13:1'>Jos 13:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 16:10'>Jos 16:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 18:3'>Jos 18:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 23:4'>Jos 23:4</a></em>). The language of inheritance / possession is applied to us in the New Testament (<em><a href='B:560 1:11'>Eph 1:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 1:14'>Eph 1:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:580 3:24'>Col 3:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:510 20:32'>Act 20:32</a></em>; <em><a href='B:510 26:18'>Act 26:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:670 1:4'>1Pe 1:4</a></em> etc.). Israel were promised: "You shall possess it" (<em><a href='B:50 30:5'>Deu 30:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 33:23'>Deu 33:23</a></em>). This was more of a command than a prophecy, for sadly they were "given" the land but did not "possess" it. They were constantly encouraged in the wilderness that they were on the path to possessing the land (<em><a href='B:50 30:16'>Deu 30:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 30:18'>Deu 30:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:3'>Deu 31:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:13'>Deu 31:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 32:47'>Deu 32:47</a></em>), but when they got there they didn't possess it fully. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>and the rest of Gilead and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh; all the region of Argob, all of Bashan. (The same is called the land of Rephaim)- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>These are the 60 cities of "Argob" (<em><a href='B:50 3:4'>Deu 3:4</a></em>), which is "called the land of giants / Rephaim" (<em><a href='B:50 3:13'>Deu 3:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 13:30'>Jos 13:30</a></em>). The two and a half tribes saw good pasture land and wanted it there and then, as a king of short cut to the Kingdom of God. But there are no short cuts to the Kingdom. The conditions they were given demanded even more faith from them. Their men had to leave their flocks and families unprotected on the east of Jordan whilst they fought in the front line vanguard of Joshua's army to secure the territory on the west of Jordan. And the territory they were asked to possess was huge, far larger than the pasture lands they initially coveted, and inhabited by giants.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob to the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and called them, even Bashan, after his own name, Havvoth Jair, to this day- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The boundaries of Gad appear to in practice encroach upon that given to Manasseh (<em><a href='B:130 5:11'>1Ch 5:11</a></em> cp. <em><a href='B:60 13:8'>Jos 13:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 13:7'>Jos 13:7</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 13:11'>Jos 13:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 13:25'>Jos 13:25</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 13:30'>Jos 13:30</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 3:10-13'>Deu 3:10-13</a></em>). But the tribe of Manasseh had extended their borders northward (<em><a href='B:130 5:23'>1Ch 5:23</a></em>). The territory was given to Israel as their intended inheritance in the Kingdom of God; but God was open to some flexibility about this. We think of Caleb and Othniel asking for territory as an inheritance. And so it is with our dialogue with God's and His eternal intentions for us. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>I gave Gilead to Machir- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em><a href='B:40 32:39'>Num 32:39</a></em> describes how the tribes of Gilead were displaced by Machir; but <em><a href='B:50 3:15'>Deu 3:15</a></em> says that God through Moses "gave Gilead to Machir". The land they took was not therefore taken so much by their human effort, swords and bows, even though they played a role- but by the gracious gift of God. And it's the same with our inheritance of the Kingdom. We note that it was God's intention that Israel lived permanently in the promised land. Yet their specific inheritances were related to their behaviour during the time when they took the kingdom; thus Machir received the territory which he had ethnically cleansed. And so our eternal inheritances, the nature of our eternity, will be a direct reflection of our work in this life. It's not that works can save us. Salvation itself is the gift of grace, represented by how Gilead was given to Machir by God. But it is so that the nature of our eternity will is being forged by our experiences and spiritual intentions now. We are right now shaping the nature of our eternal future. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>To the Reubenites and to the Gadites I gave from Gilead to the valley of the Arnon, the middle of the valley and its border, to the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em><a href='B:60 1:13'>Jos 1:13</a></em> describes this as having been "given rest". After the pattern of the Reubenites, we have been given the promised rest of the Kingdom here and now (<em><a href='B:60 1:13'>Jos 1:13</a></em> cp. <em><a href='B:650 4:3'>Heb 4:3</a></em>); but we will, like them, only take possession of that inheritance after we have ensured that our brethren have received their possession (<em><a href='B:60 1:15'>Jos 1:15</a></em>). <em><a href='B:60 1:13'>Jos 1:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 1:15'>Jos 1:15</a></em> present a paradox: the Reubenites were given their "rest", but they would only get their "rest" once their brethren had. Those Reubenites really were symbols of us: for this passage is surely behind the reasoning of <em><a href='B:650 4:1-16'>Heb 4:1-16</a></em>, where <em>we</em> are told that <em>we</em> have entered into rest, but that we must labour if we want to enter into it.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>the Arabah also, and the Jordan and its border, from Chinnereth to the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisgah eastward- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>These descriptions imply a birds eye awareness of the geography of the land which no man then living would have had. Clearly Moses was given Divinely inspired understanding in order to define the various allotments of the tribes at this time. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>I commanded you at that time, saying Yahweh your God has given you this land to possess it; you shall pass over armed before your brothers, the children of Israel, all the men of valour- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Moses has just said that <em>he </em>gave Israel their land possessions (:12,13,15,16). So often we encounter this kind of thing; Moses loves to emphasize that God is working through him, that he is identified with God and merely His agent doing His work. Likewise the language of God can be applied to all His servants and supremely to His Son. This doesn’t mean that they were God in person, neither was Jesus; but it also doesn’t mean that we as individuals are meaningless because God is manifest through us.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This was no small sacrifice, because it left their much beloved flocks, as well as their women and children, without protection. That is the significance of the agreement that "all" their soldiers were to pass over Jordan. And they were to be in the front line, "before your brothers", forming the vanguard (<em><a href='B:60 1:14'>Jos 1:14</a></em>). Further, their inheritances east of Jordan were huge, and included areas inhabited by giants and strong enemies. So the agreement required them to live by faith in God's protection far more than did the other tribes. Their attempted short cut to the Kingdom didn't work, it ended up with far greater challenge to their faith. And that is true to this day.&nbsp;</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>But your wives and your little ones and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock)- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>We see here God's awareness of every human situation. The livestock had come from the spoil of the towns they had destroyed.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Shall live in your cities which I have given you- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>They had&nbsp; to leave their women and children without protection. That is the significance of the agreement that "all" their soldiers were to pass over Jordan. So the agreement required them to live by faith in God's protection far more than did the other tribes. Their attempted short cut to the Kingdom didn't work, it ended up with far greater challenge to their faith. And that is true to this day.&nbsp;</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>until Yahweh gives rest to your brothers as to you, and they also possess the land which Yahweh your God gives them beyond the Jordan; then you shall return every man to his possession which I have given you-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>See on <em><a href='B:60 22:2-4'>Jos 22:2-4</a></em>. He had promised Reuben and Manasseh that they could return to their possessions only when the others had possessed the land (<em><a href='B:50 3:20'>Deu 3:20</a></em>). This condition never happened- yet they were allowed to return. And our very salvation from death and the consequences of sin is in a sense another example of this kind of grace. Indeed, the conditions of <em><a href='B:50 3:20'>Deu 3:20</a></em> were in their turn an easier form, a concession to, the terms of the initial agreement in <em><a href='B:40 32:20-32'>Num 32:20-32</a></em>.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Although context is indeed important, it isn't <em>always </em>so. The New Testament writers so often quote the Old Testament <em>without</em> (apparently) attention to the context of the words they are quoting. And this is indeed the approach of the Rabbis, who tend to expound each Bible verse as a separate entity. But all the same, in seeking to understand a verse, attention should be paid to the context. Because a word or phrase means something in one context doesn't mean it <em>always</em> means this in <em>any </em>context. Thus "leaven" can be a symbol of both the Gospel and also sin. And the eagle is a symbol of several quite different enemies of Israel, as well as of God Himself. Another simple example is in <em><a href='B:50 3:20'>Deu 3:20</a></em>; the land "beyond Jordan" refers to land on the West of the river; but in <em><a href='B:60 9:10'>Jos 9:10</a></em> the same phrase refers to land on the East. That same phrase "beyond Jordan" means something different in different contexts. We can't always assume, therefore, that the same phrase <em>must</em> refer to the same thing wherever it occurs. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>I commanded Joshua at that time saying, Your eyes have seen all that Yahweh your God has done to these two kings; so shall Yahweh do to all the kingdoms where you go- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>We are given some foretastes of the Kingdom of God even in this life; just as their victories in the wilderness were foretastes of the greater victories they would have against the inhabitants of Canaan.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You shall not fear them, for Yahweh your God, He it is who fights for you- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Fear was therefore disbelief in God's fighting for them. And so much wrong human behaviour arises from fear- fear of possible consequences, ever dwelling upon 'what if?' scenarios. But this is not the stuff of faith, but rather of secular life. Fear is always the antithesis of faith. God is often called an "awesome God" (<em><a href='B:50 7:21'>Deu 7:21</a></em> etc.). The Hebrew word for "awesome" is that for 'fear' (s.w. <em><a href='B:10 3:10'>Gen 3:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:10 15:1'>Gen 15:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:10 18:1-33'>Gen 18:1-33</a></em>; <em><a href='B:10 15:1-21'>Gen 15:1-21</a></em> etc.). The idea is that God's people are to be in such fear / awe of Him that they fear / are in awe of nothing else. Hence <em><a href='B:50 7:21'>Deu 7:21</a></em> says that Israel should "not be scared of" their enemies, because their God is "awesome", He is the one to be feared.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>I begged Yahweh at that time saying-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"Begged" is s.w. "gracious" in <em><a href='B:20 33:19'>Exo 33:19</a></em>, where Moses was told that Yahweh had sovereign power to "be gracious to whom I will be gracious". He cast himself upon that grace, in asking for God to change His decision about barring Moses from entry to the land (:25). Moses knew God well enough to know that He was capable of changing His stated purposes. Indeed, Moses had persuaded God to do so with regard to Israel's destruction. </p>&nbsp;


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Lord Yahweh, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your strong hand; for what god is there in heaven or in earth that can do according to Your works and according to Your mighty acts?- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The might of Yahweh's hand was shown through His grace in as it were forcing Israel out of Egypt, when they actually wanted to remain there and He wished to destroy them (<em><a href='B:330 20:8'>Eze 20:8</a></em>). They were idolatrous and had told Moses to leave them alone and let them serve the Egyptians. Yahweh's strength therefore refers to the power of His grace in continuing His program with them.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Moses was to stretch forth his hand to cause the waters of the Red Sea to part and return, not his rod; because he was manifesting the hand of Yahweh which was to deliver Israel (s.w. <em><a href='B:20 7:5'>Exo 7:5</a></em>). The repeated references to the stretched our arm or hand of Yahweh to save His people invite us to recall this incident, and to perceive that Yahweh's hand had been manifest through the hand of Moses (<em><a href='B:50 4:34'>Deu 4:34</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 5:15'>Deu 5:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:19'>Deu 7:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:2'>Deu 11:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 26:8'>Deu 26:8</a></em>). That stretched out, saving arm and hand of Yahweh was and is stretched out still, to save His people (<em><a href='B:110 8:42'>1Ki 8:42</a></em>; <em><a href='B:330 20:34'>Eze 20:34</a></em>; <em><a href='B:340 9:15'>Dan 9:15</a></em> "as at this day") and bring about a new creation in human lives (<em><a href='B:290 45:12'>Isa 45:12</a></em>). For the deliverance through the Red Sea is intended to be experienced by all God's people, and is now seen through His saving grace at baptism (<em><a href='B:530 10:1-2'>1Co 10:1-2</a></em>). What happened there was but the beginning of the work of God's outstretched arm (<em><a href='B:50 3:24'>Deu 3:24</a></em>). Yet the stretched out arm / hand of God is also a figure for His judgment (<em><a href='B:130 21:16'>1Ch 21:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 9:12'>Isa 9:12</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 10:4'>Isa 10:4</a></em>). His hand is at work in our lives- either to our condemnation or our salvation. And it is for us therefore to humble ourselves beneath that mighty hand (<em><a href='B:670 5:6'>1Pe 5:6</a></em>).</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Please let me go over and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan, that good mountain, and Lebanon-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Moses asked at least twice (maybe three times?) for him to be allowed to enter the land (<em><a href='B:50 3:25'>Deu 3:25</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 90:1-17'>Psa 90:1-17</a></em>); but the answer was basically the same as to Paul when he asked for his thorn in the flesh to be removed: "My grace is sufficient for you". The fact Moses had been forgiven and was at one with his God was so great that his physical entering the land was irrelevant. And for Paul likewise, temporal blessings in this life are nothing compared to the grace of forgiveness which we have received (<em><a href='B:20 34:9'>Exo 34:9</a></em>).</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Moses knew God well enough to know that He is capable of changing His stated intentions; for Moses had persuaded God not to destroy Israel as He once planned in His wrath. God is open to dialogue, He isn’t the impervious ‘Allah’ of Islam who must be merely submitted to; and this gives our prayer life real energy and zest, knowing that we’re not simply firing requests at God in the hope we might get at least some response; we can dialogue with God, wrestling in prayer over specific, concrete situations and requests.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Hebrew word for "spied out" in <em><a href='B:50 1:24'>Deu 1:24</a></em> also means 'to slander' (s.w. <em><a href='B:100 19:27'>2Sa 19:27</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 15:3'>Psa 15:3</a></em>). Their slander of the land was in that they misrepresented the strength of the people there, who were in fact fearful of the Israelites. They brought up an evil report of the land (<em><a href='B:40 13:32'>Num 13:32</a></em>), characterizing it as not "good" but "evil", as if inhabited by insuperable forces of cosmic evil. They disbelieved God's simple statement that He was bringing them a "good land" (<em><a href='B:20 3:8'>Exo 3:8</a></em>). Moses therefore repeatedly calls the land a "good land", denying their wrong idea that the land was inhabited by 'evil spirits' (<em><a href='B:50 3:25'>Deu 3:25</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:21-22'>Deu 4:21-22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 6:18'>Deu 6:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 8:7'>Deu 8:7</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 9:6'>Deu 9:6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:17'>Deu 11:17</a></em>). We see here how belief in 'evil spirits' or 'demons' militated against their faith in God and His eagerness to give His good Kingdom to His people. That continues to be His "good pleasure" (<em><a href='B:490 12:32'>Luk 12:32</a></em>) toward us, but like Israel, we are tempted to disbelieve this and allow our own perceptions and empirical conclusions to lead us away from simple faith in this. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>But Yahweh was angry with me for your sakes and didn’t listen to me; and Yahweh said to me, Let it suffice you; speak no more to Me of this matter-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Moses says “for your sakes” several times. Although he spoke Deuteronomy in his spiritual maturity at the end of his life, it could be argued that like all of us, he died with some spiritual point of weakness; and in his case it would have been his failure to own up fully to his sin of striking the rock, still blaming it on others even at the end of his life. But Moses will be saved; without any complacency, we all the same shouldn’t think that we won’t be saved because we have weaknesses we failed to overcome, and likewise we shouldn’t assume others won’t be saved because they can’t recognize what to us is an obvious failure in their behaviour or personality.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Lord Jesus would have meditated upon the way righteous men had taken upon themselves the sins of their people. Thus Jeremiah speaks as if he has committed Israel's sins; Ezra rends his clothes and plucks off his hair, as if <em>he</em> has married out of the faith (<em><a href='B:150 9:4'>Ezr 9:4</a></em> cp. <em><a href='B:160 13:25'>Neh 13:25</a></em>; the Lord received the same sinner's treatment, <em><a href='B:290 50:6'>Isa 50:6</a></em>). Moses' prayer for God to relent and let him enter the land was only rejected for the sake of his association with Israel's sins. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>At the very end of his life, Moses reeled off this great speech of Deuteronomy, knowing full well that he was to die without entering the land. In <em><a href='B:50 9:18'>Deu 9:18</a></em> he says that his prayer of <em><a href='B:20 32:32'>Exo 32:32</a></em> was heard- in that he was not going to enter the land, but they would. Hence his urging of them to go ahead and enter the land- to experience what his self-sacrifice had enabled. In this we see the economy of God, and how He works even through sin. On account of Moses’ temporary rashness of speech, he was excluded- and yet by this, his prayer was heard. He was temporarily blotted out of the book, so that they might enter. Moses’ fleeting requests to enter the land must be read as a flagging from the height of devotion he reached, rather like the Lord’s request to escape the cross in Gethsemane. But ultimately he did what he intended- he gave his place in the Kingdom / land so that they might enter (although of course he will be in the future Kingdom). This is why Moses stresses on the last day of his life that he wouldn’t enter the land for Israel’s sake (<em><a href='B:50 1:37'>Deu 1:37</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 3:26'>Deu 3:26</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:21'>Deu 4:21</a></em>). He saw that his sin had been worked through, and the essential reason for him not entering was because of the offer he had made. It “went ill with him for their sakes” (<em><a href='B:230 106:32'>Psa 106:32</a></em>). </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward, and see with your eyes, for you shall not go over this Jordan- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This was to encourage him that he was indeed as Abraham, who had been bidden do the same. He like Abraham was seeing the land which he would possess eternally in the Kingdom, but not in this life. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Moses truly was made spiritually strong out of weakness. His faith fluctuated, until at last he came to a spiritual height at the end of his life. We have seen something of the intensity and passion of his love for Israel, to the point where he was willing to give his physical and eternal life for Israel's salvation. In a sense, his desire was heard. Because of the sin of a moment, caused by the provocation of the people he loved, God decreed that he could not enter the land of promise. For their sakes he was barred from the land; this is the emphasis of the Spirit (<em><a href='B:50 1:37'>Deu 1:37</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 3:26'>Deu 3:26</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:21'>Deu 4:21</a></em>); and <em><a href='B:230 106:32-33'>Psa 106:32-33</a></em> says that Moses was provoked to sin because Israel angered God, and that therefore "it went ill with Moses for their sakes". Truly, God works through sinful man to achieve His glory. <em><a href='B:330 20:38'>Eze 20:38</a></em> says that the rebels in the wilderness “shall not enter into the land”, with reference to how when Moses called the people “rebels” and beat the rock, he was disallowed entry into the land. Because he called them rebels, i.e. unworthy of entry to the Kingdom, he also was treated as a rebel. If we condemn others, we likewise will be condemned. On another level, he was simply barred for disobedience; and on yet another, his prayer to the effect that he didn’t want to be in the land if his people weren’t going to be there was being answered; and on yet another and higher level, his offer to be blotted out of the book of inheritance for Israel’s sake was also being heard. Thus God works within the same incident in so many ways! Thus Moses says that he must die “Because ye (plural) trespassed against me” (<em><a href='B:50 32:51'>Deu 32:51</a></em> AV). This all helps explain why Christ had to die, apart from the fact that he was mortal. He died the death of a sinner for our salvation, he felt all the emotions of the rejected, the full weight of God's curse; for "cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree" in crucifixion (<em><a href='B:550 3:13'>Gal 3:13</a></em>). Moses was a superb and accurate type of the Lord Jesus. Therefore Moses in his time of dying must grant us insight into the death of our Lord, the prophet like him (<em><a href='B:50 18:18'>Deu 18:18</a></em>). As Christ declared God's Name just before his death (<em><a href='B:500 17:26'>Joh 17:26</a></em>), so did Moses (<em><a href='B:50 32:3'>Deu 32:3</a></em> LXX). </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>But commission Joshua and encourage him and strengthen him, for he shall go over before this people and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you shall see- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"Obstinate" in <em><a href='B:50 2:30'>Deu 2:30</a></em> is the word used when appealing for Israel and Joshua to be "of good courage" (<em><a href='B:50 3:28'>Deu 3:28</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:6-7'>Deu 31:6-7</a></em>). The strength of heart in <em><a href='B:50 2:30'>Deu 2:30</a></em> was given by God's activity upon the heart of Sihon, confirming him in the way he wanted to go, 'hardening his spirit' in that way. And so the exhortation to have a courageous or strengthened heart was an appeal to let God's Spirit work upon their spirit, to allow themselves to be strengthened in their mind, that they might inherit the Kingdom. And that appeal comes to us too. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>So we stayed in the valley over against Beth Peor-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The way Israel remained in the valley and didn't enter the land is parallel with how Moses was not to pass over Jordan (:27). He was sharing in their condemnation. I suggest God forgave his sin, but he didn't enter the land because he had wished to share their judgment as their representative, so that they might enter.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Now Israel, listen to the statutes and to the ordinances which I teach you. Do them so that you may live and go in and possess the land which Yahweh, the God of your fathers gives you-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>He pleaded with them to "take heed to thyself" (AV- 'you' singular) that they kept God's word and taught it to their children, so that they would enter the land (<em><a href='B:50 4:1'>Deu 4:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:9'>Deu 4:9</a></em>). These words are alluded to by Paul in <em><a href='B:610 4:16'>1Ti 4:16</a></em>, where he says that attention to the doctrine of the new covenant will likewise save us and those who hear us. Paul's last words to Timothy are in the spirit of the whole of Deuteronomy, Moses' farewell warning: love the word, be obedient to it, because this will lead you to inherit the promised land for ever.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You must not add to the word which I command you, neither must you take away from it, so that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your God which I command you- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Pharaoh had insisted that nothing should be "diminished" from the quota of bricks he had set (<em><a href='B:20 5:11'>Exo 5:11</a></em>), and the same word is later used of how Israel were not to "diminish" ("take away") from obeying Yahweh's commandments (<em><a href='B:50 4:2'>Deu 4:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:32'>Deu 12:32</a></em>). They were being reminded that they had changed masters when they crossed the Red Sea, just as Paul says happens when we are baptized (<em><a href='B:520 6:1-23'>Rom 6:1-23</a></em>). And the Red Sea crossing represented baptism into Jesus (<em><a href='B:530 10:1-2'>1Co 10:1-2</a></em>). Like us, Israel were not radically free to do as they pleased. What happened was that they changed masters; hence the appeal to Pharaoh to let God's people go, that they may serve Him rather than Pharaoh. We too will only find ultimate freedom through this servitude to God's ways, and will finally emerge into the radical liberty of the children of God in the Kingdom age (<em><a href='B:520 8:21'>Rom 8:21</a></em>). </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The last message of Jesus, like that of Moses, emphasizes we are not to add to nor subtract from God’s word (<em><a class='bible' href='#b66:22:19'>Rev 22:19</a></em>). The commandments we have been given are designed by God to be a system of living which brings us to Him as He wishes. Jesus was perfect before God not just because He kept the commandments fully, but because the life elicited by that obedience produced a totally God-like person. If we omit some commandments and add others, then this will not be the end result. They are intended to synthesize together to produce a truly spiritual character and way of life. If we ignore some of them and add others then we will actually find obedience to the commandments <em>in toto </em>far more difficult. See on <em><a href='B:50 11:22'>Deu 11:22</a></em>.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em><a href='B:50 4:2'>Deu 4:2</a></em> suggests that God had given them just the right commands "<em>that</em> you may keep" them. In other words, obedience to one command would lead to obedience to another, so that a whole way of life could be developed which was in accord with God's laws. Successful keeping of the commandments of Christ is similar. Viewed one by one, they can seem just too much to cope with. David found that keeping God's laws made it even easier to keep them; there was an upward spiral of conformity to God's mind. Thus he asks God to give him any other commandments which God desired; rather than thinking 'I can't cope with all these, so no more, <em>please</em>!'. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Your eyes have seen what Yahweh did because of Baal Peor; for all the men who followed Baal Peor, Yahweh your God has destroyed them from the midst of you- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em><a href='B:50 4:3'>Deu 4:3</a></em> implies that all who followed Baal Peor were destroyed, and only those who "were faithful" to Yahweh survived (<em><a href='B:50 4:4'>Deu 4:4</a></em>). But <em><a href='B:40 25:9'>Num 25:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 25:11'>Num 25:11</a></em> suggests that virtually all Israel went after Baal Peor and would all have been destroyed, had not Phinehas and his men slain 24,000 of them. What Phinehas did therefore had real and absolute meaning for God- those who did follow Baal Peor were counted as if they hadn't done so. This was imputed righteousness, and looks forward to the even greater effect of the intercession of the Lord Jesus for us. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>But you who were faithful- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>AV "you that did cleave to Yahweh". The idea of 'cleaving' to God is also a big theme of Moses in Deuteronomy (4:4; 10:20; 11:22; 13:4,17; 28:21,60; 30:20); the only other time Moses uses the word in his writings is in <em><a href='B:10 2:24'>Gen 2:24</a></em>, concerning a man cleaving to his wife. Moses seems to have been suggesting to Israel that their covenant relationship with God meant they were <em>marrying God</em>. This was a real paradigm breaker. We may be used to such things. But against the theological background of the time, not to say the generally low level of spirituality among Israel, this was a shocking idea. It reflected the heights to which Moses had risen.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>To Yahweh your God are all alive this day-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Moses in his final speech in Deuteronomy uses the name "Yahweh" over 530 times, often with some possessive adjective, e.g. "Yahweh <em>thy God</em>" or "Yahweh <em>our God</em>". He saw the personal relationship between a man and his God. Jacob reached a like realization at his peak. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances as Yahweh my God commanded me- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Hebrew <em>mishpat</em>, "ordinances", has a wide range of meaning. The idea is of judgment, as if God and His Angels gave these laws as their considered judgment after considering the human condition, and Israel were to abide by them. But the word also the idea of a right or privilege; and that is how we should see God's laws. They are only felt as a burden because of human hardness of neck towards God's ways. His laws are not of themselves burdensome, but rather a privilege and blessing. The law was indeed "holy, just and good" (<em><a href='B:520 7:12'>Rom 7:12</a></em>), designed to inculcate a holy, just and good life (<em><a href='B:630 1:8'>Tit 1:8</a></em>), a way in which a man should "walk" in daily life (<em><a href='B:30 18:4'>Lev 18:4</a></em>), a culture of kindness and grace to others which reflected God's grace to man. If we dwell upon the idea of "rights" carried within the word <em>mishpat</em>, we note that the law begins in <em><a href='B:20 21:1-2'>Exo 21:1-2</a></em> (also <em><a href='B:50 15:12-18'>Deu 15:12-18</a></em>) with the rights of a slave- those considered to have no rights in the society of that day. The "rights" to be afforded by us to others are the essence of God's rightness / justice.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>That you should do so in the midst of the land where you go in to possess it- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The reference may specifically be to the sanctuary envisioned as being built "in the midst of the land".</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Keep therefore and do them, for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations who shall hear all these statutes and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people!-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The preacher of the Gospel <em>is</em> the Gospel; the man is the message, just as the very same word / message was made flesh in the Lord. Israel of old were taught this. They were to keep and do the commandments of God, and <em>this</em> would be the witness of their wisdom and understanding to the nations around them- who would thereby be brought to Israel’s God (<em><a href='B:50 4:6-8'>Deu 4:6-8</a></em>). The imparting of wisdom and understanding therefore didn’t come so much through specific doctrinal exposition, as through living out those principles in daily life. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>For what great nation is there that has a god so near to them as Yahweh our God is whenever we call on Him?-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"So near" is s.w. kinsman. God was as a kinsman to Israel. No other God was able to be this close and therefore this close to being human as Yahweh. A relative was seen in those days as one who would provide for you, redeem you, stand up for you, one you could always turn to. And God was Israel's kinsman <em>par excellence</em>. It is thrice emphasized that Israel were a "great nation" because of this closeness of their God (<em><a href='B:50 4:6-8'>Deu 4:6-8</a></em>). The Hebrew term "great nation" is at the foundation of the promises to Abraham which form the new covenant. Through the seed (the Lord Jesus) "I will make of you a great nation" (<em><a href='B:10 12:2'>Gen 12:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:10 18:18'>Gen 18:18</a></em>). God had earlier told Moses that He would destroy Israel and make of Moses a "great nation" (<em><a href='B:20 32:10'>Exo 32:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 14:12'>Num 14:12</a></em>); but Moses had successfully pleaded with God not to do so and to continue His attempt to make Israel the intended "great nation". So all Moses' references here to Israel as a "great nation" are a reflection of his own desire that they would come to this status. But their greatness was in having God so close to them. Moses himself had known God very near to him, had spoken with God and heard God's voice- he had experienced the 'greatness' of the relationship God intended with all His people. But Israel preferred not to hear God's voice direct, they moved away from the possible intimacy, and preferred instead a human mediator and system of religion interposing between God and man. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Lord Jesus speaking of "The Angels of God in Heaven" (<em><a href='B:470 22:30'>Mat 22:30</a></em>) suggests that they spend a fair proportion of their time located there physically. God ‘comes near’ whenever we call upon Him (<em><a href='B:50 4:7'>Deu 4:7</a></em> RV). Perhaps this refers to an Angel literally being sent out from Heaven to come near to us in working out the answer to our prayer. It seems that great stress is placed in Scripture on the Angels physically moving through space, both on the earth and between Heaven and earth, in order to fulfil their tasks, rather than being static in Heaven or earth and bringing things about by just willing them to happen. See on <em><a href='B:10 18:10'>Gen 18:10</a></em>.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>What great nation is there that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The law was holy, just and good (<em><a href='B:520 7:12'>Rom 7:12</a></em>), and David often perceives this in <em><a href='B:230 119:1-176'>Psa 119:1-176</a></em>. The effect of perfect obedience to it would elicit a character like that of the Lord Jesus, the only one to fully obey it- perfect in every way. This is one reason why His death fulfilled the law of Moses. It fulfilled the intentions of that law. And His righteousness and perfection of character is counted by grace to those of us who are in Him, despite our failures to keep Divine law. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Only take heed to yourself-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"Take heed" runs like a refrain throughout Moses' speech. Despite such great love for Israel, Moses knew them so well that he fully appreciated that they were extremely prone to weakness. This is one of the major themes of Moses in Deuteronomy. He did not turn a blind eye to their sins; Deuteronomy is punctuated with reminders of how grievously they had sinned during their journey. Time and again he comments on how easily they will be tempted to disobey commandments. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>And keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes saw and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; therefore make them known to your children and your children’s children-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Israel’s guardian Angel was to “keep” them in the way (<em><a href='B:20 23:20'>Exo 23:20</a></em>), clearly echoing how the Angels kept the way to the tree of life in Eden. The same Hebrew word for “keep” occurs very often in Exodus in the context of Israel being told to keep God’s commands; but their freewill effort was to be confirmed by the Angel keeping them in the way of obedience. They were to “keep” themselves in the way (<em><a href='B:50 4:9'>Deu 4:9</a></em> and many others; s.w. “take heed”, “observe” etc.), but the Angel would keep them in it. This mutuality is developed in <em><a href='B:20 23:21'>Exo 23:21</a></em>, where having said the Angel will keep them, Israel are told “Beware of him, and obey his voice”. “Beware” translates the same Hebrew word as “keep”. The Angel would keep them, but they were to keep to the Angel. And they didn't, and so that generation died and were not brought to the Kingdom as was potentially possible. This is an example of how we are intended to have a mutual relationship with the Lord, leading to Him strengthening us in the one way. This word translated “keep” is also translated “spies” in <em><a href='B:720 1:24'>Jud 1:24</a></em>; the spies were the keepers in the way of Israel, to bring them in to the land. And yet the Angel at the exodus was their ‘keeper’ to bring them into the land. The spies were working in harmony with their Angels; and thus they succeeded.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This is an evident allusion to the Angel-cherubim keeping the way to the tree of life. But did all Israel remain “in the way” whilst in the wilderness? Evidently not. Did the Angel fail? No. The Angel was given power and strength in order to potentially enable Israel to remain “in the way”, just as our Angels are given that same power. But Israel refused to work with the Angel; they didn’t make use of the Angel’s efforts to keep them in the way.</p>&nbsp;


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Remember the day that you stood before Yahweh your God in Horeb, when Yahweh said to me, Assemble me the people and I will make them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days that they live on the land-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The LXX uses the word <em>ekklesia</em> eight times in Deuteronomy, but not once in Moses' other recorded words (<em><a href='B:50 4:10'>Deu 4:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 9:10'>Deu 9:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 18:16'>Deu 18:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 23:1-3'>Deu 23:1-3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 23:8'>Deu 23:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 32:1'>Deu 32:1</a></em>). In his spiritual maturity in Deuteronomy, he was very aware of the "ecclesia". Responsibility for the whole family God had redeemed was a mark of his maturity. It is observable that both as a community and as individuals, this will be a sign of our maturity too.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>And that they may teach their children-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The very process of teaching or explaining something to others makes us fully conscious of the material we are teaching; and so preaching or teaching our children God’s principles enables us to be the more conscious of them and to ourselves remember them. The whole concept of evangelization is partly for our benefit.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You came near and stood under the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire to the heart of the sky, with darkness, cloud and thick darkness-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The mountain appeared to be burning with fire when Moses ascended it due to the pillar of fire standing there, appearing to reach to the "midst of Heaven", showing Heaven and earth were connected through this manifestation. The Angel led them through the wilderness, and elsewhere we read that the pillar of fire led them; the conclusion is therefore that the pillar of fire was where the Angel dwelt. Thus the Angel literally "went before" them&nbsp;as God promised it would, in the form of the pillar. Angels are elsewhere associated with pillars of fire, e.g. the one which came to Manoah, and not least in that God came down in a pillar of fire to speak to Moses. <em><a href='B:20 14:19'>Exo 14:19</a></em> conclusively shows the pillar of fire/cloud and the Angel to be identical: "the Angel of God which went before the camp of Israel removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud (the Shekinah glory) went from before their face, and stood behind them".</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The idea was as in <em><a href='B:20 19:13'>Exo 19:13</a></em> LXX "when the voices and trumpets and cloud depart from off the mountain, they shall come up on the mountain<em>".</em> But this didn't happen- see on <em><a href='B:20 19:14'>Exo 19:14</a></em>. They were not sufficiently sanctified; see on <em><a href='B:20 19:10'>Exo 19:10</a></em>. Instead of all of them ascending the mountain, only Moses was invited to ascend (<em><a href='B:20 19:20'>Exo 19:20</a></em>). This was a departure from the initial intention. And when he got to the top, he was simply told to go down and ensure the people didn't break through the cordon and come up the mountain as originally planned. Some of them had already touched the mountain; for the commentary of <em><a href='B:650 12:20'>Heb 12:20</a></em>&nbsp;is that "They could not endure (s.w. "uphold") that which was commanded- If even a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned". The argument in the context seems to be that Israel were disobedient even to the peripheral command not to touch the mountain. The whole narrative is the story of an intimacy with God which didn't come about as potentially possible. And that is the sad story of so much of the Divine-human encounter.&nbsp;But Moses at the end of his life was full of grace and he doesn't remind them of all this. He focuses on just one point he wishes to make- that they saw no form, and so should make no images. Faced with people with a range of immaturities, we likewise must show grace and focus on just one or two issues specifically.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Yahweh spoke to you out of the midst of the fire-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Moses graciously doesn't mention that they shied away from Yahweh's appearance at that time and wanted him only to engage with Yahweh. Grace and speaking graciously about others' weaknesses is a sign of spiritual maturity, and we see it in Moses now at the end of his life.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The references to fire, smoke, furnace, earthquake and the descent of Yahweh (<em><a href='B:20 19:18'>Exo 19:18</a></em>) is very similar to the language of Divine judgment, especially of Sodom (<em><a href='B:10 19:28'>Gen 19:28</a></em>; <em><a class='bible' href='#b66:9:2'>Rev 9:2</a></em>). And we know from the prophets that Israel were considered by God as Sodom. We could read this as His wrath with Israel for breaking His simple commandments about not touching the mountain, and for not having sufficiently sanctified themselves (see on <em><a href='B:20 19:10'>Exo 19:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 19:14'>Exo 19:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 19:18'>Exo 19:18</a></em>). The argument of <em><a href='B:650 12:1-29'>Heb 12:1-29</a></em> appears to be that the scene here is one of condemnation of sinful man- and we have not been called to that, but to salvation by grace in the new covenant in Christ. But out of that condemnation, God earnestly wished to reach out to His people, with words of covenant salvation.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You heard the voice of words, but you saw no form; you only heard a voice-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The fact they saw no similitude is sandwiched between two statements that they heard God's word. The idea surely is that they were the image and likeness of God (<em><a href='B:10 1:26'>Gen 1:26</a></em>) and God's intention was to fashion them through His word into His moral image. Instead, they rejected this closeness to God by wanting to turn Him into a similitude, an idol, creating Him as a "likeness" of something familiar (:16-18). God's likeness is to be found in us who are made in His physical image and transformed by His word into His moral image. He has no other likeness apart from in and through us. His closeness to us is amazing. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Sinai burnt with a fire which came "from the heart of Heaven" (<em><a href='B:50 4:11'>Deu 4:11</a></em> RV). But the people saw nothing; all they heard was a voice. The word of God was thus visually associated with a fire coming from Heaven's heart- from the very core of God Himself. The focus was upon the voice of God's words- hence "you saw no form; only a voice" (<em><a href='B:50 4:12'>Deu 4:12</a></em> Heb.). They 'saw' the voice in that they saw it associated with the fire that came from the heart of Heaven. This is the intensity of God speaking with us in His word. And Israel turned away from this intensity- for they asked that this experience not happen again, and that Moses instead be a mediator of God's word to them. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments, and He wrote them on two tablets of stone- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This verse makes a clear connection between the ten commandments and the old covenant. The ten commandments include the Sabbath. That old covenant has now been replaced by the new covenant. The Lord's teachings repeat the essence of nine of the ten commandments- but not the Sabbath.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Yahweh commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances that you might do them in the land you go over to possess- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Moses was indeed "apt to teach". “The servant of the Lord (A very common title of Moses) must not strive (As Israel did with him (<em><a href='B:40 26:9'>Num 26:9</a></em>)) but be gentle unto all (The spirit of Moses) apt to teach (As was Moses (<em><a href='B:20 18:20'>Exo 18:20</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 24:12'>Exo 24:12</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:1'>Deu 4:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:5'>Deu 4:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:14'>Deu 4:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 6:1'>Deu 6:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:22'>Deu 31:22</a></em>)), patient (As was Moses), in meekness (Moses was the meekest man (<em><a href='B:40 12:3'>Num 12:3</a></em>)) instructing those that oppose themselves (at the time of Aaron and Miriam’s self-opposing rebellion) if God peradventure will give them repentance (i.e. forgiveness) (“Peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin” (<em><a href='B:20 32:30'>Exo 32:30</a></em>))"- and he prayed 40 days and nights for it. And note too: <em><a href='B:620 2:19'>2Ti 2:19</a></em> = <em><a href='B:40 16:5'>Num 16:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 16:26'>Num 16:26</a></em>; <em><a href='B:620 2:20'>2Ti 2:20</a></em> = <em><a href='B:40 12:7'>Num 12:7</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 2:21'>Num 2:21</a></em> = <em><a href='B:40 16:37'>Num 16:37</a></em>; <em><a href='B:620 2:22'>2Ti 2:22</a></em> = <em><a href='B:40 12:2'>Num 12:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 16:3'>Num 16:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:620 2:26'>2Ti 2:26</a></em> = <em><a href='B:40 16:33'>Num 16:33</a></em>. This is quite something. The height of Moses’ devotion for His people, the passion of his praying, shadowing as it did the matchless intercession and self-giving of the Lord, really is our example. It isn’t just a height to be admired. It means that we will not half-heartedly ask our God to ‘be with’ brother x and sister y and the brethren in country z, as we lie half asleep in bed. This is a call to sustained, on our knees prayer and devotion to the salvation of others. For the Judaists, an appeal to be like Moses, to emulate him in teaching, was blasphemous; for they considered Moses at such a level that he could never be imitated. Yet Paul urges timid Timothy and all teachers to realistically be Moses to our audience.<em></em></p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Take therefore good heed to yourselves, for you saw no kind of form on the day that Yahweh spoke to you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Paul warned the new Israel that after his death ("after my departing", <em><a href='B:510 20:29'>Act 20:29</a></em>) there would be serious apostasy. This is the spirit of his very last words, in <em><a href='B:620 4:1-22'>2Ti 4:1-22</a></em>. it is exactly the spirit of Moses' farewell speech throughout the book of Deuteronomy, and throughout his final song (<em><a href='B:50 32:1-52'>Deu 32:1-52</a></em>) and <em><a href='B:50 31:29'>Deu 31:29</a></em>: "After my death you will utterly corrupt yourselves". Paul's "Take heed therefore unto yourselves" (<em><a href='B:510 20:28'>Act 20:28</a></em>) is quoted from many places in Deuteronomy (e.g. <em><a href='B:50 2:4'>Deu 2:4</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:9'>Deu 4:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:15'>Deu 4:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:23'>Deu 4:23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:16'>Deu 11:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:13'>Deu 12:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:19'>Deu 12:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:30'>Deu 12:30</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 24:8'>Deu 24:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 27:9'>Deu 27:9</a></em>).</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>“Form” or "likeness" is used in the LXX in the frequent warnings not to make an image or likeness of any god, let alone Yahweh (<em><a href='B:20 20:4'>Exo 20:4</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:16-25'>Deu 4:16-25</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 106:20'>Psa 106:20</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 40:18-19'>Isa 40:18-19</a></em>). The reason for this prohibition becomes clearer in the New Testament; the ultimate likeness of God is in His Son, and we are to create the likeness of His Son not as a mere physical icon, but within the very structure of our human personality and character.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Do not corrupt yourselves-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The idea may be that it is man who is made in the form / image / likeness of God (<em><a href='B:10 1:26'>Gen 1:26</a></em>). Our emphasis must be upon replicating God's thinking in ourselves, making ourselves after His image and likeness. Rather than seeking to worship a physical image of Him in the form of an idol or animal. To do so is to corrupt both Him and the humanity which He intends to be in His image and likeness.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>And make yourself an engraved image in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>God’s people are to accept Him as He is in His word, rather than try to create God in a form which seems attractive to us. As we read His word, it is not for us to say ‘I don’t think God would be like <em>that</em>, He will be like <em>this</em>, which is how I imagine He ought to be’. And it is not for us to work around those words of His which are inconvenient to us by forced, out of context interpretation, dismissing their inspiration or using other tricks of the human intellect. By doing so we are effectively making a graven image, fashioning God as we want Him to be rather than accepting Him as He is. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the sky- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>As discussed on :16, it is humans who are made in God's image and likeness. We are to seek to become after His spiritual, mental image and likeness. To worship physical idols or "nature" is a corruption of that intention, and in fact a devaluing of ourselves as humans and what it means to be human, made in God's likeness.<em></em></p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Egyptians were fond of making idols in the form of animals and the plagues had therefore been a judgment upon Egypt's gods. Yet Israel had taken those gods with them through the Red Sea (<em><a href='B:330 20:7-8'>Eze 20:7-8</a></em>).</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Do not lift up your eyes to the sky and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the army of the sky, be drawn away and worship them and serve them, which Yahweh your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole sky-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This warns Israel not to worship the stars, because God has shared them with “all the peoples under the whole heaven” (RV)- but He Has shared Himself only with Israel, and brought them out from the world to be separated unto Him (:20). Because of this unique and awesome entrance into their lives by God, they ought to have naturally separated themselves from any other god. The positive separation <em>unto</em> naturally resulted in the negative separation <em>from</em>. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>But Yahweh has taken you and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be to Him a people of inheritance, right up to this day-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>In the eternity of the Kingdom, we will be God's inheritance (<em><a href='B:50 4:20'>Deu 4:20</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 9:29'>Deu 9:29</a></em>), and He will be ours (<em><a href='B:230 16:5'>Psa 16:5</a></em>). This mutuality between God and His people is a common theme. "The ashes of the furnace" which created the plague of boils (<em><a href='B:20 9:8'>Exo 9:8</a></em>) may have been a reference to the furnaces used for the brick kilns, where the Hebrews were made to slave away making bricks. The result of this abuse was to come down upon the Egyptians as boils (<em><a href='B:20 9:9'>Exo 9:9</a></em>). Egypt is therefore likened to a furnace of oppression to Israel (<em><a href='B:50 4:20'>Deu 4:20</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 11:4'>Jer 11:4</a></em>). The Lord describes condemnation as being cast into a furnace (<em><a href='B:470 13:42'>Mat 13:42</a></em>; <em><a href='B:470 13:50'>Mat 13:50</a></em>). He is not speaking literally, but rather using the figure of Egypt as a furnace- for the condemnation of the unworthy in God's Israel is to be sent back into Egypt / the world (<em><a href='B:350 8:13'>Hos 8:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:350 9:3'>Hos 9:3</a></em>), and share their judgments. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Furthermore, Yahweh was angry with me- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>As noted on <em><a href='B:50 1:26'>Deu 1:26</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 1:32'>Deu 1:32</a></em>, Moses is pointing up the similarities between himself and Israel. Yahweh was angry with him and barred him from entry to the land (<em><a href='B:50 1:37'>Deu 1:37</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:21'>Deu 4:21</a></em>), just as He had been angry with Israel and barred them likewise (<em><a href='B:50 1:34'>Deu 1:34</a></em>). He however became their representative, having sinned in essence as they had, but having found forgiveness. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>For your sakes and swore that I should not go over the Jordan, and that I should not go in to that good land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>See on <em><a href='B:50 1:37'>Deu 1:37</a></em>. The love of Moses for Israel is reflected in his final address to them in Deuteronomy, his knowledge of them, his sensitivity to their weakness, his constant desire for them to be spiritually strong and to enter the land; God's respect of him at the end of his life, shown in his burial and in subsequent comments about him. Although Moses is at a spiritual peak in Deuteronomy, he does repeatedly comment- almost under his breath as it were- that he was not going to enter the land “for your sakes”, and that he was thereby bearing the anger of God against Israel (e.g. <em><a href='B:50 4:21'>Deu 4:21</a></em> etc.). Whilst in a sense this was true, God’s anger was against Moses personally regarding the sin of striking the rock. Given that “that rock was Christ”, his inappropriate striking of it was some kind of symbolic crucifixion of Christ. He was in the wrong- the record of the event makes that clear. And yet at the end of his life, Moses is blaming Israel for his sin and his exclusion from the land. Perhaps he was indicating his understanding of how his prayer to not enter the land for their sakes was being answered. On the other hand, one could argue that even on the last day of his life, Moses never came to terms with that sin, sought to justify himself in the eyes of Israel, to shift the blame… and yet even then, God’s grace was big enough to accept him. Quite how to score Moses on this point will always be debatable, but the exercise certainly provokes a lot of introspection about our own attitudes to public confession of sin, both in ourselves and in others, and its relationship to God’s ultimate acceptance of a person.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>In <em><a href='B:50 9:18'>Deu 9:18</a></em> he says that his prayer of <em><a href='B:20 32:32'>Exo 32:32</a></em> was heard- in that he was not going to enter the land, but they would. Hence his urging of them to go ahead and enter the land- to experience what his self-sacrifice had enabled. In this we see the economy of God, and how He works even through sin. Moses truly was made spiritually strong out of weakness. His faith fluctuated, until at last he came to a spiritual height at the end of his life. We have seen something of the intensity and passion of his love for Israel, to the point where he was willing to give his physical and eternal life for Israel's salvation. In a sense, his desire was heard. Because of the sin of a moment, caused by the provocation of the people he loved, God decreed that he could not enter the land of promise. For their sakes he was barred from the land; this is the emphasis of the Spirit (<em><a href='B:50 1:37'>Deu 1:37</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 3:26'>Deu 3:26</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:21'>Deu 4:21</a></em>); and <em><a href='B:230 106:32-33'>Psa 106:32-33</a></em> says that Moses was provoked to sin because Israel angered God, and that therefore "it went ill with Moses for their sakes". Truly, God works through sinful man to achieve His glory. <em><a href='B:330 20:38'>Eze 20:38</a></em> says that the rebels in the wilderness “shall not enter into the land”, with reference to how when Moses called the people “rebels” and beat the rock, he was disallowed entry into the land. Because he called them rebels, i.e. unworthy of entry to the Kingdom, he also was treated as a rebel. If we condemn others, we likewise will be condemned. On another level, he was simply barred for disobedience; and on yet another, his prayer to the effect that he didn’t want to be in the land if his people weren’t going to be there was being answered; and on yet another and higher level, his offer to be blotted out of the book of inheritance for Israel’s sake was also being heard. Thus God works within the same incident in so many ways! Thus Moses says that he must die “Because ye (plural) trespassed against me” (<em><a href='B:50 32:51'>Deu 32:51</a></em> AV). This all helps explain why Christ had to die, apart from the fact that he was mortal. He died the death of a sinner for our salvation, he felt all the emotions of the rejected, the full weight of God's curse; for "cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree" in crucifixion (<em><a href='B:550 3:13'>Gal 3:13</a></em>). Moses was a superb and accurate type of the Lord Jesus. Therefore Moses in his time of dying must grant us insight into the death of our Lord, the prophet like him (<em><a href='B:50 18:18'>Deu 18:18</a></em>). As Christ declared God's Name just before his death (<em><a href='B:500 17:26'>Joh 17:26</a></em>), so did Moses (<em><a href='B:50 32:3'>Deu 32:3</a></em> LXX). </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>but I must die in this land. I must not go over the Jordan; but you shall go over and possess- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"Drive out" is s.w. "possess". We must note the difference between the&nbsp; Canaanite peoples and their kings being "struck" and their land "taken" by Joshua-Jesus; and the people of Israel permanently taking possession. This is the difference between the Lord's victory on the cross, and our taking possession of the Kingdom. Even though that possession has been "given" to us. The word used for "possession" is literally 'an inheritance'. The allusion is to the people, like us, being the seed of Abraham. The Kingdom was and is our possession, our inheritance- if we walk in the steps of Abraham. But it is one thing to be the seed of Abraham, another to take possession of the inheritance; and Israel generally did not take possession of all the land (<em><a href='B:60 11:23'>Jos 11:23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 13:1'>Jos 13:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 16:10'>Jos 16:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 18:3'>Jos 18:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 23:4'>Jos 23:4</a></em>). The language of inheritance / possession is applied to us in the New Testament (<em><a href='B:560 1:11'>Eph 1:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 1:14'>Eph 1:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:580 3:24'>Col 3:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:510 20:32'>Act 20:32</a></em>; <em><a href='B:510 26:18'>Act 26:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:670 1:4'>1Pe 1:4</a></em> etc.). Israel were promised: "You shall possess it" (<em><a href='B:50 30:5'>Deu 30:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 33:23'>Deu 33:23</a></em>). This was more of a command than a prophecy, for sadly they were "given" the land but did not "possess" it. They were constantly encouraged in the wilderness that they were on the path to possessing the land (<em><a href='B:50 30:16'>Deu 30:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 30:18'>Deu 30:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:3'>Deu 31:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:13'>Deu 31:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 32:47'>Deu 32:47</a></em>), but when they got there they didn't possess it fully. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>That good land- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Hebrew word for "spied out" in <em><a href='B:50 1:24'>Deu 1:24</a></em> also means 'to slander' (s.w. <em><a href='B:100 19:27'>2Sa 19:27</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 15:3'>Psa 15:3</a></em>). Their slander of the land was in that they misrepresented the strength of the people there, who were in fact fearful of the Israelites. They brought up an evil report of the land (<em><a href='B:40 13:32'>Num 13:32</a></em>), characterizing it as not "good" but "evil", as if inhabited by insuperable forces of cosmic evil. They disbelieved God's simple statement that He was bringing them a "good land" (<em><a href='B:20 3:8'>Exo 3:8</a></em>). Moses therefore repeatedly calls the land a "good land", denying their wrong idea that the land was inhabited by 'evil spirits' (<em><a href='B:50 3:25'>Deu 3:25</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:21-22'>Deu 4:21-22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 6:18'>Deu 6:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 8:7'>Deu 8:7</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 9:6'>Deu 9:6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:17'>Deu 11:17</a></em>). We see here how belief in 'evil spirits' or 'demons' militated against their faith in God and His eagerness to give His good Kingdom to His people. That continues to be His "good pleasure" (<em><a href='B:490 12:32'>Luk 12:32</a></em>) toward us, but like Israel, we are tempted to disbelieve this and allow our own perceptions and empirical conclusions to lead us away from simple faith in this. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of Yahweh your God which He made with you, and make you an engraved image in the form of anything which Yahweh your God has forbidden you- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Like Paul in his time of dying, Moses in Deuteronomy saw the importance of obedience, the harder side of God; yet he also saw in real depth the surpassing love of God, and the grace that was to come, beyond Law. This appreciation reflected Moses' mature grasp of the Name / characteristics of God. He uses the name "Yahweh" in Deuteronomy over 530 times, often with some possessive adjective, e.g. "Yahweh thy God" (AV- i.e. you singular), or "Yahweh our God". He saw the personal relationship between a man and his God. Jacob reached a like realization at his peak. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>For Yahweh your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This is quoted about us in <em><a href='B:650 12:29'>Heb 12:29</a></em> with a slight change of pronoun; “<em>Your</em> (Israel’s) God” becomes “<em>our</em> God”. The God of the Christian believers is the Old Testament Yahweh God of Israel; in this we see the significance of studying the accounts of how our God revealed Himself in the Old Testament.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Israel is so often set up as the bride of God (<em><a href='B:290 54:5'>Isa 54:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 61:10'>Isa 61:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 62:4-5'>Isa 62:4-5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 2:2'>Jer 2:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 3:14'>Jer 3:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:350 2:19-20'>Hos 2:19-20</a></em>). This is why any infidelity to God is spoken of as adultery (<em><a href='B:460 2:11'>Mal 2:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 17:7'>Lev 17:7</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 20:5-6'>Lev 20:5-6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:16'>Deu 31:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 2:17'>Jdg 2:17</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 8:27'>Jdg 8:27</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 8:33'>Jdg 8:33</a></em>; <em><a href='B:350 9:1'>Hos 9:1</a></em>). The language of Israel 'selling themselves to do iniquity' uses the image of prostitution. This is how God feels our even temporary and fleeting acts and thoughts of unfaithfulness. This is why God is jealous for us (<em><a href='B:20 20:15'>Exo 20:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 34:14'>Exo 34:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:24'>Deu 4:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 5:9'>Deu 5:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 6:15'>Deu 6:15</a></em>)- because His undivided love for us is so exclusive. He expects us to be totally His. Just as Israel were not to be like the Egyptians they were leaving, nor like the Canaanites into whose land they were going (<em><a href='B:30 18:1-5'>Lev 18:1-5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 20:23-24'>Lev 20:23-24</a></em>). We are to be a people separated unto Him. <em></em></p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>When you father children and children’s children and you have been long in the land and corrupt yourselves and make an engraved image in the form of anything, and do that which is evil in the sight of Yahweh your God, to provoke Him to anger-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>God can be grieved (s.w. 'provoke to anger'). He has emotions, and His potential foreknowledge doesn't mean that these feelings are not legitimate. They are presented as occurring in human time, as responses to human behaviour. This is the degree to which He has accommodated Himself to human time-space limits, in order to fully enter relationship and experience with us. As He can limit His omnipotence, so God can limit His omniscience, in order to feel and respond along with us.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you shall soon utterly perish from off the land you go over the Jordan to possess; you shall not prolong your days on it, but shall utterly be destroyed- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Always in the OT, “I say unto you this day" was used as a Hebraism to bring home the utter solemnity of some great truth (e.g. <em><a href='B:50 4:26'>Deu 4:26</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:39'>Deu 4:39</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 8:19'>Deu 8:19</a></em>). The Lord used this idiom in assuring the thief on the cross that he could solemnly assure him, that he would share His Kingdom with Him. It's worth noting that the comma is placed after 'today' in&nbsp; the Curetonian Syriac version of the New Testament; the Syriac versions would reflect better the original Aramaic in which the Lord likely spoke. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Yahweh will scatter you among the nations and you shall be left few in number among the nations where Yahweh shall lead you away- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Israel were indeed disobedient and were scattered throughout the provinces of the Assyrian and Babylonian empires. “There you will serve gods...” (:28) - but the prophets (especially Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel) condemned them for this. There is a downward spiral in spirituality, whereby if people choose to go to false gods, the true God confirms them in their delusions.This is why followers of false religions are so totally convinced they are right, everything makes sense to them within the theological system they adopt- because God confirms them in the delusion they have chosen (<em><a href='B:600 2:11'>2Th 2:11</a></em>).</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"Left few in number" could suggest they were few in number at that time, but would remain like this instead of multiplying. This affects how we read the "thousands" with which they apparently left Egypt; see on <em><a href='B:20 12:37'>Exo 12:37</a></em>.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>There you will serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Condemnation is always essentially the choice made by the condemned themselves. The gods of the nations were nearly always understood as local gods, which had power in their homeland. Yet Israel worshipped those gods. By doing so, they effectively identified themselves with those lands. And so they were sent to live in those lands, and as it were properly worship those gods, on their home territories. In this sense the Lord Jesus could say that He judges / condemns no man; condemnation is self inflicted, and a reflection of the dominant desire of the condemned person. And likewise, all who truly love the Lord's appearing and the things of His Kingdom will be accepted into it (<em><a href='B:620 4:8'>2Ti 4:8</a></em>). </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>But from there you shall seek Yahweh your God and you will find Him, when you search after Him with all your heart and with all your soul-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>We're wrong to think that God passionlessly waits for us to repent or pray to Him, and then He will forgive or act for us. He loves us, simply so; and with all love's manipulation of circumstances and proactive taking of the initiative, He seeks to pour out His love upon us. Thus repentance itself is a gift which God gives and is not totally upon human initiative (<em><a href='B:50 4:29-31'>Deu 4:29-31</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 30:1-10'>Deu 30:1-10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:110 8:58'>1Ki 8:58</a></em>). </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The judgment will be the time when God 'requires' of us our behaviour. And yet the Hebrew word is used about our enquiring / searching to God in prayer now (<em><a href='B:10 25:22'>Gen 25:22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 18:15'>Exo 18:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:29'>Deu 4:29</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:5'>Deu 12:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:110 22:5'>1Ki 22:5</a></em>), as well as His 'requiring' / searching of us at the last day (<em><a href='B:50 18:19'>Deu 18:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 23:21'>Deu 23:21</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 22:23'>Jos 22:23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:90 20:16'>1Sa 20:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:140 24:22'>2Ch 24:22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:330 3:20'>Eze 3:20</a></em>; <em><a href='B:330 33:6'>Eze 33:6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:330 33:8'>Eze 33:8</a></em>). There is a mutuality between a man and his God.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Time and again in Deuteronomy, Moses speaks of the state of the <em>heart</em>. He warns them against allowing a bad state of heart to develop, he speaks often of how apostasy starts in the heart. Moses makes a total of 49 references to the heart / mind of Israel in Deuteronomy, compared to only 13 in the whole of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. This was perhaps his greatest wish as he faced death; that God’s people should develop a spiritual <em>mind</em> and thereby manifest the Father and come to salvation. He saw the state of our mind as the key to spiritual success. But do we share this perspective? There is so much in our modern world which is mind-corrupting. Perceiving the importance of spiritual mindedness is a sign of our spiritual maturity.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>When you are oppressed and all these things have come on you, in the latter days you shall return to Yahweh your God and listen to His voice- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This is one of many indications that just before Christ returns, at least some Jews will repent and turn to the Father and His Son in truth. For His voice is supremely in the word made flesh, His Son. We should therefore always given special attention to witnessing the Gospel to Jewish people, because their repentance will be one factor which brings about Christ’s return.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>for Yahweh your God is a merciful God; He will not fail you neither destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"Corrupted" in <em><a href='B:50 4:16'>Deu 4:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:25'>Deu 4:25</a></em> is s.w. "'destroyed" here. All judgment is finally self inflicted. Sin is its own judgment; hence the Hebrew word for "corruption" also means "destruction", for moral corruption is its own destruction. God Himself does judge, but always prefers men to judge themselves.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>To forsake Yahweh was to break covenant with Him (<em><a href='B:50 31:16-17'>Deu 31:16-17</a></em>). Israel did forsake Yahweh (<em><a href='B:70 2:13'>Jdg 2:13</a></em>), but still He remained faithful to them, as Hosea remained faithful to Gomer despite her infidelity to their marriage covenant. Instead of forsaking them as He threatened, He instead by grace sent them saviours, judges, looking forward to His grace in sending the Lord Jesus, Yah's salvation. Consider the following examples, of where God says He won't do something; and then does: <em><a href='B:20 33:3'>Exo 33:3</a></em> cp. 34:9; <em><a href='B:50 4:31'>Deu 4:31</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:6'>Deu 31:6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:8'>Deu 31:8</a></em> cp. 31:17. God is therefore open to change, because of His basic love and pity being such a major component of His basic personality.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and from the one end of the sky to the other, whether there has been anything like this great thing, or has been heard like it?- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>No other God came so close to His people to speak to them directly. The tragedy was that Israel asked that God <em>not </em>do this, and speak with them through Moses. They wanted to interpose a religious system between God and themselves for fear of facing up to the awesome reality of personal relationship with God. And so it has ever been amongst 'religious' people. The invitation to search through the records of all human history would have been more relevant to Judah in captivity in Babylon, with access to such records, than to Israel in the wilderness. I suggest this is another example of where Deuteronomy was rewritten under Divine inspiration for the exiles- for they too needed to quit idolatry and go forward in faith to possess the same promised land and establish God's Kingdom in it. See on :44.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Did a people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire as you have heard, and live?-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Israel complained that no other nation had ever been asked to hear the voice of their God in a personal way; they feared that hearing this voice meant their condemnation (<em><a href='B:50 5:26'>Deu 5:26</a></em>). But God meant it so positively; the fact they had heard God's voice was a sign of His amazing grace (<em><a href='B:50 4:32-33'>Deu 4:32-33</a></em>). Yet Israel turned the display of that grace into a reason to fear condemnation. They were far happier not being confronted by such radical grace, and the personal engagement of God with them. And so they desperately sought to use mere religion to shield them from this, asking Moses to go through with this engagement with God and then give them a few rules to obey, which didn't too deeply interrupt their lives. This is the abiding tendency of men of all ages; to flee from grace to the structures of mere religion.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Or has God tried to take a nation for Himself- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Hebrew word for "trials" means just that. God tried, He attempted, to take Israel out of Egypt and make them His own loyal people- just as He tries, unsuccessfully, with so many today. And it seems not all Israel kept the Passover, some were slain, and perhaps some chose to remain in Egypt. And the majority He took out, returned there in their hearts. But He tried, with amazing effort. In this we see the limitation of God, albeit self-imposed, due to His huge respect for human freewill. No other God tried (and tries) so hard to bring His people out from Egypt (the world) to be solely His. Every Red Sea / baptism deliverance of an individual is the sum of a huge amount of work from God. Those who were raised as believers need not think this to be irrelevant to them.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>From the midst of another nation by trials, by signs and by wonders- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>It is stressed that Israel were taken out from the "midst of Egypt" (<em><a href='B:50 4:34'>Deu 4:34</a></em>; <em><a href='B:110 8:51'>1Ki 8:51</a></em>). The plagues and wonders were done in "the midst of Egypt" (<em><a href='B:20 3:20'>Exo 3:20</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:3'>Deu 11:3</a></em>). The midst of Egypt appears to be defined in <em><a href='B:230 135:9'>Psa 135:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 19:3'>Isa 19:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:330 29:3'>Eze 29:3</a></em> as being Pharaoh and his servants. The narrative therefore stresses so much his response to the plagues. God's especial focus had been upon his conversion, and yet he refused. Israel were taken out right from under his nose, from the very heart of Egypt. <em><a href='B:330 20:8'>Eze 20:8</a></em> reveals what is not recorded in the historical record; that because the Israelites were so devoted to Egyptian idolatry still, His thought had been to destroy them "in the midst of the land of Egypt" (<em><a href='B:330 20:8'>Eze 20:8</a></em>). But God's pole of grace overcame the pole of necessary judgment. He tolerated them and saved them, with enthusiasm, by the grace which comes from love- love taken to its ultimate, saving term. The whole narrative speaks as if the Hebrews were all at one place at one time and left "the midst of Egypt" together. Although unrecorded in the historical narrative, this would have meant that they gathered together "in the midst of Egypt" with Moses, who was not in Goshen but in the locality and presence of Pharaoh.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>By war and by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm and by great terrors, according to all that Yahweh your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Moses was to stretch forth his hand to cause the waters of the Red Sea to part and return, not his rod; because he was manifesting the hand of Yahweh which was to deliver Israel (s.w. <em><a href='B:20 7:5'>Exo 7:5</a></em>). The repeated references to the stretched our arm or hand of Yahweh to save His people invite us to recall this incident, and to perceive that Yahweh's hand had been manifest through the hand of Moses (<em><a href='B:50 4:34'>Deu 4:34</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 5:15'>Deu 5:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:19'>Deu 7:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:2'>Deu 11:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 26:8'>Deu 26:8</a></em>). That stretched out, saving arm and hand of Yahweh was and is stretched out still, to save His people (<em><a href='B:110 8:42'>1Ki 8:42</a></em>; <em><a href='B:330 20:34'>Eze 20:34</a></em>; <em><a href='B:340 9:15'>Dan 9:15</a></em> "as at this day") and bring about a new creation in human lives (<em><a href='B:290 45:12'>Isa 45:12</a></em>). For the deliverance through the Red Sea is intended to be experienced by all God's people, and is now seen through His saving grace at baptism (<em><a href='B:530 10:1-2'>1Co 10:1-2</a></em>). What happened there was but the beginning of the work of God's outstretched arm (<em><a href='B:50 3:24'>Deu 3:24</a></em>). Yet the stretched out arm / hand of God is also a figure for His judgment (<em><a href='B:130 21:16'>1Ch 21:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 9:12'>Isa 9:12</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 10:4'>Isa 10:4</a></em>). His hand is at work in our lives- either to our condemnation or our salvation. And it is for us therefore to humble ourselves beneath that mighty hand (<em><a href='B:670 5:6'>1Pe 5:6</a></em>).</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>It was shown to you so that you might know that Yahweh is God and that there is none else besides Him- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>“I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God (the Hebrew word for ‘god’ essentially means ‘power’) beside Me” (<em><a href='B:290 45:5'>Isa 45:5</a></em>); “Is there a God beside Me? There is no God; I know not any”, God says (<em><a href='B:290 44:8'>Isa 44:8</a></em>). Such verses occur time and again throughout the Bible. Because God is the source of all power and the only God, He is therefore a jealous God, as He often reminds us (e.g. <em><a href='B:20 20:5'>Exo 20:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:24'>Deu 4:24</a></em>). God gets jealous when His people start believing in other gods, if they say to Him, ‘You are a great God, a powerful God, but actually I believe there are still some other gods beside You, even if they are not as powerful as You’. This is the problem with believing that there are demons or a Devil in existence as well as the true God. This is just the mistake Israel made. Much of the Old Testament is spent showing how Israel displeased God by believing in other gods as well as in Him. The “demons” some people believe in today are equivalent to those false gods Israel believed in.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Out of heaven He made you hear his voice so that He might instruct you, and on earth He made you see His great fire and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Although God spoke to Moses alone in the mount, Moses stresses that actually God "spake unto <em>you</em> in the mount out of the midst of the fire". The word of God to His scribes really is, to the same gripping, terrifying degree, His direct word to us (<em><a href='B:50 4:36'>Deu 4:36</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 5:4'>Deu 5:4</a></em>. This explains why David repeatedly refers to the miracle at the Red Sea as if this had affected him personally, to the extent that he could ecstatically rejoice because of it. However it has to be noted that it was God's intention that Israel heard His voice directly. This would persuade them of His unique existence. But they refused to hear that word directly, preferring to hear it through Moses indirectly, and therefore the potential strengthening of faith didn't happen. And that is true of so many apparently Christian people today.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their seed after them and brought you out-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>“You did not choose me, but I chose you… out of the world” (<em><a href='B:500 15:16'>Joh 15:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 15:19'>Joh 15:19</a></em>) corresponds to the oft repeated theme of Moses that God has chosen Israel “out of all peoples” (<em><a href='B:50 7:6'>Deu 7:6</a></em> RVmg.), by grace (<em><a href='B:50 4:37'>Deu 4:37</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 10:15'>Deu 10:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 14:2'>Deu 14:2</a></em>). Israel stood at Sinai and were told that if they were obedient, then they would be God's people. But then they were told that actually, God accepted them anyway as His people. And only <em>then</em> was the Law given to Moses- with the message that it was to be kept out of gratitude for what God had <em>already</em> done by grace in saving them just "simply so", because he loved them and had chosen their ancestors by grace (<em><a href='B:50 4:34-40'>Deu 4:34-40</a></em>). Likewise it was <em>because</em> God sanctified Israel that they were to keep the Sabbath (<em><a href='B:20 31:13-14'>Exo 31:13-14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 5:15'>Deu 5:15</a></em>). It wasn't that any human obedience made them holy- the laws were simply an opportunity to respond to the grace shown them. For God's salvation of them from Egypt, like ours from this world, was nothing but grace.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>With His presence, with His great power, out of Egypt- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>After the sin with the golden calf, God had told Israel that His presence would not go with them. But Moses had persuaded God to change on that (<em><a href='B:20 33:15-17'>Exo 33:15-17</a></em>), and he cites this as yet another amazing grace toward Israel by God. We note that he doesn't boast about the power of his prayers, but instead glories in what God had therefore done. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>to drive out nations from before you greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as at this day-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Our separation from this world isn’t merely negative. We are separated <em>from</em> the world ("brought you out", :37)&nbsp; so that we might be separated <em>unto</em> the things of God ("to bring you in"). These two ideas are found together in the Hebrew word for ‘holiness’. We learn here that the nations of Canaan were "greater", more numerous, than Israel. I have discussed on <em><a href='B:20 12:37'>Exo 12:37</a></em> how the word "thousand" has a wide range of meaning; and it is used of the six hundred "thousand" military age men who left Egypt. I suggested that we need not read this as a literal number, and that therefore the people of Israel were still relatively few, rather than several million as would be required if they had 600,000 military age men amongst them. For if Israel numbered a few million people, then the nations in Canaan would have numbered many million, if they were so much more numerous than Israel. And there are huge logistical problems with supposing a population in Canaan of say 20 million people.&nbsp;</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Know therefore this day and lay it to your heart, that Yahweh He is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is none else- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Time and again, Moses speaks of the state of their heart. He warns them against allowing a bad state of heart to develop, he speaks often of how apostasy starts in the heart. Moses makes a total of 49 references to the heart / mind of Israel in Deuteronomy, compared to only 13 in the whole of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. This indicates the paramount importance which our Lord attaches to the state of our mind. This was perhaps his greatest wish as He faced death; that we should develop a spiritual mind and thereby manifest the Father and come to salvation. Moses likewise saw the state of our mind as the key to spiritual success. But do we share this perspective? Do we guard our minds against the media and influence of a mind-corrupting world? It's been observed that the phrase "The God of (somebody)", or similar, occurs 614 times in the Old Testament, of which 306 are in Deuteronomy. Our very personal relationship with God was therefore something else which Moses came to grasp in his spiritual maturity. Statistical analysis of the word "love" in the Pentateuch likewise reveals that "love" was a great theme of Moses at the end of his life (Moses uses it 16 times in Deuteronomy, and only four times in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers). </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You must keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you this day, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which Yahweh your God gives you forever- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>That God is one is a command, an imperative to action (<em><a href='B:480 12:28-29'>Mar 12:28-29</a></em>). It underlies the whole law and prophets (<em><a href='B:470 22:40'>Mat 22:40</a></em>)- it's that fundamental. If there were two Gods, Yahweh would only demand half our energies. Nothing can be given to anything else; for there is nothing else to give to. There's only one God. There can be no idolatry in our lives, because there is only one God (<em><a href='B:120 19:18-19'>2Ki 19:18-19</a></em>). Because "there is none else, you shall keep <em>therefore</em> his statutes" (<em><a href='B:50 4:39-40'>Deu 4:39-40</a></em>). The Hebrew text of <em><a href='B:50 6:4'>Deu 6:4</a></em> suggests: "The Lord is our God, the Lord is one", thereby linking Yahweh's unity with His being our God, the sole Lord and unrivalled Master of His people. It also links the first principle of the unity of God with that of the covenant to Abraham; for "I will be their God" was one of the features of the covenant. The one God has only one people; not all religious systems can lead to the one Hope of Israel. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>So does "prolong your days" mean that long life promised to the obedient Israelite under the Old Covenant? Solomon observed that a just mad perished young and "a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness" (<em><a href='B:250 7:15'>Ecc 7:15</a></em>). <em><a href='B:330 12:22'>Eze 12:22</a></em> suggests that faithless Israel cynically observed that "The days are prolonged" and God's prophetic word of condemnation had failed- implying they thought that prolonged days were being experienced by them despite their disobedience. The Hebrew phrase 'to prolong days' is found in <em><a href='B:290 53:10'>Isa 53:10</a></em>, where it is applied to how Messiah would 'prolong His days' not in this life, but in the resurrection. The repeated promises recorded in Deuteronomy of prolonged days upon the land of Israel would therefore hint at the eternity of the Kingdom rather than this life. Indeed, <em><a href='B:50 4:40'>Deu 4:40</a></em> says they would prolong their days "for ever". For an individual Israelite might be faithful but not prolong his or her days in the land because the whole people were to be carried away captive for their sins and the land given to a Gentile power. The opposite of 'days being prolonged' was 'utter destruction' (:26)- which would then speak of condemnation in the second death. This is one of many examples of where eternal life was possible under the Old Covenant- there were multiple different possibilities and plans God could have worked by. Israel could have accepted the Lord Jesus as their Messiah and not killed Him, and so forth. It seems the closer we probe God's word, the more open He is revealed as being.<em></em></p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Then Moses set apart three cities beyond the Jordan toward the east- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The emphasis was very much upon <em>them</em> making the cities of refuge, and defining the paths which led to them from all settlements in the land (<em><a href='B:50 19:3'>Deu 19:3</a></em>): "I command you, saying, You must set apart three cities for yourselves" (<em><a href='B:50 19:7'>Deu 19:7</a></em>). Yet the record in <em><a href='B:60 18:1-28'>Jos 18:1-28</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 19:1-51'>Jos 19:1-51</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 20:1-9'>Jos 20:1-9</a></em> shows that Israel didn't do this, because they didn't even capture all the cities which were to be cities of refuge. Moses attempted to arrange it all for them; for Moses set apart cities of refuge. But arrangements for personal salvation cannot be done by someone else.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>that the manslayer might flee there, who kills his neighbour unawares, and didn’t hate him in time past, and that fleeing to one of these cities he might live:-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>We are all in the position of the man who unintentionally committed manslaughter and must therefore die. We are under sentence of death by reason of being human, as well as for our actual sins. The avenger of blood could be seen as God, for it is He alone who has the right to execute judgment for sin. And we must note that the word<em> ga'al</em> translated "avenger" is also that translated "redeemer" or 'ransomer'. The cities of refuge are therefore understood in <em><a href='B:650 6:18'>Heb 6:18</a></em> as looking ahead to refuge in the Lord Jesus: "Who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before us". The allusion is to how the person who found they had committed a sin worthy of death, yet without as it were wishing to have done so, could flee to a city of refuge and be saved there by the death of the high priest. The curse upon Levi was that the members of this tribe were to be scattered in Israel (<em><a href='B:10 49:7'>Gen 49:7</a></em>). However, this resulted in the cities of the Levites being scattered throughout the land, thus providing accessible cities of refuge to all who wished to escape the consequences of sin. Those cities were evidently symbolic of the refuge we have in Christ. Again and again, the curses and consequences of human sin are used by the Father to mediate blessing. It is the sure hope before us which is our refuge. "Hope", <em>elpis</em>, is a confident knowledge of a future reality, rather than a hoping for the best. We should be confident in our salvation. The 'guilty' person was made free totally through the death of the High Priest, clearly looking forward to the significance of the death of the Lord Jesus.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Moses was so sensitive to Israel’s weakness. He often reminds them that he knows that they will turn away from the Covenant he had given them (e.g. <em><a href='B:50 30:1'>Deu 30:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:29'>Deu 31:29</a></em>). He knew that one day they would want a king, even though God was their king (<em><a href='B:50 17:14'>Deu 17:14</a></em>). He foresaw how they would see horses and chariots and get frightened (<em><a href='B:50 20:1-4'>Deu 20:1-4</a></em>). He knew that there would always be poor people in the land, even though if the Law was properly kept this would not be the case (<em><a href='B:50 15:4'>Deu 15:4</a></em> mg, 11). He knew they would accidentally commit murder and would need a way of escape; therefore he twice repeats and explains the law concerning the cities of refuge (<em><a href='B:50 4:42'>Deu 4:42</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 19:5'>Deu 19:5</a></em>). These being a symbol of the future Messiah (<em><a href='B:650 6:18'>Heb 6:18</a></em>), this emphasis would suggest that like Paul and Jacob, the mind of Moses in his time of spiritual maturity was firmly fixed on the Lord Jesus Christ. See on 5:22</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country for the Reubenites; Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>But Ramoth Gilead passed in and out of Israelite possession; and it is doubtful whether Manasseh ever bothered securing Golan from the local inhabitants. Likewise Kedesh, a city of refuge on the west of Jordan, was listed in <em><a href='B:60 19:1-51'>Jos 19:1-51</a></em> as a city not yet taken by Naphtali; yet it was commanded to be given by them to the Levites as a city of refuge (<em><a href='B:60 20:7'>Jos 20:7</a></em>). So their refusal or 'being slack' to take the city meant they had no wider vision, of providing a place of refuge for the needy within Israel as a whole. And there is no real evidence that this wonderful system of salvation and justice ever really worked in practice.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The cities were generally in the wilderness or mountainous areas; perhaps the idea was that they should not be used casually, but the person had to make quite some effort to get there.<em></em></p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>This is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Deuteronomy is largely a transcript of the final speech of Moses, given at the very end of his life. But verses like this indicate an editorial hand, and I suggested on :32 that this was done under Divine inspiration in Babylon.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>these are the testimonies, the statutes and the ordinances, which Moses spoke to the children of Israel when they came forth out of Egypt- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"Came forth" is s.w. "brought forth". Israel were "brought forth" from Egypt by God; they had been unwilling to leave Egypt, preferring to serve the Egyptians rather than Yahweh (<em><a href='B:20 14:12'>Exo 14:12</a></em>). God had as it were forced through His project of saving Israel by bringing them out of Egypt. And He had done so largely for the sake of Moses, by whose faith the Red Sea parted and they were delivered (<em><a href='B:650 11:28-29'>Heb 11:28-29</a></em>). Therefore Yahweh's bringing Israel out of Egypt was what He did for Moses, and only thereby for His people. We too are brought out of this world towards God's Kingdom by His grace alone, with His consistently taking the initiative in our hearts and life circumstances, in accord with the loving intercession of the Lord Jesus (represented by Moses). Thus Yahweh brought Israel out of Egypt (<em><a href='B:20 18:1'>Exo 18:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 19:1'>Exo 19:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 23:43'>Lev 23:43</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 25:55'>Lev 25:55</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 26:4'>Num 26:4</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 33:1'>Num 33:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 33:3'>Num 33:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 33:38'>Num 33:38</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:45-46'>Deu 4:45-46</a></em>), but Moses did (<em><a href='B:20 3:10-11'>Exo 3:10-11</a></em>). </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>beyond the Jordan, in the valley over against Beth Peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel struck, when they came forth out of Egypt- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Critics have made much of the apparent contradiction between the geographical details in <em><a href='B:50 1:1'>Deu 1:1</a></em> and the location details in <em><a href='B:50 4:45-46'>Deu 4:45-46</a></em>. But I suggest that the names in <em><a href='B:50 1:1'>Deu 1:1</a></em> are not intended to be pinned down to specific locations. There are six of them, and it was unlikely that any reader would be able to pinpoint a location in the uncharted desert from these vague places. Rather, we are given a word picture of what the desert was like. The place names in <em><a href='B:50 1:1'>Deu 1:1</a></em> mean (in order)&nbsp; "Ornamental", maybe referring to the appearance of sand sculptures made by the wind; "quagmire", "whiteness", "tower" and "golden". </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>They took his land in possession, and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"They took" again suggests an inspired editorial hand; see on :32,44.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, to Mount Sion (the same is Hermon)- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This is not to be confused with Mount Zion in Jerusalem, nor the Hermon in the north. It is significant that there were mountains called Hermon in the extreme north and south of the land. It is a form of the word<em> herem</em>, the term used in <em><a href='B:50 3:6'>Deu 3:6</a></em> for the 'devotion' of the conquered land to Yahweh. Perhaps that was the idea. But we note that already, God has recalculated Israel's inheritance, bounded now by these mountains; whereas His initial intention was to give them the far wider area promised to Abraham. He likewise adjusts His hopes and expectations of His individual people, never giving up on any of us, but always seeking to lead us to at leas some inheritance in His Kingdom. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>and all the Arabah beyond the Jordan eastward, even to the sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The way Deuteronomy refers to cities East of Jordan as being "on this side Jordan" (e.g. <em><a href='B:50 4:41'>Deu 4:41</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:49'>Deu 4:49</a></em> AV) would suggest that the editor of the book was writing from a location East of Jordan- likely Babylon. Thus books like Deuteronomy were edited, under Divine inspiration, in the captivity- in order to show Judah how they were repeating the sins of their forefathers, and appealing to them thereby to learn the lessons. It has been observed that the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings have certain similarities. For example, they all quote the Deuteronomy version of Israel's earlier history, leading to the suggestion that Deuteronomy was the first of the collection, a kind of introductory background history. See on <em><a href='B:50 28:41'>Deu 28:41</a></em>.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Moses called to all Israel and said to them, Hear, Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I speak in your ears this day, that you may learn them and observe to do them- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Learning / understanding God’s principles is the way towards being obedient to them. None of His laws are mere senseless tests of our obedience or submission to Him; they have specific intention. They were to "hear" in such a way as they learned and observed the commandments. But "hear" means effectively 'to obey'. Our attitude to God's word, how we hear it, is critical. We can be a forgetful hearer, or a hearer who "does" (<em><a href='B:660 1:25'>Jas 1:25</a></em>). And obedience, 'hearing', leads to further obedience. But it all depends upon our attitude to God's word. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Moses really wanted Israel's well-being, he saw so clearly how obedience would result in blessing (e.g. <em><a href='B:50 6:3'>Deu 6:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:28'>Deu 12:28</a></em>). This is a major theme of Moses in Deuteronomy. There was therefore a real sense of pleading behind his frequent appeal for Israel to "hear" or obey God's words. "<em>Hear</em>, O Israel" in Deuteronomy must have had a real passion behind it in his voice, uncorrupted as it was by old age. He didn't rattle it off as some kind of Sunday School proof. At least four times Moses interrupts the flow of his speech with this appeal: "<em>Hear </em>(‘be obedient’), O Israel" (<em><a href='B:50 5:1'>Deu 5:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 6:3-4'>Deu 6:3-4</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 9:1'>Deu 9:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 20:3'>Deu 20:3</a></em>). And a glance through a concordance shows how often in Deuteronomy Moses pleads with them to hear God's voice. So he was back to his favourite theme: Hear the word, love the word, make it your life. For in this is your salvation. And the Lord Jesus (e.g. in passages like <em><a href='B:500 6:1-71'>Joh 6:1-71</a></em>) makes just the same urgent appeal.&nbsp;</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Yahweh our God made a covenant with us in Horeb- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>But that generation to whom Moses spoke at the end of his life had not been at Horeb / Sinai 40 years previously. Israel were to teach their children that God had personally saved <em>them</em> at the Red Sea. The covenant made with Israel then was made not only with the “fathers” who were then alive, but with every member of every generation of God’s people (<em><a href='B:50 5:3'>Deu 5:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 6:20'>Deu 6:20</a></em>). In this sense, Biblical history is a living word to every generation. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Yahweh didn’t make this covenant with our fathers but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>We must read in an ellipsis here; clearly the idea is that what God had done at Sinai wasn’t <em>only</em> between Him and the people there at that time, <em>not so much </em>with the first hearers as with the later ones, with all His subsequent people. In our Bible study we must be aware that we are reading translations of languages which often rely on understanding the idiom for their real meaning to be delivered to us the readers. In Hebrew especially, we often have to read in an ellipsis; and this verse is a parade example.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Yahweh spoke with you face to face on the mountain out of the midst of the fire-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Moses himself realized the extent to which God saw him as representative of Israel; thus he told Israel: "The Lord talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire, I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to shew you the word of the Lord" (<em><a href='B:50 5:4-5'>Deu 5:4-5</a></em>). This is similar to the Lord Jesus Christ saying that because he had spoken God's words to us, we have seen God (<em><a href='B:500 14:8'>Joh 14:8</a></em>). It was Moses who saw God face to face (<em><a href='B:20 33:11'>Exo 33:11</a></em>), yet he knew he was so representative of Israel that in reality <em>they</em> had seen God face to face. All the honours and glory given to Moses were thereby given to Israel <em>if they identified themselves with him</em>. And ditto for us and the Lord Jesus.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>(I stood between Yahweh and you at that time to show you the word of Yahweh, for you were afraid because of the fire, and didn’t go up onto the mountain) saying-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The way Moses sees Israel as far more righteous than they were reflects the way the Lord imputes righteousness to us. He says that Israel didn't go near the mountain because they were afraid of the fire (<em><a href='B:50 5:5'>Deu 5:5</a></em>), whereas <em><a href='B:20 19:21-24'>Exo 19:21-24</a></em> teaches that Israel at that time were not so afraid of the fire, and were quite inclined to break through the dividing fence and gaze in unspiritual fascination at a theophany which was beyond them. Standing between God and man means effectively to intercede (<em><a href='B:40 16:48'>Num 16:48</a></em>), so it seems even on the first or second ascent of Sinai, Moses was interceding for the people. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Israel heard a voice, but were scared by the noise (<em><a href='B:50 4:12'>Deu 4:12</a></em>), and so perhaps the idea is that Moses "showed" them the words by interpreting the words to them. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The fact that Yahweh really did redeem His people from Egypt is connected and associated with the command to have no other Gods apart from Him (<em><a href='B:50 5:6-7'>Deu 5:6-7</a></em>). The more we believe that we really have been redeemed, perceiving the saving hand of God in leading us out of Egypt, the more evident it becomes that this Saviour God demands our whole and total devotion. The exit from Egypt is described as a jail break, from the house of bondage. Their desire to return to it was strong, and so Moses continually stresses the true and awful nature of Egypt / the world. The language echoes that of God to Abraham: "I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur" (<em><a href='B:10 15:7'>Gen 15:7</a></em>). They were being asked to act as Abraham's seed, and respond as He did to the Divine initiative in separating them from the world- by following His commandments. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You must have no other gods before Me-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>It could be argued that this was a concession to weakness; for we could read this as meaning that even if Israel had other gods, Yahweh was to be supreme, and the others were not to be placed before Him. This was the attitude taken by the Lord Jesus in His tolerance of belief in demons, which were also false gods and connected with idols. But "before Me" can also mean 'in My presence'. To come into Yahweh's presence with any idol... would be unthinkable. See on <em><a href='B:20 18:11'>Exo 18:11</a></em>. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You must not make an engraved image for yourself, any likeness of what is in heaven above, or what is in the earth beneath, or what is in the water under the earth-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>“Likeness” is used in the LXX in the frequent warnings not to make an image or likeness of any god, let alone Yahweh (<em><a href='B:20 20:4'>Exo 20:4</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:16-25'>Deu 4:16-25</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 106:20'>Psa 106:20</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 40:18-19'>Isa 40:18-19</a></em>). The reason for this prohibition becomes clearer in the New Testament; the ultimate likeness of God is in His Son, and we are to create the likeness of His Son not as a mere physical icon, but within the very structure of our human personality and character.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You must not bow down yourself to them nor serve them, for I Yahweh your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>It's especially easy for young people to assume that they have little influence, that they can chose to act as they like and their choices won't affect anyone much beyond themselves. Yet we read of how God "visits" (Heb. to arrange, set in order, ordain) the sins of the fathers unto the third and even fourth generations- i.e. the number of generations which an old man is likely to see gathered around him (<em><a href='B:20 20:5'>Exo 20:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 34:7'>Exo 34:7</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 14:18'>Num 14:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 5:9'>Deu 5:9</a></em>). The choices of youth affect family life, which means our children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren are affected by the choices we make in carefree youth. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Throughout <em><a href='B:330 18:1-32'>Eze 18:1-32</a></em> God clarifies that He doesn’t punish children for the sin of their parents; He deals with people on an individual level. However, the effect of sin is often felt in the society of subsequent generations, and in the process of how that works out, God is there enabling and permitting it to happen; in the same way as we all suffer the consequence of Adam’s sin and yet can still be God’s acceptable children. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Israel is so often set up as the bride of God (<em><a href='B:290 54:5'>Isa 54:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 61:10'>Isa 61:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 62:4-5'>Isa 62:4-5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 2:2'>Jer 2:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 3:14'>Jer 3:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:350 2:19-20'>Hos 2:19-20</a></em>). This is why any infidelity to God is spoken of as adultery (<em><a href='B:460 2:11'>Mal 2:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 17:7'>Lev 17:7</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 20:5-6'>Lev 20:5-6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:16'>Deu 31:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 2:17'>Jdg 2:17</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 8:27'>Jdg 8:27</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 8:33'>Jdg 8:33</a></em>; <em><a href='B:350 9:1'>Hos 9:1</a></em>). The language of Israel 'selling themselves to do iniquity' uses the image of prostitution. This is how God feels our even temporary and fleeting acts and thoughts of unfaithfulness. This is why God is jealous for us (<em><a href='B:20 20:15'>Exo 20:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 34:14'>Exo 34:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:24'>Deu 4:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 5:9'>Deu 5:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 6:15'>Deu 6:15</a></em>)- because His undivided love for us is so exclusive. He expects us to be totally His. Just as Israel were not to be like the Egyptians they were leaving, nor like the Canaanites into whose land they were going (<em><a href='B:30 18:1-5'>Lev 18:1-5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 20:23-24'>Lev 20:23-24</a></em>). We are to be a people separated unto Him. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The prophets were up against the same passionless spirit that pervades our societies today. “The Lord thy God (is) a jealous God” (<em><a href='B:20 20:5'>Exo 20:5</a></em>) was changed in the Targums to “I am a God above jealousy” (<em>Mechilta</em>). The prophets speak so often of God’s wrath, love, hurt, pain, passion, anger, pathos… And they speak too of the terrible “repentings”, the kindling of contradictory impulses, which there apparently is in the mind of God. But jealousy is a lead feature within Yahweh's personality (<em><a href='B:20 20:5'>Exo 20:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 34:14'>Exo 34:14</a></em>). It speaks specifically of the jealousy of a man concerning the faithfulness of his wife (<em><a href='B:40 5:14'>Num 5:14</a></em>). God was the passionate lover and husband of His people, and it is inevitable therefore that the extent of that love would produce jealousy when they spurned Him and went after other men, the idols.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>“If you love me you will keep my commandments” (<em><a href='B:500 14:15'>Joh 14:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 14:21'>Joh 14:21</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 14:23'>Joh 14:23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 15:10'>Joh 15:10</a></em>) reflects a major identical theme in <em><a href='B:50 5:10'>Deu 5:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:9'>Deu 7:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:1'>Deu 11:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:22'>Deu 11:22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 13:3-4'>Deu 13:3-4</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 19:9'>Deu 19:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 30:16'>Deu 30:16</a></em>. Moses at the end of his life, when he spoke Deuteronomy, was very much the image of the future Lord Jesus. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>God is His word (<em><a href='B:500 1:1'>Joh 1:1</a></em>); to love God is to love His word. If we love Christ, we will keep His words (<em><a href='B:500 14:15'>Joh 14:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 14:21'>Joh 14:21</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 15:10'>Joh 15:10</a></em>). This is evidently alluding to the many Old Testament passages which say that Israel's love for God would be shown through their keeping of His commands (<em><a href='B:20 20:6'>Exo 20:6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 5:10'>Deu 5:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:9'>Deu 7:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:1'>Deu 11:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:13'>Deu 11:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:22'>Deu 11:22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 30:16'>Deu 30:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 22:5'>Jos 22:5</a></em>). Israel were also told that God's commands were all related to showing love (<em><a href='B:50 11:13'>Deu 11:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 19:9'>Deu 19:9</a></em>). So there is a logical circuit here: We love God by keeping His commands, the essence of which is love of people, therefore His commands are fundamentally about love. Thus love is the fulfilling of the law of God; both under the Old and New covenants (<em><a href='B:520 13:10'>Rom 13:10</a></em>). </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You must not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>One reference of this is to the idea of a wife taking her husband's name; just as we do when we call the Name upon ourselves in baptism (<em><a href='B:510 15:17'>Act 15:17</a></em>; <em><a href='B:510 22:16'>Act 22:16</a></em>). The Hebrew for "take" is also translated "marry" or "accept". Perhaps <em><a href='B:540 6:1'>2Co 6:1</a></em> alludes to the idea in urging us not to "accept" or 'take' God's grace (the essence of His Name) "in vain". The vulnerability and sensitivity of God is reflected in the way that He is concerned that His covenant people, His wife, who bears His Name, might profane His Name (<em><a href='B:30 19:12'>Lev 19:12</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 20:7'>Exo 20:7</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 5:11'>Deu 5:11</a></em>). His repeated concern that His Name be taken in vain doesn't simply refer to the casual use of the word "God" as an expression of exasperation. God is concerned about His people taking His Name upon themselves (<em><a href='B:40 6:27'>Num 6:27</a></em>) in vain- i.e., marrying Him, entering covenant relationship with Him, taking on His Name- but not being serious about that relationship, taking it on as a vain thing, like a woman who casually marries a man who loves her at the very core of his being, when for her, it's just a casual thing and she lives a profligate and adulterous life as his wife. When God revealed His Name to His people, opening up the very essence of His character to them, He was making Himself vulnerable. We reveal ourselves intimately to another because we wish for them to make a response to us, to love us for what we revealed to them. God revealed Himself to Israel, He sought for intimacy in the covenant relationship, and therefore was and is all the more hurt when His people turn away from Him, after having revealed to them all the wonders of His word (<em><a href='B:350 8:12'>Hos 8:12</a></em>). </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>We take on the Name of the Lord by baptism into that Name, just as Israel carried God’s Name as a people in Old Testament times. Our relationship with Him is not to be a vain thing to us, a mere social club we joined, a casual association- it is to be our life, at the very core of our being. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>But the idea of not taking Yahweh's Name "in vain", 'vanity', is often associated with idolatry. Israel never formerly rejected Yahweh, and never became atheists. They mixed Yahweh worship with idolatry on the basis that they claimed that they worshipped Yahweh through worshipping the idols. This is what emboldened them to later place idols in Yahweh's temple. They were taking Yahweh's Name as a form of vanity, "in vain", a kind of idol. Thus their relationship with Yahweh was not to be a "vain thing" (<em><a href='B:50 32:47'>Deu 32:47</a></em>).</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"Guiltless" is a term which can mean "clear of responsibility to covenant relationship' (<em><a href='B:10 24:8'>Gen 24:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:10 24:41'>Gen 24:41</a></em>). God would not overlook the fact they were in covenant with Him and had taken His Name upon them, just as we take His Name upon us in baptism. And we are therefore not guiltless or clear of responsibility to Him.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy, as Yahweh your God commanded you- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>We note that the Sabbath was one of the ten commandments. But&nbsp;the Sabbath was specifically "a sign between them (Israel) and Me (God), that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them" (<em><a href='B:330 20:12'>Eze 20:12</a></em>).&nbsp;As such, it has never been intended to be binding on Gentiles (non-Jews). “... the Lord has given <em>you</em> (not all mankind) the Sabbath (<em><a href='B:20 16:29'>Exo 16:29</a></em>); “... You (God) made known to them (Israel) Your holy Sabbath” (<em><a href='B:160 9:14'>Neh 9:14</a></em>). The Old Covenant refers to the Law of Moses, which was replaced on the cross by the New Covenant.&nbsp;The ten commandments, including that concerning the Sabbath, were part of the Old Covenant which was done away by Christ. God "declared to you (Israel) His covenant which he commanded you (Israel) to perform, that is the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone" (<em><a href='B:50 4:13'>Deu 4:13</a></em>).&nbsp;God "wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments" (<em><a href='B:20 34:28'>Exo 34:28</a></em>). If we argue that keeping the covenant made in the ten commandments is necessary, we must also observe every detail of the entire Law, seeing that this is all part of the same covenant.&nbsp;It is evidently impossible to do this. “There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb ... the ark, in which is the covenant of the Lord” (<em><a href='B:110 8:9'>1Ki 8:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:110 8:21'>1Ki 8:21</a></em>). Those tablets, on which were the ten commandments, were the covenant. <em><a href='B:650 9:4'>Heb 9:4</a></em> speaks of "the tablets of the covenant".&nbsp;The ten commandments were written on the tablets of stone, which comprised "the (old) covenant". Paul refers to this covenant as "written and engraved on&nbsp;stones", i.e. on the tablets of stone.&nbsp;He calls it "the ministry of death... the ministry of condemnation...” that which is “... passing away" (<em><a href='B:540 3:7-11'>2Co 3:7-11</a></em>).&nbsp;</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>First. - <em><a href='B:560 4:6'>Eph 4:6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:690 5:21'>1Jn 5:21</a></em>; <em><a href='B:470 4:10'>Mat 4:10</a></em>; Second. - <em><a href='B:530 10:14'>1Co 10:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:520 1:25'>Rom 1:25</a></em>; Third. - <em><a href='B:660 5:12'>Jas 5:12</a></em>; <em><a href='B:470 5:34-35'>Mat 5:34-35</a></em>; Fifth. - <em><a href='B:560 6:1-2'>Eph 6:1-2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:580 3:20'>Col 3:20</a></em>; Sixth. - <em><a href='B:690 3:15'>1Jn 3:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:470 5:21'>Mat 5:21</a></em>; Seventh. - <em><a href='B:650 13:4'>Heb 13:4</a></em>; <em><a href='B:470 5:27-28'>Mat 5:27-28</a></em>; Eighth. - <em><a href='B:520 2:21'>Rom 2:21</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 4:28'>Eph 4:28</a></em>; Ninth. - <em><a href='B:580 3:9'>Col 3:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 4:25'>Eph 4:25</a></em>; <em><a href='B:620 3:3'>2Ti 3:3</a></em>; Tenth. - <em><a href='B:560 5:3'>Eph 5:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:580 3:5'>Col 3:5</a></em>.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em><a href='B:40 3:1-51'>Num 3:1-51</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 5:1-31'>Num 5:1-31</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 6:1-27'>Num 6:1-27</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 7:1-89'>Num 7:1-89</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 8:1-26'>Num 8:1-26</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 9:1-23'>Num 9:1-23</a></em> can be found in <em><a href='B:610 1:1-20'>1Ti 1:1-20</a></em> alone, and <em><a href='B:40 1:1-54'>Num 1:1-54</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 2:1-34'>Num 2:1-34</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 10:1-36'>Num 10:1-36</a></em> in <em><a href='B:530 5:1-13'>1Co 5:1-13</a></em>.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'> But never is the fourth commandment concerning the Sabbath repeated in the New Testament as obligatory for us. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You shall labour six days and do all your work- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The context in :15 explains that one reason for the Sabbath was so that servants might rest, just as Israel had been servants in Egypt and had been given rest. The Sabbath was therefore not just to remember creation, but also the salvation from Egypt. Which is why, as explained on :12, the Sabbath was uniquely a sign between God and Israel rather than with other nations.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The idea is that man's week of labour is to reflect God's six days of labour during the creation week (:11). This parallel empowers us to see the grind of daily work as ultimately creative, and not mere vanity. The daily work which was part of the curse in Eden now becomes creative- if done "as unto the Lord". But we could also consider "you shall labour" to be a command to work, rather than laze around and by all means seek to avoid the results of the curse. Rather we are to see in the six days of labour an opportunity to reflect God's creative work; to use our labour to create, rather than to merely exist. This lifts the curse of labour so far above what it otherwise is.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God in which you must not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your livestock, nor the stranger who is within your gates; so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Lord Jesus invites those who follow Him to accept the “rest” which He gives (<em><a href='B:470 11:28'>Mat 11:28</a></em>), using the word which is used in the Septuagint for the Sabbath rest. Jesus was offering a life of Sabbath, of rest from trust in our own works (cp. <em><a href='B:650 4:3'>Heb 4:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:650 4:10'>Heb 4:10</a></em>). We shouldn’t, therefore, keep a Sabbath one day per week, but rather live our whole lives in the spirit of the Sabbath. Just as we are to live the "eternal life" now, the type of life we will eternally live in the Kingdom is to be lived and experienced now. In this sense, as Hebrews makes clear, we "have entered into rest", and yet in another sense we labour now to enter into that rest at the Lord's return. This is a classic case of the "now but not yet" theme of the Bible.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm, therefore Yahweh your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Israel stood at Sinai and were told that if they were obedient, then they would be God's people. But then they were told that actually, God accepted them anyway as His people. And only <em>then</em> was the Law given to Moses- with the message that it was to be kept out of gratitude for what God had <em>already</em> done by grace in saving them just "simply so", because he loved them and had chosen their ancestors by grace (<em><a href='B:50 4:34-40'>Deu 4:34-40</a></em>). Likewise it was <em>because</em> God sanctified Israel that they were to keep the Sabbath (<em><a href='B:20 31:13-14'>Exo 31:13-14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 5:15'>Deu 5:15</a></em>). It wasn't that any human obedience made them holy- the laws were simply an opportunity to respond to the grace shown them. For God's salvation of them from Egypt, like ours from this world, was nothing but grace.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Moses was to stretch forth his hand to cause the waters of the Red Sea to part and return, not his rod; because he was manifesting the hand of Yahweh which was to deliver Israel (s.w. <em><a href='B:20 7:5'>Exo 7:5</a></em>). The repeated references to the stretched our arm or hand of Yahweh to save His people invite us to recall this incident, and to perceive that Yahweh's hand had been manifest through the hand of Moses (<em><a href='B:50 4:34'>Deu 4:34</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 5:15'>Deu 5:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:19'>Deu 7:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:2'>Deu 11:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 26:8'>Deu 26:8</a></em>). That stretched out, saving arm and hand of Yahweh was and is stretched out still, to save His people (<em><a href='B:110 8:42'>1Ki 8:42</a></em>; <em><a href='B:330 20:34'>Eze 20:34</a></em>; <em><a href='B:340 9:15'>Dan 9:15</a></em> "as at this day") and bring about a new creation in human lives (<em><a href='B:290 45:12'>Isa 45:12</a></em>). For the deliverance through the Red Sea is intended to be experienced by all God's people, and is now seen through His saving grace at baptism (<em><a href='B:530 10:1-2'>1Co 10:1-2</a></em>). What happened there was but the beginning of the work of God's outstretched arm (<em><a href='B:50 3:24'>Deu 3:24</a></em>). Yet the stretched out arm / hand of God is also a figure for His judgment (<em><a href='B:130 21:16'>1Ch 21:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 9:12'>Isa 9:12</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 10:4'>Isa 10:4</a></em>). His hand is at work in our lives- either to our condemnation or our salvation. And it is for us therefore to humble ourselves beneath that mighty hand (<em><a href='B:670 5:6'>1Pe 5:6</a></em>).</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Honour your father and your mother as Yahweh your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land which Yahweh your God gives you- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Paul quotes this in <em><a href='B:560 6:2'>Eph 6:2</a></em>, with the comment that this is "the first commandment with promise"<em>. </em>Paul clearly saw "the promise" of the old covenant as being the hope of the new covenant; the hope of the promises made to the Jewish fathers was the Christian hope, as Paul so clearly stated at his trials. This involves eternal possession of a glorified earth- and not going to Heaven on death as an immortal soul.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The contemporary Near Eastern legal codes prescribed the most severe penalties for crimes against the wealthy and their property. Rich people were given lesser punishments than poor people for the same crime. The value of persons reflected in Yahweh's law meant that all people were judged equally before the law, and truly there was no respect of persons with the true God. Both father and mother are placed together as worthy of equal honour (<em><a href='B:30 19:3'>Lev 19:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 20:12'>Exo 20:12</a></em>)- whereas the contemporary laws were oriented towards respect of the male rather than females. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Lord Jesus saw as parallel the commands to honour parents and also not to curse them. These two separate commands (from <em><a href='B:20 20:12'>Exo 20:12</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 21:17'>Exo 21:17</a></em>) He spoke of as only one: "<em>the</em> commandment" (<em><a href='B:480 7:9'>Mar 7:9</a></em>). He therefore saw that not to honour parents was effectively to curse them (<em><a href='B:480 7:10'>Mar 7:10</a></em>). <em>Omitting</em> to honour parents, even if it involved appearing to give one's labour to God's temple, was therefore the same as <em>committing</em> the sin of cursing them. Sins of omission are perhaps our greatest weakness.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You must not murder- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The command not to murder has as its basis the fact that human life is not for us to use as we will (<em><a href='B:20 20:13'>Exo 20:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 17:11'>Lev 17:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:10 9:6'>Gen 9:6</a></em>). It is God's life and is His- and this applies to our view of others lives as well as our own. Others, therefore, are not for us to use as we will. Gentleness and sensitivity to the life of others, in family life, the workplace, on the road... is therefore an outcome of our belief that the 'other' person likewise has been created by God and has life from Him. To drive in an unkind way, to act in a thoughtless way to others detriment, is therefore the same basic error as taking human life in murder. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The command "You shall not murder" must be understood in the context of a situation where the same Law also commanded certain sinners to be put to death within the community, and at times Israel were Divinely commanded and enabled to kill others outside of the community. We have to look, therefore, for a more specific meaning for this commandment- and it seems it is speaking specifically of blood revenge, killing the person who murdered one of your relatives. According to <em><a href='B:40 35:25-28'>Num 35:25-28</a></em>, if the murder was unintentional, i.e. manslaughter rather than murder, then the person could flee to a city of refuge lest he be slain by the avenger of blood. There is no guidance for the avenger of blood in these 'cities of refuge' passages; rather is there the assumption that he might well attempt to take revenge even for manslaughter, and in this case the unintentional murderer should flee from him into a city of refuge. But clearly enough, this was not God's will- for "You shall not kill". But such is God's grace that He built into His law a recognition that His people would fail. This isn't what we would expect of a 2+2=4 God, where broken commandments are to be punished and period. In this case, we see here a tacit recognition even within the Mosaic Law that the commandments- in this case "You shall not kill"- wouldn't always be obeyed, and therefore extra legislating was added to enable this situation to be coped with. This isn't only an example of God's sensitivity to human sin and weakness of hot blood (although it is that). It's an insight into how the very structure of His law is such that He understands human weakness, and is eager to ensure that it hurts others as little as possible. No more human 'god' would have dreamed this up. This grace has the stamp of the ultimately Divine, and any attempt to understand it within the frames of literalistic, legalistic analysis are doomed to failure. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Neither must you commit adultery- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This is as is, but we note the majority of references to "adultery" in the Hebrew Bible refer to unfaithfulness to God. And we cannot rule out the possibility that God also had that in view; for these commandments were the basis of His relationship with His people.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Neither must you steal- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Hebrew indeed means to steal, but also carries the idea of deceit. For to deceive another is to effectively steal from them, to take away and misuse their belief and trust in you and your integrity. And all deceit is ultimately in order to gain something wrongly, even the thing gained isn't anything material.&nbsp;</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Neither must you give false testimony against your neighbour- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>AV "bear false witness". But the Hebrew for "bear" means not only "to give" in a legal sense. Otherwise this commandment would only apply to the need to be truthful in a court case. The Hebrew<em> anah</em> is literally "to eye", 'to give heed to'. Don't pay attention to lies, don't listen to gossip- understood like that, this commandment becomes relevant to daily life, and not just to the occasional times when a person might have to bear legal witness against someone.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Neither must you covet your neighbour’s wife, neither shall you desire your neighbour’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbour’s-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Law of Moses was the only legal code to criminalize internal attitudes; nobody knows who covets what in their hearts, and there was no legal apparatus to punish this particular transgression of law. But the Law of Moses was a direct covenant between God and every individual amongst His people, and to Him they were personally responsible and answerable.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The command not to covet what looks good is very much rooted in a warning not to commit Eve’s sin of seeing the fruit and yielding to temptation (<em><a href='B:20 20:17'>Exo 20:17</a></em> = <em><a href='B:10 3:6'>Gen 3:6</a></em>). The sin in Eden was every sin; we see elements of every one of our own sins in that sin. The frequent command "You shall not covet" (<em><a href='B:20 20:17'>Exo 20:17</a></em> etc.) uses the same Hebrew word translated "desire" when we read of how Eve "desired" the fruit (<em><a href='B:10 3:6'>Gen 3:6</a></em>); yet Israel "desired" the wrong fruit (<em><a href='B:290 1:29'>Isa 1:29</a></em>). As Eve saw the fruit and fell for it, so the people of Reuben and Gad saw the land East of Jordan and imagined how good it would be to have it, despite having been given 'all the land' West of Jordan to enjoy (cp. Adam and Eve's dominion in Eden) (<em><a href='B:40 32:1-2'>Num 32:1-2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 32:7'>Num 32:7</a></em>). In all these allusions (and they exist in almost every chapter of the Bible) we are being shown how human sin is a repetition in essence of that of our first parents. The insistent emphasis is that we should rise above and <em>not</em> be like them. And yet this call for personal effort and struggle with ourselves in order to overcome sin is muted and misplaced by all the stress upon a supposed Devil tempting Eve, pushing the blame onto him, and thereby de-emphasizing our role in overcoming sin within ourselves. And so we see so many loud-mouthed condemners of the Devil totally not 'getting it' about the need for personal self-control and spiritual mindedness in daily life and private character. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>These words Yahweh spoke to all your assembly on the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud and the thick darkness, with a great voice; and He added no more. He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>When he commented about the commandments that God “added no more” (<em><a href='B:50 5:22'>Deu 5:22</a></em>), he foresaw his people’s tendency to add the Halacahs of their extra commandments… He could foresee the spiritual problems they would have in their hour by hour life, he appreciated how both their nature and their disobedience would be such a problem for them, and Moses foresaw that they would not cope well with it (ditto for our Lord Jesus). See on <em><a href='B:50 4:42'>Deu 4:42</a></em>.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em><a href='B:20 13:21'>Exo 13:21</a></em> says that there was a pillar of cloud in the day time and a pillar of fire by night. But at the time of the Exodus, there was a pillar of cloud for the Egyptians and a pillar of fire to give light in the night for the Israelites (<em><a href='B:20 14:20'>Exo 14:20</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 14:24'>Exo 14:24</a></em>). Could this mean that the meaning of time was collapsed at this time? It was night for the Israelites but daytime for the Egyptians? <em><a href='B:290 42:16'>Isa 42:16</a></em>, amidst many exodus / Red Sea allusions, speaks of how God makes the darkness light before His exiting people. The many Johanine references to the Lord Jesus being a light in the darkness for His followers would then be yet more elaborations of the idea that the Lord Jesus is the antitype of the Angel that led Israel out of Egypt (<em><a href='B:500 8:12'>Joh 8:12</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 12:35'>Joh 12:35</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 12:46'>Joh 12:46</a></em>). <em><a href='B:40 9:21'>Num 9:21</a></em> says that the pillar of cloud was with the Israelites at <em>night</em>, and sometimes it was taken up in the night and they therefore had to move on. Does this mean that there were times when the meaning of time was collapsed during their journey, and the night was made as the day (perhaps <em><a href='B:230 139:12'>Psa 139:12</a></em> alludes to this experience)? When Yahweh came down on Sinai, He was enveloped in a <em>cloud</em> of <em>fire</em>- suggesting that there was no day and night for Him (<em><a href='B:20 24:15-17'>Exo 24:15-17</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 5:22'>Deu 5:22</a></em>). </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>When you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness as the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>They came near to Moses, but remained at a distance from God, indeed they fled away from Him (<em><a href='B:20 20:18'>Exo 20:18</a></em>). The original plan had been as in <em><a href='B:20 19:13'>Exo 19:13</a></em> LXX: "When the voices and trumpets and cloud depart from off the mountain, they shall come up on the mountain<em>".</em> But this didn't happen- see on <em><a href='B:20 19:14'>Exo 19:14</a></em>. They were not sufficiently sanctified; see on <em><a href='B:20 19:10'>Exo 19:10</a></em>. The people "perceived" Yahweh's holiness and their sinfulness and continued idolatry. And they shied away from Him, whereas His intention was that they came close. These words are so sad. It was a rejection of intimacy with God.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>There were so many similarities between Elijah and Moses; Dale Allison points out:</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Confronted Ahab (<em><a href='B:110 17:1'>1Ki 17:1</a></em>) = Confronted Pharaoh (<em><a href='B:20 5:1'>Exo 5:1</a></em>)</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Fled into the wilderness fearing for his life (<em><a href='B:110 19:3'>1Ki 19:3</a></em>) = Fled into the wilderness fearing for his life (<em><a href='B:20 2:15'>Exo 2:15</a></em>)</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Miraculously fed “...bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening...” (<em><a href='B:110 17:6'>1Ki 17:6</a></em>) = Miraculously fed “...meat to eat in the evening, and bread to the full in the morning...” (<em><a href='B:20 16:8'>Exo 16:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 16:12'>Exo 16:12</a></em>)</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Gathered all Israel to Mount Carmel (<em><a href='B:110 18:19'>1Ki 18:19</a></em>)=Gathered all Israel to Mount Sinai (<em><a href='B:20 19:17'>Exo 19:17</a></em>)</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Combated the prophets of Baal (<em><a href='B:110 18:20-40'>1Ki 18:20-40</a></em>) = Combated the magicians of Pharaoh (<em><a href='B:20 7:8-13'>Exo 7:8-13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 7:20-22'>Exo 7:20-22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 8:1-7'>Exo 8:1-7</a></em>)</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Successful in his intercession for Israel to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel (<em><a href='B:110 18:36-39'>1Ki 18:36-39</a></em>) = Successful in his intercession for Israel to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel (<em><a href='B:20 32:11-14'>Exo 32:11-14</a></em>)</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Elijah took twelve stones at Carmel “...according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob...” (<em><a href='B:110 18:30-32'>1Ki 18:30-32</a></em>) = Moses had twelve pillars set up at Sinai “...corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel...” (<em><a href='B:20 24:4'>Exo 24:4</a></em>)</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Lord accepted Elijah’s offering by sending fire from heaven and consuming it completely. The people threw themselves down on their faces. (<em><a href='B:110 18:36-39'>1Ki 18:36-39</a></em>) = The Lord accepted Moses and Aaron’s offering by sending fire from heaven and consuming it completely. The people threw themselves down on their faces. (<em><a href='B:30 9:22-24'>Lev 9:22-24</a></em>)</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>By Elijah’s authority 3000 idolatrous prophets were slain (<em><a href='B:110 18:40'>1Ki 18:40</a></em>) = By Moses’ authority 3000 idolaters were slain (<em><a href='B:20 32:25-29'>Exo 32:25-29</a></em>)</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>After killing the prophets of Baal Elijah climbed Carmel to pray. (<em><a href='B:110 18:42'>1Ki 18:42</a></em>) = After killing the idolaters Moses climbed Sinai to pray (<em><a href='B:20 32:30'>Exo 32:30</a></em>)</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Went without food for forty days and forty nights (<em><a href='B:110 19:8'>1Ki 19:8</a></em>) = Went without food for forty days and forty nights (<em><a href='B:20 34:28'>Exo 34:28</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 9:9'>Deu 9:9</a></em>) </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Elijah was in “the cave” on Horeb (=Sinai) when the Lord “passed by” (<em><a href='B:110 19:9-11'>1Ki 19:9-11</a></em>) = Moses was hidden “in the cleft of the rock” when the Lord passed by Sinai (<em><a href='B:20 33:21-23'>Exo 33:21-23</a></em>)</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Elijah saw storm, wind, an earthquake and fire upon Horeb (=Sinai). (<em><a href='B:110 19:11-12'>1Ki 19:11-12</a></em>) = Moses saw storm, wind, an earthquake and fire upon Sinai (<em><a href='B:20 19:16-20'>Exo 19:16-20</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 20:18'>Exo 20:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:11'>Deu 4:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 5:22-27'>Deu 5:22-27</a></em>). </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Prayed that he might die (<em><a href='B:110 19:1-4'>1Ki 19:1-4</a></em>) = Prayed that he might die. (<em><a href='B:40 11:10-15'>Num 11:10-15</a></em>).</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Lord brought down fire from heaven upon his enemies (<em><a href='B:120 1:9-12'>2Ki 1:9-12</a></em>) = The Lord brought down fire from heaven upon those who rebelled against him (<em><a href='B:40 16:1-50'>Num 16:1-50</a></em>; cf. <em><a href='B:30 10:1-3'>Lev 10:1-3</a></em>)</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Elijah parted the waters of the Jordan by striking the waters with his cloak and passed over on dry ground. (<em><a href='B:120 2:8'>2Ki 2:8</a></em>) = Moses parted the waters of the Red Sea by stretching out his staff and passed over on dry ground (<em><a href='B:20 14:16'>Exo 14:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 14:21-22'>Exo 14:21-22</a></em>)</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>His successor was one who had served him and came to resemble him in many ways, parting the waters of the Jordan as he had (<em><a href='B:120 2:1-25'>2Ki 2:1-25</a></em>) = His successor was one who had served him and came to resemble him in many ways, parting the waters of the Jordan as he had the Red Sea (<em><a href='B:60 3:1-17'>Jos 3:1-17</a></em>)</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Was taken away in the Transjordan (<em><a href='B:120 2:9-11'>2Ki 2:9-11</a></em>) = Died in the Transjordan (<em><a href='B:50 34:5'>Deu 34:5</a></em>)</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Mysteriously translated (<em><a href='B:120 9:1-37'>2Ki 9:1-37</a></em>; <em><a href='B:120 10:1-36'>2Ki 10:1-36</a></em>; <em><a href='B:120 11:1-21'>2Ki 11:1-21</a></em>; <em><a href='B:120 12:1-21'>2Ki 12:1-21</a></em>; <em><a href='B:120 13:1-25'>2Ki 13:1-25</a></em>; <em><a href='B:120 14:1-29'>2Ki 14:1-29</a></em>; <em><a href='B:120 15:1-38'>2Ki 15:1-38</a></em>; <em><a href='B:120 16:1-20'>2Ki 16:1-20</a></em>; <em><a href='B:120 17:1-41'>2Ki 17:1-41</a></em>; <em><a href='B:120 18:1-37'>2Ki 18:1-37</a></em>) = Died mysteriously and buried in a valley, but his burial place was unknown. (<em><a href='B:50 34:6'>Deu 34:6</a></em>)</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The point of these similarities was that the Angel wanted Elijah to be like Moses; to pray for the peoples’ salvation, to return to the people and lead them and teach them. Moses had begged for God’s mercy for His people; but Elijah was so full of self-justification that he prayed against Israel. And so with us, we are potentially led into situations where we are to discern the similarities between us and Bible characters; we are set up with opportunities to respond in a way that reflects how we have learnt the lessons from them. The way the Lord Jesus perceived this in His wilderness temptations is a great example.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>and you said, Behold, Yahweh our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God does speak with man and he lives- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>They recognized the theory- that they had heard the voice of their God, and that God could speak with a man like Moses directly without the man dying. But they didn't want that intimacy; it was not for them (:25). And they justified it beneath a veneer of fake humility, claiming they were too sinful to hear God's voice. They rejected intimacy with God for religion and following a man, even if he were a very good and genuine man.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Now therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of Yahweh our God any more, then we shall die- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The tragedy was that to hear the personal voice of their God was intended to build their faith, and was the most wonderful empirical, experiential evidence that He was real (<em><a href='B:50 4:32-33'>Deu 4:32-33</a></em>). But faced with it, they hurriedly turned away. And this is true in essence of so many people. See on :26. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>For who is there of all humanity that has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire as we have, and has lived?- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Israel complained that no other nation had ever been asked to hear the voice of their God in a personal way; they feared that hearing this voice meant their condemnation (<em><a href='B:50 5:26'>Deu 5:26</a></em>). But God meant it so positively; the fact they had heard God's voice was a sign of His amazing grace (<em><a href='B:50 4:32-33'>Deu 4:32-33</a></em>). Yet Israel turned the display of that grace into a reason to fear condemnation. They were far happier not being confronted by such radical grace, and the personal engagement of God with them. And so they desperately sought to use mere religion to shield them from this, asking Moses to go through with this engagement with God and then give them a few rules to obey, which didn't too deeply interrupt their lives. This is the abiding tendency of men of all ages; to flee from grace to the structures of mere religion.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Go near and hear all that Yahweh our God shall say, and tell us all that Yahweh our God shall tell you, and we will hear it and do it-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>See on <em><a href='B:50 30:12'>Deu 30:12</a></em>. God wanted to speak directly with Israel at Sinai; and yet they urged Moses personally to go and hear what God wished to say, and tell them about it: "Go thou (you singular) near and hear" (<em><a href='B:50 5:23'>Deu 5:23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 5:27'>Deu 5:27</a></em>). Moses urged them not to fear, and told them that this was all a test from God for them (<em><a href='B:20 20:20'>Exo 20:20</a></em>). But they didn't rise to it. Yet God accepted this lower level, so did He wish to communicate with them. And He used Moses as a mediator through whom He spoke His word to His people.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>We too have a tendency to shy away from a direct relationship with God through His word, and prefer a system of human mediators to bring God to us- as we see in the established churches. But God wants to have direct contact with us through the medium of His word.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Yahweh heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me and Yahweh said to me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you; they have well said all that they have spoken- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This is all intentionally similar to the situation with Pharaoh in <em><a href='B:20 10:29'>Exo 10:29</a></em>, when "Moses said, You have spoken well. I will see your face again no more". For Israel had seen God's face insofar that Moses had seen it (<em><a href='B:50 5:24'>Deu 5:24</a></em>). And they didn't want it, and so they would not be given it.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Oh that there were- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>God’s capacity to imagine, to see possible futures to some extent, explains the poignancy behind His words in places like <em><a href='B:290 48:18'>Isa 48:18</a></em>: "O that you had hearkened to my commandments!", "Oh that they would have a mind such as this always" (<em><a href='B:50 5:29'>Deu 5:29</a></em>), "O Israel, if you would but listen to me" (<em><a href='B:230 81:8'>Psa 81:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 81:13'>Psa 81:13</a></em>). It's as if He could see the potentially happy future which they could've had stretching out before Him. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Adam Clarke correctly understands the Hebrew here as meaning "Who will give such a heart to them, that they may fear, etc. They refuse to receive such a heart from me; who then can supply it?". God was willing to give them a new heart, to work through His Spirit directly upon their spirit. But they didn't accept that gift, just as many refuse it today, preferring to keep God at a distance and follow mere religion. The new covenant as explained in Jeremiah and Ezekiel is all about accepting this new heart and spirit from God.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Time and again, Moses speaks of the state of their heart. He warns them against allowing a bad state of heart to develop, he speaks often of how apostasy starts in the heart. Moses makes a total of 49 references to the heart / mind of Israel in Deuteronomy, compared to only 13 in the whole of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. This indicates the paramount importance which our Lord attaches to the state of our mind. This was perhaps his greatest wish as He faced death; that we should develop a spiritual mind and thereby manifest the Father and come to salvation. Moses likewise saw the state of our mind as the key to spiritual success. But do we share this perspective? Do we guard our minds against the media and influence of a mind-corrupting world? It's been observed that the phrase "The God of (somebody)", or similar, occurs 614 times in the Old Testament, of which 306 are in Deuteronomy. Our very personal relationship with God was therefore something else which Moses came to grasp in his spiritual maturity. Statistical analysis of the word "love" in the Pentateuch likewise reveals that "love" was a great theme of Moses at the end of his life (Moses uses it 16 times in Deuteronomy, and only four times in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers). </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Go, tell them, Return to your tents- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>God went along with their rejection of intimacy with Him, and so He surely said these words with much regret. They preferred <em>their </em>tents to His tent. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>But as for you, stand here by Me- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>God through the Angel had earlier stood upon a rock in Sinai with Moses next to Him (<em><a href='B:20 17:6'>Exo 17:6</a></em>). Later, Yahweh asks Moses to stand upon a rock in Sinai next to Him (<em><a href='B:20 33:21'>Exo 33:21</a></em> s.w.). We see how God gently and progressively leads His people closer to Him, using every experience He gives us to prepare for the next one, on an ever more intimate level with Him.&nbsp;</p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>And I will tell you all the commandments, the statutes and the ordinances, which you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Hebrew <em>mishpat</em>, "ordinances", has a wide range of meaning. The idea is of judgment, as if God and His Angels gave these laws as their considered judgment after considering the human condition, and Israel were to abide by them. But the word also the idea of a right or privilege; and that is how we should see God's laws. They are only felt as a burden because of human hardness of neck towards God's ways. His laws are not of themselves burdensome, but rather a privilege and blessing. The law was indeed "holy, just and good" (<em><a href='B:520 7:12'>Rom 7:12</a></em>), designed to inculcate a holy, just and good life (<em><a href='B:630 1:8'>Tit 1:8</a></em>), a way in which a man should "walk" in daily life (<em><a href='B:30 18:4'>Lev 18:4</a></em>), a culture of kindness and grace to others which reflected God's grace to man. If we dwell upon the idea of "rights" carried within the word <em>mishpat</em>, we note that the law begins in <em><a href='B:20 21:1-2'>Exo 21:1-2</a></em> (also <em><a href='B:50 15:12-18'>Deu 15:12-18</a></em>) with the rights of a slave- those considered to have no rights in the society of that day. The "rights" to be afforded by us to others are the essence of God's rightness / justice.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You must observe to do therefore as Yahweh your God has commanded you; you must not turn aside to the right hand or to the left- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The wall of water on their right hand and left when they crossed the Red Sea is twice emphasized (<em><a href='B:20 14:22'>Exo 14:22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 14:29'>Exo 14:29</a></em>). It is alluded to later, when they are urged to not depart from God's way, not to the right hand nor left (<em><a href='B:50 5:32'>Deu 5:32</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 17:11'>Deu 17:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 17:20'>Deu 17:20</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 28:14'>Deu 28:14</a></em>). We passed through the Red Sea when we were baptized (<em><a href='B:530 10:1-2'>1Co 10:1-2</a></em>). We were set upon a path which is walled up to keep us within it. And we are to remain in that path upon which we were set. To turn aside from it would be as foolish as Israel turning away from their path and trying to walk into the walls of water.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You must walk in all the way which Yahweh your God has commanded you, in order that you may live and that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Does "prolong your days" mean that long life promised to the obedient Israelite under the Old Covenant? Solomon observed that a just mad perished young and "a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness" (<em><a href='B:250 7:15'>Ecc 7:15</a></em>). <em><a href='B:330 12:22'>Eze 12:22</a></em> suggests that faithless Israel cynically observed that "The days are prolonged" and God's prophetic word of condemnation had failed- implying they thought that prolonged days were being experienced by them despite their disobedience. The Hebrew phrase 'to prolong days' is found in <em><a href='B:290 53:10'>Isa 53:10</a></em>, where it is applied to how Messiah would 'prolong His days' not in this life, but in the resurrection. The repeated promises recorded in Deuteronomy of prolonged days upon the land of Israel would therefore hint at the eternity of the Kingdom rather than this life. Indeed, <em><a href='B:50 4:40'>Deu 4:40</a></em> says they would prolong their days "for ever". For an individual Israelite might be faithful but not prolong his or her days in the land because the whole people were to be carried away captive for their sins and the land given to a Gentile power. The opposite of 'days being prolonged' was 'utter destruction' (:26)- which would then speak of condemnation in the second death. This is one of many examples of where eternal life was possible under the Old Covenant- there were multiple different possibilities and plans God could have worked by. Israel could have accepted the Lord Jesus as their Messiah and not killed Him, and so forth. It seems the closer we probe God's word, the more open He is revealed as being.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>In the land which you shall possess- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"Drive out" is s.w. "possess". We must note the difference between the&nbsp; Canaanite peoples and their kings being "struck" and their land "taken" by Joshua-Jesus; and the people of Israel permanently taking possession. This is the difference between the Lord's victory on the cross, and our taking possession of the Kingdom. Even though that possession has been "given" to us. The word used for "possession" is literally 'an inheritance'. The allusion is to the people, like us, being the seed of Abraham. The Kingdom was and is our possession, our inheritance- if we walk in the steps of Abraham. But it is one thing to be the seed of Abraham, another to take possession of the inheritance; and Israel generally did not take possession of all the land (<em><a href='B:60 11:23'>Jos 11:23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 13:1'>Jos 13:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 16:10'>Jos 16:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 18:3'>Jos 18:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 23:4'>Jos 23:4</a></em>). The language of inheritance / possession is applied to us in the New Testament (<em><a href='B:560 1:11'>Eph 1:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 1:14'>Eph 1:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:580 3:24'>Col 3:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:510 20:32'>Act 20:32</a></em>; <em><a href='B:510 26:18'>Act 26:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:670 1:4'>1Pe 1:4</a></em> etc.). Israel were promised: "You shall possess it" (<em><a href='B:50 30:5'>Deu 30:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 33:23'>Deu 33:23</a></em>). This was more of a command than a prophecy, for sadly they were "given" the land but did not "possess" it. They were constantly encouraged in the wilderness that they were on the path to possessing the land (<em><a href='B:50 30:16'>Deu 30:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 30:18'>Deu 30:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:3'>Deu 31:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:13'>Deu 31:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 32:47'>Deu 32:47</a></em>), but when they got there they didn't possess it fully. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Now these are the commandments- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>In the RV this verse reads: "Now this is <em>the commandment</em> (singular), the statutes and the judgments… the Lord our God is one" (:4). And then they are told to write the statutes on their door posts etc. It would have been hard to literally write all 613 of them there. Yet the whole way of life for Israel was epitomized in the single command… that God is one. It was and is a <em>command</em>; not a mere statement; and it was this they were to speak to their children about and continually meditate upon. Thus the unity of God is even today a summary of all God's desires and requirements for us, that He should be the one and only in our lives, with all this means in practice. The Jewish zealots who died at Massada had as their battle cry "the Lord our God is one!", and some time later Rabbi Akiba was flayed alive by the Romans, crying as the skin was stripped from his bones: "The Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might". And there are many accounts from the Holocaust of similar things. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>The statutes and the ordinances which Yahweh your God commanded to teach you, that you might do them in the land which you go over to possess-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>In <em><a href='B:50 6:1-2'>Deu 6:1-2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 6:6-7'>Deu 6:6-7</a></em> Israel is commanded to <em>do</em> the law so that their children would do it also. Whilst on one hand we each have sovereign free will, there can be no doubt that we are affected by others. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"Drive out" is s.w. "possess". We must note the difference between the&nbsp; Canaanite peoples and their kings being "struck" and their land "taken" by Joshua-Jesus; and the people of Israel permanently taking possession. This is the difference between the Lord's victory on the cross, and our taking possession of the Kingdom. Even though that possession has been "given" to us. The word used for "possession" is literally 'an inheritance'. The allusion is to the people, like us, being the seed of Abraham. The Kingdom was and is our possession, our inheritance- if we walk in the steps of Abraham. But it is one thing to be the seed of Abraham, another to take possession of the inheritance; and Israel generally did not take possession of all the land (<em><a href='B:60 11:23'>Jos 11:23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 13:1'>Jos 13:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 16:10'>Jos 16:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 18:3'>Jos 18:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 23:4'>Jos 23:4</a></em>). The language of inheritance / possession is applied to us in the New Testament (<em><a href='B:560 1:11'>Eph 1:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 1:14'>Eph 1:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:580 3:24'>Col 3:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:510 20:32'>Act 20:32</a></em>; <em><a href='B:510 26:18'>Act 26:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:670 1:4'>1Pe 1:4</a></em> etc.). Israel were promised: "You shall possess it" (<em><a href='B:50 30:5'>Deu 30:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 33:23'>Deu 33:23</a></em>). This was more of a command than a prophecy, for sadly they were "given" the land but did not "possess" it. They were constantly encouraged in the wilderness that they were on the path to possessing the land (<em><a href='B:50 30:16'>Deu 30:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 30:18'>Deu 30:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:3'>Deu 31:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:13'>Deu 31:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 32:47'>Deu 32:47</a></em>), but when they got there they didn't possess it fully. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>in order that you might fear Yahweh your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, yes you, your son and your son’s son, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The commandments were given in order to be obeyed (:1), so that they would keep the commandments. This at first blush appears circular reasoning. But rather the idea is of an upward spiral of spirituality, whereby obedience led to obedience. The various laws were designed to be self reinforcing, which is why the law was "perfect", and was not to be added to nor subtracted from. The intention was that obedience to the commandments elicited a spirit of life which was spiritual, and which facilitated further obedience and spirituality.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Hear therefore, Israel, and observe to do it, so that it may be well with you and that you may increase mightily, as Yahweh the God of your fathers has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>It's been observed that the phrase "The God of (somebody)", or similar, occurs 614 times in the Old Testament, of which 306 are in Deuteronomy. Our very personal relationship with God was therefore something else which Moses came to grasp in his spiritual maturity.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Moses really wanted Israel's well-being, he saw so clearly how obedience would result in blessing (e.g. <em><a href='B:50 6:3'>Deu 6:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:28'>Deu 12:28</a></em>). This is a major theme of Moses in Deuteronomy. There was therefore a real sense of pleading behind his frequent appeal for Israel to "hear" or obey God's words. "<em>Hear</em>, O Israel" in Deuteronomy must have had a real passion behind it in his voice, uncorrupted as it was by old age. He didn't rattle it off as some kind of Sunday School proof. At least four times Moses interrupts the flow of his speech with this appeal: "<em>Hear </em>(‘be obedient’), O Israel" (<em><a href='B:50 5:1'>Deu 5:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 6:3-4'>Deu 6:3-4</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 9:1'>Deu 9:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 20:3'>Deu 20:3</a></em>). And a glance through a concordance shows how often in Deuteronomy Moses pleads with them to hear God's voice. So he was back to his favourite theme: Hear the word, love the word, make it your life. For in this is your salvation. And the Lord Jesus (e.g. in passages like <em><a href='B:500 6:1-71'>Joh 6:1-71</a></em>) makes just the same urgent appeal.&nbsp;</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Israel came to describe the Egypt they had been called out from as the land flowing with milk and honey (<em><a href='B:40 16:12'>Num 16:12</a></em>), and denied that the Kingdom was in fact like that. And so we have the same tendency to be deceived into thinking that the kingdoms of this world, the world around us, is effectively the Kingdom of God, the only thing worth striving after.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God; Yahweh is one- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The fact there is only one God means that He is to have our total loyalty and love (:5). If there were two gods, each would have 50%. But the one God demands our total devotion. That God is one is a command, an imperative to action (<em><a href='B:480 12:28-29'>Mar 12:28-29</a></em>). It underlies the whole law and prophets (<em><a href='B:470 22:40'>Mat 22:40</a></em>)- it's that fundamental. If there were two Gods, Yahweh would only demand half our energies. Nothing can be given to anything else; for there is nothing else to give to. There's only one God. There can be no idolatry in our lives, because there is only one God (<em><a href='B:120 19:18-19'>2Ki 19:18-19</a></em>). Because "there is none else, you shall keep <em>therefore</em> his statutes" (<em><a href='B:50 4:39-40'>Deu 4:39-40</a></em>). The Hebrew text of <em><a href='B:50 6:4'>Deu 6:4</a></em> suggests: "The Lord is our God, the Lord is one", thereby linking Yahweh's unity with His being our God, the sole Lord and unrivalled Master of His people. It also links the first principle of the unity of God with that of the covenant to Abraham; for "I will be their God" was one of the features of the covenant. The one God has only one people; not all religious systems can lead to the one Hope of Israel. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em><a href='B:50 6:4'>Deu 6:4</a></em> is far more than a Sunday School text. Indeed God is one; but consider the context. Moses has set the people up to expect him to deliver them a long list of detailed commands; he has told them that God told him to declare unto them "all the commandments… that they may do them… ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you… ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you… now these are the commandments… that ye might do them…<em> hear therefore O Israel and observe to do it</em> (singular)…". Now we expect him to reel off a long list of commands. But Moses mirrors that last phrase with simply: "<em>Hear, O Israel</em>, the Lord our God is one" (<em><a href='B:50 5:31-33'>Deu 5:31-33</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 6:1-4'>Deu 6:1-4</a></em>). And in this context he gives no other commandments. "Observe to do <em>it</em>" is matched with "The Lord our God is one". This is the quintessence of all the commands of God. And he goes straight on to say: "And these words…shall be in your heart" and they were to talk of them to their children in the house and by the way, bind them upon their hands and on the posts of their homes. Some Jewish traditions, perhaps correctly, place the <em>shema</em>, "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is one" in their phylacteries. And this is indeed the context. It was the unity of God and the imperative from it to love Him with all the heart which is what was to be programmatic for their daily living. This is why it was Jewish practice to recite the <em>shema</em> several times a day, and also on their deathbed. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The record in <em><a href='B:480 12:32'>Mar 12:32</a></em> presents an obviously monotheistic Jewish scribe as being in complete agreement with the Lord Jesus about the unity of God. The Lord Jesus evidently supported the Old Testament's strict monotheism. When Jesus speaks of His Father as "the one who alone is God" (<em><a href='B:500 5:44'>Joh 5:44</a></em> NRSV), He is evidently alluding to the classic statement of monotheism in <em><a href='B:50 6:4'>Deu 6:4</a></em> - that Yahweh is the one God. And the inspired writers of the New Testament did the same thing. James commented to Jews upon their belief in one God: "You believe that God is one. You do well" (<em><a href='B:660 2:19'>Jas 2:19</a></em>). He doesn't seek to correct their monotheism. Why, if the Trinity issue was so utterly vital and obvious? </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>and you shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Some time, read through the book of Deuteronomy in one or two sessions. You'll see many themes of Moses in Deuteronomy. It really shows how Moses felt towards Israel, and how the Lord Jesus feels towards us, and especially how he felt towards us just before his death. For this is what the whole book prefigures. "Love" and the idea of love occurs far more in Deuteronomy than in the other books of the Law. "Fear the Lord your God" of <em><a href='B:20 9:30'>Exo 9:30</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 19:14'>Lev 19:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 19:32'>Lev 19:32</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 25:17'>Lev 25:17</a></em> becomes "love the Lord your God" in Deuteronomy (<em><a href='B:50 6:5'>Deu 6:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:9'>Deu 7:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 10:12'>Deu 10:12</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:1'>Deu 11:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 19:9'>Deu 19:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 30:6'>Deu 30:6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 30:16'>Deu 30:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 30:20'>Deu 30:20</a></em>). There are 23 references to not hating in Deuteronomy, compared to only 5 in Ex. - Num.; Moses saw the danger of bitterness and lack of love. He saw these things as the spiritual cancer they are, in his time of maturity he warned his beloved people against them. His mind was full of them. The LXX uses the word ekklesia eight times in Deuteronomy, but not once in Moses' other words (<em><a href='B:50 4:10'>Deu 4:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 9:10'>Deu 9:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 18:16'>Deu 18:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 23:1-3'>Deu 23:1-3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 23:8'>Deu 23:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 32:1'>Deu 32:1</a></em>). Responsibility for the whole family God had redeemed was a mark of Moses; maturity at the end of his life, at the time of Deuteronomy. It is observable that both as a community and as individuals, this will be a sign of our maturity too.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"Love the Lord your God with <em>all </em>your heart, and with <em>all </em>your soul, and with <em>all </em>your might". Time and again, Moses in his final hours used these words, as he pleaded on that last day of his life for Israel to grasp the nettle, to take on board the idea of loving God, of giving our all (<em><a href='B:50 6:5'>Deu 6:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 10:12'>Deu 10:12</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:13'>Deu 11:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:22'>Deu 11:22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 13:3'>Deu 13:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 19:9'>Deu 19:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 30:6'>Deu 30:6</a></em>; an impressive seven-fold emphasis). I can almost hear his voice cracking as he stressed the word "all" . Having pleaded six times for them to love God with <em>all </em>their soul and <em>all</em> their might, Moses then makes the point that if they enter the Kingdom, there they will be <em>made by God</em> to love Him then with all their soul and might (<em><a href='B:50 30:6'>Deu 30:6</a></em>). The logic is over-powering. In the Kingdom, our very nature, every fiber of our being, will be bent towards love of God. If this will be our eternal destiny, isn't it logical that we at least aspire to it now? Statistical analysis of the word "love" in the Pentateuch likewise reveals that "love" was a great theme of Moses at the end of his life (Moses uses it 16 times in Deuteronomy, and only four times in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers).</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Loving Yahweh with all the heart, soul and mind was understood by Joshua as meaning that those who loved Yahweh would not "mix with" and intermarry with the nations and accept their gods (<em><a href='B:60 23:11-12'>Jos 23:11-12</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 23:16'>Jos 23:16</a></em>). "Love" for God was not therefore a feeling; Joshua said that they must "take good heed therefore to yourselves, that you love Yahweh" (<em><a href='B:60 23:11'>Jos 23:11</a></em>). This is the love of conscious direction of the mind, the love which is a choice rather than an emotion.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>These words which I command you this day shall be on your heart- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Time and again, Moses speaks of the state of their heart. He warns them against allowing a bad state of heart to develop, he speaks often of how apostasy starts in the heart. Moses makes a total of 49 references to the heart / mind of Israel in Deuteronomy, compared to only 13 in the whole of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. This indicates the paramount importance which our Lord attaches to the state of our mind. This was perhaps his greatest wish as He faced death; that we should develop a spiritual mind and thereby manifest the Father and come to salvation. Moses likewise saw the state of our mind as the key to spiritual success. But do we share this perspective? Do we guard our minds against the media and influence of a mind-corrupting world? It's been observed that the phrase "The God of (somebody)", or similar, occurs 614 times in the Old Testament, of which 306 are in Deuteronomy. Our very personal relationship with God was therefore something else which Moses came to grasp in his spiritual maturity. Statistical analysis of the word "love" in the Pentateuch likewise reveals that "love" was a great theme of Moses at the end of his life (Moses uses it 16 times in Deuteronomy, and only four times in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers). </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The names of God's people are in the heart of the Lord Jesus, our great High Priest (<em><a href='B:20 28:29'>Exo 28:29</a></em>); just as God's words are to be upon the hearts of His people (<em><a href='B:50 6:6'>Deu 6:6</a></em>). Through the medium of His word, there is thus a mutuality between God and man. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>and you must teach them diligently to your children and talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The latter day repentant remnant will be characterized by talking to each other of spiritual things (<em><a href='B:460 3:16'>Mal 3:16</a></em> cp. <em><a href='B:340 12:2'>Dan 12:2</a></em>), especially of the law (<em><a href='B:460 3:7'>Mal 3:7</a></em>). But we are to do this now in our day of opportunity, and not be forced to it by tribulation. The priests were the official teachers of Israel, but it was ever God's intention that all Israel should be priests. All under the new covenant are declared priests (<em><a href='B:670 2:5'>1Pe 2:5</a></em>). All Israel were to be teaching each other (<em><a href='B:300 31:34'>Jer 31:34</a></em>), especially their children- not leaving it to others, nor over relying upon a priesthood or spiritual eldership to teach their children. This is a myth inadvertently created by the Sunday School movement, excellent and commendable as that movement is- that a child is sent to "Sunday School" and there learns God's ways. The real teaching is done sitting in the house and walking by the way, and not by specialist teachers. The specific reference to teaching when you lie down and rise up could suggest that God specifically intended His people to teach their children, every morning and every evening. This is the essence of family life in the Lord.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You shall bind them for a sign on your hand and they shall be for memorials between your eyes- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>As taught in <em><a href='B:50 6:6'>Deu 6:6</a></em>, the essence was that "These words which I command you this day shall be on your heart". The heart refers to the mind, the brain, if you will; and we could understand this as meaning that this was to be externally memorialized by binding them between the eyes. This is how orthodox Judaism understands it. But I suggest that the memorial was essentially in the heart, and this is just another way of speaking about the wholeness of internal and external devotion to God's words. Whatever is done externally with the hand, whatever is thought about in our mind between our eyes, is to be dominated by our awareness of God's laws. We fail to read in later scripture any mention of literally making boxes containing God's law and wearing them. The Passover deliverance was likewise to be a "frontlet" (s.w. "memorial") between the eyes and upon the hand (<em><a href='B:20 13:16'>Exo 13:16</a></em>); but not in any literal sense. They were to be ever mentally aware of their great salvation, and live accordingly.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Contemporary ideas about Satan, demons etc. are often alluded to in the Pentateuch, and Israel are given the true understanding. Wearing a phylactery wasn't a new concept; the idea "refers to amulets which were worn in order to protect their wearers against demons". So by giving this command, Israel's God was showing His people that instead of being on the <em>defensive</em> against demons, needing good luck charms against them, they should instead replace these by a positive remembrance of God's words in their hearts and actions. Rejoicing in His salvation and constantly remembering it was intended to totally sideline the various false beliefs about demons which were prevalent at the time. It could be argued that God is saying that instead of the literal phylacteries of the pagan Gentile world, they were to have an internal mental awareness of their God.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You shall write them on the door posts of your house and on your gates- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Writing God's laws on door posts recalls the daubing of Passover lamb blood on the door posts. Indeed at Passover time, the faithful Israelite would have painted over the laws of Moses with the blood of the Passover lamb. This was looking ahead to how those laws were to be blotted out by the Lord's sacrifice. It was perhaps also to remind them that the blood of the Passover lamb, shed for their salvation, was an imperative to their obedience to God's laws. And again we see contemporary religious ideas deconstructed; for "It was the custom of the ancient Egyptians to inscribe on lintels and door-posts sentences of good omen". Such good luck charms were to be replaced with realistic practical calls for obedience in real life; for this was the basis of Divine blessing, and not good luck charms.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>When Yahweh your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers to give you, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, great and good cities which you didn’t build- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This continues the repeated reminder that they had been shown grace and a place in the Kingdom not according to works. This emphasis upon grace now leads up to the appeal to quit any other gods (:14)- because Yahweh alone is the God of grace. The other gods had no concept of this; it was unique to Yahweh. And true grace is likewise the unique feature of true Christianity.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em><a href='B:390 2:8'>Jon 2:8</a></em> reflects Jonah's understanding of this: "Those who regard lying vanities forsake their own mercy". This is a profound truth; true grace ("mercy" is<em> hesed</em>) and salvation is only found in Yahweh the God of Israel. To forsake Him is to forsake our own access to mercy and grace. Jonah was surely reflecting upon how the sailors had begged their idols and gods for salvation, and not found it. Only Yahweh had provided such saving grace, both to them and to Jonah. This reflection was surely to motivate Jonah to now go and try to persuade the Ninevites of Yahweh's grace. Jonah is constantly quoting from the Psalms, and here he may have in mind <em><a href='B:230 31:6'>Psa 31:6</a></em>: "I have hated them that regard lying vanities". But now Jonah doesn't hate the idolaters personally, but rather perceives the tragedy of the fact that they are rejecting their own access to Yahweh's grace. Yahweh is all about mercy, or grace; again, <em><a href='B:230 59:17'>Psa 59:17</a></em> "the God of my mercy" is in mind. But we preclude His grace if we trust in the lying vanities of this world.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>houses full of all good things which you didn’t fill, and wells dug out which you didn’t dig, vineyards and olive trees which you didn’t plant, and you shall eat and be full-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The gift of these things to Israel was by God's grace- for He could have commanded them to destroy all such vineyards. They were intended to learn from this grace, that works cannot save, and our blessings are a pure gift from God rather than achieved by our works. But instead they forgot Yahweh (:12) and turned to justification by religious works, because they had refused to be awed by His grace. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>then beware lest you forget Yahweh, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Israel never became atheists, they never formally abrogated Yahweh, never formally rejected Him. But they forgot Him, in that in daily life they forgot the wonder of His grace, especially in His historical salvation of them. And it is day by day spiritual mindedness which is the context here. The exit from Egypt is described as a jail break, from the house of bondage. Their desire to return to it was strong, and so Moses continually stresses the true and awful nature of Egypt / the world. The language echoes that of God to Abraham: "I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur" (<em><a href='B:10 15:7'>Gen 15:7</a></em>). They were being asked to act as Abraham's seed, and respond as He did to the Divine initiative in separating them from the world- by following His commandments.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You must fear Yahweh your God and you shall serve Him and shall swear by His name-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em><a href='B:490 4:8'>Luk 4:8</a></em> records how “Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve”. He understood that we can only serve two masters: God or the flesh (“mammon” is another personification of the flesh, similar to ‘satan’). He saw His own flesh, His own internal thoughts, as a master begging to be served which He must totally reject. His words are a quotation from <em><a href='B:50 6:13'>Deu 6:13</a></em>, which warns Israel to serve Yahweh alone and not idols. He perceived His own natural mind and desire as an idol calling to be served.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You must not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Lord quoted <em><a href='B:50 6:13'>Deu 6:13</a></em> against His wilderness temptations “You shalt fear the Lord your God (alone)”. He probably had <em><a href='B:50 6:14'>Deu 6:14</a></em> in mind “You shall not go after other gods”. Perhaps He interpreted the pagan idols as the evil thoughts of His heart. Earlier <em><a href='B:50 6:7-8'>Deu 6:7-8</a></em> had warned that not repeating the Law would result in idol worship – and Christ saw that His neglect of the Father’s word would result in His serving His evil desires. Thus the purpose of the temptations was to prove whether Christ would really keep and apply the word in His heart (<em><a href='B:50 8:2'>Deu 8:2</a></em>), as it was for Israel in their wilderness.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"Go after" is a phrase Moses frequently uses in his last speech in Deuteronomy, but not elsewhere. It means literally to follow or walk after. He warns against going after other gods (<em><a href='B:50 4:3'>Deu 4:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 6:14'>Deu 6:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 8:19'>Deu 8:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:28'>Deu 11:28</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 13:2'>Deu 13:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 28:14'>Deu 28:14</a></em>), and urges following / walking behind / going after Yahweh alone (<em><a href='B:50 13:4'>Deu 13:4</a></em>). I suggest he was reflecting upon how by following after Yahweh in the Angel, the people had been brought out of Egypt, through the wilderness and to the promised kingdom. Caleb had faithfully followed / walked after Yahweh, and so entered the land. The phrase is used of the people following after the ark to enter Canaan (<em><a href='B:60 3:3'>Jos 3:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 6:9'>Jos 6:9</a></em>). Following after idols led them just to pointless wandering in circles. And so it is in human life today. Following idols leads to pointless wandering, whereas following Yahweh has a specific destination in view- possession of the Kingdom. Elijah uses the phrase when telling Israel they could either follow after Baal, or Yahweh; and if Yahweh is God, then we are to follow Him (<em><a href='B:110 18:21'>1Ki 18:21</a></em>). We cannot follow two directions. But Israel followed after (s.w.) vanity and thereby became vain (<em><a href='B:120 17:15'>2Ki 17:15</a></em>). They carried the tabernacle of Moloch and also of Yahweh, throughout the wilderness journey (<em><a href='B:510 7:1-60'>Act 7:1-60</a></em>:). Following after Baal is paralleled with following / walking after the imagination of their own evil heart (s.w. <em><a href='B:300 3:17'>Jer 3:17</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 9:14'>Jer 9:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 13:10'>Jer 13:10</a></em>), walking after their own spirit rather than God's (<em><a href='B:330 13:3'>Eze 13:3</a></em> s.w.) and their own covetousness (s.w. <em><a href='B:330 33:31'>Eze 33:31</a></em>). To walk / live just according to the word of our own imaginations is our great temptation. But we are to instead follow God's imaginations and heart, as revealed in His word (<em><a href='B:330 20:16'>Eze 20:16</a></em> s.w.). This is where our acceptance of the word of God as indeed His word... has endless implications. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>for Yahweh your God in the midst of you is a jealous God; otherwise the anger of Yahweh your God shall be kindled against you and He shall destroy you from off the face of the land- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Like Paul in his time of dying, Moses in Deuteronomy saw the importance of obedience, the harder side of God; yet he also saw in real depth the surpassing love of God, and the grace that was to come, beyond Law. This appreciation reflected Moses' mature grasp of the Name / characteristics of God. He uses the name "Yahweh" in Deuteronomy over 530 times, often with some possessive adjective, e.g. "Yahweh thy God" (AV- i.e. you singular), or "Yahweh our God". He saw the personal relationship between a man and his God. Jacob reached a like realization at his peak. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Israel is so often set up as the bride of God (<em><a href='B:290 54:5'>Isa 54:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 61:10'>Isa 61:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 62:4-5'>Isa 62:4-5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 2:2'>Jer 2:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 3:14'>Jer 3:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:350 2:19-20'>Hos 2:19-20</a></em>). This is why any infidelity to God is spoken of as adultery (<em><a href='B:460 2:11'>Mal 2:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 17:7'>Lev 17:7</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 20:5-6'>Lev 20:5-6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:16'>Deu 31:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 2:17'>Jdg 2:17</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 8:27'>Jdg 8:27</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 8:33'>Jdg 8:33</a></em>; <em><a href='B:350 9:1'>Hos 9:1</a></em>). The language of Israel 'selling themselves to do iniquity' uses the image of prostitution. This is how God feels our even temporary and fleeting acts and thoughts of unfaithfulness. This is why God is jealous for us (<em><a href='B:20 20:15'>Exo 20:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 34:14'>Exo 34:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:24'>Deu 4:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 5:9'>Deu 5:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 6:15'>Deu 6:15</a></em>)- because His undivided love for us is so exclusive. He expects us to be totally His. Just as Israel were not to be like the Egyptians they were leaving, nor like the Canaanites into whose land they were going (<em><a href='B:30 18:1-5'>Lev 18:1-5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 20:23-24'>Lev 20:23-24</a></em>). We are to be a people separated unto Him. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>If God's wrath burns hot against people, it means death for them (s.w. <em><a href='B:20 22:24'>Exo 22:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 11:1'>Num 11:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 11:33'>Num 11:33</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 22:22'>Num 22:22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 25:3'>Num 25:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 6:15'>Deu 6:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:17'>Deu 31:17</a></em>). But Moses averted this at the time of <em><a href='B:20 32:10'>Exo 32:10</a></em> by his intercession. He does so because God's wrath had burned hot against him personally (<em><a href='B:20 4:14'>Exo 4:14</a></em> s.w.), but he had been saved from death by grace. And so he reflects this in appealing for he salvation of others, against whom God's wrath burned hot (<em><a href='B:20 32:10-11'>Exo 32:10-11</a></em>). But Moses at the end of his life warns them not to make God's wrath burn hot against them again- because he will not be around to intercede for them (<em><a href='B:50 6:15'>Deu 6:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:4'>Deu 7:4</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:17'>Deu 11:17</a></em>).</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You must not test Yahweh your God as you tested Him in Massah-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Meditate upon scripture as you go around daily life. Israel were told: "Ye (plural) shall not tempt the Lord". The Lord Jesus personalized this to Himself, and quoted it as: "Thou (singular) shalt not tempt the Lord" (<em><a href='B:50 6:16'>Deu 6:16</a></em> cp. <em><a href='B:470 4:7'>Mat 4:7</a></em>). He told the Jews that when it is written "I am the God of Abraham", this was God speaking unto <em>them personally </em>("...which was spoken unto you by God, saying..."), teaching them personally that there would be a resurrection (<em><a href='B:470 22:31'>Mat 22:31</a></em>). </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>At the very time Israel put God to the test at Marah (<em><a href='B:50 6:16'>Deu 6:16</a></em>), God responded by testing <em>them</em> (<em><a href='B:20 15:25'>Exo 15:25</a></em>). When Israel were weary of God, He wearied them (<em><a href='B:290 43:22'>Isa 43:22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 43:24'>Isa 43:24</a></em>). Because they turned their back on Him (<em><a href='B:300 2:27'>Jer 2:27</a></em>), He turned His back on them (<em><a href='B:300 18:17'>Jer 18:17</a></em>); because they broke His eternal covenant with them, He eventually did likewise. On the other hand, God set the rainbow in the sky so that whenever <em>He </em>looks upon it, He will remember His covenant with man (<em><a href='B:10 9:16'>Gen 9:16</a></em>). The pronouns seem wrong; we would expect to read that the rainbow is so that whenever <em>we </em>look upon it, we remember... but no. God condescends to man to such an extent that He invites us to understand that whenever we remember the covenant with Him, He does likewise.&nbsp;</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>God comes down to the terms and language of men in His zeal to save. He invites the Jews to put Him to the test: if they paid their tithes, He would bless them with fruitful harvest (<em><a href='B:460 3:10'>Mal 3:10</a></em>). And yet surely the whole message of God’s revelation is that we are to accept His hand in our lives, that obedience won’t automatically bring blessing now, that we are not to put our God to the test (<em><a href='B:50 6:16'>Deu 6:16</a></em> cp. <em><a href='B:470 4:7'>Mat 4:7</a></em>) but to trust in Him and the coming of His Kingdom to resolve all things. And yet Yahweh seems to come down from these high principles in Malachi’s time, to try to convince them of the logic of devotion to Him. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Ahaz quoted these words about not testing God. "The pride that apes humility" says all that is necessary. We can appear to be humble, and by doing so actually express our pride. The point has been made elsewhere that a brother may say to a sister full of praise for his Bible study: "It was nothing really, no, not that good". But if another sister says to him: "I thought your Bible study was nothing really, not much good at all"; how does he react? Did he <em>really</em> mean his 'humble' words to his admirer? Ahaz is one of many Biblical examples of this kind of false humility. He refused to ask a sign of Yahweh, when invited to, lest he be like apostate Israel in the wilderness, and tempt Yahweh (<em><a href='B:290 7:12'>Isa 7:12</a></em> cp. <em><a href='B:50 6:16'>Deu 6:16</a></em>). But this was actually a 'wearying' of God, and he was given a sign relating to his condemnation (<em><a href='B:290 7:12-13'>Isa 7:12-13</a></em>).</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You must diligently keep the commandments of Yahweh your God and His testimonies and His statutes which He has commanded you- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The word so often used for "diligently observing" Yahweh's commandments is from the word meaning a thorn hedge; the idea originally was to hedge in. Taking this too literally led Judaism to all their endless fences around the law, i.e. forbidding this or that because it might lead to doing that or this, which in turn would then lead to breaking an actual commandment. And those various fences become elevated to the level of commandments. But this is not the idea. We are indeed to hedge ourselves in ("take heed to yourself", <em><a href='B:50 11:16'>Deu 11:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:13'>Deu 12:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:19'>Deu 12:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:30'>Deu 12:30</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:32'>Deu 12:32</a></em> s.w.), so that we may keep / hedge ourselves in to keep the commandments of God (<em><a href='B:30 18:4-5'>Lev 18:4-5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 18:26'>Lev 18:26</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 18:30'>Lev 18:30</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 19:19'>Lev 19:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 19:37'>Lev 19:37</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 20:8'>Lev 20:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 20:22'>Lev 20:22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 22:9'>Lev 22:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 22:31'>Lev 22:31</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 25:18'>Lev 25:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 26:3'>Lev 26:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 28:2'>Num 28:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:11-12'>Deu 7:11-12</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 8:1'>Deu 8:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 8:11'>Deu 8:11</a></em> (s.w. "beware"); 10:13; 11:1,8,22,32; 12:1; 13:4,18; 15:5,9 ("beware"); 17:19; 19:9; 23:9 ("keep yourself"); 24:8; 26:16-18; 27:1; 28:1,9,13; 29:9; 30:10,16; 31:12; 32:46). And without falling into the legalism of Judaism, self discipline does require a degree of fencing ourselves in to the one way. Thus the man struggling with alcoholism avoids the supermarket where alcohol is pushed in front of the eyes of the shoppers; the married woman struggling with attraction to another man makes little laws for herself about avoiding his company. And if we do this, then the Lord will "keep" us, will hedge us in to keeping His way (s.w. <em><a href='B:40 6:24'>Num 6:24</a></em>). </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You must do that which is right and good in the sight of Yahweh, that it may be well with you and that you may go in and possess the good land which Yahweh swore to your fathers-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Having stated that the Canaanite tribes would only be cast out if Israel were obedient, Moses goes on to enthuse that those tribes would indeed be cast out- so positive was he about Israel’s obedience (<em><a href='B:50 6:18-19'>Deu 6:18-19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:1'>Deu 7:1</a></em>). And yet on the other hand he realistically was aware of their future failures. He said those positive words genuinely, because he simply loved Israel, and had the hope for them which love carries with it. Throughout his speech, Moses is <em>constantly</em> thinking of Israel in the land; he keeps on telling them how to behave when they are there, encouraging them to be strong so that they will go into the land. I estimate that about 25% of the verses in Moses' speech speak about this. Israel's future inheritance of the Kingdom absolutely filled Moses' mind as he faced up to his own death. And remember that his speech was the outpouring of 40 years meditation. Their salvation, them in the Kingdom, totally filled his heart. And likewise with the Lord Jesus. <em><a href='B:230 22:1-31'>Psa 22:1-31</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 69:1-36'>Psa 69:1-36</a></em> shows how his thoughts on the cross, especially as he approached the point of death, were centred around our salvation. And Moses was so positive about them. “The Lord thy God <em>shall</em> bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands”, even though these blessings were conditional upon their obedience. Moses was this confident of them (<em><a href='B:50 16:15'>Deu 16:15</a></em> cp. 28:1,4,12). </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Israel had been told by Moses that their doing what was "good and right" was required for them to possess the land (<em><a href='B:50 6:18'>Deu 6:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:28'>Deu 12:28</a></em>). The Gibeonites use the same phrase in appealing for Joshua to do what was "good and right" (<em><a href='B:60 9:25'>Jos 9:25</a></em>) in not slaying them but accepting them into covenant relationship with Yahweh. The people generally didn't want to do this (<em><a href='B:60 9:26'>Jos 9:26</a></em>). It seems God's providence used Joshua's initial unwisdom in order to give Joshua a chance to do what was "good and right", so that Israel could indeed possess Canaan. We marvel at how God works through human unwisdom and dysfunction, in order to achieve His final purpose of giving His people His Kingdom. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Hebrew word for "spied out" in <em><a href='B:50 1:24'>Deu 1:24</a></em> also means 'to slander' (s.w. <em><a href='B:100 19:27'>2Sa 19:27</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 15:3'>Psa 15:3</a></em>). Their slander of the land was in that they misrepresented the strength of the people there, who were in fact fearful of the Israelites. They brought up an evil report of the land (<em><a href='B:40 13:32'>Num 13:32</a></em>), characterizing it as not "good" but "evil", as if inhabited by insuperable forces of cosmic evil. They disbelieved God's simple statement that He was bringing them a "good land" (<em><a href='B:20 3:8'>Exo 3:8</a></em>). Moses therefore repeatedly calls the land a "good land", denying their wrong idea that the land was inhabited by 'evil spirits' (<em><a href='B:50 3:25'>Deu 3:25</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:21-22'>Deu 4:21-22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 6:18'>Deu 6:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 8:7'>Deu 8:7</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 9:6'>Deu 9:6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:17'>Deu 11:17</a></em>). We see here how belief in 'evil spirits' or 'demons' militated against their faith in God and His eagerness to give His good Kingdom to His people. That continues to be His "good pleasure" (<em><a href='B:490 12:32'>Luk 12:32</a></em>) toward us, but like Israel, we are tempted to disbelieve this and allow our own perceptions and empirical conclusions to lead us away from simple faith in this. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>to thrust out all your enemies from before you, as Yahweh has spoken- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The thrusting out of Israel's enemies from the land was conditional upon Israel's obedience (<em><a href='B:50 6:18-19'>Deu 6:18-19</a></em>). They were disobedient, and yet still God thrust out the tribes and warned them therefore not to think that this was done because of their righteousness (<em><a href='B:50 9:4'>Deu 9:4</a></em>). It was by grace alone that they inherited the Kingdom, as with us. But there was always a tendency for Israel to forget that they had been given the Kingdom despite their lack of the required personal righteousness; they became over familiar with living in it under such grace. And so the warning comes down to us.&nbsp;</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>When your son asks you in time to come, What do the testimonies, the statutes and the ordinances which Yahweh our God has commanded you mean?- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Hebrew <em>mishpat</em>, "ordinances", has a wide range of meaning. The idea is of judgment, as if God and His Angels gave these laws as their considered judgment after considering the human condition, and Israel were to abide by them. But the word also the idea of a right or privilege; and that is how we should see God's laws. They are only felt as a burden because of human hardness of neck towards God's ways. His laws are not of themselves burdensome, but rather a privilege and blessing. The law was indeed "holy, just and good" (<em><a href='B:520 7:12'>Rom 7:12</a></em>), designed to inculcate a holy, just and good life (<em><a href='B:630 1:8'>Tit 1:8</a></em>), a way in which a man should "walk" in daily life (<em><a href='B:30 18:4'>Lev 18:4</a></em>), a culture of kindness and grace to others which reflected God's grace to man. If we dwell upon the idea of "rights" carried within the word <em>mishpat</em>, we note that the law begins in <em><a href='B:20 21:1-2'>Exo 21:1-2</a></em> (also <em><a href='B:50 15:12-18'>Deu 15:12-18</a></em>) with the rights of a slave- those considered to have no rights in the society of that day. The "rights" to be afforded by us to others are the essence of God's rightness / justice.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>then you shall tell your son, We were Pharaoh’s bondservants in Egypt and Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The might of Yahweh's hand was shown through His grace in as it were forcing Israel out of Egypt, when they actually wanted to remain there and He wished to destroy them (<em><a href='B:330 20:8'>Eze 20:8</a></em>). They were idolatrous and had told Moses to leave them alone and let them serve the Egyptians. Yahweh's strength therefore refers to the power of His grace in continuing His program with them.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>and Yahweh showed great and awesome signs and wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh and on all his house, before our eyes- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Subsequent generations were to consider that the wonder of redemption had been played out before their own eyes. There is a deep sense in human beings that history is bunk, or at best of merely passing historico-cultural interest, which the hurrying man of modern life has little serious time for. This is where Biblical history is so different; and it's why God's word in the Bible is in a sense all history. But it is history to live by, moment by moment. The implications of our redemption on a hill just outside Jerusalem, on a Friday afternoon, on a day in April... affect today and every day our every thought and action in secular life.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in, to give us the land which He swore to our fathers-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The meaning of ‘holiness’ is both to be separated <em>from</em> and separated <em>unto</em>. Separation isn’t only something negative; it’s more essentially something positive. We are separated <em>from</em> this world because we are separated <em>unto</em> the things of God’s Kingdom; the separation <em>from </em>is a natural, unpretended outcome of our involvement in the things of God’s Kingdom.&nbsp; It’s not part of a cross which the believer must reluctantly, sacrificially bear. Like all spiritual growth, it is unaffected; the number of hours spent watching TV. goes down (to zero?) <em>naturally</em>; the friendships with the world <em>&nbsp;naturally</em> frizzle out, the way we dress, the things we hope for and talk about... all these things will alter in their own time. Israel were brought out from Egypt through the Red Sea (cp. baptism) that they might be <em>brought in</em> to the land of promise (<em><a href='B:50 6:23'>Deu 6:23</a></em>). The Nazarite was separated <em>from</em> wine, because he was separated <em>unto</em> the Lord (<em><a href='B:40 6:2-3'>Num 6:2-3</a></em>).</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Yahweh commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear Yahweh our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>A striking difference between the Pentateuch and other contemporary legal codes is that those codes are straight codices of statutes; whereas God's law isn't like that. It is commandment interspersed between historical documents and incidents. We read of some incident in the wilderness journey, then we have some commandments recounted, then another incident, some more commandments, etc. This surely reflects how God intended obedience to His law to not be a legalistic exercise- it was a code for real human life, which should affect the very spirit of human existence in a way which no dry legal code really could. It was to set a rhythm of life, revealing how that law was "for our good always, that God might preserve us" (<em><a href='B:50 6:24'>Deu 6:24</a></em>)- the person who obeyed the law was to live in it (<em><a href='B:420 2:4'>Hab 2:4</a></em> etc.). The motive for obedience to the law was not so that God might give them salvation or status as His people- it was precisely because He had done that, by grace, that they were to respond in obedience (<em><a href='B:20 12:26'>Exo 12:26</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 13:8'>Exo 13:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 13:14'>Exo 13:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 6:20'>Deu 6:20</a></em>). </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>It might help if we try to visualize the practical benefits of keeping the laws. "In keeping of them is great reward", David commented (<em><a href='B:230 19:11'>Psa 19:11</a></em>). Moses likewise: "The Lord commanded us to do all these statutes... <em>for our good always</em>" (<em><a href='B:50 6:24'>Deu 6:24</a></em>)- not for their irritation, or as a pointless test of obedience. Perhaps this is why the giving of the Law is described as an expression of God's <em>love</em> for Israel (<em><a href='B:50 33:2-4'>Deu 33:2-4</a></em>). It was the loving marriage contract between God and Israel. We must see the keeping of the law by the faithful Israelite as being done within a certain spiritual atmosphere. It would have been impossible to keep all those laws from a series of deliberate acts of the will. The truly obedient Israelite would have developed a way of life and thinking, a culture of kindness to others, which achieved obedience to them. This was surely how Jesus was able to perfectly fulfil the Law. "If a man do (the commands) he shall even live in them" (<em><a href='B:30 18:5'>Lev 18:5</a></em>) seems to refer to this atmosphere of obedience.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>As at this day- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Israel were to teach their children that God had personally saved <em>them</em> at the Red Sea. The covenant made with Israel then was made not only with the “fathers” who were then alive, but with every member of every generation of God’s people (<em><a href='B:50 5:3'>Deu 5:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 6:20'>Deu 6:20</a></em>). In this sense, Biblical history is a living word to every generation. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>It shall be righteousness to us if we observe to do all these commandments before Yahweh our God, as He has commanded us- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"Righteousness to us" is an Old Testament foretaste of Paul's teaching about imputed righteousness. For that is the idea here; not that they should congratulate themselves at their own righteousness in keeping Passover. But rather that remembering their deliverance with faith and gratitude would be counted to them as righteousness. The NIV in <em><a href='B:630 1:1'>Tit 1:1</a></em> speaks of "the truth which leads to Godliness". Thus true understanding <em>is</em> related to true Godly living- <em>if</em> we translate the doctrines into practice. The Passover would only be properly kept, Moses explained, if the meaning of it was understood (<em><a href='B:50 6:20-25'>Deu 6:20-25</a></em>). </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>When Yahweh your God brings you into the land where you go to possess it and casts out many nations before you, the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, seven nations greater and mightier than you- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>God and Moses had stated that the Canaanite tribes would only be cast out if Israel were obedient, but here Moses enthuses that those tribes would indeed be cast out- so positive was he about Israel’s obedience (see too <em><a href='B:50 6:18-19'>Deu 6:18-19</a></em>). And yet on the other hand he realistically was aware of their future failures. He said those positive words genuinely, because he simply loved Israel, and had the hope for them which love carries with it. Throughout his speech in Deuteronomy, Moses is constantly thinking of Israel in the land; he keeps on telling them how to behave when they are there, encouraging them to be strong so that they will go into the land. Roughly 25% of the verses in Moses' speech speak about this. Israel's future inheritance of the Kingdom absolutely filled Moses' mind as he faced up to his own death. And remember that his speech was the outpouring of 40 years meditation. Their salvation, them in the Kingdom, totally filled his heart; just as like Paul we should enthuse about others’ salvation, not simply our own. And likewise with the Lord Jesus. <em><a href='B:230 22:1-31'>Psa 22:1-31</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 69:1-36'>Psa 69:1-36</a></em> show how His thoughts on the cross, especially as he approached the point of death, were centred around our salvation. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"Drive out" is s.w. "possess". We must note the difference between the&nbsp; Canaanite peoples and their kings being "struck" and their land "taken" by Joshua-Jesus; and the people of Israel permanently taking possession. This is the difference between the Lord's victory on the cross, and our taking possession of the Kingdom. Even though that possession has been "given" to us. The word used for "possession" is literally 'an inheritance'. The allusion is to the people, like us, being the seed of Abraham. The Kingdom was and is our possession, our inheritance- if we walk in the steps of Abraham. But it is one thing to be the seed of Abraham, another to take possession of the inheritance; and Israel generally did not take possession of all the land (<em><a href='B:60 11:23'>Jos 11:23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 13:1'>Jos 13:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 16:10'>Jos 16:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 18:3'>Jos 18:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 23:4'>Jos 23:4</a></em>). The language of inheritance / possession is applied to us in the New Testament (<em><a href='B:560 1:11'>Eph 1:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 1:14'>Eph 1:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:580 3:24'>Col 3:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:510 20:32'>Act 20:32</a></em>; <em><a href='B:510 26:18'>Act 26:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:670 1:4'>1Pe 1:4</a></em> etc.). Israel were promised: "You shall possess it" (<em><a href='B:50 30:5'>Deu 30:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 33:23'>Deu 33:23</a></em>). This was more of a command than a prophecy, for sadly they were "given" the land but did not "possess" it. They were constantly encouraged in the wilderness that they were on the path to possessing the land (<em><a href='B:50 30:16'>Deu 30:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 30:18'>Deu 30:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:3'>Deu 31:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:13'>Deu 31:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 32:47'>Deu 32:47</a></em>), but when they got there they didn't possess it fully. <em></em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Seven nations were to be destroyed (<em><a href='B:50 7:1'>Deu 7:1</a></em>), but <em><a href='B:60 12:8'>Jos 12:8</a></em> lists six as having been defeated. The Girgashites are omitted from the list there. So it seems that only the Girgashites were completely destroyed as was potentially possible. The remaining six were defeated by Joshua, but remained in the land, to be thorns in the flesh for Israel. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Passages like <em><a href='B:50 7:1'>Deu 7:1</a></em> confidently proclaim that "When the Lord your God shall bring you into the land... and shall pluck off / cast out many nations...". Yet this casting out was dependent upon Israel doing this work; if they did it, God was eager to work mightily with them. But the reality is that they didn't drive out all the nations. This doesn't falsify Scripture; rather does it indicate the positive hope of God that His people will work with Him to make His potentially true prophecies turn into reality. Even the promises to Abraham were to some extent conditional- Israel would no longer be "as the stars of heaven for multitude; because you would not obey the voice of the Lord" (<em><a href='B:50 28:62'>Deu 28:62</a></em>). Hence the fulfillment of those promises was dependent to some extent upon the obedience of the promised seed. Having stated that the Canaanite tribes would only be cast out if Israel were obedient, Moses goes on to enthuse that those tribes would indeed be cast out- so positive was he about Israel’s obedience (<em><a href='B:50 6:18-19'>Deu 6:18-19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:1'>Deu 7:1</a></em>). And yet on the other hand he realistically was aware of their future failures. He said those positive words genuinely, because he simply loved Israel, and had the hope for them which love carries with it. Throughout his speech, Moses is constantly thinking of Israel in the land; he keeps on telling them how to behave when they are there, encouraging them to be strong so that they will go into the land. I estimate that about 25% of the verses in Moses' speech speak about this. Israel's future inheritance of the Kingdom absolutely filled Moses' mind as he faced up to his own death. And remember that his speech was the outpouring of 40 years meditation. Their salvation, them in the Kingdom, totally filled his heart. And likewise with the Lord Jesus. <em><a href='B:230 22:1-31'>Psa 22:1-31</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 69:1-36'>Psa 69:1-36</a></em> shows how his thoughts on the cross, especially as he approached the point of death, were centred around our salvation. And Moses was so positive about them. “The Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands”, even though these blessings were conditional upon their obedience. Moses was this confident of them (<em><a href='B:50 16:15'>Deu 16:15</a></em> cp. 28:1,4,12). </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>and when Yahweh your God delivers them up before you and you defeat them, then you must utterly destroy them. You must make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em><a href='B:650 11:31'>Heb 11:31</a></em> comments that "By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace". Rahab's faith was faith in God's grace. For Rahab was an Amoritess and according to the law of Moses there was to be no pity or covenant with them- only death (cp. <em><a href='B:50 7:2'>Deu 7:2</a></em>).Rahab had the spiritual ambition to ask that they make a covenant with her- she requests <em>hesed</em>, the common term for covenant relationship ("deal kindly with me", <em><a href='B:60 2:12'>Jos 2:12</a></em> cp. <em><a href='B:90 20:8'>1Sa 20:8</a></em>). And the spies made a covenant with her. Grace, like love, finds a way. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Rahab was aware of what Israel had done to their enemies on their way to Jericho- and she appears to allude to Moses' commands to destroy utterly and not make covenant with the peoples of the land (<em><a href='B:50 2:32-37'>Deu 2:32-37</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:1-5'>Deu 7:1-5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 20:16-18'>Deu 20:16-18</a></em>). When she says that she was aware that God had "given you the land" (<em><a href='B:60 2:9'>Jos 2:9</a></em>), she uses the same two Hebrew words used repeatedly in Deuteronomy regarding God's promise to give Israel the land of the Canaanites. "Your terror is fallen upon us" is likewise an allusion to <em><a href='B:20 15:16'>Exo 15:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 23:27'>Exo 23:27</a></em> (the same Hebrew word for "terror" is used by Rahab). Rahab speaks of how her people are "fainting" in fear- quoting <em><a href='B:20 15:15'>Exo 15:15</a></em> about how the inhabitants of Canaan would "faint" (AV "melt away") because of Israel. Knowing all this, she has the ambition to request the impossible- that she would be the exception, that with her a covenant would be made. When she says that "we have heard" about the Exodus (<em><a href='B:60 2:10'>Jos 2:10</a></em>), she may be referring to the prophecy of <em><a href='B:20 15:14'>Exo 15:14</a></em>: "The people shall hear and be afraid". In this case, her emphasis would have been upon the word "have"- 'yes, we have heard indeed, as Moses sung, and yes, we are afraid'. Seeking God's face is actually to strive for the unachievable in this life; but it's what we are to do. Spiritual ambition of the type Rahab had lifts us far above the mire of mediocrity which there is in all human life under the sun.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>God stressed to the later children of Abraham that since they had a covenant with Him, they were not to make covenants with the people who lived around them in the land- time and again God references His covenant with His people, and in that context tells them not to make covenants with the peoples of the land (<em><a href='B:20 34:10-12'>Exo 34:10-12</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 34:15'>Exo 34:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 34:27'>Exo 34:27</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:2'>Deu 7:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 2:1-2'>Jdg 2:1-2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 2:20'>Jdg 2:20</a></em>). Yet Abraham made covenants with those very people (<em><a href='B:10 14:13'>Gen 14:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:10 21:27'>Gen 21:27</a></em>; <em><a href='B:10 21:32'>Gen 21:32</a></em>)- perhaps indicating his lack of appreciation of his covenant relationship with Yahweh?. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>neither shall you arrange marriages with them; your daughter you shall not give to his son, nor shall you take his daughter for your son- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Israel were in covenant with God, <em>therefore</em> they were not to make covenants with the other nations, and marriage is mentioned as an example of this (<em><a href='B:20 34:10'>Exo 34:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 34:12'>Exo 34:12</a></em>). In his repetition of this part of the law in Deuteronomy, Moses gave even more repeated emphasis to the fact that our covenant with God precludes any covenant relationship with anyone else (<em><a href='B:50 7:2-11'>Deu 7:2-11</a></em>). The wonder of our relationship with Yahweh is stated time and again. To marry back into Egypt, the house of bondmen from which we have been redeemed, is to despise the covenant, to reverse the redemptive work which God has wrought with us. In this context of marriage out of the Faith, we read that God will destroy "him that hates Him" (<em><a href='B:50 7:2-11'>Deu 7:2-11</a></em>), and repay him to his face. On the other hand, not marrying Gentiles was part of <em>loving</em> God (<em><a href='B:60 23:12-13'>Jos 23:12-13</a></em>).</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>For he will turn away your son from following me to serve other gods; so the anger of Yahweh would be kindled against you and He would destroy you quickly-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The pronouns often change (in Deuteronomy especially), showing a confusion between the voice of God and that of Moses. <em><a href='B:50 7:4'>Deu 7:4</a></em> is an example: “They will turn away thy son from following me (this is Moses speaking for God)... so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you”. Thus Moses’ comments on God’s words are mixed up with the words of God Himself. There are other examples of this in <em><a href='B:50 7:11'>Deu 7:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 29:1'>Deu 29:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 29:10'>Deu 29:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 29:14-15'>Deu 29:14-15</a></em> (“I” cp. “us”). Consider especially <em><a href='B:50 11:13-14'>Deu 11:13-14</a></em>: “If ye shall diligently hearken unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord... that I will give you the rain of your land... I will send grass in thy fields”. The “I” here switches at ease between God and Moses. The Moses/God pronouns are also mixed in <em><a href='B:520 10:19'>Rom 10:19</a></em>.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Many passages make the connection between marriage out of the covenant, and adopting idolatry: <em><a href='B:20 34:12-16'>Exo 34:12-16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:2-9'>Deu 7:2-9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 3:6-7'>Jdg 3:6-7</a></em>; <em><a href='B:110 11:2-3'>1Ki 11:2-3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:460 2:11'>Mal 2:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:540 6:14'>2Co 6:14</a></em>. <em><a href='B:50 7:4'>Deu 7:4</a></em> RV dogmatically predicts that a Gentile man will definitely turn away the heart of his Hebrew son-in-law… So certain is it that marriage to Gentiles leads to accepting their idols that <em><a href='B:150 9:1-2'>Ezr 9:1-2</a></em> reasons that Israel hadn't separated from idols <em>because</em> they had married Gentiles. Time and again, those who marry out of the covenant claim that they feel strong enough to cope with it, that marriage is only a human thing, and that their spiritual relationship with God is between them and God, and unaffected by their worldly partner. Yet this is exactly the opposite of what God's word says. It's not true that you can marry into the world and be unaffected in your own spirituality. Solomon thought he could handle it; and apparently, he did- for the first 20 years or so. But his Gentile wives were his spiritual ruin at the end. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>If God's wrath burns hot against people, it means death for them (s.w. <em><a href='B:20 22:24'>Exo 22:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 11:1'>Num 11:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 11:33'>Num 11:33</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 22:22'>Num 22:22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 25:3'>Num 25:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 6:15'>Deu 6:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:17'>Deu 31:17</a></em>). But Moses averted this at the time of <em><a href='B:20 32:10'>Exo 32:10</a></em> by his intercession. He does so because God's wrath had burned hot against him personally (<em><a href='B:20 4:14'>Exo 4:14</a></em> s.w.), but he had been saved from death by grace. And so he reflects this in appealing for he salvation of others, against whom God's wrath burned hot (<em><a href='B:20 32:10-11'>Exo 32:10-11</a></em>). But Moses at the end of his life warns them not to make God's wrath burn hot against them again- because he will not be around to intercede for them (<em><a href='B:50 6:15'>Deu 6:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:4'>Deu 7:4</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:17'>Deu 11:17</a></em>).</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>But you must deal with them like this: break down their altars and dash their pillars in pieces and cut down their Asherim poles and burn their engraved images with fire- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Israel were told to "throw down", "break in pieces" and "utterly destroy" the idols and altars of Canaan. There were times during their history when they obeyed this command by purging themselves from their apostasy in this. The Hebrew words used scarcely occur elsewhere, except very frequently in the context of how God "broke down", "threw down" and "destroyed" Israel at the hands of their Babylonian and Assyrian invaders as a result of their not 'breaking down' (etc.) the idols. "Throw down" in <em><a href='B:20 34:13'>Exo 34:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:5'>Deu 7:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:3'>Deu 12:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:140 31:1'>2Ch 31:1</a></em> is the same word in <em><a href='B:140 36:19'>2Ch 36:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 4:26'>Jer 4:26</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 31:28'>Jer 31:28</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 33:4'>Jer 33:4</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 39:8'>Jer 39:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 52:14'>Jer 52:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:330 16:39'>Eze 16:39</a></em>; <em><a href='B:410 1:6'>Nah 1:6</a></em>. "Cut down" in <em><a href='B:50 7:5'>Deu 7:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:3'>Deu 12:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:140 31:1'>2Ch 31:1</a></em> later occurs in <em><a href='B:290 10:33'>Isa 10:33</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 48:1-47'>Jer 48:1-47</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 25:1-38'>Jer 25:1-38</a></em>; <em><a href='B:310 2:3'>Lam 2:3</a></em>. So Israel faced the choice: either cut down your idols, or you will be cut down in the day of God's judgment. Those who worshipped idols were like unto them. The stone will either fall on us and destroy us, or we must fall on it and become broken men and women (<em><a href='B:470 21:44'>Mat 21:44</a></em>). For the man untouched by the concept of living for God's glory, it's a hard choice. God will conquer sin, ultimately. When a man dies, it isn't just a biological, clockwork process. It is God's victory over sin in that individual. Either we must be slain by God; or with His gracious help, we must put sin to death in our members through association with the only One who really did this- and thereby rise to life eternal. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>For you are a holy people to Yahweh your God; Yahweh your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession above all peoples who are on the face of the earth-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>We are to live out in practice what we have been made in status by our gracious Father. The very fact He counts us as in Christ, as the spotless bride of His Son, must be both felt and lived up to by us. The way He counts us like this is a wonderful motivation to rise up to it all. Consider how God told Israel that <em>if</em> they kept His commandments, <em>then</em> they would be His “peculiar treasure” (<em><a href='B:20 19:5'>Exo 19:5</a></em>). This conditional promise is then referred to by Moses as having been fulfilled- Israel became His “peculiar treasure” by status even though they did <em>not</em> keep His commandments (<em><a href='B:50 7:6'>Deu 7:6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 14:2'>Deu 14:2</a></em> s.w.; <em><a href='B:230 135:4'>Psa 135:4</a></em>). Moses concludes by saying that “the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people (s.w.)…<em> that</em> thou shouldest keep all his commandments” (<em><a href='B:50 26:18'>Deu 26:18</a></em>). See what’s happening here. God said that <em>if</em> they were obedient, <em>then</em> they would be His special people. Yet He counted them as His special people even though they were not obedient. And He did this so that they would be so touched by this grace that they <em>would</em> be obedient. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>“You did not choose me, but I chose you… out of the world” (<em><a href='B:500 15:16'>Joh 15:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 15:19'>Joh 15:19</a></em>) corresponds to the oft repeated theme of Moses that God has chosen Israel “out of all peoples” (<em><a href='B:50 7:6'>Deu 7:6</a></em> RVmg.), by grace (<em><a href='B:50 4:37'>Deu 4:37</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 10:15'>Deu 10:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 14:2'>Deu 14:2</a></em>). </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Yahweh didn’t set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any people, for you were the fewest of all peoples- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Hebrew word translated as "thousand" can mean a family, or some other administrative division. Many of the 'number problems' in the Hebrew Bible are only really resoluble using this approach. And that may be in view in the census of Israel taken in <em><a href='B:40 1:1-54'>Num 1:1-54</a></em>, and in the statement that six hundred 'thousands' of footmen left Egypt (<em><a href='B:20 12:37'>Exo 12:37</a></em>). The census of <em><a href='B:40 1:1-54'>Num 1:1-54</a></em> gives figures such as those in <em><a href='B:40 1:21'>Num 1:21</a></em> for Reuben, which could be rendered: "forty six families ('thousands') and five hundred (men)". Although a "hundred" might also refer to an administrative division. The total in <em><a href='B:40 1:1-54'>Num 1:1-54</a></em> would then be 598 families with a total of 5550 men. The sum given in the second census in <em><a href='B:40 26:1-65'>Num 26:1-65</a></em> comes out as roughly the same, with 596 families amounting to 5730 men. On this basis, the total population (including women and children) would be anything between 20,000 to 40,000. This would enable us to make better sense of the statements that Israel were the smallest numerically of all the surrounding peoples (<em><a href='B:50 7:1'>Deu 7:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:7'>Deu 7:7</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:23'>Deu 11:23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 20:1'>Deu 20:1</a></em>). If we insist upon taking "thousand" literally in <em><a href='B:20 12:37'>Exo 12:37</a></em>, then 600,000 male foot soldiers would imply a total population of between two and six million. The population density would have been intense, and far greater than that of many modern nations. Estimates of global population at the time suggest it was only about 40 million, and the population of Egypt was a maximum of three million (probably far less). If the Israelites were smaller than the other nations, and they numbered say 5 million, then the total population of the seven peoples of Canaan would have been at least 40 million. The territory of Canaan could not have supported such numbers. Only 70 Israelites came into Egypt with Jacob. Expansion over 430 years to several million is not realistic. This approach helps us better understand how all the men of war marched around Jericho (<em><a href='B:60 6:3'>Jos 6:3</a></em>). If there were literally 600,000 men then the city would have had to be many kilometers in circumference for them all to march around it seven times in one day. Archaeological evidence from Jericho simply doesn't support the idea of such a vast city. If Israel numbered say 5 million people, and recall there was also a "mixed multitude" with them, then if they marched 10 abreast this would require a column stretching around 1000 kilometers. Their promises to Edom and the Amorites to march only along a highway and not spill over it (<em><a href='B:40 20:17'>Num 20:17</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 21:22'>Num 21:22</a></em>) is unrealistic if they had such huge numbers. A figure of 600 family units leaving Egypt is more realistic; otherwise we start to wonder how ever all the Israelites, millions of them, came to be in one place at one time on Passover night.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>but because Yahweh loves you and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, therefore has Yahweh brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house of bondage from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Israel were not to marry people from the surrounding world because God had chosen them to be His special people, "and because he would keep the oath that he had sworn unto your fathers" (<em><a href='B:50 7:2'>Deu 7:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:8'>Deu 7:8</a></em>). Those "fathers" were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. By baptism, we enter into the same covenant as they did; the promises to Abraham are made to us (<em><a href='B:550 3:27-29'>Gal 3:27-29</a></em>). We enter that same Abrahamic covenant which in prospect extended to Israel (although it was only ratified or enabled by the death of Christ). The everlasting, Abrahamic covenant extended to <em>all</em> generations of Abraham's seed (<em><a href='B:10 17:7-9'>Gen 17:7-9</a></em>). The fact Israel were forbidden to marry Gentiles was not only a <em>type </em>of how the new Israel should not marry unbelievers; we are in essence in their position. We <em>are</em> the Israel of God, not just their antitype. We too have been chosen, we too share the same fathers, and the covenant made to them. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Know therefore that Yahweh your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with them who love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>“If you love me you will keep my commandments” (<em><a href='B:500 14:15'>Joh 14:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 14:21'>Joh 14:21</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 14:23'>Joh 14:23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 15:10'>Joh 15:10</a></em>) reflects a major identical theme in <em><a href='B:50 5:10'>Deu 5:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:9'>Deu 7:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:1'>Deu 11:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:22'>Deu 11:22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 13:3-4'>Deu 13:3-4</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 19:9'>Deu 19:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 30:16'>Deu 30:16</a></em>. Moses at the end of his life, when he spoke Deuteronomy, was very much the image of the future Lord Jesus. But the truth is that God kept His love and covenant with Israel even when they didn't love Him nor abide in His covenant. The more legal statement here, that God's love is for those who love Him, therefore provides the backdrop for the awesome marvel of the way He often protests His eternal love for Israel, e.g. in Hosea. His love for Israel was eternal, despite their not loving Him. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>and repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them; He will not be slack to him who hates Him, He will repay him to his face-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This implies a face to face meeting between God and the sinner in judgment. But this will only happen finally at the last day, when the responsible dead are raised to judgment. For as the Bible often notes, in this life the wicked apparently prosper. Judgment day will be a personal, face to face encounter with God, in the face of Jesus Christ.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You must therefore keep the commandment, the statutes and the ordinances which I command you this day, to do them-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Hebrew <em>mishpat</em>, "ordinances", has a wide range of meaning. The idea is of judgment, as if God and His Angels gave these laws as their considered judgment after considering the human condition, and Israel were to abide by them. But the word also the idea of a right or privilege; and that is how we should see God's laws. They are only felt as a burden because of human hardness of neck towards God's ways. His laws are not of themselves burdensome, but rather a privilege and blessing. The law was indeed "holy, just and good" (<em><a href='B:520 7:12'>Rom 7:12</a></em>), designed to inculcate a holy, just and good life (<em><a href='B:630 1:8'>Tit 1:8</a></em>), a way in which a man should "walk" in daily life (<em><a href='B:30 18:4'>Lev 18:4</a></em>), a culture of kindness and grace to others which reflected God's grace to man. If we dwell upon the idea of "rights" carried within the word <em>mishpat</em>, we note that the law begins in <em><a href='B:20 21:1-2'>Exo 21:1-2</a></em> (also <em><a href='B:50 15:12-18'>Deu 15:12-18</a></em>) with the rights of a slave- those considered to have no rights in the society of that day. The "rights" to be afforded by us to others are the essence of God's rightness / justice.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>If you listen to these ordinances and keep and do them, Yahweh your God will keep with you the covenant and the loving kindness which He swore to your fathers-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>On one hand, the promises to Abraham and the fathers depended for their realization upon human obedience; even though on the other hand, the covenant of <em><a href='B:10 15:1-21'>Gen 15:1-21</a></em> appears to be a unilateral expression of God’s grace and assurance to His people. “If you listen to these ordinances and keep and do them, Yahweh your God will keep with you the covenant and the loving kindness which He swore to your fathers” (<em><a href='B:50 7:12'>Deu 7:12</a></em>). That covenant was initially given in terms which omitted direct reference to any conditions for fulfilment. But it would be ‘kept’ by God if His people ‘kept’ His ways. The promises that God would multiply the seed of Abraham were conditional also; <em>if</em> Israel separated themselves from the peoples of the land, <em>then</em> He would “multiply you, as He has sworn unto your fathers” (<em><a href='B:50 13:17'>Deu 13:17</a></em>). The strength of God’s grace also makes some of His promises ‘conditional’ in a different sense; thus He had promised Reuben and Manasseh that they could return to their possessions only when the others had possessed the land (<em><a href='B:50 3:20'>Deu 3:20</a></em>). This condition never happened- yet they were allowed to return. And our very salvation from death and the consequences of sin is in a sense another example of this kind of thing.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your body and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your livestock and the young of your flock, in the land which He swore to your fathers to give you- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Analyzing usage of the word "love" in the Pentateuch reveals that "love" was a great theme of Moses at the end of his life (Moses uses it 16 times in Deuteronomy, and only four times in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers). Love is indeed the proof of spiritual maturity (<em><a href='B:580 3:14'>Col 3:14</a></em>).</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Reflection upon the nature of God's covenant relationship reveals His grace. There are no lack of Bible passages which speak of His love and blessing in the covenant as being conditional- <em>if</em> the people were obedient, then God would keep His covenant "and he will love you and bless you and multiply you". Yet the record of the history of Israel shows that Israel were not obedient; and yet God still kept His covenant, loved them and multiplied them. It's rather like a parent setting conditions for a child, and yet not abiding by the deal, so great is the love felt for the child. God's covenant is in a sense conditional; and yet in another sense it isn't, because His love has the characteristic of unconditionality about it, simply because we are His children. The whole history of Israel is encouragement in this. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You will be blessed above all peoples. There shall not be male or female barren among you or among your livestock- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Law could not give life,&nbsp; but it offered temporal blessings, within the context of the Middle East in the two millennia BC, as a recognition of the principle that God rewards obedience. Thus they were promised long life, fruitful land and wombs (i.e. many children) if they were righteous (<em><a href='B:50 7:13'>Deu 7:13</a></em>). But now, long life and fruitful land aren't seen by us as blessings. They were blessings relevant to the context in which they were given; and likewise fertility is to be seen in the same light. And this must be given due weight when we consider issues of fertility, choices to have or not have children, and infertility.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Yahweh will take away from you all sickness, and none of the evil diseases of Egypt which you know, will He put on you, but will lay them on all those who hate you- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>This is not to be read as meaning that Israel would be free from all sickness; for mortality involves sickness, and that is part of the human condition. And sickness came upon righteous men, we think of Hezekiah, and how the Lord Jesus "bore our sicknesses" as predicted in <em><a href='B:290 53:1-12'>Isa 53:1-12</a></em>. Israel were smitten with sickness, but the Lord Jesus bore the result of their sins. The sickness here is parallel with the "evil diseases of Egypt", the specific judgments which came upon Egypt at the time of Israel's deliverance from them. This is made specific in <em><a href='B:20 15:26'>Exo 15:26</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 28:27'>Deu 28:27</a></em>. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You shall consume all the peoples whom Yahweh your God shall deliver up unto you; your eye shall not pity them, neither shall you serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Moses warns them not to " take pity" on false teachers, but to purge them from the community (<em><a href='B:50 7:16'>Deu 7:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 13:8'>Deu 13:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 19:13'>Deu 19:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 19:21'>Deu 19:21</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 25:12'>Deu 25:12</a></em>). Not once in the earlier Law does this warning occur. Moses had come to know Israel so well that he could see how they were tempted to fail, and so he warned them forcibly against it. The way the Lord Jesus knows our thought processes, the mechanism of our temptations, is wondrously prefigured here. There are so many other examples of Moses showing his recognition of exactly <em>how</em> Israel were likely to be tempted (<em><a href='B:50 6:11-13'>Deu 6:11-13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 8:11-20'>Deu 8:11-20</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 9:4'>Deu 9:4</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:16'>Deu 11:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:13'>Deu 12:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:19'>Deu 12:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:23'>Deu 12:23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:30'>Deu 12:30</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 13:1-4'>Deu 13:1-4</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 14:27'>Deu 14:27</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 15:9'>Deu 15:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 15:18'>Deu 15:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 17:11-12'>Deu 17:11-12</a></em> ("will"),14,16,17; 21:18; 22:1-4,18; 23:21; 25:8).</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Twice in 1 Timothy, Paul speaks about a snare; the snare of the devil (<em><a href='B:610 3:7'>1Ti 3:7</a></em>), and the snare of wanting wealth (<em><a href='B:610 6:9'>1Ti 6:9</a></em>). The desire for wealth in whatever form is the very epitome of the devil, our inherent sin which we must struggle against. The idea of a snare is that it results in a sudden and <em>unexpected</em> destruction. The unexpectedness of the destruction should set us thinking: surely the implication is that those who are materialistic don't realize that in fact this is their besetting sin, and therefore their rejection in the end because of it will be so tragically unexpected. It's rather like pride; if you're proud and you don't know it, then you really are proud. And if we're materialistic and don't know it, we likewise really have a problem. The idea of riches being a snare connects with copious OT references to idols as Israel's perpetual snare (<em><a href='B:20 23:33'>Exo 23:33</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:16'>Deu 7:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 2:3'>Jdg 2:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 8:27'>Jdg 8:27</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 106:36'>Psa 106:36</a></em>; <em><a href='B:350 5:1'>Hos 5:1</a></em>). Paul's point is surely that the desire of wealth is the equivalent of OT idolatry. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Despite such great love for Israel, Moses knew them so well that he fully appreciated that they were extremely prone to weakness. This is one of the major themes of Moses in Deuteronomy. He did not turn a blind eye to their sins; Deuteronomy is punctuated with reminders of how grievously they had sinned during their journey, and yet at the same time Moses is so positive about them- setting a wonderful pattern for us in how to deal with others. Time and again he comments on how easily they will be tempted to disobey commandments. "Take heed" runs like a refrain throughout Moses' speech. He warns them here not to "take pity" on false teachers, but to purge them from the community (7:16; 13:8; 19:13,21; 25:12). Not once in the earlier giving of the Law does this warning occur. Moses had come to know Israel so well that he could see how they were tempted to fail, and so he warned them forcibly against it. The way Jesus knows our thought processes, the mechanism of our temptations, is wondrously prefigured here. </p>&nbsp;


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>If you say in your heart, These nations are more than I, how can I dispossess them?- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Time and again, Moses speaks of the state of their heart. He warns them against allowing a bad state of heart to develop, he speaks often of how apostasy starts in the heart. Moses makes a total of 49 references to the heart / mind of Israel in Deuteronomy, compared to only 13 in the whole of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. This indicates the paramount importance which our Lord attaches to the state of our mind. This was perhaps his greatest wish as He faced death; that we should develop a spiritual mind and thereby manifest the Father and come to salvation. Moses likewise saw the state of our mind as the key to spiritual success. But do we share this perspective? Do we guard our minds against the media and influence of a mind-corrupting world? It's been observed that the phrase "The God of (somebody)", or similar, occurs 614 times in the Old Testament, of which 306 are in Deuteronomy. Our very personal relationship with God was therefore something else which Moses came to grasp in his spiritual maturity. Statistical analysis of the word "love" in the Pentateuch likewise reveals that "love" was a great theme of Moses at the end of his life (Moses uses it 16 times in Deuteronomy, and only four times in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers). <em></em></p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>you shall not be afraid of them; you shall well remember what Yahweh your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Like Paul in his time of dying, Moses in Deuteronomy saw the importance of obedience, the harder side of God; yet he also saw in real depth the surpassing love of God, and the grace that was to come, beyond Law. This appreciation reflected Moses' mature grasp of the Name / characteristics of God. He uses the name "Yahweh" in Deuteronomy over 530 times, often with some possessive adjective, e.g. "Yahweh thy God" (AV- i.e. you singular- very often in <em><a href='B:50 7:1-26'>Deu 7:1-26</a></em>), or "Yahweh our God". He saw the personal relationship between a man and his God. Jacob reached a like realization at his peak. <em></em></p>&nbsp;<p style='margin-left:1em'>“Let not your heart be troubled… neither let it be afraid” (<em><a href='B:500 14:1'>Joh 14:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:500 14:27'>Joh 14:27</a></em>) repeats Moses’ final encouragement to Israel “fear not, neither be dismayed” (<em><a href='B:50 31:8'>Deu 31:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 1:21'>Deu 1:21</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 1:29'>Deu 1:29</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:18'>Deu 7:18</a></em>).<em></em></p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>the great trials which your eyes saw and the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand and the stretched out arm by which Yahweh your God brought you out; so shall Yahweh your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>God addresses those who had not been present at the Red Sea and who hadn't seen the plagues on Egypt as if they had personally been there. He speaks of these things "which your eyes saw". The people were to so feel themselves into God's word, into Biblical history, into their membership in the people of God, that it was as if they had seen these things with their own eyes. And in the context, God uses this as the basis to appeal for their trust that He will likewise give them the victory over the Egyptians and crises in <em>their</em> lives.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The great works of Yahweh which He showed at the time of their exodus from Egypt (cp. the world) and baptism at the Red Sea were in essence repeated throughout their wilderness journey (<em><a href='B:50 7:19'>Deu 7:19</a></em>). Therefore whenever they faced discouragement and an apparent blockage to their way, they were to remember how God had redeemed them at their baptism, and to realize that in fact His work was still ongoing with them (<em><a href='B:50 20:1'>Deu 20:1</a></em>). He told them in the desert that He was "Yahweh that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt" (<em><a href='B:30 11:45'>Lev 11:45</a></em>). Therefore the overcoming of Edom, Moab and the Canaanite tribes is described in language lifted from the Red Sea record (e.g. <em><a href='B:20 15:15-17'>Exo 15:15-17</a></em>). Throughout their history, Israel were reminded that what God had done for them in their Red Sea deliverance He was continuing to do, and therefore all their enemies would likewise perish if they remained God's people (e.g. <em><a href='B:290 43:16'>Isa 43:16</a></em>). </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Moses was to stretch forth his hand to cause the waters of the Red Sea to part and return, not his rod; because he was manifesting the hand of Yahweh which was to deliver Israel (s.w. <em><a href='B:20 7:5'>Exo 7:5</a></em>). The repeated references to the stretched our arm or hand of Yahweh to save His people invite us to recall this incident, and to perceive that Yahweh's hand had been manifest through the hand of Moses (<em><a href='B:50 4:34'>Deu 4:34</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 5:15'>Deu 5:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:19'>Deu 7:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:2'>Deu 11:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 26:8'>Deu 26:8</a></em>). That stretched out, saving arm and hand of Yahweh was and is stretched out still, to save His people (<em><a href='B:110 8:42'>1Ki 8:42</a></em>; <em><a href='B:330 20:34'>Eze 20:34</a></em>; <em><a href='B:340 9:15'>Dan 9:15</a></em> "as at this day") and bring about a new creation in human lives (<em><a href='B:290 45:12'>Isa 45:12</a></em>). For the deliverance through the Red Sea is intended to be experienced by all God's people, and is now seen through His saving grace at baptism (<em><a href='B:530 10:1-2'>1Co 10:1-2</a></em>). What happened there was but the beginning of the work of God's outstretched arm (<em><a href='B:50 3:24'>Deu 3:24</a></em>). Yet the stretched out arm / hand of God is also a figure for His judgment (<em><a href='B:130 21:16'>1Ch 21:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 9:12'>Isa 9:12</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 10:4'>Isa 10:4</a></em>). His hand is at work in our lives- either to our condemnation or our salvation. And it is for us therefore to humble ourselves beneath that mighty hand (<em><a href='B:670 5:6'>1Pe 5:6</a></em>).</p>&nbsp;<p style='margin-left:1em'><em></em></p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Moreover Yahweh your God will send the hornet among them until those who are left and hide themselves perish from before you-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The fear amongst the Canaanites prior to Israel's approach and the weakness of those nations was due to "the hornet" being sent before Israel (<em><a href='B:50 7:20'>Deu 7:20</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 24:12'>Jos 24:12</a></em>); it would seem that this is a reference to the Angels softening up the Canaanite tribes, perhaps through inciting the Egyptians to raid them and ruin the economy. And specifically, the two kings of the Amorites attacking the other Canaanites (<em><a href='B:60 24:12'>Jos 24:12</a></em>). "The hornet" could also refer to the Phoenician raiders, who had hornets as totems; they too weakened Canaan before the Israelites arrived, and would have been manipulated to do so by an Angel. In <em><a href='B:20 23:27'>Exo 23:27</a></em> God says He will "send My fear before you, and will destroy all the people to whom you shall come". Jacob likens his guardian Angel to "the God before whom my fathers walked" (<em><a href='B:10 48:16'>Gen 48:16</a></em>), who is called "the fear of&nbsp;Isaac" (<em><a href='B:10 31:42'>Gen 31:42</a></em>; <em><a href='B:10 31:53'>Gen 31:53</a></em>) when Jacob describes the personal presence of God in his life. So the "fear of God" is associated with an Angel; God sent His fear, an Angel, before Israel into Canaan, as promised explicitly in <em><a href='B:20 23:1-33'>Exo 23:1-33</a></em>. "The hornet" could have referred to literal hornets, used by God to destroy the nations of Canaan. For they were indeed a problem in the land; "Zorah" in Judah means "place of hornets". But I prefer the idea that the Angel manipulated Gentile nations to soften up the Canaanites before Israel's arrival. The same figure is found in <em><a href='B:290 7:18'>Isa 7:18</a></em>, where God whistled for the "fly that is in Egypt and the bee that is in Assyria". We note that this was all built in to God's wider plan; for had Israel entered Canaan 40 years before they did, they would've found the Canaanites that much stronger than they were after "the hornet" had weakened them for 40 years. It's as if God recalculated the program according to the great weakness of Israel. They didn't enter when they could have done, and so He used the period of their wilderness wanderings to make their entrance to the land that much easier than it would otherwise have been.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You shall not be scared of them, for Yahweh your God is in the midst of you, a great and awesome God- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>They were not to repeat the failure of Israel when they first approached Canaan. They allowed their fear of the local tribes to displace their faith in God, and His repeated word of salvation and promise of possession of His Kingdom. Fear is always the antithesis of faith. God is often called an "awesome God" (<em><a href='B:50 7:21'>Deu 7:21</a></em> etc.). The Hebrew word for "awesome" is that for 'fear' (s.w. <em><a href='B:10 3:10'>Gen 3:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:10 15:1'>Gen 15:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:10 18:1-33'>Gen 18:1-33</a></em>; <em><a href='B:10 15:1-21'>Gen 15:1-21</a></em> etc.). The idea is that God's people are to be in such fear / awe of Him that they fear / are in awe of nothing else. Hence <em><a href='B:50 7:21'>Deu 7:21</a></em> says that Israel should "not be scared of" their enemies, because their God is "awesome", He is the one to be feared.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Yahweh your God will cast out those nations before you by little and little; you may not consume them at once- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Perhaps God's ideal intention for Israel wasn't fulfilled, and therefore according to some later plan of action, He gave Israel the land "at one time" (<em><a href='B:60 10:42'>Jos 10:42</a></em>). </p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Lest the animals of the field increase on you- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Time and again Israel's surrounding, neighbouring enemies are likened to "wild beasts".&nbsp;The list of references is impressive: <em><a href='B:350 2:12'>Hos 2:12</a></em>;&nbsp; <em><a href='B:330 5:17'>Eze 5:17</a></em>; <em><a href='B:330 14:15'>Eze 14:15</a></em>;&nbsp; <em><a href='B:230 80:13'>Psa 80:13</a></em>;&nbsp; <em><a href='B:300 7:33'>Jer 7:33</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 15:3'>Jer 15:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 16:4'>Jer 16:4</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 19:7'>Jer 19:7</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:22'>Deu 7:22</a></em>.&nbsp;Job's Sabean (i.e. Arab) invaders are called "the beasts of the earth... the beasts of the field" (<em><a href='B:220 5:22-23'>Job 5:22-23</a></em>). It is possible that "beasts" in these passages can be read as an intensive plural - i.e. 'the great beast', which symbolizes all of Israel's various enemies.&nbsp; This equivalence of the multitude of these enemies with a singular beast is seen in <em><a href='B:330 34:28'>Eze 34:28</a></em>, which parallels "the heathen" (enemies of Israel) with "the beast of the land" (singular).&nbsp; <em><a class='bible' href='#b66:17:1-18'>Rev 17:1-18</a></em> similarly exhibits <em>the</em> (singular) beast as comprising a number of nations (heads / horns).</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>But Yahweh your God will deliver them up before you and will confuse them with a great confusion until they are destroyed-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>There are no conditions attached to this prediction in the record, and yet we must clearly understand it as meaning ‘This is what is potentially possible for you, I have enabled it in my plan, but it depends upon your faith’. And tragically, Israel would not. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>He will deliver their kings into your hand and you shall make their name perish from under the sky; no man shall be able to stand before you, until you have destroyed them- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Just as all the animals and everything in the <em>eretz </em>promised to Abraham was 'delivered into the hands' of Noah (s.w. <em><a href='B:10 9:2'>Gen 9:2</a></em>), so the nations of that<em> eretz</em> were delivered into the hands of Israel (s.w. <em><a href='B:20 6:8'>Exo 6:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 23:31'>Exo 23:31</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 2:24'>Deu 2:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 3:2-3'>Deu 3:2-3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 7:24'>Deu 7:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 21:10'>Deu 21:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 2:24'>Jos 2:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:720 1:2'>Jud 1:2</a></em>). Tragically, like Adam in Eden (perhaps the same <em>eretz </em>promised to Abraham) and Noah in the new, cleansed <em>eretz</em>, Israel didn't realize this potential. What was delivered into the hand of Joshua (<em><a href='B:60 2:24'>Jos 2:24</a></em>) actually wasn't delivered into their hand, because they disbelieved (<em><a href='B:70 2:23'>Jdg 2:23</a></em>); and this looks ahead to the disbelief of so many in the work of the Lord Jesus, who has indeed conquered the Kingdom for us. They considered the promise of the nations being delivered into their hand as somehow open to question, and only a possibility and not at all certain (<em><a href='B:70 8:7'>Jdg 8:7</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 21:2'>Num 21:2</a></em> cp. <em><a href='B:40 21:34'>Num 21:34</a></em>). Some like Jephthah (s.w. <em><a href='B:70 11:32'>Jdg 11:32</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 12:3'>Jdg 12:3</a></em>), Ehud (<em><a href='B:70 3:10'>Jdg 3:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 3:28'>Jdg 3:28</a></em>), Deborah (<em><a href='B:70 4:14'>Jdg 4:14</a></em>), Gideon (<em><a href='B:70 7:15'>Jdg 7:15</a></em>) did, for a brief historical moment; but as individuals, and their victories were not followed up on. Instead they were dominated by the territory. And so instead, they were delivered into the hands of their enemies within the <em>eretz</em> (s.w. <em><a href='B:30 26:25'>Lev 26:25</a></em>; <em><a href='B:70 13:1'>Jdg 13:1</a></em>).<em>&nbsp;&nbsp;</em></p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You must burn the engraved images of their gods with fire. You must not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for yourself, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to Yahweh your God- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Materialism is perhaps the direct equivalent of idol worship under the old covenant. They were to not even desire “the silver and gold that is on them… for it is an abomination to the Lord your God… you shall utterly detest it; and y<em>ou</em> (like God) shall utterly abhor it” (<em><a href='B:50 7:25-26'>Deu 7:25-26</a></em>). God despises idolatry; and we also must go a step beyond merely avoiding materialism; we must despise it. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You must not bring an abomination into your house and become a devoted thing like it. You shall utterly detest it and you shall utterly abhor it, for it is a devoted thing- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Those who make and worship idols are "like unto them" (<em><a href='B:230 115:8'>Psa 115:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 135:18'>Psa 135:18</a></em>). We become like that which we worship. If we worship Yahweh, then we become devoted to Him; and all else becomes detestable to us. As Israel were to "detest" idols and idolatry as "abomination" (<em><a href='B:50 7:26'>Deu 7:26</a></em>), so they were to "abhor" and treat as "abomination" unclean animals (<em><a href='B:30 11:11'>Lev 11:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 11:13'>Lev 11:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 11:43'>Lev 11:43</a></em>), lest they "make yourselves abominable (s.w. "detestable") with any creeping thing" (<em><a href='B:30 20:25'>Lev 20:25</a></em>). I suggest this is the reason why God designated some animals as 'abominable'; because of their association with idol worship. The idols of Egypt were often in the form of animals, and sex with animals was part of the rites. Just as in primitive societies today. There is nothing unclean of itself (<em><a href='B:520 14:14'>Rom 14:14</a></em>); no animal is morally more or less clean than another. The commandments about unclean animals were clearly intended just for Israel living within a culture of idolatry / abomination involving those kinds of animals.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You must observe to do all the commandments which I command you this day, that you may live and multiply and go in and possess the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Again we perceive God's grace. They were not obedient, and yet by grace they did go in and possess the Kingdom. We cannot presume upon such grace, but we can note the deep good pleasure and will of God that His people inherit His Kingdom, despite their weaknesses.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"Drive out" is s.w. "possess". We must note the difference between the&nbsp; Canaanite peoples and their kings being "struck" and their land "taken" by Joshua-Jesus; and the people of Israel permanently taking possession. This is the difference between the Lord's victory on the cross, and our taking possession of the Kingdom. Even though that possession has been "given" to us. The word used for "possession" is literally 'an inheritance'. The allusion is to the people, like us, being the seed of Abraham. The Kingdom was and is our possession, our inheritance- if we walk in the steps of Abraham. But it is one thing to be the seed of Abraham, another to take possession of the inheritance; and Israel generally did not take possession of all the land (<em><a href='B:60 11:23'>Jos 11:23</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 13:1'>Jos 13:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 16:10'>Jos 16:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 18:3'>Jos 18:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 23:4'>Jos 23:4</a></em>). The language of inheritance / possession is applied to us in the New Testament (<em><a href='B:560 1:11'>Eph 1:11</a></em>; <em><a href='B:560 1:14'>Eph 1:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:580 3:24'>Col 3:24</a></em>; <em><a href='B:510 20:32'>Act 20:32</a></em>; <em><a href='B:510 26:18'>Act 26:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:670 1:4'>1Pe 1:4</a></em> etc.). Israel were promised: "You shall possess it" (<em><a href='B:50 30:5'>Deu 30:5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 33:23'>Deu 33:23</a></em>). This was more of a command than a prophecy, for sadly they were "given" the land but did not "possess" it. They were constantly encouraged in the wilderness that they were on the path to possessing the land (<em><a href='B:50 30:16'>Deu 30:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 30:18'>Deu 30:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:3'>Deu 31:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:13'>Deu 31:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 32:47'>Deu 32:47</a></em>), but when they got there they didn't possess it fully. <em></em></p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You shall remember all the way which Yahweh your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that He might humble you- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Recollection of our spiritual biography is intended to humble us.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>To prove you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>It could be argued that it was the Angel gave them trials in order to find out what was in their heart. God "knows the secrets of the heart" (<em><a href='B:230 44:21'>Psa 44:21</a></em>);&nbsp; "I the LORD search the heart" (<em><a href='B:300 17:10'>Jer 17:10</a></em>), and therefore He does not have to test us in order to know what is in our hearts. But His Angels do. Abraham and Hezekiah are other examples; see on <em><a href='B:140 32:31'>2Ch 32:31</a></em>. We know that Angels can’t sin: and yet they are limited in knowledge (e.g. <em><a href='B:470 24:36'>Mat 24:36</a></em>). an Angel commented that now he knew that Abraham feared God, after he had seen his willingness to offer Isaac (<em><a href='B:10 22:12'>Gen 22:12</a></em>); Israel’s guardian Angel lead them through the wilderness in order to learn about Israel’s spirituality (<em><a href='B:50 8:2-3'>Deu 8:2-3</a></em>). God Himself, of course, already knew the hearts of men. The “sons of God”, in the context of the book of Job, refer to the Angels (<em><a href='B:220 38:7'>Job 38:7</a></em>), and Job's 'satan' may have likewise been an Angel testing him to see his response. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>He humbled you and allowed you to suffer hunger, and fed you with manna- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Israel were to be filled with the manna, so that they would know that "I am Yahweh your God" (<em><a href='B:20 16:12'>Exo 16:12</a></em>). This was to be the meaning of the manna. There was a daily manifestation of God's glory along with the manna (<em><a href='B:20 16:7'>Exo 16:7</a></em> cp. 12). The daily sense of living with God's glory is so vital for each of us in our deeply personal spirituality. We know that faith comes from hearing God's word; so our feeding on God's word should lead us to know Yahweh. There was something intensely personal about the teaching of the manna: "He fed thee (singular- not "ye") with manna, that he might make thee know that (every) man (lives spiritually) by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord" (<em><a href='B:50 8:3'>Deu 8:3</a></em> AV). </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>How God works through sin is revealed in the way that although God always provided food for Israel in the wilderness, He ‘suffered them to hunger’ for 40 years, in order to try to teach them that man lives not by bread alone, but by God’s word (<em><a href='B:50 8:2-3'>Deu 8:2-3</a></em>). The Jews in the wilderness despised the food God gave them as worthless (<em><a href='B:40 21:3'>Num 21:3</a></em>); they went hungry not literally, but in the sense that they despised the manna of God’s provision. And He allowed them to have that hunger, in order that He might (try to) teach them about the value of His word. He didn’t simply punish them for their ingratitude. He sought to work through it in order to teach them something. Even the process of rejection results in the victims coming to ‘know the Lord’. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Perhaps we find ourselves facing a situation that our upbringing and culture never addressed; we are alone, humiliated, before our God. This is what happened to Israel and to the Lord in the wilderness. The tragedy is that so many fail to respond as intended to the humbling hand of God as a loving Father. The Hebrew word there translated “humbled” is so often used about the afflictions of Israel- in Egypt, in the wilderness, at the hands of their invaders. But they wriggled against it, their bitterness driving them deep within themselves rather than to God and His Son. This is the enduring tragedy of Israel, and Jewish history. And it is the same with so many lives today.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Which you didn’t know, neither did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The passages quoted by Jesus in the desert to strengthen Himself against His human desires (“the devil”) are all from the same part of Deuteronomy, regarding Israel’s experience in the wilderness. Jesus clearly saw a parallel between His experiences and theirs. The description of Him as being in the wilderness with beasts and Angels (<em><a href='B:480 1:13'>Mar 1:13</a></em>) is another connection with Israel’s experience in the wilderness- they were plagued there by “wild beasts” (32:19-24). Jesus was led up of the spirit for forty days in the wilderness, as Israel were led forty years by a Spirit-Angel. The mind of Jesus was likewise proved by the temptations. Jesus overcame by quoting the Scriptures that were in His heart (<em><a href='B:230 119:11'>Psa 119:11</a></em>). Jesus also was allowed to hunger, to reinforce His understanding of the fact that we are to live not by physical food but by the word of God. The reference to Israel being ‘chastened’ (:5) in the desert recall how God chastened His Son, Jesus (<em><a href='B:100 7:12'>2Sa 7:12</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 89:32'>Psa 89:32</a></em>). Thus Jesus showed us how to read and study the Word - He thought Himself into the position of Israel in the wilderness, and therefore took the lessons that can be learnt from their experiences to Himself in His wilderness trials.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The fact that God’s word is true means that we also ought to be truthful- for we should speak “as oracles of God”. Moses surely intended a connection between his words recorded in <em><a href='B:50 8:3'>Deu 8:3</a></em> and <em><a href='B:50 23:23'>Deu 23:23</a></em> - for they are the only times he uses a particular Hebrew word translated “proceed” or ‘go out’, within the same speech uttered the same day: “By every word that <em>proceeds </em>out of the mouth of the Lord does man live… that which <em>goes forth</em> (s.w. “proceeds”) out of <em>your</em> lips / mouth you shall keep and perform”. The influence of continually hearing <em>God’s</em> word should be that <em>our</em> words are likewise truthful and trustworthy. The fact that the Bible as God’s word is true has implications for our own truthfulness. <em>Pistos</em> is listed as a fruit of the spirit in <em><a href='B:550 5:1-26'>Gal 5:1-26</a></em>; but the idea it can carry is not so much of faith in the sense of belief, but of faithfulness, loyalty, reliability, utter dependability. If this is how God’s words are to us, then this is how we and our words should be to others. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Exactly because the Lord Jesus was human, and yet perfect, He was so exalted. It's perhaps noteworthy that in the wilderness temptation, Jesus was tempted "If you are the Son of <em>God</em>..." (<em><a href='B:470 4:3'>Mat 4:3</a></em>), and He replies by quoting <em><a href='B:50 8:3'>Deu 8:3</a></em> "<em>man</em> shall not live by bread alone"- and the Jonathan Targum has <em>bar nasha</em> (son of man) here for "man". If we are correct in understanding those wilderness temptations as the Lord's internal struggles, we see Him tempted to wrongly focus upon His being Son of <em>God</em>, forgetting His humanity; and we see Him overcoming this temptation, preferring instead to perceive Himself as Son of <em>man</em>. Twice in Mark, Jesus is addressed as "Messiah" but He replies by calling Himself "the Son of man" (<em><a href='B:480 8:29-31'>Mar 8:29-31</a></em>; <em><a href='B:480 14:61-62'>Mar 14:61-62</a></em>). If this was His preferred self-perception, should it not be how we perceive Him?</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Your clothing didn’t grow old on you, neither did your foot swell, these forty years- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>God has likewise promised to provide us on our wilderness journey with basic clothing and food (<em><a href='B:230 37:25'>Psa 37:25</a></em>). We should be content with this, and instead of giving our strength to earn money to tickle our taste buds and buy fine clothing, instead give our lives to serving God.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Apart from the jewellery taken from the Egyptians for the construction of the tabernacle, the total unmaterialism of Israel on Passover night is something to be marvelled at.&nbsp;&nbsp; They only had the clothes they wore, and just the one pair of shoes.&nbsp;This is confirmed by the reminder that these things were miraculously preserved throughout the wilderness journey (<em><a href='B:50 8:4'>Deu 8:4</a></em>). It is also highlighted that they had no food when they left - they just grabbed some dough which later they baked into "unleavened cakes" (<em><a href='B:20 12:34'>Exo 12:34</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 12:39'>Exo 12:39</a></em>).&nbsp;</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You shall consider in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so Yahweh your God chastens you- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em><a href='B:50 8:2-7'>Deu 8:2-7</a></em> describes God leading Israel through the wilderness for 40 years <em>so that</em> they could then enter the land. 'Israel' here must refer to the under 20s, Joshua, Caleb and the Levites. It was only they who went through the wilderness for 40 years. It was 'Israel' in this sense with whom God was in love. They considered in their heart, that God was treating them as a father does his son (<em><a href='B:50 8:5'>Deu 8:5</a></em>). This has a practical significance to it; the under 20s would have been at variance with their natural parents, who knew they were condemned to death in the wilderness, and who refused to take their covenant with God seriously. That young remnant were led to meditate that God was their Heavenly Father; natural relationships that were not based around a true love of God, paled into insignificance as they spiritually matured.&nbsp; <em><a href='B:50 8:3'>Deu 8:3</a></em> says that they learnt to live by every word of God during those 40 years. This is just not true of rebellious Israel generally. But the under 20s, Levites, Joshua and Caleb all developed into keen lovers of the word during that time.&nbsp; They are classic Biblical examples for young people.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>You must keep the commandments of Yahweh your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Whilst there are of course conditions for entry into the Kingdom, it must ever be remembered that it is not right to therefore reason that if we <em>do</em> certain things, then we will be in the Kingdom. For this would be justification by works and not by faith. However, because we believe we will be in the Kingdom, we will therefore naturally respond by living according to God’s precepts. Moses encouraged Israel to keep the Law exactly because God would surely give them the promised land- not <em>so that</em> they would enter the land but because He would give them the land: "For Yahweh your God brings you into a good land" (:7).</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>For Yahweh your God brings you into a good land- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Hebrew word for "spied out" in <em><a href='B:50 1:24'>Deu 1:24</a></em> also means 'to slander' (s.w. <em><a href='B:100 19:27'>2Sa 19:27</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 15:3'>Psa 15:3</a></em>). Their slander of the land was in that they misrepresented the strength of the people there, who were in fact fearful of the Israelites. They brought up an evil report of the land (<em><a href='B:40 13:32'>Num 13:32</a></em>), characterizing it as not "good" but "evil", as if inhabited by insuperable forces of cosmic evil. They disbelieved God's simple statement that He was bringing them a "good land" (<em><a href='B:20 3:8'>Exo 3:8</a></em>). Moses therefore repeatedly calls the land a "good land", denying their wrong idea that the land was inhabited by 'evil spirits' (<em><a href='B:50 3:25'>Deu 3:25</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:21-22'>Deu 4:21-22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 6:18'>Deu 6:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 8:7'>Deu 8:7</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 9:6'>Deu 9:6</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:17'>Deu 11:17</a></em>). We see here how belief in 'evil spirits' or 'demons' militated against their faith in God and His eagerness to give His good Kingdom to His people. That continues to be His "good pleasure" (<em><a href='B:490 12:32'>Luk 12:32</a></em>) toward us, but like Israel, we are tempted to disbelieve this and allow our own perceptions and empirical conclusions to lead us away from simple faith in this. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>A land of brooks of water, of springs and underground water gushing into valleys and hills- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>A land of brooks of water" is precisely the phrase used of a place they stopped at on the way to Canaan (<em><a href='B:50 10:7'>Deu 10:7</a></em>). They were constantly given foretastes of the Kingdom before entering it, just as we are on our wilderness journey.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>a land of wheat and barley, vines, fig trees and pomegranates; a land of olive trees and honey- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Rabshakeh alluded to this: "Make an agreement with me... and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree... until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey" (<em><a href='B:120 18:31-32'>2Ki 18:31-32</a></em>). The repetition of the word "land" and the evident allusions to the description of the promised land Israel would have if they were faithful, show that Rabshakeh was offering the Jews a fake kingdom of God. The reference to each man eating his own vine and fig tree is alluding to <em><a href='B:400 4:4'>Mic 4:4</a></em>, a prophecy which was uttered during this period, and doubtless repeated by the prophets within Jerusalem:&nbsp;"They shall sit every man under his vine and... fig tree". The world likewise offers us a fake kingdom of God. We have a choice between the kingdoms of men now, and God's true Kingdom.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>a land in which you shall eat bread without scarcity. You shall not lack anything in it- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>There can be little doubt that standing on a mountain looking out over God’s Kingdom would have reminded Christ of Moses on Nebo, who for one slip was denied it all. And that must have sobered Him (<em><a href='B:50 34:1'>Deu 34:1</a></em>). And having quoted <em><a href='B:50 8:3'>Deu 8:3</a></em> to Himself about living on the bread / word of God, His mind would have gone on to <em><a href='B:50 8:9'>Deu 8:9</a></em> with its description of eating bread without scarceness in the Kingdom – i.e. feeding fully on spiritual things, in the allegory.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>A land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you may dig copper-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>They would inherit a land which was blessed with iron, and from whose hills “you <em>may</em> dig brass”; and yet they failed to make the effort to dig this out, and therefore they were dominated by the Canaanite tribes who had iron weapons. The Angels had made it potentially possible, but the realization of their potential plans depended upon Israel’s freewill effort. But in Judges and 1 Samuel we read several times of how Israel hardly had any iron weapons and were dominated by the Philistines who did. So this was a potential for them- they <em>could</em> have had this blessing, but like us so often, they chose to be satisfied with the minimum and didn’t realize it for themselves.</p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The men of Dan quote the words of <em><a href='B:50 8:9'>Deu 8:9</a></em> in <em><a href='B:70 18:10'>Jdg 18:10</a></em>, but out of context. Those words were true of the entire land promised to Abraham. But the men of Dan didn't drive out the tribes from the land. Instead, they applied these words to a tiny, remote part of it in Laish, and encouraged themselves on the basis of these words to go and massacre a group of unsuspecting people and take their land- with the blessing of Micah's false gods.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>When you shall eat and be full, then you shall bless Yahweh your God for the good land which He has given you- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Israel were given manna in the wilderness, and they ate it and were full (<em><a href='B:20 16:8'>Exo 16:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:20 16:12'>Exo 16:12</a></em>). But they were promised that in the promised land of the Kingdom, they would likewise eat and be full, again from blessing given by God (s.w. <em><a href='B:50 8:10'>Deu 8:10</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:15'>Deu 11:15</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 14:29'>Deu 14:29</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 26:12'>Deu 26:12</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 31:20'>Deu 31:20</a></em>). After our Red Sea baptism, we are now in the wilderness; but by feeding on the manna, the word of God in the Lord Jesus, we have a foretaste of the Kingdom experience. But the curse for disobedience was that they would eat and not be full / satisfied (<em><a href='B:30 26:26'>Lev 26:26</a></em>).&nbsp;</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Beware lest you forget Yahweh your God in not keeping His commandments- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The word so often used for "keeping" / "diligently observing" Yahweh's commandments is from the word meaning a thorn hedge; the idea originally was to hedge in. Taking this too literally led Judaism to all their endless fences around the law, i.e. forbidding this or that because it might lead to doing that or this, which in turn would then lead to breaking an actual commandment. And those various fences become elevated to the level of commandments. But this is not the idea. We are indeed to hedge ourselves in ("take heed to yourself", <em><a href='B:50 11:16'>Deu 11:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:13'>Deu 12:13</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:19'>Deu 12:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:30'>Deu 12:30</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 12:32'>Deu 12:32</a></em> s.w.), so that we may keep / hedge ourselves in to keep the commandments of God (<em><a href='B:30 18:4-5'>Lev 18:4-5</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 18:26'>Lev 18:26</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 18:30'>Lev 18:30</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 19:19'>Lev 19:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 19:37'>Lev 19:37</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 20:8'>Lev 20:8</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 20:22'>Lev 20:22</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 22:9'>Lev 22:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 22:31'>Lev 22:31</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 25:18'>Lev 25:18</a></em>; <em><a href='B:30 26:3'>Lev 26:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:40 28:2'>Num 28:2</a></em>;&nbsp;&nbsp; <em><a href='B:50 7:11-12'>Deu 7:11-12</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 8:1'>Deu 8:1</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 8:11'>Deu 8:11</a></em> (s.w. "beware"); 10:13; 11:1,8,22,32; 12:1; 13:4,18; ; 15:5,9 ("beware");&nbsp; 17:19; 19:9; 23:9 ("keep yourself"); 24:8; 26:16-18; 27:1; 28:1,9,13; 29:9; 30:10,16; 31:12; 32:46). And without falling into the legalism of Judaism, self discipline does require a degree of fencing ourselves in to the one way. Thus the man struggling with alcoholism avoids the supermarket where alcohol is pushed in front of the eyes of the shoppers; the married woman struggling with attraction to another man makes little laws for herself about avoiding his company. And if we do this, then the Lord will "keep" us, will hedge us in to keeping His way (s.w. <em><a href='B:40 6:24'>Num 6:24</a></em>).</p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>His ordinances and His statutes which I command you this day- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The Hebrew <em>mishpat</em>, "ordinances", has a wide range of meaning. The idea is of judgment, as if God and His Angels gave these laws as their considered judgment after considering the human condition, and Israel were to abide by them. But the word also the idea of a right or privilege; and that is how we should see God's laws. They are only felt as a burden because of human hardness of neck towards God's ways. His laws are not of themselves burdensome, but rather a privilege and blessing. The law was indeed "holy, just and good" (<em><a href='B:520 7:12'>Rom 7:12</a></em>), designed to inculcate a holy, just and good life (<em><a href='B:630 1:8'>Tit 1:8</a></em>), a way in which a man should "walk" in daily life (<em><a href='B:30 18:4'>Lev 18:4</a></em>), a culture of kindness and grace to others which reflected God's grace to man. If we dwell upon the idea of "rights" carried within the word <em>mishpat</em>, we note that the law begins in <em><a href='B:20 21:1-2'>Exo 21:1-2</a></em> (also <em><a href='B:50 15:12-18'>Deu 15:12-18</a></em>) with the rights of a slave- those considered to have no rights in the society of that day. The "rights" to be afforded by us to others are the essence of God's rightness / justice.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and lived therein- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>When they had eaten and were full (<em><a href='B:50 8:10'>Deu 8:10</a></em>), they were to beware "lest" the prosperity made them forget God (<em><a href='B:50 8:12-13'>Deu 8:12-13</a></em>). This is a profound warning to all afflicted with prosperity in this life. <em><a href='B:50 31:20'>Deu 31:20</a></em> states that when they had "eaten and are full" (s.w.) they would certainly forget Yahweh and turn to other gods; but this prophecy was conditional, for it was by no means bound to happen. For the appeal in <em><a href='B:50 8:10-13'>Deu 8:10-13</a></em> had been<em> not</em> to let this happen. So much of Bible prophecy is not so much prediction as stating conditional situations, with the implicit appeal that in the gap between pronouncement and fulfilment, we can change the outcomes by prayer and changed behaviour.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>and when your herds and your flocks multiply and your silver and your gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>They had left Egypt with great riches of silver and gold, and this is "your silver and gold" which was to be multiplied even more (<em><a href='B:50 8:13'>Deu 8:13</a></em>). The multiplication of Abraham's seed promised to him clearly meant not simply numerical multiplication, but material multiplication too. That is the sense too in <em><a href='B:30 26:9'>Lev 26:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 30:5'>Deu 30:5</a></em>. We wonder why God gave them all this blessing, knowing that it would lead to such spiritual temptation and failure. We wonder why He gives so many of His people today the same huge blessings, however unappreciated they are. One simple answer is that it is because He loves us with all the love of a father for his children; He rejoiced to multiply them (<em><a href='B:50 28:63'>Deu 28:63</a></em>). The king of Israel was warned in the same words not to multiply silver and gold lest his heart turn away (<em><a href='B:50 17:17'>Deu 17:17</a></em>). The idea may be that we are to leave God to multiply our silver and gold if He wishes, and not set our heart to doing so.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>then your heart be lifted up and you forget Yahweh your God, Who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Israel never became atheists, they never formally abrogated Yahweh, never formally rejected Him. But they forgot Him, in that in daily life they forgot the wonder of His grace, especially in His historical salvation of them. And it is day by spiritual mindedness which is of the essence. The exit from Egypt is described as a jail break, from the house of bondage. Their desire to return to it was strong, and so Moses continually stresses the true and awful nature of Egypt / the world. The language echoes that of God to Abraham: "I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur" (<em><a href='B:10 15:7'>Gen 15:7</a></em>). They were being asked to act as Abraham's seed, and respond as He did to the Divine initiative in separating them from the world- by following His commandments.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with fiery serpents, scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water; Who brought you forth water out of the rock of flint-</em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>The records make it clear enough that the miraculous provision of water was in the same context as God's constant provision of food and protection to the people (<em><a href='B:50 8:15-16'>Deu 8:15-16</a></em>). The rock gave water throughout the wilderness journey (<em><a href='B:290 48:21'>Isa 48:21</a></em>). This would surely necessitate that the giving of water at Horeb was not a one-off solution to a crisis. There is a word play in the Hebrew text of <em><a href='B:290 48:21'>Isa 48:21</a></em>: "He led them through the Horebs (AV 'desert places')" by making water flow from the rock. The Horeb experience was repeated for 40 years; as if the rock went on being smitten. Somehow the water from that smitten rock went with them, fresh and bubbling as it was the first moment the rock was smitten, right through the wilderness. It was living, spring water- not lying around in puddles. The water that came from that one rock felt as if God had opened up fresh springs and torrents in the desert (<em><a href='B:230 74:15'>Psa 74:15</a></em> NAS). It always tasted as if it was just gushing out of the spring; and this wonder is commented upon by both David and Isaiah (<em><a href='B:230 78:15-16'>Psa 78:15-16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 78:20'>Psa 78:20</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 105:41'>Psa 105:41</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 48:21'>Isa 48:21</a></em>). It was as if the rock had just been struck, and the water was flowing out fresh for the first time. In this miracle, God clave the rock and there came out rivers (<em><a href='B:420 3:9'>Hab 3:9</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 78:16'>Psa 78:16</a></em>; <em><a href='B:230 78:20'>Psa 78:20</a></em>; <em><a href='B:290 43:20'>Isa 43:20</a></em>). Each part of Israel's encampment had the water as it were brought to their door. And so it is in our experience of Christ, and the blessing enabled by His sacrifice. The blessings that come to us are deeply personal, and directed to us individually. He died once, long ago, and yet the effect of His sacrifice is ever new. In our experience, it's as if He has died and risen for us every time we obtain forgiveness, or any other grace to help in our times of need. We live in newness of life. </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>Who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers didn’t know, that He might humble you and that He might prove you, to do you good at your latter end- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"Humble you" is the word used of how the Egyptians had afflicted the Hebrews (<em><a href='B:20 1:11-12'>Exo 1:11-12</a></em>). Repeatedly, Israel were taught that they were to remember the state they had been in prior to their redemption from affliction; and redeem others from their affliction on that basis, and never to afflict people as Egypt had done to them. All this is an abiding principle for us. True redemption of others has to be rooted in an awareness of our own affliction. This is particularly necessary for those who were as it were schooled into Christ by reason of their upbringing.</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>and lest you say in your heart, My power and the might of my hand has given me this wealth- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Time and again, Moses speaks of the state of their heart. He warns them against allowing a bad state of heart to develop, he speaks often of how apostasy starts in the heart. Moses makes a total of 49 references to the heart / mind of Israel in Deuteronomy, compared to only 13 in the whole of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. This indicates the paramount importance which our Lord attaches to the state of our mind. This was perhaps his greatest wish as He faced death; that we should develop a spiritual mind and thereby manifest the Father and come to salvation. Moses likewise saw the state of our mind as the key to spiritual success. But do we share this perspective? Do we guard our minds against the media and influence of a mind-corrupting world? It's been observed that the phrase "The God of (somebody)", or similar, occurs 614 times in the Old Testament, of which 306 are in Deuteronomy. Our very personal relationship with God was therefore something else which Moses came to grasp in his spiritual maturity. Statistical analysis of the word "love" in the Pentateuch likewise reveals that "love" was a great theme of Moses at the end of his life (Moses uses it 16 times in Deuteronomy, and only four times in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers). </p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>But you must remember Yahweh your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as at this day-</em></p>&nbsp;<p style='margin-left:1em'>“The liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand” (<em><a href='B:290 32:8'>Isa 32:8</a></em>) may suggest that the generous will “stand” in the last day because of their generous spirit. Indeed, being in covenant with God may even depend upon our recognition of the fact that all human wealth is from God. The power to get wealth, be it education, intelligence or hard work (or 'good luck' in a secular sense) is all from God. It is not our "power" (:17) but God's. Moses urges the peoples' faithfulness so that Yahweh might "establish His covenant" with them (<em><a href='B:50 8:18'>Deu 8:18</a></em>); and we note that despite their disobedience, He still "established" the covenant with them, by grace alone (<em><a href='B:50 9:5'>Deu 9:5</a></em>).</p>


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<p style='margin-left:1em'><em>If you forget Yahweh your God, and walk after other gods and serve them and worship them- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>"Go after" is a phrase Moses frequently uses in his last speech in Deuteronomy, but not elsewhere. It means literally to follow or walk after. He warns against going after other gods (<em><a href='B:50 4:3'>Deu 4:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 6:14'>Deu 6:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 8:19'>Deu 8:19</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 11:28'>Deu 11:28</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 13:2'>Deu 13:2</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 28:14'>Deu 28:14</a></em>), and urges following / walking behind / going after Yahweh alone (<em><a href='B:50 13:4'>Deu 13:4</a></em>). I suggest he was reflecting upon how by following after Yahweh in the Angel, the people had been brought out of Egypt, through the wilderness and to the promised kingdom. Caleb had faithfully followed / walked after Yahweh, and so entered the land. The phrase is used of the people following after the ark to enter Canaan (<em><a href='B:60 3:3'>Jos 3:3</a></em>; <em><a href='B:60 6:9'>Jos 6:9</a></em>). Following after idols led them just to pointless wandering in circles. And so it is in human life today. Following idols leads to pointless wandering, whereas following Yahweh has a specific destination in view- possession of the Kingdom. Elijah uses the phrase when telling Israel they could either follow after Baal, or Yahweh; and if Yahweh is God, then we are to follow Him (<em><a href='B:110 18:21'>1Ki 18:21</a></em>). We cannot follow two directions. But Israel followed after (s.w.) vanity and thereby became vain (<em><a href='B:120 17:15'>2Ki 17:15</a></em>). They carried the tabernacle of Moloch and also of Yahweh, throughout the wilderness journey (<em><a href='B:510 7:1-60'>Act 7:1-60</a></em>:). Following after Baal is paralleled with following / walking after the imagination of their own evil heart (s.w. <em><a href='B:300 3:17'>Jer 3:17</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 9:14'>Jer 9:14</a></em>; <em><a href='B:300 13:10'>Jer 13:10</a></em>), walking after their own spirit rather than God's (<em><a href='B:330 13:3'>Eze 13:3</a></em> s.w.) and their own covetousness (s.w. <em><a href='B:330 33:31'>Eze 33:31</a></em>). To walk / live just according to the word of our own imaginations is our great temptation. But we are to instead follow God's imaginations and heart, as revealed in His word (<em><a href='B:330 20:16'>Eze 20:16</a></em> s.w.). This is where our acceptance of the word of God as indeed His word... has endless implications. </p><p style='margin-left:1em'><em>I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish- </em></p><p style='margin-left:1em'>Always in the OT, “I say unto you this day" was used as a Hebraism to bring home the utter solemnity of some great truth (e.g. <em><a href='B:50 4:26'>Deu 4:26</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 4:39'>Deu 4:39</a></em>; <em><a href='B:50 8:19'>Deu 8:19</a></em>). The Lord used this idiom in assuring the thief on the cross that he could solemnly assure him, that he would share His Kingdom with Him. It's worth noting that the comma is placed after 'today' in&nbsp; the Curetonian Syriac version of the New Testament; the Syriac versions would reflect better the original Aramaic in which the Lord likely spoke. <em><a href='B:50 9:1'>Deu 9:1</a></em> is another example of where "this day" doesn't mean "today", but is rather a way of signally a solemn statement.</p>


