Remember the Reverence...

Deuteronomy 5:23 And as soon as you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes, and your elders. 24 And you said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. This day we have seen God speak with man, and man still live. 25 Now therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, we shall die. 26 For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived? 27 Go near and hear all that the Lord our God will say, and speak to us all that the Lord our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.’

As Moses continues to recount God's deliverance of Israel from Egypt, he reminds them of the appearance God made to them on Mt. Sinai when giving the Ten Commandments.  Though most the people there would not remember, those who had been young children at that time still would. It was the most overwhelming memory they would have: God speaking to them from the burning mountain. They were to remember the reverence they had and rekindle it as they entered the promised land.  What are the times you have sensed God speaking to you? How did they move you? How can they move you again? 

When.. and If...

Deuteronomy 4:25 “When you father children and children's children, and have grown old in the land, and you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything, and by doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, so as to provoke him to anger, 26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it, but will be utterly destroyed. 27 And the Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you. 28 And there you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. 29 But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. 

After all the things Moses saw in God delivering his people, bringing them through the wilderness and to the promised land, he was still a realist.  He knew our tendency to forget and wander.  In the great call to obedience found earlier in this chapter, he also looks to the future, calling the mountains around them to serve as witnesses to their promises of obedience. The mountains would be there long after Moses was gone to call them to remembrance of their vows when they disobeyed. They would also be there to remember God's promise that if they would seek Him once again, they would find Him. He would still be there waiting. And He still Is.

Given a Glimpse...

 Deuteronomy 3:23 “And I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying, 24 ‘O Lord God, you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your mighty hand. For what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours? 25 Please let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.’ 26 But the Lord was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. And the Lord said to me, ‘Enough from you; do not speak to me of this matter again. 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward, and look at it with your eyes, for you shall not go over this Jordan. 

As God has Moses recite the history of the exodus and wilderness wanderings, he does not leave out his own failures. He had lost it at the rock, hitting it and demanding water. He made it about him instead of God.  As a result, he was not going to enter the land.  He begged God to let him just go in and see, but instead God gave him just a glimpse from a distance. Sometimes God gives us promises and goals that He wants to accomplish and we work towards them and see so much progress, but not total fulfillment. It is not that God has been unfaithful. What is important is that we ultimately end up with Him. Even a glimpse is worth the following. 

An Example So Far...

Deuteronomy 2:26 “So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon the king of Heshbon, with words of peace, saying, 27 ‘Let me pass through your land. I will go only by the road; I will turn aside neither to the right nor to the left. 28 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 foot, 29 as the sons of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for me, until I go over the Jordan into the land that the Lord our God is giving to us.’ 30 But Sihon the king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him, for the Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that he might give him into your hand, as he is this day.

As Moses continues to recall recent history as an encouragement for the people of Israel to move forward into the promised land, he recalled the resistance they had met along the way: peoples who did not want to assist them in obeying God's command. The point here is that God took care of them. Those who got in the way during the wilderness wanderings ended up giving their territory to the tribes who chose to settle on the east side of the Jordan.  In the same way, there would be resistance when they crossed the Jordan. No one was going to give up their home without a fight, but God would fight for them, if they obeyed Him. This was an example of how they were to take the land: obey His command, trust Him for victory, and seem Him keep His promises. We can trust Him to do the same in our lives, just as He has done so far.

Learn and Leave

Deuteronomy 1:26 “Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. 27 And you murmured in your tents and said, ‘Because the Lord hated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.

By the end of the book of Numbers, we had seen enough names and lists to make the head spin as God gave instructions for entering the promised land.  Now it is time to enter. But before doing so, God has the people take one big glance backwards to see their complaining and disobedience.  God did not give them all of these struggles and roadblocks because He hated them. They brought them upon themselves by not trusting Him and obeying His commands. It was now time for them to learn from these experiences and leave their complaining and disobedience behind.  How often do we wrongly view our struggles as God being against us and doubting His love for us?  How much more are they because of our disobeying and failing to trust Him?

A Place for Safety and Justice

Numbers 35:25 And the congregation shall rescue the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to which he had fled, and he shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil. 26 But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the boundaries of his city of refuge to which he fled, 27 and the avenger of blood finds him outside the boundaries of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood. 28 For he must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest, but after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession. 

The cities of refuge in scripture are an interesting and often misunderstood topic in scripture. They were not just for anyone for any reason at any time. They were focused on keeping society focused on justice and not revenge. They were not just a home base you could go to playing tag. This was serious stuff. The manslayer who fled there could not just run and hide then do whatever he wanted. Justice had to be served and society had to act. That is the only way everyone will feel safe.

More Names; A Tough Job

Numbers 34:19 These are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 20 Of the tribe of the people of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud. 21 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon. 22 Of the tribe of the people of Dan a chief, Bukki the son of Jogli. 23 Of the people of Joseph: of the tribe of the people of Manasseh a chief, Hanniel the son of Ephod. 24 And of the tribe of the people of Ephraim a chief, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan. 25 Of the tribe of the people of Zebulun a chief, Elizaphan the son of Parnach. 26 Of the tribe of the people of Issachar a chief, Paltiel the son of Azzan. 27 And of the tribe of the people of Asher a chief, Ahihud the son of Shelomi. 28 Of the tribe of the people of Naphtali a chief, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.” 29 These are the men whom the Lord commanded to divide the inheritance for the people of Israel in the land of Canaan.

Once again we are faced not with a lot of numbers, but names. These men had in unenviable task of dividing the Promised land into parts and parcels for the tribes and clans within them. The risk for envy would be great. How do you choose and who do you choose? Thankfully they had leading them Joshua and Eliazer the priest, and above them God, but this was not small responsibility, as "unspiritual" as is may seem. May we be thankful for those willing to do so.