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Deuteronomy 1:1–3:29
Deuteronomy 1:1–3:29
The Place of the Passage
The first three chapters of Deuteronomy situate
the book within the epic story of the Bible. In the past 40 years, Israel has
gone from Mount Sinai (known in Deuteronomy as “Horeb”) up to the plains of
Moab, just east of the Promised Land. But in between these two locations were
40 years of wilderness wandering, the result of Israel’s failure to enter the
land when they were first offered it at Kadesh-barnea. Now that God is offering
Israel a second chance to enter the land, Moses shows what the past teaches
them: Israel’s previous refusal to enter the land was a heinous rebellion
against God, motivated by fear and unbelief. The new generation will succeed
where the previous generation failed only if they trust that God is both (1)
still committed to his promise to give Israel the land and (2) able to keep
this promise.
The Big Picture
In the face of fears about conquering the
Promised Land, Israel must remember God’s constant faithfulness and not repeat
their fathers’ sins.
Reflection and Discussion
Read through the complete passage for this
study, Deuteronomy 1:1–3:29. Then review the following questions and record
your responses. (For further background visit esv.org.)
1. The Command to Possess the Land ( 1:1–8)
Moses begins by recounting events 40 years
prior to his writing, when Israel was still at Horeb (Mount Sinai). God
commanded them to go up to the land that he had promised to Abraham more than
400 years before. What incentives does Moses give in these verses to motivate
Israel for this journey?
2. A Growing Nation (1:9–18)
Even though Moses grieves at the burden the
people have become ( Deuteronomy 1:9,12), what is encouraging about the people’s great
numbers? (Consider Deut. 1:10 in light of Gen. 15:5.)
3. The Failure at Kadesh-barnea ( 1:19–46)
Israel was offered the land by God, but they
refused to enter. What specific reasons did they give for their refusal?
What was it about the failure of Israel at
Kadesh-barnea that made this sin especially grievous? Be sure to note the
further debacle in verses 41–46.
God responds to Israel’s sin in a way that is
simultaneously just (Deut. 1:34:40; note also the repetition of the word
“listen” in Deut. 1:43, 45) and yet also uncompromising in regard to his promise to
give the land to Abraham’s descendants. How does he achieve both purposes at
the same time?
4. The End of Israel’s Wandering (2:1–15)
After Israel’s failure at Kadesh-barnea, this
section quickly skips over the many years of wandering and recounts only the
final stops in the lands of Edom (Deut. 2:1-7) and Moab (Deut. 2:8-15). Each of these
nations had received their land from the Lord as a possession (Deut. 2:5,9), and
they did so by first fighting off giants like the ones Israel will face in the
Promised Land (Deut. 2:10-12, 22; note also what is said about the “people of Ammon”
in Deut. 2:18-23). How do these stories of other nations encourage Israel?
5. The Beginning of the Conquest ( 2:16–3:17)
The kings Sihon and Og controlled territories
to the north of Edom and Moab. Unlike Edom, Moab, and Ammon, whose ancestry
derived from near relatives of Israel (from Esau and from Lot’s children),
these two kings were Amorite, a word synonymous with “Canaanite” in this
context (Deut. 3:8). They are therefore of the people group whom God promised to
judge in due time (Gen. 15:16). The victories over these two kings follow a
pattern: (1) God’s command to take possession Deut. 2:24–25, 31; 3:1–2); (2)
the utter defeat of the enemy (Deut. 2:32–33, 36; 3:3, 6); (3) the capture of the
enemy’s wealth (Deut. 2:34-35; Deut. 3:4-5,7); and (4) the giving of the conquered
territories as permanent possessions to individual Israelite tribes (Deut. 3:12-17).
One of the Amorite kings is even a giant (Og; see 3:11). How does this recent
history give Israel even more encouragement than they had at Kadesh-barnea?
Read through the following three sections on
Gospel Glimpses, Whole-Bible Connections, and Theological Soundings. Then take
time to consider the Personal Implications these sections may have for you.
Gospel Glimpses
PAST FAITHFULNESS, PRESENT HOPE.
All of our hopes are riding on God’s character,
on whether he will be true to himself. As Israel wavers as to whether they will
be successful in conquering the Promised Land, Moses directs their eyes to God
and his faithfulness, not to Israel and their strength. In 1:30, Moses reminds
Israel of how God fought for them in Egypt, which climaxed in the utter
destruction of Pharaoh’s army at the Red Sea. Moses reminds them of how God
then provided for them in the wilderness: God carried them “as a man carries
his son” (Deut 1:31), and for 40 years they lacked nothing (Deut. 2:7). And most recently,
as they have begun the conquest with the defeat of Kings Sihon and Og, they
have seen with their own eyes the power of God to give them complete victory
(Deut 2:31-3:11). Even when the Israelites themselves underwent judgment, as they
did for their 40 years of wandering, they were encouraged by seeing that God
keeps his word (Deut 2:14). To have hope for their present challenge, they must
believe that God will continue to be faithful as he has been in the past. He
has never given them a reason to think otherwise. In the same way, Christians
derive genuine hope when we recall God’s past faithfulness: “He who did not
spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him
graciously give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32).
YOUR GOD FIGHTS FOR YOU.
God does not promise merely to cooperate with
Israel in their battles. He is the divine warrior who fights on Israel’s behalf
and wins the victory for them (Deut. 1:30, 3:22, 20:4). When he fights for them, they
have absolute certainty of success, and when he does not fight for them, the
result is total failure (Deut 1:42-45). Thus, when Israel goes into battle, what
matters is their trust in and obedience to the Lord, not their military might
(20:8; Judg. 7:1–8; Ps. 20:7–8). In the same way, Christ comes as a warrior,
singlehandedly vanquishing the powers of death and hell in his death and
resurrection (Col. 2:13–15). Our victory over sin comes not from our own
fighting prowess but by trusting Christ and entering into his victory by faith
(Rom. 8:37).
Whole-Bible Connections
THE PROMISES TO THE FATHERS.
God’s promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
loom large in Deuteronomy. These promises motivated God to initiate his saving
work in the exodus from Egypt (Ex. 2:24), and he has already shown himself
faithful to some of what he promised (e.g., making Israel as numerous as the
stars in the heavens, as he promised to Abraham; Gen. 15:5; Deut. 1:10). Now
his unfulfilled promises explain the great next steps he commands Israel to
take. As we examine God’s word to Abraham in Genesis 15:1–21, two major
purposes must be accomplished: (1) Israel’s possession of the land (Gen. 15:18;
notice how Deut. 1:7 echoes this description), and (2) the judgment of the
Amorites for their iniquity (Gen. 15:16). These two purposes will be
accomplished simultaneously: by removing the Amorites, Israel will be able to
possess the land. And yet, the timing is the Lord’s: Israel can enter into
blessing only when they are moving toward what God has promised (e.g., they
cannot take the lands of Edom, Moab, or Ammon, which were not promised to them;
see Deut. 2:5, 9, 19, 37) and only when God determines that the time is right. For
Israel in Deuteronomy, the time of fulfillment is now at hand.
THE CHURCH POISED TO ENTER A NEW LAND.
In the New Testament, the author of Hebrews
identifies the church as being in a place very similar to Israel when they
stood outside the land in Deuteronomy. Like Israel, we look to enter the rest
that God promises to us, only this time the rest is even better than the
Promised Land: we seek a heavenly country (Heb. 4:9; 9:24). As with Israel, our
ability to enter the land depends not on ourselves but on faith in God’s
provision (Heb. 4:2). But unlike Israel’s situation, our mediator is not
forbidden from entering (Deut. 3:26–27). Where Moses fell short, Christ
succeeds. He is our forerunner and has already entered into our heavenly rest
ahead of us, now beckoning us to follow in his footsteps (Heb. 4:14; 6:19–20).
Theological Soundings
REBELLION
Deuteronomy presents a robust and unsentimental
view of sin. On the surface, sin presents itself as rebellion, such as Israel’s
refusal to enter the land when God commanded (Deut. 1:26) and then their attempt to
take the land when God condemned them to wander for 40 years (Deut 1:43). But sin is
subtler than mere outward refusal to obey. Sin has its roots in unteachability,
in a proud insistence that God is not who he says he is (Deut. 1:27: “Because the
LORD hated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt”), and in an
incapacity to listen to correction (Deut. 1:43). And still deeper, sin springs from
unbelief: the unwillingness to trust God’s word and to believe that he is
capable of giving what he has promised.
SOVEREIGNTY
Although the Lord has a special relationship
with Israel, he remains the God of all creation. Even nations who do not
worship him receive their respective lands from him (Edom, Moab, Ammon), and
they can lose their lands at any time if the Lord wishes (as in the cases of Sihon
king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan). In contrast to the polytheistic view
that the world is controlled by many different spiritual forces that are
basically on the same level, Deuteronomy puts forward the Lord as the supreme
unrivalled God of all things.
Personal Implications
Take some time to reflect on what you have
learned from your study of Deuteronomy 1:1–3:29 and how it might apply to your
own life today. Make notes below on the personal implications for your walk
with the Lord of the (1) Gospel Glimpses, (2) Whole-Bible Connections, (3)
Theological Soundings, and (4) this passage as a whole.
1. Gospel Glimpses
2. Whole-Bible Connections
3. Theological Soundings
4. Deuteronomy 1:1–3:29
As You Finish …
Take a moment now to ask for the Lord’s
blessing and help as you continue in this study of Deuteronomy. Then look back
through this unit to reflect on key things the Lord may be teaching you.
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