The LORD their God Goes Before Them

Moses told Israel they were about to cross over the Jordan that day to dispossess nations that were mightier and greater than they.

He told them that it was the LORD their God who goes over before them as a consuming fire. That he would destroy them and bring then down before Israel quickly, as the LORD had said to them.

Moses told them not to think in their heart, after the LORD has cast them out before them, that it was because of their righteousness that the LORD brought them in to posses the land. Moses continued, “but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is driving them out before you.” 3It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess this land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God drives them out before you, and that He may fulfill the word which the LORD swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 6Therefore understand that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people.”

Surely, Israel is the chosen people. They would rebel against God and raise his wrath against them. Moses would always intervene on their behalf.

I believe there is a connection between Chapter 9 of Deuteronomy and today. God fought Israel’s battles then. He went out before them as a consuming fire. He drove out the enemy not because of Israel’s righteousness, but because of the evilness of the people they were to drive out.

I believe the LORD my God, Israel’s God, is out front today helping Israel fight the enemy. Israel is God’s chosen people. He is not going to break His promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We as united Americans need to stand tall with Israel. We should not anger God and be against his chosen people.

I believe today is much like it was in the days of Chapter 9. God will drive out the evildoers, and Israel will have its Promised Land.

As far as our country, let’s do as the words in 2 Chronicle 7:14 tell us–humble ourselves, pray, repent, and ask God to hear us from heaven and to save our land.

Remember the LORD Your God

This is a commandment Moses gave to the Israelites before going into the Promised Land. A good commandment for us all today, remember the LORD our God. The God we worship and follow today is the same God Moses was telling the people to remember.

Moses was telling them that every commandment which he commanded them that day must be observed, so that they might live and multiply, and go in and possess the land which God had promised their fathers. They were to remember that the LORD their God had led them those forty years in the wilderness to humble and test them, to know what was in their hearts, whether they would keep His commandments or not. 3″So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. 4Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell those forty years. 5You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the LORD your God chastens you.”

“Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, 12lest when you are full … 14when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage …16who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end …”

18And you shall remember the LORD 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 it is this day.”

And this is the same God we have today that the Israelites had then, the same God Israel has today, and the same God the USA has today. And we must remember Him each day through prayer, meditating upon the LORD, through Bible study and living our lives as Jesus lived. God is love and He wants us to love Him with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind. We must remember God more than once a week when we might go to church. We need to remember Him from moment to moment, throughout our day’s activities. We need to remember God not just when we need help, but we need to remember Him with praise throughout our day, for He inhabits the praise of His people, and when we praise Him, He goes into action for us. He fights our battle for us. Our great and awesome God is among us, and we need to remember that!

(NKJV, Deuteronomy 8)

Chosen With Love

Deuteronomy 7:7-8 tells us. “The LORD did not send his love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all people; 8but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which he swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”

9”Therefore you know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep his commandments.

14”You shall be blessed above all peoples, there shall not be a male or a female barren among you or among your livestock. 15And the LORD will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you.”

God chose Israel because they are a holy people to Him, and he chose them for Himself, “a special treasure above all the people on the face of the earth” (Deut.7:6).

Some of the Israelite people must have been afraid because some of the nations were greater than they. But Moses told them to remember what God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. Moses said, “You shall not be terrified of them; for the LORD your God, the great and awesome God, is among you.

Even though Israel was the least in number of all people, God loved them and chose them as His special people. Have you ever noticed God will sometimes take the smallest, the weakest, and the most afraid to accomplish his means? Do you wonder why he chose these people? God chose these people with love and made them special by His mighty power. He gave David the skill to use a slingshot so expertly that he killed the giant Goliath with one shot. I believe God chooses the least so that His power will be manifested.

Gideon was so afraid to do what God was calling him to do, he tested God twice with the fleece and the dew. I do not think Gideon was any more afraid than anyone else would have been. He wanted to make sure it was God calling him to the battle. He wanted to make sure God was with him, “for out of weakness were made strong.”

So God takes the weak and makes him strong. This manifests God’s greatness—His mighty power and His strength. How good and comforting it is to know that we are chosen by deep and unconditional love, and to know that the great and awesome God is among us.

(NKJV, Deuteronomy 7)

That It May Be Well With You

In Chapter 5, Moses reviewed the Ten Commandments with the people of Israel. The gist of these commandments is that God is the LORD our God. And God wants us to worship him unequivocally. “Hear, O Israel: ‘The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.’ 6And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. Verses 7-8 in Chapter 6 tell us that He wants us to have Him on our minds all the time—as we sit in our house-when we walk by the way—when we lie down and when we rise up. 9You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. This kept God’s words before them. They saw them as they left their house and again when they returned. God wants to always be on our mind.

Moses cautioned the people against disobedience. 17You shall diligently keep the commands of the LORD your God; His testimonies, and his statutes which He has commanded you. 18And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land of which the LORD swore to your fathers, 19to cast out all your enemies from before you, as the LORD has spoken.

The term “that it may be well with you” tells us that if we fail in our obedience to God, it may not be so well with us. God is telling us that if we are obedient to His words, His statutes, His commands, then He will take us into the Promised Land. What has God promised us today? He has promised us eternal life in heaven if we repent of our sins and accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. God brings us to Jesus, but we have to accept Him ourselves. It is a choice we make.

When God is on our mind, there is no room for evil thoughts. If God is on our mind, Satan can’t crowd into our thoughts. It keeps him at arm’s bay.

(NKJV, Deuteronomy Chapters 5. 6)

The Donkey Speaks

When Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites, he saw that the Israelites had camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho. He sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor, saying, “Look a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! 6Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and him whom you curse is cursed.” Balaam had a srong reputation of being able to influence the gods. So the messengers came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak. 8And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the LORD speaks to me;”

9Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” So Balaam told God why Balak had sent for him. 12And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.”

So the next morning Balaam told the princes of Balak, “Go back to your land, for the LORD has refused to give me permission to go with you.”

So they went back to Balak and told him that Balaam refused to go with them.

So Balak sent princes, more numerous and more honorable to Balaam, saying he would honor him greatly, and do whatever he said to him, to please come and curse this people for him. (Balak is beginning to sound desperate.)

But Balaam told them, “though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold I could not go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more. 19Now therefore, please, you also stay here tonight, that I may know what more the LORD will say to me.”

Here I think Balaam’s true colors begin to show through. Seems he is wanting Balak to up the ante before he does what Balak wants.

20God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you—that you shall do.” 21So Balaam rose and in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.

***
Three times Balaam’s donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in his way. The first time she turned aside and went into the field. And Balaam struck her. The second time she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot. So Balaam struck her again. The third time she saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, she lay down under Balaam. So Balaam’s anger was aroused and he struck the donkey again.

28And the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”

29And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!”

30So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?”

And he said, “No.”

Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand, and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. 32And the angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times?” Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before me. 33The donkey saw me and turned aside from me, these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.”

34And Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know you stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back.”

35Then the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but only the word that I speak to you, that you will speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

Balak went out to meet him at the city of Moab, which is on the border at the Arnon, the boundary of the territory. And seemed a little put out with Balaam that he had not come sooner, when he had first sent for him.

38And Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you! Now, have I any power at all to say anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak. 39So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kirjath Huzoth. 40Then Balak offered oxen and sheep, and he sent some to Balaam and to the princes who were with him.

Even though Balaam had encountered the angel of the LORD as his adversary along the way, he still seemed to me to be after all he could get financially.

Concordance indicates Balaam used the livers of animals to communicate with the gods, yet could not see the angel of the LORD on the way to Balak. The donkey was able to see the angel of the LORD, but Balaam was unable to see the angel, until the LORD opened his eyes.

Once Balaam’s eyes were opened to see the angel of the LORD, he realized he had sinned, and he fell flat on his face. He had been intentional in his desire to curse those whom God had blessed. But the angel of the LORD instructed Balaam to speak only what God had spoken to him.

God is all powerful. No one goes against Him and wins. He is God, and Israel is His chosen people. He blesses those who bless them, and he curses those who curse them. This tells me that Balak will not win this battle. We will see how Balak’s desire to have Balaam curse Israel turns out in Chapters 23 and 24.

Just as in the days of Balak and Balaam, Israel is still God’s chosen people. He is on their side in this day as they fight the Hamas. Yet we still need to heed Psalm 122:6 and pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls,
Prosperity within your palaces.”
(Ps. 122:6-7)

(NKJV, Numbers Chapter 22)

Do Not Fear

When Og king of Bashan came out against the Israelites, the LORD told Moses not to fear him, that He had delivered him and all his people and his land into their hands. Sihon king of Heshbon had been defeated and now Og king of Bashan was to be defeated “as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.”

The Israelites attacked Og king of Bashan and no survivors remained. They took all of their cities, and there were 60 of them, all the region of the Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. They did to Og king of Bashan just as they had done to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women and children of every city. But they took all the livestock and the spoil of the cities as booty for themselves.

When they were going in to possess the land which the LORD was giving them beyond the Jordan, Moses commanded Joshua at that time, saying, “Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings; so will the LORD do to all the kingdoms through which you pass. 22You must not fear them, for the LORD your God Himself fights for you.”

It is said that “do not fear” appears in the Bible 365 times, once for every day of the year. It is a strong admonishment – do not fear. For if the LORD is for you who can be against you? If we are faithful to God, then we can expect God to fight our battles for us. That is not to say we don’t have to gird our armor and stand on the battlefield. It is written in verse 22, “You must not fear them, for the LORD your God Himself fights for you.”

Fear can paralyze us and keep us from accomplishing much. Yet God says, “do not fear,” for if we are faithful He will fight for us.

The Amplified Bible tells us in Habakkuk 3:19 that God is our Strength, our personal bravery, and our invincible army. He makes our feet like hinds’ feet and will make us to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress against our high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]!

1 John 4:18 tells us, “There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection].

So if we truly love God, our trust will be in Him and we will not be afraid. We will not fear. We will have a clear understanding that with God all things are possible. We will have no need to fear.

(NKJV, Deuteronomy 3; otherwise, Amplified Bible)

I AM The LORD your God!

Moses said to the Israelites, “Now O Israel, listen to the statutes and the judgments which I teach you to observe, that you may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers is giving you. 2You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.”

If the people obeyed God’s law, then they could experience a fruitful life. By telling them they could neither add to the word nor take away from it, Moses was telling them that they had to learn to live by God’s word without trying to justify their disobedience or explaining away God’s clear commands.

Moses went on to remind the people of the mountain burning with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. And the LORD spoke to them out of the midst of the fire. Moses further said, “You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice.”

He came in no form, or without form, so the people would have no image from which to model an idol. He wanted/wants no idols before Him.

23”Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the LORD your God has forbidden you. 24For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.”

35″To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD Himself is God; there is none other besides Him. 36Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that he might instruct you; on earth he showed you his great fire. 33And because He loved your fathers, therefore he chose their descendants after them; and He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power … 39Therefore know this day, and consider in your heart, that the LORD Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.”

Moses told the people that God will not forsake them nor destroy them, nor would he forget the covenant of their fathers which He swore to them. God is committed to fulfill the promises He made to the patriarchs.

The LORD had Moses to set apart three cities as cities of refuge. If one had killed another accidentally, without malice or forethought, then he could go to one of these cities that he might live.

God is a god of love, but He is a jealous God. He desires we worship Him and not an image of Him, that’s why he came in no form. He commands we have no other gods before Him. He will not allow rivals.

(NKJV, Deuteronomy Chapter 4, Nelson, Concordance)

The Desert Years

The Israelites passed through the territory of Seir which the LORD had given Esau as a possession. They were not to meddle with them. They were to buy food from them with money, that they might eat. And they were to buy water from them with money, that they might drink.

They passed by way of the Wilderness of Moab. The LORD said for them to not harass Moab or contend with them because He had given Ar to the descendants of Lot.

They crossed over the Valley of Zered. And the time it took for them to go from Kadesh Barnea was 38 years, until all the generation of the men of war was consumed from the midst of the camp, just as the LORD had sworn to them.

When all of the men had finally perished from among the people, the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 18”This day you are to cross over at Ar, the boundary of Moab. 19And when you come near the people of Ammon, do not harass them or meddle with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the descendants of Lot as a possession. The LORD handed over to the people Sihon and all his land. They defeated him, his sons, and all his people. They took livestock as plunder for themselves with the spoil of the cities. From Aroer as far as Gilead, there was not one city too strong for them. The LORD God delivered all to them, and while they were in the desert years.

Today, even though we may be in a wilderness—a dry spot—God provides for our needs. The 40 years the Israelites were in the wilderness, God was with them, and they lacked nothing. He is our Provider. These are physical as well as spiritual needs. He will fulfill His promises to us. When we are in our desert years, nothing seems to be happening for us. But even when God seems to be silent, He is there. Look for the oasis.

(NKJV, Deuteronomy Chapter Two)

Entering the Promised Land

Most of Deuteronomy consists of Moses’ explanation of God’s law and the exhortation to follow it. It is 11 days journey from Horeb by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea. It took Israel 40 years to complete the journey because of their unbelief and disobedience. Horeb is a name for Mount Sinai where the LORD revealed His glory, gave His law, and made a covenant with Israel. (NKJV, Nelson, Concordance).

Leaders Appointed

Moses realized it was too much for him to handle all the problems of the Israelites. One man from each tribe was appointed to lead each tribe. They were wise and knowledgeable men. They were to hear the cases between their brethren. Any case too hard for them was to be taken to Moses.

Israel’s Refusal to Enter the Land

They left Horeb and went through the great and terrible wilderness, to the mountains of the Amorites. Moses said, 21”Look, the LORD your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the LORD God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not fear or be discouraged.”

Nevertheless they would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the LORD their God; and they complained in their tents, saying the LORD hates us.

Then Moses said to them, “Do not be terrified, or afraid of them. 30The LORD your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.”

They did not believe the LORD their God who led their way and told them where to camp. He led them in the fire by night and in the cloud by day.

The Penalty for Israel’s Rebellion

The LORD was angry with them and took an oath saying, 35”Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see that good land of which I swore to give to their fathers, 36except Caleb the son of Jephuneh; he shall see it, and to him and his children I am giving the land on which he walked, because he wholly followed the LORD.

Moses told them that the LORD was also angry with him because of them, saying, ‘Even you shall not go in there. 38Joshua the son of Nun shall go in there. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.

39’Moreover your little ones and your children,…who today have no knowledge of good and evil, they shall go in there, to them I will give it, and they shall possess it. 40But as for you, turn and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.’ ”

Then they said that they had sinned against God and wanted to do as God had commanded them. They showed regret but no real repentance and the LORD would not listen to them. He warned Moses to tell them not to go up because He would not be with them. They went up into the mountain anyway, and the Amorites came out and chased them as bees do.

So they remained in Kadesh many days.

Ten of the spies who scouted out the land brought back a report that there were giants in the land, and the Israelites became afraid to go into the Promised Land. So not one of the men of the “evil generation shall see that good land, except Caleb,” who had fully followed the LORD. If they had feared the LORD instead of the giants, all would have gone into the Promised Land. What giants do you fear?

The LORD had promised the Israelites a land flowing with milk and honey. They scouted the land and found it to be as promised. But they saw giants which scared ten of the twelve spies. They took the fruits they found, including grapes, along with their story of giants back to camp. This frightened the people even though Caleb and Joshua gave a good report, and Joshua wanted to go in then. The people rebelled against God and would not go in. So the LORD said only Caleb and his children would see it, because Caleb had wholly followed the LORD. Even Moses would not be allowed to go in. Joshua was allowed to go, and those younger than 20 years. They later said to Moses that they had sinned against the LORD, and they girded themselves with their weapons of war. But the LORD told Moses to tell them, “Do not go up and fight, for I am not among you…”

If they had obeyed God, they all would have gone into the Promised Land. But the LORD penalized them for their rebellion, and rewarded the faithful. The LORD demonstrated his love and faithfulness to His people by protecting those younger than 20 years so that they could inherit the land.

There is a lesson for us all in this chapter of Deuteronomy. The LORD is faithful to us. If we are faithful to Him, He will fight our battles for us. Are you facing a mountain? Then put your faith in God.

(NKJV, Deuteronomy Chapter One)