Deuteronomy 29

 

God revealed Himself by great miracles

 

1 These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant that he made with them in Horeb. 2 And Moses called all Israel and said to them, you have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his servants, and to all his land; 3 The great trials that your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles: 4 Yet the LORD has not given you a heart to perceive, eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day. 5 And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes have not worn out upon you, and your shoe has not worn out on your foot. 6 You have not eaten bread, or drank wine or strong drink: that you might know that I am the LORD your God. 7 And when you came to this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us to battle, and we struck them down: 8 And we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance to the Reubenites, to the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh.

 

  • This is a second covenant between God and Israel.
  • The first one was made 40 years earlier when God gave them the law at Mt. Horeb.
  • Many of the people that made that covenant with God died in the wilderness.
  • Without our eyes focused on the Lord we are wandering in life.
  • God guided their wanderings, teaching them, building their faith.
  • He preserved their clothes and shoes from growing old for forty years.
  • They ate the manna, the food of angels, that God rained on them from heaven.
  • Having no wine or strong drink helped them to be more faithful to God.
  •  Hosea 4:11 Whoring and wine and new wine take away the heart.

 

9 Keep therefore the words of this covenant and do them so that you may prosper in all that you do. 10 You stand this day, all of you, before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel, 11 Your little ones, your wives, and your foreigner that is in your camp, from the woodcutter to the water carrier: 12 to enter into covenant with the LORD your God, and into his oath, which the LORD your God makes with you this day: 13 That he may establish you today for a people to himself, to be a God to you, as he has said to you, and as he has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

 

  • God wants us to be His.
  • God prospers obedience to His words.
  • All life is before God.
  • Proverbs 15:3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good.

 

14 I make this covenant and this oath and this oath not with you only, 15 those standing here with us this day before the LORD our God, but also with him that is not here with us today: 16 (For you know how we dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the nations which you passed by; 17 And you have seen their abominations, and their dungy gods, wood and stone, silver and gold, that were among them:) 18 Lest there be among you man, woman, family, or tribe, whose heart turns away this day from the LORD our God, to go serve the gods of these nations; lest there be among you a root that bears poisonous herb, gall/rosh and wormwood; 19 And it come to pass, when he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart saying, I will have peace, though I walk in the stubborn imagination of my heart, to add drunkenness to thirst: 20 The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book will lie upon him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under heaven.

 

  • God will not tolerate idolatry.
  • God is life and the Source of all life.
  • To refuse God is death and leads others to eternal death.
  • No one could ever love us more than God.
  • To reject that love has eternal consequences.
  • Instead of having the thirst quenched by Christ, who alone fully satisfies the heart of man, people dulled the pain of their empty lives by drunkenness.
  • John 4:14 But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst; but the water that I will give him will be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
  • Jeremiah 31:3 The LORD has appeared of old unto me, saying, Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn you.
  • John 15:13 Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

 

21 And the LORD will separate him to evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law: 22 So that the generation to come of your children that will rise up after you, and the foreigner that will come from a far land, will say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses with which the Lord has made it sick; 23 And that the whole land is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor bears, nor any grass grows in it, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Ammah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath.


  • Luke 17:29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

 

24 Even all nations will say, Why has the LORD done this to this land? Why this great anger? 25 Then men will say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt: 26 For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they did not know, and whom he had not given to them: 27 And the anger of the LORD burned against this land, to bring on it all the curses that are written in this book:

 

  • God gives to us life and breath and all things (Acts 17:25).
  • All the other gods are liars and imposters who lead to ruin, pain, and eternal death.
  • Psalm 96:5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.
  • Acts 17:24 God that made the world and all things in it, since he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; 25 Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, since he gives to all life, and breath, and all things.

 

28 And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger, in wrath, in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day. 29 The secret things belong to the LORD our God: but those things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

 

  • If we choose to disregard God’s good guidance and gifts of love, we have chosen for ourselves the bad things that come upon us.
  • Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law he meditates day and night. 3 And he will be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth his fruit in his season; his leaf will not wither; and whatever he does will prosper.

 

                                         Deuteronomy 30

 

1 And it will come to pass, when all these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God has driven you, 2 And will return to the LORD your God, and obey his voice according to all that I command you this day, you and your children, with all your heart, and with all your soul; 3 then the LORD your God will turn your captivity, and have compassion on you, and will return and gather you from all the nations, where the LORD your God has scattered you. 4 If any of you are driven out to the outmost parts of heaven, the LORD your God will gather you, and from there will he bring you back: 5 And the LORD your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, and you will possess it; and he will do you good, and multiply you above your fathers.

 

  • God drove them away from their land for their good. Like Eden.
  • Genesis 3:24 He drove out the man; and placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, +a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way of the tree of life.

 

The LORD will circumcise our heart to love Him

 

6 And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live. 7 And the LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies, and on them that hate you, who persecuted you. 8 And you will return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments that I command you this day.

 

He will put all these curses on their enemies

 

9 And the LORD your God will make you plenteous in every work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over you for good, as he rejoiced over your fathers: 10 If you will listen to the voice of the LORD your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul. 11 For this commandment that I command you this day, it is not hidden from you, neither is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, Who will go up for us to heaven, and bring it to us, that we may hear it, and do it? 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, Who will go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, that we may hear it, and do it? 14 But the word is very near to you, in your mouth, and in your heart, that you may do it. 15 See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil; 16 In that I command you this day to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that you may live and multiply: and the LORD your God will bless you in the land where you go to possess it.

 

  • Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will not eat of it: for in the day that you eat of it you will surely die.
  • John 17:17 Sanctify them through your truth: your word is truth.

 

17 But if your heart turns away, so that you will not hear, but are drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; 18 I declare to you today that you will certainly perish. You will not prolong your days on the land that you cross over Jordan to possess it. 19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both you and your seed may live: 20 That you may love the LORD your God, and that you may obey his voice, and that you may cling to him: for he is your life, and the length of your days: that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

 

  • John 10:28 And I give to them eternal life; and they will never perish, neither will any man pluck them out of my hand.

 

                                         Deuteronomy 31

 

1 And Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them, I am 120 years old today; I can no more go out and come in: also the LORD has said to me, You will not go over this Jordan. 3 The LORD your God, he will go over before you, and he will destroy these nations from before you, and you will possess them: and Joshua, he will go over before you, as the LORD has said. 4 And the LORD will do to them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and to the land of them, whom he destroyed. 5 And the LORD will give them up before your face, that you may do to them according to all the commandments that I have commanded you.

 

  • “Go out and come in,” means he can no longer fight as a soldier.
  • Moses didn’t go into the promised land because of unbelief in a command of God.
  • He was the leader and disobeyed.
  • Numbers 20:10, and he said to them, Hear now, you rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? 12 And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, Because did not believe me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you will not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

 

God goes with us; He will not fail us or forsake us

 

6 Be strong and very courageous, do not fear, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD your God, it is he that goes with you; he will not fail you, nor forsake you. 7 And Moses called to Joshua, and said to him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and very courageous: for you must go with this people to the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them; and you will cause them to inherit it. 8 The LORD, it is he that goes before you; he will be with you, he will not fail you or forsake you: do not fear or be dismayed. 9 And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it to the priests the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 And Moses commanded them saying, At the end of every seven years, in festival of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, 11 When all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God in the place that he will choose, you are to read this law before all Israel in their hearing.

 

  • All God’s word is to be read when the people gather at God’s place.
  • In view of these scriptures it seems right that pastors should take their congregations through the whole Bible every seven years?
  • Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man will not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
  • Revelation 22:18 For I testify to every man that hears the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things that are written in this book.

 

12 Gather the people together, men, women, children, and your foreigner that is within your gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear/revere the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law: 13 And that their children, who have not known may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live in the land where you go over Jordan to possess it.

 

  • Hearing His word teaches us to fear Him and obey.
  • That brings the blessings of God.
  • It is not wise not to fear One smart enough and powerful enough to create the universe.

 

The LORD appeared in the tabernacle in the pillar of a cloud

 

14 And the LORD said to Moses, Behold, your days approach that you must die: call Joshua, and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, that I may give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation. 15 And the LORD appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud: and the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle. 16 And the LORD said to Moses, Behold, you will sleep with your fathers; and this people will rise up, and go whoring after the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant that I have made with them. 17 Then my anger will burn against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they will be devoured, and many evils and troubles will find them; so that they will say in that day. Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us? 18 And I will certainly hide my face in that day for all the evils that they have done, in that they turned to other gods.

 

  • The word ‘troubles’ means tightness and distresses.
  • Tight places develop faith when mixed with God.
  • We work much evil when we turn to other gods (trust false things).
  • God hides His face from the evil that we do.

 

19 Now therefore write this song, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel. 20 For when I have brought them into the land that I swore to their fathers, that flows with milk and honey; and they have eaten and filled themselves, and grown fat; then will they turn to other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant. 21 And it will happen, when many evils and troubles have fallen on them, that this song will testify against them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they do, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I swore.

 

God knows the plans we have imagined

 

22 Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel. 23 And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge and said, Be strong and very courageous: for you will bring the children of Israel into the land that I swore to them: and I will be with you. 24 And it happened, when Moses completed writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, 25 that Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD saying, 26 Take this book of the law, and put it beside of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against you. 27 For I know your rebellion, and your stiff neck: behold, while I am still alive with you this day, you have been rebellious against the LORD; and how much more after my death?

 

  • God gave Moses a song to be a witness for Him.
  • That song is recorded in Deuteronomy 32.
  • God is with our leaders.
  • Pride and rebellion are the nature of fallen mankind.

 

28 Gather to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them.

29 For I know that after my death you will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will fall on you in the latter days; because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands. 30 And Moses spoke the words of this song in the ears of all the congregation of Israel, until they were ended.

 

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SUMMARY: Deuteronomy 29-31

 

  • God revealed Himself by great miracles
  • The LORD will circumcise our heart to love Him
  • He will put all these curses on their enemies
  • God goes with us; He will not fail us or forsake us
  • The LORD appeared in the tabernacle in the pillar of a cloud
  • God knows the plans we have imagined