Deuteronomy chapter 1

So here's the thing. I'll probably spend the rest of my life doing Deuteronomy - there's a lot of verses in that there book - but it is a book I've read a thing or two about in the past, it is a book about teaching (which would be a good focus for this year anyway) and it's also one of the most important books of the Bible, one of the most quoted in the New Testament, and generally fairly interesting. Also, it's not narrative, which fits my style.

vs 1

OK, so now we've got our bearings. If only all historical books started this way! We know that these are the words of Moses, and we know where he gave them (which gives a hint to when he gave them). He actually tells us when in a little bit.

I say he, meaning Moses - of course it's not exactly clear who wrote Deuteronomy. I'm happy with the assumption that Moses wrote most of it, although I'm also happy with the assertion that Joshua might have scribed a lot of it, and even written the last bit about Moses dying. Some people say Moses wrote it before he died, because God revealed to him how he'd die. Seems a little... unnecessary to me.

vs 2

I always read this verse as completely damning of Israel - the trip that took them 40 years was made in 11 days at the end of it. Ouch. I mean, that proves to me God was involved. No-one can get so lost that they can't make an 11 day trip in at best a year.

vs 3

So here we are - a firm date of when this occurred. 40 years of desert wanderings, and now they are poised on the east side of the Jordan. It's a monumentous time, and so of course Moses gives a speech. Or two. Or three. And perhaps a song. As you do.

It is a pretty monumentous time. Yes, I made up the word monumentous. I like it.

vs 4

You can read about these military victories in Numbers. Sufficed to say, they are pretty much poised to enter the promised land.

vs 5

I think the term "this law" is important. It's true that we're going to read very similar (in fact, a lot of the time exactly the same) laws to what have gone before. But Moses here is rebuilding a foundation of law for the new generation that will become Israel. He is recapping what has already been said, but he is also formulating a distinct book of law. This book, Deuteronomy, is pretty much the most well known book of law for Jews from then on.

vs 6

40 years was enough. A generation had died. A new generation could hopefully move forward and make a new, fresh start.

There's only so much you can expect from them, though. They are still people and, dare I say it, still Israelites.

vs 7

I find it interesting that, for Israel, God had a specific amount of land marked out for them. Theirs was not a world domination. The other nations were to exist too, and many to be more powerful than Israel. But Israel was to exist as an example nation. Not a leader nation necessarily. A priest nation, but not really a king or emperor nation. God is the king, after all.

vs 8

There is an interesting dualism here "I have given you the land, now go take it" - that is, fight for it. Form an army, invade it, be killed for it, kill for it. Not exactly the kind of gift we are used to. And yet really, the message is that nothing will stop Israel from taking the land except themselves. Without getting too metaphory, I think salvation is quite similar. Nothing stops us from taking it except ourselves (and possibly not hearing it in the first place, but that's a whole other argument.) But we ourselves are enough.

I don't know how far I'd go with this idea, though. I mean, the idea that if a church steps out in faith to do something, God will obviously bless what they do. But I think really you have to have the promise of God to do that. God promised the land to Israel. God promises us salvation - he will not turn his back on us on that. But stepping out in faith to start a building program or a youth group or a school or a retirement village - it's not always going to work. We don't like to remember our failures. We like to look at the successes and say, "See how easy it is? Just have faith." Well, I'd say just have faith, a vision, and a promise. But that's just me.

And as I have said many times before, promises by God about action on his part are not promises of success on yours. Not how we might measure or expect it, anyway. Obviously God never fails in his intentions.

vs 9

One man over 650,000 odd people is a big burden. There might be less now, what with the death of the last generation. Anyway, Moses was under a lot of pressure. He is recounting this story which we have already been told.

vs 10

This is still Moses talking, I think before the 40 years of wandering. It is interesting how Moses tells that story, but we'll get to it. So they were vast in number before then... I guess they were probably still pretty vast at this point.

vs 11

So it's not that Moses is complaining about the blessing of numbers that God promised. He recognises it as a good thing.