Deuteronomy 3:12 – 22 “So at that time we took possession of this land. To the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the land beyond Aroer along the Arnon Valley, and half the hill country of Gilead, along with its cities. To the half-tribe of Manasseh I gave the rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og. (The entire region of Argob, the whole territory of Bashan, used to be called the land of the Rephaim.) Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, took the whole region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites. He renamed Bashan after himself, Havvoth-jair, by which it is called to this day.
To Machir I gave Gilead, and to the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead to the Arnon Valley (the middle of the valley was the border) and up to the Jabbok River, the border of the Ammonites. The Jordan River in the Arabah bordered it from Chinnereth (Sea of Galilee) to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea ) with the slopes of Pisgah to the east.
At that time I commanded you: “The LORD your God has given you this land to possess. All your men of valor are to cross over, armed for battle, ahead of your brothers, the Israelites. But your wives, your children, and your livestock—I know that you have much livestock—may remain in the cities I have given you, until the LORD gives rest to your brothers as He has to you, and they too have taken possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving them, across the Jordan. Then each of you may return to the possession I have given you.”
And at that time I commanded Joshua: “Your own eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings. The LORD will do the same to all the kingdoms you are about to enter. Do not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God Himself will fight for you.”
Moses is continuing to describe the conquest of the land east of the Jordan River that is modern – day Syria. At the time of Moses, the land had such rich grazing that the Reubenites, the Gadites, the tribe of Manasseh, asked for that land as a possession because they had large flocks and herds. In exchange, these tribes promised that even though their families would remain east of the Jordan, they would accompany the rest of the Israelites as they moved westward to conquer Canaan. Although the map shows the Jordan River between what is now known as the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, the Jordan actually has its origins on the slopes of Mount Hermon in the far north. Several streams emanate from the slopes of Mount Hermon to come together to form the Jordan River, flowing southward into the Sea of Galilee and then on to the Dead Sea.
APPLICATION: The key verses in this entire passage are verses 21 – 22: “And at that time I commanded Joshua: “Your own eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings. The LORD will do the same to all the kingdoms you are about to enter. Do not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God Himself will fight for you.”
By this point, Moses has led the Israelites for nearly forty years; he has faced anarchy, death threats, the descent of his followers into idolatry, and other problems too numerous to count. Moses realizes that it is Joshua who must lead the Israelites across the Jordan to conquer the rest of the land. Moses is passing on his hard – won knowledge to Joshua. What has kept Moses going all these years is the memories of what God has already done for the Israelites and his continued worship of the Lord.
Think about it! When the Israelites threatened to stone Moses and Aaron, Moses reminded himself of the night of the Exodus and how God totally annihilated the most powerful army in the world before Moses’s eyes. When the Israelites complained about their struggles in the wilderness, Moses remembered the miraculous manna and quails. And throughout all the wanderings of the Israelites, God continued to accompany them, manifesting Himself as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
When you are bent on throwing a pity party, the last person you want around is somebody who is grateful! But self – pity really is of the devil. Self pity digs an ever – deeper hole. The only way out of such a hole is gratitude. And the surest means of operating gratefully is to remember what God has already done for you.
When we first came to Saboba in 1993, one friend taught us a song that sums up what we should be doing.
“When I think what the Lord has done,
He has done so much for me!
I will give my life to thee
As a living sacrifice.
I will give my life to thee
As a living sacrifice.”
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for all that You have done for us! We are alive, and we can read these devotionals. You have cared for us from our births even up to today. Lord, help us to remember all that You have done and that You are doing for us! Help us to be grateful and to praise you. For gratitude and praising You will lift us out of the deepest holes we can dig for ourselves. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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