Deuteronomy 4:44 – 49 “This is the law Moses set before the Israelites. These are the testimonies, statutes, and ordinances Moses proclaimed to them after they had come out of Egypt, while they were in the valley across the Jordan facing Beth-peor in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses and the Israelites after they had come out of Egypt.
They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan—the two Amorite kings across the Jordan to the east— extending from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Siyone (that is, Hermon), including all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan and as far as the Sea of the Arabah,f below the slopes of Pisgah.”
Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites were history! The Israelites must have been elated. They hadn’t even crossed the Jordan yet and already they were conquering enemies. Even Og, the giant, couldn’t stand before the armies of the Living God. Looking at the land already conquered, the Israelites might have been thinking that conquering the Promised Land was going to be a piece of cake! But while the Israelite soldiers were strutting around and puffing out their chests, they needed to remember that God was the One who had given them those victories.
All the Israelites who had come out of Egypt had died, except for Moses, Caleb, and Joshua. None of those currently camped on the east side of the Jordan had seen the towering walls of water or felt the winds that drove back the water or heard the terrified shouts of the Egyptians as those same waters closed over them forever.
Those who refused to trust God and go into the Promised Land as God desired were gone. Now Moses had to teach the next generation so that they would know the ways of the Lord.
Deuteronomy 5:1 – 3 “Then Moses summoned all Israel and said to them: Hear, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances that I declare in your hearing this day. Learn them and observe them carefully. The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb.
He did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with all of us who are alive here today. The LORD spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain.”
At this point, the Israelites might have been scratching their heads and saying, “HUH?” Why was Moses speaking as if they had been present at Horeb? It was the previous generation who had witnessed the spectacle at Horeb/Sinai with fire, earthquakes, and the sound of a divine trumpet. But Moses wants to emphasize something: Just because the first generation to escape from Egypt died does not relieve the present generation from the covenant that was made at Horeb/Sinai.
When Moses came down off the mountain and spoke to the people, the people agreed that they would obey. Exodus 24:3 “When Moses went and told the people all the Lord’s words and laws, they responded with one voice, “Everything the Lord has said we will do.” That day, the Israelites were cutting covenant with God, an agreement that was binding not only on them, but also on their forever. Since the current generation had never experienced the scenes at Mount Sinai, it was even more necessary that Moses fully explain and repeat all the teachings God gave at that time.
APPLICATION: Moses knew that if he failed to thoroughly teach the Israelites everything God wanted them to know, they were headed for disaster. It’s likely that while some of the soldiers were running around boasting, Joshua and Caleb were standing back and shaking their heads; they knew there were tougher battles coming up.
God assigned Moses to help mold a nation out of a group of slaves. At times, Moses must have been ready to go back to herding sheep; it might have been easier. It was up to Moses to teach the Israelites the commands of God and the way God wanted them to live. God knew that waiting across the Jordan River were tribes who practiced all kinds of fertility rites, who sacrificed children, who committed unspeakable horrors. If the Israelites did not learn God’s commandments and practice following them, they were doomed to assimilation.
God did not want the Israelites to be like all those other nations. God wanted the Israelites to be an example of holiness and righteousness, so that these other nations would see the glory of God and would want to follow Him as well. God had far more in mind than just saving the Israelites.
So many times, we play games with God’s Word or with His commandments. There are many people today for whom the Ten Commandments are merely Ten Suggestions – something to be discarded when they prove inconvenient. But children who are raised without standards find themselves confused without a firm moral foundation for their lives.
What teachings are the foundations for your life? Does your life really have a solid foundation, or does it depend on the shifting sand of public opinion, popular beliefs, or something even less tangible? And what kind of foundation have you given your children for their lives?
Jesus told a story in Matthew 7:24 – 27 about two men building houses. “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Help us to follow Your Word and Your Commandments so that our lives will truly have solid foundations. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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