As we open the book of Deuteronomy this morning, we see a new generation in the shadow of the old, desiring to obey the Lord during their fleeting time on earth. We see them in the midst of God’s deliverance from Egypt and His promised placement in the Promised Land. We see them eagerly anticipating the Land, but knowing the difficulties ahead. We see them listening to the echoes of the past, yet yearning for a different future. This generation is not unique. In fact, perhaps this sounds familiar to the ears of our generation of Jesus followers?

Deuteronomy, literally, “these are the words,” gives the Israelites a pause in the action of the Redemptive Story, and a time to reflect on who God is, recall His promises, and respond to His call to obedience.

The “words” from God through Moses in Deuteronomy reiterate the Suzerain-Vassal relationship. This might sound foreign to our modern ears, but was commonplace in the Ancient near East in the time of Moses. The Suzerain provided an umbrella of protection and prosperity. For this security, the vassal would loyally serve the Suzerain. Blessings were given to the vassal for obedience and curses for disobedience. To seal the deal, the two parties “cut” covenants. They would physically cut animals in half and the vassal would have to walk through the cut animals. The death of the animals represented what would happen if the vassal did not obey the terms of the covenant made with the Suzerain.

Yet God flipped the script within the redemptive narrative as he made a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15. The most powerful Suzerain, God Himself, walked through the animals in a smoking firepot, while the vassal, Abraham, lay in a deep sleep. God would pay the price if His vassals disobeyed. Why is this important as we walk into Deuteronomy?

God knew the following generations would need, not merely a Suzerain, but a Savior. They would need one who would deliver them from bondage, give them rest and security in the land, and most importantly bridge the chasm between the Holy God and sinful man. Moses was a foreshadowing of this Savior as he brought the Israelites out of Egypt. Joshua would be another as he led the people in claiming the promised land. But ultimately only one could provide the way back to God, Jesus Christ the Lord.

[Deuteronomy 1.1-33]

The Command to Leave Horeb

1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. 2 It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea. 3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him in commandment to them, 4 after he had defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and in Edrei. 5 Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law, saying, 6 “The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7 Turn and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negeb and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. 8 See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.’

Leaders Appointed

9 “At that time I said to you, ‘I am not able to bear you by myself. 10 The Lord your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are today as numerous as the stars of heaven. 11 May the Lord, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, as he has promised you! 12 How can I bear by myself the weight and burden of you and your strife? 13 Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads.’ 14 And you answered me, ‘The thing that you have spoken is good for us to do.’ 15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, and set them as heads over you, commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, commanders of tens, and officers, throughout your tribes. 16 And I charged your judges at that time, ‘Hear the cases between your brothers, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the alien who is with him. 17 You shall not be partial in judgment. You shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be intimidated by anyone, for the judgment is God's. And the case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.’ 18 And I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.

Israel's Refusal to Enter the Land

19 “Then we set out from Horeb and went through all that great and terrifying wilderness that you saw, on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded us. And we came to Kadesh-barnea. 20 And I said to you, ‘You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. 21 See, the Lord your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not fear or be dismayed.’ 22 Then all of you came near me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, that they may explore the land for us and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up and the cities into which we shall come.’ 23 The thing seemed good to me, and I took twelve men from you, one man from each tribe. 24 And they turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied it out. 25 And they took in their hands some of the fruit of the land and brought it down to us, and brought us word again and said, ‘It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us.’

26 “Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. 27 And you murmured in your tents and said, ‘Because the Lord hated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. 28 Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.”’ 29 Then I said to you, ‘Do not be in dread or afraid of them. 30 The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.’ 32 Yet in spite of this word you did not believe the Lord your God, 33 who went before you in the way to seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night and in the cloud by day, to show you by what way you should go.

[ WHAT ] is this passage saying and what is a key truth or thought that we learn?

+ According to vv. 1 and 2, where are God’s people as the book of Deuteronomy begins?

+ Mount Horeb, or Mount Sinai is where God’s people were given the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20. How long should the journey have been to travel from Mount Horeb to Kadesh-barnea according to v. 2? How long did it take the Israelites to make this journey?

+ At the end of Numbers, God encouraged the Israelites by giving them victory over two kings in the Transjordan. Moses reminds them of God’s faithfulness in v. 3. What kings did they conquer? How might these victories encourage them before they cross the Jordan to conquer the promised land?

+ Moses addresses this “new” generation of Israelites (remember that none of the previous generation, even Moses, could enter except Caleb and Joshua) as they are on the “precipice” of the Promised Land. In v. 3, the beginning of his “Farewell address,” what is the heart of Moses’s message?

+ Moses both speaks [vv. 3] and explains [v. 5] the law before he reminds the people of the mission that lies ahead. How might this pattern be helpful in the day to day life of a believer in 2021?

+ What is the “mission” for those on the precipice of the Promised Land according to vv. 7 and 8?

+ Why might Moses use the names of the patriarchs in v. 8? What promises were made to them? As the people recall and reflect on these promises, how might they be encouraged? How might we also be encouraged as we recall and reflect on these fulfilled promises?

+ In vv. 9-18 Moses reminds the people that though he won’t be going into the Promised Land, that capable leaders have been put in place. What were the characteristics of these leaders [v. 13]. What were the leaders to do [v. 16]?

+ God equips those He calls! The people know God’s Words, they have been reminded of His promises, the leadership is in place, and they know the mission. Yet, Moses doesn’t send them yet. Instead, he gives them a history lesson. Re-read vv. 19-32 above.

+ What are some of the reasons Moses might have had for recalling the faithlessness of the previous generation? What specific rebellious actions does he list?

+ Vv. 30, 31, and 33 have key promises for this emerging generation. Rephrase those promises in your own words. How do these same promises pertain to you and I as we look to conquer the land God has promised us?

+ In v. 32, what is Moses exhorting this next generation to do by using a negative example?

[ HOW ] is the Lord calling me to action/obedience?

+ Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?

+ Where have I been distracted, wandering, or flat out disobedient in my spiritual walk?

+ Does my speech and my teaching reflect that I know the Law of the Lord?

+ How can I get back to the path the Lord desires for me?

+ Where have I “sent out spies” and rationalized my paralyzing fears rather courageously claiming what God has promised?

+ Have I recently reflected on who God is, recalled His promises, and responded to His call to obedience according to the Scripture? Do the Scriptures show God as a tyrannical Suzerain, or a loving Savior?

+ Do I allow someone else to write the narrative of what is true or possible as 10 of the spies did for the earlier generation? At what cost? 40 years? How can I reclaim that narrative daily?

+ Do I trust the Lord goes before me and will fight for me or am I trying to save myself in my own strength?

+ Do I believe the “words” of the Lord, my God? Am I ready to “Go up and take possession” of the abundant land He has promised?

[ WHO ] am I walking with and praying for to discover Jesus?

+ What is my next step?

+ Who can I invite to search in the Law of the Lord for Truth? How can I walk with them as God’s Truth shapes their path?

+ Who can I rejoice with that the Savior, not the Suzerain has come?

+ Who can stand shoulder to shoulder with as we conquer the lands ahead for the Kingdom?