Deuteronomy 1-3

CHAPTER 1:
         Each year, usually in late January, the president of the United States will go before congress and the nation to give what is known as the state of the union address. This speech is typically a “report card” of his administration: what they’ve done thus far for the American people and what he plans to do for the remainder of his term. It’s also often a report of the general “health” of the nation as a whole, hence the title “state of the union”. In like manner, the book of Deuteronomy is a combination of three addresses by Moses “…unto all Israel…” (v.1) before the nation enters into the promised land to begin their campaign of conquest and settlement.
           
         Verses 1-5: The geographical setting and time frame for this first address is given in this introduction to chapter 1. These first five verses were most likely penned by the same person who wrote the final chapter, probably Joshua or some other scribe assigned by him or Moses before his death. The book opens where Numbers left off: in the plains of Moab, on the east side of the Jordan River, (v.1, 5) sometime after the defeat of Sihon and Og. (Numbers 21:23-24, 33, Deuteronomy 2:26, Joshua 13:10, Nehemiah 9:22)
 
          Verses 6-18: Moses begins with a review of Israel’s journey from Mount Sinai to the plains of Moab, a historical account that starts in verse 6 and ends in verse 43 of chapter 4. Horeb, remember, is another name for Mount Sinai. (Exodus 3:1, 12) Verses 7-8 recall the promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Genesis 12:7, 15:5, 22:17, 26:3, 28:13, Exodus 33:1, Numbers 14:23, 32:11) Moses is reminding this second generation that the land is theirs to possess. It was already promised to them nearly seven hundred years earlier, and the time has come for them to seize upon that promise and claim the victory that God will deliver to them.
            Part of God’s promise to Abraham was that his seed would number as the stars of the heaven, a fact that Moses brings up in verse 10, and that’s the reason he had asked each tribe to appoint wise men, elders who could help him rule and judge the nation. (Exodus 32:13, Deuteronomy 7:7, 10:22, 26:5, 28:62) To do it alone was more than Moses could bear. (Exodus 18:21-22) There is a reminder in verse 17 to the new generation of elders to judge fairly and justly, and to not show any bias towards any of the ones who are involved in the disputed matter. (Leviticus 19:15, Deuteronomy 10:17, 16:19, 24:17, 1 Samuel 16:7, Proverbs 24:23, Acts 10:34, James 2:1, 9)
 
          Verses 19-46: Moses now recalls the events at Kadesh-barnea, where the twelve spies were sent into the promised land to scout it and bring back a report to the people. (Numbers 13-14) He reminds the new generation of why their parents – with the exceptions of Caleb and Joshua – were not allowed to enter Canaan. It was their rebellion against God, which resulted from a lack of faith, that caused the LORD'S anger and wrath against them. (v.34) This passage includes some of Moses’ exhortation to the people at that time that was not recorded in Numbers 14. (v.29-31) He had reminded them of God’s power and providence that was displayed in His delivering them out of Egypt and caring for them in the wilderness. God had treated Israel “…as a man doth bare bear his son…” (v.31), who went before Israel each day as a cloud and each night as a pillar of fire to guide them. (v.33) Yet the people refused to have faith and trust in God when it counted the most, and He punished them accordingly. (v.35)
         Nor does Moses excuse his own sin of disobedience. (v.37) He acknowledges his weakness that cost him the promised land as well, and then highlights the obedience of Caleb and Joshua. (v.36, 38) He closes this section with a review of Israel’s second act of disobedience in going against the Amorites after God had instructed them to turn back towards the wilderness. (v.41-44) Though the people were sorry for their sin “…and wept before the LORD…”, He “…would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you.” (v.45)
 
       One of the reasons for highlighting the disobedience of the first generation is to emphasize the importance for the second generation of obeying the word of the LORD, no matter how impossible His direction or purpose may seem to them. Moses is exhorting the people to not make the same mistake as their fathers. The promised land is theirs to possess, a verb that occurs 52 times in Deuteronomy. But the only way to have victory over their enemies is to first have faith in God and to obey Him always!

CHAPTER 2:
        Verses 1-8: Moses continues his historical narrative, recalling the Israelites’ encounter with the Edomites. Following the account of Israel’s disobedience in the previous chapter, Moses now highlights their obedience in heeding God’s commands regarding Edom and Moab. God had instructed Israel not to provoke Edom, but to pass around their territory, compensating them for any food or water that Israel might consume as they journeyed near their coast. (v.5-6) Just as He had promised the land of Canaan to Israel, God had promised to Esau the land currently occupied by his descendants (v.5), which also included Mount Seir. (Genesis 36:6-8, Joshua 24:4) That peak that Israel had been circling for some time was in the range on the border of Edom, south of the Dead Sea.
         The reason the Israelites would not need any provisions from the Edomites was because God was with them. He provided all that they needed. (v.7) (Deuteronomy 8:2, Matthew 6:8, 32) God had also put the fear of Israel into the Edomites (v.4) so that they also did not provoke the descendants of Jacob. He even referred to Esau’s descendants as “…your brethren…” (v.4), reminding Israel of their common ancestry with the Edomites. (Deuteronomy 23:7)
 
        Verses 9-25: This section highlights Israel’s encounter with Moab and Ammon. As He had done with Esau, the LORD had also given the descendants of Lot a portion of land to claim as their own, and Israel was not to fight either the Moabites or the Ammonites. (v.9, 19) (Genesis 19:36-38) He specifically mentions the city of Ar as part of Moab’s promised land. (v.9, 18) (Numbers 21:15, 28) Verses 10-12 and 20-23 are parenthetical insertions explaining some of the history of Edom, Moab, and Ammon. The reference to the Emims in verses 10-11 and the Zazummims in verse 20-21 are the same peoples that are referenced in Genesis 14:5-6. These were the original inhabitants of the land that is currently occupied by the Edomites, Ammonites, and Moabites at the time of Israel’s wanderings in the wilderness. Moses states that both the Emims and Zazummims were as great in stature and might as the Anakim, the current inhabitants of Canaan. (v.10-11, 21) (Numbers 13:22, 33, Deuteronomy 9:2) The fact that God had also given victory to the Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites when they all conquered this land that had once belonged to the ancestors of the Anakim (v.22) should have been another boost to Israel’s faith in God to give them the victory over that same people in Canaan! And perhaps that is why Moses inserts this brief history in this passage.
        Verse 12 speaks of the Horims, the ancient people that had once inhabited the land now occupied by the Edomites. These, too, had been conquered by King Chedorlaomer at the same time that he conquered the Emims. (Genesis 14:6)
           
          Verses 26-37: Moses recalls the conquest of Heshbon. God had hardened King Sihon’s heart, just as He did with Pharaoh, in order to bring victory to the Israelites and glorify His name. (v.30) (Numbers 21:23)
 
          The sovereignty of God is emphasized in this chapter. Just as He is doing with Israel at the time that Moses is writing this, God had worked directly in the lives and hearts of the of the people of Edom, Moab, and Ammon to give them the victory over their enemies. The LORD had made promises to the descendants of Esau and Lot, just as He had with Abraham, and He directed Moses and the children of Israel in their encounters with the Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites so that His word would be fulfilled. At the same time, however, He also gave victory to the Israelites, delivering the heathen people into their hands, in order to bring about His divine judgment upon the wicked for their sin. (v.33) (Exodus 23:31, Deuteronomy 7:2)

CHAPTER 3:
          Verses 1-11: Moses reviews the conquest of Bashan. (Numbers 21:33-35) Verse 11 gives more detail about King Og than what was previously recorded in Numbers 21. He was the last descendant of the giants from the days of Abraham, a.k.a. the Rephaim, whom Moses referred to in the previous chapter. (Deuteronomy 2:10-11) (The word “giant” that is used in both that passage and this one is translated from the Hebrew word “râphâ’”, which means “giant”.) The word “bedstead” refers to either his bed, or possibly his sarcophagus, which was made of iron and was 13 ½ feet long and 6 feet wide! Not even Goliath of Gath would grow anywhere near that height (1 Samuel 17:4), which suggests that the Anakim currently occupying the promised land at the time Moses is writing this are not of the same stature as the ancestors of Og. He and his fathers were giants indeed! If God could give victory to Israel over a man as formidable as Og and all his armies, how much more victorious could His chosen people be over the Anakim of Canaan who were probably only about half that height???
          Moses describes once again the fortified cities of Bashan, and how the men of Israel utterly destroyed them, taking all their livestock and other spoils for themselves. (v.5-7) Verse 6 mentions that all the men, women, and children of Bashan were slain, unlike the later battle with the Midianites (Numbers 31) where only the female virgins were kept alive and given to the men of Israel as wives. (Refer back to my commentary on Numbers 31 for a discussion of God’s righteous judgment against the wicked and the morality of killing women and children.)
 
            Verses 12-20: Moses recounts the division of land of the Transjordan among the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh. (v.12-17) (Numbers 32) He also reminds them now of their agreement to go fight with their brethren “…until they also possess the land which the LORD your God hath given them beyond Jordan…”. (v.18-20) Only when all of the promised land is conquered will there be true rest for the children of Israel. (v.20) (Deuteronomy 12:9-10, Joshua 21:44, 22:4, Hebrews 4:9)
 
          Verses 21-29: Moses ends this passage with a review of the ordination of Joshua as the next leader of Israel. (v.21-22) (Numbers 27:22-23, Joshua 11:23) Moses’ exhortation to Joshua in these two verses was not recorded in Numbers 27 because it wasn’t relevant to that specific passage. But Moses now includes it here because his words to Joshua echo the theme of Deuteronomy, especially these first three chapters. Moses reminds Joshua – and the people – that the same victory which the LORD had given them over Sihon and Og would also be done for all the kings of the heathen peoples that currently inhabit the promised land. (v.21) He tells Israel not to fear them, “…for the LORD your God He shall fight for you.” (v.22) (Exodus 14:14, Deuteronomy 1:30, 20:4, Nehemiah 4:20)
       Something else that is not recorded in Numbers 27 is Moses’ request of God to show him mercy and allow him to enter the promised land. (v.24-25) Moses appeals to God greatness and power, and the question in verse 24 is rhetorical. (Deuteronomy 5:24, 11:2) Moses is not stating a belief in other gods, but is rather affirming the truth of God’s singular deity and absolute sovereignty. (Exodus 8:10, 15:11, 2 Samuel 7:22, Psalm 71:19, 86:8) But God’s decision regarding Moses’ disobedience at Meribah in Kadesh is final. “But the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me…” (v.26) (Numbers 20:12, 27:14, Deuteronomy 1:37, 31:2, 32:51-52, 34:4) He tells Moses to “…speak no more unto me of this matter.”
        He then instructs Moses to go to the top of Mount Pigsah where he will be able to look over into the promised land. (v.27) (Numbers 27:12) Abarim and Pigsah are both within the same mountain range. This was, incidentally, the same site where Baalam met with King Balak. (Numbers 23:14) God then commands Moses to command, encourage, and strengthen Joshua, “…for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see.” (v.28) (Numbers 27:18, 23, Deuteronomy 31:3, 7-8, 23)
       The mention of Beth-peor in the final verse brings to mind the rebellion and disobedience of Israel that was caused by Balaam when he encouraged the daughters of Midian to seduce the men of Israel. (Numbers 25) This is also a site close to the location where Moses is buried after his death. (Deuteronomy 34:6)