Road to Revelation: Deuteronomy

Remember in Numbers how Moses disobeyed the Lord and was forbidden from entering the Promised Land?  This great man of faith has now reached the end of this life and his last act is to write a love letter/last will and testament to the people he was given charge of.

The first chapter of Moses' letter remind the people of the events which led up to their wanderings in the desert; that is the sending of the spies into the land, their unbelief (bar two) and the appointing of Joshua to lead the people into the land when their time of exile is over.

 Chapters 2-3 remind the people of their wanderings and the battles they fought.  Moses outlined for them again the divisions of the land they have been given but that he will not be joining them.

Moses was so sure of God's promise to give the Israelites the land that he spent the rest of his letter going over key aspects of God's laws and their obligations to each other and to Him.  How they were to act in the land, what exactly they would receive and the expectation that they will stuff the whole thing up!! but that through it all God would remain true to Himself and His people.

Chapter 8 in particular highlighted for the people all the things God had done for them so far; giving them freedom from Egypt, caring for them in the wilderness for 40 years, protecting them from their enemies, giving them a land of abundance.  His blessings come with but one caveat:  Stay faithful to the Lord!  Do not turn to idols!  It all seems so easy...

The famous chapter in Deuteronomy is number 28; the blessings and curses.  To summerise: if the people remain faithful to the Lord they will receive abundant harvests, safety from enemies - basically heaven on earth.  BUT  should they turn to idols then the Lord will curse the land, allow their enemies to conquer them and ultimately cast them out of the land again - basically their worst nightmares.  Sadly *plot spoiler* the people do turn to idols and everything Moses prophesied comes to pass.  They were warned.

But there is hope!  Moses knew that the Lord is a merciful and gracious God and also prophesied that in their exile God would not forget them but would restore the scattered Israelites back to the land again but more importantly he would restore their faith in the Lord.  Key Verse: ch 30:6 "The Lord you God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.

With that Moses handed over the care of the people to Joshua, prayed and epic prayer for them and died.

Takeaway:  Moses never did make it to that land across the Jordan but you can bet your bottom dollar that Moses made it to that new and perfect eternal land which he could not see with his eyes but only by faith.  "All these people [Moses included] were still living by faith when they died.  They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance...they were longing for a better country - a heavenly one.  Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:13-16