Exodus through Deuteronomy
Ex 1:1-7 A transition from the death of Joseph. The text doesn’t explicitly credit God with the abundant increase in the descendants of Jacob/Israel, but past generations would have understood it that way, and I think not without warrant. It shows the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham.
Ex 1:8-14 Explains how and why the Israelites were enslaved. A regime arises that doesn’t recognize the value of Joseph and his legacy. Fearing what he understands as a majority, the Pharaoh seeks to consolidate his power by enslaving the Israelites. Many have assumed the mention of Raamses means that Raamses was that Pharaoh. I’ve discussed previously the improbability of that. As with many place names, the writers used the names that were current with their readers (such as Luz and Bethel, names for the same place). Were all of the Israelites slaving in brick making? I doubt it. I think there is evidence in the Exodus that some were household servants or had other occupations, even if not a majority.
Exodus 1:15-22 Not satisfied that hard work was killing off the Israelites sufficiently, Pharaoh orders the infanticide of males. The midwives “feared” God, that is, they considered God’s opinion of themselves more important than unjust laws made by an authoritarian government. Whether they prevaricated to the Pharaoh, or made sure they arrived a bit late on the birthing scene, doesn’t matter as much to the story. I think it is an example of an exception to the rule that God recognizes, such as the difference between killing and murder: God makes a law against killing, but He makes exception for the death penalty and righteous warfare/self-defense. Lying under duress is not the same as being a con. So God not only overlooks their supposed deception, He prospers them/their families/descendants.
But what was God up to? Had He forgotten or abandoned the posterity of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with whom He had covenanted?
Ex 2
Moses is born to Levite parents. I have previously discussed the story. At the end Exodus 2 is the mention that God heard the cries/prayers/pleadings of the Israelites for deliverance. The text sounds like this brought Him out of His state of forgetfulness and showed preference to them. No doubt this would be a human way of seeing things, or expressing them. But I’ll leave it at that. We are looking for what the Old Testament teaches us about God’s nature.
Ex 3-4: the Burning Bush story, and on the way back to Egypt
1. The text says it was the angel of the Lord, not God Himself that appeared in the middle of the burning bush. It doesn’t say God looks like a burning bush. But then the angel speaks in first person, saying, “’I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.” It seems apparent that in this case angel doesn’t mean merely messenger. A clue from Acts 12:13-15 may be that in this case the angel is the Spirit of God.
2. Why has God waited so long to bring the Israelites out of Egypt? Both Jacob/Israel and Joseph were sure He would do so at some point. The population increase may be at least a part of the explanation. They needed enough people to hold their own against those who would “have it out” for them. In Deut 9:5 Moses explains that the inhabitants of Canaan would be driven out by God because they were so wicked. Moses over and over again preached against the Israelites taking up the religious practices of the Canaanites. It seems that God had given them all the chance to change that was Just.
3. Moses argues with God. He had thought the Israelites would realize he was in a position to help them, and they slapped him in the face. “Who am I?” he reflects the retort of the Israelite with whom he had intervened in a quarrel. God reassures Moses that He’ll be with him. But Moses still doesn’t see how he can convince the Israelites that God has sent him, Moses was brought up in the Pharaoh’s court, not in a good, practicing Israelite home. He’s not even sure what to call God.
4. God knows Pharaoh won’t agree to let the Israelites go, they are too valuable to the economy, political strength, and prestige of Egypt (in terms of dominion). Does that mean God is to blame for Pharaoh’s choices? God allowed Pharaoh to behave as he did, but that is not the same as forcing him to do it. We recognize that when we consider human knowledge and choice, and surely we can allow God the same. God knew the thoughts and intents of the man, but He didn’t “make him do it”.
5. God doesn’t send Moses with no back-up to the Pharaoh, He tells him to take the elders of Israel along with him. But He also says He Himself will be a back-up, and promises powerful miracles to make the mission a success.
6. Moses still doubts that the elders of Israel will believe that God appeared to him. Why would God appear to Moses, raised in Pharaoh’s court, rather than a faithful Israelite family—one of their number. Moses was an outsider. So God gives Moses a couple miraculous signs that God is behind him. Then Moses says he’s not eloquent . . . he speaks Hebrew rather ill, considering his education at court. God says, Look, I can give you the words. But Moses is still dragging his feet. God gets a little angry at Moses’ lack of faith. But He promises Moses’ brother Aaron as his spokesman. And in fact, Aaron is coming to meet Moses. It’s obvious the brothers have kept up some sort of relationship, certainly knew each other. Whether Aaron would come to visit from time to time (and he knew where Moses was). Verse 27 says God sent Aaron to seek Moses (by whatever communication). This would also bolster Moses’ courage. He wasn’t just having a hallucinogenic episode.
7. Moses gets the blessing of his father-in-law to leave (culturally essential, otherwise a feud might start; compare Jacob’s experience with his father-in-law Laban). He takes his wife and kids. God reminds him not to forget the little miracles he’s to show, but then affirms that Pharaoh is not going to let the Israelites go “just like that.”
8. The text says God will harden Pharaoh’s heart. See
a. https://biblehub.com/exodus/4-21.htm
b. https://biblehub.com/interlinear/exodus/4-21.htm
c. https://biblehub.com/lexicon/exodus/4-21.htm
Surely then, Pharaoh could not be held responsible for his behavior? If God doesn’t soften a person’s heart, is that the same as hardening it? Is it merely an ancient way of understanding or expressing things? It’s kind of left to the reader to reconcile his own understanding of God with the text. In the overall context of God’s character in the Old Testament, and some kind of understanding of the thinking patterns of the ancients as revealed by their writings, I feel sure that God allowed Pharaoh to follow his own penchant to power so that the contemporary Israelites and future generations would only ascribe the Exodus to God’s miraculous intervention. I’m not particularly worried that those who are intent on trying to disprove God’s existence, power, or righteousness may disagree. But I do worry that they have more influence on the less informed or wavering than they ought by reason of their own fallible reasoning.
9. At a resting place on the way Moses becomes dangerously ill, and about to die, attributes it to God’s displeasure that his sons have not been circumcised, as would be expected by the Israelites to whom Moses must appeal. That, I think, would be the historical/cultural explanation of the text. The text itself says that God was actually angry and attempting to kill Moses. If God really wanted to kill Moses, He would succeed. But He was getting Moses’ attention in a serious way about a serious issue. Maybe He had used more subtle means and Moses wasn’t listening--we don’t know but literally, “God knows”. That Moses’ wife was a cause of his hesitation to do the deed is clear in her behavior.
The story continues:
Despite God’s preparatory warnings that Pharaoh wasn’t going to make the Exodus easy, and that it would prove that God was the one that accomplished it, the Israelites lose heart and turn against Moses. Moses himself loses heart. But God keeps reassuring him that it’s going to happen, and keeps sending him back to Pharaoh. God sends sends a series of 10 plagues, til the Egyptians beg Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, and then even Pharaoh (at the death of his own son) relents. But not for long. After the Israelites don’t return in 3 days (as no doubt the Pharaoh figured they wouldn’t, so wouldn’t give permission for them to be off for 3 days), Pharaoh brings his army after the Israelites.
Meanwhile, God sets up the Passover as a way to keep the memory alive, that God had brought the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt. And it has for thousands of years—the oldest religious holiday still kept, as I understand. This story has inspired pilgrims to what would become the US, the slaves of color in the US, the Mormon pioneers, and probably others seeking freedom from tyranny. Likewise, the obligation of the firstborn to be considered God’s due, was to remind the people of the event.
God sets a cloudy pillar by day, and a fiery pillar by night between the Israelites and the Egyptian army. But how long can that hold them off, or how long can they survive in this position? God causes another miracle in the crossing of the sea on dry ground. But He requires Moses to use his staff to initiate it, because the courage of the Israelites was flailing, and they needed a visual sign, to get moving. Even the Egyptians will acknowledge that God got the Israelites out of Egypt, not their own incompetence. Yet the Egyptians still would not be engraving it in stone for all generations to see.
Despite all the miracles that occurred along the way, the Israelites continually doubted Moses’ leadership, and God. It took 40 years to train a new generation to: 1. Live the law of Moses (the Law of God), and 2. Stop looking back to life in Egypt, like Lot’s wife looked back at Sodom.
Ex 17:7 Does God hold grudges? “. . . the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.” See also Ex 20:5, Ex 34:7, Num 14:17, Deut 5:9. These verses all say essentially, “You shall not bow down to them [other gods] or serve them. For I Yhwh your God am an impassioned God, visiting the guilt of the parents upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generations of those who reject Me.” Yet Deut 24:16 says, “Parents shall not be put to death for children, nor children be put to death for parents: a person shall be put to death only for his own crime,” and Ezek 18 discusses the sour grapes issue of children suffering for their parents’ choices, v 4 “Know that all lives are mine; the life of the parent as well as the life of the child is mine: it is only the person who sins that shall die.”
We know that children, grandchildren, descendants do in fact sometimes suffer from an individual’s poor decisions/choices. It’s a natural consequence. For instance, an alcoholic’s choices affect children and grandchildren, maybe great grandchildren, emotionally as well as sometimes physically. Similarly, an abusive homelife may be repeated generation after generation. But as Ezekiel poses, it may be that one generation breaks the cycle/the chain, and that generation is not held responsible for the others. We will see among the Kings of Judah how both the sins of one king/consort are passed down, and how another king doesn’t follow the example of his father/ancestors and is blessed by God. See Ex 32 below. See also the discussion at https://www.thetorah.com/article/punishing-children-for-the-sins-of-their-parents
Ex 18 tells about when Moses’ father-in-law visits. Not just the Israelites and the Egyptians know the story of the Exodus and Who made it possible, other people have heard as well. Jethro says, “Blessed be the LORD, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.”
Ex 19
God offers a covenant with the Israelites beside what they inherited from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. “Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.”
God also sets aside holy places that are limited to specific people. Later the Tabernacle, and the Temple become these places. Those who are invited to holy experiences must prepare themselves.
Ex 20, and so forth
God has standards of behavior for Justice and Mercy. He expects obedience. He sets consequences. He requires us to teach our children.
God does at times engage in pyrotechnics to inspire awe. But as in the life of Elijah, for those prepared to listen, that’s not necessarily His favorite means of communication. See 1 Kings 19:9-12, “And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.”
Ex 23:20-32 God promises to go before the Israelites to help drive the inhabitants out of the Promised Land, but also tells them they need to be involved as well. It won’t happen all at once, but a little at a time, judiciously. He promises them prosperity.
Ex 25, etc.
God asks for willing donations for the Tabernacle, and gives instructions about how it is to be built, furnished, and adorned. He gives instructions for religious observances and the Priesthood/priestly class, even to what they wear in their duties, provision for their living/pay, etc.
Ex 29:43-45 “And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory . . . And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.”
Ex 31 God expects His people to keep the Sabbath Holy.
“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.”
We don’t put people to death for not keeping the Sabbath anymore, nor do most Christians (and many Jews) obey the Mosaic dietary laws. But God’s constant affirmation throughout Exodus-Deuteronomy about the importance of keeping the Sabbath and what it means, I think should make it important to us.
Ex 31:18 God thought the commandments important enough to be written, to be remembered, and that correctly.
Ex 32 the Golden Calf incident
God is really hot under the collar about the Golden Calf party. He offers to destroy the whole lot of them and start over with Moses. Moses pleads for them, even though he was angry enough to smash the tablets God had engraved with the Law. Moses argues that destroying the Israelites will give God a bad rap/rep. The text says that God repented of His intentions to destroy them. The term may also be rendered “relented”. Scroll down at https://biblehub.com/exodus/32-14.htm
Moses says that God wants those who are on His side to go through and kill people left and right. Interestingly, God doesn’t require Aaron to be killed. Apparently God saw Aaron’s situation in mitigating circumstances. But this is one of the situations that would cause moderns to consider the God of the Old Testament to be harsh. God was more serious than boot camp in training the Children of Israel to live a different life than they had known. It’s not the way we do things now, and I wouldn’t like to return to those times and means. Yet I still recognize that death is not the worst that can happen to a person, and parenting done by wicked people is not going to bring about good, in most cases. Thus those that are old enough to have been infected with such horrible behavior and attitudes are a danger to the next generations.
Then Moses goes back up to again intercede for the Israelites. He is willing to take the punishment on himself, to be blotted out of God’s book. “And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.”
God sends a plague, the scripture says, to reinforce the wickedness of worshipping the Golden Calf.
Ex 33
God tells the Children of Israel to take off their jewelry, obviously having to do with worship of other gods. The people do so, and feel sorry for their behavior. The Tabernacle is moved out of the camp, but everyone can see the cloudy pillar when Moses is communing with God. “And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.” Everybody “worships” from his tent door. Probably offers prayer, perhaps singing, thanks, praise, signs of devotion, humility, recognition of God’s place, position, authority.
12 And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.
13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.
14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
15 And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.
16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
17 And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.
18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.
19 And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.
20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
21 And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:
22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:
23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.
A couple points to highlight: God knows Moses by name, no matter how many millions of people there are. Moses asks for direction. God promises Moses His presence and personal peace [in carrying out his calling, I suppose]. Moses says, I can’t do it without your help. Moses asks to see God, but God says no one can see His face and live. Moses can only see his back from a protected position. It might go without saying from this that God must have a face, and back parts at very least. How does this reconcile with Moses speaking to God face to face? That’s a good one to ponder & ask God about.
Ex 34
God isn’t angry at Moses for breaking the first set of tablets, just tells him to make a couple new ones and He’ll engrave them again. It seems like it would be just as easy for God to hew the new tablets, but He assigns that part of the work to Moses. God could do everything for Himself, but He chooses to let us be involved.
God calls Moses back up to the mount, with the injunction to keep all others, including animals away.
5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.
6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.
9 And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance.
10 And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee.
This is what God says about Himself:
Merciful
Gracious
Longsuffering
Abundant in goodness and truth
Forgiving
Just
Visiting the inquity of the fathers on their posterity (discussed above)
Makes covenants/promises
Does miracles
Does “terrible” things? Just as the word “awesome” has changed over time, “terrible” might be rendered “awesome”, see https://biblehub.com/exodus/34-10.htm
Verse 14 says, “thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God”. Is God jealous? In modern terms that sounds flawed. The Good News Translation says “tolerate no rivals.” Looking at the entymology of the English word “jealous”, early 13c. biblical language would be “tolerating no unfaithfulness.” See https://www.etymonline.com/word/jealous
God tells the people that 3 times a year the male children are to appear before Him, and He will bless them to enlarge their borders, and that while the young men are appearing before Him, other nations won’t attack.
Interestingly, everybody notices that Moses’ face shines after speaking with God, so he wears a face covering when he’s among them.
Ex 35
Donations of goods and skills are collected for the Tabernacle from those who wish to give. The talents/skills of certain men are described as being filled with the spirit of God, “in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work. And he hath put in his heart that he may teach . . . Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work.” This is what makes me think that at least some of the Israelites had trades in Egypt. Doubtless they were made to work for the greater glory of Egyptians, but they weren’t all slogging through brickmaking. According to the text, though, their talents/skills were from God.
Ex 36-39: construction of the Tabernacle and the priestly clothes
Donations continue until they have more than enough (could all this amount of gold etc. still be from before they left Egypt? Or were they doing some trading whilst camped in the desert?
In previous chapters are mention of the Tabernacle, so either these are out of chronological order, or they had a preliminary structure that now they improved upon. I suspect the latter.
Ex 40—the Tabernacle is set up, a cloud rests on it by day, and fire by night. The camp only moves when the daytime cloud doesn’t show up. Such is called “the glory of the Lord.”
Leviticus covers the commandments and instructions to the Levites/the priesthood. I don’t know that it reveals any more about God than we have discussed above. It does indicate that He wants things done right, counts on the Levites to be educated in their duties and the Law. They served in healthcare, the court system, as well as religious duties.
Numbers
In chapter 1 God tells Moses to take a census of the people. Chapter 2 God gives organization to the camp. Following chapters recount various commandments and instructions, and the places they camped.
Numbers 11--recounts stories of the people complaining, and Moses’ discouragement (asking God why He put all this on him, it’s too heavy a burden! So God says to call 70 elders to help with leading the people). God was angry with the people for their ingratitude. “ We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. 6But now our appetite is gone; there is nothing to see but this manna!” So God says He’ll feed them meat for a month until they are sick of it. “But Moses replied, ‘Here I am among 600,000 men on foot, yet You say, ‘I will give them meat, and they will eat for a month.’ If all our flocks and herds were slaughtered for them, would they have enough? Or if all the fish in the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?’” God says, Don’t you think I can handle it? God sends the miracle of the quail, and perhaps not surprisingly, a plague (either the people were not used to digesting quail meat, or with so many, there might have been spoilage. This is not to denigrate what God does, but I think He does things naturally.)
In the meanwhile, the 70 elders prophesy, and after they quit a couple others continue. Somebody ran to tell Moses, who said he wished everyone could do so.
Numbers 12--gives the account of Aaron & Miriam, Moses’ siblings, criticizing Moses. God makes it clear to them that is not acceptable. He shows that He backs up Moses.
Numbers 13-14: each tribe sends a man for a team of spies to check out the land of Canaan. All are impressed with the place, but 10 of the 12 are afraid of the inhabitants and discourage the Israelites from trying to conquer it. So God tells them they’ll wander for 40 years. The people change their mind, but it’s too late, and they are roundly beaten in battle.
Numbers 15: various commandments/instructions.
Numbers 16: Korah (from Moses’ own tribe of Levi) and 250 leaders incite rebellion. God causes an earthquake that swallows Korah & others, and a fire consumes the rest. Next day another group are grumbling about what happened, and God sends a plague to consume them.
Numbers 17: a man from each tribe brings a staff, and Aaron has a staff. Only his buds, in fact it blooms and produces almonds, as a proof that God approves the Levites as priests.
Numbers 18-19 more instructions/commandments.
Numbers 20—when the people have no water, God tells Moses that he and Aaron are to speak to the rock and water will pour forth. Moses has all the people come together, ends up whacking the rock twice, whereupon water gushes out. But God tells him that because he didn’t trust God (whacked the rock instead of just speaking), he won’t be the one to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. God expects us to trust Him.
Numbers 21—God gives the Israelites victories. The people complain about their food and water situation again, and God sends venomous serpents. When the people confess their wrong-headedness, God has Moses create an image of a serpent on a pole, and those who have enough faith to look at it will live.
Numbers 22-24: the story of Balak & Balaam: Balak calls on Balaam to curse the Israelites. Although he refuses, he seems to have hoped for something that would garner him a reward. God sends an angel to stop him along the way, which he doesn’t see but his donkey does, and she refuses to go on. Balaam beats her for it, and God either causes the donkey to speak, or Balaam to hear as if she spoke, and Balaam gets the message. God at times does the extraordinary to catch our attention.
Numbers 25—the Israelite men are seduced at Peor, which angers God. He sends a plague in which 24,000 die. The plague is stopped when Phineas the priest spears a man who has openly brought a woman back to his tent. The women were religious prostitutes Israel’s adversaries hoped to ensnare them with. God sends the Israelites against the Midianites for the matter. He deals in retribution and deterrents, as well as rewards.
Numbers 26—God calls for another census. The Land of Promise is to be divided by lot, according to the population. Only Caleb and Joshua, the spies who didn’t bring a bad report of Canaan, have survived of their generation, as God had promised.
Numbers 27—God names Joshua to succeed Moses. God tells Moses to have Joshua ordained before the whole congregation by the priest Eleazar, so that his succession is public and authoritative. Eleazar is to seek God’s counsel for Joshua through the Urim (oracle). Note that Joshua has been Moses’ helper all these years, so has been groomed for the job.
Numbers 28-30: various instructions/commandments.
Numbers 31—God sends the Israelites against the Midianites. 5 kings as well as Balaam are killed. The men, and the women old enough to have had sex are killed. The spoils are divided, including offerings for the Lord/priesthood.
Numbers 32—the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh negotiate for the lands of the conquered on the east side of the Jordan River, agreeing to help with the conquest of the west side.
Numbers 33—outline of the journeys of the Israelites over the 40 years. God reminds them that they must drive out the Canaanites and destroy their religious symbols and places. If they don’t, God will treat them as He treated the Canaanites. The land is to be divided by lot according to population of each tribe.
Numbers 34—God gives the boundaries of Israelite inheritance, names the leaders of the tribes.
Numbers 35—God sets out the cities for the Levites and the cities of refuge (where people can flee if they have killed someone unintentionally: not murdered.
Numbers 36—God makes provision for the inheritance of each tribe not to be diminished if there are no male heirs.
Deuteronomy
These chapters are Moses’ parting addresses to the Israelites. He reviews their journeys, reiterates God’s commandments, expectations, warnings, and promises.
Deut 1:8 God tells them they’ve stayed long enough on the edge of the Promised Land, they should enter in fulfillment of the promises God made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Verse 10 affirms the fulfillment of the promise God made to Abraham that his posterity would be as numerous as the stars in heaven.
Deut 3:23-28: On the verge of entering the Promised Land, Moses asks God to let him go there. But God tells him no. He can get up on the top of Mt. Pisgah and see it from there, but Joshua is to lead the people in. “But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see.” Even a man as great as Moses has to accept being told “No” by God sometimes. To us it makes sense that it would be the time and place to hand over the reigns to a younger man, for a new generation. But sometimes it’s hard for us to accept the sensible thing.
Deut 6:4-9 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” Can we pretend to love God and not live by His commandments? Can we live them unless we remember them? Can our children live them unless we have taught them? If love is not enough motivation, at least if we want the promised blessings (and avoid the promised pains), surely we must live by every word that cometh from the mouth of God. Deut 20-24 we must teach our children the history of God’s intercessions for us.
Deut 7:12-24 lists the promises God gives the Israelites.
Deut 10—in telling what God wants of us, He tells us what He values, thus His character
12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
13 To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?
14 Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD'S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is. [God has everything, and yet He cares about us.]
15 Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.
16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
17 For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons [is not swayed by money or position], nor taketh reward [bribe]:
18 He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.
19 Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
20 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.
21 He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible [amazing] things, which thine eyes have seen.
22 Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude. [in fulfillment of the promises He made to Abraham]
Deut 11—blessings and cursings (consequences of your choices), tell us about God
8 You shall therefore keep every commandment I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and possess the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess,
9 and so that you may live long in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.
10 For the land that you are entering to possess is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated on foot, like a vegetable garden.
11 But the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks in the rain from heaven.
12 It is a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning to the end of the year.
13 So if you carefully obey the commandments I am giving you today, to love the LORD your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul,
14 then I will provide rain for your land in season, the autumn and spring rains, that you may gather your grain, new wine, and oil.
15 And I will provide grass in the fields for your livestock, and you will eat and be satisfied.
16 But be careful that you are not enticed to turn aside to worship and bow down to other gods,
17 or the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you. He will shut the heavens so that there will be no rain, nor will the land yield its produce, and you will soon perish from the good land that the LORD is giving you.
18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
19 Teach them to your children, speaking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
20 Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates,
21 so that as long as the heavens are above the earth, your days and those of your children may be multiplied in the land that the LORD swore to give your fathers.
22 For if you carefully keep all these commandments I am giving you to follow—to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him—
23 then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and stronger than you.
24 Every place where the sole of your foot treads will be yours. Your territory will extend from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the Western Sea.
25 No man will be able to stand against you; the LORD your God will put the fear and dread of you upon all the land, wherever you set foot, as He has promised you.
Deut 15:10-11 “Give generously to him [the poor], and do not let your heart be grieved when you do so. And because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything to which you put your hand. For there will never cease to be poor in the land; that is why I am commanding you to open wide your hand to your brother and to the poor and needy in your land.”
Why wouldn’t God just take care of everyone so that there were never be any poor? I think He is trying to develop within us the caring for others. Caring for others can bring a joy to ourselves that can never be got any other way. There are other joys, but giving joyously is joyous.
Deut 16:18-20 “You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment. Do not deny justice or show partiality. Do not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. Pursue justice, and justice alone, so that you may live, and you may possess the land that the LORD your God is giving you.” Corruption is the downfall of nations. God is a lover of Justice.
Deut 17: 18-20 “When [the king who is to be appointed by God] is seated on his royal throne, he must write for himself a copy of this instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by carefully observing all the words of this instruction and these statutes. Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, and he will not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or to the left, in order that he and his sons may reign many years over his kingdom in Israel.” This would be a king after God’s own heart, and ours.
Deut 18:17-19 “Then the LORD said to me . . . I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My wrds in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. And I will hold accountable anyone who does not listen to My words that the prophet speaks in My name.”
God sends leaders inspired by Him, and expects us to listen to them.
Deut 22:5 “A woman must not wear men’s clothing, and a man must not wear women’s clothing, for whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD your God.”
Deut 23: 15-16 is interesting in an historical context (US history), “Do not return a slave to his master if he has taken refuge with you. Let him live among you wherever he chooses, in the town of his pleasing. Do not oppress him.”
Deut 23:21-23 “If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to keep it, because He will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty of sin. Be careful to follow through on what comes from your lips, because you have freely vowed to the LORD your God with your own mouth.” God wants us to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.
Deut 25:1 “If there is a dispute between men, they are to go to court to be judged, so that the innocent may be acquitted and the guilty condemned.”
Deut 26:17-19 “Today you have proclaimed that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in His ways, keep His statutes and commandments and ordinances, and listen to His voice. And today the LORD has proclaimed that you are His people and treasured possession as He promised, that you are to keep all His commandments, that He will set you high in praise and name and honor above all the nations He has made, and that you will be a holy people to the LORD your God, as He has promised.”
Deut 28—blessings and cursings, promised consequences—to the nation and to the people.
Deut 29—the Covenant of God with the people
Deut 30—God’s promises teach us something about Him
5 And the LORD your God will bring you into the land your fathers possessed, and you will take possession of it. He will cause you to prosper and multiply more than your fathers.
6 The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.
7 Then the LORD your God will put all these curses upon your enemies who hate you and persecute you.
8 And you will again obey the voice of the LORD and follow all His commandments I am giving you today.
9 So the LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land. Indeed, the LORD will again delight in your goodness, as He delighted in that of your fathers,
10 if you obey the LORD your God by keeping His commandments and statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
11 For this commandment I give you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.
12 It is not in heaven, that you should need to ask, ‘Who will ascend into heavend to get it for us and proclaim it, that we may obey it?’
13 And it is not beyond the sea, that you should need to ask, ‘Who will cross the seae to get it for us and proclaim it, that we may obey it?’
14 But the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,f so that you may obey it.
15 See, I have set before you today life and goodness, as well as death and disaster.
16 For I am commanding you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live and increase, and the LORD your God may bless you in the land that you are entering to possess.
17 But if your heart turns away and you do not listen, but are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them,
18 I declare to you today that you will surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.
19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, so that you and your descendants may live,
20 and that you may love the LORD your God, obey Him, and hold fast to Him. For He is your life, and He will prolong your life in the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Deut 31—God, through His prophet Moses en-courages the Children of Israel, and Joshua in particular
7 Then Moses called for Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you will go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance.
8 The LORD Himself goes before you; He will be with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”
16 And the LORD said to Moses, “You will soon rest with your fathers, and these people will rise up and prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land they are entering. They will forsake Me and break the covenant I have made with them.
17 On that day My anger will burn against them, and I will abandon them and hide My face from them, so that they will be consumed, and many troubles and afflictions will befall them. On that day they will say, ‘Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is no longer with us?’
18 And on that day I will surely hide My face because of all the evil they have done by turning to other gods.
19 Now therefore, write down for yourselves this song and teach it to the Israelites; have them recite it, so that it may be a witness for Me against them.
20 When I have brought them into the land that I swore to give their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey, they will eat their fill and prosper. Then they will turn to other gods and worship them, and they will reject Me and break My covenant.
21 And when many troubles and afflictions have come upon them, this song will testify against them, because it will not be forgotten from the lips of their descendants. For I know their inclination, even before I bring them into the land that I swore to give them.”
22 So that very day Moses wrote down this song and taught it to the Israelites.
God knows human nature, that we are prone to forget. Books can help, songs can help us remember. When we choose someone/thing other than God, He leaves us without His blessing, and that’s the same as a cursing.
Deut 33—Moses blesses each of the tribes.
Deut 34
God shows Moses the Promised Land from Mt Pisgah, and there he dies. Some have questioned whether the Pentateuch was really written by Moses, because obviously he couldn’t write of his own death and memorial. Certainly that would have been addended. But I think it probable that Moses had scribes that wrote for him at least in part. He had a busy life trying to keep up with his position as head of government of the Israelite nation. That doesn’t make these 5 books any less his authoring. They didn’t have recording devices in those days. Even today we use stenographers. That he was educated in the court of Pharaoh surely there is no doubt. As to what script he used, it’s an interesting question to speculate and research. That we don’t have a contemporary copy of the books of Moses is no surprise after thousands of years. But that doesn’t mean they never existed.
9 Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites obeyed him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses.
10 Since that time, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face—
11 no prophet who did all the signs and wonders that the LORD sent Moses to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and to all his officials and all his land,
12 and no prophet who performed all the mighty acts of power and awesome deedsc that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.
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