Moses shares his heart, his personal regret, and his hope for Israel.

Deuteronomy Chapter 3: Conquest of Og; the Granting of Land; and the Transition of Leadership

The Passage and Some Thoughts

Verses 1-11 relate the story of the Israelites conquering Og. Once again it was utter destruction and killing, just as in the case of Sihon earlier. And again, the Israelites took the animals and other spoils, as well as the land. Great details are provided. Chuck Smith reminds us that enemy was made up of giants (the remnant of the Rephaim) – really big men, terrible men, giants. They first appeared in Genesis 14:5 and you can read their story here, The Rephaim. And Moses is saying, “and God delivered even them into your hands”.

Verses 12-17 describe the granting of land to two and a half tribes. The land was given to the Reubenites and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh. (This was a repeat of Numbers 32:32-38).

In verses 18-20 we have Moses reminding them how God had promised these tribes this land described above but they had to go to war with their brothers across the Jordan to gain possession of the Promised Land and only when that was all successfully accomplished, could they return to their wives and children on this side of the Jordan.

Verses 21-29 describe the transition of leadership from Moses to Joshua. In verse 22 he encourages Joshua not to fear the enemies, “for the Lord your God is the one fighting for you.” Besides Moses was saying, “Look at what He did for you at Sihon and Og (those giants you conquered).” We need that kind of advice today as we battle the Enemy of God and his agents. He is at work in the riots of America. He is at work in the shutting down of churches in China. He is at work in the persecution of Christians all over India and Africa. May we not fear these enemies.  The battle is God’s. HE is fighting for us. And while we may seem to be losing from a human perspective as our freedoms are eliminated, our churches destroyed, our pastors killed, and even our own lives being at stake – we are indeed winning, for God is fighting for us and our reward is in heaven.

Then in verses 23-26 Moses records how he pleaded with God to let him cross over Jordan to stand in the Promised Land and God would not for He was angry with Moses on account of the Israelites. But in his pleading to God, we note several things:
1. He is now seeing the greatness and strong hand of the Lord in delivering their enemies into the hands of the Isrealites. Sometimes it takes a long time for even a man like Moses to recognize how mighty God is. We lose out on so much because we, even though we are His, we fail to see His power and might as early as we may have otherwise.
2. It is God that shows that to him. Man is often blinded to God’s greatness. So, our prayer for ourselves, our loved ones, others, is that God would reveal Himself to them.
3. His recognition that no one in heaven or on earth, man or god, can do what God has done, is doing, and will do. We need to come to that understanding ourselves and then watch God and let God do what He needs to do. The earlier we get there in our thinking, the greater will be our ability to serve Him and others mightily.
4. Finally, in verse 26, Moses recognizes when God is angry with him and wants to hear no more of his pleading on the matter of being allowed to enter Canaan. We too need to recognize when God has had enough of our disobedience. We need to stop, especially if we have asked for forgiveness and He has forgiven us. Let it go. You missed out on something great, but God has more for you to do. Don’t miss out on that. We can appreciate how much this hurt Moses, and so God saying ‘No’ to us may also hurt us. But we need to believe, as Moses did, that there was a just reason for God’s response and the integrity of God’s character and being is more important than our disappointment in getting a ‘no’ answer.

In verses 27-29, we read of Moses being told to go to the top of Mount Pisgah and look in every direction, and see the Promised Land with his own eyes, though he was not allowed to cross over the Jordan to feel it under his feet. [When Moses actually gets to do this is the point where this book we are studying, Deuteronomy, will actually end.  So, hang in there.] Moses was actually told to replace himself with Joshua and to do all in his power to encourage him in crossing over the Jordan. The chapter ends with Moses saying, for now, “we remained in the valley opposite Beth-peor.”

Wrap-up

In this chapter, we see again God’s magnificent power (He defeated the greatest of enemies), His love for His people (He delivered the lands of the enemies into their hands), and His adherence to justice (He would not change His mind with respect to letting Moses enter the Promised Land).

Can we all learn those three lessons? We need to. God is almighty. God loves us. God is just and His word will be accomplished.

If there is anything that we need to convey to others it is those three characteristics of God and the fact that we can enjoy their benefits through His Son Jesus Christ. May that be so with each of us.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

How Much More Proof Do You Need? What about this 12-pound cluster of grapes? Will that do?

Numbers Chapter 13: Investigation of the Promised Land

Numbers 13:1-33

This is Day 55 of our self-isolation. Please do not confuse this 55 with either an early retirement age or the famous “freedom 55” promised by some insurance companies. It is neither. It is instead a period during which we have to sit by idling and let others, for their own purposes, dictate how then we should live, now and going forward. I, for one (although among many others) have decided to take my guidance from the Good Book as I continue to study the book of Numbers. Thank you for joining me. Today we get a glimpse of what the Promised Land looked like to the Israelites. Read on.

The Passage

13 Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, ² “Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers’ tribes, everyone a leader among them.” ³ So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran at the ^[a]command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the sons of Israel. [Verses 4 to 15 give the names of who was sent from each tribe.] ¹⁶ These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land; but Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.

¹⁷ When Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, he said to them, “Go up ^[b]there into the ^[c]Negev; then go up into the hill country. ¹⁸ See what the land is like, and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many.¹⁹ How is the land in which they live, is it good or bad? And how are the cities in which they live, are they ^[d]like open camps or with fortifications? ²⁰ How is the land, is it fat or lean? Are there trees in it or not? ^[e]Make an effort then to get some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.

²¹ So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, ^[f]at Lebo-hamath. ²² When they had gone up into the Negev, ^[g]they came to Hebron where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the ^[h]descendants of Anak were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

²³ Then they came to the ^[i]valley of ^[j]Eshcol and from there cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes; and they carried it on a pole between two men, with some of the pomegranates and the figs. ²⁴ That place was called the valley of ^[k]Eshcol, because of the cluster which the sons of Israel cut down from there.

²⁵ When they returned from spying out the land, at the end of forty days, ²⁶ they proceeded to come to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel ^[l]in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; and they brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. ²⁷ Thus they told him, and said, “We went into the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. ²⁸ Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw the ^[m]descendants of Anak there. ²⁹ Amalek is living in the land of the Negev and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites are living in the hill country, and the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan.”

³⁰ Then Caleb quieted the people ^[n]before Moses and said, “We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it.” ³¹ But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us.” ³² So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its ^[o]inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. ³³ There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

Footnotes

1. Numbers 13:3 Lit mouth
2. Numbers 13:17 Lit here
3. Numbers 13:17 I.e. South country, and so throughout the ch
4. Numbers 13:19 Lit in
5. Numbers 13:20 Lit Use your strength
6. Numbers 13:21 Or to the entrance of Hamath
7. Numbers 13:22 Lit Most mss read one came
8. Numbers 13:22 Lit children
9. Numbers 13:23 Or wadi
10. Numbers 13:23 I.e. cluster
11. Numbers 13:24 I.e. cluster
12. Numbers 13:26 Lit to
13. Numbers 13:28 Lit born ones
14. Numbers 13:30 Lit toward
15. Numbers 13:32 Or settlers

Thoughts on the Passage

We begin our study by noting once again that it was God that told Moses to send the spies out to the land that He had promised them. However, there is controversy over whether this idea originated with Moses or with the people themselves. For this we need to go forward (at least in the order of the books of our Bible) to Deuteronomy 1:20-25 where we read it was the people that were bugging Moses to send spies into the land, and Moses agreed. Does this contradict Numbers 13? I don’t think so. It is very probable that the people asked, Moses agreed it would be a good idea, and he enquired of God if and when and how. And Numbers 13 begins at that point.

Three things to note off the bat. First, God said this was “for yourself”. Clearly, God knew what the land was like, but He wanted Moses and Israel to recognize it. Second, this wasn’t to be a ‘decision-point’ for the Israelites. They weren’t being given the opportunity to say “no thanks” if they didn’t like it. This wasn’t a “kicking the tires” situation for God said, “which I am going to give to the sons of Israel”. And if God says He’s going to give you something; He’s going to do it. Third, the spies that were sent were “everyone a leader”. That’s important because, as we find out, not all leaders are equal. But you knew that. There were twelve spies and that included Hoshea, the son of Nun. Verse 16 tells us that Moses called Hoshea, Joshua.

In verses 17 to 20, we can read the instructions that Moses gave to the spies. What they were to determine was whether or not the land was as God had promised it, but also whether in the opinion of the spies, they would be able to conquer the land.

So, the spies get there after going through Hebron, which for some reason, we are specifically told was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.  Now, Zoan is believed to be where the plagues took place in Egypt before the Exodus occurred. It was where Pharaoh lived. You can read more about it here, all about Zoan.

They arrived in a valley that later became known as Eshcol which means “cluster” and named after the cluster of grapes the spies took and carried back to Moses. This was in August, when the first clusters are gathered. The second are gathered in September, and the third in October. My dad always wanted to go back home to Greece (closer to Israel than where I live) around the end of August and the beginning of September because he knew that was the best season to take advantage of many of the countries natural products. Robert Jamieson writes:

“One cluster sometimes weighs ten or twelve pounds. The mode of carrying the cluster cut down by the spies, though not necessary from its weight, was evidently adopted to preserve it entire as a specimen of the productions of the promised land; and the impression made by the sight of it would be all the greater because the Israelites were familiar only with the scanty vines and small grapes of Egypt.”

It wasn’t a quick trip. They returned to Moses after forty days and presented themselves to Moses and Aaron and the whole congregation. Of course, everyone was impressed with the fresh grapes and they got even more excited about the milk and honey that the spies had seen. But, and there’s always a but when humans view a challenge from their own perspective, the spies warned them that the inhabitants of the land were strong, and their cities were well protected and very large. Well, most of the spies said that, not all. Most said, “we can’t conquer that land”.  Except Caleb, who had something else to say.

Caleb (and it’s important that we note he was from the tribe of Judah) said, “We can do this,” and note, his next phrase, “for we surely overcome it”.  It seems he wanted to go and do it right away. He knew God had promised it. He knew it was going to happen. And he knew the Israelites had to trust God and do their part. The others objected greatly. And then they added that the men of that land were the Nephilim – they were gigantic, making he spies feel like grasshoppers before them.

Here’s what Wikipedia says about the Nephilim:

The Nephilim /ˈnɛfɪˌlɪm/ (Hebrew: נְפִילִים, nefilim) were the offspring of the "sons of God" and the "daughters of men" before the Deluge, according to Genesis 6:1–4.

A similar or identical biblical Hebrew term, read as "Nephilim" by some scholars, or as the word "fallen" by others, appears in Ezekiel 32:27.^[1][2]

When people began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that they were fair; and they took wives for themselves of all that they chose. Then the Lord said, "My spirit shall not abide in mortals forever, for they are flesh; their days shall be one hundred twenty years." The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them. These were the heroes that were of old, warriors of renown.

— Genesis 6:1–4, New Revised Standard Version

The word is loosely translated as giants in some Bibles and left untranslated in others. The "sons of God" have been interpreted as fallen angels in some traditional Jewish explanations.

According to Numbers 13:33, they later inhabited Canaan at the time of the Israelite conquest of Canaan.

So, Moses, who are you going to go with? Caleb? Or the rest of the spies? (Stay tuned.) And here’s a question for us – were the majority of the spies simply cowards? Or were they also unbelievers? Or were they both?  And if we were there, what position would we really have taken?  What position have we taken in our lives when we had challenges before us? 

David Guzik wonders how much different the report may have been if the spies felt they were going on a mission on behalf of God, rather than a mission driven by Moses, or those that had talked him into it. That’s a fair question. He goes on:

“It is hard to imagine a report more unbelieving and unfaithful to God than this; a report that recognizes the faithfulness of God's promise, the truth of His word, and yet says, ‘Despite all that …’”

Clearly, these spies, as a group, failed big time. Guzik says, “Caleb had the spirit of Romans 3:4: Let God be true but every man a liar.” Are you prepared to say that, especially these days when the world is proposing some many philosophies and ideologies that are so anti the things that God has said or ordained?

I love the way Guzik ends his comments on this chapter, especially how all the spies violently disagreed with Caleb’s account:

“Significantly, two men could see the exact same sights – the same grapes, the same men, the same land, the same cities – one can come away singing in faith, and the other is filled with a sense of certain doom. Ultimately, faith or unbelief does not spring from circumstances or environment, but from our hearts, which God must change.”

That explains a lot of our current situation – with politics, with faith, with the virus, and the list goes on. Let’s make sure our message is coming from hearts impacted by God.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.