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.

4-Step Process for Making a Plea to God on behalf of Others

Moses’ Plea to God

Exodus 34:8-9: And Moses made haste to bow low toward the earth and worship. And he said, “If now I have found favor in Thy sight, O Lord, I pray, let the Lord go along in our midst, even though the people are so obstinate; and do Thou pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Thine own possession.”

God has just finished telling Moses Who He really was, what He does, and what mankind is to do, and Moses gets it. He knows God is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, full of lovingkindness, forgives iniquity, transgression and sin, and will not leave the guilty unpunished. Given that, Moses believes it is a perfect time to make his plea directly to God.

He bowed down and worshiped God. Then he asked Him to show His mercy by “staying in their midst” regardless of how undeserving the people may have been. Moses does not want to go forward alone. He knows he needs God with him. So he asked God to exercise His “forgiving” characteristic that God Himself shared with Moses, upon these people.

If you’re a leader today – be it of your family, your business, your church, your community – then you would do well to follow Moses’ example in making your plea to God on behalf of those you lead.

1.     Know Who God is.  You do that by seeking Him and hearing Him.

2.     Worship Him as His true child and follower. You need to have an established relationship with Him; you need to be credible.

3.     Appeal to Him more on behalf of others than yourself.

4.     Then stop and patiently wait for God to respond in His way, His time.

It’s as uncomplicated as that. And it works just as well today as it did back in the days of Moses.

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How To Influence Others -- Moses' Style

Moses Stars As A Defense Attorney and Influencer

Exodus 32:11-14: Then Moses entreated the Lord his God, and said, “O Lord, why doth Thine anger burn against Thy people whom Thou has brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth? Turn from Thy burning anger and change Thy mind about doing harm to Thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Thy servants to whom Thou didst swear by Thyself, and didst say to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heavens, and all this land of which I have spoken I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” So the Lord changed His mind about the harm which He said He would do to His people.

Have you ever had to entreat God? The Hebrew word for this action is ‘chalah’ and it is translated in many ways from its root, namely, to be or become weak, sick, diseased, grieved, or sorry. It is easy to see how Moses must have felt weak and sick after hearing God say what He had said about destroying His people. There is no doubt in my mind that Moses also felt distressed for his people and very apologetic on behalf of the Israelites.

But Moses didn’t stop there. He refused to sit by idly let God do what even God Himself really did not want to do. (There are times when we must act and intercede in situations – with men, and before God.) He was a leader and a leader knows how to plead on behalf of his people. He also had a brilliant mind and he used it in his entreating of God.

What We Can Learn From Moses In Influencing People

First, we could say that in essence, he subtly corrects God who had, in His anger, accredited Moses bringing up “his” people from Egypt. He gives the people back to their rightful owner, God Himself. Moses reminds God that, “They are Your people and You brought them up from Egypt.” That takes guts. God may have been angry when He had said what He had, but above all, God is ‘truth’ and He would want us to stand up, even to Him, for the truth. Here was Moses correcting God, but in love and devotion – a very model of how God would want us to correct others with the truth.

Second, Moses appeals to God’s greatness reminding Him that He did all this with “great power and with His mighty hand”. And in the process he was affirming his continued love for God, and his continued belief in His authority. Again, Moses continues to demonstrate the process for influencing someone positively – tell the truth; and appeal to their their positive attributes (sense of worth and contribution).

Third, Moses appeals to God’s sense of honor and he does so in three ways. First, he points out what the Egyptians may think of His actions of “evil intent” were He to destroy His people after bringing them out of the land of Egypt. Moses knew God did not want to give His enemies any reason to glory over what took place when in fact God fully intended for His people to become a great nation. Second, Moses appealed to God’s love for the fathers of Israel – Abraham (a ‘friend of God’ forever – 2 Chronicles 20:7), Isaac (the son of promise – Galatians 4:22,23), and Jacob (born in answer to prayer – Genesis 25:21 and who saw the heavenly ladder – 28:10-19). How could God turn His back on them now? And third, Moses appeals to God through His personal promises made and words uttered with respect to making their descendants as the stars in the heavens.

The fourth key factor in the approach that Moses used to influence God was that none of his arguments were about himself. Moses had no personal vested interests in influencing God in this way.  While it would have been very difficult to go down from the mountain and tell the people they would be destroyed by God, Moses remembered how God had protected him so many times in his life, and he realized that if God really intended to start all over with him and keeping the covenant that had been made and broken by the Israelites, God could do it and keep Moses safe. But he didn’t care for that. He wanted God to be true to His character and His true love and desires for His people, Israel. (Many times we step in to influence people but we have a real conflict-of-interest.  That is why third-party mediators are often more successful than family members when it comes to influencing.  And maybe why friends are more influential than family.

So let’s summarize Moses’ approach to influencing another person:
-- sticks to the truth
-- appeals to the good in the one he wants to influence
-- appeals to their sense of honor
-- he had no personal vested interest in the outcome.

And Moses succeeded. The Bible says, “So the Lord changed His mind.” Amazing, but possible. Can you change God’s mind? Well, Moses did. And I believe there may be times when we can – that is what entreating God in prayer is all about.

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