Deuteronomy 2:1-3:29
Moses continues to share the history of Israel, adding different dimensions and important insight that should encourage the nation he loves.
It’s interesting that Moses mentions certain nations – and rather than calling them by name, he primarily refers to them as, “the descendants of…”
Edom descended from Esau. Moab, and Ammon are the descendants of Lot. With these three nations Israel was not to meddle for God had granted them their land, defeating giants along the way. It’s as if God was saying, “I did it for them, and I will do this for you.”
Moses then recalls the way the LORD crushed King Sihon, the Amorite and King Og, of Bashan, these men were giants (Og’s bed was twelve feet long and 6 feet wide – Deuteronomy 2:11). God through Moses is encouraging Israel that He’s defeated giants in the past, and He will do it again – for them.
This was intended to be shots of confidence, they WILL inherit the land, Moses said, after all, Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh already had!
It’s understandable that Moses wanted to enter the Promised-Land, but he was not permitted. Joshua would be the one to lead the people across the Jordan. Moses prayed three times, but God said “No.”
Moses encouraged Joshua the same way he encouraged the nation – with God’s impeccable history of faithfulness.
Deuteronomy 3:21–22 (NKJV) “And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings; so will the LORD do to all the kingdoms through which you pass. 22 You must not fear them, for the LORD your God Himself fights for you.’
It’s as if Moses said, “Joshua you’ve seen God’s fight and faithfulness in the past! Do not be afraid for the future! Joshua, keep in mind that fear and faith are mutually exclusive. As a matter of fact, God was putting the fear of Israel into the hearts of the nations they would conquer (Deuteronomy 2:25).
Not only would God give them the victory in war, He would provide for their every need. Isn’t it amazing the way the Lord provided for the children of Israel all those years? Even in the wilderness!
Deuteronomy 2:7 (NKJV) “For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your trudging through this great wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.”
As I look back at my life, I can echo these words from the heart. The LORD my God has blessed me – all my life. Not only has He blessed me, but He knows me, personally, and He knows my trudging, every single step. I’m sure you can say the same, the LORD has been with us all along, we’ve lacked nothing.
Luke 6:12-38
I’m always blown away that Jesus spent all night in prayer, before He chose His Apostles (6:12-16). Was He asking the Father which ones to choose? Was He praying for them? Or was He simply spending some quality-quantity time with His Dad?
Jesus first called His “disciples” to Himself. A disciple is a follower, a learner. A disciple sits at his teacher’s feet and should become like His master (Matthew 10:25 see also Luke 14:26-27, 33). As Christians we are called to be Jesus’ disciples; we are also called to make Christian disciples (Matthew 28:19).
From these disciples Jesus appointed Apostles. An Apostle is, “one who is sent.” Jesus would spend the next three years pouring into these guys, so that they could pour into others. He would send them out (Judas Iscariot would be replaced by Paul the Apostle), and these twelve would turn the world upside down. The original twelve Apostles have a special place in the church, which had been built upon the foundational teaching of these Apostles (Ephesians 2:20) and in heaven the names of the twelve will be upon the foundation of the walls of New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:14).
The rest of Luke 6 is what we call the “Sermon on the Plain.” It’s very similar to the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 6-8. This is the closest thing we have to a “Christian Manifesto.” This is how the Christian life begins and is to be lived out. Jesus would go from town to town and share similar, circuit teachings on true and Godly living – the terms of discipleship.
It begins with the beatitudes, the secrets to blessings (Luke 6:20-23) followed by warnings to consider and take to heart (Luke 6:24-26). A tree is known by its fruit and love is the most important one of all. If the root is right-and-real you will love your enemies, do good to them and pray for them. If we only love those who love us and are nice to us – how can we call ourselves a Christian? We prove our heavenly citizenship by loving our enemies.
We are to be gracious in our giving, we are to practice the Golden Rule (Luke 6:31) – IF we are children of God, doesn’t it make sense…since we have His DNA? The love of God keeps this world spinning, may we love others the way God love us! (John 13:34)
Luke 6:37-38 remind us, what goes around comes around.
Psalm 67:1-7
Psalm 67:1 is an appropriation of the High Priestly prayer of Numbers 6:23-27. This was the blessing the High Priest was to pray over Israel. Here we see that we can even pray it for ourselves.
We desperately need God’s mercy and blessing.
For His face to shine upon us, describes His smile over us, His grace and glory, and even His intimate presence.
This Psalm is an invitation to the whole wide world. One day Jesus will rule over ALL the nations. What a glorious day that will be.
As we allow the Lord to rule over our own hearts, we will experience His gracious blessings.
Proverbs 11:27
Earnestly seek good – seek God, not evil.
Do I do this earnestly? With sincere and intense conviction?
Do I earnestly seek good? Seek God? His promises in this realm are powerful:
Jeremiah 29:13 (NKJV) “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”
This really is the key to all of life! Where is my mind, my heart, my eyes, my ears – what do I seek? If God is the priority and passion of my life – everything else falls into place.
Matthew 6:33 (NKJV) “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
If you have any questions or comments on today’s reading, or you’d like to share something the Lord showed you, feel free to leave a reply below. I’d love to hear from you!
Thank you Pastor Manny for this reading, may we always remember how much our Lord loves his children and how we should give him all the glory for his grace and peace in our lives.