Oct 8, 2020

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Deuteronomy 1

INTRODUCTION

One of my favorite fast food restaurants is Schlotzsky’s. You might be familiar with their slogan: “Funny name, serious sandwich.” I can’t help but think of Deuteronomy as the Schlotzsky’s of the Bible. It is a book of the Bible with a seriously funny name, but within the pages of Deuteronomy we find serious business.

“Deuteronomy” actually means “the words.” It is an appropriate title for this book because it is chock-full of Moses’ words to the Israelites as they are peering into the promised land, preparing to take possession of it. Moses begins by recounting the nation’s history, reminding them of how they had arrived at this place at this particular time. In essence, he takes them for a trip down memory lane.

I suspect you are not unfamiliar with trips down memory lane. Every once in a while, I would guess you and your family find yourselves reminiscing about places you have visited, activities you have enjoyed and funny moments seared into your memories forever. In the midst of these trips down memory lane, it is natural to rehash the good times. No one enjoys reliving the not-so-pleasant moments of life.

Moses’ trip down memory lane, however, takes the road less traveled. He recounts a painful portion of Israel’s history.

Deuteronomy begins “in the fortieth year” (1:3). Moses declares these words in the fortieth year of desert wanderings. Over the course of the past forty years, the previous generation has passed away. The new generation is ready to take possession of the land God had promised to them. Moses speaks to the new generation, recounting to them the history of Israel.

It is important to remember Moses is speaking to this “next” generation. (Believe me, I had a hard time keeping this fact straight in mind as I prepared my notes.) Throughout chapter one, Moses, although he is speaking of the former generation, keeps referring to “you”—as if these events happened to the people standing before him. But the events Moses describes actually happened to the parents and grandparents of the present generation. The older generation had been promised land in Canaan, but for reasons we will discover today, they were unwilling to take possession of this promised land.

When the “old” generation proved unwilling to march into Canaan, the Lord became very angry. As a result, he swore to them that not one of them over the age of 20 would enter into the promised land (except for a couple of God-fearing men by the names of Joshua and Caleb). With this word, God sent the “old generation” on a journey of desert wanderings for 40 years!

Forty years later, on the fringes of the promised land, we hear Moses speaks these words.

UNEARTHING GOD’S TREASURES

READ DEUTERONOMY 1:6-8

(The Command)

God gave his people, Israel, five commands:

① Break camp (v7)

② Advance (v7)

③ Go (v7)

④ Go in (v8)

⑤ Take possession (v8)

This series of commands builds to the climax—taking possession of the land. Each step was a critical component to achieving the ultimate goal. It would not have been enough to break camp. Nor would it have been enough to just “go in” to Canaan. The Israelites needed to follow these commands in the order given. Like a staircase, you don’t merely appear at the top of the stairs. You must pass each each step in sequence before you can reach the top. For the Israelites, each command would bring them one step closer to land ownership.

The Israelites had the command of God. What better reason could there be to do something? The very command of God should always compel us to action, and the Israelites—though they were God’s special people—were not exempt from obeying God’s commands. Very clearly, God told his people to “Break camp…Advance…Go…Go in…and Take Possession.” In other words, “Move it!”

READ DEUTERONOMY 1:8a

(The Promise)

In the midst of all these commands, God also shares a promise: “I have given you this land.” Interestingly enough, God doesn’t say, “I will give you this land.” Rather, it is already theirs. He has already given them all the mountains and valleys, fields and streams throughout the territory. All they had to do was obey his commands to Break Camp, Advance, Go, Go in and Take Possession.

In today’s terms, it would be similar to receiving word you have inherited a property in East Texas. It’s yours free and clear. You just have to pack up your bags and move. Sounds easy enough, right? “Israelites, I have already given you the land, all you have to do is go take possession of it.”

Like me, the Israelites tended to make life complicated.

READ DEUTERONOMY 1:19-25

(Fruit of the Land)

The Israelites started out on the right track. They broke camp and advanced toward the promised land, just as God had told them. They arrived at the edge of the territory and Moses encourages them, “Go up and take possession of it as the LORD, the God of your fathers, told you” (1:21).

Instead of just marching into the land and doing what God had commanded them to do, the Israelites took matters into their own hands. Their request for a survey reveals hesitancy in the hearts of God’s children. At this point, it truly seems as though the Israelites are just stalling for time.

Numbers 13-14 records the full story of the spies and their exploration of Canaan, as well as the report they delivered to Moses and the people. Moses recounts this portion of Israel’s history, but for the sake of time and to keep the interest of all the people, Moses offers the Cliff’s Notes version of the story to the people standing before him.

To help us fill in the gaps, it is to our benefit to read a few verses from this account in Numbers.

READ NUMBERS 13:23-25

After spying out the land for forty days, the spies returned to Kadesh Barnea where the Israelites were camping. The spies did more than just bring back a report. Going above and beyond what their job descriptions required, they also brought back fruit from the promised land. In their hands hung a cluster of grapes as well as pomegranates and figs. Note, though, this wasn’t just any ordinary cluster of grapes you might find at your local grocery store. It was so large it required two men to carry it on a pole between them. As we might say here in Texas, “That’s just big, y’all.”

At this juncture in Israel’s history, they had the command of God before them: “Go take possession of the land.” In addition to God’s command, they also had his promise: “I have given you this land.” Now, the Israelites had some very luscious-looking fruit right before their eyes. With a command, a promise and gorgeous fruit, you would think they would be ready to move in and take up occupancy.

READ DEUTERONOMY 1:26-28

(Initial Decision)

Along with the fruit, the twelve spies brought back a report. An unfavorable report. Ten of the spies presented stories sounding something like this:

“Listen! If we go in there, we’re gonna get squashed like bugs! The people who live there are huge—like monsters. They are stronger and taller than us, and the cities? Heavens! We might as well give up now. There’s no possible way we can penetrate their cities. The cities are enormously large with walls reaching up to the heaves. I say we just turn around now and head back to Egypt!”

While ten of the spies gave such a description, there were two spies who delivered a favorable report because they had faith in God. These two spies—Joshua and Caleb—believed God would give them possession of the land. Unfortunately, the bad news swept through the assembly like a plague and the people were unwilling to do what God had commanded them. In short, fear trumped faith.

As a result of this report, the Israelites demonstrated undesirable traits. They were an unwilling, rebellious, grumbling bunch who had simply lost all heart.

The Israelites gave no attention to the command of God, his promise and the fruit they had enjoyed. At this point, none of that even mattered to God’s people. They couldn’t see past the obvious difficulties and challenges to believe in the possibility of God’s deliverance.

Instead of forging ahead in faith, they grumbled and complained and wallowed in self-pity, all the while rebelling against God. After about three seconds of putting up with this attitude, Moses stood up and encouraged them once more.

READ DEUTERONOMY 1:29-31

(The Memory of Past Deliverance)

Here, Moses becomes the encourager. He is doing his best to persuade the people to follow God in obedience. In his attempt to move the Israelites to positive action, he gives them one more reason to take possession of the land: God has always fought for you; God has always been with you.

In the midst of their fear, the Israelites made an unsubstantiated claim, saying, “The LORD hates us” (1:27). Moses felt compelled to step in and remind them of all God had previously done for them.

Moses reminded the “old generation” of a past deliverance. Each and every one of them had personally experienced God’s miraculous deliverance out of Egypt. There is not a single Israelite standing before Moses who did not know of the ten plagues God had sent upon Egypt. There is not one Israelite who could deny the deliverance of God by the blood of a lamb on the doorframes of their homes. There is not one Israelite who was unaware of how the Red Sea had parted and then swallowed up the enemy in a mighty crash of the waves. They were not ignorant of God’s miracles. No, indeed.

With this memory, Moses essentially says, “Hey guys. Don’t you remember how God delivered you out of Egypt? He fought for you then and he will fight for you again! He doesn’t hate you. He loves you!”

The picture Moses draws in their minds is a father carrying his son. When a father carries his son in his arms or on his shoulders, it is absolutely impossible for a son to go somewhere apart from the father. They go the same places together. This is how God has carried the Israelites every step of their journey to the very place they were now standing.

With this bit of recollection, it would be easy to envision the Israelites elbowing each other, saying, “Yeah! We’ve got God on our side. Let’s do this!”

READ DEUTERONOMY 1:32-33

(The Ultimate Decision)

Ultimately the Israelites responded in disobedience through distrust. Not exactly the ending we were hoping for.

In reading through the Bible, I have discovered a number of heartbreaking verses in Scripture. These are two of them. In spite of all God had done for them, the Israelites did not trust in the Lord their God. They remained unwilling to go in and take possession of the land he had promised to them. In spite of a command, a promise, fruit and the memory of past victories—in spite of all this—the Israelites did not trust in God.

WRAPPING IT UP

You’ve heard it said, and you’ve probably even said yourself, “Give me just one good reason—just one good reason—why I should (fill in the blank).” The Israelites didn’t have just one good reason. They had four good reasons to take possession of the land God had promised them. Even so, their final decision was disobedience.

There are several lessons we can learn from the Israelites.

① First, obey what God commands you to do in a timely manner. After all, delayed obedience is still disobedience. If we delay in following God’s command, he may very well choose someone else to receive the blessing he intended for us. In the case of the Israelites, another generation inherited the land God had promised to his people.

② Second, be wary of other voices directing your steps. Are you listening to the whisper in your ear saying, “It can’t be done. The obstacles are too great”? Or, are you firmly grasping the promise of God’s presence and help? The Israelites listened to spies—the words of man—instead of trusting God.

③ Third, when God gives you a seemingly overwhelming task to accomplish, take time to remember his past deliverances, provision, aid, encouragement and comfort. These memories will spur you forward in obedience.

This particular portion of Israel’s story ends on a sour note. In spite of all God had done for them, they still did not trust in the Lord. If a well-known author were to fill the pages of a book with your life story, how would it end? Would it say, “In spite of all God did for her, she did not trust in the Lord her God?”

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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible: The New International Version (NIV)

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