We finished reading in the book of Deuteronomy yesterday and started Joshua. Also we crossed over from one era to the next, which is explained here if you want to read more about each era and where they fall in the Bible. Joshua and his leadership puts us into the Conquest era. So much happens in the Exodus era! The Israelites are slaves in Egypt at this point in the beginning, after the death of Joseph, and God sends plague after plague upon the people in Egypt as a result of Pharaoh not letting them go. God delivers them through the tenth and final plague, which is Passover, and the parting of the Red Sea. It's in the Passover plague that God demonstrates His holiness by the shedding of innocent blood on behalf of the guilty.
God provides for the Israelites continually, despite their constant moaning and groaning, by sending manna from Heaven. He leads them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. He gave them the Law, or the ten commandments and later on in Leviticus, He gave them more specific and ceremonial law concerning the tabernacle. We read of God's holiness and His sovereignty.
In Deuteronomy, Moses is nearing the end of his life and he gives a recounting of sorts to the people one last time. We read bits of what God did for them throughout this era and we're reminded that even in forty years of wandering in the desert, on what should have been an eleven day journey, their clothing never wore out, their shoes never broke down and their feet never once swelled. God sustained them through all of that time of wandering! Where I read the last few days, Moses gave the people a song to remember all that God did for them and his death is foretold. God did that because He knew His people would not keep His commands and they would have that song to remember Him by. We read Psalm 90, which is a Psalm that Moses most likely wrote. I loved a couple of verses that I read there—verses four and twelve. I'll share them below:
For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours.
Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.
In yesterday's reading, Moses died once he made it to the mountain God told him to go to as he looked out upon the promised land one more time. He died and the LORD buried him there, in the land of Moab. I'll share two verses that I loved. They are Deuteronomy 34:5-6
So, Moses the servant of the LORD, died there in the land of Moab, just as the LORD had said. The LORD buried him in a valley near Beth-Peor in Moab, but to this day no one knows the exact place.
How God loved Moses! I read in verse ten from the same chapter that since then, there's never been another prophet like him, whom the LORD knew face to face. Can you even imagine knowing God face to face? We will someday, praise His holy name. It was at this point that I wept and every time I read chronologically, this part in Deuteronomy gets me. In spite of sinning against the Lord by not displaying God's holiness, God loved him and was merciful. Don't you just marvel at the love He had for Moses? I do. But you know what? God loves us just like He loved Moses.
He loves us by offering His free gift of grace and salvation, He loves us by watching over us, protecting us, providing for us, strengthening and sustaining us, by caring deeply for us and by wanting us to cast our cares upon Him. His love is like that of a Father who loves his child, even in spite of the many times the child messes up in life, but it's even better than that, because it's a perfect love. Our love for our kids is imperfect, but the love of God is perfect and wonderful!
Do you know Him? How I long for you to know Him. If you don't, or if you have any question whatsoever, don't hesitate to reach out. You can email me privately if you'd like at allboys@gmail.com.
I pray you're encouraged by these words, friends. Love to all.
Moving on to the book of Joshua! One of my favorites!! "Have not I commanded thee, be strong and of a good courage......" (one of my favorite verses, too!) I look forward to your sharing what you gleaned as you go through this book!! "
ReplyDeleteJennifer, me too! I love that verse so much and the whole book, for that matter. My friend Barbee always says this book is a prime example of how short a span one generation is- between those who remember the things of God and the next ones that come up who don't know Him.
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