I commented last week on how the Bible often repeats itself, and here we have a prime example, as the first five chapters of Deuteronomy recap several important moments in Israel's journey. It's like the montage sequence you get at the beginning of a tv programme, reminding you what happened in the last episode. I'm not sure why it was written like this, and I will admit that the feeling of going over old ground can be frustrating, but maybe it only seems strange to us because of the format in which we now experience the Bible. We have it all down in black and white so we can read it at our own leisure, and we can always flick back a few pages to remind ourselves of something, but the Scriptures were originally composed in an oral culture when the people did not have that luxury, so these repeats were built in to ensure the listeners didn't miss anything. It's also worth noting that Deuteronomy is stylistically different to the preceding books, being one long speech given by Moses to the Israelites, so it seems reasonable to suggest that this book was by a different author or authors, and was intended to stand alone from the other books. Of course, none of this really affects our understanding of the content of the book. It's just interesting to stop and think for a moment about it's origins and context.
But enough background. Let's start looking at the book itself. As Deuteronomy opens, the Israelites have defeated King Sihon and King Og and are about to make their big push across the Jordan. Moses knows he doesn't have long left, and he knows the Israelites are finally about to claim the land God promised them many generations ago, so he takes this opportunity to speak to the people and remind them of what has been and what must be. It's part farewell and part pre-battle pep talk.
Moses starts by talking about the appointment of leaders, when he decided that there were too many people for him to lead on his own and so asked each tribe to select wise, understanding and respected men to act as commanders and judges for them. I've looked back through the Bible and through this blog, and the nearest I can find to a reference to this is way back in Exodus, when Moses appointed judges to deal with smaller cases. However, that happened long before this passage indicates, and there it was at the suggestion of Moses' father-in-law, Jethro. So how does that work? Maybe there were two distinct occasions on which Moses appointed judges, and it's just that this is the first time we've heard of the second occasion. Or maybe Moses' memory was a bit faulty and he got the timeline confused a little? Or maybe the oral method of passing on information isn't foolproof and something got a bit mixed up along the way so that different books give slightly different accounts. It doesn't really matter, and it doesn't make the Bible unreliable. It makes it human. Remember, it may record the word of God but it was still written by men, and sometimes we make mistakes.
Moses then recalls the time that spies were sent out into the promised land and returned saying that the land was good but the people were too strong, causing the people to rebel and refuse to enter the land, saying that God hated them and would deliver them into the hands of their enemies. He also recalls how God declared that because of this rebellion, and because of their lack of faith in him, no man who had failed to trust him would enter the land God was giving to them. He then claims that because of the Israelites God grew angry with him too, and declared that he would not enter that land either. That's not the story we heard earlier though. According to Numbers, Moses was barred from the promised land not because of anything the Israelites did, but because he failed to honour God properly. Maybe this too is down to a misunderstanding or mix up. But then again, maybe it's Moses trying to excuse himself and make the Israelites responsible for his punishment. It can be really tempting to try and blame others for our mistakes or deliberate wrongdoings, but that only compounds the wrong and puts somebody else is in a difficult position. It's better for everybody if we just own up and do what we can to put things right.
Now Moses talks about some of their wanderings in the desert. He says that "for a long time [they] made [their] way around the hill country of Seir" until God told them to turn north. For a while they had no idea where they were going, so they just kept wandering around waiting for some direction. Sometimes our lives can feel like that. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing though. Life is more than a journey, it's an experience. And that's even more true of life with God. I don't think I can explain it better than by quoting the film Bright Star. In one scene, Keats compares reading a poem to jumping into a lake, saying that "A poem needs understanding through the senses. The point of diving into a lake is not immediately to swim to the shore but to be in the lake, to luxuriate in the sensation of water". It's a wonderful metaphor that works just as well for life as it does for poetry. We need to get to the shore eventually, but first we must enjoy the water.
Moses then goes onto recall the defeats of King Sihon and King Og, and the subsequent division of the conquered land. There's not much new here, but I did notice that Moses says that God hardened King Sihon's heart so that he could deliver him to the Israelites. It's the same phrase used in relation to Pharoah back in Exodus, but it's the first time it's been applied to King Sihon. The account of his defeat in Numbers made no mention of God working on his heart or affecting his behaviour. So did God harden his heart or not? Maybe it's all in the interpretation. Maybe one writer believes in free will and so King Sihon's actions are of his own doing, while another believes in the absolute authority of God and so his actions are God's doing. Personally, I'm on the side of the former.
Next Moses reminds the Israelites of some of God's instructions and commands obedience. He reminds them of how blessed they are that they alone among the nations are near to God, and have seen His glory and heard His voice. He tells them to watch themselves closely so that they do not forget the things they have seen, and instructs them to pass them onto their children and their children's children. He warns them again against idolatry, saying that if they do worhip idols they will be scattered, but that if they then seek God with all their hearts they will find Him. He tells them that the Lord is God and there is no other. He reminds them once more of the cities of refuge. And then he restates the Ten Commandments. I won't go over them again here, but I'd definitely encourage you to go back and read them again or maybe read the post on them, because they are the foundation of the law and the best of moral codes.
Finally, this passage ends with a call to "be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days". Many interpret messages like this as "do as you're told or else" and are rather understandably put off by that, but I don't believe that's what this really means. I don't believe that God punishes us with pitfalls and traps if we wander off His path. I believe that He sees the pitfalls and the traps more clearly than we do and so He lays out a path for us in order that we may avoid them. God has the map, so surely it makes sense to follow His directions.
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