365 Reflections

Deuteronomy 33:20–21 (ESV)   And of Gad he said, “Blessed be he who enlarges Gad! Gad crouches like a lion; he tears off arm and scalp. 21 He chose the best of the land for himself, for there a commander’s portion was reserved; and he came with the heads of the people, with Israel he executed the justice of the Lord , and his judgments for Israel.” In the blessing of Moses there is one tribal  blessing that most resembles Jacob's original from Genesis 49. It is this blessing for the tribe of Gad. Notice Jacob's blessing: Genesis 49:19 (ESV)   “Raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels. Jacob knew Gad was destined to increase.  Moses saw this too. Interestingly, "Gad" means good fortune.  Notice the blessing here in Deuteronomy 33. It seems selfish of Gad to choose the best land, to want a "commander's portion"... but in the end, Gad does get what he wants out of life.  The tribe of Gad is one of three "trans-Jordan...

Have you ever been cursed? It's not pretty. It hurts. It can stick with you for a while. If you're not careful, you can pass it on to your children and their children after them. What's crazy is to see the people of the Bible, even some of the great heroes be in the cursing business. You may remember from way back in the early days of Israel's story, Jacob is on his last days and decides to bless his sons before death just as Moses does here in Deuteronomy 33. But his first three sons are not blessed at all, they are in fact denounced and cursed. Listen especially to what Jacob said about his firstborn, Reuben: Genesis 49:3–4 (ESV) “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the firstfruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. 4 Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence, because you went up to your father’s bed; then you defiled it—he went up to my couch! Unstable as water is a tough one. You can't get much less stable t...

In Deuteronomy 33, Moses is called up to the mountain to die and the final act of his faith is to bless all the tribes of Israel. It's really incredible to think this man can find it in his heart to bless the very people who caused his failure at the rock and led to him missing out on the promised land. But again, this all points us to Christ's death for the sins of the people. Deuteronomy 33:1–5 (ESV) This is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the people of Israel before his death. 2 He said, “The LORD came from Sinai and dawned from Seir upon us; he shone forth from Mount Paran; he came from the ten thousands of holy ones, with flaming fire at his right hand. 3 Yes, he loved his people, all his holy ones were in his hand; so they followed in your steps, receiving direction from you, 4 when Moses commanded us a law, as a possession for the assembly of Jacob. 5 Thus the LORD became king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people were gathered, all the tribes...

Just after Moses gives the people God's law, God then tells him to go up on a mountain and die. It's quite interesting the order of events and the abruptness of the transition. Deuteronomy 32:46–51 (ESV) he (Moses) said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. 47 For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” 48 That very day the LORD spoke to Moses, 49 “Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel for a possession. 50 And die on the mountain which you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died in Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 because you broke faith with me in the midst of the people of ...

Moses was deliverer, law-giver and prophet. And in Deuteronomy 32 he delivers for the people the prototypical prophecy with the same themes found throughout the later day Old Testament prophets. Where did they learn to see calamity and distress as signs of God's wrath for abandoning the covenant? They saw it first here in Moses. Reading through Deuteronomy 32 is like reading a passage in Jeremiah or Isaiah. It is a clear lesson for us still today. Those who would claim to speak for God must already know what God has said in the past. Deuteronomy 32:39 (ESV) “‘See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand. One of the key themes for Israel in this song filled with dark themes is the fact that nothing will happen to them beyond the purposes of their God. God had blessed them: Deuteronomy 32:13 (ESV) He made him ride on the high places of the land, and he ate the pro...

Deuteronomy 31 is not a cheery chapter. In it, God makes clear He knows Israel will depart from His ways very quickly and very extremely. It's as if there's nothing that could stop their disobedience and inevitable downfall. Consider that the main ramification of Moses' death would be vast disobedience nation-wide. Deuteronomy 31:16 (ESV) And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them. Deuteronomy 31:18 (ESV)  And I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because they have turned to other gods. There is a way to read this passage on the surface without knowledge of Christ which makes you ask of God, "Then why even give the law?" But God's work of redemption was not finished in giving the law, i...

Deuteronomy 31:9–13 (ESV) Then Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 And Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths, 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, 13 and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” Look at this command. God had Israel gather together every seventh year to release all slaves and cancel all debts. At that same time, during the feats of tabernac...

Don't believe the lie that doing what God wants is impossible. So often people want to say obedience is impossible to justify their disobedience. But God put it writing for His people so that they could bank on His promise - YOU CAN DO WHAT HE SAYS! Look at Deuteronomy 30: Deuteronomy 30:11–14 (ESV) “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you , neither is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. Before we go any further, please do not take this to mean you will be sinless. All have sinned. All have fallen short. There is no one who does good except Christ! But the words of this book are not mean to destroy your will,...

God will have a people for Himself. Even human sin and Divine wrath cannot thwart His purpose in this regard. Consider well that after the long chapter of warning in Deuteronomy 28 and the reinforcement of the Covenant in chapter 29, Deuteronomy 30 follows with one of the most HOPE-filled passages in all the Pentateuch: Deuteronomy 30:1-8 (ESV) "And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God has driven you, 2 and return to the LORD your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you. 4 If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. ...