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This Shabbat brings us to the introduction of the fifth book of Moses, known in the English Bible as Deuteronomy and in the Hebrew Bible as D’varim – “Words”. The book begins, These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel across the Jordan in the wilderness…. Normally, the Hebrew names of the books and parashas derive from the key word in the opening sentence. So how did we get the name Deuteronomy? It is from the Greek words deuteros meaning “a second time” and nomos meaning “law” and is actually based on a misunderstanding of chapter 17, verse 18, which reads, Now it shall come about when he (Israel’s king) sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll… Somehow instead of a copy of this law the Hebrew was rendered a second law and so the book itself received that name. In fairness, the book of Deuteronomy does reiterate much of the content of Exodus and Numbers. It is a recapping of our initial approach to Canaan, our disobedience there and having to turn around and head back into the wilderness. It culminates with our return a generation later to claim the land. It also recounts our victories over Sihon and Og, the kings of Heshbon and Bashan, and the beginning of the conquest of the land.
But, sadly, Deuteronomy opens with a reminder of Israel’s dismal failure. Verse two says the entire journey from Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea ordinarily took just eleven days. Yet verse three says, “And it came about in the fortieth year…” Forty years to go eleven days’ journey? What went wrong? Are our people directionally dysfunctional? Should we have used Google Maps? Moses tells us why: it was on account of disbelief, leading to rebellion and resulting in judgment. God had told us, See, I have placed the land before you; go in and possess it. But Israel second-guessed the Living God.
Before the invasion we decided to send an advance party to check out the situation first. For forty days these twelve men, representing each of the tribes, spied out the land. They returned with a report: the land was lovely and fruitful, eretz zavat chalav u’dvash – truly a land flowing with milk and honey. But ten of the twelve spies discouraged the people with fearful stories of fortified cities and races of giants that dwarfed the Israelis by comparison. The ten spies did not believe that the battle belongs to the Lord. Their discouraging report frightened our people into giving up before we’d even started. And fearful people are capable of very ugly behavior. The crowd turned on Moses, accusing him and God of evil intent; this despite the many and wonderful miracles Adonai had already performed before their eyes. That generation of Israel was consigned to turn around and spend 40 years sojourning in the Sinai – a year for each of the days they spied out the land.
God commanded us, saying, “turn around and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”
When we heard that, we said, “No wait, wait… we’ll give it a try.” But Moses, speaking for Adonai, warned us not to attempt it. We had had our opportunity and refused it. If we insisted on going in now, God would not go with us, and it would end disastrously. But again, we didn’t listen, and tried to engage the Canaanites in battle. Just as promised, we were driven back and many of our people were needlessly killed. Finally, we were ready to obey God, and turned back to the wilderness, humbled and with our numbers sadly diminished.
If that was the end of the story, it would be discouraging indeed. But Adonai graciously preserved us in the wilderness and brought the next generation back to Canaan to successfully conquer it. There would have been no covenant, no relationship, no future, had He simply written Israel off (as some suppose He has). But the very fact that we have this book demonstrates that God is a God of second chances. He is committed to Israel, and He is committed to you, if you are in covenant relationship with Him through the Messiah that He sent to redeem mankind – Yeshua. Being joined to Messiah Yeshua means that God is committed to the process of training you and molding you for an eternity we will spend in His glorious presence. Are you committed to the process as well? If so, even the discipline we endure when we fail is a discipline we can embrace, being convinced of His love for us.
In chapter 2, Israel is commanded not to provoke the Edomites (Esau’s descendants), as God had already given them the region of Seir. And we were not to harass Moab, either; we were not entitled to any of their land.
There is a warning for us in this parasha – a warning that we not refuse Him and turn away. You and I are expected to learn from Israel’s failure. The Scriptures have been wondrously preserved, in large part so that this generation might not repeat the disobedience and failure of that generation in Israel, and suffer similarly.
The good news for Israel is that God forgives. The next generation, led by Joshua, did indeed conquer the land and take possession of it, according to God’s command. The good news for us is that God forgives. The atoning death of Yeshua, Jesus of Nazareth, is more than sufficient to reconcile us to God and bring forgiveness for our sins. But be clear about this: disobedience to God’s word leads to trouble, disaster and heartache. Don’t second-guess Him, and don’t doubt the wisdom that comes through His Word.
The author of the letter to the Messianic Jews, quoting from Psalm 95 wrote, Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tried Me by testing Me, and saw My works for forty years. Therefore I was angry with this generation… He went on to write, Take care, brethren, lest there should be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, in falling away from the living God (Hebrews 3:8, 12). If you have not yet trusted in Yeshua the Messiah, then you have unresolved business with God. By all means settle it today. And if you are a believer, do not turn away from the process. It is the one who endures that proves to be His disciple. It is important that we finish well.