Devotions

destiny and development

Posted on October 26, 2019 by Jefferson Vann

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Deuteronomy 38-40 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 1:38 Joshua son of Nun, who attends you, will enter it. Make him strong,¹ because he will enable Israel to inherit it.

Deuteronomy 1:39 Your children, whom you said would be plunder, your sons who don’t yet know good from evil, will enter there. I will give them the land, and they will take possession of it.

Deuteronomy 1:40 But you are to turn back and head for the open country by way of the Red Sea.’

destiny and development

Joshua was chosen by grace to lead Israel, but Moses was also commanded to make him strong for the task. His destiny was sure, but he had to allow himself to be changed for it to happen.

The same is true for the believer today. The Lord has promised a resurrection, and challenged us to live a life of faith in that promise. That life of faith takes strength, and that strength has to be developed. We have a sure destiny, but need strength for our walk.

Lord, show us how to strengthen each other for our Christian walk.

1חָזַק

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when fear infuriates God

Posted on October 25, 2019 by Jefferson Vann

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Deuteronomy 1:34-37 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 1:34 “When Yahveh heard your words, he was infuriated¹ and swore an oath, and this is what he said:

Deuteronomy 1:35 ‘None of these men in this evil generation will see the good land I swore to give your fathers,

Deuteronomy 1:36 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land on which he has set foot, because he remained loyal to Yahveh.’

Deuteronomy 1:37 “Yahveh was angry with me also because of you and this is what he said: ‘You will not enter there either.

when fear infuriates God

God wants to bring us peace, and calm our fears – but not all our fears. Sometimes, fear is a manifestation of mistrust. God penalized the Israelites who refused to trust his promise. He caused an entire generation to wander in the open country and not see the land he promised. He did this because they let their fears cause them to mistrust God instead of obey him.

Lord, we surrender our fears to you today. We have decided to take those fears to you, instead of letting them lead us away from you.

1קָצַף Deut 1:34; 9:7-8, 19, 22.

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you did not trust

Posted on October 24, 2019 by Jefferson Vann

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Deuteronomy 1;32-33 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 1:32 But in this matter you did not trust Yahveh your God,

Deuteronomy 1:33 who went ahead of you on the road to spy out a place for you to camp. He went in the fire by night to guide you on the road you were to travel and in the cloud by day.

you did not trust

The Israelites knew that God was there and saw plenty of evidence that God was going before them. They failed because they refused to turn that knowledge into trust. They saw evidence of God’s movement and chose to interpret that by assuming that God was avoiding them. He was going ahead of them.

Lord, forgive our insecurity and mistrust. Teach us to see your movements and interpret them correctly.

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as a man carries his son

Posted on October 23, 2019 by Jefferson Vann

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Deuteronomy 1:29-31 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 1:29 “Then I said to you: Don’t be terrified and don’t be afraid of them!

Deuteronomy 1:30 Yahveh your God who goes ahead of you will fight for you, just as you saw him do for you in Egypt.

Deuteronomy 1:31 And you saw in the open country how Yahveh your God carried you as a man carries his son all along the way you traveled until you reached this place.

as a man carries his son

As a parent, you have to be gentle with your kids because they are so fragile, and so easily discouraged. This is the image Moses used to describe God’s loving gentle touch in dealing with the Israelites.

If we are honest with ourselves, we have to admit that he acts the same way toward us. The consequences for our disobedience and stubbornness could be much worse.

Thank you Lord for your gentle lift.

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tent talk

Posted on October 22, 2019 by Jefferson Vann

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Deuteronomy 1:26-28 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 1:26 “But you were not willing to go up. You rebelled against the command of Yahveh your God.

Deuteronomy 1:27 You criticized¹ it in your tents and said, ‘Yahveh brought us out of the land of Egypt to hand us over to the Amorites in order to exterminate² us, because he hates us.

Deuteronomy 1:28 Where can we go? Our brothers have made us lose heart, saying: The people are larger and taller than we are; the cities are large, fortified to the sky. We also saw the descendants of the Anakim there.’

tent talk

Moses turns on his tape recorder and plays some of the tent talk. It reveals a people who are not sure that God has their best interest in mind. they are afraid of the size of the Amorites and their cities. They seem to forget that Egypt had enslaved them and God had rescued them. They blamed the scouts who had brought back the majority report. By doing so, they had chosen who they would believe.

We are responsible for our public words that we say online or at a town meeting. But God also hears our tent talk.

Lord, give us the courage to live positively, and say our words with integrity, no matter where we are.

1רגן

2שׁמד

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seemed like a good idea

Posted on October 21, 2019 by Jefferson Vann

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Deuteronomy 22-25 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 1:22 “Then all of you approached me and said, ‘Let’s send men ahead of us, so that they may explore the land for us and bring us back a word about the route we should go up and the cities we will come to.’

Deuteronomy 1:23 The request seemed good to me, so I selected twelve men from among you, one man from each tribe.

Deuteronomy 1:24 They left and went up into the hill country and came to the Valley of Eshcol, scouting the land.

Deuteronomy 1:25 They took some of the fruit from the land in their hands, carried it down to us, and brought us back a word: ‘The land Yahveh our God is giving us is good.’

seemed like a good idea

The decision to send a team of scouts seemed like a good idea — even to Moses. But God’s command was for the people to go up and take possession. If they had only obeyed the command in faith they would have avoided decades of misery.

Lord, we need the wisdom to know when to stop analyzing and to just do it.

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go up and take possession

Posted on October 20, 2019 by Jefferson Vann

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Deuteronomy 18-21 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 1:18 At that time I commanded you about all the matters you were to accomplish.

Deuteronomy 1:19 “We then set out from Horeb and walked across all the great and dangerous open country you saw on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, just as Yahveh our God had commanded us. When we reached Kadesh-barnea,

Deuteronomy 1:20 I said to you: You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which Yahveh our God is giving us.

Deuteronomy 1:21 See, Yahveh your God has given the land in your sight. Go up and take possession of it as Yahveh, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not be afraid or filled with terror.

go up and take possession

Just as Jesus commissions his church to go and make disciples, Moses commissions the Israelites to go up and take possession of the land at Kadesh.

In both cases, God had given his people what they needed to accomplish the task. In both cases there was potential danger, but reason to believe that God would make good on his promises.

The Israelites failed to commence that first commission. Now— years later, Moses recounts the story because God is going to give them a second chance.

Lord, we have failed to live up to your instructions many times. Thank you for your patience with us.

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judgment balance

Posted on October 19, 2019 by Jefferson Vann

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Deuteronomy 14-17 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 1:14 “You answered¹ me, ‘What you propose to do is good.’

Deuteronomy 1:15 “So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and respected men, and set them over you as leaders: commanders for thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, and officers for your tribes.

Deuteronomy 1:16 I commanded your judges at that time, and this is what I said: Hear the cases between your brothers, and judge ethically between a man and his brother or his guest.²

Deuteronomy 1:17 Do not show partiality when deciding a case; listen to small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, because judgment³ belongs to God. Bring me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.

judgment balance

Moses’ qualification list for judges concentrated on two positive traits and two negative disqualifying traits. A judge in Israel had to be personally wise and socially respected by his peers. He also had to be courageous enough not to be intimidated by others when deciding what is fair, nor partial for or prejudiced against someone who is different than he is.

Lord, make us wise and impartial, so that our judgments always reflect favorably upon you.

1עָנָה

2גֵּר

3מִשׁפָּט

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not enough chiefs

Posted on October 18, 2019 by Jefferson Vann

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Deuteronomy 1:9-13 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 1:9 “I spoke to you at that time, and this is what I said: I can’t bear the responsibility for you on my own.

Deuteronomy 1:10 Yahveh your God has so multiplied you that notice¹ today you are as numerous as the stars of the sky.

Deuteronomy 1:11 May Yahveh, the God of your fathers, add to² you a thousand times more, and empower³ you as he promised you.

Deuteronomy 1:12 But how can I bear your troubles, burdens, and disputes by myself?

Deuteronomy 1:13 Appoint for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will place⁴ them as your heads.

not enough chiefs

Moses found himself in the opposite situation of the old proverb. He did not have enough chiefs. He asked the tribes to elect their own leaders because God had blessed them with large numbers. He agreed to place them as heads to represent the groups. They were not to be dictators. Moses was to retain his position as leader of the nation. But wise leaders know how to build a team around them to share the load.

Lord, give us godly leaders who can represent us before you and guide us to do your will.

1הִנֵּה

2יָסַף

3בּרךְ

4 שׂוּם

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stayed long enough

Posted on October 17, 2019 by Jefferson Vann

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Deuteronomy 1:6-8 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 1:6 “Yahveh our God spoke to us at Horeb: and this is what he said: ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough.

Deuteronomy 1:7 Turn and set out and go to the hill country of the Amorites and their neighbors in the Arabah, the hill country, the Judean foothills, the Negev and the sea coast – to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon as far as the great river, the Euphrates River.

Deuteronomy 1:8 See, I have given the land in your sight. Enter and take possession of¹ the land Yahveh swore to give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their descendants after them.’

stayed long enough

God did not give modern day Christians the same mission that he gave the Israelites. We do not have a physical territory to invade and possess. But we do have a mission. There comes a time when we need a nudge from our sender because we have stayed long enough between the “do” and the “done.”

God has given us a permanent future, and a present mission. We have stayed long enough in our current position in between the deliverance and the assignment.

Lord, by your grace and power, we will move on.

1יָרַשׁ

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