Devotions

resources, not enemies

Posted on October 30, 2019 by Jefferson Vann

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Deuteronomy 2:6-8 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 2:6 You may purchase food from them, so that you may eat, and buy water from them to drink.

Deuteronomy 2:7 You see, Yahveh your God has empowered you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this immense open country. Yahveh your God has been with you this past forty years, and you have lacked nothing.’

Deuteronomy 2:8 “So we bypassed our brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned away from the Arabah road and from Elath and Ezion-geber. We traveled along the road to the open country of Moab.

resources, not enemies

The Lord didn’t forbid any interaction with the Edomites in Seir. The Israelites were free to do business with them so that their basic needs could be supplied. The Edomites were there as a resource for their journey. They were a gift from God.

We live in an age when it is all too easy to make enemies. We have to learn the the art of doing business with others who are different from us, seeing them as a gift from God, rather than enemies to be conquered. We will have enemies, but we should be careful not to brand everyone who is different than us as enemies.

Lord, thank you for providing resources for our journey.

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not even a foot-width

Posted on October 29, 2019 by Jefferson Vann

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Deuteronomy 2:1-5 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 2:1 “Then we turned back and headed for the open country by way of the Red Sea, as Yahveh had told me, and we traveled around the hill country of Seir for many days.

Deuteronomy 2:2 Yahveh then spoke to me, and this is what he said:

Deuteronomy 2:3 ‘You’ve been traveling around this hill country long enough; turn north.

Deuteronomy 2:4 Command the people, and this is what you should say: You are about to travel through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so be very careful.

Deuteronomy 2:5 Don’t provoke them, because I will not give you any of their land, not even a foot-width¹ of it, because I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his possession.

not even a foot-width

Many would have been tempted to attack the Edomites who lived in Seir. The Israelites probably outnumbered them, and the Edomites were already aware that they were out there somewhere, and were afraid of them. But God expressly prohibited any action against them. He called them brothers to the Israelites because they descended from Esau. Most importantly, he prohibited any hostility because he had not chosen to give the Israelites their land.

It is unwise for a disciple of Christ to get involved in a conquest that Christ himself has not sanctioned. He is the commander. It is not the task of underlings to orchestrate the battle. We go where he has sent us. If we get involved where he has not sent us, we can expect defeat. The only territory we can expect to inherit is what he has chosen to give us.

Lord, give us wisdom to know which battles to fight, and which to avoid, because they do not concern you.

1 מִדְרָךְ

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Israel who?

Posted on October 28, 2019 by Jefferson Vann

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Deuteronomy 1:44-46 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 1:44 Then the Amorites who lived there came out against you and chased you as if you were a swarm of bees. They crushed¹ you from Seir as far as Hormah.

Deuteronomy 1:45 When you returned, you wept in Yahveh’s sight, but he didn’t listen to your requests or pay attention to you.

Deuteronomy 1:46 This is the reason you stayed in Kadesh as long as you did.

Israel who?

The Lord refused to listen to the prayers of his own people because they had refused to follow his instructions. Oh, people of God, our God wants us to take him seriously. Perhaps we would not suffer so many defeats if we would go back to his word and find out what he wants.

Lord, show us your way, and give us the wisdom and courage to follow your instructions.

1כְּתַת

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no easy reset

Posted on October 27, 2019 by Jefferson Vann

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Deuteronomy 1:41-43 (JDV)

Deuteronomy 1:41 “You answered me, ‘We have made a mistake¹ against Yahveh. We will go up and fight just as Yahveh our God commanded us.’ Then each of you put on his weapons of war and thought it would be easy to go up into the hill country.

Deuteronomy 1:42 “But Yahveh said to me, ‘Tell them: Don’t go up and fight, because I am not with you to keep you from being defeated in your enemies’ sight.’

Deuteronomy 1:43 So I said that to you, but you didn’t listen. You rebelled against Yahveh’s command and defiantly went up into the hill country.

no easy reset

We live in a reset generation. We have grown up with video games in which you can fail, be destroyed, and then reset to zero and start over. Living for God is not like that. Making wrong choices lead to losing coverage. After the Israelites had chosen not to go up and possess the land, they changed their mind. But God warned them not to try to do it because he was no longer with them to keep them from being defeated. There was no easy reset.

Lord, give us the wisdom to obey you the first time. Keep us from the arrogant presumption that you will always undo the consequences of our rebellion.

1חטָא

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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

photo of pitched dome tents overlooking mountain ranges

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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.

Posted in obedience | Tagged Deuteronomy 1 | 1 Comment