February 21 / Deuteronomy 1-2

Deuteronomy 1-2

These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness…
In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the LORD had given him in commandment to them…
Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law, saying…

Deuteronomy 1:1a, 3, 5

We now enter the Book of Deuteronomy, the last of the five “Books of Moses”, otherwise known as the “Pentateuch”. The name “Deuteronomy” means “second law” or “repetition of the law”, which is a fairly reasonable description. The vast majority of this book consists of a series of speeches by Moses to the people of Israel at the end of his ministry, just before they enter the Promised Land. In these “farewell addresses” Moses recounts some of the history we have just walked through in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers; reiterates much of the law, including the Ten Commandments; and strongly urges the people to remain faithful to the LORD.

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In today’s reading I find three verses to be particularly interesting:

• Dt. 2:5 — Do not contend with [the people of Esau], for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.
• Dt. 2:9 — Do not harass Moab or contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land for a possession, because I have given Ar to the people of Lot for a possession.
• Dt. 2:19 — And when you approach the territory of the people of Ammon, do not harass them or contend with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the sons of Lot for a possession.

We know that the LORD has a special relationship with Israel, and our narrative is naturally given from Israel’s perspective, so it is sometimes easy to think that God cares only for Israel. But these verses remind us that the LORD is Lord of all, and He has His plans and purposes for other peoples as well. Unlike the Promised Land, the land of Canaan, the LORD explicitly declares each of these three nations off-limits for Israel.

By way of reminder, the nation of Esau (aka Edom) descends from the brother of Jacob (aka Israel), and Moab and Ammon are the descendants of Lot, Abraham’s nephew. (See Gen. 19:30-38. Also, if you wonder where Ammon resides, think “Amman, Jordan”.) One might imagine that the family ties (though centuries old at this point) might mean friendly relationships, but that is not how it turns out, as we have already seen. Nevertheless, the LORD says, “Hands off.” Aside from saying that He has given those lands to those peoples as their possessions, the LORD does not explain Himself. He does not present us with all the whys and wherefores. He does not reveal His plans and purposes for them here. He does not need to.

That should be a lesson to us. Sometimes we act as though we need to know all the details of God’s plans for everyone everywhere. And for any detail that we do not know, we either act as though we do know His plan, or we tell God what His plan should be. We are all too often control freaks and busybodies. That’s our nature. But the reality is that I have a hard enough time figuring out what God would like me to do for the rest of today, let alone what you should be doing next week. I need to let God be God. I need to listen to what He is saying to me. And I need to be content to let Him do what He pleases with you.