Examining The Scripture XXXV: Rooting Out Evil

The walls of Jericho have come down and Rahab and her family has been spared the fate of the other inhabitants of the city. The young men that were spies have already gone in, brought out, Rahab, her father, mother, her brethren, and all that she had. Joshua's men have torched the city and razed what is left of it. The city has been cursed and left in the dust of their departing footsteps.

We are now introduced to Achan who was a man from the the tribe of Judah. Joshua: Chapter 7 clearly alludes to the fact that Achan had broken faith and taken some of the “devoted things” (Strong’s H2764: חֵרֶם cherem) “cursed; things that should’ve been utterly destroyed” from Jericho. Achan even admitted as much by telling Joshua when confronted about that he took, a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels because he coveted them. They were hidden in the earth inside his tent.

Israel had been told before that basically, Israel’s enemies will essentially flee before them when they go in to take the land promised (I’m paraphrasing) or as chapter 1 states it, “you are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess". Joshua sends 3000 men up to defeat Ai and Ai turns the tables on Joshua’s men causing them to flee killing 36 men in the process. Israel is swiftly humiliated at Ai and Joshua is perplexed why, so he rent/tore his garments (in anguish or mourning, unstated which) and petitions God. God immediate informs him of Achan’s sin. The entire nation was punished for the sin of one man because believers are to be “one in the Lord” (Wiersbe 49). Any one person who is weak or infected in the Body of the Church affects the entire Church.

Ironically, it took time to find the evil in the encampment (lots are drawn) just as it is difficult to root out evil and problems embedded in our churches once it digs it’s claws into the Church. It takes quite a bit of spiritual discernment and this appears to have been lacking then and it is lacking in our churches today. Achan is “found out” and the stolen objects are “spread out before the Lord” who was the true owner (Campbell et al 345). Achan is summarily executed for his disobedience by stoning him to death. His coveting cost him his life. Israel eventually goes on to victory against Ai but it takes until chapter 8 for this to happen.

One of the main things I see as a lesson here is failure to use spiritual discernment and what happens when it is not used. Second, it is the obligation of spiritual leaders to tend to the whole flock not just part of it. Spiritual leaders, pastors, elders should get involved with people’s lives if they truly care about them. To some extent the blood and damnation of fellow believers is on our hands if we do not at least tell them the truth or rebuke them about the error of their ways. This is mentioned in Ezekiel 3:16-21 also. Third, obviously coveting things is clearly bad and assured Achan’s demise. Fourth, the Church or Israel needs to work together as a whole and synergistically for the good of the whole body. A single small “infection” of sin can bring an entire body to its knees if the infection festers.

Campbell, Donald , John Walvoord, and Roy Zuck. "The Conquest of Canaan." Bible Knowledge Commentary Old Testament: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Bible Knowledge). Acambaro: Victor, 1985. 345. Print.

Wiersbe, Warren. "A Convert In Canaan." Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament Wisdom and Poetry (Bible Knowledge). Acambaro: Victor, 2003. 49. Print.

Examining The Scripture XXXIV: Heaping Water & A Microphone

God performs a major miracle at the crossing of the Jordan River as he has done in the past for others that serve Him. The affect on the people of Israel is profound. When the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord rested in the waters of the Jordan, God cut the water off. The waters stopped flowing and stood in a heap or in this context they stood up as a wave a great distance away. Joshua was as the Lord had told him he would be “exalted in the sight of Israel”. They now understood that the Lord was with Joshua the way He had been with Moses.

God then speaks through Joshua as noted by the two following statements in Joshua 3:9-10:

(v9)-And Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.”

(v10)-And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you…”

Joshua says God will speak and the immediate following proclamation is God speaking through Joshua in the “you shall know” statement that is made in present tense. The words “Joshua said” are the same in both verses but (v. 9) uses the word “listen” [Strong’s H3893] shama’ “to hear intelligently w/implication of (immediate) attention, obedience” in this context because it is waw consecutive, qal imperfect which means this verb applies: for actions continuing into the present or future and is said in active voice demanding obedience.

This is that same pattern we saw when Moses delivered the Ten Commandments to the new generation about to enter the Promised Land after the previous generation (minus Caleb and Joshua) had met their demise in the wilderness. God makes direct statements through His chosen vessel to His chosen people. He uses Joshua as a human microphone and amplifier (conduit). I imagine that might have been like standing in front of a wall of amplifiers if it was coming directly from God. God could've condescended as a Theophany but chose to use Joshua instead. It was done this way probably to instill a sense of confidence in him. If God deems Joshua fit to act on His behalf who would challenge God's wisdom in using Joshua? (Answer: No one in their right mind)

I fairly certain this is an accurate translation of the intent of this passage. That means what comes next is the proclamation or announcement and (v.9) has already told us to “listen to God’s words” and because we are talking about God, to obey Him immediately. An announcement in present tense after being forewarned that God was going to speak. This is a very very powerful statement of God working in "realtime".

Examining The Scripture XXXIII: Prostitute to Paragon-By Faith

The harlot of Jericho in Joshua 2 exercised saving faith in the one true God. In doing so she becomes a shining example of faith in the Bible. Rahab is in the genealogy of Christ as are a long list of other believers. She put her faith in God before the spies arrived and trusted that the God of the Israelites would spare her.

She Had Courageous Faith: She was not like the other people in the city which makes her like believers and what they are called to do, to be separate from the world, to be dedicated to God, to be holy. She had a background as a sinner (prostitute) and had turned her life to God. She risked her life for what she knew was right to help other believers in the one true God.

She Had Confident Faith: Rahab showed that she had confident faith when she said, “I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you…” in one sentence she affirmed what 10 spies denied 40 years before and affirmed what God said He would do for the nation of Israel and Joshua.

She Had Concerned Faith: She had a concern for more than just herself. She had a faith that made her concerned for the welfare of others. If there are two major obedience that come to the surface even when Jesus was questioned they are to love God with all you heart and love your neighbor as yourself. Rahab did this for others. She cared enough for complete strangers that she risked her lives for them by taking them in and hiding them. they reciprocated by sparing her and her family

She Had Covenant Faith: Before the spies had left she made them swear (through covenant) to deal kindly with her and her family in Joshua 2:12-14. She had also upheld what was required by God to be in a relationship with Him also (Wiersbe 23-28). A sign of this covenant when the men entered the city would be the scarlet cord.

Because of Rahab's impressive faith she is mention no less than three times in New Testament. The references to Rahab are: Matt.1:5 is the genealogy of Jesus Christ and Rahab’s place in it, Hebrews 11:31 is a direct reference to her outstanding faith, James 2:25 is part of James discourse on works being a manifestation of faith just as Rahab’s was a manifestation of hers. Please remember this is an example of holding a woman in high regard in a time and a culture that normally looked at woman more as possessions that companions and compliments in marriage. That truly shows the counterculture nature of the Bible in the New Testament and the minds of Matthew, James and the author of Hebrews. They viewed woman not only as equals but in the case of Rahab, a paragon of the faith.

Wiersbe, Warren. "A Convert In Canaan." Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament Wisdom and Poetry (Bible Knowledge). Acambaro: Victor, 2003. 23-28. Print.

Examining The Scripture XXXII: Taken Before His Time: Muwth [וימת]

After a long and meandering road though Mose's life I am about to bring his story to an end for my series Examining The Scripture. My ending will be a bit more subtle than God's ending for Moses. There is no way more fitting to depart from the amazing story of Moses and how God worked through him than by talking about his earthly departure.

Moses climbed Mount Nebo and he is shown the Promised Land from the top of Nebo and God states that He will give it to Moses descendants but Moses himself will not enter it. At this point...for all intensive purposes, he disappears from Scripture in Deuteronomy 34 in rather enigmatic terms and means. {*POOF*}. To add even more credence to that fact that Moses' departure was more akin to being a disappearance than a death I will elaborate further below.

The Scripture says, Moses then "died" at 120 years old and is buried in an unmarked grave by none other than God Himself. The word died here is וימת [Strong's H4191] the best I can transliterate this is "muwth" or "mooth" and it usually means "to kill; be killed" or "to die prematurely; before one's time". When I say prematurely I am not saying that he died at a young age as much as I am saying that something or "Someone" intervened to cut it short and end it. Obviously sin was the mitigating factor as is the case in all human death but the active Agency/Agent that "removed" him from earthly existence was God. The text pretty much tells us this indirectly in verse 6, "and He [God] buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor". The implication here is God took his soul and buried his body. This is unlike Elijah who also is taken before his time but is taken body and soul.

Interestingly, the Scripture also tells us that when Moses died, “his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone”. There is a good probability that God “called Moses home” and may have taken Moses “before his time”. The words “strength gone” is(Strong’s H3893: leach) “freshness, vigor or natural force” had not fled him or vanished away from Moses. Moses wasn’t dying nor does this sound like a dying man. To my recollection most dying men do not climb mountains either and the Bible specifically tells us that Moses was fairly healthy at his death climbing Nebo on his own.

All indicators point to God "taking" Moses in death before his time and it appears he departed in fellowship with God because the last thing we see Moses "doing" is listening to God speaking the promises of the Promised Land that He made to the Patriarchs. This monologue from God to Moses is ironic because Moses is essentially going to the place that the Promised Land is a typology of-Heaven.

Of course the Scripture doesn't specifically say that God "took" Moses before his time but a strong case could be made by the indirect and circumstantial evidences that God did just that, especially when we consider the Hebrew word used to designate Moses' death: "muwth".

Of course the Israelites grieved the loss of such a great man of God and the end of the Pentateuch now arrives. God’s Spirit has entered into Joshua because of the “laying on of hands” by Moses and "Joshua did what the Lord commanded Moses". So ends the first portion of Israelite/Hebrew history and Moses' contribution to it passes into history. We have seen God's story of creation, the Fall and God's plan to recover and redeem man. We then see Moses' story setting up and establishing the Law and Sinai covenant to be told generation after generation into the future. Reiterated, added to and fulfilled by the glorious Messiah Jesus Christ generations later.

Next on deck...the conquest of Canaan.

Examining The Scripture XXXI: Hammering A Point Home

Exodus: Chapter 29 is a covenant renewal after the covenant has been ratified. The previous chapter 28 has just delivered the blessing/cursing portion of the Suzerain/Vassal Covenant. God then renews it with a new generation not about to wander the wilderness but with a generation about to enter the Promised Land. We are reminded here and we will see later in the Old Testament that it only takes a single generation to lapse into the same exact bad judgment. We can see it then and we see it today. God knows this and forces/emphasizes that Israel should remember and obey, remember and obey, ad nauseum. Obviously to no avail as we see by Jesus’ comments about a mother hen gathering her chicks

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." Luke 13:34-35

We also see Israel’s failure in Paul’s lament for Israel in Romans 9-11.

What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone." As it is written: "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame." Romans 9:30-33

Repetition, repetition, repetition like the pounding of a hammer all throughout the ages and the Old Testament to drive the point home and Israel just didn’t get it. Some people(s) are just incredibly thick-headed and stiff-necked (all of us). Often times God even shows people where their shortcomings are and where they will fail and because of willful ignorance or denial, we ignore Him. We either think we know better or are just plain sinful and stupid, I’m not sure which. So through Israel’s failure the chance is then offered to the Gentiles to be grafted into The Vine.

After the covenant renewal Israel is subsequently warned (again) against turning away from God and the judgment and punishment that will ensue if they do. Then they have the blessing restored to them. After a stern or harsh rebuke, like a loving father, God coddles and “fusses” over His children and lets them know He loves them. No one knows true love and how to love His children better than our Father does.

Examining The Scripture XXX (30) : The Second Ten Commandments

The repeating of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy 5:6–21. Some people do not even realize that the Ten Commandments are itemized and stated twice in the Holy Scriptures. So? Many will ask. What's the big deal? Why list them twice? Simple. History repeats itself. Those that do not know or understand the past are doomed to repeat it. Moses proceeds to deliver again with divine authority the Decalogue. They are ethical and moral and still apply to believers. Jesus Christ abrogated the Ceremonial Law. The ceremonial laws of types and shadows which pointed forward to the death of Christ, had no meaning after the cross but the moral/ethical laws still stand and still apply just as many of the non-ceremonial laws in Leviticus still apply too (sorry folks deviant sexual immorality is still sin). Think of it this way. Anything that continues to make you holy or prevents you from sinning is a good thing. The Ten Commandments prevent you from doing things that incur God's wrath and judgement as do many of the edicts and laws in the Pentateuch. Do you suppose God wants you to have another god or murder any more than He did in 1400 B.C.? Of course not. By His own obedience to the law, Christ testified to its immutable character and proved that through His grace it could be perfectly obeyed by every son and daughter of Adam. So long as heaven and earth exist, the holy principles of God’s law will remain as a blessing to all who chose to hear and obey out of love for Him.

•You shall have no other gods before me.
•You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
•You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God (take the Lord’s name in vain)
•Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.
•Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
•You shall not murder.
•You shall not commit adultery.
•You shall not steal.
•You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
•You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor's house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

The commandments are repeated here for “all” of Israel because it is a new generation of people Moses is speaking to. It is also in continuance of the idea that Deuteronomy is a second reiteration of the Law for a new generation about to enter the Promised Land. To pass on the law to the next generation and subsequent generations. The Decalogue being part of the commandments hinted at in the Chapter 6:4-9

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.." Deuteronomy 6:4-9

All the Law including the Decalogue was to be impressed upon the hearts of those who loved God.

The interesting thing about the second delivery of these commandments in Chapter 4 is the word “you” or “you shall”. God is delivering the commandments to the new generation exactly the same way He did to the first so that they will have no excuse to disobey. He delivers them directly: God to People (God is talking in first-person through Moses). “You shall/shalt not” not “God said” or “the Lord commands” (Payne 36-37).

Present tense people. Just as you read it today. Present tense. "YOU SHALL NOT". These passages are speaking to the second generation removed from the Exodus and they are speaking to us, the reader...the believer.

So the next time you hear someone say, "Oh we don't need to adhere to the laws and rules of the Old Testament"... think before you speak. Jesus didn't overturn the Law he fulfilled it. The Law wasn't the thing that was flawed. Nothing that comes from God is flawed. As we learned in Genesis, it is good or very good. The Law was perfect. Had anyone been able to obey all the Law they would've been a perfect man. Please note the only one to perfectly obey the Law: Jesus Christ. All the rest of humanity on the other hand were the imperfect ones and it was because of them that the Law was instituted so that they would know what sin is. Man was dead to his sin and wouldn't have recognized it if it smacked him in the head.

YOU SHALL NOT...they weren't polite requests or suggestions people. They are called commandments for a reason. They are not optional, nor are many other moral/ethical precepts in the Bible. Things that do not add holiness add sin. Things that add sin incur God's wrath or judgment. Because God is ultimately just he must judge wrongdoing and iniquity. Who dictates what constitutes iniquity and wrongdoing? He who has the authority to judge and punish. Who do you suppose that is? Certainly not men as capricious as they are. So who is predicable. Who is immutable and unchanging. Who is the Rock that never wavers?

Payne, David F.. "Introduction." Deuteronomy (Daily Study Bible-Old Testament). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1985. 36-37. Print.

Examining The Scripture XXIX: Densely Packed Theology

Although not all of them have been posted, I have now written in excess of thirty "Examining The Scripture" posts. I must admit that, of those I've written, this is my personal favorite so far. It really is a sermon(s) waiting to be preached on the glorious attributes of a mighty God. Perhaps some day I will better flesh them out and do just that. These few verses about to be outlined are so rich in theology that it is like marinading in holiness and wonder. When I say theology I mean exactly what theology is defined as: the study of God. We have a healthy window to God's attributes here. Obviously, it isn't all of them because God's attributes are infinite in quantity and infinite in quality. We do get a deep glimpse into the nature of God Himself. Glimpses that were available to the Israelites centuries before the incarnate arrival of the Messiah Jesus Christ. What a strange (in a mysterious way) and wonderous God we have. How great it is that He has chosen to reveal himself to us in this manner. It is a shame that words limit Him and don't do Him true justice but as flawed finite beings we get a vivid picture here.

There is a lot going on theologically in Deuteronomy 4:32-40. A smorgasbord of holy goodness, eight verses of densely packed theology. What we primarily learn here is that The Lord Alone is God. We also get a lot of his attributes and character in a very short space. I have broken them down to the best of my ability in an outline form. Where there is a repeat of a theological themes I have repeated it in its context. Seeing it once will allow you to recognize it elsewhere. Wow, this would make a great sermon!

(32) Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created man on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? (33) Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived? (34) Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by miraculous signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes? (35) You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other.(36) From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. (37) Because he loved your forefathers and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength, (38) to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today. (39) Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. (40) Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time.” Deuteronomy 4:32-40

1. Verse 32: “from the day God created man on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other”

1a. God is all omnipotent and creator of all
1b. God is omnipresent no matter where we are in the creation

2. Verse 33: "Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived?"

2a. A rhetorical question about a Theophany or a preincarnate appearance of God in the Old Testament
2b. A statement indirectly of the fact God is the only God

3. Verse 34: “Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation...”

3a. God has made Israel/Moses people a chosen people

4. Verse 35: “You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other.”

4a. A direct monotheistic statement, there is only one God and he is omnipotent
4b. Sovereign/Providence/Grace: He has chosen to reveal things (shown) to the Isralites/Moses in His own time. He didn’t have to, it was by grace.
4c. "by testings" punishemnt of a just and merciful God that knows we are worthy of death for our sins
4d. "by miraculous signs and wonders" Miracles: a less common kind of God's activity in which he arouses people's awe and wonder and bears witness to Himself
4e. "by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds" An Omnipotent God, a God that cares about those he has created and who acts as a Suzerain over in a Suzerain-Vassal covenant (Sinai).

5. Verse 36: “From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you.”

5a. Israel was to obey Him and if they didn’t punishment was justified
5b. God is a just God
5c. Obedience is for Israelite’s own good because they are fallen and sinful
5d. God wants man holy because He is Holy
5e. To have a relationship with God as stated earlier.
5f. God cannot look upon evil without judging it as a just God

6. Verse 37: “Because he loved your forefathers and chose their descendants after them…”

6a. God loves because God is [perfect] love
6b. We love Him because He first loved us.
6C. "chose" denotes soveriegnty and/or providence

7. Verse 38: "to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance"

7a. God is forever faithful to his side of the covenants. To Him they are eternal.

8. Verse 39: "Acknowledge...that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below... there is no other."

8a. God is Omnipresent
8b. He is unique

9. Verse 40: "Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you"

9a. Believers in God are charged to obey his commands (it is a sign you fear and love Him).
9b. Beleivers are charged to do this for their own good. God doesn't need to obey, He is the Law.
9c. "and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time" is another statement of the eternal nature of God's side of the covenants he makes with man. An indirect alluding to the immutability and His steadfast unchanging nature.

Like I said, densely packed and marinaded. There is probably more in there that could be unpacked but I believe I hit the main theological underpinnings in each of the eight verses. Feel free to find more and tell me about them if you'd like. I'm sure there is something I may have missed. Unlike God, I am fallible.

Examining The Scripture XXVIII: My Generation

The word Deuteronomy means “second law” or more specifically it is a second reiteration of the law or a second reconsideration of the covenant with God albeit for a second generation. It records the Moses instructions (God's) to the Israelites concerning the ways of God from generation to generation. In the case of Deuteronomy 1-3 we see Moses giving the Law to the next generation. The new generation that never saw Egypt or experienced the Exodus. It is important that they know where they came from so that they can better appreciate where they are going and what they are gaining. They are to consider and/or remember God and what He has done for them, love God, to fear God and to hold fast to God and not turn to other false God’s (Williams, Westbrook 336-338). Good advise for any believer, to be reminded of their spiritual roots, their beginnings in the faith. It allows a better perspective of what they are now. Paul also alludes to this is 1 Corinthians:

“Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Moses exhorts the new generation entering the land of Canaan to:

To Remember God: To remember what God did for them, as we are reminded what Jesus did for us. To remember indicates that He is the God that led the Israelites out of their bondage in Egypt in miraculous ways. They were to remember the past so they would not be condemned to repeat it as we have learned painfully in this day and age (nothing new under the sun). The Israelites were to remember His faithfulness and steadfastness (unchanging immutability) (Williams, Westbrook 336)

To Love God: They are exhorted to love God, as we are reminded to love Christ with all our hearts, souls and minds. It indicates a relationship both personable and close. The obvious visible sign of this love was to be an obedience to God’s commands in a deep compassionate understanding not cold clinical adherence. On God’s side he would continue uphold His promises (Williams, Westbrook 337)

To Fear God: They are exhorted to fear the Lord their God, just as we are to maintain a fear of God now. It also indicates a reverential fear of God as one reveres a higher authority or gives credence to one higher in stature. In other words they were to have an extremely healthy respect for God and to not take Him for granted or take Him lightly as is often the case with man. God is great. Greater than man’s feeble attempts to understand Him and because of this they needed to tread lightly in His presence and obey Him.

To Hold Fast to God: Finally Moses exhorts them to hold fast and not waver, just as a modern believer is encouraged by Paul to: “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.” 1 Corinthians 16:13. A reminder to hold fast indicates man’s proclivity to drift away and wander after things of the flesh, things of this material world. Man has a sinful inclination that lets them choose to wander away from things of God in the spiritual world. We are of this world and because of this we are often times subject to the sins of this world that draw us in through our flesh or the failure within or flesh. That failure is that exact reason we are to cling so tightly to Him. When he takes up our entire lives there is no other room for things of this world.

In the end we must realize that when Moses wrote this book he wrote it as a book of laws, a book of sermons and a book of history. It is historical narrative but is mostly speech from Moses but no recording of events per se and the laws are piggybacked into those speeches. Moses describes the nature of the law (as Jesus does for an even later generation) so that the new generation will understand the “undergirding” principles and not get entirely wrapped around the explicit details or each event that led to the deliverance from Egyptian bondage. This will eventually happen with the Pharisees adding to the Law and getting away from the Laws true intent as we see by the time of Jesus.(Payne 3-5).

"O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old-what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands. They would not be like their forefathers—a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him. ~Psalms 78:1-8


My generation and generations in general that have been born, lived and died since the time of Moses would've be well advised to do these things that Moses exhorted the new generation to do. Remember, love, fear and hold fast to the Lord. If we do not we have later books and chapters within the Bible that we can read to see what happens to people that forget and turn away from the Lord. That hate Him. That mock and scoff at the thought of Him. People that decided it wasn't worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved and warped mind. People that released their grip on God and his Word and God in turn released them unto their own sin. If I am not mistaken, many of them died painful or unpleasant deaths. Some repented and were salvaged. The Lord spared them to use as poster children for grace and mercy. I was one of them. All of them ended up being punished for being sinful. It isn't just those in the past, it is my generation, myself included. The Bible applies to all generations just as Christ's atoning sacrifice is available to all people in all generations that accept it by faith.

Payne, David F.. "Introduction." Deuteronomy (Daily Study Bible-Old Testament). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1985. 3-5. Print.

Williams, William C, Westbrook, April. "Chapter 8: Through The Vast And Dreadful Desert." They Spoke from God: A Survey of the Old Testament. Springfield: Logion Press/Gospel Pub. House, 2003. 336-338. Print.