AUGUST 17, 2022 Numbers 14:40 And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised, for we have sinned!” After being informed that all those who had come out of Egypt would perish in the […]
AUGUST 16, 2022 Numbers 14:27 How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me. That is the question isn’t it — how long will He bear with those who continually resist and walk contrary to Him? In this section of Scripture, […]
AUGUST 15, 2022 Numbers 14:12-13 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they. And Moses said to the Lord: ‘Then the Egyptians will hear it, for by Your might You brought these people up from among them.’ At this point […]
AUGUST 14, 2022 Numbers 14:10 Now the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel. In the midst of all the clamor surrounding the spies’ evil report, the two faithful spies — Joshua and Caleb — had tried to dissuade the people from making this tragic mistake. And is most […]
Moses assured the Israelites that God will give them the conquest of Canaan. He warned them three times lest they presume that their righteousness provided sufficient merit for their success. Moses had already told them that their future success would be guaranteed “because” of their obedience to the commandments. The people of Israel might naturally assume, then, that success was an indication of their own righteousness.
We might be prone to make a similar mistake. A pastor with a successful, growing congregation might assume that he is in God’s favor because of the numbers. A businessman who lands a lucrative contract may suppose that he is being rewarded for his godliness. In both cases, the assumptions may be correct, but there might be other factors at work not at all related to one’s personal righteousness.
Moses stressed three times that “it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stubborn people” (Deuteronomy 9:6). He went on to rehearse the sin of the golden calf and the incidents in the wilderness that provoked God to anger. He recounted how he fasted on their behalf and pleaded for their forgiveness. He retold the story of how God, in His mercy, relented, and did not punish them as their deeds deserved. If not for Moses’ intercession and atonement on their behalf, Israel would not have even survived the journey from Egypt. They had Moses to thank for their deliverance thus far. There could be no talk of their merit and righteousness. Their observance of the Torah was not sufficient to merit the conquest of the land.
If the children of Israel did not deserve to take possession of the land, why did God give it to them? Moses gave two reasons: The sin of the Canaanites and the covenant promises to the patriarchs.
It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God is driving them out before you, in order to confirm the oath which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (Deuteronomy 9:5)
For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. (Romans 4:13)
Ekev – עקב : “Because” Torah : Deuteronomy 7:12-11:25 Haftarah : Isaiah 49:14-51:3 Gospels : John 13:31-15:27
AUGUST 13, 2022 Numbers 14:2 And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness!” The Bible says that, upon hearing the report of the spies, the people […]
AUGUST 12, 2022 Numbers 13:30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” When the spies came back with their report, the people were dismayed and gave into fear and doubt. This was the sense in spite of […]
AUGUST 11, 2022 Numbers 13:17-20 Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way into the South, and go up to the mountains, and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; […]
AUGUST 10, 2022 Numbers 13:16 These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua. Looking at the Biblical text in Hebrew almost always provides insight into what is going on that might otherwise be overlooked just reading it in English. Case in point: the Hebrew […]
AUGUST 9, 2022 Numbers 13:1-2 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.” At this point in their journey, Israel was at the threshold […]
