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)
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 […]
AUGUST 8, 2022 Numbers 12:11-12 So Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord! Please do not lay this sin on us, in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned. Please do not let her be as one dead.” The rabbinical belief is that Miriam was struck with leprosy because her statements about Moses amounted to slandering […]
AUGUST 7, 2022 Numbers 12:3 Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth. In the previous devotion, we spoke of the fact that God hears what we say, and especially when we speak against His purpose and people. Apparently, something was going on between Miriam and Moses’ Ethiopian […]
The Torah tells us to honor our parents. Jewish tradition teaches that, at the very least, this means making sure that our parents are provided for in their old age. The spirit of the law, however, asks us to treat our parents with profound respect:
Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which the LORD your God gives you. (Deuteronomy 5:16)
In the modern world, youth counter-cultures have learned to find their own identity by defining themselves in antithesis to the previous generation. Whole generations of human beings are raised to believe that disrespect for parents and disdain for their expectations is the normal and healthy path to individuality and adulthood.
It is not uncommon to hear young people today speak back to their parents, argue with them publicly or reply to them with sarcasm or open exasperation. For believers, this is not acceptable. Our young people need to realize that even contradicting their parents is taboo. Public impertinence toward parents is a grievous sin.
Popular culture portrays it as cool for children and teens to appear autonomous and on a peer level with their parents. Secular teens hate being seen in public with their parents, and accepting parental authority hampers the perception of their coolness. The Bible would call “coolness” pride and haughtiness.
Parents also have a responsibility around this commandment. They need to be careful not to raise disrespectful children who will find it difficult to keep the commandment of honoring them. A parent should not grant any allowance for disrespect.
However, a father cannot teach his child to honor him by demanding honor. Neither can a mother teach her child to honor her by demanding to be honored. Instead, we teach our children to honor us by honoring our own parents and by honoring our spouses.
A parent must never take sides with a child against the other parent. If you feel that your spouse is wrong, take your spouse’s side anyway. Do not contradict your spouse in front of the children. Disagreements with a spouse should never be spoken in the hearing of the children.
When your child treats your spouse with disrespect, it is your job to rebuke the child on behalf of your spouse: “Do not speak to your father that way.” “Never speak to your mother like that.”
When a child observes his mother honor his father and vice versa, the child learns the art of honoring father and mother. Only the mother can properly teach a child to honor the father. Only the father can properly teach a child to honor the mother.
Va’etchanan – ו××ª×—× ×Ÿ : “And I besought” Torah : Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11 Haftarah : Isaiah 40:1-26 Gospel : Luke 22:13-38
AUGUST 6, 2022 Numbers 12:1-2 Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. So they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. People are amazing. Almost immediately after being witness to so much destruction resulting from doubting God’s […]
