In Deuteronomy 2 and 3, Moses continues to recount Israelite history and how, with God’s blessing, they routed their enemies; when they were faithful, God gave them the victory, even over “giants” (Deuteronomy 2:11, Deuteronomy 2:20; Deuteronomy 3:13).

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Of course, this brings up the difficult topic, which we must at least touch on, regarding the destruction of these people. Though the children of Israel would often speak peace first to a nation ( Deuteronomy 20.10-11), yet if the people didn’t accept that offer, sometimes the Israelites would go in and destroy them, including women and children. “And the LORD our God delivered him over to us; so we defeated him, his sons, and all his people. We took all his cities at that time, and we utterly destroyed the men, women, and little ones of every city; we left none remaining” ( Deuteronomy 2.33-34, NKJV).

Some try to get around this simply by saying that these stories are not true. However, because we believe that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16), that’s not a viable option for Seventh-day Adventists. Thus, we are left with the difficult question regarding these incidents.

Read Genesis 15:1-16. What did God say to Abram in Genesis 15:16, and how does it shed some light on this difficult topic?

There’s no question that many of these pagan nations were exceedingly brutal and cruel people who justifiably could have faced the wrath and punishment of God long before then. That’s true, and even if God waited patiently for them to change their ways, and they didn’t change — this still doesn’t alter the hard reality about the killing of everyone, including children. (Of course, probably many more children were killed in the Flood than were killed by the Israelites.)

The fact is that, for now, given the limited information we have about the full context of the events, we just need to accept this hard reality and trust in the goodness of God, which has been revealed in so many other ways. Faith isn’t just about loving God on a beautiful day in a pretty forest full of wonderful sights and sounds. It’s also about trusting in Him despite what we don’t fully understand.

<–Wednesday Friday–>

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You can view an in-depth discussion of Moses’ History Lesson in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris. Click on the image to view:

With thanks to Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.

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This video is produced by the South Pacific Division Discipleship team.

Week 2_Moses’ History Lesson_ study this lesson for Oct 9 from SPD Discipleship on Vimeo.

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A specter has been haunting the early parts of the book of Deuteronomy, the specter of Kadesh Barnea. This unfortunate story, as we have seen, set the immediate background for the book of Deuteronomy, and it’s worth taking a closer look at it.

Read Numbers 14:1-45. How did the people react to the report of the spies, and what were the results of their reaction? (See also Deuteronomy 1:20-46)

We can derive many important lessons from this story, but one important lesson, which will appear again in the book, can be found in Numbers 14, as well.

Read Numbers 14:11-20. Though we see Moses again in the role of intercessor, what is significant about his line of reasoning with the Lord regarding why the Lord should not destroy them?

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Think about what Moses was saying to God. If You do this, look at how You will appear in the eyes of the Egyptians and the other nations in the area. This point is important because, ultimately, everything that God had wanted to do with Israel wasn’t just for the sake of Israel; it was also for humanity as a whole. The nation of Israel was to be a light to the world, a witness to the ancients about the love and power and salvation found in the true God and not in the worthless idols that these people had worshiped.

However, as Moses said, if you wipe this people out, then what? The nations will say: “Because the LORD was not able to bring this people to the land which He swore to give them, therefore He killed them in the wilderness” (Numbers 14:16).

In other words, what we see here is a theme found all through the Bible: the idea that God is to be glorified in His people — that the glory and goodness and love and power of God are to be revealed in His church, through what He does through His people. Of course, His people don’t always make it easy for Him to do this, but ultimately God will be glorified through His actions on earth.

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

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After the long trek in the wilderness, Moses, speaking for the Lord (he was a prophet, though, indeed, more than a prophet), said: “See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers — to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — to give to them and their descendants after them” (Deuteronomy 1:8).

Notice, however, what comes next.

Read Deuteronomy 1:9-11. What is the significance of these words, especially in light of the fact that, in a real sense, they were being punished by God for the rebellion at Kadesh Barnea?

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Here we see another example of the graciousness of God. Even amid the wilderness wanderings, they were blessed: “Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; They lacked nothing; their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell” (Nehemiah 9:21).

And Moses, again showing his love for his people, asked God to multiply them a thousand more times than God already had done!

Read Deuteronomy 1:12-17. As a direct result of God’s blessing upon them, what happened, and what steps did Moses take to deal with the situation?

Thus, even when the Lord was so powerfully present among them, there was the need for organization, for structure, for a system of accountability. Israel was a qahal, an organized assembly (see Deuteronomy 31:30), a precursor to the New Testament ekklesia, Greek for “church” (see Matthew 16:18). And though working in a different context, Paul was never far from his Jewish roots, and in 1 Corinthians 12 we see him clearly delineating the need for qualified people to assume various roles for the proper functioning of the body, just as we see here in Deuteronomy and the qahal in the wilderness. The church today, as the qahal back then, needs to be a unified body with people fulfilling various roles according to their gifts.

Though we sometimes hear people rail against “organized” religion (what would they prefer, “disorganized” religion instead?), the Word of God, especially the New Testament, acknowledges no other kind but an organized one.

<–Monday Wednesday–>

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