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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Despite some of the error that modern science tries to promulgate as truth (such that our universe by itself arose from “absolutely nothing” or that all life on earth arose by chance from simple chemicals), science has nonetheless given us some astonishing insights into God’s creative power. The harmony, the balance, the precision of many aspects of the natural world, even in its fallen state, continue to astound those who study them.

And if God can be so precise with physical things, He certainly would be precise with spiritual things, as well. Hence, in the opening verses of Deuteronomy, we can see more of God’s incredible precision.

Read Deuteronomy 1:1-6. What is the prophetic significance of the fact that Deuteronomy 1:3 talks about the “fortieth year”?

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After the fiasco, when Moses sent spies from Kadesh Barnea to check out the land, and the people rejected the call to take the land — what happened? They were told that they would not enter into the Promised Land as they had hoped. And for how long would they wait before entering? “According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection” (Numbers 14:34).

Hence, Deuteronomy takes up the story of God’s people in the fortieth year, exactly as God had told them. In other words, God’s prophetic Word is as trustworthy as God Himself, and what we see here in the opening verses of Deuteronomy is more evidence of that trustworthiness; that is, God will do what He says and will do it when He says that He will do it.

Of course, this isn’t the only prophetic time period that was fulfilled as God had said. Looking back from our vantage point today, we can find in Daniel 9:24-27, for instance, the time period for Jesus, fulfilled just as the Lord had said. We can see that the “time and times and half a time” (Daniel 7:25; see also Revelation 12:6, Revelation 12:14; Revelation 13:5) has been fulfilled in history, as well as the 2,300 days of Daniel 8:14.

And besides the precise time elements, the prophecies of Daniel 2, 7, 8, which so precisely and accurately predicted world history, have given us overwhelming evidence of God’s foreknowledge, control, and trustworthiness.

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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Key Thought: Just as Israel was to enter the promised land, Moses gave them a history lesson, remember what the Lord has done for you in the past. This should also mean something to us as we prepare to enter the promised land.
October 9, 2021

1. Have a volunteer read Exodus 32:29-32.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. What does this show about the character of Moses and why God was able to use him?
3. Personal Application: Most people want to be leaders in concern for themselves, while God picked a leader who was concerned for others above himself. Do you see this kind of leadership in your church? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “Why would Moses risk his own eternal life for the Israelites who had rebelled against him, accused him, didn’t listen to him, and constantly complained about his leadership?” How would you respond to your friend?

2. Have a volunteer read Deuteronomy 1:9-11.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. What is significant about the fact that this is mentioned as the fortieth year?
3. Personal Application: Why would Moses want Israel to multiply so much when he just said that they were too much for him to handle? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states: “How can you be so sure of the prophecies you mention that are supposed to happen in the future?.“ How would you respond to your relative?

3. Have a volunteer read Numbers 14:11-20.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What reasoning did Moses use in interceding for the people with God?
3. Personal Application: How are we to bring about the manifold wisdom of God to the world? Share your thoughts
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “Why did God put up with the Israelites in the wilderness? Why didn’t He just destroy them all and start over like He did at the flood?” How would you respond to your friend?

4. Have a volunteer read Genesis 15:1-16.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. How do we understand God’ purpose in destroying whole cities including men, women, and children in Israel’s march across the area?
3. Personal Application: How do you respond to someone who says that God is love and He doesn’t destroy anyone?” Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

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Flipping through the new quarterly, there are a number of titles that have the word ‘love’ in them – Love, to Be Loved; To Love God; He First Loved Us; To Love the Lord Your God; to name just a few. Hence, I believe a wonderful hymn to devote to as a theme will be 
Hymn 349 – God Is Love. Our first Memory Text says “for God is Love”, 1 John 4:8. As the book of Deuteronomy is the book of the covenant, it would also be good to add 
Hymn 347 – Built On the Rock as verse four tells us of God ‘Making with us His covenant”.

On Sabbath, our Memory Text gives us Jesus as our Rock –  
Hymn 300 – Rock of Ages. The introduction to our week of study, then shares about Moses’ history lesson, repeated through the Bible –  
Hymn 272 – Give Me the Bible.

Moses wished to serve the Lord (Sunday), and so may we: 
Hymn 251 – He Lives, 
Hymn 291 – We Have Not Known Thee, 
Hymn 310 – I Would Draw Nearer to Jesus, 
Hymn 311 – I Would Be Like Jesus and 
Hymn 331 – O Jesus I Have Promised. We are then shown what substitution is, and how Jesus bore our sins: 
Hymn 148 – O Love How Deep How Broad, 
Hymn 281 – I Gave My Life for Thee and 
Hymn 363 – Lord, Whose Love in Humble Service.

Monday gives us a firm reminder of our great Creator: 
Hymn 93 – All Things Bright and Beautiful, 
Hymn 565 – For the Beauty of the Earth, 
Hymn 2 – All Creatures of Our God and King,
Hymn 92 – This Is My Father’s World and 
Hymn 88 – I Sing the Mighty Power.

“God is to be glorified in His people” (Wednesday) is sung in 
Hymn 581 – When the Church of Jesus.

Hymn 608 – Faith Is the Victory is the evidence given to us on Thursday. It is my prayer 
O Brother, Be Faithful – Hymn 602 so we may meet in the Promised Land, very soon, as was the wish of Moses and the Children of Israel in Deuteronomy 2:11; 3:13.

We are bound for The Promised Land! Hallelujah!! Come, Lord Jesus come – very soon.

Blessings for a wonderful week ahead.

To learn unknown hymns, you will find the accompaniment music for each one at: https://sdahymnals.com/Hymnal/

Another great resource is for when there is a hymn you wish to sing, but can’t find it in your hymnal. Go to https://www.sdahymnal.org and in the search bar type a special word in that is in the hymn. I am sure you will be amazed at the help you will be given.

2 Timothy 2:15 KJV – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

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All through the Bible, the presence of Moses is felt. And though he’s not mentioned until Exodus 2:2, he had written the book of Genesis, God’s authoritative and foundational story of who we are, how we got here, why things are as bad as they are, and yet, why we can hope anyway. Creation, the Fall, the promise of redemption, the Flood, Abraham, the gospel — all have their roots in Genesis, and its author was the prophet Moses. It’s hard to gauge adequately the influence that this one man, hardly flawless, was nevertheless able to exert for God because He loved the Lord and wanted to serve Him.

Read Exodus 32:29-32, which records the conversation between the Lord and Moses after the terrible sin of the golden calf. What insight does this story teach us about the character of Moses and why, despite whatever flaws he had, the Lord was able to use him in such a mighty way?

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Even though Moses had nothing to do with the sin, he sought to intercede for this sinful people, even being willing to lose his own soul on their behalf. Fascinatingly enough, in Exodus 32:32, when Moses asks God to “forgive their sin,” the verb actually means “to bear.” Thus, Moses — understanding the gravity of sin and what it took to atone for it — asked God indeed to “bear” their sin. And that is because this is the only way, ultimately, that their sin, any sin, could be forgiven.

Thus, here we have, early in the Bible, a powerful expression of substitution, in which God Himself, in the person of Jesus, will bear in Himself the full brunt and penalty of our sin — God’s preordained way of salvation for humanity while remaining true to the principles of His government and law.

Indeed, many centuries later Peter would write about Jesus: “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness — by whose stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24).

Meanwhile, what we see in this story of Moses and his reaction to their sin is Moses in the role of intercessor on behalf of a fallen, sinful people, a precursor to what Jesus will also do for us (see Hebrews 7:25).

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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