D’Varim (Deut.) 1:1-3:22
1. The first verse of the book of Deuteronomy uses a phrase we have not heard before in the Torah. The verse begins, “These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel…”
All Israel or Kol Yisrael in Hebrew appears eleven times in Deuteronomy and exists nowhere else in Torah. Until this verse the Israelites have been described as Bnei Yisrael or “the children of Israel”. Now for the first time they are no longer the children of Israel – they are simply Israel. What does this signify?
It means that the Israelites were about to become something they had not been before. Until now, they had been linked vertically, by biological descent. They had a common ancestor: Jacob, who was given the name Israel. They were his descendants. They were part of the same family tree. They were his children.
With the subtle shift from bnei Yisrael, the children of Israel, to Israel, Moses was preparing the Israelites for a new mode of existence. Now they would be linked horizontally, to one another. They were no longer children. They were about to become moral adults. Their unity was no longer simply a matter of a common past. They were about to create a shared future. They would no longer exist in a state of dependency – relying on Moses and through him, G-d, to provide for their needs, welfare and safety. Henceforth they would have to take responsibility for one another.
Through this subtle shift, Moses is indicating that once the Israelites crossed the Jordan they would have to become a nation, not just a family. They were about to create a society. They would have to fight wars, defend themselves, institute systems of justice and welfare.
None of that had been necessary in the wilderness. G-d provided their needs, fought their battles, sent them food and water and gave them shelter. G-d would still be with them in the future. But no longer would it be G-d serving the people – giving them all they need. It would be the people serving G-d. That was to be their new identity. The nation would be defined by the covenant their parents had made at Mount Sinai. It would be their constitution, their mission, their task, their destiny. They were about to become, not just individuals, but a people:
Then Moses and the priests, the Levites, said to all Israel, “Be silent, Israel, and listen! This day, you have become a people of the L-rd your G-d. Obey the L-rd your G-d and follow His commands and decrees that I give you today.” Deut. 27;9-10.
This is true of us also. When we come to faith in the Messiah we cannot stay in the infant stage. We are called to study, to learn and move deeper in our faith.
I Corinthians 3:1-3 says, “Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as people who live by the Spiritbut as people who are still worldly—mere infantsin Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food,for you were not yet ready for it.Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarrelingamong you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?” Paul could not call the Corinthian believers mature spiritual people, because they were continuing to live in the flesh, as if they were still infants trapped in an immature condition.
2.Read Deut. 1:8 and Deut. 1:26 of our Torah portion where Moses was reminding them of the time their fathers did not go into the Land G-d had promised them. Compare that to the 4th chapter of Judges. What similarities do you see? What message do these two passages have for us?
Moshe, in looking back, reminded the people of their father’s refusal to go up and possess the Land and the cost of that refusal. Let’s look at five verbs in Hebrew in this passage that will help us go deeper into what Moshe was saying. In English the verse says,
Deut. 1:8, “See, I have set the land before you, go in and possess the land which the L-rd swore to your fathers – to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – to give to them and their descendants after them.”
First verb is see or in Hebrew, “Ra’a.” However when we examine the Hebrew it goes deeper than just “see.” It is written in first person singular – Moshe is speaking to each person as an individual. And it is stronger than just see. It is more like, “Look here, pay attention this is important.”
The next word has to do with G-d’s action. “I have set the land before you…” or more simply, given the Land. In Hebrew the word is “natatee”. This verb is in the past tense (I gave). G-d is saying this is already yours all you have to do is go up and take it.
G-d emphasized this point with the next word, “before you.” In Hebrew this phrase is “lefna chem.” In Hebrew this has the meaning of something being placed in your control. All you have to do is take it. The next verb is, go or in Hebrew, “bo u” meaning come or enter. It is yours.
Lastly the word, “rashu” which means possess or inherit. Moshe is making the point in this verse to this younger generation their fathers had the opportunity to live their promises from G-d but because of their hesitations and fears they missed what G-d had for them.
Now let’s look at Judges 4 and read of another missed opportunity. In this chapter we read of the judge of Israel at that time, a woman named Deborah. She heard from the L-rd that He would deliver Israel from the hands of the Canaanites.
She called her general Barak and gave him all the words of G-d down to the battle plan and
where the battle would take place. G-d had everything planned out.
In Judges 4:8 we read Barak’s response. He would only go if Deborah would go with him.
In verse 9 we see Deborah’s response to him. She said she would go with him
but the glory of the battle would not be his. G-d would give the Canaanite general into the hands of a woman. Israel beat the Canaanite army but we never heard of Barak again in scripture. He lost his moment. He hesitated and doubted the word of G-d.
What can we learn from these two cases? G-d gives each of us opportunities. We have the opportunity to make a difference, to step outside our comfort zone. Often we hesitate and the opportunity passes us by. We miss the moment. We fail to speak out when a word is needed. We don’t get involved in doing G-d’s will in a time when only we can. As a result we miss out. Both we and the people to whom we could have made a difference are left poorer because we hesitated.
We all face the question, are we prepared to take possession of the moment set before us? I pray we are. For the sake of the Kingdom of G-d we should not hesitate to grab each opportunity that comes our way.
3. In D’Varim 1:27 we read where the children of Israel said, “Because G-d hated us did He take us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us.” How could they have come to the place of making such a statement? Is this a true picture of what happened between the people and G-d? What was really going on?
Maybe they, like us sometimes, find ourselves questioning G-d thinking, if He really loves us why did He not do what we were asking of Him?
Let us consider for a moment, how do we grow in our faith? Is it by living an easy life free of challenges or is it by living a life of purpose and service where we choose to follow Him no matter the cost. It is by dying to self and following our Heavenly Father that we grow and mature. Below are verses that remind us that we grow through living a life of faith not feelings no matter what comes.
I Peter 1:6-7 “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
James 1:2-4 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
4. In the book of Deuteronomy we see the Hebrew word, “lamad,” meaning teach, study learn. This word is used 17 times in the book of D’Varim and only in this book of Torah. Here are a few places it is found in Deut. (Deut. 4:10, 6:1, 11:19). Why is this word important and what passages can you find in the Messianic scripture that emphasizes the same thing?
Moshe told his people they needed to be able to teach these words of his to their children. As I considered this during this week I thought how vitally important it is for each of us to become teachers in our faith. We need to be able to clearly present truth, unchanging truth, to people who ask. We see the same idea in the Messianic writings as well. For example, look at II Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 4:12, Colossians 3:16, Luke 6:40. Also in Proverbs 22:6 we find, “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” So, this idea of teaching and learning, both being expressed in D’Varim, is something that is a constant throughout scripture. Each of us must spend time studying and being able to teach when G-d gives us the opportunity.