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Saturday, September 20, 2014

JOSHUA+—An Illustrated Summary of Life Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible by G. Campbell Morgan

"On every page of the God-breathed writings are many thoughts that stretch out like long, clear arms of light across the darkness, discovering things otherwise hidden and illuminating wider areas than those of the immediate context. They are searchlights. I have selected one in each chapter of Scripture, for at least one central thought in every chapter should arrest the mind and affect the life," wrote G. Campbell Morgan, a skilled, wise, warm-hearted Bible teacher who conducted a classic 3-year study called Life Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible. Here is the fruit of that research—summarized, illustrated, and amplified with useful details—on all 66 books of the Bible.


Joshua 1:2 "Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan." As John Wesley said, "God buries His workmen, but carries on His work." Joshua was called, equipped, and appointed to carry the purpose of God a step further, but all he was about to do was made possible by what Moses had already done. Joshua came to the beginning of his service knowing his dependence on the things already done. Thus it always is with God's enterprises in this world. God alone is the One who works continuously until the job is done. His instruments are men and women, and high indeed is the honor of being such. Each will take up a work already begun, and  will leave it unfinished. Each is a debtor to those who have gone before, and a creditor to those who will follow. Therefore it is wise for us to be humble and restful: humble because no service we render is wholly ours and restful because the work we do is part of a larger whole that will not be completed. God will still continue it and find other instruments. That is the joy of working together with Him. Joshua would know that joy as he led the Israelites to their long-promised land, but it would not be easy. Three times in this chapter Joshua is told to be strong and courageous, twice by God and once by the people. When it is our turn to serve God and His people, let us remember to be strong and courageous, humble and restful.

Joshua 2:11 "The Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath." Those words constitute a confession of faith from Rahab the prostitute of Jericho, the first city that would be conquered in the promised land. This confession is remarkable in showing the effect of people undeniably governed by God upon the peoples of the land to which they were coming. It is also remarkable in revealing the capacity of the human soul for coming to right conclusions when hearing reliable testimony about manifestations of divine power. The people of Jericho were terrified not of the Israelites themselves but of the greatness of their God. They heard of the deliverance from Egypt and overwhelming military victories over powerful enemies to the south. They knew these things had not been done by the Israelites but for them through their God. They recognized His Almighty nature over "heaven above and on earth beneath." Rahab herself showed wonderful discernment and stands out from her people because she made her knowledge the inspiration of her faith. The men of Jericho couldn't help sharing her convictions about God because of undeniable facts, but they rebelled against them and hid behind their mighty walls. Rahab recognized the acts of God and yielded to them. The people of God render true service to others not by making a name for themselves, but as they make His name great among others.

Joshua 3:5 "Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you." The peoples' first movement forward under Joshua was under the condition of their positive relation to God. There was nothing in this first advance to give them any cause for personal glorying. They came onto the actual soil of Canaan not by their engineering efforts of deflecting the course of the Jordan River or by bridging it, but by divine intervention. God's might would be on display as He arrested the swollen river and made a dry highway for His people to the other side. The wonders of God are performed for His people when they sanctify themselves, which is walking in the light of obedience to God's Word. The call to sanctification or consecration is a call to separation from everything God forbids, and dedication to Him completely in mind, heart, and will. The attitude is more than activity: in proportion as in our deepest life we yield to His will, we place ourselves in line with His work. The application is personal and social—as true of the individual as for the church. All our progress is the result of God's power in us as we respond to His call to sanctify ourselves completely and without hesitation.

Joshua 4:6 "When your children ask later." The people of God had sanctified themselves as He commanded, and He brought them across the Jordan River by a miracle similar to the parting of the Red Sea during the Exodus from Egypt. Before there could be any forward march, they were commanded to halt for worship by gathering large stones from the dry riverbed, one for each of the twelve tribes, and setting them up as a memorial on the side of the Jordan to which they had now come. Our highlighted verse states the purpose for this memorial, which is so important, it is repeated at the end of this chapter: "When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, 'What are these stones?' then you shall inform your children, saying, 'Israel crossed this Jordan on dry ground' (Joshua 4:21-22). God has such tender care for children that He arranges for such things that appeal to their natural curiosity. In answer to their questions the history of their people's deliverance was to be repeated to each succeeding generation. The true value of all monuments and memorials is to lead children to inquire, and it is the business of those who have charge of them to answer those questions well so individuals, families, and nations are preserved from forgetting things of real significance.

Like Wafers with Honey
Joshua 5:12 "The manna ceased." The manna had been God's supernatural provision for His people during their journeys in a wilderness where cultivation of the soil was impossible. Since they were now in a land already cultivated and capable of further cultivation, they were fed with the corn of the land and their future supply would depend on their own labor. They would be as surely fed by God in the land as they had in the wilderness, but they would now be responsible for co-operating with Him through the labor of their own hands. God always provides for the needs of His people. When they are in circumstances by His leading where they are unable to provide for themselves, He cares for them without any action on their part. When it is possible for them to act and to work, He provides for them through that activity. God never employs supernatural methods of supplying needs that can be met by natural means, for He never encourages laziness. The manna always ceases when by industry we are able to produce bread.

Joshua 6:17 "Only Rahab the harlot and all who are with her in her house shall live because she hid the messengers whom we sent." It is written, "By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace" (Hebrews 11:31). This helps us to understand the true nature of faith, for her faith is placed in direct contrast with disobedience. Rahab was obedient and that constituted faith. Her obedience was not doing what the spies told her, but the fact that she received them. As we saw in Joshua 2:11, she was obedient to her conviction that the Israelites worshiped the one true God. She testified that everyone in Jericho believed that as well, but they did not act according to their convictions. Rahab had faith so she acted accordingly. The essence of faith is far more than a creed intellectually held: it is always volitional surrender to intellectual conviction. Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven" (Matthew 7:21). The light that Rahab had was not particularly brilliant—her advantages had been very few—but she followed the gleam by believing actively and was thus delivered, along with those who shared her faith, from the spectacular fall of Jericho.

Joshua 7:12 "Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand before their enemies." This chapter opens with a significant and ominous "but." So far the people of God had been completely victorious in the promised land. We now see them defeated and flying before the people of Ai, enemies far less formidable than those at Jericho. Joshua was filled with the profoundest consternation and poured out his soul before God, crying out, "O Lord, what can I say since Israel has turned their back before their enemies?" (Joshua 7:8). The answer was given him at once: Israel had sinned grievously so now was unable to stand before their enemies. The particular sin was of one man, Achan, but Israel was now a nation and no one person could act alone. This is a striking revelation of the divine conception of the solidarity of human society. The sin of the one is the sin of the community. All the hosts of God were defeated and His enterprises checked because one man disobeyed. The story of Achan's sin, as he himself confessed it, is full of warning. Note the progression: "I saw," "I coveted," "I took" (Joshua 7:21). The danger begins when the sight lingers until unholy desire is generated. Swift and terrible, yet necessary for the strength of the nation, was the judgment that fell upon this man. The confession he made was complete but it could not help him because it was not made until there was no escape from detection. What we do affects those around us whether we like it or not. Remembering that promotes personal holiness and prevents sin and disaster.

Joshua 8:33 "The sojourner as well as the native." We learned from studying Deuteronomy 27:9 that Moses instructed the people to set up an altar and pile of large stones inscribed with God's law by Mount Ebal when they were in the promised land. After a tremendous victory at Ai, Joshua 8  concludes with the Israelites carrying out Moses' precise instructions at Mount Ebal. The verse highlighted is connected with carrying out those instructions. The principle involved we have observed before: there was to be one law for both sojourners and natives in Israel (Leviticus 24:22). That emphasized the rights of the sojourners. Here it stresses equality of privilege and also of responsibility. From the beginning the door was open to others to enter this Theocracy, this Kingdom of God. The claims of blood and birthright were not exclusive. But those who entered needed to obey the law and abide by its blessings and cursings. They could claim no exemption from responsibility. Today that door to the Kingdom of God  stands wide open to men and women of every nation through our Lord Jesus Christ. There are no longer any native born because all who enter must be born anew by God's Spirit (John 3). That is the one necessity both as right and responsibility that must be insisted upon. The Gospel has been well described as the Good News of the victory of God through Jesus Christ over Satan, sin, and death on behalf of His people. Any admission to a Christian fellowship must be through faith in that true Gospel because anything less threatens to destroy that fellowship, and makes impossible the realization of its true functions.

Joshua 9:19 "We have sworn to them by the Lord, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them." These words were spoken about the Gibeonites, who constituted a new threat to the people of God. What happened was the fame and dread of the Israelites spread far and wide throughout the promised land. The kings of Canaan formed a league against the oncoming hosts but before they could take action, the Gibeonites sought to secure their own safety by deceit. The fundamental mistake of the leaders of Israel was they trusted their instincts and "did not ask for the counsel of the Lord" (Joshua 9:14). God commanded them not to make any covenant with the peoples of the land, but they were tricked into doing so because the Gibeonites put on an elaborate ruse of being from a distant land. But the covenant with the Gibeonites being made and ratified in the name of the Lord, the leaders knew they must not break it. Joshua, strictly bound by the letter of the covenant, condemned the Gibeonites to perpetual servitude but their lives were spared. In all the history that follows, we see that this treaty was honored. This account is a revelation about the sacredness of the covenants we make and the caution we must exercise before we do.

Joshua 10:42 "Joshua captured all these kings and their lands at one time because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel. " All through the history of the conquest of the land, we must bear in mind that the record treats it as a divine movement by which corrupt peoples were cleared out of possession, and so creating a new era in the history of the whole race. Joshua captured the kings and their lands only "because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel." Joshua and Israel, as leader and people, constituted God's instrument for this cleansing and purifying work. It is well to remember all the great spiritual and moral benefits that have accrued to humanity through this people of God. When, however, these people themselves became degenerate and corrupt, God cast them out of the land, as He had done with the previous dwellers. "The Lord is a warrior" (Exodus 15:3), but He is always on the side of "truth, humility, and righteousness" (Psalm 45:4). In the strength of this divine passion and power, Joshua fought on until the whole of southern Canaan was cleared of the corrupt peoples and in Israel's possession.

Joshua 11:23 "And the land had rest from war." But that rest did not come quickly nor was it realized until war had achieved the high purposes of God. After the conquest of southern Canaan, a new confederacy had to be faced and fought. The northern kings, conscious of their peril, joined together in an attempt to break the power of the conquering hosts. Turning north, Joshua attacked and utterly defeated them. All this did not happen immediately, of course. We are told, "Joshua waged war a long time with all these kings" (Joshua 11:18). It had been about five years of hard fighting from the death of Moses, but that completed the conquest by the armies of Israel acting as a unit. There was still much fighting that needed to be done, but the preliminary campaign was complete. The statement that the land had rest from war does not mean, therefore, that there would be no more war, for in the settlement of the land each tribe would be involved in border skirmishes. It rather declares that rest was reached through war. It has often been that way in the history of man. Through blood, fire, and smoke God cleanses the land and the heart of man from evil things that produce human feverishness and restlessness, leading to quietness and rest. When passions are purified and evil thoughts are no more, war will cease. Until then, God grant that this awful instrument of cleansing and renewal may never be longer than necessary.

Joshua 12:24 "In all, thirty-one kings." This chapter is a brief summary of Israel's military triumphs under Moses (verses 1-6) and then Joshua (verses 7-24). The highlighted verse refers to the extent of Joshua's victories on the west side of the Jordan River, helping us realize at once the difficulty and greatness of what he accomplished with God's direct help. This comparatively small strip of land was occupied by many peoples at perpetual and cruel strife, united only in their utter corruption. Every considerable city had its king, but there was no true cohesion among the nations except when fighting Joshua and the Israelites. When he had completed his great campaign, these all were subdued, and the land came under the rule of God through His people. Thus ends the first section of this book. The destructive part of the divine work was potentially completed. The constructive work of God could now go forward.

Joshua 13:1 "Very much of the land remains to be possessed." With this chapter the second part of the book of Joshua begins, which tells how the tribes were settled in their new land. Joshua was now close to 90 years old, yet God reminded him that there was still much to be done. Of the land God had chosen for His people, much remained unsubdued, and within the area conquered, strong cities such as Jerusalem were still held by otherwise defeated Canaanites. To help complete this work, God commanded Joshua (with help from Eleazar the high priest) to divide the land among all twelve tribes. Once everyone saw the plan on paper or its equivalent, they could start working on the steps necessary to make it a reality. The danger was that the Israelites might rest content with victories already gained and fail to realize all the purposes of God for them. As a matter of fact that did happen, as we shall see. This contains a lesson for us. In whatever realm we think of our place in God's purpose, we have never occupied all the territory He has provided, for we are terribly prone to be satisfied with less than God's will for us. It is true in the realm of spiritual experience; it is true in the matter of missionary enterprise.

Joshua 14:12 "Give me this mountain." This was the petition of Caleb, and it is characteristic of his bold faith. He was now 85 and still in possession of full vigor. Along with Joshua 45 years ago, he perceived the truth about the promised land, for he had seen not only the difficulties in possessing it, but also he saw God fully backing them (Numbers 14:8). God Himself described them as following Him wholly (Numbers 32:11-12), a fact Caleb now reminded Joshua about (Joshua 14:6-9). For 40 years Caleb had shared the wanderings and discipline of those who had not shared his faith. For five years he faithfully took part in the military campaign to take possession of the long-promised land. Apparently he occupied comparatively quiet position among his people, while his friend Joshua had been called to conspicuous and powerful leadership. Caleb comes forward now when there was still much to be done as a stirring example of willingness to tackle the most difficult territory, saying, "You heard on that day that Anakim [giants] were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I will drive them out as the Lord has spoken" (Joshua 14:12). They were still there so Caleb asked for the privilege of demonstrating and vindicating his faith by valiant deeds. Joshua's recognition of his brave, godly friend's right to this choice was quick and generous. Caleb's life illustrates three lessons for us about faith: 1. Faith sees and dares in the day of difficulty, 2. Faith waits patiently through delays caused by failure in others, 3. Faith acts with courage in the day of opportunity.

Jerusalem Depicted as the Center of the World; Deuteronomy 11:12
Joshua 15:63 "As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the sons of Judah could not drive them out." This is the first statement about Jerusalem in the Bible, although it was simply mentioned by name twice before. It was the king of Jerusalem, Adoni-zedek, who organized his fellow kings in a futile attempt to stop Joshua's northern campaign from succeeding (Joshua 10:1). Jerusalem's early name was simply Salem, where the unusual king-priest Melchizedek was from who blessed Abraham (Genesis 14:18-20). The highlighted verse is the first time we are told anything about Jerusalem itself, and that is the tribe of Judah could not dislodge those who possessed it. King David managed to take it with great difficulty seven years after he became king. In some senses it was held by God's people for centuries—how imperfectly the biblical record shows—but then it was lost to them when the Romans destroyed the city in A.D. 70. Jerusalem has been regained amazingly by the Jewish people in modern times, and this is what God Himself said will happen someday yet future: "When all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves" (Zechariah 12:3). The last references to Jerusalem in the sacred writings are to it as a city coming out of heaven from God (Revelation 21-22), which may be treated as an allegory: God's high purposes for men will never be achieved by man. They will come to men from God. We today are beset by enemies too strong for us to deal with or drive out, but our hope is in God. He will carry out His purposes to their ultimate realization.

Joshua 16:4 "The children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance." This chapter and the next tell about the land allotted to the tribes of Joseph, which was divided between his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. The land set aside for the tribe of Ephraim was a particularly fertile and beautiful district, in many respects the most desirable in the whole country. It was nevertheless a possession of particular difficulty in that it still lay largely in the power of the Canaanites. The history of Ephraim, which later became a dominant tribe, was a sad one. The failure of the tribe began at this time, recorded in these words: "But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites live in the midst of Ephraim to this day" (Joshua 16:10). They received their inheritance, but they did not take possession of it. In the will of God and by the consent of Ephraim, it belonged to them but they failed to appropriate it in all its fullness because they left the Canaanites in possession. The gifts of God to His people belong to them because He bestows them, but they can only be possessed by conflict—by the deliberate actions of those upon whom they are bestowed. Moreover, the richer the gifts, the stronger the foes that need to be dealt with and therefore the sterner the conflict to be waged. The things that are ours by divine grace become all the more ours by our own devotion and faithfulness to God.

Joshua 17:15 "If you are a numerous people, go up by yourselves to the forest, and there clear ground for yourselves." The territory of Manasseh is indicated in this chapter. Some of the cities of Ephraim were within that territory, and some of the cities of Manasseh were within the territory of Asher and Issachar. This could be marking the unity existing between Ephraim and Manasseh as sons of Joseph, and that Asher and Issachar were not strong enough to subdue the territory committed to them. The overlapping emphasized the unity of the tribes in one national life. Manasseh, like Ephraim, did not drive out the Canaanites but worse, they joined Ephraim in complaining about their land portions to Joshua. They said they were a great and numerous people worthy of more land. Joshua's answer here in our highlighted verse is evidence of his statesmanship. He displayed a clear understanding of the weakness of these tribes and the only way they could become strong. He did not deny that they were a great people, but—surely with a touch of irony—he charged them to demonstrate their greatness by taking possession of what they had. Joshua instructed them to clear out their hill country by driving out their enemies and cultivating its land rather than seeking more ground.

Joshua 18:3 "How long will you put off entering to take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?" These words were addressed to the nation, but had special application to seven of the tribes. It seems that after the allotment of districts to Judah, Ephraim, and Manasseh, the nation slackened in its work. In view of this, Joshua at the beginning of this chapter had the tabernacle set up in the midst of the land, at Shiloh. Having done this and having rebuked the seven tribes for procrastinating, he made arrangements for the unoccupied land to be divided into seven parts so the responsibility of taking possession would be shared by all the tribes. How perpetually the work of God suffers because His people become slack! There is no weakening of the sense of the importance of the work or intention of abandoning that work, but weariness creeps upon the soul, enthusiasm cools, things lose their grip upon the mind, and effort grows sluggish. Against that tendency we should strenuously guard ourselves. If we do not, slackness turns into paralysis and work ceases. Inertia is one of the most deadly foes of all campaigns, hence the value of these words: "Let us not grow weary in doing good." The reaping is sure only "if we do not lose heart" (Galatians 6:9).

Joshua 19:51 "So they finished dividing the land." When all had been provided for, only then did Joshua himself get a portion of land. He was content to wait, taking only when all others had received. He asked for Timnath-serah, a city in the rough and uncultivated hill district of Ephraim, the tribe Joshua was from. When Ephraim and Manasseh recently complained about not having a land portion worthy of their greatness, Joshua charged them to prove their greatness by going up to take possession of what was already theirs. Now Joshua proved he was prepared to take his own advice. It's no surprise to read, "So he built the city and settled in it" (Joshua 19:50). That is when they finished dividing the land. The work had been done by Joshua their leader, Eleazar the high priest, and the heads of the tribes before the Lord at the tabernacle in Shiloh, the newly appointed place of worship in the promised land.

Joshua 20:9 "These were the appointed cities." This is referring to the cities of refuge. Now that the people had come into the land, these were provided according to the arrangements already made (Numbers 35:11). Three cities were on the west of the Jordan River and three on the east. They were placed so they would be available throughout the land, and they were all Levitical cities. Jewish commentators tell us that in later times, the roads to such cities were always kept in thorough repair to aid the fugitive in his flight from being slain by an avenger for involuntary manslaughter. At every turning were posts bearing the words "Refuge, Refuge" to guide the unhappy man in his quest for sanctuary. Once settled in such a city, the man-slayer had a convenient home assigned to him and the citizens were to teach him some trade so he could support himself. In this method of dealing with the most heinous of sins, certain principles are revealed: 1. God makes distinction between sin and greater sin, showing there are degrees of guilt. Premeditated murder is to find no sanctuary, even in a city of refuge. 2. Man must not punish man unless his guilt is established after a full investigation. 3. All deliverance is closely connected with the priesthood, which stands for sacrificial mediation. The first two are observed in all human law courts worthy of the name. Deliverance from sin, in any degree, comes only through God Himself.

Joshua 21:45 "Not a word failed of any good thing that the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass." This chapter tells of how the Levites were appointed to their cities and pastures throughout the promised land. These men who, in place of the first-born (Numbers 3:12), were devoted to the spiritual service of the nation were to live among the people, not in separation from them. Their presence everywhere was a perpetual witness to the nation of its relation to God and consequent responsibilities. Thus the second division of this book of Joshua, dealing with the settlement of the people in their new land, comes to an end. It concludes with the declaration that God "gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it" (Joshua 21:43). His every promise to them had been fulfilled. No man had been able to stand before them as they had been obedient to Him. He had delivered their enemies into their hands. And yet, those enemies had not all been driven out so the Israelites had not fully possessed their possessions. As a matter of fact, they never did completely realize the purpose of God in this matter. That failure, however, came from their own disobedience so the record at this point fittingly closes with this declaration of God's faithfulness to His covenant with His people.

Joshua 22:26-27 "Let us build an altar, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice; rather it shall be a witness between us and you." Joshua gave the two and a half tribes on the east side of the Jordan River an honorable discharge from their military duties in the conquest since their brothers now had their lands on the west side. When those tribes returned to their homes in the east, they promptly erected a large altar by the river. The nine and a half tribes were greatly distressed when they heard that because it seemed to indicate the setting up of a new center of worship, which was expressly forbidden by God (Leviticus 17:1-9, Deuteronomy 12:5-14). An army gathered at Shiloh, the designated place of worship, and marched out to confront the eastern tribes only to learn that the altar was not raised for the purpose of worship, but as a witness that the eastern tribes remained an integral part of the nation. It was a recognition of God that was born from a fear of man. They were afraid subsequent generations of the western tribes would repudiate the eastern tribes as being part of the same nation and religion. It is a humiliating historical account of how suspicions and misunderstandings may exist between different tribes of one nation. Its value to us is in indicating the true way of realizing unity: recognizing and testifying to our common allegiance to the one true God as He is revealed in the Holy Bible. There are many temperaments, dialects, and modes of expression, but only "one Lord, one faith, one baptism" (Ephesians 4:5). In proportion as each recognizes this and yields wholly to it, all come to the realization of true unity, which is harmony—not monotony, but concordant difference.

Joshua 23:11 "Be very careful, therefore, to love the Lord your God." As the time of Joshua's passing approached, the great leader twice gathered his people together and delivered farewell messages to them.  The first is in this chapter and the second in the next. What was most on Joshua's heart and mind was the power and faithfulness of God. The consequent earnest desire of this godly leader was for his people to be faithful to the Lord. The references Joshua made to himself are very few and brief, such as "I am old" and "I am going the way of all the earth." Only incidentally did he refer to his own work, but his references to the Lord are constant: "The Lord your God has done"; "The Lord your God, He it is who fought for you" and so on. Earnestly and urgently he charged them to "be courageous to keep and obey all that is written in the book of the law," to "cleave to the Lord," closing with a most solemn warning on what would happen to them if they departed from their allegiance. The verse highlighted is the supreme note of this wonderful address. Everything else is assured if a man or woman loves the Lord. Failure to keep the law is always the outcome of failure to love the Lawgiver. For such failure in love, men and women are held responsible. Love must be diligently maintained and practiced with great care. That is the meaning of this charge from our Lord's half brother: "Keep yourselves in the love of God" (Jude 21). To cease to discipline your life is to cool in your devotion.

Joshua 24:15 "If it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve." These are the words of a fine irony. Contrary to popular usage, they are not an appeal to choose between God and idols. Joshua was supposing his hearers had decided not to serve God. The choice then was between serving the gods their forefathers had abandoned or the gods of the corrupt peoples in the new land. From God's perspective ("thus says the Lord"), Joshua outlined His people's history from the call of Abraham to the present day. In the compass of 11 verses, the "I" referring to God occurs no less than 17 times (Joshua 24:2-13). It's a breathtaking statement of the truth that everything of greatness in Israel's history is of God. From that fact Joshua made the logical deduction, "Now therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth" (Joshua 24:14). But if not—them let them choose between those other gods. As John Calvin said, the human heart is an idol factory. Men and women must worship; they must have a god. That is universally true. If they will not serve the Lord, then let them choose whom they will serve, only let them make their decision in the clear light of what the kingship of God really means in terms of light, love, life, and liberty. This is a great method of appeal. If today people say of God's anointed and appointed King, "We will not have this Man to reign over us," then let us urge them to choose between the alternatives offered them, only let them compare the results of the reign of Christ over human life with those of any other authority to which loyalty may be yielded. Such comparison compels the thinking man or woman to Joshua's decision: "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Read All the Applications for Yourself!

Saturday, September 13, 2014

DEUTERONOMY+—An Illustrated Summary of Life Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible by G. Campbell Morgan

"On every page of the God-breathed writings are many thoughts that stretch out like long, clear arms of light across the darkness, discovering things otherwise hidden and illuminating wider areas than those of the immediate context. They are searchlights. I have selected one in each chapter of Scripture, for at least one central thought in every chapter should arrest the mind and affect the life," wrote G. Campbell Morgan, a skilled, wise, warm-hearted Bible teacher who conducted a classic 3-year study called Life Applications from Every Chapter of the Bible. Here is the fruit of that research—summarized, illustrated, and amplified with useful details—on all 66 books of the Bible.


Deuteronomy 1:32-33 "The Lord your God ...went before you on the way to seek out a place for you to pitch your tent." The book of Deuteronomy is didactic rather than historical. Its actual history covers a very brief period, probably not more than several days before Moses' death. It consists of a series of helpful summaries from Moses of all he and the Israelites had been through and learned together in the very presence of God. He divided their wanderings into three geographical segments: from Horeb (Mount Sinai) to Kadesh Barnea (where the people were judged with 40 years of wandering before reaching the promised land), from Kadesh to Heshbon (where they encountered armed resistance), and from Heshbon to Beth Peor (near the promised land across from Jericho). In the first stage he reminded them of the divine call to leave Mount Sinai after receiving instructions there for a year, and recalled their rebellion in the matter of the spies. The purpose of this review was setting all the facts of their experience in the light of God's government. Their wilderness experience was trying, but they had not been left to grope their way through it alone. In this connection the words quoted above were used, and they are full of revealing beauty.  Through them we learn that in the will of God, nothing is haphazard. How often life is a wilderness way! As we journey, there seems to be no map, no plan, no timetable. The truth is that our God is not only accompanying us on the march, but also going before us, selecting where we will pause. Wherever at night we pitch our tents, the place is chosen by God. That is all we need to know.

Deuteronomy 2:3 "You have circled this mountain long enough." After the failure of faith at Kadesh, the people turned back into the wilderness and tarried long in the area of Mount Seir. Now the command came to march back northward toward the promised land. All that Moses told the people they already knew about the actual facts of the long and tedious wilderness judgment, but what he wanted to impress upon them before passing off the scene was how even amid such sorrowful discipline, they still had been remembered, guided, and provided for by God. The rule of God over us is a fact that breaks upon our consciousness in many ways. When we have reached a place of comparative quietness, He may upset all our plans and purposes, and we find ourselves commanded to new journeys—often not by ways we would have chosen for ourselves. He is constantly disturbing us, but these disturbances are never capricious. He is always leading us toward the fulfillment of His own purposes, and for those of us who love Him that means He is leading us toward realizing our highest good (Romans 8:28). It is equally true that He leads us by no unnecessary pathways (1 Peter 1:6). There is meaning and value in every stretch of the road, however rough and tortuous it may be. We learn lessons in the area of Mount Seir that can be learned nowhere else; we discover God in Moab as we could do in no other region.

Deuteronomy 3:22 "You shall not fear them, for the Lord your God is the one fighting for you." To these people fearlessness was a duty. Over and over again this command was laid upon them since they had no right to be afraid. In Numbers 3 Moses makes that point by reminding them how in the cases where they had been at war, they had been victorious. The supreme note in his argument for living without fear is that the Lord God was fighting for them. We must be careful to recognize this doesn't mean that God was on their side but that they were on God's side. He fought for them in their warfare because they were carrying out His will. This is an important distinction of perpetual application. When Abraham Lincoln was asked if he thought God was on his side, he replied it never occurred to him to ask such a question, but that he was persistently eager to discover whether he was on God's side. In no conflict have we any right to ask or expect God to fight for us, unless we know we are with Him. When we do know that, we equally have no right to be afraid. Such fear is disloyalty since it questions the supremacy of God's righteousness and power. Fear is paralysis: it cuts us off from contact with the forces of righteousness, for it cuts us off from fellowship with God.

Deuteronomy 4:9 "So that you do not forget." Having surveyed their history of divine guidance and rule, Moses now exhorts the people to obedience based on the greatness of God and the perfection of His law. He challenged them to compare their God and His commandments with all others. He reminded them that their existence and history as a nation were centered in a spiritual ideal, in that no visible form of God had been granted to them, even amid the majestic manifestations of Mount Sinai. In the course of this high discussion, Moses warned the people not to forget. What a necessary warning that always is! We as men and women are prone to forgetting even what is most important. While some things can never be actually forgotten, they nevertheless are practically forgotten in the sense of being of any value to us. We will forget the law of God, the disciplines of God, deliverances by God, and even the very love of God unless memory serves as an inspiration to trust, true conduct, and to the very loyalty that love demands. Such forgetfulness is not a mere aberration of intellect, but a wrong done to God—a sin against Him. Memory is a non-moral function of the soul. If it is either to help or to hinder us, it must be trained and used. When our memory is employed to keep certain great facts in the mind so they influence the will, it is one of the greatest forces for good.

Deuteronomy 5:28-29 "They have done well in all they have spoken. Oh, that they had such a heart in them!" These were the words of God to Moses concerning what the nation asserted after the giving of the Ten Commandments. The people had confessed their sense that these were indeed laws from God, had expressed their fear of God, and had asked Moses to mediate between them and God. If only they really believed those fine things! This is a persistent difficulty in human experience. The mind of man recognizes the beauty of the divine ideal, realizes human weakness, and understands the necessity for a Mediator, yet the heart of man breaks down. What drives us most deeply is the desires of our heart. A man becomes what he really desires (Proverbs 23:7). That is the significance of the declaration "with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness" (Romans 10:10). A man may be intellectually convinced that righteousness is good, but he only arrives at righteousness when his desires put confidence in the Lord of righteousness. Christ comes to the human heart and says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me" (Revelation 3:20).

Deuteronomy 6:7 "You shall teach them diligently to your children." God's care for children is evidenced throughout His law and principles of worship. A careful study of both shows how constantly arrangements were made that would appeal to the natural curiosity of children, inspiring them to ask questions. It was the business of their parents to answer such questions, and to be diligent in teaching their children everything God said: commandments, statutes, history, prophecies"the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:28). God holds both fathers and mothers principally responsible for the giving of religious instruction.  There is a tendency to trust the religious teaching of our children to teachers, preachers, and others who specialize in that work in one form or another. While we cannot be too thankful for such people who do their jobs well, the first responsibility belongs to those to whom those precious children are entrusted as the most sacred and blessed gift of God. The teaching of the things of God by fathers and mothers has a value and a virtue that can be supplied by no other. This chapter, in fact, contains two of the most important teachings about God in the entire Bible: "The Lord our God ... is One. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength" (Deuteronomy 6:4).

Deuteronomy 7:7 "The Lord did not set His love upon you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples." Here at the entrance to the land of their possession, the people were warned against that most persistent peril of a passion for statistics and pride in numbers. By this time they were comparatively a great nation, having an army of over 600,000. They would be tempted to fall into the gross error of imagining that God had chosen them because of their strength, believing as Napoleon said that God is on the side of big battalions. Moses guarded them from that utterly false idea by reminding them of their origins as "the fewest of all peoples" who multiplied under God's guardian care. God is never seeking for numbers for the sake of numbers, but for "those who love Him and keep His commandments" (Deuteronomy 7:9). Jesus said, "The hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him" (John 4:23). God can certainly use great companies, but quality is more than quantity with Him. If God were in need of big battalions, He could create them. That fact John the Baptist declared with a fine touch of satire when he said, "From these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham!" (Matthew 3:9). Our annual reports are always in danger of giving the impression that our work is successful only to the degree it can be expressed in impressive figures. Figures are only really impressive as they stand for people who are true, loyal, and devoted. With two or three such God can do great things anywhere.

Deuteronomy 8:3 "That He might make you understand." The one question we should always be asking is what God is intending to teach us by the circumstances we are passing through at any given time. God humbled the Israelites by allowing them to become hungry, and then fed them for the same purpose: so they would know by experience that life depends not on bread but on God Himself. They were to learn not only through hunger but also through bread. This is important because we are strangely prone to think God speaks to us only through limitation and suffering. It is not so. He speaks through prosperity and joy as well, but there is a danger of saying, "My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth." Instead, "it is the Lord who gives you power to get wealth" (verses 17-18) . Nevertheless, in the day of adversity He certainly speaks, and we generally listen. But let us listen at all times. To the person who realizes this, all life becomes sacred; every experience is a lesson. How often we have eyes but do not see so we pass through days learning nothing, while all the time our Father is working in our circumstances to help us gain a fuller and more profound knowledge of Himself and His ways.

Deuteronomy 9:6 "Know, then, it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess." In these words another peril, constantly threatening the people of God is revealed: interpreting His goodness to them as resulting from their own righteousness. In the case of these very people, over time this was the particular sin that wrought their undoing. Their leaders came to look with contempt upon others, a sure sign of self-righteous pride. The result was a national exclusivity that prevented their fulfillment of purpose and brought judgment from God. Perhaps this matter may be stated most powerfully when applying it personally. When this life is over and we face God, our right of entrance to His home will be that of His abounding grace alone (Romans 5:1-11). Our Lord teaches us to have no pride in our service: "When you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do'" (Luke 17:10). Pride in our own righteousness, satisfaction with our own goodness, trust in our own holiness are alike foolish and reprehensible. To the soul that truly knows itself, it is a growing wonder that God should love us at all. That He does so is our only confidence.

Deuteronomy 10:4 "The Lord wrote on these tablets what He had written before, the Ten Commandments." Moses told the people how God gave him the Ten Commandments a second time, and distinctly affirmed that this second copy was also written by the finger of God. In the previous chapter Moses reminded them how he smashed the first copy in front of them when he saw the calf idol they had fashioned. What an experience that must have been for him! Imagine what it was like for Moses to bring it before His people's minds and hearts as he prepared to leave them for the last time. The smashing of the first tablets was a natural response and perhaps unintentionally symbolic, for it's what man is always doing with the law of God. Here then is the impressive fact about that second set of tablets: they show what God is always doing. The whole Bible is full of the truth that He finds a way for His banished ones to return, gives failing men and women a second chance, writes again the broken law, restores the years that the locusts have eaten, remakes the marred vessel, and seeks and saves the lost. Upon the basis of that grace, we may hope and start anew. In a passage of great beauty and earnestness, Moses summarized the requirements of God in view of His grace. Let us consider each with care: the people were to fear Him, that is reverence; to walk in His ways, that is obedience; to love Him, that is worship; to serve Him, that is cooperation; to keep His commandments, that is fidelity.

Deuteronomy 11:12 "A land that the Lord your God cares for." This is an arresting description of the Holy Land, which is remarkable especially for its geography and history. It would be better suited than any other place on earth for the seat of a worldwide government because of its central location. Its climate varies from Alpine cold on Mount Hermon to tropical heat in the region of the Dead Sea. It is a land of abounding water. Its soil is fertile, especially in Bashan and Sharon, and is capable of supporting a large population if properly cultivated. It is the land that God cares for in a special way. He makes it fruitful or barren in proportion to the spiritual condition of its inhabitants. That is its story in the past, but it will yet be the earthly center of the Kingdom of God. On the slopes of Mount Olivet the feet of the King, the Lord Jesus Christ, will actually stand when He returns (Acts 1:6-12, Zechariah 14:3-4). From the City of the Great King, His law will go forth, in obedience to which man shall realize the highest life has to offer.

Deuteronomy 12:7 "You shall rejoice in all you have put your hand to, you and your households, in which the Lord your God has blessed you." These words occur amid urgent instructions about worship that the people were to  obey carefully when they came into the land. All the false places of worship they would find there were to be utterly destroyed. In that land, God would appoint them a place to worship, and they were not to worship anywhere else. The particular value of the words quoted above is they reflect God's heart about worship. It is to be an exercise of rejoicing that results from blessedness: God blesses men and women, and in that blessedness they rejoice before Him. Solemnity, reverence, and awe there must ever be when approaching God, but solemnity is not sadness, reverence is not cringing fear, and awe is not dullness. All our worship should have that note of joy and gladness. It should be full of song, of such a glad nature that our households, children, neighbors, co-workers, employees, and friends should find happiness therein. When we worship in spirit and truth, we do come into the presence of God in a special sense, so let us remember that in His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16:11). There is a place for sadness and contrition before God, but that is in preparing for worship. When whatever is on our hearts is dealt with then, worship becomes a joy.

Deuteronomy 13:6 "If your brother, your mother's son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly." This whole chapter consists of express warnings against idolatry. It is very practical because it reveals the ways men and women may be seduced from pure worship to false worship. The first way is curiosity. The people were therefore told not to indulge such curiosity by inquiring about false methods of worship. The second way is being influenced by signs and wonders wrought by false prophets. No such sign or wonder must draw the soul away from true worship as revealed in Scripture. God sometimes permits these kinds of signs, as He did with Pharaoh's magicians in Exodus 8:19, to test "you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul" (Deuteronomy 13:3). The third way is the enticement of human affection. It is always a powerful temptation, but is to be sternly guarded against. However near to the heart another human being may be, the place God occupies must be supreme, and all human affection refused when it threatens loyalty to Him. Finally there is a peril that arises from looseness of discipline. Therefore the people were charged to take drastic measures against seducers and seduced. The necessity for this severity is that worship determines character and conduct. To us also comes the emphatic word that closes the apostle John's first letter: "Little children, guard yourselves from idols" (1 John 5:21).

Deuteronomy 14:1 "You are the sons of the Lord your God; you shall not cut yourselves nor shave your forehead for the sake of the dead." This was a command not to conform to pagan customs in the presence of death. Notice it was based upon the declaration that these people were the sons of the Lord their God. Not much was revealed to them in the Scriptures up to this point about life after death, but it was given them to know that their attitude toward death and  sorrow must not be that of people whose gods were not real. They were children of the living God. Therefore there must be nothing of hopelessness or despair in the presence of death or in the sorrow arising from it. For Christian men and women this is far more urgent. "Our Savior Christ Jesus...abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel" (2 Timothy 1:10). Therefore we can never think of death as final or "grieve as those who have no hope" (1 Thessalonians 4:13). All the heavy, somber, desolation-suggesting trappings of mourning are entirely pagan. They should never be used by Christians. We have become children of God (John 1:10-12) and as our Master said, "He is not the God of the dead but of the living" (Matthew 22:32).

Deuteronomy 15:9 "Beware that there is no base, unworthy thought in your heart." Those words flash like a light into the inner places of the soul.  We are warned against entertaining base, low, or unworthy thoughts in the region of desire. To read these words apart from their context is to realize what God is always seeking in us. It is not enough that we abstain from base deeds. The heart must be free from baseness in thought. But these words become far more searching when they are interpreted by their context. Considering them alone, we might limit their application to things commonly considered especially low, such as murder, immorality, and fraud. The base thought referred to in Deuteronomy 15, however, is of a man who would refuse to help a fellow Hebrew in need because the time was near at hand when the law of God (Exodus 21:5-6) would release that needy person from his debts. How perpetually prone we all are to this kind of baseness! The need is clear, we do not deny it, but relief will some sooner or later so we feel no urgency to help when really, deep down, we know that we should. To the people of God, immediate need calls for immediate help when we know a task has been appointed to us. We are to give at once and without grief in our hearts. Reluctance in giving sterilizes the gift. God is always calling us to such vital fellowship with Himself that we give gladly, generously, and immediately of what He's blessed us with to be a blessing to others.

Deuteronomy 16:16 "They shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed." This command had application to the three great feasts of the year: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. All three recognized what the people owed to God. At Passover they were reminded that their national existence was the result of being delivered by God from slavery in Egypt. At Pentecost they recognized that their perpetual sustenance depended upon His blessing their toil. At Tabernacles they recalled all the ways He led them, especially in the wilderness, and confessed that their possession of the land was the result of His gift. Nevertheless, in every one of them, they were called upon to bring gifts to God. This is an ever-increasing wonder to the truly devout heart. It seems incredible that any man or woman can offer anything to God that can possibly be worth His acceptance. Truly He needs nothing, but He does value the spirit of devotion and love that prompts the gift. Where the full hands of worshipers are the results of hearts full of love, however poor intrinsically our gifts may be, they are very precious to Him. Our eternal, almighty, infinite God is no cold, impassive Deity but a God whose heart is a very real fact.

Deuteronomy 17:18 "He shall write for himself a copy of this law." This chapter and the next deals with the threefold medium through which the will of God would be interpreted to the people in the promised land: the king, the priest, and the prophet. Moses spoke about the king with prophetic foresight. He realized that the people would clamor for a king so they could copy other nations, and that God would grant them their request to teach them ultimately the folly of their desire. In light of this, the principles of the appointment were declared. The king must be chosen by God and be of their own nation. He was forbidden to multiply horses, wives, silver, and gold. Perhaps the most striking requirement was that he should write by hand his own copy of God's law. It emphasizes that the king was to be a student of His law. One wonders how many of the kings carried out this wise instruction. This whole section is a remarkable revelation of God's ideal king. Imagine placing the kings of all time by the side of it for measurement. First, we should surely discover that the measure by which kings have approximated this ideal is the measure by which they have contributed to national strength. Second, we should as surely find that one King only fulfills the conditions, as we see hinted in the next chapter.

Deuteronomy 18:15 "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him." The last chapter talks about the king; this chapter discusses both priest and prophet. Restated here were the stipulations that the priest was to have no inheritance in the land and that his material needs were to be supplied by the people through the sacrificial system. In discussing the prophet, Moses first warned the people to beware of the false and to know the true. He described the false prophets as those who deal in dark arts with spiritual forces of evil in a professed attempt to discover the will of God. The true prophet was then described briefly but graphically. Many times it was said of the Lord Jesus Christ (which means Messiah), "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world" (John 6:14, for example). Moses was guided to set forth the true ideals of king, priest, and prophet, and how completely they were realized in the Lord Christ! He was the true King, from the kingly line of Judah ("from your countrymen"), appointed by God, knowing, doing, and teaching God's law. He was the true Priest, without inheritance in His own land, abiding in the service of God, ministered to by the people of God. He was the true Prophet, uttering the Word of God in purity and in fullness. A prophet proclaims God's Word; He Himself "was the Word" (John 1).

Deuteronomy 19:15 "A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime.... Only on the evidence of two or three witnesses shall a charge be established." This chapter deals with the sacredness of life, the necessity for truth, and the obligation of justice in all human relationships. The words highlighted here set up a principle that has been recognized and acted upon wherever there is a passion for justice. They provide that no man or woman can be condemned upon the testimony of one witness. There must be corroboration from the mouth of another. Moreover, every witness must be questioned carefully by the judges. If in the course of that investigation, a person was found guilty of bearing false witness, he or she was to be severely punished. This spirit of strict and impartial justice breathes through all God's laws and help us understand God's ways of dealing with men. In spite of all precautions, justice does miscarry at times because there are things the eye cannot see or the ear hear. It is only upon those evidences that man can bear witness. Our final judgments are with Him who judges not by the seeing of the eye or the hearing of the ear, but with righteous judgment based upon perfect knowledge of all the facts. That truth should both comfort and warn us. By man we may be punished, or we may escape punishment, because all the facts are not known. It is never so with God.

Deuteronomy 20:5 "The officers shall speak to the people, saying...." In this chapter Moses gave specific instructions to guide the people in the wars they must inevitably be engaged in. They were being led not only to find a land for their own possession, but as a scourge of God against a corrupt and corrupting people. In the day of battle they must keep before them the vision of God, for that  alone would free them from fear in the presence of the foe. Before actual conflict, a priest was to authoritatively announce the fact of the presence, authority, and power of God. Then the officers were to speak to the people about the grounds upon which men were to be exempt from military service. First, men who had duties and obligations necessary to the home life of the nation were not to go to war. Among the Israelites, these would be those who had unfinished houses, ungathered vineyards, and men newly married. They were to remain at home, at least until they had discharged their obligations. Second, men who lacked courage were to remain behind because fear is contagious. Armies thus sifted would have a quality that is lacking entirely when they are made up of all sorts and conditions.

Deuteronomy 21:23 "He that is hanged is accursed of God." This reference is to a man who for great sin had been put to death and whose body had been impaled on a tree or stake as a warning to other evildoers. The command was that this exposure not outlast the day. By night the body was to be buried and the whole fact of the man's sin, now expiated as far as human society could lawfully go, be put away. "He that is hanged is accursed of God" is a parenthetical statement explaining the reason for the burial. The man was not accursed of God because he was hung on a tree, but was hung on a tree because he was accursed of God. The hanging was the outward sign of the curse upon him: the curse of death for sin. When that curse was accomplished and witnessed, the sign was to cease. Then let the man be buried as a sign that the curse was sufficient. Understanding this helps when the mind travels to the One who hung upon a tree at Calvary. He was there because He was "made sin" and accursed by God: "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13). Such a blunt statement gives the soul a shock, but it is the very shock we need if we are ever to apprehend truly the only way of salvation from sin and death. Christ did not remain on the Tree through the night. The curse on sin was borne and witnessed, the sins He bore completely expiated before God because the One who suffered its penalty was sinless. His burial was the sign that those sins were put away. His resurrection was the beginning of a new life for Himself as Redeemer, and for us who trust in Him as the redeemed.

Deuteronomy 22:1 "You shall not see your countryman's ox or his sheep straying away, and pay no attention to them." This is an element of responsibility that outruns ordinary standards of righteousness: we are responsible not only to keep from harming others, but also to prevent harm from being done to them and their belongings when it is in our power to do so. If I should see an animal belonging to my neighbor straying away, it would be in perfect keeping with human ideas of justice if I should say it was no business of mine. Indeed, I might even argue that if he should lose that animal, it would be just punishment for his carelessness. He certainly would have no claim on me that could be enforced in a court of law. But in the court of Eternal Justice, I am counted as violating justice when I claim exemption from such responsibility. Because we are made in the image of God, we are to reflect His compassion and concern for absolute right. My neighbor may suffer significant loss by the straying of a valuable animal, whether through his fault or not, so I must intervene to spare him the loss if I can. Another insight about God's character in chapter 22 is this: "A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman's clothing, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord" (verse 5). The same word translated "abomination" is used to describe homosexuality in Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13. God cares greatly about gender: "male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:27).

Deuteronomy 23:7 "Do not despise an Edomite, for the Edomites are related to you. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you resided as foreigners in their country." Here again we are brought face to face with this same element of compassion and mercy in the righteousness of God. How constantly it emerges in His laws! Sometimes we are in danger of thinking God's laws are characterized by a cold negative justice that fills the heart with fear, but that is far from the truth. Here are two illustrations that show otherwise. The first is the command not to despise the Edomites, who descended from Esau, brother of Jacob, from whom the Israelites descended. There were good reasons for these peoples to remain separate, but there was to be no hatred or contempt. The second concerns the Egyptians, with whom the Israelites shared no race relationship, but they had resided in Egypt as foreigners for centuries and had at one time been given real hospitality there. That was never to be forgotten. There were cogent reasons for not making political ties with the Egyptians, but the Israelites were not to harbor any malice toward them. In these commandments to His people, God reveals Himself in lasting ways to us. There are evils with which He will make no compromise, there are peoples with whom He will have no communion, yet in His heart there is no base hatred or contempt but holy wrath instead. To be like Him is to be devoid of all bitterness, which is the outcome of selfishness.

Deuteronomy 24:22 "You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this." Moses is giving the people a reason for remembering the orphan, the widow, and the sojourner among them. When they went into the promised land and reaped their corn, beat their olive trees, and gathered their grapes, they were to remember those less privileged than themselves and relax their rights by leaving something behind for others to gather. Why? Because the Israelites themselves were once slaves in Egypt. It is a strange fact that people easily forget their adversity in days of prosperity. Over and over again one sees a man or woman who in early life knew the pinch of poverty, but having come into ease and comfort, become callous toward the trials of others. It is not always so, but it should never be so. To those who live according to the principle behind this law, it never will be so. Here we see an unveiling of God Himself. In all His unsearchable riches, He thinks of the poor, and not only arranges that they may glean from the harvest, but also places all His wealth at their disposal. When we then yield up some gleanings of our own possessions for the relief of the needy, we have nothing to be proud of. It is poor action compared with the divine. Truly there is room only for humility in the life of those who are getting to know God.

Deuteronomy 25:4 "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain." Twice the apostle Paul quotes those words, both about caring for the material needs of those who minister (1 Corinthians 9:9-10, 1 Timothy 5:18). In the first he asks rhetorically if God is saying here He cares only for oxen or if this is written also for our sake as human beings. He answers, "Yes, for our sake also," and undoubtedly is right. The principle is that God cares for animals but because that is so, His care for people is necessarily greater. Jesus states this directly: "Your heavenly Father feeds them [birds]. Are you not of much more value than they?" (Matthew 6:26). In God, love acts toward all. Nothing He has made is outside that love. His children are to be like Him in this. We do not minimize the application of this command to human beings when we insist upon its application to animals. King Solomon wrote, "The righteous man cares for the life of his animal" (Proverbs 12:10). If I see a man ill-treat a dog or a horse, I know he is capable of being brutal to a person. I would trust no child to a man or woman who showed cruelty to an animal. Another significant point in this chapter is how highly God values open, honest dealings between people. In the context of something as common as just weights and measures, verse 16 says, "Everyone who acts unjustly is an abomination to the Lord." (King Solomon repeats the same point Moses makes here in Proverbs 11:1.) It is generally known that the Hebrew word translated "abomination" (toebah) refers to idolatry and a variety of sexual sins, but we do well to note it refers here and elsewhere in Holy Scripture to deviousness and hypocrisy. Part of sincerely loving God is avoiding everything He hates, not picking and choosing based on personal preference or social pressure.

Deuteronomy 26:10 "I have brought the first of the produce of the ground which You, O Lord have given me." In this chapter Moses discusses a celebration of worship in the promised land with the people giving thanks from their literal first-fruits as land owners. They were to bring their gifts in a basket to the appointed place of worship, hand the basket to the priest, and recite a simple confession of their nation's humble origins and God's great blessings upon them. Then the people would celebrate together with something like a picnic before the Lord. This highlights that the true method of giving to God is giving Him our first-fruits. We are always in danger of thinking of Him last. When we are planning how to manage our income, how often we arrange for things perfectly necessary, but purely personal, and only when our list is completed do we consider what we have left to offer for our Lord's service! If such lists are to be made, the first expenditure should be our giving to Him for His glory because He is so worthy. Every part, in fact, belongs to Him and should be expended for His glory, but the first gift should be specifically devoted to His work.

Deuteronomy 27:9 "Be silent and listen, O Israel! This day you have become a people for the Lord your God." Moses and the elders of Israel announced to the people that after entering the promised land, they were to erect two structures: an altar on Mount Ebal and near it a pile of great stones, coated so they could be inscribed with God's law. The law thus inscribed and clearly exhibited indicates the necessity for obedience, while the altar speaks of the graciously provided method of approach to God because of disobedience. Then there was to be a formal pronouncement of blessing and cursing. The blessings were to be pronounced from across the valley on Mount Gerazim and the cursings on Mount Ebal. The twelve tribes would be split into two groups of six each on the mountaintops with the priests making the pronouncements, perhaps from the valley floor. After describing this solemn, unforgettable ceremony that would take place after he died (recorded in Joshua 8:30-35), Moses called the people to be silent and listen because they had become the people of God with their own law and altar. Their cursing or blessing would result from their attitude toward that law and altar. The law can only curse when there is disobedience, but the altar can bless when there is obedience. Thus the people of God always live between their own failures and divine grace. Grace is no excuse for failure, but in failure there is no reason for despair.

Deuteronomy 28:1 "The Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth." That was the purpose of God for His people. Its fulfillment was conditional upon their obedience, as the first part of this verse makes clear: "If you diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments." Having made this general declaration, Moses proceeded to describe the blessings that would follow obedience, and then to declare the evils that would overtake the Israelites if they disregarded God's law. The history that followed over the next several centuries shows how literally all these things were fulfilled. It has plenty of application to us today. In Christ the law as given to Moses is done away because He has given us a higher law that far transcends the former in its standards of purity. In Christ the sacrificial altar has been superseded by the heavenly altar where men and women may draw near to God, and appropriate all the resources of His grace for keeping this higher law (Hebrews 4:14-16). Disobedience still issues in disaster and obedience in realization of divine purpose. We blaspheme the name of God and desecrate that final altar when we become careless about the will of God as it has been revealed to us in the perfections of the Son of Man. It is only when we listen carefully to the Word of God and obey it that we are set above the nations of the earth. With the church as it was with Israel, the divine intention of our exaltation is not that we should tyrannize the nations of the earth and hold them in contempt, but that we should serve them and lead them into blessedness.

Deuteronomy 29:29 "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law." In this chapter and those that follow, Moses was concerned with the covenant God made with His people on Mount Sinai and renewed it here, urging the nation to be true to it. Moses based his appeal on God's deliverances: from slavery in Egypt, in days of battle, and through the wilderness (here and in chapter 8 we are told in passing that the Lord miraculously provided not only food and water, but also kept the people's sandals and clothing from wearing out). This appeal and covenant renewal was made to all classes in the community: to the rulers and the people; to men, women, and children; and also to servants. In graphic and burning words he again described the results of breaking the covenant. Then, recognizing the limitations of the people and their inability to understand all the ways of God, he enunciated this great principle of life in verse 29. It is of far-reaching application and perpetual importance. There are secret things in life, things veiled that cannot be explained. These things are not veiled to God. He knows them.  There are also things revealed by God. If man will obey them, he will be brought into right relation with the secret things, progressively passing to apprehension of them as God wills, while all the time those secret things cooperate with him for his perfecting. In the apprehension and practice of this law of life, man finds his way into spiritual strength.

Deuteronomy 30:11 "This commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach." Continuing to emphasize the covenant, Moses uttered words filled with tenderness and urgent in their appeal. In the first ten verses of this chapter we have the long look ahead of love. He seems to have seen the people in the conditions he told them would come from their disobedience, one day scattered and far away from the land they were about to enter. Yet he saw them returning to God as the result of the sore discipline through which they would pass. Best of all, he saw God ready to receive and pardon them. It was a great prophetic vision, the value of which Israel has not yet learned but is still true today. Then, renewing his appeal, Moses uttered the words highlighted. They emphasize the reasonableness of God's commandments. His law is never too hard for man. It is based upon God's perfect knowledge of human nature. Every word of the divine law is a true expression of how human life is meant to be. When a man breaks the law of God, he is not sinning against a requirement superimposed upon him, the doing of which he is not fitted; he is sinning against his own life. Man is not left to grope in the dark mysteries of his own being, for God has made the light of His revealed will to shine. As a man walks in that light, he is walking according to his deepest powers and possibilities.

Deuteronomy 31:19 "Write this song." For forty years Moses led the people. Writing this song was one of the last things God asked him to do. The purpose of it was clearly stated: that this great song, once embodied in the life of the people, would remain from generation to generation. In days of disaster it would be a haunting memory testifying to truth about God. In days of difficulty it would be a source of new courage. In days of victory it would be an outlet for emotional expression. Songs often remain after commandments are forgotten. The song itself is found in the next chapter. It reminds us of the value of poetic expression as a gift of God. Some people assume anything in poetic form must be speculative, imaginative, and probably untrue. As a matter of fact, however, poetry is one of the highest forms of human language, expressing as prose never can the deepest and truest things of the soul. The church is enriched by her songs as by her theology, for both promote unity and truth. The Wesleys did more for Christianity in their hymns than in all their printed explanations. A great song is a great possession, and not for Israel only but also for the church is the song of Moses among the most beautiful and strong.

Deuteronomy 32:47 "It is no empty thing for you, but your very life." This is what Moses said to the people after he finished his song. He was referring to the law as interpreted by the song. It begins in chapter 32 with a call to attention and a statement concerning its nature: that it proclaims the name of the Lord (verses 1-3). Then the song sets forth the glories of that name as it celebrates the greatness, perfection, justice, and faithfulness of God (verses 3-4). In sudden contrast and short, sharp fashion, it next describes the corruption of the people (verse 5). The song then becomes an appeal, calling the Israelites to remember the tender government of God. It is a wonderful revelation of the fact that love is the inspiration of law (verses 6-14). In strange contrast again the song becomes a wail as the unfaithful people are compared to an over-fed ox: "But Jeshurun [a poetic name for Israel] grew fat and kicked" (verses 15-18), which inevitably brought tragic consequences (verses 19-28). Then it breaks out into a cry of longing, "Oh, that they were wise!" and describes the blessings that follow obedience (verses 29-43). That is merely an analysis. Let this song be studied by its simple aid, and it will be found how carefully it was calculated to teach men and women that the will of God for them is "no empty thing," but their very life.

Deuteronomy 33:29 "Blessed are you, Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord?" Moses' last words to the people were words of blessing. In stately and majestic language Moses first affirmed anew the majesty of God and declared His love for the tribes of Israel as a whole. He then pronounced specific words of blessing upon each tribe, Simeon only being omitted (why we do not know for sure). Reuben and Judah are referred to in terms that suggest they were saved so as by fire, and Judah as a praying people. Levi, having lost all earthly possession for the special honor of bearing the Word of the Lord, would receive the reward of such sacrifice. The reference to Benjamin shows the safety of frailty within the divine government. Perhaps the choicest things of all are said of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh). His were all "precious things...and the good will of Him who dwelt in the [burning] bush" (Deuteronomy 33:16). Issachar and Zebulun are seen triumphing over disability. Gad, overcoming at last, would be appointed a judge. Dan becomes typical of conquest. Naphtali would be satisfied and Asher  sustained. Thus in his final benediction Moses revealed all these various blessings as demonstrating the all-sufficiency of God. His concluding words again celebrate the greatness of God as finally manifested by His tenderness and strength toward His people. Indeed, happy are the people who are saved by the Lord!

Deuteronomy 34:10 "Since that time no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face." In this last chapter of Deuteronomy we have the writing of another hand. It contains the story of the death of Moses, the equipping of Joshua for his work, and a last tender reference to the great leader and law-giver, beginning with the words highlighted here. For the scribe who wrote them they were true words, and they remained true through all the history of this wonderful people until One was born of the seed of David who was far greater than Moses. Moses himself foretold his coming when he wrote, "The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him" (Deuteronomy 18:15). Long centuries elapsed, but at last He came, and in His coming fulfilled all Moses had initiated under the divine government. He absorbed and abolished the law that came through him in the grace and truth that He brought to men. All this does not detract from but rather enhances our sense of the greatness of Moses. His passing was full of beauty: his exclusion from the promised land was a punishment, but like all the chastisements of God, it was wonderfully tempered with mercy in that there had been no weakening of his force. Although Moses was 120 years old when he died, "his eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated" (Deuteronomy 34:7). Everything ended in full strength. He climbed up Mount Nebo across the Jordan River from Jericho, where God gave a vision of the promised land. Moses then died there and God Himself saw to his burial in an unknown grave. It was an august and glorious ending to a great and dignified life.  Thus ends the last book of the Pentateuch (5 books of Moses), the final section of the law. Its supreme value is its revelation of the need for the Priest and the Gospel (Hebrews 10:1-25).