Unit 1: Liberating Passover (Pesach)
Key Verse:
Deuteronomy 8:11 NLT
11 “But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today.
Hold God’s Word close, and He will hold you closer…
What you need to know
We’ve learned from prior studies that ‘Deuteronomy’ is the Greek rendering of the Hebrew word ‘Devarim’, the Hebrew title for the fifth Book of Moses. Both titles carry significant meaning. The Hebrew title means ‘the fifth Book of Moses’. The Grecian title, Deuteronomy means ‘The Second Reading’. Deuteronomy then, is the second reading of the Law of God given to Moses. Why “second’ reading? Because all of the people of Israel who had left Egypt and escaped into the desert were dead. All except Moses, Caleb, and Joshua. And God was not going to allow Moses to cross into the land of Promise, He would only see it from afar.
This second reading was for all of the children or grandchildren of those who had wandered in the wilderness and had died there because of their disobedience to God. This second reading of the Law of God by Moses was to serve as a primer for the children of the children of Israel as they prepared to enter the Promised Land. This fifth Book of Moses is a collection of sermons delivered by Moses that would serve as instructions for living within the promises of God. The journey through the wilderness was over. This was about how to occupy the space God has given. This was about how to live.
The Lesson
Deuteronomy 8:1 NLT
1 “Be careful to obey all the commands I am giving you today. Then you will live and multiply, and you will enter and occupy the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors.
Verse one of today’s lesson begins with a promise: “Obey and Prosper!” These were words to live by. They still are. The principles established by the Law of God set guidelines for our vertical behavior, how we respond to God. It set forth the guidelines for worship. These commands also establish our horizontal behavior, how we treat one another. As Christians, if we can get these two things right, God promises that He will take care of the rest. Blessing comes from God.
Deuteronomy 8:2 NLT
2 Remember how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands.
Moses' second instruction here is for the children of Israel to remember. They were tasked to remember life in the desert. They did not have Egypt in their ‘bones’. However, they did have memories. Memories of the desert. The desert is unforgiving. It is full of strange, dangerous creatures that offer little in the way of sustenance, they only offer pain and or, death. Even the plants (cacti) are dangerous. All of their parents died there. Surely, not all of them died from natural causes.
And yet, their children survived the desert. They were hardened because of it. They were humbled because of it. The lessons of the desert are simple. Respect the desert and live. What these children learned in the desert was how deeply dependent they were on God. We sing songs about God being ‘God on the mountain’, and ‘God in of the valley’. What the children of the desert learned was that God was ‘God of the desert’ as well. Beloved, we’ve all experienced dry, desert winds in our lives. Trust God. His Name is Jehovah-Shammah, God, who is There. He is never not watching you!
Deuteronomy 8:3 NLT
3 Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
God provided for their most basic needs: water and food. He gave them water from the Rock. He gave them manna (bread) from the heavens. In all of this, God showed Himself to be mighty to His people, well worthy of their … worship. God distinguished Himself as their Protector and their Provider. God led them. He led them by the cloud during the day and by fire at night. For forty years, God never failed them. No, these children did not have Egypt in their bones. All they had ever known in the desert was… God.
Deuteronomy 8:4 NLT
4 For all these forty years your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t blister or swell.
The desert is unforgiving. The dust storms, the heat, the lack of resources make for a bleak, sparse existence. Yet, for forty years, these children witnessed a miracle of sustenance. Their clothes, shoes included, did not wear out. Additionally, these children, for forty years, were the very picture of health. They did not just subsist. They thrived in the desert. They thrived under the mighty hand of God!
Deuteronomy 8:5 NLT
5 Think about it: Just as a parent disciplines a child, the Lord your God disciplines you for your own good.
How exactly does a parent ‘discipline’ a child? They watch them. They watch their tendencies and their behavior. As the child grows and learns, the parents disciple their children, teaching them right from wrong. The parent rewards good behaviors and punishes errant behavior. Sometimes, the parent does nothing except watch, allowing the child to receive either reward or discipline from the experience set before them, all the while lovingly protecting them from some greater harm.
Then, there are times when a parent has to set firm boundaries for their children, giving very stern verbal instruction, including warnings against certain behaviors. In all of this, the over-arching motive of the parent is always grounded in love. Good parental discipline comes from a place of love. How can it be any other way with God? Beloved, God is Love!
Deuteronomy 8:6 NLT
6 “So obey the commands of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and fearing him.
At the end of the day, we have a choice. Will we remain conformed to the world or will we allow ourselves to be transformed by the Word of God? As Christians, we hold to having had an experience with the living God. We are ‘Born Again’ by having believed the Gospel; that Christ died for us so that we might have peace with God through Him. What then is required of us, as newborn babes? Peter instructs us in this way:
1 Peter 2:2-3 NLT
2 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, 3 now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.
Beloved, we have only but, tasted of the goodness of the glory that God has placed before us. Our charge is to continue in His Word so that we might continually grow in the knowledge of Christ and in the great grace that He has provided. Our pursuit of God through His Word should result in a reverent awareness of God in our daily lives by the unction of the Holy Spirit (vertical worship) and a love and genuine concern for the people within our metron, our sphere of influence (horizontal relationships).
Deuteronomy 8:7 NLT
7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land of flowing streams and pools of water, with fountains and springs that gush out in the valleys and hills.
Beloved, today is filled with so much promise. As the Hebrew children listen to Moses’ sermon, their thoughts are filled with thoughts that can only be half-imagined. They will be brought into a place that must sound like a dream, a place with an abundance of water. Water everywhere. Water in pools, water in streams, water gushing from the hills and from the valleys. Water just bubbling up from the ground. Imagine what impact, just that sentence alone, must have had on a nation of people who had only, ever experienced an excruciatingly arid, wearisome existence of the desert.
Behold, the fingerprints of God! Be reminded that the Rock from which water was provided to the Hebrews in the desert was a typology of Christ. Water is representative of the Word of God. What Moses is sharing with the children of Israel is a vision of the Promised Land with some very unique features. Everywhere you look, there’s water. Everywhere you look, you see the Word. Everywhere you look, you see God’s fingerprints! The work of God’s mighty hand is immediately before them. The place that He has prepared for them … is just on the other side… of the Jordan. Beloved, when you want to see the fingerprint of God, open your Bible.
Deuteronomy 8:8 NLT
8 It is a land of wheat and barley; of grapevines, fig-trees, and pomegranates; of olive oil and honey.
God’s provision begins with His Word. Immerse yourself in God’s Word and you’ll find that all your needs will be met. Immerse yourself in His Word and you will find that He is faithful. He will provide. Immerse yourself in God’s Word. You’ll find that If He is with you, He’s more than the whole world against you. God has prepared a place of plenty for His people. He gave them bread from Heaven in the desert. How much more will He bless them in the Land of Promise? In a place that God has imprinted with His nature, how can the Zoe kind of life not be produced? Life out of Water. Life out of the Word of God. Life; abundant and full of glory comes out of immersion in the Word of God.
Deuteronomy 8:9: NLT
9 It is a land where food is plentiful and nothing is lacking. It is a land where iron is as common as stone, and copper is abundant in the hills.
Verse nine intimates that not only is food provided in an unlimited supply, but that there are a variety of natural resources. Resources promote both growth and advancement. The presence of stone indicates that there are resources available for the building of cities, for the building of a great nation. The presence of copper and iron means that the Hebrews have the metal needed to arm themselves as well as make technological advancements necessary to elevate them in the eyes of the many peoples around them. Not only would they occupy territories where homes were built, but fields were also cultivated and yielding crops. Yet, God also delivered them into a place where there was room for growth, exceedingly and abundantly above what Moses’ audience could imagine. God intended that the nation of Israel would someday become the greatest nation in the world. A light to all others. All of the ingredients were in place…
Deuteronomy 8:10 NLT
10 When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.
With all that Moses had previously described, it was imperative that the Israelites, these children of the desert would be ever thankful. God desires worship; true gratefulness, from a pure heart. They must never forget, neither before a feast nor after, that it was God who was actively providing for them. Every moment of every hour, we should emote thankfulness, from a pure heart and a clear conscience. Gratitude should govern or motivate our every action and thankfulness should follow every residual thought. We are Blessed. We must always acknowledge the Blesser, our Father, God!
Deuteronomy 8:11 NLT
11 “But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today.
In closing, Moses commanded the Hebrews to actively remember … God. They must never forget where God brought them from. He tempered them in the furnace of the desert, hardening them into a steely reflection of Himself, a peculiar people. He made for Himself a holy people, consecrated by His holy Word, baptized by the fire of the Ruach Ha'Kodesh, the literal ‘breath’ of God, the Holy Spirit. This second generation of Hebrews, born in the desert, hold this second reading of the Book of the Law close to their hearts. The closer they held to God’s Word, the clearer the impression of His fingerprints on their lives. The same is true for us Beloved. The more tightly we hold to God’s Holy Word, the clearer and more distinguished are God’s fingerprints on our lives.
Selah,
wb
Joshua 1:8-9 NLT
8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. 9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord, your God is with you wherever you go.”
Deuteronomy 8:18 NLT
18 Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath.
1 Peter 2:9-10 NLT
9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests,[g] a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
10
“Once you had no identity as a people;
now you are God’s people.
Once you received no mercy;
now you have received God’s mercy.”[h]
Wow
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