Blessed Is the One Who Enlarges Gad
33: 20-21

Blessed is the one who enlarges Gad DIG: How does Jacob’s blessing of Gad fit his personality (as symbolized by Jacob)? Why did the tribe of Gad get their allocation of the land prior to the conquest of Canaan? Where will they be during the Millennial Kingdom?

REFLECT: In your life, what “lion’s share” has ADONAI given you? Have you, are you, fulfilling your responsibilities in the Kingdom of God? Are you cooperating fully with the rest of the Body of Messiah? Explain. If not, how can you use your spiritual gift and get involved?

On the day Moses died, he delivered his final blessing
and then ascended Mount Nebo to view the Land of Promise from afar.

As Moses blessed the tribes for success in their conquest of the Land, he came to Gad. The tribe of Gad had already been allocated its territory prior to the renewal of the covenant at Mo’av. When Isra’el defeated the pagan kings east of the Jordan River (to see link click At – Moshe Remembers Isra’el’s Conquest of the Transjordan), Gad took the “lion’s share” for themselves. For Gad he said: Blessed is the one who enlarges Gad (33:20a).

Although the tribe of Gad already had possessed its territory, it still had responsibilities in the coming military conquest of Canaan. Like a lion he crouches, and tears off an arm or even the crown of a head (33:20b). When Joshua led Isra’el into the Promised Land, Gad was living in a very hostile territory, next to the Ammonites. And because of that, we are told in Judges 10 that they grew to be a very warlike tribe (see the commentary on Genesis Lk – Raiders Shall Raid Gad, But He Shall Raid at Their Heels). Gad fulfilled its responsibilities, as is made clear by Joshua 22:1-6. The blessing indicates that Gad was to play an important part in the battle, and that as a result, the tribe would deserve a “lion’s share” of the fruit of victory.⁷⁰⁰

He chose the best for himself, being one of the first to choose their territory, but in the Messianic Kingdom, there will be a marked portion reserved for him, to the south of the Millennial Jerusalem (see the commentary on Isaiah Ge – Your Eyes Will See the King in His Beauty). He came with the heads of the people. He carried out ADONAI’s justice and His judgments for Isra’el (33:21). Although Gad already possessed its promised land, nevertheless, the tribe would cooperate faithfully along with the rest of Isra’el in the completion of the conquest of Canaan.

Dear Heavenly Father, Just as the tribe of Gad was living in a very hostile territory next to the Ammonites, and so in order to enlarge its boundaries it had to be a warlike tribe. We too live in lands hostile to You but we also are willing to fight to win souls for You and so enlarge the number of believers in Your family. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever wins souls is wise (Proverbs 11:30). Sometimes it is hard to share about You for we know that we will be laughed at, but how wonderful it is to pray and ask You to give us wisdom for what to say. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all without hesitation and without reproach; and it will be given to him (James 1:5).

Praise You that we can also pray asking You to work on the heart of whoever we are talking to, guiding the circumstances to both soften his heart so he accepts You as Savior and also to help him grow strong in You. Now this is the confidence we have before Him – that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have the requests we have asked from Him (First John 5:14-15). What a comfort to have You as our wonderful Father! I love You! In Yeshua’s name and power of His resurrection. Amen

May Joseph’s Land be Blessed by ADONAI
33: 13-17

May Joseph’s land be blessed by ADONAI DIG: How similar, or how different was Jacob’s blessing of Joseph, and Moshe’s blessing of Joseph’s descendents? What two ways does Moshes bless them? Who are the two tribes of Joseph? What blessings do they receive? Why are they so privileged?

REFLECT: What is your response to these blessings? How has ADONAI blessed you? How do you acknowledge the One in the burning bush as the source of all your blessings? Explain?

On the day Moses died, he delivered his final blessing
and then ascended Mount Nebo to view the Land of Promise from afar.

The longest of the blessings, it applies by extension, to the tribes of Ephraim and Manassah. It is the most lyrical of all, with its moving list of all the sources of God’s material bounty. The blessing has a number of similarities with the blessing of Joseph spoken by Jacob (see the commentary on Genesis, to see link click Ln – Joseph is a Fruitful Vine).

Moses prayed for Joseph’s descendants in two ways. First, Moshe prayed for Joseph’s material prosperity, and all parts of creation, under the control of YHVH, will produce abundantly for Joseph’s heirs. For Joseph he said: May his land be blessed by ADONAI with heavenly bounty above, and from the dew and from the deep lying beneath (the poetic description of the subterranean waters which are the source of springs and rivers), and with the bounty of the sun’s produce and the moon months’ yield (the crops that would be nurtured by the sun and would produce crops at different seasons of the year), and with the best from the ancient mountains and the bounty of the everlasting hills (for planting vineyards and olive trees). The climax of the prosperity provided is reached with the general description of the earth’s bounty and its fullness.⁶⁹⁷ All of this points to the ultimate source of the One who is the Giver of blessings, the favor of the One dwelling in the bush (see the commentary on Exodus Aq – Flames of Fire from within a Burning Bush). May it come on Joseph’s head, on the crown of the prince among his brothers (33:13-16).

Then, Moses prayed for the military successes of Joseph’s descendants, pictured like a bull or a wild ox goring the nations to the ends of the earth. This tribe was divided into the two tribes of Manasseh, Joseph’s firstborn, and Ephraim, his younger son. They were the largest of the Northern tribes. Though Manasseh was the older son, Jacob gave Ephraim the blessing of the firstborn (Genesis 48:17-20). That was why Moses mentioned Ephraim first and credited myriads to him, and just thousands to Manassah. They are the myriads of Ephriam, they are the thousands of Manasseh.⁶⁹⁸ The tribes of Ephraim and Manassah were known for their fruitful lands, their large flocks and herds, and their military power.

Dear Heavenly Father, How great that a relationship with You is the greatest blessing. Praise You that You offer that relationship to all who choose to love and follow You. How awesome to have a heavenly Father who has such a great love for His children! See how glorious a love the Father has given us, that we should be called God’s children – and so we are ( John 3:1a)! Your love is something that no one can ever take from us. No matter the trial, You are right there with us (Hebrews 13:5).

How wonderful that Your children will get to spend all eternity enjoying Your love and loving You back! What joy it is to know that Yeshua is making an eternal home in heaven for all who love Him. In My Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?  If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to Myself, so that where I am you may also be (John 14:2-3). Sometimes the days and years seem long, but earthly time is nothing compared to an eternity of joy and peace with You!  For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18). How important it is to use our time on earth wisely to please You by reading Your word, talking to You, praising and worshipping You. I love to make time for You in my busy life, for You are most important! I love You. In Yeshua’s holy name and His power of His resurrection. Amen

Bibliography

aish.com

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Bishop, Jim.The Day Christ Died, New York: Galahad Books, New York, 1957.

Braaten, Carl, Editor. I Am the Lord Your God, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005.

Brueggrmann, Walter. Deuteronomy, Abingdon Old Testament Commentary, Nashville, Abingdon Press, 2001.

von Clausewitz, Carl. On War, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1968.

Coleman, Lyle. The Serendipity Bible, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1988.

Craigie, Peter. The Book of Deuteronomy, NIOTC, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976.

Craigie, Peter.The Problem of War in the Old Testament, Grand Rapids, William Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1976,

Currid, John. Exodus, Volume 2, Auburn: Evangelical Press, 2001.

Davis, John. Moses and the Gods of Egypt, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983.

Edersheim, Alfred. The Temple, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1985.

Ennis, Peter. The NIV Application Commentary, Exodus, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000.

Erickson, Millard. Christian Theology, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1985.

Fee, Gordon and Stuart, Douglas, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982.

Feinberg, Jeffrey Enoch, Walk Deuteronomy, Messianic Jewish Resources International, 2003.

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Fruchtenbaum, Arnold. Ezeki’el MP3bbs 47-V-b (Jeremiah 43:8-27).

Fruchtenbaum, Arnold. Israelology: The Missing Link in Systematic Theology, Tustin, Ariel Ministries, 1993.

Gabizon, Jacques Isaac. The Book of Deuteronomy DVD, Ariel Ministries: San Antonio, 2019.

Gaebelein, Frank E, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth,
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Gutzke, Manford George. Plain Talk on Deuteronomy, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979.

Herschel, Abraham. The Sabbath, New York, Straus and Giroux Publishers, 1951.

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Kline, Meredith. Treaty of the Great King: The Covenant Structure of Deuteronomy: Studies and Commentary, Wipf & Stock, Eugene, Oregon, 2012.

Laney, J. Carl. Answers to Tough Questions, Eugene, Wipf & Stock Publishers, 1997.

Longman, Tremper. Volume 2 Numbers-Ruth, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2012.

Longman, Tremper. Volume 5 Psalms, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2008.

MacArthur, John. Charismatic Chaos, Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 1992.

MacArthur, John. Matthew 1-7, Chicago, Moody Press, 1985.

MacArthur, John. Matthew 16-23, Chicago, Moody Press, 1988.

MacArthur, John. First Corinthians, Chicago, Moody Press, 1984.

MacArthur, John. Revelation 12-22, Chicago, Moody Press, 2000.

MacArthur, John. Strange Fire, Nashville, Thomas Books, 2013.

Maxwell, John C. Deuteronomy, Nashville, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1987.

McConville, J. G. Deuteronomy, Apollos Old Testament Commentary, 2002.

McGee, J. Vernon. Exodus, Chapters 19-40, Nashville, Thomas Nelson, 1991.

Morris, Henry. The Bible Has the Answer, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1991.

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Smalley, Gary and Trent, John. The Gift of Honor, Nashville, Thomas Nelson, 1987.

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Walvoord, John and Zuck, Roy. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the New Testament, Wheaton: Victor Books, 1983.

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End Notes

Deuteronomy from a Jewish Perspective
1. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, pages 17-18.

2. Answers to Tough Questions, by J. Carl Laney, Wipf & Stock, Eugene, Oregon, 1997, page 54.

3. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 1

4. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, pages 465-466.

5. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, pages 14-16.

6. Ibid, pages 17-18.

7. aish.com

8. Carl von Clausewitz, On War, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1968, page 101. Initially published in 1932 under the title of Vom Kriege.

9. Ibid, page 102.

10. Peter Craigie, The Problem of War in the Old Testament, William Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, pages 46-47.

11. Millard Erickson, Christian Theology, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1985, pages 627-630.

12. Treaty of the Great King, by Meredith Kline, Wipf & Stock, Eugene, Oregon, 2012, page 48.

13. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, pages 38-39.

14. Ibid, pages 39-40.

15. Ibid, pages 41-42.

16. Ibid, pages 42-43.

17. Ibid, pages 43-44.

18. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 779.

I. These are the Words Moses Spoke

19. Walk Deuteronomy, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2003, page 13.

20. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, page 25.

21. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 22.

22. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, page 27.

23. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 1

24. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 81.

25. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 477.

II. The Historical Prologue: Covenant History

26. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 94.

27. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, pages 478-479.

28. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 16.

29. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 25.

30. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 1

31. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 479.

32. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, page 32.

33. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 85.

34. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 1

35. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 18.

36. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, page 34-35.

37. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 98.

38. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 485.

39. Deuteronomy: Apollos Old Testament Commentary, by J. G. McConville, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 2002, page 76.

40. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 100.

41. Deuteronomy: Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries, by Walter Brueggemann, Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN, 2001, page 28.

42. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 100.

43. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, page 38.

44. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 29.

45. Ibid, page 30.

46. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 102.

47. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 489.

48. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, page 41.

49. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 31.

50. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, page.

51. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, pages 264-265.

52. Ibid, page 491.

53. Deuteronomy: Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries, by Walter Brueggemann, Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN, 2001, page 32.

54. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 21.

55. Ibid, page 22.

56. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 491.

57. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, page 51.

58. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 495.

59. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 23.

60. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, page 58.

61. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 497.

62. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 23-24.

63. Ibid, page 24.

64. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 24-25.

65. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 489.

66. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 266.

67. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 112.

68. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 266.

69. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 25.

70. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 92.

71. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 266.

72. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 113.

73. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 502.

74. Ibid, page 495.

75. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 115.

76. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 38.

77. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 95.

78. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 25.

79. Walk Deuteronomy, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2003, page 21.

80. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 96.

81. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 117.

82. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 26.

83. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 117.

84. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 507.

85. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 118.

86. Deuteronomy: Apollos Old Testament Commentary, by J. G. McConville, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 2002, page 90.

87. The NIV Study Bible, Kenneth Baker General Editor, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2011, page 236.

88. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 266.

89. Manners and Customs of the Bible, by James Freeman, Whitaker House, New Kensington, PA, 1996, pages 73-74.

90. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s a Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, pages 68-70.

91. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 266.

92. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 124.

93. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 509.

94. The NIV Study Bible, Kenneth Baker General Editor, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2011, page 266.

95. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 40.

96. Walk Deuteronomy, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2003, page 23.

97. Ibid, page 31.

98. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 126.

99. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 514.

100. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 268.

101. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 41.

102. Netivyah, 2018.

103. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 101.

104. Walk Deuteronomy, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2003, page 34.

105. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 514.

106. Ibid, page 509.

107. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 129.

108. Ibid, page 102.

109. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 516.

110. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 34-35.

111. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 102.

112. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 1

113. Ibid, disk 1

114. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 36-37.

115. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 518.

116. Ibid, page 520.

117. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 49.

118. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, pages 84-85.

119. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 49.

120. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, pages 85.

121. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 105.

122. Ibid, page 106.

123. Ibid, page 106.

124. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 51.

125. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 40.

126. Deuteronomy: Apollos Old Testament Commentary, by J. G. McConville, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 2002, page 109.

127. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 41.

128. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, page 89.

129. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 525

130. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 54.

131. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 141.

132. Deuteronomy: The Preachers Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, pages 89-90.

133. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 5

134. Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, pages 528-529.

135. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 42.

136. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 529.

137. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 1

138. This Week’s Torah Portion from Netivyah: Parashat Shemini.

139. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 531.

III. The Stipulations of the Covenant

140. God’s Blueprint for Living, by David Seamands, Bristol Books, Wilmore, Kentucky, 1988, page 40.

141. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 550.

142. I Am the Lord Your God, Edited by Carl Braaten and Christopher Seitz, Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2005, page ix.

143. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 534.

144. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 1

145. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 63.

146. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Ron Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton Illinois, 1986, page 139.

147. God’s Blueprint for Living, by David Seamands, Bristol Books, Wilmore, Kentucky, 1988, pages 32-33.

148. God’s Blueprint for Living, by David Seamands, Bristol Books, Wilmore, Kentucky, 1988, page 40.

149. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 73.

150. Exodus, Volume 2, by John Currid, Evangelical Press, Auburn, Mass, 2001, pages 37-39.

151. God’s Blueprint for Living, by David Seamands, Bristol Books, Wilmore, Kentucky, 1988, pages 48-50.

152. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 74.

153. The NIV Application Commentary, Exodus, by Peter Enns, Zondervan Publishing, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2000, page 417.

154.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Ron Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton Illinois, 1986, page 139.

155. God’s Blueprint for Living, by David Seamands, Bristol Books, Wilmore, Kentucky, 1988, pages 57-58.

156. Moses and the Gods of Egypt, by John Davis, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1983, page 204.

157. God’s Blueprint for Living, by David Seamands, Bristol Books, Wilmore, Kentucky, 1988, page 60.

158. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 542.

159. Exodus, by Ron Youngblood, Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1983, page 97.

160. The Sabbath, by Abraham Herschel, Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publishers, New York, New York, 1951, page 51-52.

161. Israelology: The Missing Link in Systematic Theology, by Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Ariel Ministries, Tustin, California, 1993, page 666.

162. The Bible Has the Answer, by Henry Morris, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1971, pages 212-213.

163. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, pages 76-77.

164. The Blessing, by Gary Smalley and John Trent, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1986, pages 200-201.

165. The Gift of Honor, by Gary Smalley and John Trent, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, pages 32, 42 and 45.

166. The Blessing, by Gary Smalley and John Trent, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1986, page 208.

167. God’s Blueprint for Living, by David Seamands, Bristol Books, Wilmore, Kentucky, 1988, pages 75-76.

168. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, pages 79-80.

169. God’s Blueprint for Living, by David Seamands, Bristol Books, Wilmore, Kentucky, 1988, pages 75-76.

170. Commentary on the Old Testament: Exodus, by C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1985, pages 123-124.

171. The NIV Application Commentary, Exodus, by Peter Enns, Zondervan Publishing, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2000, page 422.

172. God’s Blueprint for Living, by David Seamands, Bristol Books, Wilmore, Kentucky, 1988, pages 89-90.

173. Ibid, pages 89-90.

174. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 80.

175. Matthew 1-7, by John MacArthur, Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1985, page 303.

176. God’s Blueprint for Living, by David Seamands, Bristol Books, Wilmore, Kentucky, 1988, pages 102-103.

177. Matthew 1-7, by John MacArthur, Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1985, page 303.

178. God’s Blueprint for Living, by David Seamands, Bristol Books, Wilmore, Kentucky, 1988, page 106.

179. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 81.

180. God’s Blueprint for Living, by David Seamands, Bristol Books, Wilmore, Kentucky, 1988, page 106.

181. Matthew 16-23, by John MacArthur, Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1988, page 270.

182. God’s Blueprint for Living, by David Seamands, Bristol Books, Wilmore, Kentucky, 1988, pages 117-118.

183. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, pages 83-84.

184. The NIV Application Commentary: Exodus, by Peter Enns, Zondervan Publishing, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2000, pages 424-425.

185. God’s Blueprint for Living, by David Seamands, Bristol Books, Wilmore, Kentucky, 1988, page 122.

186. Exodus, Volume 2, by John Currid, Evangelical Press, Auburn, Mass, 2001, page 49.

187. Revelation 12-22, by John MacArthur, Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois, 2000, page 272.

188. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 85.

189. God’s Blueprint for Living, by David Seamands, Bristol Books, Wilmore, Kentucky, 1988, pages 129-130.

190. Israelology: The Missing Link in Systematic Theology, by Arnold Fruchtenbaum, Ariel Ministries, Tustin, California, 1989, pages 572-587.

191. Exodus, Chapters 19-40, by J. Vernon McGee, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1991, page 30.

192. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 599.

193. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 55.

194. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 2

195. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 169.

196. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 2

197. Walk Deuteronomy, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2003, page 39.

198. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 57.

199. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 170.

200. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 5

201. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 58.

202.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 173.

203. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, page 121.

204. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 561.

205. Ibid, page 562.

206. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 59-50.

207. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, page 123.

208. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 103-104.

209. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 564.

210. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 5) Psalms, by Tremper Longman III and Da, page 260.

211. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 2

212. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 127.

213. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 61.

214. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 565.

215. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 2

216. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page128.

217. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 567.

218. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 62.

219. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 110.

220. Ibid, page 110.

221. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 62-63.

222. gotquestions. Org

223.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 2

224. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 116.

225. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, pages 570-571.

226. Walk Deuteronomy, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2003, page 42.

227. Ibid, page 49.

228. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 132.

229. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 118.

230. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 573.

231.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 181.

232. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 573.

233. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 277.

234. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 133.

235. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 67.

236. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 575.

237. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 2

238. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 185.

239. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 74.

240. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 185.

241. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 75.

242. Ibid, pages 75-76.

243. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 186.

244. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 77.

245. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 187.

246. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 78.

247. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 278.

248. The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2002, page 243.

249. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 78.

250. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 130.

251. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 2

252. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 79.

253. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 130.

254. Ibid, page 131.

255. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 139.

256. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 131-132.

257. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 79-80.

258. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 2

259. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 195.

260. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 139.

261. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 2

262. Commentary on the Old Testament: Exodus, by C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1985, page 226.

263. Moses and the Gods of Egypt, by John Davis, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1983, page 289.

264. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 590.

265. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 82-83.

266. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 137.

267. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, pages 197-198.

268. Deuteronomy: Apollos Old Testament Commentary, by J. G. McConville, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 2002, page 188.

269. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 145.

270. Ibid, page 146.

271. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, pages 139-141.

272. Deuteronomy: Apollos Old Testament Commentary, by J. G. McConville, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 2002, page 197.

273. Ibid, page 199.

274. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 144.

275. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 3

276. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, page 160.

277. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 599.

278. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 145.

279. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, pages 147-148.

280. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 281.

281. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 86.

282. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 206-207.

283. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 151.

284. Ibid, page 152.

285.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 209.

286. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, pages 152-153.

287. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 88.

288. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 153.

289.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 209.

290. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 89.

291. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, pages 154-155.

292. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, pages 210-211.

293. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 155.

294. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 90.

295. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 283.

296. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 155.

297. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 90.

298. Walk Deuteronomy, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2003, page 67.

299. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 156.

300. bibleplaces.com

301. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 3

302. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 158.

303. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 92.

304. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 3

305. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 95.

306.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 3

307. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 97.

308. Ibid, page 97.

309. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, pages 163-164.

310.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 615.

311. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 98-99.

312. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, pages 163-164.

313. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 218.

314. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 100.

315. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 616.

316. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 101.

317. Ibid, page 102.

318. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 218.

319. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 285.

320. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 172.

321. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 101.

322.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 618.

323.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 220.

324.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 3

325.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 223.

326. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 104-105.

327. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 175.

328. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 105.

329. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 177.

330. Strange Fire, by John MacArthur, Nelson Books, Nashville, Tennessee 2013, pages 120-122.

331. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 176.

332. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 177.

333.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 287.

334. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 117-118.

335. Ibid, pages 117-118.

336.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, pages 229-230.

337. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 181.

338. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 627.

339. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 232.

340.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, pages 627-628.

341.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, pages 232-233.

342.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 4

343. Answers to Tough Questions, by J. Carl Laney, Wipf & Stock, Eugene, Oregon, 1997, page 53.

344. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 121.

345.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 4

346. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 185.

347. Ibid, page 186.

348. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 191.

349.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 632.

350. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 195.

351. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 188.

352. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 191.

353. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 188.

354.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 4

355. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 124.

356. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 189.

357.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 4

358. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 189.

359. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 239.

360. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 191.

361.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 4

362.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 633.

363. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 125.

364. Walk Deuteronomy, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2003, page76.

365.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 291.

366.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 240.

367.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 635.

368. Ibid, page 635.

369.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, pages 291-292.

370. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 4

371.The Temple, by Alfred Edersheim, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1985, page 226.

372.The Day Christ Died, by Jim Bishop, Galahad Books, New York, NY, 1957, pages 122-124.

373. God’s Appointed Times, by Barney Kasdan, Lederer Publications, Baltimore, Maryland, 1993, pages 26-33.

374. Ibid, pages 26-33.

375. Ibid, pages 101-104.

376. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 135-136.

377. Walk Deuteronomy, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2003, page 85.

378. Manners and Customs of the Bible, by James Freeman, Whitaker House, New Kensington, PA, 1996, pages 110-111.

379. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 136-137.

380. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 293.

381. Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, pages 641-642.

382. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 205.

383. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 137-138.

384. Manners and Customs of the Bible, by James Freeman, Whitaker House, New Kensington, PA, 1996, page 107.

385. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 249.

386.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 251.

387. Ibid, page 252.

388. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 634.

389. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, pages 208-209.

390. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 140.

391.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 295.

392.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 646.

393. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 140-141.

394.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 255.

395. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 141.

396. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 209.

397. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 141-142.

398.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 295.

399. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 143.

400.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 296.

401. Deuteronomy: Apollos Old Testament Commentary, by J. G. McConville, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 2002, page 300.

402.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 261.

403.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 4

404.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 261.

405.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 652.

406.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 4

407.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, pages 296-297.

408.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, pages 263-264.

409.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 4

410.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 262.

411. Charismatic Chaos, by John MacArthur, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1992, page 69.

412.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 4

413. Ibid, disk 4

414.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 265.

415. Deuteronomy: Apollos Old Testament Commentary, by J. G. McConville, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 2002, page 310.

416. Gotquestions.org

417.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 4

418. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 223.

419.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 268.

420. Netivyah.org

421. Gotquestions.org

422. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 153-154.

423. Ibid, page 155.

424. Manners and Customs of the Bible, by James Freeman, Whitaker House, New Kensington, PA, 1996, page 110.

425. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 224.

426. Deuteronomy: Apollos Old Testament Commentary, by J. G. McConville, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 2002, page 312.

427. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 155.

428.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 659.

429. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 157.

430. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 218.

431. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 4

432. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 158.

433. Ibid, page 158.

434. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 661.

435. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 159.

436. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 229.

437.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 299.

438. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, pages 274-275.

439. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 221.

440. Ibid, page 223.

441.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 274-275.

442.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 300.

443.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 662.

444. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, page 232.

445. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 232.

446.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 279.

447. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 233.

448. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 165.

449. Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 280.

450. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 164-165.

451.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 300.

452. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 234.

453.Walk Deuteronomy, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2003, page 103.

454. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 234.

455. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 667.

456.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 300.

1. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 5
2. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 301.
3. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 5

460.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 668.

461.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 301.

462. Answers to Tough Questions, by J. Carl Laney, Wipf & Stock, Eugene, Oregon, 1997, page 54.

463.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 5

464.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, pages 670-671.

465.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 301.

466. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, pages 235-236.

467. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 171-172.

468. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 232.

469. Ibid, page 233.

470. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 240.

471. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 673.

1. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 176.

473. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 240.

474. Manners and Customs of the Bible, by James Freeman, Whitaker House, New Kensington, PA, 1996, page 111.

475.The Bible Knowledge Commentary on the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Roy, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 302.

476. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 233.

477. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, pages 288-289.

478. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 233.

479. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, page 243.

480. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 233.

481. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 178-179.

482. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 290.

483. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 5

484. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 290.

485. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 233.

486. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 5

487. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 182.

488. Ibid, pages 182-183.

489. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, pages 80-81.

490. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 184-185.

491. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 303.

492. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 247.

493. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 185.

494.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 681.

495. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 681.

496. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 185.

497. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 683.

498. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 186.

499. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 685.

500. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 249.

501. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, pages 300-301.

502. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 186.

503. Deuteronomy: Apollos Old Testament Commentary, by J. G. McConville, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 2002, page 351.

504. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, page 251.

505.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, pages 686-687.

506. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, pages 302-303.

507. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 253.

508.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 303.

509. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, page 252.

510.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 688.

511.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 5

512. Answers to Tough Questions, by J. Carl Laney, Wipf & Stock, Eugene, Oregon, 1997, page 55.

513. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, page 257.

514. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 256.

515. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 245.

516. Ibid, page 245.

517. Deuteronomy: Apollos Old Testament Commentary, by J. G. McConville, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 2002, page 360.

518. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 5

519.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, pages 691-692.

520. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 305.

521.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 307.

522. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 188.

523. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 246.

524.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 693.

525. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 257.

526. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 693.

527. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 305.

528. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 694.

529.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, pages 305-306.

530. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts, 1996, pages 258-259.

531.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 306.

532. Deuteronomy: Apollos Old Testament Commentary, by J. G. McConville, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 2002, page 363.

533. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 260.

534.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 564.

535. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 248.

536. Deuteronomy: Apollos Old Testament Commentary, by J. G. McConville, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 2002, page 364.

537. Manners and Customs of the Bible, by James Freeman, Whitaker House, New Kensington, PA, 1996, pages 127-128.

538. Ibid, page 114.

539. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 261.

540. Manners and Customs of the Bible, by James Freeman, Whitaker House, New Kensington, PA, 1996, page 263.

541. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 311.

542. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, pages 261-262.

543.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 306.

544.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 697.

545. Deuteronomy: Apollos Old Testament Commentary, by J. G. McConville, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 2002, page 368.

546. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 265.

547. First Corinthians, by John MacArthur, Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1984, page 203.

548.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 5

549.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 699.

550. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, pages 250-251.

551. Manners and Customs of the Bible, by James Freeman, Whitaker House, New Kensington, PA, 1996, page 389.

552. Ibid, page 115.

553.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 307.

554.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 315.

555.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 701.

556. Ibid, page 702.

557. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, page 263.

558. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 702.

559. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, page 264.

560. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 268.

561. Walk Deuteronomy, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2003, page 121.

562.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 5

563. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 144-145.

564. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 146.

565.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 708.

567. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 272.

568.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 711.

569.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the New Testament, by John Walvoord, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1983, page 119.

570.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 711.

IV. The Warnings of the Covenant

571. Ibid, page 507.

572. Deuteronomy: The Preacher’s Commentary, by John Maxwell, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee, 1987, page 275.

573. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 328.

574.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, pages 714-715.

575. Ibid, page 716.

576. Ibid, page 716.

577. Ibid, page 719.

578. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 195.

579. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 277.

580.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 332.

581. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 278.

582. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 195-196.

583.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 720.

584. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 195-196.

585. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 278.

586. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, pages 197-198.

587. Deuteronomy: Apollos Old Testament Commentary, by J. G. McConville, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 2002, page 404.

588. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 270.

589. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, pages 336-337.

590.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 725.

591. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 281.

592. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 725-726.

593.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 338.

594.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 728.

595. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, pages 268-269.

596. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, pages 728-729.

597. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 282.

598.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 312.

599. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 272.

600.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, pages 731-732.

601.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 312.

602.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, pages 732-733.

603. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 274.

604.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 734.

605.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 345.

606. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 735.

607.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 346.

608.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 735.

609. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 275.

610.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 312.

611.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 347.

612. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 312.

613. Ibid, page 312.

614.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, pages 731-732.

615. Ibid, pages 738-739.

616. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 200.

617. First Corinthians, by John MacArthur, Moody Bible Institute, Chicago, Illinois, 1984, pages 381-384.

618.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 740.

619.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 313.

620. Ibid, page 312.

621. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, pages 731-732.

622. Ibid, page 744.

623. Deuteronomy: Apollos Old Testament Commentary, by J. G. McConville, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 2002, page 408.

624. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 278.

625. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 284.

626.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 5

627. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 202.

628.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 5

629. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, pages 285-286.

630. Walk Deuteronomy, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2003, page 139.

631. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 281.

632. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 203.

633.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 754.

634. Ibid, page 756.

635. Ibid, page 757.

636.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 5

637. Deuteronomy: Apollos Old Testament Commentary, by J. G. McConville, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 2002, page 417.

638.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 759.

639. Ibid, page 759.

640. Ibid, page 760.

641.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Jacques Isaac Gabizon, Ariel Ministries DVD, disk 5

642. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 205.

643.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 763.

644. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 205.

645.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 364.

646.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 763.

647.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 364.

648. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 206.

649. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 290.

650.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 366.

651.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 768.

652. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 207.

653. Walk Deuteronomy, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2003, page 151.

V. The Continuity of the Covenant

654.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 509.

655. Walk Deuteronomy, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2003, page 157.

656. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 289.

657.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 770.

658. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 295.

659. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 291.

660.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 317.

661. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 772.

662.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 371.

663. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 292.

664.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 773.

665. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 294.

666. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 297.

667. Manners and Customs of the Bible, by James Freeman, Whitaker House, New Kensington, PA, 1996, page 178.

668.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, pages 777-778.

669. Walk Deuteronomy, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2003, pages 168-169.

670. Ibid, page 175.

671.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 373.

672. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 781.

673. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 218.

674. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 299.

675. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 218.

676. israelforever.org

677. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 299.

678.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 381.

679.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 381.

680. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 220.

681. Deuteronomy: New International Biblical Commentary, by Christopher J. H. Wright, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA, 1996, page 300.

682. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 220.

683. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 302.

685. Ibid, page 302.

686. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 222.

687.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 320.

689. Walk Deuteronomy, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2003, page 187.

690. Ibid, page 193.

691. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, pages 801-802.

692. Ibid, pages 802-803.

693. Ezekiel, by Arnold Fruchtenbaum, MP3bbs 47-V-b (43:8-27).

694.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 803.

695. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 229.

696.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 804.

697. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 398.

698.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, pages 321-322.

699. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 230.

700. The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, page 400.

701.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, pages 808-809.

702. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 231.

703. Deuteronomy, by J. A. Thompson, TOTC, Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1974, page 316.

704.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 809.

705. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 231.

706. Ibid, pages 231-232.

707.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 322.

708.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 810.

709.The Book of Deuteronomy, by Peter Craigie, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1976, pages 403-404.

710.The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 322.

711. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 233.

712.The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 813.

713. Deuteronomy – Be Equipped: by Warren Wiersbe, Published by David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999, page 234.

714. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 2) Numbers-Ruth, by Tremper Longman III and Frank Gaebelein, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2012, page 813.

715. The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, Victor Books, Wheaton, Illinois, 1985, page 323.

716.Walk Deuteronomy, by Jeffrey Enoch Feinberg, Messianic Jewish Publishers, Clarksville, Maryland, 2003, page 205.

The Death of Moses
34: 1-12

The death of Moses DIG: What in Moshe’s relationship with YHVH made Moses unique? What did it mean emotionally and spiritually to see the Promised Land? Why did God bury Moshe? Why do you think Jude wrote about it? How do you respond to the death of Moses compared to the death of Jacob (Genesis 50:3)?

REFLECT: What would it mean to you to see the fulfillment of your life’s work before your very eyes? What does it mean to know God face-to-face? Do you know God, at least partially, this way? How did this happen? How can you receive the “spirit of wisdom” like Joshua? What would you like to do for ADONAI?

On the day Moses died, he delivered his final blessing and then ascended Mount Nebo to view the Land of Promise from afar.

This last chapter was probably written by Joshua under the inspiration of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh. It is especially touching to see how God takes special care of Moses. Precious in the sight of ADONAI is the death of His kedoshim (Psalm 116:15). He allowed Moshe to see the Promised Land. It wasn’t merely a token glimpse, but a panoramic miracle. It is here that the LORD performed the last miracle in Deuteronomy, and He performs it for Moshe personally. God had decreed that Moses would not enter the Land. But in this last chapter, YHVH gives Moshe a complete tour of the Land. The view of the entire Land could only be a miracle, because there was no way Moshe could have seen the western sea from Mount Nebo.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that death is not something to be feared. Rather it is something to be looked forward to, as a child looks forward to a birthday party. It will be a time of great celebration with all tears and pains gone. He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Nor shall there be mourning or crying or pain any longer, for the former things have passed away (Revelation 21:4). What rejoicing there will be! I love You and look forward to worshipping and praising You forever in heaven! In Yeshua’s holy name and His power of resurrection. Amen

Moses viewing of the Promised Land (34:1-4): Then Moses went up from the plains of Mo’ab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, some 2,600 feet above sea level, which is opposite Jericho. ADONAI showed him all the Land – Gilead to Dan, and all of Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, the Negev and the plain of the valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. Then ADONAI said to him, “This is the land that I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob saying, ‘I will give it to your seed.’ I let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over there” (33:1-4). God gave Moshe the supernatural ability to view the whole Land, from Naphtali to the north, Ephraim and Manasseh in the central area, and Judah, the Negev, and Zoar in the south. ADONAI assured Moses that He would keep His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and give Isra’el the Promised Land.⁷¹¹

The death of Moshe and the succession of Joshua (34:5-9): The reader has been well prepared for this final description of the death of Moshe by some seven references in advance (1:37, 3:23-29, 31:2, 14, 16, 27-29, 32:48-52). After viewing the Land, Moses died and ADONAI, and Michael the archangel, buried him on Mount Nebo in a grave no one could ever locate or identify (see the commentary on Jude Ao – Michael Disputed with the Devil). So, Moses, the servant of ADONAI, died there in the land of Mo’ab, as was from the mouth of ADONAI. Then He buried him in the valley in the land of Mo’ab, opposite Beth-peor – but no one knows of his burial place to this day. Moses was 120 years old when he died. Moshe’s death was in accordance with YHVH’s intentions for him, but not the result of any health problems. He was still physically vigorous. His eye was not dim nor his vigor gone, which is a Near Eastern idiom to describe a person’s physical condition.⁷¹² And as the Bnei-Yisrael had done for Aaron (Numbers 20:29), they wept for Moses in the plains of Mo’ab thirty days. Then the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended (34:5-8).

Moshe died the servant of ADONAI, and that should be the goal of every believer. Precious in the sight of ADONAI is the death of His kedoshim (Psalm 116:15), and therefore He will not permit it to happen by accident, unless the believer is rebelling against God’s will. All the days that YHVH has ordained for [us] were written in the book of Life before we were even born (Psalm 139:16 NIV).⁷¹³ Therefore, we can rest easy that the Lord is in control.

Now Joshua son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom (Isaiah 11:2), for Moses had laid his hands on him. So Bnei-Yisrael listened to him and did just as ADONAI had commanded Moses (34:9). Years earlier, when Moshe laid hands on Joshua (Numbers 27:15-23), his actions symbolized the transferal of covenantal authority to Joshua, even though Joshua would not exercise that authority for a long time. Now, with the death of Moses, the Israelites would look to Joshua as their new, God ordained, leader.⁷¹⁴

The Epitaph of Moses (34:10-12): The book of Deuteronomy closes with an affirmation of Moshe’s uniqueness. There has not risen again a prophet in Isra’el like Moses, whom ADONAI knew face to face, with all the signs and wonders God sent him to do in the land of Egypt – to Pharaoh, all his servants, and all his land – by the strong hand and great awe that Moses did in the sight of all Isra’el (33:10-12). This statement does not mean that no true prophet or powerful prophets had arisen since Moshe’s death; rather, no prophet had arisen since the time of Moses who had enjoyed the intimacy with YHVH that Moshe experienced.

Nevertheless, the Israelites waited for God to raise up a prophet like Moses (see Dk – A Prophet Like Moses). Thus, the book ends on a prophetic note, looking forward to the day when ADONAI will raise up for you a prophet like Moses from among the Israelites, from their own kinsmen. They were to pay attention to him (18:15). That day finally arrived when Yeshua Messiah came as a Servant, but also as the very Son of God, surpassing even Moses himself (see the commentary on Hebrews Ao – The Superiority of Messiah to Moses). He offered to take Isra’el into a new era, fulfilling the prophecy of Jeremiah (see the commentary on Jeremiah Eo – I Will Make a New Covenant with the People of Isra’el). The Israelites culminated centuries of rebellion by rejecting that gracious offer. But the Song of Moses still points forward to the day when that offer will be accepted and YHVH will heal and avenge His people (see Fw – The Song of Moses: The vengeance of ADONAI against His adversaries).⁷¹⁵

Also, and almost incredibly, the LORD will redeem His words to Moses. Following his death, Moshe, with his glorified body, will awaken inside the Land of Promise, next to Elijah and Messiah, in full view of Yeshua’s closest apostles (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Gb – Jesus took Peter, James and John Up a High Mountain where He was Transfigured).

Though the grace of God is evident throughout our whole lives as believers, it is especially so when we come to die. Faith has its great work to do at the last, to help believers finish well, to die to the Lord, so as to honor Him, by patience, hope and joy – so as to leave a witness behind them of the truth of God’s Word and the excellency of His ways. God is greatly glorified when His people leave this world with their flag flying at full mast. If anyone should die triumphantly it should be the believer. When the Ruach triumphs over the flesh, when this world is consciously and gladly left behind for heaven, when there’s anticipation in the soul and the glory in the eyes as we enter into the presence of the Lord – then we’re dying as pleasing unto Him.

Haftarah v’Zot haB’rachah: Y’hoshua (Joshua) 1:1-18 (A); 1:1-9 (S)
(see Af – Parashah)

This chapter breaks up into three sections: First, ADONAI speaks to Joshua (1:1-9), Joshua then turns around and speaks to the nation (1:10-15). We can see here a solid principle of leadership: to lead others you must first be following God. Thus, effective leadership is following God and leading others in doing the same. Joshua was following God and leading the nation to follow Him. Are you primarily a leader or a follower? Who do you follow? Where are you going? Who do you lead and where are you leading them? In the last section, Isra’el responds to Joshua by committing to follow him as the way of following God (1:16-18). How do the people’s assessment of their own degree of obedience compare to reality (Joshua 1:7 and Deuteronomy 31:27). What is your assessment of your own degree of obedience in being committed to follow Messiah Yeshua as the Way (Acts 9:2) of following YHVH? How does that assessment compare to reality? Ask Yeshua to show you one area where He wants you to follow Him more obediently for the glory of the Father . . . and the good of you!

B’rit Chadashah suggested readings for Parashah v’Zot haB’rachah:
Mattityahu (Matthew) 17:1-9; Mark 9:2-10; Luke 9:28-36;
Y’hudah (Jude) 3-4, 8-10; and Revelation 21:9 to 22:5.

The message of Torah expands to TaNaKh and its renewal in the B’rit Chadashah. Joshua continues Moshe’s journey to inherit the Promised Land. In this passage, the faithful behold the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God (Revelation 21:9-10). Moses’ forty-day experience on the Mountain becomes the holy City’s thousand-year reign as one unending, glory-filled, Shabbat. With the Adversary bound, the curse and the night end (Revelation 21:25, 22:3 and 5). The City’s inhabitants require neither lamp by night or sun by day, because The Sh’khinah glory will provide all the light necessary for all eternity. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for ADONAI Elohim will shine on them. And they shall reign forever and ever (Revelation 22:5a)! Most incredibly, no longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in the City and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads (Revelation 22:4). Thus, those in Yerushalayim will live in glorious, luminous, proximity to the Presence of our holy God.⁷¹⁶

At the end of the five books of Moshe,
the rabbis have inserted the following words at the end of the text:

Hazak, hazak, v’nit’chazek!
Be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened!

May Asher Dip His Foot in Oil
33: 24-29

May Asher dip his foot in oil DIG: In what sense is Asher “the favorite of his brothers?” How are God’s arms “everlasting?” How would this uplift Jeshurun (Isra’el)? What does the character of ADONAI mean for Isra’el in verses 28-29? How does this poem of blessing reinforce the song of Moses in Chapter 32? In the long run, where did Isra’el end up? Why?

REFLECT: How have you been blessed by the Lord? Who would you like to bless? With what? Why? Do your brothers and/or sisters (in the Lord, or humanly speaking) look upon you with favor? Describe a time when you felt ADONAI’s everlasting arms around you. How has YHVH been a Shield for you in the battle of life?

On the day Moses died, he delivered his final blessing
and then ascended Mount Nebo to view the Land of Promise from afar.

Asher means “happy, blessed,” and Moshe asked ADONAI to bless the tribe with many children, the favor of his brothers, and great prosperity (see the commentary on Genesis, to see link click Ll – Asher’s Bread Will Be With Oil; He Will Provide Delicacies Fit for a King). Asher stretched along the coast from Acre to Tyre. It was also on the highway by which invaders entered Palestine. Hence, it was natural to wish for strong fortifications for Asher.⁷⁰³

For Asher he said: Most blessed of sons is Asher – may he be the favorite of his brothers, and may he dip his foot in oil (33:24). The exaggerated metaphor of bathing one’s foot in oil suggests abundant prosperity. Even though olive groves were abundant in their territory of Asher, it seems that here the oil, which often symbolizes blessing in the TaNaKh (Deuteronomy 32:13; Job 29:5-6 and 11), provides a metaphor of prosperity in general. The bolts of your gates will be iron and bronze. As your days, so will your strength be (33:25). The iron and bronze bolts refer to bolts that held a city gate in place as an essential means of defending themselves. The basic idea here is, “May your land be as secure as if it were locked up with bolts of iron and bronze.”⁷⁰⁴ This tribe would enjoy many children, brotherly love, prosperity and security, and ADONAI would give them daily strength to accomplish their work. What more could anyone want?⁷⁰⁵

The last words of Moshe: What a great relief it must have been for Moses to realize that his life and ministry had not been in vain. And that the Jewish people whom he loved so much would rest safely in the Promised Land. Precious in the sight of ADONAI is the presence of all His people (Psalm 116:15). Therefore, these last words focus on the happiness of the people of God because of His blessings. As Moshe finished blessing the tribes, he visualized the whole nation and the joy Isra’el ought to have because they knew the true and living God. Their God wasn’t a dead idol sitting in a Temple; He rides the heavens to come to the aid of His people (Psalm 18:10, 68:33). But even more, ADONAI is Isra’el’s “home” and dwelling place (Psalm 90:1), and they live in Him no matter where they go. As we go forward by faith, He defeats the Enemy and holds us up in the battle.⁷⁰⁶

There is none like God, Jeshurun (literally, the upright One). Isra’el’s God is incomparable in power as the One riding through the heavens to her aid and through the skies in His majesty. The mention of Jeshurun links these concluding verses of praise to the introductory portion of the blessing where Jeshurun is also mentioned in 33:5. No matter what adversity Isra’el would face, ADONAI would be there instantly with power to deliver her. Because YHVH is eternal and is a Refuge for His people, His everlasting arms, figurative speaking, would protect Isra’el in times of calamity, and would destroy her enemy.⁷⁰⁷ A refuge is the ancient God, and underneath are everlasting arms. He drove out the enemy before you and said, “Destroy” (33:26-27).

Having such a wonderful and powerful God, the nation could be assured of conquering Canaan and then of living for a while in safety and prosperity. So Isra’el rests in safety, untroubled is Jacob’s fountain in a land of grain and new wine. Yes, his heavens drip dew (33:28). Jacob’s fountain does not refer to springs of water in the Land, but is a synonym for Isra’el (the parallel term) and their descendants. The guaranteed presence of grain, new wine, and dew represents the epitome of “the good life” in the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 7:13, 11:10-12, 33:13-16; Genesis 27:28). Moses brings his conclusion to a climax by rejoicing over Isra’el’s blessed position. Because of their special relationship with YHVH, demonstrated by His deliverance of them from Egypt (and other calamities), they are unique among the nations of the world.⁷⁰⁸

Happy are you, O Isra’el! Who is like you? The answer would be, “None!” But Isra’el’s preeminence lay not in her own merit, because there is none like God, Jeshurun (33:26). The power and preeminence of Isra’el’s God imparted to Isra’el, her power and preeminence. Isra’el would be victorious, not through military genius, but because YHVH is a warrior (Exodus 15:3), and would lead His people into battle (see Ag – The Problem of Holy War in the TaNaKh) as the commander of ADONAI’s army (Joshua 5:14). Isra’el would be protected in battle by the Shield, which was God Himself.⁷⁰⁹ A people saved by ADONAI, the Shield of your help and the Sword of your triumph? Your enemies will cower before you, and you will trample down their high places (33:29).

Isra’el would face many enemies and fight many battles as they conquered the Promised Land, but ADONAI would give them the victory. They would live in a safe and productive land, separated from the pagan Gentile nations around her, but bearing witness to them about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He would be their Helper, their Shield, and their Sword, so they had nothing to fear.

But Isra’el’s greatest danger wasn’t the armies around them so much as the desires within them. Their hearts needed to be weaned away from the love for idols and the sins associated with spiritual adultery. In the end, the Jews accepted and worshipped the gods of the goyim they had defeated, and this led to the spiritual and moral decay of the nation. Instead of trampling down their high places (33:29), Isra’el sank lower and lower into the pit of sin, until YHVH had to send them into captivity (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gu – Seventy Years of Imperial Babylonian Rule).⁷¹⁰

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that when all around us starts to crumble and mighty forces are against us, it is You who will protect us. The one true, all powerful God says of Asher’s land, her “land will be as secure as if it were locked up with bolts of iron and bronze.” In a similar way when we believe in You/trust You as our Lord and Savior (Romans 10:9-10) then You become our strength and our Father (John 1:12). We do not need to worry or to fret, but to rest in Your care by seeking Your help. But You, ADONAI, are a shield around me. . . I lie down and sleep. I awake – for ADONAI sustains me (Psalms 3:3a). No matter how big the problem- You are greater and mightier. You have all the answers and You delight in helping Your child. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people all around who have taken their stand against me. . . From the Lord comes deliverance (Psalm 3:5-6,8a). You are my strong fortress. He said: “ADONAI is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer (Second Samuel 22:2). You are a wonderful Father! In Yeshua’s name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Naphtali Possess the Sea and the South
33: 23

Naphtali possesses the sea and the south DIG: How was Naphtali blessed by Moses. How did the Messiah bless this tribe? How will this tribe be blessed in the Messianic Kingdom?

REFLECT: How have you been blessed by Yeshua? In what ways can you be a blessing to others? Who can you bless this next week?

On the day Moses died, he delivered his final blessing and then ascended Mount Nebo to view the Land of Promise from afar.

Naphtali had been highly blessed by Jacob (see the commentary on Genesis, to see link click Lm – Naphtali is a Doe Set Free that bears Beautiful Words). And here, for Naphtali Moses said: O Naphtali, satisfied with favor and full of the blessing of ADONAI, possess the sea and the south. This tribe was promised expansion to the south, where the Sea of Galilee is located, and to the west, toward the Mediterranean Sea. Barak came from this tribe, and soldiers from Naphtali assisted him and Deborah (Judges 5:18) and Gideon (Judges 7:23).⁷⁰² One of the blessings enjoyed by this tribe was that Yeshua Messiah spent much of His ministry in their territory and in neighboring Zebulun (Isaiah 9:1-2; Matthew 4:12-17). However, they will be even more blessed in the Messianic Kingdom, where Naphtali is mentioned in the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 9:1 and Matthew 4:13-16.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that You are Almighty over all the earth! You are not just a local deity- but rather Your name is great over all the earth and from sea to sea (Psalm 72:8)! Your Kingdom is an eternal Kingdom. Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages, and Your dominion endures from generation to generation (Psalms 145:13). Your Kingdom will never be taken over by another. You alone will reign thru all eternity! Behold, One like a Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days, and was brought into His presence. Dominion, glory and sovereignty were given to Him that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will never pass away, and His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed. for all ages, and Your dominion endures from generation to generation (Psalm 145:13). I worship and praise You, Mighty God and Ruler of the universe for all eternity! I love You and delight in pleasing You. In Yeshua’s holy name and His power of Resurrection. Amen

Dan is a Lion’s Cub
33: 22

Dan is a lion’s cub DIG: How is Dan likened to a lion’s cub? What did Jacob say about him? What questions does this chapter prompt, especially when compared to Jacob’s blessing in Genesis 49? Why wasn’t Dan included in the 144,000 of Revelation? What is different about the tribe of Dan during the Messianic Kingdom?

REFLECT: How have you gone from a lion’s cub to a lion in the Kingdom of God? How much have you grown? How are you growing now? How can you get to where you want to be? What will change about you when you are in the Messianic Kingdom?

On the day Moses died, he delivered his final blessing and then ascended Mount Nebo to view the Land of Promise from afar.

Comparing Dan to a lion’s cub suggests the timidity and youthfulness of the tribe, but it showed great promise and great strength in the future. A lion’s cub grows up to be a lion!

Dan had introduced idolatry into the nation of Isra’el as seen in Judges 17-18 (see the commentary on Genesis, to see link click Lj – Dan Will be a Serpent by the Roadside, A Viper Along the Path). That is why the tribe of Dan is not listed with the 144,000 during the Great Tribulation (see the commentary on Revelation Cr – Then I Heard the Number of Those Who Were Sealed, 144,000 from all the Tribes of Isra’el). But to this, Moshe answered prophetically: Dan is a lion’s cub leaping out of the Bashan. When Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land, there was no association of Dan and Bashan. It was in the Shephelah region of central Isra’el. Eventually, after being unable to evict the Canaanites, the tribe relocated to the far north region of Isra’el and conquered a community called “Laish.” The comparison of Dan to a lion may have been related to that conquest, since “Laish” is another Hebrew word for lion. And the reference might draw from the fact that lions were known to be found there.⁷⁰¹ In the Messianic Kingdom, the tribe of Dan will be the most northern tribe once again, but without any idolatry (see the commentary on Isaiah Ge – Your Eyes Will See the King in His Beauty).

Dear Heavenly Father, You are Almighty and all powerful and greater than all the armies of the world (Revelation 19). When a situation comes before me that seems impossible, help me to remember that nothing will be impossible with You (Luke 1:37). When I look at the problem it seems big and God seems small; but when I look up to You, God looks big and the problem looks small. I will choose to spend time with You, listening to Your word, praising You, and exalting Your great name. I love to meditate on the stories in Your Word which help me understand how awesome You are! Thank You for always being with me. For God Himself has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you,”  so that with confidence we say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear (Hebrews 13:5c-6a). Praise You for helping me with problems that seem large to me- but are so small to You. I love You! In Yeshua’s holy name and His power of resurrection. Amen

Rejoice Zebulun, in Your Going Out,
Issachar, in Your Tents
33: 18-19

Rejoice Zebulun, in your going out, Issachar, in your tents DIG: How does Moses confirm the blessing conferred by Jacob on Zebulun? What does he add to it? Did these two tribes have access to the Mediterranean Sea when entering the Promised Land? How would that change during the thousand-year Messianic Kingdom?

REFLECT: How are you blessed in the course of your daily life? When you bring your sacrifices (tithes and offerings) to your place of worship, how do you enjoy your “family feast?” How do you think things will change for you during the Messianic Kingdom? What can you imagine that you will be doing? What ministry would you like to have at that time?

On the day Moses died, he delivered his final blessing
and then ascended Mount Nebo to view the Land of Promise from afar.

Zebulun and Issachar are described as two tribes who will receive rich blessings from land and sea. For Zebulun Moses said: Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out, and Issachar, in your tents (33:18). The two phrases going out, and in your tents, cover all of daily life, a merism (polar elements that signify a totality): going to work, coming home to rest. Moshe was blessing every aspect of their lives, what we might call the routine tasks of life.⁶⁹⁹ Peoples they call to the mountain – there they offer righteous sacrifices. For they suckle the abundance of the seas and the hidden treasures of the sand (33:19). This is a picture of worship followed by a communal feast, but the Jews had to bring their sacrifices to Mount Tabor (Joshua 19:12 and 22; Judges 4:6 and 12), and later the Temple, where they could enjoy family feasts.

When Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land, Zebulun and Issachar had no outlet to the Mediterranean Sea. But during the Messianic Kingdom, they will have plenty of access to the sea (see the commentary on Genesis, to see link click Lh – Zebulun Will Live by the Seashore and Become a Haven for Ships) because the topography of Isra’el will change at that time.

The Millennial River, a massive river, will begin at the Temple then flow down to the city of Jerusalem, where it splits, half heading east to the Dead Sea, and the other half heading west to the Mediterranean Sea. Rivers will characterize the Millennial Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:8; Ezeki’el 47:1-12). Therefore, ships will sail on the Millennial River in the Kingdom. But while there may be ships on the Mediterranean, there will be no ships of war. No galley with oars will ride them, no mighty ship will sail them (see the commentary on Isaiah Ge – Your Eyes Will See the King in His Beauty).

Dear Heavenly Father, You are such a blessing to have as a Father. You are the best Father that ever could be (John 1:12)! How wonderful that You are willing to father all who chose to lovingly come to You and follow Your Word. Praise You that being part of Your family is open to all (Ephesians 2:13-14), no matter the color of skin, rich or poor, male or female, young or old (Galatians 3:26-28). Your becoming our Father cannot be bought with money, nor by beauty nor ancestral heritage, but You choose to adopt as Your children those who choose to love You (Romans 10:9-10). You graciously offer the gift of redemption to all who love you and accept Yeshua’s sacrifice in their place. He made the One who knew no sin to become a sin offering on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (Second Corinthians 5:21).

What a wonderful eternal blessing You are! Others may laugh at us. We may be scorned, beaten or ridiculed for our trust in You; but it is well worth the eternal joy that we will have with You in heaven. The Ruach Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.  And if children, also heirs – heirs of God and joint-heirs with Messiah – if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us (Romans 8:16-18). We love You all the time! In Yeshua’s name and His power of resurrection. Amen

ADONAI Shields Benjamin All Day Long
33: 12

ADONAI shields Benjamin all day long DIG: What is the tone of the blessing for Benjamin this time? Why the charge before in Genesis?

REFLECT: When do you feel like you are resting “between the shoulders” of ADONAI?

On the day Moses died, he delivered his final blessing
and then ascended Mount Nebo to view the Land of Promise from afar.

The sad history of the tribe of Benjamin is a history of civil war and conflict (see the commentary on Genesis, to see link click Lo – Benjamin is a Ravenous Wolf, He Devours the Prey and Divides the Plunder). At one point in history, they were almost exterminated. Thank God they were not, otherwise we would not have had Mordecai (see the commentary on Esther Bh – The King Gave His Signet Ring to Mordecai), or Paul. The little tribe of Benjamin was situated next to Judah’s northern boundary, and the city of Jerusalem was on the northern border of Judah and the southern border of Benjamin. Since the Sanctuary would be in Jerusalem, Benjamin would be close to the LORD, who dwelt there with His people.⁶⁹⁵

Unlike the description in Genesis 49, which depicts Benjamin as a ravenous wolf, here Moses pronounces a tender blessing on Benjamin – Jacob’s youngest son – one reminiscent of Benjamin’s close relationship with his father (Genesis 42:4 and 38, 44:18-34). For Benjamin, Moshe said: The beloved of ADONAI rests securely beside Him. He shields him all day long. Between His shoulders he rests. Benjamin can rest securely on the shoulders of YHVH who shields him from all threats. The anthropomorphism of resting between the shoulders of ADONAI brings to mind the figure of a father carrying his young son on his shoulders. Here, Moses rejoices that the tribe of Benjamin will dwell safely in peace among the people of God, no longer in conflict during the Messianic Kingdom (see the commentary on Isaiah Ge – Your Eyes Will See the King in His Beauty).⁶⁹⁶

Dear kind Heavenly Father, Your love is as strong and firm as the mountains. Though the mountains depart and the hills be shaken, My love will not depart from you, nor will My covenant of peace be shaken, says ADONAI who has compassion on you (Isaiah 54:10). As I lift my eyes to You, I will not fear – no matter the armies marching, the number of virus infections, or any news that brings problems. He who dwells in the shelter of Elyon, will abide in the shadow of Shaddai. I will say of ADONAI, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust. For He will rescue you from the hunter’s trap and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge. His faithfulness is body armor and shield (Psalms 91:1-4). I rest securely in You, for You are my daddy and I love You! In Yeshua’s name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Let the Urim and Thummim
be with Pious Levi
33: 8-11

Let the Urim and Thummim be with Pious Levi DIG: How does the blessing of Levi fit his role as the priestly tribe? What are the Urim and Thummim? Who wore them? How was it used? How will sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings make atonement for the Israelites during the Messianic Kingdom?

REFLECT: How do you find the will of God in your life? What obstacles have you encountered while using your spiritual gifts? Does the Adversary see your ministry as a threat to his kingdom? Why? Why not? What do you need protection from in your ministry?

On the day Moses died, he delivered his final blessing
and then ascended Mount Nebo to view the Land of Promise from afar.

Regarding his home tribe of Levi, Moses says nothing about an inheritance of land, but instead speaks of the priesthood as the inheritance. Unlike the negative “blessing” found in Genesis 49 (appropriate in the light of Levi’s sin in Genesis 34:1-29), Moshe’s words focus on the role of the descendants of Levi as priests and teachers of the Torah. As a tribe, they had been set apart by YHVH. Their fulfillment of this role was integral to their duties as members of the covenantal nation. In some way, the Israelites tested the Levites at Massah and Meribah. It may be that their testing of God and Moses represented a testing of the Levites as well, since both Moses and the Levites were the spokesmen of ADONAI.

These words were addressed to God. Levi said: Let Your Thummim and Urim (see the commentary on Exodus, to see link click Gb – The Urim and the Thummim: The Means of Making Decisions) be with Your pious man. You tested him at Massah, You strived with him at the waters of Meribah (33:8). He said of his father and mother, “I have not seen them,” nor did he acknowledge his brothers or recognize his children. For they observed Your word and kept Your covenant (33:9). This verse appears to allude to Isra’el’s rebellion in fashioning the golden calf (see the commentary on Exodus Gq – The Golden Calf Incident). In the wake of the rebellion, the LORD directed the Levites to execute those who were committing spiritual adultery against Him, regardless of their being fellow Israelites (see the commentary on Exodus Gv – And All the Levites Rallied to Moses). By obeying Ha’Shem, they were guarding the covenantal relationship between the nation and their God.⁶⁹²

Dear Wise Heavenly Father, Praise You that you know all things and that when Your child asks for what to do in a situation- you promise to give Your wisdom. Israel’s high priest had the Urim and Thummim, but praise You that we have a direct relationship with You (Ephesians 2:18) and can always praise You and ask You for guidance. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all without hesitation and without reproach; and it will be given to him (James 1:5). Your strength is always there and ready to help Your children. Working from our own source of energy, soon exhausts us. Relying on You to strengthen and to guide us, reinvigorates our spirit and gives us joy. Thus ADONAI says to you, “Do not be afraid or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s” (Second Chronicles 20:15c).

It is a joy that Your strength and wisdom will fill us with power as we fight mental and emotional battles. For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly but powerful through God for the tearing down of strongholds. We are tearing down false arguments and every high-minded thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. We are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Messiah (Second Corinthians 10:4-5). Fighting battles is not easy, but soon the battle on this earth will be over and we will spend eternity enjoying Your love and peace in your eternal heavenly home. For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18). For now, we seek to glorify our commander God in all we do. We keep our eyes focused on pleasing You and so we do not shrink back form battles, but rather we fight them in Your wisdom and strength. We love to please You! In Yeshua’s name and the power of His resurrection. Amen

They will teach Jacob Your judgments and Isra’el Your Torah. They will put incense in your nose and whole burnt offerings on Your altar (33:10). Moses was certainly referring to the sacrifices in the Messianic Kingdom. Without doubt, the most controversial issue concerning Ezeki’el 40-48 is the sacrificial system (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gs – God Shows a Vision of the Millennial Temple). King David will provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to make atonement for the Israelites (Ezeki’el 45:17). Jewish believers ask, “Since the Messiah has already died for our sins, why would the sacrificial system be reinstituted during the Millennial Kingdom?” Four points should be noted.

First, during the dispensation of the Torah animal blood never took away sin (Hebrews 10:1-4) they merely covered sin. They pointed to a more complete sacrifice, the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb, Yeshua Meshiach, which would take away sin (see the commentary on Hebrews Bv – The Superiority of Messiah’s Sacrifice).

Secondly, Ezeki’el is not the only one who talks about a millennial system of sacrifice (Isaiah 56:5-7, 60: 7-13, 65:20-23; Jeremiah 33:18-22; Zechariah 14:16-21). As a result, these prophecies need to be taken literally because we have several prophets saying the same thing.

Thirdly, this is not a reinstitution of the sacrificial system in the dispensation of the Torah. While there are some similarities, there are simply too many differences, too many contradictions, with the Mosaic system. For example, in the Ezeki’el system there is no high priest and no ark of the Covenant (see the commentary on Isaiah Db – The Nine Missing Articles in Messiah’s Coming Temple). The dispensation of the Torah has come to an end because of the death of Messiah.

Fourthly, the millennial sacrificial system is a memorial. During the dispensation of Grace (see above) believers are instructed to participate in a physical observance, or communion, in remembrance of the death of Messiah. But for Isra’el in the Kingdom there will be a different memorial: the sacrificial system in the Dispensation of the Messianic Kingdom will serve the same purpose as communion in the Dispensation of Grace. It will be the, do this in remembrance of Me, for Jewish believers.⁶⁹³

ADONAI, bless his resources, find favor in the work of his hands. Crush the loins of those who rise against him and hate him, so they do not rise again (33:11). Moses prayed that the tribe of Levi – his own tribe – would be given strength to perform their many ministries. However, even this tribe, dedicated to leading Isra’el’s worship, needed YHVH’s assistance if they were going to be effective in carrying out their God-given role. Like all the other tribes, the Levites entered battle, carrying the Ark of the Covenant, with the rest of the army of Isra’el and needed ADONAI’s protection against the nation’s foes. This request was not for military prowess, but for protection against attackers.⁶⁹⁴

Hear the Voice of Judah
33: 7

Hear the voice of Judah DIG: How does Moshe’s prophecy clarify Jacob’s prophecy? Who is the “Him” in this prophecy? When will that take place?

REFLECT: By what names do you call out to ADONAI? As you read through these blessings, what names imply God’s blessings? How does that encourage you?

On the day Moses died, he delivered his final blessing
and then ascended Mount Nebo to view the Land of Promise from afar.

The blessing on Judah is much shorter than the one found in Genesis 49:8-12, and has no Messianic overtones. It does not deny those overtones, but assumes that the Israelites are already aware of them. It seems clear that the last line that it has reference to is military matters. After all, Judah was to march at the head of the Israelite army whenever they entered the field of battle (Numbers 2:9).⁶⁹¹ So, this blessing was basically a prayer for Judah’s military success by God’s help.

The next tribe mentioned is Judah, from which the Messiah would come (see the commentary on Revelation, to see link click Ce – The Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David Has Triumphed). Moshe knew it, not only from Jacob’s prophecy (see the commentary on Genesis Lg – The Scepter Will Not Depart from Judah Until He Comes to Whom It Belongs), but from this new revelation: Now this is for Judah. He said: Hear, ADONAI, the voice of Judah! Bring Him to his people. His hands contended for him, so You will be a help against his foes. Who is the Him in this verse? It cannot be Moses. It has to be the Messiah.

It is puzzling that Moses omits the tribe of Simeon from his blessings. You may recall from Genesis that Jacob blessed the tribes of Simeon and Levi with a “blessing” that was more like a curse. He prophesied that they would be dispersed in Jacob and scattered in Isra’el (Genesis 49:7). As it happened, Simeon never really did hold his own territory. The tribe of Simeon diminished in size until it was swallowed up by Judah. The Simeonites were assimilated into Judah, and their territory came to be regarded as Judah’s.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that You are the best that ever could be! Thank You that you bless Your children (John 1:12) with an eternal blessing of joy and peace in heaven where there will be no tears and no pain. He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Nor shall there be mourning or crying or pain any longer, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). Thank You for the opportunity to bless You by fighting battles for Your honor. Judah marched out leading Isra’el (Numbers 2:9). Judah also led his brothers in the very emotional battle over Benjamin (Genesis 44:18-34).

You have granted us the wonderful joy and privilege of showing our love for You by what choices we make as we fight battles for You. There are many battles in this life. The time battle calls for my attention to do x, y, and z, all in a short time. The money battle begs for resources to care for family and future. The emotional battle tries to sort out what is important to do and how to best handle the many problems that come my way. Praise You that when Your children run to You, You are always right there with us, helping and guiding (Psalm 139; Hebrews 13:5).

In your graciousness, You have promised rewards for your children (John 1:12, Romans 10:9-10) as they serve You, based on their heart attitude.  Now he who plants and he who waters work as one, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor . . . let each consider carefully how he builds on it.  For no one can lay any other foundation than what is already laid – which is Yeshua the Messiah.  Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear. For the Day will show it, because it is to be revealed by fire; and the fire itself will test each one’s work – what sort it is (First Corinthians 3:8, 10c-13). Whatever the reward might be, it will be a joy to lay it at Your feet in worship of you (Revelation 4:10). The reward of pleasing you is the greatest reward! It is a joy and a privilege to fight earthly battles for You. Thank You for the times of trials and problems in my life; for though they are not pleasant, they allow me to turn to you for Your help and to glorify You in my choices. I rejoice in serving You – in good times and in hard times. I love You! In Yeshua’s holy name and His power of resurrection. Amen

Let Reuben Live
33: 1-6

Let Reuben live DIG: What picture is being painted here? Who is present? Why does Moses, under the influence of the Ruach ha-Kodesh, mention Seir and Mount Paran? Who are the “holy ones?” How do Moshe’s blessings compare, tribe for tribe, with Jacob’s blessings in Genesis 49? Why has Rueben’s tribe become smaller and smaller? What about their future?

REFLECT: Have you ever lost something because of your own sin, but it was restored by the grace and mercy of the Lord? How can God turn a curse into a blessing? What picture of God do you get from these verses? What makes you want to trust ADONAI more and more?

Parashah 54: v’Zot haB’rachah (This is the blessing)  33:1-34:12
(to see link click Af – Parashah)

This portion is read on Simchat Torah, which is a Jewish holiday that celebrates and marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. It is celebrated with a Torah procession marching seven times around the congregation; however, the singing, dancing and rejoicing goes on much longer. This holiday is meant to express the joy that the Jews feel in their possession and observance of the words of the Torah.

The Key People: Moshe blessing the twelve tribes of Isra’el, and Joshua.

The Scene: is the climb from the plains of Mo’ab up to Mount Nebo in the Pisgah Mountain range east of Jericho, viewing much of the Promised Land.

The Main Events: include Moses blessing each tribe, then climbing Mount Nebo to view much of the Promised Land; Moshe’s death at the age of 120, his burial in Mo’ab by ADONAI; the Israelites mourning for 30 days; Joshua filled with the Ruach of wisdom, ordained for leadership; and a tribute to Moses as the only prophet who spoke with God face-to-face.⁶⁹⁰

On the day Moses died, he delivered his final blessing
and then ascended Mount Nebo to view the Land of Promise from afar.

We are in the plains of Mo’ab, across the Jordan from Jericho, more than 3,000 years ago, bidding farewell to Moses our Teacher. He is an ancient-looking man, white-haired and clear-eyed. The years have not stooped him over, and his mind is still keen. Now, just before he was to die, following the example of Jacob, Moshe wanted to bless the tribes of Isra’el and the praise YHVH for His care of the new generation of Israelites. This is the blessing (singular, which will burst out into many, many other blessings for each tribe) with which Moses the man of God blessed Bnei-Yisra’el before his death (33:1).

He said: ADONAI came from Sinai and dawned on Bnei-Yisra’el from Seir. He shone forth from Mount Paran, and He came with the holy myriads of angels – blazing fire (this Hebrew word is obscure, possibly meaning fiery law or mountain slopes) for them from His right hand (33:2). Why does Moses, under the influence of the Ruach Ha’Kodesh, mention Seir and Mount Paran? Seir is in Edom, where the city of Bozrah (Hebrew) or Petra (Greek) is located. During the second half of the Great Tribulation, Ha’Shem will provide a place of protection for Isra’el in the wilderness as the armies of the antichrist surround and close in on her (see the commentary on Revelation Ds – The Woman and the Dragon). God comes from the area of Teman, and the Holy One from Mount Paran, which is also in Edom. His Sh’khinah glory covers the heavens, and His praise fills the earth. His face is like the sun shining in all its brilliance.(Revelation 1:16). There, His power was hidden (Habakkuk 3:4). This points us to the Second Coming (see the commentary on Isaiah Kg – The Second Coming of Jesus Christ to Bozrah), where all Isra’el will be saved (see the commentary on Revelation Ev – The Basis for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ).

Then Yeshua battles His way up the Valley of Jehoshaphat all the way to Yerushalayim (see the commentary on Revelation Ex – The Eight Stage Campaign of Armageddon). Indeed, a lover of peoples is He – all His kedoshim are in His hand. They followed in Your steps, each receiving Your words. Torah Moses commanded us – a heritage for the community of Jacob. He became king in Jeshurun when the heads of the people gathered, all the tribes of Isra’el together (34:3-5). What a revelation, and an encouragement this must have been to Moses. And it is after this, that Moshe begins to give his blessings to Isra’el. Now that he has seen that Bnei-Yisra’el will enter the Messianic Kingdom, we can see Moshe at rest. He blesses the tribes with the Millennium in mind. There are no warnings or curses for any of the tribes in his prophecies.

Moses starts, of course, with Reuben, saying: Let Reuben live and not die, though his people become few (33:6). Why did he say that? When Jacob prophesied about Rueben, he did not show him in a favorable light because of the great sin he had committed, and lost the blessing attached to the firstborn (see the commentary on Genesis Le – Reuben, You are My Firstborn, Turbulent as the Waters, You Will No Longer Excel). Throughout the history of this tribe, they showed instability because of their refusal to fight (Judges 5:16). They also showed a lack of restraint, being the first to request a place to settle in the Promised Land (Numbers 32). This tribe showed a lack of faith by erecting a pagan place of worship (Joshua 22). No leaders of Isra’el ever came from this tribe, and as time went on, it became smaller and smaller. This would make it appear that the tribe at the time of Moses’s blessing was in danger of extinction. But this was the past.

Now, Moses sees the tribe of Reuben fully reestablished in the Messianic Kingdom (see the commentary on Isaiah Ge – Your Eyes Will See the King in His Beauty). Let Reuben live and not die, though his people become few (33:6). Like Reuben, our sins can have a long range, tragic consequences. Sin takes you further than you want to go, and costs you more than you want to pay. However, like Reuben, all of our sins will be forgotten when we enter the Messianic Kingdom.

This is the Blessing
33: 1-29

On the day Moses died, he delivered his final blessing
and then ascended Mount Nebo to view the Land of Promise from afar.

The previous chapters were surely not easy ones for Moses to write. There were the curses of Chapter 28 and those prophecies of the Great Tribulation found in his song in Chapter 32. But praise God, this was not the end of the book of Deuteronomy. As all the other prophecies of the end times, ADONAI ends the story on a bright note when it concerns His own. So, in Chapter 33, Moshe takes us past all the curses and the Great Tribulation, right into the Messianic Kingdom and the blessings that will be bestowed on the people of God.

There is one sad note in the listing of these tribes. Simeon is not listed. There is always a reason why one tribe is omitted from the list of tribes in the Scriptures. While we cannot be dogmatic about it, some say that Simeon’s territory was absorbed into that of Judah. We know that Simeon and Levi had taken cruel revenge on the men of Shechem for the rape of their sister Dinah (see the commentary on Genesis Ie – The Slaughter at Shechem by Simeon and Levi). Jacob had condemned both of them (see the commentary on Genesis Lf – Simeon and Levi are Brothers, Their Swords are Weapons of Violence). But because the tribe of Levi was the only tribe to show their allegiance to ADONAI during the golden calf incident (see the commentary on Exodus Gv – And All the Levites Rallied to Moses) they were set apart by God for His service. Simeon, however, was implicated in another great sin in the wilderness. Because the curses of Balaam did not achieve their goal, he sent Moabite women to seduce the men of Isra’el to sin. Moses ordered that all who participated in that sin should be killed. But the carnage stopped when Zimri, a leader in the rebellion, and a prince of a Simeonite ancestral household, was killed (Numbers 24:14). Evidently, because of these two sins, Moses had omitted the tribe of Simeon from these prophecies at the time of the writing of Deuteronomy.

Nevertheless, because of the grace of our Lord, we see the tribe of Simeon included in the 144,000 during the Great Tribulation (see the commentary on Revelation Cr – Then I Heard the Number of Those Who Were Sealed, 144,000 from all the Tribes of Isra’el), the allocation of land during the Messianic Kingdom (Ezeki’el 48:24-25), and his name written on one of the twelve gates in the New Jerusalem (see the commentary on Revelation Fu – The New Jerusalem had a Great, High Wall with Twelve Gates). This should be an encouragement for all believers. For it teaches us that although we might go through difficult times, they are only for a brief moment. For our trouble, light and momentary, is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comprehension (Second Corinthians 4:17).

Dear loving Heavenly Father, What a joy it is to look ahead from life’s trials to our eternal inheritance and blessing You have for all Your children. The Ruach Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, also heirs – heirs of God and joint-heirs with Messiah – if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us (Romans 8:16-18). The joy of heaven will be forever and life’s trials will all be over. I desire to bless You with my life on earth. In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

You Will Not Enter
32: 44-52

You will not enter DIG: How does this scene compare with an earlier vision of it in 3:23-28? What does Moses do there, and why? What does “gathered to your people” mean (see Genesis 25:8)? Why couldn’t Moshe enter Canaan? What was Moshe able to see, and why?

REFLECT: Do the words of Moses seem “just like idle words” or “your life?” How so? Does it seem that ADONAI was harsh to Moshe? Why? Why not? Have you ever felt similarly denied your life goal? What would you like to see before you die? How do you approach death?

On the day Moses died, he delivered his final blessing and then ascended Mount Nebo to view the Land of Promise from afar.

Looking back on the message of this song (to see link click Fw – The Song of Moses) in particular and the Torah in general, Moses charges the nation of Isra’el to live in accordance with ADONAI’s expectations and warns them not to stray from the path God has commanded. Then Moses came and recited all the words in the ears of the people – he and Hoshea son of Nun. According to the sage Rashi, the Torah calls Joshua by his former name (the name before it was changed to Joshua just before the sin of the spies) to reveal his great humility. This interpretation agrees with the significance of the Yod (‘) that was appended to his name. Not only must they wholeheartedly obey YHVH’s mitzvot, but they must also pass on to each successive generation the passion for His Word. When Moses finished speaking all these words to all Isra’el, he said to them, “Put in your hearts all the words of this song that I call as witness against you today – that you may command your children to keep and do all the words (Hebrew: ha-d’varim, meaning words, matters, things, commandments, events or reasons) of this Torah. For they are not just idle words for you – they are your life! By this word you will prolong your days on the Land, which you are crossing over the Jordan to possess” (32:44-47). The appearance of Joshua before the nation paves the way for his imminent assumption of leadership.

Today, we can see that Messiah, the Word, is the living Torah, our very life. When He walked the earth, He was the Torah made flesh (John 1:14). It is now He who lives in us. Thus, we can understand, in a deeper way, the passage: We have this treasure in earthen vessels (Colossians 4:7). When we are walking in who we are as new creations in Messiah, the life of Messiah flows from within us. Just as it was said that the written Torah is our life, even more so, can it be said that the Living Torah is our life!

After Moshe had finished reciting the song, ADONAI told him to ascend Mount Nebo, which was outside the Promised Land. On that very day, ADONAI spoke to Moses saying: Go up this mountain of the Avarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Mo’ab facing Jericho, and see the land of Canaan, which I am giving to Bnei-Yisrael as a possession (32:48-49). The mountain of Avarim is to be identified with one of the mountain spurs overlooking the north end of the Dead Sea. Probably Mount Nebo was one of the more prominent peaks. Today, Mount Nebo provides a fine view over the Jordan valley and has traditionally been identified with the site.

On the mountain that you are ascending, there be gathered to your people – as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people (Numbers 20:22-29) – because you both broke faith with Me among Bnei-Yisrael at the waters of Meribath-kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, because you did not treat Me as holy in the midst of Bnei-Yisrael (32:50-51). The reason for this discipline is recorded in Numbers 20:1-13. ADONAI had commanded Moses to speak to a rock in order to bring forth water for the people who were grumbling against him and Aaron. But Moshe disobeyed and struck the rock twice instead of speaking to it (Numbers 20:11), and by arrogantly suggesting that he and Aaron brought forth the water . . . must we bring you water from this rock (Numbers 20:10)? For this act of unbelief, and the failure to give God the glory (treat Me as holy) before the nation, Moses forfeited his right to lead the nation into the Land of Promise.⁶⁸⁷

For you will see the Promised Land from afar, but you will not enter there, into the Land that I am giving to Bnei-Yisrael (32:52). Moses was granted to see the Land from a distance before he died (see Gj – The Death of Moses), but not enter in.

Haftarah Ha’azinu: Sh’mu’el Bet (Second Samuel) 22:1-51
(see Af – Parashah)

David’s song of praise (see the commentary on the Life of David Eh – David’s Song of Praise) celebrates the blessings and rewards of ADONAI. David sings that God is his Rock, whose ways are perfect. David composed this song early in his life. He kept it close to his heart by reciting it whenever YHVH kept him safe from danger. These times included life-threatening situations when he was being hunted down by King Sha’ul, and later when at war with his enemies. David concluded his song by crediting God with being the Rock, who blessed him with an everlasting dynasty. He cried out: Exalted be God – the Rock of my salvation . . . who gives me vengeance . . . therefore, I praise Your Name among the nations, ADONAI, and will sing praises to Your name (Second Samuel 47-50).

B’rit Chadashah suggested readings for Parashah Ha’azinu:
Romans 10:14-21, 12:14-21, 15:9-10;
Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 12:28-29

Paul weaves key provisions of the song of Moses (see Fw – The Song of Moses) throughout the latter part of Romans and concludes with back-to-back closing verses from the songs of David and Moshe: For this reason I will give You praise among the Gentiles, and I will sing Your Name (Second Samuel 22:50; Romans 15:9-10). And again it says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people” (Deuteronomy 32:43). Paul wonders if Isra’el understood the Good News concerning Messiah’s victory over death (Romans 10:16-18). He answers his own question by quoting the Song of Moses, that YHVH calls the Gentiles to know what Isra’el fails to understand (Romans 10:19; Deuteronomy 32:21). Though the righteous of the TaNaKh knows, the majority are hardened (Romans 11:7-8; Deuteronomy 29:3; Isaiah 29:10). But then Paul also asks if Isra’el has stumbled so as to fall beyond recovery? Then, he answers his own question again by saying: May it never be! But by their false step salvation has come to the Gentiles, to provoke Isra’el to jealousy (11:11). Vengeance without revenge belongs solely to Ha’Shem – He will repay (Deuteronomy 32:35, 40-42; Romans 12:19). When God judges, all the Gentile nations will sing His praises.⁶⁸⁹

Dear Heavenly Father, It is a joy to sing songs of praise to You! You are always wonderful! You are holy, Almighty, all powerful, all wise, forgiving Savior, loving Father. You love Your children with such a great depth of love. You are always with your children to help and to guide. For God Himself has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you,” (Hebrews 13:5b-c). Though I may feel alone at times, you are always with me, watching over and caring for me. Whenever I sit down or stand up, You know it. You discern my thinking from afar. You observe my journeying and my resting and You are familiar with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, ADONAI, You know all about it (Psalms 139:2-4). I delight in blessing You by thoughts and action of love to You. In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

The Song of Moses
31:30 to 32:43

The song of Moses DIG: Read the song out loud and imagine yourself as an Israelite listening to the song. As you interpret this song, what does it say about God? What is the song’s purpose? What does it mean that God is called “the rock?” What kind of parent is God? Does God’s choice of and care for Isra’el obligate Isra’el in any way? What is the extent of the rebellion? What is God’s response and action? What instant recall and vivid memories are seen in this song? What does God think about Isra’el? Isra’el’s enemies? What is Isra’el to think about God?

REFLECT: In what sense is this song your song? What songs remind you of God’s goodness and mercy? What song warns you of the consequence of disobedience? Why does music often work so powerfully in people? What would you say is your “major concern” in the school of life? Why is learning God’s character vital to a well-lived life? How can God’s faithfulness be seen in His discipling of Isra’el? What does it mean to say that the Word of God is the life of God’s people? If a person doesn’t find it life-giving, what would you recommend?

Parashah 53: Ha’azinu (Hear) 32:1-52
(to see link click Af – Parashah)

The Key People: Moshe and Joshua, speaking to all Isra’el. This chapter is actually a court hearing. God is the plaintiff, Isra’el is the accused, the Heavens and the Earth are the judges, and there are a set of witnesses.

The Scene: Moshe taught the Israelites a prophetic song, which foretells Isra’el’s future and warns the people not to stray from the path that God had commanded. The song ends with the promise that the LORD would avenge the blood of His servants and be finally reconciled with His chosen people and the Land. All this took place in the wilderness east of the Promised Land and Mount Nebo with its view across the Jordan.

The Main Events: include Moshe and Joshua reciting the Song of Moses to all the people gathered; this song was used as a teaching poem, calling on heaven and earth to “give ear” as witnesses of Isra’el’s disobedience, which leads to devastation and scattering, but eventual regathering; later that same day, Moshe climbing Mount Nebo to view the Promised Land before dying.⁶⁷⁰

The song of Moses, given to him by ADONAI, is basically a warning against spiritual adultery on Isra’el’s part in the years to come.

The day Moses died.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You that You are our solid Rock. Hurricane winds of calamity and change may blow, but nothing can move You. We can always run to You and trust Your sovereign mighty power and love. Nothing is out of Your control. We may get sick, lose a job, or get in an accident, but it can’t touch our relationship with You and our eternal home in heaven with You. In My Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?  If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to Myself, so that where I am you may also be (John 14:2-3).

Praise You that You are the way to heaven. Yeshua said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life! No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6). Praise You that You open the door of heaven to all who choose to love and follow you as their Lord and Savior. For if you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart it is believed for righteousness, and with the mouth it is confessed for salvation (Romans 10:9-10). Joy, and peace forever-how wonderful! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Deuteronomy is not primarily about Moses, it is about Yeshua, who, through His redemptive work, can carry anyone beyond the Jordan into the place of rest. And Moses, perhaps unknowingly, spoke so much of the Messiah as the Rock of our salvation (Psalm 62:2). Paul echoes this reality in the B’rit Chadashah when he says: For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers and sisters, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the Sea of Reeds. And all drank the same spiritual drink, their sustaining force – for they were drinking from a spiritual rock that followed them, and that Rock was Messiah (First Corinthians 10:1-4).

Although Moses was preparing to transfer the leadership of the nation to Joshua, God was not quite finished with him yet. Here, ADONAI gives Moshe a glimpse into Isra’el’s future, and it came to be known as the Song of Moses. It contrasts the obedience of God and the disobedience of the people. Moshe invoked his blessing on the Israelites then and the future generations to come. He knew that they would fail, but he also knew that he was given the revelation that one day the Jews would be reestablished, and fulfill their role as a nation of priests. Something that is yet to come after the Great Tribulation (see the commentary on Revelation, to see link click Dz – The Seven Angels with the Seven Last Plagues) and during the Messianic Kingdom (see the commentary on Isaiah Kb – All Who See Them Will Acknowledge that They are a People the LORD Has Blessed).

The Song of Moses was to be taught to Isra’el for use in the covenant-renewal ceremony. Normally, ancient Hebrew poetry is introduced as having been sung (Exodus 15:1 and Judges 5:1), but here, the song is said to have been spoken.⁶⁷¹ Then, Moshe spoke in the hearing of the whole assembly of Isra’el the words of this song, from beginning to end (31:30 CJB). These words form the introduction to the poem, all of which Moses recited before Bnei Isra’el. The poem serves as a climax of the book and provides a theological summary that clearly distinguishes the covenantal rebels from the righteous of the TaNaKh.

The character of ADONAI (32:1-4): The song begins: Ha’azinu (give ear). Hear, oh heavens, as I speak! Listen, earth, to the words from my mouth! Moses calls heaven and earth as witnesses to this song. As he has done before, Moshe calls the heavens and the earth as witnesses to this legal proceeding (Deuteronomy 4:26 and 30, 30:19, 31:28; Jeremiah 2:12). They serve as silent, objective onlookers observing the justice of the charges brought against Isra’el and the fairness of Isra’el’s punishment. Moses uses several similes to describe the life-giving, growth-producing results of Moses’ teaching: May my teaching fall like rain. May my speech condense like dew, like light rain on blades of grass, or showers on growing plants (32:1-2 CJB). The rain and the dew were part of God’s generous provision for His vassal nation (see Ah – The Treaty of the Great King).

For I will proclaim the name of ADONAI. To proclaim His Name means much more than pronouncing a title. In this song, Moses will declare His character and recount His many deeds. Come, declare the greatness of our God! The Rock! Moshe introduces YHVH’s case against Isra’el by contrasting His perfection with their guilt. He likens Ha’Shem to a rock, totally immovable. Then, using five nouns or adjectives, he describes ADONAI’s characteristics. His work is perfect, or totally reliable and without flaw. For all his ways are just, and He is absolutely dependable. Unlike sinful humanity, He is not characterized by stubbornness or wickedness. And He is a trustworthy God who does no wrong, He is righteous and straight (32:3-4 CJB). That is to say . . . perfect.⁶⁷²

The goodness of ADONAI to His people (32:5-14): You would think that Isra’el would have praised ADONAI and counted it a privilege to know Him and serve Him, but they didn’t. Instead, they turned to idols and corrupted themselves and blemished their own name and standing.⁶⁷³ So, Moshe begins a short history of Isra’el, and he draws a sharp contrast between the perfection of YHVH and the imperfection of His people. He is not corrupt; the defect is in His children, a crooked and perverted generation. You foolish people, so lacking in wisdom, is this how you repay ADONAI? He is your Father, who made you His! It was He who formed and prepared you (32:5-6 CJB)! The fundamental clashing questions of the song are thus starkly set out: On the one hand, how do such a people escape judgment? But, on the other hand, how can such a Rock abandon His purpose; how can such a Father sever this relationship? The answer led Paul to write Romans Chapters 9-11.⁶⁷⁴

Meanwhile, back in the courtroom, the case against Isra’el proceeds with a speech by the prosecutor, Moses, speaking on behalf of God and describing all that God had done for the accused. It was common in all suzerain-vassal lawsuit passages (see Ah – Treaty of the Great King) that kindly acts of the suzerain on behalf of his vassal be listed. So, here the history of YHVH’s redemptive actions on Isra’el’s behalf laid the foundation for the charge of spiritual adultery. Remember . . . The prosecution was not appealing to any secret evidence, but simply laying out what was common knowledge to every generation of Israelites. The accused could not plead ignorance. Remember how the old days were; think of the years through all the ages. Ask your Father – He will tell you; your leaders too – they will inform you (32:7 CJB). Moses only talks to the people of Isra’el like this because of his deep love for them. This is like a wounded shepherd, seeing his flock dispersed and unable to care for themselves. Is this not like us? Now these things happened to them as an example, and it was written down as a warning to us – on whom the ends of the ages have come (First Corinthians 10:11). This is one of the reasons that her history is brought to our attention.

Moshe directs his audience’s attention to the distant past, even before YHVH brought the nation of Isra’el into existence. When Elyon gave each nation its heritage, when He divided the human race (see the commentary on Genesis Df – The Table of Nations), He assigned the boundaries of peoples according to Isra’el’s population. Even though Isra’el did not exist at that time, and even though there are seventy nations mention in the Table of Nations, YHVH, in His foreknowledge, already knew her. Elyon had a special plan for Isra’el, for they were to be His own people and He made sure they had a Land adequate for them. But ADONAI’s share was His own people, Ya‘akov His allotted heritage (32:8-9 CJB). The drama of salvation would be played out in the land of Isra’el, so that Land was very special to Him.⁶⁷⁵

The number seventy has a special meaning for Isra’el. There were seventy languages spoken after the destruction of the Tower of Babel; seventy elders were assembled with Moses in the desert (Numbers 11:16-30); there are seventy names used for Jerusalem throughout the Bible; there are seventy holy days throughout the year (52 Shabbat, the 7 days of Pesach, the 7 days of Sukkot, 1 day of Shemini Atzeret, the eight day following the festival of Sukkot; 2 days of Rosh Ha’Shanah, and 1 day of Yom Kippur); 70 men of the Great Sanhedrin; 70 years of Babylonian exile; 70 BC the siege on Jerusalem by the Romans began and the Second Temple was destroyed; 70 rabbis translated the TaNaKh into the Greek Septuagint; 70 Weeks of years emphasized by Dani’el; 70 years between the First Zionist Congress in 1897 and the reunification of Jews with Jerusalem during the Six Day War in 1967.⁶⁷⁶

Having arranged for Isra’el’s inheritance to be placed in Canaan, YHVH set about bringing His people there. He found His people in a desert country, in the howling, wasted wilderness of Egypt. It was not a place where they could live, but a place through which they must pass. It was not the Land God was going to give them, but a land of testing and preparation for the travels laying ahead of the Israelites. His care is depicted using three metaphors: (1) an encircling Protector who guarded Isra’el as He would the very pupil of His eye; (2) a mother eagle who stirs up her young to fly but hovers beneath them to support them in their first faltering attempts at flight; and (3) a kindly Shepherd who guided His people without anyone’s assistance.⁶⁷⁷ He protected her and cared for her, guarded her like the pupil of His eye (Psalm 17:8; Proverbs 7:2), like an eagle that stirs up her nest, hovers over her young, spreads out her wings, takes them and carries them as she flies. During her wilderness wanderings, ADONAI alone led His people; no alien god was with Him (32:10-12 CJB). It was this truth that made Isra’el’s tendency for idolatry so reprehensible. It was God who deserved their loyalty. The foreign gods had done nothing to deserve their worship.

The focus now shifts to the future, when the people would possess the Promised Land and experience the goodness of God in its rich produce. He made them ride on the heights of the earth. The metaphor seems to refer to the conquest and the invincibility of the people of God in their possession of Canaan. The Israelites would eat the produce of the fields. He would have them suck honey from the rocks and olive oil from the crags, meaning that infertile places would become rich with produce.⁶⁷⁸ The people would have an abundance of curds from the cows and milk from the sheep, with lamb fat, rams from Bashan (a fertile area east of the Sea of Galilee) and goats, with the finest wheat flour; and you drank sparkling wine from the pure blood of grapes (32:13-14 CJB). The healthy pure blood of grapes is distinguished from fermented wine (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Kk– The Third Cup of Redemption).

The faithfulness of ADONAI to discipline His people (32:15-25): The goodness of God is now contrasted sharply with the fickleness of the people of God. Having grown fat on the graciousness provision of YHVH, the Israelites relax in their newly found prosperity and forget the source of their benefit. Forgetting their own God, they turn ungratefully to the attractive, but shallow, temptations of foreign gods.⁶⁷⁹ But Yeshurun (a nickname for Isra’el as seen in Deuteronomy 33:5 and 26; Isaiah 44:2, meaning the upright one) grew fat and kicked (you grew fat, thick, gross!). Moses warned the people that their undeserved prosperity in the Land would tempt them to become proud and forget ADONAI (see Cg – Do Not Forget ADONAI), or He would have to discipline them (see the commentary on Hebrews Cz – God Disciplines His Children), and that’s exactly what happened. The metaphor of an animal kicking its owner suggests the mindless nature or Isra’el’s rebellion against God her Maker; she scorned the Rock, her salvation.

The nation’s spiritual adultery took shape in the worship of idols. She made Him zealous with alien gods, and provoked Him with abominations. This was the zealousness of a loving and faithful husband whose wife had betrayed him (see the commentary on Jeremiah Ao – I Planted You Like a Choice Vine, from the Very Best Seed). The Israelites sacrificed to demons (Psalm 106:37), non-gods, do-nothing gods that she had never known, new gods that had come up lately, which her ancestors had not feared. She ignored the Rock who fathered you, and you forgot God, who gave you birth (32:15-18 CJB). The parental imagery is used of YHVH once again. He is described as a mother who gave birth in pain. In their apostasy, the Israelites were mindless of even a mothers’ love. Such rebellion invited the LORD’s reaction, as the following verses make clear.

ADONAI saw and was filled with scorn at his sons’ and daughters’ provocation. Therefore, He began to speak, and took over for Moses. Here, God begins that same way Moshe began earlier in 32:5-7, as a grieving Father who sees the tragic future of His children, saying: I will hide my face from them. Even though Ha’Shem will hide His face from them, He will always be with them, as the book of Esther demonstrates. God sees what will become of them; for they are a perverse generation, untrustworthy children. They aroused my righteous zealousness with a non-god and provoked me with their vanities; I will arouse their jealousy with a non-people and provoke them with a vile nation (32:19-21 CJB). Since Isra’el moved Him to zealousness by following other gods, YHVH decided to move her to jealousy by blessing and using other nations (Hosea 1). Today, God wants to use the Church to make Isra’el jealous of the spiritual blessing that the Gentiles have (see the commentary on Romans Cy – The Jealousy of the Gentile Believers).⁶⁸⁰

This song speaks of discipline. For My anger blazes forth like fire. YHVH’s anger was not the selfish anger of one who feels slighted by too little attention. Instead, it was the righteous indignation of a holy and gracious God toward untrustworthy children who are unfaithful, and who worship worthless idols. This devastating judgment would touch every area of life. God’s anger burns to the depths of sh’ol, devouring the earth and its crops, kindling the very roots of the hills. I will heap disasters on them and use up all my arrows against them. Fatigued by hunger, they will be consumed by fever and bitter defeat; I will send them the fangs of wild beasts, and the poison of reptiles crawling in the dust. Outside, the sword makes parents childless; inside, there is panic, as young men and girls alike are slain, sucklings and graybeards together (32:22-25 CJB). These curses remind us of Chapter 28 (see Ff – Curses for Disobedience). The anger of Ha’Shem is an awesome and terrible thing because it is a result of the rejection of the equally all-encompassing love of ADONAI.⁶⁸¹

The amazement of ADONAI at Isra’el’s lack of discernment (32:26-34): Twice before, YHVH had threatened to destroy His people, and both times Moshe reminded Him of His covenant promises and of the fact that the goyim were watching (Exodus 32:11-14; Numbers 14:11-25). I considered putting an end to them, erasing their memory from the human race; but I feared the insolence of their enemy, feared that their foes would mistakenly think, “We ourselves accomplished this; ADONAI had nothing to do with it” (32:26-27 CJB). Moses was concerned about the glory of the LORD as well as the good of the nation. But He also punished the Gentile nations because they went too far and were far too cruel in their treatment of the Jews. It was YHVH that permitted Assyria and Babylon to capture His people, but they acted as though they were responsible for it.⁶⁸²

The reason for Isra’el’s plight was not the strength of her enemies, but her own lack of wisdom. They are a nation without common sense, utterly lacking in discernment. If they were wise they could figure it out and understand their destiny. These words are so true today for Isra’el and for all those who try to find truth outside of the Scriptures. We must understand that our blessings and riches come only through God. After all, how can one chase a thousand and two put ten thousand to rout, unless their Rock sells them to their enemies, unless ADONAI hands them over? This example is very timely for us. In Isra’el’s fight for survival in 1956, 1967 and 1973, were not the Jews outnumbered by seven Arab nations? And yet, she was victorious because ADONAI handed them over! For our enemies have no rock (their gods) like our Rock (ADONAI) – even they can see that (32:28-32 CJB)!

The character of the enemy is portrayed in vivid metaphors. Their nation is deep-rooted in evil. Their vine (the Gentile nation) is from the vine of Sodom, from the fields of Gomorrah – hence, their grapes are poisonous, their clusters are bitter; their wine is snake poison, the cruel venom of vipers. In the end, Isra’el’s enemies will face divine judgment. Isn’t this vengeance against Isra’el’s enemies hidden with me? Isn’t the bad fruit produced from evil lives known to God and sealed in His storehouses (32:33-34 CJB)? At the proper time, YHVH will be the Avenger.

The vengeance of ADONAI against His adversaries (32:35-43): The thrust of the closing section of the song is the ultimate vindication of Isra’el before the Gentile nations that have attacked her, humiliated her, and abused her. Vengeance (without revenge) and payback are Mine for the time when their foot slips; for the day of their calamity is coming soon, their doom is rushing upon them (32:35 CJB). The Hebrew word for vengeance (naqam) means the zeal of God for the discharge of justice. To the repentant, YHVH’s zeal issues forgiveness and salvation, To the unrepentant and the rebel, Ha’Shem’s zeal issues judgment.⁶⁸³

To some extent, Isra’el was vindicated when Babylon was defeated by the Persians and the Jews were allowed to return to their Land (see the commentary on Ezra-Nehemiah Ai – The Decree of Cyrus). But surely these verses describe something far more extensive and dramatic than that event. The vivid language makes us think of the descriptions of the day of the Lord in the TaNaKh, and the slaughter that will take place (Isaiah 2:10-21; Amos 5:18-20; Zephaniah 1:7-18). While it will be a day of judgment for the Gentiles for the way they have treated the Jews (see the commentary on Revelation Fc – The Sheep and the Goats), it will also be a time of repentance and regeneration for Isra’el (see the commentary on Revelation Ev – The Basis for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ).

Yes, God will judge His unfaithful people, taking pity on his servants, the righteous of the TaNaKh, when he sees that their strength is gone, that no one is left, slave or free. Here we have God presented as the righteous Warrior who will defeat Isra’el’s enemies and, at the same time, vindicate His own people. This would be a message of hope for Isra’el, for His discipline is the first step toward restoring His people and returning to them the blessing that they forfeited when they turned to idols.⁶⁸⁵

Although YHVH turns His favor to His people, He exposes to them the foolishness of their former trust in idols to whom they offered sacrifices and drink offerings. Then ADONAI will ask the Israelites, “Where are your gods, the rock in whom you have trusted? Who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offering? Let him get up and help you, let him protect you!” See now that I, yes, I, am He; and there is no god beside Me. I put to death, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal; no one saves anyone from My hand (32:36-39 CJB)!

The terrible nature of God’s zeal is now given in full detail. For I lift up my hand to heaven, symbolizing taking an oath, and swear, “As surely as I am alive forever, if I sharpen My flashing sword and set My hand to judgment, I will render vengeance to My foes, repay those who hate Me. I will make My arrows drunk with blood, My sword will devour flesh – the blood of the slain and the captives, flesh from the wild-haired heads of the enemy.” Sing out, you nations, about His people! For He will avenge the blood of His servants. He will render vengeance to His adversaries and make atonement for the Land of His people (32:40-43 CJB).

Moses closed the song, Joshua standing with him, by appealing to the people to take the message to heart and teach the song to their children, so that future generations would obey the Torah and avoid idolatry (Deuteronomy 4:9-10, 6:7, 11:19; Exodus 10:2, 12:26). The Word of God is the life of God’s people, just as ADONAI is our life (30:20), for the Word communicates to us the truth about ADONAI and His glorious blessings. Therefore, to receive and obey the Word is to share in the life of YHVH. They are not just idle words for you – they are your life (32:47). For the Word of God is living and active (Hebrews 4:12).⁶⁸⁶

Teach This Song to the Israelites
31: 19-29

Teach this song to the Israelites DIG: Why does God tell both Joshua and Moshe to write down this song? Why is Isra’el’s future disobedience described? Is it prophecy? What words does Moses use to describe the darkness of the Israelites’ hearts? What does it mean to be stiff-necked?

REFLECT: Why is godly leadership so important in preventing a Messianic congregation or church from drifting away from commitment to the Lord? Why is idolatry a symptom of living by sight instead of faith? How do songs enhance your interaction with God? Besides worshiping with your congregation, what do you do to grow in your understanding of the Word and sound doctrine? How have you tried to encourage others to grow in this way?

If there was to be a future at all for Isra’el, it must lie with ADONAI. God had no illusions about her tendency to do evil. But God’s grace and Isra’el’s sin stood side-by-side.

The day before Moses died.

Dear Great Heavenly Father, You are awesome! If there is to be a future for each of us, it lies with our living a life of love for You. Praise You that Yeshua is making a home in heaven for those who love You. In My Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?  If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to Myself, so that where I am you may also be (John 14:2-3).

Sometimes life is hard, painful and full of tough situations and relationships; but soon that will all be over. For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18). How wonderful heaven will be! He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Nor shall there be mourning or crying or pain any longer, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). I will so enjoy worshiping and praising You throughout all eternity! You are wonderful! In Your holy Son’s name and power of His resurrection. Amen

ADONAI instructed Moses and Joshua to write down for yourselves this song and teach it to the Israelites and have them sing it, so that it may be a witness for me against them (31:19 NIV). It would be a song that the people could easily learn and remember from generation to generation, never to be forgotten. It would serve as a warning of the dangers that would plague Isra’el and hopefully prevent them from going astray. But if they did wander off the path of righteousness, its words would condemn them.

The song that appears in Chapter 32 was to be written as a witness against Isra’el. It would place in proper perspective the promise of the blessings made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the curses of the broken covenant. For when I bring them to the land flowing with milk and honey that I swore to their fathers, and they eat and are satisfied and grow fat – then they will turn to other gods and serve them, and they will spurn Me and break My covenant. Now when many evils and troubles have come on them, this song will confront them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten from the mouth of their descendants. For I know the intention (Hebrew: yetser, meaning tendency, impulse or disposition) they are devising this day, even before I bring them into the land that I swore.” Already a yetser was forming in the hearts of the people. This intention would lead to Isra’el’s breaking the covenant and committing spiritual adultery. When the promised covenantal curses fall on Isra’el, the words of this song would ring in their ears. In fact, the song of Chapter 32 is strongly reminiscent in its structure and content of a well-known secular political form of a complaint against a rebel vassal by his overlord with its threat of punishment (to see link click Ah – Treaty of the Great King).⁶⁶⁵ If there was to be a future at all for Isra’el, it must lie with ADONAI, not in the ability of Isra’el. That much had already been demonstrated by the previous generation, and there was no reason to expect future generations to be any different. God had no illusions.⁶⁶⁶ But God’s grace and Isra’el’s sin stood side-by-side. That day Moses wrote this song and taught it to Bnei-Yisrael (31:20-22).

Now when Moses had finished writing the words of this Torah on a scroll, right to the end . . . Moses commanded the Levites (see the commentary on Ezra-Nehemiah An – Priests, Levites and Temple Servants Who Returned with Zerubbabel), carriers of the Ark of the Covenant (see the commentary on Exodus Fr – The Ark of the Covenant in the Most Holy Place: Christ at the Throne of Grace) of ADONAI saying: Take this scroll of the Torah, and place it beside the Ark of the Covenant (probably in a jar where it would be safe as well as accessible to the priests) of ADONAI your God. It will remain there as a witness against you (31:24-26).⁶⁶⁷

Moshe’s angry words to the people here reflected both his righteous indignation and his disappointment in them after hearing God’s prediction of their future rebellion. Moses knew from experience that they were rebellious and stiff-necked. He knew that after he was dead, they would continue to be rebellious and would eventually become utterly corrupt. Indeed, while I am still alive with you today, you have been rebellious against ADONAI – how much more then after my death (31:27)? By drawing on expressions that he used earlier in the scroll, Moshe piled up terms to emphasize the darkness of the Israelites’ hearts: rebel (1:26 and 43, 9:7 and 23-24), stiff-necked (9:6 and 13, 10:16), corrupt (4:16 and 25, 9:12, 32:5), turn away (11:28, 28:14), do evil (4:25, 9:18, 17:2), provoke to anger (4:25, 9:18, 32:16 and 21). Not a pretty picture.

Consequently, Moses called for Isra’el’s leaders to gather before him one last time so he could give them a final strong appeal. He wanted to make sure they understood that their choices and conduct would have far-reaching implications. Gather to me all the elders of your tribes and your officials, so that I may speak these words in their ears and call heaven and earth to witness against them. For I know that after my death you will certainly act corruptly and turn aside from the way I have commanded you. So evil will fall upon you in the latter days, because you will do what is evil in the sight of ADONAI, provoking Him to anger by the work of your hands (31:28-29). Spiritual adultery would result in nothing less than disaster! Moshe did not intend that his words would pressure the Israelites into obedience; rather, they served to confront them with the tendency of the nation to sin. In light of what the LORD had revealed to His people through Moses, they were without excuse.⁶⁶⁸

Haftarah vaYelekh: Hoshea (Hosea) 14:1-9; Mikhah (Micah) 7:18-20;
Yo’el (Joel) 2:15-27
(see Af – Parashah)

Return O Isra’el, to ADONAI your God, for you have stumbled in your iniquity. Take word with you and return to ADONAI. Say to Him, “Take away all iniquity, and accept what is good, so we may repay with offerings of our lips” (Hosea 14:2-3). These words, read on the Shabbat before Yom Kippur, call Isra’el to repent her choices that provoke God’s wrath. ADONAI waits, saying: I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, for My anger will turn away from her (Hosea 14:5). His anger turns! Granting mercy instead of judgement, the LORD pledges to renew the blessings upon the Land. Even the lost Ephraim renounce idolatry on the day Isra’el’s turns and repents (see the commentary on Revelation Ev – The Basis for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ). Ephraim will say: What good are idols to me? I have responded and observed ADONAI. I will be like a lush cypress tree. From me will be found Your fruit (Hosea 14:9).

B’rit Chadashah suggested readings for Parashah vaYelekh: Romans 10:16-17

The righteousness based on faith does not say that knowing and doing Torah is impossible. For this mitzvah that I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you to understand, nor is it beyond your reach. It is not in the heavens, that you should say: Who will go up for us to the heavens and get it for us, and have us hear it so we may do it? Nor is it across the sea, that you should say: Who will cross over for us to the other side of the sea and get it for us, and have us hear it so we may do it? No, the word is very near to you – you can speak it because it is in your mouth and you know it because it is in your heart to do it (Deuteronomy 30:11-14). Paul says that Torah points to the message of Good News: For if you confess with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). Yet, somehow Isra’el has not responded. Paul poses several underlying questions to probe the matter. Perhaps Isra’el hasn’t trusted; maybe they didn’t hear; possibly no one has proclaimed the Good News, and maybe no one was sent (Romans 10:14-16). However, Paul concludes that the problem is that not all have accepted the Good News. For Isaiah says, “ADONAI, who has believed our report” (Romans 10:16; Isaiah 53:1). Ha’azinu will help clarify this enigma (see Fw – The Song of Moses).⁶⁶⁹

The Tent of Meeting
31: 14-18

The tent of meeting DIG: What themes from Moses’ discourse with God and with Isra’el are continued in these verses? What typically happened in the Tent of Meeting? What might Joshua expect to happen this time? What does he see and hear instead?

REFLECT: How are you encouraged or discouraged by God’s knowledge of your future failings? Why? Where do you go to meet God? Where is your “Tent of Meeting?” When have you felt the discipline of the LORD? How did you handle it? What has changed?

ADONAI commissioned Joshua for the third time at the Tent of Meeting, and confirmed to Moses that his time to die was near.

The day before Moses died.

Then ADONAI said to Moses, “Behold, your time to die is near. Call Joshua, and present yourselves at the Tent of Meeting outside the camp (see the commentary on Exodus, to see link click Gy – Moses and the Tent of Meeting), and I will commission him.” Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the Tent of Meeting (31:14).

Just as David had been anointed three times to lead the nation (First Samuel 16:1-3, Second Samuel 2:1-7 and 5:1-5), and his son Solomon was anointed three times to lead the Israelites after his father’s death (First Kings 1:28-53; First Chronicles 17:1-15 and 29:21-25), Joshua was also anointed three times. He had already been set apart by Moses before Eleazar the high priest and the congregation to assume leadership after his death in the wilderness (Numbers 27:18-23). Then here, Moses summoned Joshua publicly and said to him in the sight of all Isra’el (31:7a). ADONAI appeared in the Tent in a pillar of cloud, a visible reminder of His presence, and stood over the opening of the Tent. Finally, YHVH commissioned Joshua privately in the Tent of Meeting (31:14-15 and 23).

Even though Moses had repeatedly warned the Israelites of the dangers of idolatry and of the need to obey the stipulations of the covenant (see Cr – The Second Address: The Specific Stipulations of the Covenant), still ADONAI knew they would give in to it. Speaking from the pillar of cloud, ADONAI said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. After a lifetime of service to the nation, Moses heard, with a heavy heart, these words: Then this people will rise up and prostitute themselves with the foreign gods (Exodus 34:15-16; Leviticus 17:7, 20:5; Numbers 15:39; Judges 2:17, 8:27 and 33; Hosea 1:2, 4:12, 9:1, etc) of the Land they are entering. They will abandon Me and break My covenant that I cut with them (31:16). The words of God are not primarily prophetic; rather, they portray divine insight into the basic character of the people and their constant tendency to unfaithfulness. Having forsaken YHVH in the past, it didn’t take too much insight to know that they would probably forsake Him in the future.

If the nation obeyed God and served Him joyfully, His face would shine upon them (Numbers 6:22-27), but if they turned to idols, then YHVH said: My anger will flare against them on that day, and I will abandon them and hide My face from them. The breach of the covenant would result in the curses of Chapter 28. So, they will be devoured, and many evils and troubles will come on them. They will say on that day, “Isn’t it because our God is not among us that these evils have come on us?” I will surely hide My face on that day because of all the evil they have done, for they have turned to other gods (31:17-18). This somber note in the words of God to Moses serves as an introduction to the song Moses was to write and teach the people (see Fv – Teach This Song to the Israelites).

The LORD employs powerful language in describing His response to Isra’el’s potential sin. One might think that He was guaranteeing the permanent destruction of His relationship with His chosen people. However, we must interpret these statements in the context of other passages from the TaNaKh. In Isaiah 54:8, the prophet declares: “In a surge of anger I hid My face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you, says ADONAI your Redeemer.” In Ezeki’el 39:29, He adds, “I will never again hide My face from them. For I have poured out My Ruach upon the house of Isra’el.” It is a declaration of ADONAI. YHVH will always be faithful to His promises.

Dear Heavenly Father, Praise you for being such a wonderful Father! You are always faithful to Your every promise! You are the best! There is no way that you could be better in anything You do. It is such a comfort to know that You are always with Your child. For God Himself has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). You know all that is going on and You are always guiding what is best for Your child. ADONAI, You searched me and know me. Whenever I sit down or stand up, You know it. You discern my thinking from afar. You observe my journeying and my resting and You are familiar with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, ADONAI, You know all about it. You hemmed me in behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain (Psalms 139:1-6).

Since You are so loving and have total control and power over all situations, I can rest in peace in whatever happens being in Your control – when I have prayed over any situation, committing it to You and I am walking in Your way. When I seek to follow You and life’s plans do not work the way that I think they should, there is no room for fear. In prayer I seek Your control of what is causing the problem/pain and I trust Your powerful and loving hand to guide the situation. Prayer may or may not calm the storm; but prayer always calms me, for I know that whatever happens I can trust Your perfect timing and Your control. I pleaded with the Lord three times about this, that it might leave me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Messiah may dwell in me (Second Corinthians 12:8-9). In Yeshua’s holy name and His power of resurrection. Amen

The Reading of Deuteronomy
31: 9-13

The reading of Deuteronomy DIG: What use would there be in the scroll of Deuteronomy being accessible to all (30:11-14) if it were lost, forgotten, or otherwise became unknown? What arrangements were made for its regarding? For whom, when, and why was Deuteronomy read in public?

REFLECT: How have you set about a regular, systematic, reading and listening to God’s Word? Is this satisfying to you? Why or why not? Any adjustments ahead? Do you fear ADONAI? In what ways? What ceremonies are most meaningful for you to remember God?

ADONAI did not preserve the scroll of Deuteronomy for the political elite, but for all of His people.

The day before Moses died.

As Moses approached death, he gave a series of instructions to the people (31:1-6), to Joshua (31:7-8), and to the priests (31:9-13), each concerned in some way with the maintenance of the covenant. Here we see Moses handing over Deuteronomy in written form to the priests and elders so that YHVH’s Word might be preserved for future generations.

Instructions to the priests: It was normal practice at the conclusion of a secular treaty for the suzerain to hand a copy of the treaty to the vassal to be lodged in the sanctuary of the vassal under the care of the priests and under the eye of their gods. Again, on the death of the vassal, his successor was approved by the suzerain, but was required to ratify the treaty himself (to see link click Ah – Treaty of the Great King).⁶⁵⁹ Moses wrote down the scroll of Deuteronomy and gave it to the cohanim, the sons of Levi who carry the Ark of the Covenant of ADONAI, and to all the elders of Isra’el (31:9).

In secular treaties also, directions were given for the reading of the treaty to the vassal people at regular intervals. Then Moses commanded them saying: At the end of every seven years, in the set time of the year of cancelling debts (see Cy – The Year of Release), during the feast of Sukkot, when all Isra’el comes to appear before ADONAI your God in the place He chooses, you are to read the book of Deuteronomy before them in their hearing (31:10-11). The rabbis teach that once Solomon’s Temple was built, the king would sit in the Court of the Women to read the book of Deuteronomy before the people. It was rare for an individual to possess a copy of the Scriptures. A person gained knowledge of the Scriptures by being taught by their parents, the priests, and through its public reading at times like this. So, the public reading of Deuteronomy was of great significance.⁶⁶⁰

More than all the other required feasts, the feast of Sukkot would remind all Israelites that Ha’Shem delivered them from bondage in Egypt and chose them to be His servant-nation (Leviticus 25:43). As a celebration of an abundant harvest, Sukkot involves great joy and thanksgiving. Since this reading of Deuteronomy to the nation occurred during the same time of year when all debts were canceled, it contained vivid memories of historical redemption and the joyous celebration of YHVH’s abundant provision.⁶⁶¹

The ceremony described in these verses was not, in the strict sense, a renewal of the covenant. It was more like a regular remembrance of the people’s blessings and responsibilities of their intimate covenantal relationship with YHVH. For the older people in the covenant community, the educational value of the ceremony would lie in remembering the covenant with ADONAI, and in renewed dedication to the God of the covenant. The younger generation, however, would learn, for the first time, the full meaning of the covenant. Although they would probably know about it beforehand, its significance would fully dawn on them only as they left their homes and villages and heard the public reading of the scroll of Deuteronomy in the presence of all Isra’el. There, in the presence of the greater community of which they were a part, they too would learn to fear YHVH. And as each generation learned to fear ADONAI and to obey Him, so would the continuing community of Isra’el ensure their lasting possession of the Promised Land.⁶⁶²

Gather the people – the men and women and little ones, and the outsider within your town gates – so they may hear and so they may learn, and they will fear ADONAI your God and take care to do all the words of Deuteronomy. One other special value of such a ceremony was that the children, at least once during their childhood years, and possibly twice, could stand with a considerable congregation and share in the celebration of the covenant.⁶⁶³ So, their children, who have not known, will hear and learn to fear ADONAI your God – all the days you live on the Land you are about to cross over the Jordan to possess (31:12-13).

ADONAI did not preserve the scroll of Deuteronomy for the religious or the political elite, but for all of His people. He wanted every Israelite to be aware of, and understand, His expectations of them. The Bible only records two occasions on which Isra’el carried out this requirement, when Ezra read it upon his return to Jerusalem from the exile (see the commentary on Ezra-Nehemiah Bm – Ezra Reads the Scroll of Deuteronomy), and during Josiah’s revival (see the commentary on Jeremiah Ai – Josiah Ruled For 31 Years from 640 to 609 BC) when he read the scroll of Deuteronomy (Second Kings 23:1-3).⁶⁶⁴

Dear wise and loving Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your love and wisdom which guides us as we read Your Holy Word. Praise You for Your careful watching over of your children. I will lift up my eyes to the mountains – from where does my help come? My help comes from ADONAI, Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip. Your Keeper will not slumber. Behold, the Keeper of Isra’el neither slumbers nor sleeps. ADONAI is your Keeper. ADONAI is your shadow at your right hand. The sun will not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. ADONAI will protect you from all evil. He will guard your life. ADONAI will watch over Your coming and Your going from this time forth and forevermore (Psalm 121:1-8).

How important it is to make time to read and meditate on Your Word, our guiding light to help and protect Your children. His delight is in the Torah of ADONAI, and on His Torah he meditates day and night. He will be like a planted tree over streams of water, producing its fruit during its season. Its leaf never droops – but in all he does, he succeeds (Psalm 1:2-3). I delight in meditating on Your greatness, Your love, grace and power. Praise You for being so wonderful that meditating on Your Word is encouraging to see how You can take what looks like an impossible situation and turn it to your eternal glory. I worship You! In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection. Amen

Moses Went
31: 1-8

Moses went DIG: What events are about to take place? Who will cross the Jordan before Isra’el? What does that mean in context? Why would the people be afraid here? Where would Isra’el get the strength and courage to go on without Moshe? How will Joshua follow in his steps?

REFLECT: Would you be afraid or discouraged in a situation like this? For what do you need strength and courage in your life today? Where will you find it? Who has been your mentor? What have you learned? Enough to succeed him or her? Explain.

Parashah 52: vaYelekh (He Went) 31:1-30
(In regular years read with Parashah 51, in leap years read separately)
(To see link click Af – Parashah)

The Key People: Moshe, speaking to all Isra’el and Joshua.

The Scene: In the wilderness east of the Promised Land, ready to cross over the Jordan.

The Main Events: include the 120-year-old Moses going out to continue his words to Isra’el to be strong and of good courage; Joshua’s role as Isra’el’s new leader; Moshe writing down Torah to be read every seven years so all could hear and learn to obey; Moses and Joshua at the Tent of Meeting with YHVH; the LORD telling about Moshe’s death and the people’s rebellion; a new song for Moses to write down and teach as a witness against the people; command for the Levites to carry the Torah in the ark; and people gathering to hear the Ha’azinu song.⁶⁵⁵

The approaching death of Moshe, which had already been anticipated, now becomes the central focus for the remaining chapters of the book.

The day before Moses died.

Chapter 31 begins a brief account of the concluding stages of Moshe’s life. A significant feature of these closing chapters is that they too exhibit some traces of the treaty pattern (to see link click Ah – Treaty of the Great King). Accordingly, they are instructed to keep a copy of the covenant in the ark (31:24-29), a reference to the appointment of Joshua as the visible head of the covenant community (31:1-8 and 14-23), a promise of the blessings to be enjoyed by the tribes (Chapter 33), and a fascinating chapter that reminds us of the standard indictment document issued to an erring vassal (Chapter 32). The book concludes with a touching account of the death of Moses (Chapter 34).⁶⁵⁶

As Moses approached death, he gave a series of instructions to the people (31:1-6), to Joshua (31:7-8), and to the priests (31:9-13), each concerned in some way with the maintenance of the covenant. Here, we see the instructions to the people and Joshua.

According to Jewish tradition, it was now the seventh day of Adar, and the Heavenly Voice called out to Moshe, “This is your last day on earth.” Moses then went to speak with the children of Isra’el and to bid them farewell.

Instructions to the people (31:1-6): Then Moses went and spoke these words to all Isra’el. He said to them, “I am 120 years old today. I am no longer able to go out and come in.” Although he still had all his strength (34:7), it was time for him to depart and make room for another to lead the nation. ADONAI has said to me, ‘You are not to cross over this Jordan’ (31:1-2). His advanced age may have limited his effectiveness to lead the nation into war, which was just around the corner for them. More significantly, however, was YHVH’s refusal to allow Moshe to enter the Promised Land (3:23-29).

The transfer of leadership is a critical time for any country. The Bible actually focuses on the issue quite frequently: Samuel to Sha’ul, David to Solomon, Elijah to Elisha, Yeshua to His apostles, and even Paul to Timothy. Moshe’s capacity for leadership[ may have diminished, but YHVH was still their Commander-in-Chief (1:30, 3:18-21, 7:1-2 and 17-24, 9:3-4, 20:1-4), who would lead their army, destroy the Canaanites, and deliver the Land to His chosen people. That reality did not change when Moses passed from the scene.

ADONAI your God – He will cross over before you. The people could be free from anxiety. God would neither desert them after the death of Moses, nor leave them without a human leader. He will destroy these nations from before you, and you will dispossess them. Joshua will cross over before you, just as ADONAI has promised. What God did in their past, He would do in their near future. ADONAI will do to them just as He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when He destroyed them. ADONAI will give them over to you, and you are to do to them according to all the mitzvot that I commanded you (3-5).⁶⁵⁷ With full confidence in the presence of God in their midst, the army of the LORD could not fail to be victorious in the conquest, and soon the Land which had been promised so long ago would become their possession in reality.

Since the accomplishment of this daunting task rested on YHVH alone, Isra’el had no need to fear. Chazak! Be courageous! Do not be afraid or tremble before them. For ADONAI your God – He is the One who goes with you. He will not fail you or abandon you (31:6a). These words were not merely for a psychological boost. They were based on two great truths. First, the Israelites were those whose very existence proved the faithfulness of God (31:7b). ADONAI had invested His Word and His Name in the future of His people and, therefore, the ultimate responsibility for them was, and is, YHVH’s – a fact which Moshe used so effectively in his intercession (see Cl – Cut Two Tablets of Stone). Secondly, whoever led the people could count on the unfailing presence of God. What was true for the people, “I will not fail you or abandon you” (31:6b), would be no less true for their leader, “I will never leave you, I will never forsake you” (31:8a).⁶⁵⁸

Dear Heavenly Father, What a comfort You are-stronger than all the armies of the world (Revelation 19:11-21), and yet also the loving Father (John 1:12) of all who have chosen to love and to follow You (Romans 10:9-10)! Praise You for always being with Your children so we can always run into Your arms for safety: For God Himself has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you,” so that with confidence we say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What will man do to me” (Hebrews 13:5b-6)? We also want to bless and love You, “Yes, Lord,” he said to Him, “You know that I love You”  (John21:15b, 16b). In Yeshua’s holy name and power of His resurrection Amen

Instructions to Joshua (31:7-8): Just as David had been anointed three times to lead the nation (First Samuel 16:1-3, Second Samuel 2:1-7 and 5:1-5), and his son Solomon was anointed three times to lead the Israelites after his father’s death (First Kings 1:28-53; First Chronicles 17:1-15 and 29:21-25), Joshua was also anointed three times. He had already been set apart by Moses before Eleazar the high priest and the congregation to assume leadership after his death (Numbers 27:18-23). Then here, Moses summoned Joshua the people and said to him in the sight of all Isra’el (31:7a). Finally, YHVH commissioned Joshua privately in the Tent of Meeting (31:14).

The concept of the Holy War (see Ag – The Problem of Holy War in the TaNaKh) lies very close to the surface in these words to Joshua. “Be strong! Be courageous! For you are to go with this people into the land ADONAI has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you are to enable them to inherit it. ADONAI – He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you” (see the commentary on Hebrews De – Believer’s Behavior in Relation to Ourselves). Hence there was no need to fear or be discouraged (31:7b-8).