Read today’s scripture.
What do you learn NEW about God’s goodness?
Who can you share that with today?
Deuteronomy 32.
Today, there is singing (psalms).
The first is a history lesson in song that Moses wrote and taught to the assembly of Israel. He’s quite a songwriter. (see Exodus 15). I wonder how long it took them to memorize what is 43 verses in our Bibles. The melody must have been very catchy.
The song he wrote is God’s words to Israel, telling them who He is, what He’s done for them, the ways they will fail Him, and how much He actually loves them.
Moses tells them to praise God. “For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God! The Rock, His work is perfect, all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness, without iniquity, just and upright is He.”
But of Israel, “They have dealt corruptly with Him; they are no longer His children because they are blemished, a crooked and twisted generation.”
But the LORD’s portion is His people, Jacob, His allotted heritage. He —
- found him in a desert land and a howling waste of wilderness,
- encircled him, cared for him
- kept him as the apple of His eye.
- made him ride on the high places of the land
- suckled him with honey out of the rock, fed him curds and milk from the flock, fat of lambs, the finest of wheat, and wine from the blood of grapes.
But “Jeshurun” (a name for Israel meaning “upright” but said sarcastically) grew fat and kicked and forsook the God who made him. He scoffed at the Rock of his salvation, and stirred Him to jealousy with strange gods, abominations, and sacrificing to demons.
“You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth.”
And so the LORD saw it and spurned them and hid His face from them. And God vowed —
- I will make them jealous of those who are no people;
- I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
- I will heap disasters upon them
- I will spend my arrows on them
- They will be wasted with hunger, devoured by plague and poisonous pestilence
- I will send the teeth of beasts against them with the venom of snakes.
And God said he would have done more against his people, but the enemies would misunderstand and think that THEIR hand had been triumphant and not the LORD at all.
But – and thank You, LORD – He vows, “I will vindicate my people and have compassion on my servants, when I see that their power is gone. and there is none remaining, bond or free.”
“Rejoice with Him O heavens; bow down to Him, all gods, for He avenges the blood of his children and takes vengeance on His adversaries. He repays those who hate him, and cleanses His people’s land.”
And so Moses ended the song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua. He told them to “take all the words to heart and teach them to your children.
And THAT VERY DAY, God told Moses, “It’s time.” “Go up this mountain, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho and VIEW the land I’m giving to Israel. And die on the mountain, as your brother died on Mount Hor. You shall SEE the land before you, but you shall NOT GO THERE.”
Deuteronomy 33.
Then, before Moses went up to die, he blessed the tribes of Israel, much like Jacob/Israel had done before he died.
- Reuben, shall not die, but will be few.
- Judah, LORD bring him in, with Your hands contend for him, be a help against his adversaries.
- Levi, LORD, give to Levi your Thummin and Urim, who denied his father and mother and brothers and children, but observed YOUR Word and kept YOUR covenant. They will teach Jacob Your rules and law, and worship and sacrifice to You. Bless, O LORD, his substance and accept the work of his hands. Crush his adversaries.
- Benjamin. The beloved of the LORD dwells in safety. The High God surrounds him all day long.
- Joseph, Blessed by the LORD be his land, with the choicest gifts of heaven, with the choicest fruits of the sun and the rich yield of the months, etc. A first-born bull — he has majesty. They are the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh.
- Zebulun & Issachar, rejoice in your going out and in your tents. They draw from the abundance of the seas and the hidden treasures of the sand.
- Gad, Blessed be he who enlarges him. He crouches like a vicious lion. He chose the best of the land for himself, for THERE, a commander’s portion was reserved. With Israel he executed the justice of the LORD and his judgments for Israel.
- Dan, is a lion’s cub.
- Naphtali, sated with favor and full of the blessing of the LORD, posses the lake and the south.
- Asher, Most blessed be sons of Asher, the favorite of his brothers. Let him dip his foot in oil. As your days, so shall your strength be.
There is none like God, O Israel, who rides through the heavens to your help, through the skies in His majesty. The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people save by the LORD!
Deuteronomy 34.
Then Moses climbed up Mount Nebo. And the LORD showed him all the land; Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western sea, the Negev, and the Plain, the Valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees.
“This is the land I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will let your see it, but your shall not go over.”
So Moses died there. He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, but no one knows the place. Moses was 120 years old. His eye was undimmed and his vigor unabated.
And Joshua was full of the spirit of wisdom, so the people obeyed him and did as the LORD had commanded Moses.
“An there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, to all his servants, and to the land, and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of Israel.”
(A postscript by Joshua)
.
Psalm 91.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the LORD, My refuge and my fortress,
my God in whom I trust. (vss. 1-2)
"Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation." (vss.14-16)
Morning Meditations 