So today we begin Deuteronomy. I'll admit I'm not excited about it. Deuteronomy is basically a 34-chapter "summary" of Exodus and Numbers. It's written from a different perspective than the aforementioned books ~ they were Moses passing along instructions from God to the Israelites for the first time and now he's remembering and recounting for them in his own words ~ but it still feels a lot like we're covering the same ground we just covered.
Now, we have the benefit of knowing the historical record of the Israelites up to this point, but what I'd never considered is that this book is believed to have been written within the last month or so before Moses died, just before they crossed the river Jordan to enter the Promised Land.
This means that the vast majority of the people Moses was speaking and writing to did not remember the first Passover, the miraculous escape from Egypt, walking through the Red Sea on dry ground, or water from the rocks. They didn't remember because they weren't there ~ or had only been very young children. This was the second generation of freed Israelites. They were about to enter a land they would have to fight to possess. They had God on their side, yes, but they needed to be reminded of all the amazing things He'd done for their parents in the past to prove He was indeed on their side.
How many times do we hesitate to move forward because we have not reminded ourselves of God's goodness to us in the past? How many times do we look at an uncertain future with fear and dread instead of joy and anticipation because we don't think to remind ourselves of all the times in the past we've been in similar situations and God has seen us through? How many times do we repeat mistakes unnecessarily because we have not reviewed our past ~ and seen that we've already learned this particular lesson?! (and of course, I'm not speaking from experience here or anything... ;)
While Deuteronomy might feel a little pointless since we just read about all these events and rules in the previous two books, there IS a good lesson here! It's also maybe a suggestion to record the events in our lives.
Because it is in looking back that we remember and learn from our mistakes, and learn to anticipate the loving guidance of God's hand that will hold and protect us through anything the future has in store.
We may not see the name of Jesus on these pages, but the Good Shepherd is still there!
Tomorrow's passage: Deut. 3:21-5:33.
2 comments:
You're so right. The one thing that's slightly different is that instead of Moses relating instructions from God, he's telling the Israelites their story, so it's from a slightly different perspective.
It's so important to reflect and look back, both so we can look forward to what God's going to do, but also to serve as a reminder/warning and to learn from past mistakes.
Yes, learning from past mistakes is also key ~ good point! I thought about that yesterday while I was writing, but somehow that didn't make it into the post. I'm gonna fix that right now!
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