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KADESH BARNEA
c. After he had killed Sihon king of the Amorites... and Og king of Bashan: Israel’s great
fear when they first came to Kadesh Barnea and the opportunity to enter the Promised Land
was that they would be crushed by the military prowess of the Canaanites. But when the new
generation trusted God and went forward, God immediately gave them victory — over two
pagan kings (Sihon and Og). The victory was ready as soon as Israel was ready to receive
it in faith.
3. (Deuteronomy 1:5) Moses the expositor.
On this side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law,
saying,
a. On this side of the Jordan: This was one of the last things Moses did to prepare the
people of Israel to finally enter into the Promised Land. Moses knew they needed to know
the Word.
b. Moses began to explain this law: Moses will now serve as an expository teacher to
Israel. The Hebrew word translated “explain” comes from the ideas “to dig deeply” or “to
mine.” Moses will mine out the riches of God’s truth to the people, and prepare them to enter
in.
4. (Deuteronomy 1:6-8) The command to move on from Mount Horeb.
“The LORD our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying: ‘You have dwelt long enough at
this mountain. Turn and take your journey, and go to the mountains of the Amorites,
to all the neighboring places in the plain, in the mountains and in the lowland, in the
South and on the seacoast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as
the great river, the River Euphrates. See, I have set the land before you; go in and
possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers; to Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob; to give to them and their descendants after them.’“
a. The LORD our God spoke to us in Horeb: This departure from Mount Sinai
(Horeb and Sinai are different names for the same place) was recorded in Numbers 10.
However, the Numbers 10 account does not give us the details recorded here.
b. You have dwelt long enough at this mountain: Simply, God told Israel to move on. A
year at Mount Sinai was enough; He did not bring them out of Egypt for them to live forever
at Sinai. It was time to move on in faith and take the land of promise.
i. Galatians 4 and Hebrews 12 symbolically identify Mount Sinai with the Old Covenant of
works and law. For the Christian today, it is important to spend some time under the law
as a tutor (Galatians 3:24-25), so we know the holy character of God and our need for a
Savior. But God never intended the Christian to live their spiritual life at Mount Sinai. The
believer must move on in faith to the Promised Land.
c. Turn and take your journey... See, I have set the land before you: Though it would be
a challenge, God had set the Promised Land before Israel — and Moses here remembered
when He spoke to them at Sinai and told them to move on and take the land.
5. (Deuteronomy 1:9-18) When Moses appointed judges among Israel.
“And I spoke to you at that time, saying: ‘I alone am not able to bear you. The LORD
your God has multiplied you, and here you are today, as the stars of heaven in
multitude. May the LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times more
numerous than you are, and bless you as He has promised you! How can I alone bear
your problems and your burdens and your complaints? Choose wise, understanding,
and knowledgeable men from among your tribes, and I will make them heads over
you.’ And you answered me and said, ‘The thing which you have told us to
do is good.’ So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and knowledgeable men, and
made them heads over you, leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of
fifties, leaders of tens, and officers for your tribes. Then I commanded your judges at
that time, saying, ‘Hear the cases between your brethren, and judge righteously
between a man and his brother or the stranger who is with him. You shall not show
partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small as well as the great; you shall not be
afraid in any man’s presence, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for
you, bring to me, and I will hear it.’ And I commanded you at that time all the things
which you should do.”
a. Choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men from among your tribes, and
I will make them heads over you: Some think that the appointment of leaders described
in Deuteronomy 1 referred to the appointment of Judges in Exodus 18. Some others believe
it refers tp the appointment of elders described in Numbers 11. It could possibly be either,
but from the flow of Moses’ context in Deuteronomy 1, it seems best to consider that it was
the appointment of elders in Numbers 11.
b. I alone am not able to bear you: Moses experienced this crisis in Numbers 11 when the
people complained again about the food God provided. To help Moses bear the burden, God
directed him to appoint seventy elders to assist him in bearing up under the pressure of
leading the nation.
i. As described in Numbers 11, these elders had a precious function: To stand there
with Moses (Numbers 11:16), to have the same Spirit as Moses, and to bear the burden
of the people with Moses (Numbers 11:17).
c. So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and knowledgeable men, and made them
heads over you: Moses chose the elders of Israel by using a combination of approval by the
congregation, and approval by Moses himself. Moses then instructed the elders in principles
of righteous leadership, and thus relieved himself of many burdens.
B. Moses remembers when in unbelief, Israel refused to enter the Promised Land.
1. (Deuteronomy 1:19-21) Moses remembers his exhortation to Israel at Kadesh
Barnea.
“So we departed from Horeb, and went through all that great and terrible wilderness
which you saw on the way to the mountains of the Amorites, as the LORD our God
had commanded us. Then we came to Kadesh Barnea. And I said to you, ‘You have
come to the mountains of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving us. Look,
the LORD your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the LORD
God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not fear or be discouraged.’”
a. Look, the LORD your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it: After
seeing God’s faithfulness in enabling them to cross the land of the Amorites, Moses was
ready to lead the nation into Canaan.
b. Do not fear or be discouraged: This encouragement was important because this was
the critical moment for Israel. They were a little more than a year out of Egypt and ready to
go into the Promised Land. It was there before them, ready for them to take by faith if they
would not fear or be discouraged.
2. (Deuteronomy 1:22-23) Moses remembers Israel’s suggestion to send forth spies.
“And everyone of you came near to me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, and let
them search out the land for us, and bring back word to us of the way by which we
should go up, and of the cities into which we shall come.’ The plan pleased me well;
so I took twelve of your men, one man from each tribe.”
a. And everyone of you came near to me and said, “Let us send men before us”: As
Moses remembered this suggestion, he looked back with regret. There really was no
compelling reason to send forth spies into the Promised Land.
i. God had told them that the land was good. Unless they did not believe Him, there was
no reason to confirm it on their own. God had told them they would take the land and
defeat the nations living there. Unless they did not believe Him, there was no reason to
take a look at the enemies and see if God was somehow up to the challenge.
b. And the plan pleased me well: Moses must have had regret as he remembered this.
The people suggested it and Moses agreed to it. Yet when ten of the twelve spies came
back with a report filled with fear and unbelief, the nation believed them and refused to
believe God’s promised and enter in.
i. From reading only Numbers 13:2 it might seem that this plan to send spies into Canaan
originated with God, not the people. But a careful look shows that Numbers 13:2 dealt
mainly with the number of spies to send (12) and how they should be chosen (one from
each tribe). So though the plan did not originate with God (Deuteronomy 1 indicates that it
started with the people, and was approved by Moses), the LORD essentially said: “If you
are going to send spies, send twelve, and have them represent the whole nation by
sending one from each tribe.”
ii. Perhaps in this God made certain that not all the spies brought a report of unbelief.
3. (Deuteronomy 1:24-25) Moses remembers the journey and report of the spies.
“And they departed and went up into the mountains, and came to the Valley of
Eshcol, and spied it out. They also took some of the fruit of the land in their hands
and brought it down to us; and they brought back word to us, saying, ‘It is a good
land which the LORD our God is giving us.’”
a. They brought back word to us: Significantly, Moses didn’t mention the evil report of the
unbelieving spies (Numbers 13:28-29). It is almost as if the memory was so painful that
Moses wouldn’t even deal with it.
b. It is a good land which the LORD our God is giving us: It was enough that the nation
of Israel had the report from the godly spies, Joshua and Caleb. In addition to that, all the
twelve spies were united on saying “It is a good land which the LORD our God is giving
us” (Numbers 13:27).
4. (Deuteronomy 1:26-33) Moses remembers Israel’s unbelieving rejection of the
Promised Land, though he pleaded with them to take the land in faith.
“Nevertheless you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the LORD
your God; and you complained in your tents, and said, ‘Because the LORD hates us,
He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the
Amorites, to destroy us. Where can we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our
hearts, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and
fortified up to heaven; moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.”‘ Then I
said to you, ‘Do not be terrified, or afraid of them. The LORD your God, who goes
before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your
eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a
man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.’ Yet, for
all that, you did not believe the LORD your God, who went in the way before you to
search out a place for you to pitch your tents, to show you the way you should go, in
the fire by night and in the cloud by day.”
a. Nevertheless: In this context, this is a haunting word. It was the exact word in the mouth
of the ten fearful spies when they began to give an evil testimony to Israel (Numbers 13:28).
i. Essentially, the ten spies and all Israel said, “We went into the land of Canaan and
found it to be a wonderful land, just as the LORD said it would be. God’s word was true on
that point. Nevertheless (essentially saying, ‘despite all that’), we don’t believe God when
He says He will enable to overcome the enemies of the land and to possess it.”
ii. Nevertheless! Despite the fact we have seen that God’s word is true, we will not trust
Him for great things in the future. This is a terrible testimony.
b. You would not go up, but rebelled... and you murmured in your tents... you did not
believe the LORD your God: God had done nothing but show Himself faithful to Israel.
They could not point to one instance where He had let them down, though the journey had
not been easy. Yet they answered God’s faithfulness with rebellion, murmuring, and unbelief.
i. They were not persuaded of the love of God, and they found it hard to trust a God they
did not believe loved them. Christians today also need to be persuaded of the love of
God. Many believers are hindered in their walk with God because they are not genuinely
persuaded of the love of God for them. They should ask, “What would it take to finally
convince me that God really loves me?” We don’t wait for God to give us everything we
want before we love Him. That is the selfish demand of a short-sighted child, like the child
who thinks mommy doesn’t love him because he can’t have all the candy he wants.
ii. God has already given the ultimate demonstration of His love: But God demonstrates
His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans
5:8) The death of Jesus for guilty sinners is the ultimate demonstration of God’s love; He
can do nothing greater than what He has already done in Jesus. Now we can simply
receive His love.
c. The LORD your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He
did for you in Egypt before your eyes: With these words, Moses did his best to encourage
the people. He called on them to specifically remember God’s past faithfulness and consider
that He was able to give them victory in the land of Canaan.
i. Satan loves to make us forget what we should remember (the past victories and
miracles of God on our behalf). He also loves to make us remember what we
should forget (our past of sin and the self-life).
d. Yet, for all that, you did not believe the LORD your God: In essence, it was not sin that
kept Israel out of the Promised Land. Instead, it was unbelief (though certainly, unbelief is
sin). Israel’s sin could be covered through atoning sacrifice; but their unbelief and doubt of
God’s love for them made them unable to trust God.
i. We often think that it is really some sin that hinders us from going on with the LORD. It
is true that the LORD wants to deal with the sin and get it out of the way, but the way that
happens is by deepening the relationship of love and trust in the LORD. Unbelief and lack
of trust is the real enemy.
ii. It is sobering to consider how easily, how quickly, and how completely, God sees
through our excuses. We often feel confident in our excuses because other people can’t
really challenge them — but God sees right through them.