GOD HAS A PLAN

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the desert east of the Jordan - that is, in the Arabah - opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. (It takes eleven days to go from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea by the Mount Seir road.)

In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them. This was after he had defeated Sihon, king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, and at Edrei had defeated Og, king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth.

East of the Jordan in the territory of Moab, Moses began to expound this law, saying:

“The Lord our God said to us at Horeb, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates. See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore He would give to your fathers - to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - and to their descendants after them.’"

Deuteronomy 1:1-8

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today, we begin a study of the Book of Deuteronomy, the last of the five books in the Pentateuch, also known as the Books of the Law. You may also find this section of the Bible called the “copy of the law”, “the second law”, or “the repetition of the law”.

As we begin, we see in chapter 1 where Moses is speaking to the Israelites while they were in “the desert east of the Jordan”, a place called  “the Arabah” which was “opposite Suph” and between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab”. We know this took place in the “fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month” or 40 years after the Israelites left Egypt on their exodus toward the Promised Land.

What did Moses speak to the people about?

The scriptures tell us that it involved “all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them” and so he (Moses) began by expounding on the law saying this to God’s people:

“The Lord our God said to us at Horeb, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates. See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore He would give to your fathers - to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - and to their descendants after them.’"

At this point, Israel had spent enough time at Horeb (also known as Mount Sinai) and it was time for them to move out so they could “go in and take possession of the land” that the Lord was giving to them, the Promised Land of Canaan that was to be their inheritance. We know this was essentially a fulfillment of the covenant promise that God had made with the Israelites’ ancestors, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and “their descendants after them”.

In this passage, we are reminded that God is in complete control of our service to Him when we place our lives in His hands and so we need not ever worry about where to go or what to do because He will always guide us to where he wants us to be in order to fulfill His purposes.

We see this truth evident in the scriptures for note that the people of Israel had traveled a long distance from Egypt to Horeb (Mount Sinai) but as they got to the mountain, God commanded them to stop and set up camp, It was not yet time for them to enter Canaan.

It was during that time that God provided Moses with guidance that He had for the people of Israel as they were about to get organized and make the final push toward the Promised Land.

In other words, God stopped the Israelites at Horeb for a reason. He dictated when they would camp and when they would move out as He had done from the very time they had departed enslavement in Egypt and began their exodus.

Of course, this isn’t the first time we have seen this happen for you may remember the story of Abraham who was ordered to leave everything behind and go where God wanted him to go. To his credit, Abraham did just what God told him to do, not questioning the command bur rather obeying and trusting in the Lord. During that journey, when Abraham had settled in Canaan, you’ll recall that God came to him and said the following:

“Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever. I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.” Genesis 13:14-16

The Lord made it clear that this is where He wanted Abraham and his offspring, which ended up being the Israelites, to live. And now, they were on the brink of crossing the Jordan River and acquiring their inheritance.

My friends, my prayer is that we realize from the scriptures how God has a plan for each and every one of us. He has known us from before we were born and already had us purposed before we emerged from the womb and took in our first breath in this world. For if we grasp this, then these verses take on their fullest meaning:

For the prophet Jeremiah said:

“I know, O Lord, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.” Jeremiah 10:23

And then the words of the wise King Solomon:

“A man's steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand his own way?” Proverbs 20:24

and

“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” Proverbs 16:9

Thanks be to God that He has a plan for our lives. All we need to do is seek His will and then carry it out with absolute obedience.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.