Numbers 32 – Deuteronomy 3

One great truth of life is that I must know from where I have come, where I am now and to where I am going if I truly want to know myself. The Psalmist wrote, “Your Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105). Notice the inherent self-assessment in the glow of Yahweh’s wisdom. A lamp to my feet tells me where I stand now. A light to my path illuminates my next steps.

The end of the book of Numbers and the book of Deuteronomy are a history lesson and a purposeful encouragement for the Israelites to not only understand their history, but to assure they do not repeat its mistakes. The name “Deuteronomy’ literally means “Second Law”, but is not another law, rather it is a second giving of the same Law. The adults alive when Moses came down from Sinai and the people went up to Kadesh-Barnea (where they rebelled) are now dead. The next generation will cross over the Jordan and take possession of the Promised Land. First, they must remember…

I know it helps me to assess, understand and learn from past mistakes and successes. True enough, we cannot live in the past. Likewise it is true that we cannot ignore it. There are two who know my past – me and Yahweh. Because God is loving, forgiving and merciful, I can be honest with Him and myself about my past. He is fully aware anyway. Self-delusion about my past only clouds my present and hinders my future. To know me, I need to know the old me and then I can come to know God as he works with me.

The same was true for Israel.

As I wake up to face the new day, it is always a fresh start. As each day unfolds choices present themselves and decisions are taken. In each choice I can choose what is pleasing to me and in accord with my will, what is pleasing to another person and in accord with his will, OR I can choose what is pleasing to God and in accord with His will. A self-aware Christian will find that these three are not necessarily mutually exclusive. When my will and desires are merged into His will and desires for me, I am walking according to the Spirit, not the flesh. As such, I am consistently looking out for the good of others. The only time I have to correct the past and impact my future is today.

The same was true for Israel.

The past was past. The future was uncertain. Today was all they had. Yahweh would go before them and dwell among them as they entered their future. Would they walk with Him? The best chance for the Israelites tomorrow was to walk with God today … every day. Concerning the time in the Wilderness, the Psalmist wrote,

“For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers tested Me, they tried Me, though they had seen My work. For forty years I loathed that generation, and said they are a people who err in their heart, and they do not know My ways. Therefore I swore in My anger, truly they shall not enter into My rest.” Psalm 95:7-11

The same is true for me. It’s good to remember that. It’s good to remember Him.

Consider His nature. Consider His ways. Strive to love Him more!