Set Back by Sin for 38 Years (Dt 1:1-46)

Deuteronomy 1:1-46; Key Verses: Dt 1:8, 21, 26, 30-32

"See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land..." "See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it..." "But ... you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God." "The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you..." "In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God."

Introduction: Deuteronomy consists of three speeches (sermons) Moses gave to his people before handing leadership to Joshua and before their entrance to the promised land. Key Verses may be:

• Love. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength" (Dt 6:5).
• Obey. "And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?" (Dt 10:12-13)
• Choose. "This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" (Dt 30:19-20).

Main Theme: The theology of remembrance: Grace followed by obedience. God blessed his people by redeeming them from slavery (grace). Obedience to God's commands is the result of love and grace already experienced. God's people do not obey to be blessed. We obey because we are already blessed. We obey when we remember the grace of God.

Outline of Deuteronomy (based on Moses' Three Addresses to Israel):

1. Remembering the Grace of God (Retrospect) - What God Has Done (1:1-4:43).
2. Explaining the Grace of God - What God Commands for the Future (4:44-28:68).
3. Trusting the Grace of God - Recapitulation of the Covenant Demand and the Call to Choose God and Obey (29:1-30:20).
4. The Death of Moses - The Transition from Moses to Joshua (31:1-34:12).

Title: The Theology of Remembrance: Grace Followed by Obedience. (Choose Life That You May Live and Love God.)

The Recent Sequence of Events leading up to Deuteronomy 1:

1. The people of God cried out to God in their misery of slavery (Ex 2:23).
2. God hears them, remembers his covenant and was concerned about them (Ex 2:24; 3:7, 9).
3. God calls and raises a mediator Moses to deliver them from Pharaoh (Ex 3:7-8, 10).
4. After ten plagues and the Passover, God saved them by enabling them to cross the Red Sea into freedom (Ex 14:21-22, 29-31; Heb 9:23; Ex 19:4; 20:2; Dt 5:6).
5. God gave them the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, also known as Horeb (Ex 20:3-17; Dt 5:7-21).
6. After 11 months, the Israelites set out for the promised land (Num 13:1-2ff; Dt 1:6-8, 19-25).
7. The people rebelled (Num 14:1-45; Dt 1:26-46).

Outline of Deuteronomy 1:

1. What sin does
2. Why sin happens
3. How sin is solved

Questions (Dt 1:1-46):

1.       What are the words Moses spoke (Dt 1:1, 3b, 5; Ps 119:105; 2 Tim 3:16)? Why were the Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years (Num 14:32-34; Dt  1:2-3a; 2:1, 14-15)? The victory over Sihon and Og (Dt 1:4; Num 21:21-35) is mentioned 17 times in the O.T. Why?

2.       What did God command (Dt 1:6-7)? What promise was given (Dt 1:8, 21, 30-31)? Are God's promises contingent on our obedience (in contrast to salvation)? What should we do (1 Cor 9:27; 2 Tim 4:7)?

3.       What do leaders experience (Dt 1:9-12; 2 Cor 11:28-29)? How should they deal with it (Dt 1:13-15, 17b, 18; Num 11:28-29; Josh 1:7-8; Ac 20:27)? How should leaders judge (Dt 1:16-17; Jas 2:1; Prov 29:25; Mt 10:28)?

4.       Did God make concessions when the people were afraid to obey due to weak faith (Dt 1:19-22, 23-25; Num 13:1-2; Judg 6:36-40)? Why did they disobey (Dt 1:26-28)? How did God reassure them (Dt 1:29-31)? How did they respond (Dt 1:32-33)? How does God regard this (1 Cor 10:5; Heb 3:16-19)? What can we learn (Rom 6:23a; Gal 6:7)?

5.       How did God deal with their rebellion (Dt 1:34-35)? How was Caleb different (Dt 1:36-39; Num 14:24; Josh 14:14)?

6.       How did the people sin further after sinning initially (Dt 1:41-43)? With what result (Dt 1:44-46)? When we stumble in sin, what can we remember (Dt 1:21, 30a, 30b, 31)?

Preparatory references:

1. 22 question fun quiz.
2. An Overview of the Pentateuch.
   
3. Various Outlines and Overview of Deuteronomy.
4. The Gospel in Deuteronomy.
   
5. The Leaders (Dt 1:9-16).
6. The Judges (Dt 1:16-18).
7. The Words Moses Spoke (Dt 1:1-46). Sermon preached in Manila in Mar 2013.