Thru the Bible - #153-Deuteronomy 2- Wanderings in the Wilderness

Transcript

Welcome And Today’s Passage

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to Barine's Corner, the podcast where we go through books of the Bible chapter by chapter and verse by verse. Wherever you are in the world, thank you for joining. Grab a glass of water, a cup of coffee, a tea, and let's get into today's lesson. Alright, welcome back wherever you may be. As always, I am glad to be here with you and to have you here with me. Open your Bible to Deuteronomy chapter 2. The title of today's lesson is Wanderings in the Wilderness. We have a decent amount of reading here. We're going to bring the reader in. We have 37 verses, and then we will go through all 37 verses as we always do. Deuteronomy chapter 2, and let's read.

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Deuteronomy 2. Then we turned back and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea, as the Lord had directed me. For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir. Then the Lord said to me, You have made your way around this hill country long enough. Now turn north. Give the people these orders. You are about to pass through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, but be very careful, do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own. You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink. The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast desert. These forty years, the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything. So we went on past our brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned from the Arabah road, which comes up from Elath and Ezien Geber, and travelled along the desert road of Moab. Then the Lord said to me, Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any part of their land. I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as a possession. The Emites used to live there, a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites. Like the Anakites, they too were considered Rephaites, but the Moabites called them Emites. Horites used to live in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out. They destroyed the Horites from before them and settled in their place, just as Israel did in the land the Lord gave them as their possession. And the Lord said, Now get up and cross the Zerid Valley. So we crossed the valley. Thirty-eight years passed from the time we left Kadesh Barnia until we crossed the Zerid Valley. By then, that entire generation of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them. The Lord's hand was against them until he had completely eliminated them from the camp. Now, when the last of these fighting men among the people had died, the Lord said to me, Today, you are to pass by the region of Moab at Ar. When you come to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them to war. For I will not give you possession of any land belonging to the Ammonites. I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot. That too was considered a land of the Rephaites who used to live there. But the Ammonites called them Zamzamites. They were a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites. The Lord destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place. The Lord had done the same for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir. When he destroyed the Horites from before them, they drove them out and had lived in their place to this day. And as for the Avites who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Kaftarites coming out from Kafta destroyed them and settled in their place. Set out now and cross the Arnon Gorge. See, I have given into your hands Sion the Amorite, King of Heshbon, and his country. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in battle. This very day I will begin to put the terror and fear of you on all the nations under heaven. They will hear reports of you, and will tremble and be in anguish because of you. From the desert of Kedamath I sent messengers to Sion, King of Heshbon, offering peace, and saying, Let us pass through your country. We will stay on the main road, we will not turn aside to the right or to the left. Sell us food to eat and water to drink for their price in silver. Only let us pass through on foot, as the descendants of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for us, until we cross the Jordan into the land the Lord our God is giving us. But Sion, king of Heshpan, refused to let us pass through, for the Lord your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate, in order to give him into your hands, as he has now done. The Lord said to me, See, I have begun to deliver Sion and his country over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land. When Sion and all his army came out to meet us in battle at Jahaz, the Lord our God delivered him over to us, and we struck him down together with his sons and his whole army. At that time we took all his towns and completely destroyed them, men, women, and children. We left no survivors. But the livestock and the plunder from the towns we had captured we carried off for ourselves. From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge, and from the town in the gorge, even as far as Gilead, not one town was too strong for us. The Lord our God gave us all of them. But in accordance with the command of the Lord our God, you did not encroach on any of the land of the Ammonites, neither the land along the course of the Jabak, nor that around the towns in the hills.

Instructions For Passing Through Edom

Moab Lessons On Boundaries

Ammon And God’s Control Of History

Sihon Refuses Peace Then Defeat

Life Lessons And Final Encouragement

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SPEAKER_01 6:19

Now as we jump into Deuteronomy chapter 2, I want to start with something powerful from Acts 17. Paul said that God determines where the people live and where they live. That means that God is sovereign over nations, he's sovereign over the history of the nations, he's sovereign over who controls the nation, who rules the nation, he's in He's in charge and sovereign over the boundaries of the nation. Now that truth shows up multiple times in this chapter. We see it in verse 5, verse 9, and verse 19. We see that God is the one who gives lands to who he wants, and he's the one who places people where he wants and where he wants them to be. Now, here's something we need to understand right away. God is not just sovereign over his people, he's sovereign over everyone. Now, you and I understand that, but that goes for any non-believers who may wander across this, or they are you know speaking with someone who is in the belief and they have these thoughts of that you know they can do this and they can do that. Well, you know, he he's your God. No, God is God, he's all of our God, and he is sovereign over everyone. He's in sovereign over the quote, the so-called good people, he's in sovereign, he's over the evil people, he's sovereign of the rich, he's sovereign of the poor, he is sovereign over everyone, and he gives people abilities, opportunities, and even their locations in life. Have you ever wondered, you know, or you know, maybe looked at yourself, maybe you're blessed on these six continents. You may um live somewhere that's very peaceful, it's very productive, and you may have said, Man, this is a blessing that I am even here. You know, how did I get here? Is because it was planned out, it was planned for you to be where you were, it was planned by sovereign God for you to stand on the land that you are and to do the things that you do. And because of that, we need to understand what belongs to us and what doesn't. The things that God has for you are for you, and the things for someone else is for someone else. Now, one of the main principles here is as we travel through life, we must carefully obey God and how we deal with other people and nations, recognizing what God has given to them and what he has given to us. As I always say, what's for them is for them, and what's for us is for us. Now, Israel is on their way to the promised land, but to get there, they have to pass through lands that belong to others. Now, we saw a lot of that in the book of Numbers before they sent the spies out. They sent those spies out because they wanted those guys to go and kind of see if this was going to be a clear path. When truthfully, some of them wanted to see how easy the path would be, and God gave them very specific instructions on how to do that. As we remember, back in at the end of uh in the middle to the end of Numbers, God gave them particular instructions on how they were to go through these lands, and there are four key instructions or points that we would like to point out in this chapter. The first one is the concerns of Edom. We see this in verses one through eight. Then we turned and set out for the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea, and the Lord spoke to me, and we circled Mount Seir for many days. And the Lord spoke to me, saying, You have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north and command the people, saying, You are going to pass through the territory of your brothers, the sons of Esau, who live in Seir, and they will be afraid of you, so be very careful. Do not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even as much as a footprint, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. You are to buy food from them with money so that you may eat, and you shall also purchase water from them with money, so that you may drink. For the Lord your God has blessed you in all that you have done. He has known your wanderings through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, you have not lacked anything. So we pass beyond our brothers, the sons of Esau, who live in Seir, away from the Arabaroe, away from Elot and Ezeon Geber, and returned and passed through by the way of the wilderness of Moab. Now, after thirty-eight years of wandering, Israel is finally moving. They're on the move again. They had been going in circles because of disobedience, and you all remember that. But now God says, You've been here long enough, it's time to move forward. So the Lord is the one who is giving them their instructions on when it's time to move. Now that's important. Discipline has a time limit when God is involved. Now, they're about to pass through Edom, descendants of Esau, their relatives. So God tells them, first he says, Be very careful. Be very careful going through the land of your brothers Esau. Next, he said, Do not provoke them. Then the Lord says, Do not take anything from them. Then the Lord reminds them, this land belongs to them. The Lord told them all this and reminded them that this is the land of Esau. This is not the land that you are to take. You are passing through this land. That word careful means to really watch yourself, be intentional about how you act. So, in other words, the the Lord is telling Israel, you know, be very careful. You know, uh be careful in your behavior, be careful in your speech, in your actions. You know, it's something that we tell our kids a lot of times when they're little and then when they grow up and get out in the world. I have three children, and uh our children are all they're all adults now, but even to this day, I'm always teaching my children to be careful, watch how you act, you know, be very intentional when you're around people because you don't know what kind of people you're around, you don't know what might you know set them off or what could turn something very little into something big. Now, why? Because when people are afraid, they're on edge, and God didn't want his people causing unnecessary conflicts, which is part of the reason why he told them this. Then God says something important buy your food, pay for your water, do good business. In other words, don't take advantage, don't act entitled. This is what he's telling his people. Yes, I know that these are your people, uh, these are your brothers, Esau, but don't take advantage of them. You need to go in with the mindset of we're gonna come in here and you know, we're gonna give something for something. We're not gonna just go in here with this, you know, you know, we're we're relatives, we're brothers, we're gonna take something. And I also want to point out something important that I uh saw in those first eight verses that we just went through. The word money, the Lord said, buy your food, buy your water, and do good business. So I know I probably haven't said this since back when we were in Genesis, but I want you to remember we're in the old testament and money is involved. There was money in those days. Why do I like to point that out? Some of you who have been with me for a while know why, because you know that I have a disdain for prosperity preaching, prosperity teaching. This thing that says that you know, in uh in this day and time we give money, but back in the old testament and the old covenant, they didn't give money because they didn't have money, they gave kettle and and and grain and spices because that's what that that was their uh currency. Not true. They had money in those days, and God provides for his people, but he may use his people's resources to bless others. Even during 40 years of wondering, God took care of Israel and they lacked nothing. So, what did we learn through all of that? God has always taken care of us. God gives things to others that he doesn't give to us. Also, we need to respect that and we need to treat people right. So remember, what's for you is for you, what's for them is for them, which brings us to the next set of instructions, instructions concerning Moab. And we see this in verses 9 through 17. Then the Lord said to me, Do not attack Moab, nor provoke them to war, for I will give you any of their land, excuse me, I will not give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given heir to the sons of Lot as a possession. The Imam lived there previously, a people as great, numerous, and tall as the Anakin. Like the Anakin, they too are regarded as Rephaim, but the Moabites call them Imam. The Horites previously lived in Sierra, but the sons of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them and settled in their place, just as Israel did to the excuse me to the land of their possession, which the Lord gave them. Now, arise and cross over the Wadai Zired yourselves. So we cross over the Wadai Zerzired. Now the time that it took for us to come from Kadesh Barnea until we cross over to Wadai Zed was thirty-eight years, until all the generations of the men of war perished from within the camp, just as the Lord had sworn to them. Indeed, the hand of the Lord was against them to destroy them from within the camp until they all perished. So it came about when all the men of war had finally perished from among the people, that the Lord spoke to me, saying, And we just stop right there. So Israel encounters Moab, which are descendants of Lot. These weren't godly people, but God still said, Don't harass them, don't provoke them, don't fight them. Why? Because their land is not your land. So now we are going through Moab, and the Lord is saying, No, this is not the spot. This land is not your land. Now that's a big lesson. Just because something exists doesn't mean it's yours to take. So that land might have been nice. It might have looked like something they wanted, but it was not theirs to take. Then God gives history about the land, how previous nations were removed and replaced. Then Israel crosses the boundary in obedience. But there's also a warning here. Because of their past disobedience, it took them 38 years to get here. 38 years in the wilderness. God even stood against that previous generation. So this is what we found out. Disobedience slows down what God wants to do. So one of the reasons it took them 38 years is because they're disobedience and God slowed them down. Next, we must stay in our lane and respect God's plan for others. God has planned for others. We need to stay in our lane and let the Lord do the work. And we need to respect people, even if they're different from us. So these people were different, but they still needed respect, and that's what the Lord is telling them. Then that brings us to the next set of instructions concerning the Ammonites. We see this in verses 18 through 23. I'm actually going to back up to 17. That the Lord spoke to me, saying, Today you shall cross over air the border of Moab. When you come opposite the sons of Ammon, do not attack them nor provoke them, for I will not give you any of the land of the sons of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the sons of Lot as a possession. So it is also regarded as the land of Raphaim, because the Raphaim previously lived in it. But the Ammonites called them Zam Zumin, a people as great, numerous, and tall as the Anakin. But the Lord destroyed them before them, and they dispossessed them and settled in their place, just as he did for the sons of Esau who lived in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites from before them, they dispossessed them and settled in their place where they remain even to this day. And as for the Aven who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Captorim who came from Keptor, they destroyed them and lived in their places. So next up is the Ammonites. These were also descendants of Lot. Again, these are not people who follow God, but God still commands don't harass them, don't provoke them, and that land belongs to them. And then God makes it clear. Now that's a reminder that God is in control of nations, territories, and history. Nothing is random. There is nothing on this earth from the beginning of time, and it won't be until the end of time that is random. God has set all of these things up. I like to say a lot of times that God is the ultimate chess player. None of this stuff is random. It was all set up by a strategic, all-knowing God from way before you and I were thought of. Which brings us to the fourth instructions. This is concerning Shahan the Ammonite. We see this in verses 24 through 37. Arise, set out, and pass through the valley of Arnan. Look, I have handed over to you Shahan, the Ammonite king of Heshban and his land. Start taking possession and plunge into battle with him. This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you upon the faces of people everywhere, who, when they hear the news of you, will tremble and be in anguish because of you. So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedamoth to Shahan King of Heshban with the words of peace saying, Let me pass through your land. I will travel only on the road, I will not turn aside to the right or to the left. You will sell me food for money so that I may eat, and give me water for money, so that I may drink, only let me pass through on foot. Just as the sons of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ur did for me until I cross over the Jordan into the land that the Lord our God has given us. But Shahan, King of Heshbah, was not willing for us to pass through the land, for the Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate in order to hand him over to you as he is today. And the Lord said to me, See, I have begun to turn Shahan and his land over to you. Begin taking possession so that you may possess his land. Then Shahan came out with all his people to meet us in battle at Jahaz. And the Lord our God turned him over to us, and we defeated him with his sons and all his people. So we captured all the cities at that time and utterly destroyed the men, women, and children of every city. We left no survivors. We took only the animals as our plunder and the spoils of the city which we had captured. From Arar, which is on the edge of the valley of Arnon, and from the city which is in the valley, even to Gilead, there was no city that was too high for us. The Lord our God turned it all over to us. Only you did not go near the land of the sons of Amnon, all along the river Jabbat and the cities of the hill countries, and wherever the Lord our God had commanded us to avoid. Now, this is where things shift. Up to this point, God said, Get along, respect people, don't take what isn't yours. But now the Lord says, This land right here, you take it. So you we gotta wonder what is the difference. Now there are times when God calls for peace and times when God calls for confrontation. Two types of people must be dealt with. One, those who oppose God's people. The Lord is very clear about that. If you oppose God's people, you have to be dealt with. The other would be those who oppose God's truth. Shahan was one of those. He was one of those people who was opposing God's truth. And that's the reason why the Lord said, You will lay hands on him and deal with him and his people. Israel often, you know, uh They usually offered peace first. They would say things as, you know, we'll pass through and we'll pay for everything like they did before. But Shahan refused. And that's the reason why the Lord said, This is what you're gonna take. And the text says that God hardened his heart. This means even bad decisions by leaders are still under God's control. Remember what I said earlier about God being sovereign over everything? He's sovereign over everything, even your heart, my heart, and a good king or a bad king's heart. God used that refusal to bring about judgment. That's why his heart was hardened. And before the battle even started, God told Israel, You've already won. That's the thing. When you are walking with the Lord and the Lord has something for you, the battle is won. You just have to walk in it. Because victory comes from God. Now, what are some of the lessons for us here? One would be God's word must be obeyed in how we deal with everyone. So the Lord has told us how to deal with people and He had He set a blueprint for us to follow it that way. Two is God is watching over the whole world. He's not just watching over your world, but the whole world. Next, God determines where nations exist and when. Every nation, as I say, that's ever come to existence. It's God who determined it. The other thing would be some relationships require peace while others require a stand. God also has blessed more than we realize. You know, God has blessed you and I sometimes even more than we realize. I think that if you and I could see in the spirit world the things that are happening around us, we would realize how blessed we are. My next point is God is sovereign over leaders and decisions. No matter what is going on, that's why you shouldn't fret. You know, uh in this country, you know, people worry about the moves that the president makes, and they're always either criticizing his moves, and you know, well, you know, uh, you know, this person said this and this person said that. Listen, God is sovereign over leaders and their decisions. Everything is in the Lord's hand. That's why I never lose sleep over anything that's going on, because what is written is going to happen, and what God has ordained is gonna go through. And the last lesson I have for you is God will always show himself strong for those who obey him. He's a mighty God and he will absolutely always show himself strong. Trust me, if you trust in the Lord and you obey in the Lord, this is a lesson for all of us, not just older people, but you younger people who hear this, this is for you as well. When you trust in the Lord, he will walk your steps and you will always come out victorious. All right, that brings us to the end of Deuteronomy chapter 2. As always, I thank you very much for joining me. Wherever you are in the world, I hope that you are of good heart, a good spirit, and that you have some type of peace in your life. As I always ask, continue to pray for me. I pray that I stay steadfast in these scriptures. I pray that I stay on that straight, narrow lane, and pray that the Holy Spirit is always going through me to reveal and teach his word. And I'm praying for you as well, wherever you are on these six continents. I hope that you're doing well. I appreciate you more than you will ever know for taking time out of your morning, afternoon, or evening to listen to me go through the word of God. Well, that is all for this one. Until next time. God bless. Thank you for listening to Berean's Corner. We appreciate you joining us as we dive into God's word and seek biblical truth together. If this episode encouraged or challenged you, be sure to subscribe, share, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. You can find Berean's Corner on Buzzprout, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, Amazon Music, and more. Let's stay connected. If you have questions, comments, or prayer requests, reach out to us at Bereans Corner.buzzsprout.com where you can follow along with show transcripts and leave a message in the fan mail slot. Also follow us on YouTube at Berean's Corner and don't forget to subscribe. We'd love to hear from you. Until next time, keep searching the scriptures like a Berean. Stay discerning, stay faithful, and God bless.