Thru the Bible - #154-Deuteronomy 3- Conquests Recounted

Transcript

Welcome And Setup

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Bereen'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, thank you for joining me. And today's lesson will be taken out of Deuteronomy 20. Excuse me, Deuteronomy 3. Thank you for joining me as we go through the Bible chronologically. Open your Bibles, your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 3. The title of today's lesson is Conquests Recounted. Remember, Deuteronomy is the retelling of the law, not a new law. So Deuteronomy chapter 3, we will bring the reader in, and then we will come back to break down the chapter. Deuteronomy chapter 3. Let's read.

SPEAKER_01 1:05

Deuteronomy 3. Next we turned and went up along the road toward Bashan. And Og, king of Bashan, with his whole army, marched out to meet us in battle at Edray. The Lord said to me, Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sion, king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshpan. So the Lord our God also gave into our hands Og, King of Bashan, and all his army. We struck them down, leaving no survivors. At that time we took all his cities. There was not one of the sixty cities that we did not take from them, the whole region of our Gob, Og's kingdom in Bashan. All these cities were fortified with high walls and with gates and bars, and of also a great many unwalled villages. We completely destroyed them as we had done with Sion King of Heshbon, destroying every city, men, women, and children. But all the livestock and the plunder from their cities we carried off for ourselves. So at that time we took from these two kings of the Amorites the territory east of the Jordan, from the Arnon Gorge as far as Mount Hermon. Hermon is called Syrion by the Sidonians. The Amorites call it Sinear. We took all the towns on the plateau and all Gilead, and all Bashan as far as Salakah and Edra, towns of Og's kingdom in Bashan. Only Og, King of Bashan, was left of the remnant of the Raphaites. His bed was made of iron, and was more than thirteen feet long and six feet wide. It is still in Rabbah of the Ammonites. On the land that we took over at that time, I gave the Reubenites and the Gadites the territory north of Aroair by the Anon Gorge, including half the hill country of Gilead, together with its towns, the rest of Gilead, and also all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh. The whole region of Argab in Bashan used to be known as a land of the Raphaites. Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, took the whole region of Argab as far as the border of the Gesherites and the Makathites. It was named after him, so that to this day Barshan is called Havath Jair. And I gave Gilead to Makir. But to the Reubenites and the Gadites, I gave the territory extending from Gilead down to the Arnon Gorge, the middle of the gorge being the border, and out to the Javuk River, which is the border of the Ammonites. Its western border was the Jordan in the Arabah, from Kenareth to the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, below the slopes of Piskah. I commanded you at that time. The Lord your God has given you this land to take possession of it. But all your able-bodied men armed for battle must cross over ahead of your brother Israelites. However, your wives, your children, and your livestock, I know you have much livestock, may stay in the towns I have given you until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you. And they too have taken over the land that the Lord your God is giving them across the Jordan. After that, each of you may go back to the possession I have given you. At that time, I commanded Joshua. You have seen with your own eyes all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. The Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms over there where you are going. Do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God Himself will fight for you. At that time I pleaded with the Lord, O sovereign Lord, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness and your strong hand. For what God is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works you do? Let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that fine hill country and Lebanon. But because of you the Lord was angry with me and would not listen to me. That is enough, the Lord said. Do not speak to me any more about this matter. Go up to the top of Pisgah and look west and north and south and east. Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross this Jordan. But commission Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see. So we stayed in the valley near Beth Peor.

The Conquest Facts And Lessons

Moses Denied And Joshua Commissioned

Practical Takeaways For Daily Faith

Closing Prayer And Stay Connected

SPEAKER_00 5:59

Alright now, let me start with this. No matter who you are, no matter where you are in life, there is always going to be a giant in your world trying to stop you from obeying God. You know, if you don't know Jesus Christ, there is something in your life trying to keep you from believing in him. And if you do believe in Jesus Christ, there may still be obstacles trying to keep you from walking in everything that God has for you. Now some of us have experienced that on a daily basis, and uh it is always a fight, but you know that's just the reality of it, and that's exactly what we have here in Deuteronomy. Moses is speaking to a new generation, and he doesn't want them to repeat the same mistakes the previous generation made. So he reminds them of what happened when they disobeyed and what happened when they obeyed. Earlier they missed out 40 years because of fear and disobedience, but now Moses is trying to show them what happens when they trust God. As we talked about before, you know, Moses is trying to really like you know dig into this new generation who is going to go into the promised land and to not get them to repeat the stakes of old. We call that, you know, when you know when you when you're talking to younger people, you know, you re uh recall to them stories of the past. You know, you're trying to uh teach them about things that happened to someone that you know, or maybe things that happen to yourself, because you don't want them to make the same mistakes, you want them to have a more smooth road than you did or other people have, and you know, we call those cautionary tales. Uh now here in chapter 3, he brings up one of the biggest moments of all with facing a giant, and the main principle that we got in this is God's people move through life towards his purpose, and we will face major intimidating obstacles. But when we obey God, we have nothing to fear, and that's the thing about the Lord. He makes it very abundantly clear to us that if we obey him, that he will get us through the obstacles, through the giants. He will get us up and over a fence that may seem you know too too high for you and I to jump over when you obey the Lord. And I broke this chapter down into facts. We will start with the first one. Og the giant came out to fight Israel. We see this in verse 1. Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan, and Og, king of Bashan, with all his people, came out to meet us in battle at Edri. Now, after defeating Shahan, Israel runs into an even bigger problem. Og. This wasn't just another enemy, this was a giant. His size alone was intimidating. The land was full of people like this, and naturally, that would shake anyone. Now, you know, let's be real. We all face situations like that, things that look too big, too overwhelming, too impossible, and that's what Israel is facing. Remember, back in Numbers, when they sent the spies to look at the land, what did they say? We saw giants. So, what did it naturally do? It naturally made most of the people intimidated and afraid. Which brings us to fact number two. God told Moses not to fear. Notice verse 2. But the Lord said to me, me being Moses, do not fear him, for I have delivered him, all his people, and his land into your hand, and you shall do to him just as you did to Shahan, king of the Amorites, who lived in Hezban. God immediately steps in and says, Don't be afraid. And here's the reason why. Because the outcome was already decided. God is letting them know you're afraid of a battle that is already won. God had already given them the victory. That's something we need to remember. When God speaks, the result is already settled. Our job is simple to obey and trust in Him. It's really just that easy. The Lord has already given you the battle. Now you just have to obey and trust in Him. Which brings us to the third fact. God gave them the victory. Notice verse 3. So the Lord our God delivered Og also, King of Bashan, with all his people into our hand, and we smote them until no survivor was left. The Lord gave them a victory, just like God said, they won. Not because they were stronger, not because they were bigger, not because they were better fighters, because God did it. All they had to do was obey. When the Lord already has it worked out, that's all you have to do is obey and walk in it. Which brings us to the fourth fact. They captured all the cities. Notice verses 4 and 5. And we captured all the cities at that time. There was not a city which we did not take from them. Sixty cities, all the region of Argog, the king, excuse me, the kingdom of Og and Bashan. All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides a great many unwalled towns. Now, these weren't weak open areas, they were fortified, strong walls, strong gates, protection everywhere. But none of that mattered when God was involved. No matter how strong something looks, it's nothing compared to God. Fortified walls. You go up against battle and you look and you say, Man, you know, I'm understanding that you know the Lord is saying we're supposed to take this, but man, look at these high walls. It doesn't matter. When God is involved, the walls are going to come down and the Lord is going to get you around and through. Which brings us to fact five. They destroyed the people and kept the animals. Look at verses six and seven. We utterly destroyed them, as we did to Shahan, king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children of every city. But all the animals and the spoils of the cities we took as booty. So they took everything. This reminds us of something people don't always like to hear. God is not only a God of grace, he is also a God of judgment. We can't reshape God into what feels comfortable. We have to accept him, accept him as he reveals himself to us. God judges sin. That's just biblical truth, and that's just how it is. God judged it. He is a God of grace, but he is also a God of judgment, and that's why they had to take those people out. And you know, to be honest, it just it just was what it was. Which brings us to fact number six God gave them all the land. Look at verse uh look look uh starting at verse eight. Thus we took the land at that time from the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan from the valley of Arnan to Mount Hermon. Sidans call Hermon Surion, and the Amorites call it Shanir, all the cities of the Table Land, and all Gilead and all Bashan as far as Salakah and Ergai, or say Edrai, cities of the kingdoms of Og and Bashan. For only Og, king of Bashan, was left of the remnants of the Rephaim. Behold, his bedstead was an iron bedstead. It is in Rabbi of the sons of Amman. Its length was nine cubits, and its width four cubits by ordinary cubits. God bless his people fully. They didn't just survive, they prospered. Now, why? Because they trusted him and obeyed him. Even when facing a giant, God still gave them victory. And it tells us right here how big uh you know Aug was. Go back to Go back to verse 11. For only Og, King of Bashan, was left. Beheld behold, his bedstead was an iron bedstead. It is in Rabbi, the sons of Amnon, its length was nine cubits, and its width four cubits by ordinary cubits. So this was a big man. Which brings us to the next two facts, seven and eight. God, I mean, excuse me, the land was given to the tribes. We see this in verses 12 through 17. So we took possession of this land at that time, from Arurer, which is by the valley of Arnan, and half the hill country of Gilead and its cities, I gave to the Reubenites and to the Gadites. And the rest of Gilead and Al-Bashan, the king of Og, I gave to the half tribe of Manasseh, all the regions of Argob, concerning Al-Bashan, it is called the land of Raphaim. Ja'er, the son of Manasseh, took all the region of Argog and excuse me, as far as the border of the Geshirites and the Makahites, and called it that is Bashan after his name, Habot Ja'er, as it is to this day. And to Makir I gave Gilead, and to the Reubenites and the Gedites I gave from Gilead, even as far as the valley of Arnan, the middle of the valley, as a border, and as far as the river Jabak, the border of the sons of Ammon. The Erabah also with the Jordan as the border with Shinirah, even as far as the Sea of Erabah, the Salt Sea at the foot of the slopes of Pishgai on the east. God distributed the land to the tribes. This shows something very important. God blesses his people individually and specifically. Which brings us to fact number nine. They were told to keep fighting. Look at verse 18. Then I commanded you at that time, saying, The Lord your God has given you this land to possess it. All you valiant men shall cross over, armed before your brothers, the sons of Israel. But your wives and your little ones and your livestock, I know that you have much livestock, shall remain in your cities, which I have given you. Until the Lord gives rest to your fellow countrymen as to you, and they also possess the land which the Lord your God will give them beyond the Jordan. Then you may return every man to his possession which I have given to you. Even after receiving land, they weren't done. They still had to help the rest of Israel. Now, this was key. God didn't call us to comfort, he called us to commitment. When we're in a spiritual spiritual battle, this is not a playground, this is not playtime, this is not something to deal lightly with. You know, this is spiritual warfare, spiritual battle, and the battle is not over until the Lord says that it is. Which brings us to the tenth fact remembering past victories. We see this in verses 21 and 22. And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. So the Lord shall do all the kingdoms into which you are about to cross. Do not fear them, for the Lord your God is the one fighting for you. Moses tells Joshua, Remember what God already did. Now that's powerful. You know, Joshua is the one who's about to lead these people because Moses is about to go the way of all the earth. And he's reminding him, remember what the Lord did. When facing new challenges, we need to remember God has already come through before. And if he did it before, he can do it again. And you know what? That is important for you and I to remember. The Lord has had our back in many battles, many things in life. And you know what? The same way he rescued us before, he will do it again. Which brings us to fact 11. Moses was denied entry. Look at verse 23 through 26. I also pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying, O Lord God, thou hast begun to show thy servant thy greatness and thy strength, excuse me, and their strong and thy strong hand. For what God is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as thine. Let me, I pray, cross over and see the fair land that is beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon. But the Lord was angry with me on your account and will not listen to me. And the Lord said to me, Enough, speak to me no more of this matter. This part gets personal. Moses begged God to let him enter the promised land, but God said no. Why? Because of past disobedience. That's a serious reminder. Disobedience has consequences. Sometimes God will not reverse a decision, no matter how much we pray. You have to remember in the New Testament, Jesus said, Let your yes be yes and let your no be no. And our God, Yahweh, is a God who cannot go back on his word. He already told Moses because of Moses' disobedience from when he hit the rock, you will see the promised land, and I would even allow you to see it, but you are not going to cross over. But Moses decided that you know what? I'm going to keep praying because maybe the Lord will change his mind. But you have to remember, the Lord directly told Moses, it's not going to happen, brother. Uh I'm not going to change my mind. You are not going to enter the land. Which brings us to fact number 12. Moses could see it, but not enter it. Look at verse 27. Go up to the top of Pisgai and lift up your eyes to the west and north and south and east and see it with your eyes. For you shall not cross over this Jordan. God allowed Moses to see the land but not go in it. And what stands out is this Moses didn't become bitter. He was still grateful. Even though the Lord is telling Moses, you're not going to see the land, the land that you traveled all of these years for me. You led this stubborn, stiff-necked people. I'm still not going to let you see it. But guess what Moses said? Moses was not bitter. Moses just said, Glory be the name of the Lord. Now I'm adding that in there, but I'm just saying that's what Moses said. And that's how it is. Sometimes, not sometimes, all the time, when the Lord says, No, you just have to say, Father, glory to your name. I thank you, Father, for still blessing me and considering me, Father, and even bringing me this fire. No matter how much Moses prayed, he was not going to go into the land. Which brings us to fact 13. Moses encouraged Joshua. We see this in verses 28 through 29. But charge Joshua and encourage him and strengthen him. For he shall go across at the head of this people, and he shall give them as an inheritance the land which you will see. So we remain in the valley opposite Beth Peor. Instead of being bitter, Moses encouraged the next leader. Now that's true leadership. He was focused on himself. He wasn't actually focused on himself. He was more focused on what God's plan was. And that's how you want your leader to be. When the Lord makes a decision, you don't be bitter. You grab the next man and you give him all of your knowledge, all of your all of your wisdom, all of your strength, and all of your blessings for him to go on because that's who the Lord chose instead of being bitter, bitter. Now there are some practical lessons that we want to draw from this. One is God wants us moving forward, not backwards. And that's what's happening here. They are moving forward. They are moving forward, and eventually it's going to be forward without Moses. The next thing is we must trust God when facing big obstacles. When things seem too big for us, you have to still trust in the Lord. If you have a job interview and there's 12 members of a board sitting in there, and it looks like, man, I may not get this, it might be impossible. Remember, you have to trust in the Lord and face those obstacles. Third would be we need to remember past victories. I need you to all remember those times when God came through for you and remember he will do it again. The fourth thing is we should pray with wisdom and alignment to God's will. Remember, it's his will that will be done. The fifth thing is we must understand who God truly is. Remember, this is the God who stretched out the uh the the you know, stretched out space from the beginning of time that you don't know the beginning or the end of. And we must remember who the Lord truly is. We must understand that this is the Lord who saw you way before the foundations of the world. Next is we should never forget what God has done for us. As I mentioned earlier, you don't forget past victories and don't forget how the Lord has blessed you. Then we are called to encourage others in their walk with God. When other people are down and you know they don't know if they can go on, we have to remember them. We have to encourage them to trust in the Lord. And I want to get some final thoughts, which is you're going to face giants, you and I. That's not optional. You and I are going to face giants. We're going to face obstacles that are going to seem too big for some sometimes for us to overcome. But this is the truth. The giant doesn't determine the outcome. God does. Remember, when you're on the Lord's side, he determines the outcome. And sometimes he has already determined that outcome. If you stay obedient and if you trust him, you will see God move in ways that you could never have imagined. And that is the truth for all of us. Not some of us, but all of us who stand with the Lord. Alright, that brings us to the end of Deuteronomy chapter 3. As always, I hope that you got something out of this lesson. I hope that you learned something. I hope that it spoke to you. And I hope that you are following through and seeing how the Bible goes in chronological order and how these things all make sense and piece together. The reason I love going through the Bible chronologically is because sometimes people say, you know, there are things in the Bible I don't understand. But if you actually go piece by piece and put the puzzle together, they will make sense to you. Just have ask the Holy Spirit to reveal it to you. As always, I ask you to pray for me. I ask you to pray that I stay fast in the scriptures, that I stay on the narrow path, the straight path, and that we get through these scriptures together. And I'm always praying for you as well. Wherever you may be in the world, I am praying for you. I am more grateful for you than you will ever know that you take time out of your morning, afternoon, or evening to listen to me go through the word of God. It is uh I'm very, I am very grateful, and uh, you know, there's no way I can repay you for it. One thing I can do is pray for you and pray that you stay steadfast and that the Lord is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path. All right, that brings us to the end of this lesson, Deuteronomy chapter 3. That is all for now. 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 Buzzsprout, 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.buzzprout.com where you can follow along with show transcripts and leave a message in a fan mail slot. Also follow us on YouTube at Berean's Corner and don't forget to subscribe. We'll love to hear from you. Until next time, keep searching the scriptures like a Berean. Stay discerning, stay faithful, and God bless you.