THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2012
Transfer of Leadership and a Song of Unfaithfulness
Today’s passages continue the discussion of blessings and curses from yesterday and reveal much about God’s character and the people’s path upon inheriting the land.
The first section describes the transition of authority from Moses to Joshua. Both men demonstrated a humility and consecration that should define godly leaders. They did not exalt their own standings or call upon their positions in order to “lord over” others. Instead, they looked to serve the Israelites, as God had directed them. Much as David claimed God’s presence as his source of confidence, Moses urges the people: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6) God then commissions Joshua for service and declares His support: “Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with you.” (Deuteronomy 31:23)
These words caused me to reflect on the proper source of strength and courage. In our culture, we often hear of cancer victim’s approaching their battle with strength or courage, but these traits have lost some luster in our age of high material comfort. Even as we think of medieval fairy tales, the protagonists’ courage largely stemmed from their personal willpower or strength – or perhaps a magical amulet. Yet, for Moses, God’s presence and faithfulness provides the proper source of strength and courage.
As we seek to glorify God by living by faith, we aspire to live courageously, trusting in God’s resources and not our own. In a sense, every day we stand in Joshua’s shoes, determining whether or not to believe God’s promises. We may choose to ignore them and to trust our own strength through willful independence, or we may elect to bow before His sovereignty and accept the freedom that accompanies this surrender. Not trusting in God will sap us of real courage and the joy that God intends us to experience. Throughout the New Testament, we discover that God has sent His Holy Spirit in order to bring boldness and courage to the saints (Acts 1:8; Acts 4:13; and Acts 4:23–31). We must ask God to give us courage through the indwelling and filling of the Holy Spirit: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17)
In my own life, I often struggle with anxiety. This worry emerges from my too-small view of God’s power and provision and a faulty understanding of my identity. I wrestle with the lie that my worth depends on my performance, expressed through Frontera’s success, others’ feelings towards me, or other worldly achievements. Based on such standards, we will never measure up, and the resulting anxiety will steal our joy and divert our attention from truly important considerations to self-preservation or self-aggrandizement. My major symptom involves a strong desire for control. In this battle, I must daily recall God’s truth about my identity – that, through the Cross, God has declared His immense and unchanging love – and that I must surrender consistently to His agenda and direction. Yet, I receive encouragement in knowing that the battle will likely continue in this process of ongoing sanctification, but my Redeemer and the True Conqueror does live and fights on my behalf.
The next section includes a “song of unfaithfulness” that God places into Moses’s mouth. The song and the passage preceding it foretell of the people’s coming unfaithfulness, despite Moses’s clear admonitions to the contrary. God explains that the people will turn to Him in recognition of their separation from Him and the song He shares with Moses will serve as a “witness” to this truth. The song highlights how God has shown faithfulness to the Israelites in the desert but that the people will abandon God to pursue other foreign gods upon coming into the land; this spiritual adultery will then cause God to “heap calamities upon them/ and spend my arrows against them.” (Deuteronomy 32:23) God then indicates that “they are a nation without sense;/ there is no discernment in them.” (Deuteronomy 32:28)
Still, despite the people’s unfaithfulness, God stays faithful and will have “compassion on his servants/ when he sees their strength is gone.” (Deuteronomy 32:36) God’s justice comes in His timing, and it will reveal His goodness and awesome power: “See now that I myself am He!/ There is no god besides
In the end, Moses points to the great value in the Scriptures: “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. They are not just idle words for you – they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the
Indeed, God’s Word provides “not just idle words for you – they are your life.” How awesome to hear God’s voice each day through His Word! We may then understand how we may know God through Christ and how living for Him will lead to His best for us. As we gather more and more truth, we will join with Him as in a rowing skull, moving according to His will. May you be encouraged by these promises, of which, by your reading along, you are taking hold:
1) 2 Timothy 3:16,17: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2) 1 Timothy 4:7,8: “Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”
QUESTIONS
- In what areas of your life may you trust God more and so grow in courage?
- While we live in challenging days, how have you seen God’s faithfulness in them? How can the remembrance thereof spur you on during discouraging moments?
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