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I wonder how much God let Moses understand about what he was saying. God was foreshadowing so much about the people of Israel and the surrounding area. I wonder if the people listening were sitting there listening well or thinking, “Hurry up, old man! Get done! We’ve got land to take!”
I’m sure they were excited and perhaps a little frightened by the prospect of what the next several years would hold. So just how did they listen to what he was saying?
Up through verse 12, Moses was reciting history. Thereafter, it was prophecy. Did they know he was talking about them, or did they think, in their pride, that he was proclaiming the sin of the inhabitants He was about to drive out of the Promised Land?
What an incredible thing in verse 13, telling of God “bringing oil from the solid rock.” Were they thinking he meant olive oil? What an amazing blessing they’d miss because of their sin by not inhabiting and controlling all of the land in the region. Israel would have been producing all of the oil in the Middle East!
As Moses described Israel’s future rebellion, did the people hear and say, “Wow, I didn’t know that part of our history!” Or did they think, “That’s just the worst case. We’ll be sure not to let that happen!”
In 34-35 God says, “I have been saving this, and I have it locked in my storehouses. I will punish those who do wrong; I will repay them. Soon their foot will slip, because their day of trouble is near, and their punishment will come quickly.” I’ll bet the Israelites cheered, thinking God was about to put it to the Canaanites, while all along He was talking about them. They just couldn’t imagine it happening.
Nor can we.
Father, how our nation needs to turn from the path we’ve been on, loosening the laws on immorality and what is and is not acceptable. We’ve taken individual rights to the limit and thrown You into the ditch. Forgive us. Help us see. Cause us to seek after You with all of our hearts. Bring us back to You.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
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