“On the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year, Moshe spoke to the people of Israel, reviewing everything Adonai had ordered him to tell them.”-Deuteronomy 1:3
Verse 3 in Chapter One is significant because it is the only specific date given to us in the whole book of Deuteronomy.
We’re told it was the first day of the 11th month of the fortieth year that Moses gave his sermon on the mount.
Understand that this does NOT mean 40 years and 11 months have passed since Moses left Egypt.
It means 39 years and 11 months have passed.
According to the Biblical way of phrasing things, there is no such thing as a year “zero“.
For instance, if it had only been six months since Israel departed Egypt, the Bible would say “it was the sixth month of the first year since Israel left Egypt“.
Therefore, where we’re at now in Deuteronomy is that after one month passes, Israel would have been gone from Egypt exactly 40 years.
Note also verse 4:
“This was after
he had defeated Sichon,
king of the Emori,
who lived in Heshbon,
and ‘Og, king of Bashan,
who lived in ‘Ashtarot, at Edre‘i.”
-Deuteronomy 1:4
Because of this verse, we can know for sure that the battles Israel fought with Midian and the Amorites are already done deals.
Onward.
Starting from verse 6, Moses rewinds the tape all the way back to the first part of Israel’s journey through the wilderness and then begins recounting all the incredible works HASHEM performed…
…in order that Israel would shift their faith from the power of Egypt to HASHEM as their one and only true source of faith and power for deliverance and life.
Understand that Moses is NOT addressing the generation who experienced the Exodus from Egypt.
He is addressing the second generation.
Let’s take a look at verses 6 and 7.
“Adonai spoke to us in Horev.
He said, ‘You have lived long enough
by this mountain. Turn, get moving
and go to the hill-country of the Emori
and all the places near there in the
‘Aravah, the hill-country, the Sh’felah,
the Negev and by the seashore —
the land of the Kena‘ani, and the L’vanon,
as far as the great river, the Euphrates River.”
Can you sense the intense urgency in what Moses is saying?
Moses is giving this second generation a sober reminder to not hesitate in moving forward to take the Promised Land that HASHEM has prepared for them.
They are not to waste even one second in grabbing a hold of God’s Promises.
What Moses was saying was not lost on this new generation of Hebrews.
They darn well knew if their parents had been obedient, instead of being conceived inside of a dusty goatskin tent out in a barren wilderness, they would have been born inside a prosperous land flowing with milk and honey .
They were well aware that they should have already been settled in Canaan a good 38 years or so earlier and enjoying the fruits of the Promised Land.
Moses is telling them to not dare let anything get in the way of them missing this chance.
The takeaway today should be obvious.
We should not be reluctant to boldly go forth and grab hold of the victories HASHEM has already secured for us.
Excellent commentary and I totally agree. I wrote a book called In All Seriousness… Totally Funny Bible Stories and there is a chapter called Just Judah and I write how Tamar almost lost her dream, but because she boldly went after what she wanted, she indeed received the great gifts and rewards God had for her.
Thanks for the positive thumbs up Darnell. And your book sounds interesting. Is it available for Kindle download on Amazon? Be blessed and SHALOM!
Thanks Richoka.
One of the many lessons from this topic remains the fact that, when God said He has given us something, the spiritual world is aware but physically, we still have to make a move towards that promise or gift.
Sometimes, there may still be resistance. However, if the Master says He has a need of it who can stand on His way. No one!
Even in practical psychology, the law of attraction supports that like poles attract each other. Therefore every blessing that God release for His children begins from day one, looking to locate us as well. This is our portion in the Lord.
Many thanks
Shalom
Thank you for sharing your thoughts Abraham.