Thur.’s Devo Changing of the Guard

Read: Deuteronomy 2:1-3:29; Luke 6:12-38; Psalm 67:1-7; Provers 11:27 Moses continued his retelling of their history through the wilderness. It is emphasized that the earth is the Lord’s and he gives his land to whoever he wants and then when he is ready, he gives it to another nation. God said that he gave Israel their possession forever. God had raised up and thrown down kingdoms before them. God did give them the land of Og and Bashan’s and even though it was east of the Jordan. They were to take it and settle there. Og was the last of the giants in the land. It commented that his bed was 9 feet tall long and six feet wide. Jair from the tribe of Manasseh conquered the land of Bashan so he was given it as his inheritance. He renamed the capital city after himself which means “he will enlighten”. Bashan means “their shame”. Interestingly, Manasseh means “causing to forget”. So they enlightened them to forget the shame of that city and what had gone on there in the past. This was the time that Moses put Joshua in charge and told him not to be afraid because God would do the same thing he had done to these two kings to the kings in Canaan. Moses pled with the Lord to let him cross the Jordan into the land. God told him he could not cross over the Jordan, but he could climb Pisgah Peak and look at it from their. His job was to encourage and commission Joshua to lead them across and into the land. Moses stood for “the law”. The law has no place in the promised land. The promised land is a place of spirit and grace. The law of that land is spiritual and is of the heart and not the written law on tablets. God promised to write his law on the hearts of the people. In Luke, Jesus spent the whole night in prayer and when he came down from his mountain he called out his twelve disciples to be with him all the time. Many others chose to follow him too. All who came to him, Jesus healed and delivered. Jesus taught them that those who followed and believed in him would have a great future full of rewards and blessings. In the meantime, we are to bless and love those who hate and persecute us. Our giving now will be multiplied back to us in the future. Lord, may we live for eternity and not worry about anything on earth. You totally took care of the Israelites all through the wilderness; you will take care of us through ours. We are so thankful for your loving kindnesses that are new every morning.