Devarim דְּבָרִים - Words
Torah Portion: Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22
Deuteronomy 1:22–38
1:22 You came near to me, everyone of you, and said, “Let’s send men before us, that they may search the land for us, and bring back to us word of the way by which we must go up, and the cities to which we shall come.”
23 The thing pleased me well. I took twelve of your men, one man for every tribe. 24 They turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the valley of Eshcol, and spied it out. 25 They took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us, and brought us word again, and said, “It is a good land which Hashem our Elohim gives to us.”
26 Yet you wouldn’t go up, but rebelled against the commandment of Hashem your Elohim. 27 You murmured in your tents, and said, “Because Hashem hated us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us. 28 Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, ‘The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to the sky. Moreover, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there!
29 Then I said to you, “Don’t be terrified. Don’t be afraid of them. 30 Hashem your Elohim, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all that He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 and in the wilderness where you have seen how that Hashem your Elohim carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went, until you came to this place.”
32 Yet in this thing you didn’t believe Hashem your Elohim, 33 who went before you on the way, to seek out a place for you to pitch your tents in: in fire by night, to show you by what way you should go, and in the cloud by day. 34 Hashem heard the voice of your words and was angry, and swore, saying, 35 “Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land which I swore to give to your fathers, 36 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it. I will give the land that he has trodden on to him and to his children, because he has wholly followed Hashem.”
37 Also, Hashem was angry with me for your sakes, saying, “You also shall not go in there. 38 Joshua, the son of Nun, who stands before you, shall go in there. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.”
Today’s Meditation:
In verse 29, Hashem tells us not to be afraid when He sets us to a task. That “He goes before you”. What about this, don't we believe? He is trustworthy, and all that is needed is to trust in Him. Even in my life, He has asked me to be involved in this huge pro-life project. We have to raise $250,000 to get a mobile medical unit on the road. It seems like so much money, but for Him it is so small. We just have to be obedient and trust that He will lead us to the right people and move on people’s hearts. I believe He is going before us. We need to believe this.
* A follow-up: Praise Hashem, the money was raised, and the mobile unit is on the road helping women with medical decisions. It has literally saved lives.
Today’s Challenge:
Again, the Israelites are scared and doubting why they left Egypt. Moses is retelling a story that has been retold over the centuries. We learn that they left because Hashem called them and led them. He provided and saved them. He wants to get this message deep into our souls. He is the Deliverer.
My challenge to you today is that you spend time thinking about this. If you are in a tough spot in life, remember to pray, see His face, and ask Him for deliverance. He is listening, and He will work it out for you. You could start thanking Him for the results.
