deuteronomy chapter 1

--personal thoughts--

i have just a few minutes to write this morning, so i want to just blog a taste of deuteronomy, this last book of the law. :) today's reading actually brings us all the way to chapter 13. i will try to cover 2-13 later today possibly or catch it up this weekend.

--old testament understanding--

well, the title of chapter 1 in my bible is, "israel's history after the exodus." this summary of much of what we've read is helpful....the recap is a good overview. i'm going to do something a little different in this post and just quote portions of text that i underlined as i was reading...

v 3-"in the fortieth year...."

v 5-"...moses undertook to expound the law, saying...."

v 8-"see, i have placed the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give to your fathers, to abraham, to isaac, and to jacob, to them and their descendants after them."

v 11-"may the Lord, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand-fold more than you are and bless you, just as He has promised you!"

v 21-"see, the Lord your God has placed the land before you; go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you. do not fear or be dismayed."

v 30-32-"the Lord your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place.' but for all this, you did not trust the Lord your God, who goes before you on your way, to seek out a place for you to encamp, in fire by night and cloud by day, to show you the way in which you should go." (italics mine)

v 41-"...'we have sinned against the Lord; we will indeed go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us.' and every man of you girded on his weapons of war, and regarded it as easy to go up into the hill country."

so much of the above is just a treasure of His faithfulness. He never left them. He sustained their way and remembered His promise...and even encouraged their hearts (note the end of v 21-"do not fear or be dismayed."). and...the text in my italics is precious and beautiful, once again. as you remember from exodus chapter 19, when we read about God's recount of His rescue..."on eagles' wings"...here again, is a picture of God carrying His people...and the time in the wilderness. the Lord your God carried you, just as a man carries his son....

even as i type, *ahhh*...this is amazing. so awesome...when the Lord carried them on eagles' wings, it was rescue!!! here is the verse from exodus 19 (v 4...in the words of the Lord!)-"'you yourselves have seen what I did to the egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself.'" and as we read in deuteronomy 1:31, they were carried in a different way. it wasn't so much the ethereal transportation from slavery and death (rescue from the armies of egypt) to safety and rescue. what we see in this passage is a man carrying his son. i picture my three-year-old on scott's shoulders at ikea. :) tired of walking. and here...the israelites were tired of the wilderness and of walking. and He carried them.

--personal thoughts--

this is sooooo personal today. to me. i'm only 37. there are some who may read this who are older (in years)...and some younger. but...i just have to tell you that i have felt tired (irregardless of my age, i guess). and i can relate to the israelites...as mad as they make me/i have conflictedness constantly as i read of their failings, because i feel my own fear and dismay. i don't think i would've questioned moses and aaron's leadership as like korah (whom the earth swallowed)...or some of the other extreme rebellious acts that we've read about...my heart is so full of reverence for God and hope in God and love for God...but i have wondered how God could overcome my timidity and questions and lead me...but here, i am reading and finding that He doesn't just do that...He carries me! and i think it's interesting that the analogy is not a son carrying his father even as we might imagine...in his elderly frailty...but a father carrying his son. i think of isaiah 40 (v 30)..."though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly." the computer screen is blurry. i'm not going to take the time to personally recount my story/our story and what all this means to my heart...but this truth that sometimes it is necessary...as it was necessary for the israelites...for a young person to feel tired/and need to be carried...is wrecking me right now (in a good way. :) )....

i love watching aiden journey ride on scott's shoulders (as i have the others when they were little).... *ahhh***another revelation this morning*...what i'm picturing isn't just a relief from walking because it's close to nap time or we've just been pushing those little legs to their limit! it is reward!..."wanna ride on daddy's shoulders?"....it's tall up their! it's adventure. it's being able to see everything/the big picture (when the view has been so limited....) He wants us to see what He has for us! and...it is holding on to daddy's head...wrapping legs and arms around His head and face/touching His face (often my kids have held on to scott's ears. lol...)...so intimate and close...and beautiful.

thank You, Father...for first rescuing us from death...and then...carrying us through life. i cannot express in words my gratitude and love. You are beautiful...both like an eagle and as our perfect Father. i love You....