I only started the 5 chapters/day and matching blog articles late so I wanted to catch up on the ones I missed. Maybe, if you are currently on schedule with the daily readings, you might want to do some binge reading on the ones I messed starting in Genesis 1 and read these catch up blogs that I will be dong!

What is the best outline of Genesis? I have seen many good ones, but the best is the one Moses used.

Notice that Abraham, a main character, does not have his own “generations”. He (as well as Isaac) falls under generations of Terah, his father. Same with Joseph, who has 13 chapters devoted to him. His generations fall under Jacob.

Genesis 1. The big debate is over the length of the days in Genesis 1 and the age of the earth. But before we dig into that, let’s not fail to praise God for His creation of all things. He spoke all things into existence from nothing. For a long time, scientists belileved that the universe was eternal. But then the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics says that everything is always moving into a higher state of entropy or disorder. Things wear out. Stars are burning out. So if the universe was eternal, it would have already deteriorated into chaos and not the design that we see in the universe and life itself. But scientists now believe that the earth had a beginning when there was nothing and that the earth (and the universe) somehow created itself from nothing. But then the 1st Law of Thermodynamics says that all matter and energy in the universe is constant. If there was ever nothing, there would still be nothing. Scientists admit these inconsistencies in their theories and say, “Science will figure it out some day.” They are asking you to trust science. But Moses said, “Here is how God did it!” But if every effect must have an adequate cause (the law of causality), then someone will say, “If God created everything, then who created God?” Creationists believe that God was (is) a supernatural cause of all things. Yes, that takes faith. But the alternative is that the universe created itself from nothing, and that is totally unscientific. Which theory is more reasonable and plausible? It helps that God gave so many predictive prophecies in the Old Testament that all came true with 100% accuracy. It helps that God did many miracles (but of course science rejects miracles). It helps a lot that God raised Jesus from the dead. Acts 17:31 says that God gave “proof” that Jesus is the judge of all by the resurrection of Jesus. Then there is the incredible design of the universe and life that simply could not happen by mere chance. The design of all the systems in the human body, the periodic table with each element adding one proton to its nucleus, the over 30 physical constants that must be finely tuned for life to exist, the complexity of the cell, the complexity of DNA, etc. Design demands a designer. If you see a new hosue, you think, “Someone built it and someone designed it”. The evidence for “intelligent design” is so overwhelming that Paul said in Romans 1:²⁰ For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” There is no excuse for a person to be an atheist. It has to be his pride and intellectual arrogance that keeps him/her from believing in God.

It’s interesting how many times the Psalms praise God for his creation of the universe and evertything in it. Then add Revelation 4.

• Psalm 8: Reflects the creation of humanity and order of the cosmos, echoing Genesis 1.
• Psalm 19: Celebrates the heavens declaring the glory of God and the order of day and night.
• Psalm 33: Depicts creation by God’s spoken word (“he spoke, and it came to be”), directly mirroring Genesis 1.
• Psalm 74: Recalls God crushing sea monsters and establishing light, day, and night.
• Psalm 104: Provides a grand poetic sweep of the creation account, matching the specific order and elements of Genesis 1 (light, waters above, mountains, animals, and seasons).
• Psalm 136: Praises God for making the heavens, earth, sun, moon, and stars with “understanding.”
• Psalm 148: Calls all created elements, cosmic bodies, and creatures to praise the Lord.
• Revelation 4:¹¹ “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”
• Nehemiah 9:5“Arise, bless the Lord your God forever and ever! O may Your glorious name be blessed and exalted above all blessing and praise! ⁶ “You alone are the Lord. You have made the heavens, The heaven of heavens with all their host, The earth and all that is on it, The seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them and the heavenly host bows down before You.

So now for the debate. In order to get the millions and billions of years into their atheistic evolutionary teaching, many say that the days in Genesis were millions of years long and not 24 hour days. Here’s are 2 slides that settle that IMO.

Many teach that the Genesis creation account is just a myth. Even many Christians teach that. But Jesus believed it was an historically accurate event. Matthew 19:⁴ And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” The apostles Paul by inspiration of the Holy Spirit said that Adam was a the first man, a real person through whom sin entered the world: 1 Corinthians 15:⁴⁵ So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” Moses compared the 6 days of creation to the six 24 hour days each week that men work before honoring the Sabbath: Exodus 20:¹¹ For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.” Also on day 4 God created the sun and the moon and said, Genesis 1:¹⁶ God made the two great lights, the greater light (the sun) to govern the day, and the lesser light (the moon) to govern the night; He made the stars also.” That is obviously a 24 hour day. BTW that would mean that, at the minimum, days 4, 5,and 6 were 24 hour days. It is on days 5 and 6 that God created all the animals and man on 2 consecutive days, and not the millions of years that evolutionists claim was required for man and animals to evolve. Even “theistic evolutionists” try to make days 5 and 6 millions of years long to try to get their unproven theories of evolution to fit in the Genesis account. God created everything full-grown. Life did not evolve from a single cell. In conclusion, I believe that the 6 days of creation were 24 hour days.

What about the age of the earth? Is it 6 billion years old or 6,000 years old? I don’t believe this is a “heaven/hell doctrine”. We Christians can even disagree on the age of the earth. Many strong Bible believing Christians believe that the earth is 6 billion years old. They cite their scientific proofs and young earth advocates cite their proofs. Here is what I believe. I believe that the Bible claims that the earth is about 6,000 years old based on the genealogical accounts in Genesis 5, 11, and Matthew 1. In Genesis 5 and 11 there are about 2,000 years from Adam to Abraham. In Matthew 1 there are about 2,000 years (42 generations of about 40-50 years each) from Abraham to Jesus. Then there are 2,000 yeas from Jesus to today. That’s 6,000 years from Adam to today, i.e. the Biblical age of the earth. It’ impossible to refute that the Bible claims a 6,000 year old earth even if you dn’t believe that is true.

I’m sure many atheists and Theistic Evolutionists would disagree with this, but to me they are disagreeing with what the Bible clearly claim, i.e. a young earth. If we can’t trust the genealogies in Genesis, why should we trust the rest of Genesis? Why should we trust the miracles in the Old Testament if we can’t trust the creation account in Genesis? Atheists point to radiometric dating to prove a 6 billion year old earth. But, without going into great detail, radiometric dating is based on one big, unprovable, assumption. You have to assume that you know the amount of the mother element that existed in the original sample before you can use the half lives of the decay of the daughter elements to determine how old the sample is. Radiometric dating is unreliable. I think I will stick with the reliable word of God!

Genesis 2 begins with a summary of the creation week. Many people make a big deal about how this summary supposedly contradicts the Genesis 1 account but I don’t believe that it does. Here is a good AI on the supposed contradicion:

Critics often claim a contradiction in the order of creation—specifically regarding animals and plants—between the two chapters. However, these are resolved by looking closely at Hebrew grammar and literary structure:

• The Creation of Animals (Genesis 2:19): A surface reading of some English translations suggests God formed the animals after making Adam. However, in Hebrew grammar, the verb translated as “formed” can accurately be rendered in the pluperfect tense as “had formed.” This means Genesis 2:19 is not describing a second, later creation of animals, but rather a flashback or summary explaining that God had already created the animals (as stated in Genesis 1) and now brought them to Adam to be named.
• The Creation of Plants (Genesis 2:5–9): Genesis 2 mentions that certain shrubs and cultivated plants had not yet grown because there was no man to till the ground. This passage refers specifically to the localized agricultural environment of Eden rather than a global re-creation of all botanical life from Day 3 of Genesis 1.
• Whether we can fully explain all this, I believe Moses wrote Genesis and I can’t fathom him contradicting his Genesis 1 account immediately after he gives it. Instead, the two chapters are widely viewed as complementary narratives with different literary styles and focal points. AI: “‘Genesis 2 functions as a localized, intimate “zoom-in” or close-up on the sixth day. It skips the broad cosmic timeline to focus specifically on humanity, the Garden of Eden, human relationships, and moral responsibility.”

Moving on the the main part of Genesis 2. 1) The command to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 2) The creation of woman to be a helper for Adam and the first marriage. Jesus fully believe that this was a real, historical account. Matthew 19:⁴ And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” There are several “eternal” principles given in this. God created 2 genders: male and female. The current debate over gender identity is so unbiblical. I can’t even imagine the factors that led to all the confusion. It is pretty obvious how God made man and woman to “fit” together in the sex act. Any homosexual activity is condemned in the Old and New Testaments. Some try to say that the Greek words for “homosexual” where Paul condemns such in 1 Corinthians 6 and 1 Timothy 1 only mean sexual acts with minors. I simply carry them to Romans 1 where there is no ambiguity: Romans 1:²⁶ For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, ²⁷ and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.” Case closed. Debate over. Homosexuality is a sin. Gay marriages are sinful. Marriage is between a man and a woman according to Moses and Jesus. The fact that God said “a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife” says that is an eternal rule for marriage since leaving father and mother wouldn’t even apply to Adam. You are born male or female, period. To change your gender through surgery is going against how God made you, period. One other point. Eve was created as a “helper” for Adam. No “suitable helper” was found for Adam among the animals (tough a dog is a man’s best friend, right?). She would meet his needs for companionship, love, and sexual procreation. But “helper” says that the woman was the helper, not the head person. An electrician’s helper or apprentice is not the one in charge. Paul stated that in Ephesians 5 when he said that the husband is the head of the wife and the wife should be in “submission” to the husband. In 1 Timothy 2 Paul said that women were not to “usurp authority over the men (at least in church affairs) b/c Adam was the first one created and then Eve. But let’s be clear: the husband is to love, cherish, and nourish his wife. He is to appreciate the role God gave her and not take advantage of that. She needs love, appreciation, and support in what she does, especially as she takes the main role in birthing the children and raising them. Conclusion: if we just followed God’s pattern set up in Genesis 2, we wouldn’t be in this moral mess we are in today. We are in this mess b/c many don’t believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God. Also, if you believe the Genesis account of creation is a myth, none of thse principles really exist.

Genesis 3 The fall of man. The serpent was Satan. Revelation 20: ² And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan. When did Satan enter or become a serpent? Where did Satan come from? We think that he was a beautiful angel who fell from heaven due to pride (Ezekiel 28). In his discussion with the woman, Satan questioned the reason God gave the rule not to eat of rhe forbidden tree. He said God just didn’t want Adam and Eve to be like God, knowing good and evil. Satan has always tried to tell people that God’s laws are simply to deprive us of joy and pleasure. But God’s laws might test our obedience to God, but they are also for our own good. Deuteronomy 6: ²⁴ So the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always and for our survival, as it is today.” They are for our good in giving us eternal life in the next life if we obey God, but they are also for our good in this life. Living just to satisfy the lusts of the flesh and of the eye and the pride of life does not bring true happiness, only misery. It’s interesting that it was Eve who first sinned by eating from the forbidden tree but Paul says that sin entered the world through one man, Adam (Roans 5:12). Is that b/c Adam failed in not leading his wife in opposing Satan and thus Adam is responsible for the fall? It is also interesting that Paul says that Eve was deceived by the devil’s lies, but Adam wasn’t (1 Timothy 2:12ff). That means that he heard the same lies as Eve did, so why didn’t he step up and help his wife resist?

Then come the curses on the serpent, on Eve, and on Adam. The most notable one is Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

The seed of Satan will deliver a minor blow (to the heel) to the seed of woman (referring to Jesus) but the seed of woman (Jesus) will deliver a major blow to the seed of Satan. Indeed, Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). He came tro cast Satan into the lake that burns with fire and brimstone (Revelation 20:19). The devil did give a blow to Jesus when he persuaded the Jews and the Romans to crucify Jesus, but Jessu arose from the dead after that so the blow was not fatal. But Jesus delivered a major blow to Satan and his power.

I find it interesting that God already planned to send Jesus to save sinners even before the creation of man. 1 Peter 1:¹⁸ knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, ¹⁹ but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. ²⁰ For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you.” That means that God knew that man, having been given freewill choice, would sin and that a loving God would one day in the distant future send His Son Jesus to die for sinners. God even put that forbidden tree in the garden, knowing that man would eat from the tree and sin and would therefore need salvation from sin b/c the justice of God demands punishment for sin. Why would God put that forbidden tree in the garden if He knew Adam and Eve would eat from it and sin? If God had not put that forbidden tree in the garden, would Adam and Eve have lived forever in a perfect garden, and if so, what would mankind after Adam and Eve be like? A lot of unanswered questions that I leave with your imagination. But it is what it is. We all sin like Adam and Eve did. Jesus died for our sins. Praise God.

Genesis 4. Cain and Abel. My question on Cain and Abel is this: why did God reject Cain’s offering of fruit? Was it b/c he offered fruit instead of Abel’s firstlings of his flocks? Was it b/c he lacked the sincere faith by which Abel offered a “better sacrifice” than Cain (Hebrews 11:4)? How was Abel’s sacrifice “better”? Better b/c of Abel’s attiude or b/c it was an animal? 1 John 3 tells us a little more about Cain: 3:¹¹ For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; ¹² not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.” He did not love his brother Abel. He was envious of Abel pleasing God. But he did not want to repent and ask God what he should do to please God. Instead, he became angry and his countenance (his facial expression and body language) had fallen. God told him, “5:⁷ If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” Life lesson: Isn’t sin always crouching at the door with us, waiting to catch us at a weak moment? There was no mention of the devil tempting Cain. His own lusts caused him to become envious and commit murder. But we must “master” sin and show it who is boss, who is in control. Do you have a lust you have trouble saying no to? Has sin caused your countenance to fall and make you angry, bitter, envious, unforgiving, unloving, etc.?

Ok, where did Cain get his wife? The critics of the Bible always ask that! It says he went to Nod and had relations with his wife. It doesn’t say he found her in Nod. Cain had to have married a niece or sister or cousin. Adam and Eve hand many children after Cain and Abel (Genesis 5:4). You had to marry a relative to populate the earth. Tubal-cain was the great great great great gandson of Cain and he was the forger of al instruments of bronze and iron (5:22). Adam lived 930 years and Tubal-cain was born before Adam died. Point being, within about 1,000 years of the creation of Adam there was forging or iron and bronze instruments. There was no “milions” of years of primitive man who could not speak a language, who used crude tools. The first men were civilized, could speak intelligently, and could make and use tools. They could play lyres and harps (5:21). Chapter 4 closes with the birth of Seth to replace Abel. The seed line of Jesus would come through Seth.

Chapter 5. Notice 5:1 this is the book of the generations of Adam (the 2nd “generations” of the outline given at the first of this blog Here is a slide of this chapter. Jesus would come from Seth. Enoch walked with God and God took him (he did not die). Methuselah lived the longest, 969 years.

Here is that slide again showing how much their lives overlapped!

Chapter 5 ends: 5:³² Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” We are getting close to Noah and the flood!

Getting caught up! Keep reading every day.

Chapter 19 continues with the last allotment of land portions to the tribes. Here again is the map.

Chapter 20 gives the 6 cities of refuge. Someone guilty of manslaughter (not premeditated murder) could go to a city of refute for protection from the blood avenger of the person he/she killed. He/she would have to live in that city until the high priest died and then he could go back to his home city.

Chapter 21 is the 48 Levitical cities. AI: “They were distributed across the nation so Levites could teach God’s laws and assist with worship. Each city included surrounding common land measured out 1,000 cubits from the city wall for livestock and herds. Larger tribes provided more cities and smaller tribes gave fewer, averaging about 4 cities contributed by each of the 12 tribes.”

Chapter 21 ends with a very important statement. 21:⁴³ So the Lord gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. ⁴⁴ And the Lord gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hand. ⁴⁵ Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.” God made the original promise to give Abraham the land while he was in Ur. God repeated the land promise to Abraham while he was in Haran (Genesis 12:1-3). He affirmed that promise to Isaac and Jacob. These verses say that Israel received all the land that God had promised them. AI: “Many biblical scholars and theologians state that ancient Israel never fully occupied or controlled all the territory described in the biblical promises made to Abraham. According to passages like Genesis 15:18, the Promised Land stretched from the “river of Egypt” (often identified as the Wadi of Egypt or Nile region) to the Euphrates River, encompassing vast territories well beyond modern borders. Historians and biblical scholars note that even at the height of the united monarchy under David and Solomon, Israel’s actual political control and military occupation covered a much smaller geographic area. They never ruled the entire expanse from the Nile to the Euphrates, Many evangelical and literalist theologians believe the unfulfilled boundaries mean the promise remains valid and will be completely fulfilled in a future prophetic or millennial reign.” But regardless of those points, 21:43-45 states clearly that Israel got all the land the God promised them. Not one of the. promises failed to come to pass. Period. Case closed. Now the bigger discussion will come later when the prophets predict that Israel will be restored to the land in the Messianic Age. Is that literal or figurative? We will save that discussion for later when we read the prophets. But don’t let anyone tell you Israel never got the promised land.

Chapter 22 is mainly about an altar that the 2 1/2 tribes who settled east of the Jordan built. The 9 1/2 tribes west of the Jordan were so angry that they gathered at Shiloh to attack the 2 1/2 tribes. The 9 1/2 tribes were afraid that the Lord would get angry with all 12 tribes b/c of the altar and punish them at at Peor or as He did with Achan. They accused the 2 1/2 tribes of rebelling against the Lord. The 2 1/2 tribes explained to them that they were not building the altar to offer sacrifices, which would have been a sin since all sacrifices were only to be made at the tabernacle in Shloh. They said they were just building the altar as a “witness” to future generations that they were following Yahweh just like the 9 1/2 tribes, a witness that they were still part of the nation. Phinehas the high priest and the elders of the 9 1/2 tribes were satisfied with that explanation and called off the attack plans. Civil war averted!

Chapter 23 Joshua’s farewell address. It’s too bad we have to break up the two chapters, 23 and 24, that contain Joshua’s farewell address. Joshua is in his upper 80’s at this time. He warns Israel to finish the job of conquering the rest of the land in Canaan that they had not yet conquered. If they did not finish the conquest, “they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you.” 23:¹⁴ “Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed.” (the same as 21:43-45).

We will finish Joshua’s farewell address tomorrow with chapter 24, the last chapter of Joshua.

Deuteronomy 28: The list of blessings for obeying God that was to be read on Mt Gerizim and the curses for not obeying God that was to be read on Mt Ebal when they entered Canaan. Deuteronomy 27 gave the reading of the curses for disobeying God to be read from Mt Ebal, and Deuteronomy 28 gives more curses to be read. Half the tribes gathered on Mt Ebal and half on Mt Gerizim. The priests and Levites stood between the mountains with the Ark of the Covenant to read the laws, blessings, and curses.Mount Gerizim was historically lush and green, symbolizing life and the rewards of obedience. Mount Ebal was rocky and barren, symbolizing the severe consequences and desolation of turning away from the commandments. Notice how all the blessings and curses were physical in nature. That is the way it was in the old covenant. The new covenant is not like that. In the new covenant believers in Jesus are promised primarily spiritual blessings (the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, spiritual peace, etc.) When you read the Old Testament you have to remember that. If you read the New Testament thinking that we are promised the same physical blessings as in the Old Testament then you will be disappointed in Christianity. Many Christians have died violently at the hands of their enemies in the history of the church.

Deuteronomy 29: While camped on the plains of Moab, Moses renews the same covenant as made at Mt Sinai 40 years earlier. He gives a warning that the nation will scattered if they disobey God.

Deuteronomy 30: God promised to restore the nation back to the Promised Land if they are ever scattered due to disobedience and if they repent. An interesting conclusion after giving all these laws. Someone might say that the requirements of keeping the Law was not possible so why try. 30:¹¹ “For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach. ¹² It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’ ¹³ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’ ¹⁴ But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it.” In other words, keeping the Law is “doable” Sure, they would sin but there were sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins that would keep them in good standing with the Law. Someone could actually be called “blameless”, as Paul described himself in Philippians 3:6. Psalm 119:1: “Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.” Under the new covenant that righteousness by Law keeping could not save someone eternally. Righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus is required for salvation. Paul in Romans 10 contrasts the righteousness that came from the Law with the righteousness that comes through faith in Jesus. The righteousness that come through faith in Jesus is also “doable”. He quotes Deuteronomy 30:11-14 and applies that to the righteousness that comes by faith which is given to believers through simple faith and not strict obedience to even new covenant laws. Romans 10: ⁵ For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live ^[c]by that righteousness. ⁶ But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), ⁷ or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).” ⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, ⁹ that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; ¹⁰ for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. ” Salvation is really simple faith in Jesus. It is not something you have to go up into heaven or down into the abyss to find. It is all right there is the simply proclamation of the gospel. There are new covenant commands that we must obey to be saved, but obedience to those commands is not the basis of our salvation, which is grace through faith in Jesus. We get what Paul called “imputed righteousness” (the righteousness of Jesus put in our spiritual account).

Then follows a great principle of God: 30:¹⁵ “See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; ¹⁹ I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, ²⁰ by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him.” God has given all men freedom of choice in matters of belief and obedience to God. He doesn’t always allow you to choose your circumstances but He always allows you to choose how to respond to your circumstances. God could have made us as programmed robots that are programmed to believe and love him without giving us freedom of choice, but He didn’t. He wanted our love to be voluntary. BTW Calvinism’s doctrine of unconditional predestination of the elect and those to be sentenced to hell does not allow that freedom of choice. Under Calvinism those predestined to hell cannot simply choose to believe and be saved b/c they are “totally depraved”. That is a doctrine that would make us question the love of God. If I could just arbitrarily choose which of my 3 children were going to be saved and which were going to be lost, why wouldn’t I choose all 3 to be saved? Why would I choose any of the 3 to be lost if it was totally up to me and not them? Calvinism would make God like a parent who arbitrarily chooses some of his children to be lost, not giving them a choice.

Deuteronomy 31: Moses gives his last words of warning. He charges his replacement, Joshua, to be “strong and courageous”. God even told Moses that Israel would worship other gods and fall away when they enter the land. The book of all God’s laws was to be kept beside the ark of the covenant in the most holy place in the tabernacle. It contained the final instructions, covenant responsibilities, and warnings delivered by Moses to the Israelites. Moses was told to write a “song” and teach it to Israel. The song, found in Deuteronomy 32, would be a testimony against Israel when they would disobey God in the future after Moses’ death.

Deuteronomy 32: The song.

While Deuteronomy 31 introduces and commands the song, the actual lyrics in chapter 32 outline a “prophetic lawsuit” and history lesson:

• God’s Faithfulness: Praises God as the perfect, upright, and protective “Rock” who cared for Israel in the wilderness.
• Israel’s Corruption: Contrasts God’s goodness with Israel’s unfaithfulness, pride, and turning to idolatry once they grew prosperous.
• Judgment and Mercy: Predicts the natural consequences and disasters brought on by their sin, but concludes with a promise of God’s ultimate compassion and vindication for His people.

Moses is told to go up on Mt Nebo and die! ⁴⁸ The Lord spoke to Moses that very same day, saying, ⁴⁹ “Go up to this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho, and look at the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel for a possession. ⁵⁰ Then die on the mountain where you ascend, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, ⁵¹ because you broke faith with Me in the midst of the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, because you did not treat Me as holy in the midst of the sons of Israel. ⁵² For you shall see the land at a distance, but you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving the sons of Israel.” Kinda sad being told “go die”. He would be able to see Canaan at a distance as Mt Nebo is just across the Jordan River from Jericho and about 3,300 feet high. From an elevation of 3,300 feet, the naked eye can see a maximum distance of approximately 70.4 miles. Mt Nebo is about 16 miles from Jericho, so Moses could see Jericho and a lot more of Canaan from Mt Nebo even if he wasn’t at the very peak. Is it sad that he won’t be able to enter Canaan? Probably so, but God is doing him a favor. Joshua will lead the Israelite armies to conquer 31 kings over the next 7 years. Is that the way the 120 year old Moses would want to end his years?

We are about to finish Deuteronomy, which might have been a struggle to read at times, but I hope you have found some valuable lessons.