[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR SUNDAY FEBRUARY 20

[Donnie Parrett]

DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR SUNDAY FEBRUARY 20

DAILY BIBLE READING

Deuteronomy 1-3 New King James Version
The Previous Command to Enter Canaan

1 These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on this side of the
Jordan in the wilderness, in the 
[a]
plain opposite 
[b]
Suph, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.  2 It is eleven
days’ journey from Horeb by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea. 3 Now it
came
to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the
month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the
Lord had given him as commandments to them,  4 after he had killed Sihon
king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who dwelt
at
Ashtaroth in
[c]
 Edrei.

5 On this side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain
this law, saying, 6 “The Lord our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying: ‘You
have
dwelt long enough at this mountain. 7 Turn and take your journey, and go to
the mountains of the Amorites, to all the neighboring places in the 
[d]
plain, in the mountains and in the lowland, in the South and on the
seacoast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great
river,
the River Euphrates.  8 See, I have set the land before you; go in and
possess the land which the Lord 
[e]
swore to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—to give to them and their
descendants after them.’

Tribal Leaders Appointed

9 “And I spoke to you at that time, saying: ‘I 
[f]
alone am not able to bear you. 10 The Lord your God has multiplied you, and
here you are today, as the stars of heaven in multitude. 11 May the Lord God
of your fathers make you a thousand times more numerous than you are, and
bless you as He has promised you! 12 How can I alone bear your problems and
your
burdens and your complaints?  13 Choose wise, understanding, and
knowledgeable men from among your tribes, and I will make them 
[g]
heads over you.’ 14 And you answered me and said, ‘The thing which you have
told us to do is good.’ 15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and
knowledgeable
men, and 
[h]
made them heads over you, leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders
of fifties, leaders of tens, and officers for your tribes.

16 “Then I commanded your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hear the cases
between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother
or the
stranger who is with him. 17 You shall not show partiality in judgment; you
shall hear the small as well as the great; you shall not be afraid in any
man’s
presence, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you,
bring to me, and I will hear it.’ 18 And I commanded you at that time all
the things
which you should do.

Israel’s Refusal to Enter the Land

19 “So we departed from Horeb, and went through all that great and terrible
wilderness which you saw on the way to the mountains of the Amorites, as the
Lord our God had commanded us. Then we came to Kadesh Barnea. 20 And I said
to you, ‘You have come to the mountains of the Amorites, which the Lord our
God is giving us. 21 Look, the Lord your God has set the land before you; go
up and possess it, as the Lord God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not
fear or be discouraged.’

22 “And every one of you came near to me and said, ‘Let us send men before
us, and let them search out the land for us, and bring back word to us of
the
way by which we should go up, and of the cities into which we shall come.’

23 “The plan pleased me well; so I took twelve of your men, one man from
each tribe. 24 And they departed and went up into the mountains, and came to
the
Valley of Eshcol, and spied it out.  25 They also took some of the fruit of
the land in their hands and brought it down to us; and they brought back
word
to us, saying, ‘It is a good land which the Lord our God is giving us.’

26 “Nevertheless you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of
the Lord your God;  27 and you complained in your tents, and said, ‘Because
the
Lordhates 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 can we go up? Our
brethren
have 
[i]
discouraged our hearts, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we;
the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; moreover we have seen the
sons of the Anakim there.” ’

29 “Then I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified, or afraid of them. 30 The Lord
your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He
did for you in Egypt before your eyes,  31 and in the wilderness where you
saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the
way that you went until you came to this place.’  32 Yet, for all that, you
did not believe the Lord your God, 33 who went in the way before you to
search
out a place for you to pitch your tents, to show you the way you should go,
in the fire by night and in the cloud by day.

The Penalty for Israel’s Rebellion

34 “And the Lord heard the sound of your words, and was angry, and took an
oath, saying,  35 ‘Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall
see that good land of which I 
[j]
swore to give to your fathers,  36 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he
shall see it, and to him and his children I am giving the land on which he
walked,
because he 
[k]
wholly followed the Lord.’ 37 The Lord was also angry with me for your
sakes, saying, ‘Even you shall not go in there. 38 Joshua the son of Nun,
who stands
before you, he shall go in there. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel
to inherit it.

39 ‘Moreover your little ones and your children, who you say will be
victims, who today have no knowledge of good and evil, they shall go in
there; to
them I will give it, and they shall possess it.  40 But as for you, turn and
take your journey into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea.’

41 “Then you answered and said to me, ‘We have sinned against the Lord; we
will go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us.’ And when
everyone
of you had girded on his weapons of war, you were ready to go up into the
mountain.

42 “And the Lord said to me, ‘Tell them, “Do not go up nor fight, for I am
not among you; lest you be defeated before your enemies.” ’  43 So I spoke
to
you; yet you would not listen, but rebelled against the command of the Lord,
and presumptuously
[l]
 went up into the mountain.  44 And the Amorites who dwelt in that mountain
came out against you and chased you as bees do, and drove you back from Seir
to Hormah.  45 Then you returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord
would not listen to your voice nor give ear to you.

46 “So you remained in Kadesh many days, according to the days that you
spent there.

The Desert Years

2 “Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness of the Way of the Red
Sea, as the Lord spoke to me, and we 
[m]
skirted Mount Seir for many days.

2 “And the Lord spoke to me, saying: 3 ‘You have skirted this mountain long
enough; turn northward.  4 And command the people, saying, “You are about to
pass through the territory of your brethren, the descendants of Esau, who
live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. Therefore watch yourselves
carefully.
 5 Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no,
not so much as one footstep, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a
possession.
6 You shall buy food from them with money, that you may eat; and you shall
also buy water from them with money, that you may drink.

7 “For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He
knows your 
[n]
trudging through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God
has been with you; you have lacked nothing.” ’

8 “And when we passed beyond our brethren, the descendants of Esau who dwell
in Seir, away from the road of the plain, away from Elath and Ezion Geber,
we turned and passed by way of the Wilderness of Moab.  9 Then the Lord said
to me, ‘Do not harass Moab, nor contend with them in battle, for I will not
give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given Ar to the
descendants of Lot as a possession.’ ”

10 (The Emim had dwelt there in times past, a people as great and numerous
and tall as the Anakim.  11 They were also regarded as 
[o]
giants, like the Anakim, but the Moabites call them Emim.  12 The Horites
formerly dwelt in Seir, but the descendants of Esau dispossessed them and
destroyed
them from before them, and dwelt in their 
[p]
place, just as Israel did to the land of their possession which the Lord
gave them.)

13 “ ‘Now rise and cross over the 
[q]
Valley of the Zered.’ So we crossed over the Valley of the Zered.  14 And
the time we took to come from Kadesh Barnea until we crossed over the Valley
of the Zered was thirty-eight years, until all the generation of the men of
war 
[r]
was consumed from the midst of the camp, just as the Lord had sworn to them.
15 For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from
the midst of the camp until they 
[s]
were consumed.

16 “So it was, when all the men of war had finally perished from among the
people, 17 that the Lord spoke to me, saying: 18 ‘This day you are to cross
over at Ar, the boundary of Moab. 19 And when you come near the people of
Ammon, do not harass them or meddle with them, for I will not give you any
of
the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to
the descendants of Lot as a possession.’ ”

20 (That was also regarded as a land of 
[t]
giants; giants formerly dwelt there. But the Ammonites call them Zamzummim,
21 a people as great and numerous and tall as the Anakim. But the Lord
destroyed
them before them, and they dispossessed them and dwelt in their place,
22 just as He had done for the descendants of Esau, who dwelt in Seir, when
He destroyed
the Horites from before them. They dispossessed them and dwelt in their
place, even to this day.  23 And the Avim, who dwelt in villages as far as
Gaza—the
Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and dwelt in their place.)

24 “ ‘Rise, take your journey, and cross over the River Arnon. Look, I have
given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin

[u]
to possess it, and engage him in battle.  25 This day I will begin to put
the dread and fear of you upon the nations 
[v]
under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you, and shall tremble
and be in anguish because of you.’

King Sihon Defeated

26 “And I sent messengers from the Wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon king of
Heshbon, with words of peace, saying,  27 ‘Let me pass through your land; I
will keep strictly to the road, and I will turn neither to the right nor to
the left.  28 You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat, and give me
water for money, that I may drink; only let me pass through on foot, 29 just
as the descendants of Esau who dwell in Seir and the Moabites who dwell in
Ar did for me, until I cross the Jordan to the land which the Lord our God
is giving us.’

30 “But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass through, for the Lord
your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that He might
deliver
him into your hand, as it is this day.

31 “And the Lord said to me, ‘See, I have begun to give Sihon and his land
over to you. Begin to possess it, that you may inherit his land.’ 32 Then
Sihon
and all his people came out against us to fight at Jahaz.  33 And the Lord
our God delivered him 
[w]
over to us; so we defeated him, his sons, and all his people.  34 We took
all his cities at that time, and we utterly destroyed the men, women, and
little
ones of every city; we left none remaining.  35 We took only the livestock
as plunder for ourselves, with the spoil of the cities which we took.
36 From
Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, and fromthe city that is in
the ravine, as far as Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us; the
Lord our God delivered all to us. 37 Only you did not go near the land of
the people of Ammon—anywhere along the River Jabbok, or to the cities of the
mountains, or wherever the Lord our God had forbidden us.

King Og Defeated

3 “Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan; and Og king of Bashan came
out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. 2 And the Lord
said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have delivered him and all his people
and his land into your hand; you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of
the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.’

3 “So the Lord our God also delivered into our hands Og king of Bashan, with
all his people, and we 
[x]
attacked him until he had no survivors remaining. 4 And we took all his
cities at that time; there was not a city which we did not take from them:
sixty
cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.  5 All these
cities were fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides a great many
rural towns.  6 And we utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon king of
Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children of every city.
7 But
all the livestock and the spoil of the cities we took as booty for
ourselves.

8 “And at that time we took the land from the hand of the two kings of the
Amorites who were on this side of the Jordan, from the River Arnon to Mount
Hermon 9 (the Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir),
10 all the cities of the plain, all Gilead, and all Bashan, as far as Salcah
and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.

11 “For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the 
[y]
giants. Indeed his bedstead was an iron bedstead. (Is it not in Rabbah of
the people of Ammon?) Nine cubits is its length and four cubits its width,
according
to the standard cubit.

The Land East of the Jordan Divided

12 “And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer, which is by
the River Arnon, and half the mountains of Gilead and its cities, I gave to
the Reubenites and the Gadites. 13 The rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the
kingdom of Og, I gave to half the tribe of Manasseh. (All the region of
Argob,
with all Bashan, was called the land of the 
[z]
giants. 14 Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob, as far as
the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and called Bashan after
his own name, 
[aa]
Havoth Jair, to this day.)

15 “Also I gave Gilead to Machir. 16 And to the Reubenites and the Gadites I
gave from Gilead as far as the River Arnon, the middle of the river as the
border, as far as the River Jabbok, the border of the people of Ammon;
17 the plain also, with the Jordan as the border, from Chinnereth as far as
the
east side of the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea), below the slopes of
Pisgah.

18 “Then I commanded you at that time, saying: ‘The Lord your God has given
you this land to possess. All you men of valor shall cross over armed before
your brethren, the children of Israel.  19 But your wives, your little ones,
and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock) shall stay in your
cities which I have given you,  20 until the Lord has given rest to your
brethren as to you, and they also possess the land which the Lord your God
is
giving them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may return to his possession
which I have given you.’

21 “And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen all
that the Lord your God has done to these two kings; so will the Lord do to
all
the kingdoms through which you pass.  22 You must not fear them, for the
Lord your God Himself fights for you.’

Moses Forbidden to Enter the Land

23 “Then I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying: 24 ‘O Lord God, You
have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your 
[ab]
mighty hand, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything
like Your works and Your mighty deeds?25 I pray, let me cross over and see
the good land beyond the Jordan, those pleasant mountains, and Lebanon.’

26 “But the Lordwas angry with me on your account, and would not listen to
me. So the Lord said to me: ‘Enough of that! Speak no more to Me of this
matter.
27 Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift your eyes toward the west, the
north, the south, and the east; behold it with your eyes, for you shall not
cross
over this Jordan.  28 But command
[ac]
 Joshua, and encourage him and strengthen him; for he shall go over before
this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you will
see.’

29 “So we stayed in the valley opposite Beth Peor.

Footnotes
list of 29 items
a. 
Deuteronomy 1:1
Heb. arabah 
b. 
Deuteronomy 1:1
One LXX ms., Tg., Vg. Red Sea 
c. 
Deuteronomy 1:4
LXX, Syr., Vg. and;  cf. 
Josh. 12:4
d. 
Deuteronomy 1:7
Heb. arabah 
e. 
Deuteronomy 1:8
promised 
f. 
Deuteronomy 1:9
am not able to bear you by myself 
g. 
Deuteronomy 1:13
rulers 
h. 
Deuteronomy 1:15
appointed 
i. 
Deuteronomy 1:28
Lit. melted 
j. 
Deuteronomy 1:35
promised 
k. 
Deuteronomy 1:36
fully 
l. 
Deuteronomy 1:43
willfully 
m. 
Deuteronomy 2:1
circled around 
n. 
Deuteronomy 2:7
Lit. goings 
o. 
Deuteronomy 2:11
Heb. rephaim 
p. 
Deuteronomy 2:12
stead 
q. 
Deuteronomy 2:13
Wadi  or Brook 
r. 
Deuteronomy 2:14
perished 
s. 
Deuteronomy 2:15
perished 
t. 
Deuteronomy 2:20
Heb. rephaim 
u. 
Deuteronomy 2:24
to take possession 
v. 
Deuteronomy 2:25
everywhere under the heavens 
w. 
Deuteronomy 2:33
Lit. before us 
x. 
Deuteronomy 3:3
struck 
y. 
Deuteronomy 3:11
Heb. rephaim 
z. 
Deuteronomy 3:13
Heb. rephaim 
aa. 
Deuteronomy 3:14
Lit. Towns of Jair 
ab. 
Deuteronomy 3:24
strong 
ac. 
Deuteronomy 3:28
charge