Jo’s Place

Love the Lord, our God. He alone is our God, the only one who is worthy of our praise, the one who has done these mighty miracles …which we have seen with our own eyes.  When your ancestors went down into Egypt, there were only seventy of them.  But now, the Lord your God has made you as numerous …as the stars in the sky!  “You must love the Lord your God and always obey His requirements, decrees, regulations, and commands.  Keep in mind that I am not talking now to your children, who have never experienced the discipline of the Lord, your God, or seen His greatness …and His strong hand, and powerful arm.  They didn’t see the miraculous signs and wonders, which He performed in Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his land.  They didn’t see what the Lord did to the armies of Egypt …and to their horses and chariots—how He drowned them, in the Red Sea, as they were chasing you.  He destroyed them, and they have not recovered, to this very day!  “Your children didn’t see how the Lord cared for y

A Call to Love and Obedience “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you?  He requires, only, that you fear the Lord, your God, and live in a way that pleases Him, …and love Him …and serve Him, with all your heart …and soul.  And you must, always, obey the Lord’s commands and decrees …that I am giving you today, for your own good.  “Look, the highest heavens …and the earth …and everything in it, all belong to the Lord, your God.  Yet, the Lord chose your ancestors, as the objects of his love.  And He chose you, their descendants, above all other nations, as is evident today.  Therefore, change your hearts and stop being stubborn.  “For the Lord, your God, is the God of gods and Lord of lords.  He is the great God, the mighty and awesome God, who shows no partiality …and cannot be bribed.  He ensures that orphans and widows receive justice.  He shows love to the foreigners, living among you …and gives them food and clothing.  So you, too, must show love to foreigners, f

A New Copy of the Covenant Moses reminded the children of Israel, that… “At that time, the Lord said to me,  ‘Chisel out two stone tablets, like the first ones.  Also make a wooden Ark—a sacred chest, to store them.  Come up to Me, on the mountain, and I will write, on the tablets, the same words, that were on the ones you smashed.  Then, place the tablets in the Ark.’  “So, I made an Ark, of acacia wood, and cut two stone tablets, like the first two.  Then, I went up the mountain, with the tablets, in my hand.  Once again, the Lord wrote the Ten Commandments, on the tablets, and gave them to me.  They were the same words, that the Lord had spoken to you, from the heart of the fire, on the day you were assembled, at the foot of the mountain.  Then, I turned and came down the mountain …and I placed the tablets in the Ark, of the Covenant, which I had made, just as the Lord commanded me.  And the tablets are still there, in the Ark to this day.”  (The people of Israel set out from the we

Moses Continues his Review of Israel’s Rebellion   After 40-days on the mountain of the Lord… “…I turned and came down from the mountain, and    the mountain burned with fire; and the two tablets, of the covenant, were in my two hands.  And    I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the Lord, your God—you had made, for yourselves a molded calf!  You had turned aside quickly, from the way, which the Lord had commanded you.  Then, I took the two tablets, and I threw them out of my two hands, and I broke them before your eyes.  And I again fell down before the Lord, as I had done at the first, for forty days and forty nights;  I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sin, which you committed, in doing wickedly, in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger.  For I was afraid of the anger …and of the hot displeasure, with which the Lord was angry with you, …to destroy you.   But the Lord listened to me, at that time also.  And the Lord was very angry with Aaron …an

Moses Reminds Israel of Her Rebellions Moses said to the children of Israel, remember that the Lord said to you… “Hear, O Israel:  You are to cross over the Jordan today, and go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities great and fortified up to heaven, a people great and tall, the descendants of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you heard it said,  ‘Who can stand before the descendants of Anak?’  Therefore, understand today, that the Lord, your God, is He who goes over before you, as a consuming fire.  He will destroy them and bring them down before you; so you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the Lord has said to you. (But) “Do not think in your heart, after the Lord, your God, has cast them out before you, saying,  ‘Because of my righteousness, the Lord has brought me in, to possess this land’; but it is because of the wickedness, of these nations, that the Lord is driving them out, from before you.  It is not because of your righteous

Remember the Lord Your God “Every commandment, which I command you today, you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in …and possess the land, of which the Lord swore, to your fathers.  And you shall remember, that the Lord, your God, led you all the way, these forty years, in the wilderness, to humble you …and to test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments …or not.  So, He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you, with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know …so, He might make you know, that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word, that proceeds, from the mouth, of the Lord, your God.  Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell, these forty years.  You should know, in your heart, that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord, your God, chastens you. “Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the Lord, your God,    to walk in His ways …and to fear Him. 

Blessings of Obedience Moses told the children of Israel… “Then, it shall come to pass, because you listen, to these judgments and you keep them and you do them that the Lord, your God, will keep, with you, the covenant, and the mercy, which He swore, to your fathers.  And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land your grain and your new wine and your oil the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock (The Lord will bless all these things)  in the land, of which He swore, to your fathers, to give to you.  You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or female barren among you …or among your livestock.  And the Lord will take away, from you, all sickness and He will afflict you, with none, of the terrible diseases of Egypt, which you have known but He will lay them, on all those, who hate you.  Also, you shall destroy all the peoples, whom the Lord, your God, delivers over to yo

A Chosen People Moses told the children of Israel… “When the Lord, your God, brings you into the land, which you go to possess …and when He has cast out many nations before you - the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites …seven nations greater and mightier than you …and when the Lord, your God, delivers them over to you …you shall conquer them …and utterly destroy them.  You shall make no covenant with them, nor show mercy to them.  Nor shall you make marriages, with them.  You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son.  For they will turn your sons away, from following Me, to serve other gods; so, the anger of the Lord will be aroused, against you and destroy you suddenly.  But, thus you shall deal with them: you shall destroy their altars, and break down their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images, and burn their carved images with fire. “For you are

Caution Against Disobedience “So it shall be, when the Lord, your God, brings you into the land, of which He swore to your fathers, …to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, …to give you large and beautiful cities, which you did not build, …houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, …hewn-out wells which you did not dig, …vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant —when you have eaten and are full— then beware, lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.  You shall fear the Lord, your God, and serve Him, …and shall take oaths in His name.  You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples, who are all around you (for the Lord, your God, is a jealous God among you), lest the anger of the Lord, your God, be aroused against you …and destroy you, from the face of the earth. “You shall not    tempt the Lord, your God , as you    tempted Him in Massäh.  You shall    diligently keep the commandments, of the Lord, your God, …

The Greatest Commandment “Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments, which the Lord, your God, has commanded me to teach you, …that you may observe them, in the land, which you are crossing over the Jordan, to possess …that you may fear the Lord, your God, to keep all His statutes …and all His commandments, which I give to you …and your sons …and your grandsons, all the days of your life… so that your days may be prolonged. Therefore, hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply, greatly, as the Lord, God of your fathers, has promised you—‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’ So, “Hear, O Israel:   The Lord, our God…  The Lord is one!  You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,    with all your soul, and with all your strength. “And these words, which I command you today, shall be in your heart.  You shall teach them, diligently, to your children,  …and you shall talk of them,  …when you s

The People are Afraid of God’s Presence As Moses continued to instruct the young people of Israel… he said: “So it was, when you heard the voice, from the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to me, …all the heads of your tribes and your elders.  And you said:  ‘Surely the Lord, our God, has shown us His glory and His greatness, …and we have heard His voice, from the midst of the fire.  We have seen, this day, that God speaks with a man; and yet he still lives.  Now, therefore, why should we die?  For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the Lord, our God, any more, …then we shall die.  For who is there, of all flesh, who has heard the voice of the living God, speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?  You go near …and hear all, that the Lord, our God, may say, …and tell us all that the Lord, our God, says to you, …and we will hear and do it.’ “Then, the Lord heard the voice, of your words, when you sp

​ Moses     Reviews the Ten Commandments Moses called all of Israel to gather, and said to them:  “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments, which I speak,    in your hearing today, …that you may learn them …and be careful to observe them.  The Lord, our God, made a covenant with us, in Horeb. The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, …all of us, who are alive.  The Lord talked with you, face to face, on the mountain, from the midst of the fire.  I stood between the Lord and you, at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord; …for you were afraid, because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain.  The Lord said: ‘I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of    bondage. ‘You shall have no other gods    before Me. ‘You shall not make, for yourself, a carved image—any likeness, of anything, that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water, under the

Refuge Cities and Moses’ Second Sermon After they had conquered the land….  Moses set apart three cities of refuge east of the Jordan River.  Anyone, who killed another person, unintentionally, without previous hostility, could flee there, to live in safety.  These were the cities:  Bezer, on the wilderness plateau, for the tribe of Reuben;  Ramoth, in Gilead, for the tribe of Gad; …and  Golan, in Bashan, for the tribe of Manasseh.  Then, in his second address to the people, before they crossed the Jordan River, Moses again presented the main body of instruction, given by the Lord, to the Israelites.  These are the laws, decrees, and regulations, that Moses gave, to the people of Israel, when they left Egypt …and as they camped. in the valley near Beth-peor, east of the Jordan River.  This land was formerly occupied by the Amorites, under King Sihon, who ruled from Heshbon.  But Moses and the Israelites destroyed him and his people, when they came up from Egypt.  Israel took possession