Today's Scripture is Numbers 35 through 36, and Deuteronomy 1. The book of Deuteronomy is one of my favorite books in the entire Bible! There are many verses I meditate on that reveal the heart of God. We'll see how much he desires to bless the Israelites and their children. There'll be much to say about parenting, but interestingly, it was one of these verses in Numbers that provided one of the most impactful times I've ever had in The Word.

Scripture Read or Referenced:

Numbers 35:34

Numbers 36:2-7, 10

2 Corinthians 6:14

Deuteronomy 7:3-4, 6

Deuteronomy 1:20-21, 36-39

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Commentaries Most Referenced: Moody Commentary, MacArthur Commentary

Welcome to the Dwelling Place from Entrusted Ministries I'm Stephanie Cock.

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in all that you have to do with

all the people that you love.

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We're proud of you for choosing

to dwell with the Lord today's

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scripture is Numbers 35 through 36, and

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Speaker 3: then

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Steph: we'll

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Speaker 3: be

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beginning

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Steph: the book of Deuteronomy

for a long time, this was my

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favorite book in the entire Bible

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Speaker 3: and still

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Steph: there are many

verses I meditate on.

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That show the heart of God and we'll

see how much he desires to bless

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the Israelites and their children.

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There'll be much to say about parenting,

but interestingly, it was actually

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one of these verses in numbers that

provided one of the most impactful

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times I've ever had in the word.

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numbers, chapter 35 covers the Levitical

inheritance and the cities of refuge.

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Remember, God has established a

theocracy for the people of Israel.

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Not only is he their God, he is their

supreme ruler, and as such, he has

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given civil laws to guide the people

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in maintaining a peaceful society.

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Intentional premeditated murder was

to be punished with death, but if the

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person didn't have an intent to murder

and they committed manslaughter, God

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provided cities of refuge for them

to flee to while a trial took place.

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Throughout this chapter, God

elevates the value of life

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and it ends with you, shall not

defile the land in which you live,

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in the midst of which I dwell for.

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I the Lord dwell in the midst

of the people of Israel,

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he tells them, if I am to dwell with

you, you must honor my image in mankind,

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In chapter 36, we'll see another

situation with the daughters of Zho Fahad.

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Some scholars believe their

obedience here ends the book of

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numbers as a guide for Israel.

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If you also follow in their

obedience, it will go well with you.

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Let's look at their situation

beginning in verse two they said,

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the Lord commanded my Lord to give

the land for inheritance by lot.

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To the people of Israel, and my

Lord was commanded by the Lord

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to give the inheritance of Zalo,

had our brother to his daughters.

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But if they are married to any of the

sons of the other tribes, of the people

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of Israel, then their inheritance will

be taken from the inheritance of our

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fathers and added to the inheritance

of the tribe into which they marry.

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So, it will be taken away from

the lot of our inheritance.

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And when the jubilee of

the people of Israel comes.

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Then their inheritance will be added

to the inheritance of the tribe

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into which they marry, and their

inheritance will be taken away from the

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inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.

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And Moses commanded the people

of Israel according to the word

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of the Lord, saying The tribe

of the people of Joseph is right.

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This is what the Lord commands

concerning the daughters of Z Lofa head.

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Let them marry whom they think best.

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Only they shall marry within the

clan of the tribe of their father.

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And in verse 10, the daughters of Xlo had.

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Did as the Lord commanded Moses,

they were commanded to marry within

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their tribe because it maintained

the land boundaries the Lord set.

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The main concern with marriage was

that they would not be intermarrying

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with other cultures, so they wouldn't

be tempted to worship other gods and

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be pulled away from the one true God.

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Thankfully, in the New Testament, we're

given guidelines about who to marry.

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You've probably heard the phrase, do

not be unequally yoked, but let's go

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through and make sure we know exactly

where that comes from in scripture.

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Two Corinthians six 14 says, do not

be unequally yoked with unbelievers.

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For what partnership has righteousness

with lawlessness, or what

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fellowship has light with darkness.

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This is in the context of

fellowship, but how much more

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would that be true for marriage?

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When you're raising children together

and making every decision together,

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no relationship has more ability

to sway you for good or for evil.

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This verse certainly applies to

selecting a marriage partner.

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We'll soon look at this more in

Deuteronomy seven, but verses three

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through four tell us you shall not

intermarry with them giving your

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daughters to their sons or taking

their daughters for your sons.

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For, they would turn away your sons

from following me to serve other gods.

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Then the anger of the Lord

would be kindled against you and

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he would destroy you quickly.

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And a verse later we're told, For you

are a people wholly to the Lord your God.

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The Lord has chosen you to be a

people for his treasured possession.

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Because God treasures us.

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We should treasure his rules

because they are for our good.

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Selecting someone that is not

wholeheartedly devoted to the

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Lord is sure to bring pain later.

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And this is an opportunity to be training

our kids no matter how old they are.

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Then when they get to the dating

age, they'll know then I can't

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align my life with them in any way.

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At one point, I was in a very

serious relationship and I'd been

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praying for the Lord's guidance.

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Someone very close to me approached me

and told me that they thought the person

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I was dating was a very poor match.

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For me, it was a very difficult

conversation because I

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loved that person so much,

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and because I was striving to

be completely surrendered to

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the Lord, and in the sovereignty

of God, I had been following a

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chronological Bible reading plan.

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I remember approaching my Bible that

afternoon knowing that I was set

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to read from the book of numbers.

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I vividly remember praying, Lord,

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I want to do your will.

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will you please guide me?

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And I have no idea how you're

going to bring me wisdom about this

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situation from the book of numbers.

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But please lead me, God, I long to do your

will and I will never forget that moment

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because within a few verses I read,

let them marry whom they think best.

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It wasn't as though this was absolute

confirmation of what I should or shouldn't

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do, but this moment powerfully displayed

the sovereignty of God to ordain exactly

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where I would be reading in his word

and align it with this situation.

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But I felt entirely cared for and seen

by the Lord as he directed me and guided

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me through his word that day, and I

continued to press into the full counsel

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of God's Word and a multitude of advisors.

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To help me see if I was

discerning the situation properly,

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as we begin to look at the beautiful

book of Deuteronomy, I wanna share

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a little bit about the setting

and the themes to be looking for.

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deuteronomy comes from the Greek title,

meaning copy of the law or second law.

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See that duet part at the beginning?

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But the Hebrew title

of the book comes from

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those first few Hebrew words, these

are the words, and it seems that's

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a more accurate title because this

isn't a second law, but an explanation

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about the law that Moses gives.

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It's the last book of the Pentateuch,

and no other book of the Old Testament

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is more clearly attributed to an

author than the book of Deuteronomy.

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We know Moses wrote this.

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Of course, the two chapters

that occur after he died,

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someone would've inserted later.

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These are his farewell speeches to

the people he loves them and wants to

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point them to obey and honor the Lord

when they enter the Promised Land.

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At this moment, the nation of Israel

has their camp set up across the

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east side of the Jordan River.

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They're ready to enter but before

they do, Moses takes about a month

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to issue these sermon like speeches.

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The New Testament quotes, Deuteronomy

more than almost any other book.

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Only two books surpass it.

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Could you guess what they are?

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It's Psalms and Isaiah

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It.

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was created to instruct and teach

the next generation and encourage

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them to follow in obedience to the

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one true God it's almost like teaching

your children the catechism and the

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wisdom of our faith so that it can be

passed down It's throughout the book that

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we're told to pass this on to the next

generation, both publicly and privately.

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there's even a prophetic element

because it will explain why

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God's people had to be exiled.

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Moses tells them in time you will

walk away from the Lord and this is

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what he'll do to draw you back to him.

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I loved learning that every King of

Israel was required to copy down the

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entire book of Deuteronomy with his own

hand so he could be held accountable

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for following the rules of the Lord.

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Psalm.

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19 and 119 indicate that King

David would've followed in this.

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But sadly, it seems that Solomon did not

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justice.

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Earthly kings were required to

live out the laws of Deuteronomy.

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Jesus frequently quoted it, and he was

the perfect ruler of Israel embracing

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all that God intended for them to do.

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It is fascinating that this is the

first book of the Bible that actually

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commands us to love the Lord our God.

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much of what we've covered so far

has been narrative and law, but

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Deuteronomy is full of verses.

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That are beautiful to memorize

and to train our children in.

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We should be embracing the God

who has set his heart on us

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and chosen to dwell with us.

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I wanna read just a few verses from

Deuteronomy one before I pray over you.

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in verse 21, see the Lord your God

has set the land before you go up.

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Take possession as the Lord.

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The God of your fathers has told you.

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Do not fear or be dismayed.

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And in 29 and 30 then I said to YouDo,

not be in dread or afraid of them,

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the Lord your God, who goes before

you, will himself fight for you.

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Just as he did in Egypt before your eyes.

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And in 36 through 39, Joshua,

the son of nun stands before you.

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He shall enter.

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Encourage him for he shall

cause Israel to inherit it.

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And as for your little ones who you said

would become a prey, and your children

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who today have no knowledge of good or

evil, they shall go in there and to them,

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I will give it and they shall possess it.

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Let's pray.

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Heavenly Father,

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we thank you for your wisdom and

your guidance through your word.

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Thank you that you speak to every area of

our lives and that your word provides us

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everything we need for life and godliness.

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We long to be people that walk in faith.

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Believing you for who you say you

are and what you say you will do.

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Thank you that your word tells us

what to be looking for in marriage,

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and I lift up every woman listening.

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That does not have the

marriage that she hoped for,

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and particularly those that feel unequally

yoked, or that are longing for their

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husbands to lead more spiritually.

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This might feel like her promised

land, and we just wanna say today,

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God, that we believe you for it.

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That we believe you can do

this and that you want to

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Guide these women in loving their husbands

in a way that would draw them to you.

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And we pray for our children, for

those that are already married, that

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you would bless their marriages.

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by uniting husband and

wives to seek you together.

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and for those that are

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Speaker 3: little young

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Steph: I pray that they would only have

eyes for those that are seeking you first,

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For those that are dating, May they be

surrendered to do what glorifies you most.

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God, you're so good.

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As Deuteronomy and as Jesus commanded us,

we pray that we would love you with all

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of our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

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It's in your name we pray.

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Amen.