Dead Men Walking

Deuteronomy 2:1-23

Moses continues his history lesson.  So, if you recall, we started back through the wilderness.  We were headed to the Red Sea doing our best to avoid Seir.  Finally God said, you've put it off long enough, turn this camp north- we're going through Esau country.  They'll be afraid of you, but don't take advantage of the situation. Don't start any fights- you are not getting their land.  This is their's. Don't even help yourself to food and drink- whatever you get, pay for.  I've blessed you for 40 years, you don't need their stuff to survive.

So we passed on through- and then God gave me a very similar message- you'll be coming up on land belonging to Lot's people, don't harass them or take any of their land either.  I've given this land to them. Then God sent us across the Zered Valley.

Once we crossed the valley, 38 years had passed and all the fighting men had died.  At this point we finally reached the Moabites God spoke to me about and we passed on through.

At first glance this seems to be God pouring salt on the wound.  Look here are some people living in a land I've given them.  Notice how they aren't wandering.  OK, you've looked long enough- get back to walking.  In four more decades I'll give you another taste of some people I blessed.  They won't be you, but you can watch and remember how you messed up...before you start walking again.

But taking a step back, and taking into account the timing of Moses' retelling, perhaps Moses is saying- look people, now is not the time to give up.  We've been walking for ages- and look, God rewarded these people, He's about to reward us too!  

What's harder to come to peace with, though, is the perspective of these warriors who literally walked until they died.  What motivation would have kept them going?  Why not just leave the group to make the remaining Israelites able to enter the holy land sooner?  What kind of resentment would have existed from the generation that followed.

The truth is, if we had to pay for the sins of the generation that came before us, we'd never enter the promised land.  And the same would be true for the generation that follows us.  Without grace, none of us would ever make it home.

And I Was Just Minding My Own Business

Deuteronomy 1:26-46

Moses continues his impersonation of an eight-year-old trying to talk his way out of trouble with his parents. Lots of finger pointing, not much blame acceptance.

He picks up his retelling after the spies come back and report on the worth of the land.  He says, remember how you grumbled?  You claimed that God hated you and that this proposed invasion was some elaborate set-up to get you all killed, which makes so much sense since He rescued you from Egyptian slavery and all. You thought the enemy was too strong and their cities were impenetrable.  You whined like someone had stolen your pacifier.

Once again, I had to serve as the voice of reason.  Don't be a-feared, I said.  You won't be going alone- God is on your side.  Remember how He fought for you in Egypt?

But you would have none of it.  When God caught wind of it, He was none too pleased.  He said of this whole group- only Caleb and Joshua will enter this land I have prepared for you to receive... and your kids who are too little to know right from wrong.

And I said...and Moses too, right?  But because of YOU God was angry at me as well.  God said, nope- you won't get there, Moses.  Turn this group around and head to the Red Sea.  So, thanks a lot Israelites. You pretty much ruined my life. 

Suddenly you got all "oh no we have sinned" annoyingly repentant.  We'll fight them, God, you moaned. Once you realized all that you had lost and what your future would be you decided to risk the war.  So you suited up for battle but God let me know that wasn't the smartest move.

Tell them not to go because I will not be with them... and without Me, it will not be pretty.  But you thought He was bluffing.  So you went up, and got smacked around like Michael Spinx fighting Mike Tyson.  91 seconds later you were running back to camp crying to God, wondering why He had forsaken you.

Moses removes himself from any blame here.  No mention of his ego getting too big, no mention of his feelings of self-importance, no mention of anything other than guilt by association.  I think we cope this way too, I'll let myself off the hook, I may be serving the time, but I didn't really do the crime.

I'm also interested in how the Christian world seems to take away this "With God on Our Side" message and apply it in strange ways.  Yes, all can be accomplished with God, but the assumption (particularly with war scenarios) that God has chosen you over your enemies is a bit egocentric and short-sighted.  Unlike with the Israelites, we are all God's children.  God is not a chip to be used to manipulate world events.  ...and I'm thinking that despite the implied bloodshed here, killing is not something that God wants on His side.

And without that direct voice of God thing going on like the Israelites have, we may be much better off not assuming that war is something God is advocating.  And certainly not assume that we are invincible because we think we are right.

Perhaps the most troubling part of this story is God's utter disowning of His people.  You don't trust Me?  Fine, I'm done.  Good luck- but actually even good luck won't help you much.  Thankfully this is a pre-Jesus tale, and consequently things work a little differently on the retribution side of things. 

I Spy

Deuteronomy 1:19-25

The reminiscing continues.  Moses rushes through the wilderness wandering to get to Kadesh Barnea.  He tells them,  Remember I instructed you check out this Amorite land... or land that is soon to be ex-Amorite land?  Go get it- God has already told you to claim it- what are you waiting for?  Get some swagger on, there's no reason to be worried, don't be discouraged either.

Then you talked to each other and come up to me and said- Ummm, Moses?  What say we send some spies to go ahead and map out our best plan of attack?  They can check things out and come back and report to us.

That sounded kosher to me, so I hand-picked a dozen of you with all twelve tribes represented.  When they came back, they said, "Yeah, this land is something special.  We're all for ending this whole wandering business. I mean, check out this fruit!"

This feels like more from the Greatest Hits of the Israelites collection.  There doesn't seem to be much different nuance in this retelling.  Moses also seems to be framing this in a self-serving way- especially for someone about to be left behind.

But I think we all tend to frame narratives this way.  We tend to make ourselves the center, inflate our own importance and downplay embarrassing shortcomings.  Even God's spokespeople aren't immune from the human tendency to sculpt their own public images.

The Birth of Political Campaigns

Deuteronomy 1: 9-18

Moses continues his spiel.  He's hosting "A Very Special This is Your Life."  - Hey Israelites, remember when you had all these kids- like a ton- like so many that it became impossible for me to actually lead you by myself anymore?  That was pretty cool- and I hope you keep procreating like rabbits, I hope God keeps on blessing you like that.  But as I said, you are all too large a group to be controlled by one little Moses, so I told you to choose some of your best men- smart, compassionate and respected fellas, and I'll put them over you.  

You might recall your thoughtful and articulate response, "Great idea!"

After  I rolled my eyes, I appointed the leaders you brought me.  I told them- You will be your tribe's Judge Judy.  Whenever there's a problem, it'll be your job to hear the dispute and to judge fairly.  I don't care if you're judging between two Israelites or and Israelite and a foreigner- still be fair.  And by fair, I mean impartial.  

Don't be intimidated. Don't be afraid of the people you may have to bring judgment against. Don't be worried that you'll mess up.  You will be speaking on behalf of God, so you have a pretty good ally on your side.  Pretty, pretty good.  

And if something comes along that's too hard for you to figure out, bring it by- I'll be happy to take those cases.  After all, I'm Moses. 

It seems Moses here is recapping the recent oral history of the people as historians of this time were want to do.  This chapter seems to serve a dual purpose- it refreshes the Israelites on their people's history (since the history books were a little tough to come by) and catches up readers as well (last week on God's Law and Order...)

I'm glad to see the emphasis on treating the non-Israelite fairly.  Even in a culture where membership (and specifically here genetic membership) is everything, God emphasizes fair treatment to people not in the club- an idea too often neglected by God's people today.