I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Deuteronomy 1-2.

    When Moses realized that his days were reaching their end, he gave a speech to the Children of Israel recounting their travels from Mt. Sinai to where they were at that time, east of the Jordan. It was important for him to do this, since none of those listening had been adults when they left Mt. Sinai (except for Caleb, Joshua, and Aaron’s sons) and most had not even been born. Moses described how he had consulted with the people to appoint leaders over them. By doing so, he reminded them that the authority of leadership goes both from the bottom up and from the top down: leaders at all levels need to have the support of the people they lead, but they also need to be approved of by those above them.

    Moses reminded them how their parents had refused to follow his leadership and trust God when first commanded to enter the Promised Land. I never noticed before how Moses subtly reminded them of the importance of following the correct leader into battle here. Initially, they did not trust that God would give them victory through Moses’ leadership going into battle against the Canaanites. Then they attempted to attack the Canaanites without any plan at all. The latter ended in disaster. This was an important reminder to follow Joshua’s commands as they entered the land. Moses also showed them how God had guided them in their approach to their present location. God wished for them to avoid conflict with the Edomites, Ammonites, and Moabites. Those three nations did not attack them when they approached their borders. However, the Amorites preemptively attacked the Children of Israel, showing that they were “fair game”. The Israelites utterly defeated them and took their land.