Following this event, Moses and Aaron themselves disobey
God. The people continue to complain about the lack of water and express
their longing to be back in Egypt. God instructs Moses to speak
to a rock and command it to produce water. Moses, instead, hits
the rock angrily with his staff. The rock proceeds to pour forth water,
but God tells Moses and Aaron that they, too, will never enter the
promised land because of this brash act. Aaron dies soon after, and
the priesthood passes on to Aaron’s son Eleazar.
Israel wanders in the lands southwest of Canaan, requesting
safe passage from the surrounding nations but receiving little hospitality in
return. With God’s help, Israel conquers the Amorites and settles in
their lands. Learning of the overthrow, the king of Moab summons
a renowned sorcerer, Balaam, to come and pronounce a curse on the
Israelites. The angel of God intercepts Balaam on the road to Moab,
frightening Balaam’s donkey. When Balaam strikes the panicked animal,
the donkey miraculously speaks, rebuking Balaam. The Lord points
out the angel’s presence. The angel of God forbids Balaam to curse
the Israelites before the king of Moab. Balaam arrives in Moab and
delivers four cryptic oracles to the king, blessing Israel and predicting
Moab’s destruction.
The Israelite men succumb to the surrounding native peoples
by fraternizing with the local women and worshipping the pagan god Baal.
God sends a plague on Israel that ends only when Eleazar’s son,
the priest, kills an Israelite man and his Midianite mistress, stabbing
them before all of Israel with a single thrust of his spear. Eleazar’s
son’s impassioned act earns God’s approval, and God leads Israel
in destroying the Midianites, plundering their wealth in the process.
As the forty-year waiting period draws to a close, God appoints
Joshua to eventually succeed Moses as the people’s leader.
The Book of Deuteronomy begins in the final,
fortieth year of Israel’s wandering in the desert. Stationed east
of the Jordan River, Moses addresses the new generation of Israelites
in preparation for entering the promised land. He summarizes the
events of the past four decades and encourages the young Israelites
to remember God’s miracles and covenant with Israel. He forbids
the worship of other gods or idols in the new land and repeats the
Ten Commandments given by God at Mount Sinai. Most importantly,
Moses gives explicit instructions to the Israelites to destroy all
the native inhabitants of the promised land so that the Canaanites
do not interfere with Israel’s worship of God. Moses restates many
of the social laws and rules of conduct outlined in Leviticus, adding
a few new laws, such as the requirement for the Israelites to cancel
debts every seven years.
Moses stresses God’s love for Israel, describing God
as someone who protects orphans, widows, and oppressed people. Israel
is to love God intensely in return, with absolute devotion. The
words of God’s laws are very important. Moses instructs the Israelites
to meditate on these words and to write the laws on their bodies
and on the doorframes of their homes. Moses argues that the love
of God and a commitment to his laws will be considered goodness
for Israel (6:25).
While Moses predicts that Israel will eventually grow disobedient,
he notes that God will welcome Israel back with abundance and prosperity
whenever Israel returns to obedience.
At God’s direction, Moses composes a song that recounts
Israel’s history of unfaithfulness and extols God’s everlasting
compassion. Moses says the song will be a reminder to future Israelites
of their covenant with God. He writes the song in the Book of the
Laws and places the book with the Ark of the Covenant. Afterward,
Moses ascends a mountain where God shows him a vision of the promised land.
Moses dies and is buried by God. The author praises him as the only
prophet in Israel’s history who performed such impressive miracles
and who knew God “face to face” (34:10).
