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Amen, so we're starting out a brand new book tonight. We're gonna be in the book of Deuteronomy and if you know that book You know that we're gonna be in there For a while, you know going through it one chapter every week That's gonna take us all the way into like June or July somewhere in there You know depending I might try and sneak in a few more on Sunday nights just to kind of keep us moving along But it's a book in the Old Testament that I love. I really liked the book of Deuteronomy I was reading through it and I thought you know was kind of looking for a book to preach through after we finished First and second Timothy and I thought this would be a great one a lot of heavy stuff in there a lot of stuff You know that we have to kind of pick apart and study, but we should enjoy that kind of thing You know that's be why we're coming to church is to learn the Word of God and learn this the statutes and the judgments of the Lord and Deuteronomy is full of that and of course for familiar with the Old Testament We know that this is coming about in the point of the story of the children of Israel where? The previous generation that rebelled against the Lord has passed off and now this is their children They're getting ready to go into the Promised Land and Deuteronomy kind of starts out these first eleven or twelve chapters just Moses really rehearsing everything that had taken place and reminding of them where they were and And where they had come from and and also kind of warning them to not let these same things happen again And we'll pick it up there in verse 1 where it says these be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel Excuse me on this side Jordan in the wilderness in the plain over against the Red Sea between Peran and Tofel and Laban and Hazoroth and Disahab These there are 11 days journeys from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir unto Kadesh Barnea So really what's kind of interesting right now that starting on the gate is he's kind of telling them where they are in the story He's telling us This is where they are and they're the plain over against the Red Sea Between Peran and Peran as we'll see here in a little bit later is Very close to the Promised Land they're out in this desert area this wilderness about ready to pass over into the Promised Land So what's interesting though is verse 2 verse 2 just kind of has this random fact in there It just kind of throws us out there where it says There are 11 days journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir unto Kadesh Barnea. I was reading that I'm going what what's the point of this? He's just told us where they are and then he's just kind of giving us this measurement It's so far from here to there because they're not in Horeb, you know, and they're not in they're near unto Kadesh Barnea, but they're not that's not where they are you know and it's just interesting because I think what the Bible is showing us here where God wants us to see is That God is kind of it kind of gives the context of this book But with this it tells us where they are right in verse 1 This is this is the story of where they are at this time, but verse 2 kind of reminds us where they could have been Because if we'll see here in a minute or Horeb is Mount Sinai. That is the the Mount of God and if you would keep something there turn over to Exodus chapter 3 Exodus chapter 3 Horeb is something that comes up quite often It says there in Exodus chapter 3 It says now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in the priests of Minyan and he led the flock to the backside Of the desert and came to the mountain of God even to Horeb Of course This is where God appeared to Moses in the burning bush and this is the same mount where we'll see in a minute that he Later appeared in a pillar of fire and smoke with thunderings and quakings Go to Joshua chapter 14 Joshua chapter 14. So God's giving us these landmarks for a reason You know, God doesn't just give us these geographical landmarks just because he's trying to take up space in the Bible You know, he's not just put in there for filler. He wants us to notice something here So you're going to Joshua chapter 14 It says in Exodus 17 the Lord said unto Moses go on before the people and take with you the elders of Israel and thy Rod wherewith thou smotest the river take thine hand and go behold I will stand before thee upon the rock in Horeb and thou shalt smite the rock there shall water come out of it So this is a significant place. This is where God showed up in the burning bush This is where he split the rock and gave them waters. This is also Where he came down in a pillow fire. We'll see that and look at Joshua chapter 14 verse 6 it says then the children of Judah came to Joshua and Gilgal and Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Kenzanite said unto him thou knowest the thing that the Lord said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and the in Kadesh Barnea For which things I was when I was the Moses the servant of Lord Sent me from Kadesh Barnea to outspy the land and brought him word again as it was in mine heart. So we see that Horeb first of all, that's where God appeared to Moses and then you have Kadesh Barnea which is where God was telling them to go over in the Promised Land and of course they failed at that in the first generation and That's where he tells That's where he tells Caleb, you know, you will inherit this land, you know, he goes on and says except for Caleb You know who was right in his heart who wanted to go into the Caleb or go into the Promised Land He said he's going to go in as well. And where did that happen that happened in Kadesh Barnea? So these are two different places. This is where they are Kadesh Barnea and you know the plane in the in the plane between Peran and Tofel and This is also and then you have another place which is Horeb the Mount of God now look there in verse 3 of Deuteronomy chapter 1 and it came to pass in the 40th year and the 11th month on the first day of the month now how Long were they gonna wander in the wilderness 40 years, right So God I mean 40 years is almost over there It's 12 months in the calendar, right and it's the 40th year in the 11th month on the first day of the month So this is literally, you know, just weeks away from them crossing over in the Promised Land It just shows us that God, you know, he pays attention to detail when he says 40 years, you know He's not just shooting from the hip, you know about 40 years. He means 40 years Like God is specific and he keeps track of things. So he shows that this is when this is all going down This is when Moses is giving these last words and you know, that's why I really think I like this book Of course, we know the ending it's where Moses dies and he's kind of this is his last great speech to these people rehearsing in their ears all the things that the Lord has done and Reminding them of the things that the God expects of them and then passing off the scene and passing off the torch to Joshua But it's interesting to note that God got some you know, he gets them right down to within a few weeks He says look this took place in the 40th year in 11th month on the first day of the month and it took place here in in Peran, you know in in in and he's giving us this measurement again about being 11 days from Mount Horeb And I believe he's telling us that because of God wants us to wanted that to remind them of how close they really were I mean it that it was only 11 days That first generation was 11 days away from passing over the world and into the wilderness or passing out of the wilderness in the Promised Land But because of their lack of faith because of their unbelief and their disobedience and went from 11 days to 40 years So he's showing us, you know that sin has consequences That if we disobey God that if we you know, if we don't follow his commandments that that sin has consequences and they can be drastic You know I'm sure when they disobeyed they had no idea that they were gonna end up wandering in the wilderness for 40 years And it's a shame game I mean can imagine wandering on 40 years knowing you were just 11, you know, you were you started out It was 11 days journey and you could have been there less than two weeks So he's kind of giving us these times and these places to kind of I think show us some things about you know The consequences of sin and and where they are in the story and of course, you know giving it the context there So they are in the wilderness and they're just days from crossing over into Jordan it says there in verse 4 after he had We'll pick it up in verse 3 He says and it came to pass in the 40th year in the 11th month in the first day of the month that Moses spake unto the children of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him in commandment unto them after he had slain Sihon king of the Amorites which dwelt in Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan which dwelt at Azeroth and Ed and Edri I on this side Jordan in the land of Moab began Moses to declare this law saying so he goes into You know what he you know, this is begins the speech this is the context of what we have it here So they're in the wilderness. He begins the speech. They're just days away from crossing the Jordan and Moses begins by reminding them and warning them By rehearsing the things that have taken place in the last 40 years So you gotta remember this is the children of them that have passed off the scene I mean these people have been they've been waiting basically for their parents to die You know, it's kind of a you know, I don't want to say that lightheartedly, but it's the truth I mean, they're out there wandering in the desert They you know, a lot of them were probably old enough to have heard the the judgment that came down on them and they knew that they were kind of just waiting for the last and that previous generation to pass off before they could go in and Moses is taking the time to warn them saying don't forget about what your fathers did Don't forget about how they failed and and trying to remind them So he's saying, you know, he's reminding them He's warning them and then he begins he begins the story of course with them departing. He doesn't begin in Egypt You know, he doesn't begin there he begins in Mount Horeb is where he begins to tell the story of the children of Israel and He goes back and he says there in verse 6 and the Lord spake unto us in Horeb saying you have dwelt long enough in This mount so that's where the story begins is in Mount Horeb or what's called Horeb or Mount Sinai the Mount of God Horeb is the place where Mount Sinai is and is referred to as either Mount Horeb or Mount Sinai And you'll you know, and I don't want to just throw that out there So let's take a minute and look at it go over to Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 9 Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 9 Deuteronomy chapter 4 verse 9 It says only take heed to thyself and keep thy soul diligently lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen Unless they depart from thy heart of the days of thy life, but teach them thy sons and thy sons sons Especially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb When the Lord said unto me gather me the people together and I will make them hear my words That they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth and that they may teach their children verse 11 and they came here and stood under the mountain and what was that mountain referred to as Mount Horeb, right? Now, how does he describe this this instant this this event and it says in the mountain burned with fire under the midst of heaven With darkness clouds and thick darkness and the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire He heard the voice of the of the words, but you saw no millitude only he heard a voice So we see it of course that's if you know, I won't take the time to go through it I think I made my point here But if you go and compare that to Exodus chapter 19 where that event takes place in verse 16 It says and it came to pass on the third day in the morning. There were thunders and lightnings There was a thick cloud upon the mount and there was a it was on a smoke because the Lord descended upon it and fire I mean, it's the exact same event. There's no tonight. There's no denying it You know if it's not this one then which one is it? When it was where was the other instance where God came down in a pillar of fire and smoke it's this is it and he calls it Mount Horeb and He says in Exodus chapter 13 that it's in the wilderness of Sinai and is where that Mount is So Mount Horeb Mount Sinai the plains of Horeb. This is all the same place This is the place where God came down in a pillar of fire and smoke And you know another place you could turn to if you wanted to further prove that would be first Kings 19 You don't have to go there. That's of course where Elijah after defeating the prophets of Baal Fleece for his life and he goes to Mount Horeb the Mount of God So that's what that's often referred to in Scripture as well. So that's where he begins the story though You know, he begins a story taking them back to where they first heard the law, you know And that's really I think where God started to make them really accountable He kind of introduces himself to them, you know, of course they saw the miracles and everything and they understood that it was God that was doing the working and That God was fighting for them on their behalf against Egypt But when he brings them over into Sinai On the other side of the Red Sea and he comes down and starts to give them his commandments That's really where God starts to make them accountable You know, you've seen all my works You see what I've done you've seen that I'm fighting for you And now here's how it's gonna be between me and you you're gonna do this and this and you're not gonna do this and this And he kind of makes them accountable at that point I think that's why Moses starts the story there because that's the what's what he's trying to accomplish here He's trying to remind them that they are accountable to God that God has revealed them Them to themselves by a by a stretched out arm and a mighty hand and that has made them, you know accountable to him So that's why I think he starts out there now verse 7 It goes on and says turn you and take your journey and go to the mount of the Amorites and unto all the places nigh there unto in the plains and the hills and the vale and the south by the Seaside the land of the Canaanites and unto Lebanon of the great river the river Euphrates But I have set the land before you go in and possess the land which Lord swear unto your fathers Abraham and Isaac and Jacob To give unto them unto their seed after them and I spake unto you that time saying I'm not able to bury you myself Alone the Lord God hath multiplied you and behold you are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude So here we see where you know God's telling him to go in and then Moses is recalling the instance where he's saying We're gonna look at it here where he's you know, he's judging the people from Sun up to sundown He's handling every single case that comes before him And I think what we see here in this verse is just a great picture of what it's like to kind of be in ministry You know, this is kind of a small course is on a you know, a bigger scale, you know We're talking about millions of people here But this is some things that we could take away from and understand what it's like to be You know following God with a group of people, you know and desiring to serve him I mean, that's the same thing that we're doing, you know, it's called the church in the wilderness these people write this group of people Well, that's kind of what we are, you know that church back then in Israel is a picture of us and of you know us as individuals, you know living the Christian life and also as as a church and we see a glimpse of that and really it makes sense that There would be this parallel because in Moses's day. What's he dealing with? He's dealing with people and in the New Testament Church What are we dealing with? We're dealing with the same thing people, you know, and and it's just a We need to understand something is that people in the Bible are just like we are You know, they're the there's no temptation taking you but such as common as is common to man You know, they are men of like passions So it's not that people were just completely different back then and had this, you know, and it's just kind of this disconnect I think sometimes, you know, we living in our modern society We kind of look back in the Bible and somehow we just get this disconnect by thinking that people Behave differently or they had different reactions to things. It's not so, you know, there was still the same, you know human experience back then as it is today and So I think this is just kind of a great picture of What it's like to kind of be part of a ministry to be in a ministry It's something that we just all need to kind of take note of Because of the fact that if we're gonna be involved in this tree We're gonna be dealing with people with one another And he said he said so the Lord multiplied implied you and behold you are this day is the stars of heaven for multitude now Moses isn't saying that as if it's a bad Thing right, you know, he's glad for that Look there at verse 11 and he says and look at the end of verse 11 before we read this There's this there's a punctuation there right, you know the exclamation mark, right? This is something that's being explained This is something that's being said emphatically He said the Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as he are and bless you as he had promised you So Moses is glad that there's a lot of them Moses wants even more So, you know take that to your to your environmental meeting and in your overpopulation crowd and tell them to deal with it Because you know God is for Multiplying. All right, and that's a whole nother sermon We're not gonna go off on that but it is worth noting that that Moses here. He doesn't have bad attitude about it He's not against the big ministries. Okay, there's nothing wrong with being part of a big church. Okay? There's nothing wrong with God's ministry growing and people and you say well, we don't have that problem here Well, maybe one day we will you know, and there's by the way There's nothing wrong being part of a small church either There's get there's pros and cons to each, you know and me being in the position that I am I I'm getting a good feel of both, you know, I'm coming down here, but I'm also part of Phoenix been there for a while So I've seen kind of both sides and you know what there's pros and cons to both and But what this is showing us is that there's nothing wrong with having a big ministry Because some people they have this attitude like they once a church gets to a certain size They just can't be part of it anymore or order the things that just aren't the same Well, they're not the same but that doesn't mean they're bad. It's just it's different, you know and Moses here. He's all for it He wants them to get big but he also has a realistic view of what that means and because he's experienced it And he says in verse 12 How can I myself bear your cumbrance and your burden and your strife now as Moses complaining here, or is he just stating the facts? Moses just stating the facts because this is the facts that when you're dealing with people we all have The potential and the ability to you know be a cumbrance to be a burden and to create strife this happens in ministries So Moses, you know, he desires the blessing of a multitude But he also understands with that with that multitude there comes difficulties and that's what we need to understand as well that as a church grows as it gets bigger there are going to be difficulties, you know in these he names three specific things doesn't he that could be a Difficulty, you know in dealing with people and one of them, you know, he says cumbrance. How can I bear your cumbrance now? That's kind of you know a different word, you know You might think of a cucumber has nothing to do with it, right? Because of the fact that just spelled it we that's not a word we use a lot, right? It's not referring to a vegetable. Okay, he's referring to trouble or bother or Worry or carefulness that's what that means cumbrance Okay, you know in a good way to kind of get an idea what this word means is you don't have to turn there But I'll remind you of the story of Martha and Mary right when one was cumbered about with much serving Right in Luke 10 verse 40. It says Martha was cumbered about with much serving What does it mean by she was cumbered? Well, if you read on Jesus in verse 41 says Martha Martha thou art careful and troubled about many things So she was cumbered. What did that mean that she was careful and troubled? So that's what it means to be Cumbres, you're someone who's very troubled. You're somebody who's bothered you were worried you have carefulness You know and that's part of ministry people have concerns people worried people have Troubles in their life, you know And if we just want to be a part of ministry where just nobody has any trouble When nobody has any worries when nobody has any carefulness in their life Well, you know good luck finding that church because that's that's just life, you know people go through life and they have troubles they are cumbrance from time to time and So people have issues basically is what I'm trying to say, you know And people have baggage people have issues and and and some you know, whether it's it's justified or not It's there, you know in some instances a lot of times, you know, people worry about things justifiably understandably So, you know they go through life they go through difficult things and they're worried about things, you know and and So we have to understand that's what kind of comes with the territory when you're starting to deal with people and you have the more People you have the more of this you have you have more cumbres He says how can I bear your cumbres and your burden? Right? So what is burden? Well, that means something as born with difficulty something now you think of putting a heavy burden on your back, you know and carrying it Another good example to define this would be Exodus 23 Where God's commanding and saying if thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden He's talking about an animal that has collapsed under the weight of the load It's carrying he said and what is forbear to help him thou shalt surely help him All right So that's what it means to be under a burden and he's saying look you guys are a burden people have burdens in life You know people have come in and they have burdens. Sometimes they themselves are a burden to others, but we don't write them off You know, we don't we don't just say well, you know It's unimportant to us, you know, we need to bear one another's burdens what the Bible says so people have issues people have difficulties and You know, they they they can be a burden at times, you know, it's interesting to there that he says How can I bear your burden? You know, it's not that they only had one burden. He's kind of referring to them as a burden You know and you know, that's not necessarily said in a bad way You know, that's there is a burden in the ministry when you have people coming, you know There is a weight of responsibility that is put on leadership to make sure that you know Those they're being looked at people are being looked after and taken care of spiritually That is a burden a spiritual burden and it was something that Moses felt. He's that's why he said your burden not burdens So he says, you know your burden he goes on and says your strife, right and what is strife? Well, strife would be vigorous or bitter conflict All right, and you know It just goes to show that sometimes people can cause trouble in churches and that's just kind of comes with the territory you know, nobody's perfect and and that kind of thing comes up from time to time and So he's saying here and he's showing us all these things and he's saying look, you know I want you to multiply want you to grow God bless you and make you know make you a thousand times more so as the stars of heaven and Then he's but he's kind of reminding them at the same time where he said, you know at this point He said how can I bear myself? How could I myself alone bear your cumbrance and your burden and your strife? there's a reality that comes with the ministry and He is you know he is Basically just expressing the way it is, you know He's not he's not saying in a bad way or a negative way and you know, it's worth taking note of it's worth Taking the time to mention this and bring it up and preach about it because of the fact that you know We're admonished to do the same thing in the New Testament. You say why are we in Deuteronomy? How is that gonna help us? Well, this is pretty applicable when you think about it because again, it's people it's dealing with people then That's what we're dealing with today. And you know, we are admonished in the New Testament to act accordingly Understanding that people come in with burdens that people come in and there's strife That people come in and there's cumbrance that people have cares these things happen in a ministry and we have to act accordingly Not just as leaners, but also as people in the pew When we're rubbing shoulders with one another the Bible says in Colossians 3 I'll read to you It says in verse 12 put on therefore as the elect of God holy and beloved bowels of mercies Kindness humbleness of mind meekness longsuffering now These are the kind of attributes we should all be striving to have in our life Because we're always going to be dealing if we're gonna stay in the ministry whether you know It's just serving in the pew or behind the pulpit or whatever capacity we serve in, you know You're gonna be serving people, you know, you're gonna be out there knocking doors. You're gonna run into people with cumbrance You're gonna run into people with strife You're gonna run into people with these these things and the Bible is telling us that look if you're gonna serve God and deal with People that you need to have humbleness of mind meekness longsuffering forbearing one another and forgiving one another if any man have a quarrel against any even as Christ forgave you so also do ye and above all these put on charity Which is the bond of perfectness and let the peace of God rule in your hearts to the which you are also called a one body and be he thankful So why does that matter? Why should I stop even and point that out there in the Deuteronomy? Because it's it's it's because of the fact that we're dealing with people and we're admonished to have you know These attributes in Colossians and when we're dealing with people I mean what it says there that they are to put on humbleness of mind and meekness and what was what's Moses his title? the meekest man on the earth Why was Moses selected and used of God in such a mighty way because he had these attributes in Colossians chapter 3 Again those are what's necessary to lead a people or to deal with people because people have these problems and we all do so And really just kind of moving on here, you know one thing we also understand from this is that you know Moses is of course expressing the fact that you know, there's a lot of them at this time in the story You know, they're being told to leave Mount Horeb and go open the Promised Land and he just kind of abruptly says You know and I spake unto you at that time You know remember we were leaving Horeb and we were told to go and I spake to you at that time Saying I'm not able to bear you Myself alone, you know, there was this great work that had to be done, right? they had to leave Horeb they had to go up and they had to conquer the Promised Land and Moses is saying hey, I can't do this. How can I do this myself alone? And What we need to understand from that is that Leadership okay in a church cannot cease to accomplish spiritual goals because of human hindrances. Let me say that again because it's kind of wordy leadership cannot cease to accomplish spiritual goals because of human hindrances You know Moses couldn't let these think the cumbrance and the burdens and the strife stop him from accomplishing the goal that God had for his people that had to happen and Moses is as a leader That was his primary goal not to say that he didn't care about all these other issues And he didn't care about helping people in these areas but he had a ultimate spiritual goal of going into the Promised Land and doing what God wanted to do and he recognized something very quickly is That you know, he man Moses had to learn this for himself and if you would go to over to Exodus chapter 18 And That that he could not let these things stop him from accomplishing God's goals. That's what he had to learn Look there in Exodus chapter 18 verse 13 and it came to pass on the morrow That Moses sat to judge the people and the people stood by Moses from morning until the evening you know You think getting the the scene of a full inbox in the church emails, you know or when I go check the Google Voice and it's just like You know, man, can I answer all these got to listen to all these? Well, you know, at least I wasn't there It's not going to be from morning until the evening listening to every single person come and you know it and say I've got this Problem. I've got this problem. You need to fix this. You need to deal with that What do I do here? Can you give me advice and it's just but that's the reality of the ministry and Moses, you know He's sitting here from morning until evening and when Moses father-in-law saw all that he did to the people He said what is this thing that thou doest to the people Why sittest thou thyself alone and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even? So what are you saying here? He's kind of expressing like what do you know? What are you doing? This is Jethro He's saying this isn't good. And and what it's showing us is that it was inefficient to have one man bear the whole burden It was inefficient to have one man sit there and judge every man's cause And he goes on to verse 15 and Moses said it was father-in-law because the people come unto me to inquire of God When they have a matter they come unto me and I judge between one and another And I do make them to know the statutes of God and his law So he's basically like breaking down and explaining the Bible to them, you know in every one of these instances So, I mean that can be that can be that can wear a guy out You know having to sit there and explain the Bible in this situation what you need to do in this situation in this situation from morning until evening You know, that's that's a lot of work and and Moses father-in-law said to him the thing that thou doest is not good And you know what? He's right. It wasn't good. It wasn't good for Moses and it wasn't good for the people Because what happens, you know, he goes on he says there Thou shalt will surely wear away both thou and this people that is with thee He says if you keep doing this Moses if you this is the way you're gonna try and do things you're going to wear Away and this people because here's the thing if they're relying on Moses alone and Moses wears away Where else to where are they else? They're gonna go they got nobody Right, so it doesn't benefit Moses and it doesn't benefit the people to just have one guy doing everything He said for this thing is too heavy for thee thou are not able to perform it thyself alone so in that kind of thing Moses had to learn here that you know and he had to learn that nobody benefits and from this kind of Ministering where it's just one guy, you know, just trying to do everything and What it shows us is that we're leadership, you know in order to accomplish the task that God has given You know It can't stop be stopped by these human hindrances these things that come up That are just part of the ministry that are just you know Natural they're just natural parts of ministry because we're dealing with people that they cannot They can't they can't do all of it on their own that leadership relies on others in order to accomplish the mission You know, he needed help right so this required but what does that what does that mean to us? That if there's a you know, like for example of the preacher pastor Anderson, you know, the church has grown We got a satellite church, you know trying to do these works trying to accomplish God's task You know of reaching the preaching the gospel to every creature, you know, he's gonna need help, you know He's gonna need people to step up and and to fill roles and to and to help in the ministry so that he himself Does not wear away But what does that mean to us? What it means is that they requires some of us to be spiritual and we're gonna accomplish this great goal You know other people are gonna have to grow spiritually, you know They're gonna have to you know, man up for lack of a better term I have to step up to the plate and fulfill that role. I mean Moses will see you in a minute He had to turn to other people right and that required other people being spiritual and growing in the Lord So he says there in Exodus chapter 18 verse 21 Moreover thou shalt provide out. This is the solution right Jethro. I like me It wasn't just a guy who complained about that. He had he had a solution, right? he wasn't he saw a problem that he had a solution and That's the way we ought to be not just have to see a problem and say oh, there's a problem here What are you gonna do about it, you know and but actually have a solution. Anyway, that's that's that that's a whole sermon right there So he says in verse 21 moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men such as fear God men of truth hating covetousness and place such over them to be rulers of thousands rulers of hundreds Rulers of 50s and rulers of tens and let them judge the people at all seasons and it shall be that every great matter They shall bring unto thee but every small matter they shall judge So it shall be easier for thyself and they shall bear the burden with thee That's what you know ministries that get big and as they grow that's what they need people that are going to bear the burden with the leader and That requires them to be these type of guys men of truth, you know No, the Bible understand the truth believe the Bible practice the Bible live the Bible hating covetousness, you know They're not in it to try and get fame and glory or money or whatever What have you and those are the people that are gonna be placed over them? And of course he breaks it down real practically gives them numbers, right? Then he says like you're gonna rulers of thousands rulers of hundreds and rulers of tens So there's kind of like a hierarchy there in every if this matter was too hard for the ruler of ten Then it goes to the ruler of hundreds and if that guy can't figure out then it goes to the thousands and if that guy Can't figure out you know And the thought being that you know Somebody somewhere along the line is going to be able to figure this thing out before Moses has to stop what he's doing and deal with it but not to say that there wouldn't be those instances where there are some things that are just you know, You know, we have an experience we haven't go through We don't know the answer that we go to the next person and it could go all the way up the chain But what it shows us is that? You know, the ministry isn't a one-man show, you know People kind of get this idea that it's all about just the guy behind the pulpit, but that's not what ministry is Ministry is not a one-man show, you know, it requires a multitude of people doing the work of God You know, this is just one small part of what we do as a ministry, you know We're not just all about the preaching on the preaching is important. It's got to take place We got to admonish one another you got to build each other up You got to you know, help each other grow but you know, there's a lot of other things that go on You know the preaching that goes on door-to-door knocking the doors the song leading the Bible reading all these other things and and other things That can be added unto it. I mean, there's more that this ministry could do Than even what we're doing now, you know There's other things that we could try getting involved in and and and all to the same goal Of course all to the same end of trying to preach the gospel You know, I've got things in mind that I even want to do, you know, like starting a truck stop ministry I keep telling myself I got to get on that, you know, we've talked about the nursing home ministries and getting started But you know that requires able men that requires other people. That's not something that just one man does so It shows us that it's not a one-man show and you know it and and it shows us that there's kind of there should be A pattern of how things are kind of dealt with that, you know It's not we should not every issue has to be brought to Pastor Anderson, you know There's a lot of things that you know We as a body here That maybe could bring to a brother in Christ a sister in Christ and and and get advice and help right there From a more experienced Christian, you know someone who's gone through some things and you know, you can get advice right there You know that that would we could probably find an answer to some of our problems in that regard You know if there's something else that you know, you'd have to bring to myself maybe you know as the deacon and say hey What do you think about this? Can I get your advice here? That's that's part of what I'm here for You know, maybe if there came something up that was so difficult and so hard to to understand then we'd say hey Well, let's talk to Pastor Anderson about it, you know and get his mind on it But you know, we should be able to solve things in-house we should be able to solve things in our own lives if Possible and not just be the type of people that just every little thing We got to have we have to know what the pastor thinks about this and what the pastor thinks about that or what the man Of God thinks about this. I mean we have the same Holy Spirit we had the same book that that any man of God has and there's a lot of things that if we would just be Spiritual and get into it for ourselves and be faithful and reading it and understanding it and knowing it That we could probably resolve on our own or resolve, you know with a brother in Christ or sister in Christ, you know And the Bible kind of even says that if a church can't do that, it's kind of a shame Because it kind of shows the church to not be very spiritual if a church can't handle its own problems that kind of deal with things amongst themselves and I'm not saying you know if you Ever have to come to some somebody for help, you know, of course, that's not a shame, but It could turn into where it's just like every little thing, you know It has to be pastor Anderson has to handle this and some people have that kind of mentality You know and if you listen to last night sermon that he preached, you know He kind of talked about this and it was kind of great because it kind of tied in with what I was gonna be preaching about and it kind of gave me some ideas but You know, some people have that mentality where it has to be pastor Anderson that's gonna handle this and they call the church all the time You know what? Here's the thing. I call these people back. They seem sincere. They leave a voicemail Hey, I've got a question about the Bible and you know I'd really appreciate if pastor and I'll call him back and say hey pastors not available, you know, I'm the deacon here Can I help you? Oh, I was really hoping he would he would call like well Well, I mean if I gave you the same answer, he's going to then what does it matter? You know what? It really is a lot of them They just they just got to talk to pastor Anderson. They're just they'll build they're trying to bait us You know, like they just want to get on the phone. They're like, I've got this deep spiritual question this real complex problem they want to get him on the phone and start talking about I Don't know what some weird thing. There's so much weird stuff out there now that could that happens though They do that all the time You know and it's I have to watch myself because I don't want to get you know Jaded it and be like well every guy that calls the question is just some bozo And just start hitting delete delete delete delete delete delete, you know, I have to stop myself and say wait, you know There's probably still gonna be some some people here that have a sincere problem. That would appreciate a call for me You know or anybody in the church, you know They just need somebody to talk to them and help them through some situation I've called people back and had great conversations and help them in that way and and and amen for that So those things kind of come up, but I'm just you know This kind of warning that we we don't want to be like that as a body as a church We're just you know pastor my shoelaces untied What do I do? You know Here's what I want you to do. I want you to bend over, you know I want you take the make the loop have the rabbit go around the tree through the hole Make some bunny ears or something like that, you know, however, they do it. So Mm-hmm And the Bible does say if a church can't judge within itself that it's a shame to them The Bible says in 1st Corinthians 6 I speak to your shame Is it so that there's not a wise man among you? No, not one that should be able to judge between his brethren So, you know, we should be able to judge amongst ourselves and resolve issues without having to bring every little thing to leadership so Let me just move on here says there in verse 13 because we got oh, you know big chapter here And I've considered maybe even had a breaking these chapters up in parts 1 & 2 I don't want to feel like I have to rush through these things, but we'll get through here in verse 13 It says, uh, take you wise men and understanding and known among your tribes and I will make them rulers Over you so this is again, you know back in Exodus where excuse me Deuteronomy where we're picking back up and he's telling them You know This is what I said to you and he and he answered me and said the thing which thou was spoken is good for us To do so I took the chief of your tribes wise men and known and made them heads over you captors over thousands captors over hundreds captors over fifties and captors over tens and officers among your tribes and I charged you and I charged your judges that time saying here the causes between your brethren and Judge righteously between every man and his brother and the stranger that is with him So, you know, that's a big theme in the Bible and we'll get into this more later But that that's as the you know, the one law for the for the the the home-born and the stranger, you know That's what the Bible teaches and that's another sermon, but he said he shall not respect persons in judgment But you shall hear the small as well as the great you shall not be afraid of the face of man for the judgment is God's and the cause that is too hard for you bring unto me and I will hear it So if it is genuinely too hard for you, then yeah, bring it to him He's saying and I command you at that time all things which you should do So again, he kind of just kind of sums up there and I command you at that time all things that you should do So, you know, he's just kind of giving him a synopsis here or synopsis Excuse me, and he's you know, the specifics, you know have been covered already, right? And here's the thing about this I don't want to dive into all what was just said because the fact that these specifics are discussed again later in Deuteronomy you know verses 1 through 11 are kind of him just reminding and warning Israel of what has taken place and then when you get Into chapters 12 and onward that's where he kind of picks up the statutes and the judgments the Lord and starts rehearsing them You know and basically repeating the things that he said to the previous generation So we'll dive into that when we get to it But he says in verse 19 and when you departed from Horeb we went through all that great terrible wilderness which you saw by the way of the mountain of the Amorites as the Lord your God commanded us and We came to Canish Barnea and I said unto you you're coming to the mountain of the Amorites Which Lord God doth give unto us behold the Lord thy God Set the land before thee go up and possess it as the Lord the God of thy fathers hath said unto thee Fear not neither be discouraged and he came near unto me every one of you and said We will send men before us and they will go search out the land and bring us word again By what way we must go up and into what cities We shall come so it's interesting here because if you would go to Numbers chapter 13, okay So he's saying look we came up into the land of the Amorites You know, this is them coming to you know, brink of River Jordan. They're ready to pass over the promised land and he says And he says them and he came near unto me every one of you and said so he's saying look you guys came to me and said They came to him and said we will send men before us, you know, the toys talking about the 12 spies, right? So here it sounds like what was their idea? They're the ones that came up with this idea of sending in the 12, right? But what does it say in numbers chapter 4 verse 13? Let's see whose idea this really was It says in verse 1 and the Lord spake unto Moses saying send thou men that may search the land of Canaan which I given to the children of Israel of every tribe of their fathers you shall you send a man every one of ruler among Them and Moses by the commandment of the Lord sent them from the wilderness of Peran all those men were heads of the children of Israel So again referring to 12 tribes So in Deuteronomy I'm saying he came to me and said we will send men and then you read numbers Where the Lord commands Moses to send men, right? So whose idea was it? I don't know. It sounds to me like it was the Lord's right? But why does it phrase it that way in Deuteronomy? Why does it say that he came to them? Well, you know, I don't know that I really have the answer that but I have some thoughts. Okay, so verse 22 You know and in Deuteronomy, it might be just saying that you know, they were in agreement with what the Lord had commanded You know or it could be that God knew that that's what they were gonna do anyway, and God commanded Moses presenting You know preemptively You know, it also might be an example of the Bible recording what somebody Said and what actually happened, right? This could be an example of Moses said, oh, yeah I remember you guys came to me, you know And that would kind but that would kind of insinuate that Moses isn't recalling the story correctly, but so I really don't go with that You know, I think it might be that God just understood the people would want this and he approved it ahead of time Because he already knew it was gonna happen. God knows the beginning from the end And in spite of knowing the outcome of them not just going out by faith and going to the Promised Land That they knew they were gonna come and make this Request to have these spies sent in and he knew what that was gonna lead to You know, he might even known that Moses would object to it and see the potential danger in it I don't know. This is all me just hypothesizing Yeah, but I think that's probably that's kind of what I go with is that God already knew that they were to come make this Request so he just kind of ahead of time says look do this You know and so when the people come it's just kind of you know, they already they were all on the same page but it could be an example of you know, and I don't think it is but it's just worth bringing up that Whenever we're reading the Bible we have to make sure you know Especially we think there's some kind of contradiction when the first things you need to figure out is whether or not the Bible is telling you something that was said or Commanded or something that just happened and there's many instances of this in the Bible You know one that I've heard even recently that I've come up with and even wondered about myself was an Ezra Where where would they put they divorced their strange wives and put them away? But the Bible says God would never command that and he didn't command it Yeah, but the Bible doesn't say that God commanded them to do that. It just says that's what they did So and there's a lot of things like that in the scripture where the Bible just tells you. Hey, this is what they did Like, you know polygamy is a great example of that where they would multiply wise to them God never seen God specifically said that not for them not to multiply wives, you know It should be one man and one woman, but he gave clauses for when that did happen do this and that So keep that in mind. I don't think that's what this is going on here. What's going on here with this passage I think this is just God on a kind of understanding what the people are gonna want anyway, just going ahead and doing it And the Bible says in verse 23 and the same pleased me well, and I took 12 many of you one of a tribe and they turned and went up into the mountain and came to the valley of Eschol and Searched it out and they found the fruit of the land in there the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down unto us and Brought us word again and said it is a good land which the Lord our God doth give us Now withstanding you would not go up or rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God and he murmured in your tents and said Because the Lord hated us and hath brought us forth out of land of Egypt to deliver us in the hand of Amorites to destroy so This is just one of the most disappointing stories in all of Scripture I mean they go I mean you just can't even fathom how a group of people could be so Ignorant and stubborn and and lacks such faith after everything they've gone through, you know It just blows your mind that they would go they would be delivered out of Egypt the way they were with miracles the plagues The miracle of plagues and that you know crossing the Red Sea Just huge miracles seeing the pillar of fire and smoke and thunderings and quakings and the voice of God the trumpets You know, but even then when all that was going on there the Moses comes back and they're worshiping a calf And you just you can't understand these people But that's human nature and you know, it shows us something about that You know, we're just as human beings. We are at times can be You know faithless Stiff-necked stubborn rebellious even in the presence of God himself And you know, that's kind of what's going on here. They're going into the land. They're seeing all the fruit Oh, it's a good land. The Lord does give us But you know, there are these grass. There's these uh, not grass. There's these Giants there. We're grasshoppers in their sight We can't go in, you know, they have chariots of iron, you know, it's just not possible You know you get the twelve tribes ten had the bad report and two had the good And what happens is that Israel went and it says and they murmured in their tents and to show you something else you know that just because you know, you're You're not doing it in public. God still hears it, you know, God hears it when you get in the car I can't leave the preacher center Do you I don't appreciate that sir, you know God hears that when you're murmuring we read something in the Bible we put it I can't leave God whatever God notices all that, you know people think that just these guys thought well if I get behind some canvas Or whatever that somehow God can't see through that but he did and you know and and it's a lack of faith on their part and what did it lead to it lead to a Serious false accusation to where they're saying God brought us out to kill us. Oh God hates us He's here. He brought us out just to kill us I mean if that were the case that would make God just the cruelest person in the world Like just just think how cruel that would that'd be it'd be like torturing a bug or something Well, I'm just gonna bring him out and just to kill him just for my own sick amusement That's what they're saying about him No, he just brought us out because he hates us and he wants to kill us and you know It'd be better if we were back in Egypt And so this lack of faith leads to a false accusation of the worst kind Says in verse 28 wither shall we go up our brethren have discouraged our hearts saying The people is greater and taller than we the cities and the great are walled up to heaven and moreover We have seen the sons of the anacoms there which were the Giants now, you know, it's not an excuse for them You know, they shouldn't have allowed this to happen. But the fact is the Bible does say their brethren have discouraged their hearts You know and and that is what happened. That's not an excuse that doesn't excuse them from being a faithless generation But it does show us something that our attitudes and our actions they have an effect on others That we can discourage one another we can be an encouragement or a discouragement to one another So that's all I have to say about that because we can move on but that is something worth noting, isn't it? I mean, that's what happened here not an excuse, but it is what happened Then he says in verse 29 then I said unto you dread not neither be afraid of them the Lord your God Which goeth before you he shall fight for you according all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes He's trying to remind him remember what he saw in Egypt and in the wilderness with us has seen the Lord thy God Doth bear thee as a man doth bear his son and all the way that you went until you came into this place He's saying God's been providing for you and taking care of you. He's done miracles in your half. Don't be afraid and But we know the result that that wasn't enough for them And I love the analogy that he uses here to try to express this to them. He says as a man bears his son and that's just a great way of Moses expressing that God's attitudes towards them You know because that's a that's a very close relationship That's a very loving and caring and nurturing relationship a man towards his child a man towards his son, right? And but you know it also has more layers to it than that Just a man protecting and providing over his family and his children his son You know a father also has a certain role for his his children as well. What does he do? He instructs them right and that's what God was doing with them instructing them as a man doth his son He commands them right if we're fathers, you know, we're ruling our house as well. We are we command our children, you know, be quiet Or whatever it is pick that up put that away, you know behave yourself. Don't look at your mother like that Don't talk your mother like that and all these things that we command right a lot of things You know trying to guide them and lead them in the way they ought to go. We punish them, you know The Bible says, you know spare not the rod that we are to beat and to instruct and part of that is you know Corporal punishment, you know and applying the the rod of instruction to the seat of learning Right, and we are to to to punish when they do wrong and to care for them as well So I just love the analogy uses there He's trying to encourage them to go in to not be doubt not to doubt to not be faithless and say look God cares for you like a man cares for his son and He goes to show us also that being a child of God is a double-edged sword You know just like a son if you have a good dad, that's a double-edged sword If you're on dad's good side, you know things go very well if we misbehave we got a line you know dad's gonna do his duty as well and That's really what it kind of comes down to the Christian life If you know as God's child, do you want to be blessed or do we want to be chasin of God? So just moving along here verse 3 chooses yet in this thing He did not believe the Lord your God who went in the way before you to search you out of place to put your your tents in in a fire by night To show you by what way he should go and a cloud by day now that didn't if you recall a story that wasn't just a One-time event that happened the entire time. It was a fire by night every night. It was a cloud by day every day They had this constant witness before them of God's presence and yet still we're on believing Bible says in verse 34 and the Lord heard the voice of your words and was wroth You know, God cares about what comes out of our mouth. God cares about our attitude towards him and our situations and he swears saying And he goes on it's in verse 35 But you know before we get there, you know, I want to focus on that where he says that the Lord heard your voice You know that should be a warning to us and I kind of talked about it earlier with you know You heard your murmuring in the tents the Bible says Ecclesiastes 5 be not rash with thy mouth and let not thy heart be hasty to utter anything before God for God is in heaven And thou upon the earth therefore let thy words be few You know We should be careful about the things that we say and and how we say them in our attitude really because you know out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh and Really what you know want to get to them? You know the the core of the matter it's it's the heart it is the heart of the matter You know the words that we say are just Projecting of what we feel inwardly so, you know, we should not forget that and we should always remember that God Like a father knows, you know pays attention not to just the things we do but also even attitudes Even even you know, even even the words that we say now verse 35, you know, I'll move along here for sake of time It says surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land Which I swear on to give your fathers save Caleb the son of Jephunneh He shall see it and to him will I give the land That he hath trodden upon and to his children because he hath wholly followed the Lord of your call the story Joshua was the other one that received the same promise also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes Saying thou shalt not go in hither. So he's angry at Moses, too and why was he angry at Moses because remember the second time he told him to not smite the rock but to speak to it and Moses was wroth and he hit the rock and then he hit it again, right and finally the rock breaking in water came forth, but But well and that was supposed to be a picture of Christ and that upset God that you know, and so even Moses You know, he was he was punished to some degree He was not allowed to go in and also the Lord is angry with me for your sake saying thou shalt not go in thither Now it's interesting there. I I didn't really come up any thoughts, but I kind of told when I really couldn't get anything but You know, I wanted to kind of talk to you know Some other people about this and I didn't have the time but he says that the Lord was angry with me for your sakes Now to me, it seems like Moses is kind of maybe Blame-shifting a little bit like he's saying like it's not really my fault, you know Because of you or maybe he's taking responsibility, but he is saying look, you know, if it wasn't for you guys I wouldn't have gotten upset and I wouldn't have done what I did You know and he's saying look the Lord is angry with me for your sake Because of what you did you made me mad and now I'm in hot water with God, too And he says thou shalt not go in thither, you know And that is such a disappointment Just to read that and as the story goes on and do it around me We'll see that where Moses even again kind of says hey Do you think maybe I could go in and God says don't speak to me no more of this matter You know, this was a real source of disappointment for Moses and you know, I don't want to get ahead of myself But I mean think about that I mean being the guy that led the children of Israel and was not faithless, you know That did not doubt God but having to stay back with those same people who were faithless What a disappointment that must have been to him and he goes on he says In verse 40, but Joshua the son of none which standeth before thee he shall go in thither Encourage him for he shall cause Israel to inherit it Moreover your little ones which he said shall be a prey and your children which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil They shall go in thither and unto them will I give it and they shall possess it So that's the generation that we're dealing with now those little children have grown up the 40 years of past They're now into adulthood, you know, they were not being held accountable for the sins of their parents They had as it says there. They had no knowledge of good and evil. They didn't know what was going on You know, they were innocent in this but you know He's he's just saying they're gonna be the ones that go in to possess it and not you guys This is the punishment then he answered me No, he goes on it says in verse 40 but as for you turn you and take your journey in the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea So and then and then they answered said unto him we have sinned against the Lord we will go up and fight according to all the Lord our God hath commanded us and We get rid on every man has weapons of war you were ready to go up into the mount or into the hill so, you know, it's just crazy like They are so doubt that so, you know faithless they were, you know rebellious and stiff-necked But as soon as God says, okay, fine. You're not going in. Oh, no, no, no, we'll go in, you know And it just goes to show you, you know, sometimes you don't know what you have until it's gone You know and they didn't realize the opportunity that they had until God says, okay, we'll have your way then And and now it's gone, you know reminds me of you know My kids they start arguing over a toy or something like that So you're gonna get along with that toy over that toy or I'm gonna take it away from you And now no one's gonna play with the toy and it's amazing how quickly they figure out how to get along and playing with those toys Because they realize they have an opportunity before them to enjoy, you know, the the toys, but if they don't that's gone It's kind of the same thing here, you know, they're they have they're they're taking this for granted You know, they just let their attitude get out of control and then God has to come down on them. Oh, no No, we're sorry. It's too late You know what happens if you you know, you say that now but what if we get over in the promised land you have that same attitude and Now God's gonna have to just you know, keep you know, you get the Jericho. Oh, we can't believe it No, we can't do why'd you bring us out here? You know the first city, you know God's got to keep dealing with these people and over and over again because this is who they were You know, this is just was ingrained in them. So God takes it away from them and then they decide no, we'll go up anyway And he says in verse 42 and the Lord said to me say unto them go not up neither fight So God's warning them and it goes to show you again that how rebellious and stiff not there. God says don't do it Oh, we're gonna do it. Anyway, God says go to the promised land. No, okay, fine. Oh, no, we'll go No, don't go and then they go. It's just they're rebellious people He and the Lord sent him he's saying them go not up neither fight for I am NOT among you Let's you be spitting before your enemies So a good lesson there, you know Except Christ, you know without you know, except you abide in me You can do nothing as Jesus said, you know We need to have the Lord to fight the Lord's battles or we'll lose every time And he says so I spake unto you and you would not hear but you rebelled against the command of the Lord our Lord He got and went presumptuously up into the hill and the Amorites which dwelt in that mountain came out against you And chased you as bees do and destroyed you in mount and seer even unto Horma. So the same people That's just a few verses before they're all fearful of now. They're willing to go fight, but the difference is You know that God isn't with them this time. God would have been with them but they didn't believe that and They're the only reason that they're Acting like they're they're gonna do right now and go and fight is because they don't want to deal with the consequences They're just trying to avoid the wilderness for 40 years or whatever They don't want to deal with that, you know, and you know, God doesn't want us to obey out of fear of punishment You know and that if that's what it takes fine great Okay but what is showing us is that God wants us to obey because we love him because we believe him because we have faith because we Trust him because he's our father We're his children and he's going to watch over us and care for us and protect us and fight our battles and help us You know, they're there that's not why they're going to fight the Amorites It's because they it's not because they love God all of a sudden It's because they don't want to deal with the consequences of their sin and say no We don't want to end up in the wilderness But you know God's saying look you've already shown me what you are. You've already proved to me What's in your heart and I'm not gonna fight your battles. You're gonna deal with what you know, you're gonna You got your coming-ups coming and you're gonna deal with it And he says and the Amorites which dwelt them out came out against you and chased you as bees do and Destroyed you in Seiram and Hormai and he returned and wept before the Lord your God But the Lord would not hearken to your voice nor give ear unto you So you obey abode in Kadesh many days according to the days that you abode there so it does the story of Israel is not necessarily a very cheerful one and But the fact is that he has to remind this generation of that so they don't repeat the same problem They have the same instance because remember they're they're right there the 40 years It's almost to 41 years the 40th year is coming to an end God's gonna keep his promise to bring him in the Promised Land And he's remind him said remember the way your parents were when we got to it We got up to Jordan we got to the Mount of the Amorites. Remember how they behaved in Kadesh Barnea You know, we're right there, you know, don't do it again. He's reminding them of this and Really the the lesson to be learned here is to fear God and not men that was their problem They feared men more than God they saw the Amorites they saw the the what the great walled cities and the chariots of iron and Instead of trusting in God and being afraid of what would happen if they didn't trust God They feared man more and the Bible says the fear of man bringeth a snare, you know, it will rob you It will hold you back a snares like a trap It will keep you in a certain place where you can't move and do the things that you would want to do That's what the fear of man does and that's exactly we see here here that fear of man brought a snare to them Didn't it? It kept them trapped in the wilderness. They could not go over they tried to go over But they were chased out, you know as if they were chased by bees the Bible says So lesson really that we learn from that the story is to fear God and not men You know if they just trusted God all it had been Well, it had been a totally different story if when those 12 spies came back Regardless of whatever report they had good or bad if they just said well You know what the Lord is for with us if they just listen to Joshua if they just listen to Caleb if they just recalled All the things that God already done for them and and been faithful and and trusted in him I'm not saying that been you know, nervous or apprehensive, but just said you know what? You know, we look at it humanly speaking the odds are against us It doesn't make any sense, but God's with us and if God be for us who can be against us And if they'd had that attitude, who knows this could be a totally different story, but this is what happened and You know the punishment might seem a little harsh I mean you guys he says look none of you were gonna go in You're gonna go out in the wilderness and your carcasses are gonna fall in the wilderness You're gonna go out and die and it's gonna take 40 years just wandering around till you all die You know wasn't 40 years and then maybe you'll learn your lesson and go in was 40 years And so I'm no I'm not even gonna you know You're gonna have to die before anyone else goes in and move you know I was thinking about it throughout the week. What an awkward circumstance that must have been for their kids. It's been like You know, let's take it so long I'm getting real tired as wilderness and it's there it's it's the old man's fault, you know and just like Walking to your kids bedroom. They just got a calendar. They're marking What's that? Oh nothing. Yeah Just counting down to 40 years, you know, or if you were that last guy You know that was alive in that generation everyone's just kind of like You know every time every time he walks out the door there's just banana peels everywhere And what are they always cutting the brakes in my chariot, you know, I don't know It's just yeah, that's the thought that came in I was thinking about that but But it seems harsh right that punishment go out and die in the wilderness But you know what got you have to consider the fact of everything they saw leading up to that there really was no excuse and and the Bible says You know whosoever much is given of much shall of him shall be required They saw all the mighty works that God did in Egypt. They saw all those miracles. They were without excuse and You know, they should have gone in but and they were punished accordingly because of everything they had seen they were brought accountable And that's what Moses is doing here in Deuteronomy 1 he's making them accountable He's saying look I'm starting at Horeb and I remind you what was said there because that's when your parents became accountable to God when they saw all God's mighty works and they heard the laws and the statutes and The judgments of God and they saw you know The pillar of fire and everything and they still were faithless and believing Moses is making this generation accountable by reminding of these things And that's what he's gonna do in the book of Deuteronomy So stick with us throughout the upcoming months and we'll get through a great book in the Bible. Let's go and pray