Choose for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will appoint them as your leaders." Choose for yourselvesThe Hebrew word for "choose" is "בָּחַר" (bachar), which implies a deliberate and careful selection process. This reflects the importance of communal involvement in leadership decisions, emphasizing that the people were not passive recipients but active participants in governance. This participatory approach underscores the value of discernment and responsibility in leadership selection, a principle that resonates with the democratic ideals found in many modern societies. wise
The Hebrew term "חֲכָם" (chakam) denotes wisdom that is both practical and spiritual. In the biblical context, wisdom is not merely intellectual but is deeply rooted in the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 9:10). This wisdom is essential for leaders who must navigate complex social and spiritual issues, ensuring that their decisions align with God's will and the well-being of the community. understanding
The word "נָבוֹן" (navon) refers to discernment and insight. It suggests an ability to perceive the underlying truths and complexities of situations. Leaders with understanding are able to see beyond the surface, making informed decisions that consider long-term consequences and the broader impact on the community. respected
The Hebrew "יָדוּעַ" (yadu'a) implies being known or recognized, often for one's character and integrity. This respect is not merely about reputation but is earned through consistent, righteous behavior. Leaders must be individuals whose lives reflect the values and principles they are called to uphold, serving as role models for the community. men
The term "אִישׁ" (ish) is used here, which can mean "man" or "person." In the historical context, leadership roles were typically held by men, reflecting the patriarchal structure of ancient Israelite society. However, the qualities listed—wisdom, understanding, and respect—are universally applicable to all who are called to lead, regardless of gender. from each of your tribes
This phrase emphasizes the importance of representation and inclusivity in leadership. By selecting leaders from each tribe, the governance structure ensured that all groups within the nation had a voice and stake in the decision-making process. This tribal representation helped maintain unity and cohesion among the diverse people of Israel. I will appoint them
The Hebrew "וַאֲשִׂימֵם" (va'asimem) indicates a formal commissioning or installation into office. While the people were responsible for choosing their leaders, the final appointment was made by Moses, signifying divine approval and authority. This dual process highlights the balance between human agency and divine sovereignty in leadership. as your leaders
The word "רָאשִׁים" (roshim) means "heads" or "chiefs," indicating those who are at the forefront of guiding and directing the community. Leaders are called to serve with humility and dedication, recognizing that their authority is a stewardship entrusted to them by God for the benefit of His people. This concept of servant leadership is central to the biblical understanding of authority. Persons / Places / Events 1. MosesThe leader of the Israelites who is recounting the events of their journey and God's commands. He is the one instructing the people to choose leaders. 2. IsraelitesThe people of God who are being prepared to enter the Promised Land. They are tasked with selecting leaders from among themselves. 3. Tribes of IsraelThe twelve tribes that make up the nation of Israel. Each tribe is responsible for selecting its own leaders. 4. Wilderness JourneyThe context of this passage is during the Israelites' journey through the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt. 5. Promised LandThe land of Canaan, which God promised to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Israelites are on the brink of entering this land. Teaching Points The Importance of Godly LeadershipGodly leadership is crucial for guiding and maintaining order among God's people. Leaders should be chosen based on their wisdom, understanding, and respectability. Community Involvement in Leadership SelectionThe community plays a vital role in identifying and affirming leaders. This process ensures that leaders are respected and trusted by those they serve. Wisdom and Understanding as Key QualitiesLeaders should possess wisdom and understanding, which are essential for making sound decisions and providing guidance. Respect as a Foundation for LeadershipA leader must be respected by the community, which is built through integrity, character, and a track record of faithful service. Delegation and Shared ResponsibilityEffective leadership involves delegation and shared responsibility, preventing burnout and ensuring that the needs of the community are met. Bible Study Questions 1. What qualities does Deuteronomy 1:13 highlight as essential for leadership, and how can we apply these qualities in our own leadership roles today? 2. How does the process of selecting leaders in Deuteronomy 1:13 compare to the selection of leaders in the early church as seen in Acts 6:3? 3. In what ways can we, as members of a community, support and affirm the leaders among us? 4. How does the concept of shared leadership and delegation in Deuteronomy 1:13 help prevent burnout and ensure effective governance? 5. Reflect on a time when you had to choose a leader or be chosen as a leader. How did the principles in Deuteronomy 1:13 influence that process? Connections to Other Scriptures Exodus 18:21This passage describes Jethro's advice to Moses to appoint capable men as leaders over the people, which parallels the instruction in Deuteronomy 1:13. Acts 6:3In the New Testament, the early church selects deacons based on similar criteria of wisdom and respect, showing a continuity in the importance of godly leadership. 1 Timothy 3:1-7Paul outlines the qualifications for overseers in the church, emphasizing wisdom, respect, and understanding, echoing the qualities mentioned in Deuteronomy. People Amorites, Anakites, Caleb, Canaanites, Eshcol, Isaac, Israelites, Jacob, Jephunneh, Joshua, Laban, Moses, Nun, Og, Seir, SihonPlaces Arabah, Ashtaroth, Bashan, Dizahab, Edrei, Egypt, Euphrates River, Hazeroth, Heshbon, Horeb, Hormah, Jordan River, Kadesh-barnea, Laban, Lebanon, Moab, Mount Seir, Negeb, Paran, Seir, Suph, Tophel, Valley of EshcolTopics Appoint, Chiefs, Choose, Discerning, Experienced, Far-seeing, Full, Heads, Intelligent, Provide, Respected, Rulers, Tribes, Understanding, Wise, YourselvesDictionary of Bible Themes Deuteronomy 1:13 8355 understanding
8367 wisdom, importance of Deuteronomy 1:9-15 5714 men Deuteronomy 1:12-13 5834 disagreement Deuteronomy 1:13-17 8471 respect, for human beings Library Foretastes of the Heavenly Life
Early in the year 1857. NOTE: This edition of this sermon is taken from an earlier published edition of Spurgeon's 1857 message. The sermon that appears in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol. 45, was edited and abbreviated somewhat. For edition we have restored the fuller text of the earlier published edition, while retaining a few of the editorial refinements of the Met Tab edition. "And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 45: 1899Preventive against Backsliding.
It is most instructive to note how exceedingly anxious the early Christians were, that, as soon as a man was converted, he should be "filled with the Holy Ghost." They knew no reason why weary wastes of disappointing years should stretch between Bethel and Peniel, between the Cross and Pentecost. They knew it was not God's will that forty years of wilderness wanderings should lie between Egypt and the Promised Land (Deut. i. 2). When Peter and John came to the Samaritans, and found that they were …
John MacNeil—The Spirit-Filled Life Afraid of Giants
'And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain; 18. And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many; 19. And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds; 20. And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Philo of Alexandria, the Rabbis, and the Gospels - the Final Development of Hellenism in Its Relation to Rabbinism and the Gospel According to St. John.
It is strange how little we know of the personal history of the greatest of uninspired Jewish writers of old, though he occupied so prominent a position in his time. [173] Philo was born in Alexandria, about the year 20 before Christ. He was a descendant of Aaron, and belonged to one of the wealthiest and most influential families among the Jewish merchant-princes of Egypt. His brother was the political head of that community in Alexandria, and he himself on one occasion represented his co-religionists, …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah A Plain Description of the Essence and Attributes of God, Out of the Holy Scripture, So Far as Every Christian must Competently Know, and Necessarily Believe, that Will be Saves.
Although no creature can define what God is, because he is incomprehensible (Psal. cxliii. 3) and dwelling in inaccessible light (1 Tim. vi. 16); yet it has pleased his majesty to reveal himself to us in his word, so far as our weak capacity can best conceive him. Thus: God is that one spiritual and infinitely perfect essence, whose being is of himself eternally (Deut. i. 4; iv. 35; xxxii. 39; vi. 4; Isa. xlv. 5-8; 1 Cor. viii. 4; Eph. iv. 5, 6; 1 Tim. ii. 5; John iv. 24; 2 Cor. iii. 17; 1 Kings …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety The Mountainous Country of Judea.
"What is the mountainous country of Judea? It is the king's mountain." However Judea, here and there, doth swell out much with mountains, yet its chief swelling appears in that broad back of mountains, that runs from the utmost southern cost as far as Hebron, and almost as Jerusalem itself. Which the Holy Scripture called "The hill-country of Judah," Joshua 21:11; Luke 1:39. Unless I am very much mistaken,--the maps of Adricomus, Tirinius, and others, ought to be corrected, which have feigned to …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Kadesh. Rekam, and that Double. Inquiry is Made, Whether the Doubling it in the Maps is Well Done.
The readers of the eastern interpreters will observe, that Kadesh is rendered by all Rekam, or in a sound very near it. In the Chaldee, it is 'Rekam': in the Syriac, 'Rekem': in the Arabic, 'Rakim'... There are two places noted by the name Rekam in the very bounds of the land,--to wit, the southern and eastern: that is, a double Kadesh. I. Of Kadesh, or Rekam, in the south part, there is no doubt. II. Of it, in the eastern part, there is this mention: "From Rekam to the east, and Rekam is as the …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Barren Fig-Tree. Temple Cleansed.
(Road from Bethany and Jerusalem. Monday, April 4, a.d. 30.) ^A Matt. XXI. 18, 19, 12, 13; ^B Mark XI. 12-18; ^C Luke XIX. 45-48. ^b 12 And ^a 18 Now ^b on the morrow [on the Monday following the triumphal entry], ^a in the morning ^b when they were come out from Bethany, ^a as he returned to the city [Jerusalem], he hungered. [Breakfast with the Jews came late in the forenoon, and these closing days of our Lord's ministry were full of activity that did not have time to tarry at Bethany for it. Our …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel In the Temple at the Feast of Tabernacles.
(October, a.d. 29.) ^D John VII. 11-52. ^d 11 The Jews therefore sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? [It was now eighteen months since Jesus had visited Jerusalem, at which time he had healed the impotent man at Bethesda. His fame and prolonged obscurity made his enemies anxious for him to again expose himself in their midst. John here used the word "Jews" as a designation for the Jerusalemites, who, as enemies of Christ, were to be distinguished from the multitudes who were in doubt …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Moses and his Writings
[Illustration: (drop cap W) Clay letter tablet of Moses' time.] We now begin to understand a little of the very beginning of God's Book--of the times in which it was written, the materials used by its first author, and the different kinds of writing from which he had to choose; but we must go a step farther. How much did Moses know about the history of his forefathers, Abraham and Jacob, and of all the old nations and kings mentioned in Genesis, before God called him to the great work of writing …
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making Appendix ii. Philo of Alexandria and Rabbinic Theology.
(Ad. vol. i. p. 42, note 4.) In comparing the allegorical Canons of Philo with those of Jewish traditionalism, we think first of all of the seven exegetical canons which are ascribed to Hillel. These bear chiefly the character of logical deductions, and as such were largely applied in the Halakhah. These seven canons were next expanded by R. Ishmael (in the first century) into thirteen, by the analysis of one of them (the 5th) into six, and the addition of this sound exegetical rule, that where two …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah The Blessing of Jacob Upon Judah. (Gen. Xlix. 8-10. )
Ver. 8. "Judah, thou, thy brethren shall praise thee; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; before thee shall bow down the sons of thy father. Ver. 9. A lion's whelp is Judah; from the prey, my son, thou goest up; he stoopeth down, he coucheth as a lion, and as a full-grown lion, who shall rouse him up? Ver. 10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto Him the people shall adhere." Thus does dying Jacob, in announcing …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Deuteronomy
Owing to the comparatively loose nature of the connection between consecutive passages in the legislative section, it is difficult to present an adequate summary of the book of Deuteronomy. In the first section, i.-iv. 40, Moses, after reviewing the recent history of the people, and showing how it reveals Jehovah's love for Israel, earnestly urges upon them the duty of keeping His laws, reminding them of His spirituality and absoluteness. Then follows the appointment, iv. 41-43--here irrelevant (cf. …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Deuteronomy 1:13 NIVDeuteronomy 1:13 NLTDeuteronomy 1:13 ESVDeuteronomy 1:13 NASBDeuteronomy 1:13 KJV
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