And you answered me and said, "What you propose to do is good." You answered meThis phrase reflects the response of the Israelites to Moses' proposal. In the Hebrew text, the word for "answered" is "וַתַּעֲנוּ" (vata'anu), which comes from the root "ענה" (anah), meaning to respond or reply. This indicates a dialogue and a participatory decision-making process. Historically, this reflects the communal nature of Israelite society, where leaders often sought the input of the people. It underscores the importance of communication and agreement in leadership and governance. and said
The Hebrew word used here is "וַתֹּאמְרוּ" (vatomru), derived from "אמר" (amar), meaning to say or speak. This phrase introduces the content of the people's response, emphasizing the verbal and explicit nature of their agreement. It highlights the significance of spoken words in covenantal and communal contexts, where verbal agreements were binding and carried weight. What you propose
This phrase refers to Moses' suggestion to appoint leaders to help manage the people. The Hebrew root "דבר" (dabar) is often used for "propose" or "speak," indicating a thoughtful and deliberate suggestion. This reflects the wisdom and practicality in Moses' leadership, recognizing the need for delegation and shared responsibility. It also points to the importance of wise counsel and planning in achieving effective governance. is good
The Hebrew word for "good" is "טוֹב" (tov), which conveys a sense of moral and practical goodness. This approval from the people suggests that Moses' proposal was not only practical but also aligned with their values and needs. In a broader biblical context, "good" often relates to God's will and purposes, suggesting that the proposal was in harmony with divine intentions. for us to do
This phrase indicates the people's willingness to act on Moses' proposal. The Hebrew root "עשה" (asah) means to do or make, emphasizing action and implementation. This reflects the cooperative spirit of the Israelites and their readiness to follow wise leadership. It underscores the biblical principle that faith and agreement must be accompanied by action, aligning with the broader scriptural theme of faith being demonstrated through works. Persons / Places / Events 1. MosesThe leader of the Israelites, who is recounting the events of their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. He is speaking to the Israelites, reminding them of their past decisions and God's guidance. 2. IsraelitesThe people of Israel, who were delivered from slavery in Egypt and are now on the brink of entering the Promised Land. They are the audience of Moses' speech. 3. Promised LandThe land of Canaan, which God promised to Abraham and his descendants. The Israelites are preparing to enter this land after their journey through the wilderness. 4. Wilderness JourneyThe period of 40 years during which the Israelites wandered in the desert due to their disobedience and lack of faith. 5. JudgesThe leaders or officials that Moses appointed to help him govern and judge the people, as referenced in the surrounding verses of Deuteronomy 1. Teaching Points The Importance of Wise CounselSeeking and accepting wise counsel is crucial for effective leadership and decision-making. Moses listened to the advice of others, demonstrating humility and wisdom. Delegation and Shared LeadershipEffective leadership often involves delegating responsibilities to others. This not only eases the burden on the leader but also empowers others to use their gifts and talents. Community Agreement and UnityThe Israelites' response, "What you propose to do is good," shows the importance of community agreement and unity in decision-making processes. Obedience to God’s PlanThe Israelites' acceptance of Moses' proposal reflects their willingness to follow God's plan. Obedience to God's guidance is essential for success and blessing. Learning from Past MistakesReflecting on past decisions, as Moses does here, helps us learn and grow. It is important to remember and learn from our history to avoid repeating mistakes. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the appointment of judges in Deuteronomy 1:14 reflect the principle of shared leadership, and how can this be applied in our church communities today? 2. In what ways can seeking wise counsel from others help us in our personal and spiritual lives? 3. How does the Israelites' response to Moses' proposal demonstrate the importance of unity in decision-making? Can you think of a situation where unity was crucial in your life? 4. What lessons can we learn from Moses' willingness to delegate responsibilities, and how can this be applied in our roles at work or in ministry? 5. How can reflecting on past decisions, as Moses does in Deuteronomy 1, help us grow in our faith and obedience to God? Can you identify a past decision that taught you a valuable lesson? Connections to Other Scriptures Exodus 18This chapter describes the advice given by Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, to appoint judges to help Moses lead the people. This is the event Moses is recounting in Deuteronomy 1:14. Numbers 11This passage also discusses the appointment of leaders to assist Moses, highlighting the need for shared leadership and the delegation of responsibilities. Acts 6In the New Testament, the appointment of deacons to assist the apostles in the early church mirrors the delegation of duties seen in Deuteronomy 1:14. 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 Hast, SpokenDictionary of Bible Themes Deuteronomy 1:9-15 5714 men 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 1:14 NIVDeuteronomy 1:14 NLTDeuteronomy 1:14 ESVDeuteronomy 1:14 NASBDeuteronomy 1:14 KJV
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