Chapter 33

If you read chapter 33 you may notice it takes a slightly different tone to much of the rest of the book.

Rather than telling a particular story, this chapter is a formal history. Like much of the Old Testament (especially), it’s intended to be a verbal history that a person can remember, which is why you get the patterns that you can see in the text.

Basically, Israelite kids will grow up knowing where their ancestors went, and in what order. They have in fact kept an incredibly detailed record of their entire stay in the wilderness, all forty years of it!

Here and there you see a place name that we might recognize from our survey of this book. Such places as:
The Wilderness of Sin (pronounced “Zin” – it has nothing to do with being thought of as an evil place!)
Rephidim, where Moses struck the rock to give the Israelites water.
Abel Shittim, where the Midianite women seduced many.

Interesting history, to be sure. But does it have anything to teach us?

I think so. But rather than one big lesson, rich in theology, I think this chapter is more a place where a whole lot of loose ends are finally tied up; so similarly there are small lessons throughout the book.

Firstly, there’s the fact that God wanted the whole exodus recorded in such fine detail. The reason He does this is simply because God wants us to know what He has done for His people through history. So he ensures that not only is the History of His people clear, it’s also easily remembered (and presumably frequently memorized over time).

It’s therefore not unreasonable for a kid of ten or eleven to be able to recite the journey of the Israelites. God doesn’t want this whole thing forgotten. He wants it REMEMBERED! He wants people years later to be able to look back on what was done during the journey.

If you remember where you’ve been, it helps you to understand where you’re going!

Also God takes some time to help people prepare for what they will encounter in the Promised Land. Once again, God tells his people to ruthlessly wipe out their neighbouring countries, but there is method to the madness. God is making sure that His people can obey Him when push comes to shove.

Finally we have the renewal of the contract, in that God once again gives His promises as to what will happen if they are faithful or unfaithful to Him. There are problems.
So how can we apply this?

1) Know where God has taken you, and where you are both going now. We can trust Him to do what is right.

2) Here we can see more evidence that God understands exactly what we will face, and how we will respond. Yet before we do, He has promised to be with us every step of the way. We need to simply grab onto His coat tails and ride with Him!