Moses’ Last Counsel
1So Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2And he said to them, “I am a hundred and twenty years old today; I am no longer able to come and go, and the Lord has said to me, ‘You shall not cross this Jordan.’ 3It is the Lord your God who will cross ahead of you; He will destroy these nations before you, and you shall dispossess them. Joshua is the one who will cross ahead of you, just as the Lord has spoken. 4The Lord will do to them just as He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when He destroyed them. 5The Lord will deliver them up before you, and you shall do to them according to all the commandments which I have commanded you. 6Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.”
7Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance. 8The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
1) How do Moses’ and David’s final charges demonstrate continuity in יהוה’s faithful leadership?
2) What does it look like to be strong and courageous when facing new responsibility or change?
3) How do the closing words of Hebrews confirm that יהוה still goes with His people today?
David’s Family Enlarged
1Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees, masons and carpenters, to build a house for him. 2And David realized that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that his kingdom was highly exalted, for the sake of His people Israel.
3Then David took more wives at Jerusalem, and David became the father of more sons and daughters. 4These are the names of the children born to him in Jerusalem: Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, 5Ibhar, Elishua, Elpelet, 6Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, 7Elishama, Beeliada and Eliphelet.
Philistines Defeated
8When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, all the Philistines went up in search of David; and David heard of it and went out against them. 9Now the Philistines had come and made a raid in the valley of Rephaim. 10David inquired of God, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? And will You give them into my hand?” Then the Lord said to him, “Go up, for I will give them into your hand.” 11So they came up to Baal-perazim, and David defeated them there; and David said, “God has broken through my enemies by my hand, like the breakthrough of waters.” Therefore they named that place Baal-perazim. 12They abandoned their gods there; so David gave the order and they were burned with fire.
13The Philistines made yet another raid in the valley. 14David inquired again of God, and God said to him, “You shall not go up after them; circle around behind them and come at them in front of the balsam trees. 15It shall be when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then you shall go out to battle, for God will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines.” 16David did just as God had commanded him, and they struck down the army of the Philistines from Gibeon even as far as Gezer. 17Then the fame of David went out into all the lands; and the Lord brought the fear of him on all the nations.
Asa Succeeds Abijah in Judah
1So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David, and his son Asa became king in his place. The land was undisturbed for ten years during his days.
2Asa did good and right in the sight of the Lord his God, 3for he removed the foreign altars and high places, tore down the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherim, 4and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers and to observe the law and the commandment. 5He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah. And the kingdom was undisturbed under him. 6He built fortified cities in Judah, since the land was undisturbed, and there was no one at war with him during those years, because the Lord had given him rest. 7For he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours because we have sought the Lord our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered. 8Now Asa had an army of 300,000 from Judah, bearing large shields and spears, and 280,000 from Benjamin, bearing shields and wielding bows; all of them were valiant warriors.
9Now Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots, and he came to Mareshah. 10So Asa went out to meet him, and they drew up in battle formation in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. 11Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. O Lord, You are our God; let not man prevail against You.” 12So the Lord routed the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. 13Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as Gerar; and so many Ethiopians fell that they could not recover, for they were shattered before the Lord and before His army. And they carried away very much plunder. 14They destroyed all the cities around Gerar, for the dread of the Lord had fallen on them; and they despoiled all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. 15They also struck down those who owned livestock, and they carried away large numbers of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.