“The Unity of the Body in Action”
Deuteronomy 3:12-22
October 24, 2021
Faith Presbyterian Church – Morning Service
Pastor Nicoletti
We continue this morning in the book of Deuteronomy, with Moses preaching to the second exodus generation of Israel, on the edge of the promised land.
Two weeks ago we read of how Israel conquered the lands of Og and Sihon – land that was east of the Jordan River, and therefore not part of the original promised land dedicated to Israel. This morning we will read the about the results of two and a half tribes asking to settle in that land, east of the Jordan.
With that in mind, we turn now to Deuteronomy 3:12-22.
Please do listen carefully, for this is God’s word for us this morning.
Moses said:
3:12 “When we took possession of this land at that time, I gave to the Reubenites and the Gadites the territory beginning at Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and half the hill country of Gilead with its cities. 13 The rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, that is, all the region of Argob, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (All that portion of Bashan is called the land of Rephaim. 14 Jair the Manassite took all the region of Argob, that is, Bashan, as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and called the villages after his own name, Havvoth-jair, as it is to this day.) 15 To Machir I gave Gilead, 16 and to the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead as far as the Valley of the Arnon, with the middle of the valley as a border, as far over as the river Jabbok, the border of the Ammonites; 17 the Arabah also, with the Jordan as the border, from Chinnereth as far as the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisgah on the east.
18 “And I commanded you at that time, saying, ‘Yahweh your God has given you this land to possess. All your men of valor shall cross over armed before your brothers, the people of Israel. 19 Only your wives, your little ones, and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock) shall remain in the cities that I have given you, 20 until Yahweh gives rest to your brothers, as to you, and they also occupy the land that Yahweh your God gives them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may return to his possession which I have given you.’ 21 And I commanded Joshua at that time, ‘Your eyes have seen all that Yahweh your God has done to these two kings. So will Yahweh do to all the kingdoms into which you are crossing. 22 You shall not fear them, for it is Yahweh your God who fights for you.’
This is the word of the Lord. (Thanks be to God.)
“All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” [1 Peter 1:24-25]
Let’s pray …
Lord, our souls long for your salvation,
and so we hope in your word.
We long for your promise,
and we long for your comfort.
Whatever trials and hardships we face,
we do not forget you, but we look for your deliverance.
As we come now to your word,
We ask that in your steadfast love you would give us life,
Strengthen and guide us
so that we can keep the testimonies that have come to us from your lips.
Grant this we ask, for Jesus’s sake. Amen.
[Psalm 119:81-84, 88]
Introduction
Our text this morning is a summary of the results of a heated conversation recorded in Numbers chapter thirty-two. [Wright, 39] And two results are especially stressed here in Deuteronomy: First, the specifics of the land east of the Jordan that Moses allotted to two and a half tribes of Israel: to Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh – that’s the focus of verses twelve through seventeen. And second, that these two and a half tribes would assist the other nine and a half tribes of Israel in taking the promised land which God had given to Israel to settle into – that is the focus of verses eighteen through twenty-one.
But how they arrived at the conclusion summarized here was a bit more dramatic than the words of our text might let on. And this is not surprising because Moses had no real reason to recap that drama here: he knew that later generations could read about it in Numbers, and as for those he was speaking to in his sermon, they would remember the details because it had happened only about a month earlier. [Block, 62, 101]
That said, many of us may need a refresher on what happened.
Numbers 32 begins with the people of Reuben and Gad asking if they could settle in this newly conquered land east of the Jordan, since the land was good for livestock, and they had a great number of livestock.
After they make their request, we read this, starting in verse six:
6 But Moses said to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to the war while you sit here? 7 Why will you discourage the heart of the people of Israel from going over into the land that Yahweh has given them? 8 Your fathers did this, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. 9 For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the people of Israel from going into the land that Yahweh had given them. […] 14 And behold, you have risen in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of Yahweh against Israel! 15 For if you turn away from following him, he will again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all this people.”
16 Then they [that is, the tribes of Reuben and Gad] came near to him and said, “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, 17 but we will take up arms, ready to go before the people of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. And our little ones shall live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18 We will not return to our homes until each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance. 19 For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan to the east.” 20 So Moses said to them, “If you will do this, if you will take up arms to go before Yahweh for the war, 21 and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before Yahweh, until he has driven out his enemies from before him 22 and the land is subdued before Yahweh; then after that you shall return and be free of obligation to Yahweh and to Israel, and this land shall be your possession before Yahweh. 23 But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against Yahweh, and be sure your sin will find you out. 24 Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what you have promised.” 25 And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben said to Moses, “Your servants will do as my lord commands.”
One thing that is clear is that the conversation recorded here that led to the outcome summarized in Deuteronomy 3 was intense and dramatic.
Now why was that? Why was it so intense and dramatic?
The intensity was driven by Moses. And if we had to sum it up and distill it, Moses’s concern was that the two and a half tribes were allowing their pursuit of their own security, prosperity, and comfort, to free them from their obligation to their brothers and sisters among the people of God.
Let me say that again. Moses’s main concern here was that these two and a half tribes were allowing their pursuit of their own security, prosperity, and comfort, to free them from their obligations to their brothers and sisters among the people of God.
After all, that is what Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh are seeking. They see the land – land that is already conquered and so at peace, land where Israel has triumphed and so there is security, and land where the fields are good for livestock, and so there will be prosperity – and they want all that for themselves.
And Moses’s concern is that in asking for the land, the two and a half tribes are also trying to free themselves from the fighting in the conquest of the land that is still ahead – they are trying to separate themselves from the other nine and a half tribes, who still have many battles to fight ahead of them.
And Moses is incensed by that possibility. He is filled with anger. In Numbers 32:14 Moses calls them a “brood of sinful men.” And Moses sums up what upsets him in Numbers 32:6 – he says: “Shall your brothers go to the war while you sit here?”
“Shall your brothers go to the war while you sit here?”
That is the question at the heart of all the drama.
Now, in the dialogue that follows that question, they come to an agreement that the two and a half tribes may take the land, but they will still go into battle with the nine and a half tribes, and fight alongside them to help them secure the land.
Commentators differ on whether the dialogue that brings them to this agreement is one of repentance or one of clarification. In other words, there’s some debate as to whether the two and a half tribes at first really did mean to free themselves of their obligation to the other nine and a half tribes, but then they repented after being confronted by Moses [Brown, 277-288], or if the two and a half tribes always intended to help, Moses misunderstood them, and they simply needed to clarify that [Block, 101-102].
For our purposes, it’s actually not that important which one it is.
Because either way the concern the text addresses is the temptation that Moses perceives – the temptation to allow our pursuit of our own security, prosperity, and comfort, to free us from our obligations to our brothers and sisters among the people of God.
It’s the temptation to let our brothers go to war, while we sit at a distance, in comfort and security.
The conclusion of that temptation, found here in Deuteronomy 3, is that while the two and a half tribes may pursue security, prosperity, and comfort in the land east of the Jordan, they must do it in a way that also serves alongside, and cares for, their brothers and sisters among the people of God.
And with that conclusion recorded here in our text, there are a few lessons for us to learn.
The Lesson from the Two and a Half Tribes
The first lesson we learn comes from the two and a half tribes. And the lesson we learn from them is that rather than allowing our pursuit of our own advantage to free us from our obligations to our brothers and sisters in Christ, we must actively seek to join them in the trenches of their spiritual lives.
We must actively seek to join them in the trenches of their spiritual lives.
And to do that, we need to recognize both what the temptation to separate ourselves looks like, and then also what active faithfulness in this area looks like.
First, there is the temptation. And we see in our text that there may be several reasons why we are tempted to free ourselves from our obligations to our brothers and sisters in Christ.
We’re not told exactly what that temptation looked like in the hearts and minds of the two and a half tribes, but a few possibilities suggest themselves.
For one thing, we may feel entitled to free ourselves from our obligations because of our status. As one commentator points out, Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh were all first-born tribes – they were tribes whose patriarch was the firstborn of his mother. That might seem pretty inconsequential to us, but in a culture that valued the status of the firstborn, this may have shaped the self-understanding of these tribes in such a way that they were especially tempted to feel entitled to comfort, security, and prosperity, without having to serve tribes descended from younger brothers among the patriarchs. [Origen, 42]
And the truth is that we too have our own statuses that can lead us to arbitrarily conclude that we are exempt from certain obligations to others. It may not be birth order, but our profession, or our socioeconomic status, or our education level, or our family’s spiritual heritage, or our own position in the church, may tempt us to feel entitled to be free from certain obligations to serve other Christians in certain ways. We can view certain acts of service as below us. We can consider certain spiritual battles as being for other kinds of Christians to fight – not us.
But Numbers 32 reminds us that such a view not only grows out of pride and self-centeredness, but it also has the effect of dividing the body. And Moses condemns it.
On the other hand, what tempted the two and a half tribes to think this way may not have been status, but maybe it was past achievement. They determined that they’d earned this exemption and this advantage based on what they’d already done.
After all, Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh had fought to defeat Og and Sihon. Maybe they felt they had earned some rest and relief. Maybe they felt they had done enough to earn some peace and quiet. Such thoughts may have tempted them to try to get out of any obligation for further battle alongside their brothers. But once again, Moses condemns such thinking.
Or maybe it wasn’t entitlement but desire that drove them. Maybe they just wanted the land and the benefits that came with it. And they didn’t want their brothers and sisters among the people of God to get in their way. Why risk their neck for others when what they wanted was right before them? It seemed like a sensible plan. But, again, Moses condemns it.
We could go on. But rather than that, let’s ask a more difficult question: What does this kind of temptation look like for you? How are you tempted to let your status, or your past achievements, or your desires, free you from your obligation to come alongside and help your brothers and sisters in Christ?
Maybe for you it takes a worldly form, as you look at your earthly status, worldly achievements, or material desires and then seek to free yourself from serving other Christians.
But these temptations can take spiritual forms as well. Maybe you have some sort of spiritual status in your own mind, that exempts you from getting too involved in the messy lives of other believers.
Or maybe for you it’s about your spiritual achievements. You have already overcome a particular struggle with sin in your life, and so you feel like you’ve earned the right to put that behind you, rather than using your experience to help other Christians struggling in the trenches with that same sin you once struggled with.
Or maybe it’s about the phase of life you are in. You’ve already passed through the struggles of an earlier phase of life – whether childhood, or adolescence, or being a single adult, or having young children, and so you put the brothers and sisters in Christ who are facing the struggles of those earlier phases out of your mind. Why would you volunteer with the youth, or reach out to the singles, or serve in the nursery or children’s Sunday school – when you’ve already moved on securely to the next phase of life?
Of course that temptation can be reversed as well – in a culture obsessed with youth, why worry about the elderly, if you’re not yet old yourself?
In any case, we can easily be tempted to think that our phase of life excuses us from connection with and service to our brothers and sisters in Christ in other phases of life.
We could go on and on, because there are so many ways that we can separate ourselves from others, and excuse ourselves from reaching out to them, from getting to know them, and from getting into the trenches alongside them in the spiritual battle they may be facing right now in their lives.
It’s the temptation to let our brothers go to war, while we sit at a distance in comfort and security.
But we are called to resist such temptations, and to enter into the struggles of our brothers and sisters instead. We are called to remember the words of the Apostle Paul, who said: “God has so composed the body [meaning, the church], giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” [1 Corinthians 12:24b-26]
That is a unity forged by God. It is a unity rooted in Christ. It’s a unity that is not ultimately based in our shared interests, or our shared demographics. It’s not even rooted in how much we like the other person or understand what they are going through. But it is rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ, which unites us as one with fellow believers.
And it’s a unity not just contemplated in the abstract, but acted on in the struggles of life.
And so when our brother or sister faces worldly challenges, we are supposed to be willing to set aside our worldly prosperity or worldly goods to help in the battle they face.
When our brother or sister is struggling with sin, or with the challenges of a certain phase of life, or with the grief of a certain loss, we are supposed to be willing to fight alongside them – to get in the trenches with them, and to support them in love.
And it’s interesting to note that the help and support that the two and a half tribes gave was proactive, practical, and emotional.
First, it was proactive, as we read in verse eighteen that the two and a half tribes would not just follow the nine and a half into battle in the East, they would not just come alongside them, but they would actually lead the way – they would go out before them, as a vanguard. [Alter, 849; Brown, 285]
Second, it was practical, as the men of the two and a half tribes were not there as mere spectators, but went over armed, ready to fight, as we also read in verse eighteen.
And third, the support they gave was also emotional, as we read in Numbers 32:7 that one of Moses’s main concerns was that the two and a half tribes encourage rather than discourage their brothers as they went into battle.
And so, in the same way, we are called to come to the aid of our brothers and sisters proactively, practically, and emotionally engaged.
And that can happen in a range of different relationships. Sometimes we come to the aid of those who are more like our spiritual younger siblings. That is, symbolically, the pattern we see in our text. For us, it may mean reaching out to a younger, or less mature Christian, and helping them in their struggles.
Other times we may reach out to a brother or sister who is more of a peer – an equal. In some seasons they may need our support in battle. In other seasons we may need their support.
But in both cases such support is not cold and detached, but it requires a real relationship.
The Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck, after visiting America in 1892 said this – he wrote: “Work, eat, sleep – this is the substance of American life. There is no time left for convivial friendship and conversation.” [In Eglinton, 310]
Bavinck’s focus there, we should note, was not primarily on leisure, but relationships. Americans, he noted, fill their lives with work, and eating, and sleeping, and leave no time for the kind of conversations that cultivate real friendships.
Even today, 130 years later, this still rings true.
We may have much more entertainment in our lives than they did in 1892, but even our entertainment somehow becomes a source of business – one more thing in our lives that competes with conversation and friendship.
Do you see that pattern in your life? Do you see tasks – whether productive tasks or recreational tasks, filling your life in a way that leaves no time for conversation and friendship?
Without conversation and friendship, we cannot have the active unity of the Body that we see illustrated by our text. Because without making time for conversation, we will never even share information about our spiritual battles with one another, let alone give or receive help in those battles.
What younger brother or sister in the faith do you need to pursue this kind of friendship with? Or what brother or sister in a similar place as you in the faith, do you need to make time for, to foster the kind of conversation and then friendship that will allow you to help each other in the spiritual battles you face? And what personal pursuits in your life right now might you need set aside so that you are able to pursue those kinds of spiritual friendships?
The lesson we learn from the two and a half tribes is that rather than allowing our pursuit of our own advantage to free us from our obligations to our brothers and sisters in Christ, we must actively seek to join them in the trenches of their spiritual lives.
We must not let them go to war while we sit comfortable and secure at a distance.
That is the first lesson to learn from this text – the lesson from the two and a half tribes.
The Lesson from the Nine and a Half Tribes
But as Origen of Alexandria points out, the two and a half tribes are not the only ones who have a lesson for us to consider. The other nine and a half tribes have a second lesson for us to learn. [Origen, 42-43]
And that second lesson is that rather than refusing help, so as not to be a burden to others, we must actively seek help from our brothers and sisters in Christ in the spiritual battles that we face.
This doesn’t come up overtly in our text, but as I thought about the incident described here, I was especially struck by all the spiritual-sounding ways that Moses, or the nine and a half tribes could have resisted or refused help from the two and a half tribes in the battles to come.
“Well … we don’t want to be a burden,” they might have said. After all, the two and a half tribes had their own needs and their own families and their own land now to settle, and so wouldn’t it be more loving to refuse their help so they could tend to that? And yet Moses doesn’t even consider that option.
“God won’t give us more than we can handle, and so we’ll be okay – there’s no need for you to trouble yourself,” they might have said. It would have sounded very spiritual, even if biblically dubious. But once again, Moses doesn’t even consider that option.
“God has really grown us spiritually in the last forty years, and so we think we are ready to handle this ourselves,” they might have said. It need not have sounded arrogant, but it could have sounded like a trust in God’s work over the many years in the wilderness. And yet, still, Moses doesn’t even consider that option.
“Since victory is from God, we don’t need anyone else,” they might have said. That sounds extra spiritual, doesn’t it? But, again, Moses doesn’t even consider it.
“I’d like help, but I’m too ashamed to ask,” they might have thought to themselves. Even if they wanted the help, even if they thought they really needed it, they might have been ashamed to ask because of how it would look to others. And yet Moses does not even consider being ashamed for asking.
There are many reasons we may resist help, or fail to seek it out when we need it from our brothers or sisters in Christ. But God calls us to receive help when we face challenges, or temptations, or losses, or struggles of various kinds. As the Apostle Paul notes, God gave gifts to the different members for the common good, and he arranged the body so that each member could help others. The Body is designed to be interdependent.
It is not spiritual to reject the gift God has given us in the Body of Christ, neither is it shameful to receive that gift.
In fact, it glorifies God when we receive care and love and service from other members of the Body. It gives other members a chance to display the love of Christ. And it gives us a chance to display what humble reception of God’s grace in the gospel looks like. When we allow others to come to our assistance in our need, we glorify God – whether we receive help from a more mature brother or sister in the faith, or a peer who has a similar level of maturity to us.
Whatever form it may take, we are reminded by the nine and a half tribes that we must receive, and even actively seek help from our brothers and sisters in Christ, when we face spiritual battles of various kinds.
Where and How Does This Happen?
So, as believers, we need to come alongside and help our brothers and sisters in the battles they face, and we need to receive and even seek out help from others in the battles we face. That is what we see in our text here and in Numbers 32.
But how do we go about actually doing it?
Well, first, if we already have these kinds of relationships in our lives, we need to continue to cultivate and pursue them.
If you have a relationship with someone where, spiritually speaking, you are the older brother or sister, then you need to continue to care for that other person, and be willing to fight alongside them. Don’t let your own personal pursuits push that relationship to the side.
If you already have a relationship with a believer in which you are the younger brother or sister, spiritually speaking, then continue to cultivate and pursue that. Don’t assume that you should be graduating from that kind of relationship. Don’t assume that it would be more spiritual to send them away to attend to their own lives. Instead, value that relationship and continue to invest in it and to receive what they have to offer.
And if you have a relationship with a believer that is more mutual – where who helps who can vary from one season to another, or from one area of life to another, then maintain and invest in that relationship as well. Cultivate depth in that relationship, so that you spend time together actually talking about the spiritual aspects of life that really matter, and not just focusing on lighter or more superficial aspects of life. Lighter aspects of friendship, of course, have a place. But don’t let the superficial push out the real spiritual substance. Be intentional about the strength of such friendships, and actively fight against the ways that the busyness of life can try to push that relationship to the side.
That means being intentional in each of those relationships, and it may mean talking openly about your spiritual intentions for your friendship.
What though if you don’t have those kinds of relationships? What if you are isolated, and maybe you want those kinds of relationships – you want to help others, you want someone to help in the battles you are facing – but you just don’t have that right now?
In many churches there are both formal ways and informal ways to pursue such relationships. Formal ways are church programs that help facilitate these kinds of connections. Informal ways are the organic opportunities that you have to approach someone and proactively initiate these kinds of relationships.
Ideally, both of the formal and the informal elements work together in the local church. It reminds me of an analogy Abraham Kuyper used to describe two aspects of the Church. Kuyper pointed out that when a building is being built, there is both the scaffolding, and the actual building. The scaffolding is a lot like the institutional aspects of the church: a structure that is not, at the end of the day, the building itself, but something that is constructed in order to help build the building, and to rightly connect the materials that make up the true building. By employing the scaffolding wisely, builders are able to set brick on brick in an intentional way, and thus transform a pile of unconnected materials into a united whole – a new building. [Kuyper, 18]
Formal programs in the church can be like scaffolding, in that way – helping in transforming disconnected people into a united whole, helping create the kind of relationships we are talking about this morning.
The truth is … we could probably use a bit more of that kind of scaffolding here at Faith. It’s something that many of us have been thinking and talking about, and we continue to think and talk about. We have this kind of scaffolding – these kinds of programs to help brothers and sisters connect to one another – for some demographics of the church body more than for others. Creating such scaffolding – such structures to help all our members connect with others in these ways, is an area of needed growth and development for us. It is an important topic for us as we think about the long-term health of our congregation and of one another.
But what about the short-term? What about right now? The lack of some scaffolding may bring some limitations if we do not address it. That is true.
But it’s not true that a lack of scaffolding prevents us from any building at all. There are still plenty of bricks at hand, and plenty of opportunities to seek to lay our brick beside another one on the wall. It may take a bit more work without more supporting structures in place. But it is possible.
And we each need to take responsibility for what we are able to do.
And so, whom might you approach?
Who needs your help, and you have known that they do, but you have gotten caught up – caught up with your own pursuits, and you have left them to fight their battles alone, while you sit at a distance and attend to your own business?
You need to seek them out. You need to pick up your arms and take your place alongside them to fight as their brother or sister.
Whose help might you need? What battles are you facing, and while you may be trusting in the Lord, you also know you may need another brother or sister by your side, and you have someone in mind, but you’ve been hesitant to accept or to ask for help?
You need to acknowledge your need, and seek the help of your brother or sister. You need to admit that you are struggling, and ask them to come and fight by your side.
And again, whether you are thinking about a spiritually older, younger, or peer sibling in Christ, you may need to be direct when you approach them. You may need to tell them what your hopes are for the relationship, rather than just vaguely spending time with them and hoping things take the spiritual shape you have in mind. Stating such hopes out loud might feel awkward. But in Numbers 32 Moses was direct and awkward. And it worked out for the best. I urge you to follow his lead, and openly speak about the kind of active unity with your brothers and sisters that you are trying to cultivate as you face the battles of this life.
Conclusion
And as you do that – as you seek to join together in battle alongside your brothers and sisters – it is key that you recognize the real source of power in such battles.
Because the real source of what we receive is not just the strength of one another. The lesson of this story of scripture is not just a spiritualized version of the common-sense idea that there is more safety or success in numbers.
And that point is made clear right in verses 21 and 22 of our text. Moses says to Joshua, and with him to all Israel – he says: “Your eyes have seen all that Yahweh your God has done to these two kings. So will Yahweh do to all the kingdoms into which you are crossing. You shall not fear them, for it is Yahweh your God who fights for you.”
It was God who fought for them, and he would give them the victory.
The nine and a half tribes needed the two and a half tribes with them not because the additional bodies and the additional swords were what would make the difference between victory and defeat. They needed them because God, in the mystery and the wisdom of his ways, had chosen to give victory through the active and faithful unity of his people. He would give the victory. But he would work through his people as they offered themselves, and their care and service for their brothers and sisters among the people of God.
And so God continues to work. When you come alongside a brother or sister in Christ, and you enter the trenches with them, it is not just you who stands beside them in battle, but it is Christ. Christ is present to them through you. And through you, he will care for and defend your brother or your sister.
When you are the one struggling, and a brother or sister comes alongside you … and you let them help you … it is not just they who are at your side, but Christ is as well. Though he is always with his people, he is present in a special way in and through your sister or brother who comes to you and ministers to you in a time of need.
And so, not because we trust in one another, but because we trust in Christ, let us seek to draw close to one another in spiritual friendship – so that when the battles come, we may bear one another’s burdens, and build one another up, through the work of Christ, our victorious King.
For where two or three are gathered in his name, there he is among us.
Amen.
—
This sermon draws on material from:
Aelred of Rievaulx. Spiritual Friendship. Translated by Lawrence C. Braceland. Cistercian Fathers Series Number Five. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2010.
Alter, Robert. The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary. New York, NY: Norton, 2004.
Barker, Paul. Introduction and notes to Deuteronomy in The ESV Study Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008.
Block, Daniel I. The NIV Application Commentary: Deuteronomy. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012.
Brown, Raymond. The Message of Numbers. The Bible Speaks Today. Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 2002.
Eglinton, James. Bavinck: A Critical Biography. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2020.
Kuyper, Abraham. Rooted & Grounded: The Church as Organism and Institution. Translated by Nelson D. Kloosterman. Foreword and Introduction by John Halsey Wood Jr. Grand Rapids, MI: Christian’s Library Press, 2013.
Origen. Homilies on Joshua. Translated by Barbara J. Bruce. Edited by Cynthia White. Washington DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2002.Wright, Christopher. Deuteronomy. NIBC. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996.
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