David Bahn – Reflections

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These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Joshua 6-8, Psalm 91.

Joshua 8:30-35

At that time Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, ³¹ just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the people of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, “an altar of uncut stones, upon which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings. ³² And there, in the presence of the people of Israel, he wrote on the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. ³³ And all Israel, sojourner as well as native born, with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on opposite sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, half of them in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded at the first, to bless the people of Israel. ³⁴ And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. ³⁵ There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners who lived among them.

The destruction of Jericho by a band of priests and people marching and blowing trumpets is followed by the sad story of Achan, who took some silver for himself and was executed because he had transgressed the covenant of the LORD and done an outrageous thing in Israel (7:15). This is discovered only because of the ignominious defeat of Israel when they first attacked Ai. When Joshua cried out to the LORD because of this defeat, he learned of Achan’s treachery.

When the time comes to attack Ai – this time at the LORD’s bidding – a plan is devised by which the men of Ai are lured away from the city and ambushed by the men Joshua had positioned for that purpose. God gave Jericho into Israel’s hand by means of the blast of a trumpet. God now gives Ai into Israel’s hand by means of stealth and strategy.

After the victory, Joshua builds an altar to the LORD on Mount Ebal and reads the Law of Moses before the people. He recognizes that both the path behind them and the one ahead of them are the LORD’s. Yet even this points beyond itself. One day another offering would be made on a hill outside the city—the sacrifice of God’s Son to atone for the sins of the world.

Wednesday of Holy Week is much like that – quiet, but not empty. While Jesus continues on the path set before him, hidden plans are unfolding. Judas arranges his betrayal, and the leaders move forward with their scheme – not with noise and spectacle, but with strategy and stealth. No crowds, no miracles, just the quiet working of sin alongside the steady unfolding of God’s purpose. It is a sobering reminder that even in the ordinary and unseen moments, we are either participating in what God is doing or working against it. Yet none of this takes Jesus by surprise. He moves forward willingly, not deterred, but resolved to go to the cross for us.

Sometimes God’s work is miraculous and dramatic, like the walls of Jericho. Sometimes it comes through strategy and stealth, like the second battle of Ai. Our calling is to look to Jesus and seek his ways in all of life. Not every challenge we face is desperate and decisive. But every day we are given opportunities either to participate in what God is doing or to work against it.

Moses’ promise has been fulfilled: the prophet like him has come – and more than a prophet, he is the Son, the one to whom we must listen. In his death and resurrection he has secured forgiveness, life, and salvation, and he now speaks God’s truth and gives his grace for all – gifts received not by our effort, but by faith because God was at work through him – for our good and the praise of his glorious grace.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Joshua 3-5, Psalm 90.

Joshua 3:9-17

And Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” ¹⁰ And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. ¹¹ Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan. ¹² Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man. ¹³ And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.”

¹⁴ So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, ¹⁵ and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), ¹⁶ the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷ Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.

Strength and courage writ large today! No staff-waving. No waiting for the winds to blow back the waters of the Red Sea. No dry ground in advance of their advancement. The waters of the Jordan are flowing. The priests carrying the Ark of the LORD step into the river. The waters stop. They pile high while the priests stand in the riverbed and the people of Israel pass through.

I can imagine the trepidation of everyone involved. Will the river waters really stop? Will the priests stay there while everyone passes over into the land? Will the waters stay piled up until everyone is across and the priests finish their duties? I can imagine people down stream waiting and seeing the waters stop flowing so that the pathway is larger and larger. I can imagine people shaking their heads in disbelief – only they are seeing what they can’t believe. I’m shaking my head now as I imagine this scene.

Joshua is being validated as Israel’s new leader. The priests were giving an object lesson of their function: holding back the waters as an image of their duties to stand between God’s judgment and the people. The people were given a lessons in faith, in God’s providential sovereignty over all things, and in his promise to give them the Promised Land. And Joshua was given a booster shot of courage and strength, for he is seeing the strength of God in their behalf. This is how they will overcome their enemies and occupy the land.

This is but a prelude to the next great sign from God when the walls of Jericho will come a-tumblin’ down. God is delivering on a promise he had made to Abraham centuries before. The deed isn’t done yet, but I cannot help but fast-forward into the centuries ahead. Eventually they will lose their land. They will lose their temple. The final Old Testament prophet – John the Baptist – tells the people of his day that their ancestry means nothing apart from God’s favor and grace. He can raise up stones to become his children (Luke 3:8). That’s why there would need some day to come a Savior the True Israel who will lead his people into the eternal promised land.

Let the crossing of the Jordan remind us of our baptism, by which we gain access into the family of God.

Think of the twelve stones as pointing to the living stones which God is using to build a spiritual house for his praise (1 Peter 2:5).

Imagine Rahab the harlot as foreshadowing of the woman taken in adultery whom Jesus forgave and sent her on her way to a new life (John 8:10-11).

Realize that just as the walls of Jericho fell when the people marched around the city and blew their trumpets at God’s command, just so, the stone in front of Jesus’ grave rolled away at his command and the Champion of Grace, Truth, Love, and Faith will rise. His reign will never end!

This is Holy Week. We’ll see Jesus at every turn even in these Old Testament accounts. Thanks be to God!

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Deuteronomy 34, Joshua 1-2, Psalm 89.

Deuteronomy 26:16-19

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ assistant, ² “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. ³ Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. ⁴ From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. ⁵ No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. ⁶ Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. ⁷ Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. ⁸ This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. ⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

God must be serious about Joshua’s need to be strong and courageous. Three times in these opening verses the command is repeated. “Be strong and courageous,” God tells Joshua, “for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them” (v. 6). Then again: “Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you” (v. 7). And once more: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (v. 9).

Moses is dead. The words land with a jarring finality. The great leader who brought Israel out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and across the wilderness now stands at the edge of the Promised Land no longer. He endured complaints and rebellion, stood between God and the people, and spoke with the Lord face to face. But now he is gone. Joshua is the anointed leader. He is in charge. And into that moment comes God’s command: be strong and courageous.

The very next verse adds another dimension. Joshua must be strong and courageous not only to lead, but to remain faithful – to do all that Moses had commanded according to God’s Word. Following the Lord’s ways – especially as a leader – is no small task. Jesus himself speaks of the narrow way. Faithfulness requires strength of heart and courage of spirit. Sometimes that means resisting temptation; other times it means standing firm against pressure. Such courage is essential, especially for those who lead God’s people.

Then comes the third command – this time anchored in a promise: “Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” This is the foundation of it all. The call to courage is never given apart from the promise of God’s presence. Just as the Lord was with Moses, so he will be with Joshua (v. 5). The command and the promise belong together.

God is at work in each of us. Some are called to visible and demanding vocations – soldiers, EMTs, firefighters, police officers. As a pastor, I have needed strength and courage to lead God’s people. But all of us are called, in our own places, to stand firm and act faithfully. Whether resisting the temptation to drift from God’s mission or standing against pressures that pull us away from his ways, we hear these words and take courage from his promise: he is with us wherever we go.

And above all, we look to Jesus. He faced every temptation, yet without sin. Though he is the Son of God, he did not turn inward in self-preservation, but gave himself fully – even to the suffering of the cross. Where we falter and fail, he stands firm for us. He is our true and faithful leader, who has gone before us and now leads us into the Promised Land of life with God.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Deuteronomy 25-27, Psalm 86.

Deuteronomy 26:16-19

“This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and rules. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. ¹⁷ You have declared today that the Lord is your God, and that you will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his rules, and will obey his voice. ¹⁸ And the Lord has declared today that you are a people for his treasured possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, ¹⁹ and that he will set you in praise and in fame and in honor high above all nations that he has made, and that you shall be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised.”

How do you identify yourself? Sometime in the past when she was asked about her church, Diane responded, “I am a follower of Jesus, and I worship in a Lutheran community.” That might not satisfy some who would wish for either, “I’m a Lutheran,” or “I’m a Christian.” But I think it is just right. Some don’t know what a Lutheran is. Others have preconceived notions about both Lutherans and Christians. Follower of Jesus brings him to the fore of the conversation. That’s where he belongs.

Years ago a group of pastors were having lunch and our server made a point of telling us she was a lesbian. I’m not sure what she expected from us; and frankly it may have just been a way to fend off unwanted advances. But I was saddened that she felt the need to make that her identity. We are more than our sexual orientation. Much much more.

Then there are those who broadcast their political affiliations on Facebook, X, or Instagram. Others make it all about their favorite sports team. Have you seen how some people dress up for games?

How do you identify yourself? Notice how God identifies his people here. They are a people for his treasured possession, and that they shall be a people holy to the Lord your God.” Notice the words after each: “as he has promised.”

Our ultimate identity is not self-chosen. It’s not up to us to claim to be a child of God. We become children of God through faith. John says it well: To those who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12). This is God’s promise. He has initiated the relationship by his grace. Just as he called Israel out of Egypt, God has called us out of the darkness of sin and death to faith in his Son.

We are his beloved sons and daughters by faith. That is our true identity. This is not only something to remember, it must shape our behavior in every aspect of life as we walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his rules, and obey his voice. This is how we show we have been redeemed, and that we are his children – all by God’s grace through faith in Jesus – in whom our true identity is founded and centered.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Deuteronomy 22-24, Psalm 85.

Deuteronomy 24:17-22

“You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow’s garment in pledge, ¹⁸ but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.

¹⁹ “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. ²⁰ When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. ²¹ When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. ²² You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.

There are some wildly different rules and laws in these chapters. They range all the way from men wearing women’s clothing, to two kinds of grain in the same furrow, to the way a man is to treat his wife, and the manner in which restitution and repayment is to be required. Some of them seem tender: the way one is to treat a bird’s nest in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs (22:6). Some of them seem curious, like the prohibition against wearing cloth of wool and linen mixed together (22:11).

These laws show how God’s people are to live out justice, holiness, and love for neighbor in the ordinary, everyday details of life. And that becomes more obvious as we look closer to see that some deal with the manner in which the love for neighbor is to be expressed. They deal with returning lost property (22:1–4), building a parapet on a roof for safety (22:8), caring for the vulnerable (widows, sojourners, the poor) (24:17–22), fair wages paid promptly (24:14–15).

Some of them deal with protecting the weak and vulnerable: women in marriage laws, the poor through gleaning laws, debtors through limits on collateral, hired workers through just treatment. Deuteronomy 22–24 may seem like a collection of disconnected rules, but together they paint a picture of what life with God looks like in practice. These laws take the command to love God and love neighbor and press it into everyday situations – how we treat others, how we handle property, how we exercise power, and how we care for the vulnerable. God is not only giving laws; he is forming a people whose daily lives reflect his justice, mercy, and holiness.

That becomes most clear in the admonition: “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this” (24:22). That memory – and the call to show mercy, justice for the weak, and care for others – shaped Jesus’ ministry far more than concerns about what kinds of cloth may be worn together or the tassels on the corners of garments. He quotes Hosea 6:6: “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,” pointing us to a righteousness of the heart and calling us to treat others with dignity.

This matters more than technical adherence to legalistic rules. This – more than any outward clothing or ritual observance – should mark us as followers of Jesus and heirs of his salvation.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Deuteronomy 19-21, Psalm 84.

Deuteronomy 19:15-21

“A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established. ¹⁶ If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing, ¹⁷ then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. ¹⁸ The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, ¹⁹ then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. ²⁰ And the rest shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you. ²¹ Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

In Deuteronomy 19–21, God’s law meets real life. These are not abstract commands, but concrete situations—questions about justice, responsibility, life, and death. Again and again, the pattern is the same: When this happens… here is what you are to do. God is shaping his people to live faithfully not just in principle, but in the complicated realities of everyday life. Moses is laying out a system of justice designed in such a way that, even when every possible situation is not addressed, there is a guiding principle for how God’s people are to act.

The scales of justice are meant to be balanced. When someone suffers loss, there is to be a just and measured restoration. In that light, the familiar phrase “eye for eye, tooth for tooth” sounds very different. Rather than a harsh or vengeful demand, it reflects a principle of fairness—justice that is proportionate and evenhanded. Years ago I heard it as a stern quid pro quo; here it reads more like a safeguard against excess, ensuring that justice neither overreaches nor falls short.

By the time Jesus came, however, these case laws had been so refined and expanded that the spirit of the Law was often obscured. People became more concerned with the details of Sabbath observance than with the purpose of the Sabbath—and failed to recognize the Lord of the Sabbath standing in their midst.

True justice amounts to more than keeping the scales balanced. When Jesus was asked, “Who is my neighbor?” or was told, “Tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me,” he did not simply apply the law—he called people deeper. At times he said, “Go and do likewise.” At other times, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and sin no more.” Jesus does not discard the Law, but fulfills it, revealing its true goal: faithful love and gracious compassion.

This is what pastors seek as they serve God’s people. We wrestle with real situations and real lives, asking: What does faithfulness look like here? In pastoral circles, this is often called casuistry—the careful application of God’s Word to specific and sometimes difficult circumstances. But it is not only about getting the answer right; it is about leading people to Jesus, the source of true justice, mercy, and love.

God’s justice is finally and fully revealed in Jesus Christ, and it is received by faith. So next time we are looking for justice, let our starting point be the justice and mercy Jesus provides, and let grace and truth guide our judgements.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

NOTE: As I thought about this post after I had sent it, I realized there is something more I would like to say at the end. So here again it is with an additional thought at the end.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Deuteronomy 16-18, Psalm 83.

Deuteronomy 18:15-18

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— ¹⁶ just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ ¹⁷ And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. ¹⁸ I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 

A friend and colleague retired a couple of years ago and—as planned, and as I did—didn’t really retire. He recognized that his gifts and experiences, shaped through decades of faithful ministry (not always easy, but enduring), had equipped him to continue serving. In his case, that meant helping congregations navigate transitions following the retirement of a long-tenured senior pastor. His ministry is called Always Forward Ministries.

He was determined to keep moving forward, looking ahead, and helping others do the same for the sake of God’s mission. That idea resonates with me as well. I love helping churches engage in faithful, strategic mission planning—and I carry that same focus with me as I assist congregations in calling pastors to lead them into the future.

But neither my friend nor I can claim that orientation as our own. Moses, too, ends his ministry with his eyes on the future. Standing with Israel on the edge of the Promised Land, he points them beyond himself. He speaks of a prophet yet to come: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me… to him you shall listen.” This is a messianic prophecy, pointing beyond Moses to the Messiah who was still to come.

Moses had been the great mediator of the covenant, yet he makes clear that another is coming—one who will speak God’s Word with full authority. This promise is not merely about the ongoing line of prophets, but about a greater prophet still to come. The urgency is unmistakable: when he comes, you must listen to him.

The New Testament identifies that promised prophet as Jesus. Peter applies this passage directly to Christ in Acts 3:22–23, and Stephen does the same in Acts 7:37. At the Transfiguration—where Moses and Elijah appear and speak with Jesus—the Father’s voice echoes Moses’ words: “This is my Son… listen to him” (Matthew 17:5). Moses prepared the way, but Jesus is the fulfillment—the final and authoritative Word of God to his people.

And yet, even though Jesus has come—God’s final Word (cf. Hebrews 1:1–2)—we live much like Israel in the wilderness. We have been rescued, but we have not yet entered the Promised New Heaven and New Earth. Jesus himself warns that many false prophets will arise and lead many astray before that day.

Moses’ promise has been fulfilled: the prophet like him has come—and more than a prophet, he is the Son, the one to whom we must listen. In his death and resurrection he has secured forgiveness, life, and salvation, and he now speaks God’s truth and gives his grace for all. We receive these gifts not by our effort, but by faith, for Jesus has not only spoken the full and final word of God, he embodied God’s grace and truth and sacrificed himself for us and for our eternal salvation. He will come again at the end of time and receive all who are his own into his glorious everlasting kingdom – the ultimate Promised Land.

Additional Thought: So let’s do what Moses said we must, and what God himself confirmed on the mount of Transfiguration. Let’s listen to Jesus. Listen in the Hebrew sense which means listen to and do what Jesus says. Love one another. Share the gospel with the world. Repent and believe the gospel. Celebrate his Supper. Believe in him.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Deuteronomy 16-18, Psalm 83.

Deuteronomy 18:15-18

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— ¹⁶ just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ ¹⁷ And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. ¹⁸ I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 

A friend and colleague retired a couple of years ago and—as planned, and as I did—didn’t really retire. He recognized that his gifts and experiences, shaped through decades of faithful ministry (not always easy, but enduring), had equipped him to continue serving. In his case, that meant helping congregations navigate transitions following the retirement of a long-tenured senior pastor. His ministry is called Always Forward Ministries.

He was determined to keep moving forward, looking ahead, and helping others do the same for the sake of God’s mission. That idea resonates with me as well. I love helping churches engage in faithful, strategic mission planning—and I carry that same focus with me as I assist congregations in calling pastors to lead them into the future.

But neither my friend nor I can claim that orientation as our own. Moses, too, ends his ministry with his eyes on the future. Standing with Israel on the edge of the Promised Land, he points them beyond himself. He speaks of a prophet yet to come: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me… to him you shall listen.” This is a messianic prophecy, pointing beyond Moses to the Messiah who was still to come.

Moses had been the great mediator of the covenant, yet he makes clear that another is coming—one who will speak God’s Word with full authority. This promise is not merely about the ongoing line of prophets, but about a greater prophet still to come. The urgency is unmistakable: when he comes, you must listen to him.

The New Testament identifies that promised prophet as Jesus. Peter applies this passage directly to Christ in Acts 3:22–23, and Stephen does the same in Acts 7:37. At the Transfiguration—where Moses and Elijah appear and speak with Jesus—the Father’s voice echoes Moses’ words: “This is my Son… listen to him” (Matthew 17:5). Moses prepared the way, but Jesus is the fulfillment—the final and authoritative Word of God to his people.

And yet, even though Jesus has come—God’s final Word (cf. Hebrews 1:1–2)—we live much like Israel in the wilderness. We have been rescued, but we have not yet entered the Promised New Heaven and New Earth. Jesus himself warns that many false prophets will arise and lead many astray before that day.

Moses’ promise has been fulfilled: the prophet like him has come—and more than a prophet, he is the Son, the one to whom we must listen. In his death and resurrection he has secured forgiveness, life, and salvation, and he now speaks God’s truth and gives his grace for all. We receive these gifts not by our effort, but by faith, for Jesus has not only spoken the full and final word of God, he embodied God’s grace and truth and sacrificed himself for us and for our eternal salvation. He will come again at the end of time and receive all who are his own into his glorious everlasting kingdom – the ultimate Promised Land.

Click here for an audio version of this blog post.

These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are Deuteronomy 13-18, Psalm 82.

Deuteronomy 13:1-11

“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, ² and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ ³ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. ⁴ You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. ⁵ But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

⁶ “If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or the wife you embrace or your friend who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which neither you nor your fathers have known, ⁷ some of the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other, ⁸ you shall not yield to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him. ⁹ But you shall kill him. Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. ¹⁰ You shall stone him to death with stones, because he sought to draw you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. ¹¹ And all Israel shall hear and fear and never again do any such wickedness as this among you.

Recently I watched an exposé on the collapse of Robert Schuller’s ministry and the ultimate bankruptcy and sale of his Crystal Cathedral to the Roman Catholic Dioceses of LA or Southern California. It is quite a saga – and a sad one on many counts.

The producers of that video offered a false prophet checklist to help people today from being taken in by those teachers and preachers who leverage God-talk for their own personal gain. The list is centered mostly around financial transparency, personal aggrandizement, and moral behavior, and as far as it goes it’s not too bad.

Biblically speaking, a true prophet both speaks what is true and leads people to the true God; failure in either reveals a false prophet. The New Testament adds that a true prophet points people rightly to Christ. Is the prophecy true to the revealed word of God? Do the predictions come to pass? Does the message point people rightly to Christ? These are the three critical questions we must ask if we are to avoid being misled into sin and misbelief.

In the case of the people of Israel the question of other gods was clear and obvious. The pagan religions had their gods and were unashamedly devoted to them. Moses was warning the people not to be taken in by their religious fervor or prevelance. Stay true to the LORD he was saying here. Watch to see if what they predict comes to pass he says in chapter 18.

This is so important that he attaches the death penalty to anyone who would lead them astray. And it is brutally to be carried out. That was so all Israel shall hear and fear and never again do any such wickedness as this among you (13:11).

Few people wish to return to such brutal justice today. Jesus himself refused to condemn a woman caught in the act of adultery, refusing to condone stoning her. And those who were the keepers of the true faith of Israel conspired to have him killed by Roman authorities for blasphemy and being essentially the worst kind of false prophet.

Jesus, however, being the embodiment of truth showed himself to be a true prophet by pointing people again and again to God’s promises and validating those promises by rising from the dead just as he said he would. That truth connected with the profound grace of God is the foundation of true religion. He is the One who is the source of covenant faithfulness – which is what the book of Deuteronomy is all about.