Our text for today creates a distinction between the older generation and the younger:
Thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway.
And know ye this day: for I speak not with your children which have not known, and which have not seen the chastisement of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his stretched out arm,
Deuteronomy 11:1-2
The Responsibility of Experience
In this verse, Moses is addressing the adult Israelites, reminding them of their personal experiences with God’s power and provision during their journey through the wilderness. The phrase “know ye this day” emphasizes the importance of acknowledging God’s presence and guidance in the present moment.
Moses then contrasts the experiences of the adult Israelites with those of their children, who “have not known, and which have not seen the chastisement of the LORD your God.”
This refers to the younger generation who were not yet born or too young to remember the events of the Exodus and the wilderness wanderings. Moses highlights that the children have not witnessed God’s discipline. They have not experienced His greatness, mighty hand, and stretched out arm – all of which are expressions of divine power and protection.
The mention of God’s “chastisement” refers to the various trials and hardships the Israelites faced during their journey. Their time in the wilderness served as both discipline and instruction for the people. The “greatness” of God speaks to His divine attributes and supreme authority. His “mighty hand” and “stretched out arm” symbolize His strength and ability to deliver the Israelites from their enemies.
I’m not talking to you
God has a message for the people, but He spoke only to the “numbered.” He said to the younger generation, “I’m not talking to you.”
God’s message was that those who experienced the deliverance, provision, miracles, judgment, and chastening of the Lord had a responsibility to communicate their experience to their children.
God’s promise to the Israelites
God’s anger with the people led to a disturbing promise:
Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me,
Numbers 14:29
God expected those who could go to war to cross over Jordan and claim the Promised land. Because of their disobedience, God sentenced them to death over a period of 40 years.
The “numbered”
After the Israelites rejected the Promised Land, God promised that every one that was numbered would die in the wilderness.
To understand who had to die, we need to ask…
Who was numbered?
Recorded in the Book of Numbers, the census of the people included 20-year-old men that could go to war.
Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of [their] names, every male by their polls;
From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies.
Numbers 1:2-3
God did not number those who could not go to war and the women, so they did not die in the wilderness.
This means God expected many older women and disabled men to teach the younger generation. These younger people needed to know about their experiences, including bondage, deliverance, the rejection of the Promised Land, their sin, God’s mercy, and miracles.
Notice, God did not hold accountable the “un-numbered” for the sins of the older generation.
Of course, we speak of that historical period. Eventually, the new generations would reject God.
The responsibility of experience
Like the Israelites, we have a story to tell to younger generations. We can tell them about the wages of sin, the gift of salvation, the chastening hand of God, and the blessing of guidance through the Holy Spirit..
In summary, Deuteronomy 11:2 serves as a reminder to the adult Israelites of their personal experiences with God’s power and provision during their journey through the wilderness, as well as the need to pass on this knowledge and faith to the younger generation who did not directly witness these events.
God is not talking to your children: He’s talking to you.
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