July 1, 2026 - Deuteronomy 3 & Psalm 124

We read Deuteronomy 3 and Psalm 124, then connect them through one steady theme: God tells His people to remember past deliverance so they can face future battles without fear. We talk through why the hard details in Deuteronomy matter, how God strengthens Joshua through memory, and why Psalm 124 turns near-disaster into worship. 

For more information about Compass Bible Church South Valley, visit compassbiblesv.org. Keep reading. Keep growing. God’s Word is a lamp to your feet, and a light to your path. 

Transcript

Welcome And Purpose

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Welcome to the Lamp and Light Boboing Plan, where we are seeking to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength with God's word lighting the way. I'm Josiah Smith, joined by Tyler Sanborn. Today is Wednesday, July 1st, 2026.

Scripture Reading Deuteronomy 3

SPEAKER_01 0:25

Listen intently to God's written word, Deuteronomy 3. Then we turned and went up the way to Bashan, and Og, the king of Bashan, came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edriai. But the Lord said to me, Do not fear him, for I have given him all his people and his land into your hand, and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon, the king of the Amorites who lived at Heshbon. So the Lord our God gave into our hand Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people, and we struck him down until he had no survivor left. And we took all his cities at that time. There was not a city that we did not take from them, sixty cities, the whole region of Argob, the kingdom of Og, in Bashan. All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides very many unwalled villages, and we devoted them to destruction, as we did to Sihon, the king of Heshbon, devoting to destruction every city, men, women, and children. But all the livestock and the spoil of the cities we took as our plunder. So we took the land at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, from the valley of Arnon to Mount Hermon. The Sidonians called Hermon Syrion, while the Amorites called it Senir. All the cities of the Tableland, and all Gilead and all Bashan, as far as Salekah and Edriai, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. For only Og, the king of Bashan, was left of the remnant of the Rephaim. Behold, his bed was a bed of iron. Is it not in Rabah of the Ammonites? Nine cubit was its length, and four cubits its breadth, according to the common cubit. When we took possession of this land at that time, I gave to the Reubenites and the Gadites the territory beginning at Arorar, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, and half the hill country of Gilead with its cities. 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 Anasseh. All that portion of Bashan is called the land of Raphaim. Jair, the Manassite, took all the region of Argob, that is, Bashan, as far as the border of the Gesherites and the Maakathites, and called the villages after his own name, Havath Jair, as it is to this day. To Makir I gave Gilead, 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 Jabak, the border of the Ammonites, the Arabah also with the Jordan, as the border, from Chinnareth, as far as the sea of the Araba, the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisgah on the east. And I commanded you at that time, saying, The Lord 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. 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, until the Lord gives rest to your brothers, as to you, they also occupy the land that the Lord your God gives them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may return to his possession which I have given you. And I commanded Joshua at that time, your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. So will the Lord do to all the kingdoms into which you are crossing. You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you. And I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying, O Lord God, you have only begun to show your servant your greatness and your mighty hand. For what God is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours? Please let me go over and see the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country in Lebanon. But the Lord was angry with me because of you, and would not listen to me. And the Lord said to me, Enough from you, do not speak to me of this matter again. Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift up your eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and look at it with your eyes, for you shall not go over this Jordan, but charge Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, for he shall go over at the head of this people, and he shall put them in possession of the land that you shall see. So we remained in the valley opposite Beth Poeir.

Scripture Reading Psalm 124

SPEAKER_00 4:40

Psalm 124. If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, let Israel now say, If it had not been the Lord who was on our side when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us. Then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us, then over us would have gone the raging waters. Blessed be the Lord who has not given us as prey to their teeth. We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers. The snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord who has made heaven and earth.

Why Deuteronomy 3 Matters

SPEAKER_01 5:29

Deuteronomy three is a hard chapter to read. We were laughing here in the office because those names and those places I was struggling with. So if you listen through that, thank you for your kindness and your patience. But it is, though it is a difficult chapter to read, it is an important chapter because actually they are they're kind of looking back. There's a reminiscence here of these victories that they have already secured as a means, I think, to just be encouraged and to be reminded of the Lord's uh strength, of the Lord's provision and protection. Again, as they're about to enter into the promised land by crossing the Jordan River. So even I think of uh you know, verse 21, and I commanded Joshua at that time, your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. So will the Lord do to all the kingdoms into which you are crossing. So basically, God is saying, Remember the the king of what is it, Sihon, and then the king of Og. Remember their defeat, remember how swift it was, remember how decisive it was. Now keep that in your mind, Israel, keep that in your mind, Joshua, as you are about to enter into the promised land, and you've got some more battles that you're going to face, you've got some more conquering that needs to be done, but remember what I have already accomplished in and through you, through your swords, through your armies, through your battles. And he's doing that as a means to encourage them not to fear. He says, So will the Lord do to all the kingdoms into which you are crossing. You shall not fear them. For it is the Lord your God who fights for you.

Do Not Fear God Fights

SPEAKER_01 7:12

And uh, what an encouraging thing that God is saying right here that the Lord fights for you, Joshua. Imagine, you know, some for some reason I just think of um a bully on the on the playground. You know, he's big, uh, he's scary, and and got some hair hair. Someone, yeah, he's got facial hair, even though we're all in elementary school. It's it's confusing. Uh, but someone bigger than him, someone stronger than him comes to your aid and says, Don't worry, I've got you, I'll take care of this for you. I mean, that's kind of the picture here, right? Where they're gonna enter into this land where to just objectively, you know, they're they've got some some bigger, stronger, you might even say better enemies. Yeah. Uh, and yet God fights for them. So God's reminding them of these victories that they've already secured over these two kings, right? He's done all these to these two kings, remember them. Um, because I will do to all the kingdoms in which you are crossing. Therefore, do not fear. You have no reason to fear. God stands by you. That's what he's saying to Joshua, that's what he's saying to Israel. So just a great encouragement, just something to hopefully give them a sense of confidence as they cross the Jordan legitimately into battle. That's where they're heading.

SPEAKER_00 8:32

Yeah. God is their champion. He is the one who is undefeated, who has no losses and will not lose ever. And uh, I was just thinking about the ways that um opponents would would face us in our life. It might be a person, a challenge, a group of people. Um, but if the Lord is for us, who can be against God? Who could it be against his people if the Lord is providing the victory? It is God who fights for his people.

Psalm 124 And Help From God

SPEAKER_00 9:00

And uh thinking about the the ways that God is providing, we can slide over to our psalm in 124, and we see again this common theme of if it wasn't for God, if it wasn't for him, if it wasn't for his provision, we would have been consumed, swallowed up completely. There's uh some more imagery to uh to flood, whether that being the uh the great flood or the the exodus here in verses four and five, and uh I think about uh the ways that a prey would go about securing its meal, uh the predator rather that would go after the prey. If the predator, uh this this enemy or foe has a claws or talons or teeth, these are the ways that they would secure their prey, but yeah, there is no uh no teeth to be seen, no talons, uh no claws for those who are protected by the Lord because they are in in his safety, under his wings, and in his refuge that that God provides.

SPEAKER_01 10:04

Yeah, now when we need to remember that this is another psalm of ascent, where again it's traditionally believed to be a sort of pilgrimage that Israelites would make upward into the city of Jerusalem, and on that sort of upward march, they would have these songs to remind themselves and rehearse theological truths. And this is attributed to David, it's one of the songs of ascent that are attributed to David, and he's reflecting on the many is the many enemies of Israel. Israel has had lots of enemies, even up until the point of writing this, and they continue to have enemies after this. Uh, even to this day, Israel has enemies in this world. And so David's just reflecting on the reality that uh, verse 6 blessed be the Lord who has not given us as prey to their teeth. We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers. The snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth. Of course, that sounds very similar to Psalm 121 that Tyler wrote for us on Sunday. Uh, where does our help come from? Our help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. And so there's this reality that David is reflecting on, and of course, corporately Israel would reflect on together in this preparation as they made the ascension to Jerusalem to prepare for a feast or a celebration of that kind of variety, and they were rehearsing for themselves the protection that God uh was providing for the nation as a whole, that God was delivering them from their enemies. And you can even think about that in the context of Deuteronomy. That's part of uh what's going on there. That God is saying, Remember these two kings, these two kingdoms that have fallen by your sword, because I have allowed it and made it so. Do not fear when you enter into Canaan. Why? Because their help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth. So just some great encouragements and some connections there that we see uh from both Deuteronomy 3 and here in Psalm 124.

Closing And Where To Learn More

SPEAKER_01 11:58

Well, thank you so much for joining us today on the Lamp and Light Bible Reading Podcast. For more information about Compass Bible Church South Valley, visit compass Bible SV.org. Keep reading, keep growing. God's word is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path.