I drove past a homeless guy yesterday. My gut reaction was compassion. Then my brain reasoned that there’s nothing I can do for him, I just need to love the people that I know and it will multiply out and eventually reach him, or not. Not my responsibility. By the time I remembered what I’ve been learning about Jesus and his kingdom, I was past him. It’s slow and difficult changing paradigms!

I’m reading through the Old Testament, and today was Deuteronomy chapter 3: random stories about wars and then how Moses isn’t allowed to go into the Promised Land. As I read, I noticed how my perspective has changed through the years and how it affects what I understand. Here are three ways I’ve read this chapter, based on my world view at the time.

1. Jesus is My Personal Savior

Growing up, this was my paradigm. So when I read Deuteronomy 3 as a youth, I saw that Moses, who brought the Law, faithfully led God’s people through the wilderness, but because of his sin, he was not allowed to enter the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 3:27). He could only see it from a distance.

The Law can lead us to Christ, but salvation is not achieved through obedience to the Law but by faith. Only Joshua (Yeshua) could lead them into the Promised Land. This hints at Jesus, the true Yeshua, the only one who can bring us into the fullness of God’s kingdom. Salvation is not through our own efforts, but through Christ alone.

Jesus forgives me for not loving the homeless guy.

2. Go and Make Disciples

For most of my adult life, I’ve understood the goal is not just for me to be saved, but to multiply disciples who multiply disciples. Through that lens I would see that Moses commissions and encourages Joshua to continue the work of leading Israel (Deuteronomy 3:28) affirming that God will be with him as He was with Moses.

God’s work is not meant to stop with one leader. It must multiply and continue through faithful disciples. The mission of making disciples is not about just gathering followers but about equipping others to carry the message forward. Every generation must raise up new leaders who will continue the work of God.

Jesus has given me assignments, and I just need to trust him with everything else.

3. Fill the Earth and Reign

More recently God has been showing me that he’s about ruling the whole world, not just me and the people I know and the people they know. When I look at the chapter that way it’s all I can see. Over and over the author is emphasizing the totality of Israel’s conquest. Not just segments of people, but the entirety of the land. Instead of skipping over the first twenty verses, I have a way of receiving the whole chapter.

• v2 – I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land
• v3 – gave into our hands Og king of Bashan and all his army. We struck them down, leaving no survivors
• v4 – we took all his cities. There was not one of the sixty cities that we did not take from them—the whole region
• v6 –We completely destroyed them…destroying every city
• v8 – we took…the territory
• v10 – We took all the towns…and all Gilead, and all Bashan
• v14 – took the whole region
• v18 – God has given you this land
• v20 – taken over the land that the Lord your God is giving them
• v21 – The Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms over there
• v27-28 – look west and north and south and east…inherit the land that you will see

God’s reign is total. He is not just after a few believers. He is not content with part of your city. The whole earth belongs to Him. Jesus isn’t coming back for a scattered remnant—He’s coming back for a kingdom that fills the earth, just as Habakkuk 2:14 declares: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”

Jesus loves my whole city and expects us to take care of people like this.