How Does the Old Testament Mesh with the New 27

Deuteronomy

Introduction:

            The word ‘Deuteronomy’ is taken from the Greek Septuagint word Deuteronomion, which means ‘second law’ or ‘second teaching’. From the Hebrew elleh haddebarim, meaning ‘these are the words.’

            A ‘second teaching’ because this book was written and presented to the second generation of Israelites to teach them how to have a relationship with their holy Creator. To do that, the people had to follow the number one principle in the entire Bible, they had to obey their God. What must they obey? His laws.

            Therefore, they must learn them. Moses was their teacher, who was Holy Spirit – inspired to write and speak for God. He presented all of Jehovah’s laws in the Torah thus far. Thus, Deuteronomy reads like one grand covenant for the people to keep with their God.  Moses wrote it in approximately 1405 B.C., just before the Israelites would cross the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land (Canaan).

            It would be up to each successive generation of Israelites to pass the ‘book of the law’ down to their immediate descendants.  

            Deuteronomy is one of the most quoted books of the Old Testament within the New Testament. Christ Himself cited it repeatedly. It is also the first book of the OT that commands God’s children to love Him.

1.Connecting the dots:

These are the words that Moses spoke to all the people of Israel while they were in the wilderness east of the Jordan River. They were camped in the Jordan Valley… Dt. 1:1 NLT

            This introduction to Deuteronomy could not have been written by Moses unless God equipped him with a prophetic vision. Most biblical scholars suggest that it, and the epilogue of Deuteronomy that describes his death, to be authored by Joshua. Why? Because Moses never went to the Promised Land.

            The author goes on to tell us that it only takes 11 days to journey from Mt. Sinai to Canaan, but because of the sins of the first generation of the Israelites, they were punished with 40 years of wandering in the desert. After the Israeli defeat of King Sihon and King Og, Moses addressed the people. (See Dt. 1:2 – 5.)

            Moses begins with a historical recap of how God told His children to break camp at Mt. Sinai and journey to Canaan – the Promised Land that Jehovah swore to give to His people. (See Dt. 1:6 – 8.)

            He continues, by reminding them of how he picked leaders from each tribe, to free him up from all their simpler judicial needs. Moses recalled the bad report from the spies he sent to Canaan to get a feel of the lay of the land; and of the people’s rebellion – necessitating the punishment of the wandering through the wilderness. Moses himself was punished by preventing him from entering the Promised Land. (See Dt. 1:9 – 46.)

            Regardless of the punishment, God still saw to the people’s needs:

For the Lord your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these forty years, the Lord your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.”’ Dt. 2:7 NLT

            Moses retells their journey to Moab and of their God-given victories over King Sihon and King Og. (See Dt. 2:9 – 36; Dt. 3:1 – 11.). Moses allotted these conquered kingdoms to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manesseh. (See Dt. 3:12 – 20.)

            Bringing his chronicle of the people’s history up to date, he ends with his passing of the baton to Joshua, and with Jehovah’s refusal to let Moses into the Promised Land:

“At that time I gave Joshua this charge: ‘You have seen for yourself everything the Lord your God has done to these two kings. He will do the same to all the kingdoms on the west side of the Jordan. Do not be afraid of the nations there, for the Lord your God will fight for you.’ Dt. 3:21, 22. NLT

“At that time I pleaded with the Lord and said…’Please let me cross the Jordan to see the wonderful land on the other side, the beautiful hill country and the Lebanon mountains.’

“But the Lord was angry with me because of you, and he would not listen to me. ‘That’s enough!’ he declared. ‘Speak of it no more. But go up to Pisgah Peak, and look over the land in every direction. Take a good look, but you may not cross the Jordan River.’ Dt. 3:23 & 25 – 27. NLT

2.Importance of obedience:

“Now, O Israel, listen and pay attention to the statutes and the judgments (God’s legal decisions) which I am teaching you to do, so that you may live and go in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, so that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I am commanding you.” Dt. 4:1, 2. AMP

 “Look, I have taught you statutes and judgments just as the Lord my God has commanded me, so that you may do them in the land which you are entering to possess. So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God [is to us] whenever we call on Him? Or what great nation has statutes and judgments so righteous (upright, just) as this whole law which I am placing before you today?” Dt. 4:5 – 8. AMP

            So then, our knowledge of, and our obedience to, God’s word imbues us with the divine wisdom of life and brings us closer to Jehovah, through righteous behavior. It makes people take notice of God’s children and sets us up for effective evangelism.

“But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren. Never forget the day when you stood before the Lord your God at Mount Sinai, where he told me, ‘Summon the people before me, and I will personally instruct them. Then they will learn to fear me as long as they live, and they will teach their children to fear me also.’

“You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while flames from the mountain shot into the sky. The mountain was shrouded in black clouds and deep darkness. And the Lord spoke to you from the heart of the fire. You heard the sound of his words but didn’t see his form; there was only a voice. He proclaimed his covenant—the Ten Commandments —which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets. It was at that time that the Lord commanded me to teach you his decrees and regulations so you would obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy. Dt. 4:9 – 14. NLT

            The Israelites had an up close and personal visual experience of Jehovah’s manifestation of His power, and they heard His words. Yet He was formless.

            Note that God wants us to fear Him (to deeply revere Him.) He wants us to obey His laws – especially when He knows that His children will be exposed to the paganism of the existing Canaanites. So, Moses segues right into warning the people of the temptation of idolatry. (See Dt. 4:15 – 20 & 23.) And he adds a severe penalty:

The Lord your God is a devouring fire; he is a jealous God. Dt. 4:24 NLT

            Moses then prophesies about future events that will come upon Israel when they forsake their Father:

 “Today I call on heaven and earth as witnesses against you. If you break my covenant, you will quickly disappear from the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy. You will live there only a short time; then you will be utterly destroyed. For the Lord will scatter you among the nations, where only a few of you will survive. There, in a foreign land, you will worship idols made from wood and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. But from there you will search again for the Lord your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.

“In the distant future, when you are suffering all these things, you will finally return to the Lord your God and listen to what he tells you. For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the solemn covenant he made with your ancestors. Dt. 4:26 – 31. NLT

            This would indeed come to pass when Israel did submit to idolatry and embraced moral turpitude. In response, God allowed the Assyrians and later the Babylonians to conquer and enslave the Israelites. However, He will mercifully forgive the transgressors if they return to their covenantal relationship with Him.

3.One God:

“Now search all of history, from the time God created people on the earth until now, and search from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything as great as this ever been seen or heard before? Has any nation ever heard the voice of God speaking from fire—as you did—and survived? Has any other god dared to take a nation for himself out of another nation by means of trials, miraculous signs, wonders, war, a strong hand, a powerful arm, and terrifying acts? Yet that is what the Lord your God did for you in Egypt, right before your eyes. Dt. 4:32 – 34.

“He showed you these things so you would know that the Lord is God and there is no other. He let you hear his voice from heaven so he could instruct you. He let you see his great fire here on earth so he could speak to you from it. Because he loved your ancestors, he chose to bless their descendants, and he personally brought you out of Egypt with a great display of power. He drove out nations far greater than you, so he could bring you in and give you their land as your special possession, as it is today.

“So remember this and keep it firmly in mind: The Lord is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other. If you obey all the decrees and commands I am giving you today, all will be well with you and your children. I am giving you these instructions so you will enjoy a long life in the land the Lord your God is giving you for all time.” Dt. 4:35 – 40. NLT

            Moses gathers the people again and repeats the Ten Commandments for this second generation of Israelites. (See the 18th post in this series for a previous in-depth discussion of the Ten Commandments.)

4.Meshing with God:

“Now this is the command; the statutes and the judgments (precepts) which the Lord your God has commanded me to teach you, so that you might do (follow, obey) them in the land which you are crossing over [the Jordan] to possess, so that you and your son and your grandson may fear and worship the Lord your God [with awe-filled reverence and profound respect], to keep [and actively do] all His statutes and His commandments which I am commanding you, all the days of your life, so that your days may be prolonged. Therefore listen, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly [in numbers], as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.” Dt. 6:1 – 3. AMP

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one [the only God]! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and with all your soul and with all your strength [your entire being]. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be [written] on your heart and mind. You shall teach them diligently to your children [impressing God’s precepts on their minds and penetrating their hearts with His truths] and shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road and when you lie down and when you get up. And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand (forearm), and they shall be used as bands (frontals, frontlets) on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Dt. 6:4 – 9. AMP

            So, you can see that Moses is trying to position the people to be equipped with reminders to always keep Jehovah in the mind and heart. And what is their reward for their diligent pursuit of God? Next time!

            Goodnight and God Bless.