Deuteronomy is one of the most exciting books of the Old Testament and is sadly overlooked by many Christians. Jesus quoted this book to overcome the devil in the wilderness. Make it your business to find all the times the New Testament writers quote or allude to this book (There are over eighty of them!). Only six books of the New Testament do not quote Deuteronomy. They are John, Colossians, I Thess., II Timothy, I and II Peter. The book is comprised of the last three messages Moses gave to Israel when they were camped on the plains of Moab before entering the land of Canaan (1:1-6; 3:29; 4:46; 29:1). Ahead of them were difficult days when their faith would be tested to the limit; days made more difficult by having a new leader, Joshua, after the death of Moses. Moses takes the people back over their history reminding them of the miracles that brought them out of Egypt and through the wilderness. He outlines the basic laws of God’s covenant that will be the foundation of life in Canaan. Historically, the book follows Numbers. Compare Numbers 33:48, 49; Deuteronomy 1:5. The name of the book in our Bible is unfortunately taken from a misunderstanding of 17:18 which the Septuagint and Vulgate versions incorrectly rendered second law, or Deuteronomy. It is not the second law giving. It is an elaboration of the principles and responsibilities of the people of God as they enjoyed a covenant relationship with Him. It differs in style from Exodus and Leviticus. These two books were addressed to the priests; whereas, Deuteronomy is addressed to the common people of Israel. These people had been children at the time of the Exodus. They now have to choose for themselves to follow the covenant (30:19). They cannot have a second-hand faith based on their fathers’ response to God at Sinai. Deuteronomy becomes the book of directions, showing the people how to walk in covenant peace, joy and victory both with God and man.
THERE ARE TWO WAYS OF LOOKING AT THIS BOOK:
A. Look at the book simply as the three messages Moses gave to the people:
Message 1: 1:1-4:43
Message 2: 4:44-26:19
Message 3: 27:1-30:20
- This is followed by an account of the appointing of Joshua and the
B. The Method to Outline Deuteronomy
I believe to be the better way in which to understand it: In the near middle east, at this period of time, a conquering king drew up a covenant document that laid out the responsibilities of the conqueror and the conquered. It showed the conquered how they were to live under their new lord. Such documents always followed a certain pattern: > 1. Preamble, naming the author and who he was. > > 2. Historical prologue showing the goodness of the conqueror to the > conquered. 3. Stipulations of the covenant and its specific terms. 4. Calling upon Divine witness. 5. Blessings and curses that went with the keeping or breaking of the covenant. 6. Directions for the public reading of the document keeping it before the people. God entered into a covenant with the people, and outlined its terms in the same fashion as conquering kings. You can see this in Exodus 19:3-8 and Exodus 20:1-17. The pattern is so clearly laid out in Deuteronomy that it is obvious the book was originally spoken and written as a legal document of covenant between God and His people. Compare the Covenant document outlined above with Deuteronomy: 1. Preamble, introduction of covenant mediator (1:1-5). 2. Prologue outlining covenant history to date (1:6-4:49). 3. Stipulation of the covenant (5:1-26:19). 4. Curses and blessings of covenant (27:1-30:20). 5. Arrangements for public reading (31:1-34:5).
Elements of a Contract
- ABILITY TO PERFORM – CERTIFICATION
- Free from conflict
- CONSIDERATION
- You will do…
- I will do…
- TERMS & CONDITIONS
- What happens if….
- SIGNS & SEALS – WITNESS
This book is of great importance to us who live under the New Covenant. The number of times it is quoted in the New Covenant shows that. Read Galatians very carefully. It shows that all the curses of the Old Covenant have been paid for in the finished work of Jesus. We are redeemed from the curse of the Law to stand before the Father as if we had never sinned. It should also be understood that when the New Testament speaks of our being blessed it includes all the blessings of the Law outlined in this book; it also includes life in the Holy Spirit. The new and better covenant that Jesus has purchased for us must include all that was given by the old, certainly not less.
Under the Old Testament this was the key to success;
- Read Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1. The Law included Genesis through
- Read II Kings 22-23 and see its power when read and acted on by a
This brings us to the end of the first five books of the Bible commonly called Torah. The Israelite under the Old Covenant looked upon these books as foundational to walking in faith. All children had to memorize these books before the age of twelve in order to graduate into maturity. Already you will have noticed that much of the remainder of Scripture expounds on these books and echoes them. Certainly the New Testament is the story of how every promise and blessing of these books came to substance in Jesus Christ. As we have read through this part of the Scripture, we have seen the:
- Beginning of the universe, of man, and of sin.
- Way of salvation through the substitutionary offering.
- Revelation of saving faith that rests in God’s gift.
- Holiness of God, and the Law that drives us to faith.
a. Covenants upon which Scripture stands – the covenant with Abraham, and the covenant of Law at Sinai and later in the plains of Moab. All of this will be developed in later Scriptures, but here is the seed bed. **It is a great milestone in the understanding of Scripture to have read through the books of Moses. As you now plunge into the rest of Scripture, watch for echoes of these books, and also see how all the seeds grow and bear fruit.**