Introduction to Deuteronomy

Repetition is a very important part of learning.  Deuteronomy is a book with a great deal of repetition.  Most of what we read in this book we have already read in the previous books.  However, it is organized and restated in an organized and concise way that allows us to gain a better handle on what God is really doing in the history of His people.  The key moments of history, the key revelation of the Law and the key doctrines of God’s promises from Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers are all summarized in this one book.  This is very helpful to us as we study the Pentateuch but it is also important for us to remember that it was vital for Moses to record this message to the people because all of the men who had experienced these events and heard these teachings the first time around are all dead.  The nation has literally come full circle.  The former generation has died and now God wants Moses to make sure that this new generations understands just exactly what He expects of them.   

MOSES REVIEWS GOD’S HISTORY OF THE PEOPLE: God commands Moses to address the people and review the events of the past decades of God’s workings with His people.  The previous generation had been rebellious and at the last minute had refused to trust God and enter the Promised Land.  The consequences of that refusal have been numerous but the most notorious consequence has been the premature death of everyone over the age of twenty during a span of forty years of wandering in the desert.  God wants this new generation to understand how evil the previous generation had been and the consequences they suffered as a result.  He also wants them to know that despite the failings of the past; He is merciful and willing to restore His people.  Moses reviews the journey back to Moab as well as the numerous victories that God had granted over their enemies.  It was important for the people to understand that God was still with them and leading them along the way that they should go.  Moses recounts the fact that he would not be permitted to enter the Promised Land with them because of his own sinfulness but He wants them to know that God will still go before them.  In light of all that God has done, Moses exhorts this new generation to learn from the mistakes of the previous generation and be obedient to the Lord, worship only the Lord and pay close attention to the Law of the Lord.  It is easy for us to ignore the past and many consider the study of history to be boring.  God makes it very clear that it is of vital importance that we must be students of history so that we can avoid repeating the sins of the past and be motivated to live in a way that is pleasing to the Lord.

MOSES REPEATS GOD’S LAWS TO THE PEOPLE: Once again God calls Moses to address the people in order to repeat the Law that He had revealed to the previous generation.  He wants to make sure that the people understand that nothing has changed.  His requirements and expectations for obedience are exactly the same for this generation as they were for the previous generation.  Moses systematically goes through the Law of God beginning with a repetition of the Ten Commandments.  These laws are the foundation from which all of the other laws flow.  He makes it clear that they greatest duty of man is to love God and not to allow any other gods to come into competition with Him.  In order to facilitate that; God warns the people to completely destroy the nations that inhabit the land they are about to possess so that these idolatrous people will not influence them to follow and fear other gods.  Moses calls the people to faithfully follow the Lord and promises that they will be richly rewarded for their obedience.  He reminds them of God’s instructions about worship, their diet, giving, work, holidays, leadership, purification and gratitude.  We all have a tendency to forget things and need to be reminded of our responsibilities until we establish habitual patterns in our lives that are in line with God’s will.  Many times we look at the Law of the Lord and can consider it to be confining or even oppressive; the truth is that God Law is liberating and protective.  It liberates us from the ignorance of God’s will and protects us from the consequences of living a sinful life.  God has made His expectations very clear and it quickly becomes evident that we fall short of His requirements.  This truth should send us running to the Gospel where we find forgiveness from our sin as well the transformation of our sinful hearts.

MOSES RENEWS GOD’S COVENANT WITH THE PEOPLE: God calls Moses to challenge the people to live in light of His covenant blessings before the people.  He warns them about the consequences and curses that will come from the disobedience of God’s Law.  He walks them step by step through the history of the nations and shows how God has repeatedly blessed them as a nation when the have obeyed and how God has judged them when they have rebelled.  The clear implication is that this pattern will continue as the people move forward into the conquest of the Land.  God renews His covenant with the people so that they understand very clearly that the disobedience of the former generation do not annul the promises of God.  In fact Moses goes so far as to show them that even though they and future generations will rebel against God’s Law; His covenant with the people will remain intact.  Rebellion will result in terrible consequences, suffering and captivities but even though the people have been enslaved in far off and foreign lands; when they repent of their sin God has promised to forgive them and restore them to His place of blessing once again.  God’s desire is for His children to experience the blessings of obedience and being rightly related to Him.  Unfortunately, we often turn from His will, reject His instructions and end up worshiping idols of our own making.  Rebellion and idolatry will always lead to suffering and separation from our communion with God.  This is why Jesus came to this earth to pay for our sin so that we might find forgiveness and be reconciled to God through repentance from our sin and simply believing that Christ’s death is the only means through which we can be saved.  The Law points to our need of salvation and God’s covenant promises to meet that need.