Deuteronomy 6-10

Think about the love you have for someone here on earth.  Perhaps it’s your husband or maybe it’s a child, grandchild or even a parent.  What does that love “look” like?  I might hear comments such as:

·         I’m totally devoted to him.

·         I’m head over heels in love with him.

·         I look forward to being with him.

·         I can’t stop thinking about him.

·         I’m faithful and loyal to him.

·         I trust him completely.

·         I love it when he calls or we’re together.

·         I’m his best cheerleader. 

·         I love wearing his letter jacket and his ring. (Do you remember those days?)

Well, I have great news for you because that exactly how the LORD loves you.  He is totally devoted to you, is faithful and loyal and He goes before you to defend you.  He longs for you to have these very same feelings for HIM.  You, my sweet sister, are HIS special treasure for the Lord chose you to be His very own. (Deut 7:6) 

Now, let’s put the shoe on the other foot.  What if you overheard one you adored say things such as:

·         I forgot to call her today because I just simply got too busy.

·         Sure she helps me but look how far I’ve come on my own. 

·         Why do I need to call or be with her all the time? They know I love them.

·         She’ll understand if I don’t spend time with her

Do you get the message?  You would be crushed if you heard your heart-throb say such things and the Lord feels the same.  You and I are commanded to have no other god’s before Him so that you will have long prosperous years.  I urge you to do as He commands; throughout the day and into the night think about Him; teach His commandments to your children; and put them on the doorposts of your home; give thanks when you have eaten; and praise Him for all He’s provided.    He longs for you to know everything about Him, so dig into His Word and you will be filled to overflowing. 

   

 “You must Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength.  (Deut. 6:4-5)   

Deuteronomy 1-5

 “But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.  (Deut. 4:29)

     What a glorious day to kick off our study of Deuteronomy.  The sheer excitement of being back together after a long, hot summer was only to be topped by the insights that we gleamed from this weeks’ assignment and the hearty discussion.

       Remembering our studies of Exodus and Numbers we realize that these refugees from Egypt had seen the presence of the Lord by pillar of cloud that led them by day and a tower of fire that led by night yet they still were disobedient and the Lord caused them to suffer and wander for 40 years. Also recall the numerous times when the Lord distinctly revealed His glory to Moses - concrete evidence that “He would never leave them, nor forsake them.”  (The Angel of the Lord appeared from the burning bush at Mt. Sinai; manna fell from the heavens providing daily food; Moses saw the Lord in the midst of a cloud of consuming fire (Mt. Sinai); the Lord spoke to Moses’ face to face; the Lord gave Moses the Laws, made a covenant with Israel at Mt. Sinai and the Lord assured the Israelites of His Presence.)

    We now have the people of Israel poised at the entrance to Canaan (the Promised Land) and the Lord calls on Moses to seize one last opportunity to prepare the people for their new life in the inherited land but the blessing of this land was conditional…it required obedience!  Because those entering Canaan were second generation (no person over the age of 20) the reiteration of the Covenant, the Laws and the Commandments in the book of Deuteronomy makes perfect sense.  “You shall not add to the Word which I command, nor take from it, keeping the commandments of the Lord.” (Deut. 4:2) “And teach them to your children and your grandchildren…that they may teach their children. (Deut. :9b,10b)

    Many battles had ensued (and there would be more) over the possession of this land, Moses spoke the Lord’s encouraging words to his people reminding them:

“Don’t be terrified or afraid.  The Lord your God who goes before you, He will fight for you…you saw how the Lord your God carried you…” (Deut. 1:30-31)

 “…the Lord your God Himself fights for you.  He is a Divine Warrior. (Deut. 3:22).  “

    The sheer fact that Moses would die before entering this land is a reminder that God didn’t want this story to be about Moses.  The Lord wanted it to be about the legacy Moses would leave; a legacy of obedience to the Lord even in the midst of trouble and confirmation of the faithfulness of our Lord that goes before us.  Moses was the intercessor between God and the Israelites.  How comforting to know our eternal intercessor is the Lord Jesus Christ, the very Son of God. 

   

   

Bible's Introduction to the Book of Deuteronomy

In Hebrew, Deuteronomy means “repetition of the law”. Deuteronomy locates Moses and the Israelites in the territory of Moab, in the area where the Jordan flows into the Dead Sea. As his final act at this important time of transferring leadership to Joshua, Moses delivered his farewell addresses to prepare the people for their entrance into Canaan. In them, Moses emphasized the laws that were especially needed at such a time, and he presented them in a way appropriate to the situation. In contrast to the matter-of-fact narratives of Leviticus and Numbers, here the words of Moses come to us from his heart as this servant of the Lord presses God’s claims on his people Israel.


The trajectory of the story that unfolds in Genesis-Numbers seems to call for an account of the conquest of Canaan as found in Joshua to bring closure to the movement from promise to fulfillment. But Deuteronomy intervenes as a massive nonchronological interruption. At the end of Numbers, Israel is “on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho” and at the end of Deuteronomy, the people are still there waiting to cross the Jordan.

In Deuteronomy Moses brings renewal to the Sinaitic covenant, reminding Israel what the Lord required of them if they cross the Jordan and take possession of the promised land. They are to enjoy the promise and “rest” in fellowship with the Lord. It was a word Israel needed t hear over and over again. Moses’ message? God promised to be their Protector “if” they would be faithful to him as their covenant Lord and obedient to the covenant stipulations as the people of his kingdom. There would be blessings for such obedience, but curses for disobedience.

Deuteronomy’s purpose was to prepare the new generation of the Lord’s chosen people to be his kingdom representatives in the land he had unconditionally promised them in the Abrahamic covenant. The love relationship of the Lord to his people, and that of the people to the Lord as their sovereign God, pervade the whole book. Deuteronomy’s spiritual emphasis and its call to total commitment to the Lord in worship and obedience inspired references to its message throughout the rest of Scripture.

Joshua will narrates the initial fulfillment of the promises made to the patriarchs and the conclusion to the mission on which Moses had been sent.