Old Testament I: Law & History Week 7 Deuteronomy

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1 Synopsis of "I believe we can summarize the message of with two very simple statements. First, God chooses his people. Second, God s people must choose him. I pray that as we consider this message, we will more and more come to understand who God is and who we are as his people. The Message of the Old Testament, Location 2993 The emphasis of the book of is not so much the second law, as the Septuagint labeled this book (incorrectly based on the words of 17:18), but rather the emphasis falls on the grace of God despite the nation s intrinsic bent toward sinfulness. The Promise-Plan of God, Location 2112 The theological significance of can scarcely be overestimated. Inasmuch as this book offers the most systematic presentation of truth in the entire OT, we may compare it to Romans in the NT. Theological Interpretation of the Old Testament, Location 739 Moses sermons present Israel with a vision of society brought together under the authority of the Lord alone, a people bound to God by his covenant with them. This covenant is now renewed. The Drama of Scripture, Pg. 77 Author: Moses Title: Derived from Deut. 17:18 in the Greek translation of the Old Testament in regards a second copy of the law. However, this is not the title originally given to the book. In popular Hebrew tradition, the book is called Sefer Devarim, Book of Words, which is an adaptation of the official Hebrew name, 'Elleh Haddebarim, These are the Words, the first two words of the book. Theological Interpretation of the Old Testament, Location 745 I. Remembering God's Purposes & Israel's Unfaithfulness (1-4) The completion of the 40 years has come to reality, and an entire generation has died in the wilderness only days away from the Promised Land that they would never see. Now the new generation is getting ready to take that which God has given to them. Moses recounts for them the encounter with God at Mt. Sinai. The people of God failed the faith test in believing that the God who brought them miraculously out of Egypt could deliver to them the land He had promised to Abraham, Issac, Jacob, and even to themselves. a. Key Verses i. The Promise to the First Generation 1:8 (ESV) 8 See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them. FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 1

2 Sixty-nine times, the writer of repeated the pledge that Israel would one day possess and inherit the land promised to her. The Promise-Plan of God, Location 2168 ii. The Failure of Faith 1:26 28 (ESV) 26 Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. 27 And you murmured in your tents and said, Because the Lord hated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. 28 Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there. "The reference to Israel's lack of 'faith' is central to the argument of the Pentateuch. The motivation for Israel's actions goes far deeper than mere 'disobedience' to the law; it was symptomatic of the general lack of faith. The NIV Compact Bible Commentary, Pg. 156 iii. Moses is Barred from the Promised Land and Joshua Will Lead the People 3:26 28 (ESV) 26 But the Lord was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. And the Lord said to me, Enough from you; do not speak to me of this matter again. 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward, and look at it with your eyes, for you shall not go over this Jordan. 28 But charge Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he shall go over at the head of this people, and he shall put them in possession of the land that you shall see. iv. The New Generation Called to Faithfulness 4:1 2 (ESV) 1 And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you. II. God's Instructions for His People Again (5-26) Moses has already once given God s people the Law, but now he delivers it again to the generation that God will bless by giving them the Promised Land. This begins with the recitation of the Ten Commandments. In addition to the delivery of the Law, this FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 2

3 section as well as all of teaches us great theological truths about God and His character. a. Key Verses i. Not Just Your Parent s Law 5:2 3 (ESV) 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. ii. The One True God and Future Generations 6:4 9 (ESV) 4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. "It is important to note, however, that the stress on the uniqueness of God over against the worship of false idols is not stated in such as way as to exclude the equally important notion of the divine Trinity. The word used for 'one' in this passage is not that which means 'singleness' but 'unity.' The same word, for example, is used in Gen. 2:24 where the husband and wife in marriage are said to be 'one flesh.'" The NIV Compact Bible Commentary, Pg. 154 The Lord intends that he should instruct Israel in every area of life. Only then will Israel truly become a light to the nations. There is not a square inch of life of which he does not say, That is mine! (Kuyper) The Drama of Scripture, Pg. 77 iii. God s Election of His People 7:6 8 (ESV) 6 For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 3

4 Lest hearers have any illusions about the grounds of election, Moses emphasizes that Yahweh's election of Israel was based on neither exceptional physical nor spiritual qualifications. Israel was not granted favored status with Yahweh because of its significance as a people, for it was the least (7:6-8), or because of its superior behavior vis-a-vis the nations, for her past is characterized by rebellion (9:1-23). On the contrary, election was an act of sheer grace, grounded in Yahweh's love for the ancestors (4:32-38) and in his inexplicable love for their descendants (7:6-8). Theological Interpretation of the Old Testament, Location 890 iv. Circumcision Spiritual Not Just Physical 10:12 13, 16 (ESV) 12 And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. Like Luther, Calvin insisted that no one can be justified by keeping the law But through the law, Israel is instructed on how to express gratitude for their redemption and bring glory to God (Calvin 363). Theological Interpretation of the Old Testament, Location 771 v. A Central Place of Worship Different Than The Surrounding Nations 12:8 11 (ESV) 8 You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes, 9 for you have not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance that the Lord your God is giving you. 10 But when you go over the Jordan and live in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and when he gives you rest from all your enemies around, so that you live in safety, 11 then to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, and all your finest vow offerings that you vow to the Lord. Both the laws of and Exodus insisted that the place of sacrifice must be appointed and chosen by the Lord, not by people. Sacrifices may not be offered anywhere you please (Dt 12:13). And when the context of 12 is investigated, the contrast is found to be, not between many Yahweh altars and one such altar, but between those altars erected to other gods, whose names are to be destroyed, and that place where FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 4

5 Yahweh s name shall abide (vv. 2 5). The Promise-Plan of God, Location 2293 vi. The Future King A Man of the Law 17:18 20 (ESV) 18 And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel. vii. The Messiah & The Voice of God Again 18:15 16 (ESV) 15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers it is to him you shall listen 16 just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die. viii. Distinct Laws, Distinct Worship, and Distinct People 26:16 19 (ESV) 16 This day the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and rules. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 You have declared today that the Lord is your God, and that you will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his rules, and will obey his voice. 18 And the Lord has declared today that you are a people for his treasured possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments, 19 and that he will set you in praise and in fame and in honor high above all nations that he has made, and that you shall be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised. III. Blessings and Curses (27-31) Moses presents to the Israelites one of their first actions in the Promised Land where the nation divides between the slopes of Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal. The tribes stand on each slope while the Levites pronounce the blessings and the curses before the people of God. Joshua is put forth as the next leader of the nation of Israel who will take God s people into the Promised Land. a. Key Verses FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 5

6 i. The Law Central in the New Land 27:1 4 (ESV) 1 Now Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep the whole commandment that I command you today. 2 And on the day you cross over the Jordan to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones and plaster them with plaster. 3 And you shall write on them all the words of this law, when you cross over to enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you. 4 And when you have crossed over the Jordan, you shall set up these stones, concerning which I command you today, on Mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with plaster. ii. The Proclamation of the Law to the People in the New Land 27:11 14 (ESV) 11 That day Moses charged the people, saying, 12 When you have crossed over the Jordan, these shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. 13 And these shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. 14 And the Levites shall declare to all the men of Israel in a loud voice iii. The Israelites Have a Choice Before Them in the Promised Land, Blessings or Curses 28:1 2, 15 (ESV) 1 And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God 15 But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. iv. The Covenant is Repeated Affirmed Before Entering the Land 29:10 13 (ESV) 10 You are standing today all of you before the Lord your God: the heads of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, all the men of Israel, 11 your little ones, your wives, and the sojourner who is in your camp, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water, 12 so that you may enter into the sworn covenant of the Lord your God, which the Lord your God is making with you today, 13 that he may establish you today as his people, and that he may be your God, as he promised you, and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. v. Man Might Walk Away From The Covenant, But God Will Not 30:1 3 (ESV) 1 And when all these things come upon you, FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 6

7 the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, 2 and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. vi. God s Law Is Accessible So That Pleasing God Is Not A Mystery 30:11 14 (ESV) 11 For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it? 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it? 14 But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. vii. Joshua Is Commissioned As Israel s New Leader 31:7 8 (ESV) 7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. 8 It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. 23 And the Lord commissioned Joshua the son of Nun and said, Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the people of Israel into the land that I swore to give them. I will be with you. viii. The Law Read For Reminder And Action 31:9 13 (ESV) 9 Then Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 And Moses commanded them, At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths, 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, 13 and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. This statement not only assumes canonical status for the torah Moses has just proclaimed; it also highlights the critical link between hearing his words FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 7

8 in the future and the life of the people of God. This link may be represented schematically as follows: Reading Hearing Learning Fear Obedience Life Theological Interpretation of the Old Testament, Location 803 ix. The Law To Stand As A Reminder And An Accuser 31:24 27 (ESV) 24 When Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a book to the very end, 25 Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, 26 Take this Book of the Law and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against you. 27 For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Behold, even today while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the Lord. How much more after my death! IV. A Leader's Departing Words (32-34) is closed with a song that Moses is to teach the Israelites so that coming from their own mouths that this song may be a witness for God against them (31:19). Moses blesses each tribe, and his his earthly life comes to an end with the Promised Land in sight. a. Key Verses i. The Song of Moses 32:1-43: 1. Listen and Learn God s Greatness and Commands God s Faithfulness and Righteousness 4 3. The Thanklessness of the People Remember God s Election Remember God s Protection and Provision The Forgetfulness of the People in the Midst of Blessing A Jealous God and a Forsaken People God Will Not Forget His People God the Avenger of His People ii. The Value of God s Law For the Current And Future Generations 32:45 47 (ESV) 45 And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. 47 For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 8

9 iii. The Death Of Moses 34:1 6 (ESV) 1 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land, Gilead as far as Dan, 2 all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, 3 the Negeb, and the Plain, that is, the Valley of Jericho the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. 4 And the Lord said to him, This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, I will give it to your offspring. I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there. 5 So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord, 6 and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day. iv. Moses Unique Among Israel s Leaders 34:10 12 (ESV) 10 And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 11 none like him for all the signs and the wonders that the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land, 12 and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. Takeaways from : God is a jealous God who wants us to worship Him and Him alone Recalling God s faithfulness is vital to us being able to remain faithful and not lacking trust in God s promises The Law does not provide life, but we need a circumcision of the heart one not made with hands (Col. 2:11-14) God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Therefore, His warnings against disobedience and associated discipline still apply today (Heb. 12:7-11) Seeking Christ in the Old Testament In 18:15-16, Moses tells the Israelites that a prophet will rise like him. In Acts 3:17-26 Peter proclaims, And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. Moses said, The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people. And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, And in FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 9

10 your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness. Even during the proclamation of the Law, Scripture looks forward to the Messiah, Jesus Christ, because the Law is not meant to provide salvation. The Law is meant to define sin so that we clearly see our sinfulness and are pointed towards the Savior. Works Cited Bartholomew, Craig G., and Michael W. Goheen. The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, Dever, Mark. The Message of the Old Testament: Promises Made. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, ESV Study Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, Kaiser, Walter C. The Promise-plan of God: a Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments : Based on toward an Old Testament Theology. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan, Vanhoozer, Kevin J. Theological Interpretation of the Old Testament: a Book-by-Book Survey. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, Walton, John H. Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 10

11 Appendix A Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament, Pg. 21 FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 11

12 Appendix B Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament, Pg. 22 FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 12

13 Appendix C Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament, Pg. 23 FBC Durham Bible For Life Page 13