General Analysis of Deuteronomy God had promised the patriarchs that they would have a land flowing with milk and honey, descendants more than they could number and that they would be a blessing to the whole world (Genesis 12:1-3; 15:18-21; 26:3-5; 35:12). After over 400 years of slavery in Egypt God had kept His promise and delivered them out of Egypt with mighty power and miracles (Exodus 12:31-36). He had given Moses the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai as the people were camped at the bottom and gave them the instructions they needed to build the tabernacle (Exodus 19-40). Exodus ends with the tabernacle built and God dwelling in His glory in the midst of it (40:34-38). God spoke from the midst of the tabernacle and gave Moses the law and the instructions on the priesthood that would teach them how to be holy in the midst of His presence (Leviticus 1:1-2). Israel was now ready to enter the land and receive the promise God had given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God was with them and they had been taught how to be holy because He is holy (Lev. 11:45). Unfortunately, due to lack of faith after spying out the land the leaders from each tribe with exception of Caleb and Joshua became afraid and wanted to return to Egypt (Numbers 13-14). Their lack of faith (Numbers 14:1-12) resulted in the Lord causing that generation to wander in the wilderness another forty years while they all died off so their children could inherit the land (Numbers 14:31-34; Deut. 1:39; Josh. 5:6). They were ready to take the land, but needed to be warned about the blessings and curses that would come upon them if they failed to keep the covenant that God had made with them. They needed to hear the stipulations of the covenant for themselves before entering the land. Deuteronomy is a series of speeches, given by Moses, just prior to their entrance into Canaan to take the land under Joshua s leadership. Moses in these messages restates much of what God requires of them, expands on it and warns them of the blessings of obedience and consequences of disobedience (Deut. 27-28). Many of the curses listed in Deuteronomy for disobedience are seen throughout the rest of Israel s history due to their failure to keep the Mosaic Covenant (4:25-31; 29:27-28; 31:26-29).
Authorship Moses wrote the book of Deuteronomy as seen from Deuteronomy 1:1,5; 4:44; 29:1; 31:1, 9, 22, 24; 32:45; 33:1,4. Both the OT (Josh. 1:7, 13; 8:31-35; 23:6; 1 Kings 2:3; 8:53; 2 Kings 14:6; 18:12) and the NT (Matt. 19:7-8; 22:24; Mark 12:19; Acts 3:22,23; Rom. 10:19; 1 Co. 9:9; Rev. 15:3) state that Moses is the author as well. The ending portion of Deuteronomy was written after the death of Moses (32:48-34:12) and was likely added by Joshua, Moses successor. Date Deuteronomy was written just before Moses death in 1407 BC. The speeches written by Moses are given on the first day of the eleventh month in the fortieth year since the Exodus from Egypt (1447 BC; cf. Deut. 1:3). Original Audience The original audience is the second generation of Israelites who have grown up through the years of wilderness wandering recorded in Numbers. They are on the East side of the Jordan River across from Jericho and ready to possess the land. The instruction of Deuteronomy is given to prepare them to take the Promised Land relying on God s promise and not their own power. The oldest people would have been sixty years old with exception of Joshua and Caleb. Subject/Purpose Statement Deuteronomy was written to prepare the generation of Israelites that had grown up in the wilderness to take the land promised to their forefathers. Moses reminded them of God s law and warned them of the consequences of disobedience from past experiences (Deut. 9:7-10:11; 1:26-46) and tells them that cursing will be the result if it happens in the future (Deut. 8:11-20; 27:11-26; 28:15-68). Moses also speaks of the blessings of obedience (28:1-14). In the process leadership is transferred from Moses to Joshua who was God s chosen instrument to conquer Canaan (31:1-8).
Outline of Deuteronomy 1 I. The Covenant Setting (1:1-5) PREAMBLE (1:1-5) II. The Historical Review (1:6-4:40) THE HISTORICAL PROLOGUE (1:6-4:49) a. The Past Dealings of Yahweh with Israel (1:6-3:29) b. The Exhortation of Moses (4:1-40) III. The Preparation of the Covenant Text (4:41-49) a. The Narrative Concerning Cities of Refuge (4:41-43) b. The Setting and Introduction (4:44-49) IV. The Principles of the Covenant (5:1-11:32) GENERAL STIPULATIONS (5:1-11:32) a. The Opening Exhortation (5:1-5) b. The Ten Commandments (5:6-21) c. The Narrative Relating the Sinai Revelation and Israel s Response (5:22-33) d. The Nature of the Principles (chap. 6) e. The Content of the Principles (chap. 7-11) i. Dispossession of Nonvassals (7:1-26) ii. Yahweh as the Source of Blessing (8:1-20) iii. Blessing as a Product of Grace (9:1-10:11) iv. Love of Yahweh and Love of Men (10:12-22) v. Obedience and Disobedience and Their Rewards (11:1-32) V. The Specific Stipulations of the Covenant (12:1-26:15) SPECIFIC STIPULATIONS (12:1-26:19) a. The Exclusiveness of Yahweh and Worship of Him (12:1-16:17) i. The Central Sanctuary (12:1-14) ii. The Sanctity of Blood (12:15-28) 1 Outline taken from: Merrill, Rooker, Grisanti, The World and the Word. B&H Publishing Group Nashville, TN 2011
iii. The Abomination of Pagan gods (12:29-32) iv. The Evil of False Prophets (13:1-18) v. The Distinction Between Clean and Unclean Animals (14:1-21) vi. Tribute To The Sovereign (14:22-16:7) b. Kingdom Officials (16:18-18:22) i. Judges and Officials (16:18-17:13) ii. Kings (17:14-20) iii. Priests and Levites (18:1-8) iv. Prophets (18:9-22) c. Civil Law (19:1-22:4) d. Laws of Purity (22:5-23:18) e. Laws of Interpersonal Relationships (23:19-25:19) f. Laws of Covenant Celebration and Confirmation (26:1-15) VI. Exhortation and Narrative Interlude (26:16-19) VII. The Curses and Blessings (chap. 27-28) BLESSINGS AND CURSES (27-28) a. The Gathering at Shechem (27:1-10) b. The Curses that Follow Disobedience of Specific Stipulations (27:11-26) c. The Blessings that Follow Obedience (28:1-14) d. The Curses that Follow Disobedience of General Stipulations (28:15-68) VIII. The Epilogic (Epilogue my addition) Historical Review (chaps. 29-30) THE WITNESSES (30:19; 31:19; 32:1-43) IX. Deposit of the Text and Provisions for Its Future Implementation (31:1-29) X. The Song of Moses (31:30-32:43) XI. Narrative Interlude (32:44-52) XII. The Blessings of Moses (chap. 33) XIII. Narrative Epilogue (34:1-12)
Theological Issues 1) God is faithful to keep His promises and Israel will inherit the land despite her failures (Deut. 7:9). This is signified by the style of document that Deuteronomy is. It is in the form of an ancient Hittite Suzerain-Vassal Treaty. This signifies that Deuteronomy is a covenant and that God would keep His promises to the patriarchs. 2) God is holy and does not tolerate sin and disobedience (7:10). 3) We see the doctrine of election in God s choosing of Israel (Deut. 7:7; 9:6) for nothing in and of herself, but only because it is the good pleasure of His will. 4) God is jealous and will not tolerate idols or worship of other gods (4:24; cf. 11:13-17). 5) God is loving (7:13) and 6) merciful (4:31). 7) Jesus is the prophet like Moses (Deut. 18:15, 18) that God would raise up and that they were instructed to listen to according to Acts 3:22; 7:37). 8) Jesus claim to be one with the Father is a reflection of Deuteronomy 6:4. 9) Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy as He is tempted by Satan in the wilderness and proves that He is without sin despite severe temptation. Theological Application 1) The law was given to Israel to reveal God s holy character and nature and show Israel that they must be holy to relate to Him in a covenant relationship (Ex. 19:5-8). Moses restating and explaining various portions of the law prepared the next generation of Israelites to live in His presence as they entered the land. Likewise, we must be made holy through Christ to be rightly related to God. 2) Parents had the responsibility of teaching their children God s law as they lived out their covenant relationship and obligations (Deut. 6:6-7, 20-25). Similarly, parents today are to shepherd their hearts toward Christ (Prov. 22:6; Eph. 6:4) and teach them about God s great works given in Scripture (Ps. 145:4). 3) While the blessings of God are dependent upon obedience or disobedience in the Mosaic Covenant, we must remember that the ability to obey is a changed heart given by the Lord (Deut. 5:29; 29:4; cf. 30:6). Likewise, under the New Covenant through Christ we are born-again (John 3:5; Titus 3:5), given a new heart (Rom. 2:29) and enabled to obey (1 Peter 1:2). Due to this, God gets all the glory for obedience because it is He that circumcises the
heart (Rom. 2:28-29). 4) Disobedience brings consequence. Even for the person who is rightly related to God in the OT (Deut. 8:5) and the NT (Heb. 12:6-8) there is chastening for disobedience because God is a loving Father who disciplines us for our own good.