Deuteronomy
Last Words
Deuteronomy
• The name Deuteronomy is a compound word meaning “second law” and is used because in this book Moses repeats much of the Law that has already been given in the previous books.
• Deuteronomy is a written account of three sermons of Moses. We can easily see in life that last words are very important, and these are Moses’ last words to the nation of people who God led out of bondage, through the desert, and preserved through all difficulties.
• Another interesting fact about this book is that it follows the ancient customs of the day for making a treaty. This book is a formal treaty between the Israelites and God. It follows the basic pattern of: Introduction of the Speaker; Historical Prologue; Stipulations; Statement Concerning Document; Witnesses; Curses and Blessings.
• These sermons are very powerful and emotional. We must realize as we are reading this that Moses is facing a number of difficult realities all at once.
o Firstly, he is like a parent seeing their kids off into the wide world. He can no longer look over them, he will no longer be the one to lead them.
o Secondly, these are his last thoughts before he heads off to his divinely appointed death, which he is fully faithful to.
o Thirdly, these sermons must be a poignant reminder that Moses himself will never enter the Promised Land. He, who had worked and dreamed his entire life would not be going into the land. Yet, he is convinced of the faithful nature of God.
• The Review of God’s relationship with Israel (Deuteronomy 1 – 3)
o Here again we see Moses recounting the Israelites history to them. He tells them the history of their fathers and mothers and recounts their failures to trust God, as well as God’s faithfulness to them in-spite of it all.
It seems to be very important to humans to keep repeating the story of the past. We as humans are so forgetful that we will overlook the most amazing miracles of the past if the present seems a little bleak. This is part of why we must remain so close to the Bible and prayerful study, if we do not we will most surely forget the God that we serve and who so lovingly and tenderly redeemed us.
o The Preamble (Deuteronomy 1:1-5)
In this section Moses identifies himself as the author (or speaker).
• Just as we saw in the previous studies there is no reason to doubt Mosaic authorship of these books. The only possible section that could legitimately be in question is where the Bible records Moses’ death at the end of this book. This is easily resolved either by the fact that Moses was a prophet and could have known the way that we was going to die because of God’s revelation to him, or that Joshua finished up the last verses of this book, recording the death of Moses for him.
Verse 3 also tells us that what Moses is saying here does not originate with him, rather it is sourced from the Lord.
• Now it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to al that the Lord had given them… Deut. 1:3
• This reinforces what we have already seen and that is the fact that Moses never thought for one moment that he was merely writing a nice history of his nation. He knew that every word that he wrote was inspired by the Spirit of God. He knew that he was writing the word of God on behalf of God.
o All that the Lord has done (Deuteronomy 1:6 – 4:43)
From Sinai to Kadesh (Deut 1:6 – 18)
• Verse 6 sets the mood for the whole story: “The LORD our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying…”
o The Lord is the mover and the shaker here. The story doesn’t start out with man’s will, but God’s command. What God had decided was going to happen.
• Verse 8 lays out a very important recurring theme that we will see again and again throughout Scripture.
o See, I have set the land before you, go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to your fathers – to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – to give to them and their descendants after them. Deut. 1:8
Here we see a theme that is repeated time without measure: God has done it – do you trust Him enough to act in accordance with what he has said?
• This is the question that has been asked again and again as is easily proved:
• The Serpent tested Adam and Eve as to whether or not they really had all that they needed, like God said, or if God had lied to them.
• Abraham and Sarah were told that they would have an heir, from their own bodies, that would succeed them. Would they believe that God was able to do what was physically impossible at their age, or would they try to solve it through their own human means?
• Isaac was blessed because he seemed to have faith that God would do has he promised.
• Jacob and his mother were given the option to trust that God would do as he said and make “the elder serve the younger”, but instead they decided to do it themselves, breaking the family ties for many years.
• Jacob showed constant faith in the Lord in spite of the very worst of circumstances, as a result he was redeemed out of the darkest spots.
• Moses was chastised by God because he kept insisting that his inability to speak eloquently would be a hindrance to God’s cause. God reminded Him that God Himself was going to do it, not Moses, or any of his skills or abilities.
o The rest of this section is dedicated to recounting how Moses appointed judges to see to the matters that they could, bringing the more difficult cases to him, and judging the simple cases for themselves in wisdom and honesty.
Kadesh (Deuteronomy 1:19 – 46)
• In this section Moses recounts the story of this nations fathers who sent spies into the promised land, saw that the land was good, and yet refused to trust in the Lord and go up and take it.
• Deuteronomy 1:30-31 is a great encouragement to the Israelites at that time, which they did not have enough faith to take hold of:
o The LORD your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all he did for you in Egypt before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place. (Deut. 1:30-31)
• This verse reminds them to look back again on what God has done. When we take into account everything God has done it is easier for us to trust Him with the present moment, trial or difficulty.
• Another point of similarity here between the fledgling nation of Israel and ourselves in the Church is the fact that it is God that has done it. The only thing that is required to take hold of the blessing is an act of faith.
o For Israel this meant taking hold of the land, knowing that the Lord will have done all of it.
o For us in the Church this means taking hold of the blessings that we have in Christ as Scripture reveals. Some of these blessings are found in Romans 6&8 and Ephesians 1:3-14.
o It must be noted that the blessings promised to Israel are primarily physical, earthly blessings in the land. The Church is promised no such blessings, but rather persecutions, trials and difficulties. The blessings that the Church is promised are spiritual blessings, based on our identification with Christ in his death, burial, resurrection, ascension and seating at the right hand of the Father.
Many heretics make their living trying to make the physical blessings promised to Israel applicable to the Church. These people marginalize the spiritual blessings in favor of the physical, not minding at all that :
The things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2 Cor. 4:18)
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world. (1 John 1:15-16)
• This Passage also records the Lord’s judgment on that generation, that each of them would die in the wilderness for their unwillingness to believe and trust in the Lord to make good on His word.
• Upon receiving this sentence many of them tried to go and take the city in this sort of “Fine, if that’s my punishment then I will go and do it!” However the Lord warns them that He will not be with them if they attempt this, as a result they were defeated.
From Kadesh to Moab (Deuteronomy 2:1–23)
• After the great defeat at Kadesh the Israelites hit the road again, wandering back down towards the Red Sea.
• The Lord called them out of this wandering and called them to go up through the lands owned by the descendants of Esau.
• On the Lord’s order the Israelites asked for passage and offered to pay good money for both food and water.
• The Lord again drew to mind His faithfulness to them:
o For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your trudging through this great wilderness. This forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.” Deut 2:7
o Look at the amazing power and faithfulness of God in this great verse:
Firstly: it is the Lord who has blessed their work.
Secondly: God knows the trudging and the details of their struggle. God is not aloof to the fact that things were very difficult for them, nor is He unaware of how difficult things are for us.
Thirdly: the Lord is WITH them. He is not far off, or coming and going, but rather the Lord stays with them, and keeps them in his sight. The same is true of believers in Christ, the Holy Spirit is in us, and will never abandon us.
Finally: they have lacked nothing. The Lord has met all of their needs. The Lord may not have met all of their desires, or all of the things that they THOUGHT that they needed. However, everything that they needed he provided them, and everything that he didn’t provide he held back for their own good.
• As they went along by the Lord’s leading and the Lord continued to protect them and meet their needs.
Taking the land East of the Jordan (Deuteronomy 2:24–3:29)
• The Israelites then came to cross over the River Arnon to pass through the Land of Heshbon. However the King there refused to let them pass through because the Lord hardened his heart. As he had decided before, we find that the Lord had already given this land into their hands.
• In all fairness, the Israelites offered to pass through, buying the resources that they ate and drank. However, as the Lord said, the King of Heshbon wouldn’t allow it.
o Whether the Lord hardening the heart of the King of Heshbon (as he did with Pharaoh in Egypt) leads us to an interesting quandary.
o Did the Lord simply control these leaders?
o Did he allow them to continue in the hardness of heart that was already there?
o Realistically, we cannot fully understand how God’s sovereignty and the free will of man work together, we can only know that it is true that God is absolutely sovereign, and yet God can justly hold men responsible for the decisions that they make. This is a tension that is never fully relieved in Scripture. We can only stand faithfully in what is revealed and trust that one day we will be able to understand better.
• The rest of this section details the victories of the Israelites, by the power of the Lord over many of the Local Kings.
o We must not think of these kings and kingdoms as being large palaces and highly established.
o They were really more like tribes, or groups of people. They would be ruled by a man, and that is brought across as “king” into English, but we must not think that these kings were as established as modern rulers.
Handing Leadership off to Joshua (Deuteronomy 3:21–29)
• In this section we see Moses handing off the leadership of Israel to Joshua.
o It is interesting that the succession is not based upon blood, or simply Moses’ favorite person.
o Rather Joshua was chosen by the Lord to be the next leader of the people. He was chosen by the Lord, in part, because of his great faith in the Lord’s ability to do what He says he can do!
• Verse 22 Includes an exhortation to Joshua not to be fearful of the rulers, armies and warriors that will come up against them because “the Lord your God Himself fights for you.” Once again highlighting the fact that the real control is still in the hands of God and the blessed life is found in trusting Him, relying on Him, and giving Him the credit.
• Finally Moses tells about the final plea that he makes for God to let him enter the Promised Land with the people. However, the Lord becomes angry with Moses and tells him not to continue to dwell on this issue any more. Instead he is allowed to go up onto a mountain and behold the Land before he dies.
Summary of the Covenant 4:1–43
• One of the primary purposes of this summary is to make it exceedingly clear what the Israelites are to do and how they are to conduct their lives. While we do not live under law in any way, this chapter gives us amazing insight into the character of God and what he finds to be very important.
• The Lord tells Israel that they should keep the commands that he has given them and do everything they can to live within those statutes. The promise of blessing in verse 6 is that other nations will say: “Surely this great nations is a wise and understanding people.”
• The Lord also shows the how special they are among the nations to have his specific attention and association that he never had or will have with another nation.
• The next point that the Lord lays out is that the parents and grandparents need to be teaching their children and grandchildren. This is an important fact as to why the faith of one generation is not passed down to the next. Many parents want to simply trust someone else to pass down the truth to their Kids.
o The reality is that no church, no pastor, no camp and no organization can make the same impact on a child then the faith of his or her parents and grandparents. It is of the most vital importance that each generation of Christians make it their highest family priority to pass on the faith to the next generation. That is the first ministry that the Lord has given us: our families.
• God warns them again and again against idols. God will not share our affections with any created thing. In their culture the major temptation was to buy or make an idol of gold or silver, often in the shape of an animal, and worship it. This is fully unacceptable to God.
o Equally unacceptable, however, is our form of idolatry in the form of Money, houses, worship of power, sex, or a company that we work for. These are every bit as much idolatry and unfaithfulness to God as the former!
o For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. (Deuteronomy 4:24)
• This is followed by the warning, which is really more of a prophecy, of what is going to happen when they stray from the Lord.
o The Lord promises them that when they begin to worship false gods and abandon His Law, they will find themselves promptly outside of the Land. They will be scattered abroad throughout the nations and they will not have their own country any longer.
o However, even when he works within the context of Law, as we see here in his dealings with national Israel we see that God is still merciful, and He promises that he will show mercy on them, bring them back to the land and restore them. So the reality is that even in the period of Law, there was grace and mercy manifested. The legalist really has no real place in scripture, because man is only ever able to rely on God’s grace.
Last Words
Deuteronomy
• The name Deuteronomy is a compound word meaning “second law” and is used because in this book Moses repeats much of the Law that has already been given in the previous books.
• Deuteronomy is a written account of three sermons of Moses. We can easily see in life that last words are very important, and these are Moses’ last words to the nation of people who God led out of bondage, through the desert, and preserved through all difficulties.
• Another interesting fact about this book is that it follows the ancient customs of the day for making a treaty. This book is a formal treaty between the Israelites and God. It follows the basic pattern of: Introduction of the Speaker; Historical Prologue; Stipulations; Statement Concerning Document; Witnesses; Curses and Blessings.
• These sermons are very powerful and emotional. We must realize as we are reading this that Moses is facing a number of difficult realities all at once.
o Firstly, he is like a parent seeing their kids off into the wide world. He can no longer look over them, he will no longer be the one to lead them.
o Secondly, these are his last thoughts before he heads off to his divinely appointed death, which he is fully faithful to.
o Thirdly, these sermons must be a poignant reminder that Moses himself will never enter the Promised Land. He, who had worked and dreamed his entire life would not be going into the land. Yet, he is convinced of the faithful nature of God.
• The Review of God’s relationship with Israel (Deuteronomy 1 – 3)
o Here again we see Moses recounting the Israelites history to them. He tells them the history of their fathers and mothers and recounts their failures to trust God, as well as God’s faithfulness to them in-spite of it all.
It seems to be very important to humans to keep repeating the story of the past. We as humans are so forgetful that we will overlook the most amazing miracles of the past if the present seems a little bleak. This is part of why we must remain so close to the Bible and prayerful study, if we do not we will most surely forget the God that we serve and who so lovingly and tenderly redeemed us.
o The Preamble (Deuteronomy 1:1-5)
In this section Moses identifies himself as the author (or speaker).
• Just as we saw in the previous studies there is no reason to doubt Mosaic authorship of these books. The only possible section that could legitimately be in question is where the Bible records Moses’ death at the end of this book. This is easily resolved either by the fact that Moses was a prophet and could have known the way that we was going to die because of God’s revelation to him, or that Joshua finished up the last verses of this book, recording the death of Moses for him.
Verse 3 also tells us that what Moses is saying here does not originate with him, rather it is sourced from the Lord.
• Now it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to al that the Lord had given them… Deut. 1:3
• This reinforces what we have already seen and that is the fact that Moses never thought for one moment that he was merely writing a nice history of his nation. He knew that every word that he wrote was inspired by the Spirit of God. He knew that he was writing the word of God on behalf of God.
o All that the Lord has done (Deuteronomy 1:6 – 4:43)
From Sinai to Kadesh (Deut 1:6 – 18)
• Verse 6 sets the mood for the whole story: “The LORD our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying…”
o The Lord is the mover and the shaker here. The story doesn’t start out with man’s will, but God’s command. What God had decided was going to happen.
• Verse 8 lays out a very important recurring theme that we will see again and again throughout Scripture.
o See, I have set the land before you, go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to your fathers – to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – to give to them and their descendants after them. Deut. 1:8
Here we see a theme that is repeated time without measure: God has done it – do you trust Him enough to act in accordance with what he has said?
• This is the question that has been asked again and again as is easily proved:
• The Serpent tested Adam and Eve as to whether or not they really had all that they needed, like God said, or if God had lied to them.
• Abraham and Sarah were told that they would have an heir, from their own bodies, that would succeed them. Would they believe that God was able to do what was physically impossible at their age, or would they try to solve it through their own human means?
• Isaac was blessed because he seemed to have faith that God would do has he promised.
• Jacob and his mother were given the option to trust that God would do as he said and make “the elder serve the younger”, but instead they decided to do it themselves, breaking the family ties for many years.
• Jacob showed constant faith in the Lord in spite of the very worst of circumstances, as a result he was redeemed out of the darkest spots.
• Moses was chastised by God because he kept insisting that his inability to speak eloquently would be a hindrance to God’s cause. God reminded Him that God Himself was going to do it, not Moses, or any of his skills or abilities.
o The rest of this section is dedicated to recounting how Moses appointed judges to see to the matters that they could, bringing the more difficult cases to him, and judging the simple cases for themselves in wisdom and honesty.
Kadesh (Deuteronomy 1:19 – 46)
• In this section Moses recounts the story of this nations fathers who sent spies into the promised land, saw that the land was good, and yet refused to trust in the Lord and go up and take it.
• Deuteronomy 1:30-31 is a great encouragement to the Israelites at that time, which they did not have enough faith to take hold of:
o The LORD your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all he did for you in Egypt before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place. (Deut. 1:30-31)
• This verse reminds them to look back again on what God has done. When we take into account everything God has done it is easier for us to trust Him with the present moment, trial or difficulty.
• Another point of similarity here between the fledgling nation of Israel and ourselves in the Church is the fact that it is God that has done it. The only thing that is required to take hold of the blessing is an act of faith.
o For Israel this meant taking hold of the land, knowing that the Lord will have done all of it.
o For us in the Church this means taking hold of the blessings that we have in Christ as Scripture reveals. Some of these blessings are found in Romans 6&8 and Ephesians 1:3-14.
o It must be noted that the blessings promised to Israel are primarily physical, earthly blessings in the land. The Church is promised no such blessings, but rather persecutions, trials and difficulties. The blessings that the Church is promised are spiritual blessings, based on our identification with Christ in his death, burial, resurrection, ascension and seating at the right hand of the Father.
Many heretics make their living trying to make the physical blessings promised to Israel applicable to the Church. These people marginalize the spiritual blessings in favor of the physical, not minding at all that :
The things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2 Cor. 4:18)
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world. (1 John 1:15-16)
• This Passage also records the Lord’s judgment on that generation, that each of them would die in the wilderness for their unwillingness to believe and trust in the Lord to make good on His word.
• Upon receiving this sentence many of them tried to go and take the city in this sort of “Fine, if that’s my punishment then I will go and do it!” However the Lord warns them that He will not be with them if they attempt this, as a result they were defeated.
From Kadesh to Moab (Deuteronomy 2:1–23)
• After the great defeat at Kadesh the Israelites hit the road again, wandering back down towards the Red Sea.
• The Lord called them out of this wandering and called them to go up through the lands owned by the descendants of Esau.
• On the Lord’s order the Israelites asked for passage and offered to pay good money for both food and water.
• The Lord again drew to mind His faithfulness to them:
o For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your trudging through this great wilderness. This forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.” Deut 2:7
o Look at the amazing power and faithfulness of God in this great verse:
Firstly: it is the Lord who has blessed their work.
Secondly: God knows the trudging and the details of their struggle. God is not aloof to the fact that things were very difficult for them, nor is He unaware of how difficult things are for us.
Thirdly: the Lord is WITH them. He is not far off, or coming and going, but rather the Lord stays with them, and keeps them in his sight. The same is true of believers in Christ, the Holy Spirit is in us, and will never abandon us.
Finally: they have lacked nothing. The Lord has met all of their needs. The Lord may not have met all of their desires, or all of the things that they THOUGHT that they needed. However, everything that they needed he provided them, and everything that he didn’t provide he held back for their own good.
• As they went along by the Lord’s leading and the Lord continued to protect them and meet their needs.
Taking the land East of the Jordan (Deuteronomy 2:24–3:29)
• The Israelites then came to cross over the River Arnon to pass through the Land of Heshbon. However the King there refused to let them pass through because the Lord hardened his heart. As he had decided before, we find that the Lord had already given this land into their hands.
• In all fairness, the Israelites offered to pass through, buying the resources that they ate and drank. However, as the Lord said, the King of Heshbon wouldn’t allow it.
o Whether the Lord hardening the heart of the King of Heshbon (as he did with Pharaoh in Egypt) leads us to an interesting quandary.
o Did the Lord simply control these leaders?
o Did he allow them to continue in the hardness of heart that was already there?
o Realistically, we cannot fully understand how God’s sovereignty and the free will of man work together, we can only know that it is true that God is absolutely sovereign, and yet God can justly hold men responsible for the decisions that they make. This is a tension that is never fully relieved in Scripture. We can only stand faithfully in what is revealed and trust that one day we will be able to understand better.
• The rest of this section details the victories of the Israelites, by the power of the Lord over many of the Local Kings.
o We must not think of these kings and kingdoms as being large palaces and highly established.
o They were really more like tribes, or groups of people. They would be ruled by a man, and that is brought across as “king” into English, but we must not think that these kings were as established as modern rulers.
Handing Leadership off to Joshua (Deuteronomy 3:21–29)
• In this section we see Moses handing off the leadership of Israel to Joshua.
o It is interesting that the succession is not based upon blood, or simply Moses’ favorite person.
o Rather Joshua was chosen by the Lord to be the next leader of the people. He was chosen by the Lord, in part, because of his great faith in the Lord’s ability to do what He says he can do!
• Verse 22 Includes an exhortation to Joshua not to be fearful of the rulers, armies and warriors that will come up against them because “the Lord your God Himself fights for you.” Once again highlighting the fact that the real control is still in the hands of God and the blessed life is found in trusting Him, relying on Him, and giving Him the credit.
• Finally Moses tells about the final plea that he makes for God to let him enter the Promised Land with the people. However, the Lord becomes angry with Moses and tells him not to continue to dwell on this issue any more. Instead he is allowed to go up onto a mountain and behold the Land before he dies.
Summary of the Covenant 4:1–43
• One of the primary purposes of this summary is to make it exceedingly clear what the Israelites are to do and how they are to conduct their lives. While we do not live under law in any way, this chapter gives us amazing insight into the character of God and what he finds to be very important.
• The Lord tells Israel that they should keep the commands that he has given them and do everything they can to live within those statutes. The promise of blessing in verse 6 is that other nations will say: “Surely this great nations is a wise and understanding people.”
• The Lord also shows the how special they are among the nations to have his specific attention and association that he never had or will have with another nation.
• The next point that the Lord lays out is that the parents and grandparents need to be teaching their children and grandchildren. This is an important fact as to why the faith of one generation is not passed down to the next. Many parents want to simply trust someone else to pass down the truth to their Kids.
o The reality is that no church, no pastor, no camp and no organization can make the same impact on a child then the faith of his or her parents and grandparents. It is of the most vital importance that each generation of Christians make it their highest family priority to pass on the faith to the next generation. That is the first ministry that the Lord has given us: our families.
• God warns them again and again against idols. God will not share our affections with any created thing. In their culture the major temptation was to buy or make an idol of gold or silver, often in the shape of an animal, and worship it. This is fully unacceptable to God.
o Equally unacceptable, however, is our form of idolatry in the form of Money, houses, worship of power, sex, or a company that we work for. These are every bit as much idolatry and unfaithfulness to God as the former!
o For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. (Deuteronomy 4:24)
• This is followed by the warning, which is really more of a prophecy, of what is going to happen when they stray from the Lord.
o The Lord promises them that when they begin to worship false gods and abandon His Law, they will find themselves promptly outside of the Land. They will be scattered abroad throughout the nations and they will not have their own country any longer.
o However, even when he works within the context of Law, as we see here in his dealings with national Israel we see that God is still merciful, and He promises that he will show mercy on them, bring them back to the land and restore them. So the reality is that even in the period of Law, there was grace and mercy manifested. The legalist really has no real place in scripture, because man is only ever able to rely on God’s grace.
Take Home
Remembrance is a key theme of this book. God is outside of time completely and is able to experience all times as we experience the time called “now”. We, however, cannot claim to have that reality of existence. God knows our limitations and our bondage to our view of time as past, present and future. This is why God spends so much of Scripture reminding people. It is every bit as necessary in our lives to remember what God has done for us and who we are in Christ. The way we remember this: His word.
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