2005 Bible Reading

Deuteronomy

This page is not a commentary, nor an outline. It is something to bear in mind in this kind of reading. These materials I learnt from two books by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart (How To Read The Bible For All Its Worth; How To Read The Bible Book By Book). You could consult these books if you are interested.

(Pastor Raymond)

Deuteronomy might well be the one book that had the greatest impact on the Old and New Testaments, influencing especially the Prophets and via them, Jesus and Paul.

As the name suggests, Deuteronomy is the second giving of God’s Law, which took place when the Israelites were about to finish their four decades of wilderness wandering, getting ready to take the promised land of Canaan. The first three chapters of the Book is a review, the last four is a prospective view, whilst the remainder largely touches on the covenant requirements between Yahweh and Israel, as well as the setting forth of blessings and curses.

The covenant between Israel and Yahweh was similar to those of ancient times between a conquering king and his dependent territories. As a covenant, it cannot be divorced from the absolute loyalty to the unique God. The clearest indication can be found in 6:4-5, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” God is faithful to the covenant between Him and Israel (7:7-8). Therefore God has prepared to give the land He promised Abraham by oath, before the Israelites (the word “land” appears over 100 times in this book). Precisely because they were about to enter Canaan, Deuteronomy repeatedly warned the Israelites that after they had entered Canaan, they should never follow the pagan practices but should instead destroy all those idols and facilities. This is because the only way the Israelites could bring blessings to all nations was through their own steadfast obedience to the God who had redeemed them. If they believed that by mixing with the Canaanites was a good way to gain peace, they would be dead wrong. Therefore, one of the unique observations about Deuteronomy is the frequent mention of the need for the Israelites to bring their sacrifices to “the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name.” This is to draw a clear distinction from the Canaanites, so that the Israelites would not easily follow the pagans to sacrifice to their idols at “the places on the high mountains and on the hills and under every spreading tree.”

The longest section in Deuteronomy, from Chapter 12 to 26, concerns itself with the Law, which later passages refer to as “this Book of Law.” This section begins with “the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name,” and ends with the requirements of first fruit offering and tithes. This arrangement is to highlight the significance of setting God as the highest priority meant to be reflected in the Law. It is also noteworthy to point out that this section of “Book of Law” is a detailed concretization of the Ten Commandments: Chapters 12-13 have regards to loving God, whilst 14-26 deal with observing holy days and loving one’s neighbors. There is a special group of people who are singled out for merciful treatments. They are the poor and the needy. Deuteronomy makes it very explicit that they are the aliens, orphans, widows, and the Levites. They all share something in common: none of them was given a piece of the “good land” to feed themselves in an agricultural society, and therefore they could only look to the love of God and His people. Many requirements of the Law reflect the merciful character of God towards these people.

Finally, it is difficult to miss the relationship between obedience and blessings or curses. Both at the beginning and the end, there are prophecies concerning the Israelites being in exile from the "good land" because they would be unfaithful to the covenant. But at the same time, it is also mentioned that the loving kindness of God would bring them back again. The Song of Moses in Chapter 32 outlines this poetically. This is a way of explaining the ups and downs of the nation Israel from here through other books of the Old Testament till New Testament times: "a warped and crooked generation" (32:5) is used by Jesus to describe his contemporaries; "They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols. I will make them envious by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding" (32:21) is used by Paul in Romans 9-10 to explain why Gentiles could become God's people by believing in Jesus. In addition, paying close attention to the prophecy about God "avenging the blood of His servants" in this Song of Moses will certainly help understand the prophecy about the last days spoken of in Revelation 6:10 and Chapters 17-19.