DEUTERONOMY

2nd Complimentary Book

AUTHOR OF THE BOOK

•They agreed that the entire book was written by Moses

The Mosaic authorship of Deuteronomy was

universally held by both Jewish and Christian

scholars for centuries

•But the evidence from within the text itself as well as evidence from the cultural/historical setting of the second millennium B.C. points to the days of Moses

It was not until the late eighteenth and early

nineteenth centuries that critical scholars declared that Moses did not write

Deuteronomy

•It is likely that Joshua is the one who wrote that chapter.

There is general agreement that Moses did not write the last chapter

of Deuteronomy which records his death

THE DATE OF WRITING

The book of Deuteronomy was written by Moses shortly before he died, thus placing the time of writing around 1405 B.C

RELATIONSHIP TO THE “FOUNDATIONAL BOOKS”

Deuteronomy falls into the time period of Numbers, the third foundational book

Numbers records the journey of Israel from their one year stay at Mt. Sinai to their encampment on the eastern side of the Jordan River

As Numbers end, the nation of Israel is poised in Moab and ready to cross over the Jordan and enter the land of Canaan

It is at this time that the contents of Deuteronomy are given

KEY WORDS

Observe

Do

Keep

• Subdue• Take possession• Dispossess• Occurs 52 times

Possess

THE PURPOSE OF DEUTERONOMY

•“deuter” = second, and “nomos” = law

The title of the book comes from the Greek

title

•Actually it is more than that as the book is a reminder to Israel of their special covenant relationship with God

•Deuteronomy is really like a covenant renewal document. This document was a legal treaty known to exist in the time when Moses lived

Deuteronomy is, therefore, the ‘second

giving of the law’

•Deuteronomy resembles the vassal (or suzerainty) treaties of that time; which was a treaty between a king and his subjects

Israel was unlike any other nation on the

earth in that they had entered into a legally binding agreement with God Himself

THE PURPOSE OF DEUTERONOMY

The Lord Jehovah was their king and they

were His subjects who were committed to keeping His laws

In Deuteronomy Israel is reminded by Moses

of its privileged position and also of its great responsibility to serve God and be holy

Deuteronomy is far more than a formal

treaty

Israel is reminded that God loves and cares for them as a people

THE PURPOSE OF DEUTERONOMY

In Deuteronomy, Moses pleads with Israel to be holy and to be obedient to

the Lord. His pleas are based on several facts

God has been good to Israel in the past. (4:32-40)

God was good to Israel in

the wilderness. (29:5-9)

Israel is to be a

testimony to the

nations (4:6-7)

God has promised blessing

for obedience (7:12-14)

God has promised discipline

for disobedience (29:24-

28)

BASIC OUTLINE OF DEUTERONOMY

THE FINAL MESSAGES OF MOSES, 1:1-30:20

• MOSES REVIEWS ISRAEL’S JOURNEY FROM SINAI TO MOAB (Moses’ First Message), 1:1-4:43 • MOSES REVIEWS AND EXPLAINS THE LAW FOR THE NEW GENERATION (Moses’ Second Message), 4:44-26:19 • MOSES REVIEWS ISRAEL’S COVENANT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD (Moses’ Third Message), 27:1-28:68 • MOSES APPEAL TO ISRAEL (Moses’ Fourth Message), 29:1-30:20

THE FINAL MINISTRY OF MOSES, 31:1-34:12

• THE LAW AND JOSHUA, 31:1-29 • THE SONG OF MOSES, 31:30-32:43 • THE DEATH OF MOSES, 32:44-34:12

ANALYSIS OF THE BOOK

Deuteronomy

MOSES REVIEWS ISRAEL’S JOURNEY

FROM SINAI TO MOAB

The historical setting, 1:1-5

From Sinai to Kadesh-Barnea, 1:5-46

From Kadesh-Barnea to Moab, 2:1-3:29

• Israel Conquers Og of Bashan

An exhortation to listen and obey, 4:1-43

His Covenant

This phrase occurs 27 time in Deuteronomy• First in

4:13

We think of Law, but it was

actually a

covenant

Near Eastern

suzerainty, or lordship,

treaties were

generally made in duplicate

form

One copy was

deposited with vassal

for periodic

reference

The second was left

with the King

Israel place both copies in the Ark of

the Covenant which was in Israel's

possession and where

God dwelled

MOSES REVIEWS AND EXPANDS THE LAW FOR THE NEW

GENERATION

Review of the Law, 4:44-5:33

• The standards of God, 6:1-11:32 • Various Commands and Warnings, 6:1-25 • Concerning War, 7:1-26 • Remembering the Past, 8:1-10:1• Commitment to the Lord, 10:12-11:32

• Circumcision

The special code of Laws, 12:1-26:19

• The Matter of Worship, 12:1-16:17 • The Matters of Godliness and Justice, 16:18-25:19 • The Matters of First-fruits and Tithes, 26:1-15 • The Matter of Covenant Commitment, 26:16-19

Unity of God

The fundamental concept of Shema is that God is one God and not many gods

• Deuteronomy 6:4

By definition there can only be one all-

powerful, infinite, limitless

God

To speak of more than one supreme, absolute, perfect being is to say

something contradictory

There cannot be two

absolutes, for then

there would be

no absolute

MOSES REVIEWS ISRAEL’S COVENANT RELATIONSHIP

The command to renew the covenant, 27:1-10

The blessings and the cursings, 27:11-28:68

MOSES APPEALS TO ISRAEL

An appeal to be faithful, 29:1-29

An appeal to make right choices, 30:1-20

THE FINAL MINISTRY OF MOSES

The Law and

Joshua, 31:1-

29

The song

of Moses, 31:30-32:43

The death

of Moses, 32:44-34:12

The preparation, 32:44-

52

The blessin

g, 33:1-29

The death, 34:1-

12

What is the Palestinian Land Covenant

The Palestinian Covenant is recorded in Deuteronomy 29:1-29 and Deuteronomy 30:1-10 and was made between God and Israel right before Moses died and Israel entered the Promised Land

This covenant came after the Mosaic Covenant and after Israel had wandered in the wilderness for forty years until the generation that had refused to enter the Promised Land had passed away

God made this covenant with Israel while they were in Moab waiting to go into the Promised Land, and the covenant would serve this new generation of Israelites as a reminder of their special covenant relationship with God

What is the Palestinian Land Covenant

The Palestinian Covenant has many similarities to the Mosaic Covenant made at Mount Sinai but is a separate and distinct covenant as clearly seen in Deuteronomy 29:1

• “These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which He made with them in Horeb.”

Before making this covenant with Israel, God reminded them that if they obeyed the Mosaic Law, He would bless the nation abundantly and warned them that disobedience to the Law would result in His cursing the nation

• Deuteronomy 28:1-68

What is the Palestinian Land Covenant

What is the Palestinian Land Covenant

What is the Palestinian Land Covenant

The promised restoration of Israel to the land would not happen until all the blessings and curses promised them were fulfilled (Deuteronomy 30:1), and we know that Israel as a nation rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah and was once again cursed and cut off from the land when the Romans conquered Jerusalem in A.D. 70

We see that one of the promises in this covenant was that God would circumcise their hearts (Deuteronomy 30:6) so that they and their descendents would obey Him (Deuteronomy 30:8)

These same promises are repeated in Jeremiah 32:36-44 and Ezekiel 36:22-38 and are part of the blessings and promises of the New Covenant

It seems that the final or ultimate restoration of Israel to the land and to an everlasting relationship with God is what Paul is looking forward to in Romans 11:25-26 when he says that “a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in and thus all Israel will be saved”

What is the Palestinian Land Covenant

The Palestinian Covenant also serves to reinforce the promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that God would establish Israel as His chosen people (Deuteronomy 29:13)

Even though God set before Israel the promise of His blessings for obedience and His curses for disobedience, He knew full well they would turn from Him and His covenant and turn to idols

• This is why He also promised to one day restore them to the land and have compassion on them (Deuteronomy 30:1-3)• Therefore, the ultimate outcome of this covenant does not depend on Israel and its

obedience, but instead it depends on God and His faithfulness

The Palestinian Covenant focuses on what God is going to do more than what Israel is supposed to do

• While Israel’s prosperity is closely tied to her obedience to God’s commands, and they will still be punished for their disobedience to God, there is coming a day when God will return them to the land (the full extent of the land as outlined in Genesis 15:18-21, and they will possess it, and God will bless them forever

What is the Palestinian Land Covenant

At that time God will circumcise their hearts so they will obey Him (Deuteronomy 30:6)

This covenant is again reaffirming the Abrahamic Covenant in that someday the seed of Abraham will possess the Promised Land forever

Unlike the Mosaic Covenant whose promises are conditional upon Israel’s obedience to the Law, ultimate fulfillment of the promises of the Palestinian Covenant are not dependent upon Israel’s obedience

Instead, the Palestinian Covenant is an unconditional, eternal covenant (Ezekiel 16:60) because it is a part of the Abrahamic Covenant and an amplification of it