Old Testament I: Law & History Week 7 Deuteronomy€¦ · Old Testament I: Law & History Week 7 Deuteronomy FBC Durham – Bible For Life Page 1 Synopsis of Deuteronomy "I believe

Old Testament I: Law & History Week 7

Deuteronomy

FBC Durham – Bible For Life Page 1

Synopsis of Deuteronomy

"I believe we can summarize the message of Deuteronomy 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 Deuteronomy is not so much ‘the second law,’ as the Septuagint

labeled this book (incorrectly based on the words of Deuteronomy 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 Deuteronomy 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 – Deuteronomy 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.’


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“Sixty-nine times, the writer of Deuteronomy 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 – Deuteronomy 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 –

Deuteronomy 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 – Deuteronomy 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


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section as well as all of Deuteronomy teaches us great theological truths about God and

His character.

a. Key Verses

i. Not Just Your Parent’s Law – Deuteronomy 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 – Deuteronomy 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 – Deuteronomy 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.


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“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 – Deuteronomy 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?... 16 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 –

Deuteronomy 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 Deuteronomy 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 Deuteronomy 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


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Yahweh’s name shall abide (vv. 2 – 5).” – The Promise-Plan of God, Location

2293

vi. The Future King A Man of the Law – Deuteronomy 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 – Deuteronomy 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 – Deuteronomy 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


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i. The Law Central in the New Land –Deuteronomy 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 – Deuteronomy

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 – Deuteronomy 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 –

Deuteronomy 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 –

Deuteronomy 30:1–3 (ESV) — 1 “And when all these things come upon you,


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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 –

Deuteronomy 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 – Deuteronomy 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 – Deuteronomy 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


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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 – Deuteronomy 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)

Deuteronomy 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 – 1-3

2. God’s Faithfulness and Righteousness – 4

3. The Thanklessness of the People – 5-6

4. Remember God’s Election – 7-9

5. Remember God’s Protection and Provision – 10-14

6. The Forgetfulness of the People in the Midst of Blessing – 15-18

7. A Jealous God and a Forsaken People – 19-33

8. God Will Not Forget His People – 34-38

9. God the Avenger of His People – 39-43

ii. The Value of God’s Law For the Current And Future Generations –

Deuteronomy 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.”


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iii. The Death Of Moses – Deuteronomy 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 – Deuteronomy 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 Deuteronomy:

• 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 Deuteronomy 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


Deuteronomy


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, 2004.

Dever, Mark. The Message of the Old Testament: Promises Made. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2006. ESV Study Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008. 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, 2008. Vanhoozer, Kevin J. Theological Interpretation of the Old Testament: a Book-by-Book Survey. Grand

Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008. Walton, John H. Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI:

Zondervan, 1994.


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Appendix A

Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament, Pg. 21


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Appendix B



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Appendix C


Old Testament I: Law & History Week 7 Deuteronomy€¦ · Old Testament I: Law & History Week 7 Deuteronomy FBC Durham – Bible For Life Page 1 Synopsis of Deuteronomy "I believe

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