July 16, 2024 | Josh Rajkumar

The book of Deuteronomy is the final book of the Pentateuch and the final book of the Bible following the life of Moses. It serves as a summary of the nation of Israel's past mistakes, an exhortation to the people towards covenant faithfulness, and the culmination of great leadership by God’s appointed leader Moses. The book’s title derives from the Greek for second law, indicating that outlined are not new laws, but rather expositions of the original law given to Israel at Sinai. This article will cover the major themes discussed in our Bible Study and how Moses urges his people to covenant faithfulness moments before they enter the Promised Land.

Moses begins by reflecting on Israel’s past to encourage them not to make the same mistakes of the previous generation. God has punished Israel for their disobedience and idol worshiping by prohibiting them from entering the Promised Land. Yet he has still allowed the children to enter– showcasing God’s kindness. It is mostly to this generation that Moses is addressing this historical prologue.

This introduction to the new generation serves as both a warning and an encouragement. Moses isn’t simply just recalling Israel’s history from the Exodus to their forty years in the wilderness for informational purposes, rather his emphasis is on God’s faithfulness on his covenant promises. Moses frames this historical narrative by highlighting God’s commandments for obedience and the rebellion of the Israelites. God brought His justice on them, but He did not abandon his promises.

This prologue reaches its conclusion as Moses commands obedience for the new generation. In response to the divine favor that the Lord has blessed Israel with, the nation must show faithfulness. The purpose of recounting the Lord’s past benevolence is to strengthen the faithful response of this people in the present that they “might know that the Lord is God; there is no other beside him” (Deuteronomy 4:35).

As a result of God’s provision, graciousness, and holiness, Moses then recites the Ten Commandments and subsequently provides exposition on each of the Commandments. These are the stipulations of the covenant that God will maintain with them as the people obey His laws. Each of the Ten Commandments is given exposition starting in Chapter 6 and all the way through Chapter 26. A rough breakdown of the commandments and their exposition is provided below:

In light of this, it is important to examine how each of the expositions may be relating to the different commandments. The shema in Deuteronomy 6:4-5, “Listen Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD alone, and you shall love the LORD your god with all your heart, all your soul, and all your might,” for example, may pertain to both the First Commandment (you shall have no other gods before me). The concept of loving the Lord with all of your heart, soul, and might encapsulates the key themes and principles from these first two commands. Furthermore, the word “listen” means more than simply to hear, but rather obedience as well.

Another key idea undergirding these laws, is that Israel is called to obey and be devoted to “the LORD alone.” Israel is about to enter into the land of Canaan, a land known for worship of various gods. The worship of these gods would lead the people of Israel to ruin and destruction but the obedience “to the LORD alone” will bring them life and blessing. Reading the laws in their context and framework leads to richer understanding of each commandment.

Moreover, the expositional framework contains many different laws regarding worship, leaders, and their civil lifestyle concerning businesses and families. It is important to note that these are the stipulations of the covenant between God and ancient Israel which is a different culture from our own. These stipulations were provided to Israel to be set apart, particularly from their neighboring nations. These laws then urge the Israeltes to a higher standard of morality, justice, and wisdom than other nations.

That doesn’t mean that the law doesn’t apply to our modern context today. In fact, these expositions of the law offer many rich core principles on wisdom, justice, and morality that still are at play for us to wrestle with in our modern context. For example, chapters 16:18 - 18:22 discuss various authority structures such as kings, priests, judges, etc. While the culture of America does not have kings ruling over it, we do have a government which we are to submit to. Even considering the judges shows that we are submitting to these commands in how we submit to the authority of the church. This long section details specifics for the nation of Israel, yet the core principle is highlighting the importance of authority and submission which is particularly relevant in our modern context.

After thoroughly discussing the law, Moses’ final speech encourages the nation of Israel to listen and obey their God. If they do so, they will be blessed, “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. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God,” (Deuteronomy 28:1-2). But if they fail to uphold, they will be cursed, “But if you wlll not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statues that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you…” (Deuteronomy 28:15).

Even with the exposition of the law, even with these warnings of blessings and curses, and even given the past forty years of disobedience from the Israelits, Moses knows that his people are still going to rebel. They will turn away from God and be given into their own sinful patterns. And yet, Moses assures them that at any point they can turn back to God and He will “circumcise their hearts” (Deuteronomy 30:6). It foreshadows that God is going to do something transcendent to the hearts of his people, restoring them to a place where they can love God from the heart.

The final chapters of Deuteronomy parallel that of the final chapters of Genesis citing a notable literary link. Both sections involve a poetic blessing of Israel followed by a narrative of the covenant head’s death. In Genesis, this pertains to Jacob and in Deuteronomy it is Moses. This links the narrative of the Pentatecuh, from Genesis to Deuteronomy, together. The themes of the land, the blessing, and being made great from Genesis 12 have been carried through the narrative and fleshed out, culminating in Moses.

Furthermore, the last verse of Moses ends with expectation, “And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 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, and for all the mighty power and all the great deeds of terror that Moses did in the sight of all Israel,” (Deuteronomy 34:10-12). Moses was a great prophet. He truly was an excellent leader. However, this reality is not meant to culminate in Moses’ life. It is establishing an expectation for another prophet to come.

Earlier in Deuteronomy it reads, “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…I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him” (Deuteronomy 18:15-18).

This passage foreshadows a prophet greater than Moses, one who will “speak in the name of the Lord” and whose words will come true. The book of Deuteronomy is setting up the expectation of Jesus Christ. The one true prophet, the better Moses, and the one who will truly circumcise and cleanse the hearts of the sinner and bring them to salvation. While Moses is a great leader, his life sets up an expectation from Genesis, that of the Seed. The Seed will come. He will crush the Serpent. He will cleanse the heart of the sinner. He will be a greater Moses. And He will be the great prophet.