God's Requirements - Deuteronomy

Introduction:

Deuteronomy is the fifth book of Moses part of what we call the Pentateuch sometimes referred to as the Torah

Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook (Author and Date of Writing > Deuteronomy: The Fifth Book of Moses)

Moses, About 1406 BCThe book refers to Moses’ involvement in writing it (Deut 1:5 “5 On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying,”

31:9, “9 And Moses wrote this law, and delivered it unto the priests the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and unto all the elders of Israel.”

22 “22 Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.”

24 “24 And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished,”

).

Later Scripture refers to Mosaic authorship (1 Kg 2:3; 8:53; 2 Kg 14:6; 18:12).

Both Jesus and Paul confirmed that Moses wrote Deuteronomy (Mk 10:3–5; Jn 5:46–47; Rm 10:19).

The book’s formal prologue (1:1–5) and the epilogue about Moses’ death (chap. 34) were perhaps added by Joshua to round out the book.

Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook Author and Date of Writing > Deuteronomy: The Fifth Book of Moses

Many modern critical scholars believe that Deuteronomy (or at least chaps. 12–26) first came into being as a pious fraud composed by scribes during the 600s BC at the time of King Josiah. These scribes subsequently “discovered” the book and claimed it came from the time of Moses (2 Kg 22–23). This belief became the keystone of the famous Documentary Hypothesis, which holds that the first five books of the Bible were an editorial creation around 450 BC from four primary literary sources, each written independently from a different perspective. Two centuries of modern critical study, however, have not proven that anything in the book could not have been composed during the time of Moses.

Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook The Reliability of Deuteronomy

The conclusion is that Moses’ authorship of Deuteronomy essentially as we have it is the most reasonable view for the person who accepts the testimony of Scripture.

Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook Occasion > Deuteronomy: The Fifth Book of Moses

Deuteronomy alone of the books of Moses states its precise occasion: “When Moses had finished writing down on a scroll every single word of this law, he commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the LORD’s covenant, “Take this book of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God so that it may remain there as a witness against you” (31:24–26).

It is a book of remembrance sometimes referred to as the “second law”

It is not a new covenant per se but a reiteration of the covenant for a new setting.

PURPOSE

According to its own testimony, Deuteronomy originated as farewell messages from Moses to a new generation of Israelites.

He pleaded passionately for them to keep God at the center of their national life once they settled in the land.

The book is essentially a covenant-renewal document.

The large central section mostly repeats laws found earlier in the Pentateuch.

The truths in Deuteronomy have a perennial [continuing] relevance.

Jesus knew Deuteronomy well.

When Satan tempted Him at the beginning of His ministry,

He responded to each of the three temptations with a quotation from Deuteronomy.

The NT either quotes or alludes to Deuteronomy nearly 200 times.

Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook (Purpose > Deuteronomy: The Fifth Book of Moses)

Deuteronomy begins...

Deuteronomy 1:1–5 KJV 1900

1 These be the words which Moses spake unto all Israel on this side Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red sea, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab. 2 (There are eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadesh-barnea.) 3 And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the Lord had given him in commandment unto them; 4 After he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, which dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, which dwelt at Astaroth in Edrei: 5 On this side Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying,

Deuteronomy opens with a five-verse introduction that establishes the historical and geographical basis for the rest of the book.

We are in Moab not too far from the border and they will make their way as you go through Deuteronomy to the river.

The majority of what is to come are speeches of Moses delivered on the plains of Moab forty years after the exodus.

Verse 2 subtly reminds the reader of the consequences of sin and rebellion by stating that the trip from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea was only an eleven-day journey.

But Moses begins his final addresses forty years after the exodus (v. 3).

Deuteronomy is more than a restatement of the covenant and the laws of Exodus and Numbers, though many of those laws find new expression here. Deuteronomy is, rather, an exposition of the covenant in a new setting

There are three main addresses by Moses

First speech: God’s faithfulness (1:6–4:43)

A. From Horeb to Kadesh-barnea (1:6-46)

B. From Kadesh to Heshbon (2:1-25)

C. Conquest of Transjordan (2:26-3:29)

1. Defeat of Sihon (2:26-37)

2. Defeat of Og (3:1-11)

3. Division of land (3:12-20)

4. Denial of Moses' request to enter Canaan (3:21-29)

D. Moses exhorts Israel to obey the Law (4:1-43)

Second speech: The covenant way of life (4:44–26:19)

A. Introduction to the Law (4:44-49)

B. Essence of the Law (5:1-11:32)

1. Decalogue (5:1-21)

2. Ratification of the covenant (5:22-33)

3. Greatest commandment (6:1-25)

4. War policy; Warning against apostasy (7:1-26)

5. Do not forget Yahweh (8:1-20)

6. Defeat of Anakites; Golden calf incident (9:1-29)

7. New tablets; Charge to fear Yahweh (10:1-22)

8. Command to love Yahweh; A blessing and a curse (11:1-32)

C. Regulations for Worship (12-16)

1. Regulations relating to the sanctuary (12:1-32)

2. Prohibition and punishment of idolatry (13:1-18)

3. Clean and unclean animals; Tithes (14:1-29)

4. Year for canceling debts, release of servants; Firstborn animals (15:1-23)

5. Feast regulations; Appointment of judges (16:1-22)

D. Regulations for national life (17-26)

1. Punishment for covenant violators; Commands for kings (17:1-20)

2. Offerings for priests and Levites; Messiah-prophet (18:1-2)

3. Cities of refuge; Legal procedure for witnesses (19:1-21)

4. Rules for battle and siege (20:1-20)

5. Unsolved murder; P.O.W. wives; Rebellious son; Gallows law (21:1-23)

6. Various Laws; Marriage violations (22:1-30)

7. Exclusion from the assembly; Various laws (23:1-25)

8. Divorce; Various laws: pledges, leprosy, justice (24:1-22)

9. Corporal punishment; Levirate marriage; Amalek to be destroyed (25:1-19)

10. First fruits and tithes; Declaration of commitment (26:1-19)

Third speech: Covenant sanctions (chapters 27–31)

A. Covenant ratified; Curses on Mt. Ebal (27:1-26)

B. Blessings and Curses (28:1-68)

C. Appeal for covenant loyalty (29:1-29)

D. Prosperity after returning to Yahweh; Offer of life or death (30:1-29)

Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook Key Term: “Commandments”

KEY TERM: “COMMANDMENTS”

Keeping the commandments of God out of love for Him lies at the heart of His covenant with Israel, seen especially by the repetition of the Ten Commandments. Forms of the noun or verb “command” occur almost a hundred times in the book.

Key Passage -

Deuteronomy 10:12–13 KJV 1900

12 And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, 13 To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?

Which is connected to

Deut 11:1 “1 Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway.”

Holman Illustrated Bible Handbook A Principle to Live By > Deuteronomy: The Fifth Book of Moses

A PRINCIPLE TO LIVE BY

Love and Obedience (Dt 11:1, Life Essentials Study Bible, P. 237–38)

To love God sincerely and fully, we must obey what He commands.

Deuteronomy ends with ...

Transition from Moses to Joshua (31-34)

A. Joshua commissioned; Deposition of the Law; Israel's rebellion predicted (31:1-30)

B. The Song of Moses (31:30-32:44)

C. Moses' final blessing (33:1-29)

D. Death of Moses; Conclusion (34:1-12)

Ask children where Moses tombstone is

Deuteronomy 34:1–12 KJV 1900

1 And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Lord shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan, 2 And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea, 3 And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar. 4 And the Lord said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither. 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 a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. 7 And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. 8 And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended. 9 And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses. 10 And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 11 In all the signs and the wonders, which 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 in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses shewed in the sight of all Israel.