Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy is written for the generation of Israelites’ who stood with Moses “…here today in the presence of the Lord our God…” and also for “…future generations…”(Deuteronomy 29:15) “Repeat them again and again to your children”(Deuteronomy 6:7) also gives us a clue that the contents of Deuteronomy are for generations to come. In chapters 28 and 29 God lists out the curses and blessings so that the Israelites’ destined to posses the Promise land will clearly know what is expected of them!

I believe Moses authored Deuteronomy because of the intimate exchange he has with the Lord concerning the future of Israel after they take the land.(Deuteronomy 31:16-21) I don’t think the Lord would have had this established trust with anyone else to be able to share a prophesy of the future of Israel. Also, the SourceView insights section and Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps and Charts both suggest Moses was the author.

The main theme of Deuteronomy is that obedience leads to blessing, and disobedience leads to curses. “…today I am giving you the choice between a blessing and a curse! You will be blessed if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today. But you will be cursed if you reject the commands of the Lord your God...”(Deuteronomy 11:26-28) Moses boldly reminds the new generation to remember the disobedient example of their parents and admonishes them to go forward in faith and take the promise land!(Deuteronomy 6:1-2) Moses also beautifully communicates his understanding of Gods heart and love for Israel when he repeats himself twice and says “…God has chosen you to be his own special treasure.”(Deuteronomy 7:6, 14:2)

I think the book was written to refresh Israel’s memory of all God had done to give them faith to move into the fulfillment of their promise from God. Deuteronomy is like a “pep talk” from Moses to build up the Israelites’ faith in God. A repeated word we see is “remember.” Remember “…how the Lord your God led you through the wilderness…”,remember”…He is the one who gives you power to be successful.”, and “remember the days long ago.”(Deuteronomy 8:2, 8:18, 32:7) In chapter 27 verses 1-3 Moses tells the people to make memorial stones of “the whole body of instructions” so the people will even have a visual of their commands from the lord to keep once they cross the Jordan and enter their promised land.

Deuteronomy shows the Lord deeply cares for His people. This part of His character is revealed throughout the book when God speaks over His people how he loves and takes care of them. “Indeed, he loves his people; all his holy ones are in his hands.”(Deuteronomy 33:3) This book also affirms that Gods nature is never changing when God says “I know the intentions of these people…”(31:21) but he remains true to giving free will when it’s said “You can make this choice by loving the Lord…”(30:20)

Jesus is foreshadowed in Deuteronomy 18:15-20 when Moses says “I will raise up a prophet like you from among the fellow Israelites.” This prophecy is foreshadowing Jesus who will come for the Israelites as the true deliverer. Some interesting foreshadowing between Moses and Jesus is that: Moses was the leader of twelve tribes and Jesus led 12 disciples, Moses founded the Kingdom of Israel and Jesus founded the Kingdom of God, Moses was the mediator of the old covenant and Jesus becomes the mediator of the new covenant.  

God dose not choose to love you based on any earthly standard or by your performance. He chose you simply because He loves you! This message would speak to powerfully to the heart of oppressed women. It would speak to a heart whose been taught you only receive love based on what you do. God shows a completely different message throughout Deuteronomy as he affirms to Israel the reasons He chose to love them. He chose us as the “…objects of his love”(Deuteronomy 10:15) and as His “…own special treasure”(Deuteronom

y 7:6) not because we had a lot to offer or because we had a lot going for us.(Deuteronomy 7:7) He “…set his heart…” on you and chose you because “…The Lord loves you…”(Deuteronomy 7:8)