This book starts where Numbers left off, with the people of Israel gathered east of the Jordan river and about to enter the promised land. It may surprise you that Deuteronomy covers only about two months in time and even that includes 30 days of mourning for Moses. Most of the book is an amazing series of public speeches and songs from Moses, as preparation for the people entering the land. That would happen (1v3) “In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month” and again we see God’s interest in timescales and anniversaries. You can assume that it is going to be exactly 40 years, to the very day, when they finally cross the river.
KNOWING GOD’S HEART
Two months before the crossing, Moses started speaking but notice, in verse 3, that he spoke “just as the Lord had commanded him to speak”. They were God’s words, not his, and to be expected from a man who, we are told in chapter 34, knew the Lord face to face. The wonder of Deuteronomy is that we are given a divine perspective of the previous 40 years in the wilderness and a clear insight into God’s desires for his people’s future. He wanted His people to learn from the past, not just experience it, for He wants all of us to know His will and His heart.
THERE IS ALWAYS MORE
Chapter 1:6 “You have stayed long enough at this mountain”. It was God who told them to move on from Mt Sinai, the place of the 10 commandments. Sometimes we can have great experiences of God but, even then, it may be time to move on to something else. Verse 8 explains how God wanted them to go and take possession of the land. If they proved obedient, God’s heart was that they would live in a land that stretched right up to the Euphrates river but we know that this happened, only briefly, in the reign of King Solomon. In verses 9-18 Moses appointed leaders and judges of Israel and we can see that the 40 years in the wilderness had not been wasted. Israel had moved on from the oppression of slavery in Egypt and now, was becoming an organised and civilised.
THE SPIES
In verses 21 and 22 we read something very interesting about the time when the 12 leaders left Kadesh Barnea to spy out Canaan. I had always wondered why God sent the spies out because, surely, that was asking for trouble. Well He didn’t, for we learn here it was the people’s idea (v22) which Moses went along with. God had told them to take possession of it (v21), not check it out first, and not to “fear or be dismayed”. How often have we stood on the edge of our own personal Canaans but chose to think a little longer, do the rational thing and not take that step of faith by trusting in God. The people rebelled for fear of the inhabitants of the land. If you find yourself fearful, look at how Moses reminded them of a few God principles: “have no fear or dread of them” (v29) for:
SECRETS OF VICTORY
1. The Lord your God, who goes before you (v30), is the one who will fight for you. In fact, He will fight the battles before you even get there.
2. In the wilderness the Lord your God proved that He carried you (v31) just like a parent carries a child.
3. In verse 33 the pillar of cloud and fire went before you to show you the route you should take.
We need to learn these principles ourselves for we see, in verse 36, that it was Caleb’s complete faithfulness to the Lord which would result in him being given the land on which he had set foot.
GOD HAS A STRATEGY
Chapter 2v16. God was true to his word, he waited for the last “warrior” to die and then it was time to cross the Moab boundary to start a new phase in their history, fighting for their inheritance. God was going to give the nations a great fear of Israel (2v25) and would harden their hearts so that they would choose to fight, then lose (v30). In verse 37 we can see that, on the way, there were some lands God told them to avoid. See God has a strategy and the best thing we can do for success is to obey Him. Israel had a taster of how successful they could be if they followed God, winning great victories against Sihon and King Og of Bashan. Chapter 3v21 shows how this was all part of their training and Joshua learnt principles that would lead to similar success in the promised land. Do not fear them for it is the Lord your God who fights for you (v22). In chapter 3 verses 23-25 we can sympathise with Moses who pleaded with God that he might enter Canaan but God’s reply was (v26), “Enough from you! never speak to me of this matter again”. God put in his place the man who had, many times, interceded successfully for people and, sometimes, the whole nation. Moses had a new task to encourage and strengthen Joshua who was now the new man for the job.
A NEW LIFESTYLE
In chapter 4v5 God also, through Moses, reminds them that, after victory, He wanted his people to have a new lifestyle in the promised land. In the law, God had taught them great things and, if they observed them, then other nations would be amazed at their wisdom (v6). Even today, I believe that the greatest legal systems are those that have been inspired by God’s revelation to his people on Mt Sinai. And verse 7, even more amazing, “For what other great nation has a God so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to Him? What a great God we have and how precious to have his presence with us. He always wants to be near and available to us, His chosen people.
BUT DESPITE ALL THIS THERE IS A PROBLEM
Chapter 4v9, FORGETTING. How easily we forget what God has shown us and done for us and we need to, carefully, teach our children and grandchildren. Deuteronomy reminds us that if His people learn from experience and obey His teaching they will lead victorious lives in the future. What sort of things could go wrong? v16 warns against making idols or (v19) worshiping natural things like the sun and moon.
You might say, I would never do anything so ridiculous as worship idols. Well, if you look at those countries in the world which do not have a Christian heritage, you find that most, if not all, do something similar.
GOD IS A JEALOUS GOD
BUT ALL HE WANTS IS OUR LOVE
Worship of other gods, in particular, makes God jealous (v24) because God wants a people of His very own possession. There is always the danger of complacency (v25) but, if you do forget and if you do go the wrong way, there is still hope (v29). If in your distress and broken-ness you seek God with all your heart, then you will find Him. There is an amazing passage here (4 v 32 to 40) describing God’s purposes for bringing his people out of Egypt. v35 “so that you would acknowledge that the Lord is God, there is no other besides Him”.
We mentioned that Deuteronomy looks with a divine perspective so it is no surprise, really, that Jesus, during his temptation in the desert, repelled all three approaches from the devil with quotations from this book. The 10 commandments are repeated in chapter 5 and, in chapter 6v5, we find those great words which Jesus repeated in Matthew to the lawyer who asked him which commandment was the greatest: “You should love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
How do we prevent ourselves from forgetting (v7)? recite them, talk about them, bind them on our hands, fix them on our foreheads, write them on the doorposts of our house. If Israel did what was right and good then (v18) it would go well with them, they would possess the land and have victory over their enemies.
SHOW YOUR ENEMIES NO MERCY
OTHERWISE YOU MIGHT MARRY THEM
Chapter 7 talks about the importance of victory over the evil one but, when you have it, stay humble. We have mentioned before that God will “clear away many nations” before us (v1), “mightier and more numerous than you” and we should show our enemies no mercy (v2). Any compromise, like intermarriage (v3), would inevitably lead to them turning away to other gods. God wants us for His treasured possession (v6), holy to Him and we must smash (v5) all the pagan altars, pillars, sacred poles and idols. In 7v7 God reminded them to be humble for He only chose them because He loved them, not because they were anything special.
Then we start the theme, continued later on, of blessings for obedience (v13-15); fertility, success in business, freedom from the diseases of Egypt and, of course, victory over their enemies. There was no need to fear (v17,18) for, even if your enemies are numerous and powerful (v21), “the Lord your God, who is present with you, is a great and awesome God”.
GOD IS WORKING WITH US “little by little”
One interesting thought about taking possession of our inheritance is that, often, it happens “little by little” (v22). In other words, God takes us one step at a time so that we can take time to adjust to new victorious lifestyles. You see, if Israel had conquered the land quickly then it would have been too much for them to farm and till. God would only give them victory for what they could handle, “otherwise (quoting v22), the wild animals would become too numerous for you”.
Why did God take them the long way through the testing wilderness? Well we are told the reason in chapter 8v2; to humble them, test their obedience and teach them that “man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (familiar?). On our journey, God needs to discipline us like a parent disciplines a child (v5). Verse 16 tells us that a wilderness experience, in the end, can do us good. God does not want us to have a success which exalts ourselves (v14) and we should not say to ourselves (v17) “my power and the might of my own hand have gained me this wealth” “but remember (v18) the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the power to get wealth”. In fact, God was going to bless them, despite the fact that they had been rebellious from the day they left Egypt (9v7). At the time when they set up the golden calf, God had wanted to destroy all the people, including Aaron, but Moses intercession had saved them (v19,20).
NO NEED FOR WELL-BEING CLINICS
In chapter 10, we start looking at lifestyle with those famous words in verse 12 “What does the Lord your God require of you?” To fear Him, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve Him with all your heart and soul, to keep His commandments for your own “well being” (v13). Going God’s way, means that you do not have to attend any well-being clinics. Chapter 11 says that, if we have experienced God and His power, it is for us to acknowledge His greatness (v2). How can our children, or others, praise Him if they have not known Him? In Egypt they had to depend on irrigation for water (v10) but the land of Canaan was going to be a special land (v11) and, in verse 12, it is called a “land that the Lord your God looks after. The eyes of the Lord are always on it from the beginning of the year to the end of the year”. If we love and serve Him (v13) the rains will come at the right time(v14) and if we follow other gods he will shut up the heavens (v17).
THE CHARACTERISTICS OF GOD’S KINGDOM
How can we do justice to the many great chapters that follow but, generally speaking, they strive to paint a picture of what sort of place God wants the land to be. Here are a few characteristics:
1. A place of worship and giving (ch 12).
2. A place where the people are holy to the Lord because they are His treasured possession (ch 14 esp v2).
3. A place of compassion (14v29) for the Levites, aliens, orphans and widows who were dependent on others to support them. A place where debts are forgiven (15v1) and, in fact, a place v7 where you should not be “hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards your needy neighbour.”
4. A place where slaves are set free (v12).
5. A place of good government (ch 17)
6. A place with no abhorrent practices (see the list in 18v9-14).
7. A place of justice and fairness, (ch24v14), “you should never withhold the wages of poor and needy labourers”
8. A place of good family relationships.
9. A place of thankfulness (ch 26) for all Gods provision.
There is even advice on how a king should behave in the new kingdom (ch17v14-20). “He must not acquire many wives,” “also silver and gold he must not acquire in great quantity for himself”. Is there any surprise, then, that despite his wisdom, it was in Solomon’s reign, that these seeds started to take Israel the wrong way.
NEARLY TIME TO MOVE-Do you want blessings or curses
The final chapters of Deuteronomy are very dramatic. In chapter 27 they are told that, on entering, they should set up large stones, cover them with plaster and write God’s words on them. A big reminder to never forget. Then 6 tribes were to stand on Mount Gerizim and proclaim the blessings for obedience and the other 6 tribes on mount Ebal, the curses for disobedience. It is well worth reading chapters 27 and 28 to look at them, carefully. God promises us so much but look at the consequences for disobedience, outlined in much detail. Difficult reading because they seem, strikingly, familiar, for this was the path that Israel was about to take. Israel’s future would be a taster of blessing under David and Solomon but then a gradual decline, as a result of disobedience, leading to destruction, exile and a scattering among the nations (v64). So it is with us, for we also tend to go the wrong way in life but there is a marvellous restoration promise in chapter 30v (1-10) if we do find ourselves in a messed-up place (v4). The good news is that there will be an opportunity to turn around, obey Him and be restored, for God “delights” to prosper us (v9).
HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED GOD’S SECOND BLESSING
The word “Deuteronomy” means a second law but, in fact, mainly covers what was given in the first law at Sinai. Even so, this was a second covenant between God and His people (29v1). Am I right in thinking that, for those of us who follow God, this is a place we all need to come to? We may look back at our lives, where we have come from, how God has led us, the mistakes we have made. Then we find the possibility of a new victorious life in God’s kingdom if only we put aside other gods and surrender our lives to Him. Are we talking about a second blessing in the Holy Spirit?
WE ALL HAVE TO GO SOMETIME
Moses sang a song (chapter 32) but it was that very day when the Lord addressed Moses and told him to ascend Mount Nebo. There he would view the land of Canaan, but not go in himself. And no matter how successful we have been in our lives, all of us will one day hear that call to our own mount Nebos when we will have to draw a line below our own earthly pilgrimage. And when I hear that call, and there will be nothing more left to do, I hope that I get the opportunity to do what Moses did and bless those around me. Moses blessed each of the tribes in turn (chapter 33). So Moses went up from the plains of Moab to the Pisgah peak and we read, verse 5, that Moses died there. It is thought that God must have buried Moses Himself because no-one ever found the burial place. Some writers about the Bible imagine Moses as an old man, but is that fair? “his sight was unimpaired and his vigour had not abated”. The people mourned for 30 days but it was time to move on (v9), Joshua now had the anointing through the laying on of Moses hands. So ends the life of Moses, who we read in verse 11, was “unequalled” in the way God used him in signs and wonders and whom the Lord knew face to face. How well do we know our Lord?