Jesus didn’t argue with Satan or debate with him. He simply quoted Scripture because, as the Word of God, it is “living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb. 4:12, NKJV). And in each case, the Word He quoted was from Deuteronomy. How interesting that Jesus, in the wilderness, chose to quote texts that were given to Israel in the wilderness, as well.

Whether direct Old Testament quotations, or allusions, or references to stories or prophecies, the New Testament writers constantly used the Old Testament to buttress, even justify, their claims. And among the books often quoted or referred to was Deuteronomy.

Imagine being Daniel, having seen your nation invaded and defeated, and knowing that the temple, the center of your whole religious faith, was destroyed by idolatrous pagans. How, though, could knowledge of the book of Deuteronomy have been very faith-sustaining for him (or any other Jew) at this time? How does our understanding of Scripture as a whole help us deal with trying times and events that otherwise, without our knowledge of Scripture, could be very discouraging to us?

One of the most famous prayers in all the Old Testament is in Daniel 9. Having learned from reading the prophet Jeremiah that the time of Israel’s “desolations” (Dan. 9:2), 70 years, was soon to be up, Daniel earnestly began praying.

So much of the writings of the prophets consisted of appeals to faithfulness. And not just faithfulness in general, but, in particular, faithfulness to the Israelites’ end of the covenant, which was reaffirmed just before they entered the land.

The book of Deuteronomy had been rediscovered during the reign of King Josiah, and it was under Josiah’s rule that Jeremiah began his ministry.

Especially clear in Nehemiah 9 is the theme of God as the Creator and the One who alone should be worshiped. He made everything, even “the heaven of heavens, with all their host” (Neh. 9:6, NKJV).

In the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign, something happened that, at least for a while, changed the history of God’s people.