Though the idea of covenant existed before the nation of Israel, and though the covenant promise was made before the nation of Israel existed, it was expressed prominently through God’s interaction with His people, starting with their fathers, the patriarchs. And even from the start, the central truth of the covenant was the gospel: salvation by faith alone.

The essence of the gospel is covenant, and the essence of the covenant is the gospel.

What are some of the ways that God led you in the past that can help you learn to trust Him for the future?

In Deuteronomy 2 and 3, Moses continues to recount Israelite history and how, with God’s blessing, they routed their enemies.

Ultimately, everything that God had wanted to do with Israel wasn’t just for the sake of Israel; it also was for humanity as a whole. The nation of Israel was to be a light to the world, a witness to the ancients about the love and power and salvation found in the true God and not in the worthless idols that these people had worshiped.

Even when the Lord was so powerfully present among them, there was the need for organization, for structure, for a system of accountability.

God’s prophetic Word is as trustworthy as God Himself, and what we see here in the opening verses of Deuteronomy is more evidence of that trustworthiness; that is, God will do what He says and will do it when He says that He will do it.

All through the Bible, the presence of Moses is felt. And though he’s not mentioned until Exodus 2:2, he had written the book of Genesis, God’s authoritative and foundational story of who we are, how we got here, why things are as bad as they are and, yet, why we can hope anyway.

Deuteronomy reveals how the Lord continued to create, sustain, and redeem His people at this crucial time in salvation history.