You Can Read the Bible Guided Podcast

Today you will finish reading not only Deuteronomy, but also the Pentateuch, what is elsewhere called the Books of the Law, the Books of Moses – the Torah.  The stories, laws and covenant herein lie beneath everything else in the Bible.

Think about the great book series you’ve read, and imagine what it would have been like to start in book five or six, having no idea what happened before.  Or take movie series – even if a sequel makes sense on its own, it’s still a sequel, filled with inside knowledge and connections to dots that have a beginning. 

This is the gift of walking through these “Books of Moses,” of taking them on their own.  You’ve allowed them to tell their own story, to prepare you, as the author intends, for everything that comes after.  And you’ve made it to the finish line.  

Chapter 32 picks up with a song introduced at the end of yesterday’s reading: “Then Moses spoke the words of this song until they were finished, in the ears of all the assembly of Israel:”  As when he recounted their escape from Egypt in Exodus 15, here Moses employs verse to remind Israel of the importance of remembering the LORD’s goodness to them and of observing His law.  Listen in this song to how Moses refers to Israel as Jeshurun, an obscure word that could mean “Upright Child.”

When the LORD tells Moses that his moments on earth are dwindling, Moses gives a final blessing to the nation and to its tribes.  Notice that Simeon, curiously, is not mentioned.  Notice also that his blessing is much kinder, and hopeful, than that of Jacob’s at the end of Genesis. 

And then the end comes.  We’ve been prepared for this, known about it for some 50 chapters, yet it still moves me and I read Deuteronomy 34 slowly each time.  Moses is a unique and profound character, “none like him for all the signs and wonders that the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt…”

His life ends on Mount Nebo, looking out over all the land “as far as the western sea,” at the intersection of all he had seen and done and all that lay before, just beyond his reach, his eye undimmed, and his vigor unabated.

Our verse for this week is Galatians 3:29: And if you are Christ’s then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.

Deuteronomy 32 through 34.  Now let’s read it!

We’re nearing the end of Moses’ speeches that fill the book of Deuteronomy, and once again all Israel is called together to reaffirm the LORD’s covenant with them.  We’ve seen this many times, and there is no variation in the pattern today.  Israel is reminded of the LORD’s faithfulness to them, called to fidelity, and reminded of what would happen should they succeed or fail.   

Most contracts, or covenants, require some sort of witness, someone who will vouch for your ability to follow through on the agreement.  Many of you have probably signed for a loan that required a cosigner – someone who was actually taking financial responsibility for your ability to fulfill your commitment. 

This is what’s going on at the end of chapter 30 when Moses calls “…heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse.  Therefore choose life...”  Should Israel fail in its obligations – and the end of chapter 31 shows that God is sure of it – nature itself will rise up against it.  You’ve heard this language often and here it’s codified: heaven and earth are not slaves to Israel, but will rebel against her when she turns away from the Creator. 

Pay attention to the commissioning of Joshua in chapter 31.  Moses’ concerns are beyond the question of succession.  He knows better than anyone that leading Israel is not about personal charisma or physical might, but about trust in, and faithfulness to, the LORD.  His words to both the people and their next leader will echo forward as they cross the Jordan:

“Be strong and courageous…It is the LORD who goes before you.  He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you.  Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Our verse for this week is Galatians 3:29: And if you are Christ’s then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.

Deuteronomy 29 through 31.  Now let’s read it!

Near the end of this covenant that God has made with Israel, two important items need to be checked off: the public recording, and the final admonition. 

Chapter 27 leads off with what I’m calling the public record: the altar and memorial that is to be built on Mount Ebal.  After crossing the Jordan, the Israelites’ first task is to erect a memorial of stones, covered with plaster, “and you shall write on them all the words of this law.”  They are also to set up an “altar of uncut stones, and you shall offer burnt offerings on it to the LORD your God.”  This is not only a memorial but also an announcement to all who pass, that this land belongs to the LORD.

These two chapters jump back and forth between promise and threat, with threat filling the bulk of the territory.  The question that has faced Israel for forty years is whether the LORD is actually capable of giving them the land.  Moses reminds them that what they should be asking is whether they have the faith and discipline to keep the land once they receive it.  “If you are not careful,” he warns, “to do all the words of this law…that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, the LORD your God, then the LORD will bring on you and your offspring extraordinary afflictions... And as the LORD took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the LORD will take delight in bringing ruin and destroying you.” 

Listen to how Moses personalizes the curses: “All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you…” They’re supposed to be seared into the minds of the Israelites, and, as commanded in chapter 6, passed down to every generation.  This land belongs to the LORD, and He can take it back.  He promised to give it to them, but He is not promising that they will keep it, should they fail to obey. 

Remember these chapters as we read the rest of Israel’s history together.  And remember that the subject of this book is the LORD.  What do we learn about Him, and about His promises, in these chapters? 

And one last time, our verse for this week is Matthew 22:39: And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 

Deuteronomy 27 and 28.  Now let’s read it!

Today we reach the end of the command section of the Deuteronomy covenant.  We’re listening to the longest of Moses’ three speeches at the border of the Promised Land, just before he dies.  This is how the children of Israel are to give thanks for the gift they’ve been given and set themselves apart as the LORD’s holy people.  

The instructions in chapter 24 about granting a woman a divorce need to be considered in the context of everything else we’ve read about marriage.  Remember Genesis 2: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”  This gets upended in Genesis 3, and through all of our stories thus far, this ideal never materializes.  It’s an indication of how far things have fallen that God would here give instructions about divorce protections. 

The remainder of chapters 24 and 25 have to do with justice.  Listen, again, to the repetition of sojourners, widows and orphans.  This is again connected to Israel’s story: they too were sojourners in Egypt.  Even the passage about providing offspring for a deceased brother’s wife is about economics.  Listen to the scenario: if two brothers live together, and one dies, who gets the estate?  If the deceased has children, then they do.  If he does not, then his brother does.  As strange as this practice might seem to us, this passage is a defense against greed.

Chapter 26 is all about promise and gratitude.  “When you come into the land the LORD your God is giving you…you shall make a response before the LORD your God.”  And that response is not only an offering of first fruits but a canned speech.  Since the LORD doesn’t need to be reminded of His mighty deeds, this is about aligning the heart of the giver, affirming (as in chapters 8 and 9) that it was not by their strength or their righteousness that they inherited the land. 

Our verse for this week is Matthew 22:39: And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 

Deuteronomy chapters 24 to 26.  Now let’s read it!

In today’s reading we’re still working through specific laws for Israel that fall under the general command to be set apart as God’s holy people. 

The theme that runs through chapter 21 is assuring that sin is not allowed to set up camp in the land.  A ritual is assigned to dealing with unsolved murders, and instructions are given for properly dealing with captives, rebellious children, and hangings.  And you’ll even hear a law that sounds like it came straight from the story of Jacob. 

Chapter 22 and the beginning of 23 present a series of cases where mixing together of certain things is prohibited.  Some of these will sound peculiar while others, such as disallowing the Ammonites and Moabites into the assembly, are derived from history.  Many mark a distinction from the nations around them, remembering the LORD’s charge that Israel be set apart.  Listen in chapter 23, however, that not all nations are treated the same: Egypt and Edom are different, based on Israel’s history with them. 

At the end of today’s reading is again a curious mixture of laws about economic justice intermixed with laws about idolatry.  We saw this same pattern in chapters 16 and 17, as though there might be some connection between the two. 

These laws might be difficult to read through both because of their variety and their content.  I’ll remind you again that we’re tourists in this land, visiting a different time and culture.  It’s important to hear what they would have heard 3,400 years ago. 

It’s also important to recognize that there are certain social constructs that God chose to address and others He didn’t.  I encourage you to ask hard questions of the text while accepting that all of God’s purposes might not be discovered in this life. 

Our verse for this week is Matthew 22:39: And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 

Deuteronomy 21 to 23.  Now let’s read it!