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The Greek and English name for Deuteronomy reflects its nature: it is the deutero nomos – second law.  You’ve seen much of this material in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, but besides offering some new exposition, there are two significant traits that distinguish this book. 

First, Moses’ speeches are presented in the first person; it’s as though someone is recording Moses’ words or he is writing them himself.  That’s what makes this book feel so personal.  

Second, Deuteronomy plays out as a cohesive covenant, complete with a historical prologue, lists of general and specific commands, promise of blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience, and calls for witnesses and acceptance.  I touched on this in Exodus when the LORD offered His covenant on Sinai.  There is no negotiation here; Israel can choose to obey or disobey, but not to walk away. 

At Sinai, the LORD began his covenant with historical prologue: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt…” Yesterday, we heard a much more elaborate prologue in chapters 1 through 3.  Chapter 4 pivots from their history with the LORD to Israel’s righteous response: “And now…listen to the statutes that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live…” 

As you listen to chapter 4, keep in mind the question asked in verses 32 through 35: “Ask now of the days that are past, …and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened…  Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live?  Or has any god attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation… To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him.” 

In chapter 5, Moses begins his long second speech by recounting the Sinai Covenant.  Listen carefully to how he makes the covenant alive and present: “Not with our fathers did the LORD make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us alive today.”  What follows is the familiar ground of the Ten Commandments, and a reminder of this generation’s commitment to obedience. 

Our verses for this week are Matthew 22:37-38: “And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.”

Deuteronomy 4 and 5.  Now let’s read it!

If you felt a little lost with the hodgepodge of material in Numbers, then Deuteronomy should come as a welcome change.  Deuteronomy is raw and intense, full of emotion and reflection.  As Numbers could feel distant, Deuteronomy is personal, proximate, close to the ground.  

The very first line establishes the setting of the book: “These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness…”  Three extensive speeches fill the first thirty chapters: it’s what Moses wants Israel to remember most of their journey together, of God’s covenant with them, and even of him. 

 Remember that Moses will not join them in Canaan, and you’ll see today that his feelings are still raw about this.  Along the way, it’ll be important to keep in mind Moses’ final, passionate plea: 

“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse.  Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying His voice and holding fast to Him, for He is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

Chapters 1 through 3 present the history of Israel’s journey: from Egypt to the borders of Canaan.  Listen for the LORD’s reminder of His provision and protection throughout.  Listen also for how the LORD has looked out for Esau, and Lot, names we’ve barely heard from since Genesis. 

When Moses recounts their conquests, pay attention to the phrase, “…and we devoted them to destruction…”.  This is a translation of the Hebrew charam, which is to set apart for destruction to the LORD – in the sense of a sacrifice.  You will see this term often through Deuteronomy and Joshua.  

And finally, you might need to listen twice to Moses’ intense acknowledgement of how much it burned him to lose Canaan.  Remember the LORD’s reason for excluding him, listen to Moses’ own perspective on the matter, and take time to sort through your own feelings on this.

Our verses for this week are Matthew 22:37-38: “And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.”

Deuteronomy chapters 1 through 3.  Now let’s read it! 

The book of Numbers begins and ends with hope.  From chapters 1 through 10, Israel is preparing to march toward the Promised Land, 13 months after their escape from Egypt.   In the middle section of Numbers we watch this generation fall into rebellion, lashing out against Moses and Aaron and the LORD, and longing for the perceived comfort of Egypt.  This generation had to die before Israel would inherit what the LORD had in store for them.

But since chapter 26, we’ve witnessed a second set of preparations unfold.  Now forty years on, a new generation is following the leadership of Moses, Eleazar, and Joshua. 

The text returns now to settlement and inheritance concerns.  Speaking to Moses “in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho” – in other words, just across the river from Canaan – the LORD commands Israel to be ready to set aside cities and pastureland for the tribe of Levi. 

Remember  that Levi will inherit no land, “for the LORD is their portion and their inheritance.”   They’re assigned to support the priests in administering ritual and sacrifice on Israel’s behalf.  As they have been restricted from enriching themselves at their brothers’ expense, so they are here protected from the poverty that their lack of inheritance could produce.

The middle section today presents a series of statutes for handling murder.  Six cities of refuge are to be established throughout Israelite territory to protect people from being falsely accused and avenged of murder.  Notice that there is a distinction made between accidental killing and murder, that the congregation is responsible for protecting the manslayer from vengeance, and that time is reset by the death of the High Priest.  All of this is nested in the familiar refrain:  “You shall not defile the land in which you live…for I the LORD dwell in the midst of the people of Israel.”

The final chapter circles back to Zelophahad’s daughters and the questions of inheritance and marriage.  An important principle is laid out here that goes beyond the circumstances.  Each tribe is to respect the property of the others.  Not competing with each other as their ancestors had in Jacob’s house, but functioning as a single nation. 

Our verses for this week are Matthew 22:37-38: “And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.”

Numbers 35 and 36.  Now let’s read it!

As we approach the end of Numbers, the new generation of Israelites is approaching the day when the LORD opens the Promised Land to them.  Today’s readings center on this, beginning with a crisis of national unity. 

Chapter 32 is a dialogue-rich story concerning the tribes of Gad and Reuben.  As Israel has settled the East Bank of the Jordan River, representatives from these two tribes approach Moses with a proposal: “Let this land be given to us for a possession.  Do not take us across the Jordan.” 

This raises serious questions for Moses: “Are Reuben and Gad giving up on God’s promise?”  “Will you allow the other tribes to fend for themselves in Canaan?”  And “Isn’t this the same kind of self-seeking that bought us 40 extra years in the wilderness?”  Echoes of Numbers 13 and 14 abound as Moses warns forcefully about rekindling the wrath of the LORD.  But then Reuben and Gad make an appealing promise, and a peace is made that will be tested later. 

You might notice here that the LORD is absent from this negotiation, and the author offers no commentary on the resolution.  He only presents the characters and dialogue.  Remember that most Biblical narratives don’t offer an obvious “moral of the story.”  On the one hand, Reuben and Gad appear to be settling for less than what God has promised them.  On the other hand, this is a substantial expansion of Israel’s territory.  It’s possible that we’ll have to be patient to see if this was a good idea or not. 

Chapter 33 is a history lesson and Chapter 34 is a geography lesson.  First, the entire journey from Goshen to the banks of the Jordan is recounted.  Next, the boundaries of the land are set.  Of keen historical note is that these boundaries of Canaan match those found in Egyptian records of the same time period. 

But in the middle of these is an ominous warning:

“But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell.  And I will do to you as I thought to do to them.” 

This warning, attached to the command to drive out all the inhabitants of Canaan, will stand in the background for centuries to come.  

Our verses for this week are Matthew 22:37-38: “And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.”

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

A sense of promise and anticipation fills chapter 29 as instructions for setting aside Feast Days are conveyed to a new generation.  In addition to acknowledging the Feasts of Trumpets and of Atonement, even more detailed instructions are given to recognize their wilderness wanderings through the Feast of Booths. 

Chapters 30 and 31 present two passages that might be challenging for us.  The first passage has to do with making and breaking vows – and how expectations differ for men and women.  For men, there is a very forthright expectation of fidelity to a promise made.  However, for women, their connection to a vow is determined by their marital status and place.

The second passage is a tight narrative recounting the “LORD’s vengeance” against Midian.  Remember how in chapter 25, the author uses sexually-tinged language to describe Israel’s dalliance with the Baal of Peor and people of Moab and Midian.  Remember also how the LORD praises Phinehas for understanding His “jealousy” for Israel.  This marriage metaphor will be used again to describe God’s expectations of fealty. 

The challenge in the first passage is to wrap our heads around this very different treatment of women, and the challenge in the second passage is to understand the violence that is exacted on the enemies of Yahweh.  Since the LORD has shown that He has the power and authority to make radical changes to the social order, it’s not satisfactory to write this off as “a different time.” 

I want to offer a few lines of encouragement as we approach this:

Our verse for this week is 1 Corinthians 10:4: “And all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.”  

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