Bible in 90 Days - Day 13 (Numbers 32:120-Deuteronomy 7:26)

Lord God,

help us turn our hearts to you

and hear what you will speak,

for you speak peace to your people

through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

—based on Psalm 85:8

Now we start what was for a long time my favorite Old Testament book – Deuteronomy. One of my favorite New Testament passages is John 13-17 where Jesus is passionately telling the disciples what they need to know before he leaves. Moses is doing the same thing here with Israel. The last two books we read began with God speaking to Moses from the Tent of Meeting. Now Moses is speaking to the people. Think of this as both a summary and interpretation of what we have read so far. Also keep in mind that if the generation of fighting men died off in these last 40 years in the desert, then everyone in this crowd was less than 20 years old (or not even born) when Israel left Egypt and got to the border of Canaan the first time around. This is the new generation of Israel. The 40 year old (and up) crowd was alive for the delivery from Egypt. Moses is thinking about the generations to come who have not seen these mighty acts, so there is a lot of emphasis on teaching and remembering.

Traditionally we attribute authorship of the first five books of the Bible (called the Pentateuch) to Moses. This is the last book of the five. Deuteronomy means “Second Law.” Moses will tell the people the Law again. I’d encourage you to read 4:1-14 a couple times. See how close God is to the people. See how good the Law is. See that this is a covenant relationship. This is anything but an arbitrary set of rules. (Will this be your new favorite OT book?)

Looking ahead – Joshua is a bloody book filled with genocide. Without Deuteronomy chapter 7, Joshua would be almost intolerable to us today. God’s plan of salvation for the whole world is coming through this wandering nation, and NOTHING is so important that it is worth jeopardizing God’s covenant relationship with his people. Keep in mind that we now have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. Our reality is different. But I don’t want to get too far ahead here.

Notes:

1:10-11 – God had promised Abraham to make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, and he has done it! Now Moses indicates that the blessing isn’t over yet.

1:21 – We often hear the words, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged,” as a mere encouragement. When God says them, we should hear a command for which disobedience is a very poor choice!

2:7 – This is why we need Moses to re-tell the story. The grumblers would have cast God in a different light.

5:9-10 – Note the relative lengths of God’s punishment and his grace. Amazing grace!

6:4 – This is one of the most well-known verses among Jews. It is known as the Shema, which is the command, “Hear!”

May God build his kingdom through the reading of his Word.