Bible in 90 Days - Day 14 (Deuteronomy 8:1-23:11)

Lord God,

may your Word be a lamp to our feet

and a light to our path

through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

—based on Psalm 119:105

As I look back over today’s reading, I am amazed at how much of it has direct ties to the New Testament. Is it any wonder that when Jesus faced Satan’s 3 temptations in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11) that he quoted from Deuteronomy each time? Right away in 8:3 today we find one of those passages that Jesus quoted. Moses puts all of the suffering in the wilderness into the context of a right relationship with God.

10:12-13 - After reading this, I can almost hear Moses shout out, “Really – is that too much to ask?”

11:26-32 – There are always blessings and curses involved with a covenant: blessings for keeping it and curses for not keeping it. Israelite boys were welcomed into the covenant through circumcision when they were 8 days old (that doesn’t mean that girls weren’t part of the covenant). We also believe that God welcomes our children into the covenant through baptism. That still leaves the roads of obedience and disobedience in front of them, as it does for all of us, as it did for the Israelites as Moses addressed them. In this passage Moses is commanding the people to have a covenant renewal ceremony on Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim when they cross into the promised land. When we get to Joshua 8 on Tuesday, we’ll remember this.

12:1-2 – When we get to the stories of the kings of Israel and Judah in 1-2 Kings and 1-2 Chronicles, each king will be classified according to whether or not he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and whether or not the high places were kept as part of worship. Here is our first reference to the high places.

13:4 is very dramatic in Hebrew. It stands out grammatically and structurally from all of the verses around it. Every phrase doesn’t just mention, but rather emphasizes, something about God to which the people must respond. The action is for the people, but the emphasis is on God. When I see it, it stands out so much that it makes me wonder if Moses was shouting it. It is so striking that it looks almost like an interlude. If I were to translate it, it would look like this:

“AFTER THE LORD YOUR GOD you must follow!

And HIM you are to fear!

And HIS COMMANDS you are to keep!

And HIS VOICE you are to hear! (which in Hebrew also implies submitting to it)

And HIM you are to serve!

And HIM you are to cling to!”

Consider that and then read all of chapter 13 in light of that one verse.

17:14-20 – We will come back to these verses when Israel begs for a king. We will also come back to them when we trace Solomon’s downfall. Verses 18-20 are a good reminder that there were no printing presses back then. People didn’t own their own copies of the Bible, but it was important for the king to have one – and read it. Unfortunately, this command fell by the wayside. Right now you are part of the keeping of this command!

**18:15-19 – This is a key passage for understanding Jesus. God will raise up many prophets, but this is talking about THE prophet. Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of this. John the Gospel writer emphasizes Jesus in this role. We’ll be coming back to this passage from time to time.

21:23 – Paul quotes this verse in Galatians 3:13 with respect to Jesus.

Overall do you notice that God is concerned that the people don’t just avoid evil, but that they do the extra step of pursuing what is good? God considers ignoring good to be an evil thing. We see God’s heart here, and it shapes the way we hear the command to love our neighbor and pray for those who persecute us in the New Testament.