Introduction to Deuteronomy, Part 1

Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Bible and the last book of the “Pentateuch”. It has some of the most profound statements in scripture and, unlike Leviticus or the other law books, Deuteronomy meditates on what the law means and God’s relationship to us. I think for most people it is one of the books “somewhere in the Bible” that they know little about. For that reason, and to learn much myself, I’ve attempted to compile an introduction for this great book, providing some background information and historical context.

Deuteronomy, in essence, is a big farewell address by Moses to God’s people, the nation of Israel. Somebody else must have written the book down because the book ends with Moses’ death (34:5-6), but the majority of the book is Moses speaking; exhorting and encouraging his people to follow the Lord and to keep His commands. Moses is saying these things before Israel is to enter the Promised Land, so in many ways Deuteronomy is a beginning.

Often when great men in the Bible die – men who have known God and experienced His grace – they get a chance to say goodbye to their loved ones and to give them parting wisdom. That is exactly what Moses does in Deuteronomy. It is his parting words to his people and he emphatically exhorts them to pursue God and “love the LORD your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut. 6:5). Other great “farewell addresses” in the Bible include:

Jacob, who calls his children together and prays over them (Genesis 49). (He also prays over his grand children, Genesis 48).

Joseph “made the sons of Israel swear, saying ‘God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here’” (Gen. 50:25).

Joshua, the great leader of Israel after Moses, gathers all the tribes of Israel together and says:

“Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:14-15)

The great prophet Samuel gives a farewell address in 1 Samuel 12 (which is a little bit funny, right? He has two books named after him and he bows it in chapter 12 of the first one – but anyways):

“The LORD is witness, who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt. Now therefore stand still that I may plead with you before the LORD concerning all the righteous deeds of the LORD that he performed for you and your fathers…
If you will fear the LORD and serve him and obey his voice and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God, it will be well.” (1 Samuel 12:6-7, 14)

When the great King David was about to die he “commanded” his son Solomon:

“Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statues, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn…” (1 Kings 2:2b-3)

Do you see a pattern here? The advice all of these men give from their death bed is the same: Fear the Lord, live by His commandments, walk with Him, that it may go well with you. Many of their speeches begin with a summary of what God has done – things their children weren’t alive to witness, but their parents are alive testify to them about Him. As Moses writes in Deuteronomy:

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. (Deut. 6:6-7)

Death bed advice is so important because it’s coming from people who have lived and been exactly where you or I sit now. Moses was once twenty, like me, only when he speaks in Deuteronomy he’s lived his whole life and is nearing death. His advice at the end of life is “Fear God and love Him and walk with Him. Do not forget God.”

Nothing really changes from generation to generation, as King Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes. People make the same mistakes as the people before them. When Moses or Joshua or Samuel gives me advice, I’d better listen! Sure, they lived at a different time in a different culture but the human condition and human heart has not changed in the millennia between us. Any wisdom they have at the end of their life will be extremely beneficial to me as I start mine. As the wise King Solomon writes,

Whoever ignores instruction despises
himself,
but he who listens to reproof gains
intelligence. (Prov. 15:32)

All I’m trying to say is don’t ignore these guys. My generation typically tends to scorn advice or correction from the older generation. “That’s the way you did things, but we’ll do them differently.” We have to avoid that mistake. “There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecc. 1:9). Listen to these men of great faith.

My prayer – if God blesses me so – is to have a similar opportunity as Moses, David, Joshua, Jacob, Joseph, and Samuel. If I could know that I was nearing my day of death (say I’m in the hospital) I would love to be able to call my family and friends together around me. I would lay my hands on my kids, my grandkids, pray for them, bless them, and then emphatically and passionately command them and plead with them to live for Jesus, to love Him, and to serve Him with all their hearts. Do not pursue anything or anyone else, there is destruction in all but Him. Pursue Jesus. I pray and hope for such an opportunity before I die.

The apostle Paul in the New Testament has a similar moment when he writes to his dear student Timothy, whom he calls his “beloved child” –

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching…
For I am being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:1-2, 6-8)

I love that section.

All of these men I have been talking about each testify to the grace of God and that a life lived without Him is void of hope, joy, love, and truth. Do not forget God.