The Fifth Book of Moses Called
Deuteronomy, Moses’ “Upper Desert Discourse,” consists of a series of farewell messages by Israel’s 120-year-old leader. He addressed his words to the new generation destined to possess the Land of Promise—those who survived the forty years of wilderness wandering.
Deuteronomy has been called “five-fifths of the Law” since it completes the five books of Moses. The Jewish people also have called it Mishneh Hattorah, which means “Repetition of the Law.” The Septuagint gave it the name, To Deuteronomion Touto, “This Second Law.” The English title comes from the Greek word Deuteronomion, which means “Second Law.” Deuteronomy is really not a second law, however, but an adaptation and expansion of much of the original law given on Mount Sinai.
Deuteronomy opens with a review of Israel’s forty years of wandering in the desert on her way to the Promised Land. Moses didn’t want the people to forget the importance of obeying their God, and he didn’t want them to forget that disobedience caused a whole generation of Israelites—men and women who had personally experienced a spectacular and miraculous deliverance from the hands of the Egyptians—to miss out on entering the land God had promised them.
Like Leviticus, Deuteronomy contains a vast amount of legal detail, but it emphasizes the layman rather than the priest. Moses reminds the new generation that their parents all died in the wilderness without receiving God’s promises, because they refused to obey.
The Book of Deuteronomy contains an invaluable lesson for each of us. God wants us to remember our walk with Him—the highs and lows, the triumphs and the failures, the run-of-the-mill and the out-of-the-ordinary. He wants us to remember that even in the difficult times, when we may have believed Him far from us, He was always right there, encouraging us, giving us strength and motivation to change what needed to change, and blessing us every step of the way.
Theme: The key word in this book is “remember.” Deuteronomy has been appropriately called the “Book of Remembrance.” God wants us to remember that every blessing we receive depends on our remembering not just what He’s done for us, but also His laws and principles regarding life on this earth.
Author: Moses.
Time: Delivered shortly before Moses’ death, sometime around 1407 B.C.
Structure: Deuteronomy breaks down into four sections, starting with Moses’ review of the Israelites’ history (1:1–4:43); moving through a review of the Law (4:44–26:19); and the covenant (27:1–30:20); and ending with Moses’ final words for the Israelites as he prepares to leave them (31–34).
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As you read Deuteronomy, watch for several life principles that play an important role in this book: 21. Obedience always brings blessing. See Deuteronomy 4:40. 1. Our intimacy with God—His highest priority for our lives—determines the impact of our lives. See Deuteronomy 7:6–8. 3. God’s Word is an immovable anchor in times of storm. See Deuteronomy 8:3. 29. We learn more in our valley experiences than on our mountaintops. See Deuteronomy 9:7–29. 4. The awareness of God’s presence energizes us for our work. See Deuteronomy 20:1. |