An Overview Study of Deuteronomy

Tonight we're going to be looking at the book of Deuteronomy, so if you would turn to Deuteronomy chapter 1.

We'll listen along through verses, chapter 1 verses 1 through 8 after

we pray.

Heavenly Father, we again thank you for another Wednesday evening together with fellow

brothers and sisters in Christ.

And as we look at this book, which is a restating of God's law, I pray that we would learn

something knowing that your law was really the foundation that was laid for

the children of Israel and it was laid so that it would lead them to hopefully, that

was the plan, to accept the gospel as the Apostle Paul said in the book of

Galatians.

That the law is a tutor or a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.

We just pray your blessing upon this time.

We pray it all in Jesus' name, Amen.

Deuteronomy 1, 1 through 8.

The fifth book of Moses, called Deuteronomy.

These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on this side of the Jordan in

the wilderness, in the plain opposite Suph, between Paran, Tophel, Laban,

Hazirath, and Dizahab.

It is eleven days journey from Horeb by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea.

Now it came to pass in the fortieth year in the eleventh month on the first day of

the month that Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the Lord had

given him as commandments to them.

After he had killed Sihon, king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshban, and Og,

king of Bashan, who dwelt at Ashtaroth in Edrei.

On this side of the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law.

The Lord our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying, You have dwelt long

enough at this mountain.

Turn and take your journey, and go to the mountains of the Amorites,

to all the neighboring places in the plain, in the mountains and in the loam,

in the south and on the sea coast, to the land of the Canaanites

and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.

See, I have set the land before you.

Go in and possess the land, which the Lord swore to your fathers,

to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give to them and their

descendants after them.

So tonight we're going to be doing just one overview study of Deuteronomy, which is

the fifth book of Moses.

So the word Deuteronomy, who knows what it means?

The word Deuteronomy means, yes, Mary?

Second law.

Good, yes.

It means second law.

So this is God's law restated.

Why would it need to be restated?

Well, remember, this is a whole new generation.

The people hearing this, it's almost as if, I'm sure they've heard parts, but it's like

they've heard it or are hearing it for the first time, because when the law was initially given at

Mount Sinai, it was 40 years earlier to that previous generation that is now all.

Gone.

So the new generation needs to hear God's law expounded.

And keep in mind that the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, you know, these five

total, these are the books of the law.

So basically what Deuteronomy is doing is it's summarizing what's in these four

previous books into one like condensed version.

So here is how Deuteronomy is structured.

Chapters one through 30 consist of three sermons or three speeches.

Some people have called this the swan song of Moses.

Before he dies, he gives these three speeches on the plains of Moab before the

children of Israel enter into the promised land.

But let's just, some people will say they're four sermons, depending on which commentator you read.

It's either three speeches or four, but chapters one through four is a review

of the Israelites history after the Exodus.

The second message from chapters five through 28, so this is the bulk of it, gives the

stipulations of the law.

So Moses is rehearsing or going through all of the commandments.

The third message is in chapters 29 and 30.

This deals with another covenant and some people have called this covenant.

What?

Who knows the name?

Right.

The Palestinian covenant dealing with the land.

Of course, you know what happens, right?

If they disobey God, if they don't keep his law, what's God going to do?

Yeah, they're going to enter the land.

God wants them to enter, but once they're there, if they don't obey God's law, if they don't obey the covenant,

God's going to make sure they get driven out.

So then chapters 31 through 34 are the final words in advance,

including Moses death.

So what does that tell you?

It's obvious.

Okay.

So these, what's that?

The end of an era.

Well, it is certainly the end of an era, but if these are the five books of Moses and the end of

Deuteronomy is recording his death and what happens right after that tells you that

yeah, somebody else must've finished the book.

That'd be awfully hard to write about your own death and the specifics.

So most people think that Joshua probably finished the book of Deuteronomy.

And when we say that Moses or Joshua wrote a book, that does not necessarily mean that

Moses was sitting there 10 in hand writing all the

verses.

I'm sure he had other people recording the events, recording what he is

saying.

So Moses could have acted like the general editor.

We don't really know exactly how that works, but these are the books of Moses.

Now, how many of you have a real deep interest in the book of Deuteronomy?

I mean, this is one of your favorite books of the Bible.

You read this for leisure.

You love it.

Yeah.

There's something about, I really think the book of numbers was exciting.

I don't know about you, if you feel the same way, but yeah, Leviticus and Deuteronomy, a lot of Christians

read through the Bible in a year and they get to these books and they really struggle.

Some people just quit because it is difficult reading.

Here's the interesting thing though.

Jesus in the new Testament, Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy more than any other book.

So what does that tell you?

Yeah, it is very, very important.

You remember when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by the devil 40 days and the devil came quoting verses

and Jesus would quote the word of God back to him.

And every time Jesus quoted scripture, he's quoting from the book of Deuteronomy.

So Moses wrote this sometime around 1400, 1450 BC,

and it covers a span of time.

These events probably one to two months.

So we're going to look at some of the key verses.

So turn to chapter four, if you would, Deuteronomy four.

So again, this is the book of the law, the law restated.

And it covers Moses, his final sermons on the plains of Moab.

The words do keep or observe are used about 180

times.

So they were to hear the commandments of God, hear the law of God and what?

Do it, right?

Observe it.

We have our laws here in the United States and in Massachusetts and even in Leverett.

There are laws specific to this town, to the state and to this country, right?

We have to remember that's what the law of Moses is.

That's what the law of God is.

It's not just a religious text.

It is the law for the nation.

So let's look at Deuteronomy four, one through 12.

And if you have anything that comes to mind, any questions, just raise your hand as we go along.

Deuteronomy four, one and two, it says now, oh, Israel, listen to the statutes and the

judgments, which I teach you to observe that you may live and go in and possess the land,

which the Lord God of your fathers is giving you.

And you shall not add to the word, which I command you, nor take from it that you may

keep the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I command you.

That should remind you of another passage of scripture.

Does it remind you of anything?

Yeah, revelation.

What is it?

Chapter 22.

Don't add to it.

Don't take away from it.

So you see that commandment very early in the scripture.

Then you see it at the end of the scripture.

Obviously, people should not be adding to or taking away from God's word.

So now, admittedly, we're New Testament Christians.

So we're not living in Old Testament times.

We're not Israelites.

We're not living in the Old Testament nation of Israel.

So the reason one of the reasons why people don't pay a lot of attention to a book like

Deuteronomy is people don't think that it's relevant, right?

That this is not relevant to us.

So it's true.

We're not living under the old covenant.

But here's the thing.

Christians, you should love God's law.

Why should you love God's law?

Even though technically you're not under God's law, you should love God's law because

it's an expression of God's character.

David wrote in the Psalms, he said, Oh, how I love thy law.

It is my meditation all the day.

Maybe I can't honestly tell you that God's law is my meditation all the day.

But it does play a very significant role because it shows us not only who God

is, God's law tells us what sin is.

We would know a little bit, but we really wouldn't know the sinfulness of sin unless

we had God's law.

First John chapter 3 verse 4 describes sin as what?

A violation of God's of God's law.

This is why Jesus summarized the 10 commandments by saying, you shall love the Lord your God

with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like it.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

So if you love God, you do what?

You keep his commandments.

You keep his law.

At least the part that still applies to us.

And of course, Jesus said that John 14 15.

He said, if you love me, keep my commandments.

So if you love God and if you love your fellow man and you want to uphold the

dignity of your neighbor, you need to be informed by and care about God's law.

Any questions so far right now?

One common objection is that a Christian might quote Romans 6 14, which

says we are not under.

Law.

We're under grace.

Now, is that true?

We're not under law.

We're under grace.

Yeah, obviously it's true.

What does that mean, though?

Who knows?

God's grace is an ending long suffering.

Okay, not a set of rules.

Okay, where the law was.

Okay, rules and regulations.

All right, Larry.

Jesus fulfilled the law on the cross.

Okay.

And pay.

Yes.

Jesus said, I did not come to destroy the law.

I came to fulfill.

So we're not under God's law.

That's just saying we're not under the old covenant.

We're not Old Testament Israelites.

We're New Testament Christians.

So we're not under the law.

That's true.

And you said Jesus fulfilled the law.

Now, one of the laws is thou shall not steal.

Did Jesus fulfill that?

I'm trying to test you a little bit.

Did Jesus fulfill it?

Well, he did in the sense that he never stole anything.

But that commandment still applies, doesn't it?

I mean, nobody would argue that.

Well, Jesus came and died on the cross.

Now you can go out and break the Ten Commandments, and it's no problem because we're not under law or Jesus fulfilled it.

Nobody would make that argument, right?

So we have to then figure out that there are some parts of God's law, some parts of

Deuteronomy that do apply to us in some parts that do not.

And this is where it gets a little complicated.

So we're going to look at a few more verses in a moment, but God's law has generally been broken down

into three sections or three parts.

There is the moral aspect of God's law.

And if you take notes, this would be helpful.

If you don't know it already, there is the moral element of God's law, the ceremonial

aspect of God's law, and then the civil.

And then there's different names for them, but moral, ceremonial and civil.

Which part did Jesus fulfill?

All three.

Okay, and we could say that because he kept the law.

All right, but which parts apply to us?

Do the moral laws of God still apply to us?

Oh, absolutely.

Absolutely.

A lot of people make the argument living in Massachusetts, you hear those people say, well, you know, the

controversial issues of our day around LGBT, Jesus never addressed

any of that.

And it's true, Jesus and his earthly ministry never specifically addressed that stuff.

But God's law addressed it, right?

So either it's true and it still applies or it doesn't.

So the moral law of God still applies because those things are mentioned in the Old Testament.

What about the religious element of God's law?

Does that still apply?

No.

Who agrees?

How do we know this?

Well, because none of you offer a lamb on the Passover, do you?

None of you offer animal sacrifices.

I hope.

I hope you're not offering animal sacrifices.

So that's part of the ceremonial or the religious law.

That has been fulfilled in Christ.

And then the civil aspect of the law, these are just the laws for the nation.

So there's a lot of things that would have been relevant and would apply back then that just are not really

all that relevant today.

So while God is unchanging and the moral parts of God's law are

unchanging, not all of it applies.

Who wants to give a few examples, a few other parts of God's law that it's true?

It was true back then.

The Israelites needed to follow it.

But today, we really don't even give it much thought.

Who wants to?

We need parts of whatever.

Yeah, something that was commanded.

Just look at how someone will kill someone else and they'll go to jail for a

certain number of years.

God's law said if you kill somebody, that person needs to get killed as well.

Yeah.

Okay.

And I was thinking of things like prohibitions against eating pork,

right?

The dietary laws, most Christians do not observe those things.

Any other examples?

Circumcision.

Okay.

That's kind of something people, if people do it, it's probably for other reasons, not necessarily religious

reasons, right?

So the civil laws, that's the tricky part.

Moral law still applies.

Nobody really argues with that.

The ceremonial law fulfilled in Christ.

Jesus was the Passover lamb.

Those two parts are easy.

It's the civil law that gets a little more complicated.

So these, again, were the laws of the nation.

There are some things, like if a man died, his wife was to marry his brother.

And there were laws about inheritance, that the inheritance needed to stay within that.

Tribe.

That has no relevance today.

That wouldn't even work today.

You couldn't really follow those things today.

So what's challenging is trying to figure out which fits in which category and then which of the

civil laws applies.

Bottom line is there are still things we can learn.

Even if the law itself doesn't apply to us, there are still things that we can learn.

We worship on Sunday morning, right?

Is that part of God's law?

No, there are some people who believe in Jesus, and they worship on

Saturday.

These are the Seventh -day Baptists, Seventh -day Adventists.

There's people that worship on Saturday.

Why?

Because that is part of God's law, and they think that God's law still applies.

So those people wouldn't eat pork, and they still try to obey God's law.

The thing about the Sabbath is, remember that story?

Was it in numbers?

The guy was picking up sticks on the Sabbath, and what did they do to him?

Yeah, they stoned the guy to death.

Obviously, no Christian sees somebody doing yard work, and we've got to stone this man.

That is not relevant.

We're not under that part.

Is there something we can learn from the Sabbath, though?

That you need a day off, right?

One day out of seven, you should rest.

That's a good principle, and we still set aside one day for the corporate worship of the

Lord.

Now, it's just Sunday, the Lord's Day.

So even if not everything applies, there are still things that we can

learn.

Okay, go to Chapter 6.

Yes, Jim?

One of the students that I was transporting from Winterhampton to

Longmeadow, there's a school there, and it's also the Springfield Jewish

Community Center.

One day, when I went down there, they had some kind of a function,

and I think a lot of the people that were going were Hasidic Jews.

They were practicing Hasidim, and they didn't drive cars.

They lived in the neighborhood, and they would walk from their houses to this center.

It was amazing.

It's the first time I've ever witnessed something like that.

The first thing I thought of was his observation of the law.

Yeah, yep.

Man has written the law, the Torah.

Sure.

Because it's a Torah set, a denied Torah.

And they don't believe Jesus is the Christ, so they don't believe it's fulfilled, obviously.

So it makes sense that if you're Jewish, at least a religious Jew, then yeah, you would still

practice these things.

Of course, they really don't.

They don't offer animal sacrifices.

So there's still plenty of things in the law they don't observe.

Okay, you're in chapter six.

Look at verses four through six.

This might be the most well -known passage in Deuteronomy.

Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.

And you shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all your soul, and with all your

strength.

And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.

Who knows what this passage is called?

There's a word for it.

The Great Commandment?

Well, that is the Great Commandment that Jesus uses.

Good.

But there's another word.

It begins with an S.

The Shema.

Right.

And the Jews will use this, I believe, in their liturgy and in their prayers.

So this was central to Jewish life.

It also includes a great confession of monotheism.

The Lord is what?

One.

So there's only one God.

And Israel was unique in this way because all of the other nations, all of the other tribes, they believed that there were many

gods.

We have our God.

You have your God.

This nation here is their God.

The Jews were different.

And they said, no, there's only one God.

And he's God of heaven and earth.

He's the God of the whole world.

He's the creator.

And that was, to us, we assume people who believe in God believe like that.

Back then, that was a very, very rare thing.

And I like what verse 7 says.

Speaking of being able to learn from Deuteronomy, you shall teach them diligently.

Speaking of these commands, these laws, you shall teach them diligently to who?

To your children.

And shall talk of them when you sit in your house and you walk by the way and when you lie

down and when you rise up.

So this is something that we could say is applicable to New Testament Christians.

That we are to teach our children one day a week on

Sunday.

And we have other people do it.

That's good enough.

Or hey, maybe we can just have a Bible study, you know, mom and dad and the kids for a half hour

on Wednesday night.

And that's, that'll cover us for the week.

But that's a bit much.

Yeah, I'm sure some people would think that.

And those things are fine.

You know, I believe in bringing your kids to Sunday school.

I believe, you know, if you want to have a Bible study at home, that's great.

But that's not really what we're instructed to do as our main way of teaching.

What should we do with our children or your grandchildren?

Yeah, well, and you just incorporate it.

Yes, you set an example.

We're going to talk about that in a second.

But you just incorporate it into everyday life.

So when you're on the way to the store, if something happens that afternoon, you know,

you try to teach them a lesson.

It's just part of your life.

You just teach them.

And it's not even an official setting.

It's just, you're constantly talking about spiritual truths.

Constantly communicating these things to them.

Yes, Jim.

To emphasize that and show the extreme importance of knowing the

law of God.

You look at verse 8.

And thou shalt bind it for a sign upon thine hand, and there shall be frontlets between.

Thine eyes.

I don't know if anybody's ever seen that.

But mostly it's the Hasidim Jews that do that.

They actually have it on their, on the back of their hands.

And it's strapped on there.

And then they have one, it looks like a little box.

But it's, the law of Moses is in that little box.

The whole law, all five chapters.

Yeah.

And it's in that little box.

And they wear it on their foreheads.

That's, that's far right, I guess.

Yeah, I mean, imagine that.

Taking God's law, writing it so small no one could possibly read it on a little scroll.

Putting it in a box and hangs in front of your forehead.

I believe in taking the Bible literally, but not that literally.

That's not the point.

I think Moses was trying to set an example there that the people, because he says it needs to be on

your heart.

Because we know that what's in our heart comes out of our mouth.

And if we've got the love, if they had the love of Moses in those two strategic places,

then that would be fulfilling that in the heart.

Well, that's what the Jews have come to think.

But I don't, I don't think that was the point.

The point is just to have it blend in with everyday life.

That's how you want to teach people.

Just, you know, it just flows.

It comes naturally.

Because when children see that maybe their parents only, you know,

that's for one religion.

My faith is one hour on Sunday and it's over there.

And that's all we do.

We don't ever talk about it except for that, that time on Sunday.

You know, that teaches them something too.

It teaches them that faith really isn't that important to where it is just over there.

It's isolated.

Okay, any questions before we move on?

Again, that's good.

The Sunday morning is good.

We want that.

It's just, we want, it's just part of your life.

All right, look at verse five again.

You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength.

And these words, which I command you today shall be in your heart.

That doesn't literally mean in your heart.

Like, okay, let's go through surgery and insert something into your, like, you know that that's

not what it means, right?

But that's kind of what the Jews have done with a lot of things.

They haven't gone that far, thankfully, but they will take things overly literal and kind of miss, kind of miss the

point.

And you shall teach them diligently to your children.

You shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you

rise up.

In other words, all the time, right?

All right, so let me ask you based on that.

Are there things we can learn from Deuteronomy?

Oh, yeah.

All right, let's turn to chapter 18.

18, yes.

As you're turning there, chapter eight, verse three is where you get that quotation from Jesus.

Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of.

The Lord.

How many of you, well, how many of you know that verse?

Well, you hear me.

Quote it enough.

How many of you knew it was from Deuteronomy?

Yeah, it's sort of like you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Most people don't know that comes from Leviticus.

So these things are relevant.

All right, look at Deuteronomy 18, verse 15

says the Lord, your God will, because we always try to make things about who?

Yeah, we try to make it about Christ because the Old Testament books speak of Christ and

speaks of him here.

The Lord, your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your

midst, from your brethren, him you shall hear.

So this is a reference to Christ, who is both or all three prophet, priest and king.

Verse 18, I will raise up for them a prophet like you from

among their brethren and will put my words in his mouth and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

And it shall be that whoever will not hear my words, which he speaks in my name, I

will require it of him.

Uh, in John chapter one, you remember when they asked John the Baptist, uh, some of them

said, are you Elijah?

And he said, no.

And then some, someone asked him, are you that prophet?

Are you the prophet?

Like that, that one that Moses spoke of.

And what did John say?

No, I'm the voice of one crying in the wilderness.

So John was a true prophet, but he wasn't the prophet or that prophet

who was right.

Jesus was the prophet, but John was a true prophet.

There are other true prophets, but Jesus also warned of false prophets.

And I've told you this before that false prophets, false teachers.

There are some ministries that they don't talk about that, but it's a theme all the through the Bible.

And you see that here.

And how do you know whether a prophet is a true prophet or a false prophet?

Well, look at verse 20, but the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name,

which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet

shall die.

Wow.

That Lord takes this very seriously.

Doesn't he?

Okay.

I don't want to get into the details of this, but there was a prayer event that happened.

What is it?

Six months ago, a while ago, pretty good group of people.

And it was a great time together.

And people prayed and read scripture.

But at the end, there was one person who stood up and they started declaring things.

Thus saith the Lord.

And they were speaking as they were God.

They were speaking.

God said, God told me God, and they started proclaiming the words of God

and they weren't quoting scripture.

Now, either that means they were a true pride.

And I know most people don't take this that seriously, but the person running the prayer meeting took it seriously

and God blessed that man, but he recognized what Deuteronomy.

Taught.

So this woman started declaring things of what God was saying.

Either she was a true prophet sent by God, or she was a, you

know, there's no middle ground here.

Look at verse, you know, here's the thing.

A lot of famous TV preachers are happy that we're not under law.

We're under grace because they wouldn't be on TV anymore.

You have to understand when somebody makes a false prophecy, and this is what God is going to say.

Here's how you know.

If they say in the name of God, that this thing is going to happen.

And then it doesn't happen.

There we go.

That's proof.

Look at verse 21.

And if you say in your heart, how shall we know the word, which the Lord has not spoken

when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to

pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken.

The prophet has spoken it presumptuously.

You shall not be afraid of him.

Okay.

That's good advice that we need because there's a lot of people saying that God is giving them revelations

and private messages.

And God says this, God says that here's the difference between us and them.

The Bible is our authority.

We believe in sola scriptura.

So the Bible alone is our authority to people like that.

The Bible is a authority.

It's not the authority.

It is a authority and their words.

If they're the words of God, their words are just as authoritative as scripture.

So hopefully that tells us the serious nature of it.

Okay, let's skip ahead and we'll cover two last things.

Any questions on that?

Okay.

Chapter 31 covers the transfer of leadership to Joshua.

And then chapter 34, that's the final chapter.

It's likely written by Joshua.

It covers the death of Moses.

So Deuteronomy 31, did I tell you to turn there?

Deuteronomy 31, we'll read verses seven through eight.

It says, then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of

all Israel, be strong and of good courage for you must go with this people to the

land, which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give him.

And you shall cause them to inherit it.

And the Lord, he is the one who goes before you and he will be with you.

He will not leave you nor forsake you.

Do not fear nor be dismayed.

I suspect that's a verse that you either quote often or you hear people quote often,

right?

The Lord will not neither leave you nor forsake you.

Where does that originate?

Deuteronomy.

And then the final chapter, go to chapter 34.

Yeah, as Jim said, this truly is the end of an era.

I believe that Moses is the greatest man, not just of the

Old Testament.

I mean, I believe that he's definitely the greatest figure in the Old Testament.

But as far as just a man, well, Jesus said John the Baptist is the greatest prophet.

So you can't really argue with Jesus.

But other than that, Moses is, he's at a whole other level.

And we're going to see this here.

So here, Moses is going to die before the children of Israel are then led by

Joshua into the promised land.

And what's unique about his burial?

Does Joshua bury him?

Does Phinehas?

God did.

Look at verses 5 through 10.

So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, according to the word.

Of the Lord.

And he buried him.

You know, he, as in he capitalized, God buried him in the valley of the land

of Moab, opposite Beth Peor.

But no one knows his grave to this day.

This admittedly, this is only speculation.

But one reason why God didn't want anyone to know where Moses was buried, my

opinion, if people knew where his grave site was, they'd turn it into a shrine.

There'd be some sort of, it would grow into some idolatrous worship site, or maybe the children

of Israel would say, hey, we're going to stay here with Moses.

We're not going to go into Canaan.

I think that's one reason why God didn't want anyone to know.

Look at verse 7.

Moses was 120 years old when he died.

And I like this.

His eyes were not dim.

My eyes are getting dim, you know, at age 40.

So Moses was 120 years old when he died.

His eyes were not dim, nor his natural vigor diminished.

He was a healthy man.

Amen.

He could have lived longer, I'm sure.

But this was his time.

And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab 30 days.

So the days of weeping and mourning for Moses ended.

And now Joshua, the son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom.

For Moses had laid his hands on him.

So the children of Israel heeded him and did as the Lord had commanded Moses.

But since then, there has not arisen in Israel a

prophet like Moses whom the Lord knew face to face.