The provocative Book of Deuteronomy in 3 minutes.

Read this article in French here.

Hi you,

While Genesis marks the birth of the Jews as we know them, Exodus, their release from Egypt, Leviticus, the terms and conditions for their life as a community and Numbers, the journey to Canaan the promised land, the book of Deuteronomy is Moses’ farewell speech to the children of Israel as they are about entering Canaan without him.

In this book Moses makes a lot of emphasis on the laws, repeating them and adding some details to some of them. This is why the book was called Deuteronomy, meaning repetition (the second giving of The Law).

Before we dive into the summary, another cool fact about the Book of Deuteronomy is that, it is the book from which Jesus quoted the most.

Previously in the Bible…

The Israelites had exited Egypt to move into a land of abundance and liberation, Canaan. Along the way they had received a set of rules to follow — The Law, meant to honour the One who freed them from bondage, to represent this Mighty God to the rest of the world, and to preserve their new inheritance forever.

Unfortunately, they did not stick to the deal and disqualified themselves from possessing the given territory. Everyone who experienced God’s miracles starting with those who left Egypt was not allowed into Canaan, and so passed away before getting near its borders. Only their children were exempted from this punishment, as well as Caleb and Joshua who kept their faith in God.

Back to the Book of Deuteronomy

It took 40 years for the liberated generation to all die in the wilderness. Now, the new generation stood at the borders of the long-awaited inheritance, marking the beginning of a new era. Therefore Moses reminded them of the covenant between God and their fathers: to obey and serve the Lord only and to love justice (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).

Moses recounted the great odyssey of their predecessors, including the ups and downs they put God through. He re-explained and rewrote the laws he had received on Mt Sinai, climaxing in a warning, that this treaty was a matter of life and death, delightful blessings and horrifying curses (Deuteronomy 28), and he implored them to make the right decision of following the Lord (Deuteronomy 29-30).

But God, knowing the Israelites’ tendency for evil rather than good, He prophesied about the future darkness that would befall them in a song Moses taught them. Leaving them with this hope: that though their hearts are dark as pitch-black, whenever they would turn back to God, God will always accept them (Deuteronomy 30:1-5).

Israel’s behaviour towards God had been so bad, in verse 6, God admitted that only a new heart, a heart that is compliant with God’s ways will enable the Israelites to love Him fully.

Therefore, at this point in Israel’s story, we now know that the saviour-king spoken of in Genesis will rescue mankind by giving out this “new heart”. To know when this will happen, we have to keep reading.

After this speech, Moses transferred the baton to Joshua his successor and died.

What was life like after Moses? Let’s move to the Book of Joshua to check it out.

Takeaway

• Who on earth gets hurt over and over by someone, and is aware that this person will hardly change, yet, keeps the hope and the love for that one intact? GOD.

• Who partners with an associate you clearly know will fail you dearly, but maintains the terms of the contract, and even adjusts them to better benefit the crooked associate? GOD.

Reading the story of Moses and the Israelites exposes God’s infinite love, patience, and faithfulness. It is comforting to know that He has not changed at all and that it is this same God we are worshipping today. If He could endure Israel’s dubious and nefarious ways of life, there is no way He cannot handle your flaws and stop loving you (Romans 8:35).

Also, in Deuteronomy 6:10-12, we find God saying that He blessed the Israelites at the detriment of other nations. For a while, I thought this was unfair. How can a good and merciful god, a god without darkness, openly practice discrimination?

Then I realised that this treatment is reserved to all those who love the Lord, those whom the Lord loves, and those chosen by Him.
In this excerpt of the Bible, it seems discriminating because Israel was the only nation that met the criteria mentioned above. They loved God (at least most of the time), God loved them, and God chose them.

Today the 7 billion of us could enjoy this royal treat. At least the last 2 requirements are met. God loves you and has chosen you. It is now up to each individual to fulfill the “Love God” condition to swim in His phenomenal blessings.

Tell me below how much you enjoyed this summary of the Book of Deuteronomy, and help me make others enjoy it too by sharing it.

Cheers!!!