Deuteronomy Explained: Covenant, Remembrance, and Loving God

roger ferguson: May the Lord bless you and keep you and make his face shine upon. May he be gracious to you and turn his face toward you and bring you peace, Modern Mind, Ancient Book. Presented by Modern Mind Ancient Book, we're going back to move forward. We're finding a love for the law, the prophets, and the writings. So that we can know Jesus more. The book we're gonna talk about, or conducting survey of, is the book of Deuteronomy. The translators, Jewish people, rabbis who translated the Hebrew into the Greek form, which was common in the first century. The collection is called the Septuagint. They chose To name it, and this is just a transliteration of the Greek, Deuteronomy, which means Deuterro, like the second or number two essentially. Nomi, Nomi, which is law. So it's the second law. Deuteronomy means the second law. And it's not like a second version of the law. Instead, it's the same law that was given forty years before. Moses and Aaron were not capable as the only two leaders to bring the people to order and understanding. Instead, it took ⁓ Jethro's intervention, ⁓ helping Moses to order the people under judges so that judges could help make decisions. Basically he said, you know, the the people who you know are filled with God, with wisdom from God, let them Judge the people, Moses, because you can't do it. ⁓ Jethro is a very ⁓ central position in Moses' life. He definitely was a large part of Moses' life. ⁓ Jethro, his father in law, was a very important person. So this particular book was delivered to the new generation. The authorship is definitely tributed in terms of content to Moses or Moshe. Moses does die in this book and it records his burial. So obviously somebody recorded that part of it. The Hebrew scriptures are a collection of understandings, of truths, things that are held to be true. you know, not all Jewish people, but the r religious folks you have Maintained and upheld these books for many thousands of years, believed that Moses did indeed do all these things or experience all these things, that Israel did indeed experience all these things throughout the history of their history of becoming a nation, from Abraham all the way until modern day today, Israel. These stories are held in high esteem. They are considered sacred, and they're considered sacred for ⁓ Jewish and Christian alike. Some might say ⁓ even in Islam to some degree, because the Torah or the law, Deuteronomy being the capstone of the law, because this is Moses' final address to the people, ⁓ is held in very, very high regard. In the book of Deuteronomy, you find in chapter 6 and verse 4 what is called the Shema. In English, it says, Hero Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And then this is this is Moses' command. This is how he dealt with the people in this day. We're gonna get to the point of how to read this, but these words which I am commanding you today. So this is this kind of sets the tone ⁓ for how the book is gonna go. This book is central to our understanding. All those who want to understand ancient books, you don't have to Be religious to want to understand this. But if you want to understand this, if you want to understand the Bible, if you want to understand the Tanakh, the prophets' writings and law, if you want to understand the New Testament, you have to understand Deuteronomy and the law. You have to. There are themes in here because the Bible is a storied book. The themes that are in the law and the strength of Deuteronomy, which is the capstone of the law. Is that there are repetitions. There are stories that keep replaying and replaying and replaying themselves, and they build on themselves. So if you understand Deuteronomy, you understand Genesis better. If you understand Deuteronomy, you understand Matthew better. If you understand Deuteronomy, you understand every single book of the Bible a little bit better, because every single book of the Bible has this story in it. The Jewish people, the pinnacle of the Jewish people is at this very moment. There is a blessing and a curse sent before them set before them in this book. So ⁓ Moses is the author, his death is recorded in this book. Moses gave them the content of this. Let's let's put it that way. The date for this book is about 1406 ⁓ BC. It took Moses about a month, Moshe Moses about a month to compile the this content, I guess. To teach the people ⁓ what it was that he needed, that he was commanded to say to them. And this took place in the year 1406. The people of Israel were ready to go into the Promised Land, and they were standing in the plains of Moab. This book was written after the forty years in the wilderness wanderings, and the people were now to begin their holy war. They were to go and they were to take the land of Kana'an, as was promised to Avram, that his people would dwell there forever. This is the new generation of Israel. The former generation had passed away. Moses wrote this to the children of the generation who were afraid to go into the land because the people were powerful and the cities were walled. The new generation were essentially nomads who had wandered around the wilderness, who had seen the previous generation rebel against the Lord God and Kadesh Barniyah. The new generation, however, watched all these people die as a result of their rebellious decision, and they now are being instructed in the law on the edge of the wilderness. They've experienced the law, they've seen a Shekhina glory. They've saw the tabernacle, they've seen the miracles, they have sacrificed, they have learned, they have learned to be Israel. No longer are they Egyptian. The expanded covenant legislation is what's given in Deuteronomy. It is to guide the people to prosperity and peace in the promised land. After, of course, they take it. The way that you would want to read this is to imagine yourself standing in the plains of Moab near the place of Mount Nabo. When you look back. You're reminded of how many people have been buried in the desert, of 40 years of wandering, of rocks and sand. When you look forward, you're ready, because you know God is with you, to enter the land and to take the land. You know, because Moses has told you that he will not be going with you into the land. But you're gonna have a new leader, Joshua, Yeshua, Jesus. You have gathered to hear the final words of Moses. You've been learning from him. He's been teaching you, he's been telling you all of the things that are necessary for you to become the nation in the land because God is with you. There is a treaty that must be ratified. You must accept the blessings and the curses. Moses has taught you about the journeys, he's told you of all the stories over again. He's given you covenant legislation that will guide your relationship with God and your neighbor. He's established the curses and the blessings. And he's offered you a final word of encouragement and praise before he goes to be with his people. You must be careful not to fall into sin. You must stand correct before sin takes hold. You must not allow Yo yourself or your people to turn away from God. You must watch yourself. You must care for God and His commandments. Because as you enter the land, you must follow the God who brought you out of Egypt in miracles and strength, and you know him, you've seen him, and you're brave, and you're ready to go fight. The argument of this book is Yahweh Adonai, the covenant God. Must be loved and feared and obeyed. This is necessary, because without it Israel will not prosper in the land. The purpose of this is to encourage Israel to love the Lord and obey his law and take possession of the inheritance which was promised to their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The key verses are Deuteronomy chapter 10, verse 12. And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God? To walk in his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your hearts and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord's commands and decrees that Moses I am giving to you today for your own good. The second verse is Deuteronomy chapter thirty, verse nineteen, which says This day I call heaven and earth as witness against you, which is a legal term. If you go look up ancient ⁓ Covenants or treaties. This was a very common statement. There is a lot in there that can that requires extensive study. And I really urge you to take the time to go back in time and understand how this language affects and what effects it does have. So this day I call heaven and earth as witnessed against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Now choose life so that you and your children may live. And that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice and hold fast to him, for the Lord is your life. And he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers. The covenant legislation needed to be ratified. And so the people stood before Moses, and upon his call, they agreed to do all that was questioned, required, and taught of them. The way that you want to so we know how you how you want to approach the scripture as an ancient Jewish person on the plains of Moab, listening to your leader who assumed to pass, and understanding that you have responsibility. As a modern mind, we want to interpret legal literature as instructional and judicial. As a person, as a modern mind, we must understand the spirit or godly attitude or godliness or holiness behind the principles of this of these laws. We want to interpret light, we want to interpret law in terms of the treaty and covenant that this was. This was an agreement that if we do right, good will happen. If we do wrong, bad will happen. This covenant di demands that the people are responsible for their actions. Whereas every other covenant, like Abraham, for instance, he did lots of wrong things, but God kept his covenant because the Abrahamic covenant was a promise on God's name and God's actions. Whereas the Mosaic covenant is a promise on behalf of the people to do only right. It's very different. But it's very important to understand because again, this is a central theme. Throughout the entire scriptures, that if you understand this, you understand everything else a lot better. The Mosaic Law is a temporary law, while all the other covenants are legal, eternally binding, because they rest upon God and God alone. There are different categories in this law and in this relationship, or in this, yeah, in these relationships. It's relationship to God, the nation, the family, neighbors, and enemies. The Ten Commandments themselves, they well they express principles. And the furtherance or Deuteronomy, they it it elaborates on these things in more specific examples and applications. The Ten Commandments are the foundation, and the rest of the law is built on it and by it. There are apodictic laws or commands like you shall, and there are there are casuitic laws, casuitic laws. Which, if this happens, like cause-related laws. There are five basic categories: criminal, civil, family, cultic, and when we say cultic, we just mean worship-oriented. And then like charitable. Debts and loans and things. The Old Testament or Deuteronomy does stand on its own. As a modern mind, especially if we're Christian, we don't want to bring this all the way up to the New Testament or bring the New Testament all the way back, but instead we want to see the repeating, storied truths that start in Deuteronomy and that continue throughout the history of man on behalf of God's story replaying itself and teaching us further, helping us to grow in understanding of Him. And that's why these things are recorded. The Old Testament is something we should really take the time to learn. Because it sheds light on every other part of the Bible. The Bible is a storied book. Each individual scroll or book plays a part in helping to understand every other story. Every other scroll. If you understand this one, you understand what became what was before it more. And you'll begin to see it play itself out in every other book after. Genesis and Deuteronomy are probably the ones to know the most, to spend the most time in. But if you are a student, if you do love to read or just take the time or do podcasts or whatever it is that you value so much, ⁓ however you value to learn is what I mean, then you would find these books are so deep, and the knowledge. Potential of to learn is so great that there's so much to be learned, and Deuteronomy is definitely a central part of that. So I want to encourage you to read Deuteronomy and re-word Deuteronomy and think about Deuteronomy and begin to see Deuteronomy in every other book, because you will once you recognize its themes and stories. Thank you for your time, and I hope you've got a little bit of hunger to explore this book a little more. And thank you for joining us. Please follow Modern Mind Ancient Book and share this teaching with the people you love. Find the way. Meet Rabbi Jesus. Walk the way. Modern Mind Ancient Book. May the Lord bless you and keep you and make his face shine upon. May he be gracious to you and turn his face toward you and bring you peace. Walk the way modern mind ancient books.