The fifth book in the Bible, Deuteronomy is a record of the series of expositions of the torah given by Moses as he prepared the new generation of Israelites (all of them children of the Israelites who came out of Egypt in the exodus and who would soon afterwards invade and conquer the Promised Land) for life as the people of God in the Promised Land. As such Deuteronomy served as 'the manual of discipleship' for the ancient Israelites, and it shaped almost every aspect of Israelite life in the land. So important is Deuteronomy, theologically speaking, it is doubtful if any person can claim to have understood the OT who has not gotten a clear grasp of the book. This influence on the rest of the OT is so clear, scholars often refer to the corpus of OT books from Joshua to 2 Kings as the Deuteronomistic History.
Deuteronomy is different in many ways from the preceding books. Though split into four books, Genesis-Numbers form a continuous narrative, reporting the dealings of God with Israel from their time in Egypt until they were encamped on the plains of Moab, ready to invade the Promised Land. There, therefore, look back to the past. Deuteronomy—as an exposition of how Israel was to live in the soon-to-be conquered land—looks forward (even though, as a record of the expositions, is in the past tense). Stylistically, it is also one of the most complex and beautifully crafted works in the entire OT.
Commentators customarily speaks of the book as composed of three main speeches by Moses. In the first, 1:6-4:43, Moses recalls the recent history of Israel in their journey from Mount Sinai to their current camp on the plains of Moab. In this recall, Moses especially reminds the new generation of Israelites how their parents had failed to trust Yahweh, and as a result had died for their rebellion in the years of wandering. This serves, therefore, as a call to the new generation to live in true faith and obedience to Yahweh as they prepare to invade the Promised Land. In the subsequent addresses Moses explain how the torah that God had given to Israel was to be lived out in the land once it had been conquered and Israel was settled in it. Life in the conquered land would be a settled life, totally unlike the life this generation had known as they wandered from place to place in the wilderness. Settled land invites complacency and the temptation to behave like their pagan neighbours. Herein lies Israel's greatest danger to her survival and wellbeing. These addresses serve basically to help Israel understand what this means in practice.
Deuteronomy is a vital book, and we urge you to study it well in order to understand the OT better.
For a detailed treatment of the book, click here
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Media Resources:
Discovery Deuteronomy, by Dr Robert Godfrey. Ligonier Ministires. This is a series of 21 studies. Video N
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