Genesis

Deuteronomy

LeRoy Eims

Deuteronomy is a second declaration of the law, but not merely a repetition of that law. In Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, laws had been given at various times and various places. Now with their wanderings over, on the eve of their entrance into the Promised Land, these laws were rehearsed and expounded. They were soon to become a settled people, and now was the time to show them the applications of the laws of God in their new lifestyle.

The time covered by the book of Deuteronomy is the brief period of the last few weeks during their wandering in the wilderness. Here we find the children of Israel in their last encampment on the plains of Moab. In these last moments before entering the land, Moses recaps the law of God for the people. But he does far more than that. Having followed these people during the forty years in the wilderness from Egypt to Canaan, we can appreciate the necessity of Moses speaking to the people.

During these last few weeks they must look both backward and forward. The backward look will prepare them for the forward look. Moses does both. They are about to enter a land that is filled and polluted by the most obscene and extreme forms of idolatry. The great need of the moment is to drive home to the people these basic principles of the law.

This need was evident by the fact that most of the people who had been at Sinai were now dead. Only those who were twenty years old or younger were now at Moab. Only a small percentage of these would have any recollection of those memorable days of the giving of the Law. To the rest, those who had been born and grew up in the wilderness, Sinai meant nothing as far as their personal experience was concerned. It was therefore of primary importance that Moses remind them of how they got the Law and of its place in their daily lives.

He must also review the past. It would not be a pleasant job to remind these people of their murmurings, rebellious spirit and lack of faith. It would help them realize how prone they were to stumble and fall when the circumstances should have brought them closer to God who had never failed them. They must remember that their lack of faith in God was responsible for the weary years of wandering. In light of their failures, the faithfulness of God would appear all the brighter. Time and again He had displayed His power and goodness when they deserved His wrath.

It was necessary that Moses instruct and warn them regarding the future. They were chosen from among the nations and set apart to be the cradle of the redemption for mankind. They were a separate people and must remain so. If they adopted the gods of the heathen they would be disqualified to bring salvation to the world. He told the people, "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms; and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee, and shall say: Destroy them." (Deuteronomy 33:27).

After Moses had completed his mission, God took him to the top of Mount Pisgah. "So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord." (Deuteronomy 34:5). We are to see him on yet another mountain, Mount Hermon, where he spoke with Jesus. Centuries after He had spoken with God at Sinai and had received the Law from His hand, he is in the presence of Jesus Christ, the one who came to fulfill the Law. Moses brought faith to the world through the race of people he had so faithfully led from Egypt to the Promised Land.