CIRCUMSTANCES OF WRITING

AUTHOR: The book itself asserts that Moses is the principle source and author for the material (1:1), as do subsequent OT texts (Jos 1:7-8; 1Kg 2:3; Ezr 3:2) and NT texts (Mt 19:7; Ac 3:22; Rm 10:19). This attribution remained virtually unchallenged until the advent of modern rationalism in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Structural similarities between Deuteronomy and Near Eastern treaty texts from the second millennium BC support the unity and antiquity of the book. That Moses is the primary author of Deuteronomy is the most reasonable view for the person who accepts the testimony of Scripture.

BACKGROUND: The exodus probably occurred in 1446 BC, whereupon Israel set out for Canaan, the inheritance God had promised his people. Because of their rebellious spirit, the Israelites were forced to wander in the desert for forty years (2:7) until at last they arrived in Moab, just opposite Jericho (32:49). It was there that Moses put pen to parchment to compose this farewell treatise (31:9,24).

MESSAGE AND PURPOSE

Though the initial covenant between the Lord and Israel was made at Sinai, the generation that received it had largely died out in the thirty-eight years since that event. Now the younger generation needed to affirm their commitment to the covenant (4:1-8). Moreover, the transition from a largely nomadic existence in the desert to a sedentary lifestyle in Canaan required a covenant revision and expansion suitable to these new conditions. The purpose of Deuteronomy is to provide guidelines for the new covenant community to enable them to live obediently before God and to carry out his intentions for them. Several themes appear throughout Deuteronomy:

NATURE AND CHARACTER OF GOD: The chief attribute of God is his holiness. With the Shema (6:4), Israel’s confession of faith, the holiness and uniqueness of God is emphasized. There is no God but the Lord. His holiness and righteousness are reflected throughout the moral nature of his law.

Because he is the only God, he is also completely sovereign. God’s sovereignty is especially stressed in light of the covenant relationship. The Lord is Israel’s sovereign, and he will not share his sovereignty with another, whether a person or a false god.

Another key attribute of God is his love. His love for his people is seen repeatedly as Deuteronomy recounts the miraculous acts God performed on behalf of his chosen people. God has a purpose for his people, and his loving acts were designed to bring his people in line with his purpose for them. Closely akin to God’s love is his graciousness. God did not have to choose Israel. Even when they complained or were disobedient, God exhibited grace though they did not deserve it.

COVENANT RELATIONSHIP: God had entered into a covenant relationship with Israel out of love (7:8). In that covenant as God’s people, the Israelites were to reflect their relationship with God by reflecting his character to the nations around them. God’s election of them and the gift of land were parts of God’s side of the covenant, and obedience and service were the Israelites’ part of the covenant. Deuteronomy gives strong words regarding the blessings of living in that covenant.

FAITH RESPONSE OF GOD’S PEOPLE: The Israelites’ response to the covenant relationship with God was to live lives—both individually and as a nation—in total commitment to the Lord God. There is no area of life that does not fall under God’s sovereign rule. No distinction is made between the religious and the secular, and God expects the highest standards of ethical conduct from his people.

How God’s people reflected this would be expressed in obedience to the law. All of the law might be summed up in one command: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (6:5). God’s people are to respond not with fearful obedience but with loving obedience. “If you love me, you will keep my commands” (Jn 14:15). The command to love is grounded in God’s love that he demonstrated to them; therefore, loving obedience is the natural faith response to a loving God: “We love because he first loved us” (1Jn 4:19).

SIN AND ITS CONSEQUENCES: In Deuteronomy, sin is presented in the context of the covenant. Failure to follow God’s commands would disrupt the covenant relationship, affecting its purity, unity, and witness. Deuteronomy 27-28 gives strong words about what would happen if the people failed to keep their part of the covenant. The consequences included the loss of their land. Idolatry would lead to death. The nation as a whole would suffer for their disobedience and apostasy. Their history shows that God carried through with the consequences about which he warned Israel.

CONTRIBUTION TO THE BIBLE

Next to the books of Psalms and Isaiah, the NT alludes to Deuteronomy more than any other book in the OT. This is true not only in terms of the sheer number of instances but especially in the passages where theological truth seems most to be at issue. Jesus and the apostles considered Deuteronomy of paramount importance to their own teaching about God and his dealings with his chosen people and humanity at large. Jesus quoted Deuteronomy in his response to each of Satan’s three temptations in the wilderness.

STRUCTURE

The style of the book of Deuteronomy appears as a series of repetitious, reminiscent, and even irregular exhortations, which is fitting for a collection of Moses’s sermons preparing the people for their move into the promised land. The style is also reflective of the typical suzerain-vassal treaties, which could contain a preamble, historical prologue, main provisions, blessings and curses, and plans for continuing the covenant relationship. The book of Deuteronomy could be considered the constitution for the nation of Israel once it was established in the promised land.

OUTLINE

I.First Address of Moses (1:1-4:49)

A.Preface and historical introduction (1:1-5)

B.Review of Israel’s history (1:6-4:49)

II.Second Address of Moses (5:1-26:19)

A.A series of exhortations (5:1-11:32)

B.A series of laws and statutes (12:1-21:23)

C.A series of laws for Israel’s social life (22:1-26:19)

II.Third Address of Moses (27:1-30:20)

A.Provision for future renewal of the covenant (27:1-26)

B.Covenant blessings and curses (28:1-29:15)

C.Final exhortation to obedience (29:16-30:20)

III.Final Days of Moses (31:1-34:12)

A.Designation of Moses’s successor (31:1-30)

B.Song of Moses (32:1-52)

C.Moses’s final blessing of Israel (33:1-29)

D.Death and burial of Moses (34:1-12)