THE FIFTH BOOK OF THE PENTATEUCH

DEUTERONOMY

Before we get too far into Deuteronomy, let me apologize for my misquoting the las reading in numbers, I know that there are only 36 chapters in Numbers and hence the final reading as stated 33 – 46 is incorrect. I hope is still looking for the “missing chapters”. I realize that I am a poor proof reader. Again I am sorry, I hope it doesn’t happen again.

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Now let’s dig into Deuteronomy. There are many approaches to this final (fifth) book of the Penteteuch (Torah). I like to think of it simply as Moses farewell sermon, but that is perhaps an over-simplification. We’ll now see how other commentators look at this important book:

The Disciples Study Bible:
Moses performed one last task for God. He preached three sermons seeking to answer the people’s questions. In the first (1:6-4:43) he recounted the wondrous acts the Lord had performed on behalf of His people. In the second (4:44-28:68) he reiterated and expanded upon the Law of Yahweh (God). In the third (29:1-30:20) he led the new generation to renew the covenant which had been enacted earlier at Horeb. The covenant was that formal agreement that reflected the intimate relationship between God and His people. This covenant relationship was as vital for a people entering a new land as it was for the nation wandering in the wilderness. Deuteronomy defines that covenant relationship between God and His people.

-Disciple’s Study Bible, Copyright © 1988 Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, TN. All rights reserved.

Further:

The Book of Deuteronomy gave the foundation and motivation for the new generation of God’s people to appropriate and live in the land of promise by focusing on these themes:

1. the nature and character of God,

2. the covenant relationship,

3. the response of God’s people in faith,

4. the concept of sin and its effects.

-Disciple’s Study Bible, Copyright © 1988 Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, TN. All rights reserved.

John MacArthur in The MacArthur Bible Handbook:
The English title “Deuteronomy” comes from the incorrect translation in the Greek Septuagint (LXX) of “copy of this law” in 17:18 as “second law,” which was later translated again as Deuteronomium in the Latin version (Vulgate). The original Hebrew title of the book is translated “These are the words,” from the first two Hebrew words of the book. This Hebrew title is a better description of the book since it is not a “second law,” but rather the record of Moses’ words of explanation concerning the law. Deuteronomy completes the five-part literary unit called the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible.

-MacArthur, John: The MacArthur Bible Handbook. Nashville, Tenn. : Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003, S. 49

John MacArthur in The MacArthur Bible Handbook:
The majority of the book is comprised of farewell speeches that the 120-year-old Moses gave to Israel, beginning on the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year after the Exodus from Egypt (1:3). These speeches can be dated Jan.–Feb., 1405 B.C. In the last few weeks of Moses’ life, he committed these speeches to writing and gave them to the priests and elders for the coming generations of Israel (31:9, 24–26).
-MacArthur, John: The MacArthur Bible Handbook. Nashville, Tenn. : Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003, S. 49

J. Vernon McGee in Thru The Bible Commentary:
The theme of Deuteronomy may surprise you. The great theme is Love and Obey. You may not have realized that the love of God was mentioned that far back in the Bible, but the word love occurs twenty–two times. The Lord Jesus was not attempting to give something that was brand new when He said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Deuteronomy teaches that obedience is man’s response to God’s love. This is not the gospel, but the great principle of it is here. And let’s understand one thing: the Law is good. Although I emphasize and overemphasize the fact that God cannot save us by Law, that does not imply that the Law is not good. Of course the Law is good. Do you know where the trouble lies? The trouble is with you and me. Therefore God must save us only by His grace



The Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testament:

“Deuteronomy is one of the greatest books of the Old Testament. Its influence on the domestic and personal religion of all ages has not been surpassed by any other book in the Bible. It is quoted over eighty times in the New Testament and thus it belongs to a small group of four Old Testament books [Genesis, Deuteronomy, Psalms, and Isaiah] to which the early Christians made frequent reference.” .
—J. A. Thompson

Our Lord Jesus Christ was tempted by Satan for forty days and nights in the wilderness. Three of these temptations are specifically recounted in the Gospels for our spiritual benefit. Not only did Christ use the OT “sword of the Spirit” three times, but each time He used the same part of the “blade”—Deuteronomy! It is likely that this book was one of Jesus’ favorites—and it should be one of ours as well. Deuteronomy has been sadly neglected in many quarters, perhaps due to its somewhat inappropriate title in English, which is from the Greek Septuagint. Its meaning, “Second Law,” has given some the false idea that the book is merely a recapitulation of material already presented in Exodus through Numbers. God never repeats just to repeat—there is always a different emphasis or new details. So also with Deuteronomy, a marvelous book worthy of careful study.
 --MacDonald, William ; Farstad, Arthur: Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995, S. Dt 1:1

Now as we move on let us remember that after forty years of wandering in the wilderness the children of Israel are poised to enter the promised land without Moses. As Rev McGee says “ a marvelous book worthy of careful study”/.