Weekly Sermons

Deuteronomy Overview

Read 1:1-8

A Good way to remember Deuteronomy is 3 sermons and a funeral!

Deuteronomy is Moses’ farewell words to the people he has led for 40 years.

They say that repetition is the mother of all learning.

Most of Deuteronomy is a repeat of the law that was given in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, with Moses heart for Israel shining through!

This is where it gets its name: Second law (Deuteronomion in the Greek Septuagint).

Outline:

First Message: What God has done for Israel                       Chapters 1-4

Second Message: What God expects of Israel                      Chapters 5-26

Third Message: What God will do for Israel                          Chapters 27-32

The Death, Burial, and Legacy of Moses                                Chapters 32-34

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7 important commands in Deuteronomy:

Word:                        Meaning:                                                      Occurrences:           

Ra’ah                         Observe, Consider, Behold                      10

Zakar                          Remember, recall, think of                      15

Shamar                      Diligently keep, guard, be careful          15

Dabaq                        Hold fast, cling to, remain close             7

Ahab’                         Love, be devoted, committed                 10

Yare’                           Fear, reverence, honor, awe                   18

Abad                          Serve, work for                                           7

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Outline:

First Message: What God has done for Israel                       Chapters 1-4

Read 3:23-29

Moses wants to go, but told no

Read 4:23-29

Both covenant realities included (conditional nature of Mosaic covenant, unconditional nature of the Abrahamic covenant)

What we are reinforcing here is that no individual Jew or generation is guaranteed getting in on the Abrahamic Covenant, but it will still be fulfilled and those who repent will get in on it!

Second Message: What God expects of Israel                      Chapters 5-26

Chapter 5 retells the 10 commands!

Read 6:4-9   

Chapter 6 gives us the Shema passage

Christ called it the Great Command!

Jesus thought so highly of this message that he used three verses from this message to answer Satan’s three temptations! 6:13; 6:16; 8:3

Read 9:1-6

Key: Israel is not inheriting the land because they are numerous (7:6-8) or because they are righteous (9:4-6). They are getting the Promised Land because of God’s Promise to Abraham and because the wickedness of the nations there must be judged (18:9-14; Genesis 15:12-16).

Read 10:12-22

Great charge!

Gives the essence of the Law

Read 17:14-20

What if all world leaders wrote out parts of the Bible as they started their terms?!

This is another example of how in the Law God sometimes regulates what He doesn’t condone (divorce, slavery).

Read 18:14-20

The Lord will raise up for you a Prophet!

This is a prophecy of Jesus, our Prophet, Priest, and King!

Chapter 20 is interesting – it gives Israel its terms of war as it goes into the Promised Land.

Don’t be afraid, God is with you (have the priests and the officers remind the people of that before they go into battle)

Send home people who have just taken a wife or have something new to deal with (house, field)

Send home the fearful!

Offer peace to a city before you take it (if not part of the “Sodom-like” peoples).

If they refuse, besiege the city, strike the males, incorporate the females.

But utterly destroy the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, Jebusites). I personally think this had something to do with their interaction with demons.

Israel to give some care to the environment, not just indiscriminately cutting down trees (v. 19)

Interesting – escaped slaves should be housed by you rather than returned to their owner. Says a lot about the nature of “slavery” in Israel.

Chapter 24 again gives God’s concern for justice and looking out for the marginalized

Do unto others as you’d have done unto you!

Love God; Love your neighbor as yourself.

26:5    My father was a Syrian!

Third Message: What God will do for Israel                          Chapters 27-32

Read 27:1-4

Chapter 27 – Erection of a wall called for.

A wall that would have the Law on it!

Chapter 28 – Blessings or curses – you choose!

Blessings for obedience; curses for disobedience

Read 29:1     Mosaic Covenant 2.0

Read 29:9, 13, 23-29

When you blow it you can still repent and God will restore you (30:1-10)

Read verse 20 – we’re talking about each generation getting in on the promise made to Abraham

Moses charges Joshua as he becomes the leader (31:7-13)

Be Strong and Courageous!

31:19

All Israel to learn a song!

Chapter 32 – the Song of Moses

Jeshurun = Uprightness

The Death, Burial, and Legacy of Moses                                Chapters 32-34

Chapter 33 – Moses blesses each tribe!

Except which tribe? Simeon, which later was pretty well subsumed within Judah.

Read 33:26-29

One of the Bible’s most beautiful benedictions

Read 34:5-8

Moses dies and in buried by God

Read Last Battle last page?

Moses was not able to stand in the Promised Land then, but the Bible does tell us that Moses got to later stand in the Promised Land!

Do you remember it?

Turn to Matthew 17:1-5

I wonder what Moses was thinking when Peter was talking?!

Thoughts on the Torah:

The 5 books are only 8 % of the Bible’s 66 books, but its 187 chapters are 16% of the Bible’s chapters!

To put that in perspective for you, if you began reading in the New Testament with Matthew 1:1 and read 187 chapters, you would get to the end of I Thessalonians: All four gospels, the Book of Acts, and 8 of Paul’s letters.

Assuming Moses wrote all but the last 2 chapters of Deuteronomy, where does he rank as an author in the Bible?                   FIRST BY FAR

Moses with 185

Jeremiah with 104 (if he wrote 1 and 2 Kings

Paul with 87

Ezra and David with 75

How many Old Testament books are there in English?

39

These first five books give all the basics that Israel was to be about.

Later when the prophets are preaching, they indict the people for not doing what they were told to do in the Law, these first five books!

One way to gauge their importance is to look at the Old Testament books most referred to in the New Testament. All 5 Torah books are in the top 10.

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Old Testament Books Most Referred to in the New Testament:

1.        Isaiah                         419 references in 23 NT Books

2.        Psalms                       414 references in  23 NT Books

3.        Genesis                     260 references in 21 NT Books

4.        Exodus                       250 references in 19 NT Books

5.        Deuteronomy         208 references in 21 NT Books

6.        Ezekiel                        141 references in 15 NT Books

7.        Daniel                        133 references in 17 NT Books

8.        Jeremiah                   125 references in 17 NT Books

9.        Leviticus                   107 references in 15 NT Books

10.      Numbers                   73 references in 4 NT Books

 

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S.O.S. - the Law Shows Our Sin; the Gospel Shows Our Savior!

 

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We have also met three of the four most important individuals in the Old Testament:

 

Abraham of the Abrahamic Covenant (mentioned 306 times in the Bible)

 

Moses of the Mosaic Law/ Covenant (mentioned 740 times in the Bible)

 

Aaron of the Aaronic Priesthood (mentioned 339 times in the Bible)

 

David of the Davidic Covenant is yet to come (Mentioned 1118 times in the Bible)

 

All of God’s major attributes revealed:

Omnipotence

Omnipresence

Omniscience

Holiness

Glory

Love

Mercy

Patience

Willingness to forgive the repentant

 

Prophecies of Christ:

The Seed of the woman will crush the serpent (Satan)                   Gen. 3

The Seed of Abraham will bless the world                                          Gen. 12, more

The Star of Jacob                                                                                        Numbers 24:17

Descendant of Judah will rule, wear bloody clothes                        Gen. 49

God will raise up a prophet the people must obey                           Deut. 18

 

Probable appearances of Christ:

Abraham meets Melchizedek                                                                 Gen. 14

Hagar speaks with the Angel of the Lord                                             Gen 16

Abraham meets the Angel of the Lord                                                 Gen 22

Jacob meets the Angel of the Lord, wrestles with God                   Gen. 32                       

Moses meets the Angel of the Lord, the great I AM                        Ex. 3 (John 8:24)

Balaam meets the Angel of the Lord                                                    Numbers 22

 

Types of Christ:

Noah’s safety in the Ark; Christians are safe “in Christ”                 Gen. 6-8

“God will provide a Lamb”                                                                       Gen .22

Judah’s willingness to die in Benjamin’s place                                   Gen. 34

The Passover (I Cor. 5:7)                                                                          Ex. 12-14

Pillar of cloud, pillar of fire                                                                      Ex. 13

The Tabernacle and its furnishings                                                        Ex. 25-40

The Priests and the sacrifices                                                                  Leviticus

The Feasts of Israel                                                                                    Ex. 23, Lev. 23

The serpent lifted up (John 3:14-16)                                                    Numbers 21