Moses Ascends

The last chapter of Deuteronomy is something of a tear jerker. Moses, the man of God, who has represented the coming Messiah to the nation of Israel in so many ways, (promise, picture and person), who saved them out of bondage in Egypt, who had averted the wrath of God from destroying them for their rebellion, who even had beheld the back of the Father as well as the face of the pre-incarnate Christ, is finally leaving them.

Preach It Moses!

James Jordan says that most of Deuteronomy, which he likes to refer to as "Old Gold" :-), is Moses' expositional sermon on the 10 commandments. Sometimes the links seem a little tenuous to our modern ears, but am beginning to see where he is coming from. I can't remember the exact divisions he makes, but it goes something like this:

Love: The Goal of Law

Deuteronomy 6-8

Having been led out of Egypt by the Angel of the LORD (or Jesus under cover as Phil Moore would say) and taken all the way to Mt Sinai to meet the LORD who descends from Heaven, one could be left thinking: If these two LORDs have a disagreement, who do we go with? 

Why Did the Nations Think Israel Was Wise and Understanding?

Deuteronomy 4-5

Over my 26 years as a Christian, I have often heard the view expressed that God's laws, if practiced, bring success. Maybe you've heard it too. Of course there is something of truth in this.

1. Eye for an eye etc is a wise kind of restitution, neither over nor under-punishing the assailant.

Saved for Conquest

Deuteronomy 1-3

On the cusp of entering the promised land, Moses now encourages the people to remember all that God has done for them and what he will continue to do for them as they go on from there.

In the previous three books there was a lot of The LORD telling Moses to tell the people ... but here Moses speaks directly. This exemplifies the whole theme of the book which is succession / handover. It also is testimony to how Moses has matured as the mouthpiece for God, and is a picture of Jesus.