Overview of the Bible: Deuteronomy

 Book of Deuteronomy

Title: Deuteronomy, from Greek Deuteros – “second” and Nomos – “Law”, second time when the Law is given.

Hebrew: D’varim – Words, cp. Ex. 4:10 (lit. I am not the man of words)      

Date of writing: 1446 – 1405 BC

Date of Narrative: 1406 – 1405 BC

Structure:

A. 1:1-4, Moses speaks on the plane of Moab

  B. 1:5-4:43, Historical Overview of the Journey

    C. 4:44 – 5:33, Introduction into the Teaching

      D. 6 – 27, Sermon on 10 Commandments

    C’. 28 – 30, Sanctions on keeping or breaking the Teaching

  B’. 31 – 33, Historical succession: person and song

A’. 34, Moses dies on the Mountain Nebo      

Main themes:

Seriousness of sin – Ch. 4:1-6, Ch. 27:9-26

Godly leaders – ch. 17 – 18

Succession of power – ch. 31 – 33

Israel as a beloved nation – 4:7-8; Ch. 7

Relationship with the neighboring nations – 16:9-12  

Main Characters: Moses, Joshua, 12 tribes of Israel, King Sihon of Heshbon, King Og of Bashan. 

Reflection in other parts of the Bible:

Blessing of 12 tribes (33) – Genesis 49, Rev. 7

The reason for Moses’s death (1:37; 3:26; 4:21-22) – Numbers 13-14, 20

Rules for a king (17:14-17) – 1 Kings 10:14 – 11:8

New prophet like Moses (18:15-22) – Structure of the Gospel of Matthew

Lutheran teaching:

Teaching of the people of God and – particularly – young generation the articles of faith is based on Deut. 6:7 (SC, Pref:6-7; LC, I:61, III:79).

The Ten Commandments (both Ex. 20 and Deut. 5) – SC, I and LC, I

The doctrine of the Third use of the Law is drown from the Book and supported by Deut. 12 (FC, SD, VI:20).   

Lutheran hymnody:     

LSB 581 – These are the Holy Ten Commandments

LSB 814 – O Bless the Lord, My soul (stanza 6)

Relevancy of the Book:

Reading the Book of Deuteronomy, we see the rules and regulations that people of Israel should follow upon their entrance into the Land. Many places in the New Testament show that in Christ we reached the Promised Land. Therefore, many of these rules and regulations, commandments and testaments can/should be a helpful guiding line for the life of a Christian.

Notice also that Jesus, being in the wilderness (Lk. 4:1-13), uses the words of Deuteronomy only: Deut. 8:3; Deut. 6:13, 16. Jesus shows us an example how to engage properly into a spiritual warfare – using the Word of God that teaches us the great doctrines of God’s love.         

Memory verses:

6:4-9 Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house on your gates.