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DEUTERONOMY
(Brief Study on the Old Testament Books)
(MBC - Wednesday PM, March 13, 2024
As we studied last time in the book of numbers, it is after 38 years in the wilderness desert that the last person of the older generation of Israel died. We also studied in the book of numbers that only two out of twelve spies walk by faith and allowed by God to enter the promised land, namely Joshua and Caleb. So, Joshua and Caleb together with Moses including the younger generation of Israel was still alive as we begin our study Deuteronomy. Here, in Deuteronomy we find out that Moses is repeatedly and retaught this new generation of the children of Israel regarding the great commandments of the Lord. Moses needs to repeat all over again God’s commandment to this new younger generation of Israel because when Israel crossed the Red Sea, they were in their teenage stage, others were just only children during that time, others were not even born yet. It is about 40 years after crossing the Red Sea when the book of Deuteronomy begins. During this time as we study the book of Deuteronomy, the former younger new generation was now grown up and the older generation who are guilty of unbelief, walking not by faith but by sight and murmuring against the Lord had already died and failed to enter the promised land. I – MEANING OF DEUTERONOMY The name of the book is Deuteronomy which means “the second law.” The law of God was given in Mount Sinai recorded in Exodus when the older generation was still alive. Now, we see Moses giving for the second time, now for this new generation of the children of Israel that is why it was name Deuteronomy. Moses, the servant of God was now a very old man during this time and he was repeatedly explaining the law to this new generation. On the other hand, the older generation was no longer in this time, because they not allowed to go into the promised land because of unbelief, they walk by sight, they believed the majority of 10 spies who saw the giant size inhabitant in the land of Canaan. The law needs to be repeatedly explained and retaught especially to the new generation. In our country, Philippines there was often fast changes of the laws and new bills has been approved by the congress and senate. The new generation of Filipinos were not familiar with the former constitution or laws of the nation. The new generation of Filipinos must know the history of the constitution and the issue of the charter change that aim to create some changes of Philippine constitution which would create chaos and danger that may result to civil war or economic failure or political crisis. If this new generation of today were around in the past days, they would probably understand the constitution very well. The same is true with the law that God had given previously to the children of Israel in Mt. Sinai. Since this new generation of the children of Israel had not been born during those times or they were still young who were just children and some of them are in their teenager under 20 yrs. old when God decided to kill the old generation of unbelief in the wilderness desert. So, most of this young generation who are under 20 years of age need to be retaught once again because they were probably too young during that time. Moses needed to teach them the law of God in a new and fresh way. Moses repeatedly and retaught this new generation of the God’s law that was given to the older generation earlier in Mt. Sinai. That is why Deuteronomy means “the second law.” The last book of Moses among the five books of Pentateuch is Deuteronomy. In the book of Deuteronomy, we can find the last words of Moses to the children of Israel. The last book of Moses, Deuteronomy ends with the death of Moses. So, as we read and studying this book, we are reading and studying the last words of Moses before he died. II – MANIFESTATION OF THE GOD’S COMMAND In this book of Deuteronomy, we can find the greatest commandment. Jesus gives the first and greatest commandment in the New Testament in Matthew 22:36-38.
Matthew 22:36-38 “Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment.”
This greatest commandment Matthew 22:36-38 is found in the book of Deuteronomy 6. Can you give the verse? _____
Deuteronomy 6:5 “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”
Read the following given verses talk about loving God. Know how a man shows his love to God.
How does a person show his love to God? ______________________________________
Read John 14:15,21,23 and would you think that Jesus says the same thing? _________________________
John 14:15,21,23 “If ye love me, keep my commandments. 21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
Obedience is one of the key ideas in the book of Deuteronomy. Jesus Christ is telling us that we can show our love for God by simply obeying Him and doing all what He commanded us. Obedience is the manifestation of our love for God. The Ten commandments of God are mentioned repeatedly in the book of Deuteronomy. We can find the words “thou shalt” and “thou shalt not” which filled with laws given in the book of Deuteronomy. Can you find the Ten commandments of God in Deuteronomy 5? ___________
Deuteronomy 5:6-21 “I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 7 Thou shalt have none other gods before me. 8 Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: 9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, 10 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. 11 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 12 Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee. 13 Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: 14 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. 15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day. 16 Honour thy father and thy mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 17 Thou shalt not kill. 18 Neither shalt thou commit adultery. 19 Neither shalt thou steal. 20 Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour. 21 Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour's.”
When you think, talk and tackle the book of Deuteronomy you will be reminded of the very important word “obedience.” To love God is to obey God. Remember, there was a time when Moses himself, the writer of Deuteronomy smote the rock with his rod twice to bring out water for the congregation and for their beasts in Numbers 20:11 “And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.”. This was an act of disobedience to God, who told him to speak to the rock instead, and resulted in Moses and Aaron being barred from entering the promised land. Moses smote the rock, that demonstrates Moses’s lack of faith and lack of reverence toward God. Moses wrote the book of Deuteronomy and one of the key words of this book is obedience, which he himself failed when he smote the rock twice, that gives us a great lesson to be careful not to disobey whatever God told us to do. The manifestation of loving God is obedience to God. It is very important that we must first of all be saved before we can obey God. An unsaved person must realize that he failed to obey God, he failed to love God with all his heart, and he had broken the law of God for he is guilty of breaking the law. But there is hope for anyone who realize they are sinners and cannot save themselves. There is good news for all unsaved sinners! Jesus loved sinners, Jesus came into the world to offer Himself to died for all sins of all sinners and shed His blood for the redemption and forgiveness of all sinners and law breakers.
I Timothy 1:15 “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”
Luke 19:10 "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."
What is the very first command that an unsaved person must obey? (I John 3:23) _________________
I John 3:23 “And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.”
Friend, may I ask you, did you put your faith on Jesus Christ? __________ When the unsaved person repented from all his sins and believed Jesus Christ who died for his sins, buried, and risen from the dead, then he is saved! Just then, that newly born again, new believer in Christ can now begin to learn to obey the commandments of God. Are you learning the importance of loving God that manifest in your obedience to God.
If you are now saved, are you showing your love to God by obeying God? __________________
III – MEDICATION OF GOD'S BELIEVER CHOICE If you read verses 11:26-28 you can find the key passage in the book of Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy 11:26-28 “Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; 27 A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day: 28 And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.”
In verse 26, What are the two choices that God set before the people of God for them to choose? __________________
In verse 27, God promised that a blessing will be for the believers if they do what? ________________
In verse 28, God warned that a cursing will be for the believers if they do what? ____________________
In fact, it is true for the believer’s today that if they trust and obey the Lord, they will be blessed. As the song goes “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” Obedience or doing exactly what God commanded us to do can greatly contribute an abounding happiness for the soul of the believers. What is your choice? What do you want the blessing of God or the cursing of God? IV – MODEL AS PERFECT EXAMPLE IS CHRIST Jesus is the perfect example because he perfectly obeyed God. All the commands found in the book of Deuteronomy were all perfectly obeyed by Jesus Christ. Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after Jesus had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. We read that when Jesus was tempted repeatedly by the devil, the Lord Jesus quoted three times the phrase “It is written”, “It is written”, “It is written,” (Matthew 4:4,7,10) from the book of Deuteronomy.
Matthew 4:4,7,10 “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
Jesus used the Word of God from the book of Deuteronomy powerfully to face and caused the devil to get away. Please open your bible in Deuteronomy 8, and find the verse which states that man does not live by bread only? _____
Deuteronomy 8:3 “And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.”
Please open your bible in Deuteronomy 6, and find the verse that states that man should not tempt the Lord or put Him to the test? ________
Deuteronomy 6:16 “Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.”
Please open your bible in Deuteronomy 6, and find the verse that states that man should worship and fear the Lord and serve only Him? ___________
Deuteronomy 6:13 “Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.”
V – MESSAGE OF THE FIRST FIVE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE The Message of the first five books of the Bible applied in our Christian lives:
1. Genesis – This book of Genesis is the book of beginnings. We personally aim to know about our own beginning,
your beginning, my beginning about man’s existence. I believe that I dd not evolve from anything but that I have been created by a powerful God, so I was physically born many years ago. How about the beginning of my spiritual life. I need to be born again. Every man must be born again (John 3:3, 6-7). If I was born again, then I am a new creature in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” I have been saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). If I have been a new creature in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17) because I am been saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9), so the purpose I have been created in Christ Jesus is into good works (Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” As a new creature in Christ, I have now a new heart and a new beginning.
2. Exodus – In the book of Exodus we learned all about Deliverance of Israel from slavery. The key idea in the book of
Exodus is deliverance. God delivered Israel out of Egypt and out of slavery. Miraculously God brought His people through the Red Sea and God buried the Egyptians under the Red Sea. We read about this exciting deliverance in Exodus 12-15. The key verse in the book of Exodus is Exodus 20:2 “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” Have you ever been a slave? Have you been delivered from slavery of sin? (John 8:32-36).
I am now saved, God rescued and delivered me and brought me out from darkness into light (Acts 26:18, Colossians 1:21; Ephesians 2:12; I Peter 2:9) and from the power of Satan unto God (Acts 26:18), from death unto life (John 5:24), from the of darkness into the kingdom of Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:13).
I have been delivered by the deliverer and has been saved by the Savior Jesus Christ. How about you?
3. Leviticus – This book Leviticus is a book of worship. It tells the children of Israel how to get right with God and how to stay right with God. It teaches us how can sinful people worship a holy God. The key word in Leviticus is the word "HOLY," Man is sinful and unclean. God is holy and pure and sinless. How can sinful man come to a holy God? There is only one way that sinful man can come to a holy God. He must come to God by way of sacrifice! Leviticus has much to say about animal sacrifices. All of these sacrifices were pictures of what Christ would someday do on the cross for all men. Sacrifice makes it possible for a sinful man to come to a holy God.
Sacrifice makes it possible for a sinful man to worship a holy God. Have you come to God through the sacrifice of an Innocent Substitute? I Peter 3:18 “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:”
In Leviticus God wanted His people to be different from those who were not His people. God want them to be different from the Egyptians (Leviticus 18:3).
Now that I am a Christian, God want me to be different from those who are not Christians. (Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Ephesians 4:17 “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,”
In Exodus people are brought out of slavery and brought near to God, while in Leviticus people are kept near to God. The way to God is by the Saviour's death. The way to walk with God is to be set apart by the Saviour's life.
4. Numbers – This book teach us the importance of believing the promises of God. Unbelief is the key idea in the book of Numbers. Faith is the key (Hebrews 3-4). We can find the same people who believe not God and His Word in Hebrews 3:15-19.
God did not allow the children of Israel to live and enter the promised land because they refused to believe the promises of God, Hebrews 4:1-2 “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.”
Since God has not promised to give the land of Palestine to you as believers, what promises that God has given to you today? If you know that God has given you promises, you should grab and hold and make those promises your very own.
5. Deuteronomy – This book teaches us the importance of obedience. Obedience is one of the key ideas in the book of Deuteronomy. In this book of Deuteronomy, we can find the greatest commandment. Deuteronomy 6:5 “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” (Quote by Jesus himself in New Testament in Matthew 22:36-38). In Deuteronomy teaches us that a believer can show his love to God by keeping God’s command (Deuteronomy 5:10 “And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.”; Deuteronomy 7:9 “Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;”; Deuteronomy 11:1 “Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway.”).
The same is true on what Jesus said in New Testament, that we can show our love to God by doing what He told us to do. John 14:15,21,23 “If ye love me, keep my commandments. 21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” I must obey God’s command and obedience is the key.
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