Deuteronomy 1:1-46

Deuteronomy: God’s Law of Love

Love and Obey the *LORD your God

Deuteronomy

Philip Smith

The Author

There are three main opinions about who wrote the book of Deuteronomy.

1. Deuteronomy says that Moses wrote it. In Deuteronomy 1:5 it says, ‘Moses began to explain God’s law.’ In Deuteronomy 31:9 it says, ‘Moses wrote down this law.’ In Deuteronomy 31:24 it says, ‘Moses wrote in a book all the words of God’s laws.’ 2 Kings 14:6 refers to ‘the Book of the Law of Moses’. Then it refers to Deuteronomy 24:16. Jesus said that Moses wrote the book. (See Matthew 19:7-8 and John 5:46-47.) In Mark 12:19, the Sadducees said that Moses wrote the book. (The Sadducees were a group of people. They belonged to the religion of the *Jews when Jesus was alive. They read only the first five books of the Bible.) In Acts 3:22, Peter says that Moses wrote the book. Also, Paul says that in Romans 10:5; Romans 10:19. The devil tempted Jesus when he was in the *desert. And Jesus used the book of Deuteronomy to answer the devil. The book describes what Moses taught the *Israelites just before his death. Probably scribes wrote what Moses said. (Scribes were people who wrote things for other people.) They added some explanations. They wrote also about Moses’ death. In the first few Chapter s of Deuteronomy, the author often refers to old names of people and places. An author who lived later would not have known those names.

2. Some people say that a *prophet wrote it about the year 630 *B.C. (*B.C. means before Christ. So, 630 *B.C. refers to an event that happened 630 years before Jesus’ birth.) They do not know the name of the *prophet. He wanted Jerusalem to be the very important place of *worship. He hid the book in the *temple. The chief priest, Hilkiah, found the book and he gave it to King Josiah. Then Josiah made the religion in *Israel better. The story of Josiah is in 2 Kings Chapter s 21 and 22. However, this theory (an idea that nobody has proved) seems doubtful.

3. Other people say that a priest wrote the book after that event. King Josiah’s changes did not last. There were priests when Nehemiah was alive. They described what they wanted the *Israelites to be like. The *Israelites had returned to their own country. People wanted the *Israelites to be free from foreigners after this. This idea seems doubtful also.

Date

If Moses was the author, the date of the book was probably about 1406 *B.C. We read this in 1 Kings 6:1. The 4th year of King Solomon’s rule was 480 years after the *Israelites escaped from Egypt. We know that Solomon began to rule in 970 *B.C. Therefore they escaped from Egypt in 1446 *B.C. The *Israelites went into the country called Canaan 40 years later. Moses wrote Deuteronomy just before then. So, the date is about 1406 *B.C.

Title

The word Deuteronomy means ‘the second law’. This translates the Greek title of the book. (Greek is the language in the country called Greece. People used to speak that language in the whole region near the Mediterranean Sea.) The title in the Hebrew language is ‘these are the words’. (Hebrew is the language that the *Israelites spoke.) The book does not just repeat earlier laws. It is a record of the *covenant relationship between God and the *Israelites. The book teaches people how to love God and their neighbours. There are 100 references from Deuteronomy in the *New Testament. Deuteronomy is still important for Christians today, although the culture is different. The book is sometimes called ‘The Book of *Covenant Life’.

What the book contains

Deuteronomy contains three speeches that Moses gave. He gave them just before the *Israelites entered Canaan. Canaan was the country that God had given to the *Israelites. God wanted the *Israelites to obey the law. Deuteronomy is about the relationship with God by means of the *covenant of the law. The law is not just a series of rules to obey. It explains how people should make this relationship work. Deuteronomy also shows us how to show our love for God and for people. Moses told the *Israelites to do things because God had given *grace and love to them. The Christian must do the same.

• 1:1-4 The beginning: When Moses wrote the book.

• 1:5 to 4:43 First Speech: Moses reminds the *Israelites about the things that God has done for them in the past.

• 4:44 to 28:68 Second Speech: Practical rules for how we should live.

• 29:1 to 30:20 Third Speech: Choose to live in the way that God wants you to live.

• 31:1 to 33:29 From Moses to Joshua.

• 34:1-12 Moses dies.

The book is like the agreements that some kings used to make at that time. That was in the nation called the Hittites. They made the agreement with the people whose country they *captured. The kings spoke to the people who made the agreement. A king would describe what he had done for his nation in the past. Then, he would tell the people what he expected them to do. Often these agreements warned about *curses if people did not obey the agreement. The three sections of Deuteronomy are very similar to this.

Moses told the *Israelites that God would send to them another *prophet like him (Deuteronomy 18:15-19). Jesus was that *prophet. (See John 1:45.) The *Israelites went through the *desert and Jesus was in the *desert too. Moses spoke about *blessings and *curses and Jesus spoke about *blessings and *curses. (See Luke 6:20-26.) Moses climbed a mountain and he told people to obey his commands. Jesus did that also. (See Matthew 28:16-20.)

Chapter 1

1:1-4 The beginning: When Moses wrote the book.

v1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all the people in *Israel. The *Israelites were in the *desert on the east side of the River Jordan. They were in the Jordan valley near Suph. They were between Paran and the towns called Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab. v2 It takes 11 days to travel from *Mount Sinai to Kadesh Barnea by the *Mount Seir route.

v3 It was the first day of the 11th month of the 40^th year. Moses told the *Israelites everything that the *LORD had ordered him to tell them. v4 That was after he had defeated Sihon, the king of the *Amorites. Sihon lived in the town called Heshbon. Moses had also defeated Og, the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and Edrei.

The book tells us that Moses was the speaker. He spoke to the *Israelites. They were in Moab on the east of the Jordan valley. The *desert is a place where there is not much water. The bushes are small. It has poor soil and people cannot grow crops there. So, not many people live there. It was 40 years since they had left Egypt. Soon the *Israelites would enter the country that God had promised to them. Now they remembered what had happened at *Mount Sinai. (Sometimes this is called *Mount Horeb.) There God showed the *Israelites who he was. God had acted in powerful ways. He freed the *Israelites from Egypt. By Moses, God had given laws to them. God told them how to build the special tent. That was where God met with the *Israelites. And, God told them how they should bring *sacrifices. He also told them how to *celebrate *festivals.

A person can walk from *Mount Sinai to Kadesh Barnea in 11 days. But the *Israelites arrived at the edge of the country that God had promised to them after nearly a year. Then they became afraid of the people who were already in the country. So, God told the *Israelites to travel round the country where they were. Moses was speaking 38 years later. They had come again to the edge of the country that God had promised to them. You can read about this from verse 19. They defeated King Sihon and King Og. (See Numbers 22:21-35.) ‘These are the words’ is an important phrase. (See verse 1.) Kings used it at the beginning of an agreement between themselves and the people that they ruled over. Moses used it at the beginning of the *covenant that God made with the *Israelites.

First Speech: 1:5 to 4:43 – The things that God had done for the *Israelites in the past

v5 Moses began to explain God’s law. He did that while the *Israelites were in Moab, on the east side of the River Jordan.

v6 ‘The *LORD our God said this to us when we were at *Mount Sinai. “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. v7 Now leave. Go into the hills where the *Amorites live. Go to the people who live in the Jordan valley. They are in both the hills and the plains. Go to the people who are in the south country and along the coast. Go to the *Canaanites’ country and go to Lebanon. Go to the great River Euphrates. v8 God has given to you this country. Go and possess it.” The *LORD promised this to your *ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He said that he would give the country to them and to their *descendants.’

Moses reminded the *Israelites about God’s promise to give the country to them. That was what God promised to Abraham and later to Isaac and to Jacob. The *Amorites lived in hills at the northern end of the country. Canaan and the Lebanon were in the north. The coast is the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The River Euphrates is in the east. God’s promise to Abraham is in Genesis 15:18-21.

God encourages us to develop in our Christian lives. In Hebrews chapter 4 the writer warns his readers and he reminds them about this fact. Some of the *Israelites did not reach the country that God had promised to them. Hebrews 4:11 says this. ‘So we must do everything possible to receive that rest with God. Nobody should imitate the behaviour of those people who refused to obey God. Then none of us will fail.’

v9 ‘At that time, I told you this. “I cannot look after you by myself. You have become like a load that is too heavy for me to carry. v10 The *LORD your God has increased your numbers. Today there seem as many of you as there are stars in the sky. v11 I pray that the *LORD, the God of your *ancestors, will increase you a thousand times more. I pray that he will *bless you. He has promised to do that! v12 I cannot deal with your problems, your troubles and your quarrels by myself. They are like loads. They are too heavy for me to carry by myself. v13 Choose some wise men who understand. They must have experience. Choose them from each of your *tribes. I will make them the leaders of your *tribes.”

v14 You answered, “That is a good thing to do.”

v15 So I took the leaders of your *tribes who had wisdom and experience. I gave to them authority over you. They were leaders of groups of 1000, 100, 50 or 10 people. They were also officials over the *tribes. v16 I gave this order to your judges. “Listen to the arguments between your people. You must make fair *judgements between one *Israelite man and another man who is also an *Israelite. You must also make fair *judgements between *Israelites and foreigners. v17 Do not respect one person most when you make *judgements. Listen to important people. And listen to people who are not important. Do not be afraid of anyone because you are doing this job for God. If any argument is too difficult for you, I will listen to it.” v18 At the same time, I told you everything that you should do.’

Jethro (the father of Moses’ wife) suggested that Moses should have helpers. (See Exodus 18:17-27.) Here Moses describes the selection of these leaders. They should have experience and wisdom. They should make *judgements when the *Israelites had arguments. They should not prefer *Israelites to foreigners. They should not prefer rich people to poor people. If they could not settle an argument, then Moses had to deal with it. In Deuteronomy 16:18 Moses told the *Israelites to appoint these rulers when they went into the country.

v19 ‘We did what the *LORD our God ordered us to do. We left *Mount Sinai. Then we went through that vast *desert that frightened us. We went to the hills where the *Amorites live. So, we reached Kadesh-Barnea. v20 Then I spoke to you. “You have reached the hills where the *Amorites live. The *LORD our God is giving the hills to us. v21 Look, the *LORD your God has given the country to you. Go and possess it. The *LORD, the God of your *ancestors, has told you to do that. Do not be afraid and do not be anxious.”

v22 After that, you all came and you spoke to me. “Let us send men ahead of us. They can discover what kind of country it is. They can tell us the best route to take. And they can tell us what kind of towns there are.”

v23 I agreed with that plan. So I chose 12 men, one from each *tribe. v24 They went into the hills. And they explored the valley called Eshcol. v25 They brought back some fruit that they had picked there. They reported to us. “The country that the *LORD our God is giving to us is very good.” ’

Moses reminded the *Israelites about their first journey. They went from *Mount Sinai to the borders of the country called Canaan. Kadesh Barnea was the town on the border. Moses told them to ‘possess the country’. Those words appear over 50 times in the book. If the *Israelites gave proper honour to God, they would not need to be afraid of anyone. They sent 12 men out to discover more about the country. One man came from each *tribe. That story is in the Book of Numbers Chapter s 13 and 14. Eshcol is a valley to the north of the town called Hebron. Eshcol is famous because of the quality of its *grapes.

v26 ‘But you refused to obey what the *LORD your God ordered. You would not enter the country. v27 In your tents, you complained. You said, “The *LORD hates us. He brought us out of Egypt. Then he will give us to the *Amorites so that they can kill us. v28 We have no idea where we can go! The men whom we sent have made us afraid. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller than we are. The cities are large. Their walls are so high that they seem to reach the sky. We even saw giant men there!’ ”

v29 Then I said, “Do not let those people frighten you. Do not be afraid of them. v30 The *LORD your God is going in front of you. He will fight for you. He will do that in the same way that you saw him act in Egypt v31 and in the *desert. You saw how the *LORD your God looked after you. He carried you exactly like a father carries his son. He did that all the way until you reached this place.”

v32 But although the *LORD did that, you did not trust the *LORD your God. v33 He went ahead of you. He was in a cloud of fire during the night. And he was in a white cloud during the day. He provided places for you to camp. And he showed you the way that you should go.’

The *Israelites doubted God’s promise. They refused to obey him because they did not trust him. They believed that God had brought them out from Egypt to kill them. They did not think that they could *capture the cities. They were afraid because the people in those cities were very tall and strong. Moses told the *Israelites that they need not be afraid. God would look after them in the same way that a father would look after them. A father carries his son if his son is too weak or tired. God had led the *Israelites through the *desert, but they would not trust him.

Christians believe that Jesus frees them from *sin. Therefore, they can trust him to help them with the difficulties in their lives. Hebrews 3:7-19 warns us against doubt. We must continue to the end and we must make every effort. God’s goodness in the past should give to us confidence to trust him in the future.

v34 ‘The *LORD heard what you said. He was very angry and he made a serious statement. v35 “None of you wicked people will see the good country that I promised to give to your *ancestors. v36 Only Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, will see it. He has remained loyal to me, the *LORD. I will give to him and to his family the land where he walked.”

v37 The *LORD became angry with me because of you. He said this. “You, Moses, will not enter the country either. v38 Your helper, Joshua, the son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage him. He will lead the *Israelites as they possess the country. v39 Your little children, who still do not know right things from wrong things, will enter the country. You said that your enemies would seize those children. But I will give the country to them. They will possess it. v40 But you must now turn round. Go back into the *desert and follow the route to the Red Sea.” ’

These verses describe God’s anger. None of the *Israelites who left Egypt entered into the country. Only Joshua and Caleb went in, because they obeyed God completely. Even Moses did not get in because Moses did not obey God about another matter. Numbers 20:1-13 tells the story. God told Moses to speak to a rock and then the rock would provide water. Moses did not trust God enough just to speak to the rock. Moses was angry and he hit the rock. That was a serious error. Moses was the leader but he did not obey God. So God said that Moses was not suitable to lead the *Israelites into the country. This shows that God has very high standards for leaders.

Paul says this. ‘Do not try to work together with people who do not believe!’ (See 2 Corinthians 6:14.) Many people do not believe God. We might have to work and to live with those people. They may persuade us to doubt God. But do not follow their behaviour. Instead, always remain loyal to God.

v41 ‘You replied: “We have *sinned against the *LORD. But now we will go into the country. We will fight even as the *LORD our God ordered us to do.” Then each of you took your military arms in order to fight. You thought that it would be easy to go into the hills.

v42 But the *LORD said to me, “Tell them not to attack. I will not be with them. Their enemies will defeat them.”

v43 I told you what the *LORD had said. You did not listen. You did not obey what the *LORD ordered you to do. Because you were proud, you went up into the hills. v44 Then the *Amorites, who lived there, came out to fight you. They chased you like a large group of insects called bees. The *Amorites chased you from *Mount Seir to Hormah. There they defeated you. v45 So you returned and you cried to the *LORD. He would not listen or give any attention to you. v46 You stayed in Kadesh for a long time.’

Still, the *Israelites wanted to go into the country. God had told the *Israelites to turn round (verse 40). They had to go back. When the *Israelites heard that, they tried to attack their enemies. But the *Amorites defeated them. God did not help the *Israelites because they did not obey him. They tried to win the battle by themselves. But they could not do anything unless God was with them. They had to learn that fact.

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 says that God will examine people’s work. If the fire of God burns a person’s work, he will lose his reward. To go into the country would be a reward for Moses. But he lost that reward, although he did enter heaven.

The *Israelites tried to fight the *Amorites by themselves. The disciples (students) of Jesus made the same mistake as the *Israelites did. They could not send the wicked spirit out of a boy. (Spirits are alive but we cannot see them.) The disciples tried to do this by themselves. They had not prayed for God to help them. The power to send wicked spirits out of people came from Jesus only. (See Mark 9:14-29.)

Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the word ‘Adonai’ in the Hebrew language, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.

LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It is the Covenant name for God. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has always been here.

covenant ~ the special promise that God made to his people. God’s covenant with the Israelites established a relationship between him and them. But they must obey him.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
desert ~ a wild place where there are small bushes and not much water. It has poor soil and people cannot grow crops there. So, not many people live there.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a sacrifice.

sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.
temple ~ the chief place of worship for the Jews. King Solomon built the first temple for God in Jerusalem. But the word can refer to a similar building for a false god.

worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a sacrifice.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
covenant ~ the special promise that God made to his people. God’s covenant with the Israelites established a relationship between him and them. But they must obey him.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.

'New Testament ~ the second part of the Bible. It tells about Jesus Christ and his followers.
covenant ~ the special promise that God made to his people. God’s covenant with the Israelites established a relationship between him and them. But they must obey him.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
grace ~ God’s mercy and kindness, which are free gifts to us.

mercy ~ kindness instead of punishment.
capture ~ to take something and to keep it; to take people and to make them prisoners.
curse ~ the opposite of a blessing; bad things that God will do to people because they have been wicked; to say that God will curse someone.

blessing ~ a good thing that God does for us; when someone asks God to do good things for a person or for people; when a person speaks good words about someone.
blessing ~ a good thing that God does for us; when someone asks God to do good things for a person or for people; when a person speaks good words about someone.
Mount ~ mountain. For example, ‘Mount Sinai’ means the mountain called Sinai.
Amorite ~ a nation of people who were among the original inhabitants in the country called Canaan; anything that has a relationship with that nation. There may have been more than one nation that had that name. The Israelites had to travel through Amorite country as they went to Canaan.

Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.

Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.
celebrate ~ to praise an event or a person with honour and with happiness.
festival ~ a happy time when people meet together to remember a person or a special event.
Canaanites ~ the people who originally lived in the country called Canaan.
ancestors ~ people in your family who lived before you.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
tribe ~ a group of people from the same race, who all came from one person. The tribes of *Israel were the 12 large families of Jacob’s sons.
judgement ~ when God or a judge says what is right or wrong.
grape ~ small green or purple soft fruit that people can use to make wine.