Deuteronomy - Bible Brief
Deuteronomy is the final book of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible written by Moses. It is a sermon or collection of sermons that Moses gave to the Israelites as they prepared to enter the promised land. In it he repeated many of the laws given by God to the people so that they would be encouraged and remain faithful to Him.
After reading the many laws in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, the distinctives of Deuteronomy can be lost by the repetition. But the book is important for Christians to read; Jesus knew its importance as He quoted only from Deuteronomy when He was being tempted by Satan (Matthew 4:3-11; see Deuteronomy 8:3, 6:16, 6:13).
In Deuteronomy 29:29, Moses teaches an important hermeneutic – the way we approach and interpret the Bible. He says, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” In this verse, Moses makes three important points.
First, he states “the secret things belong to the Lord our God”, meaning God does not reveal everything to us. This is vital to remember when we read our Bibles. Some things are clear, and the writer will explain why God did something (e.g. 1Kings 12:15, John 20:30-31). But some things are not as clear, so we should be careful not to speculate about things that God has clearly not revealed. These “secret things” are for God alone.
Second, he affirms that God does reveal truth to us. This might seem obvious, but some believe God is completely unknowable or that He only reveals things to people who have secret access to Him. These are both dangerous. If we believe God is unknowable, then we will not seek Him and His will. If we think God only reveals things to special people, then those with “secret” knowledge can manipulate others, making them believe God is revealing things that only benefit the person who can understand God.
Finally, Moses reminds us as readers that when God reveals something to us through His word, we should respond in some way. God’s word is not there just to make us feel better about ourselves or to just be analyzed for academic purposes. God has an expectation that His revealed word will cause us to “do all the words of [the] law.”
This hermeneutic allows us to approach the reading of the Bible in a way that is God-centered, rather than self-centered.
Deuteronomy is also where the death of Moses is recorded. It says, “Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated (Deuteronomy 34:7).” This is an important detail because Moses’s body was healthy enough to enter the promised land. But earlier God told Moses, “This is the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, ‘I will give it to your offspring.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there (Deuteronomy 34:4).” This was God’s judgement on Moses for his disobedience at Meribah when he struck the rock twice for water instead of commanding it to give water as God had instructed (Numbers 20:2-9).
Moses remained faithful to God leading the people even though he knew he would not enter the promised land. And even though Moses remained faithful, God also did not remove Moses’ punishment. We know from the transfiguration that Moses was in heaven with God after his death (Luke 9:28-36). Moses’ unfaithfulness did not cause him to lose his salvation; however, there were consequences to his sin. God did not change His mind despite Moses’ faithfulness.
This should help us understand how we should respond when we fail God and help us remember that God will punish sin in this world, if we have been chosen by Him, we are eternally secure in Him.
