Deuteronomy
LeRoy Eims
Deuteronomy is a second
declaration of the law, but not merely a repetition of that law. In Exodus,
Leviticus and Numbers, laws had been given at various times and various places.
Now with their wanderings over, on the eve of their entrance into the Promised
Land, these laws were rehearsed and expounded. They were soon to become a
settled people, and now was the time to show them the applications of the laws
of God in their new lifestyle.
The time covered by the book
of Deuteronomy is the brief period of the last few weeks during their wandering
in the wilderness. Here we find the children of Israel in their last encampment
on the plains of Moab. In these last moments before entering the land, Moses
recaps the law of God for the people. But he does far more than that. Having
followed these people during the forty years in the wilderness from Egypt to
Canaan, we can appreciate the necessity of Moses speaking to the people.
During these last few weeks
they must look both backward and forward. The backward look will prepare them
for the forward look. Moses does both. They are about to enter a land that is
filled and polluted by the most obscene and extreme forms of idolatry. The
great need of the moment is to drive home to the people these basic principles
of the law.
This need was evident by the
fact that most of the people who had been at Sinai were now dead. Only those
who were twenty years old or younger were now at Moab. Only a small percentage
of these would have any recollection of those memorable days of the giving of
the Law. To the rest, those who had been born and grew up in the wilderness,
Sinai meant nothing as far as their personal experience was concerned. It was therefore
of primary importance that Moses remind them of how they got the Law and of its
place in their daily lives.
He must also review the
past. It would not be a pleasant job to remind these people of their
murmurings, rebellious spirit and lack of faith. It would help them realize how
prone they were to stumble and fall when the circumstances should have brought
them closer to God who had never failed them. They must remember that their
lack of faith in God was responsible for the weary years of wandering. In light
of their failures, the faithfulness of God would appear all the brighter. Time
and again He had displayed His power and goodness when they deserved His wrath.
It was necessary that Moses
instruct and warn them regarding the future. They were chosen from among the
nations and set apart to be the cradle of the redemption for mankind. They were
a separate people and must remain so. If they adopted the gods of the heathen
they would be disqualified to bring salvation to the world. He told the people,
"The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms;
and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee, and shall say: Destroy
them." (Deuteronomy 33:27).
After Moses had completed
his mission, God took him to the top of Mount Pisgah. "So Moses, the
servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of
the Lord." (Deuteronomy 34:5). We are to see him on yet another mountain,
Mount Hermon, where he spoke with Jesus. Centuries after He had spoken with God
at Sinai and had received the Law from His hand, he is in the presence of Jesus
Christ, the one who came to fulfill the Law. Moses brought faith to the world
through the race of people he had so faithfully led from Egypt to the Promised
Land.
© Copyright
2002, LeRoy Eims