At the start of the book of Deuteronomy we find Israel in Moab, where the Jordan River flows into the Dead Sea. Moses takes time to prepare the people for the road ahead. Rather than speaking sternly and professorially, he speaks straight from the heart. He knows these people have endured God's discipline for 40 years, but now they stand on the cusp of receiving the promise. With Egypt behind them and the Promised Land before them, Moses inspires the people not with a battle cry but a reminder of God's law. Obedience will be the key to their success.

Moses' message was one about God's love for the people, his goodness to them in the past and their present experience in the plains of Moab, his promise of blessing and warnings of judgment should they fall into disobedience.

This reminder was necessary as the majority of the people present were born after the nation had left the Mountain of God. Not having experienced the giving of the law, they needed the reminder of God's promises and their duty to the Lord. Deuteronomy serves as a pause to raise the intensity before the stories climax in Joshua. Everything in the Bible so far has lead up to this point. From man's initial act of disobedience and God's promise of salvation through Abraham, to the fulfillment of the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenants. It is unclear to me why Joshua, which shows the fulfillment of the covenants, isn't included in the Torah. Why only the first five books? Possibly it has more to do with Deuteronomy being the last book of the law, even if it isn't the last book of the covenants.

The book also introduces us to Joshua, the man who would replace Moses as the nation's leader. After God takes Moses' life Joshua ascends in authority and commands the armies of Israel into the next phase — events that take place in the next book bearing his name. Joshua was among the last of the people who had experienced captivity under Egypt. He became Moses' commander back in Exodus 17 when he repelled an attack by the Amalekites.He attended to Moses' needs when the prophet was on the Mountain of God. Joshua was well groomed to lead where Moses could not follow.

Author and Date of Writing

Moses wrote most of the book of Deuteronomy (with the exception of the record of his death and after, which was probably penned by Joshua), sometime in the late 1300's to 1405 BC. The original name of this book was "These Are the Words". When the book was translated into Greek the translators changed it's title to a Greek word meaning "copy (or repetition) of the law."

Big Idea

In the wake of man's rebellion, God carves out a covenant people on earth to love, protect and bless for as long as they maintained their fidelity and obedience.