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Podcast Episode

What’s the Point of Deuteronomy?

Have you ever wondered where the earliest sermons in the Bible are found? Moses’ final speech to Israel, found in Deuteronomy, is the first time we see what is essentially a modern sermon—a long speech meant to communicate God’s truth. Just as Israel is about to enter the promised land, Moses reminds them that, just like their ancestors, they have the choice to live by their own wisdom or to follow Yahweh’s life-giving commands. Join Tim and Jon as they dive into the final scroll of the Torah and explore the choice before Israel—and the choice we face today too.

Episode 1
1hr 3m
Oct 3, 2022
Play Episode
Exploring the Book of Deuteronomy? Don't Stop Here.
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Exploring the Book of Deuteronomy? Don't Stop Here.
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Show Notes
Episodes

QUOTE

We all have moments of choice before the tree of knowing good and bad or before Mount Sinai where Yahweh is saying, “Don’t give your allegiance to things of your own creation. Choose life, choose wisdom, follow my commands.” Every one of us is to see ourselves at that moment every day. That’s the function of the book of Deuteronomy.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • The entire scroll of Deuteronomy is a speech Moses makes to Israel before he dies and the people enter the promised land.
  • Deuteronomy is not a collection of new laws. It’s a commentary on the laws and instruction Yahweh has already given Israel up to this point. This reiteration honors the wisdom of the laws previously given but applies them in new ways.
  • Deuteronomy is meant to show us that we have a choice before us every day: We can choose allegiance to things of our own creation, or we can choose life and wisdom by following Yahweh’s commands.

The Final Scroll of the Torah

In part one (00:00-20:00), Tim and Jon kick off the first movement of the last scroll in the Torah, Deuteronomy. Up until this point, the plotline of the Torah has moved relatively quickly, but now it comes to a halt. The entire scroll of Deuteronomy is a speech Moses makes to Israel before he dies and the people enter the promised land. In fact, the narrator only speaks a handful of times in Deuteronomy—in the first paragraph and the last chapter—rarely interjecting into Moses’ long farewell speech.

Within the Torah, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers form their own literary unit, and Genesis and Deuteronomy act as bookends—in parallel and contrasting. Genesis ends with Israel in Egypt, outside the land, and Jacob prophesying over his twelve sons. In Deuteronomy, Israel is still outside the land, but under a different leader, Moses. Moses stands before the twelve tribes in Deuteronomy as the archetypal prophet of Israel, proclaiming the fulfillment of God’s promises to Abraham in Genesis and predicting Israel’s covenant unfaithfulness and the consequences that will follow.

Outlining Deuteronomy

In part two (20:00-40:38), Tim and Jon discuss the structure of Deuteronomy.

Like most of the scrolls of the Torah, Deuteronomy has three movements. Chapters 1-11 comprise the first movement of Deuteronomy, made up entirely of sermons from Moses. Chapters 12-26 are the second movement, and they cover laws for living in the land. The third movement starts in Deuteronomy 26:16, where Moses warns Israel of the curses they’ll bring upon themselves if they break their covenant with Yahweh.

In the first movement, we’re tracing the words “listen” and “love.” In the second movement, we’re tracing the theme of the law. And in the third movement, we’re tracing the theme of blessing and curse.

The name Deuteronomy is a Greek compound word meaning “second law.” And the entire scroll is a commentary on Israel’s laws.

The Audience of the Torah

In part three (40:38-1:02:14), Tim and Jon dive into Deuteronomy 1. The opening line of the scroll is where its Hebrew name comes from. Verse 1 begins with, “These are the words Moses spoke to Israel in the wilderness.” Deuteronomy’s Hebrew name is Devarim, which means “words”.

The narrator describes Moses as speaking from “across the Jordan,” which means the narrator is writing at a later date from within the promised land (Deut. 1:1).

Deuteronomy 1:2-3

It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea. In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel, according to all that the Lord had commanded him to give to them.

Before Moses speaks, the narrator reminds us that the journey from Egypt to the promised land should have taken eleven days. Instead, it took forty years. This sums up the entire plot from Exodus to Numbers—things have not gone according to plan.

In Deuteronomy 1:5, the narrator tells us that Moses is about to explain the Torah. The translation “explain” comes from the Hebrew word be’er, which means “to bring understanding”. Deuteronomy is not a collection of new laws. It’s a commentary on the laws and instruction Yahweh has already given Israel up to this point. This reiteration honors the wisdom of the laws previously given but applies them in new ways. In later years, the prophets will perform a similar duty to Moses, calling Israel back to covenant faithfulness according to age-old laws applied in new ways for each generation.

Before Moses reminds Israel of the laws, he retells their history as a nation, highlighting the choices of their ancestors who wandered the wilderness after leaving Egypt. It’s as if he’s saying that this generation will repeat the sins of their forefathers, even if not intentionally. This perspective is the opposite of Western individualism that suggests each person is in charge of their own direction in life. Of course, the biblical authors recognize individual responsibility too, but they see each individual as living out part of a communal story that is only alterable through close, personal attention to Yahweh’s covenant.

Moses speaks to the new generation of Israel as if they were present at Mount Sinai when God first gave the laws. What he’s implying is that humans of every generation (including modern students of Scripture like us) are the intended audience for the Torah. Deuteronomy is meant to bring us all to a recognition that we have a choice before us every day. We can choose allegiance to things of our own creation, or we can choose life and wisdom by following Yahweh’s commands.

Referenced Resources

  • Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, Brevard S. Childs
  • Interested in more? Check out Tim’s library here.
  • You can experience the literary themes and movements we’re tracing on the podcast in the BibleProject app, available for Android and iOS.

Show Music

  • “Defender (Instrumental)” by TENTS
  • "Praise through the Valley" by Tae the Producer
  • "Happy Scene" by Sam Stewart

Show produced by Cooper Peltz with Associate Producer Lindsey Ponder. Edited by Dan Gummel, Tyler Bailey, and Frank Garza. Podcast annotations for the BibleProject app by MacKenzie Buxman.

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Scripture References
Deuteronomy 1:5
Genesis 49
Deuteronomy 1:2
Deuteronomy 12-26
Deuteronomy 1-11
Deuteronomy 32-33
Deuteronomy 26:16-34:12
Deuteronomy 26-34
Deuteronomy 1:1
Deuteronomy 1:2-3
Deuteronomy 1:4
Deuteronomy 27:8
Habakkuk 2:2
Deuteronomy 1:6
Deuteronomy 1:19
Deuteronomy 1:22
Deuteronomy 5:1

12 Episodes

Episode 12
Simkhat Torah: Celebrating a Year of Reading
When a Jewish synagogue finishes reading through the Torah together, they celebrate Simkhat Torah. What is Simkhat Torah? Find out on today’s episode as Jon and Tim reflect on our year-long journey through the Torah and look ahead to the rest of the TaNaK.
1hr 16m • Dec 19, 2022
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Episode 11
When Do Words Become a Blessing?
How do we know the biblical authors intended to link certain words and stories? When do someone’s words become a blessing? How do sacrifices actually atone for sins? In this episode, Tim and Jon respond to audience questions from a year’s worth of conversations about the Torah. Thank you to our audience for your questions!
1hr 4m • Dec 12, 2022
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Episode 10
Which Laws Still Apply?
Which ancient Israelite laws still apply today and which don’t? Should the law be divided into moral, civil, and ceremonial categories? And why did Jesus quote Deuteronomy when Satan tempted him? In this episode, Tim and Jon respond to audience questions about the Deuteronomy scroll. Thanks to our incredible audience for your questions.
59m • Dec 5, 2022
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Episode 9
Moses’ Final Words
Who are Yahweh’s children? For most of the Torah, the answer seems to be all of Israel. But in his final moments, Moses tells Israel that Yahweh’s true children are those who remain faithful to his covenant. In the final episode of our journey through the Torah, join Tim and Jon as they explore a prophetic poem that will set the tone for the rest of the TaNaK.
1hr 20m • Nov 28, 2022
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Episode 8
Can Anyone Live a Blessed Life?
Moses gives the least motivating pep talk ever in the third movement of Deuteronomy. He outlines God’s covenant and the various blessings and curses associated with it, and then he tells Israel, “You’re going to fail.” Talk about demoralizing! In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they explore the paradox of righteousness accomplished by divine sovereignty and human freedom through the lens of Deuteronomy and the New Testament writers.
1hr 27m • Nov 21, 2022
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Episode 7
Covenant Curses
In the final movement of Deuteronomy, there’s a pretty lengthy list of curses that will fall upon Israel if they break their covenant with Yahweh. But what exactly is a curse? Why are there so many of them, and what do they have to do with Israel’s covenant with Yahweh? In this episode, Tim and Jon talk about blessings and curses, ancient Near Eastern law code, and the choice all humans have between death or life.
59m • Nov 14, 2022
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Episode 6
Jesus, Marriage, and the Law
The Pharisees frequently tested Jesus on his knowledge of the law, and in Matthew 19, they grill him on a particularly challenging law about divorce. In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they wrap up the second movement of Deuteronomy by exploring Jesus’ understanding of the law and how it can help us interpret the Torah.
1hr 10m • Nov 7, 2022
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Episode 5
How Do We Use the Law Today?
Israel’s laws were meant to form them into people of wisdom who lived differently than the nations around them. But what wisdom can Christians gain from the law? In this episode, listen in as Tim and Jon discuss the wisdom the apostles gleaned from the law.
54m • Oct 31, 2022
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Episode 4
The Law … Again
In the second movement of Deuteronomy, Moses gives Israel the law … again. But this time, he’s not talking to a nomadic group of people wandering the desert—he’s talking to the next generation preparing to settle in a permanent home for the first time. As they move into the land, their laws and their lives will need to look a little different. But in what way? In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they discuss how the law was always meant to form Israel (and modern readers) into people of wisdom, justice, and righteousness.
1hr 14m • Oct 24, 2022
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Episode 3
Giants and Justice
In this episode, we once again encounter the Nephilim, the evil demon-human hybrid beings we first met in Genesis 6. Now they resurface as giants inhabiting Canaan, the land Yahweh promised to Israel. Join Tim and Jon as they tackle the complex issues of violent conquest, human and spiritual evil, and divine justice.
1hr 13m • Oct 17, 2022
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Episode 2
The Way to True Life
In the first movement of Deuteronomy, two words appear more frequently than any others—listen and love. Why did Moses emphasize these two words in his farewell speech to Israel? In this episode, Tim and Jon explore what it looks like to be loyal to Yahweh, the God unlike any other, who listens to humanity.
1hr 6m • Oct 10, 2022
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Episode 1
What’s the Point of Deuteronomy?
Have you ever wondered where the earliest sermons in the Bible are found? Moses’ final speech to Israel, found in Deuteronomy, is the first time we see what is essentially a modern sermon—a long speech meant to communicate God’s truth. Just as Israel is about to enter the promised land, Moses reminds them that, just like their ancestors, they have the choice to live by their own wisdom or to follow Yahweh’s life-giving commands. Join Tim and Jon as they dive into the final scroll of the Torah and explore the choice before Israel—and the choice we face today too.
1hr 3m • Oct 3, 2022
Untitled
close
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