Deuteronomy 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Commentary by Mark Dunagan

DEUTERONOMY CHAPTERS 1-5 I. INTRODUCTION: A. Title: The Hebrew name of Deuteronomy is elleh haddbarim (“these are the words”) or more briefly, Debarim (“words”)—taken from the opening line of 1:1. The LXX, Greek Translation of the OT, called it by the more descriptive term Deuteronomion (“second law-giving”), because it consists mostly of a restatement of the law contained in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. The name Deuteronomion comes from a translation of Deut.

17:18 “a copy of this law”.

B. Date: Internal data locates the events in the book as transpiring east of the Jordan in Moab starting on the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year (1:3).

“According to Joshua 4:19 Israel crossed the Jordan river into Canaan in the forty-first year after leaving Egypt, the first month and the tenth day. This would be about seventy days after Moses’ first address (Deut. 1:5). Subtracting the thirty days of mourning following Moses’ death (34:8), leaves roughly forty days for the addresses (1:5; 5:1; 29:2) of Deuteronomy” (Smith p. 477).

C. Authorship: In addition to many statements about Moses’ speaking, there are statements made within the book itself that indicate that he was the author at the direction of the Lord (1:5; 31:9,22,24,30). Other OT books assert Mosaic authorship of Deuteronomy (1 Kings 2:3; 8:53; 2 Kings 14:6; 18:6,12). Jesus and the NT writers quote from Deuteronomy and then assign Moses as being the actual writer (Matthew 19:7-8; Mark 10:3-5; 12:19; John 5:46-47; Acts 3:22; 7:37-38; Romans 10:19). Paul quotes Deut. 25:4 in 1 Corinthians 9:9 and refers to it as the law of Moses, the writer of the book of Hebrews (10:28), likewise refers to the law of Moses, and then quotes Deut. 17:2-6.

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Theories Given By Critics: Mosaic authorship of Deuteronomy was almost universally held by both Jews and Christians until the rise of liberal criticism in the 19 th century. Liberal scholars have never agreed on who they think wrote the book except that most agree it was not Moses. Which is typical of Liberal scholars. They need arrive at any definite positive conclusion, they never bring us to the truth, they just tell us what the truth isn’t, or more appropriately, the only thing about which we can be certain is that we can’t be certain. “The basic contention of this theory is that Deuteronomy was a forgery created just prior to the great reformation of King Josiah over seven hundred years after the death of Moses. The priests pretended to discover this book in the Temple in 621 BC and it was then palmed off on the king and the gullible public as an ancient work of Moses” (Smith p.

476). What a horrible theory! Just because unbelieving critics of the Bible are lacking in moral scruples doesn’t mean that everyone else is like them. The clear verses cited above contradict such a theory. In addition, various things just don’t fit: The regulations of Deut. 7:1ff, which forbid the Israelites to make a treaty with the Canaanites or to mix with them….would be meaningless in the time of Josiah and Hezekiah. The chapters will deal with commands to exterminate the Amalekites (25:17-19), which didn’t fit the time of Josiah either.

The law concerning the future king of Israel (17:14ff), that he be not a foreigner, certainly does not reflect Josiah’s time when the hereditary succession of David’s house had been established for many centuries.

One of the criticisms of Mosaic authorship is that Moses couldn’t have recorded his own death (Deut. 34). Oh, as if God can’t predict the future! People need to stop paying lip service to the truth that the Bible is the inspired Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). “Is the Lord’s power limited?” (Numbers 11:23).

D. Brief Outline Of The Book: I. First Discourse: 1-4 A. Historical Survey: 1-3 B. Exhortation To Keep The Law: 4 II. Second Discourse: 5-26 A. Historical Reminders Of Sinai/General Laws: 5-11 B. Specific Laws: 12-26 III. Concluding Words/Blessings And Curses: 27-30 IV.

Moses’ Final Arrangements: His farewell address/Song of Moses/His Blessing/His Death: 31-34

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E. Jesus And Deuteronomy: “The use our Savior made of this book should indicate to us that its contents are important. When tempted, He quoted Deuteronomy in all three instances to rebuff the Tempter (8:3; 6:16,13; cf. Matthew 4:4,7,10), and in Matthew 22:37-38 it is again Deuteronomy from which He derived what He called ‘the first and greatest commandment’ (Deut. 6:5; 10:12; 30:6). Of the more specific provisions in Deuteronomy He quoted those regarding the need for two or three witnesses (Matthew 18:16; John 8:17; cf. Deut. 17:6; 19:15) and discussed those concerning the certificate of divorce (Matthew 19:8; cf. Deut. 24:1) and the levirate (marriage) (Matthew 22:24; cf. Deut. 25:5ff)” 1

F. 1.

Contents:

Obedience from the heart is stressed (Deut. 10:12). “The book serves to underscore the necessity of obedience to God’s Law. The abiding lesson of Deuteronomy is that obedience is essential—essential to health, happiness, and heaven itself” (Smith p. 478). See 5:29,33. 2. It is clearly a book of exhortation. “Almost every verse in the book is filled with exhortation, instruction, warning, or promise” (Smith p. 479). 3.

“The theme of Deuteronomy is the instruction of the nation. Moses sets forth here in no uncertain terms the consequences of both obedience and disobedience. This material then is popular rather than technical. For this reason Deuteronomy is the version of the Law which has been most widely quoted over the centuries….The viewpoint of the book is that of a sermon, ‘a farewell message, by a wise and devoted leader’.

Deuteronomy is written in a flowing oratorical style which makes constant appeal to motives and emotions. It is meant to move its readers and its hearers….Here Moses speaks like a father who earnestly and lovingly admonishes his children” (Smith pp. 479-480). In other words, Deuteronomy reads like a challenging sermon (30:19).

After analyzing the material in Deuteronomy, one writer summed up the book in the following manner: 1. The necessity of obedience: The Law of God 2. The motive for obedience: the goodness of God/love for God 3. The standard of obedience: the word of God 4. The incentive to obedience: the faithfulness of God 5. The alternative to obedience: the justice of God

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Bible Students Commentary, Deuteronomy, J. Ridderbos, p. 1 3

II. COMMENTARY: 1:1 “These are the words which Moses spoke”-Which should always remind us that the real conflict between liberal and conservative writers isn’t “science” or some method, rather it is faith. Do we accept the Bible as the inspired Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17), and do we believe that God can preserve His revelation to mankind (Matthew 24:35)?

1:1 “Arabah”-(AIR ah bah). This great valley includes the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River valley, the Dead Sea, and the area between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea. At this time, the children of Israel are camped in the plains of Moab, just north of the Dead Sea. “Suph”-(soof); “Paran”-(PAH ruhn), which was the name for a desert region; “Tophel”-(TOE fuhl). This spot has been identified with et-Tafileh, an Arab village about 14 miles southeast of the Dead Sea. “Hazeroth”-(HAH zuh rahth); “Dizahab”-(DIZ uh hab). All of this detailed information, including a definite and precise date (1:3), makes it clear that we are dealing with real history. This isn’t a myth or an allegory. These verses place the revelation of God squarely in history.

1:2 “Horeb”-(HOHR eb). The same as Mount Sinai (Exodus 18:5; 3:1). Note the pathetic contrast of 11 days with 40 years (1:3). “serves as an ominous reminder of the consequences of disobeying God. The Israelites turned an 11day journey from Mount Sinai to Kadesh Barnea, the first site for entering into the Promised land from the south---into a 40-year wandering in the wilderness…

From Horeb to Kadesh Barnea was only about 150 miles” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 261). In addition, this verse makes it clear that the Israelites, all 2-3 million of them could travel about 10-15 miles per day. So much for the accusation of unbelieving critics that such a multitude of people could of never been organized for traveling.

Point To Note: It makes one wonder. Has my own unbelief or selfishness delayed blessings that God intended for me to experience? Compare with Jeremiah 18:1ff Have there been times in my life that my impatience delayed blessings for years?

“The warning was implicitly sounded: do not be slow to believe God again” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p.

1:3 A clear statement that Moses spoke by inspiration. The 11 th month would be approx., our February.

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1:4 This statement connects us with the book of Numbers (chapter 21).

1:5 “expound”-to make clear, distinct or plain. Hence, Deuteronomy is plain language, clear statements. God’s revelation wasn’t designed to confuse us.

“Across the Jordan”-i.e. on the east side.

Historical Survey The best way to understand something or get the full impact, is to place everything in its proper historical context. God definitely believes in reviewing and remembering the history of His people. And God definitely believes that what is recorded in the Bible, really happened just as it has been written.

1:5-18 Instructions given 40 years ago at Sinai. Prior to leaving Sinai it was necessary to organize the people. Verses 1:9-18 refer to the events found in Exodus 18. Note that Moses didn’t complain that the people had become so numerous, which had only increased his work load. Rather, his prayer was that the Lord might continue to increase their numbers. These verses also make it clear that God was indeed being faithful concerning all His promises, and the people didn’t have any excuse for not believing in His promises. He was already fulfilling promises made to the fathers (1:8), within their lifetime!

1:19-46 These verses recount the failure at Kadesh to go up and take possession of the land (Numbers 13-14). After crossing a hundred miles of terrible desert, they had finally arrived at Kadesh. From this chapter, we learn that the people were the ones who had suggested that spies first be sent to explore the land (1:22).

1:37 This verse refers to the event in Numbers 20. This event took place later, during the second stay at Kadesh. I believe that God really wants to impress upon the people the seriousness of unbelief. Because of their grumbling and lack of faith, they had been partly responsible for Moses not being able to enter the land. They had actually cast a stumbling-block before the man who had often kept them from being completely consumed. Innocent people often suffer when professed children of God become unbelieving. That last thing that we should ever want to do, is to be responsible for an elder, deacon, teacher or preacher resigning, because we were a great discouragement to them.

1:41-42 It is not always possible or permissible to recoup an opportunity lost by unbelief. “It is clearly the responsibility of God’s people to obey without delay and to ‘redeem the time’ while the opportunity is open (Eph. 5:15-17)” 2 1:46 The many days here probably stretched into years. “Tears avail little in the face of wanton disobedience” (Thompson p. 89).

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Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, Deuteronomy, J.A. Thompson, p. 89 5

Chapter 2 2:1-8 The “many days” of 1:46 seem to include almost the entire 40 year period of punishment. But in spite of that ungrateful and rebellious generation, God didn’t hold the children accountable for the sins of their parents.

“Mount Seir”-(SEE ur). This was mountainous country stretching from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea, east of the gorge called the Arabah. Elevations here range from 600 feet to 6000 feet. Two of Seir’s outstanding features are Mount Hor, where Aaron died and the ancient city of rock, Petra or Sela. God had given this land to the descendants of Esau (the Edomites) (Deut. 2:29). This explains why God directed the children of Israel not to invade this territory, when they were moving from Kadesh to the Promised Land. Evidently, “Seir” referred to both a mountain (2:3) and an entire range or mountains or mountainous territory (2:4).

2:8 “Elath”-(EE lath), a seaport town on the northeast corner of the Gulf of Elath.

“Ezion Geber”-(EE zih on GHEE bur), situated near Elath. Today this site is found between the modern city of Eilat in Israel and the modern city of Aqaba in Jordan.

2:9-12 Parenthetically, Moses pointed out that the Moabites, Edomites and Ammonites (descendants of Lot and Esau), with God’s help had conquered strong and mighty nations in order to occupy their lands. In a sense, these people had more courage than the Israelites, for they weren’t discouraged at the size of the people who had occupied land that they wanted. Sadly, people in the world often manifest a greater conviction, courage and self-sacrifice for their goals than the people of God do for God and eternal life. God’s hand is in the destiny of every nation (Acts 17:26). The name Anak was an ancient one. It is known on the Egyptian execration texts of the 20 th and 19th centuries BC. “Emites”-(EE min), frightful ones, terrors or dreaded ones. And yet, they still took them on in battle. “Rephaites”-(REF ih yuhm).

2:13-14 God kept His word, none of the men from the original generation had survived. “The death of the defeatists who trembled at the report of the spies… now made possible the resumption of the journey” (Thompson p. 93). Next time you are tempted to do something stupid or have a bad attitude in relating to your brethren, ask yourself, “will the Church be paying the price for my selfishness for years to come?”

2:20 “Zamzummim”-(zam ZAHM mem), the Ammonite name for the Rephaim.

Note verses 21-22, the Lord had been with the Ammonites and the Edomites 2:23 “Avvim”-(AV vem), a native tribe of the Canaanites who lived on the Palestinian coast. “The Caphtorium who came from Caphtor”-Probably an early

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name for the Philistines, who came from Caphtor (KAF tawr), another name for the island of Crete (Genesis 10:14), and the surrounding islands in the Aegean.

2:24 And yet the Amorites were not under God’s protection. The Amorites had possessed these lands since early years of the second millennium BC. 2:25 The news of the Exodus had reached far and wide and was still a hot topic of conversation come 40 years later (See Numbers 23:22; 24:8; Exodus 15:1416).

2:26-37 Description of the victory over Sihon and his people. The text says that God hardened Sihon’s heart (30). But note the type of offer that made this man stubborn, a very generous and humble request! (27-29) In like manner, the wonderful message that God gave His only Son for our sins, hardens the hearts of many people (1 Cor. 1:23). “Sihon’s arrogant refusal was a sure sign that he had just thrown away his one chance of survival” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p.

267).

2:36 “there was no city that was too high for us”-“The high walls of the Canaanite cities terrified the first generation (1:28)” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 267), but not the second. A godly perspective is everything.

Chapter 3 3:1-11 The defeat of Og and his forces is next mentioned. Once again, Moses stresses that the size of the enemy and their fortresses meant nothing to the new generation (5). “In defeating Og on the north they were protecting their right flank when they turned to cross the Jordan. Edrei, where the battle began, was about 30 miles east of the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 267).

The size of Og’s iron bed was 6 feet wide by 13 ½ feet long. Strictly speaking, Og was a descendant of the original inhabitants of the land. Verse 9 points out the alternative names given to Mount Hermon.

3:12-29 The land east of the Jordan is given to the tribes of Manasseh, Gad and Reuben. And once again it is pointed out that Moses wasn’t allowed to enter the land.

3:17 “Chinnereth”-(SIN uh roth), early name for the Sea of Galilee.

3:23-26 Moses kept asking for permission, to the point that God was angry with him. “This conversation reveals something of the intimacy of Moses’ relationship with God. It also heightens the feeling of tragedy in the experience of a man who devoted his life to fulfilling God’s promise for Israel but knew he would never see its completion” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 268). I believe there is a

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valuable lesson here. From God’s perspective, Moses entering the land wasn’t essential for Moses’ well-being. Instead of always longing after that one earthly prize remaining, we need to realize what we have accomplished.

Chapter 4 4:1-2 The Law given to Israel wasn’t to be altered in any way. The same principle is stressed elsewhere (Proverbs 30:6; 2 John 9; Galatians 1:6-9; Revelation 22:18-19). Full enjoyment of life is conditioned upon obeying the will of God. Compare Deut. 4:1 with Hab. 2:4, in one passage obedience to the commands of God stands before one and life, in the other, faith stands between one and life. Hence, faith and obedience to the will of God are the same thing.

4:3-4 “you who held fast to the Lord”-Israel is reminded of the events recorded in Numbers chapter 25. Even physical life at times depends upon obeying God. 24,000 men died in this rebellion, while those who held fast to God, lived. This incident is also recorded in Psalm 106:28-29 and Hosea 9:10.

4:5-8 Wonderful verses! Even individuals in paganism could see the wisdom behind the laws which God had given to Israel! What does this say about the “wisdom or intelligence” of modern day critics and skeptics who try to argue that the OT presents a very low view of women, morality or the nature of God? “another purpose of the Law is revealed: to make Israel’s morally and spiritually unique among all the nations and therefore draw other nations to the Lord” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 269).

Point To Note: But are we embarrassed about the doctrines that the Bible teaches? Or, are we unashamed and proud of the gospel message? (Romans 1:16) A person’s true wisdom and character is judged by how they react to the Bible. If people scoff at what we believe in—that says nothing about us and everything about them.

Instead of envying sinners, let us remember that many people envy our ethics, courage, morality, unselfishness, sacrifice and the close walk with God that we enjoy. “his ideal of a great nation was not that of Egypt or the other nations of the ancient Near East. It was not wealth or military power that provided the criteria of greatness; their greatness would lie in the wisdom and discernment that was the fruit of obedience to the law” 3 And let us also remember, that the character of the people in the building is a far greater incentive and attraction to lost souls in the world than outward adornment and material resources.

4:9-14 Diligence is needed to remember what God has said, the truth can easily become distorted in the minds of people who become careless. Such truths were also binding upon future generations of Israelites. There wasn’t to be any 3

The New International Commentary On The Old Testament, Deuteronomy, P.C. Craigie, p. 131 8

“generation gap” as far as truth was concerned (9). In these 13 it is clear that “the covenant” and the “ten commandments” are one and the same. Hence, when the first covenant will be removed, so will all the laws associated with that covenant. One cannot argue that the covenant was removed, but the ten commandments weren’t.

4:15-19 Since they didn’t see any form of God at Sinai, they should never attempt to represent God by any object—the Law reflects reality! “Because the Lord has no physical form, no physical representation could be tolerated” (Gaebelein p. 45). In verse 19, it is made clear that the heavenly bodies exist for our benefit (Genesis 1:14-18), we are far more important then they are, and hence it would be foolish to worship something inferior to oneself.

4:20-24 God doesn’t play any favorites. Thus Moses’ sermon emphasizes that Israel should learn the lessons offered by their history and his own personal experience. “The judgment that rested on Moses was a warning to Israel of the consequences of any compromise of their total allegiance to Yahweh” (Thompson p. 107). Disobedience in the slightest would cost them dearly.

Moses certainly would have rejected the attitude which says that everyone is sinning in some respect and everyone is believing some form of false doctrine, and grace will just cover all of that. Grace didn’t cover Moses for his transgression! (Hebrews 2:1-3).

4:25-31 Keeping the land was conditional! The consequences for idolatry were fair! The unfaithful would be removed from the land to a pagan land where they would be surrounded by idols. There they would realize the uselessness and vanity of such worship. In like manner, professed Christians who long to become like the denominations, will become a denomination, and then find themselves bound and enslaved to human rules and traditions. God does give people a taste of their own medicine. “heaven and earth”-are permanent things, compared to the fickleness of man. “If the Israelites were at some future date, unfaithful to the covenant…then that faithlessness would be known as certainly as the permanence of the heaven and the earth, and the people would suffer” (Craigie p. 139).

4:32-36 Far from being a handicap, “Reception of the Law was a privilege unparalleled in history. Israel had actually heard the voice of God at Sinai and had survived. They had seen the mighty power of God unleashed against Egypt.

Yet this awesome God loved them and brought them out of Egypt” (Smith pp.

493-494). By experience the Israelites knew there was a God, and that there was only one God (35). Therefore, idolatry would be inexcusable! Please note, that the Israelites should of had no possible legitimate motive for even wanting to worship or construct idols. Everything, everything in their lifetime had taught them that God was God, and there was no other!

4:37 Israel was chosen, because of the great love God had for the fathers, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob.

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4:39 Some issues need to be settled in one’s mind once and for all.

Chapter 5 5:1-3 From these verses it is clear that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the other ancestors of the Israelites weren’t under the covenant given at Sinai. Therefore, we know that such men didn’t keep the Sabbath Day, and that the Sabbath Day isn’t an ordinance given at creation and intended for all time. The events in this chapter are also found in Exodus chapters 19-20. Even though this generation hadn’t been adults (20 years old and upward) at the time, many of them had been alive at Sinai and had witnessed these events when they were children.

5:7-21 The ten commandments are repeated. Note, the Sabbath Day not only paralleled the creation week (Exodus 20:8-11), but also applied to a people who had been in bondage (Deut. 5:13-15). The fact that these laws are repeated simply points out that time and culture don’t alter biblical truths.

5:14 God is concerned about the people in the lower strata of society. Religion should never be viewed as a luxury. Let us reject the argument which says that only the rich or middle class can afford to live by God’s standard of morality.

5:29 “Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me, and keep all My commandments always”-Here we are given a glimpse into the heart of God. Does God really care whether or not I end up saved? Or, am I just another face in the crowd? The best interests of His people are deep in the heart of God! Point To Note: We must reject the modern idea that the God in the OT is vindictive, while the God revealed in the NT is compassionate. “No, this glimpse into the heart of God is in harmony with the most compassionate depictions of Christ in the NT” (Craigie p. 62).

5:32-33 Several concepts are repeated by God, because they are so often forgotten or twisted: 1. Commands given by God are not suggestions and they aren’t open to revision (4:32). His commandments don’t need to be improved, one way (additional restrictions) or the other (less restrictions). 2. God isn’t trying to keep us from the good life, rather, God is trying to see to it that we have happy lives, “that it may be well with you”.

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