“Deuteronomy: Purpose & Practice”(Deuteronomy 1:1-8)”, Will DuVal | 1/11/26
Deuteronomy 1:1-8 | 1/11/26 | Will DuVal
It’s often said that “those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it”. Yet many of us in the modern world are ignorant of history, preferring instead what’s recent and “relevant”. Similarly, God’s word declares “Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways” (Ps 128:1). Yet you and I repeatedly disobey God, at times without even knowing “his ways”. Lastly, God assures us in His word, “I know the plans I have for you… to give you a future and a hope” (Jer 29:11); “I’m working ALL things together for your good!” (Rom 8:28). Yet we are quick to forget God’s promises, and live in fear and worry instead.
Remembrance. Obedience. Faith. God wants each of these virtues for each of us, His people. And He offers them to us in the book of Deuteronomy. That is God’s threefold CALLING to us, all throughout this book as we’ll see in the coming months, but even in its opening 8 verses for this morning:
1) REMEMBER God’s faithfulness.
2) RESPOND to God’s commands.
3) RELY on God’s promises.
Deuteronomy has been called the “heartbeat of the OT”. Commentator Chris Wright (Deuteronomy, p3) dubs it the Romans of the Old Testament; its theological FOUNDATION. Daniel Block (Deuteronomy, p25) argues “a comparison with the gospel of JOHN may be even more appropriate. Just as John wrote his gospel after several decades of reflection on the death and resurrection of Jesus, so Moses preached the sermons in Deuteronomy after almost four decades of reflection on the significance of the Exodus and God’s covenant with Israel. Thus, LIKE the gospel of John, the book of Deuteronomy functions as a theological manifesto, calling on Israel to respond to God’s grace with unreserved loyalty and love.”
Gordon Fee & Douglas Stuart summarize its importance by simply contending “Deuteronomy has… had more influence on the rest of the biblical story than any other book of the Bible.” (cit?)
It is the SECOND most quoted OT book in the NEW Testament (after Psalms), with over 50 citations. Perhaps MOST importantly, it was JESUS’s favorite book of the Bible, which he referenced more than any other. All three of his replies to SATAN when He was tempted in the wilderness - ““‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’””; “‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”; and ““‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve him only’”” - ALL from Deuteronomy.
I’m gonna save MOST of the “Who, What, Where, When” - the author, audience, setting, timeline - for after we’ve READ the first 8 verses here in a minute, because the text itself will answer most of it for us. But let me just note two other quick points of reference:
First, the TITLE. “Deuteronomy” comes from the Latin words for “second law”, which is a BIT of a misnomer, because what God ACTUALLY gives Israel here is a second DICTATION - a REMINDER - of His first and ONLY law, the same one He prescribed back in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers (if you were with us for our studies of THOSE books back in 2023, ‘24, and last year in ‘25, respectively). But later in Deuteronomy ch17, v18, God IS going to instruct Israel’s future kings that the very first thing they ought to DO as king, before even taking a seat on the THRONE, “he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, [a deuteronomium]... And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law”. So it’s a REMINDER. Which brings us to…
The SECOND and MOST important note of context before we dive in: the book’s STRUCTURE and PURPOSE, which as we’ll see, are intertwined. How is Deuteronomy OUTLINED?
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Well, there are TWO ways to make sense of its arrangement, both of which are similar, and BOTH of which are full of meaning when it comes to the book’s overall PURPOSE. There’s the TECHNICAL outline and the simplified version.
The TECHNICAL, scholarly way of understanding Deuteronomy’s structure is to see it as patterned after ancient Hittite-suzerainty treaties. So the Hittites were one of the dominant superpowers in the ancient Near East, in the 2nd millennium BC. And when they would CONQUER another tribe or nation, they would establish a COVENANT with their newly acquired subjects, that outlined the terms and conditions of the relationship. And biblical scholars have noted that Deuteronomy actually follows the exact same LAYOUT: it opens with…
“1) a Preamble, identifying the speaker and addressees (that’s ch1, vv1-5 of Deuteronomy; the preamble is followed by…) 2) a Historical prologue, relating significant events in the relationship between the two parties (that’s ch1, v6 thru the end of ch4, Moses will retell Israel’s HISTORY of relationship with Yahweh; then…); 3) General stipulations, outlining the broad terms of the treaty (chs5-11 in Deuteronomy; followed by); 4) Detailed stipulations, the specific requirements of the [conquering] state on its vassal [subjects] (that’s chs12-26; then…); 5) Blessings and Curses, [were listed] as sanctions and motivation for [KEEPING] the treaty (chs27-28 of the book; and finally…); 6) Witnesses, [ratifying the treaty; chs30-32] (cf. 30:19, 31:19; 32)” (Wright, pp2-3)
You say, “So what? Why does it matter if Deuteronomy reads like some ancient Hittite treaty?”
Well it matters for two reasons: first of all, it supports an early dating and authorship of the book. Some critical scholars are skeptical that Deuteronomy was actually written by Moses over 3,400 years ago; they argue it was written some 800 years later, so it can’t be trusted. But the book’s STRUCTURE accords much better with an earlier dating.
But the second and more important reason it matters, is that it shows us what Deuteronomy is REALLY all about: not just some ancient HISTORY, or some abstract LAWS… but RELATIONSHIP with GOD! You signed a treaty, a COVENANT, to clearly spell out the terms of RELATIONSHIP between RULER and subjects; the king and his servants. Friends: that is GOD and US! And the purpose of Deuteronomy, and indeed ALL of the Bible, is to establish, clarify, and DEEPEN our relationship with the covenant God of the book. Moses is going to repeat the phrase “the LORD your God” over 250 times in Deuteronomy! And EVERY time, it is a reminder to Israel - and to US - of the covenant relationship we have with Yahweh - He is YOUR God, THEIR God, OUR God.
But there’s a second, SIMPLER way to outline the book, and that’s with not six, but just THREE main divisions:
Chs 1-4 call us to REMEMBER God’s (past) faithfulness (chs1-4);
Chs 5-26 call us to RESPOND to God’s (present) commands in obedience; and…
Chs 27-34 call us to RELY on God’s (future) promises.
Remembrance, Obedience, FAITH.
Skip Heitzig labels them this way:
Part 1- a review of the past…
Part 2- the requirements for the present; and…
Part 3 – a readiness for the future.
Deuteronomy was written that we might not FORGET:
What God has DONE for you…
What God has CALLED you to, and…
What God has in STORE for you.
My first try at a SUBTITLE for the series (but it was just too vague and clunky) was something like “Looking BACK to look FORWARD… as we look UP”. Like Israel, we look back over ALL that God has done for us already in our past, and we are FILLED with confident HOPE as we look ahead, to all that He still has in store for us, in the future. SO LONG AS we keep looking UP, to HIM to lead us; HIS way, not ours. That’s the OBEDIENCE part; the BULK of the book, chs 5-26.
Alright, enough introduction; let’s DIG IN! I invite you to STAND… Deut 1:1-8; Hear the word of the Lord:
“These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. 2 It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea. 3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him in commandment to them, 4 after he had defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and in Edrei. 5 Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law, saying, 6 “The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7 Turn and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all their neighbors in the Arabah, in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negeb and by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. 8 See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.’” This is the word of God…
These opening 8 verses set the stage for the rest of the book by introducing us to the threefold purpose of Deuteronomy, while also inviting us to put it into practice for ourselves personally. But FIRST, the initial THREE verses offer us MOST of the context we need to be able to get our bearings - the “Who, What, Where, & When”:
WHO is the author? MOSES. “These are the words that Moses spoke”... with the exception of the very end of chs32 thru 34, which describe Moses’s DEATH, and were most likely therefore added later by his successor, Joshua.
But v3 clarifies that “Moses spoke… according to all that the Lord had given him…”. So really we might say that GOD is the author of Deuteronomy (as He is ALL of Scripture), and Moses is his messenger.
Which answers our second question then as well: WHAT? What IS Deuteronomy? It’s a series of sermons delivered by Moses. What do you CALL it when a human messenger speaks on behalf of God - “according to all that the Lord has given him”? When a man - v5 - “under[takes] to explain [God’s] law”? We call that a SERMON. And I say “sermonS”, plural, because it reads as though there are three different sermon introductions, one here in ch1, v1; another in ch4, v44; and then finally in ch29, v1 - which Moses preached over the course of about a month, not just one sitting. (cf Dt 1:3 and 34:8 with Josh 5:6-12)
TO Whom? Who’s the audience? V1: “Moses spoke to all Israel”, God’s covenant people of the OT.
WHEN? V3: “In the fortieth year [that is, after their escape from Egypt], on the first day of the eleventh month”, or to be precise: 1 Shevat, 1406 BC.
Lastly: WHERE was it written? Where were they? V1: “beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph”. They are on the very VERGE of finally entering into Canaan, the Promised Land. As a matter of fact, as the video mentioned, at the END of the book, God’s gonna call Moses to climb up Mt. NEBO so he can actually look ACROSS the river and set EYES on the land, since he won’t get to go across with Israel. So they’re in EYE-shot of the land. On the northern edge of Moab - here’s a map for you, to show us where Israel IS currently, and to remind us of where they’ve been up to this point…
They left Egypt in 1446 B.C.; the book of Exodus spanned roughly 80 years “from the birth of Moses to Israel’s arrival at Mount Sinai.
· Leviticus took place in the 1 year that Israel spent at Mount Sinai. [receiving God’s law]
· Then Numbers covered about 38 years, starting with Israel [setting out from] Mount Sinai and continuing until they came to the plains of Moab, on the threshold of Canaan.
· And Deuteronomy covers only about 1 month, [just long enough for Moses to deliver these] three sermons on the plains of Moab.” (David Guzik, Enduring Word, Deuteronomy 1)
Now, while we got the MAP up, v2 here adds an interesting detail: that “It is eleven days' journey from Horeb [a.k.a, Mt. SINAI] by the way of Mount Seir to get to Kadesh-barnea.” Let me highlight THAT stage of their journey for you on the map here: THAT part, on foot, should take you 11 days. Why does Moses mention that here?
It’s his subtle reminder to Israel that they turned what SHOULD have been a 2 week trip into a 38 year TREK because of their FAITHLESSNESS. They SHOULD have entered Canaan 38 YEARS ago, back in Numbers ch13 when they first arrived on its edge and God first told them to go in and TAKE it, but they DOUBTED His promises and FEARED the inhabitants of the land, and Moses will retell us the REST of that story NEXT week - God forbid that entire generation of Israel from entering the land, except for Joshua and Caleb, who alone had trusted Him.
But there’s ANOTHER reason Moses mentions their past disobedience here - yes, to warn the NEW generation not to follow in their fathers’ footsteps. But he’s also reminding them that DESPITE their faithless failures, God didn’t give UP on them. That’s v4: when God took even their PUNISHMENT, an extra 38 years of wilderness wandering, and USED it for Israel’s GOOD: to “defeat Sihon the king of the Amorites… and Og the king of Bashan…”, and actually INCREASE Israel’s territory, to the EAST of the Jordan.
And that points us to the FIRST purpose of this book:
#1- Deuteronomy preserves God’s PAST PROVISIONS that prompt God’s people to PRAISE. (vv1-2, 4)
(I’m gonna warn you: I really went ALL OUT with the “P” alliteration this morning… 🙂) But what does God want to DO in this book? He wants to REMIND His people of HIS past provisions for them, so as to propel their PRAISE.
The first “provision” mentioned here is God’s PROTECTION. Speaking of “P”s, I got SIX of them for you as SUB-points here; 6 types of provisions God makes for his people; the first is PROTECTION. God fought Israel’s battles FOR them, and GAVE them victory over their enemies. You think there was any WAY Israel was conquering Sihon and Og, the Amorites and Bashanites on their own; not a CHANCE! They were GIANTS, literally! But ISRAEL served a giant GOD (or more accurately, was served BY a giant God!).
Who provided not just his protection, but his precepts as well, his perfect LAW, to guide Israel. God will charge them in ch4, v1: “now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules[a] that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live”. God WANTS his people to LIVE lives to the fullest and be BLESSED, and his precepts show us the PATH to blessing; the only question is: will we WALK in it?
Third, God’s provision includes PROvender; FOOD. Moses will remind Israel in ch8: the Lord “fed you with manna” (v3).
Fourth, he made you a PEOPLE. In ch10, v22 he’ll remind them “Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons, and now the Lord your God has made [GOOD on his promise, to make] you as numerous as the stars of heaven.”
Fifth, He’s giving them a PLACE, the PROMISED Land: ch11- “the land that you’re entering to take possession of is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated it, like a garden… But the land that you are going over to possess is… a land that the Lord your God cares for. The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it” (vv10-12). God HIMSELF is PERSONALLY it’s gardener.
But sixth and most essentially, God has provided His people with his PRESENCE. In ch4, v7, Moses wonders - marvels - aloud: “What great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him?”. And in his very LAST sermon, just before he dies, Moses encourages Israel with this promise and exhortation, this RALLY cry, as they prepare to cross over into Canaan without him; he charges them to, “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear [the inhabitants of the land], for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”” (31:6)
And the list could go ON, of ALL God’s provisions for his people. I stopped at SIX for sake of time. But Moses reminds them of God’s provision of LEADERS to guide them, the POSSESSIONS of the Egyptians they plundered, MORE battles he won for them, MORE land and plunder… He says, “God even made sure your CLOTHING didn’t wear out, miraculously, after 40 long years in the desert… your FEET didn’t swell up and give out, walking that long” (8:4); God has done ALL of this and MORE for us… NOT because WE were the biggest, greatest, most LOVABLE people God could find, but because HE is the greatest, most lov-ING God imaginable. We CAN’T even imagine it, actually; just how FAITHFUL God is, in spite of OUR faith-LESS-ness.
So how do we RESPOND, in LIGHT of all God’s mercy and goodness? In a word: PRAISE. That’s what MOSES does, at the END of Deuteronomy, after he’s recounted ALL of it, remembered ALL of God’s provisions for his people: he PRAISES!
“I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God!
4 “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice.A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.” (Dt 32:3-4)
So here’s what I’d like to do - cuz I TOLD you: we need more than a HISTORY lesson… or a list of DOs and DON’Ts; it’s about RELATIONSHIP with the Lord OUR God. And Deuteronomy isn’t just for THEM - the Israelites - back then, it’s for US, today. And we don’t just want to be HEARERS of the word either, but DOERS. How might we put this call to REMEMBER God’s past provisions in our OWN lives - and to PRAISE Him for it - how might we put that into PRACTICE, personally?
I want to give you a few minutes to actually DO that… right now. I hope you’re in the habit of doing this - even DAILY - already; pausing in the midst of the chaos and busyness of life, and taking time to simply PRAISE GOD for who He is, and for ALL that He’s done for you.
As you look back over your OWN past, YOUR story, of YOUR faithless failures, and yet GOD’S faithful forbearance with you nevertheless. As you reflect on the list of ALL God’s provisions in your life - your people, place and provender; your family, home and material blessings. What can you give God PRAISE for this morning? I could give you our full 75 minutes together, and it still wouldn’t be NEARLY enough time to list all His blessings. But I am gonna give you a couple minutes at least.
You may want to write them DOWN… or not. Just praise Him in your heart, as you reflect.
You may focus more on your PAST, and all that God has brought you through; or you could focus on the PRESENT blessings He’s given you.
You should thank Him for the GIFTS; but MOST of all, we want to praise the GIVER behind each good gift.
Let’s take a few minutes and do that now, quietly, on your own…
Church: in light of ALL God’s gracious provision in our lives, would you join me in PRAISING him, in the words Moses taught us:
“I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God!
4 “The Rock, his work is perfect…A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.” (Dt 32:3-4)
Amen.
#2- (What ELSE is Deuteronomy all about?) Deuteronomy preserves for us God’s PRESENT PRECEPTS that prompt us to PIETY. (vv3, 5)
Now, just a couple points of clarification there. I say “PRESENT” precepts, because like Israel, we too are called to OBEDIENCE to God’s commands still TODAY, in the present. However, we should note from the very OUTSET of our study, that the specific precepts laid out here in Deuteronomy are no LONGER requirements for us under the New Covenant now in Christ Jesus.
If your outfit this morning is a blend of wool and linen (Dt 22:11), you’re okay. If you plowed your FARM this morning using an ox and a donkey pulling together (22:10), that’s totally fine. If you just got married, you should NOT expect your employer to give you the whole first year off of work to stay at home and enjoy your new bride (that’s Deuteronomy 24, v5 - we wouldn’t mind if SOME of these laws were still applicable today, would we?!)
But according to the NEW Testament, Hebrews 8:13, “In [establishing] a new covenant [in CHRIST], God makes the first one obsolete.” As the apostle PAUL put it in our study of Galatians last fall: “the law was our guardian until Christ came… But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian” (Gal 3:24-25).
So the OT precepts we’ll be looking at in the coming months are NOT the same precepts God prescribes for us today. “A NEW commandment I give you,” Jesus says in the NEW Testament (Jn 13:34).
But that’s just it: he does GIVE us a new COMMANDMENT. It’s not like God cared about rules for 2,000 years, from Abraham to Jesus, but he HASN’T cared for the PAST 2,000 years now. NO, friends; God NEVER stopped CARING how his people LIVED, how we BEHAVE. “Be HOLY, as I am HOLY” - he exhorted originally in the OT, but then God REPEATED it in 1 Peter 1:16.
I’ve pointed out before, but it’s especially important to keep in mind as we begin in Deuteronomy, with its 199 commands, second only to Leviticus, in sheer quantity: 613 mitzvot, commandments, in the OT, but 1,054 in the New; way more than DOUBLED now, in terms of precepts per PAGE, in the NEW Testament.
And they ought to prompt us to PIETY. Piety is defined as “reverence for God or devout fulfillment of religious obligations.” We have an OBLIGATION, Church, to walk in God’s ways. “If you love me,” Jesus said, “you will keep my commandments” (Jn 14:15). Remember: it’s about RELATIONSHIP; how do we stay in good relationship with God? We OBEY Him.
And that’s what Deuteronomy was and IS here to do: REMIND us of it. V3: “Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him in commandment to them”. And its purpose is to make God’s precepts CLEAR to us: “Moses undertook to EXPLAIN this law” to the people. And that’s what I’LL seek to do, in the coming weeks.
But before we even GET there, chs 5-26, the precepts, the “terms & conditions” of the covenant (the OLD covenant, anyway), I want to once again this morning invite you to put this into PRACTICE with me.
God’s PROVISIONS prompt us to PRAISE. And his PRECEPTS prompt us to PIETY. To OBEDIENT OBSERVANCE.
So I want to ask you, very practically and personally this morning: without even giving you the list of all 1,776 biblical commands, I bet MOST of us have a pretty decent idea of which ones we tend to STRUGGLE with the MOST, to KEEP. And the New Testament ALSO says that God gave us the Law - Deuteronomy - to be a spiritual MIRROR for us; to show us our SIN and thus, our need for a SAVIOR.
So even though we already spent a few moments earlier, during our call to CONFESSION, reflecting on our sin and asking God to FORGIVE us and CLEANSE us from all unrighteousness, this is yet another one where I could give us all 75 minutes, and we still wouldn’t have enough time for all the requisite REPENTANCE.
So I want to give you some ADDITIONAL time now, and specifically, not just to confess to God, but to petition Him for a greater PIETY. We will ONLY follow Him if He GIVES us the desire, the strength, the ABILITY to obey.
Would you take a moment and ASK Him to…
Would you join me in THIS prayer of confession from Moses:
“[We] have dealt corruptly with the Lord…
Do you thus repay the Lord,
you foolish and senseless people?
Is not he your father, who created you?
…[We] have been unmindful of the Rock who bore [us],
and [we] forgot the God who gave [us] birth.” (Dt 32:5-6, 18)
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers. And would you GIVE us the piety we need to live lives of obedience, pleasing to you.
Lastly, #3- Deuteronomy preserves for us God’s PREPARED PROMISES that prompt God’s people to PRESS ON. (vv6-8)
This is how Moses’s introduction concludes now, in vv6-8, and really, it begins the NEXT section of text we’ll pick up with next week. But I thought it fitting to END here, since it frames up nicely the threefold division of the broader BOOK of Deuteronomy: 1) Remembrance; 2) Obedience; and now, 3) FAITH.
Will we, like the OLD generation of Israelites, DOUBT God’s good promises, and thereby FORFEIT our inheritance in the Promised Land, or will we, like the SECOND generation, Moses’s listeners here, 38 years later, will we TRUST God, and let His promises fill us with PEACE. I was actually torn here between THREE promptings (3 “P”s); we’re prompted to PEACE, as we REST in God’s promises.
We’re ALSO prompted to POSITIVISM, “the state or quality of being positive; definiteness; assurance.” In other words: HOPE!
But lastly, Church, and maybe MOST pertinent and potent: God’s promises prompt us to PRESS ON.
““The Lord God said to us in Horeb (Sinai), ‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain””.
Maybe He’s saying that to some of YOU this morning: “You have grieved this loss long enough; now it’s time to move on with life.”
“You have stayed at this job LONG ENOUGH; now it’s time to move on.”
“You’ve been STUCK, dwelling on the PAST, for long ENOUGH; now it’s time to move FORWARD! I’ve got a wonderful FUTURE waiting in store for you! - “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, “plans to give you a FUTURE and a HOPE”.
If you’ll TRUST me, and keep pressing on, in FAITH.
“See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession”. Did you know the boundaries of the land outlined there in v7 cover an area of about 300,000 sq. miles. You know how much land Israel occupied at the HEIGHT of her power, under David and Solomon? About 30,000 sq. miles. 1/10th of what God PROMISED them. (Skip Heitzig, “Deuteronomy 1”)
Friend: is it possible that God has TEN TIMES more blessing in store for you than you’re currently experiencing, but in order to take HOLD of it, “take POSSESSION” of the land, you’re gonna have to move forward, press on, in FAITH, trusting in God’s promises.
It’s one thing to believe God’s promises; it’s another thing to ACT on them. Faith is action; it is the “GO-ing” and “TAKING” of the promise.
CONCLUSION: So here’s your last practical application for this morning: the Bible announces that ALL of God’s good promises find their “yes and amen” in Jesus CHRIST. But the best promises - the best GIFT does you absolutely no GOOD, if you leave it sitting unwrapped underneath the Christmas tree.
Will you TAKE HOLD of Jesus this morning, and take possession of the eternally BETTER Promised Land He now leads US into: Heaven?
Let’s pray…