Week 9: Deuteronomy 13-31, most quoted book

Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy more than any other book in the Hebrew Bible. As you read through Deuteronomy, it is easy to see why. The book is filled with practical guidelines for directing our lives. It also contains many prophecies about the Messiah and the future of Israel.

Deuteronomy 13 warns about persons that can perform signs and wonders but use them to lead the people away from the true God. We are warned not to believe or follow after them. This warning is especially important today as the faith of many persons is more based on experience and feelings than relying only on what the Bible says. The message is more important than the miracle.

Chapter 15 details our responsibility to care for the poor and how to treat them properly. The text progresses from the promise that “there will be no poor” if we are careful to follow God’s laws to “the poor will never cease to be in the land.” God knows of our limited ability to obey Him. So His law make provision for the poor that will exist due to disobedience to the law.

The purpose of the law is to eliminate evil from among the people (Deuteronomy 13:5) and the judges and officers are charged with pursuing justice by correctly applying the law (Deuteronomy 16:18-20). All accusations of wrongdoing were to be based on the testimony of two to three witnesses and never a single accuser. False witnesses were to be subject to the punishment that their accusations would bring on the accused if they were truly guilty – eye for eye.

The Bible teaches that no one is above the law – not even the king. The kings were directed to write out a copy of the law for themselves to ensure they knew it, understood that they are responsible to keep it and to help keep them humble (Deuteronomy 17:18-20).

In Chapter 18 Moses prophecies of a coming prophet that will be like him. That prophet will speak directly with God and will speak only the words God has given him to speak. Nine times in the Gospel of John Jesus claims to be speaking for His Father: “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak” (John 12:49). The people of His time would have understood who He was claiming to be.

The book closes with a description of the blessings for following the law and the curses for disobeying the law.

God pleads with the people to “choose life” but He tells Moses the people will fall away after he dies and they conquer the land. He describes their punishment but also promises their restoration if they will return to Him by being obedient.

We need to learn the lessons of the value of obedience, the consequences of disobedience, and our promised restoration through the coming Messiah – that prophet like Moses.