Deuteronomy (1-34)

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The name “Deuteronomy” comes from the Greek words “Deutero” meaning “second” and “Nomos” meaning “law.” So, “Deuteronomy” literally means “second law” or “repetition of the law.” Deuteronomy contains a second version of the law which was given at Mount Sinai and recorded in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. Moses delivered the repetition of the law in a series of addresses on the plains of Moab, which is to the east of the Jordan. This repetition of the law was a covenant renewal before the wars to be undertaken to occupy the Promised Land. In chapters 7 and 20 we find the instructions for fighting a holy war.

1) Israel in Deuteronomy

In Deuteronomy it is implied that Israel is in unity, by use of the word brother in referring to each other. The Hebrew word for “brother” is “אָח” (pronounced “ah”). It is used in various contexts throughout the book to refer to a literal brother, a fellow Israelite, or someone from the same tribe or nation. Israel therefore existed as one nation, people in covenant with their God Yahweh. This nation was set apart by it’s conformity with the covenant. This covenant is not just a contract, but a “living relationship that required the living commitment of both parties.”¹

‭Deuteronomy 6:5 NLT‬
“And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.” This verse iterates the people’s required commitment to the Lord and the following verse the Lord’s promise.

‭Deuteronomy 7:9 NLT‬
“Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands.” How wonderful!

Deuteronomy emphasizes the Lord’s sovereignty as he chose his people and made a covenant with them or his love for them. This covenant is the central theme of this book in the bible.

Overall, Deuteronomy portrays Israel as a people with a special relationship with God, called to live according to His will.

2) God’s name in Deuteronomy

God’s name is referred to 21 times in Deuteronomy. When the Lord’s name is used in this book it is not just a name but it is referring to the actual presence of the Lord in the “fullness of his character and covenantal commitment to those on whom he had set that name.”²

“To proclaim God’s name is to make an open declaration of his character as revealed in his actions towards his people.”³ ‭Deuteronomy 32:3 NLT‬ “I will proclaim the name of the Lord; how glorious is our God!”

3) God’s word in Deuteronomy

God’s word is a “collection of written materials by which the life of the nation would be administered.”⁴ Initially God spoke to the people but it frightened them too much and so thereafter he spoke only to Moses, who then conveyed the Lord’s messages and wrote them down.

4) Centralisation of Worship

Worshipping the Lord was always at a place of the Lord’s choosing.

‭Deuteronomy 12:5 NLT‬ “…you must seek the Lord your God at the place of worship he himself will choose from among all the tribes—the place where his name will be honored.” In Deuteronomy, the centralization of the place of worship refers to the command to have one central sanctuary for worship. This was intended to unify religious practices and prevent idolatry by ensuring that sacrifices and offerings were made only at the designated place chosen by God.

‭Deuteronomy 7:6 NLT‬  “For you are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure.”

5) Punishment and the Land in Deuteronomy.

The Lord graceously gave many gifts to his people, but this giving required a response from them. The Promised Land too was to be a gift but this meant the Israelites had to obey the Lord and keep his commands. It was a prerequisite to entering and keeping the Promised Land. The people obeyed and the Lord was generous with them. Disobedience, without repentance, on the other hand resulted in disease, disaster, death and a loss of the land. While Deuteronomy emphasizes the importance of obedience to the law, it also acknowledges the role of grace and mercy in God’s relationship with His people. Despite Israel’s repeated failures and disobedience, God’s grace and compassion are evident throughout the book. He offers forgiveness, restoration, and opportunities for repentance, demonstrating His enduring love and faithfulness to His covenant promises.

6) Connecting with the gospel message The book of Deuteronomy foreshadows several aspects of the gospel message found in the New Testament:

1. Law and Grace: While Deuteronomy emphasizes obedience to the Law, it also highlights God’s grace and mercy in providing forgiveness and redemption for those who repent and turn to Him. This theme parallels the New Testament message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, which fulfills the Law while offering grace and forgiveness to those who believe.
2. Promised Land: In Deuteronomy, the Israelites are promised a land flowing with milk and honey as their inheritance. This can be seen as a foreshadowing of the heavenly inheritance promised to believers in the New Testament, where they will dwell in the presence of God for eternity.
3. Covenant Relationship: Deuteronomy emphasizes the covenant relationship between God and His people, calling for loyalty, obedience, and love. This mirrors the New Testament concept of believers being in a covenant relationship (the new covenant) with God through Jesus Christ, characterized by faith, obedience, and love.
4. Messianic Prophecies: Some passages in Deuteronomy contain messianic prophecies, pointing forward to the coming of a future prophet or king. These prophecies find fulfillment in Jesus Christ as the ultimate prophet, priest, and king in the New Testament. ‭Deuteronomy 18:15 NLT‬ “Moses continued, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.” And ‭Deuteronomy 18:17-18 NLT‬ “Then the Lord said to me, ‘What they have said is right. I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the people everything I command him.”

The themes and messages of Deuteronomy provide a foundation for understanding the gospel message of salvation, grace, and the fulfillment of God’s promises through Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

Lord Jesus thank you for lavishing your love on your people in Deuteronomy and thank you that you also lavish your love and grace on us today. You are a tender loving father who extravagantly pours his love on his children. Amen.

Footnotes:

¹An Introduction to the Old Testament:1995 by Raymond B. Dillard and Tremper Longman III, Apollos, Leicester, p102.

²An Introduction to the Old Testament:1995 by Raymond B. Dillard and Tremper Longman III, Apollos, Leicester, p103.

³An Introduction to the Old Testament:1995 by Raymond B. Dillard and Tremper Longman III, Apollos, Leicester, p103.

⁴An Introduction to the Old Testament:1995 by Raymond B. Dillard and Tremper Longman III, Apollos, Leicester, p103.

References:

1) An Introduction to the Old Testament:1995 by Raymond B. Dillard and Tremper Longman III, Apollos, Leicester, p91-106.

2) Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

And you will be my witnesses..

(message from Sam to the Malmedy Baptist Church on 28 May 2023)

The Holy Spirit plays different roles: guide, comforter, he reminds us, transforms us, equips us, convinces us, inspires us, teaches us… The fruit of the Spirit, change of character, of mentality, is the result or consequence of his work in us.

He transforms us from glory to glory as we behold the glory of Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Even today, like many Christians throughout the history of the church from Tertullian to the present day, including Calvin, Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards and John Wesley, I believe in the continuity of the work, including the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Key figures in the history of the church believed this long before the Pentecost movements of the 20th century, so it’s not a recent or new idea that the Spirit wants to continue accompanying, convincing, inspiring, equipping and distributing gifts…

But its aim is above all for us to be witnesses.

Jesus tells us in Acts 1:8:

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Acts 1:8 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/act.1.8.ESVWhat is a witness?

A witness is simply someone who tells what they have seen and/or heard. There’s something personal about them, something they’ve experienced…it’s an extremely important role. A witness can completely change the direction of a trial, for example.

You don’t have to have a degree or understand everything to be a witness, you just have to tell what you’ve been through, what God has done in your life.

I love the story of the man who was blind from birth and whom Jesus healed. When he was questioned by the religious leaders he replied:

What is a witness?

A witness is simply someone who tells what they have seen and/or heard. There’s something personal about them, something they’ve experienced…it’s an extremely important role. A witness can completely change the direction of a trial, for example.

You don’t have to have a degree or understand everything to be a witness, you just have to tell what you’ve been through, what God has done in your life.

I love the story of the man who was blind from birth and whom Jesus healed. When he was questioned by the religious leaders he replied: “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
John 9:25 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/jhn.9.25.ESV

He doesn’t know everything, he doesn’t say he has understood everything, but he knows one thing: Jesus has changed his life, he is no longer blind. Now he sees, and that is indisputable, it is obvious.

John Newton, the composer of the famous hymn “Amazing Grace”, lived from 24 July 1725 to 21 December 1807. He was an Anglican clergyman and former captain of a British slave ship. After his religious conversion, he devoted the rest of his life to abolishing the slave trade and promoting evangelism. Newton is regarded as one of the key figures in the British abolitionist movement of the eighteenth century.

In his famous hymn, he says “I was blind now I see.”

In fact, John Newton suffered from sight problems towards the end of his life, although he did not go completely blind. When he writes: “I was blind, now I see”, he is talking about his life before he came to know Christ. Physically he could see, but he was blind because he did not know the grace of God. When he discovered that grace, his life was completely transformed and he dedicated it to serving God and bearing witness to who God is and what he has done in his life.

What about us?

We too are called to be witnesses, with the help of God’s Spirit, and to tell of God’s grace and how it has changed us.

Luke, recording Jesus’ words in Acts 1, tells us, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8 LSG
https://bible.com/fr/bible/93/act.1.8.LSG

Being witnesses begins where we are (Jerusalem). Our families, our homes, our children, our neighbours, our colleagues, our fellow students, our sports club or our hobbies…

Individually, but also as a local church, we are called to shine for Jesus by his Spirit.

Locally, and then further afield if Jesus leads us that way…perhaps even to people who are harder to love, but whom God loves too. Perhaps with different cultures or habits… Like the Samaritans, whom the Jews avoided but whom Jesus loved (see John 4 and the Samaritan woman by the well, for example).

God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.”
1 Timothy 2:4‭-‬6 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/1ti.2.4-6.ESV

To be these witnesses in this world and bring the hope of the good news, we need God’s Spirit, his wisdom, his guidance, his gifts,… By our words, by our love for each other and for those who do not yet know Jesus, and by our conduct which must reflect what we say.

Paul encourages us: “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel”
2 Timothy 1:6‭-‬10 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/2ti.1.6-10.ESV

And elsewhere he says: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Romans 1:16‭-‬17 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.1.16-17.ESV

Lord, fill us with your Spirit, renew us and equip us to be witnesses of your grace, your love and your power in this world that so desperately needs them.

Walking in His Footsteps

When we reflect on the beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12) of Mathew’s gospel, we find a counter cultural view when compared with Western society. These wise teachings provide the essence of living a blessed and righteous life. Blessed,  meaning happy or fortunate. These teachings highlight the values and attitudes that are pleasing to God and lead to true fulfillment. What is written in the word of God?

1. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Those who are humble and acknowledge their need of God’s grace and depend on him completely will experience the richness of the kingdom of heaven.

2. “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.” Those who mourn over their sins and the suffering in this world  will receive God’s presence.

3. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Those who are gentle,  humble, and submissive to the will of God instead of asserting power and dominance over others will receive His blessings and inherit the abundant blessings of the earth.

4. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Those who desire moral purity and a have deep longing for doing what is right in God’s eyes will inherit the kingdom.

5. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” God’s mercy is extended to those who demonstrate mercy to others.

6. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” A sincere undivided devotion to God.

7. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Those bringing healing and restoration to others.

8. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” When we are persecuted for our faith,  we praise God because as we share in Christ’s suffering, so too do we share in his eternal blessings.

Walking in Jesus’ footsteps is not an easy path to follow, but God provides us with the Holy Spirit, who enables us to endure all things and to be more than overcomers as we were created to be. Not only did Jesus’ death on the cross bring about reconciliation of man and God, but we human beings received the Holy Spirit who lives in us and empowers us to do the will of God.  Moreover, the Holy Spirit writes the law on our hearts, and we are able to follow Jesus and obey the word of God. These developments in the human heart signify the changeover of a person’s inner being and their alignment with God’s will and commandments.

This was prophesied about in Jeremiah 31:33 (ESV): “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” It speaks of a time when God’s law would no longer be written on tablets of stone but rather placed within the hearts of His people.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 (ESV): “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

It is through this inner change that we are empowered to walk in obedience to God’s laws.

2 Corinthians 3:3 (ESV): “And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” Here, the Apostle Paul describes Christians as letters from Christ, bearing witness to the transformative work of the Spirit in their lives. Rather than being externally written on stone, the law of God is now etched on the hearts of those who have been born again of the Spirit through faith in Christ.

Hebrews 8:10 (ESV): “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

The author of Hebrews quotes the prophecy of Jeremiah (mentioned earlier) to emphasize the new covenant established through Jesus Christ. It speaks of the intimate relationship between God and His people, where His laws become embodied and become an integral part of their being. On the inside, we are transformed by the Word and the presence of God over time. However, when we choose to follow Jesus, he clothes us in righteousness, like ‘soft raiment’ (Matt 11.8 KJV) or elegant clothing – we are given a new spiritual identity by faith (we can not earn it) which is different to Holy Spirit transformation.

These verses demonstrate the spiritual transformation brought about by God’s grace (favour, goodwill). Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we experience a change of heart and an eagerness to follow God’s commandments.

We develop a genuine love for God and a desire to obey Him from the heart. It goes beyond mere external compliance with rules; it is a change that happens within, enabling believers to walk in obedience to God’s ways.

Now, when we revisit the beatitudes, we may have a different perspective.  In our own strength, we can not accomplish the will of God, but should we choose to rely on God by the power of the Holy Spirit, then we realise that all things are possible. We can indeed be more than overcomers. Don’t cease persevering with God. He will empower you to do what you could not do in your own strength. Have a blessed day. ❤️

Happy Ascension Day

“Let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God, and believe in me. – John 14:1 (Bible)

The ascension of Christ offers Christians unshakeable hope. As they see Jesus ascending to heaven, they understand that the promise of eternal life and salvation is real and even close at hand. This gives them the assurance that their faith in God and Christ is based on truth, and that this truth is eternal. Christian hope is based on the conviction that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God, interceding for them and preparing a place in Heaven. This hope guides them through the challenges of life and gives them the certainty that, whatever difficulties they may face on earth, eternal joy awaits them beyond. Christians filled with the hope of Christ’s ascension are driven by a passionate zeal to spread the good news of salvation. They dedicate themselves to works inspired by love, share compassion and hope with those around them, show generosity and solidarity, seek to make the world a little better, all the while keeping their eyes fixed on the promise of their Saviour’s glorious return.

Happy Ascension Day to all!

If you are near Verviers, the church where we are involved has a service on Sundays at 10am and is located at Rue Lucien Defays 12 in Verviers. Website here.

You can also find a list of places and times of worship in Belgium via via this link.