Deuteronomy – Back to the Basics

Deuteronomy is much like a sermon that restates and summarizes the laws already mentioned in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. The laws have not changed but the audience has. The older generation died off and the next generation is now ready to enter the Promised Land. Moses calls together the entire Israelite camp and begins to preach to them.

Moses urges the Israelite to take God’s commandment with the utmost seriousness, as if they are a matter of life and death! There are at least seven basic principles repeated throughout Deuteronomy that Moses wants the Israelites to understand to avoid following the footsteps of their parents and grandparents. We, as Americans, are very much like the Israelites. Much of the last few generations in America have compromised God’s commands for comfort and overlooked obedience for fear of being offensive. We have abandoned our Creator and forgotten who He is and the results have been devastating! Our kids do not know right from wrong and we seem to be the only ones that care. What can we possibly do about this? How can we undo the past when the present circumstance seems to be so set against us? The answer is simple; it is time to get back to the basics. It is time that we understand and teach and model these seven principles in our lives for our children and our neighbors.

1. God is Spirit, unique, one-of-a-kind and all-powerful (4:12-16, 35, 39; 6:4; 7:9; 10:17).

2. God’s relationship to His people is based on personal love (4:37; 7:13; 33:3).

3. Our lives ought to be all about loving God (6:5; 7:8; 10:12, 15; 11:1, 13, 22; 13:3; 19:9; 30:6, 16, 20).

4. Our greatest weakness is similar to Israel’s greatest weakness; idolatry. We must stop placing ourselves and others as more important that God (4:9, 6:14, 15; 7:4; 8:19, 20; 11:16, 17; 13:2–12; 30:17, 18).

5. The Israelites were the ambassadors or representatives of God and so are we. Therefore we must present accurately by living holy as He is holy and teaching our children to do the same (11:18-28).

6. Obedience to God’s laws would be greatly rewarded but disobedience would be greatly punished (Chapters 28–30).

7. Remember the Lord and do not forget Him or His words. Do not try to replace His truth for some kind of ‘new’ truth or ‘your’ own truth (6:12, 8:11-19, 25:19).

Questions:

Which principle do you think our partners model the best and why?

Which principle do you think we are weakest in and why?

What are some simple ways of strengthening our weakness and becoming more holy?