Deuteronomy 1:1 -3:22
Devarim, “Words”
A few months ago, I felt compelled to gain a deeper understanding of the context of one of the verses in these first few chapters of Deuteronomy. In order to gain the context, I needed to find where Moses began the train of thought leading into the verse, and where he moved on to another point. As I read, I came to realize something that I had never seen before. The entire book of Deuteronomy is the record of one sermon given by Moses. It was what he felt most important to share with the people of Israel before they entered into the promised land. Not only that, it was the last words he knew he would ever get to share with them, and with the world. It is his last record of anything and everything.
In chapter 1, verse 5 we read, “Moses undertook to expound this law, saying,…..
From that point on, the rest of the book of Deuteronomy is just this, Moses expounding on the law of God. Last week during one of my studies, the group presenting the study shared that Deuteronomy is a repeat of Numbers when “the Law” was first given by God. But, true to typical form, I saw something different. There is no doubt that Moses does go back through and repeats the vast majority of the laws, statutes, and ordinances that God had given the Israeli people through him and as recorded in the book of Numbers. But, although Deuteronomy is the same, it is entirely different.
Later in last week's study, the group presenting pointed out that someday, Yeshua will return to earth, and when He does, He will set up His kingdom here and He too will teach Torah. The difference will be that when He comes back to teach, He will teach the deeper understandings that are so spiritual that mankind has not been able to comprehend or understand.
As they made this point, I immediately saw something that brought what I was sensing into a place of greater understanding. Moses was re-stating “the Law”. But he wasn’t just restating what he had already stated. He was expounding on, or emphasizing, aspects of “the Law” that were not emphasized when first presented in Numbers. Maybe he chose this time to share a deeper understanding of “the Law” with Israel because it is what they would need as they embarked on this new season in their journey with God. Maybe, he chose this time because he knew this would be the last opportunity to share these things. Maybe, this is his record of what he came to know and understand about “the Law” through his own 40-year experience in the desert.
What I have come to believe I see, is a progressive revelation of “the Law”. As the nation of Israel is progressing through our maturity to becoming the “bride of Christ”, God is slowly giving us deeper and more complex understandings of what has always been. Included within “the Law” is the definitions of what is holy, and what is unholy. Included within “the Law” is the definitions of what is clean, and what is unclean. Included within “the Law” are the directions for living a life of life, and an understanding of what it is to live a life of death. In other words, “the Law” as presented in Numbers is an instruction book for Godly living. This is God’s “Law” for His children and what He expects us to strive toward in our pursuit of life. But, the story doesn’t end here. Within “the Law”, as given in Numbers, there are words and phrases, and a way of presentation that point to something deeper, something that is not exactly stated.
Now comes Deuteronomy and what we find is God having Moses give the children of Israel a very different aspect of the same “Law” that He had him give 40 years earlier. Although the vast majority of the ticks and tacks of “the Law” are restated, the vast majority of Deuteronomy is overshadowed by an understanding of the relationship that God has with us. The emphasis is what God will do if we honor “the Law”, and what God will do if we dishonor “the Law”. Here is the point. This interaction is also a part of “the Law”. It always was, and it always will be. There is a “Law” that governs God’s interactions with us and this “Law of interaction” is fully intertwined with “the Law” we read in numbers. THEY CANNOT BE SEPARATED. Just like maintaining our driving privileges or losing them is as much a part of the driving laws as stopping at stop signs, so too are the blessings and curses to the ticks and tacks. I believe this is what Moses was attempting to convey in Deuteronomy. The concept of “fearing the Lord” is repeated 15 times throughout the book. At the same time the book is laced with the understanding that God chose us because of His righteousness and not ours and the theme of His never giving up on us, and His unending grace, is repeated time and time again. It is here that the blessing and the curse is given and repeated with examples through a reflection back on the previous 40-year journey and a look ahead to what will come in the future.
As I allowed myself to consider the concept that each time “the Law” was given it included the fullness of all of what it is, I began to see something quite beautiful. What I believe I began to see is that each time different aspects are emphasized, it is fully based on the nation’s maturing process. From what I have been able to gather, “the Law” has been given 3 times, and will be given once more.
In the first giving, just like parents would do with a very young child, the ticks and tacks of how to live were emphasized. Just like parents would do with that same child a few years later, the ways of life were re-stated, but this time an emphasis was put on how the parents will interact with the child if the ways of life are and are not honored. Does this mean that when the child was younger the parents didn’t interact with the child based on their willingness to honor or dishonor the ways of life presented by the parents? Of course not. In the initial stating of the parent’s expectations the interaction could only be implied because of the immaturity of the child.
As we know, about 2,000 years ago God sent His only begotten son to earth to dwell amongst us. He too is the Word. But, again He emphasized a different aspect of “the Law”. As Yeshua walked the earth, teaching, sharing, and just being, He demonstrated another aspect of what has always been. Through the stories of His life and the writings of His teachings we come to realize who we are capable of being when we are “alive in Christ”. In this third “giving of the Law” (the life of Christ), we are given an emphasis on the Love of God, that as His children we are not to see ourselves as His slaves, but His friends, and we are shown the power available to us. We are given the images of what it is to have life and what it is to live in death. We are given a greater understanding of unclean things and a deeper understanding of the spiritual laws that surround our relationship with God. These “spiritual laws” define what is available to us as His children yet, just like the “laws of interaction”, are fully intertwined within “the Law” provided in Numbers and again CAN NOT BE SEPARATED. It is all “one Law”.
When He returns He again will teach and exemplify Torah. However, when He returns, He will be returning to a bride that has been given a new heart. She will have a heart that will finally be able to see all that she has never been able to comprehend. Sadly, this is on us. Just like everything that He expounded on the first time He was here had always been there for our understanding, so too will be the case when He returns and expounds on new and deeper things. This is my pursuit in life. To know and understand that which has always been. This new heart that God tells us He will give is the same heart that He told us to have, to make for ourselves, and to allow Him to mold ours into. Time and time again through the prophets He tells us that it is possible. Will you come alongside me and believe that it is? Can we believe together and allow Him to start presenting now the same Torah He will share when He returns? The Word tells us that the only thing limiting us is our hearts. Let’s pray together that we let our hearts be changed into hearts that are fully for Him, for His Word, and for His Torah. Let’s become the bride we were called to be. Let’s not be complacent or rebellious. Can we allow ourselves to see where our hearts are hard to those ticks and tacks, where we lack trust, and where we allow our lack of understanding to dictate what we believe and what we don’t? Let’s pray together that our prejudices be removed, that our eyes grow ever more observant, and that our minds become flooded with the truth of what has always been. Amen amen.
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