Genesis Through Joshua- Dueteronomy: Stipulations of the Covenant
Introduction and Reminder
Chapter 34 indicates that the book was written for the time after the death of Moses.
1:1-4 Preamble to the book
1:5-4 The Historical Prologue – God recites the blessings He had given them to call them to obedience
In this lecture we are going to be looking at chapters 4:44-26:19
Structure of 4:44-26:19
1) Introduction (4:44-49)
2) General Stipulations (5-11:32)
3) Specific Stipulations (12-26:15)
Conclusion (26:16-26:19)
1) and 2) Introduction and General Stipulations (4:44-11:32)
Introduction (4:44)
i) The Ten Commandments (5)
ii) Loyalty to God (6)
iii) Lessons from the Past (7-11)
iv) The Call to renewal and commitment (11:26-32)
i) The Ten Commandments
There are differences between the two recordings of the 10 commandments
Exodus 20:10-11 Hebrew word = ‘to remember’
Deuteronomy 5: 12 Hebrew word = ‘to keep’
Motivations for keeping the Sabbath:
Exodus 20:10-11- Keep the Sabbath because it is a creation ordinance
Duet 5:12-15 – Keep the Sabbath because you were slaves in Egypt and God brought you out of slavery
Exodus 20:12- Honour your parents so that you may live long in the land
Duet 5:16- Honour you parents so that your days may live long and that ‘it may be well with you’. Moses expands on the original command.
There are differences are down to Moses’ paraphrase.
Moses also may be applying the 10 commandments to the people in a new way specifically for the 2nd generation.
ii) Loyalty to God
Shamah (‘shaw-mah’)= ‘hear or listen’ (Duet 6:4)
6:2 Laws are in place so the people may fear God
6:4 is the call to fidelity and faithfulness. The emphasis of Deuteronomy is not the unity of the Godhead but rather an emphasis on the uniqueness of God. YHWH alone is meant to be Lord and the recipient of devotion. See 6:13.
6:5 To love God is to speak of covenant loyalty. The word obey is not to be substituted with the word love. Our love should involve affections and desires.
Matthew 22 sees a variation in this command. Mark 12:30: ‘heart, soul, mind and strength.’ These words are metonyms. The emphasis is not on the faculty of the person but that every person should worship with all that they have.
6:7 = teach the children. God does not just want one generation but all generations!
iii) Lessons from the Past (7-11:25)
The wonders performed by God in Egypt showed the Israelites that God had power to conquer the enemies of the land.
The humbling experiences had by the Israelites in the wilderness warn the people against pride.
The rebellion at Sinai warns against self-righteousness.
iv) The Call to Renewal and Commitment (11:26-32)
Moses instructs the people to perform a ceremony when they enter the land. This was obeyed in Joshua 8. The people read out the blessings and curses on Mount Gerizim and Ebal.
3) Specific Stipulations (12-26)
The stipulations in this section are disconnected and slightly random.
We’re going to look at two topics featured:
i) The topic of warfare 20:1-20
V1 Move forward and don’t be afraid
V2 the preliminaries.
V10-18 strategy
20:10-15
The Israelites was not to attack whoever they wished. The people outside the land were to be destroyed if peace is
People inside the land were to be killed.
20:19-20 = In a siege the people were to be careful not to destroy the trees.
ii) Prophets (18)
There is a prohibition against sorcery.
18:15 – a promised prophet. The word in Hebrew is a collective singular. The word is talking about a group of Prophets following Moses.
Acts 3:22-23 – Peter believes that Jesus is the great Prophet of all prophets.
The original meaning is talking about a whole group of people. Duet 18 is not talking about Christ exclusively.
18:22 = If a prophecy does not come true
The prophets sometimes gave warnings to people telling them to change and avert judgement. He would prophecy this judgement. If the people changed than the prophecy would not have been fulfilled. Therefore some words from the mouths of Prophets did not come true. This did not mean they were false prophets. (See Jonah and Shamaiah from 2 Chronicles 12)
Moses says that Israel will always have spokes persons to represent God to them.
Application
We are called to having God as the only God. Israel was to be loyal to the only one true God. The specific regulations indicate that God wants loyalty in detail. We are also not only to love God and be obedient in a general way. We must apply scripture to all of our lives to please Him.
Chapter 34 indicates that the book was written for the time after the death of Moses.
1:1-4 Preamble to the book
1:5-4 The Historical Prologue – God recites the blessings He had given them to call them to obedience
In this lecture we are going to be looking at chapters 4:44-26:19
Structure of 4:44-26:19
1) Introduction (4:44-49)
2) General Stipulations (5-11:32)
3) Specific Stipulations (12-26:15)
Conclusion (26:16-26:19)
1) and 2) Introduction and General Stipulations (4:44-11:32)
Introduction (4:44)
i) The Ten Commandments (5)
ii) Loyalty to God (6)
iii) Lessons from the Past (7-11)
iv) The Call to renewal and commitment (11:26-32)
i) The Ten Commandments
There are differences between the two recordings of the 10 commandments
Exodus 20:10-11 Hebrew word = ‘to remember’
Deuteronomy 5: 12 Hebrew word = ‘to keep’
Motivations for keeping the Sabbath:
Exodus 20:10-11- Keep the Sabbath because it is a creation ordinance
Duet 5:12-15 – Keep the Sabbath because you were slaves in Egypt and God brought you out of slavery
Exodus 20:12- Honour your parents so that you may live long in the land
Duet 5:16- Honour you parents so that your days may live long and that ‘it may be well with you’. Moses expands on the original command.
There are differences are down to Moses’ paraphrase.
Moses also may be applying the 10 commandments to the people in a new way specifically for the 2nd generation.
ii) Loyalty to God
Shamah (‘shaw-mah’)= ‘hear or listen’ (Duet 6:4)
6:2 Laws are in place so the people may fear God
6:4 is the call to fidelity and faithfulness. The emphasis of Deuteronomy is not the unity of the Godhead but rather an emphasis on the uniqueness of God. YHWH alone is meant to be Lord and the recipient of devotion. See 6:13.
6:5 To love God is to speak of covenant loyalty. The word obey is not to be substituted with the word love. Our love should involve affections and desires.
Matthew 22 sees a variation in this command. Mark 12:30: ‘heart, soul, mind and strength.’ These words are metonyms. The emphasis is not on the faculty of the person but that every person should worship with all that they have.
6:7 = teach the children. God does not just want one generation but all generations!
iii) Lessons from the Past (7-11:25)
The wonders performed by God in Egypt showed the Israelites that God had power to conquer the enemies of the land.
The humbling experiences had by the Israelites in the wilderness warn the people against pride.
The rebellion at Sinai warns against self-righteousness.
iv) The Call to Renewal and Commitment (11:26-32)
Moses instructs the people to perform a ceremony when they enter the land. This was obeyed in Joshua 8. The people read out the blessings and curses on Mount Gerizim and Ebal.
3) Specific Stipulations (12-26)
The stipulations in this section are disconnected and slightly random.
We’re going to look at two topics featured:
i) The topic of warfare 20:1-20
V1 Move forward and don’t be afraid
V2 the preliminaries.
V10-18 strategy
20:10-15
The Israelites was not to attack whoever they wished. The people outside the land were to be destroyed if peace is
People inside the land were to be killed.
20:19-20 = In a siege the people were to be careful not to destroy the trees.
ii) Prophets (18)
There is a prohibition against sorcery.
18:15 – a promised prophet. The word in Hebrew is a collective singular. The word is talking about a group of Prophets following Moses.
Acts 3:22-23 – Peter believes that Jesus is the great Prophet of all prophets.
The original meaning is talking about a whole group of people. Duet 18 is not talking about Christ exclusively.
18:22 = If a prophecy does not come true
The prophets sometimes gave warnings to people telling them to change and avert judgement. He would prophecy this judgement. If the people changed than the prophecy would not have been fulfilled. Therefore some words from the mouths of Prophets did not come true. This did not mean they were false prophets. (See Jonah and Shamaiah from 2 Chronicles 12)
Moses says that Israel will always have spokes persons to represent God to them.
Application
We are called to having God as the only God. Israel was to be loyal to the only one true God. The specific regulations indicate that God wants loyalty in detail. We are also not only to love God and be obedient in a general way. We must apply scripture to all of our lives to please Him.
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