45. Beginner Bible Course: The book of Deuteronomy

EPSODE 45  The simple Bible overview of…THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY – MOSES’ 2.5 HOUR SERMON TO GENERATION 2

If I were were stranded...

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You're on a desert Island and could only have one book of the old Testament with me. I know what book I choose. It'd be the book of Deuteronomy. I don't think I'm alone. When we get to the new Testament, we find an incident where Jesus is tempted by Satan in the wilderness three times, Jesus pulls out a passage from the old Testament for ammunition guests. We're all three passages. Our from the book of Deuteronomy in the course I teach at school, students are not required to read Deuteronomy that's tragic, but there's a reason Deuteronomy is essentially a repeat of Genesis through numbers. In fact, the book Deuteronomy literally means second law poised on the East side of the Jordan river and staring at the West side of the promised land, the Juul as it were their inheritance Moses sits generation two down for a little chat Moses will soon die, and he wants to make sure generation to understands what God has done.

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The laws he's given and how to go all in on God. One writer, Eugene Peterson calls. Deuteronomy the longest sermon in the Bible. I listened to it this week and it was about two and a half hours. Trust me, it's a great investment of time. Even reading or listening straight through it, perhaps, especially reading or listening straight through it. Imagine with me for a moment. You're at Thanksgiving, it's late afternoon. You see your grandpa sitting in the living room. He smiles at you and waves, and then you have an idea. I can watch the second football game or I can go talk to grandpa who knows. Maybe he won't even be here in the next Thanksgiving.

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And so you wander into the living room flopped down, across from grandpa and say, Hey grandpa, tell me about the good old days and what you've learned for the next two and a half hours. Grandpa talks about his journey, the memories, the big events, what he's learned from them. He's sharp as a razor, his voice is soft and tender. You sense? This is what wisdom looks like. That's Deuteronomy Moses is 120 years old. He's sharp. He sits down with his kids generation two and has the two and a half hour talk with them about his journey memories, what he's learned, what they should learn and what wisdom looks like most scholars believe Genesis through Deuteronomy was written down by Moses this wise old sharp seasoned shepherd.

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00:02:33

This book or scroll will keep coming up over and over again. As we proceed through the old Testament, a wise old boy down South said to his grandson, once son, there's three kinds of ways people do learn, and there's learning from a book learning. There's learning from people learning. And then there's learning from peeing on the electric fence for yourself. Deuteronomy contains all three book learn and what Moses wrote in the book of the law, people listening, learning what Moses the Shepard, the one who walked with God and led them through the wilderness has learned applying God's rules to the journey. And then there's some of that P and on the fence for yourself, learning Moses even had a couple of those kinds of learning in chapters.

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00:03:20

One through four of Deuteronomy Moses shares his memories of the journey. He rehearses for generation to the events that many of them never saw. Only heard from their parents in chapters five through 12 Moses talks about a loving God and urges them to go all in on loving him, obeying him and passing onto their children. Generation three, this loving God and the great things he has done for them in chapters 13 through 26, Moses repeats the family rules. But now with 40 years of experience under his belt, living out those rules, he adds more color and detail.

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Remember, this was the guy who sat outside all day long judging between the disputes of the people. This is the man who went to the tent of meeting and met with God, quote, face to face unquote, to receive instructions from the Lord. As he read through Deuteronomy much will be deja VU to rules in Exodus, Leviticus, and numbers, but much we'll go a layer deeper as Moses sermon. And Deuteronomy concludes he warns them strongly against peeing on the fence for themselves. We're told why he knows these kids and he fears greatly that they will act corruptly, turn away, do evil and provoke God to discipline, perhaps almost desperate.

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And knowing that sometimes the song is more remembered than the sermon Moses writes and teaches them all a song. History's first rock song. That's what it's about. God, our rock, the refrains of God, the rock ring out through this song. The rock of our salvation, the rock who birthed us the rock of our refuge, a rock song for God's generation too, at the conclusion of Moses sermon. And Deuteronomy he does what grandpa would probably do with you in the living room, especially with grandpa had a hunch. This would be his last Thanksgiving together. He loves on you. He sends you away with a sense of blessing.

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00:05:29

I want to ask you, when you look back, what would you give for that two and a half hours of time? And the living room with grandpa Deuteronomy concludes with the description of the death of Moses clearly in the book of the law. Moses didn't write this most think has replacement. Joshua probably did for the humblest man, whoever lived the man who delivered the nation of Israel out of Egypt and kept them intact through the desert. The man who spoke face to face with God, Moses death and funeral are surprisingly understated. God calls him up on Mount Nebo, a Hill high enough to see the West side of the promised land to cross the Jordan.

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00:06:11

And then the text says he died. Apparently heaven's bellboys buried him. Nobody even knows where his grave is. I recently had someone asked me don't you think it was a little wrong? That Moses could never see the promised land just because of that strike the rock thing. That seems terribly unfair. I smiled and said, Oh, but he did get to enter the West side of the promised land. Then I take them to the new Testament. Three of the gospels tell us one day Jesus goes up on to a mountain, their on the mountain, God star treks in two old Testament figures to meet Jesus.

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One is the prophet. Elijah will meet him shortly. The other Moses their on the mountain. They discuss what Jesus was about to do. Go to Jerusalem and die on a cross. As I've already mentioned, Christians, believe Jesus is the Stomper promised in the old Testament. Do you think of God had given Moses a choice? Hey, Moses you can either cross over to the West side of the promised land with generation to go and see this land or else star Trek you in and meet the Stomper. The one through whom all nations will be blessed, which deal do you think Moses would take? I tell my students that same story.

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00:07:32

And then I say, God is so gracious. He says, Moses will never enter the promised land. And then he reconsiders and star Trek some in not only to see the land, but to meet and talk with the one. The entire old Testament points to generation two is now under the leadership of Joshua and ploys to go in to the West side of the promised land we'll Moses book learning and people listening stick. Will they love God with everything they've got an obey, his commandments, or will they learn as Moses spheres? The hard way that question is answered in the next 12 books of the old Testament, we'll move from the law to the first history book, Joshua in our next wordpicture.