Week 13, March 24–30: Deut 8–27; Ps 37–41

• Sun 3/24: Deut 8–10      
• Mon 3/25: Deut 11–13, Psalm 37
• Tue 3/26: Deut 14–16, Psalm 38
• Wed 3/27: Deut 17–19, Psalm 39
• Thu 3/28: Deut 20–22, Psalm 40
• Fri 3/29: Deut 23–24, Psalm 41
• Sat 3/30: Deut 25–27    

Throughout Deuteronomy, the message to the Israelites is that the way to gain the Lord’s favor is to obey him and follow his instructions. The opposite is true too. Failure to keep his commandments would result in serious consequences. One of many statements to this effect occurs in chapter 11.

“And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full. Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the LORD is giving you.” (Deut. 11:13–17)

As Christian readers, this could sound like it’s almost exactly the opposite of the glorious gospel of grace we read in the NT. We are not able to earn God’s favor by our obedience or good works. It is his unmerited grace that saves us, that gains us God’s favor. We receive forgiveness and Christ’s righteousness granted to our account as a gift, earned not by us and our efforts but through Jesus’ death on the cross.

So then, is the message of Deuteronomy a message that contradicts the gospel? Short answer: No!

We have to wait until the final chapters of Deuteronomy, which we’ll read next week, to get the fuller picture the message of Deuteronomy, and the whole Pentateuch. We’ll see there that the Pentateuch anticipates the New Covenant and the NT, and it is in fact not contrary to the gospel at all.

For now, as we read through this central portion of Deuteronomy, let’s consider a few principles that will be helpful to keep in mind. These are some of the ways the laws of the Pentateuch are instructive and profitable as God’s inspired word to us as Christians. (2 Tim. 3:16–17)

First, they reveal God’s character. They show us who God is—his holiness and justice, his love and grace. In chapter 10, it says that God is impartial, he is just and he executes his justice for the sojourner. In the same way, Israel is commanded to love the sojourner among them, and in this way, they live in accordance with God’s loving character. (10:17–20). God’s people are to act in a way that resembles their God.

For the Israelites, for the nations around them, and for us today as well, the law demonstrates who God is. The laws of the OT don’t apply to us in the same way they did to the Israelites, but like the Israelites, we are to meditate on God’s word, his instructions, including the Pentateuch and its story and its laws. As we do, we grow in our knowledge of our holy and loving God.

Second, the laws of the Pentateuch are instructive for us because they help us see what kind of life is pleasing to God. Again, we don’t live under the law the way the Israelites did. We are under the New Covenant. The specific commandments of the Pentateuch don’t apply to us in the same way. But the principles underlying those laws still hold true. God has not changed and the things he commanded are based on principles rooted in his unchanging character. We can look to the laws in Deuteronomy as windows into the eternal principles they are grounded in, as helpful guides for how to live a wise, godly life as Christians.

Just one example to illustrate this: This week we’ll read that they were to build parapets, or railings, on their roofs when they build houses in the Land (Deut. 22:8). The principle underlying this law is that human life is to be valued. They were to value life by building a railing to keep people from falling off the roof. While our roofs may not be the kind that would have parapets, it’s still just as important for us today to value human life, made in God’s image, and to take measures to act in accordance with that principle.

God’s commands in Deuteronomy help us better understand the principles for loving God and living in a way that pleases him. As you read through these chapters, be thinking about how the laws reveal God’s character and guide is in principles for living a godly life.

And the third and most important value the law provides for us today is that it points ahead to Jesus. The law presents a standard for holy living. And this standard is ultimately impossible to fulfill without God’s grace and help. The law requires holiness. But if there’s one thing that comes through clearly in Deuteronomy, in the OT as a whole, and throughout all of humanity’s history, it’s that no one can live up to the righteous requirements of the law. In this way, the law looks forward to something better. This aspect of the Pentateuch’s message will culminate in Moses’ final words to Israel at the end of Deuteronomy, which we’ll read next week.