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TRANSCRIPT
3. The Law. Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Hebrews 7-‐9. Prepared by Dr. G. Steve Kinnard
The Law as God’s gift. Gospel verses Grace. Lessons from the Wilderness.
Study questions:
• What predictions in Deuteronomy point to the future path of Israel? • How is Christ prefigured in the Law? • How does the Law impact Christians today? • What lessons can be learned from studying the sacrificial system of Israel?
Memory: Numbers 6:24-‐26, “The Lord bless you
and keep you; 25the Lord make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you; 26the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.” ’
Deuteronomy 6:4,
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
29:29, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.”
Leviticus
1. Title:
The Hebrew title comes from the first word of the book, ויקרא (wayyiqre, “and he called”). The title “Leviticus,” comes from the Septuagint (Levitikon) by way of the Latin Vulgate and means, “pertaining to the Levites.”
2. Author: Perhaps Moses, though this claim is not mentioned in the book.
3. Date: c. 1439 or 1259. At Sinai. Occurs within a year while the children of Israel are camped at Mt. Sinai.
4. Major Themes:
Two main themes: holiness and worship. Israel is a holy nation that has been set apart for the worship of Yahweh. The nation approaches God through worship.
1. Leviticus is a continuation of Exodus. The first verse (1:1) and final verse (27:34) of the book demonstrate that the book continues with the historical setting of the ending of Exodus.
Leviticus 1:1, “The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting. He said.”
How does this tie into Exodus? (1) Same location, the Tent of Meeting. (2) “Yahweh calls to Moses.” Harkens back to the both the burning bush and to Sinai.
Leviticus 27:34, “These are the commands the Lord gave Moses on Mount Sinai for the Israelites.”
2. Holiness. God is a holy God. He expects his people to be a holy people. “Holy” means separate. The laws help God’s people to be holy/separate from the world. Having the laws given at Sinai gives them an added stamp of authority.
3. Leviticus is a type of Priest’s Handbook. It is an attempt to guide the priest who offers sacrifices in the way the sacrifices ought to be offered. The priest handles the blood and fat around internal organs (this is holy part).
4. Law should follow grace. For example, God delivered his people, then he gave them the law. Leviticus follows Exodus. Exodus 20-40 follows Exodus 1-19. Grace and deliverance precede the giving of the law. We obey the law because we know the God giving his law is our deliverer/savior.
5. Genre/Literary Style.
Torah, which means “instruction,” “teaching,” “the way.” Also, know as law. Better thought of as “instruction.” The book of Leviticus is a continuation of the second half of Exodus, which contains the law of Moses.
Types of Law
There are two types of law in the OT.
(1) Apodictic. This is a universal command. “You shall not commit adultery.” “You shall not murder.”
(2) Casuistic. This is conditional. Ex. 23:4-‐5, “4 “If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him. 5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it.”
Both were used as instruction and a guideline for all law. Not every situation was found in a law. But the ones that were given were consulted to determine what should be done in other cases. The judge at the city gates would determine what was just based on these laws.
As we read the laws, we can ask what we can learn about God from these laws. He cares about justice, community, worship, righteousness, marriage, and purity. God is concerned about the right treatment of people, animals, and property.
Exodus gives civic laws (in general). Leviticus gives ritual laws (in general). Thus, even though we don’t follow the laws as they are given in the OT, there are lessons that can be learned from the OT. For example, the tithe. This is a great principle that was commanded in the OT, but isn’t directly commanded in the NT. The principle is found in the NT. In fact, Jesus emphasizes that his community should be willing to give beyond the tithe.
613 commands in the Pentateuch. The cultic and ritual laws were fulfilled in Christ.
6. Outline/Structure:
Bifid division of Leviticus:
Chapters 1-‐17 focuses on the priesthood. How to love God.
Chapters 18-‐27 focuses on being a holy nation. How to love your neighbor.
Six sections of Leviticus:
(1) Leviticus 1-7. Instructions for Sacrifice. Five types of sacrifices: burnt, fellowship, sin, guilt offerings, grain.
Most of the sacrifices were given to God, but they were also given back to the people. You offer part of the offering to God and consume the rest. You aren’t feeding God (as in some pagan cultures). You are honoring God, worshipping God, and participating with God in worship.
The exception is the burnt offering. This was given to God and him alone. The burnt offering is the most like Jesus’ offering on the cross. Most like what we do when we sacrifice our lives to God and are buried in baptism.
(2) Leviticus 8-10. Beginnings of Worship Focusing On The Priesthood.
Chapter 8: Rewritten Priest’s Code.
Chapter 9: Aaron’s beginning word.
Chapter 10: Nadab and Abihu.
(3) Leviticus 11-15. Regulations on Cultic Purity.
God is holy; therefore, his people must be holy. Many of the food laws were given to protect God’s people. Don’t drink blood, don’t eat pig, don’t eat lobster. Why? If not cooked properly, you would die.
(4) Leviticus 16. Day of Atonement.
(5) Leviticus 17-26. The Holiness Code.
The laws of holiness. Leviticus described what it means to be holy or set apart as a people of God. God proclaimed himself to Israel and acted Israel’s for Israel’s benefit so they would follow his revelation. This was seen in the phrase “I am Yahweh your God.” God gave them freedom and a chance to respond in life with a covenant relationship with Him. The Torah was a treasure. Israel celebrated the Law. See Ps. 119 to confirm this.
We tend to see the OT in the light of first century Judaism and especially as seen by Paul a Pharisee who had to look at the Torah as a burden to keep. So when he saw grace, he couldn’t follow the Torah any longer. However, this is not the OT concept of Torah. Pre-‐Exilic law was celebrated. It was law as liberation. What is your concept of law?
(6) Leviticus 27. Dedicatory gifts. Gifts of Dedication.
The books ends with “personal devotional acts” which would draw the worshipper closer to God.
Randall Bailey writes,
Any structural markers observed in the book must take note of the logical narrative-‐like flow describing the prerequisites necessary to move from an unorganized theocracy to one with fully functioning cult. This “first things first” structure produces a document that begins with definitions necessary for the ritual (ch. 1) and ends with rules for the personal devotional acts known as vows (ch. 27).1
7. Teaching/Commentary:
You see the serious of God’s Holiness in the story of Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10. This is the story of Nadab and Abihu. Let’s read part of the story.
Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to his command. 2 So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. 3 Moses then said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord spoke of when he said:
“ ‘Among those who approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored.’ ”
Aaron remained silent.
4 Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and said to them, “Come here; carry your cousins outside the camp, away from the front of the sanctuary.” 5 So they came and carried them, still in their tunics, outside the camp, as Moses ordered.
6 Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, “Do not let your hair become unkempt, and do not tear your clothes, or you will die and the Lord will be angry with the whole community. But your relatives, all the house of Israel, may mourn for those the Lord has destroyed by fire. 7 Do not leave the entrance to the Tent of Meeting or you will die, because the Lord’s anointing oil is on you.” So they did as Moses said.
1 Randall Bailey, “Pentateuch,” in Old Testament Introduction, ed. Terry Briley, Paul Kissling, and Mark Mangano, The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press Pub., 2005), 148.
Here Nadab and Abihu offer “illicit fire” to Yahweh. Yahweh is holy. His people are to respect his holiness. God is to be honored both in worship and in our daily lives.
There is a NT story that is close to this one. The story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. They disrespect the holiness of God. They die instantly in the presence of God for disrespecting his holiness.
Let’s make sure that we recognize and respond to the holiness of God.
Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! Author: Reginald Heber (1826) Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee; holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty, God in three persons, blessed Trinity! 2 Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee, casting down their golden crowns around the crystal sea; cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee, who was and are and evermore shall be. 3 Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee, though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see, only thou art holy; there is none beside thee, perfect in power, in love, and purity. 4 Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty! All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth and sky and sea; holy, holy, holy! merciful and mighty, God in three persons, blessed Trinity!
8. NT Association:
Read Hebrews 7-‐9.
Hebrews 7:26-‐27, “Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.”
Romans 12:1-‐2, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spirituala act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,
a Or reasonable
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
A Prayer:
Dear Father,
As I was reading through the first few chapters of Leviticus, I saw the specific design and detail of all the sacrifices that you, O God, required.
(1) The Whole-‐Burnt Offering.
(2) The Fellowship Offering.
(3) The Sin Offering.
(4) The Guilt Offering.
(5) The Grain Offering.
The sacrifices applied to everyone, to the priest, the individual, the leader, and the community. When I explore and examine all that went into these sacrifices, I am amazed at all the thought, preparation, and details of these offerings.
Yet, here I am, a living sacrifice who offers up my life daily for you. Do I contemplate the details of my daily, living sacrifice? Do I prepare my mind, my heart, my soul each day for sacrifice? Do I put the thought that I need to put into the sacrifice in the way I ought?
I’m grateful for the ultimate sacrifice—Jesus—who sacrificed his life for my sins. He did what the blood of bulls and goats could not do.
I pray that I can live up to his gift. I pray that I can live up to his call. I pray that I can pour out my life for people around me—my wife, my daughter, my son, my son-‐in-‐law, my extended family, my ministry, my friends, my community—that I can be a living sacrifice for them.
Help me, Father to place my self, my thought, my dreams, my desires, my ambition, my stuff, my ego, my pride, my selfishness, my sin, my greed, my negativity, my impatience, my laziness, my weakness, my strength, my whole heart, my soul, my mind, my all, the whole of me, my personhood, my personality, my person, all of me, every bit of me, on the altar,
Your altar,
And sacrifice my self
Every day as a living sacrifice for you.
Through Jesus, the ultimate example of sacrifice,
Amen
9. Commentaries:
Harley, John. Leviticus. Word Biblical Commentary. 1992.
Harrison, R. K. Tyndale Old Testament Commentary. InterVarsity Press, 1980.
Milgrom, Jacob. Anchor Bible. 3 Volumes. Doubleday, 1991, 2000, 2001.
Rooker, Mark. New American Commentary. Broadman & Holman, 2000.
Ross, Allen. Holiness to the Lord: A guide to the Exposition of Leviticus. Baker, 2002.
Wenham, Gordon J. The Book of Leviticus. New International Commentary of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: 1979.
Numbers
1. Title:
Title comes from the Vulgate’s, Numeri. This is a translation of the Septuagint’s title, Arthmoi. The first word of the Hebrew Bible, במדבר )bamidbār(, “in the wilderness” places the text in the Sinai tradition.
2. Author:
Moses. Numbers 33:2 reads, “At the Lord’s command Moses recorded the stages in their journey. This is their journey by stages.” Moses records different events along the wilderness journey.
3. Date:
During the 40 year wilderness wanderings. Either, 1439-‐1400 BC or 1259-‐1220 BC, depending on when you date the exodus.
4. Major Themes:
(1) The Israelites as a rebellious, stiff-‐necked or hard-‐hearted is a central motif in the wilderness. Will the Israelites trust God and have faith?
(2) Not only are they rebellious, stiff-‐necked, and hard-‐hearted, but they also complain and murmur. They aren’t content.
(3) God is Present with His People.
Numbers 9:15-18, On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire. 16 That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it,
and at night it looked like fire. 17 Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. 18 At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp.
5. Genre/Literary Style.
Narrative.
6. Outline/Structure:
Outline. Here is a three-section geographic outline of Numbers:
(1) 1:1-10:10. The Wilderness of Sinai. Additional information of Sinai. All the information of Sinai was to come in 20 days. Numbers 1-‐10:10 is a continuation of Ex. 19:1. The Sinai Experience.
1-‐4. The census. 3-‐4. Matter pertinent to the Levites. Aaronide Preisthood. Zadokite Preisthood
5-‐6. Various laws and regulations. 6. The Nazartie Law. Nazar = to vow a vow. It could be a vow for life or a certain time.
7-‐10. Additional regulations.
(2) 10:11-20:13. Israel in the Wilderness north of Sinai and west of the Arabah. 10:11 was to have taken 38 years.
(3) 20:14-36:13. East of the Arabah (the Jordan Valley). Israel at Edom and Moab ready for entry to the Promised Land. This was to have taken 5 months.
22-‐24. Balaam.
25. Baal Peor.
7. Teaching/Commentary:
(1) The Wilderness Wanderings. When Moses told the people about the wilderness wanderings he said, “I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news
is: we have to make 40 laps in the wilderness before we enter the promised land. The bad news is: Each lap is going to take a year.”
Major critical problem is stated by Randall Bailey, “The charge that the original seventy people entering Egypt would produce 603,550 fighting men, yielding a total population of approximately 2.5 to 3 million people by the end of the Egyptian captivity, raises the most serious threat to the integrity of the text.”2 What is the answer to this threat?
Could be the way we translate the word Eleph. This word can mean “thousand,” but it has other meanings. It can also mean “herd” as in a herd of cattle. It can mean “clan” or “family.” In a military setting, it can mean a “fighting unit” or “company.” This would be more like 20 to 50 people instead of 1,000 people. This would make the group tens of thousands instead of millions.
Bailey quoting Harrison writes, “The view that “numerical computations rest upon some basis of reality which was quite familiar to the ancients, but which is unknown to modern scholars,” allows the numbers to be used as “symbols of relative power, triumph, importance, and the like,” for they are “not meant to be understood either strictly literally or as extant in a corrupt textual form,”20 and this view most accurately describes our present knowledge—the precise value of the numbers remain a mystery.”3
(2) Aaronic Benediction.
Chapter 6 is considered to be the jewel of the book of Numbers. This is the Aaronic benediction 6:24-‐27. The concept of the blessing of God is found here. There are 6 verbs in this passage. All are packed with theological meaning. The dominant human figure is Moses, but Aaron is given great significance here which causes him and his priesthood to gain weight in the eyes of the people.
Numbers 6:22-27:
22 The Lord said to Moses, 23 “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
24“‘“The Lord bless you and keep you;
25the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
2 Randall Bailey, “Pentateuch,” in Old Testament Introduction, ed. Terry Briley, Paul Kissling, and Mark Mangano, The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press Pub., 2005), 160. 20 Harrison, Introduction, p. 631. 3 Randall Bailey, “Pentateuch,” in Old Testament Introduction, ed. Terry Briley, Paul Kissling, and Mark Mangano, The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin, MO: College Press Pub., 2005), 162.
26the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” ’
27 “So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
(3) Israel as a rebellious, stubborn, stiffnecked people. A people that complains and murmurs against God.
Small Sampling.
(a). Complain about food. God sends manna. Numbers 11.
Here we see Israel as a rebellious people. This is a theme that will continue on throughout the OT. Will God’s people have faith and trust in God? Or, will they rebel from God? The people complain. They complain for food. So God sends them food. He sent manna. Literally mean, “What’s it?” “What is it?”
(b) But the people weren’t happy with just manna. They complained. Numbers 11:4-6, “The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”
Rebellion motif is important. Israel murmurs and complains in the wilderness.
(c) Numbers 11 & 12: Miriam and Aaron complain of Moses’ leadership.
(d) Numbers 13. Spies spy out the land and complain of giants. We are like grasshoppers to them.
(e) Numbers 16. Rebellion of Korah. This was a civil revolt. Rebellion of Dathan and Abiram. This was a religious revolt. Each revolt is a challenge Moses’ authority. It is also a challenge to God’s authority.
(f) Culminates with the sin of Moses in. Numbers 20:2-13. In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried.
Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. 3 They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! 4 Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here? 5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”
6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. 7 The Lord said to Moses, 8 “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather
the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”
9 So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. 10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”
13 These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and where he showed himself holy among them.
At the root of all the bickering passages is a lack of faith. Faith means trust. When people turn from God, they don’t trust him. Therefore they doubt God. They test him. They complain and murmur.
Moses gets frustrated. He looses his cool. He strikes the rock instead of speaking to it.
Compare the attitude of the people here with Psalm 25:
Psalm 25
Of David.
1 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; 2 in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. 3 No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse. 4 Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; 5 guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. 6 Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. 7 Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord. 8 Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. 9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. 10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant. 11 For the sake of your name, O Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great. 12 Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him. 13 He will spend his days in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land. 14 The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them. 15 My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare. 16 Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. 17 The troubles of my heart have multiplied; free me from my anguish. 18 Look upon my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins. 19 See how my enemies have increased and how fiercely they hate me! 20 Guard my life and rescue me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. 21 May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you. 22 Redeem Israel, O God, from all their troubles! 8. NT Associations:
Hebrews 3:7-14
7 So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, 9 where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did. 10 That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ 11 So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”
12 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.
9. Commentaries:
Ashley, Timothy. Numbers. New International Commentary of the Old Testament. Eerdmans, 1993.
Cole, R. Dennis. New American Commentary. Broadman & Holman, 2000.
Harrison, R. K. Numbers. Baker, 1993.
Milgrom, Jacob. Jewish Publication Society Torah Commentary. Jewish Publication Society, 1990.
Wenham, Gordon J. Numbers. Tyndale Old Testament Commentary. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1981.
Deuteronomy 1. Title:
In the Hebrew Bible, the title for the book is taken from the opening words of the book, ēlleh) אלה הדברים haddəәbārîm), which means, “these are the words.” This refers to the words of Moses. The book gives the last words/speeches of Moses.
The title in the English Bible, Deuteronomy, comes from the Latin deuteronomii, which means, “second law.” Deuteronomy is a second giving of the law of God to his people.
Traditionally, the book has been seen as the last will and testament of Moses as he gives three last speeches to the Hebrews before they enter the Promised Land. Some consider this as Moses’ last address to the Hebrew people. It would have taken only a few days.
2. Author: Moses? Anonymous author?
3. Date: 1400? or 1220?
4. Major Themes:
(1) God loves his people and demonstrates that love through his covenant with his people. The God who acts.
(2) “God loves you.” Therefore, “love each other (your neighbor).”
(3) What is the significance of Deuteronomy?
Brevard Childs writes?
The book instructs future Israel on the manner in which past tradition is properly made alive in fresh commitment to the God of the covenant.
First, Deuteronomy emphasizes that God’s covenant is not tied to past history, but is still offered to all people. …
Secondly, the promise of God to his people still lies in the future. Israel’s existence is characterized by an election, but this only can anticipate in faith the possession of her heritage.
Thirdly, Deuteronomy teaches that the law demands a response of commitment. The writer of the book strives to inculcate the law into the will of his people. …
Finally, the ability to summarize the law in terms of loving God with heart, soul and mind is a major check against all forms of legalism.4
5. Genre/Literary Style. Narrative and law.
6. Outline/Structure:
(1) 1-‐4. Introduction. Prologue. After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, the children of Israel on are the plains of Moab about to enter the Promised Land. Moses recapitulates the past in order to set up the present: a new generation of people about to enter a new land with a new leader. Moses talks to them about the law and the importance of keeping the law. Deuteronomy = Second law.
(2) 5-‐11. Moses again reviews the past in order to appeal to appeal to the people to keep the covenant.
(3) 12-‐26. The law.
(4) 27-‐30. Appeal to follow the law. It is a matter of life and death (30:15).
(5) 31-‐34. Concluding Chapters.
31. The imminent death of Moses. Picks Joshua as his successor. Rewrites the law and places it beside the ark.
32. Concluding Song.
33. Blessings of Moses.
34. Report of the death of Moses.
4 Childs, p. 224.
7. Teaching/Commentary:
Deuteronomy 6:4,
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
This is known as the שמע ישראל Shema Ysrael, from the first two words “Hear, O Israel.” Of course many of us know this verse as the greatest commandment as defined by Jesus when he was asked, “What is the greatest commandment.”
The Shema became a central tenant of the Jewish religion. Israel was built on an idea. Ideas are important. Ideas are things. The idea here is “Yahweh our God, Yahweh is one.” This expresses monotheism, but beyond that it expresses relationship. You could think of this as “Yahweh is our God and he is one.” Or, it could be “Yahweh is our God, and he is unique.” Or, you could think of it as “Yahweh is our God, and we don’t have another God except Yahweh.” He has no consort. He is not part of a pantheon of gods. But also, he is our one God. We don’t have another one. And, we won’t represent him with an idol or an image.
Since he is our one God, love him. Love him with all you have. Love him with an all consuming love.
Love him with all your heart—לבב. Levav. Heart is often equated with the mind. I’ve also seen it described as the “seat of the emotions.” It’s really the center of everything. Before you learn human anatomy, you think of you heart as being in the center of your chest cavity. So love from your inside to your outside.
Love him with all your Your .נפש nephesh, your being, life, essence, breath, self, appetite. It’s often translated as soul, but that expresses a duality, something other than you. It is your “being,” your “personhood,” your “personality,” your “self,” your “life,” your whole person, who you are as a being and a person. All of that which makes you you. Love God with all of that.
Love him will all your .מאד Meod. All your might, strength, capacity, excess. Self-‐discipline is needed. It not just about emotion or intellect. You have to blend the two and put some might, strength, and discipline in the mix.
Duane L. Christensen writes, “The pairing of ,לבב “heart,” and ,נפש “being, soul-‐life,” suggests that a distinction of some sort is being made between mental and emotional energy and activity. In terms of modern depth psychology, we would say that our love for God is to embrace the whole of our mind, both conscious and
unconscious. Self-‐discipline is required, in that we are to love God with all our might (מאד) as well.”5
Teach your children this. Impress them with this. Inculcate them in this idea. Diligently teach them this concept, principle. Repeatedly teach them this idea. In the morning, during the day, at night, all the time. If you are sitting, talk about it. If you are walking talk about it. Keep it in front of them all the time. If this is who you are (your heart, being, might) then you can’t help but share about this idea.
Write it all around you so that you will be reminded of it. Verse 8, reads, “Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.” This became phylacteries. Write them on your doorpost. This became the mezuzah. The idea is to keep this idea in front of you all the time, and in front of your children all the time. Remind yourself and your family about this. Put it on your computer screen. Put it on your phone screen. Mostly walk with it, live with it, eat with it, sleep with it. Let it consume you. A consuming love for God should consume you. It should be this ever-‐intrusive thought that grabs hold of you and doesn’t let you go.
Shema Yisrael,
שמע ישראל יהוה אלהינו יהוה אחד
ובכל־מאדך ובכל־נפשך ואהבת את יהוה אלהיך בכל־לבבך Hear, Listen up Israel, Yahweh our God, Yahweh is one
Love Yahweh, your God, with the whole of your heart, the whole of your being, and the whole of your strength.
8. NT Associations:
Deuteronomy is quoted 195 times in the NT. Follows quotes from the Psalms, Isaiah, Genesis, and Exodus (in that order).
9. Commentaries:
Christensen, Duane. Deuteronomy 1-21:9. Word Bible Commentary. Revised Edition. Thomas Nelson, 2001.
_______. Deuteronomy 21:10-34:12. . Word Bible Commentary. Revised Edition. Thomas Nelson, 2002.
5 Duane L. Christensen, Deuteronomy 1–21:9, vol. 6A, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2001), 143.
Craigie, P. C. The Book of Deuteronomy. New International Commentary of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976.
Merrill, Eugene. New American Commentary. Broadman & Holman, 1996.
McConville, J. Gordon. Deuteronomy. Apollos. InterVarsity Press, 2002.
Wright, Christopher. New International Bible Commentary on the Old Testament. Hendrickson, 1996.