Deuteronomy 13

Deuteronomy 13

Deuteronomy 13:1 “If a prophet or someone who has dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you,

Deuteronomy 13:2 and that sign or wonder he has promised you comes about, but he speaks to you, and this is what he says: ‘Let us follow other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us worship them,’

Deuteronomy 13:3 do not listen to that prophet’s words or to that dreamer. You see, Yahveh, your God, is testing you to know whether you care about Yahveh, your God, with all your heart and all your throat.

Deuteronomy 13:4 You must follow Yahveh, your God, and fear him. You must watch his commands and listen to him; you must worship him and remain faithful to him.

Deuteronomy 13:5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has urged rebellion against Yahveh your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the place of slavery, to turn you from the way Yahveh your God has commanded you to walk. You must purge the evil from you.

Deuteronomy 13:6 “If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your friend like your throat secretly entices you, and this is what he says: ‘Let us go and worship other gods’ – which neither you nor your fathers have known,

Deuteronomy 13:7 any of the gods of the peoples around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the land to the other –

Deuteronomy 13:8 do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity, and do not spare him or shield him.

Deuteronomy 13:9 Instead, you must kill him. Your hand is to be the first against him to put him to death, and then the hands of all the people.

Deuteronomy 13:10 Stone him to death for trying to turn you away from Yahveh, your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.

Deuteronomy 13:11 All Israel will hear and be afraid, and they will not do anything evil like this among you again.

Deuteronomy 13:12 “If you hear it said about one of your cities Yahveh your God is giving you to stay in, and this is what they say:

Deuteronomy 13:13 that wicked men have sprung up among you and led the inhabitants of their city astray, and this is what they said: ‘Let us go and worship other gods,’ which you have not known,

Deuteronomy 13:14 you are to inquire, investigate, and interrogate thoroughly. Notice if the report turns out to be true that this repulsive act has been done among you,

Deuteronomy 13:15 you must strike down the inhabitants of that city with the sword. Destroy everyone in it as well as its livestock with the sword.

Deuteronomy 13:16 You are to gather all its spoil in the middle of the city square and completely burn the city and all its spoil for Yahveh your God. The town is to remain a mound of ruins permanently; it is not to be rebuilt.

Deuteronomy 13:17 Nothing set apart for destruction is to remain in your hand so that Yahveh will turn from his burning anger and grant you mercy, show you compassion, and multiply you as he swore to your fathers.

Deuteronomy 13:18 This will occur if you obey Yahveh, your God, following all his commands I am giving you today and doing what is right in the sight of Yahveh, your God.

Deuteronomy 13 quotes:

“Here we have divine provision made for all eases of false teaching and false religious influence. “We all know how easily the poor human heart is led astray b}^ any thing in the shape of a sign or a wonder, and especially- when such things stand connected with religion. This is not confined to the nation of Israel ; we see it every where and at all times. An}- thing supernatural, any thing involving &S infringement of what are called the ordinary laws of nature, is almost sure to act powerfully on the human mind. A prophet rising up in the midst of the people and confirming his teaching by miracles, signs, and wonders, would be almost sure to get a healing and obtain an influence.

In this way, Satan has worked in all ages, and he will work yet more powerfully, at the end of this present age, in order to deceive and lead to their everlasting destruction those who will not hearken to the precious truth of the gospel. “The mastery of iniquity,” which has been working in the professing church for eighteen centuries, will be headed up in the person of ‘that Wicked wliom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming ; even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan, with a\l power a.nd signs and lying v:o7iders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish ; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”

Mackintosh Charles Henry. Notes on the Book of Deuteronomy. Loizeaux Bros 1880. pp. 139-140.

“The Israelites were forbidden outright to listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer of dreams (v. 4); whatever claims to validity he might appear to have on the basis of his performance of a sign or a wonder, they were not to listen to him (i.e., “obey” him). Because the Lord your God is testing you (v. 4)—the words emphasize God’s sovereignty and permission.4 The temptation would test the true disposition of the hearts of the Israelites, and while the temptation was genuinely dangerous, the overcoming of that temptation would strengthen the people in their love of God and obedience to his commandments. The sovereignty of God is also seen in another manner: the performance of a sign or wonder did not mean that the gods advocated by a false prophet or dreamer had any real power, but only that the true God would permit certain things to happen in order to test and thereby strengthen his people. Moses then stresses once again God’s basic requirements of his people: with v. 5, compare 10:12–13 and commentary.”

Craigie, Peter C.. The Book of Deuteronomy (The New International Commentary on the Old Testament) (p. 223). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.

“The temptation to worship other gods need not be culturally driven from the ‘outside’. Chapter 13 warns us that the most sinister enemy can lie ‘within’, beginning with Israel’s religious leadership (in this case the prophet), family members and close friends, and finally a whole town. Each must be resisted and shown no pity, the penalty being death itself. This only served to reveal the radical seriousness of the sin of idolatry as a total breach of covenant loyalty and love towards the Lord, who alone had saved Israel from the slavery of Egypt.”

Woods, Edward J.. Deuteronomy: An Introduction and Commentary (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries Book 5) . InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.

The DEUTERONOMY shelf in Jeff’s library.

Deuteronomy 12

Deuteronomy 12

Deuteronomy 12:1 “Be careful to watch these prescriptions and rules in the land that Yahveh, the God of your fathers, has given you to take possession of all the days you live on the land.

Deuteronomy 12:2 Destroy completely all the places where the nations that you are taking possession of worship their gods — on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.

Deuteronomy 12:3 Tear down their altars, smash their standing stones, burn their Asherah poles, cut down the carved images of their gods, and destroy their names from every place.

Deuteronomy 12:4 Don’t worship Yahveh your God this way.

Deuteronomy 12:5 Instead, turn to the place Yahveh your God chooses from all your tribes to place his name for his dwelling and go there.

Deuteronomy 12:6 You are to bring there your ascending offerings[1] and sacrifices, your tenths, and personal contributions, your solemn pledge[2] offerings and spontaneous voluntary[3] offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.

Deuteronomy 12:7 You will eat there in the presence of Yahveh your God and enjoy[4] everything you do with your household because Yahveh, your God, has empowered you.

Deuteronomy 12:8 “You are not to do as we are doing here today; everyone is doing whatever seems right in his own sight.

Deuteronomy 12:9 You see, you have not yet come into the resting place and the inheritance Yahveh your God is giving you.

Deuteronomy 12:10 When you cross the Jordan and live in the land Yahveh your God is giving you to inherit, and he gives you rest from all the enemies around you, and you live in security,

Deuteronomy 12:11 then Yahveh, your God will choose the place to have his name dwell. Bring there everything I command you: your ascending offerings, sacrifices, offerings of the tenth, personal contributions, and all your best offerings you solemnly pledge to Yahveh.

Deuteronomy 12:12 You will enjoy the face of Yahveh, your God – you, your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, and the Levite who is within your city gates since he has no portion or inheritance among you.

Deuteronomy 12:13 Be careful or else you will offer your ascending offerings in all the sacred places you see.

Deuteronomy 12:14 You must offer your ascending offerings only in the place Yahveh chooses in one of your tribes, and there you must do everything I command you.

Deuteronomy 12:15 “But whenever you want, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your city gates, according to the empowerment Yahveh your God has given you. Those who are contaminated[5] or pure[6] may eat it, as they would a gazelle or deer,

Deuteronomy 12:16 but you must not eat the blood; pour it on the land like water.

Deuteronomy 12:17 Within your city gates you may not eat the tenth of your grain, new wine, or fresh oil; the firstborn of your herd or flock; any of your solemn pledge offerings that you pledge; your spontaneous voluntary offerings; or your personal contributions.

Deuteronomy 12:18 You are to eat them in the presence of Yahveh your God at the place Yahveh your God chooses – you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, and the Levite who is within your city gates. Enjoy the face of Yahveh your God in everything you do,

Deuteronomy 12:19 and be careful or else you will neglect the Levite, as long as you live in your land.

Deuteronomy 12:20 “When Yahveh your God enlarges your territory as he has promised you, and you say, ‘I want to eat meat’ because you have a strong desire to eat meat, you may eat it whenever you want.

Deuteronomy 12:21 If the place where Yahveh your God chooses to place his name is too far from you, you may slaughter any of your herd or flock he has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat it within your city gates whenever you want.

Deuteronomy 12:22 You may certainly[7] eat it as the gazelle and deer are eaten; both the pure and the contaminated may eat it.

Deuteronomy 12:23 Only be strong enough not to eat the blood, since the blood is the personal existence, and you must not eat the life with the meat.

Deuteronomy 12:24 Do not eat blood; pour it on the land like water.

Deuteronomy 12:25 Do not eat it, so that you and your children after you will prosper, because you will be doing what is right in Yahveh’s sight.

Deuteronomy 12:26 “But you are to take the holy offerings you have and your solemn pledge offerings and go to the place Yahveh chooses.

Deuteronomy 12:27 Present the meat and blood of your ascending offerings on the altar of Yahveh your God. The blood of your other sacrifices is to be poured out beside the altar of Yahveh your God, but you may eat the meat.

Deuteronomy 12:28 Be careful to obey all these things I command you, so that you and your children after you may permanently prosper, because you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of Yahveh your God.

Deuteronomy 12:29 “When Yahveh your God eliminates the nations before you, which you are entering to take possession of, and you take possession from them and stay in their land,

Deuteronomy 12:30 be careful or else you will be ensnared by their ways after they have been exterminated before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, ‘How did these nations worship their gods? I’ll also do the same.’

Deuteronomy 12:31 You must not do the same to Yahveh your God, because they practice every repulsive act, which Yahveh hates, for their gods. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.

Deuteronomy 12:32 Be careful to do everything I command you; do not add anything to it or take anything away from it.

[1] עֹלָה= ascending offering. Deuteronomy 12:6, 11, 13, 14, 27; 27:6.

[2]נֶדֶר = slemn pledge. Deuteronomy 12:6, 11, 17, 26; 23:18, 21.

[3]נְדָבָה = spontaneous voluntary offering. Deuteronomy 12:6, 17; 16:10; 23:23.

[4]שָׂמַח = enjoy. Deuteronomy 12:7, 12, 18; 14:26; 16:11, 14; 24:5; 26:11; 27:7; 33:18.

[5]טָמֵא = (ritually) contaminated. Deuteronomy 12:15, 22; 14:7, 8, 10, 19; 15:22; 26:14.

[6]טָהוֹר = (ritually) pure. Deuteronomy 12:15, 22; 14:11, 20; 15:22; 23:10.

[7]אַךְ = certainly. Deuteronomy 12:22; 14:7; 16:15; 28:29.

Deuteronomy 12 quotes:

“He felt, to speak after the manner of men, it was of no use entering upon practical details until the grand foundation-principle of all morality was fully established in the very deepest depths of the soul. The principle is this (let us Christians apply our hearts to it) : It is man’s bounden duty to bow implicitly to the authority of the Word of God. It matters not, in the smallest degree, what that Word may enjoin, or whether we can see the reason of this, that, or the other institution. The one grand, all-important, and conclusive point is this : Has God spoken ? If He has, that is quite enough. There is no room, no need, for any further Question.”

Mackintosh Charles Henry. Notes on the Book of Deuteronomy. Loizeaux Bros 1880. p. 122.

“The years preceding, and those which would follow immediately upon the events in Moab, were not to be typical of the Israelites’ religious life in the future. Since the Exodus from Egypt, the people had no permanent resting place, and their itinerant life style meant that of necessity their forms of worship had to be adapted to the immediate situation. The stress given to this point is important, for memory played a significant role in the faith of Israel. When in the future the people remembered the wilderness years and God’s presence and aid, they should also remember that the desert did not provide the paradigm for the settled life in the promised land”

Craigie, Peter C.. The Book of Deuteronomy (The New International Commentary on the Old Testament) (p. 218). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.

The DEUTERONOMY shelf in Jeff’s library.

Deuteronomy 11

Deuteronomy 11

Deuteronomy 11:1 “Therefore, care about Yahveh your God and always watch his mandate and his prescriptions, rules, and commands.

Deuteronomy 11:2 Understand today that it is not your children who experienced or saw the discipline of Yahveh your God: His greatness, firm hand, and outstretched arm;

Deuteronomy 11:3 his signs and the works he did in Egypt to Pharaoh king of Egypt and all his land;

Deuteronomy 11:4 what he did to Egypt’s army, its horses and chariots, when he made the water of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued you, and Yahveh obliterated them;

Deuteronomy 11:5 what he did to you in the open country until you reached this place;

Deuteronomy 11:6 and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when in the middle of the whole Israelite camp, the land opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and every living thing with them.

Deuteronomy 11:7 Your own eyes have seen every great work Yahveh has done.

Deuteronomy 11:8 “Watch every command I am commanding you today, so that you may be strong enough to cross into and take possession of the land you are to take possession of,

Deuteronomy 11:9 and so that you may live long in the land Yahveh swore to your fathers to give them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Deuteronomy 11:10 You see, the land you are entering to take possession of is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated by hand as in a vegetable garden.

Deuteronomy 11:11 But the land you are entering to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys, which gets water by rain from the sky.

Deuteronomy 11:12 It is a land Yahveh your God cares for. He is always watching over it from the first[1] to the last of the year.

Deuteronomy 11:13 “If you carefully obey my commands, I am commanding you today, to care about Yahveh your God and worship him with all your heart and all your throat,

Deuteronomy 11:14 I will provide rain for your land in the proper time, the autumn and spring rains, and you will harvest your grain, new wine, and fresh oil.

Deuteronomy 11:15 I will provide grass in your fields for your livestock. You will eat and be satisfied.

Deuteronomy 11:16 Be careful, or else you will be enticed to turn aside, serve, and bow in worship to other gods.

Deuteronomy 11:17 Then Yahveh’s nose will burn at you. He will shut the sky, and there will be no rain; the land will not yield its produce, and you will be destroyed quickly from the excellent land Yahveh is giving you.

Deuteronomy 11:18 “Place these words of mine on your hearts and throats, bind them as a sign on your hands, and let them be a symbol on your foreheads.

Deuteronomy 11:19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up.

Deuteronomy 11:20 Write them on the doorposts of your house and your city gates,

Deuteronomy 11:21 so that as long as the sky is above the land, your days and those of your children may be many in the land Yahveh swore to give your fathers.

Deuteronomy 11:22 You see, if you carefully watch every one of these commands I am commanding you to follow – to care about Yahveh your God, walk in all his ways, and remain faithful to him –

Deuteronomy 11:23 Yahveh will take possession of all these nations before you, and you will take possession of nations greater and stronger than you are.

Deuteronomy 11:24 Every place the sole of your foot treads will be yours. Your territory will extend from the open country to Lebanon and from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea.

Deuteronomy 11:25 No one will be able to stand against you; Yahveh, your God, will put fear and dread of you in all the land where you set foot as he has promised you.

Deuteronomy 11:26 “Look, today I set before you an empowerment[2] and an affliction:[3]

Deuteronomy 11:27 there will be an empowerment, if you obey the commands of Yahveh your God I am commanding you today,

Deuteronomy 11:28 and an affliction, if you do not obey the commands of Yahveh your God and you turn aside from the path I command you today by following other gods you have not known.

Deuteronomy 11:29 When Yahveh your God brings you into the land you are entering to take possession of, you are to proclaim the empowerment at Mount Gerizim and the affliction at Mount Ebal.

Deuteronomy 11:30 Aren’t these mountains across the Jordan, beyond the western road in the land of the Canaanites, who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, near the oaks of Moreh?

Deuteronomy 11:31 You see, you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and take possession of the land Yahveh your God is giving you. When you take possession of it and settle in it,

Deuteronomy 11:32 be careful to do all the prescriptions and rules I set before you today.

[1]רֵאשִׁית = first. Deuteronomy 11:12; 18:4; 21:17; 26:2, 10; 33:21.

[2] בְּרָכָה = empowerment (traditionally, blessing). Deuteronomy 11:26, 27, 29; 12:15; 16:17; 23:5; 28:2, 8; 30:1, 19; 33:1, 23.

[3]קְלָלָה = affliction (traditionally, curse). Deuteronomy 11:26, 28, 29; 21:23; 23:5; 27:13; 28:15, 45; 29:27; 30:1, 19.

Deuteronomy 11 quotes:

“Nor was it merely what Jehovah had done to Egypt and to Pharaoh that the people were called to remember, but also what He had done amongst themselves. How soul-subduing the judgment upon Dathan and Abiram and their households ! How awful the thought of the earth opening her mouth and swallowing them up ! And for what ? For their rebellion against the divine appointment.

Mackintosh Charles Henry. Notes on the Book of Deuteronomy. Loizeaux Bros 1880. p. 101.

The blessing and the curse, however, are contingent upon obedience to the law, which was about to be presented to the people in its detailed specifications. Thus the passage serves not only as a conclusion to the preceding part of the address, but also as an introduction to what follows, which sets the subsequent chapters within their immediate and proper perspective.

Craigie, Peter C.. The Book of Deuteronomy (The New International Commentary on the Old Testament) (p. 212). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. Kindle Edition.

Deuteronomy 11 links:

breaking the cycle
in retrospect- relationship
informative informal education
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Friday, June 4, 2021
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Tuesday, June 6, 2023
not like Egypt
the land we are being given
The sky above – shamayim, the land beneath – erets
third string
turning aside from the path
two summits

The DEUTERONOMY shelf in Jeff’s library.

HOPE

HOPE

Ecclesiastes 9:7-10 NET.

⁷Go, eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, because God has already approved your works. ⁸ Let your clothes always be white, and do not spare precious ointment on your head.

⁹ Enjoy life with your beloved wife during all the days of your fleeting life that God has given you on earth during all your fleeting days; for that is your reward in life and in your burdensome work on earth.

¹⁰ Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, the place where you will eventually go.

The message of Solomon in his book Ecclesiastes can sometimes be challenging to learn. Some have called him a pessimist because he does not appear to give the “pie in the sky” gospel that many modern religious people preach. If you look at verse 10, it seems that Solomon is telling us that the only thing we have to look forward to is the grave. But then one wonders why he tells us, in verses 7-9, to enjoy life. He is not telling us to deny the finer things in life. He is telling us to feast on the best food and drink. To wear the best of clothing, to anoint our heads with oil, and to enjoy our marriages. The reason we should do that is that life is short.

Solomon does not seem to be following the same religious playbook as others. He looks at the same data others do, but he reaches a different conclusion. Solomon is not teaching us that life is futile. He is telling us that it can be wonderful, but also warning us that it does not last. So, he does not advocate withdrawal from life in a self-imposed monastic hermitage. Instead, he challenges all of us to engage in life and, if we are fortunate enough to have work, a good marriage, or any of the other benefits of this life, to consider them all a reward. Do not ignore those rewards. Enjoy them. Just remember that none of these things is permanent. Enjoy life’s temporary rewards, and also seek a more permanent kingdom.

Our Advent theme of hope centers on that idea as well. If we look at life under the sun, we can experience many good things, but the longer we live, the more we realize that life is temporary. It does not last. If we are looking for hope, we will have to look beyond the limits of ordinary life. Hope has to come from beyond the boundaries of this world. The message of the coming Messiah did that for the Jews during the long wait for Jesus. Their focus on the future king added an extra dimension to their lives. No matter who they were or what their personal experiences were, the vision of God’s saving King empowered them and helped them to stay focused on him.

Solomon taught that Hope is not found in retreat, but in engagement.

He didn’t tell them to waste their lives. He taught them the opposite approach. They were to invest their lives in today, as he did fully. Solomon was not just a thinker. He was a doer. He built things. He collected things. He was a Renaissance man long before the Renaissance. He modeled enlightenment long before the Enlightenment era.

There would be many seasons and eras that would ignore Solomon’s advice. Even many who sought to obey the commands of Christ would seek to do so by shutting themselves off from the world. They were not wrong. Our Lord did teach us to deny ourselves, take up the cross, and follow him. But Solomon taught us that we can put our hope in God’s future world while still being active and relevant in this one.

The prophets told us to wait on the Lord. Isaiah said, “I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him” (8:14). He spoke of a day when the Lord would 0swallow up death forever; and wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth. He wrote that it will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation” (25:8-9).

Isaiah’s point is that God would bring about the renewal and restoration of all things. He encouraged his readers to actively wait on God to do what only he could do.

Solomon taught us that we can wait on the Lord without retreating from life. The New Testament tells us about a couple of old-timers who had done that. They had long and fruitful lives, and then, when they were older, they met Jesus.

Solomon taught that Hope is not found in death, but in God.

The Israelites needed to be reminded of their history. We share that history. There are two of those reminders that Solomon mentioned in today’s text. In verse seven, he said that God had already approved of their works. This does not mean that God overlooked their sins. We have plenty of biblical proof of that. But what Solomon was talking about was the everyday life-work of people. He encouraged his readers to see God not as an enemy, but as a loving Father.

Solomon ended this book with these words: “Having heard everything, I have reached this conclusion: Fear God and keep his commandments, because this is the whole duty of man. For God will evaluate every deed, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (12:13-14). Here’s the good and the bad news. The bad news is that we can fail. We can fail others and forget God. But the good news is that we can also obey God. King Solomon needed to remind his people that repentance is possible. No matter how many times they forgot their creator, they could always return to him. When they did, they would find their heavenly Father right there, where they left him, ready to forgive and reconcile with them.

We need to remember this, too. There’s a song that always reminds me of this when I hear it. The song is called “When God Ran.”

“Almighty God

The Great I Am

Immoveable Rock

Omnipotent, Powerful

Awesome Lord

Victorious Warrior

Commanding King of Kings

Mighty Conqueror

And the only time

The only time I ever saw Him run

Was when He ran to me

Took me in His arms, held my head to His chest

Said “My son’s come home again”

Lifted my face, wiped the tears from my eyes

With forgiveness in His voice

He said “Son, do you know I still love you?”

It caught me by surprise when God ran

The day I left home

I knew I’d broken His heart

I wondered then

If things could ever be the same

But one night

I remembered His love for me

And down that dusty road

Ahead I could see

It’s the only time

The only time I ever saw Him run

When He ran to me

Took me in His arms, held my head to His chest

Said “My son’s come home again”

Lifted my face, wiped the tears from my eyes

With forgiveness in His voice

He said “Son, do you know I still love you?”

It caught me by surprise

It brought me to my knees

When God ran.”

The second truth about God that Solomon reminds us of here is that he has given us lives to enjoy, and we should enjoy them. In verse 9, he says, “Enjoy life with your beloved wife during all the days of your fleeting life that God has given you on earth during all your fleeting days; for that is your reward in life and in your burdensome work on earth.” Here, again, we see the good and the bad. The bad news is that life is fleeting and can be burdensome. The good news is that we don’t have to live it alone. There are others whom god has given us to make life enjoyable. Praise God for that.

So, Solomon’s wisdom does not tell us to seek death, but to embrace life.

The ultimate message of hope is Christ.

Solomon does not mention the Messiah, but he surely knew about this promise from his own history. The prophecies spoke of another son of David whose coming would bring restoration to the universe. This season of Advent helps us remember that the hope of the ages began being fulfilled when our Lord came to us as a baby in Bethlehem. We join the angels and the shepherds and proclaim the good news of his first Advent. We also sing the second stanza of that song when we proclaim the promise of hs second coming. Both advents are fulfillments of God’s promise and humanity’s most profound hope. Just as the Israelites waited on the Lord to fulfill his promise, so we wait in anticipation of our Lord’s coming today. We hear him speak his final words in Scripture in the 20^th verse of the 22^nd chapter of Revelation. He says, “Yes, I am coming soon!” John replies, Amen! Come, Lord Jesus! It would not be a bad idea for us to hang on to those words. No matter what we face today, we can constantly be reminded of our hope by listening to our Savior say, “Yes, I am coming soon!” And when we hear it, we can reply, Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

Deuteronomy 10

Deuteronomy 10

Deuteronomy 10:1 “Yahveh said to me at that time, ‘Cut two stone tablets like the first ones and come to me on the mountain and make a wooden ark.

Deuteronomy 10:2 I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets you broke, and you are to place them in the ark.’

Deuteronomy 10:3 So I made an ark of acacia wood, cut two stone tablets like the first ones, and climbed the mountain with the two tablets in my hand.

Deuteronomy 10:4 Then on the day of the collected assembly, Yahveh wrote on the tablets what had been written previously, the Ten Words that he had spoken to you on the mountain from the fire. Yahveh gave them to me,

Deuteronomy 10:5 and I went back down the mountain and placed the tablets in the ark I had made. And they have remained there, as Yahveh commanded me.”

Deuteronomy 10:6 The Israelites traveled from Beeroth Bene-jaakan to Moserah. Aaron died and was buried there, and Eleazar, his son, became a priest in his place.

Deuteronomy 10:7 They traveled from there to Gudgodah and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land with streams of water.

Deuteronomy 10:8 “At that time Yahveh separated the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of Yahveh’s covenant, to stand before Yahveh to minister to[1] him, and to pronounce empowerments in his name, as it is today.

Deuteronomy 10:9 For this reason, Levi does not have a portion or inheritance like his brothers; Yahveh is his inheritance, as Yahveh your God told him.

Deuteronomy 10:10 “I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights like the first time. Yahveh also listened to me on this occasion; he agreed not to annihilate you.

Deuteronomy 10:11 Then Yahveh said to me, ‘Get up. Continue your journey ahead of the people, so that they may enter and take possession of the land I swore to give their fathers.’

Deuteronomy 10:12 “And now, Israel, what does Yahveh your God ask of you except to fear Yahveh your God by walking in all his ways, to care about him, and to worship Yahveh your God with all your heart and all your throat?

Deuteronomy 10:13 Watch Yahveh’s commands and prescriptions I am giving you today, for your own good.

Deuteronomy 10:14 Notice the skies, indeed the highest sky, belong to Yahveh your God, as does the land and everything in it.

Deuteronomy 10:15 Yet Yahveh had his heart set on your fathers and cared about them. He chose their descendants after them– he chose you out of all the peoples, as it is today.

Deuteronomy 10:16 Therefore, circumcise your hearts and don’t be stiff-necked any longer.

Deuteronomy 10:17 You see, Yahveh your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awe-inspiring God, showing no partiality and taking no “gift”.[2]

Deuteronomy 10:18 He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and cares abouts the guest, giving him food and clothing.

Deuteronomy 10:19 You are also to care about the guest, since you were guests in the land of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 10:20 You are to fear Yahveh your God and worship him. Remain faithful to him and take oaths in his name.

Deuteronomy 10:21 He is your praise and he is your God, who has done for you these great and awe-inspiring works your eyes have seen.

Deuteronomy 10:22 Your fathers went down to Egypt, seventy throats in all, and now Yahveh your God has placed you here – numerous, like the stars of the sky.

[1] שָׁרָת = minister. Deuteronomy 10:8; 17:12; 18:5, 7; 21:5.

[2] שֹׁחַד = gift (bribe). Deuteronomy 10:17; 16:19; 27:25.

Deuteronomy 10 quotes:

Moses ascended the mountain with the prepared tablets and God wrote upon them the same substance as the original writing,5 namely, the ten words (v. 4). The “ten words” are the Ten Commandments: see 4:13 and commentary. Then the Lord gave them to me (v. 4b)—more is involved than simply that another copy of the law was provided because the first two tablets unfortunately got broken. The shattering of the first tablets symbolized the breaking of the covenant relationship because of Israel’s sin in making the calf. The second writing of the law and the gift of the tablets is indicative of the graciousness of God and the response of God to the intercession of Moses. Moses then returned down the mountain and placed the two newly inscribed tablets in the ark, as he had been commanded (v.5). This recollection of the renewal of the relationship in Horeb emphasized to the Israelites, who were engaged in a further renewing of the covenant in Moab, that the graciousness of God was to be seen in their very survival to that present moment as the covenant family of God.

Craigie Peter C. The Book of Deuteronomy. Eerdmans 1976. pp. 199-200.

“Will any one presume to say that we have here a mere barien repetition of the facts recorded in Exodus? Certainly no one who reverently believes in the divine inspiration of the Pentateuch.

No, reader, the tenth of Deuteronom}’ fills a niche and does a work entirely its own. In it the lawgiver holds lip to the hearts of the people past scenes and circumstances in such a way as to rivet them upon the very tablets of the soul. He allows them to hear the conversation between Jehovah and himself; he tells them what took place during those mysterious forty days u[)on that cloud-capped mountain ; lie lets them hear Jehovah’s reference to the broken tables — the apt and forcible expression of the utter worthlessness of man’s covenant. For why were those tables broken ? Because they had shamefully failed. Those shattered fragments told the humiliating tale of their hoi)eless ruin on the ground of the law. All was gone. Sucli was the obvious meaning of the fact. It was striking, impressive, unmistakable. Like a broken pillar over a grave, which tells at a glance that the i)rop and stay of the family lies mouldering beneath. There is no need of any inscription, for no human language could speak with such eloquence to the heait as that most expressive emblem. So the broken tables were calculated to convey to the heart of Israel the tremendous fact that, so far as their covenant was concerned, they were utterly ruined — hopelessly undone ; they were complete bankrupts on the score of righteousness.

But then that second set of tables ! What of them? Thank God, they tell a different tale altogether. Thev vvere not broken, God took care of them.”

Mackintosh Charles Henry. Notes on the Book of Deuteronomy. Loizeaux Bros 1880. pp. 80-81.

The DEUTERONOMY shelf in Jeff’s library.

Month: December 2025

Deuteronomy 13

Deuteronomy 13

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Deuteronomy 12

Deuteronomy 12

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Deuteronomy 11

Deuteronomy 11

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HOPE

Deuteronomy 10

Deuteronomy 10

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