Deuteronomy

Theme 1 : The need to remember what the Lord has done and to be obedient to him. Deuteronomy chapters 1-3 tell about the desert wanderings and how the Lord was faithful to them and how the nation needed to be obedient to him. Deuteronomy 4 warns against seeking idols and calls the people to remember the faithfulness of God in his provision for their needs in the desert and to be obedient to him. Deuteronomy 5 tells of the covenant relationship between the Lord and the people noting the 10 commandments which speak of his work in history and call the people to remember what he has done and out of this to love and obey him. Deuteronomy 6 tells the people of Israel to make tassels with the words of the Lord on them so that they will continually remember him. Deuteronomy 7 commands the people to drive out the people in the land they are receiving so that they will not worship idols and forget Yahweh. Deuteronomy 8 reminds the Israelites not to forget God when they are enjoying the wealth of the land. Deuteronomy 9 discusses the golden calf story and serves as a reminder to the nation not to make gods but to remain faithful to the Lord. Deuterium 10 describes how the people out of their love for the Lord obeyed him and gave of their wealth to build the Ark of the Covenant as a place for the Lord to be with them. Deuteronomy 11 reminds the Israelites to be faithful to obey the Lord and warns them that they will be cursed for disobedience and blessed for obedience. Prosperity comes from God alone.

Theme 2: Being a follower of the Lord involves living justly and removing the things in my life which hinder my relationship with God. Deuteronomy 12 discusses not following idols found in the land God is giving to Israel. Deuteronomy 13 speaks of destroying idols and killing those in the community who worship them. Deuteronomy 14 speaks of obeying the ritual law given to them by the Lord and eating only clean animals so they will be holy. Deuteronomy 15 tells about how they were to forgive debts and free slaves every 7 years in order to show compassion to each other and to remember the blessings of God. Deuteronomy 16 describes the Passover celebration to remember God delivering them from bondage in Egypt, the Festival of Weeks to remember the Lord’s goodness during the harvest and the Festival of Booths to remember the Lord’s provision for them in the wilderness after he freed them from slavery in Egypt and brought them to the land he gave them. Deuteronomy 17 describes the rules for choosing a King and tells how the King is to rule by following the Lord and reading the Law of the Lord daily. Deuteronomy 18 discusses providing provision to the Levities who have no land but serve the Lord as his priests. Deuteronomy 19 tells of the justice system and speaks of places of refuge for those who killed accidently such as his hitting a person with a hammer while constructing a building to flee too to avoid death. Deuteronomy 20 speaks of going to war and destroying all the idols found in the places they conquered. Deuteronomy 21 speaks of stoning a rebellious child who is disobedient and will not follow the Lord. Deuteronomy 22 speaks of not taking what a poor person requires to live as collateral for a loan and having compassion on others. Deuteronomy 23 describes removing the Ammonites and Moabites from the community so they will not cause the Israelites to abandon the Lord and worship idols.

Theme 3 : The Lord acts justly and as followers of him are to act justly providing for those in need and following his commands. Deuteronomy 24 speaks of being generous to those in need as a way of showing gratitude to the Lord. Deuteronomy 25 tells the Israelites to let God be the judge and allow him to avenge wrongs. Deuteronomy 26 speaks of sharing wealth with those in need and showing goodness to others as a way of showing devotion to Yahweh. Deuteronomy 27 tells of the curses that the nation will experience for disobeying the Lord their God. Deuteronomy 28 tells of the rich blessings the people will receive for obeying the Lord their God. Deuteronomy 29 speaks of the utter destruction and exile the nation will experience if they turn from following the Lord. Deuteronomy 30 tells how the Lord would restore the nation and return the people to the land after judgment and exile. Deuteronomy 31 tells of how God told Moses that the people would eventually go into exile for their continual neglect of his covenant with them. Deuteronomy 32 and 33 tell of Moses blessing the people and reminding them how the Lord loved them and wanted to bless them. Deuteronomy 34 concludes the book and tells of the initiate relationship the Lord had with Moses. It tells how Moses who was not able to enter the promised land because of his disobedience was able to see the land the Lord was giving to Israel.