Author: Moses
Date: ca. 1,400 BC
Contents
This 5th book of Moses is a kind of bridge between the earliest events in the existence of the people of Israel and the world and what follows after Israel enters the GOD promised land of Canaan. The book has a double perspective. It looks back at all that happened until Israel moves into this land and it looks forward to what life will be like in the land. It also tells how Moses, the great leader of the nation of Israel, ends his leadership and Joshua takes over. This book is to a large extent a repetition of laws and rules that the people received in the desert and which have already been mentioned in previous books of De Wet. The purpose of the minor changes is to put these precepts more in the light of the stay in the promised land of Canaan.
Theological Themes
Three themes emerge in this book:
Theme 1. The importance of memory. It is important that you look to the past. You should avoid the mistakes that were once made. And you should keep doing the right things you did.
Theme 2. The importance of the laws of GOD are emphasized. These are not imposed on you as a burden, but given as a help. GOD’s creation is orderly and your life also needs order. Obeying GOD is wise. He gives us made and therefore He knows what is best for us. GOD shows us how best to live.
Theme 3. The knowledge about and the worship of GOD is brought forward. There is one GOD who rules the heavens and the earth. That GOD must be worshipped. The best way to do that is by paying homage to GOD. Immediately after this follows the service of one’s neighbor. Worship and service are inseparable according to this book.
Main features
1. Review of Israel’s Desert Journeys (1:1-4:43)
2. Repetition of Laws (4:44-26-19),
3. Acceptance of GOD and His Covenant (27:1-30:20),
4. The Last Days of Moses (31:1-34:12).
