DEUTERONOMY THE FIFTH BOOK OF MOSES

Deuteronomy identifies the book’s content with Moses: “These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel” (1:1). “Moses wrote this law and delivered it to the priests” (31:9) may well refer to his writing of the entire book as well. Moses’ name appears nearly forty times in the volume, and the book clearly reflects Moses’ personality. The first person pronoun used freely throughout its pages further supports Mosaic authorship.

Both Jewish and Samaritan tradition are unanimous in identifying Moses as the author. Christ expressly acknowledges Moses as the author of the book’s content as do Peter and Stephen (Matt. 19:7, 8; Mark 10:3, 4; Acts 3:22; 7:37).

The last chapter, which contains the account of Moses’ death, was probably written by his intimate friend Joshua.

Moses and the Israelites began the Exodus from Egypt about 1440 b.c. They arrived on the plains of Moab where Deuteronomy was likely written about 1400 b.c. on the occasion of the speaking of its content to the people “in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month,” of the fortieth year of their wilderness wandering (1:3). This was just before Moses’ death and Joshua’s leading of the Israelites into Canaan. Deuteronomy therefore covers less than a two-month period, which includes the thirty days of mourning for Moses’ death.

Moses was now 120 years old and the Promised Land lay ahead. He had led the Israelites out of captivity from Egypt and through the wilderness to receive God’s Law at Mount Sinai. Because of Israel’s disobedience in refusing to enter the land of Canaan, which God had promised them, they had wandered aimlessly in the desert for thirty-eight years. Now they were camped on the eastern border of Canaan, in the valley opposite Beth Peor in the uplands of Moab overlooking Jericho and the plain of Jordan. As the Israelites prepared to enter the Promised Land, they faced a turning point in their history—new foes, new temptations, and new leadership. Moses called the people together to remind them of the Lord’s faithfulness and to challenge them to be faithful and obedient to their God as they possessed the Promised Land.

Deuteronomy is a series of farewell addresses by Moses to the Israelites as he prepares to die and as they make ready to enter the Promised Land. Although God had forbidden him to enter Canaan, Moses experiences a strong sense of anticipation for the people. What God had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob centuries before is about to come true. Deuteronomy is the proclamation of a second chance for Israel. Israel’s lack of faith and disloyalty had prevented the conquest of Canaan earlier. The majority of the people with Moses at the threshold of the Promised Land had not witnessed the scenes at Sinai; they had been born and reared in the wilderness. Thus Moses exhorts them thirty-five times to “go in and possess” the land. Thirty-four times he reminds them that this is the land that the Lord is giving them.

As this new generation of Israelites poised to enter the Promised Land, Moses vividly recalls with them God’s faithfulness throughout their history and reminds them of their unique covenant relationship with the Lord. Moses realizes that the Israelites’ greatest temptation in the new land will be to forsake God and to take up the worship of the Canaanite idols. Thus he is concerned for the perpetuation of the covenant relationship. To prepare the nation for life in the new land, Moses expounds the commandments and statutes God had given in His covenant. Obedience to God is equated with life, blessing, health, and prosperity. Disobedience is equated with death, cursing, disease, and poverty. The covenant showed God’s children the way to live in fellowship with Him and with each other. So powerful is Deuteronomy’s message that it is quoted over eighty times in the New Testament.

Deuteronomy is characterized by a strong sense of urgency. Even to the contemporary reader the challenge is decisive: “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” (30:19). The decision is ours.

Deuteronomy teaches that the relation of God to His people is far more than law. The indispensable conditions of our covenant relationship with God are obedience and loyalty. Our love, affection, and devotion to the Lord must be the true foundation of all our actions. Loyalty to God is the essence of true piety and holiness. Success, victory, prosperity, and happiness all depend upon our obedience to the Father. The book is a plea for our obedience to God based upon the motives of love and fear. “What does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes” (10:12, 13).

Moses was the first to prophesy the coming of the Messiah, a Prophet like Moses himself (18:15). Notably, Moses is the only person with whom Jesus ever compared Himself. “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” (John 5:46, 47). Jesus often quoted from Deuteronomy. When asked to name the most important commandment, He responded with Deuteronomy 6:5. When confronted by Satan at His temptation, He quoted exclusively from Deuteronomy (8:3; 6:16; 6:13; and 10:20). How significant that Christ, who was perfectly obedient to the Father, even unto death, used this book on obedience to demonstrate His submission to the Father’s will.

The unifying theme throughout the Bible is the redemptive activity of God. Deuteronomy reminds the people that the Spirit of God had been with them from the time of their deliverance from Egypt to the present and that He would continue to guide and protect them if only they would be obedient to the stipulations of the covenant.

Second Peter 1:21 clearly describes Moses, “holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” As a spokesman for God, Moses demonstrated the presence of the Holy Spirit as he prophesied to the people. Several of his most significant prophecies included the coming of the Messiah (18:15), the dispersion of Israel (30:1), the repentance (30:2) and restoration (30:5) of Israel, Israel’s future national restoration and conversion (30:5, 6), and Israel’s national prosperity (30:9).

May Adonai, the God of your ancestors, increase you yet a thousandfold and bless you, as he has promised you! (Deuteronomy 1:11 CJB)

~New Spirit-Filled Life Bible

BE A PRAYING PARENT

I thank the Lord for all He is doing in you and our family even in the midst of the storms we have encountered. He will be with us, even when we can not see Him, through our highs and lows if we just press in with prayer at all times, and seek Him through them all. What a Mighty God we serve, and Oh, how He loves us with such a Love, we just can not comprehend. He gives us Glimpses of Heaven through His Holy Spirit, our comforter, and His mighty Angels when we call on them. ~MOM 

A Parents Prayer for Their Children

Father, in the name of Jesus, I affirm Your Word over my Children. I commit them to You and delight myself also in You. I thank You that You deliver them out of rebellion into right relationship with us, their parents. Father, the first commandment with a promise is to the child who obeys their parents in the Lord. You said that all will be well with them and they will live long on the earth. I affirm this promise on behalf of my children, asking You to give them an obedient spirit that they may honor (esteem and value as precious) their father and mother.

Father, forgive me for mistakes made out of my own unresolved hurts or selfishness, which may have caused my children hurt. I release the anointing that is upon Jesus to bind up and heal our parents’ and children’s broken hearts. Give us the ability to understand and forgive one another as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven us. Thank You for the Holy Spirit Who leads us into all truth and corrects erroneous perceptions about past or present situations.

Thank You for teaching us to listen to each other and giving my children an ear that hears admonition, for then they will be called wise. I affirm that I will speak excellent and princely things and the opening of my lips shall be for right things. Father, I commit to train and teach my children in the way that they are to go, and when my children are old they will not depart from sound doctrine and teaching, but will follow it all the days of their lives. In the name of Jesus, I command rebellion to be far from the heart of my children and confess that they willing and obedient, free to enjoy the reward of Your promises. Each child shall be peaceful bringing peace to others.

Father, according to Your Word we have been given the ministry of reconciliation, and I release this ministry and the word of reconciliation into this family situation. I refuse to provoke or irritate or fret my children; I will not be hard on them lest they become discouraged, feeling inferior and frustrated. I will not break their spirit, in the name of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit. Father, I forgive my children for the wrongs they have done and stand in the gap until each child comes to their senses and escapes out of the snare of the enemy (rebellion). Thank You for watching over Your Word to perform it, turning and reconciling the heart of the rebellious child to the parents and the hearts of the parents to the child. Thank You for bringing my children back into a healthy relationship with You and with me that our lives might glorify You! Amen.

Scripture References: Psalm 55:12-14; Proverbs 8:6,7; 1 Peter 5:7; Proverbs 22:6; Psalm 37:4; Isaiah 1:19; John 14:6; Isaiah 54:13; Ephesians 6:1-3; 2 Corinthians 5:18,19; 1 John 1:9; Colossians 3:21; Isaiah 61:1; John 20:23; John 16:13; Ezekial 22:30; Proverbs 15:31; Jeremiah 1:12; Proverbs 13:1; Malachi 4:6  ~Prayers that Avail Much

THE SEVEN LAMP STANDS

Revelation 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; 

Revelation 1:20  The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

The seven golden lampstands represent the churches, which are lights in a dark world.

Preach the truth as God commands.  Preach the gospel to the poor; heal the brokenhearted; preach deliverance to the captives; and recovering of sight to the blind; set at liberty them that are bruised; preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

The central message of the Revelation is that “the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!” (19:6). This theme has been validated in history by the victory of the Lamb who is “Lord of lords and King of kings” (17:14).

The Revelation is a cosmic pageant—an elaborate, colorful series of tableaux, accompanied and interpreted by celestial speakers and singers. The spoken word is elevated prose, more poetic than our translations indicate. The music is similar to a cantata. Repeatedly, themes are introduced, later reintroduced, combined with other themes, and developed.

The entire message is “signified” (1:1). This is a key to the understanding of the visions, all of which contain figurative language pointing to the spiritual realities in and behind historical experience. Signs and symbols are essential because spiritual truth and unseen reality must always be communicated to human beings through their senses. Symbols point to what is ultimately indescribable. For example, the account of the demonic locusts from the Abyss (9:1–12) creates a vivid, horrifying impression, even though the minute details are not intended to be interpreted.

Under the inspiration of the Spirit and the Old Testament, John had no doubt been reflecting on the horrifying events occurring both in Rome and Jerusalem when he was given “the prophecy” of what was impending—the intensification of the spiritual warfare confronting the church (1:3) perpetrated by an anti-Christian state and numerous anti-Christian religions. The purpose of this message was to provide pastoral encouragement to persecuted Christians by comforting, challenging, and proclaiming the sure and certain Christian hope, together with the assurance that in Christ they were sharing in the sovereign God’s method of totally overcoming the forces of evil in all its manifestations. Revelation also gives a forecast of history, including its apocalyptic conclusion, while giving an evangelistic appeal to those who are presently living in the kingdom of darkness to enter the Kingdom of Light (22:17).

Yet, those who follow the Lamb are involved in a continuing spiritual conflict, and Revelation thus provides deeper insight into the nature and tactics of the Enemy (Eph. 6:10–12). The Dragon, frustrated by his defeat at the Cross and the consequent restraints placed upon his activity, and desperate to thwart the purposes of God before his inevitable doom, develops a counterfeit trinity “to make war” on the saints (12:17). The first “beast” or monster symbolizes the reality of anti-Christian government and political power (13:1–10, 13); and the second, anti-Christian religion, philosophy, and ideology (13:11–17). Together they produce the ultimately deceptive and seductive anti-Christian secular society, commerce, and culture, the harlot Babylon (chs. 17; 18), composed of those “who dwell on earth.” These thus bear the “mark” of the monster, and their names are not registered in “the Lamb’s Book of Life.” The Dragon continually delegates his restricted power and authority to the monsters and their followers in order to deceive and discourage anyone from God’s creative-redemptive purpose.

God has created the orders of community, that is, marriage and the family, economic activity, government and the state (see Rom. 13:1–7; 1 Tim. 2:1, 2). Satan, unable to create anything, tempts others to distort and misuse what God has created. Christians must discern whether a government is functioning under divine authority or as a divine authority. When the latter is the case, Christians must pray, courageously endure, and patiently accept the consequences of obeying the God whose image and seal they bear (see Mark 12:16, 17; Acts 4:19). They must do so in the confidence that after their victorious sufferings they will reign with Him.

Behind the appearances of the pomp and power of the world, there is the reality of the absolute sovereignty of the Lord God who is the Lamb, which ensures the ultimate doom of sin and evil. God is utilizing all the forces of evil, all the consequences of sin, even the suffering of His saints, to accomplish His own purposes. Believers undergoing persecution need to know that their sufferings are not meaningless, and ultimately they will be vindicated. The mainspring of Christian hope and courage is the certainty that the Enemy has been defeated and is doomed, and that followers of the Lamb are not fighting a losing cause. He has already overcome, and therefore they can and will be overcomers!

Nearly every title employed elsewhere in the New Testament to describe the divine-human nature and the redemptive work of Jesus is mentioned at least once in Revelation, which, together with numerous additional titles, provides us with our only multidimensional unveiling of the present position, continuing ministry, and ultimate victory of the exalted Christ.

Although Jesus’ earthly ministry is telescoped between His Incarnation and Ascension in 12:5, Revelation asserts that the Son of God, as the Lamb, has completely finished His redemptive work (1:5, 6). By His blood sinners have been forgiven, cleansed (5:6, 9; 7:14; 12:11), liberated (1:5), and made kings and priests (1:6; 5:10). All ensuing manifestations of His applied victory are based in His finished work on the Cross; hence, Satan has been defeated (12:7–12) and bound (20:1–3). Jesus, raised from the dead, is enthroned as absolute Sovereign over all creation (1:5; 2:27). He is “King of kings and Lord of lords” (17:14; 19:16), and is entitled to the same ascription's of adoration as God the Creator (5:12–14).

The only One who is “worthy” to execute the eternal purpose of God is “the Lion of Judah,” who is not a political Messiah but a sacrificed Lamb (5:5, 6). “The Lamb” is His primary title, utilized twenty-eight times in Revelation. As the One who has conquered, He has the rightful authority and the power to control all the forces of evil and their consequences for His purposes of judgment and salvation (6:1—7:17). The Lamb is on the throne (4:1—5:14; 22:3).

The Lamb, as “One like the Son of Man,” is always in the midst of His people (1:9—3:22; 14:1), whose names are recorded in His Book of Life (3:5; 21:27). He knows them intimately, and with immeasurable holy love, He watches over, protects, disciplines, and challenges them. They share fully in His present and future victory (17:14; 19:11–16; 21:1—22:5), as well as in His present and future “marriage supper” (19:7–9; 21:2). He dwells in them (1:13), and they dwell in Him (21:22).

After the preface, Revelation begins (1:4–7) and ends (22:21) as a typical New Testament letter. Although containing seven letters to the seven churches, it is clear that every member is to “hear” the message to each of the churches (2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22), as well as the message of the entire book (1:3; 22:16), in order that they might obey it (1:3; 22:9). Within this letter is “the prophecy” (1:3; 10:11; 19:10; 22:6, 7, 10, 18, 19). According to Paul, “he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation [encouragement] and comfort to men” (1 Cor. 14:3). The prophet speaks God’s Word as a call to obedience in the present and immediate future situation in the light of the ultimate future. This prophecy was not to be sealed up (22:10) because it is relevant to Christians in every generation.  ~New Spirit-Filled Life Bible