Our title for the book of Deuteronomy comes from the Septuagint
translation
which called the book "to, deuteronomion touto" which means "a copy
of the law."
The book of Deuteronomy covered a period of one to two months, beginning
with
first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year at~er their departure
from Egypt
and ends with the death of Moses.
As the children of Israel were standing on the brink of
the Jordan river, Moses by
inspiration of God, tried to impress upon the hearts of the people
the law of God. They
had been to the edge of the promise land once before and because of
disobedience
were not allowed to enter in and Moses does not want the same thing
to happen again.
He restated the law to the people, renewed the covenant between God
and the people.
Deuteronomy is a book of hope, a book of blessings and
cursings, a book of excitement
as the people are finally about to enter into the blessings of the
promise land. This book
gave them knowledge of how to live an acceptable life before their
great God, Jehovah.
The people had this book to refer back to all the law of God and Moses
expanded on many
aspects of the law in this volume.
THE NEEDS OF THE MOMENT
Needs, the word speaks of things lacking. Sometimes the
needs are real, the real
physical necessities of life and at other times they are imaginary,
the things we want
but do not have to have to live. In the real needs category would fall
spiritual needs!
Many people put off or ignore this greatest of all needs, our spiritual
needs. As the
Israelites were standing on the brink of entering into the promise
land, they were
probably thinking about what their needs were and spiritual needs may
not have entered
into their thinking.
Moses, by inspiration of God, knew what their greatest
need was, and at that time, it
was spiritual. In Deuteronomy 4:1-2 we read, "Now therefore hearken,
0 Israel, unto the
statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them,
that ye may live, and
go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers, giveth
yom Ye shall not
add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought
from it, that ye
may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I commandyou."
Once more
God was taking care of all their real needs for the moment and for
as long as the nation
of Israel lasted. Moses knew from sad experience that this people needed
to hearken to
God to fulfill their needs. Forty years earlier their parents and grandparents
had not
hearkened to God and because of their disobedience were unable to enter
the land of
promise. Moses commanded the people to listen, but not only listen,
to do all that God
commanded them. Their needs would be taken care of by God if they would
only obey all
His statutes and judgments, both physical and spiritual.
Sadly, today many people's spiritual needs go unfulfilled
because they ignore them or
will not seek the only true source of fulfillment, God's Holy Word.
Just as those ancient
Israelites needed to hearken so do we today to the statutes and to
the judgments of God,
not only hearken to but obey them, so that we may live. We are not
promised a physical
land of promise like the ancient Israelites, but we are promised a
spiritual land of promise,
a heavenly country (Hebrews. 1 l:16). We have needs of the moment,
some are real needs,
some physical and many are spiritual. Both are needed for life, both
now and in eternity to
come. Have you hearkened unto the statutes and judgments of God? Are
you keeping them
so that you may go in and possess heaven? Remember, do not add to or
take away from all
that God has commanded us! This is the greatest need of the moment!
© Copyright 2001. Paul D. Fisher. All rights reserved.