ESV Illuminated Scripture Journal: Deuteronomy

Bible #5

by Anonymous

ESV Illuminated Scripture Journals  pair the entirety of individual books of the Bible with a lightly dotted blank page opposite each page of Bible text, providing space to creatively engage with and reflect on the Word of God. Hand-lettered, gold-ink illustrations by renowned artist Dana Tanamachi are interspersed throughout the blank pages, inviting readers to add their own artwork or reflections to each page. These thin, portable notebooks have unique covers stamped with gold-foil and are great for art journaling, personal Bible reading and prayer, small-group Bible study, or taking notes through a sermon series.

Genres: Religion, Christian, Nonfiction, Classics, History, Christianity, Scripture

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:

* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author

Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.

See also: Anonymous

Reviews

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this is part of the Bible, it's not very exciting reading; most of it is a long speech by Moses where he reiterates the now-obsolete Jewish law. While there are good moments--what Jesus called the greatest commandments are found here--it isn't as exciting as many other Bible books, such as the Gospels, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings. Still, reading God's Word in its entirety is necessary to fully understand it.

[Katja Labonté · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is such a sobering reminder of choosing right vs. wrong. It’s really nothing but constant reminders to Israel to be careful of their hearts. Over and over, God reminds them what He’s done for them (freeing them from Egypt, feeding + protecting them in the desert, wiping away their enemies) and promises them blessing if they keep His commandments and obey Him—a prosperous land, the glory of nations, fruitful families, and happy lives. Over and over He reminds them that they must not take away or add to His law—simply follow it wholeheartedly and teach it to their children. He reminds them to firmly remove evil from around them and warns them of the cost of disobedience—death, suffering, and shame.

If only they’d listened. If only we listened.

[Arman]

بعد از اینکه موسی و اسرائیلیان در اواسط "کتاب خروج"، از مصر بیرون می‌زنند، در پای کوه حوریب توقف می‌کنند تا موسی از کوه بالا رفته و از یهوه، دستورات و راهنمایی‌هایش را بگیرد. قرار بر این می‌شود که یهوه، اسرائیلیان را از میان بیابان گذرانده و به سرزمین موعود برساند.
نیمه دوم کتاب خروج، و تمامی سه کتاب بعدی تورات (لاویان، اعداد و تثنیه)، عملا اتفاقاتِ این بازه‌ی زمانیِ بین کوه حوریب تا رود اردن (مرز سرزمین موعود) را روایت می کنند.
اما دلیل این همه تأکید و تأملِ راویان کتاب مقدس بر این بازه زمانی چه بوده است؟

پیشتر نوشته بودم که این عملا بعد از گذرِ اسرائیلیان از دریای نیزار و خروج از مصر و بعد از بالا رفتن موسی از کوه حوریب است که قوم برگزیده‌ی یهوه، بصورت تمثیلی و دینی زاده می‌شود. و سپس این قوم برگزیده، باید با گذر از بیابان و طی کردن امتحانات الوهی، تغییر و تحول پیدا کند تا برای استقرار در سرزمین موعود و تشکیلِ ملت‌هایی یکجانشین آماده شود.
بنابراین این مرحله از حیات قومِ اسرائیل از اهمیت و حساسیت بالایی برخوردار است. لذا راویان مقدس، لازم دیده‌اند که این بازه زمانی را با تأکیدی بیشتر، چند باره و هر دفعه، از منظری متفاوت نگریسته و روایت کنند.

حالا بیایید ببینیم، کتاب تثنیه از چه منظری به روایتِ گذر و سرگردانیِ اسرائیلیان پرداخته است و راویان آن چه منظور احتمالی ای داشته‌اند؟
اگر فرضیه‌ی اسنادی را بپذیریم، بخش اعظم تصحیح‌ها و افزودگی‌های کتاب تثنیه را می توان به سنتِ تثنیه‌گرا نسبت داد. همانطور که در جای دیگری توضیح داده‌ام، این سنت، محصول بازاندیشیِ نخبگان یهود درباره‌ی چراییِ تبعیدشان به بابل می‌باشد. آن‌ها نتیجه‌گیری کردند که قوم یهود بخاطر تخطی از دستورات یهوه و بی‌توجهی به عهدش با وی، سر از تبعید در آورده‌اند. لذا اسرائیلیان بایستی با تأکید بیش‌تر بر روی عهدش با یهوه، این خسران را جبران کند.
راویان تثنیه‌گرا با چنین رویکردی به مواجهه با خطبه‌های سه‌گانه‌ی موسی رفتند و تلاش کردند وقایع مابین کوه حوریب تا رود اردن را از این منظر، بازاندیشی و بازروایت کنند.
در کتاب "تثنیه" یا "شریعت دوم"، یهوه در آستانه‌ی ورود به سرزمین موعود و فتح آن، به واسطه موسی (که در آخرین منزلگاهش ایستاده است)، عهدی را که با آبای اسرائیل و سپس با موسی و قومش منعقد کرده، یادآور می‌شود و از اسرائیلیان می‌خواهد که مجدانه به آن پایبند باشند؛ گویی که قصد اتمام حجت با آن ها را دارد.

سرانجامِ سفر حماسیِ اسرائیلیان چه بود؟
همانطور که در ریویوی کتاب اعداد آوردم، وقتی که مرگِ همه مردان بالغی که مصر را ترک کرده بودند فرا رسید، یهوه به موسی و اسرائیلیان اجازه داد که به سمت سرزمین مقدس حرکت کنند. در کنار رود اردن، یهوه به موسی دستور می‌دهد که با قومش عهد جدیدی ببندد. همچنین به موسی می‌گوید که –بنا به دلایلی که مبهم می‌ماند- وی نمی‌تواند به سرزمین موعود وارد شود و در پای همین کوه در حالی که گستره‌ی آن را از نظر می‌گذارند، خواهد مرد.
پس موسی در این فاصله و در طی سه خطبه، خلاصه‌ای از سفرشان و همچنین مفاد عهدشان با یهوه را برای اسرائیلیان تعریف می کند. در این عهد، یهوه از قومش می‌خواهد که به دقت و با جدیت شرع و دستوراتش را رعایت کنند، در غیر اینصورت به بدترین بلایا گرفتار خواهد شد. یهوه در قبال آن، به آن‌ها وعده می‌دهد که خود شمشیر به دست گیرد و در پیشاپیش قومش، فرزندان نخست‌زاده اش حرکت کرده و اقوامِ ساکن در سرزمین موعود را از بین ببرد.
در ادامه، بعد از انتخاب یوشع پسر نون به عنوان جانشین موسی برای رهبری اسرائیلیان، موسی در کنار رود اردن فوت می کند.

[F · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been reading the Bible through every year since 1974 and I can testify it is fresh every time. I was amazed, once again, at the details the Holy Spirit included. Every year I find more reason to believe that Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is the very Word of the living God. I understand more each year and yet have so much more to take in [it can never, this side of glory, be exhausted]. If you find something in the Bible you don't understand don't assume the Bible is wrong, assume that YOU don't understand ... yet. There are many people even in their reviews here that testify they once had a hard time even reading this book but now experience a blessing when they do. Grant God they honor of being God and knowing more than us.
On a side note: the idea of having individual copies of each book of the Bible is a good one... kind of pricy but good nonetheless. [this review only refers to the Bible text - NOT any preface, comment or additional information.]

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Moses' sermons to the offspring of those whom he had led out of Egypt through the Wilderness of Zin and the Sinai, he reminded them of God's commandments, especially the Decalogue (the Ten Commandments). He handed over his role as commander-in-chief as it were to Joshua and turned over sacerdotal duties to his brother Aaron and the tribe Levi. He admonished his Hebrew horde and relayed to them how God (Yahweh) would punish them if they disobeyed His laws, the premier one being that they could only worship one god--Him, Yahweh, and not corrupt themselves by adoptng the pagan ones that they had encountered and would encounter in the future. (As it turns out this central tenet is what has kept the Jewish people intact, it seems to me, through all their suffering throughout history.)
The tenacity of belief is what democracies today must also have in order to make freedom permanent. They must believe in their history's gifting them freedom through justice.

Moses also designated Joshua to lead all the people not otherwise prohibited to cross over the river Jordan to conquer and subdue the denizens of Canaan, making it the land of Israel. If the Hebrews disobeyed the laws of Yahweh, they would lose His support and all the land they would have conquered.

Having made his final pronouncement, Moses went up onto Mount Nebo where he died.

[Sarita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deut 4:29 "But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and all your soul."

Deut 4:31 "For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them."

[📚 Alana (professional book nerd)]

It feels wrong to rate the Bible 😅 but this one was hard to get through tbh

[Ryan Jung · Rating 1 out of 5]

Deuteronomy begins with the Israelites getting ready to cross the River Jordan into the promised land. Moses recaps portions of the last book (honestly, most of this book is a recap of the latter half of the pentatauch), their journey, and he mentions the Zamzummims without explaining what they are. So I did a little research and found out they're actually a nation of buzzing giants, which is how you know that the contents of this book are 100% true and accurate and are in no way just stories made up by a brutal and idiotic pre-scientific people.

Moses recalls how they killed all those people for God, then reminds his followers in 5:17 that "Thou shalt not kill." Moses then acknowledges that all those people they killed had done quite a bit of labor to produce agricultural advancements that the Israelites will just take for granted. He also acknowledges that other gods exist, and he warns the Israelites against them.

None of this is new. In fact, the opening several chapters of Deuteronomy are all recap, continuing the pattern we've seen with the other books up til now. Also in that tradition, we see massively conflicting statements made within a few pages of each other. Here we get "Thou shalt not kill" in Chapter 5 but in Chapter 7, we get "And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them [the other nearby tribes] before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them". God will do this "because the LORD loved you". We get this kind of pep rally for slaughter for a few more chapters, much embellished in some cases, and there's yet another reminder to cut off everyone's foreskins, and another reminder (Jesus, there are a lot of this reminder) to "utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods" and to "overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire" and on and on about all the horrible things they're going to do to anyone who opposes their divine right to take the land and everything in it. Thou shalt not kill, except for all of this killing. Again. And more.

And if you have a relative or friend who suggests serving other gods, you shouldn't pity him or spare him, but "thou shalt surely kill him". But "thou shalt not kill". I do not understand this. I do not understand how a reader of the Bible can think of these directives as good, or even coherent. Again, anyone who calls the Bible "the good book" hasn't read it.

We get chapter after chapter of rules and rituals. We get more examples of how to legally do a slavery. If they serve you six years, release the slaves in the seventh year. And again, slaves can choose to stay your slave forever if they want! And in that case you should "take an aul, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever." The ideal target reader for this book is a white supremacist anthropologist. Do those exist? A quick Google search tells me they do, and they're almost universally Christians. And no wonder, since the Bible empowers them with numerous passages like these which describe certain persons as less valuable and important than others.

We also get some passages about how the church or congregation should act, not just ritualistically (although there's a good 20-ish chapters of that), but capitalistically. Chapter 18, for example, describes how priests get paid and fed, by skimming the top of the animal sacrifices. "This shall be the priests' due from the people, from them that offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep; and they shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw. The firstfruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him." (Deut. 18:3-4)

By Chapter 20, we're getting a gameplan for approaching cities about their inevitable sacking. The Israelites are to propose to cities they're about to sack an offer of peace (read: constant servitude by everyone there, "all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee"), and if they don't go for it... Well, let's just let Moses tell us what happens...

"then thou shalt besiege it: And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword: But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou salt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the LORD thy God hath given thee. Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations. But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth: But thou shalt utterly destroy them" (Deut. 20:12-17)

Good stuff. Thou shalt not kill. But by Chapter 27, we're getting *even more* contradiction on this point. "Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person," it says, ignoring the fact that every single Israelite who has participated in the endless genocides of God's chosen people has taken reward in the form of the cities they're sacking and the agriculture and engineering efforts of those populations.

There's some really primitive stuff about responding to crimes. Like if there's a murder they won't try to solve it, they just kind of give up on it.

There's rules for what an American politician might call "legitimate rape". And there's a rule that says if you rape a woman and you don't like it, you can just get rid of her. You can't sell her, though, because you raped her, and she's ruined property now. From 21:14, "if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her." The rule of God: kidnap, rape, discard.

If your kid doesn't obey you, stone him to death. (Deut. 21:18-21)

22:5 describes how it's an "abomination until the LORD thy God" to wear clothes made for the opposite sex. This seems to me an admission of the existence of trans people in Biblical times, and evidence of them being treated like shit.

And by 22:13, we're back on the subject of rapes that don't make the rapist happy. There's a process here where a man who "goes in unto" a wife he's taken but suspects she's not a virgin can take her to court over it. The woman's family must produce "tokens of my daughter's virginity". If they're good and they can prove she was a virgin before the marriage (which, look, this just doesn't work, this isn't reliable, and these people are too primitive to know it), the false accuser (the rapist) can be fined 100 shekels (literally putting a price on rape). But then, she's still forced to be his wife. Yes, in Biblical times, you could be forced into marrying and remaining married to your rapist who has already shown you disdain by both raping you and then complaining about the state of your vagina. But if your virginity can't be proven (and let's face it, it's a scientific fact that you can't prove a woman's virginity through any kind of biological or tangible evidence), you can be stoned to death.

But what's worse is, as described in Deut 22:23-24, if you're a virgin and you're engaged to be married but you get raped in the city, you should be stoned to death along with your rapist. This is an extreme example of what modern parlance would denote "victim shaming". Also, if you're a virgin woman and *not* engaged or already owned and someone rapes you, you can be made to marry that guy.

22:30 specifies that although you are totally cool to marry your cousins in droves, you shouldn't have sex with your aunt. We're reminded of this rule yet again in 27:20 ("Cursed be he that lieth with his father's wife"). This is further clarified in 27:22: "Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother." Siblings and step-siblings are a no-go. Aunts are a no-go. Cousins are the right familial distance for marriage and sex.

There are rules for divorce. Men control the divorce proceedings, and if men divorce you twice, you are "defiled".

The law by which Onan was "convicted" back in Genesis is finally defined here in 25:5. "If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her." So Onan was killed for violating a law that hadn't been written yet, and also, Biblical women are just cattle for reproduction, and Biblical men are studs who fuck at will.

The notion of divine right is further expounded on as well. There are passages about "the country which the LORD sware unto our fathers for to give us" and "the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me," that land, of course, having been given through siege and rape and pillaging.

The legitimacy of the authors of the bible and the culture that produced it is yet again compromised by the fact that they all have to keep being reminded not to fuck animals. "Cursed be he that lieth with any manner of beast." (27:21)

Chapter 28 then warns us of what will happen if we violate any of God's rules, which we've already determined are impossible to follow because they contradict each other, so this seems like an inevitability based on nothing more than the caprice of a narcissistic authoritarian dictator. And oh boy does it warn us. We're subjected to 54 verses of direct threat. I'm not going to quote the entire thing, so here's a link to the text.

I will summarize a bit, though... Here's a partial list of horrible things God will do to you if you violate his impossible rules:


You're cursed in the city
You're cursed in the field
Your children are cursed
Your flocks are cursed
God will beset you with pestilence
God will "smite thee with consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew"
You'll go mad and blind
You'll marry a woman and some other guy will have sex with her, and you'll forever be cucked
You'll build a house and never live in it
You'll grow crops and never eat them
Your children will be sold into slavery
You'll be delivered into another nation where you don't know anyone and you'll be treated poorly and be made to worship other gods
Worms will eat your vineyards
You'll be made to be a slave to your enemies, and to do so hungry and thirsty and nude
You'll be besieged by God and forced to eat your children
God will beset you with plagues and illnesses "of long continuance"
"ye shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude"
You'll be taken back to Egypt where you'll be sold into slavery again


Again, I want to be clear that this is a *partial* list of punishments.

Moses finally recaps their military victories and points out they were victorious because God wanted it to happen that way. How good is God? Good enough to kill fucking everybody and threaten you with the same. Good, good, great God.

These threats are continued in Chapter 30, where God also asserts that it is actually our choice to obey or not, and therefore our choice to live bountifully or suffer and die. It's certainly not God's choice; he has no agency. Instead, God has "set before you life and death" as *your* options to choose between. *You* can *choose* to behave and succeed or to deviate from his impossible laws and suffer and die. It's on *you* to make the decision, not on *him* to act on his promises. This mirrors the tactic of domestic abusers to frame their own behavior as the choice of their victims, and it's wrong, both factually and morally. God's an asshole, unworthy of worship.

The book comes to a close as God gives blessings to the heads of the tribes of Israel. God says of Joseph, "His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns." So unicorns are canon, I guess, essentially cementing the Bible as fantasy fiction.

Eventually, Moses dies after living 120 years. The book ends with some platitudes in his favor, paving the way for the continuation of the tale in the book of Joshua, which is next on my reading list.

In case it's not clear by the couple thousand words above this, Deuteronomy is perhaps the least good book in the entire pentatauch. It's horrible and should be read by nobody, much less praised. The nearly 5-star average review it's gotten on this site was put there by uncritical religious types who I'm guessing have skimmed the book and paid no attention to the unsavory stuff that makes up... uh... nearly the entire thing.

[ray ౨ৎ]

the first few books of old testament are SO confusing

[Devran Babat · Rating 1 out of 5]

Up until now, Moses, has been the only character in the book with sufficient character development. However the author decides to kill him off? It doesn’t make any sense!

Furthermore, the bombardment of rules and repetitions of those rules during this chapter came to be a little to much at times. I’m reading a fiction book not a self help book. Therefore the book should stay within its remit and tell more stories with less rules.

[Judah Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

-sighs dramatically- It was a lovely go through, reading the Pentateuch this year! I guess I’ll have to wait until I get to some of the psalms before I return to Moses again…

[Maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this is not the most interesting book of the Bible, it is a book with great purpose. Genesis-Deuteronomy is the foundation of the Bible. This book is mainly Moses’ sermons that encourage obedience through reassurance that God is faithful and keeps his word.

[Charlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars!

Overall I enjoyed the book of Deuteronomy. However it takes place at the same time as the book of Numbers. I found this a little confusing at times. In my opinion this book is probably more beneficial to study rather than just read.

I especially enjoyed Chapter 30 "The Blessings of returning to the Lord" :)

I recommend this book for all those who want to know more about the law that God set the children of Israel through Moses.

[Lylah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the heart message of the book of Deuteronomy:
~Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. Obey His commands and walk in His light. This way, you will live a long life.~

The pages within are full of love, wisdom and forgiveness. It instructs us on how to live a life full of happiness and joy. If we put God before everything, and endeavour to do His will. Then He'll take our hand and be with you. Forever.

I loved this book and HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moses final speech to the Israelites. It's a good, concisely-written summary of the last three books. Does without the insane amount of repeated instruction from Leviticus. It abandons, also, the tedious statistical info on the twelve tribes of Israel. Leaves one keen to read into the following stories and sends off the first great prophet poignantly.

[Autumn (Nerdy Silly Goose) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm slowly making my way through all the books of The Bible! I didn't actually read it in one day, I just don't remember when I started and finished it, and I need it for my reading challenge...

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the books in the Pentateuch, I think Deuteronomy is the one where we learn the most about Moses as a person. Chapter twelve says, "Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth." That's an outstanding character trait! It's fascinating how the rest of Moses' story makes it clear that meek does not equal wimpy. Time and again Moses would stand up to the Israelites (which is saying a lot, since that was a group of over one million people!) full of righteous anger on behalf of the Lord. It reminds me of George MacDonald's characters, especially Malcom or Donal. They were meek, giving all their time and energy to serving others. Yet when someone around them blatantly rejected God's attributes or treated one of God's creatures with contempt, that unfortunate person saw the light or else!

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

My thoughts 2025, to be revised. Moses’ farewell address to Israel. Not, as I assumed as a kid, just part V of the Law.

I loved how you could see Moses’ concern for the people, his genuine love for them, in his words. Also how blunt God was with them about how stupid they were gonna be. Which is basically us. “Nobody will be poor if you just do what I say. But you’ll always have some poor among you. Sickness? Not a problem if you do what I say. But here’s what to do when you get sick. You will smash all your enemies in the face if you hold up your end of the bargain. But since you won’t, it’ll send you into a horrible tailspin and then captivity. AGAIN. But I will STILL be faithful to love you anyway and bring you home again eventually.” It does connect the dots to explain a lot of Jewish expectations in the NT.

Props to the author for completeness. At the end it was like “I thought Moses was gonna die now? Except we obviously have several chapters left…oh, gotta say one last thing. Uh-oh, we forgot the blessing. And the curses. Give me 5 more minutes.” Book layout expectations are obviously not the same in desert-wandering-Israel era and 21-century-America era. And that is totally fine.

Intent: to remind Israel of who God is and who they are to him.

[Annabel Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some pretty grim laws but liked the summary of the story so far a the beginning. Some hints of compassion of God but then that massively clashes with curses of cannibalism and stoning. Proud of myself for getting through these chapters that apparently most people give up on.

[Bud Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was incredible. I’m going to put my thoughts in a small essay on the five Books of Moses/Torah, in a collected review.

[Samantha Deaville · Rating 5 out of 5]

was literally going to rate it a 3 (based purely off enjoyment), until the last 6 chapters - immediately brought up to a 5 ⭐️ rip Moses.

[Huyền Trang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phải biết kính sợ Chúa Hằng Hữu

[Loraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deuteronomy is like an instruction scroll with its theological emphases: exclusive worship of the Lord and centralization of worship. It serves as a gateway to the rest of the Old Testament repeating much of Exodus through Numbers Deuteronomy is deeply concerned with persuading what to do, how to do it, and why it should be done now that Moses is gone and Israel has settled in the promised land. The Book of Deuteronomy shows that the standards it covers are just as important today.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fourth book of the Bible is a difficult one to get through, but it picks right up again in Deuteronomy.

[Bookish · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book in the bible. It carries all the essential rules and law of God. It contains the summary of exodus,leviticus and numbers. i almost finished it in 3days.

[Angieleigh]

I don't believe that a star rating should be given to the Bible, so I won't be adding one.

[Elisabetta Buonavolontà · Rating 5 out of 5]

La portata storico-culturale del “Deuteronomio” è immensa. Si ripercorre in una sorta di “ringkomposition” (“composizione ad anello”) tutto ciò che è avvenuto nei primi quattro libri – la conclusione di quest’ultimo richiama quella della “Genesi”. Siamo catapultati in un panorama storico-culturale complessissimo, che richiama la crisi generalizzata del Mediterraneo Orientale di XIII-XII secolo a. C. Nella terra di Canaan, infatti, vi sono realtà che presto sarebbero andate distrutte, su tutte quella degli Hittiti (da cui gli Ebrei ricavano molte leggi, vedasi il Levirato o quelle legate agli abus1 sessu4l1); a esse si contrappone il sorgere di nuove società, come quella fenicia (a partire dall’XI secolo a. C.) e quella dei Peleset, popoli del mare già indicati nella Grande Dichiarazione di Karnak da Merneptah (1204 a. C.) da identificarsi coi Filistei della nuova realtà palestinese.

È in questo clima che si sta ricomponendo l’alleanza con Dio, nella quale emergono e si rifunzionalizzano i “tòpoi” che ci hanno accompagnato a partire dall’Esodo.

Punto cruciale è sicuramente la scomparsa di Mosè sul monte Nebo all’età di centoventi anni, capace di ammirare la Terra Promessa solo da lontano. L’accettazione di questa “punizione” da parte sua è vigorosa, fin troppo consapevole dei torti e della mancanza di fiducia nei confronti del Signore Dio, che ha scelto lui e, soprattutto, il suo popolo. È ironico come Mosè, figura centrale in tutte le religioni abramitiche, profeta più importante dell’ebraismo, investito da un rapporto diretto col Signore, abbia dovuto patire la sua mancanza di fede non vedendo ciò per cui ha vissuto una vita intera, cioè la Terra Promessa. Ed è proprio con la sua morte che arriva quella distanza fra Dio e l’uomo di cui parla Hegel, identificando nell’ebraismo l’antitesi – rispetto alla religione classica, “tesi”, che vedeva il dio sin troppo antropomorfizzato, e al cristianesimo, “sintesi”, dove avviene il ricongiungimento fra Dio e l’uomo nella figura di Gesù Cristo.

Le leggi della guerra, seppur severissime – date da un Dio “deinòs”, “terribile e al contempo meraviglioso” – appaiono meno dure di quelle di altri popoli, dove vi sono sacrifici umani per dèi “di pietra e di legno” al quale gli Ebrei non devono osare votarsi. A mediare fra il “popolo eletto” e la “scelta” del popolo di seguire Dio, vi sarà solo “l’ultimo e il più grande dei profeti” richiamato presumibilmente in Dt., 18:15 (“Il Signore, il tuo Dio, ti susciterà un profeta come me, in mezzo a te, tra i tuoi fratelli; a quello darete ascolto!”), e identificato dall’interpretazione cristiana come il Profeta per antonomasia, ovvero Gesù Cristo (visto come novello Mosè proprio nel “Vangelo Secondo Matteo”).

Altro punto fondamentale è l’identificazione, al termine di una serie di maledizioni dal sapore apocalittico, per la prima volta, di Dio nella Parola (Dt., 30:14): questa spinta alla meditazione sapienzale ritornerà in “Proverbi” e “Sapienza”, ma sarà culminante nel prologo del “Vangelo secondo Giovanni”, dove la Parola è eterna, situata al principio e prima del principio di tutte le cose.

[Catherine]

Honestly, I wasn't expecting this book to be so good. These are essentially Moses' last sermons before he died, and he said some really awesome stuff.

Takeaways:
• God doesn't love me because I'm a good person, I'm smart, or I'm strong- far from that! He loves me just because He loves me. (Deu 7:6-10)

• Obey the Law of God to have a relationship with Him, because we are saved not by what we do but just by grace.

• Obey the Law of God to be light to the nations Deu 4)

• Jesus brings the ultimate fulfillment of the Law- we can have Sabbath rest because of the rest that Jesus brings deep rest in the Gospel, we can forgive and get rid of bitterness because of the forgiveness that Jesus gives us, we can be true to our spouses because Jesus is the ultimate spouse and love, we don't have to steal and be greedy because we are made wealthy in Him.

• Jesus is the ultimate Lawgiver- He writes the Law not on stone tablets but on our hearts

Credit to Tim Keller: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR0ju...

Some of my favorite verses:
• 'The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.” ' - Deuteronomy 1:30-31

• 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. '- Deuteronomy 6:5

• 'Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth. ' - Deuteronomy 11:18-21

'But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. ' - Deuteronomy 4:29

• 'Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. ' - Deuteronomy 4:9

• 'For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. ' - Deuteronomy 10:17

• 'The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” ' - Deuteronomy 31:8

[Gabriel Chavez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most underrated books of the Bible, at least in my opinion.

It brings into light the cyclical nature of humanity, the false promises of idolatry, and the persisting reminder that the best thing man can do with himself is delight in God.

Sure, it’s an ancient book, and a lot of the laws listed in it might seem distant to modern culture. There is an overarching story that we can still understand to this day.

This will be one of those books I’ll have to continue coming back to chew on and understand.

[Hawley Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite Spring Break and Covid causing a big Bible Study time lapse for me, I finally wrapped up Deuteronomy today. Despite the time frame of this book being conducted in a VERY short window, the recap of the Israelites history up unto this point is RICH in this book, along with many important guidelines that Moses had to relay before his death and the people FINALLY entering the Promised Land. If reading through the few books leading up to Deuteronomy seems overwhelming, I highly suggest studying this book and getting the spark notes version of what’s been happening 👏