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1 - Introduction to Deuteronomy
Why does the book of Deuteronomy speak to the people of Israel as a corporate people? Why are the messages of this book better understood when the whole people are assembled? How does the adage “no man is an island” apply to the church today?
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2 - Inspired History Lesson
Following the introduntion comes a recounting that reviews the historical events from which Moses draws lessons for his people. The themes of these lessons are the following: • Remember and hope. • God fights for you. • God fulfils His words. • Grace and justice
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3 - The Everlasting Covenant
Even before the foundation of the world, the Father and Son had “united in a covenant” to redeem us if the race fell. What is this everlasting covenant that was set up? How does it apply to us today as we await the second coming of Christ?
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4 - To Love The Lord Your God
In the Scriptures, the word “love” appears mostly in the book of Deuteronomy and in the Song of Songs. This affinity between these two books already suggests the particular relational nature of love. Love appears, however, associated with God, fear, and the law. In this study, we shall grapple with three complex themes and the difficult questions that devolve from each
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5 - The Stranger In Your Gates
The story of God rewriting His law on new tables is a story of God’s grace and patient love for Israel. It is against the backdrop of the shameful event of Horeb that Moses urges Israel to renew its covenant and to prepare a new oath of allegiance in which God’s requirement for His people is specified. Various themes are brought together around the principle of love, namely, love for the Lord, love as a response to God’s love and forgiveness, love for one’s neighbour, and more specifically love for the stranger, because God loved him or her.
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6 - For What Nation Is There So Great?
What makes a nation great is generally what it achieves, its political power, the surface of its land, its exploits in war, or its wealth. Nothing of that sort characterizes the nation of Israel when the people hear Moses’ compliment. Moses’ rhetorical question, “What other nation is so great?” (Deut. 4:8, NIV), implies that this is the greatest nation on earth. Indeed, Moses’ description of the grandeur of Israel baffles our mind. It is all about God and His laws.
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7 - Law and Grace in Deuteronomy
What is the relationship between grace and the law and how do they relate to each other in the lives of believers?
The keeper of the law has often been accused of being a legalist without soul or without intelligence, a disciple of a backward religion. This charge is unfair. The law, as it is understood in Israel, implies, on the contrary, a light that helps one’s spiritual walk and promotes progress. The psalmist compares the law to “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105, NKJV). This lesson is contained in the Hebrew word torah, which is related to the word or, meaning “light.”
This study will examine the paradoxical interrelationship between the law and the grace of God.
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8 - Choose Life
Since the beginning of history, the Bible is about a cosmic struggle between God, with His law of light and life, and Satan, with his way of death and darkness. As were Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Israel is challenged by God to make a choice between two ways. The paradox is that if the people choose the wrong way, they will lose their freedom and really not be able to choose at all. The issue at stake is life itself!
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9 - Turn Their Hearts
What is repentance? How is this important principle reflected in the book of Deuteronomy? The themes that will be delved into are • Seeking God • God’s Forgiveness • The Return • The Fulfillment of Prophecy
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10 - Remember, Do Not Forget.
The book of Deuteronomy, with its 19 occurrences of the verb zakar, “remember,” is, more than any other book of the Bible, a text about remembering. Beyond the book of Deuteronomy, the verb “remember” is an important biblical motif. In this study, we will meditate on this motif in regard to four key events in the Bible: (1) Creation from nothing, (2) the deliverance from the Flood, (3) the Exodus of Israel from Egypt and from its own stubbornness, and (4) the conversion of the Gentiles from paganism. All these events have something in common; they all signify God’s act of salvation from darkness to light, from death to life, from wickedness to righteousness.
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