The Book of Deuteronomy - Preparation for the Promised Land - Kenneth B. Alexander Alexander

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am?” (v.15). Simon Peter, the boldest of the disciples, spoke up and said “You are Christ [Messiah] the Son of the living God” (v.16). Jesus said to Peter: “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona [son of Jonah; a man]: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven”. Christ was saying that Peter the man was blessed because man, flesh and blood, had not revealed this to him but God the Father.

      The word “reveal” is “Apokalupto” in Greek meaning: “to remove a veil or covering, exposing to open view what was before hidden” (see also Apokalupsis meaning “revelation”, one of three words in the NT referring to the second coming of Christ). Therefore Peter, a man of flesh, had spoken what was formerly concealed, exposing it to open view. He revealed what was in essence the coming of the Lord Jesus. This “revelation” did not come from man but was revealed by the Father in Heaven (from the spiritual realm).

      Christ said further: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter [a stone], and upon this rock [large rock, bedrock] I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven”. (Verse 17). The word “Peter” is in Greek “Petros”, a small stone. The rock referred to in the scripture (“upon this rock”) is Petra in Greek which means a large rock or bedrock. What was this bedrock? The BEDROCK is the REVELATION from the Father to human flesh (Petros the stone). Thus it was the revelation of Christ coming from the Father that would be the bedrock upon which Christ would build His church. God planned to build His church on the bedrock of divine revelation. Likewise the Bible is the source of this bedrock of revelation upon which we can build a walk with God.

      The content of the Bible is not mere words but Spirit. Jesus said: “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life (John 6:63). Books written by men may convey ideas, inspiration or emotion but the words in the Bible convey spirit. Not just spirit but the Spirit of the Lord whereby we change into His image from glory to glory. “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Co 3:18). By absorbing the Bible we change into the image of Christ.

      The Bible strengthens our first love relationship with the Lord. In the Bible Book of Revelation John wrote to the church at Ephesus as follows: “I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance [steadfastness], and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. ‘But I have this against you, that you have left your FIRST LOVE. ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent” (Revelation 2:2-5). The most important commandment is that we love the Lord first above all else.

      There are 233 different English versions on the market. It has been translated from the original languages into over 2000 languages. The version that we will use here is the New American Standard Bible LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1977 ed and 1995 ed. We will occasionally use the The Holy Bible : King James Version 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version. If another version is used it will be noticed in the text.

       Kenneth B. Alexander. (2012). Mysteries of the Bible, lulu.com Pub.

       Alexander, K. B. (2012). Spiritual Foundational Christianity lulu.com Pub

      Introduction to Deuteronomy

      Deuteronomy, the fifth Book of the Jewish Torah and the Greek Pentateuch, was so named by the Greek version of the Old Testament the Septuagint (LXX). The book got its name by a misreading of Deut. 17:18 which indicates that the Book is “a copy or repetition of the Law previously given at Sinai”. Actually the Law given in Deuteronomy is somewhat different from the Sinai Law. Jews call the Book “Elleh haddevarim” meaning “These are the Words” or simply Devarim meaning “words”. In Jewish tradition it is called “Mishneh Torah” meaning a repetition or copy of the Law. In an event the Book is composed a speech of Moses given to the Israelites in Moab as they prepare to cross the Jordan to take possession of Canaan. The first law was given for the Israelites in the wilderness. This second law applies to an entirely new nation as they prepare to enter into Canaan.

      The Book is almost entirely a dialog by Moses covering many areas. Much of it is repetition. However it was necessary to repeat the Law for the children of those who had perished in the wilderness by the judgments of God since may have not have been familiar with the first law. The Ten Commandments are redone, the three feasts are reiterated, a complete history of their wanderings in the wildernessis given and a review of the basic law is spoken. The book is almost a condensation of the Books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, presented to an entirely new generation.

      The most significant part of the Book is Moses for us today is the warning of the blessings or the curses that will befall Israel in its coming history dependent on whether they followed God or not. In those passages are answers to those who ask why there is evil in the world despite a loving God. Moses makes it very clear that if a nation follows God they will receive only blessings. But if it does not follow God, He will bring curses. Moses said: “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today; and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today, by following other gods which you have not known” (Du. 11:26-28).

      Why is there so much evil in the world? We brought it on ourselves with a lot of help from the evil one. As an example when Israel was in the wilderness, and under the hand of God’s Law, they had food every day, had no disease common to man, their clothes did not wear out, and they had shade in the desert by day and fire at night for warmth. They were led by a word from God and had the promise of a better future in the Promised Land i.e. they had a vision of hope. In our world there is little hope for a better day.

      One prominent sin that goes largely unnoticed is the sin of idolatry. Idolatry means worshipping something that is not God. In Israeli history the sin that brought the most grief to them was idolatry. Worship is defined as: “the attitude and acts of reverence to a deity”. The term ‘worship’ in the Old Testament translates the Hebrew word meaning ‘to bow down, prostrate oneself,’ a posture indicating reverence and homage given to a lord, whether human or divine (Harpers Bible Dictionary). Whether we realize it or not our current society is full of Idolatry. We worship everything from movie stars, religious figures, our possessions, our way of life, our cars, our houses, the list goes on. Anything in our lives which takes our admiration and puts it on something or somebody is worship. Advertising and films exalt the female body and we can even worship our sin (hedonism). In God’s eyes nothing can rival Him for our affections. In this world nearly everything does. As a result we live our lives in darkness and sin abounds.

      The land of Israel experienced intermittent periods of blessings and curses. When they were not following God nations rose up and conquered them-Assyria, Babylon, Syria and finally Rome. This was all due to their disobedience. We now have Jesus Christ to show us the way to the Kingdom but who really believes in the extent of His provision? The coming Kingdom of God will contain all the blessings proclaimed by Moses but it will be because all will know the Lord and no iniquity will dwell there.

      Outline of Book

      FIRST OR INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS. CH. 1:6–4:40.

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