Survey of the Book of Deuteronomy

from the old testament

• Author: Most scholars agree that Moses was the author of Deuteronomy. At the very least, his recorded words make up most of the book (Deuteronomy 1:1; 31:9–22).
• Date of writing: Deuteronomy is unlike the rest of the Pentateuch in that it is more of a speech or a sermon given at one point in time than a narrative that spans many years. Some scholars believe Deuteronomy is a collection of teachings given over forty days just prior to Moses' death (Deuteronomy 34:8; Joshua 1:1–9). Moses' address began on the first day of the eleventh month of the fortieth year the Israelites were in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 1:3). This was likely in the year 1406 BC.
• Purpose: The book of Numbers ends with the Israelites in the plains of Moab (Numbers 36:13; Deuteronomy 1:5). The new generation has been counted (Numbers 26), and they are preparing to enter the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 1:8). Deuteronomy is set in this moment. This new generation consisted of Israelites who were under the age of twenty when the exodus occurred, as well as all the Israelites born in the forty years since then (Deuteronomy 2:14). Joshua and Caleb, who had been part of the exodus, would also be going into the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 1:36, 38). The majority of this new generation had not witnessed the miracles of the exodus or God giving His Law at Mount Sinai. Thus, Moses needed to prepare them with what God had done and said to the Israelites up to this point (Deuteronomy 4:9–10). Deuteronomy concludes the Torah with this speech from Moses (Deuteronomy 31:1–2, 24).
• Themes: One of the central themes of Deuteronomy is blessing and cursing, and within it is a foreshadow of what Jesus would one day fulfill. Moses clearly set before the Israelites a choice: obey the Lord and be blessed, or turn to other gods and face curses (Deuteronomy 11:26–28; 30:15–20). He gave them a clear command to love the Lord with all their heart, soul, and might (Deuteronomy 6:4–5). Yet Moses also foresaw that they would fail to keep this command, even after warning them of the consequences of rejecting God’s love and His commandments (Deuteronomy 31:27–29).
• Another theme in Deuteronomy is the heart change needed to love God and obey His commandments. The Israelites needed more than just a warning to do good; they needed a heart change. Moses prophesies a day when His people will be able to love God more fully, a day when people's hearts and not just their bodies would be circumcised: "the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live" (Deuteronomy 30:6). This was fulfilled after Jesus paid the price of our sins on the cross. All who put their faith in Jesus are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, "and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit" (see Romans 2:29).
• Brief Summary: Deuteronomy is a speech given to the Israelites as they are about to enter the Promised Land. Deuteronomy means "second law" or "repetition of the law." It seems that particular name might have risen from a mistranslation in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament), but the title fits because much of Deuteronomy is Moses explaining the Law, also given in other books of the Torah, to a new generation of Israelites. Deuteronomy begins with a review of Israel’s rebellion and God’s faithfulness (Deuteronomy 1–11), including the Ten Commandments and Moses’ urgent call to obey God's ways and choose blessing over curse (Deuteronomy 11:26–28). In chapters 12–26, Moses explains the Law in detail—outlining how the people are to worship, live, and remain distinct from surrounding nations, covering topics from offerings and festivals to justice, war, and societal order. Chapter 18 includes a prophecy of a coming prophet like Moses, fulfilled in Jesus (Deuteronomy 18:15). In chapters 27–34, Moses describes the blessings of obedience, the curses of rebellion, and the hope of restoration if they return to God with all their hearts (Deuteronomy 30:1–6). He commissions Joshua, writes down the Law, teaches the Song of Moses as a witness, blesses the tribes, and dies on Mount Nebo, where God Himself buries him (Deuteronomy 34:5–8).

from the new testament

• Jesus quotes Deuteronomy when resisting Satan (Matthew 4:1–11; Luke 4:1–13). He upheld Deuteronomy as authoritative Scripture and modeled how to use God’s Word to combat temptation.
• Deuteronomy 6:5 ("You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart...") is cited by Jesus as the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27), showing us what it means to have wholehearted devotion to God.
• Deuteronomy 18:15, about a prophet like Moses, is applied to Jesus (Acts 3:22; 7:37). Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promise, affirming His role as the final and authoritative prophet.
• Paul cites Deuteronomy 21:23 in reference to Jesus' crucifixion: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’” (Galatians 3:13). Christ bore the curse of the Law to redeem us, showing how Old Testament law points to the gospel.
• Deuteronomy 30:14 is quoted in Romans 10:8 ("The word is near you..."). Paul uses this to explain how salvation by faith has always been God’s plan, now fulfilled in Christ.
• Jesus affirms Deuteronomy's commands when questioned about eternal life (Luke 10:26–28). The moral heart of the Law remains relevant, pointing to love for God and others.
• The book of Hebrews compares the old covenant in the Torah with the new covenant in Christ. Hebrews 10:1–18 explains that the Law was only a shadow of what was to come and could not fully take away sins. But Jesus offered one perfect sacrifice for all time, and through Him, believers are forgiven and sanctified. God now writes His laws on their hearts and remembers their sins no more.

implications for today

Many of the Israelites' failures through their history stemmed from forgetting God's law and His faithfulness. Moses made sure that the next generation would know who God was and what He had done, and His calling on their lives to obey and conquer the land and receive His blessing. Throughout the book, Moses urges the Israelites to teach the Law to their children, to have it written throughout their homes, presiding over everything they did. While the Mosaic law does not apply to us the same way it did to the Israelites, it is still relevant to our lives. And teaching our children about God and His ways is certainly a practice we need to follow today (Ephesians 6:4). The Bible is not just stories or instructions, but the inspired Word of God. Moses said the words of the Law were "your very life" (Deuteronomy 32:47). The same is true for us (2 Timothy 3:16–17). We need to be diligent to keep God's Word before us and to teach our children about God so that they, too, may have a personal relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.

Jesus showed us one of the most important parts of Deuteronomy when He said, "The most important [commandment] is, 'Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these" (Mark 12:29–31). Christians today have the ability to fulfill this commandment in a way that the Israelites were not able to, because we have seen the fulfillment of Deuteronomy 30:6. Jesus has fulfilled the Law (Matthew 5:17) and made the one time sacrifice that forgives our sin (Hebrews 10:10; Romans 5:12–21). God has given us changed hearts: by His Spirit, He has circumcised the hearts of all who accept Jesus' sacrifice on their behalf through faith (Romans 2:25–29; 2 Corinthians 5:17–21; Ephesians 2:1–22; Colossians 2:11–15). God Himself gives us the power to love Him with all of our heart, with all of our soul, and with all of our mind, and to love others with His love, as He continually works to sanctify us (John 15:1–17; Romans 8:28–39; Philippians 2:12–13).

Key verses:

"You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you" (Deuteronomy 4:2).

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates" (Deuteronomy 6:4–9).

"For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations" (Deuteronomy 7:6–9).

"He said to them, 'Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law'" (Deuteronomy 32:46).