Deuteronomy - Lesson 2

I. Introduction 

In our previous session, we dealt with Deuteronomy as prophetic preaching at its finest. In this session, I'd like to talk about Deuteronomy as a covenant document at its finest. We're talking now about the genre of the book; what is it? Deuteronomy is not the actual covenant document; it is a collection of sermons. But they have been arranged and organized, and the vocabulary is such that it is clearly, profoundly covenantal from the ground up. Deuteronomy as a covenant document.  

A. Definition of Covenant 

Now, to begin with, we have to talk about what a covenant is in scripture. We do have different words for this in Hebrew, běrît, and in Greek diathēkē. But that doesn't get us very far. The etymologies of those words, it’s how the words are used that we need to be aware of. And so, my understanding of a covenant is a formally confirmed agreement between two or more parties that creates, formalizes, or governs a relationship that does not exist naturally or a natural relationship that may have been broken or may have disintegrated. And it takes a covenant to fix that.  

Now, we can use this kind of language in our family matters. We have two children. Our oldest is an adopted boy. He wasn't naturally ours. It took a covenant, a legal process, whereby he became ours and that made him as much our child as our second, our daughter, who is our biological daughter. We didn't need to make a covenant with her. It was natural; she was born into it. But when these relationships break, to put Humpty Dumpty together again, you need some kind of formal process and that we call a covenant.  

B. Categories of Biblical Covenant 

1. Conditional versus Unconditional  

Now, in biblical theology terms, we talk about different kinds of covenants: conditional versus unconditional. And some people will say the Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional; the Sinai Covenant is conditional. You'll hear me say over and over again, those categories don't fit. In my view, all covenants are, on the one hand, that God makes, are conditional and all are unconditional. They are both, every one of them.  

2. Grant versus Obligation 

The second category is: covenants of grant versus covenants of obligation. Again, using the Abrahamic Covenant, which some argue God is giving to Abraham something as a gift, a grant, without any reciprocal demand. He doesn't have to pay for it. It's a gift. Whereas the covenant made at Sinai is a covenant of obligation. There are lots of stipulations that God puts into this covenant. So those are categories.  

3. Sociological 

There are other categories: sociological categories. We talk about “parity” versus “disparity” covenants. I don't hear that second word used very often. We talk about parity versus suzerain/vassal covenants. A suzerain/vassal covenant is a covenant between one who has the power and the other one who is a subject, and they agree on their relationship.  

A parity treaty is between equals. Marriage in the Bible is viewed as a parity treaty, husband and wife. I will be your husband and you will be my wife. And she says, I will be your wife and you will be my husband. This is a parity treaty. Whereas disparity treaty like the treaty between the Emperor of Assyria and King Ahaz. He says, I am your son; you are my father. That's suzerain/vassal relationship.  

And then we have functional categories: “ecclesial” or “missional” covenants versus “administrative.” And I put the Israelite covenant, that's a covenant that God made with Israel, that is an ecclesial or missional. It has to do with regulating God's relationship to a whole group of people, a community of faith. But it is not for the sake of the community. It is for the sake of the mission for which God is commissioning them as His covenant people. So that's an ecclesial one versus an administrative covenant.  

God makes a covenant with David as king over Israel. We will have a chance to talk about that some more later on and how this works. But he is installed as the administrator of the broader covenant triangle involving God, the land, and the people. He is the internal administrator. His function is to keep that machine well-oiled and lubricated so that that covenant flourishes. That's his job. He is a vice regent for God.  

C. Background to the Covenant 

Well, those are the categories we use in my understanding of the book of Deuteronomy. This is a very covenantal book. And so, as background, let's see how it fits in. And here again is my idiosyncratic interpretation of the evidence. I call this the Israelite covenant. We often talk about the covenant that God made with Israel at Sinai as either the Sinai Covenant or the Mosaic Covenant, which to me is a problem.  

Covenants should be identified always on the basis of the partner that God selects for His covenant relationship. So, we talk about Abrahamic; God made it with Abraham. We talk about Davidic; God made it with David. We talk about the Adamic covenant; God made it with Adam, or Noah as the second Adam. And that's what we should be doing here. This is not a covenant with Moses, and it's certainly not a covenant with Sinai, Sinaitic.  

So, but in recognizing Deuteronomy’s place, we begin with the origins of the Israelite Covenant in Abraham. Stage one.  

Two, It is established at Sinai with the Exodus generation of Abraham's descendants.  

Stage three it is renewed on the plains of Moab. This is Deuteronomy with the generation that was born in the desert.  

And stage four, its full realization in the distant future. Jeremiah calls it the New Covenant. But if you read that text even casually, you recognize that this is not just a spiritual thing, it is totally parochial. It's with Israel. And what happens in the New Covenant, as Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others envisage it, it is finally the ideals of the Israelite covenant from the beginning will be realized.  

D. Historical and Geographical Background to Deuteronomy 

To me, this is all one covenant. Originated with Abraham, established with the generation at Sinai, renewed with this new generation on the plains of Moab, and ultimately realized in the New Covenant.  

We can look at this diagrammatically something like this. You will see the core of this covenant as- the seed (that’s a better metaphor) is planted in Genesis 15 and 17, where God makes a covenant with Abraham. Then that same covenant He establishes at Sinai; then that same covenant He renews with this generation on the plains of Moab; and finally in the New Covenant, as envisaged by the Prophets and Moses himself in chapter 30 of Deuteronomy. That’s a bird’s eye view.  

We can take a sheep's eye view of this horizontally. The covenant made with Abraham in Canaan (Genesis 15), the Covenant established with Israel at Sinai, the Covenant renewed with Israel on the plains of Moab, and the Covenant realized in Christ. But actually, the work of Christ is the basis of all of these covenants. Any time God reaches out in mercy to anybody, it is rooted in the work of Christ from the beginning. 

So anyway, this is where Deuteronomy fits in. God has been working with Israel. To Abraham He had said, “Through you and your descendants shall all the world be blessed.” And he told Abraham in chapter 18, “I will establish My covenant that I made with you. I will establish it with your descendants later on.”  

1. Forty Years after Sinai 

Well, let's talk about the geographic context of this – what happens in Deuteronomy. Approximately 40 years separated the events underlying the book of Deuteronomy from the events at Sinai. Remember when they came out of Egypt, they went down to Sinai. (And I am assuming the traditional interpretation of the location of Sinai down here.) And they were here for about a year and three or four months, and then they headed to the Promised Land. And Kadesh Barnea was supposed to be the gate that opened the door, but they refused to go in, and God says, sorry, turn around. And they wandered around in the desert in circles, accomplishing nothing other than every one of that generation was to be buried, so we can start over again. And then when, 40 years later, God says, Head up here, head north, and this time we're going to enter from the east side, and we can talk about why the east side rather than from the south again. But that's an interesting thing to think about.  

Now, here's another map of where we are. Moses dies on Mt. Nebo. Where they are, they can see Jericho; they are parked here in the plains of Moab And they can see Jericho. And the first thing when they cross the Jordan is they're going to head for Gerizim and Ebal for another ceremony. We'll talk more about that later. So, this is the context, the geographic context, and this simply clarifies what's happened.  

2. Farewell Address of Moses 

This is the context of Moses’ farewell address. He has brought the Israelites out of Egypt 40 years ago now. Actually, God has brought them out. Let's keep that straight. Moses was not Israel's savior, God was. “I am Yahweh your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” But Moses has been His agent and he has brought them from Egypt all the way here. They are parked here getting ready to cross the Jordan River. But as we will see, Moses is not crossing with them. This is the context of it.  

II. Deuteronomy as a Covenant Document 

A. Hebrew Word for Covenant 

What we want to do in the rest of this session to talk about how Deuteronomy works as a covenant document, it is very covenantal. The procedures that Moses supervises on the plains of Moab were rich. The procedures were rich in their covenantal significance. How significant is covenant in this book? Well, so significant that the word for covenant occurs 28 times. There are 34 chapters in the book. That's almost one for every chapter. It doesn't appear in all the chapters, but in any case, 28 times we have the word covenant. It's a big deal. It is a book of the covenant.  

B. Covenant Formula and the Marriage Metaphor 

Second, Moses refers to Yahweh as your God, our God. And the people as His, that is Yahweh’s, people, and Your people. This is a relationship. How did we get this relationship? And of course, it has to do with the covenant formula. What happened at Sinai is a marriage. The marriage metaphor. What we call the covenant formula, “I will be your God and you shall be My people,” which occurs at critical junctures in this book, that is an adaptation of ancient marriage formulas. At a wedding ceremony, the husband would say, “I will be your husband and you will be my wife.” And the wife would reciprocate, “I will be your wife and you will be my husband.” This was a part of the verbal thing. And that's what's happened in the book. In fact, in chapter 27, verses nine and ten, he will say, “Today you have become the people of the Lord, your God.” That's what happened there. They have been formally inducted into that status.  

C. Israel and Jeshurun 

He also has a special pet name for Israel, Jeshurun. I've never heard a sermon on Jeshurun. And what does this mean? It comes from a root meaning “to be straight,” and it looks like a passive participle, meaning “my straightened one, the one whom I have straightened.” We’ll talk about what that means. I don't think it's moral straightness; the Israelites are rarely morally straight. I think it has to do with they were bogged down with a yoke of slavery on their shoulders and God lifted the yoke. We'll hear about that in the book. God lifted the yoke and now they can walk straight. It's a redemption and salvation word.  

D. Additional Special Expressions to Identify Israel 

There are other special expressions for Israel in this one.  

Israel is His own possession, usually translated inheritance. You are My heritage or My inheritance. But of course, that does not work. To us inheritance is what you get when your parents die. It's what's left over. There's no way Israel is that to God. It's not because Israel's parents have died and that He then has received this inheritance. No, no, no, no. It is simply a word for possession.  

His allotted possession 32:9,  

His holy, sanctified people belonging to the Lord. These are all covenantal expressions, ‘am qādôś layhwh  

His chosen people,  

His sons. Chapter 14:1, “Sons you are to the Lord your God.” Well, how did that happen? How does a person become the son of God? And of course, the answer is by covenant. That's what happened at Sinai.  

So, on the one hand, we mix metaphors at Sinai. On the one hand, this is marriage. At Sinai, Israel became the bride of God. At Sinai, also, Israel, God's firstborn, was formally inducted as His son. Moses says to Pharoah, “God says, ‘Let My people go, that they may worship me,’” My firstborn son. Well, Israel and His treasured people, His ‘am sěgullâ. We'll have time to talk about all of these expressions in the next sessions.  

So that's the vocabulary of the book. It is covenantal from beginning to end. This is a very special relationship that it talks about.  

III. Covenantal Structure 

We notice a covenantal feature here is the covenantal structure of the book. This is a colorful diagram, and I'm inspired to do it this way by Kenneth Kitchen, an Egyptologist who has gathered all the ancient covenants along with a colleague, Paul Lawrence. And they've created these colorized chromatic schemes of how these covenants work. And in the ancient world, this is the structure that you see in the covenants. Typically, they begin with a title which identifies the parties. Then a prologue tells how we got here. Then the stipulations, these are the terms. Then a reference to making a written copy and depositing it somewhere. Then a call for witnesses. Then curses and blessings. Well, we have all of this in the book of Deuteronomy. It is all in the book of Deuteronomy. 

And you have, you know, the second column is Exodus and Deuteronomy pattern. The first one is Hittites, and then you've got the Sfire and the Neo Israelite [recte Neo-Assyria]. This book, even in its structure, is covenantal.  

A. Preamble 

Now let's review these parts again in the preamble, the title, it’s an introduction, especially of the suzerain. Normally it would say, I am the great King Esarhaddon if it’s with the Assyrians, or Hattušili, the Hittite guy. That's the first.  

B. Historical Prologue 

Second, the historical prologue, which summarizes how we got here. How did we get to this covenant moment? And in other contexts, usually would be by the great king beating the tar out of the subject. Or they have been frightened into bowing down before him before he beat the tar out of them. I'm the big boy; you’re the little boy and you better. So, historical prologue.  

C. Stipulations 

Then the stipulations: detailed outline of responses of the vassal, usually focusing on the absolute loyalty to the suzerain and very little on what the suzerain promises for the vassal. But in the Bible, you have that all over the place. 

D. Document 

Document clause: it arranges for the transcription, making a written copy of it, and then to be used in covenant renewal contexts.  

E. Blessings and Curses 

Blessings and curses: the consequences. If you obey, this is what will happen. If you disobey, then the consequent disasters that come. 

F. Treaty Witnesses 

And then treaty witnesses: in pagan circles, this would involve the names of all sorts of gods whom you invoke with a curse. If you don't keep this covenant may Ninurta wipe out your seed, may your seed perish. That's the worst curse you could experience. All right. And so, they'll have lots of these.  

IV. Covenant Elements in Deuteronomy 

Now, let's apply this then to Deuteronomy. How does this fit the book of Deuteronomy? It's remarkable, the treaty structure, and we've known this now for 40 or 50 years after they found all the Hittite treaties.  

A. Preamble 

But the book of Deuteronomy is not an introduction preamble. We saw the first few verses earlier. It's not an introduction of the king, but it's an editorial introduction to the book. So, this is different, but it starts there.  

B. Historical Prologue 

But then we have the first address of Moses in this book; it functions as what we call the historical prologue. It explains to the Israelites, how did we get here to the plains of Moab, where God is inviting us into this relationship with Him, and through the process of this covenant ratification procedure we become His people. That's what's happening in the book. But the historical prologue is largely recollections of what God has done for Israel in the past. There are very little, very few stipulations here. This is not law in the way we typically view law.  

C. Stipulations 

Then you have general stipulations. In my view, this is the second address. He begins by reciting the Decalogue, which presents the foundation of Israel's covenant worldview. And then, especially from chapters six seven all the way through 11, it's especially the great command, “I am Yahweh, your God, you shall have no other gods besides Me. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul. This is the first and great command.” So, this is a sermon, or a series of sub-sermons on what does it mean to be covenantally related to Yahweh. And we will see how that works.  

Then in 12:1 to 26:19, the sermonic tone continues, but now you actually have a repetition of a lot of the laws. You heard me use the word the regulations, the stipulations revealed at Sinai. Moses repeats lots of them, but he gives them in homiletical, sermonic form with hopefully inspiring motivation by saying and reminding them of God's grace in their past. 

D. Document Clause 

Then the fourth address. Well, Chapter 31 is not fourth address, this is the document clause. We already read the text in 31, “Moses wrote down all the words of this Torah on a scroll, and he handed them to the priests,” the Levitical priests, “And he said, Put this beside the Ark of the Covenant.” That's the document clause. We now have a written record of this, which is to be read by the Levitical Priests every seven years at the Festival of Booths. Nowhere else in the entire First Testament does anybody tell us what to do with any scriptures in worship. But we have clear instruction here on what to do with Deuteronomy in worship, or certainly, the speeches of Moses in worship. Every seven years they are to be read to the whole gathering at the Festival of Booths. That's the document clause.  

E. Consequences 

Then you have a detailed outline of the consequences of Israel, the blessings and the curses, 28 to 29.  

F. Covenant Ratification 

And then covenant ratification procedures. We'll talk about how this works in chapter 29 and 30 later on. This is when they put themselves under the oath of the covenant. And after that, if they ever go back on their covenant promises, the Lord is fully authorized to invoke on them all the curses to which they've signed on. Those curses are part of the covenant document. So, if the curses come –and they will – it is not because the covenant is off. It's because the covenant is on. So that the curses are always, or the judgment is always, in terms that God had specified. 

G. Covenant Witnesses 

And then witnesses. Well, this is an orthodox monotheistic system, the Israelite system, there's only one God. So, you can't appeal to all the other gods to be witnesses to what the Israelites are signing on to or to be witnesses to what Yahweh has signed on to. So, what does he do? He says, “I call heaven and earth to witness.” By the time we get to chapter 37, you will hear that the procedure over there is in a loud voice they shout on Mount Gerizim and Ebal so that the mountains can hear their swearing in. And that way, if they ever go off track, the prophets can call attention. Hosea will say, “Hear, O heavens, give ear O, earth. The Lord has a case against His people.” And of course, they were the witnesses at the original signing. And so that's it.  

Well, in the covenantal relationship underlying Deuteronomy Yahweh was the great king, Israel was his privileged vassal. Hear that. Privileged vassal. God rescued them from the slavery of Egypt, not to make them slaves to Himself and burden them with a law that they couldn’t keep. That's not grace; that’s tyranny. But he rescued them from the slavery of Egypt to become his vassals, which in Hebrew is exactly the same word, his agents of revelation and grace to the world. It's the commission and we'll have more to say about that.  

Unlike other vassals of the day, Israel didn't become the Lord's vassal by being beaten up by the Lord and cowed into significance. No, they became His vassal by the Lord defeating the enemy who held them as slaves. And so that the response is always a response of gratitude, indebtedness; look at all that God has done for us; why wouldn't we be faithful to Him? For the Israelites, vassaldom to Yahweh was not humiliating. It was an honorific status. We’ll hear this at the end of chapter 26, the end of the third address, (almost the end.) “See, I've set you high above the nations for praise, for honor and for glory.” 

Whose praise, whose honor, and whose glory? Of course, it is that Israel may prosper, but in so doing, the Israelites will show to the world what grace can do. To God be the glory. And that's what will happen there. Well, they were drawn to Himself, called to a personal relationship, exalted high above the nations that they might praise Him before the watching world.  

V. Covenantal Significance of Rituals on Plains of Moab  

Well, this leads us then to the covenantal significance of the rituals on the plains of Moab. Deuteronomy 27:9. Stuck in the middle of Chapter 27, all of a sudden, he's been looking forward to another part of the ceremony in the future once you've crossed the Jordan, but then he brings him back. “Listen, O Israel.” And he says, “Today you have become the people of Yahweh, your God.” That is the significance of this so that when they cross the Jordan tomorrow. (And of course, in my vocabulary here, I can define words any way I want to use them. Yesterday is always the last time we were together. Tomorrow is the next significant event on the calendar.) When they cross the Jordan tomorrow, it's probably three weeks later that they could actually cross, but when they cross it, they are not going just as a band of bandits from the desert. They are going as the people of Yahweh to claim the gift that Yahweh had given them. “Today you have become.”  

And then 29:1. “These are the words of the covenant” (this is at the end of the long third address) “these are the words of the covenant that the Lord charged Moses to make on His behalf with the descendants of Israel in the land of Moab, apart from the words of the covenant that He made with them at Horeb.” 

So, this is another covenant ratification. We need a new covenant proceeding. And what's happening here is this generation. You see that despite what Moses will say in chapter five, where he says, “God didn't make a covenant with your fathers at Sinai, but with you.” I mean, literally, that's false. It's a false statement. It was with their fathers that He made the covenant with at Sinai. This people standing in front of Moses weren't at Sinai, or those who were under 20 at that point were here, but they didn't count, you know, they hadn't reached voting age, so their signatures didn't matter. This generation were born in the desert. They weren't there when God brought them out of Egypt. They weren't there when they were at Sinai. They need their own ceremony by which they are brought into the covenant relationship and by which they are then sent out.  

Moses was well aware of the Lord’s earlier sworn covenantal oath to give the land of Canaan to the patriarchs and the descendants. And what he is doing here is giving this people the rights to claim what God had promised their ancestors. And that's what's happening here.  

Well, look at verse four. (We'll come back to this some more later.) “Remember the day you stood before Yahweh” Now he's remembering Sinai, your God at Horeb. He never uses the word Sinai in the book, except in one point at the end. Otherwise, he always calls it Horeb. Same place. Horeb. “Assemble the people before Me and have them hear My words, which they must learn so that they may fear Me as long as they live in the land, and they must teach them to their children.” 

So, you know, from that right off the bat that he is deeming his words to be canonical scripture from the very beginning. That will be the subject of our next session.  

“So, you came near and you stood at the foot of the mountain, while it blazed with fire to the very heavens.” he's talking about Sinai, Horeb. “It was wrapped in deep darkness. Then the Lord spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of voice, but you saw no form. There was only a voice. And He declared to you, His covenant. That is, He commanded you to put it into practice,” but not this generation. He's talking collectively, Israel there at Sinai this is what happened. “And He gave them the ten words. He wrote them on to stone tablets,” which are symbolic of the relationship. “And at that time, the Lord charged me to teach you ordinances and stipulations.” He didn't charge him to legislate. He officially installed him as His prophetic teacher authorizing him to do this.  

VI. Nature of the Covenant Rituals on Plains of Moab 

A. Formal Assembly of the People 

Well, what sort of procedures did they go through in this instance? Well, it begins with a formal assembly of the people of Israel in the presence of the Lord, as they had at Mount Sinai, here it is on the plains of Moab. The opening verse of the book suggests the words he spoke to all Israel, east of the Jordan. He had been talking to them all along the way already, but now they're condensed into sermonic form to this assembled gathering. “Moses spoke to the descendants of Israel, according to all that Yahweh had charged him to say.” Well, what would that tell you about Moses’ sense of authority. Moses isn't making this up. These are this is not a made-up speech by Moses. Moses is simply declaring to the people what God commands Moses to tell the people. He is as His inspired teacher.  

Not until the final address do we learn that Moses had actually delivered them in a formal context the assembly of all Israel. In chapter 29 he says, “You have taken your stand today in this covenantal moment, all of you before Yahweh, your God, your tribal leaders, elders, officials, all the men of Israel, as well as your small children, your wives and the foreigners in your camp, from those who chop your wood to those who draw water.” Everybody's wrapped up in this covenant. You're standing before Him. God has invited us to an audience with Himself, which He speaks through Moses His words. And they all sign on in this assembly. To take one’s stand is not just to get up. You're sitting down; get up. No, it's formally. We are here for very serious official business. And that's what happens here.  

The narrator reinforces the significance of this covenant moment by noting the specific date: “on the first day of the 11th month in Israel's 40th year” Shabbat 1, year 40. Deuteronomy 1:3. It's on the calendar. This is the day we became the people of God.  

So, that's the first stage in covenant procedure, the assembly. Bring the people together. We know of no other covenant in ancient history that a God makes with a collection of people. We know of covenants between a god and a king elsewhere. But never with a people. Here God is making His covenant with the people.  

B. Presentation of the Torah to the People 

Then you have the presentation of the Torah. The people have come for an audience with God and Moses starts talking. That is the voice of God speaking to the people through the lips of Moses. And so, he talks about these are the words of the covenant from your suzerain. The narrator captures his legal illocutionary (it’s a big word, I'll talk about it in a moment) goals even more clearly. “On the other side” this is 1:5, “on the other side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to put in force this Torah by saying.”  

Now, that's not the normal translation of this. Usually this is translated as Moses began to expound the law. Which in my view is wrong on two counts. One, Torah doesn't mean law. We already talked about that. Two, the word here does not mean, the verb, does not mean to expound. You know, as if this is a sermon on previous revelation. In this context, Torah refers to what Moses is giving, not what they got at Sinai. The Torah here is Moses’ address.  

But what he's doing in this word – it's a Hebrew word, bē ēr, which happens only three times in the Bible; here, and Deuteronomy 27:8 where they write the words of this Torah on the pillars. Very puzzling ritual there. Usually translated write very plainly. Doesn't mean write very plainly. It means put in into effect by writing. Here it’s put into effect by declaring; that's what's happening. This is a formal procedure at which Israel becomes the people of God. It's putting into effect through the proclamation of the Torah.  

Now, at the beginning, when he talks about this Torah, chapter one, verse five, that is the narrative heading “Across the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to expound this Torah.” That's what my translation is. Moses put this Torah into effect by saying. Now, go to chapter four, verse 44. This is that at the end of the first address, you have it. “Now, this is the Torah that Moses set before the Sons of Israel.” That's a conclusion. What's happening in that first speech is Torah that Moses is presenting, but that same word is applied to the other speeches as well. It's all Torah. Everything that Moses teaches is Torah.  

Well, I think I'm going to skip the technical discussion of the word bē ēr; it doesn't mean explain carefully or write carefully. It means to put into effect the relationship that is represented by this Torah, and he does it by declaring to the people all the words of this Torah. Through the proclamation of the Torah, through the performance of covenant rituals implied in the book, the Israelite Covenant, ratified at Horeb, is put in force for this generation. I said before, these people weren't there then, but they need to know that we are God's people and God is hereby giving them a brand-new ceremony to which they can always look back and say, That was the moment we became the people of God. It was the moment of our legal adoption, even this generation.  

And you have reference allusion to the same procedure at the end of the third address. Chapter 26:16-19. We'll come back to this in fuller, but he begins Chapter 26:16, “This day Yahweh, Your God, is commanding you to do these ordinances and stipulations, and you shall keep and do them with all your heart and with all your being.” And then, now I'm reading NIV (sorry, Dr. Mounce) “You have declared this day that the Lord is your God, that you will walk in obedience to Him, that you will keep His decrees, commands and laws that you will listen to Him.” I've got all kinds of problems with that one. Laws? No, instructions, whatever. Commands? Yes. “that you will listen to Him. And the Lord has declared this day that you are His people, His treasured possession as He promised, and that you are to keep...”  

So, you've got references to the two sides of this relationship. Who is the Lord after this? He is, the God of Israel. Who are the people after this? They are the people of Yahweh. That's what's happened here.  

C. Verbal Binding of the Covenant Partners 

But now let's go back to those two words. “You have declared this day that the Lord is your God.” It's not what the text says here. Verse 17, “Today you have had Yahweh declare to be your God.” This is a technical discussion. Now, just three sentences. Bear with me. The hiphil Hebrew stem is used when you want to say that somebody has somebody else, do something. And in this case, it is, you have had Yahweh declare that He would be your God. Then look at verse 18, “Today, Yahweh has had you declare that you would be His treasured people.”  

What's happening here? This is the only place in all of scripture where you have this hiphil form of the verb, never anywhere else. The author, Moses, is using a very special technical semi-legal vocabulary. This word appears thousands of times in the Bible. It's simply the word for “say.” Here, Israel has had Yahweh say; Yahweh has had Israel say. This is formal language of covenant ratification whereby each party hears the other person commit Himself to them. And the other party hears Israel commit themselves to the Lord. Yahweh has heard Israel say, I am yours, I will keep your commands. Israel has had Yahweh say, I am your God. And I will set you high above the nations. This is formal legal covenant ratification language.  

We can reconstruct it in something like this. Moses, presumably we're trying to recapture the event, “Today you have had Yahweh declare,” and then Yahweh speaks, “I will be your God. You shall walk in My ways. You should keep My ordinances, listen to My voice.” And then Moses says to Israel, “Today, Yahweh has had you declare. And they say, We will be your treasured people, just as You promised us. We will keep all Your commands. We will be a holy people to Yahweh, our God, just as You promised, and You will set us high above the nations. We've heard You say that. We've had You say that.” So, this is a technical covenant ratification moment.  

And of course, the reference to “He will set you high above the nations,” this is the mission to which God calls Israel. And that's the point of the covenant. God doesn't make a covenant because Israel is special. God makes a covenant with Israel because the world is special and this is His means. They are the agents by which He wants to reach the world. This is the missiological mission of the nation of Israel. And of course, they forgot that very quickly. This whole notion opens up again in chapter 28, where he unpacks this special status.  

D. Concluding Oath Ritual 

And then finally, there is a concluding or oath ritual, as was the case at Horeb. You remember at Horeb, when Moses read all the words of the covenant document and the Decalogue to the people. Then they built an altar, offered sacrifices, and while they are offering sacrifices, they saved some of the blood and they splattered some blood on the altar. This was the ritual by which Yahweh was putting Himself under oath. The altar represents God, and God is thereby saying, So be it to Me if I ever go back on My word; may I give my blood. There are other analogs to this.  

But then, after they've read all the words of the covenant one more time, the people say, “All that the Lord has spoken, we will do.” They say it for the third time. And then Moses takes the blood and sprinkles it on the people. What's happened? This is signed, sealed, delivered. It's done. And we have put ourselves under oath so that if we ever break it, may all the curses come upon us. And what does God say if I break it, I mean, often in scripture you have – “by my life as I live.” That's God's way of saying, guaranteed. And of course, He is the eternal, living God, He will never die. But in any case, it's a ritual for the sake of communication.  

Well, and then chapter 29. “Today all of you are standing before Yahweh your God: the heads of your tribes, elders, little ones, sojourners with you, all of you are standing so that you may pass into the covenant of your way, your God and the oath of the Lord, your God, which the Lord Your God is making with you today, that He may establish you today as His people, that He may be your God as He promised you and as He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” Here it is. The Abrahamic Covenant. This is an extension of the Abrahamic covenant. Through this ritual, this generation is wrapped into that covenant relationship. What Abraham was to the mission, the nation is now to the mission.  

But then he says, It's not with you alone, but with all those whoever is standing here. Yes, you're all here. But also, with whoever is not here with us today. So, this covenant is not only for this generation, it is in perpetuity for those who will be your children. They're wrapped into this as well.  

E. Cutting the Covenant 

I have here an illustration of “cutting the covenant,” and the Hebrew expression for to make a covenant is to cut it. We use the word of manufacture for covenant; no, the cutting. Well, what did that mean? This is from Genesis 15. Remember that very puzzling text? Abraham is lying there. He's in a coma. That's what the Hebrew word here is, tardēmâ; he's in a deep sleep. He's a passive observer to what is happening.  

But the Lord has said, take these critters and cut them in half. And then what happens is that that torch passes between the two parts. In Akkadian, that is the language of Babylonia, in that language, the idiom for making a covenant is to cut the donkey. And we have one or two illustrations in which people who are parties to a covenant cut the donkey and then the partners to the covenant walk between the two parts. And in so doing, they say, may this happen to me if I don't keep my covenant.  

But in this case, in Genesis 15, there God alone is passing through. Later in Chapter 17, Abraham himself, through the act of circumcision, he signs on. So that's the second half of it. But in this case, God binds himself to Abraham and his descendants irrevocably.  

Well, Genesis 17:7, through the Israelites actions on the plains of Moab, the Lord fulfilled His ancient promise by having Israelites born after the Exodus pass into the Covenant and the oath; they are now God's covenant people. He had kept His word. He remembered His covenant with Abraham and hereby established His descendants as His people. Exactly as He said.  

Now, the infidelity, faithlessness, and consequent death of the Exodus generation after they signed on at Sinai raised questions about whether God would keep His covenant. What would God do now that all the Israelites have died? That was the point. Have you ever done the math on how many funerals there were in the desert after they turned around from Kadesh Barnea and it was hundreds every day. The dominant sound in the Israelite camp for those 40 years would have been the death wail, that which they heard ringing in their ears as they left Egypt, the Egyptians were all wailing the death of their firstborn. For 40 years, every day, a hundred funerals in the camp of Israel. The point of those 40 years was to get rid of this generation, start over, and this is the generation with which God would do this.  

There's one more stage to this and that will happen – we’ll talk about this in chapter 27 – Moses says, I can't cross the Jordan with you, but when you cross the Jordan, you are to head straight for Gerizim and Ebal, two mountains right here for a very special procedure, and it's also covenantal. And notice, it's right in the very dead center of from Dan to Beersheba, which defines the boundaries, from New York to L.A., whatever. Right in the dead center, there they go through one more ritual, but that will be the subject of later conversation.  

Deuteronomy is covenantal from beginning to end. What's happening here is the creation, I should say the renewal, the establishment, the confirmation of this generation as the people of God. And that's a privileged status. Sons you are to the Lord your God. 14:1. You are His chosen ones. His Holy people called that you might show the praises of Him, who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. That's Deuteronomy.