Deuteronomy

Three Sermons · One Final Charge

Moses preaches to the new generation on the plains of Moab. The covenant is renewed, the Shema confessed, and the book closes with his song, his blessing, and his unmarked grave.

1. Sermon 1 — Retrospective1–4

   Moses rehearses the wilderness — Horeb, the spies, the forty years, Sihon and Og. ‘Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves.’

   ↓
2. Sermon 2 — The Law Restated5–26

   The Decalogue repeated; the Shema; laws for the land, for worship, for kingship, for war, for the poor. The covenant's central exposition.

   1. The Shemach. 6
      ‘Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God is one LORD…’ (6:4–5)
   2. Not by bread alonech. 8
      Jesus' Matthew-4 answer.
   3. A prophet like Mosesch. 18
      Messianic — claimed of Christ in Acts 3:22.
   ↓
3. Sermon 3 — Blessings and Curses27–30

   Ebal and Gerizim; the blessings of obedience and the curses of apostasy; life or death set before the nation.

   ↓
4. Epilogue — Song · Blessing · Death31–34

   Joshua commissioned; the song of Moses (ch. 32); the blessing of the tribes (ch. 33); Moses' death on Nebo and his burial by God (ch. 34).

‘There arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses’ (34:10).

Author

Moses — the sermons on the plains of Moab; ch. 34 (his death) traditionally attributed to Joshua

Date

The final weeks of Moses' life on the plains of Moab, c. 15th–13th century BC

Audience

The new generation of Israel, standing east of the Jordan, about to cross into the land

Position

Old Testament · Book 5 of 66