The Book of Deuteronomy: Background and Introduction

Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the entire Bible and the fifth book of the Pentateuch. It is one of the four Old Testament books most frequently quoted in the New Testament (the others are Genesis, Psalms, and Isaiah). After wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, the children of Israel were once again at the threshold of the Promised Land. At this point, Moses wrote this book to explain their future, the challenges they would face on the other side of the Jordan River, and to give his final instructions to the people.

Deuteronomy was written 40 years after the Book of Exodus. During those four decades, the entire older generation had died. The men who were adults when they left Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, and camped at Mount Sinai to first hear the Ten Commandments had all died, with the exception of Moses, Caleb, and Joshua, because they had disobeyed the Law. During the crossing of the Red Sea and the camping at Mount Sinai, the new generation were all children, and many of them had no memory of their parents’ history of leaving Egypt. At this point, Moses was 120 years old, and God told him that he would not be able to enter the Promised Land. He had to repeat the entire Law one more time. The new generation had to hear these laws again and renew their covenant with God. They were about to witness the miracle of the waters parting, this time not the Red Sea, but the Jordan River.

After completing the Pentateuch and appointing Joshua, son of Nun, as his successor, Moses climbed Mount Nebo to view the Promised Land, where he died. The Lord buried him, and from that day until now, no one has known the location of his tomb. Although Moses was 120 years old when he died, “his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone.” The Lord had used him to perform all kinds of signs and wonders. For this reason, the last chapter of Deuteronomy comments, “Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.”

God gave the Law, specifying the “feasts of the Lord,” the Sabbath, the Sabbath year, and the Year of Jubilee. However, God did not prevent the Israelites from making mistakes, just as He allowed events like the golden calf incident (Exodus 32:4), the offering of unauthorized fire, and the breaking of the Sabbath (Numbers 15:32) to occur. Through these events, God wanted to demonstrate that for people to find true rest, three conditions are necessary: reverence for God, mutual respect, and not wronging one another. All three are essential. History proves that while humanity, far from God, has tried various social systems to achieve the ideal of mutual respect and not wronging one another, if they do not first revere God, the result is always the opposite of what they intended, and they cannot find rest.

Edited and compiled based on the Chinese Union Version of the Bible and a comprehensive biblical interpretation.