Deuteronomy 29

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

Review of the Covenant

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. Keeping the covenant would result in possession of the Land.

  2. Breaking the covenant would result in expulsion from the Land.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Concentrate on what God has revealed!

QUESTIONS

  1. Is Deuteronomy 29 the beginning of a new sermon by Moses?

  2. Does Deuteronomy 29:1 refer to a different covenant than the Mosaic Covenant?

  3. What is the emphasis of Deuteronomy 29?

  4. Was the Land promise to Israel conditional or unconditional

ANSWERS

  1. Various commentators take different positions. Some have the second sermon by Moses ending at chapter 26, thus the third sermon consists of chapters 27 and 28, with 29:1 being a final summary statement of that sermon. Then the fourth sermon would begin with 29:2 and end with chapter 30. Other commentaries conclude the second sermon after chapter 28 and thus chapters 29 and 30 become Moses’ third sermon to the people on the Plains of Moab. Dr. Dave tended to think the second sermon ended in chapter 26, making the instructions for the covenant renewal ceremony in chapters 27 and 28 an interlude. Now chapters 29-30 are the third sermon to the children of Israel before they crossed over the Jordan River into the Promised Land

  2. A number of commentators see Deuteronomy 29-30 as a separate covenant from the Mosaic covenant and call it the Palestinian Covenant. However there is nothing new in these chapters that has not already been stated in the Mosaic Covenant, so some commentators say the point of verse 1 is not a new covenant but rather for renewed commitment to the Mosaic Covenant.

  3. The emphasis here is not on possession of the Land for keeping the covenant, but expulsion from the Land for breaking the covenant.

  4. Ownership of the Land was unconditional, because the guarantee of the Land goes back to the Abrahamic Covenant, which was unconditional. But possession of the Land was conditional upon obedience

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. The Children of Israel were warned about letting roots of bitterness get the best of them (verse 18). We too are warned about the deadly nature of bitter roots in Hebrews 12:15. What effects of bitterness have you seen in your own life or someone you know?

  2. The Children of Israel had been taught repeatedly that keeping the covenant would result in possession of the Land, but breaking the covenant would result in expulsion from the Land. In Deuteronomy 29:16-21 the emphasis shifts to the responsibility of every individual in the nation to keep the covenant. Why is it crucial to make that shift to individual responsibility?

CHALLENGE

  1. Some Christians like to spend their time speculating on what God has not revealed. The Lord has not revealed everything to us in His Word, but He has revealed a lot. We should concentrate our studies on what God has revealed.

KEY VERSES

  • “And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet. You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or similar drink, that you may know that I am the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 29:5-6

  • “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” Deuteronomy 29:29

Deuteronomy, Old Testament, TalksRon ReidDEUTERONOMY 29