A VERY slight acquaintance with this book will show us how different it is from every other book.
It marks the end of the wilderness journey— eleven days’ journey which had occupied forty long years — and ere the first step is taken into the promised land Moses, at the command of God, rehearses the desert history, and the ordinances and commandments to be observed in the land. It is a sorrowful story, as we have seen in a former study, a story of unbelief, of disobedience, of murmuring.
But in contrast to all this and in spite of it, we have the wonderful revelation that the Lord loved His people; nothing that they were altered His love, and to this day they are “beloved for the father’s sakes” (Rom. 11:2828As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes. (Romans 11:28)), In tender and beautiful words Moses tells them, “The Lord did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: but because the Lord loved you” hath He “brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bond-men” (Deut. 7:7, 87The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: 8But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 7:7‑8)).
Our hearts may well be glad at these words, for it is the same love which has stooped down to meet our need; only now, through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, and as blessed in Him, we are made children of God and are loved with that same love that rests in all its fullness on Him, as He said, “That the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them” (John:7:26).
We read also that God spoke to them. In the fourth chapter Moses tells them, “The Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but ye saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.” And again, “Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?... Out of heaven He made thee to heat His voice that He might instruct thee.”
The foolish and flagrant infidelity of today denies God, denies that He has spoken; but Israel when they heard the voice from the flaming mountain-top were in no doubt who it was who spoke to them. In every age of the world’s history God has spoken, by creation, by signs and wonders, by prophets, by a still small voice, and “in these last days... by His Son” (Heb. 1:22Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; (Hebrews 1:2)), Three times during the Lord’s pathway through the world God spoke to Him audibly so that others might hear, and in the gospels we are allowed to listen to His words as He spoke to His Father. Let no one doubt that God has spoken, nor that by the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, He speaks still to those who have ears to hear.
If it is objected that Deuteronomy is of doubtful authenticity, or that the Pentateuch is not to be taken literally, let us remember that the Lord Jesus quoted from this book. As is well known, He met the three temptations in the wilderness with words which forever accredit it.
“IT IS WRITTEN, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:44But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4); Deut. 8:33And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. (Deuteronomy 8:3)).
May those words, “It is written,” be deeply engraved in all our hearts. There is much in this book, much in the whole Bible that with our present knowledge we do not understand; there is much more that we might understand if we studied it more diligently. It carries within its own credentials; it is not given to teach us history, though it is greater than all history; it was not written to instruct us in science, though above all science; but, “by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.”
The Apostle Paul quotes from chapters 30:11-14 in Romans 10:6-8,6But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) 7Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) 8But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; (Romans 10:6‑8) but with how great a contrast! In Deuteronomy it is the way of law, in Romans the way of faith; as he says plainly, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:1717So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17)). So the word, which has been given us that we may live thereby, must be received by faith, and by the teaching of the Holy Spirit. There is, moreover, no alternative. By it we have the knowledge of God, and of our Lord Jesus Christ; by it we have the assurance of sins forgiven, and the light of eternal life; without it we live and walk in darkness, and die in the dark, without the least ray of hope beyond the grave.
There was no response in Israel to Jehovah’s love, they were “children in whom is no faith” (32:20), and the law which He spake, and which was their life, was made death unto them by their disobedience. Moses set before them “life and death, blessing and cursing” (30:19), and they chose the way of death and cursing — idolatry and disobedience, until the day came that, having filled up the measure of their guilt by crucifying their long-promised Messiah, the judgment predicted in chapters 28:49-58 fell on them and was fulfilled to the letter. To this day they are an abiding witness to the truth of the word recorded for our warning in this book.
The only event mentioned in Deuteronomy, apart from the history rehearsed by Moses, is his seeing the land from afar, and his death and burial. God “buried him in a valley in the land of Moab... but no man knoweth of his sepulcher unto this day” (34:6).
With Moses passed the last hope of man under law, speaking typically, actually the period of law continued until the commencement of the Christian era. The law was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator, and Moses was the mediator who had stood in the breach when the Lord threatened to destroy the people for their sin. Not that the law was wrong, for “if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law” (Gal. 3:2121Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. (Galatians 3:21)). It had indeed been proved, beyond doubt, that there was no blessing for the people by the law, only a curse, and now the mediator whom the Lord knew face to face is dead, and the outlook would have been hopeless indeed were it not for the appointment of a new leader and of a different order of things, as recorded in the closing words of the book.
How this should stir our hearts to praise for the grace that has come to us! Now, “there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all” (1 Tim. 2:55For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; (1 Timothy 2:5)), who died, and rose, and liveth evermore, and who has annulled death and brought life and incorruptibility to light through the gospel.
Before we close our study of the Pentateuch, we should briefly look at the numbering of the tribes. We may compare Genesis 49:1-281And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days. 2Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father. 3Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: 4Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch. 5Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations. 6O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. 7Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel. 8Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee. 9Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? 10The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. 11Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: 12His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk. 13Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon. 14Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens: 15And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute. 16Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. 17Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. 18I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord. 19Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last. 20Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties. 21Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words. 22Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: 23The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: 24But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:) 25Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: 26The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren. 27Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil. 28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them. (Genesis 49:1‑28); Exodus 1:1-51Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob. 2Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 5And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already. (Exodus 1:1‑5); Numbers 1:5-155And these are the names of the men that shall stand with you: of the tribe of Reuben; Elizur the son of Shedeur. 6Of Simeon; Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 7Of Judah; Nahshon the son of Amminadab. 8Of Issachar; Nethaneel the son of Zuar. 9Of Zebulun; Eliab the son of Helon. 10Of the children of Joseph: of Ephraim; Elishama the son of Ammihud: of Manasseh; Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 11Of Benjamin; Abidan the son of Gideoni. 12Of Dan; Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 13Of Asher; Pagiel the son of Ocran. 14Of Gad; Eliasaph the son of Deuel. 15Of Naphtali; Ahira the son of Enan. (Numbers 1:5‑15); Deuteronomy 33:6-256Let Reuben live, and not die; and let not his men be few. 7And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him unto his people: let his hands be sufficient for him; and be thou an help to him from his enemies. 8And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah; 9Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant. 10They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar. 11Bless, Lord, his substance, and accept the work of his hands: smite through the loins of them that rise against him, and of them that hate him, that they rise not again. 12And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders. 13And of Joseph he said, Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, 14And for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, 15And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, 16And for the precious things of the earth and fulness thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was separated from his brethren. 17His glory is like the firstling of his bullock, and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh. 18And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; and, Issachar, in thy tents. 19They shall call the people unto the mountain; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness: for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sand. 20And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: he dwelleth as a lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head. 21And he provided the first part for himself, because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he seated; and he came with the heads of the people, he executed the justice of the Lord, and his judgments with Israel. 22And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp: he shall leap from Bashan. 23And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favor, and full with the blessing of the Lord: possess thou the west and the south. 24And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children; let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil. 25Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be. (Deuteronomy 33:6‑25); and in contrast the last numbering in Revelation 8:5-85And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. 6And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. 7The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. 8And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; (Revelation 8:5‑8). It will be seed that in each case the order of the names is different.
In Genesis 49 we have Jacob’s prophecy which is generally admitted to be an outline of Israel’s history from that day to their final blessing under Christ. In Exodus the tribes are enumerated as in Egypt; in Numbers as in the wilderness; and in Deuteronomy as about to enter into the land; the order of the names should be compared with the final numbering in the Revelation.
It is sad to trace the same story of man’s failure throughout. Reuben at the first forfeited his birthright which was given to Joseph, and entailed this loss on his tribe for all time. They were the leaders of those who settled down on the wilderness side of the river Jordan, and were the first to be carried away into captivity long after. Simeon is omitted from the record in Deuteronomy. The tribe seems to have had little interest in possessing their inheritance for we read of them later within Judah’s territory. In Revelation Dan is left out, a very solemn thing, for it was in Dan that idolatry was first systematized, and it is thought that from Dan antichrist will come. Ephraim, the tribe of “ten-thousands” is not mentioned, and Joseph appears instead. Manasses, the tribe of “thousands,” has a place. The Scripture in Hosea 4:17,17Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone. (Hosea 4:17) may explain this. “Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone.”
The tribes varied in numbers and in characteristics through the years, and it may be that in the order of their enumeration this is considered.
The blessing of Judah in Genesis and in Deuteronomy must be noted, because “It is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah” (Heb. 7:1414For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. (Hebrews 7:14)). Judah is the royal tribe as we read in Revelation 5:5,5And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. (Revelation 5:5) “The Lion of the tribe of Judah hath prevailed.” Joseph, as we saw in our study of Genesis, is a typical person, to whom the rights of the firstborn belong. The blessing of Joseph in Genesis and in Deuteronomy would seem to foreshadow millennial blessing, as though heaven and earth, sun and moon, the everlasting hills, the dew and the great deeps were all laid under tribute to gladden the kingdom of Him at whom the archers had shot and sorely wounded, and who, separate from and despised by His brethren, has been exalted by God far above all principality and power, and might and dominion. We see a little foretaste of the blessing that can no longer be limited to Israel in John 4, when the Lord, wearied with His journey, sat on the well, “near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph,” waiting to bless Samaria’s outcast daughter with eternal life and joy.
Let us read one verse more. “This glorious and fearful name THE LORD THY GOD” (28:58). We whose happy lot it is, in this day of grace, to be brought to God as Father, do well to remember that God does not abate one iota of His glory and majesty; He is ever the “Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty,” and, whilst we worship Him with filial hearts, let our worship be also and always with reverence and godly fear. The day may be much nearer than we think when He will arise to shake terribly the earth, and will make His power and His wrath known. We may have light thoughts of sin, but let us take it to heart that the sin which has dishonored God, necessitated the Lord’s giving of Himself at Calvary, degraded man, and filled this fair earth with weeping, will yet receive its swift and due retribution.
May writer and reader be ever more earnestly interested in the study of Scripture, that therein we may learn the mind of God, and “His deep eternal counsel” for the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, and for the blessing of the vast universe.
L. R.