On the east side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying: On the east side of the JordanThis phrase situates the narrative geographically, emphasizing the Israelites' position just outside the Promised Land. The Jordan River serves as a significant boundary, both physically and spiritually. In Hebrew, "Jordan" (יַרְדֵּן, Yarden) means "descender," symbolizing a transition from the wilderness wanderings to the inheritance of Canaan. The east side, often associated with the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, represents a place of preparation and anticipation. Historically, this location underscores the Israelites' journey and the fulfillment of God's promises. in the land of Moab
Moab, a region east of the Dead Sea, holds a complex relationship with Israel. The Moabites, descendants of Lot, were both kin and adversaries to the Israelites. The Hebrew root for Moab (מוֹאָב) suggests "from the father," reflecting its origins in the biblical narrative. This land, while outside the Promised Land, becomes a place of divine revelation and instruction. Archaeologically, Moab is known for its rich history and interactions with Israel, as evidenced by the Mesha Stele, which provides insight into Moabite culture and their conflicts with Israel. Moses began to explain
Moses, the great prophet and leader, takes on the role of teacher and interpreter of God's law. The Hebrew verb "began" (הוֹאִיל, ho'il) implies a deliberate and willing action, highlighting Moses' dedication to his divine mission. "To explain" (בֵּאֵר, be'er) suggests a deep, thorough exposition, ensuring that the Israelites understand the law's significance. This act of explanation is crucial as it prepares the new generation for life in the Promised Land, emphasizing the continuity of God's covenant and the importance of obedience. this law
The term "law" (תּוֹרָה, Torah) encompasses more than legal statutes; it represents divine instruction and guidance. In the context of Deuteronomy, it refers to the reiteration and expansion of the laws given at Sinai. The Torah is central to Israel's identity and relationship with God, serving as a foundation for their communal and spiritual life. This moment marks a renewal of the covenant, reminding the Israelites of their unique calling and responsibilities as God's chosen people. saying
The word "saying" (לֵאמֹר, le'emor) introduces direct speech, indicating that what follows is of utmost importance. It signals a transition from narrative to instruction, inviting the audience to listen attentively. This phrase underscores the authority of Moses' words, as he speaks not on his own behalf but as a mouthpiece for God. The use of "saying" also reflects the oral tradition of transmitting God's word, emphasizing the communal aspect of learning and living out the law. Persons / Places / Events 1. MosesThe central figure in this passage, Moses is the leader of the Israelites and the one through whom God delivers the law. He is preparing to reiterate and explain God's commandments to the people. 2. The Jordan RiverA significant geographical landmark, the Jordan River represents the boundary between the wilderness where the Israelites have wandered and the Promised Land they are about to enter. 3. The Land of MoabThis is the location where Moses addresses the Israelites. Moab is east of the Jordan River, and it is here that Moses delivers his final speeches before the Israelites cross into Canaan. 4. The LawRefers to the commandments and instructions given by God to the Israelites, which Moses is tasked with explaining. The Hebrew word for "law" is "Torah," which encompasses teaching, instruction, and guidance. 5. The IsraelitesThe chosen people of God, who have been led out of Egypt and are on the brink of entering the Promised Land. They are the recipients of the law and the audience of Moses' address. Teaching Points The Importance of Contextual UnderstandingMoses' explanation of the law highlights the need for understanding God's commandments within the context of His covenant relationship with His people. Leadership and LegacyMoses' role in explaining the law underscores the responsibility of leaders to faithfully communicate God's truth and prepare others for future challenges. Preparation for TransitionJust as Moses prepared the Israelites for entering the Promised Land, believers are called to prepare their hearts and lives for the transitions God leads them through. The Role of RemembranceRevisiting God's law serves as a reminder of His faithfulness and the need for obedience, encouraging believers to remember and apply God's Word in their lives. The Significance of PlaceThe location east of the Jordan symbolizes a place of preparation and anticipation, reminding believers of the importance of spiritual readiness before entering new phases of life. Bible Study Questions 1. How does Moses' role in explaining the law to the Israelites reflect the responsibilities of spiritual leaders today? 2. In what ways can understanding the historical and geographical context of biblical events enhance our comprehension of Scripture? 3. How does the concept of preparation, as seen in Moses' address to the Israelites, apply to personal spiritual growth and readiness for God's plans? 4. What parallels can be drawn between Moses' explanation of the law and Jesus' teachings in the New Testament, particularly in the Sermon on the Mount? 5. How can believers today ensure they are remembering and applying God's Word in their daily lives, similar to how the Israelites were reminded of the law before entering the Promised Land? Connections to Other Scriptures Exodus 20The giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, which is part of the law that Moses is explaining in Deuteronomy. Numbers 33Details the journey of the Israelites, including their encampment in the plains of Moab, providing context for Moses' address in Deuteronomy. Joshua 1Describes the transition of leadership from Moses to Joshua and the crossing of the Jordan River, fulfilling the journey Moses prepared them for. Matthew 5Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, where He expounds on the law, similar to how Moses explains the law in Deuteronomy. People Amorites, Anakites, Caleb, Canaanites, Eshcol, Isaac, Israelites, Jacob, Jephunneh, Joshua, Laban, Moses, Nun, Og, Seir, SihonPlaces Arabah, Ashtaroth, Bashan, Dizahab, Edrei, Egypt, Euphrates River, Hazeroth, Heshbon, Horeb, Hormah, Jordan River, Kadesh-barnea, Laban, Lebanon, Moab, Mount Seir, Negeb, Paran, Seir, Suph, Tophel, Valley of EshcolTopics Across, Begun, Beyond, Declare, East, Explain, Expound, Jordan, Law, Moab, Saying, Territory, Undertook, UnfoldDictionary of Bible Themes Deuteronomy 1:5 5103 Moses, significance Library Foretastes of the Heavenly Life
Early in the year 1857. NOTE: This edition of this sermon is taken from an earlier published edition of Spurgeon's 1857 message. The sermon that appears in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol. 45, was edited and abbreviated somewhat. For edition we have restored the fuller text of the earlier published edition, while retaining a few of the editorial refinements of the Met Tab edition. "And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 45: 1899Preventive against Backsliding.
It is most instructive to note how exceedingly anxious the early Christians were, that, as soon as a man was converted, he should be "filled with the Holy Ghost." They knew no reason why weary wastes of disappointing years should stretch between Bethel and Peniel, between the Cross and Pentecost. They knew it was not God's will that forty years of wilderness wanderings should lie between Egypt and the Promised Land (Deut. i. 2). When Peter and John came to the Samaritans, and found that they were …
John MacNeil—The Spirit-Filled Life Afraid of Giants
'And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain; 18. And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many; 19. And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds; 20. And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Philo of Alexandria, the Rabbis, and the Gospels - the Final Development of Hellenism in Its Relation to Rabbinism and the Gospel According to St. John.
It is strange how little we know of the personal history of the greatest of uninspired Jewish writers of old, though he occupied so prominent a position in his time. [173] Philo was born in Alexandria, about the year 20 before Christ. He was a descendant of Aaron, and belonged to one of the wealthiest and most influential families among the Jewish merchant-princes of Egypt. His brother was the political head of that community in Alexandria, and he himself on one occasion represented his co-religionists, …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah A Plain Description of the Essence and Attributes of God, Out of the Holy Scripture, So Far as Every Christian must Competently Know, and Necessarily Believe, that Will be Saves.
Although no creature can define what God is, because he is incomprehensible (Psal. cxliii. 3) and dwelling in inaccessible light (1 Tim. vi. 16); yet it has pleased his majesty to reveal himself to us in his word, so far as our weak capacity can best conceive him. Thus: God is that one spiritual and infinitely perfect essence, whose being is of himself eternally (Deut. i. 4; iv. 35; xxxii. 39; vi. 4; Isa. xlv. 5-8; 1 Cor. viii. 4; Eph. iv. 5, 6; 1 Tim. ii. 5; John iv. 24; 2 Cor. iii. 17; 1 Kings …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety The Mountainous Country of Judea.
"What is the mountainous country of Judea? It is the king's mountain." However Judea, here and there, doth swell out much with mountains, yet its chief swelling appears in that broad back of mountains, that runs from the utmost southern cost as far as Hebron, and almost as Jerusalem itself. Which the Holy Scripture called "The hill-country of Judah," Joshua 21:11; Luke 1:39. Unless I am very much mistaken,--the maps of Adricomus, Tirinius, and others, ought to be corrected, which have feigned to …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Kadesh. Rekam, and that Double. Inquiry is Made, Whether the Doubling it in the Maps is Well Done.
The readers of the eastern interpreters will observe, that Kadesh is rendered by all Rekam, or in a sound very near it. In the Chaldee, it is 'Rekam': in the Syriac, 'Rekem': in the Arabic, 'Rakim'... There are two places noted by the name Rekam in the very bounds of the land,--to wit, the southern and eastern: that is, a double Kadesh. I. Of Kadesh, or Rekam, in the south part, there is no doubt. II. Of it, in the eastern part, there is this mention: "From Rekam to the east, and Rekam is as the …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Barren Fig-Tree. Temple Cleansed.
(Road from Bethany and Jerusalem. Monday, April 4, a.d. 30.) ^A Matt. XXI. 18, 19, 12, 13; ^B Mark XI. 12-18; ^C Luke XIX. 45-48. ^b 12 And ^a 18 Now ^b on the morrow [on the Monday following the triumphal entry], ^a in the morning ^b when they were come out from Bethany, ^a as he returned to the city [Jerusalem], he hungered. [Breakfast with the Jews came late in the forenoon, and these closing days of our Lord's ministry were full of activity that did not have time to tarry at Bethany for it. Our …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel In the Temple at the Feast of Tabernacles.
(October, a.d. 29.) ^D John VII. 11-52. ^d 11 The Jews therefore sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? [It was now eighteen months since Jesus had visited Jerusalem, at which time he had healed the impotent man at Bethesda. His fame and prolonged obscurity made his enemies anxious for him to again expose himself in their midst. John here used the word "Jews" as a designation for the Jerusalemites, who, as enemies of Christ, were to be distinguished from the multitudes who were in doubt …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Moses and his Writings
[Illustration: (drop cap W) Clay letter tablet of Moses' time.] We now begin to understand a little of the very beginning of God's Book--of the times in which it was written, the materials used by its first author, and the different kinds of writing from which he had to choose; but we must go a step farther. How much did Moses know about the history of his forefathers, Abraham and Jacob, and of all the old nations and kings mentioned in Genesis, before God called him to the great work of writing …
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making Appendix ii. Philo of Alexandria and Rabbinic Theology.
(Ad. vol. i. p. 42, note 4.) In comparing the allegorical Canons of Philo with those of Jewish traditionalism, we think first of all of the seven exegetical canons which are ascribed to Hillel. These bear chiefly the character of logical deductions, and as such were largely applied in the Halakhah. These seven canons were next expanded by R. Ishmael (in the first century) into thirteen, by the analysis of one of them (the 5th) into six, and the addition of this sound exegetical rule, that where two …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah The Blessing of Jacob Upon Judah. (Gen. Xlix. 8-10. )
Ver. 8. "Judah, thou, thy brethren shall praise thee; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; before thee shall bow down the sons of thy father. Ver. 9. A lion's whelp is Judah; from the prey, my son, thou goest up; he stoopeth down, he coucheth as a lion, and as a full-grown lion, who shall rouse him up? Ver. 10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto Him the people shall adhere." Thus does dying Jacob, in announcing …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Deuteronomy
Owing to the comparatively loose nature of the connection between consecutive passages in the legislative section, it is difficult to present an adequate summary of the book of Deuteronomy. In the first section, i.-iv. 40, Moses, after reviewing the recent history of the people, and showing how it reveals Jehovah's love for Israel, earnestly urges upon them the duty of keeping His laws, reminding them of His spirituality and absoluteness. Then follows the appointment, iv. 41-43--here irrelevant (cf. …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Deuteronomy 1:5 NIVDeuteronomy 1:5 NLTDeuteronomy 1:5 ESVDeuteronomy 1:5 NASBDeuteronomy 1:5 KJV
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