A close friend of mine recently asked me which book of the Bible is
my favourite. Without hesitation, I chose Deuteronomy. Usually when I
say this, people look at me as if I have four heads and ask why. My
friend – dear lady that she is – smiled and said, “That's so
interesting!” And then she asked “why”! After I explained a few
of the passages that I find compelling, she nodded thoughtfully and
said, “I think I need to go back and look at Deuteronomy again.”
Nothing could delight me more than to cause people to reexamine God's
word.
When it comes to Deuteronomy, “why?” seems like a valid
question. We often see it as a list of laws, and if we have a passing
familiarity with biblical law, we'll know that some of it feels like
a lukewarm rehash of previous material. While I love biblical law,
and find it both fascinating and challenging, what I love about
Deuteronomy is not so much its laws, but what it says about the law,
about its importance, and its place in the instruction of God's
people. God gave his people the law not only so that they would know
how to live, but so that they would know him better.
Recently on Facebook, people have been posting daily scripture for a
week. I always enjoy things like this: I love to see what passages
speak most strongly to people. Since Deuteronomy speaks so strongly
to me, and apparently not to most of the rest of the Christian world,
I have decided to blog a week's worth of Deuteronomy passages. I want
others to see what I see in this book. So therefore I have accepted
the unmade challenge (update: challenge was eventually made formally
by my Dad). I will post the scriptures on Facebook, but I will also
link back to my blog, so that if you're wondering exactly what I was
smoking when I picked the passage, I can explain why it means so much
to me.
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