MOSES & DEUTERONOMY:

A NEW WAY OF LIFE

Talk & Bible Discussion with Fr. Edlefsen

For those of you who would like either or both (1) the summary handout from the presenation and/or (2) my personal notes on the subject, feel free to read them here.  

 

Handout Summary

Moses and Deuteronomy: A New Way of Life

February 27, 2023

Fr. Frederick Edlefsen, Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Arlington, VA

 

Who is Moses?

Levite priests give Moses narrative authority. Moses is not an historical narrator of D. 

 

Moses the “Narrator”

“Narrated” by “Moses” in Moab, just before Israel crosses the Jordan into Canaan (D 1:1-5). Reviews the last leg of the exodus journey to the Promised Land, from Mount Sinai to Moab (D 1:5 – 4:40).  Read Psalm 135:8-12 (Sihon, King of the Amorites & Og, the King of Bashan).

 

The Heart of D (The Book of Laws) – D 12-26:

Kings 22:8-10 – The Book of Laws was found by the priest Hilkiah during a Temple renovation under King Josiah’s reign (7th century BC). The Book of Laws was the work of Levites.  The introductory and concluding chapters were added later to form what is now known as “The Book of Deuteronomy”, in which Moses was made to be the narrator.  Read Psalm 1. 

 

Key Exhortation

Follow the Law of Moses in fidelity to God’s Covenant (D 4:1-40).  If Israel fails in fidelity, they’re doomed (see Moses’ curses, D 27:15-26).  Disturbing theme:  Brutal harshness against Canaanites urges Israel not to sacrifice to Canaanite gods or perform child sacrifice. Moses knew Israel’s penchant for compromising God’s Covenant, violating the First Commandment.  (Recall Exodus 32: worship of the Golden Calf when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai).

The Big Picture:  The Law forms Israel as the “People of God”, a concrete political and religious society:   D is about Israel’s collective existence as a unified religious, legal, political, and cultural society – a concrete nation and the “People of God” with a prophetic and priestly calling.   Israel is chosen bear the “imperishable flame of the Law” (D 12:10).  Moses teaches the Israelites how to be the People of God when they enter the Promised Land.  D is the lynchpin of Scripture as the “Word of God”.

KEY THEMES

“TODAY” (Hayom) –  5:2-4 Covenant made today; 9:1 Cross the Jordan today; 15:15 Command for you today: be good to your bondsman and bondswoman – free them in 7th year, generous severance; 26:17 Today…follow the Lord’s commandments and statutes; 27:9 Today you have become God’s People; 29:10 Today you stand before the Lord your God; 30:15  Today I set before you life and good, death and evil; 30:19 Today I call heaven and earth as a witness against you.

Might overcome by right:  Against worldly ways.  Particular exhortations: 15:1-6 Cancel debts every seven years; 15:7-11 Aid the poor; 16:18-20 Impartial justice; 17:1-13 Enforcing the Law (especially capital cases) with justice.  No one is above the Law.

Introductory Narratives and exhortations (D1-11) 

D 4:1-8, 32-40:  Moses speak to people – “hear the statues and decrees”.  D 6:4-7:  Schema – “Hear O Israel…”  (Listening and loving = “obeying”).  D 6:4-25:   Extended exhortation by Moses.  D 7:6-9:    God chose Israel and is faithful to his covenant.  

Book of Laws (D 12-26)

D 12:  Follow these laws when you enter the Promised Land.  Israel will become God’s People under the “imperishable flame” (D 12:10) of his Law.   D 12:15:  Give the first portion of everything to God (tithe); keep the Sabbath.  D 12:31:  The danger of child sacrifice among Canaanite cults.  D 13: 6-18:  Avoid foreign gods.  Destroy them wherever worshipped.  Diet and tithing.  D 14:22-27: Tithe produce to be eaten in celebration before the Lord or change that portion into the money for the occasion.  D 14:28-29:  Not everything you produce is yours.  Tithe first fruits.  D 14:29: Every third year, bring all the tithe of your produce for the Levite, the alien, fatherless, and widow ...then “the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.”   D 15: A new level of justice and mercy.  D 15:1-6:   Every seven years, forgive the debts of your countrymen, though you may exact the debts of foreigners.    If you do this, there will be no poor among you. You land will be blessed.   D 15:7-11:  Care for the poor.  Blessing will follow.  Don’t begrudge the poor a loan because the 7th year is close.   D 15:12-18:  Countrymen who are slaves may be held for only six years, and generously treated when set free.  How to treat those who want to stay.    D 15:19-23:  Sacrifice the first born male cattle (unblemished). D 16:  Liturgical Feasts: “Observe harvest festival of Abib (Aviv)” (spring), the first month of which is called Nisan.   Aviv (Nisan) = barley ripening, spring.  D 17:  Civil Laws, crimes, and punishments.  D 17:4: Litigation – “inquire diligently.”  D 17:6: “two or three witnesses” for capital offenses.   No one is to be stoned to death on the evidence of one witness. D 17:7: During stoning, the witnesses cast the first stones (makes them accountable for their testimony), then others may continue the stoning.  D 17:14-20: Good counsel for a king (humility and moderation). D 17:17:  Implicit admonition of Solomon.  D 18:1-8: Give the Levite a portion of your produce, as he no “inheritance” but God. D 18:9-14:  Do not follow the abominable practices of the nations.  D 18:15-22: Moses is a prophecy Christ – “The Lord your God will raise up a prophet like me from among you.” (Christ often called the “New Moses”).  D 19: matters of justice.  D 20:  on war.   D 21:1-9:  Don’t shed innocent blood.  D 26:16-19: Observe the Law, and you will be blessed. 

Concluding Discourses of Moses (D 27-34)

D 27:15-26: Curses of Moses.  D 28:1-14: Blessings of Moses. D 28:15-69: More curses if Israel doesn’t follow the Law. D 30:15-20: Life vs. Death, Blessing vs. Curse.  D 32: Song of Moses.  D 33: Moses’ final blessing on Israel’s Tribes.  D 34: Death of Moses. D 34:6: no one knows where Moses is buried.  D 34: 9-12:  Moses laid hands on Joshua (son of Nun), filling him with the spirit of wisdom.  Joshua leads Israel into the Promised Land.

 

Fr. Edlefsen's personal notes for the presentation

History is the present under God

Moses and Deuteronomy

Bible Discussion

February 27, 2023

 

Opening texts to read:

D 24:10-13 (Making a loan to a neighbor or poor man)

 

D 24: 14-15 (Pay the wage earner before sundown, for he is poor and sets his heart upon it).  * See James 5:4:  “indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; And the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of the Sabbath.”(A “sin that cries to heaven”, (CCC 1867):  D 24:15:  If he cries against you to the Lord, and it be imputed as sin to you (Lord hears his cry).

Sins the cry to heaven (CCC 1867):  “The catechetical tradition also recalls that there are “sins that cry to heaven”: (1) The blood of Abel (Gen 4:10); (2) the sin of the Sodomites (Gen. 18:20, 19:13); (3) the cry of the people oppressed in Egypt (Exodus 3:7-10);  (4) the cry of the foreigner, the widow, and the orphan, and injustice to the wage earner (Deut. 24:14-15).

D 24:19-22:  Harvest reaping – leave some for the alien, orphan and widow. 

D 15

15:1-6 Every seven years, forgive the debts of your countrymen, though you may exact the debts of foreigners.

15:7-11  Care for the poor, and the blessing that follows. Don't begrudge him alone because the 7th year is close.

15-12-18  Countrymen who are slaves  are held for only six years and generously treated when set free.  How to treat those who want to stay.

15:19-23   first born male cattle, unblemished. This is a prophecy of Christ and the Eucharist.

D 17 (see notes)

D:21:1-9:  Purging the guilt of shedding innocent blood.

Structure of the Deuteronomy

 

The Heart of D (The Book of Laws) – D 12-26:

2 Kings 22:8-10 – The Book of the Law found by Hilkiah in the high priest Hilkiah in the reign of Josiah, King of Judah.

Psalm 1

 

Who is Moses?

Moses is not the actual narrator of D.   D was written this way to give the authority of Moses.

Moses is a prophet (nabi) whose role is to be the messenger (malakh) of the Covenant (berith).

IR 380:   

 

Key Points About D

It’s narrated by “Moses” in steppes of Moab, just before Israel crosses Jordan into Canaan – D 1:1-5.

D begins with a reviews of the last leg of the journey from Sinai to Moab - D 1:5 – 4:40

E.g. Psalm 135:8-12 (Sihon, King of the Amorites & Og the King of Bashan)

Key theme:   Follow these Laws in fidelity to God’s Covenant.   Exhortation to keep the Law of Moses:  D 4:1-40

If Israel fails in to keep the Covenant, they’re inviting sure doom (see Moses’ curses) – D 27:15-26

A disturbing theme arises throughout D:  Harshness against Canaanites = Don’t compromise with child sacrifice and worship false God’s of the Canaanites.     Moses knew his people were included to compromise, if not outright abandonment of God’s Covenant and the First Commandment.  Recall the event of the Golden Calf when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai.

2 Kings 22:8-30:   It is widely agreed that D12-26 is this Book that was found by Hikiah during the reign of Josiah, and that the Book is the work of Levites.

 

 

The Big Picture of D:

D is about Israel’s “collective existence” (IR 359) or its “search for collective existence” as a unified religious, legal, political, and cultural society – a concrete “nation” or “People of God” who have prophetic and priestly calling.   

D is about Israel being the bearers of the “imperishable flame of the Law” (D 12:10).    God’s chosen race.  

Unlike other books of the Torah, D is not about Israel’s journeying through the desert en route to the Promised Land.    D is uniquely about Israel being on the threshold of entering the Promised Land, shortly before Moses’ death.   Moses is teaching Israelites how to conduct themselves as People of God when they enter the Promised Land (IR 363)

(See Romans 3:21-22) – The Law is a prophecy of Christ.   Christ would “fulfill the Law and the prophets”.

Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12) reveals the Law’s fulfilment.

D is the lynchpin of the Bible as the “word of God.”   It creates tensions between the Spirit’s revelation of God to man (God’s word) and the assimilation of that “word” into “Law.”

Creates a tension between Justice and Grace.

 

TWO KEY THEMES IN D“TODAY” (Hayom) –  (Gerhard Von Rad)  (IR 374):  A Theology of History:  History is the Present under God.

D 5:2-4 covenant made “today”

D 9:1 Cross the Jordan today

D 15:15 Command for you today: be good to your bondsman and bondswoman – free them in 7th year and be generous with their severance pay.

D 26:17 Today you proclaim the Lord your God, so follow the Lord’s commandments and statutes.

D 27:9 Today you have become the People of the Lord your God

D 29:10 Today you stand before the Lord your God. 

D 30:15  Today I set before you life and good, death and evil.

D 30:19 Today I call heaven and earth as a witness against you…

Right over Might –(Walther Eichrodt)  (IR 377-378):   “It is the vision of might overcome by right, of egoism by consecration, of material interest by the power of the spirit; it is the vanguard of implacable resistance against the externally successful powers of this world, of the camp that from now on will call the history of urges and instincts before the tribunal of moral obligation and change its victory into defeat.”

D 15:1-6: Cancel debts every seven years

D 15:7-11:  Aid to the poor

D 16:18-20: The administration of impartial justice

D 17:1-13:  Enforcing the Law (especially capital cases) with justice.  No one is above the Law.

 

Introductory Narratives and exhortations 

D 4:1-8, 32-40:  Moses speak to people – “hear the statues and decrees”.

D 6:4-7:  Schema – “Hear O Israel…”  (Listening and loving = “obeying”)

D 6:4-25:   Extended exhortation by Moses.

 

D 7:6-9:    God chose Israel and is faithful to his covenant.  

 

Book of Laws

D 12:   when you enter the Promised Land, you must follow these laws. Israel becomes a people under God because of his law which is seen as the imperishable flame (See Deut 12:10)

D 12:15:  give the first portion of everything to God and keep the Sabbath for God.

D 12:31  the danger of child sacrifice among the inhabitants of Canaan.

D 13: 6-18:   This is heavy material. The people under God must not only stay away from foreign gods but destroy them wherever their worship exists. 

D 14:   Dietary rules and tithing

D 14:22-27 – tithe produce to be eaten in celebration before the Lord, or change into the money for the occasion. 

D 14:28-29:   The tithe.  Not everything you produce is yours.   Set aside first fruits.     

D 14:29: Every three year, bring all of the tithe of your produce for the Levite, the alien, the fatherless, the widow and the orphan…..then “the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.” 

D 15:  Read All!  A new level of justice and mercy!D 15:1-6:   Every seven years, forgive the debts of your countrymen, though you may exact the debts of foreigners.    

If you do this, there will be no poor among you. 

You land will be blessed.    

D 15:7-11:  Care for the poor, and the blessing that follows.

Don’t begrudge him a loan because the 7th year is close.   

D 15:12-18:  Countrymen who are slaves held on for six years, and generously treated when set free.  How to treat those who want to stay.   

D 15:19-23:  First born male cattle (unblemished)

Prophecy of Christ & Eucharist.

D 16:  Liturgical Feasts: “Observe the month of Abib (Aviv)”, also called Nisan:  Aviv (Nisan) = barley ripening, spring.    Abib refers to three-month season in spring; Nisan refers to the first month of Abib.

D 17:  Civil Laws, crimes, and punishments

D 17:4: litigation – “inquire diligently.”

D 17:6: “two or three witnesses” for a capital offense.   No one is to be stoned to death on the evidence of one witness. 

D 17:7: During stoning, the witnesses cast the first stones (makes them accountable for their testimony before God), then all the other people may continue the stoning.

D 17:14-20 – Good counsel for a king (humility and moderation)

D 17:17:  Admonition of Solomon 

D 17:18:  A commentary on Psalm 1.

D 18 – Levites and a Prophet

D 18:1-8 – Give the Levite a portion of you produce, as he no “inheritance” but God.

D 18:9-14:  Do not follow the abominable practices of the nations

D 18:15-22 – Moses is a prophecy Christ – “The Lord your God will raise up a prophet like me from among you.” (Christ often called the “New Moses”).

D 19 – more particular matters of justice and state administration.

D 20 – on matters of war.

D 21:1-9:  Purging the guilt of shedding innocent blood.

D 26:16-19: Observe the Law, and you will be blessed. 

 

Concluding Discourses of Moses

 

D 27:15-26 Curses of Moses

D 28:1-14 Blessings of Moses

D 28:15-69 More curses of you don’t follows God’s laws and decrees

D 30:15-20 – Life vs Death, Blessing vs Curse

D 32:  Song of Moses

D 33: Final blessing of Moses on the Tribes of Israel.

D 34: Death of Moses

D 34:6 – no one knows where Moses is buried

D 34: 9-12:  Moses laid hands on Joshua (son of Nun), who became full of the spirit of wisdom.    

Joshua would lead Israel into the Promised Land

 

Summary point

 

Narrated by Moses, Deuteronomy is good food for reflection.  Situated in Moab, east of the Dead Sea, Deuteronomy narrates Moses’ final words to the Israelites before crossing the Jordan into Canaan (the Promise Land).    

Deuteronomy is a fascinating historiography about the end of the exodus, just before the Israelites crossed the Jordan.  But does it tell us more about the passage into the Promise Land, or more about the concerns of the Levites in 7th century BC Judah?  The core of Deuteronomy –  “Book of the Law” (Deuteronomy 12-26) – was found in the wall of the Temple, during a renovation, by the priest Hilkiah.   Scholars agree that this is the "book" that was found then, as recorded in 2 Kings 22:8-10.

The big picture for today: Deuteronomy gives today’s world a brave new perspective on life in matters of religion, ethics, law, and justice.

You need not have read Deuteronomy to attend!  Just come with an open mind!  Of course, reading (if only some of it) beforehand makes for good questions and discussion.

Get started: A seven-minute overview of Deuteronomy:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5QEH9bH8AU  

Take it to another level:  A six-minute video on Deuteronomy:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMhmDPWeftw

In Christ, Fr Edlefsen