So much of the writings of the prophets consisted of appeals to faithfulness. And not just faithfulness in general, but in particular, faithfulness to the Israelites’ end of the covenant, which was reaffirmed just before they entered the land. This is what the book of Deuteronomy depicted: the reaffirmation of God’s covenant with Israel. The Lord was now, after the 40-year detour, about to fulfill (or begin to fulfill) more of His covenant promises, His end of the deal. Thus, Moses admonished them to fulfill their end, as well. Indeed, much of the writings of the prophets was basically the same: appeals for the people to uphold their side of the covenant.

Read Micah 6:1-8. What is the Lord telling the people there, and how does it relate to the book of Deuteronomy? (See also Amos 5:24 and Hosea 6:6)

Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com

Bible scholars have seen in these verses in Micah what is known as a “covenant lawsuit” in which the Lord “sues” or brings a case against His people for violation of the covenant. In this case, Micah says that the Lord “has a complaint against His people” (Micah 6:2), in which the word “complaint” (riv) can mean a legal dispute. That is, the Lord was bringing a legal case against them, imagery that implies the legal (besides the relational) aspect of the covenant. This shouldn’t be surprising because, after all, central to the covenant was law.

Notice, too, how Micah borrows language directly from Deuteronomy: “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I command you today for your good?” ( Deuteronomy 10.12-13, NKJV). Instead, though, of quoting it directly, Micah modifies it by exchanging the “letter of the law” of Deuteronomy for the “spirit of the law,” which is about being just and merciful.

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

Amen!(1)

The post Wednesday: What Does the Lord Require? appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/wednesday-what-does-lord-require/

“And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness,” Joel 2:28-31 NKJV

I love studying my Bible near the bay or gulf in the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

As I have been studying this week’s Sabbath School lesson on how the book of Deuteronomy is used throughout Scripture a few thoughts came to mind. 

1. In Jeremiah 7:1-7 and Micah 6:1-8 Jeremiah and Micah seem to be borrowing from Deuteronomy and yet they are not referencing Moses or giving him credit. Of course back then people knew Scripture so well that it went without saying when Moses was being quoted. This was not considered plagiarism. Of course we know great portions of the New Testament quote, reference and borrow from the Old Testament. This leads me to my second thought.
2.  In Acts 17:11 the people searched the Scriptures, obviously the Old Testament, to see if what Paul was preaching was true. Could it be that Paul and the other New Testament writers were the lesser lights in their day referencing or pointing to the greater light in the Old Testament? Were Jeremiah and Micah the lesser lights in their day pointing to the greater light in the books of Moses? If so, can one be a lesser light in his or her day but still be inspired by the same Holy Spirit who inspired Moses? This leads me to my third thought.
3. If God raised up prophets like Jeremiah and Micah to remind people what was written in the books of Moses, could God raise up prophets in the last days to remind people of forgotten truths in Scripture? And if so…
4. Then if the book of the law needed to be rediscovered in 2 Kings 22:1-20, what writings of inspiration may need to be rediscovered by the church of today? 

And now, your thoughts? 

Amen!(2)

The post Do we Still Need the Gift or Prophecy to Remind us? appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/do-we-still-need-the-gift-or-prophecy-to-remind-us/

Key Thought: Many of the prophets referred back to the book of Deuteronomy. We will look at what parts they used and what points they made that have relevance to us today..
December 11, 2021

1. Have a volunteer read Deuteronomy 10:12-15.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. What does Moses mean when he speaks of the heaven of heavens?
3. Personal Application: What things might be in our homes or even churches that we may need to get rid of in order to serve God with all our might? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “Is it possible for anyone to serve God with all their heart and soul? How would that be done? Don’t we do things, say things, and go places God doesn’t want us to?” How would you respond to your friend?

2. Have a volunteer read Micah 6:1-8.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. Why does God use the legal language here about “pleading their case” when referring to the controversy He has with them?
3. Personal Application: How is fearing and obeying God tied in to do justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly before God? Share your thoughts
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “How can we do justice and mercy at the same time? Justice calls for people to be held responsible for their words and actions. Mercy seems to indicate forgiveness and an excuse not to hold people responsible. How do we reconcile the two in our lives and interactions with others?” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Daniel 9:14-19

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. How dod Daniel’s knowledge of Deuteronomy help him in faith as he lived in exile in a foreign nation as a slave with Jerusalem destroyed and the temple burned?
3. Personal Application: How well do you thin we have been in our responsibilities in presenting the truths we have to those around us that need to hear them.? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states: “Do you think that many of our problems in America, raised up as a Protestant Christian nation, is because we have not been obedient to God’s laws and have perverted truth and justice and have not been merciful or humble before God?” How would you respond to your relative?

4. Have a volunteer read 2 Kings 22:8-13.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. Does God still hold people accountable today for their actions in groups and nations, or only as individuals?
3. Personal Application: How often do we neglect to read our Bibles that may gather dust on the shelf? Are we held accountable for our actions against that book because we neglect to read it or obey it? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

Amen!(0)

The post 11: Deuteronomy in the Later Writings – Teaching Plan appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/11-deuteronomy-in-the-later-writings-teaching-plan/

Years ago, a young man, an agnostic, was a passionate seeker for truth — whatever that truth was and wherever it led him. Eventually he came, not only to believe in God the Father and in Jesus, but he also accepted the Seventh-day Adventist message. His favorite verse in the Bible was Jeremiah 29:13, which reads: “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” Years later, however, studying his Bible, he found that verse again, but way back in the book of Deuteronomy. That is, Jeremiah got it from Moses.

Read Deuteronomy 4:23-29. What is the context of this promise to Israel, and how could it relate to us today?

As we have already seen, the book of Deuteronomy had been re-discovered during the reign of King Josiah, and it was under Josiah’s rule that Jeremiah began his ministry. No wonder, then, that the influence of Deuteronomy can be seen in the writing of Jeremiah.

Read Jeremiah 7:1-7. What is Jeremiah telling the people to do, and how does it relate to what had been written in the book of Deuteronomy?

mage © Kevin Carden from GoodSalt.com

Over and over in Deuteronomy, Moses stressed how their existence in the land of Canaan was conditional, and that if they disobeyed, they would not remain in the place that God had chosen for them. Look at the particular warning in Jeremiah 7:4, the implication being that, yes, this was God’s temple and, yes, they were the chosen people, but none of that mattered if they weren’t obedient.

And that obedience included how they treated strangers, orphans, widows — an idea that goes directly back to Deuteronomy and some of the covenant stipulations incumbent upon them to follow: “You shall not pervert justice due the stranger or the fatherless, nor take a widow’s garment as a pledge” (Deuteronomy 24:17; see also Deuteronomy 24:21;  Deuteronomy 10.18-19; Deuteronomy 27:19).

<–Monday Wednesday–>

Amen!(0)

The post Tuesday: Deuteronomy in Jeremiah appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/tuesday-deuteronomy-in-jeremiah/

Deuteronomy makes it so clear that the law and the covenant were central, not only to Israel’s relationship to God but also for the nation’s purpose as the “chosen” people (Deuteronomy 7:6, Deuteronomy 14:2, Deuteronomy 18:5).

Read Deuteronomy 10:12-15, where much of this idea of law and Israel’s chosen status is stressed. What, however, does the Bible mean with the phrase “heaven of heavens”? What point is Moses making with that phrase?

What “heaven of heavens” means isn’t absolutely clear, at least in this immediate context, but Moses is pointing to the majesty, power, and grandeur of God. That is, not only heaven itself but “the heaven of the heavens” belongs to Him, most likely an idiomatic expression that points to God’s complete sovereignty over all the creation.

Read the following verses, all based on the phrase that appears first in Deuteronomy. In each case, what point is being made, and how do we see the influence of Deuteronomy there?

1 Kings 8:27

Nehemiah 9:6

Psalm 148:4

Image © Darrel Tank from GoodSalt.com

Especially clear in Nehemiah 9 is the theme of God as the Creator and who alone should be worshiped. He made everything, even “the heaven of heavens, with all their host” (Nehemiah 9:6). In fact, Nehemiah 9:3 says that he “read from the Book of the Law,” most likely, as in the time of Josiah, the book of Deuteronomy, which explains why a few verses later the Levites, amid their praise and worship of God, used this phrase “heaven of heavens,” which came directly from Deuteronomy.

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

Amen!(0)

The post Monday: The Heaven of Heavens appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/monday-heaven-of-heavens/