The End of Moses and the Torah
We should take the time to reflect on all of salvation history in order
to thank God for His saving work before our own times, because we are the heirs
of all the blessings of the past! But that implies that we should also learn as
much as we can from the past.
The whole book of
Deuteronomy is set at the end of Moses' life, when the Israelites had finally
come to the end of their wilderness wandering and were preparing to enter the
Promised Land. So, the book's collection of Moses' words serve as a type of
last will and testament of that great servant of God, and the last chapter (34)
recounts the death of Moses.
For almost two
months now, the daily first readings have been from the first five books of the
Bible, collectively known as the "Torah" or "Pentateuch." For
the Jewish people, these five books are the most revered part of Sacred
Scripture, so it is inexcusable for us Christians to be ignorant of the content
and significance of these books! When He was growing up, Jesus Himself would
have spent many hours reading the Torah and meditating on the words we have
been studying these past weeks.
The book of
Deuteronomy is especially apt as the Pentateuch's finale because its verses
review and recall parts of the other books of the Torah, thereby reminding us
that the words of Scripture should be read and re-read. We should take the time
to reflect on all of salvation history in order to thank God for His saving
work before our own times, because we are the heirs of all the blessings of the
past! But that implies that we should also learn as much as we can from the
past.
The best known
verses of Deuteronomy (30:15-20) are skipped this week because they are
included elsewhere in the lectionary at the start of Lent. I encourage you to
re-read them now, though, since those verses summarize the end and purpose of
all Scripture, which shows us how choosing God and His life and law leads to
blessings and the fulfillment of our existence, whereas turning away from God
and His life and law leads to death and curses. The right choice is so clear,
yet we certainly need God's loving help every day to choose Him every day of
our lives!