The second law — Moses's final sermons on the plains of Moab
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Deuteronomy 6:4–5Deuteronomy is Moses's farewell address — five weeks of sermons delivered on the plains of Moab to the new generation standing on the edge of the promised land. The Hebrew title means "these are the words"; the Greek title means "second law," reflecting its role as a restatement and expansion of the covenant given at Sinai to the generation that will actually enter Canaan.
The book follows the form of an ancient Near Eastern suzerainty treaty — the pattern a great king would use to bind his vassals. There is a historical prologue (what God has done), stipulations (what Israel must do), blessings and curses, and provisions for succession. This is not accidental. God is formalizing his covenant relationship with Israel using the legal language they knew. The structure alone argues for its antiquity and divine intentionality.
Deuteronomy is the most-quoted Old Testament book in the New. Jesus quotes it three times when tempted in the wilderness. The Shema (6:4–5) is the foundation of Jewish prayer and is called by Jesus the greatest commandment. Paul draws extensively on Deuteronomy's theology of grace, faith, and the new covenant. Moses dies in chapter 34, having seen the land from a distance — and his death points forward to the greater Joshua (Jesus means "the LORD saves") who will lead God's people into the true rest.
2 chapters per day · alongside Matthew 4
Chapter 28 is extraordinary — Moses describes in vivid detail exactly what will happen if Israel obeys (blessings, 1–14) and exactly what will happen if they disobey (curses, 15–68). Reading it alongside 2 Kings and the history of Israel's exile is sobering: the curses were fulfilled with horrifying precision. Siege, famine, deportation, scattering among the nations, return to Egypt — all of it happened. But the same prophetic voice that speaks the curses also speaks restoration in chapter 30: God will circumcise their hearts, gather them from all nations, and make them prosper. Both the exile and the return were announced by Moses before Israel had even entered the land.
"The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him." This is one of the most direct messianic predictions in the Torah. Peter quotes it explicitly in Acts 3:22–23, applying it to Jesus. Stephen quotes it in Acts 7:37. The prophet "like Moses" must speak God's words, deliver God's people, and mediate a new covenant. Jesus fulfils every criterion: he speaks with authority ("You have heard it said... but I say to you"), delivers from a bondage greater than Egypt, and seals the new covenant with his own blood.
The death of Moses in Deuteronomy 34 is one of Scripture's most poignant passages. He climbs Mount Nebo, God shows him the entire promised land — from Dan in the north to the Negev in the south — and he dies without entering it. He gave the Law; he could not bring the people in. The Law leads to the threshold but cannot deliver. That task belongs to Joshua — whose name in Greek is Jesus. The succession of Moses by Joshua is a deliberate typological pattern: Law gives way to Grace, Moses to Jesus, the wilderness to the promised rest. Hebrews 4:8 makes the point explicit: "If Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day."
Deuteronomy 6:4–5 is the Shema — "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." Every observant Jewish man has recited these words morning and evening since Moses spoke them. When a teacher of the law asks Jesus which commandment is greatest (Matthew 22:36), Jesus quotes the Shema and adds Leviticus 19:18 — love your neighbour. The Shema is not merely a creedal statement about monotheism; it is a declaration of total allegiance. The one God makes a total claim on the whole person — heart, soul, strength. Jesus says all the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.