We see in the Law of Moses God’s response to the conflicts presented earlier in Genesis.
* Satan vs. God by means of mankind. Satan seeks to drive a wedge between God and man by tempting man to sin.
In Deuteronomy, Satan is seen mainly in false gods — idolatry. And Deuteronomy is filled with warnings against the temptation to follow idols.
* Man vs. his fleshly nature.
God warns his people to circumcise their hearts, and urges them to love God with all their heart and soul. True obedience is impossible without hearts reshaped by love for God. God has performed astonishing, mighty works for the sake of Israel. He asks them to respond in love.
* Husband vs. wife.
Deuteronomy doesn’t present a vision of marriage we’d find very enviable, but we do see compassionate changes from the surrounding culture in a redemptive direction.
In chapter 24, allowance is made for divorce, and out of compassion for the woman, the husband is required to give her a certificate of divorce so she may remarry.
In Exodus, God requires the husband to provide for his wife —
(Exo 21:10 ESV) 10 If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, or her marital rights.
But true redemption of women from the Curse must await the coming of Jesus.
* Man vs. nature.
Man’s impact on nature during the Exodus was not great — especially compared to modern times. But there are some commands that demonstrate God’s concern with nature —
(Deu 20:19 ESV) 19 “When you besiege a city for a long time, making war against it in order to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them. You may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down. Are the trees in the field human, that they should be besieged by you?“
(Exo 23:10-11 ESV) 10 “For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield, 11 but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, that the poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the beasts of the field may eat. You shall do likewise with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard.”
(Exo 23:12 ESV) 12 “Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your donkey may have rest, and the son of your servant woman, and the alien, may be refreshed.”
(Deu 25:4 ESV) 4 “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.”
* Man vs. man.
(Exo 20:13-17 ESV) 13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
(Lev 19:17-18 ESV) 17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.
I’m a particular fan of “you shall reason frankly with your neighbor.” In other words, don’t hold grudges but talk through your disputes together! Holding secret resentments against your neighbor is the very opposite of “love your neighbor.”
(Deu 24:10-18 ESV) 10 “When you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not go into his house to collect his pledge. 11 You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the pledge out to you. 12 And if he is a poor man, you shall not sleep in his pledge. 13 You shall restore to him the pledge as the sun sets, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you. And it shall be righteousness for you before the LORD your God.
14 “You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns. 15 You shall give him his wages on the same day, before the sun sets (for he is poor and counts on it), lest he cry against you to the LORD, and you be guilty of sin.
16 “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.
17 “You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow’s garment in pledge, 18 but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this.
The Law of Moses is filled with compassion for the weak and vulnerable of society. Yes, we must love our neighbors, but God goes to great length to explain what this means in practice. You must act compassionately, even when it’s undeserved.
The Law requires a level of justice above capitalism and driving the best bargain. Sometimes you just have to do right.
* Nation against nation.
(Lev 26:45 ESV) 45 “But I will for their sake remember the covenant with their forefathers, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.”
(Deu 4:5-8 ESV) 5 See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ 7 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? 8 And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?
God intended for his blessing of Israel to be a marvel for all the surrounding nations to see. They were to be a demonstration project of what God’s love can do for a nation!
* Man vs. God.
In chapters 28 and 29, God pronounces blessings on the people if they obey and curses if they disobey. But then, in an astonishing turn, God declares that even if they rebel, he’ll restore a remnant to the land —
(Deu 30:5-6 ESV) 5 And the LORD your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. 6 And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
God will, after the restoration, go so far as to reshape the hearts of the people himself. Finally, if the laws, blessings, and curses don’t work, God will circumcise their hearts for them! Then, at last, they “will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” This is, you see, impossible without God’s help.
