Today we begin our reading of the fifth book of
the Bible, and the fifth book of Moses, called
“Deuteronomy.” This book does not contain a new law,
replacing the law already given. Rather, it is a second
stating of the law.

There are several reasons why Moses restated the
law. One was that there was now a new generation. The
old generation, except for Caleb and Joshua, had
perished in the wilderness, and the new generation
needed to hear the law again. It was important that they
know God’s Word afresh, because some of these people
were twenty years of age and under when the nation fell
under Kadesh-Barnea. Up to this time they had been
unsettled; but now they were about to enter the Promised
Land and become a settled nation. The best way for them
to prepare for the future was by understanding the past.
Those who could not remember the past may very likely be
guilty of the same failures as their forefathers.

The nation was also on the threshold of having a
new leader. Moses was going to die, and Joshua was to
take over the leadership. Moses knew that the success of
the nation depended upon its obedience to God, and if
the people understood the Word of God and truly loved
the Lord, they would follow Joshua and win the victory.
Moses also warns them of new temptations and gives them
the way of success.

In a spiritual sense, many Christians stand with
Israel in Deuteronomy 1:1-3. They are redeemed from
Egypt, but they have not yet entered into their
spiritual inheritance. They stand “on this side Jordan,”
instead of in the Promised Land of blessing. They need
to hear God’s Word again, step out by faith, and claim
the complete inheritance which is in Christ.

It was not until I read, “The Normal Christian
Life,” by Watchman Nee, that I fully realized what God
had given me as a Christian. God used that book to help
me realize we should reckon ourselves dead to sin and
alive through Christ. It is His Spirit living within us
that gives us new life. With His Spirit completely
controlling us, we have fullness of joy as Christians in
this earthly walk.