RENEWAL OF THE COVENANT
God’s timetable is far different from ours. The time from God’s promise to make “a great nation” of Abraham’s descendants until the
time recorded here in Deuteronomy is at least 500 years and perhaps as long as 700 years. Abraham’s descendants had been relatively few when famine struck and they traveled to Egypt for a salvation that would turn into enslavement. But God had been
working His plan. Abraham’s descendants, now numbering in the hundreds of thousands, are finally about to experience the fulfillment of that promise. However, before the glory and excitement could begin, God, Moses, and the people had to attend to some business. Encamped in the desert, east of the Jordan River, Moses speaks to the people. This is Moses’ farewell address—he would not be allowed to enter the Promised Land. Here, Moses recalls Israel’s history, primarily from the time of the Exodus. Essentially, he desires that the people learn from their successes and failures—and from those who went before them. These life lessons will benefit not only them, but also future generations as they share their heritage and experience of God’s faithfulness. “Lay up these words of Mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children” (Deuteronomy 11:18-19).