Deuteronomy #11

The end of Deuteronomy is the end of the Pentateuch and it is ominous, for, in his Song, Moses already foresees Israel's betrayal and the harsh consequences to follow.

Moses calls heaven and earth as witnesses. Indeed, every lawsuit requires two witnesses who are upright and agree in their testimony, and what heaven and earth will witness is one: the constancy of God's love and the vagaries of his chosen people.

Despite his best efforts and despite the years spent in the wilderness, Israel will not be able to stay faithful to the covenant. This conclusion is not a proclamation of defeat; rather it is the assurance that God knows beforehand that Israel will betray him and therefore he has already factored these betrayals as part of his mysterious plan of salvation.

The same holds true in our lives today. Before we were born, God knew us, therefore he knew our weaknesses, our sins, and our inability to keep to the straight and true. But like Israel, if we come back to him with all our heart, our mind, and our will, he is always ready to forgive and restore, to give us what we have lost and multiply it to the greater glory of his Name.

Deuteronomy #10

Moses has presented all the terms of the second covenant to the people (4: 44–26: 19; 28). He now summons them to ratify it

Having called Israel to ratify the covenant, Moses reminds Israel, once more, of the Exodus from Egypt and explains that the reason why God allowed Israel to wander in the desert for forty years was to teach them their ways, for there were no other means for them to learn and accept this truth.

These experiences in the desert should be passed on from one generation to the next, to help Israel remain faithful to God. Moses wants the wandering in the wilderness to be seen in its proper supernatural context: God did not act simply to reward or punish the generation of the Exodus: he wanted that experience to serve as an example for later generations that did not live the Exodus. Thus, the passing on of the traditions becomes a key element in the passing on of the faith in the one true God; a lesson Israel will be quick to forget with disastrous consequences.

So it is with us, today. As Catholics, we must always hold fast to the truth of the faith, to the testimony of the saints that have come before us and we must strive to teach our children the truth of the Catholic faith, lest God treats us the way he treated the Churches he had spoken to in the Book of Revelation.

Deuteronomy #9

Having completed his discourse on the laws that should govern Israel, Moses reminds Israel of the necessity of obedience: obedience to these laws is obedience to God. Moses warns the Israelites: Do not obey the law as if it were a mere legal code instead show your love of God by obeying.

"This day the LORD your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances; you shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. You have declared this day concerning the LORD that he is your God and that you will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his ordinances, and will obey his voice; and the LORD has declared this day concerning you that you are a people for his own possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments." Deut. 26:16-18

In these three verses, we see that, in Moses's eyes, the law is not mere legality; it is the basis of a marital covenant between God and his people, Israel. This bond is everlasting for God's word will never be broken, and if everlasting, then the source of principle of life for Israel. Thus, idolatry is spiritual adultery.

Moses's words are not meant for Israel only. They are even more applicable for the Church, the New Israel. By studying his words we gain a greater appreciation of the mysterious relation between Christ and his Church.