September 03rd, 2022

It was Last Sunday when the Old Testament text from Proverbs 25 was far from the beginning of that book, and hopefully it was helpful have a look at the beginning of Proverbs and to see the LORD, his actions, and his words a bit more involved in the words of the text. This Sunday the text is a significant distance from the beginning of the book of Deuteronomy [30:15-20]. As was done last week, it may be helpful to look at the beginning of the book, to help see the book’s purpose and structure. Whether we hear of advice or commands, it is so easy to focus on the self as a quick and adequate response and to forget what our amazing LORD has done and will do.

The idea of a book having a literary structure is certainly a multi-faceted thing. If something is important to a writer, that important thing will be emphasized multiple times and in various ways. And it will be connected to the main theme or progression of the work, and it may even be noted at both the book’s beginning and its end.

You may wish to look at what introductory materials appear in various study bibles regarding the book of Deuteronomy. It may be helpful to look at The Lutheran Study Bible. Doctor Martin Luther had some important things to say regarding this book. The following study will focus on some of the very first words of the text. What follows is a somewhat-literal translation of the first verses of the book:

These, the words, specifically, he worded, Moses, to all Israel, on east of the Jordan, in the wilderness, in the Arabah, opposite Suph, between Paran and between Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Di Zahab. One and ten days, from Horeb, road of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea. And he was in fortieth year, in one and ten months, on the first of the month, Moses worded to sons of Israel, as all, specifically, Yahweh commanded him to them.

Given the situation, it is not difficult to think that Moses gave words to Israel, but the fact that the text says that he gave them to ALL Israel seems to be significant. People can separate themselves from others. People can feel left out. Many people do that today! People can easily feel isolated and alone. Putting all Israel together does not direct a person to the individual self. Something important is happening to those people who are taking seriously what the rest of the text has to say.

Within the Hebrew language, numbers are closely connected to words. Perhaps you noticed that the number eleven (‘one and ten’) is important in the above text. Obviously twelve is also an important number in Israel’s history. These two words (‘all Israel’) may also be significant because they are the seventh and the eighth words of the book in the Hebrew language, and those two numbers are also important in the Bible. These two words also end up being the very last words of the book (at Deuteronomy 34:12). And they are also found in a few important places in the middle.

Now the word ‘all’ is important, and, of course, the word ‘Israel’ is also important. And other connections of these words to others are important, but we will only look at this combination here. At the end of the above paragraph, there is the word ‘all’ near ‘Israel’, but it is not in the same order.

Can you imagine reading this book without any chapter or verse divisions? This phrase, like others, may have been helpful to pull in the ancient reader or listener, to remind them of how things were going along in the text, but also how things were going along in their lives as well.

Below are all the other times when ‘all Israel’ is mentioned in Deuteronomy. To make it easier, that phrase is in bold print. And a somewhat-literal translation has been given. (And, if there are additional words added to the phrase, they are also in bold.) And hopefully you can see a progression within the work:

1:1       These, the words, specifically, he worded, Moses, to all Israel….

5:1       And he called, Moses, to all Israel, and he said to them, “Hear, Israel….”

11:6     And, specifically, he [the LORD your God] did to Dathan and to Abiram, sons of Eliab, son of Reuben, specifically, she opened, the earth, her mouth, and she swallowed them and their houses and their tents and all the thing, specifically, with their feet, in the middle of all Israel.

13:12   And all Israel, they will hear, and they will fear, and they will not add to do as the thing, the evil, the this, in your midst.

18:6     And that he comes, the Levite, from one of your gates, from all Israel, specifically, he sojourning there, and he comes with all earnestness of his spirit, to the place, specifically, he will choose, Yahweh.

21:21   And they stone him, all the men of his town, with the stones, and he dies, and you burn the evil from your midst, and all Israel, they will hear, and they will be afraid.

27:9     And he worded, Moses, and the priests, the Levites, to all Israel, to say, “Be silent and hear, Israel, the day, the this, you became, to people, to Yahweh, your God….”

29:1     And he called, Moses, to all Israel, and he said to them, “You, yourselves saw all, specifically, Yahweh did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land.”

31:1     And he went, Moses, and he spoke the words, the these, to all Israel.

31:7     And he called, Moses, to Joshua, and he said to him, before the eyes of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous….”

31:10f  And he, Moses, commanded them, to say, “From the end of seven years, at the time of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, when to come, all Israel, to appear at the face of Yahweh, your God, at the place, specifically, he will choose, you will read the Torah, the this, before all Israel, in their ears.

32:45   And he completed, Moses, to word all the words, the these, to all Israel.

34:12   And to all the hand, the mighty one, and to all the terror, the great, specifically, he did, Moses, before the eyes of all Israel.

Much could be said, but the following comments will be quite brief. All Israel is important to the writer, because all Israel is important to the LORD. The first occurrence of this phrase after 1:1 is at 5:1, and this is the start of the important statement of the Ten Commandments. The next occurrences, starting at 11:6, certainly go in a negative direction. One type of response, that of fear, is seen in 13:12 and 21:12, and this is also seen as negative. The Levite moving closer to Yahweh, in between those two occurrences, at 18:6, seems to be positive, since he is getting close to the One who is behind literally everything. The Levites are included the next time the phrase comes up, in 27:9, and some good news is starting to be given. This continues through the rest of the occurrences. And their occurrences are much closer together as the end of the book gets closer.
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One might even imagine a type of temple structure that follows these phrases. At the beginning, there should be an understanding of Whose house (or tent) this ultimately is. Near the entrance, there is a place for sacrifice. One could say that an innocent animal is killed, to allow one to progress even farther along and closer to the One who is behind everything. And in the Old Testament, the Levites were very much involved in the tabernacle and temple. In the end, there is the closeness that the Maker of heaven and earth allows. And that is, of course, where one could say that Jesus eventually comes in.