000 Allen FMT (i-xxii) - The Presbyterian Leader

Proper 17 [22]/Year B 181
64–68; 29:28). The Deuteronomic theologians use a past setting (the story
of Israel coming out of Egypt and wandering in the wilderness) to talk
about the present situation of the community (interpreting the exile and
living in the postexilic world). The purposes of Deuteronomy are to help
the community understand why disaster fell upon them (they were
unfaithful) and to encourage the community toward renewed faithfulness
as the way toward community regeneration, security, and prosperity.
Most of the book is in the form of three sermons from Moses (1:1–4:43;
4:44–28:68; 29:1–30:20) with 31:1–34:24 recounting Moses’ significant last
words. When the writers picture Moses addressing the exodus and wilderness
generations as “you,” the later community at the time of the redaction
of the text was to hear the passage addressed homiletically to them.
Christians sometimes read Deuteronomy as legalistic and works righteous.
This perception is wrong. For Deuteronomy, Torah is a gift to help
the community live in God’s gracious love. Christians sometimes say that
Deuteronomy teaches a wooden notion of obedience leading to blessing
and disobedience to curse. This interpretation is caricature. Today’s lection
offers Deuteronomy’s alternatives to these misperceptions.
In Deuteronomy 1:6–3:29, Moses recounts how the community arrived
at the edge of the promised land. In today’s reading, Moses teaches the
congregation that the quality of life in the new land will depend upon the
degree to which they live in accord with God’s instructions. Many scholars
see this chapter as the core of the Deuteronomic theology that is found
also in Joshua, Judges, the Samuels, and the Kings.
The text gives four reasons for living in accord with God’s designs for
community. 54 (1) According to Deuteronomy 4:1–4, the incident involving
Baal at Peor shows that the community suffers grievously when it
allows people to add to, or subtract from, the divine commandments. At
Peor, all Israelites who “yoked themselves to” the local deity, the Baal at
Peor, were to be put to death (Num. 25:1–18). (2) According to Deuteronomy
4:5–8, Israel’s neighbors will recognize both the greatness of the
God of Israel and that following the statutes has made Israel “a wise and
discerning people” whose justice is greater than any other people’s. (3)
According to Deuteronomy 4:9–31, the community is to avoid idolatry
because the revelation at Mount Horeb (Mount Sinai) prohibits it. Furthermore,
when the congregation traffics with idols, they can expect the
community to collapse, and, indeed, even for people to be uprooted from
the land and scattered among the peoples. This statement is, of course, a
theological interpretation of the exile. (4) According to Deuteronomy