It Still Matters

Deuteronomy 20-21:  http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=deu%2020-21&version=NIV

            In the last couple of days' readings, there are at least two instances in which verses from Deuteronomy are quoted in the New Testament.  The principle of two witnesses (Deut. 19:15) is quoted by Jesus (Matt. 18:16), Paul (2 Cor. 13:1), and the writer of Hebrews (10:28).  Likewise, Paul grabs on to a verse from today’s reading—Deut. 21:23—and makes a huge theological point in Galatians 3:13.

            Now, both of those instances ‘work;’ there is no hermeneutical funny-business.  Jesus and Paul, especially, are using the ‘two witnesses’ principle in a discussion about confronting sin.  (The writer to the Hebrews has a little more of a stretch.)  And Paul’s use of the statement about being hung on a tree presents itself very clearly in Gal. 3, since he is talking about Jesus being cursed for being nailed to a tree.

            The thing that puzzles—amazes—me is that I’m not reading Deuteronomy that closesly.  The bit about cursedness and trees is tucked in regulation about firstborn sons, rebellious son, and lost oxen.  The bit about witnesses is tucked between cases of manslaughter, property markers, and the conduct of war.  I don’t know about you, but I read these things two and three times sometimes, because, really, we’ve been over this ground before, and I lose interest and focus.  Jesus and Paul did not lose focus.  They searched the Scriptures, looking for application, looking for hints of God’s plans and purposes.

            One of the themes of this blog has been that it is hard to appropriately apply the Scriptures—to do it in a way that is sensitive to their Christological center and that takes full account of their historical nature.  Yet, we see from the New Testament that our efforts aren’t wasted.  There is that moment of comprehension, that moment of connection, when we see the consistency of God’s Words—old and new, when we are rewarded with a new, hard-won insight into the character of God.

            I guess I’m just saying, “Keep at it, folks.”  We’ve been in the law of Moses for a long time (about 9 weeks, by my count), and I suspect that these last few days in Deuteronomy have been tough for you as they have been for me, because interest is flagging.  Keep at it.  Obscure as they may seem, these are still the words of God!
--reposted from March 16, 2011