of the country (locate on Map H), and there set up great plastered stones on which the Law of God was to be written Six tribes were to stand upon Mount Gerizim, to declare blessings upon the people for obedience to this Law, and the other six tribes were to stand upon Mount Ebal, to declare curses upon the people for disobedience The consequences of obeying this Law as well as the consequences of disobeying it are set forth in chapter 28 The rst fourteen verses give a bright picture of the nation’s future if they will take the path of obedience From these verses we learn how blessed, rich, and powerful Israel could have been if they had been true to God The tone changes at verse 15, and from there onward we have a picture of the black future awaiting the nation if they should take the path of disobedience A key subject of Deuteronomy is that of God’s covenant (The word “covenant” appears seven times in chap 29.) Moses’ addresses were delivered to Israel as a rea rmation of the covenant relationship between God and His people The pattern followed by Moses in delivering his message has been compared with the approach used by kings of Moses’ day in addressing their subjects Meredith Kline writes of this: Part of the standard procedure followed in the ancient Near East when great kings thus gave covenants to vassal peoples was the preparation of a text of the ceremony as the treaty document and witness The book of Deuteronomy is the document prepared by Moses as witness to the dynastic covenant which the Lord gave to Israel in the plains of Moab (cf 31:26).3 The prominence of the “covenantconcept” in Deuteronomy is underscored by Kline Deuteronomy is the Bible’s full scale exposition of covenant-concept and demonstrates that, far from being a contract between two parties, Grod’s covenant with His people is a proclamation of His sovereignty and an instrument for binding His elect to Himself in a commitment of absolute allegiance.4 Kline rightly observes that the sovereign character of God’s covenant is not “an unconditional license to national privilege and prosperity.”5 The people were still responsible to choose to obey God Read chapters 29 and 30 carefully, and you will see how long-su ering and gracious God was in o ering hope to Israel for loving Him and obeying His commandments (31:1—34:12) The people who have been camping on the east side of the Jordan, waiting to cross over, are given (1) their nal charges, (2) an interpretation of the philosophy of God’s judgments in history, and (3) a reminder of the blessings awaiting the people in the land The parting words of Moses are not bitter ones, but bright and warm and hopeful This patriarch remained a spiritual giant to his dying day D PARTING WORDS OF MOSES V KEY WORDS AND VERSES Note the key words and verses on Chart 27 Read the verses in your Bible, and study the key words in an exhaustive concordance VI APPLICATIONS Why should a Christian periodically ... in the ancient Near East when great kings thus gave covenants to vassal peoples was the preparation of a text of the ceremony as the treaty document and witness The book of Deuteronomy is the. .. witness to the dynastic covenant which the Lord gave to Israel in the plains of Moab (cf 31:26).3 The prominence of the “covenantconcept” in Deuteronomy is underscored by Kline Deuteronomy is the Bible’s... commandments (31:1—34:12) The people who have been camping on the east side of the Jordan, waiting to cross over, are given (1) their nal charges, (2) an interpretation of the philosophy of God’s judgments