It is believed that Moses wrote the first five Books of the Bible. The fifth Book is Deuteronomy. It may appear to many people that it is about the law and the history of the Israel nation before entering the promised land. But it is more than that. Interestingly, our Lord quoted from this Book when tempted by the devil in the wilderness.

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took Him along into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and he said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written: ‘He will give His angels orders concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will lift You up, So that You do not strike Your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written: ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” Again, the devil took Him along to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to serve Him. (Matthew 4:1-11)

Christians put much emphasis on the law as the written code and their works but I think most of us have failed to understand why this Book explains God’s grace. In this Book, we understand why God made the conditional covenant with Israel and why they were bound to fail. The conditional covenants exist for the unconditional covenant, not the other way around.

Here, we also understand why Moses could not enter the promised land while Joshua could. Joshua means “the Lord is salvation” or “the salvation of the Lord”. The name Jesus is from the same root.

Moreover, we will understand that God’s love towards His people is His love towards the saints, not the Israelites, the biological descendants of Abraham. Some Israelites were saints chosen by God before the foundation of the world. But the rest were not. We understand this clearly by reading what Jesus said to the Jews.

At that time the Feast of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple area, in the portico of Solomon. The Jews then surrounded Him and began saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep. (John 10:22-26)