🎥 Video Lesson
📖 Course Notes
The full course notes for this lesson are available in the official course textbook, Cover to Cover: Old Testament (Village Schools of the Bible, 2022). Please download or view the PDF below to study the material for this lesson.
📖 Download / View Course Notes (PDF)
Cover to Cover: Old Testament — Village Schools of the Bible (2022)
🔴 The Scarlet Thread of Redemption — Jesus Revealed in Deuteronomy
📌 The Prophet Like Moses — Deuteronomy 18:15
In one of the most important messianic prophecies in the Torah, Moses declared: “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers — it is to him you shall listen.” (Deuteronomy 18:15)
Peter quoted this directly in Acts 3:22 and applied it to Jesus. Stephen repeated it in Acts 7:37. Jesus is the ultimate Prophet who speaks God’s words — in fact, He is the Word of God (John 1:1). While Moses met with God on a mountain and brought down God’s words, Jesus came down from heaven as God Himself in human form.
📌 Hung on a Tree — Deuteronomy 21:23
Deuteronomy 21:23 declares: “Anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse.” This seems harsh — until Paul quotes it in Galatians 3:13: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us — for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’”
Jesus was crucified (hung on a cross/tree) and in doing so took upon Himself the full curse of the broken law — so that we could receive the blessing of Abraham. This is the gospel in one verse: He became our curse so we could receive His blessing.
📌 “It Is Finished” — Deuteronomy’s Law Fulfilled
Deuteronomy gives the full scope of God’s law — 613 commandments in Jewish tradition. When Jesus cried out on the cross “It is finished” (John 19:30), He was declaring that He had perfectly fulfilled every requirement of the law: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.” (Matthew 5:17). Every “if” in the Mosaic covenant has been perfectly satisfied in Jesus.
📌 The Shema — Love as the Foundation
The Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-5) declares that loving God wholeheartedly is the foundation of all obedience. Jesus confirmed this as the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37-38) and extended it — perfectly living out total love for the Father in our place. Through Christ, we are now empowered by the Holy Spirit to love God from the heart, not merely from external obligation (Ezekiel 36:26-27; Romans 5:5).
📌 Blessings for All Nations
The covenant blessings of Deuteronomy were for Israel, but they point to the universal blessing that would come through the Messiah. Galatians 3:8-9 quotes Genesis 12:3 and declares that through faith in Christ, the blessing of Abraham comes to all nations — Jew and Gentile alike. Jesus is the fulfilment of God’s promise to bless all peoples through Abraham’s seed.
📚 Key Scripture
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” — Deuteronomy 6:4-5
📝 Study Questions
- Deuteronomy 18:15 predicts a “prophet like Moses” who would come. In what ways is Jesus greater than Moses? (Consider Hebrews 3:1-6 and John 1:17 in your answer.)
- Moses died within sight of the Promised Land but could not enter. He represents the Law — which can show us our need but cannot save us. How does this picture clarify the gospel — that only Jesus (Joshua) can lead us into our inheritance?
- Deuteronomy 6:6-9 commands parents to teach God’s Word to their children diligently — at home, on the road, morning and night. What does faithful spiritual formation look like in your family or community context today?
- Deuteronomy 30:19 presents a choice between “life and death, blessing and curse.” How does Jesus fulfil and transform this choice for us? (See John 5:24; Romans 8:1-2.)