Deuteronomy is a book about a community being prepared for a new life. Hardship and the wilderness lie behind; the promised land lies ahead. But in the present moment, there is a call for a new commitment to God and a fresh understanding of the nature of the community of God’s people. Though the scene is set more than three thousand years in the past, Deuteronomy is still a book of considerable contemporary relevance. Then, as now, the surrounding world was experiencing a time of change, of political tension and military engagement. But in the midst of the world events, a relatively small community was being urged by Moses… to commit itself wholeheartedly to the Lord, before engaging in the struggle for the promised land. The kingdom of God’s chosen people was coming of age, unnoticed by the great powers of the time, and struggling against what were by human standards, impossible circumstances. The book provides a paradigm for the kingdom of God in the modern world; it is a time for renewing commitment within the New Covenant and turning to the future with a view to possessing the promise of God.
-Peter Craigie, The Book of Deuteronomy
