Title PageThe Sitz Im Leben of Deuteronomy 7Relations with Other NationsThe Nature of the Covenant RelationshipGod's Blessings in the landConfidence in Yahweh's PromiseConclusionEndRestoration Quarterly 17 (1974) 222-235. Copyright © 1974 by Restoration Quarterly, cited with permission; digitally prepared for use at Gordon College] Deuteronomy 7: A Covenant Sermon WAYNE CRUMP Princeton, New Jersey When dealing with a passage from the Pentateuch, and especially from the Mosaic covenant sermon material in the early chapters of Deuteronomy, the question of authorship is of central concern, since there are many different viewpoints regarding the final form of the five books. The predominant scholarly opinions concerning Deuteronomy are the following: 1. Moses recorded the speeches and the laws as he delivered them to the Israelites at Moab. 2. The sayings of Moses and the giving of the law were preserved and written down in Yahwistic circles through the monarchical period, primarily in Northern Israel. As the historical situation changed, certain elements were added or omitted to make the material relevant to the new situation. 3. The work was composed in the seventh century in reaction to the apostasies of Ahaz and Manasseh. The ancient legal material in the book was placed in the context of a covenant renewal at the time when reform was essential if Judah was to remain a people under God. This article will not depend on any one theory of authorship, but certain points may immediately be noted in preparation for the actual exegesis of Deuteronomy 7. First, even conservative scholars such as R. K. Harrison recognize that chapter 34, the account of Moses' death, is added to the original form of Deuteronomy. It is also significant that the book begins with "These are the words that Moses spoke. . . ," as though someone later was putting in written form this farewell address of Moses. Indeed, the entire Pentateuch is narrated in the third person. This situation is comparable to the New Testament, which was written by Jesus' followers rather than Jesus himself. Just as the Gospel writers selected their material from the abundance of available tradition about the Lord 222Crump: Deuteronomy 7 223 to take their evangelical and theological thrist to their particular audiences (cf. Luke 1:1-4; John 20:30-31), so did those who recorded the words of Moses present and even elaborate upon them in ways that met their theological needs. It is a fundamental principle of exegesis the biblical materials are to be understood or the basis of their situation in life, both of the original event or saying and of the later audience to which the written account is addressed: Their purpose was to meet the needs of a live historical situation with truth from God and not simply to compile a biography of a great leader such as Moses or Jesus. A second important observation is that the parenetic material in Deuteronomy is clearly Mosaic In thought and content. Chapter 7 quotes frequently from the "Book of the Covenant" (Exodus 21-23), the laws given by Moses at Sinai in connection with the Decalogue in chapter 20. Deuteronomy is thus centered on the covenant given through Moses and in effect reiterates it as his last testimony to the nation. The book is structured, roughly, in the form of an ancient covenant document, with many elements of the Hittite suzerainty treaty: historical prologue, stipulations in the form of commandments, cosmic witnesses (30:19), and blessings and curses,1 found in Deuteronomy 7 as well as in the later chapters. Chapter 29 begins with the statement "These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel" in addition to the covenant made “at Horeb." The essential theme of Deuteronomy, therefore, is the renewal of the covenant. Those who felt the need in it later times for such a revival of dedication to Yahweh quite naturally saw in this Mosaic covenant material the basis for such an endeavor. Deuteronomy is, as Nicholson states, "the deposit of the authentic Mosaic faith as it developed during the course of Israel's history in the land of Canaan." The “stream of tradition" was transmitted down to the seventh century until . . . under the shadow of the destruction of the northern tribes and the threat of a similar fate for the remaining Judean kingdom it was formulated Into the book of Deuteronomy in an attempt to 1. G. E. Mendenhall, "Covenant,” The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, I. 714, 715.224 Restoration Quarterly revive the nation and ensure its future as Yahweh's covenant people.2 Those who wrote down Deuteronomy in its final form brought Moses' words to bear with renewed force on the situation of the nation at a critical moment in the history of God's people, when a weakened faith was perceived as totally inadequate for the future of the covenant nation. Many scholars observe affiliations between the parenesis of Deuteronomy and the prophetic activity beginning in the eighth century. God's love for Israel, which is an integral idea in Deuteronomy 7, is a prominent theme in Hosea (3:1; 11:1; 14:4). The similarity in style between Deuteronomy and Jeremiah has been widely observed.3 Dahl notes elements as well of the "social passion of Amos" and the "national devotion of Isaiah."4 The "book of the law" found in the temple during Josiah's reign probably was at least the essential part of the present fifth book of the Pentateuch, which is itself a "book of the law" (28:61; 29:21; 30:10; 31:26). Josiah's covenant to keep Yahweh's commandments "with all his heart and all his soul" (2 Kings 23:3) echoes the command of Deuteronomy 26:16. The reforms which Josiah proceeded to institute involved the destruction of all vestiges of polytheism and idolatry, as the reading of Deuteronomy might well have prompted. He had already begun to restore the political and religious status of Israel when repairs to the temple probably led to the discovery of the "book of the law."5Deuteronomy 7 is founded on the covenant relationship between God and his people based on his mighty acts on their behalf in the past and the potential for the future if the covenant criteria are maintained. As a genre it may best be termed a "covenant sermon." Its contents include encouragement, warning, promise, remembrance, and