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Warwick Allen's Essays

Theological essays and reflections

The Bible’s Story of God’s Mission as Revealed in Deuteronomy, and the Practice of Mission Today

Course Number: MM581

Course Name: The Mission of God

Assessment: Assessment 2: The Bible’s Story of God’s Mission and Mission Today

Teacher: Emma Stokes

Student: Warwick Allen

Due Date: 29 September 2023

Word count: 1,750 (main text only)
Target word count: 1,600

Declaration of Originality

By submitting this assignment for assessment, I acknowledge and agree that:

The Bible’s Story of God’s Mission as Revealed in Deuteronomy, and the Practice of Mission Today

Missiological insights may not be immediately evident from a casual reading of Deuteronomy, as it appears to be written solely to Israel and for Israel, and only concerning Gentile nations regarding their judgement and destruction. However, a careful study of Deuteronomy reveals certain aspects of the mission of God, and how we participate in that mission. This essay attempts to highlight these missiological insights and their application. It is divided into two sections. The first highlights some ways in which Deuteronomy fits into the Bible’s story of the mission of God and God’s people. The second section reflects on how the missiological insights found in Deuteronomy can be applied to the practice of mission today.

Deuteronomy in the Bible’s story of the mission of God and God’s people

In discussing how Deuteronomy fits into the story of the mission of God, I will first define “the mission of God” as used in this essay. Then, to show how Deuteronomy reflects that mission, I will show that its audience is wider than just the “wilderness generation” of Israelites. Next, I will discuss how one purpose of the laws that were retold in Deuteronomy was to establish a society that reflects God’s glory, and the missional impact of that. Then, I will make a case for the statutes given in Deuteronomy working towards a continuation of the Abrahamic calling to be a blessing to all nations. I conclude this section by exploring the missiological implications of the typology of the exodus.

Deuteronomy is an Israel-centric book. If we take “mission” in the sense of proclaiming God to other nations, any reference to mission in Deuteronomy appears incidental and a missional reading of Deuteronomy may seem artificial. Indeed, most mentions of foreign nations are about the Lord delivering them into Israel’s hands,1 or telling Israel to leave them alone.2

We could consider a slightly expanded definition of “mission,” taking it to mean “proclaiming God to those who do not yet know Him, and inviting them into fellowship with Him.” This would include future generations. This certainly falls into Deuteronomy’s purview, as it teaches that the former generations are obliged to proclaim the Lord to their children and be witnesses to His faithfulness (Deut 6:7,20–25).

However, for a study of Deuteronomy, a more expansive view of God’s mission is helpful. For this essay, I will consider the mission of God to be God’s work in bringing people from all nations into His story of redemption. Similarly, I will consider the mission of God’s people to be God’s people collaborating with God in His mission. This aligns with Christopher Wright’s description of the mission of God’s people as “our committed participation as God’s people…in God’s own mission within the history of God’s world for the redemption of God’s creation.”3,4

Deuteronomy is a collection of sermons delivered by Moses.5 His audience was, ostensibly, those Israelites who grew up during the wandering in the wilderness: the “wilderness generation” (Deut 1:1). However, there is, in some places, ambiguity regarding exactly whom Moses is addressing. The ambiguity is created by attributing to the hearers’ the actions of, and God’s interactions with, their parents,6 and by sometimes addressing the audience as though they were already settled in the promised land.7 This blurring of the audience is intentional and informs later readers that the instructions laid out in Deuteronomy also apply to them. According to Jason DeRouchie, “Moses believed that his law in Deuteronomy would serve those in the age of heart circumcision far more than the rebels of his own day.”8

The fact that Deuteronomy has an extended audience has relevance to missiology. The original hearers could only start the process of proclaiming the glory of the goodness of the Lord to their neighbours; future generations would have the task of completing that proclamation. This proclamation would come through building a God-honouring society on the foundations of God’s instructions. The neighbouring peoples would observe and declare, “Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!” (Deut 4:6). The wilderness generation would begin building that society, but it was up to later generations to complete the task, and further magnify the glory of the goodness of God.

The idea that obedience to God’s instructions brings Him glory is reflected in John’s gospel, wherein Jesus outlines these causal connections: (1) obedience to the Father’s commandments leads to abiding in Christ’s love (John 15:10) and, by extension, abiding in Christ, (2) abiding in Christ (in combination with Christ already abiding in the believer) leads to the bearing of much fruit (John 10:4–7), and (3) the bearing of much fruit leads to the Father’s glorification (John 10:8).

The laws in Deuteronomy and the preceding books, if followed, would produce a society of a moral character so far above the neighbouring societies, that those neighbours would look to Israel with envy. They would equate the high moral example with the goodness of the Lord; they would be drawn to Him and glorify Him.

The wilderness generation did not produce the society promised by Deuteronomy, but they did proclaim the glory of the might of the Lord. More accurately, the Lord proclaimed His own might through the actions He performed for, and through, that generation. News of the Israelites’ victories travelled to surrounding nations and filled the people with the fear of the Lord.9

God promised the blessings of Eden—abundance and multiplication—to the Israelites if they obey the commandments delivered through Moses (Deut 7:12–15, 28:1–14, 30:16). Israel would only become a rich and populous nation if they obey the commandments. And, if they obeyed the commandments, they would have the wisdom and righteousness10,11 to treat their neighbours well, and their abundance would naturally overflow to surrounding nations. In this way, the statutes given in Deuteronomy would work towards a continuation of the Abrahamic calling to be a blessing to all nations. God explicitly promised to “maintain with [the Israelites] the covenant loyalty that he swore to [their] ancestors” (Deut 7:12). This includes the covenant He made with Abraham, including blessing “all the families of the earth” through him (Gen 12:3).

The nation of Israel was founded on the redemptive act of God: delivering a people enslaved by Egypt. This act, as powerful and foundational as it was, was a type, looking forward to an even grander act of redemption: that of delivering a people enslaved by sin.12 This great act of redemption was achieved through the terrible, beautiful atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross. As the exodus foreshadowed the Atonement, Israel foreshadowed the Church. Therefore, the primary way that the exodus impacts how we go about mission is by providing a deeper understanding of the Atonement and providing prophetic proof of the veracity and coherence of Christ’s work.

The application of the missiological insights found in Deuteronomy to the practice of mission today

Evangelism is a necessary aspect of mission (Rom 10:14), and we should be ready to utilise every theological tool in our toolbox to help us make our defence to anyone who demands from us an account of the hope that is in us (1 Pet 3:35). Using the typology of the story that is retold in Deuteronomy to help to show the truth and meaning of the Gospel is a useful tool to employ in our missional endeavours.

But, mission consists of more than just evangelism. Showing the love of God through our communal life as a body of believers is also vital. Deuteronomy describes a mission of attracting the nations to the God of Israel through the example of living by God’s standards, thus creating a joyful and just community, one that outsiders want to partake in.13 Right from Deuteronomy 1 there are instructions given regarding resident aliens (Deut 1:16), indicating it was expected from the start that non-Israelites would join the assembly, and, presumably, some joined out of choice, not from coercion or mere circumstance.

As previously mentioned, the redemption by the Lord of His people from the bondage of Egypt was a foreshadowing of the redemption by Christ of His people from the bondage of sin. The former was the birth of a new community—the nation of Israel—as was the second—the Church. The New Testament asserts that the quality of the Church’s communal life and communal worship affects the quality of her witness to the world, which is her missional impact.14

Deuteronomy weakly implies that successfully obeying God’s statutes will attract to God people who do not have an existing relationship with Him. We can see this by pairing “All the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you” (Deut 28:10) with “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Prov 9:10).15 The causality is clearer in the New Testament. It becomes obvious when we couple Jesus’s metaphor of His disciples being “light of the world” (Matt 5:14) with Him saying, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35). The “light of the world” metaphor immediately follows Jesus telling His disciples that they are “the salt of the earth” (Matt 5:13). As one of the functions of the Law was to teach people to live in such a way that outsiders would glorify God, the disciples were to also fulfil that function: to hold to a higher moral standard than those around them, and thus be witnesses to those outside the community of saints. This connection between the Law and being witnesses strengthens the concept of obedience to God having a missiological outcome. By being salt and light, the Church continues the Abrahamic calling of being a blessing to all nations (Gen 12:1–3, Deut 7:12).16

In summary, Deuteronomy gives wisdom to all God’s people. In studying its laws, we learn how God wants His people to behave, especially within community. Such Godly conduct will draw outsiders to God. Doing community well is missional. Additionally, Christian readers of Deuteronomy can look to the story of the exodus to deepen their understanding of God’s eternal redemptive work. Deep theological understanding aids with discipleship: an essential element of mission work. Similarly, every Old Testament type of Christ (such is the exodus) strengthens our apologetic; apologetics being another essential element of mission work.

Bibliography

DeRouchie, Jason S. “The Mystery Revealed: A Biblical Case for Christ-Centered Old Testament Interpretation.” Themelios 44.2 (2019): 226–48.

Glanville, Mark R. “A Missional Reading of Deuteronomy: Communities of Gratitude, Celebration, and Justice.” Pages 124–50 in Reading the Bible Missionally. Edited by Michael W. Goheen. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2016.

Redd, John S. “Deuteronomy.” Pages 133–57 in A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament: The Gospel Promised. Edited by Miles V. Van Pelt. Wheaton: Crossway, 2016.

Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible: King James Version. Expanded ed. Chicago: The Moody Bible Institute, 1994.

Wright, Christopher J. H. The Mission of God: Unlocking The Bible’s Grand Narrative. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2006.

———. The Mission of God’s People: A Biblical Theology of the Church’s Mission. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010. Kindle edition.

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  1. E.g. Deut 2:24, 7:1 ↩

  2. E.g. Deut 2:37 ↩

  3. Christopher J. H. Wright, The Mission of God: Unlocking The Bible’s Grand Narrative (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2006), 22–23, quoted in Arjan De Visser, “The Mission of God by Christopher J.H. Wright,” review of The Mission of God’s People: A Biblical Theology of the Church’s Mission, by Christopher H. Wright, 2006, https://www.christianstudylibrary.org/files/pub/articles/20150485 – Arjan De Visser – The Mission of God.pdf. ↩

  4. Wright restates this definition multiple times in The Mission of God’s People. E.g., Christopher J. H. Wright, The Mission of God’s People: A Biblical Theology of the Church’s Mission (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), Kindle edition, 374. ↩

  5. Charles C. Ryrie, The Ryrie Study Bible: King James Version, Expanded ed. (Chicago: The Moody Bible Institute, 1994), 277. ↩

  6. See e.g. Deut 5:3, 11:2 ↩

  7. E.g., the laws governing the behaviour of Israelite kings (Deut 17:14–20) were not applicable to the people unde Moses’ and Joshua’s rule, as those men were never considered to be kings. Similarly, the place where worship was to be conducted as only revealed after the Israelites had settled in the promised land (Deut 12:14). ↩

  8. Jason S. DeRouchie, “The Mystery Revealed: A Biblical Case for Christ-Centered Old Testament Interpretation,” Themelios 44.2 (2019): 230. ↩

  9. E.g., Rahab said to the two Israelite spies, “‘I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that dread of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt in fear before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites that were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. As soon as we heard it, our hearts failed, and there was no courage left in any of us because of you. The Lord your God is indeed God in heaven above and on earth below.” (Josh 2:9b–11 NRSVA). ↩

  10. “You must observe [the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you] diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment …” (Deut 4:6a). ↩

  11. “Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me.” (Ps 119:98). ↩

  12. Chris Wright recognises this typology when he states, “The exodus provides the prime Old Testament model of God acting as Redeemer” in Christopher J. H. Wright, The Mission of God’s People: A Biblical Theology of the Church’s Mission (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), Kindle edition, 43. ↩

  13. Mark R. Glanville, “A Missional Reading of Deuteronomy: Communities of Gratitude, Celebration, and Justice,” in Reading the Bible Missionally, ed. Michael W. Goheen (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2016), 124–50. ↩

  14. See e.g. Matt 5:15–16; John 34–35; 1 Cor 14:22–24; Titus 2:1–8 ↩

  15. This proverb was committed to writing after the events of Deuteronomy, but the truth it entails is eternal. ↩

  16. According to the Wikimedia entry on Matt 5:14, in Jesus’s time, “salt and light” was a reference to the Law. However, I did not find supporting attestation to that claim. Contributors to Wikimedia projects, “Matthew 5:14,” Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation, 4 June 2023), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_5:14. ↩