Deuteronomy 31-32 & Romans 8

The transition has begun! Moses informs Israel in Deuteronomy 31 that he will not lead Israel through the Jordan River. That task will fall to Joshua, with large helps from God of course. This transition is a public one in which all witness to the passing of the leadership from Moses to Joshua.

Joshua will not be left without any guidance, as Moses deposits the Law, his writings, into the Ark and Moses commands the leaders to read out the Law to the people every seventh year.

While Moses has announced the transition to Joshua God still needs to act accordingly, but now addresses that issue. Of course, before commissioning Joshua, God demonstrates a knowledge of Israel's future, they will turn their backs to God and follow other gods. God provides a song to Moses so that Israel can be reminded to turn back to God when they stray. As God commissions Joshua at the end of the chapter, the song is recited in Deuteronomy 32.

The song contrasts the majestic behavior of God to the waywardness of Israel. The middle section lays out Israel's trangressions while the end speaks of God's Will to vindicate the Children of God.

The chapter ends with the telling of how Moses will die, but Moses' final words have not yet been spoken.

Romans 8

So we have reached the seminal chapter in Romans, the section that brought Luther to a new understand as he ushered in the Reformation. This means I approach the chapter with some trepidation. How do I summarize that which others have done majestic work with. To be honest, there is no text that meets the theological standard laid before us by Paul, but the theological standard is matched by the beauty and power of the words.

In this section of the Letter to the Romans, Paul seeks to explain how one can be freed from the power of the flesh which has perverted the Law and allowed sin to enter into the Law. If the Law is a spiritual power, as Paul claims, how can one be free of it the flesh is in service to Sin? First, we need to understand that when   Paul speaks of the flesh he is not just referring to the physical body but the world. Second, when he speaks of the spirit he speaks of the power of the Holy Spirit to liberate us. Finally, when he speaks of the Law he is speaking in a way that demonstrates that the Law is not a bad thing, in fact it is a very good thing, even though it is perverted by the world.

It is the power of Christ to free us from the flesh, for in Christ God destroys Sin and its power over us. We need not live to the flesh for in Christ we have been given the power of the Spirit to live. To continue living according to the flesh is to lead to death, but in Christ and the Spirit, we find life. This is our inheritance as adopted members of God's family.

Yet, this present reality also leads to an understanding of the future that is secure in God. Even in the midst of the present struggles that creation is going through, we have seen the first fruits, for we have inherited the Spirit which bonds us in the deepest ways to Christ and, through Christ, God. And if God has brought Christ through the worst, even death, what power could possibly separate us from God? None, which is why we truly should live in the Spirit.