Three Questions to Help you Drive Deuteronomy to the Heart

Sometimes it can feel hard to know where to start. 

Hard to know how to get something meaningful from an Old Testament book like Deuteronomy. It may be that time is a factor - you just haven’t got a lot of margin to play with.  Or maybe it’s headspace - can I really get something from this, when I’m struggling to process all the other things going on at the moment?

I know for my own heart, I can be easily swayed into studying something that’s just more straightforward - and more applicable to my everyday - something most likely in the New Testament that just feels - well, easier.

But here’s the thing.  To truly appreciate the deep wells and riches of the New Testament, we have to go back to the Old.  Because Christ walks not only onto the pages of history, but onto the pages of His Story - which stretches all the way back to the first word in Genesis. And the more I’m reading and seeking to understand Deuteronomy, the more I’m seeing how crucial a part of the puzzle it truly is.

So how can we grasp something of the wonders of Deuteronomy, even if time is tight and headspace is squeezed? Here are three questions we often ask ourselves of any passage, but particularly as we’ve been going through Deuteronomy. They are questions that help us to unlock what’s in front of us and enable us to truly take something to heart, even if we have only got a few minutes to hand.

1.What can I learn about God and his character here?

Is there anything I didn’t know already? Is there anything surprising?

2. What can I learn about the nature of people here?

What do we see of the human heart? What do we see of people’s responses to God?

3. Where are the Jesus moments?

Where’s the signpost to Jesus - in his life, death and resurrection? How does this part of Deuteronomy grow my view of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour?

However little time or headspace you have, why not let these questions take you on a journey through Deuteronomy?