One of the main purposes of the sermon series in Deuteronomy is to show the relationship between the Old and New Testaments. Even though they were written thousands of years apart, across continents, cultures, and languages, it is a single, seamless story. The New Testament is the climax and ending of the story. But the Old Testament is the beginning – where all the various pieces and themes are put in place, and which find their final resolution in Christ.
This is how every epic story works. Consider Harry Potter. This is a children's fantasy series stretching across seven books. In the first book, Harry Potter is transported into the magical world of Hogwarts. There, he encounters the menacing figure of Voldemort, the wise mentorship of Dumbledore, and the enigmatic character of Snape, among others.
And if you know the story, you know that J.K. Rowling did not write haphazardly, making it up from book to book. But rather, from the beginning, she mapped out the main plot line and traced out the whole narrative arc, putting into place the key themes and characters that would finally resolve in the final book. She was able to do this because she is a single author, who wrote the entire series over a 10-year-period.
Consider, by contrast, that the Bible was written over a 1,600 year period, by multiple human authors, across different cultures and vast time periods. How do you coordinate a story like that? Do you write notes in the margins for future writers? It would be impossible. The answer, of course, is that behind the Bible is one divine author, who, from the beginning, set up all the pieces, and put into place all the people and drama that would find its climax in the cross and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. It's breathtaking. We can spend the rest of our lives studying the Bible, and never exhaust all the layers and interconnections. This is why in 1 Peter 1:12, the angels gaze at the story of redemption in utter astonishment.
Each week, as we look at the text in Deuteronomy, our goal as preachers is to unpack the story, the one great story of God's rescuing love for humanity in Jesus Christ. I hope you can join us each Sunday.
Pastor Michael