The original readers were the Israelites, as seen plainly in Deut.31:9-13. In part of the passage, Moses says to the Priests and elders, "…you must read this Book of Instruction to all the people of Israel when they assemble before the Lord your God at the place He chooses."
I see that the author of this book is revealed in the same section. Deut.31:9 says, "So Moses wrote this entire body of instruction in a book and gave it to the priests…and to the elders of Israel."
A repeated idea in this book is the place of worship. In Deut.16:6, it says, "You must offer it only at the designated place of worship-the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honoured." (See also 16:9,14:23,24,18:6 and so on) God is very adamant about the Israelites only worshiping in the place He chooses. A main theme is renewal. In 30:3 it says, "The Lord your God will return you to the land that belonged to your ancestors…" And in Deut. 29:1, it says that "these are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites." God is renewing the covenant He made with their ancestors. Summed up in one sentence, Deuteronomy is a book about God renewing the broken covenant He made with Moses and His chosen people.
The primary reason this book was written is to give them life. It says in Deut.32:47, "These instructions are not empty words-they are your life!" And in 30:19&20 it says, "Oh, that you would choose life…This is the key to your life." God is giving them laws and guidelines in which to thrive and if they obey them, they will "live long in the land the Lord swore" to give them.
God is their protector and it says so beautifully in Deuteronomy 23:14. "The camp must be holy, for the Lord your God moves around in your camp to protect you and to defeat your enemies." God is constantly bringing victory to them and going ahead of them and always sustaining them. Also in Deut.33:27-29, it says, "He is your protective shield." I love imagery! God shows His powerful nature through fire. In Deut.4:36 it says, "He let you see His great fire here on earth. In the same chapter in verse 33 it says, "Has a nation ever heard the voice of God speaking from fire-as you did-and survived?" He is powerful and chooses to display and speak through an earthly force; bend it to His will.
In Ch.16, it talks about the Passover but what stuck out to me was a portion of verse 3. It says, "Eat this bread - the bread of suffering…" This alludes to what Jesus says about his body being the bread, broken for us.
What God has highlighted for me personally in this book is Deuteronomy 7:7&8. It says, "The Lord did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations…it was simply that the Lord loves you…" That is so beautiful and it stopped me in my tracks when I read it. He loved them for who they were, and didn't choose them because of their size or reputation. God loves me for me and not for what I can do or how accomplished I am or am not. That is an amazing timeless truth. To meditate on that is priceless.
There is a lot on worship in this book and multiple passages describing how God desires to be worshiped. My favourite is 12:7, "There you and your families will feast in in the presence of the Lord of the God…" And then in 10:20 it says, "You must fear the Lord your God and worship him and cling to him…the only one who is worthy of your praise…" I love those describing words and I think that when we come into God's presence we should feast and we should cling to Him. He is so worthy to be praised and so giving of Himself. All we have to do is seek and He meets us with His glorious presence.
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