The Law's Firm Foundation in History Text: Deuteronomy 4:44-49
Introduction: Law and Location
We live in an age that detests foundations. Our generation wants to build its house on the sand, and then is perpetually surprised when the tide comes in. They want a law with no lawgiver, morality with no transcendent source, and meaning without any objective reference point. The result is not freedom, as they suppose, but a descent into chaos, a return to the formless and void. They want the fruit of Christianity, things like human rights and compassion, but they have declared war on the root. It is a suicidal kind of horticulture.
The modern mind treats law as an abstraction, a set of disembodied principles that we invent and can therefore reinvent at our whim. But this is not the biblical view. God's law is never an abstraction. It is always grounded, always located, always given in a particular time and a particular place to a particular people. It is rooted in history. It is anchored in geography. God does not speak His commands into a vacuum; He speaks them into the gritty reality of redemptive history. This is why the Bible is so full of genealogies and maps. Place matters. History matters. The dirt under your fingernails matters.
The passage before us today serves as a grand preamble, a formal introduction to the second giving of the law. Before Moses reiterates the Ten Commandments in the next chapter, the Holy Spirit inspires him to pause and anchor the whole affair in concrete, historical, geographical reality. This is not "once upon a time." This is "across the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites." This is God's law landing with the thud of historical fact. It is a title page and a table of contents for the covenant renewal that is about to take place. And in grounding the law this way, Moses is teaching us a fundamental truth: God's covenant commands are not arbitrary rules floating in the ether. They are the constitution for a kingdom, given to a people who have been redeemed by historical acts of power and who are located in a real place, on their way to another real place.
This section acts as a hinge. It looks back at the historical prologue of the first four chapters, summarizing the journey and the victories, and it looks forward to the legal core of the book. It reminds the people: "You are here, at this spot, because of what God has done. Now, because of what He has done, listen to what He says."
The Text
Now this is the law which Moses set before the sons of Israel; these are the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments which Moses spoke to the sons of Israel when they came out from Egypt, across the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites who lived at Heshbon, whom Moses and the sons of Israel struck down when they came out from Egypt. And they took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who were across the Jordan to the east toward the sunrise, from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of Arnon, even as far as Mount Sion (that is, Hermon), with all the Arabah across the Jordan to the east, even as far as the sea of the Arabah, at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah.
(Deuteronomy 4:44-49 LSB)
The Nature of the Law (v. 44-45)
We begin with the formal introduction to the law itself.
"Now this is the law which Moses set before the sons of Israel; these are the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments which Moses spoke to the sons of Israel when they came out from Egypt," (Deuteronomy 4:44-45)
Verse 44 is a heading for everything that follows. "This is the law." The Hebrew word is Torah, which means far more than just "law" in our modern, sterile sense. It means instruction, direction, the whole counsel of God for how to live as His covenant people. It is the manufacturer's instructions for human flourishing.
Verse 45 then breaks this Torah down into three categories: testimonies, statutes, and judgments. This is not just poetic repetition. These terms describe different facets of God's instruction. "Testimonies" are stipulations of the covenant that bear witness to God's character and His redemptive acts. Think of the Sabbath or the Passover. They are memorials, reminders of who God is and what He has done. They testify. "Statutes" are the positive commands, the rules for worship and life that were engraved, set down as permanent ordinances. They are the things you do because God said so, establishing the patterns of holiness. "Judgments" are the case laws, the application of God's principles to specific situations in civil life. They are the rulings that ensure justice between man and man.
Together, they form a comprehensive guide for the life of the nation, covering their relationship with God (testimonies), their corporate life of holiness (statutes), and their civil order (judgments). This is a totalizing vision. God is not interested in being the head of a religious affairs department. He is interested in being King over everything. His law speaks to the courtroom, the marketplace, the family, and the temple. There is no area of life over which He does not say, "Mine."
Notice also the timing: "when they came out from Egypt." The law is given to a redeemed people. Grace always precedes law. God did not give them the law so that they could earn their way out of Egypt. He brought them out of Egypt by His mighty power, and then He gave them the law to teach them how to live as free men, not as slaves. The indicative of redemption ("I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt") is the foundation for the imperative of obedience ("you shall have no other gods before Me").
The Location of the Law (v. 46)
Next, Moses grounds this covenant renewal in a very specific, and very significant, place.
"across the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites who lived at Heshbon, whom Moses and the sons of Israel struck down when they came out from Egypt." (Deuteronomy 4:46)
Every phrase here is dripping with theological weight. They are "across the Jordan." They are on the very threshold of the promised land. They can see it, but they are not yet in it. This is a moment of transition, a time for the new generation to reaffirm the covenant their fathers broke. They are in the wilderness, but a wilderness that is now pregnant with promise.
They are "in the valley opposite Beth-peor." This is a place of profound shame and profound grace. Beth-peor means "house of the gap" or "house of Peor," and it was the site of the Baal Peor incident recorded in Numbers 25. This was where Israelite men yoked themselves to a pagan god through ritual prostitution, and a plague from the Lord killed twenty-four thousand of them. It was a catastrophic failure, a moment of gross idolatry and immorality. Now, in that very valley, in the shadow of that great sin, God comes to renew His covenant. This is a stunning picture of grace. God does not meet them on a pristine mountain top of their own righteousness. He comes down into the valley of their failure and says, "Let's start again." This is where the law is given, not to the perfect, but to the penitent. It is a reminder that the covenant is not based on their faithfulness, but on His.
Furthermore, they are "in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites." This is conquered territory. They are standing on land that God has already given them through military victory. The law is not given in a posture of weakness, but from a position of God-given strength. The defeat of Sihon was a tangible, recent demonstration of God's power and faithfulness. It was the down payment on the full inheritance. God is saying, "See what I did to Sihon? I am faithful. I keep my promises. Now listen to my law, because the one who gives it is the one who fights for you and gives you victory."
The Foundation of the Law (v. 47-49)
The final verses expand on this theme of conquest, laying out the geographical boundaries of the land they had already taken. This is the tangible proof of God's favor, the foundation upon which the covenant is renewed.
"And they took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who were across the Jordan to the east toward the sunrise, from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of Arnon, even as far as Mount Sion (that is, Hermon), with all the Arabah across the Jordan to the east, even as far as the sea of the Arabah, at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah." (Deuteronomy 4:47-49)
Moses is not just giving a geography lesson. He is piling up evidences of God's faithfulness. He mentions not only Sihon but also "Og king of Bashan." These were the two formidable Amorite kings who stood as gatekeepers to the promised land. Og was a giant, one of the last of the Rephaim, and his defeat was legendary. These victories were the first fruits of the conquest. They were God's opening salvo, demonstrating that no enemy, no matter how big, could stand before His people when they walked in obedience.
The boundaries are described in detail, "from Aroer... as far as Mount Sion (that is, Hermon)." This is a sweeping territory, a significant piece of real estate. God doesn't give abstract promises; He gives acres. He gives deeds. This land, stretching from the Arnon gorge in the south to the majestic, snow-capped Mount Hermon in the north, was the physical proof that God's word is true. It was their inheritance, already in hand.
The passage ends by mentioning "the slopes of Pisgah." This is another location of immense significance. From the top of Pisgah, Moses will be granted a view of the entire promised land before he dies. It is a place of vision, of promise, of seeing the goal. So here they are, at the foot of Pisgah, having already possessed a portion of the land, standing in the valley of their past failure (Beth-peor), about to hear the law of their future life. The geography is a sermon in itself. It preaches God's grace in the face of sin, God's power in the face of enemies, and God's faithfulness in the face of the future.
Christ, Our Location and Law
As with all of the Old Testament, we must read this with New Testament eyes. This entire scene is a type and a shadow of a greater reality in Jesus Christ. We too have been brought out of a greater Egypt, the bondage of sin and death. We too are on a journey to a greater promised land, the new heavens and the new earth.
And where is the law given to us? It is given to us "in Christ." He is our location. We are no longer standing in the valley opposite Beth-peor, but we are standing on the conquered territory of Calvary. Jesus Christ has defeated our Sihon and our Og. He has crushed the head of the serpent. He has disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in the cross (Colossians 2:15). The victory is already won. The down payment of our inheritance, the Holy Spirit, has been given. We do not obey in order to get the victory; we obey because the victory has been secured for us by our King.
The law of God is not an abstract code for us. It is the very character of the Son. The testimonies, statutes, and judgments find their ultimate fulfillment and meaning in Him. He is the perfect testimony to the Father. He is the embodiment of God's statutes, the righteous man who fulfilled them all. He is the righteous judge who will execute true judgment.
Therefore, when we come to God's law, we do not come as slaves trying to earn our freedom. We come as sons, standing on the firm ground of Christ's finished work. We are located in Him. Our past sins, our own Beth-peors, have been washed away by His blood. Our future inheritance is secure because of His victory. Therefore, let us listen to His instruction, His Torah. Not as a means of salvation, but as the joyful path of salvation, the way we walk as a redeemed people in a world that He is making new.