Author’s Preface

THE ADVENTURE REPRESENTED BY this volume began more than a quarter century ago when I taught a Hebrew exegesis course on Deuteronomy for the first time, and it intensified after Zondervan graciously invited me to write this commentary for the NIVAC series. Whereas in an earlier phase of my life I had spent fifteen years with Ezekiel, for the past decade I have been engaged in a lively conversation with Moses. When I read Deuteronomy, I hear the voice of Moses. But sometimes I don’t understand what I am hearing, so I ask for clarification. Sometimes what I hear him saying sounds so different from what my ears have been trained to hear and my mind has been taught to accept. This leaves me puzzled and confused. Sometimes I hear the message clearly, but I don’t like what I hear, and I protest. He challenges my theology and my understanding of piety. Sometimes I hear him pleading with me to abandon my idols and to follow the Lord more fully, and I resist his plea. Then the voice of Moses exposes my self-centeredness and my hypocrisy. I do not love the Lord with all my heart and mind, with all my being, and with all my resources (cf. Deut. 6:4–5), and I certainly do not love my neighbor as myself. But thank you, Moses, for revealing to me the way of freedom and forgiveness and for reminding me of God’s relentless pursuit of his people and his lavish grace.

The present volume is a distillation of a much larger work. Unfortunately the limitations of the series has forced me to eliminate much of my exegetical homework and more detailed consideration of many subjects. We have tried to let the theological cream rise to the top and present that in a coherent and helpful form. As I see it, a commentary like this must serve three purposes: (1) It must help readers actually understand the text. (2) It must integrate the theological message of the text with teachings found in the rest of Scripture. (3) It must provide preliminary guidance for readers of Scripture—particularly pastors and teachers—on the relevance of the message of biblical texts for today. How successful we have been only readers and time will tell.

I agreed to write this commentary more than a decade ago, when my life was rather simple. However, shortly thereafter administrative duties (as president for the Institute for Biblical Research and as Associate Dean for Scripture and Interpretation at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky) complicated my life and ate up a lot of time and energy that might have gone into this project. This pilgrimage was put on virtual standstill for more than a year when we moved to Wheaton College in 2005. Finally, by the grace of God and the patience of the editors of this series, this stage of the project is finished. It is still far from perfect, and, while the Word of God is authoritative and reliable, our comments on the Scriptures are always in soft lead pencil, subject to correction, modification, and even erasure. We present this work to the church with the prayer that despite its imperfections, it will help to make the Scriptures, particularly the gospel according to Moses, come alive for a new generation of readers.

The people who have assisted me in the pilgrimage are too many to count. While Moses has been speaking to me, there have been many who have aided him by supporting me in my study of this remarkable book. Whether in classroom situations or in seminars and sermon series offered in churches—many have walked with me as I have walked with Moses, offering welcome insights into both the broader themes of Deuteronomy and the details of particular passages, and many have helped me refine the ways in which I communicate my discoveries. I must acknowledge in particular a series of graduate students who have lent me invaluable aid in research, in proofreading drafts, and in being sounding boards for some of my discoveries: Greg Mathias [deceased], Jason DeRouchie, Greg Smith, Kenneth Turner, Bryan Cribb, Rebekah Josberger, Nathan Elliott, Chris Ansberry, Jerry Hwang, Charlie Trimm, Jason Gile, Rahel Schafer, Matt Newkirk, Matthew Patton, and Daniel Owens. This work could never have been accomplished without their friendship and their assistance. I must also express my gratitude to Carmen Imes and my wife, Ellen, who assisted me in the tedious task of indexing this work.

However, I owe a special debt of gratitude to Chris Ansberry, who spent countless hours at the end of this process trying to reduce a 1,250 page manuscript to approximately 800 pages as required by the editors of this series without losing my voice or the spirit of the larger work. Having worked so closely with Chris for six years, he knows the pulse of my heart. This final stage was funded by monies that came with the Leland Ryken Award for Teaching Excellence graciously granted me in the fall of 2010.

I would be remiss if I did not also express my thanks to the institutions that invested in this project through their library resources and funding provided for attending professional conferences where my ideas could be presented and tested: Bethel Theological Seminary, Southern Seminary, Wheaton College, and the Tyndale Library in Cambridge, where I was generously hosted during two sabbaticals (2002, 2010). Special thanks to Danny Akin, the dean of Southern Seminary, who graciously granted me a sabbatical leave in 2001–2002, and to Jeff Greenman, Jill Baumgartner, and Stan Jones, who granted me a generous leave in 2010. I am also grateful for the invitation by Zondervan and the NIVAC editorial board to make this contribution to the series. I am especially appreciative of the support I have received from Katya Covrett along the way. I must also express my deep gratitude to Bud and Betty Knoedler, who have given so generously to underwrite my professorial chair. It is a special grace to know them not only as supporters of Wheaton College, but also as personal friends. Ellen and I are grateful for their daily prayers on our behalf.

I eagerly also acknowledge Ellen, the delight of my life, who has stood by me as a gracious friend and counselor for more than four decades. Without her love and wisdom, the work represented here would either never have been finished, or it would have taken a dramatically different turn. Ellen has walked with me on this pilgrimage, not only listening to my private expressions of frustration and joy throughout this process, and patiently hearing many of my sermons and lectures on this book, but also providing me with a tranquil and peaceful world in which to do my work. I am also thankful for my family, who has taught me so much about celebrating the grace of God in everyday experiences of life. This book is dedicated to my grandchildren with deep love and affection.

Ultimately, all praise for this and any other accomplishment must go to God, who has lavished his grace on us in Christ Jesus and in his Torah.

Daniel I. Block

May 2011