What is in a word? As followers of Christ, we know that Christ is the Word. The Bible is also the Word. The Hebrew word for “words” is Devarim. We call it Deuteronomy, which begins with “these are the words.” The book of Deuteronomy is structured in the model of a covenant represented by Moses’ renewal of the Sinai Covenant with the next generation that would be entering the Promised Land. There have been discoveries of engraved records of ancient treaties from the time before Abraham and they are structured similarly—beginning with a preamble, a historical prologue, stipulations, deposition and regular reading, sanctions and blessings, and witnesses. The words and covenant in Deuteronomy are deeply unique.
The covenant made at Sinai was renewed on the banks of the Jordan and recorded in Deuteronomy or Devarim (words). It is a type of Ketubba, a written record of an agreement of obligations to be met by a husband concerning his wife. Deuteronomy is the book of covenant, defining a unique relationship between God and His people aiming to construct a moral society as a role model for humanity—in the partnership and worship of the one true God. This became the inspiration for the Founding Fathers of the United States. There are several “word” themes connected with Devarim. For example, Moses began by telling God that he was slow of speech. By the time he reached the Jordan, Moses became the most powerful spokesman of God in the Old testament– the man of devarim, speaking God’s words.
Another word theme is that the Sinai Covenant is the foremost covenantal document in all of history, and is a mutually binding pledge between the people of Israel and God, agreeing to be bound by His word. Indeed, the very existence of some countries, such as America, are based on words, such as the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The evolution of the printing press invented in 1450 unlocked the Bible, held captive by the Roman Catholic Church. The Word of God was freed from the bondage of those who thought it should never be read by the common man. By the seventeenth century, Europeans could read the Hebrew Scriptures for themselves, and the idea of freedom—biblical freedom, the Liberty of Christ–came directly from the devarim in scripture, foundational to establishing new forms of government.
Finally, and most importantly, our relationship with God is based on words—the power of the word of God and its connection to people is an unbreakable bond that is sustained by love and mutual loyalty. When we read His word, we want to live it out. According to Jonathan Sacks, “Israel survived because it never lost the words that bound it to God and God to it…The word lives and gives life to the people who dedicate their life to the word.” As believers in Christ, we know the “Who” behind the “Word”— “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…In Him was life, and the life was the light of mankind (John 1:1, 4).” Thank the LORD for His Word, life giving, sustaining, and eternal!
