D31-17: The Two Reasons Why The Scroll Of Deuteronomy Was Placed Besides The Ark Of The Covenant

“Moshe kept writing the words of this Torah in a book until he was done. When he had finished, Moshe gave these orders to the L’vi’im who carried the ark with the covenant of Adonai: “Take this book of the Torah and put it next to the ark with the covenant of Adonai your God, so that it can be there to witness against you.  For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are! Here, even while I am still alive with you today, you have rebelled against Adonai; so how much more will you do so after my death?”-Deuteronomy 31:24-27

Verse 24 informs us that after writing the “Song of Moses”, Moses is to include it into what we now know as the Book of Deuteronomy and give it the Levites (the priestly tribe).

The Levites were then to take the scroll they had received from Moses and place it besides the Ark of the Covenant.

Remember it was the Levites who were responsible for carrying the Ark whenever the Israelites moved from one location to another.

We’re told the Ark contained the following three items:

-the two stone tablets of the 10 Words of God (the 10 “Commandments”)

-Aaron’s budding rod

-a jar of manna

Now why was the scroll of Deuteronomy placed right next to the Ark?

There are two reasons.

The first reason was because this was a symbolic way of showing that the contents of the Book of Deuteronomy were built on the principles represented by the items that were inside the ark.

The second reason was this also demonstrated that the Deuteronomy scroll was subservient to the stone tablets because it was God’s own finger that had engraved the words upon the stones.  

In our study of the Book of Exodus, I mentioned that the principle of loving the Lord with all of your mind, soul and strength formed the foundation of the 10 Words (10 DABAR or otherwise commonly known as the “10 Commandments”).

Well, in the same way, the 10 Words form the foundation for all the other Torah commands and instructions the Lord would establish and that Moses would later expound on in the Book of Deuteronomy.

After Moses completed composing this monumental song, he recited it to the people and at the end he made it clear that he agreed with the Lord that after he is gone, the people are definitely going to fall away from God.

Why was Moses so certain about this?

His reasoning is simple.

If they rebelled while he was still alive, how much more will they rebel when a person less respected than him (Joshua) attempts to lead this stiff-necked people?!

Moses words, not mine.

And all you New Testament believing gentile folks, lest you become arrogant and begin to harbor a condescending attitude towards the ancient Israelites or even the Jews today, I leave you with this warning from another Jew, the Apostle Paul, who  minus his missionary efforts you would never have even heard of the God of Israel in the first place.

 ^“So take a good look at God’s kindness and his severity:
on the one hand, severity toward those who fell off;
but, on the other hand, God’s kindness toward you —
provided you maintain yourself in that kindness!
Otherwise, you too will be cut off!  
Moreover, the others,
if they do not persist in their lack of trust,
will be grafted in;
because God is able to graft them back in.
For if you were cut out of what is by nature
a wild olive tree and grafted,
contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree,
how much more will these natural branches
be grafted back into their own olive tree!“
-Romans 11:22-24