Hear My Son

For many modern Christians, Deuteronomy is seen as either too difficult to understand or too far from the concerns of our day — it is ancient law, outdated and no longer able to address the complex issues of modern society. Furthermore, Deuteronomy is “law” — that from which we in the age of “grace” have been delivered, and now that we are saved by grace, we are no longer under the awful law with its strict rules and condemnation.

In Hear, My Son Ralph Smith provides a better reading of Deuteronomy that opens up this book of law as a book of loving instruction from a Father who seeks the blessing of His wayward son. He demonstrates that the key to understanding Deuteronomy is found in the repeated references to Yahweh as Israel’s Father and the abundant allusions to the promises of the Fifth Commandment.

Smith’s work encourages a fresh reading of the Pentateuch that puts away stale prejudices against a perpetually angry, slave-driving Old Testament God, and awakens the reader to the reality of Yahweh’s primary identity as a tender, loving, and devoted Father.