Deuteronomy 30

Moses has shown the paths of life and of death and charges us to choose life.
.
Text
Comments
.1 ¶ And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee,
.2  And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
.3  That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.
.4  If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
.5  And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.
   1 - Where I have driven you Notice God's plan for the purity and happiness of His people. After apostasy, some would remember and, as a remnant, be gathered again.
  6  And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
 7  And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.
 8  And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.
 9  And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers:
.10  If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.
   6 - Circumcise you heart Notice the purpose of heart circumcision. This maybe be seen as the intent of the pledge in physical circumcision.
   7 - Curses on enemies We may see that the followers of the Lord are persecuted when they refuse the evil ways of the heathen nations. Similarly Satan will be punished for the sins he has caused the righteous to commit re20x.
   10 - Keep his commandments Obedience is essential. This does not mean it is or ever was the means of salvation. It is evidence of saving faith in God.
.11 ¶ For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.
 12  It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
 13  Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
 14  But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.
  12 - Heaven ... who ... bring?  See ro1005-10.
.15 ¶ See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;
 16  In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.
.17  But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;
 18  I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.
  15 - Life ... death Moses spoke of eternal life and death. Until Jesus returns to take us to heaven, people eventually die 1co1554. Thus the text refers to eternal death from which there is no resurrection. Also see v19 below. Of course the prophecy applied to the land of Canaan, too. Death would come quicker for the wicked.
  16 - Keep his commandments Was this righteousness by works? No. Loving obedience characterizes those who are in harmony with heaven. The commandments help us know the path of happiness.
.19  I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
 20  That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
  19 - Choose life The choice for obedience is the choice for life (see on v15). We choose our destiny by choosing our lifestyle. If we want righteousness mt0506 our home will be with the righteous in heaven. If we want to live in the path of evil and selfishness, we would not be happy in heaven and are excluded. The preadvent judgment confirms that choice for the angels who will be our neighbors he0927. Only the "dead in Christ" are resurrected and taken to heaven 1th0416. The rest of the dead stay dead until the end of the thousand years re2005 when they are judged burned up re2009.

_____________________________________________________
.
Previous
Next
Deuteronomy home
Commentary home
Contact