Deuteronomy 30 -- Old Testament -- Gospel Daily

Deuteronomy

Chapter 30

Restoration, Obedience, and Choosing Life

Moses declares that when Israel, having experienced both blessing and curse, turns back to the LORD with all their heart and soul, God will restore their fortunes, gather them from all nations, bring them back to the promised land, and circumcise their hearts to love Him. God promises renewed abundance and blessing upon obedience, and assures Israel that His commandment is not hidden or inaccessible—it is not in heaven nor beyond the sea—but is near, in their mouths and hearts, so they are fully able to do it. Moses then sets before the people a solemn choice between life and good on one hand and death and evil on the other, warning that turning to other gods will lead to destruction. He calls heaven and earth as witnesses and urges Israel to choose life—loving the LORD, obeying His voice, and cleaving to Him—so that they and their descendants may live in the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Restoration from exileHeart circumcisionAccessibility of the commandmentLife and death choiceCovenant obedienceDivine compassion

¹And 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,

²And 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;

³That 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.

⁴If 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:

⁵And 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.

⁶And 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.

⁷And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.

⁸And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.

⁹And 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:

¹⁰If 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.

¹¹For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.

¹²It 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?

¹³Neither 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?

¹⁴But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

¹⁵See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

¹⁶In 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.

¹⁷But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;

¹⁸I 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.

¹⁹I 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:

²⁰That 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.