30 “And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, 2 and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. 4 If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. 5 And the Lord your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. 6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. 7 And the Lord your God will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you. 8 And you shall again obey the voice of the Lord and keep all his commandments that I command you today. 9 The Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers, 10 when you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
11 “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. 12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ 14 But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.
15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God1 that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules,2 then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 17 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20 loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
Section Overview: The Way of Life and Death
Chapters 29–30 are marked as a unit by the introduction of 29:2, in which Moses assembles the people, and the introduction in 31:1, in which the narrator says that Moses spoke “these words to all Israel.” The summary character of the call to choose life in 30:15–20 forms a conclusion to the purpose of Moses in assembling the people in 29:2. The anticipation of the covenant in 29:10–15 is concluded by the call to accept the covenant in 30:15–20. This chapter is a renewed call to love the Lord your God (30:6, 16, 20). This call is an obvious echo of the chief imperative of the main section of this Torah, which summarized the covenant requirement with a call to love at the beginning (6:5) and the conclusion of the exhortation (11:1). The people’s need is a circumcised heart (10:16; 30:6). The external sign of the covenant has no significance apart from an internal commitment to obedience.
The dire situation of exile is reversed by God’s restoring and renewing his people (30:1–10). Experience of the curse is not the end of the covenant. Although the people find themselves in exile, restoration is possible. This hope was held out by Moses in concluding his first sermon in 4:29–31. Those words are substantially repeated here, binding together the book.
The requirement of restoration is unchanged: it is the necessity of love for God. The responsibilities of love are not far removed or hard to understand (30:11–14). When the words of the Torah are in the people’s mind, it is possible for them to carry out the duty of love. The choice, however, is stark: life or death (vv. 15–20). There is no such thing as a partial love for God. If Israel understands and fears God, they will have life. If they serve any other god, they do not understand God at all. Knowing Yahweh excludes the possibility of other gods. The result of seeking such gods is death. Moses concludes his sermon with the only logical option: choose life.
Section Outline
Response
One of the enigmas of the fulfillment of salvation is the defiance of the Jews in response to the teaching of Jesus and the proclamation of the gospel. Gentiles not familiar with the promises to Israel or the covenant with God respond in great numbers. The evangelism at Antioch is so successful that it raises the attention of the church at Jerusalem. They send Barnabas to investigate (Acts 11:20–26). Seeing the size of the response, Barnabas seeks out Saul from Tarsus, who gathers the believers in such numbers that they soon become distinguished as a movement and identified as Christians. They are no longer just another sect of the Jews. On the other hand, Jews across the Roman Empire resist and hate these people. In his letter to the Romans Paul turns to the third speech of Moses in the book of Deuteronomy in order to address this dilemma. Paul feels so strongly about the rejection of his people that he would consider himself anathema on their behalf (Rom. 9:1–3). This is not possible, but the message of Moses convinces Paul that redemption for his people will be found in Christ.
Paul assesses the situation of the Jewish people in Romans 9:30–10:21. His answer comes in two parts. Paul discusses the nature of the gospel (Rom. 9:32–10:13) then God’s relationship to Israel through the gospel (Rom. 10:14–21). Israel has stumbled at the stone of scandal in pursuing a righteousness of works. They do not understand that Christ is the goal of the Torah (10:4). Paul discusses covenant renewal for Israel in 10:6–11. He reads Deuteronomy 30 as an announcement of covenant renewal following the judgment and exile described in Deuteronomy 29. The exile of Deuteronomy had continued until the time of the Messiah. With Jesus renewal becomes possible. The means of covenant renewal is found in Deuteronomy 30:11–14. Paul applies what is said of the Torah to the Messiah. He has come down, so when the word about him is accepted by faith, the work of the new covenant has taken place. Deuteronomy thus offers a fresh vision for the fulfillment of the covenant. Paul sees this vision as performed by Christ and fulfilled in the Christian by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:5–8). Confessing faith in Christ is the surprising and paradoxical fulfilling of the Torah taught by Moses (Rom. 10:5). Righteousness is reckoned by faith in Christ; it is not by faith in fulfilling the law, as taught at Qumran, a view found in a document called 4QMMT (Miqṣat Maʻaśê ha-Torah).82 Faith in Christ is the sign of covenant membership.
The stumbling of Israel is not outside of divine providence (Rom. 10:14–21). God’s method is to provoke Israel to jealousy through a nation that does not understand (Rom. 9:19; cf. Deut. 32:21). The gospel has been offensive to Israel, while Gentiles believe in order to make Israel jealous so that God may reach out to the people he foreknew.