Deuteronomy 30-31
Choose Life Or Die
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Psalm 31:15-24 Refuge and Reward
rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors! 16 Make your face shine on your servant;
save me in your steadfast love! 17 O LORD, let me not be put to shame,
for I call upon you;
let the wicked be put to shame;
let them go silently to Sheol. 18 Let the lying lips be mute,
which speak insolently against the righteous
in pride and contempt.
19 Oh, how abundant is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you
and worked for those who take refuge in you,
in the sight of the children of mankind! 20 In the cover of your presence you hide them
from the plots of men;
you store them in your shelter
from the strife of tongues.
21 Blessed be the LORD,
for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me
when I was in a besieged city. 22 I had said in my alarm,
“I am cut off from your sight.”
But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy
when I cried to you for help.
23 Love the LORD, all you his saints!
The LORD preserves the faithful
but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride. 24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the LORD!
Application
Take refuge in God, and trust in His goodness; He will not disappoint those who are loyal to Him.
Prayer
Great God, I praise You for being my refuge and help; for being loyal to Your promises; for providing what is good, so I can trust You completely. Thanks. Amen.
Proverbs 8:20-21 Wealth of Wisdom
in the paths of justice, 21 granting an inheritance to those who love me,
and filling their treasuries.
Application
Walk in the paths of wisdom, righteousness, and justice, and they'll lead to your pot of gold.
Prayer
Lord, teach me to love your ways and walk in them, so that I may receive all the blessings You have planned for me. Thanks. Amen.
Deuteronomy 30-31 Choose Life Or Die
There are just two chapters today to give you time to focus and digest. They are the climax of the book, the last words of Moses. (Musical types might argue for the Song of Moses in the next chapter.) There is an extended section on getting a new heart under Digging Deeper. Be asking yourself: “What did God want and expect the people to do?”
Deuteronomy 30 Change of Heart
Restoration Promised
1 “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.The Choice of Life or Death
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 God 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, 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.”Question
Are the choices you're making going to result in God's blessing or discipline?
Application
In the words of God though Moses: 14 But the word is very near to you, and in your heart, that you may do it. 19 therefore CHOOSE LIFE, that you may live, 20 to love Yahweh your God, to obey his voice, and to cling to him; for he is your life,
Prayer
God, I accept your offer of life; may I live it abundantly as a result of Your blessings; may I also be careful to love, obey, and cling to You all my days. Thanks for making this possible. Amen.
Deuteronomy 31 Be Strong and Courageous
Moses Encourages the People
1 So Moses continued to speak these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them, “I am 120 years old today. I am no longer able to go out and come in. The LORD has said to me, ‘You shall not go over this Jordan.’ 3 The LORD your God himself will go over before you. He will destroy these nations before you, so that you shall dispossess them, and Joshua will go over at your head, as the LORD has spoken. 4 And the LORD will do to them as he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, and to their land, when he destroyed them. 5 And the LORD will give them over to you, and you shall do to them according to the whole commandment that I have commanded you. 6 Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”Joshua to Succeed Moses
7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. 8 It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”The Reading of the Law
9 Then Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel. 10 And Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths, 11 when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. 12 Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, 13 and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”God's Charge to Joshua
14 And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, the days approach when you must die. Call Joshua and present yourselves in the tent of meeting, that I may commission him.” And Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves in the tent of meeting. 15 And the LORD appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud. And the pillar of cloud stood over the entrance of the tent. 16 And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them. 17 Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’ 18 And I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because they have turned to other gods. 19 “Now therefore write this song and teach it to the people of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the people of Israel. 20 For when I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to give to their fathers, and they have eaten and are full and grown fat, they will turn to other gods and serve them, and despise me and break my covenant. 21 And when many evils and troubles have come upon them, this song shall confront them as a witness (for it will live unforgotten in the mouths of their offspring). For I know what they are inclined to do even today, before I have brought them into the land that I swore to give.” 22 So Moses wrote this song the same day and taught it to the people of Israel. 23 And the LORD commissioned Joshua the son of Nun and said, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall bring the people of Israel into the land that I swore to give them. I will be with you.”The Law Placed in the Ark
24 When Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a book to the very end, 25 Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, 26 “Take this Book of the Law and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against you. 27 For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Behold, even today while I am yet alive with you, you have been rebellious against the LORD. How much more after my death! 28 Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears and call heaven and earth to witness against them. 29 For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way that I have commanded you. And in the days to come evil will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger through the work of your hands.”Moses Begins his Song
30 Then Moses spoke the words of this song until they were finished, in the ears of all the assembly of Israel:Application
The key to exercising one's will correctly in choosing obedience is to simply follow what God said in 31:12 - “hear, that they may learn, and fear the LORD God, and observe to do all the words of this law.” If you don't feed on the word every day, you'll fail to walk in way of life.
Prayer
Lord of my life, keep my head and heart in Your words, and my feet on the path to life. Amen.
Digging Deeper
Getting a New Heart
30:6 After God's chosen yet cursed/disciplined people (who had experienced blessing as a group and were now experiencing cursing as a group - 30:1) recall His promises and return to God, and obey wholeheartedly (30:2) then He will circumcise their hearts. That's after they decide to do things God's way, and actually do it wholeheartedly.
A circumcised heart is one that is sensitive to God. Remember that the heart is where values reside and decisions are made. The fool has no room for God's law in the decision-making process, preferring to live independently of His revelation (independence is the essence of sin).
God's people are given the responsibility to circumcise their own hearts.
Earlier in the book they were given this command:
Dt 10:12 “Now, Israel, what does Yahweh your God require of you, but to fear Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 to keep the commandments of Yahweh, and his statutes, which I command you this day for your good?16 “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiff-necked.”
The people had the responsibility to do this.Later in their history, in Jeremiah 4:4, they are told to return to God and circumcise themselves, in order to avoid God's wrath and exile:“
Jer 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to Yahweh, and take away the foreskins of your heart, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn so that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.”
So how does one circumcise their heart and make it tender towards God? Keep reading.
However, in the future, according to Jeremiah 31:33, again after they repent and return, He will regather and put His law in their hearts. This is part of the New Covenant that God will make with the regathered Israel.
Jer 31:31 31 "Indeed, a time is coming," says the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I delivered them from Egypt. For they violated that covenant, even though I was like a faithful husband to them," says the LORD. 33 "But I will make a new covenant with the whole nation of Israel after I plant them back in the land," says the LORD. "I will put my law within them and write it on their hearts and minds. I will be their God and they will be my people. 34 "People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me. For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me," says the LORD. "For I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done."(NET)
Jeremiah 32 goes on to indicate that when the law is in their hearts there is no room for competing values (v39), and it results in fearing God so they won't sin (cf. Proverbs on fearing God and wisdom).
Jer 32:37 I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. 38 They will be my people, and I will be their God. 39 I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. 40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.(NIV)
The Prophet Ezekiel also speaks of the reversal of the earned curses and return to the land, with promise of a different heart. The new heart is tender toward God, rather than stony, with single intent, resulting in the kind of obedience that allows God to have an intimate relationship with them. Note the addition of a different spirit as well. Both Ezek 11:18 and 11:19 start with a “waw consecutive” in Hebrew, indicating a sequence of events, correctly translated as “and” or “then”. Some translations obscure it or omit it. After they repent (Dt 30:1) and God regathers and they remove the idols THEN God will give a new heart. God will destroy those whose hearts are devoted to the idols and who don't remove them (11:21). So God doesn't give the blessing of the covenant to everyone, only those who obey. So not every returning Israelite would have the right heart. Notice also that the giving of a new heart is dependent upon obedience, not the other way around. Again, the hallmark of having a circumcised/sensitive heart with the law written on it, is obedience.
Ezek 11:12 Then (after being judged) you will know that I am the LORD, whose statutes you have not followed and whose regulations you have not carried out. Instead you have behaved according to the standards/customs of the nations around you!'"18 “And they will return to it (the land) and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. 19 And I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. 20 Then they will follow my decrees and be carefulto keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. 21 But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign LORD.” (NIV)
Ezek 36:26 I will also give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my ordinances, and do them.
So how do you get a new heart? You don't have to wait for God to regather Israel in the land. Write the law on it yourself, by purposefully obeying it, and ingraining it in your value system. Check out the following verses to see the do-ability of the task. See Joshua 1:7-8 (in a couple of posts) for more.
Proverbs 3:1 My son, forget not my law; but let your heart keep my commandments: 3 Let not hesed/loyal love and truth/faithfulness forsake you: bind them around your neck; write them upon the table of your heart:
Proverbs 4:1 My son, keep my words. Store up my commandments within you. 2 Keep my commandments and live! Guard my teaching as the apple of your eye. 3 Bind them on your fingers. Write them on the tablet of your heart.
Psalm 37:31 The law of his God is in his heart. None of his steps shall slide.
Psalm 40:8 I delight to do your will, my God. Yes, your law is within my heart."
Psalm 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
Isaiah 51:7 "Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; don’t fear the reproach of men, neither be dismayed at their insults.
Romans 7:22 For I delight in God’s law after the inward man,
2 Corinthians 3:3 being revealed that you are a letter of Christ, served by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tablets of stone, but in tablets that are hearts of flesh.
God in a nutshell:
God wants an intimate relationship with people so He can bless them and be praised and glorified. He gives them a choice to get blessed or cursed. He graciously gives good things to His people, knowing that some will choose to forsake Him. He graciously gives bad things to His disobedient people knowing that some will choose to repent and return. In the process He displays His multifaceted character. He gives His word, and incentives to keep in guiding the wills and actions of His people.
Us in a nutshell:
We receive blessing or cursing entirely dependent upon our response to Truth (God's word). If we obey (good choice), life gets good, and we are tempted to ease up on our pursuit of God (bad choice). God appeals to our mind/reason through the word (30:1) to get us to repent (change mind) when sinning. If we are reaping negative consequences, we can choose to reverse them by our obedience (but scars will remain).
Where to go for more
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