Wednesday, November 17
Deuteronomy 30 opens with the Lord telling what would happen if the people repented and turned away from their evil ways. What wonderful promises were offered them too!
Read Deuteronomy 30:1-10. What are the promises given them by God, even despite the fact that this is talking about what would happen to them if they disobeyed? What does this teach us about God’s grace?
That would certainly have been comforting to hear. However, the point was not that it doesn’t matter if they turn away from what God had commanded. The Lord doesn’t offer anyone cheap grace. If anything, it should have shown them God’s love, and thus, as a response, they would love Him back, revealing their love by being obedient to what He told them to do.
Read Deuteronomy 30:11-14. What is the Lord saying to them there? What is the basic promise in these verses, and what New Testament texts can you think of that reflect the same promise?
With this beautiful language, and airtight logic, look at the appeal here. The Lord is not asking of them anything too hard to do. God’s command is not too “difficult” or “mysterious” for them to understand. Nor is it too far out of their reach to attain. It’s not way up in heaven, so far away that someone else has to get it for them; nor is it across the seas, so someone else must bring it to them. Instead, the Lord says: “But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.” (Deuteronomy 30:14). That is, you know it well enough to be able to speak it, and it’s in your heart so you know that you must do it. Hence, there is no excuse for not obeying. “All His biddings are enablings.” - Christ's Object Lessons, p. 333.
In fact, the apostle Paul quotes some of these verses in the context of salvation in Christ; that is, Paul refers to them as an example of righteousness by faith. (See Romans 10:6-10)
And then, after these verses in Deuteronomy, the children of Israel are told, yes, to choose life or death, blessing or cursing. And if, by grace and by faith, they choose life, they will have it.
It’s no different today, is it?
