Deuteronomy 30
McGeeCHAPTER 30THEME: The Palestinian covenantWe come now to the Palestinian covenant which God made with Israel. Read it carefully. You will notice there are no “if’s” in this covenant. It is an unconditional promise of future blessing.
Deuteronomy 30:1
There are seven great promises which God makes here. He makes these statements which are unconditional. Verse Deu_30:1 tells that they will be dispersed among all the nations. The nation would be plucked off the land for its unfaithfulness. That has taken place. Verse Deu_30:2 tells that there will be a future repentance of Israel in the dispersion. They are going to come back to God. Someone may ask whether their return will be on the basis of their obedience. It seems logical that if they were dispersed because of disobedience, they will return because of their obedience. No, friend, this is the order of grace, not law. They will not be returned because of their obedience, but they will be obedient because of their return. God will bring them back to the land. The regathering of Israel into her own land is the theme of at least twelve major prophecies in the Old Testament. We will call your attention to them when we come to them.
Deuteronomy 30:3
This verse tells that their Messiah will return. Notice that, for it is very important. This is the first mention of the return of Christ to the earth that is recorded in Scripture. (When we get to the Book of Jude, we will find that Enoch mentioned the fact that He is coming back, but that was not recorded in the Old Testament.) This is a remarkable prophecy, and it has not yet been fulfilled. Not until its fulfillment will the land be blessed and be at peace.
Deuteronomy 30:4
Here is the fourth great promise of God. Israel is to be restored to the land. This is an unconditional promise. No amount of scattering can change the fact that in the future God will bring them into the land, as verse Deu_30:4 makes clear. The fifth promise is that there will be a national conversion.
Deuteronomy 30:6
We find this same promise reaffirmed in Jeremiah and Hosea and stated by Paul in the Book of Romans. The sixth thing mentioned here is that Israel’s enemies will be judged. Israel will return and then obey the voice of the Lord. That is the order of grace. And then their enemies will be judged.
Deuteronomy 30:7
Finally, the seventh wonderful thing is that Israel will then receive her full blessing.
Deuteronomy 30:9
When will the day of return be? Is it actually happening now? We cannot be dogmatic about what we do not know. It clearly states that when they return to the land, it will be in obedience to God. There will be no blessing for them in the land until the time when they return in obedience with the new heart which God will give them. This will be at the time when God returns them to the land. The present return to Israel is not in obedience to God. I believe that the return of Israel under the covenant promise is yet in the future. It is unconditional because it is God who will return them to the land.
Deuteronomy 30:11
Israel can plead no excuse that they do not know the commandment of God. God has brought it right to them, and they know it. We also have a responsibilitywe who live in the land where we can hear the gospel. My friend, you don’t have to go to heaven to get salvation. You don’t need to cross the ocean to get it. May I say to you, it’s right near you. It is as near as your radio; it is as near to you as a preacher or another Christian who will give you the Word of God. And you are responsible to act upon what you have heard. That is where your free will comes in. It is my business to get out the Word of GodI try to get it right up to your eardrums by radio, and right before your eyes by the printed page. That is as far as I can go. From then on, it is up to you. Now notice that verses Deu_30:12 and Deu_30:13 are quoted by the apostle Paul in Romans. “But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, Who shall descend into the deep (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom_10:6-10.) Paul does not say that Moses said this, but rather the “of-faith-righteousness” is the speaker. Paul is not making a substitution of faith here for the Law. The passage in Deuteronomy is prophetic and speaks of a day when Israel will turn to God with all their heart and soul. (See Deu_33:10). It looks forward to the new covenant which God will make with Israel. “And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart” (Jer_24:7). “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; after those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jer_31:31-33). “For finding fault with them, he said, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah” (Heb_8:8). Christ is the One to institute this new covenant which is yet future. Righteousness by faith is indeed witnessed to by the Law and prophets. In the meantime, it is not necessary to ascend to heaven to bring Christ down. He has already come the first time and died. It is not necessary to raise Him from the dead. He has been already raised from the dead. They had the Law for 1500 years and they knew it as a matter of rote and ritual, but it had not brought righteousness. Christ had come to them just as the Law had come. It was not something that was far off, and Christ had come among them. He died and rose again in their midst. The “of-faith-righteousness” was available to them as it is to us because it has been preached down through the ages. The Law bore witness to both the righteousness by law and righteousness by faith. It is not “the commandments” in Deuteronomy 30, but “commandment.” The “of-law-righteousness” had not brought salvation, but the “of-faith-righteousness” does bring salvation. A careful examination of the passage in Deuteronomy 30 will reveal that Paul is not giving an exact quotation, but that he is making an application of the passage. The statement of Beet is pertinent, “This appeal to Moses is a remarkable example of skillful and correct exegesis.”
Deuteronomy 30:15
Their stay in the land will be determined by their obedience. He outlines their history and says they will go out of that land when they disobey. But God promises to bring them back. Finally, He will return them and they shall never, never go out again. Why? Because they will obey Him? No. Because God makes good His covenant. He will bring them back, and then they will obey Him. It is exactly the same with us. God asks us to trust the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. After that He talks to us about obedience"If ye love me, keep my commandments" (Joh_14:15).
Deuteronomy 30:20
I repeat it again: Love and obedience is the great theme of Deuteronomy. If this was so important for the children of Israel, how important it is for you and me in this day of grace when we have been given so much more light. Since we have been given more, our responsibility is greater. One of the things I pray for more devoutly than anything else is that I may be kept close to Him today. Oh, friends, we need to be kept close to the Lord Jesus Christ. How important it is!