Bible Study Deuteronomy 30
‹ Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 30 · WEB

Return, Restoration, and the Choice of Life

Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.

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It shall happen, when all these things have come on you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you shall call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God has driven you,
2and return to the LORD your God and obey his voice according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul,
3that then the LORD your God will turn your captivity, and have compassion on you, and will return and gather you from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you.
4If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of the sky, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there he will bring you back.
5The LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will do you good and multiply you more than your fathers.
6The LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
7The LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you.
8You shall return and obey the LORD's voice, and do all his commandments which I command you today.
9The LORD your God will make you plenteous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground, for good; for the LORD will again rejoice over you for good, as he rejoiced over your fathers,
10if you shall obey the LORD your God's voice, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
11For this commandment which I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off.
12It is not in heaven, that you should say, "Who shall go up for us to heaven and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?"
13Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, "Who shall go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?"
14But the word is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.
15Behold, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity—
16in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you go in to possess it.
17But if your heart turns away and you will not hear, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them,
18I declare to you today that you will surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you pass over the Jordan to go in to possess it.
19I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live;
20and that you may love the LORD your God, and obey his voice, and cling to him; for he is your life and the length of your days, that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
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Summary

Chapter 30 is one of the most hope-filled chapters in the entire Old Testament. Moses looks beyond the curses of chapter 28 and prophesies that even after Israel falls under judgment and exile, God will restore those who return to him. Most remarkably, God himself will "circumcise their hearts" — perform the inner transformation that Israel could never accomplish on its own. The chapter closes with Moses' most famous appeal: the choice is set before you — life or death, blessing or curse. "Choose life." The command is not distant or inaccessible — the word is near, in your mouth and in your heart.

Themes

  • The hope of restoration beyond judgment — God's mercy is not exhausted by the exile
  • Heart circumcision as God's sovereign work — the solution to the "stiff-necked" problem
  • The accessibility of God's word and will — not distant, mysterious, or unavailable
  • The ultimate simplicity of the choice: life (loving, obeying, clinging to God) or death
  • Repentance as the turning point between curse and blessing

Key verses

  • Deut 30:14 — “But the word is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.”
  • Deut 30:19-20 — “I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live; and that you may love the LORD your God, and obey his voice, and cling to him; for he is your life.”
  • Deut 30:6 — “The LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.”

Context & background

Deuteronomy 30 is prophetic in a double sense: Moses predicts the exile (chapter 28) and then predicts the return. The language of "gathering from all the peoples where the LORD has scattered you" (v. 3) and "from the uttermost parts of the sky" (v. 4) describes the worldwide Jewish diaspora that began with the Assyrian deportations (722 BC) and the Babylonian exile (586 BC), and which continued until modern times. The modern state of Israel (established 1948) and the return of Jewish people to the land of modern Israel/Palestine from countries worldwide is understood by many as a partial fulfillment of this passage. Paul quotes Deuteronomy 30:12-14 in Romans 10:6-8 to describe the accessibility of the gospel — "the word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart" — applying Moses' words about the law to faith in Christ.

Cross-references

  • Ezekiel 36:26-27 — God's promise of a new heart and spirit — the same promise as Deut 30:6
  • Jeremiah 31:31-34 — The New Covenant that writes the law on hearts — fulfilling Deut 30:6
  • John 10:10 — "I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly" — Jesus as the fulfillment of Deut 30:19
  • Romans 10:6-8 — Paul quotes Deut 30:12-14 to describe the accessibility of the gospel
  • Romans 2:29 — "Circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit" — the promise of Deut 30:6 fulfilled

Check your reading

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  1. Observe

    What must Israel do to experience restoration from exile (vv. 1-2)?

  2. Observe

    Where does Moses say God's word is NOT, and where IS it (vv. 11-14)?

  3. Interpret

    How does the heart-circumcision promise (v. 6) point beyond the Mosaic covenant?

  4. Interpret

    What does the equivalence "life = love, obey, cling to God" reveal about biblical life?

  5. Apply

    In what sense is the gospel "near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (Rom 10:6-8)?

  6. Apply

    What are you currently choosing between in your spiritual life?

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