Deuteronomy 30:1-10

Deuteronomy 30:1-10

[1] And it shall come to pass, when all these things  are come  upon thee, the blessing  and the curse,  which I have set  before  thee, and thou shalt call  them to mind  among all the nations,  whither the LORD  thy God  hath driven  [2] And shalt return  unto the LORD  thy God,  and shalt obey  his voice  according to all that I command  thee this day,  thou and thy children,  with all thine heart,  and with all thy soul;  [3] That then the LORD  thy God  will turn  thy captivity,  and have compassion  upon thee, and will return  and gather  thee from all the nations,  whither the LORD  thy God  hath scattered  [4] If any of thine be driven out  unto the outmost  parts of heaven,  from thence will the LORD  thy God  gather  thee, and from thence will he fetch  [5] And the LORD  thy God  will bring  thee into the land  which thy fathers  possessed,  it; and he will do thee good,  and multiply  thee above thy fathers.  [6] And the LORD  thy God  will circumcise  thine heart,  of thy seed,  to love  the LORD  thy God  with all thine heart,  and with all thy soul,  that thou mayest live.  [7] And the LORD  thy God  will put  all these curses  upon thine enemies,  and on them that hate  thee, which persecuted  [8] And thou shalt return  and obey  the voice  of the LORD,  and do  all his commandments  which I command  thee this day.  [9] And the LORD  thy God  will make thee plenteous  in every work  of thine hand,  in the fruit  of thy body,  and in the fruit  of thy cattle,  and in the fruit  of thy land,  for good:  for the LORD  will again  rejoice  over thee for good,  as he rejoiced  over thy fathers:  [10] If thou shalt hearken  unto the voice  of the LORD  thy God,  to keep  his commandments  and his statutes  which are written  in this book  of the law,  and if thou turn  unto the LORD  thy God  with all thine heart,  and with all thy soul. 

What does Deuteronomy 30:1-10 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

When banished to the ends of the earth, the Israelites could repent and return to Yahweh in their hearts, purposing to obey Him again ( Deuteronomy 30:1-2). In that event God would do several things for them. He would bring them back to their land and allow them to occupy it again ( Deuteronomy 30:3-5). He would also permanently change the people"s heart attitude toward Himself ( Deuteronomy 30:6). Here Moses anticipated a new covenant that eventually replaced the old Mosaic Covenant (cf. Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:22-28; Romans 10:4-13; Hebrews 10:1-9).
"While the repossession of the land can be said to some extent to have been fulfilled by the return of the Jews following the Babylonian exile (cf. Jeremiah 29:10-14; Jeremiah 30:3), the greater prosperity and population was not achieved in Old Testament times. In fact, it still awaits realization in any literal sense (cf. Haggai 2:6-9; Zechariah 8:1-8; Zechariah 10:8-12). As for the radical work of regeneration described here as circumcision of the heart, that clearly awaits a day yet to come as far as the covenant nation as a whole is concerned.
"Just as circumcision of the flesh symbolized outward identification with the Lord and the covenant community (cf. Isaiah 11:11-12; Genesis 17:23; Leviticus 12:3; Joshua 5:2), so circumcision of the heart (a phrase found only here and in Deuteronomy 10:16 and Jeremiah 4:4 in the OT) speaks of internal identification with him in what might be called regeneration in Christian theology....
"The miraculous, totally regenerating nature of the circumcision of the heart would be manifest by Israel"s ability to love the Lord "with all your heart and with all your soul" ( Deuteronomy 30:6). This is an obvious reference to the demand of the Shema ( Deuteronomy 6:4-5), adherence to which was at the very core of covenant commitment." [1]
God would, furthermore, punish Israel"s enemies ( Deuteronomy 30:7). Because of Israel"s obedience, God would prosper her greatly ( Deuteronomy 30:8-10). The "fathers" ( Deuteronomy 30:9) probably refers to all the pious ancestors of the Israelites, not just the patriarchs.
Some premillennial commentators have called Deuteronomy 30:1-10 the "Palestinian Covenant." [2] They have not used this term as much in recent years because these verses do not constitute a distinctively different covenant. They simply elaborate on the land promises made earlier to Abraham and his descendants ( Genesis 12:7; et al.). However some modern commentators still refer to chapters29-30 as a distinct covenant. [3] I would say this is a call to commit to the Mosaic Covenant (cf. Joshua 24:1-28) that contains further revelation concerning the land.
The steps in Israel"s experience enumerated here as possibilities provide an outline of the history of Israel, since this is how things have happened and will happen for Israel. These steps are seven: dispersion for disobedience ( Amos 9:9-153), repentance in dispersion ( Deuteronomy 30:2), regathering ( Deuteronomy 30:3), restoration to the land ( Deuteronomy 30:4-5), national conversion ( Deuteronomy 30:6; Deuteronomy 30:8), the judgment of Israel"s oppressors ( Deuteronomy 30:7), and national prosperity ( Deuteronomy 30:9).
". . . the overall purpose of the author of the Pentateuch seems to be to show that the Sinai covenant failed for lack of an obedient heart on the part of God"s people Israel. We have also seen that his intention in writing the Pentateuch is not to look back in despair at the failure of man but to point in hope to the faithfulness of God. The hope of the writer of the Pentateuch is clearly focused on what God will do to bring his covenant promises to fulfillment. Nowhere is he more clear on this than at the (structural) conclusion to his work: Deuteronomy 30:1-10, where Moses tells the people of Israel that they will fail and that they will be cursed, but God"s work with them will not end there. The Lord will again bring them into the land, gather them from all the lands where they have been exiled. But this time, things will be different. Israel is going to obey God. God is going to give them a heart that will obey, a heart that will love the Lord and keep his commandments. It is on this high note that the Pentateuch finally draws to a close.
"If we go beyond the Pentateuch to the other historical books, the Prophets and finally to the New Testament, the fulfillment of Moses" hope is made certain. It is also clear in these later books how God is going to give his people a new heart: "I will give you a new heart, a new Spirit I will put within you; I will turn away the heart of stone from your flesh and I will give you a heart of flesh. My Spirit I will put within you and I will make you walk in my statutes and my judgments you will keep" ( Ezekiel 36:26-27). It is by means of God"s Spirit that his people are able to do his will. No one is clearer on this point than the apostle Paul ( Romans 8:4). What is often overlooked, however, is that we needn"t go beyond the Pentateuch itself for exactly the same conclusion. The author of the Pentateuch has as one of his central purposes to show that God"s work must always be done in God"s way: by means of the Spirit of God. To show the centrality of this idea in the Pentateuch we need only compare the author"s description of God"s own carrying out of his will ( Genesis 1:2 b) with that of man"s obedience to God"s will ( Exodus 31:1-5)." [4]
Later revelation confirms that the conditions Moses spoke of here as possible will prevail in the future. Israel will indeed return to the Lord as a nation ( Deuteronomy 30:2; cf. Ezekiel 16:53-63; 1711657737_61; Zechariah 12:10-12; Acts 15:16-17). The Lord will gather her again to the Promised Land ( Deuteronomy 30:3-5; cf. Genesis 17:10; Jeremiah 23:3-8; Ezekiel 37:21-28; Matthew 24:29-31). She will experience a permanent change in her attitude to God as a nation ( Deuteronomy 30:6; cf. Ezekiel 20:33-44; Hosea 2:14-16; Zechariah 13:8-9; Malachi 3:1-6; Romans 11:26-27). She will see her oppressors punished ( Deuteronomy 30:7; cf. Isaiah 14:1-2; Joel 3:1-8; Matthew 25:31-46). God will prosper her abundantly ( Deuteronomy 30:9; cf. Amos 9:11-15). God has not yet fulfilled these predictions. Therefore we look for a future fulfillment. The passages cited above indicate that this fulfillment will take place at the second coming of Christ and in His millennial kingdom that will follow that return. A distinctive of dispensational theology is the recognition that God has a future for Israel as a nation that is distinct from the future of the church or the Gentile nations. [5] Non-dispensationalists believe God will fulfill these promises to the "New Israel," the church. Some of them believe that Joshua and his successors conquered the Promised Land sufficiently to warrant the conclusion that we should look for no future fulfillment. Others of them believe the land promises are spiritual and will find fulfillment in the future, either in heaven or in the new earth.