Deuteronomy
Chapter 30

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1 And it shall come to passe when all these things are come vpon thee, the blessing, and the curse, which I haue set before thee, and thou shalt call them to minde among all the nations whither the Lord thy God hath driuen thee,

2 And shalt returne vnto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voyce according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children with al thine heart, and with all thy soule:

3 That then the Lord thy God will turne thy captiuitie, and haue compassion vpon thee, and wil returne and gather thee from all the nations whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.

4 If any of thine be driuen out vnto the outmost parts of heauen, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee.

5 And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possesse it: and he will doe thee good, and multiply thee aboue thy fathers.

6 And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to loue the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soule, that thou mayest liue.

7 And the Lord thy God will put all these curses vpon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.

8 And thou shalt returne and obey the voice of the Lord, and doe all his Commandements which I command thee this day.

9 And the Lord thy God will make thee plenteous in euery worke of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattell, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the Lord will againe reioyce ouer thee for good, as he reioyced ouer thy fathers:

10 If thou shalt hearken vnto the voyce of the Lord thy God to keepe his Commandements, and his Statutes which are written in this booke of the Law, and if thou turne vnto the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soule.

11 ¶ For this Commaundement which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it farre off.

12 It is not in heauen, that thou shouldest say, Who shal goe vp for vs to heauen, and bring it vnto vs, that wee may heare it, and doe it?

13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall goe ouer the sea for vs, and bring it vnto vs, that we may heare it, and doe it?

14 But the word is very nigh vnto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest doe it.

15 ¶ See, I haue set before thee this day, life and good, and death, and euill:

16 In that I command thee this day to loue the Lord thy God, to walke in his wayes, and to keepe his Commandements, and his Statutes, and his Iudgements, that thou maiest liue and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall blesse thee in the land, whither thou goest to possesse it.

17 But if thine heart turne away, so that thou wilt not heare, but shalt bee drawen away, and worship other gods and serue them:

18 I denounce vnto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that yee shall not prolong your dayes vpon the land, whither thou passest ouer Iordan, to goe to possesse it.

19 I call heauen and earth to record this day against you, that I haue set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may liue:

20 That thou maiest loue the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voyce, and that thou mayest cleaue vnto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy dayes, that thou mayest dwell in the land, which the Lord sware vnto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Iacob, to giue them.

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Commentary for Deuteronomy 30

Mercies promised to the repentant. (1-10) The commandment manifest. (11-14) Death and life set before them. (15-20)1-10 In this chapter is a plain intimation of the mercy God has in store for Israel in the latter days. This passage refers to the prophetic warnings of the last two chapters, which have been mainly fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, and in their dispersion to the present day; and there can be no doubt that the prophetic promise contained in these verses yet remain to come to pass. The Jewish nation shall in some future period, perhaps not very distant, be converted to the faith of Christ; and, many think, again settled in the land of Canaan. The language here used is in a great measure absolute promises; not merely a conditional engagement, but declaring an event assuredly to take place. For the Lord himself here engages to "circumcise their hearts;" and when regenerating grace has removed corrupt nature, and Divine love has supplanted the love of sin, they certainly will reflect, repent, return to God, and obey him; and he will rejoice in doing them good. The change that will be wrought upon them will not be only outward, or consisting in mere opinions; it will reach to their souls. It will produce in them an utter hatred of all sin, and a fervent love to God, as their reconciled God in Christ Jesus; they will love him with all their hearts, and with all their soul. They are very far from this state of mind at present, but so were the murderers of the Lord Jesus, on the day of Pentecost; who yet in one hour were converted unto God. So shall it be in the day of God's power; a nation shall be born in a day; the Lord will hasten it in his time. As a conditional promise this passage belongs to all persons and all people, not to Israel only; it assures us that the greatest sinners, if they repent and are converted, shall have their sins pardoned, and be restored to God's favour.

11-14 The law is not too high for thee. It is not only known afar off; it is not confined to men of learning. It is written in thy books, made plain, so that he who runs may read it. It is in thy mouth, in the tongue commonly used by thee, in which thou mayest hear it read, and talk of it among thy children. It is delivered so that it is level to the understanding of the meanest. This is especially true of the gospel of Christ, to which the apostle applies it. But the word is nigh us, and Christ in that word; so that if we believe with the heart, that the promises of the Messiah are fulfilled in our Lord Jesus, and confess them with our mouth, we then have Christ with us.

15-20 What could be said more moving, and more likely to make deep and lasting impressions? Every man wishes to obtain life and good, and to escape death and evil; he desires happiness, and dreads misery. So great is the compassion of the Lord, that he has favoured men, by his word, with such a knowledge of good and evil as will make them for ever happy, if it be not their own fault. Let us hear the sum of the whole matter. If they and theirs would love God, and serve him, they should live and be happy. If they or theirs should turn from God, desert his service, and worship other gods, that would certainly be their ruin. There never was, since the fall of man, more than one way to heaven; which is marked out in both Testaments, though not with equal clearness. Moses meant that same way of acceptance, which Paul more plainly described; and Paul's words mean the same obedience, on which Moses more fully treated. In both Testaments the good and right way is brought near, and plainly revealed to us.

Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.

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