Deuteronomy 27-34

Book: Deuteronomy

Aug 31

As God’s chosen nation, there was no choice to simply opt out. He had chosen them to be blessed and God would see His promise through. Thus, should they obey Him and represent Him, they would find prosperity beyond their imagination. Should they disobey and rebel against God, they would be cursed. The point of the removal of prosperity was so that Israel would turn to Him as their provider and once again love Him.

Ultimately, Israel would receive both the blessing and the cursing of Deuteronomy 28—29. When they find themselves under a curse in a foreign land, as they will one day (the last days), they will decide to return to YHWH. He will overwhelmingly return to them and return them to the land that He wanted them to have. In addition, so that they would never rebel again, He would give them a new heart . . . a heart that would love Him.

Yet in Deuteronomy 30:1-9, God had told them that in their failure, He would bring them back to the land and then He would change their heart to a heart which would obey Him, a heart that loved Him . . . a heart just like His. Only then would they be able to occupy the land and have a kingdom of God. Only then would they be satisfied with their God and He with them. It was in that final return, when He would change them that He would rejoice over them forever.

Then God explains to Israel that He is going to do everything that is needed for Israel to prosper and stay in the land. He tells them that they should simply rely 8 in God and walk according to His provision. They need to have faith, that is, to understand exactly who God is and what He will do for them. They need to testify of the God who will deliver them through this prophesied Messiah, who blesses their path and with whom they walk.

The oath was made in Deuteronomy 29 in front of the witnesses of “heaven and earth.” The oath indicated that God would insure the terms of the covenant. Should they reject Him they could be sure He would destroy them. Should they obey they could also be sure He would bless them as His peculiar children.

But as Moses closed out his sermons, he sang a song recorded in Deuteronomy 32. In that song, he prophesied that he knew that they would not change from the same people as their parents. They would ultimately reject God and God would have to judge them. They would ultimately regard themselves as responsible for their prosperity and would forsake God. But in essence, they could not fool God, nor ignore Him. He would make them accountable.