Albert Barnes Commentary Deuteronomy 30
Albert Barnes Commentary
Deuteronomy 30
Albert Barnes Commentary
Deuteronomy 30
"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 Jehovah thy God hath driven thee, and shalt return unto Jehovah thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul; that then Jehovah thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the peoples, whither Jehovah thy God hath scattered thee. If [any of] thine outcasts be in the uttermost parts of heaven, from thence will Jehovah thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: and Jehovah thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. And Jehovah thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. And Jehovah thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, that persecuted thee. And thou shalt return and obey the voice of Jehovah, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day. And Jehovah thy God will make thee plenteous in all the work of thy hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, for good: for Jehovah will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers; if thou shalt obey the voice of Jehovah thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law; if thou turn unto Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul." — Deuteronomy 30:1-10 (ASV)
The rejection of Israel and the desolation of the promised inheritance were not to be the end of God’s dispensations. The closing words of the address are therefore words of comfort and promise (compare the marginal reference, Deuteronomy 4:29 and following, and 1 Kings 8:46–50).
The chastisements of God would lead the nation to repent, and then God would again bless them.
Regarding Deuteronomy 30:3: Will turn your captivity - this means God will change or put an end to your state of captivity or distress (Psalms 85:2; Jeremiah 30:18). The rendering of the Greek version is significant: “the Lord will heal your sins.”
The promises of this and the following verses (Deuteronomy 30:3 and following) undoubtedly had their partial fulfillment in the days of the Judges. However, the fact that various important features are repeated in Jeremiah 32:37 and following, and in Ezekiel 11:19 and following, Ezekiel 34:13 and following, and Ezekiel 36:24 and following, shows us that none of these events was regarded as exhausting the promises.
In full analogy with the scheme of prophecy, we may add that the return from the Babylonian captivity has not exhausted their depth. The New Testament takes up this theme (for example, in Romans 11) and foretells the restoration of Israel to the covenanted mercies of God.
True, these mercies will not be, as before, confined to that nation. The “turning again of the captivity” will occur when Israel is converted to Him in whom the Law was fulfilled, and who died “not for that nation only, but also that He might gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad” (John 11:51–52).
Then there will be “one fold and one shepherd” (John 10:16). But whether the general conversion of the Jews will be accompanied by any national restoration, any recovery of their ancient prerogatives as the chosen people, and further, whether there will be any local replacement of them in the land of their fathers, may be regarded as among “the secret things” which belong to God (Deuteronomy 29:29). Indeed, our Lord Himself teaches us this (Acts 1:6–7).
Regarding Deuteronomy 30:6: Circumcise your heart - compare Deuteronomy 10:16 (see note), Jeremiah 32:39, and Ezekiel 11:19.
"For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not too hard for thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; in that I command thee this day to love Jehovah thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, that thou mayest live and multiply, and that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in the land whither thou goest in to possess it. But if thy heart turn away, and thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish; ye shall not prolong your days in the land, whither thou passest over the Jordan to go in to possess it. I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore choose life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed; to love Jehovah thy God, to obey his voice, and to cleave unto him; for he is thy life, and the length of thy days; that thou mayest dwell in the land which Jehovah sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them." — Deuteronomy 30:11-20 (ASV)
Ignorance of the requirements of the law cannot be pleaded (Deuteronomy 30:10–14); therefore, life and death, good and evil, are solemnly set before the people for their own choice (Deuteronomy 30:15–20), and an earnest exhortation to choose the better part concludes the address.
(Deuteronomy 30:11–14). The righteousness which is of faith is really and truly described in these words of the Law; and, under Paul’s guidance (see marginal references), we affirm it was intended to be so. For the simplicity and accessibility which Moses here attributes to the Law of God can neither be found nor experienced in it except through faith, even though outwardly and in the letter that Law is written out for us so that he may run that readeth, and is set forth in its duties and its sanctions as plainly as it was by Moses before the Jews.
The seeming ease of the commandment, and yet its real impossibility to the natural man, form part of the qualifications of the Law to be our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ.
(Deuteronomy 30:11) Not hidden from you - Rather, not too hard for you, as in Deuteronomy 17:8.
Neither is it far off - Compare Luke 17:21.
(Deuteronomy 30:13) The paraphrase of this verse in the Jerusalem Targum is noteworthy, and should be compared with Paul’s rendering in Romans 10:7: “Neither is the law beyond the great sea, that you should say, Oh that we had one like Jonah the prophet who could descend into the depths of the sea and bring it to us!”
(Deuteronomy 30:14) In your mouth, and in your heart - Compare Deuteronomy 6:6; Deuteronomy 11:18–20.
(Deuteronomy 30:20) That you may love the Lord - Compare Deuteronomy 6:5. Love stands first as the essential and only source of obedience.
He is your life - Or, “that” (i.e., “to love the Lord”) is your life; i.e., the condition of your life and of its prolongation in the promised land. Compare Deuteronomy 4:40; Deuteronomy 32:47.
Jump to: