Here Moses offers prophetic passages in this chapter regarding Israel’s captivity by the nation of Babylon, as well as their return to the Promised Land. Their rejection of God and His commandments were the reasons for God’s judgment. However, their ultimately rejection was yet to come. That would occur when the Messiah was revealed and their rejection of Jesus Christ culminated on the Cross. Moses tells the people that their future was a matter of choice, their way verses God’s.
1. Good or evil!
Deut. 30:15-20 “See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;”
2. Multiplied blessing or cursing!
“In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. But if thine heart turn away, so that 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, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.”
3. Life or death!
“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
LESSON - God warned them about their eventual outcome, yet still allowed them to make their own choices. We also have choices to make today! We may choose to live our own way which leads to death and separation or we may choose to live according to God‘s plan which leads to life. We should follow Moses’ exhortation to “choose life!” His ways are higher than ours.
~Mike