Scripture Reading: Deut. 29; Deut. 30
After the rehearsal of the law and the word of warning with the blessings and the curses, God charged Moses to make a covenant with the new generation. The former generation had received a covenant forty years prior at Horeb, but in chapters twenty-nine and thirty God charged Moses to enact another covenant with the new generation. In this message we will consider the enactment of this covenant.
In 29:1-17 we have the introductory word.
The covenant enacted in chapters twenty-nine and thirty was the covenant which Jehovah commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab. This means that it was a covenant besides the one He made with them at Horeb, that is, at Mount Sinai (29:1). The warning was to remind the people, whereas the enactment of the covenant was to establish the warning.
The enactment of the covenant was based upon the experiences of the past (vv. 2-8, 16-17).
The enactment of the covenant was based upon all that the children of Israel saw which Jehovah did in the land of Egypt with great signs and wonders, for which Jehovah had not given them a heart to understand, eyes to see, and ears to hear until that day (vv. 2-4, 16a). Because the children of Israel were rebellious in the wilderness, they did not understand what God was doing with them. They passed through many things, but they were in darkness and thus did not know what was happening.
The enactment of the covenant was also based upon all that the children of Israel had experienced in the wilderness for forty years (vv. 5a, 16b-17). Their clothing did not wear out, and they did not eat bread nor drink wine or strong drink, that they might know that Jehovah was their God (vv. 5b-6).
The children of Israel slew Sihon, the king of Heshbon, and Og, the king of Bashan, and took their land for the inheritance of the two and a half tribes of Reuben and Gad and Manasseh (vv. 7-8).
All these things were miracles done by the Lord before the eyes of the people in order to strengthen the children of Israel and assure them that He would fulfill whatever He had promised. Hence, these experiences of the past became a base for the enactment of the covenant.
In 29:9-15 we have the objects and the purpose for the enactment of the covenant.
The objects of the covenant were the leaders, the elders, the officers, every man of Israel, the little ones, the wives, and the sojourners with them, from the men who chopped their wood to the men who drew their water (vv. 10-11). The objects also included all those who were there before Jehovah and those who were not there (vv. 14-15).
The purpose of the enactment of the covenant was for the children of Israel to enter into a covenant with Jehovah their God and into His oath, which He was making with them, so that they would keep the words of that covenant and do them that they might prosper in all that they did (vv. 12, 9). This covenant was not an ordinary agreement but a kind of oath. The covenant here may be compared to a contract to which the parties involved sign their names. Such a covenant was made by God though Moses, who was the mediator.
The purpose of the enactment of the covenant was also for God to establish the children of Israel as His people and Himself as their God (v. 13). Both parties, God and the children of Israel, were in agreement and "signed" the covenant. The children of Israel were to do their part, and God was to do His part. This was the enactment of the covenant.
In 29:18—30:10 we have the contents of the covenant. This is an important matter.
There was not to be among the children of Israel any man, woman, family, or tribe whose heart turned away from Jehovah their God, to go and serve the gods of the nations (v. 18a). This was God's unique concern regarding Israel. He was concerned that some day they would turn away from Him and go the way of the idols. This would be an insult to God, and it would cause Him to punish the people severely.
Furthermore, there was not to be among the children of Israel a root bearing poisonous fruit and wormwood (v. 18b), one who blessed himself in his heart, saying, "I will have peace, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart; to the ruin of the moist with the dry" (v. 19). The root here refers to a rebellious person who rises up from among the people, similar to those mentioned in Acts 20:30, the ones who speak "perverted things to draw away the disciples after themselves." Eventually, such a rebellious person becomes a root bearing poisonous fruit and wormwood. The expression to the ruin of the moist with the dry is a Hebrew idiom indicating destruction of everything in his path. Jehovah would not be willing to pardon this kind of person, but rather His anger and jealousy would fume against that man, all the curses in this book would settle on him, and Jehovah would blot out his name from under heaven (v. 20). Moreover, Jehovah would separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel (v. 21).
The following generation of Israel and the foreigner coming from a distant land, seeing the plagues of the land and its diseases, and that all the land was sulphur and salt, a burning waste, that it was not sown, nor did it sprout, nor did any vegetation come up in it, would say, "Why has Jehovah done this to this land?" (vv. 22-24). The answer would be that because the children of Israel forsook the covenant of Jehovah and went and served other gods, the anger of Jehovah burned against that land, bringing upon it all the curses; and Jehovah plucked them out of their land in anger and in great indignation and sent them to another land (vv. 25-28).
Verse 29 concludes, "The things that are hidden belong to Jehovah our God; but the things that are revealed, to us and our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." This indicates that we should take care of the revealed things and not seek the hidden things. For the children of Israel in Deuteronomy 29, the things revealed were the law, the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments. They were to take care of these things so that they might do all the words of the law.
If while living among the nations, to whom Jehovah their God would drive them, the children of Israel and their children would return to Him and listen to His voice with all their heart and with all their soul, He would turn their captivity and be compassionate to them, and He would gather them from all the peoples among whom He had scattered them and bring them into the land which their fathers possessed and would do good for them and multiply them (30:1-5). He would circumcise their heart (v. 6a), meaning that He would somewhat transform their rebellious nature. They would then love Him with all their heart and with all their soul (v. 6b). He would put all the curses upon their enemies and would give them an excess of prosperity in all their undertakings, and would exult over them for good (vv. 7-10).
This promise, which is a prophecy, has not yet been fulfilled, but we are waiting for the fulfillment. The world situation is very advanced with respect to the fulfillment of this prophecy. Eventually, the Jews will rebuild the temple, and even now they are making preparations for this. Soon after they have recovered the site of the old temple, the temple will be erected. When we see these things taking place, we will know that the "summer" of the time of restoration is near (Matt. 24:32 and notes). We should all be prepared for this and should watch and pray.
In 30:11-20 we have Moses' concluding word.
The commandment which Moses was commanding the children of Israel was not too difficult for them, nor was it distant (v. 11). It was not in heaven that they should say, "Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us that we may hear it and do it?" (v. 12). Nor was it across the sea that they should say, "Who will go across the sea for us and bring it to us that we may hear it and do it?" (v. 13). But the commandment was very near to them, even in their mouth and in their heart, that they might do it (v. 14). As we have pointed out, in Romans 10:6-10 Paul relates the word spoken here to Christ for the New Testament believers to receive for salvation. This is our basis for saying that Christ is unveiled throughout the book of Deuteronomy.
Moses put before the children of Israel life and good, and death and evil (v. 15). If they obeyed the commandment of Jehovah their God to love Him, walk in His ways, and keep His commandments, statutes, and judgments, they would live and multiply, and He would bless them in the land which they would enter and possess (v. 16). But if their heart turned and they did not listen, but rather they were drawn away in worship to other gods and served them, they would surely perish (vv. 17-18a). Their days would not be extended upon the land which they would possess over the Jordan (v. 18b). Moses called heaven and earth to witness against them: he had set before them life and death, blessing and curse (v. 19a). He exhorted them to choose life that they and their seed might live, in loving Jehovah their God by listening to His voice and holding fast to Him; for He was their life and the length of their days, that they might dwell upon the land which He swore to their fathers to give them (vv. 19b-20).
By considering the enactment of the covenant in Deuteronomy 29 and 30, we can see that what is on God's heart concerning His people is that they would cooperate with Him. To keep the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments — this is just to cooperate with God. This is what God wants us to do. We need to say, "Lord, I stand with You. I take You, Your will, and Your word." However, we should not try to do this in ourselves and by ourselves. To do this is to insult the Lord. We should simply cooperate with Him by letting Him do everything. If we do this, we will become not the doers but the enjoyers. Then everything will be fulfilled.
Let us remember that, as we saw in the foregoing message, at the entry of the good land was a monument upon which God's requirements were written, demanding that we satisfy God's desire. When we admit that we are not able to fulfill these requirements, we should turn to the altar with the offerings, which signify Christ as our Substitute, and be enjoyers instead of doers. Then we will receive blessing upon blessing.
