By Douglas K. Wilson, Ph.D.
Dean of Christian Studies, University of Mobile
CHOSEN
Deuteronomy 30:1–10, 19–20
With each generation, spiritual leaders call the people of God to live what they profess. Moses called Israel to make a serious choice, one with tremendous consequences (see Deut. 28). Joshua’s final message was to call the new settlers of the promised land to choose whom they would serve (Josh. 24:15). Elijah confronted the people of the northern kingdom, who were guilty of syncretism, mixing worship of Yahweh with pagan fertility rites under Baal and Asherah. The prophet confronted their idolatry and called them to make a choice (1 Kings 18:21).
Restored People (1–5)
Moses warned Israel of the future consequences of spiritual adultery through idolatry. God would judge them, and they would be scattered among the nations. As a demonstration of His grace, He also promised to restore them to the land when “you come to your senses while you are in all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and all your soul.”
Following the Babylonian exile nearly a millennium later, Nehemiah would echo these words in a humble prayer of personal and national repentance.
Renewed Hearts (6–10)
For a grown man or a teenage boy, circumcision is a painful process with several days needed for healing (see Gen. 34:24–25). For boys circumcised on their eighth day of life, the procedure is less traumatic. Such is the case with the circumcision of the heart.
For adults and teenagers, attentions and affections not directed toward God are painful to cut away. Those who are born into a family of faith have a “hedge of protection” in a sense, with the opportunity to experience a circumcised heart (metaphorically) from an early age.
Israelite men and their families who would repent of their sins and trust in Yahweh would receive His blessings. According to the passage, the blessings would be three-fold: fruitful wives, fruitful livestock and fruitful land. The very blessings which they would seek by practicing the fertility rituals of the Canaanites had been promised to them from the One who had set them free from Egyptian bondage and would provide for them the promised land.
Righteous Choice (19–20)
The editors of the Christian Standard Bible did well to attach the heading “Choose Life” to verses 11–20. Moses was inviting the people to hear and heed a message of life. This was not the first time they had heard it; in fact, they were very familiar with it. Moses wrote: “The message is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may follow it” (v. 14). If this sounds familiar to you, it is
because the Apostle Paul echoed these words in Romans 10:8.
The Scripture is clear — rebellion against God’s authority leads to death. Eating forbidden fruit brings death (Gen. 2:17). Murdering other humans brings a death sentence (Gen. 9:5–6). Disobedience to God’s holiness code under His theocracy brought death (Lev. 20). False prophets were put to death (Deut. 13:5; 18:20). The soul that sins will die (Ezek. 18:4). The paycheck for sin is death (Rom. 6:23). Temptation leads to sin, and sin ends in death (James 1:15).
God’s intent for humanity was life. He created human life to bear His image. He called Israel out from among the nations to reflect His holiness to the surrounding nations (Exod. 19:6; Lev. 11:44). Jesus came that believers will have abundant life (John 10:10). Jesus is the Bread of Life. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life.
Even today, we call sinners to repentance, inviting them to choose life by trusting Jesus. We cite Romans 10:9–10, calling them to turn from their sin and confess Jesus as Lord.
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