God Will Restore His People
Study note
Even after the curses have fallen and Israel has been scattered, God promises restoration. When they return to him with all their hearts, he will gather them from every nation, bring them back to their land, and cleanse their hearts to love him fully. God will again delight in making them prosperous.
1 Someday, both the blessings and curses I described will come true. You will think about them while living among the nations. The Lord your God will have scattered you there. 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 the LORD thy God hath driven thee,
2 When you and your children turn back to the Lord your God, obey him fully. Give him all your heart. Do all I tell you today. And shalt return unto the LORD thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;
3 then the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity. He will feel compassion for you and gather you up again from every nation where he scattered you. That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.
4 Even if you end up in the most distant corner of the earth, the Lord your God will track you down and bring you home. If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
5 The Lord your God will bring you back to the land your ancestors lived in, and it will be yours again. He will help you prosper and grow even more than your ancestors did. And the LORD 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.
6 The Lord your God will change your heart and the hearts of your children. Then you will love him with everything you have. And you will truly live. And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
7 Then the Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies instead. He will put them on everyone who hated and hurt you. And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.
8 You will once again obey the Lord and follow all his commands that I am sharing with you today. And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.
9 The Lord your God will make you wildly successful in everything -- in your family, your livestock, and your farming. The Lord will once again enjoy watching you thrive, just as he enjoyed watching your ancestors thrive, And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers:
10 This will happen as long as you obey the Lord your God. You must follow his commands and rules written in this book of the law. You must turn back to him with your whole heart and soul. If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.
The Word Is Near You
Study note
God's commands are not impossible or out of reach. They are not hidden in heaven or across the sea. The word is very near -- in their mouths and in their hearts. Obedience is within their power because God has made his will clearly known.
11 What I am asking you to do today is not impossibly hard or out of reach. For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.
12 It is not up in heaven. You do not need to say, 'Who will go up to heaven, get it, and bring it down so we can hear it and follow it?' It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
13 It is not across the ocean either. You will not need to say, 'Who will sail across the sea and find it? Who will bring it back so we can follow it?' Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
14 No! The word is right here with you. It is on your lips and in your heart, ready for you to obey. But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.
Choose Life
Study note
Moses presents the ultimate choice: life and prosperity through obedience, or death and destruction through disobedience. He calls heaven and earth as witnesses and urges Israel to choose life by loving God, obeying his voice, and holding tightly to him. God himself is their life.
15 Look -- today I am placing two roads in front of you: one leads to life and good things, the other leads to death and ruin. See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;
16 Today I am telling you to love the Lord your God, to live the way he wants, and to follow his commands, rules, and laws. If you do, you will thrive and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are about to enter. 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.
17 But if your heart drifts away and you stop listening, if you get pulled into worshipping and serving foreign gods, But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;
18 I am telling you right now -- you will certainly be destroyed. You will not last long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to claim. 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.
19 Right now I am calling heaven and earth as my witnesses: I have put two choices before you -- life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life! Then both you and your descendants will thrive. 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:
20 Love the Lord your God, listen to what he says, and hold on to him tightly. He is your very life and the source of a long future, so you can live in the land the Lord promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 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.