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Deuteronomy 30, I'll just pick 
up reading in verse 1. Now it shall come to pass when 
all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which 
I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the 
nations where the Lord your God drives you. And you return to 
the Lord your God and obey his voice according to all that I 
command you today, you and your children, with all your heart 
and with all your soul. that the Lord your God will bring 
you back from captivity and have compassion on you and gather 
you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered 
you. If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under 
heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you. and from 
there he will bring you. Then the Lord your God will bring 
you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess 
it. He will prosper you and multiply 
you more than your fathers. And the Lord your God will circumcise 
your heart and the heart of your descendants to love the Lord 
your God with all your heart and with all your soul that you 
may live. Also, the Lord your God will 
put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate 
you. who persecuted you, and you will 
again obey the voice of the Lord and do all his commandments which 
I command you today. The Lord your God will make you 
abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, 
in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land 
for good. For the Lord will again rejoice 
over you for good as he rejoiced over your fathers, if you obey 
the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and 
his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and 
if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with 
all your soul. For this commandment, which I 
command you today, is not too mysterious for you, nor is it 
far off. It is not in heaven that you 
should say, who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to 
us, that we may hear it and do it? Nor is it beyond the sea 
that you should say, who will go over the sea for us and bring 
it to us, that we may hear it and do it? But the word is very 
near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. 
See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 
in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk 
in His ways and to keep His commandments, His statutes and His judgments, 
that you may live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless 
you in the land which you go to possess. But if your heart 
turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away and 
worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today 
that you shall surely perish. You shall not prolong your days 
in the land which you cross over, the Jordan, to go in and possess. I call heaven and earth as witnesses 
today against you. that I have set before you life 
and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life that both 
you and your descendants may live, that you may love the Lord 
your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling 
to Him. for he is your life and the length 
of your days, and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord 
swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them. Amen. Well, this is the last 
section in the fourth section of the book, that section called 
sanctions or blessings and cursings. Blessings for obedience, cursings 
for disobedience. The section began in chapter 
27 verse 1 and ends here in chapter 30 and then the final section 
beginning in chapter 31 deals with succession or continuity, 
specifically the transfer of leadership between Moses and 
Joshua. And what happens when Moses dies, 
Joshua then becomes the leader, and then that obviously is the 
transition into the book of Joshua, where the people of God leave 
the plains of Moab and they go into the land of Canaan to dispossess 
it according to the commandment of God. The first half of this 
chapter deals with the future blessing. It assumes that the 
people are going to go into exile. In fact, what we have in the 
first half of this chapter is more prophecy. It is more of 
a revelation of what's going to happen in the future after 
the exile. And then we have in the latter 
half of the chapter, the latter few verses, is the present choice. So we have the future blessing 
highlighted in verses 1 to 14, And then we have the present 
choice in verses 15 to 20. So verses 1 to 14 are a program 
basically of what is going to happen in Israel or to Israel 
as God's covenant people. That's the future blessing. The 
present choice is verses 15 to 20. It's an exhortation for the 
people to obey the terms of the covenant as they enter into the 
promised land. Now verses 11 to 14 may seem 
to go with that exhortation, but I think there's good reason 
to include it with the prophetic statement of verses 1 and following. So we'll look at that tonight. 
The future blessing given to Israel, again it's programmatic, 
it is looking down into the future, it is telling them what is going 
to transpire. After the promise of blessing 
and the promise of cursing, either for obedience or disobedience, 
what we find here is a statement that there will, in fact, be 
disobedience, that they will reap the curse of the covenant. 
Remember, in chapter 28, exile was promised. They would be driven 
out of the land. They would be driven to other 
lands. Now, of course, on this side of all of this, we know 
of a truth that this took place through the Assyrians in the 
8th century BC, and it took place through the Babylonians in the 
6th century BC. So certainly what we find here 
in Deuteronomy chapter 30 does project, prophesy, or foretell 
what is going to happen to Israel, and then of course we have all 
of the prophetic literature that comments upon that reality. But note first, with reference 
to the future blessing, I want to consider five things under 
this particular heading. The first is the reality of exile. The reality of exile. We notice 
that in verse 1. Now it shall come to pass when 
all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which 
I have set before you. This section of the covenant 
document, as it comes to a close, what Moses here is highlighting 
is this isn't just words on a page, or this just isn't an inscription 
upon stones, but God the Lord of the covenant will most certainly 
execute the blessings or the cursings associated with that 
covenant. In other words, this isn't just 
an exercise in futility, it's not just some religious rite, 
it's not just some practice that likens them to the nations around 
them, but rather what is announced here is that it will in fact 
come to pass. And certainly there will be this 
disposition to disobedience. Notice at the end of verse 1, 
and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord 
your God drives you. Now, if you were sitting or standing 
on the plains of Moab and you heard Moses make this projection, 
you might be tempted to scratch your head and say, well, how 
does he know we're going to disobey? How does he know that we're going 
to end up in exile? Certainly it was promised. that 
if we're unfaithful, according to Deuteronomy 28, we will be 
exiled, we will be driven out of the land, but here it sounds 
as if he's announcing that this is in fact what is going to happen. Well, remember the history, remember 
what we've already seen, the giving of the law at Sinai in 
Exodus chapter 20, the exposition of that law, the ratification 
of the covenant in chapter 24, and just a few chapters later 
we see them dancing around a calf and ascribing to Him the power 
of having brought them out of the land of Egypt. There is a 
natural tendency toward the darkened heart of man to defect from the 
living and true God. So he is prophesying, he is highlighting 
that this is an eventuality, that this most certainly will 
take place. And again, the nations where 
the Lord your God drives you, Assyria and Babylon, for two 
very specific examples of that. When you read through the Bible, 
when you read through the prophets, when you see the various things 
that the prophets come to indict the children of Israel for, what 
do you think they're speaking about? Or what is the foundation 
upon which these prophets are leveling their charges and bringing 
the indictment upon them? It's on the foundation of Deuteronomy. The entirety of the Torah, the 
first five books of the law, but certainly in terms of the 
full-blown covenantal document, It is this book of Deuteronomy. 
In fact, as we move through this passage, you will hear things, 
or you will see things, that appear later in the prophets, 
especially in this promise of the new covenant. It's the same 
language adopted by Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Where do you think 
they got it? Certainly they got it by divine 
inspiration, but certainly they got it from a study of, and an 
understanding of, this covenant law of God revealed in the book 
of Deuteronomy. So the reality of exile, this 
is most certainly going to happen. But notice, secondly, there will 
be a return to God. This is the beauty of this statement. 
Yes, you're going to be in these lands where the Lord your God 
drives you. You are going to have reaped 
the curse of the covenant. There will be those sanctions 
implemented on you for defecting, but there's going to be a return. You see, what he's doing on the 
plains of Moab, as I said, he is giving a program of redemption. 
He is illustrating or highlighting what God's kingdom is going to 
look like. It's not just going to be the 
remnant of Israel. As we move through the prophets, 
we realize that Gentiles will be included. But right now on 
the plains of Moab, he is highlighting this reality that when they defect, 
when they break this covenant, when they reap the curse of God, 
there will be this return. there will be this blessing from 
God in the restoration. So the return, or verse 2, and 
you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice. Go with me 
for just a moment to Zechariah the prophet, in Zechariah chapter 
1. Zechariah was a post-exilic prophet. Haggai, Zechariah, and 
Malachi, the last three prophets in our English Bibles, are the 
post-exile prophets. They're the ones who prophesied 
after the Babylonian captivity. And if you look at Zechariah 
chapter 1 verse 1, in the eighth month of the second year of Darius, 
the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, 
the son of Edo, the prophet, saying, the Lord has been very 
angry with your fathers. This is why they went into exile. They defected. They broke the 
covenant. Now notice this announcement 
after the exile. Therefore say to them, thus says 
the Lord of hosts. Return to me, says the Lord of 
hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. So you 
see, when they were driven out of the land, when they lost their 
temple, when they lost their city, when they lost their homes, 
all of those things were insignificant in comparison to the chief boon 
that they lost, namely the Lord God Himself. Notice, return to 
me, says the Lord of Hosts, and I will return to you. One man 
commenting on the removal of the Shekinah presence of God 
from the temple during the prophet Ezekiel. This man Merrill says, 
the real tragedy of the exile was not the removal of the people 
nor even the utter destruction of the city and the temple. It 
was a departure of their God from their midst. an absence 
symbolized in one of Ezekiel's visions by the movement of the 
Shekinah, that's the glory cloud, from the temple to the summit 
of the Mount of Olives. If you look at Ezekiel, right 
about 8 to 11, you see this continual withdrawing of God from the temple. And this is what Merrill says, 
the biggest problem in the exile wasn't that we lost our city, 
it wasn't that we lost our temple. Now the carnal ones would have 
thought that, but the faithful ones would have said the worst 
thing is that we lost our God. We do not have the Lord, that 
unique presence of the Lord that we enjoyed in the land. And so 
we see after the exile, after this time of chastisement, God 
says, you will return to the Lord your God. There must be 
this resolve to obey His voice according to all that I command 
you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with 
all your soul. That's not going to change. When 
you return to the Lord, it's not to say, well, you know, things 
are going to be different now, God. You've got to be more long-suffering 
with us. No, the terms of the covenant 
remain the same. You need to obey the Lord your 
God. We see the reality of the exile, the return to Yahweh. 
Notice, thirdly, the initiative of Yahweh, the initiative of 
God. Verses 3 to 7. This is what we 
need to appreciate. No, we need to appreciate the 
whole chapter. But it's God who does this. It's God who brings 
the people back into this relationship. He speaks first of the release 
from captivity. You return to the Lord your God, 
verse 2, and obey His voice according to all that I command you today, 
you and your children, with all your heart and with all your 
soul, that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity. After those 70 years in Babylon, 
they got word that they could return. And certainly they did. Not everybody, unfortunately. 
Probably about 50,000 people returned from Babylon to Judah. This is the books of Ezra and 
Nehemiah. This is what they record. This 
is the time that they wrote in as well. They were contemporaneous, 
or the contemporary, give or take, a generation with Haggai, 
Zechariah, and Malachi. So what we find is a release 
from captivity. They will experience the compassion 
of the Lord. Again, this is the initiative 
of God. Covenant blessings come as a 
result of our gracious God. Verse 3, that the Lord your God 
will bring you back from captivity and have compassion on you. Notice, and gather you again 
from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. 
If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts, I think 
the idea there is because of your defection, because of the 
seriousness of your sin, because of your waywardness, and because 
of your unrighteousness, you've been driven out to the farthest 
parts under heaven. From there the Lord your God 
will gather you, and from there He will bring you. So He will 
bring you back, verse 5, to the land which your fathers possessed, 
and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply 
you more than your fathers. The idea here, hearkening, I 
think, to the Abrahamic blessing. There's going to be great benefit, 
great blessing upon the people of God. And then notice, with 
reference to this initiative from Yahweh, we see verse 6. And this is key. This is crucial. This is absolutely necessary 
that we get this. And then we compare it with the 
prophets of Israel. Notice in verse 6, the Lord, 
your God, will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants. to love the Lord your God with 
all your heart and with all your soul that you may live. Klein describes it this way. As the development of this theme 
in the prophets shows, renewal and restoration, which Moses 
foretells, is that accomplished by Christ in the new covenant. So here on the plains of Moab, 
maybe not as fully developed as we have it in the book of 
Romans, Moses is preaching Jesus Christ to the people of Israel. That's what the significance 
of this statement is. It is programmatic, it is highlighting, 
it is looking down into their history from this side, looking 
at it and saying that this is how God is going to accomplish 
His purpose of assembling a great multi-ethnic kingdom for His 
glory and for His honor. So keep verse 6 in your mind 
and in your heart, and let's just look at a few of the prophets 
that refer to this language. Jeremiah 31. thought not to be 
a surprise to anybody who's been at this church for any amount 
of time. Jeremiah 31, 31 to 34. It is an announcement of the 
new covenant. I believe that there are allusions 
to what we find here in verse 6 with reference to the circumcision 
of the heart. The New Testament tells us this 
is regeneration. This is the spirit of God's work, 
causing sinners to be born again by His power and for His glory. Notice in Jeremiah 31.31, Behold, 
the days are coming, says the Lord. when I will make a new 
covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 
not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers 
in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of 
the land of Egypt, my covenant which they broke." Now there's 
continuity between the old and the new. Certain things are continuous. The law of God is continuous. We don't have a different law. 
in the New Covenant. In fact, we'll see that on the 
plains of Moab. When they obey the Lord, what 
do you think they're obeying? They're obeying God's law revealed 
first to Adam in the garden, or written on his heart, and 
then revealed at Sinai, and according to Jeremiah, inscribed on the 
hearts at regeneration. But there are continuities, but 
there are discontinuities. There are things that are different. The New Covenant is new. It is 
better. It is founded on a better hope. 
It has better promises. We mustn't obliterate the distinction. The New Covenant is glorious. 
The New Covenant has built into it essential features that you 
find in the Old, or find those features in the Old, but they're 
not essential to the Old Covenant. Notice one of those features 
is my covenant, which they broke. You could break the Old Covenant. 
You could disobey and end up in Babylon. You could disobey 
or end up in Assyria. In the New Covenant, if you are 
genuinely united to the Lord Jesus Christ, you cannot break 
that covenant. It is indefectible. You cannot 
violate it. You cannot ruin it. If you show yourself to be a 
God-hating rebel, you were never part of the covenant to begin 
with. John tells us, they went out from us, but they were not 
of us, because if they were of us, They wouldn't have gone from 
us. So one of the distinctive features 
between old and new is that the new covenant is inviolable. You can't break it. It is made 
with Christ and in him all the elect. And as a result of that, 
when we've been saved by grace through faith in Jesus, we are 
saved to the uttermost. The fifth point of Calvinism 
is a reality because of the glorious God of heaven and earth. like 
my covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, 
says the Lord. But this is the covenant that 
I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says 
the Lord. I will put my law in their minds 
and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God and they 
shall be my people. The language is not exactly the 
same in terms of circumcising their hearts, but the illusion 
or the idea or the reality that God directly works upon the heart 
of the New Covenant members is unmistakable. I will put my law 
in their minds, I will write it on their hearts, and I will 
be their God and they shall be my people. That's why when we 
get down to verse 10 in Deuteronomy chapter 30, the people are obeying. It's because of what happens 
in verse 6. It's because God circumcises 
the heart that the children of God then respond in obedience. We'll see more of that as we 
move through our study tonight. Notice over in 32. Jeremiah 32 
beginning at verse 36. Jeremiah 32, 36. Now, therefore, 
thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city 
of which you say it shall be delivered into the hand of the 
king of Babylon by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence. 
Behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have 
driven them in my anger, in my fury, and in great wrath. I will 
bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell 
safely. Chapter 32 is unique in that 
God tells Jeremiah to buy a piece of property in Judah. Doesn't 
seem like a wise move, does it? On the heels of invasion when 
Babylon is coming, Jeremiah is buying property. You'd have to 
think he was nuts, wouldn't you? What's the point? Jeremiah purchased 
this property because you will possess it one day. The Lord's 
promises are sure. So even here in this announcement 
that they are going into Babylon, beginning in verse 36, God then 
says, I will gather them out of all countries, verse 37, where 
I have driven them in my anger, in my fury, and in great wrath. I will bring them back to this 
place, and I will cause them to dwell safely. It sounds just 
like what we see there in Deuteronomy 30. It's the same sort of concepts, 
the same sort of language. Verse 38, They shall be my people, 
and I will be their God. Then I will give them one heart 
and one way, that they may fear me forever, for the good of them 
and their children after them. Same language we see there in 
Deuteronomy 30. And I will make an everlasting 
covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them 
good, but I will put my fear in their hearts so that they 
will not depart from me. Yes, I will rejoice over them 
to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land with 
all my heart and with all my soul." The same sort of language 
that we find in the book of Deuteronomy. Turn over to Ezekiel 11. All 
this to show, all this to demonstrate, all this so that you'll see in 
Deuteronomy 30 verses 1 to 14 we have a prophetic announcement 
concerning the blessings associated with the new covenant in the 
Lord Jesus Christ. is how the prophets of Israel 
interpreted that passage in Deuteronomy, or how they used that, or how 
they understood that to speak of a day when there would be 
this in-gathering. Notice in Ezekiel chapter 11 
at verse 19. Well, let's just back up in verse 
14. Again, the word of the Lord came to me saying, Son of man, 
your brethren, your relatives, your countrymen, and all the 
house of Israel in its entirety are those about whom the inhabitants 
of Jerusalem have said, get far away from the Lord. This land 
has been given to us as a possession. Therefore say, thus says the 
Lord God, although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, 
and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet 
I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where 
they have gone. That's a blessed promise right 
there. That's why when Ezekiel has this vision of God's chariot, 
the wheels are prominent. What do the wheels suggest? Mobility. right? The idea is, is that even 
though you're cast out, the remnant, the elect that are in Babylon, 
God will nevertheless be there. Now in Zechariah 1 when he says, 
return to me and I will return to you, it's in its full-blown 
land promise, blessing, intimacy. But God never deserts the true 
Israelite. He never deserts the true faithful. They had indeed lost the outward 
temple at Jerusalem, but the Lord Himself had become their 
temple. He would nevertheless cheer, 
encourage, and bless Ezekiel and Daniel and the other faithful 
servants of God that would be in Babylon. But notice in verse 
17, Therefore say, Thus says the Lord God, I will gather you 
from the peoples, assemble you from the countries where you 
have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel. 
and they will go there, and they will take away all its detestable 
things, and all its abominations from there. Then I will give 
them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and 
take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart 
of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes, and keep My judgments, 
and do them, and they shall be My people, and I will be their 
God. This is circumcision of the heart. 
This is regeneration. This is causing one to be born 
again. Ezekiel 36, probably the most 
fully developed, the most amplified version of this promise. Notice 
in Ezekiel 36, verse 22, Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus 
says the Lord God, I do not do this for your sake, O house of 
Israel, but for my holy name's sake. Isn't that beautiful? Salvation, 
first and foremost, is for God. Salvation, first and foremost, 
is to exalt God. Salvation is to bring honor, 
praise, and glory unto Him. It is a benefit, it is a corollary, 
a blessed one indeed, but our happiness is not God's primary 
concern. God's primary concern is his 
own exaltation, his own glory, his own majesty. Now we benefit 
greatly, to be sure, but we ought to be jealously and conspicuously 
God-centered. The chief end of man is to glorify 
God and to enjoy Him forever. The glory of God is paramount 
here. I do not do this for your sake, 
O house of Israel, but for my holy name's sake, which you have 
profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify 
my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which 
you have profaned in their midst. And the nations shall know that 
I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when I am hallowed in you 
before their eyes. for I will take you from among 
the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you 
into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water 
on you, and you shall be clean." Remember when Jesus is talking 
to Nicodemus, and he references water, and Nicodemus is just 
a little bit perplexed by it, or when Jesus references being 
born again, and Nicodemus is all, you know, confused by this, 
and he says, are you the teacher of Israel, and you don't know 
these things? Jesus has Ezekiel in his mind. The teacher of Israel 
should have known this language. Then I will sprinkle clean water 
on you and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your 
filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new 
heart and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of 
stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will 
put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes 
and you will keep my judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell 
in the land that I gave to your fathers. You shall be my people 
and I will be your God. I will deliver you from all your 
uncleanness." So you see what the prophets are reflecting upon 
is this promise of God to bless his people through the Lord Jesus 
Christ in what the scripture describes as the new covenant. So going back to Deuteronomy 
30 verse 6 is absolutely crucial that we understand It is an announcement. It is a declaration. It is a 
statement concerning what the Lord God is going to do in terms 
of bringing His people into His kingdom. This will mean judgment 
for the enemies of the Lord, verse 7. Also, the Lord your 
God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those 
who hate you or who persecuted you. Did this happen? Absolutely. God raises Assyria up and then 
God puts them down. God raises up Cyrus, king of 
Persia, to go in and defeat Babylon, and to make that no longer the 
world empire. So the Lord God, in blessing 
His people, brings curse upon His enemies. Again, the Abrahamic 
covenant. I will curse those who curse 
you, is what the Lord God had announced. So that's the initiative 
of God, verses 3 to 7. We've seen the reality of exile, 
verse 1, the return to God, verse 2, the initiative of God, verses 
3 to 7, and then, fourthly, notice the result in verses 8 to 10. and you will again obey the voice 
of the Lord and do all His commandments which I command you today." Why? Because your heart's been circumcised. Because God has written His law 
upon your heart. Because God has given you a new 
heart. It's not a heart of stone, but 
it's a heart of flesh. The Christian, the believer, 
the New Covenant member wants to obey the Lord God Almighty. If you want to argue against 
antinomianism, it wouldn't hurt to go to the plains of Moab. 
It certainly wouldn't hurt to go to Ezekiel the prophet. It 
wouldn't hurt to go to Jeremiah the prophet. What does the New 
Covenant believer want to do with the law of God? Does he 
want to get rid of it? Does he want to destroy it? Does 
he want to spit on it? No, he wants to cry with David, 
Oh how I love your law! It is my delight. He listens favorably to what 
Jesus says in John 14, 15. If you love me, you'll keep my 
commandments. When Paul is discussing justification 
by faith alone in Romans chapter 3, what then? Do we nullify the 
law? Do we get rid of the law? No, 
rather we establish the law. It is the joy of the New Covenant 
believer, and this is the response of the New Covenant community 
when their hearts have been changed. And you will again obey the voice 
of the Lord and do all his commandments which I command you today. Machen 
says, the gospel does not abrogate God's law, but it makes men love 
it with their hearts. Isn't that beautiful? That is 
a reformed emphasis that we mustn't lose. Our confession of faith 
says, neither are the aforementioned uses of the law contrary to the 
grace of the gospel. You don't find in the New Testament 
Paul or Peter or Jesus or the apostles saying, oh, that law 
is a terrible, horrible thing. It's a terrible and a horrible 
thing if you're seeking justification by it. But if you've been justified 
freely by the... and it's not horrible in itself, 
it's horrible because we are sinners and vile. But if we have 
been justified freely by His grace, the law is that standard, 
is that rule of life by which God the Holy Spirit directs His 
people in terms of obedience. The London Baptist Confession 
reflecting the Westminster, neither are the aforementioned uses of 
the law contrary to the grace of the gospel, but do sweetly 
comply with it. The spirit of Christ subduing 
and enabling the will of man to do that freely and cheerfully, 
which the will of God revealed in the law requires to be done. 
You see, it's a promise and a feature essential to the new covenant. 
I will put my law in their minds. What does he say in Ezekiel 36? 
You will be careful to follow my law. It is a good thing. It 
is a blessed thing. And what Moses envisions here 
is that when the people have returned and God has changed 
the heart, then there will be this response of obedience. There will be prosperity and 
blessing. Verse 9. The Lord your God will 
make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of 
your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce 
of your land for good. For the Lord will again rejoice 
over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers. Didn't we 
just read that in Jeremiah? What's Jeremiah thinking about? 
What's Jeremiah expounding? What is Jeremiah amplifying but 
what has been announced on the plains of Moab in terms of God's 
program to save his people from their sins in and through the 
Lord Jesus Christ in the new covenant. There's a lot of Christ 
in Deuteronomy chapter 30. That's the point. Don't miss 
that. Don't neglect your Old Testament. 
People out there today, we don't want the Old Testament. The Old 
Testament oozes with Jesus. It reeks in a good way with Jesus. We should desire this Old Testament 
Word. It points us to our Savior. They 
will be delighted in by the Lord, as He's already said. And then 
notice in verse 10, it would almost seem to undo everything 
I've said because it sounds conditional. But the if there could be and 
should be translated as because. It would go against the entire 
context for God to say, I'm going to circumcise your heart, and 
then you're going to obey, and then I'm going to bless if you 
obey. No, it's because you are obeying, it's because you've 
been justified freely by God's grace, now you are living spirit-filled 
lives according to the law of the Lord, and in this you reap 
benefit. In this you receive blessing, 
if or when you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep 
His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book 
of the law, and if you turn to the Lord your God or when you 
turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your 
soul. The language of covenant, the language of God's initiative, 
the language of God having changed the heart, and then we respond 
to Him in a way that is fitting. And then verses 11 to 14, I think, 
deal with the empowerment. The empowerment, and I'll explain 
this in just a moment. But if you look at this, it almost 
looks like verses 1 to 10 are the prophetic statement. And 
then verse 11 now says, OK, let's get back to the here and now. 
Let's get back to the plains of Moab. Let's get back to our 
current situation. You need to resolve to obey when 
you get into the land. I think that's what 15 to 20 
does. I think 11 to 14 still goes with 
the prophetic. For this commandment which I 
command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it 
far off. It is not in heaven that you 
should say, who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to 
us, that we may hear it and do it. Nor is it beyond the sea 
that you should say, who will go over the sea for us and bring 
it to us, that we may hear it and do it. But the word is very 
near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. 
Now, those who argue that this is the present choice, this goes 
with 15 to 20, have a good argument. I mean, I wouldn't die on this 
interpretation, but I am suggesting that I think 11 to 14 goes with 
the prophecy, rather than the present, in their sense. But 
the guys who say that it goes with the present argue from 2929. The secret things belong to the 
Lord our God. Those things which are revealed belong to us and 
to our children forever. The same sentiment seems to be 
there in verse 11. For this commandment which I 
command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it 
far off. Don't you go into that land. 
Don't you get dispossessed from that land. Don't you end up in 
exile and say, well, we just didn't know. The Lord never told 
us. We never got a word. We never 
got a command. So in a sense, that is accurate. 
That is absolutely crucial. Does anybody know who quotes 
this section in the New Testament? If you say Paul, you're probably 
going to be right. You know, you've got a handful 
of authors, and Paul often theologizes from the Old Testament. in Romans 
chapter 10. So the shift to the present in 
verse 11 does make sense contextually. We've got verse 29 of chapter 
29. But I think if we look at 11 to 14 as going with the prophecy, 
it indicates to us, it highlights for us, more realities associated 
with the new covenant. The continued explanation of 
the New Covenant blessings is what I believe is in view in 
verses 11 to 14. Notice the things stated will 
be attainable. The blessings of verses 1 to 
10 are attainable. We will receive them. We will 
get them. Is it based on what we do? Well, 
that's the language in here. But when Paul comes to interpret, 
he makes a contrast. If you go to Romans 10 for just 
a moment. We don't have a lot of time to 
develop this. I don't have a lot of brain power to develop this. 
I didn't have enough time to spend in the text of Romans 10. 
I'm just suggesting there's enough evidence to suggest that 11 to 
14 go with the prophetic announcement of verses 1 to 10. And it seems 
that that's the way the Apostle treats the passage. And if the 
Apostle treats the passage, then I think we're in good company. 
I think what 11 to 14 do is they highlight that the presence and 
the power of the promised spirit will enable obedience by the 
grace of God in the New Covenant. Notice in 10.5, for Moses writes 
about the righteousness, this is important, which is of the 
law. The man who does those things 
shall live by them. That's Leviticus 18. Paul quotes 
that in Galatians 3 as well. Now, look what he goes on to 
say. But the righteousness of faith. Paul is treating the Mosaic 
covenant. He is treating Leviticus and 
Deuteronomy. And Paul sees two streams of 
thought working in that Mosaic economy. He sees an essence or 
an element or an emphasis upon words. For the righteousness, 
or that Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the 
law, the man who does those things shall live by them. If you've 
paid attention at all over the last several months, anytime 
that we've talked about covenant theology, I've suggested that 
some Puritans Some reform saw within the Mosaic Covenant an 
emphasis upon works to function in such a way as to show the 
people their need for the coming Redeemer. It seems that Paul 
seems to indicate that here. There is this righteousness which 
is of the law. The man who does those things 
shall live by them. Now notice though, but the righteousness 
of faith So whatever is going on in Deuteronomy chapter 30, 
11 to 14, is consistent with the righteousness of faith, which 
I would argue is consistent with the new covenant propounded in 
verses 1 to 10. 11 to 14 simply amplify or continue 
that theme of new covenant blessing. And instead of the stress falling 
upon What we do, as Moses says in Deuteronomy 30, notice how 
Paul treats it. But the righteousness of faith 
speaks in this way. Do not say in your heart, who 
will ascend into heaven? That is, to bring Christ down 
from above. Or, who will descend into the 
abyss? That is, to bring Christ up from 
the dead. It almost seems like the Apostle 
is using the Incarnation and the Resurrection of Christ as 
the fulfillment of what was spoken in 10 to 14, or 11 to 14, in 
Deuteronomy chapter 30. But what does it say? The Word 
is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that is the Word 
of faith which we preach. That If you confess with your 
mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised 
Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one 
believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession 
is made unto salvation. For the scripture says, whoever 
believes on him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction 
between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to 
all who call upon him. For whoever calls on the name 
of the Lord shall be saved." I think there is good evidence 
to conclude, or at least to sway in that position, that 11 to 
14 continue with that theme of what's going to happen in terms 
of new covenant blessing. So that's the future blessing. 
If you got confused, I apologize. Made sense here. I hope it made 
sense there. Sometimes when you get into some 
sort of technical explanations, there can be a disconnect. If 
you missed anything and you want the notes, email me. I will send 
them to you. Not that that'll help you. a 
whole lot more, but all that to say 11 to 14 seem to go with 
1 to 10 and is what is true of New Covenant blessing. Chapter 
ends, verses 15 to 20, with the present choice. There is an encouragement 
to obey, verses 15 and 16. See, I have set before you today 
life and good, death and evil. So as He's moved from this prophetic 
announcement to what's going to happen after they return from 
the exile. We've got to get back to the 
here and now. You need to pay attention. You're entering the 
land of Moab, or you're entering the land of Canaan from the plains 
of Moab. See, I have set before you today 
life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to 
love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His 
commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live 
and multiply. Now, when you look at, let's 
just make this pictorial representation, the Mosaic Covenant, of all the 
several covenants revealed in the scripture, this is probably 
the most difficult to explain. It's probably the most difficult 
to understand in terms of the particulars, the details. It 
seems that it is, in fact, there are elements of the covenant 
of grace in the Mosaic Covenant. There's a sacrificial system, 
there's a typical system, pointing to blessing, pointing to the 
Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. There is this 
works principle, the man who does them shall live by them. 
There is as well this national element that if the body politic 
does what they're supposed to, they're going to have blessings 
in the land. So there's a lot of things going on in the Mosaic 
Covenant. And I think that what we have 
here in terms of this 15 and following is that area of you 
need to obey when you get into the land, much like we've seen 
throughout the book of Deuteronomy. Moses is back to this particular 
situation, emphasizing this reality. Notice, don't you love this? See, I have set before you today 
life and good, death and evil, in that I command you to love 
the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments. 
Who else ended a sermon with two ways? Jesus. Good answer. Yeah, I'm sure Paul did. I'm 
sure that he did. But Jesus, how does the Sermon 
on the Mount end? You've got two ways. You've got 
two trees. You've got two boulders, right? 
Same sort of convention. You've got life. You've got death. 
Some have seen, I haven't been convinced yet, a Moses-Jesus 
sort of typical relationship in the book of Matthew. that 
the five discourses in Matthew correspond to the five books 
of Moses, that Jesus is to be seen or is being figured or put 
forth by Matthew, at least in one of the facets, as the new 
Moses. I don't know. I'm sure there's 
a big, fat book on that subject. I think it's an interesting, 
unique idea. I think there's enough in terms 
of the servant of the Lord, the son of Abraham, son of David. 
Son of God, that we could busy ourselves for a thousand eternities 
studying Matthew. So, maybe the next time around 
in 25 years, if we go through Matthew again, we'll examine 
the Moses typology. But anyways, there is that similarity 
in bringing this sermon, bringing this exhortation to bear. So 
he encourages them to obey, verses 15 to 16, and then he warns them 
against disobedience, 17 to 19, but if your heart turns away 
so that you do not hear, and are drawn away and worship other 
gods and serve them. I announce to you today that 
you shall surely perish. You shall not prolong your days 
in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. 
I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have 
set before you life and death, blessing and cursing." This is 
a convention already employed, already used in the book of Deuteronomy. 
It's a convention that Jeremiah the prophet uses. It's a convention 
that Isaiah uses, calling the mountains, calling the heavens, 
calling the earth to witness. There's an extended section in 
the prophet Micah where the prophet is suing the nation and the mountains 
are his jury. It is the testimony of God's 
creation watching over this particular situation. And then notice there 
is this exhortation to live, verses 19b and following. Therefore choose life that both 
you and your descendants may live. that you may love the Lord 
your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling 
to Him. Look at this, for He is your 
life and the length of your days. That's a blessed element. He 
is your life. He is everything. When you enter 
in from the plains of Moab into the Promised Land, You're not 
like the Baal worshippers. You're not like the Canaanites. 
You're not like these people who simply invoke their deity 
to get a bit of rain on their crops. This God is your life. It made me think of Genesis 15 
when God says to Abraham, I am your shield, your exceedingly 
great reward. I am your reward. Or Psalm 63 
when David says, because your loving kindness is better than 
life, my lips will praise you. In other words, the faithful 
on the plains of Moab were being directed to the all-sufficiency 
and the all-goodness and the glory of God Almighty. What a boon for the faithful. Again, the unfaithful just said, 
let's get in the land and eat our honey and drink our milk. 
But the Christian, the believer, the disciple, the one looking 
to the promise, heard that and thought, He is my life. Sounds like what we have in? 
Paul, for to me to live is what? It's Christ, and to die is gain. There is nothing fundamentally 
different in terms of relationship. We have God as our life in the 
Old Covenant. We have God as our life in the 
New Covenant. That is a blessed feature that 
the Lord gives in those covenantal blessings. It's not just milk, 
it's not just honey, it's not just a job, it's God himself 
is your life. It's a beautiful thing. And this 
is then grounded upon the covenant faithfulness, the oath sworn 
promise of God to the fathers, that you may dwell in the land 
which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob, to give them. ends the sanctioned portion, 
and as I said, 31 to 34 deals with succession. There's a song 
of joy, there is that transfer of leadership, that death of 
Moses, and then we enter into the promised land under Joshua. Well, how about if I pray and 
then if anyone has any questions, we can shut this off here. Father, 
we thank you for this word. We thank you for the announcement 
of what you would do in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. And we 
thank you that you've made us participants, that you have blessed 
us so richly that the things stipulated in Deuteronomy 30, 
the promise given that you would circumcise the heart, we have 
by your grace. We have regeneration. We have 
you causing us to be born again. We have You giving us the gifts 
of faith and repentance. And God, in this, we rejoice, 
we praise You, we delight in You. Help us to see that You 
are our life. Help us to see that everything 
that is valuable, everything that is important, is nothing 
in comparison with our Lord Jesus Christ. And it's in His name 
that we pray. Amen.