The Video version is available at: https://youtu.be/JmexPgknBng
Reading
– Deuteronomy 30:1-10
By
Dan and Brenda Cathcart
Even
before the children of Israel went into the Promised Land, God knew that they
would turn away from Him. He told Moses that this would happen; He even told
the children of Israel that they would turn away from serving Him.
Deuteronomy 31:20 NKJV 20 "When I
have brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey, of which I swore to
their fathers, and they have eaten and filled themselves and grown fat, then
they will turn to other gods and serve them; and they will provoke Me and break
My covenant.
God
is omniscient and not restricted by time as we are. Still, despite this
knowledge that Israel would turn away from Him, God loved and continues to love
Israel. Why would God continue to love such a fickle people? What could Israel
do to merit such an unconditional love? What does God require of them?
Similarly, God knows our every action and knows every sin we have committed or
will commit, what does God require of us?
When
God is speaking these words to Moses about the future of the children of
Israel, they are standing on the banks of the Jordan River getting ready to go
into the Land and take the Land as God instructed them to do. As they were
standing there before Moses and before the LORD, God declared that the covenant
He made with them was not just a covenant with their fathers but was a covenant
He was making with them at that time and on that day.
Deuteronomy 29:10-12 NKJV 10 "All
of you stand today before the LORD your God: your leaders and your tribes and
your elders and your officers, all the men of Israel, 11 "your little ones
and your wives-also the stranger who is in your camp, from the one who cuts
your wood to the one who draws your water- 12 "that you may enter into
covenant with the LORD your God, and into His oath, which the LORD your God
makes with you today,
Centuries
later, after the ten northern tribes had been exiled from the land, and Judah
was on the brink of joining Israel in exile, God declared that His covenant
remained with Israel. He would only cast-off Israel if and when the heavens
could be measured, and the foundations of the earth revealed her secrets.
Jeremiah 31:37 NKJV 37 Thus says the
LORD: "If heaven above can be measured, And the foundations of the earth
searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel For all that
they have done, says the LORD.
We
may think that we are close to measuring the heavens and understanding the
foundations of the earth, however, the more scientists learn about creation,
the more they realize that they are not even close to understanding the
universe!
We
see, then, that, despite knowing all that Israel had done and would continue to
do, God still chose them as His covenant people. He told them that they would
be exiled from the land, but that He would bring them back. However, their
return to the land would only occur after they returned to God.
Deuteronomy 30:1-3 NKJV 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, 2 "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, 3 "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.
Moses
outlined steps for them to take to once again possess the land that their
fathers possessed. The first step is to remember the blessings and the curses
that Moses spoke that had happened to them and their fathers. They were to
remember both the times God blessed them, and the times they experienced the
curse because of their disobedience. God said this would happen to them in the
land where they lived in exile.
When
they remembered the blessings as well as the curses, they were to return to the
LORD their God with all their heart and with all their soul. When they did so,
God would gather them and return them to the land. It didn’t matter where on
the Earth they had been scattered, God knew where they were and would bring
them back to the land.
Deuteronomy 30:5 MKJV 5 And the LORD
your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you
shall possess it. And He will do you good, and multiply you above your fathers.
A
condition of their return was to return to the LORD with all their heart and
with all their soul. What does this look like? Let’s look at a couple of
examples from the Tanach, the Old Testament, and an example from the Brit
Hadashah, or the New Testament.
In
the accounts of the kings of Judah, many kings obeyed God and walked in the
ways of their father David. However, many other kings disobeyed God and led
Judah into sin. King Ahaz was one king who led Judah into sin. He began by
adopting the practices of the Canaanites sacrificing his own sons in the fire
to the Canaanite gods.
2 Chronicles 28:2-3 NKJV 2 For he
walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made molded images for the
Baals. 3 He burned incense in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and burned his
children in the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the
LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
It’s
not surprising that God allowed him to be defeated in battle by the Syrians. Because
the Syrians defeated him, he adopted their gods as his own.
2 Chronicles 28:23 MKJV 23 For he
sacrificed to the gods of Damascus who struck him. And he said, Because the
gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them so that they
may help me. But they were the ruin of him and of all Israel.
Ahaz
set up an altar to the Syrian gods in God’s temple in the place of the bronze
altar. He commanded that the daily offerings be brought to this new altar instead
of the altar of God. When this didn’t help prevail in battle, he closed up the
temple of God and set up altars to other gods throughout Jerusalem and the
entire nation of Judah.
2 Chronicles 28:24 MKJV 24 And Ahaz
gathered the vessels of the house of God and cut in pieces the vessels of the
house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the LORD. And he made
himself altars in every corner of Jerusalem.
Judah
had turned away from God! After the death of Ahaz, his son Hezekiah became
king. Hezekiah immediately reversed everything his father had done! On the
first day of Hezekiah’s reign, he began the process of cleansing and opening
the temple.
2 Chronicles 29:3-6 NKJV 3 In the
first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house
of the LORD and repaired them. 4 Then he brought in the priests and the
Levites, and gathered them in the East Square, 5 and said to them: "Hear
me, Levites! Now sanctify yourselves, sanctify the house of the LORD God of
your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place. 6 "For our
fathers have trespassed and done evil in the eyes of the LORD our God; they
have forsaken Him, have turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the
LORD, and turned their backs on Him.
Notice
that Hezekiah didn’t delay in returning to the worship of God. He called on the
Levites to sanctify themselves. He made a covenant with the LORD renewing
Judah’s commitment to the covenant made at Mt. Sinai.
2 Chronicles 29:10 NKJV 10 "Now
it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that His
fierce wrath may turn away from us.
Hezekiah
led in turning the hearts and souls of the people back to God. As soon as the
temple was purified, Hezekiah led the way in bringing offerings to God. The
whole assembly joined in with worship.
2 Chronicles 29:28-30 NKJV 28 So all
the assembly worshiped, the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded; all this
continued until the burnt offering was finished. 29 And when they had finished
offering, the king and all who were present with him bowed and worshiped. 30
Moreover King Hezekiah and the leaders commanded the Levites to sing praise to
the LORD with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. So they sang praises
with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshiped.
Hezekiah
didn’t stop at the outward expression of worship; he instituted reforms
throughout Judah. He commanded that the altars to other gods be destroyed. He
commanded that the first fruits and tithes be brought to the temple and
distributed them for the support of the Levites, the widows, and the orphans.
He returned to the LORD with all his heart.
2 Chronicles 31:20-21 NKJV 20 Thus
Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and true
before the LORD his God. 21 And in every work that he began in the service of
the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it
with all his heart. So he prospered.
A
few years later, when Sennacherib, the new king of Assyria tried to conquer
Judah, God acted on behalf of Judah. He caused the entire army that was
besieging Jerusalem to fall dead overnight.
2 Chronicles 32:20-21 NKJV 20 Now
because of this King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz, prayed
and cried out to heaven. 21 Then the LORD sent an angel who cut down every
mighty man of valor, leader, and captain in the camp of the king of Assyria. So
he returned shamefaced to his own land. And when he had gone into the temple of
his god, some of his own offspring struck him down with the sword there.
Unfortunately,
Hezekiah’s son Manasseh and grandson Amon did not walk in his ways. Instead,
they followed the path of Hezekiah’s father King Ahaz. Manasseh rebuilt the
altars that Hezekiah had torn down. He caused his sons to be sacrificed to the
Canaanite gods, and he built altars for the all the gods in the temple court!
After the deaths of Manasseh and Amon, Josiah became king.
Josiah
did everything that Hezekiah did. He loved God with all his heart, soul, and might.
2 Kings 23:25 NKJV 25 Now before him
there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart, with all
his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after
him did any arise like him.
A
few years later, Pharaoh Necho brought an army through Israel on his way to
assist the King of Assyria in his war against the Babylonians. King Josiah went
out to battle against Pharaoh Necho. Based on what God did for Judah under King
Hezekiah, we would expect God to make Josiah victorious over Pharaoh Necho.
However, this is not what happened. King Josiah was killed in battle and Judah
was forced to pay tribute to Egypt.
What
was the difference? Both kings Hezekiah and Josiah loved God with all their
hearts! During Hezekiah’s reign, we learn that God prepared the hearts of all
the people to worship him. Then, at the celebration of the Passover, God gave
Judah singleness of heart to follow Him.
2 Chronicles 30:12 NKJV 12 Also the
hand of God was on Judah to give them singleness of heart to obey the command
of the king and the leaders, at the word of the LORD.
The
prophet Jeremiah can shed some light on this situation. He began prophesying
during the reign of King Josiah.
Jeremiah 3:6 NKJV 6 The LORD said also
to me in the days of Josiah the king: "Have you seen what backsliding
Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green
tree, and there played the harlot.
Skipping
down to verse 10:
Jeremiah 3:10 NKJV 10 "And yet
for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole
heart, but in pretense," says the LORD.
Repentance
and return to God cannot be only outward. It must be with the whole heart and
must be a return to all of God’s commandments. During King Josiah’s reign all
of Judah and even the land of the northern kingdom of Israel tore down all
their idols and worshipped God, but it seems that the people didn’t have the
same heart as Josiah. The Stone Edition Tanach cites the sage Radak’s
comments:
Although King Josiah thoroughly purged
all idolatrous practices, the common people were less enthusiastic about his
religious reforms.[i]
After
King Josiah, Judah continued to follow the path of rebellion against God.
Eventually, they, like the northern tribes of Israel, were exiled from the
land. It seemed that God had abandoned His people and nullified the covenant.
However, when we go back to Moses in Deuteronomy, God told Moses that this
exile would happen. God already knew that it would. When they remember God in
all the lands where He has scattered them and turn to Him with all the heart
and soul, not in mere pretense, then God will bring them back to the land. It
will be like in the days of Hezekiah. The curses they experienced would be
placed on their enemies.
Deuteronomy 30:7 NKJV 7 "Also the
LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate
you, who persecuted you.
God
would give them singleness of heart to follow God’s commandments as their
leaders guide them.
Deuteronomy 30:8 NKJV 8 "And you
will again obey the voice of the LORD and do all His commandments which I
command you today.
The
result of this is that God would rejoice over them!
Deuteronomy 30:9-10 NKJV 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, 10 "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.
The
passage ends where it began with the condition if they turn to the LORD their
God with all their heart and soul!
Yeshua
told a parable about a man with two sons. One son took his inheritance and went
out into the world leaving his family behind. He ended up losing all that he
had through wasteful living.
Luke 15:11-13 MKJV 11 And He said, A
certain man had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father,
Father, give me the portion of goods that is coming to me. And he divided his
living to them. 13 And not many days afterward, the younger son gathered all
together and went away into a far country. And there he wasted his property,
living dissolutely.
When
a famine hit, he had no resources and sold himself to a man of the nation where
he lived. He ended up tending and feeding swine. This is when he remembers his
father’s house and all the blessings he had from his father.
Luke 15:17-19 MKJV 17 And when he came
to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father abound in loaves, and
I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him,
Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you 19 and am no more worthy to
be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.
This
son repented and determined to return to his father’s house knowing that any
mercy shown to him by his father would be undeserved. To his surprise, his
father greeted him with tears of joy.
Luke 15:20-21 NKJV 20 "And he
arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father
saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21
"And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in
your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
The
father commanded that a celebration be prepared for his younger son. The younger
son did not deserve the unreserved welcome of the father. In fact, the older
son, who had remained with his father, obeying and serving him, was not happy
with his father’s greeting of his younger brother. He refused to enter the
banquet honoring his brother.
Luke 15:28-30 NKJV 28 "But he was
angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.
29 "So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have
been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet
you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. 30
'But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with
harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.'
The
father responded with compassion for his older son while reminding him that his
brother, who was dead to them, was now alive.
Luke 15:31-32 NKJV 31 "And he
said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 'It
was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and
is alive again, and was lost and is found.'"
This
is how God views His children. We forget God and, sometimes, deliberately walk
away from Him. But God continues to love us. What does God require of us? He
requires us to turn to Him with our whole heart and soul. In return, He
rejoices over us. When others of His children return to Him, God wants us to
rejoice over them as well.
Study
Questions:
- What was the difference between Hezekiah’s time and Josiah’s
time? What evidence in scripture do we find that spells out these
differences?
- The parable of the prodigal son has messages for both sons. What
are those messages? How do they apply to God’s people?
General Portion Questions
- Deuteronomy 30:11-14 states that God’s word, His commandments are
very near them. What does Moses mean? Paul quotes this passage in Romans
10:8-10. Placed in the context of Deuteronomy, what is Paul trying to
communicate in this passage of Romans?
- How does the commandment to read the Torah every seven years in
the year of release (Deuteronomy 31:9-13) point to the coming reign of
Messiah?
- What other insights
did you gain from this teaching? What indicators are there in this Torah
Portion that point to Messiah Yeshua?
©
2023 Moed Ministries International. All rights reserved.
[i] The
Stone Edition Tanach. General Editor Rabbi Nosson Scherman. Mesorah
Publications, Ltd. ©1996, 1998. Page 1077.
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