The duty of obedience did not lie beyond the average Israelite's ability if he or she turned to Yahweh wholeheartedly (v. 10). God was not asking something impossible of His people (vv. 11-15; cf. Rom. 10:6-8). He had given them the Mosaic Law so they could obey.
"The point at issue here was not the ease or even possibility of keeping the word of the Lord . . . but of even knowing what it was. Contrary to the inscrutable and enigmatic ways of the pagan gods, the Lord's purposes and will for his people are crystal clear. They are not too difficult' (lo' niple't, lit., not too wonderful,' i.e., beyond comprehension) or beyond reach (v. 11). That is, they can be understood by the human mind despite its limitations."322
The choice before them was ultimately one of life or death (v. 15-18; cf. Gen. 2:9, 17, 22-24, 28; 3:8; 5:22-24; 6:9; 17:1).323Moses called the permanent, unchanging heaven and earth to witness the making of this covenant (v. 19). Those who made ancient Near Eastern treaties commonly called witnesses to attest them, as God did here. God also urged the people to look at the consequences of their choice and to choose life and obedience deliberately (vv. 19-20). The ultimate motive, love for God, would enable the Israelites to obey the Lord steadfastly. They would consequently "live in the land"God had promised the patriarchs (v. 20).
"The notion of choice, with its implication of freedom to determine one's own actions or mode of life, is one which is characteristic of Deuteronomy. God chooses, but human beings also have that freedom."324
"Participants in Israel's liturgies of covenant renewal, listeners to the word of the Lord and the words of Moses, readers of Deuteronomy then and now are all confronted with one of the most explicit calls for a decision that the Bible presents."325
This final exhortation lifted Moses' third major address to the people to an emotional climax (cf. 4:32-40).
"This decision to love or not to love God is one of life's major decisions."326
"The opening words of Moses' first address were See, I have set before you the land; go in and take possession' (1:8). Now, as his speaking comes to an end, those words are echoed: See, I have set before you this day life and good, death and evil . . . therefore choose life' (30:15). Between those two addresses is all the teaching of the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances. And therein lies the theological structure of Deuteronomy in a nutshell."327
