When banished to the ends of the earth, the Israelites could repent and return to Yahweh in their hearts purposing to obey Him again (vv. 1-2). In that event God would do several things for them. He would bring them back to their land and allow them to occupy it again (vv. 3-5). He would also permanently change the people's heart attitude toward Himself (v. 6; cf. Jer. 31:33-34).316
"While the repossession of the land can be said to some extent to have been fulfilled by the return of the Jews following the Babylonian exile (cf. Jer 29:10-14; 30:3), the greater prosperity and population was not achieved in Old Testament times. In fact, it still awaits realization in any literal sense (cf. Hag 2:6-9; Zech 8:1-8; 10:8-12). As for the radical work of regeneration described here as circumcision of the heart, that clearly awaits a day yet to come as far as the covenant nation as a whole is concerned.
"Just as circumcision of the flesh symbolized outward identification with the Lord and the covenant community (cf. Gen 17:10, 23; Lev 12:3; Josh 5:2), so circumcision of the heart (a phrase found only here and in Deut 10:16 and Jer 4:4 in the OT) speaks of internal identification with him in what might be called regeneration in Christian theology. . . .
"The miraculous, totally regenerating nature of the circumcision of the heart would be manifest by Israel's ability to love the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul' (Deut 30:6). This is an obvious reference to the demand of the Shema (Deut 6:4-5), adherence to which was at the very core of covenant commitment."317
God would, furthermore, punish Israel's enemies (v. 7). Because of Israel's obedience God would prosper her greatly (vv. 8-10). The "fathers"(v. 9) probably refers to all the pious ancestors of the Israelites, not just the patriarchs.
Some premillennial commentators have called Deuteronomy 30:1-10 the "Palestinian Covenant."318They have not used this term as much in recent years because these verses do not constitute a distinctively different covenant. They simply elaborate on the land promises made earlier to Abraham and his descendants (Gen. 12:7; et al.). However modern commentators still refer to chapters 29-30 as a distinct covenant.319I would say this is a call to commit to the Mosaic Covenant (cf. Josh. 24:1-28) that contains further revelation concerning the land.
". . . the overall purpose of the author of the Pentateuch seems to be to show that the Sinai covenant failed for lack of an obedient heart on the part of God's people Israel. We have also seen that his intention in writing the Pentateuch is not to look back in despair at the failure of man but to point in hope to the faithfulness of God. The hope of the writer of the Pentateuch is clearly focused on what God will do to bring his covenant promises to fulfillment. Nowhere is he more clear on this than at the (structural) conclusion to his work: Deut 30:1-10, where Moses tells the people of Israel that they will fail and that they will be cursed, but God's work with them will not end there. The Lord will again bring them into the land, gather them from all the lands where they have been exiled. But this time, things will be different. Israel is going to obey God. God is going to give them a heart that will obey, a heart that will love the Lord and keep his commandments. It is on this high note that the Pentateuch finally draws to a close.
"If we go beyond the Pentateuch to the other historical books, the Prophets and finally to the New Testament, the fulfillment of Moses' hope is made certain. It is also clear in these later books how God is going to give his people a new heart: I will give you a new heart, a new Spirit I will put within you; I will turn away the heart of stone from your flesh and I will give you a heart of flesh. My Spirit I will put within you and I will make you walk in my statutes and my judgments you will keep' (Ezek 36:26, 27). It is by means of God's Spirit that his people are able to do his will. No one is clearer on this point than the apostle Paul (Rom 8:4). What is often overlooked, however, is that we needn't go beyond the Pentateuch itself for exactly the same conclusion. The author of the Pentateuch has as one of his central purposes to show that God's work must always be done in God's way: by means of the Spirit of God. To show the centrality of this idea in the Pentateuch we need only compare the author's description of God's own carrying out of his will (Gen 1:2b) with that of man's obedience to God's will (Exod 31:1-5)."320
Later revelation indicates that the conditions Moses spoke of here as possible will prevail in the future. Israel will indeed return to the Lord as a nation (v. 2; cf. Ezek. 16:53-63; Amos 9:9-15; Zech. 12:10-12; Acts 15:16-17). The Lord will gather her again to the Promised Land (vv. 3-5; cf. Isa. 11:11-12; Jer. 23:3-8; Ezek. 37:21-28; Matt. 24:29-31). She will experience a permanent change in her attitude to God as a nation (v. 6; cf. Ezek. 20:33-44; Hos. 2:14-16; Zech. 13:8-9; Mal. 3:1-6; Rom. 11:26-27). She will see her oppressors punished (v. 7; cf. Isa. 14:1-2; Joel 3:1-8; Matt. 25:31-46). God will prosper her abundantly (v. 9; cf. Amos 9:11-15). God has not yet fulfilled these predictions. Therefore as literal interpreters of Scripture we look for a future fulfillment. The passages cited above indicate that this fulfillment will take place at the second coming of Christ and in His millennial kingdom that will follow that return. A distinctive of dispensational theology is the recognition that God has a future for Israel as a nation that is distinct from the future of the church or the Gentile nations.321
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
