Today you should read: Deuteronomy 30:11-20
This is one of my favorite sections of scripture in Deuteronomy. After some tough and seemingly dry passages concerning the law, this is the end of Moses’ sermon, where he is seeking a commitment from the Israelites to trust in God’s grace and obey His commands. It may even sound familiar, because the apostle Paul uses verse 12 in Romans 10:6-9:
6 But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
However, the apostle Paul goes even further and relates Christ (in parentheses in the Romans passage) to Deuteronomy 30:12. We know that word that is close to them and saves them is the coming Messiah for Moses and the fulfilled Messiah, Jesus, with Paul. We also know the rest of the passage in Deuteronomy is true for us just as much as the Israelites—obeying God and following Jesus is truly a matter of life and death. What a great reminder that Jesus is all throughout Scripture and how God speaks to us today just as much as he did with the Israelites.
By: Erik Koliser — West Campus Pastor
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