The Unrelenting Compassion of God
God will have a people for Himself. Even human sin and Divine wrath cannot thwart His purpose in this regard. Consider well that after the long chapter of warning in Deuteronomy 28 and the reinforcement of the Covenant in chapter 29, Deuteronomy 30 follows with one of the most HOPE-filled passages in all the Pentateuch:
Deuteronomy 30:1-8 (ESV) "And 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 has driven you, 2 and return to the LORD your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you. 4 If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. 5 And the LORD your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. 6 And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. 7 And the LORD your God will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you. 8 And you shall again obey the voice of the LORD and keep all his commandments that I command you today.
First, notice that both God's wrath in punishment and God's blessing in prosperity are signs to His people that there is a disconnect between He and them. We know as Christians who have had our hearts changed by the grace of God that we cannot ever fully enjoy sin again. We also cannot maintain a neglect of God in our times of prosperity. Something will always seem off for those who belong to Him in these moments.
Secondly, notice that most of the activity of these verse belongs to God. He will be gracious in both blessing and cursing to RESTORE the people whose hearts are returned to the Covenant. The second verse shouts promise to a seemingly hopeless people. For it is not a matter of “if” they return but “when”.
God then promises that they will return to Him and He will restore their fortunes. He will gather them from all the peoples. And then especially Verse 4: EVEN if they have been scattered to heaven. In other words, there is no height so high God's people are totally lost. His love and grace reach higher than the heavens. The Psalmist will say:
Psalm 36:5 (ESV) Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
God will go whatever distance necessary to save what looks like unreachable people. This is why Christian, we share the message of Jesus with everyone without reservation. We never know what God will do with that presentation. He will use it to gather His people into His home.
Then not only does God return them and restore them... He will change their heart. The circumcision of the heart is a New Testament concept introduced here in Deuteronomy to show that this would happen after the resurrection. Consider the Jews at Pentecost who heard Peter and the Apostles proclaiming the glories of God in their own language. Jews who had been scattered all over the world have their hearts cut deeply by Peter's Gospel message. Surely Luke had in mind these promises of God when he was inspired to pen those words:
Acts 2:37 (ESV) Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
Then after this God promises to bless them even more than their original position. How great is the compassion of God. How good is He to those who are His!
When people say the God of the Old Testament is mean and the God of the New Testament is kind it just proves they have never read the Bible themselves. They are getting those talking points from someone else. It's a shame because when we look into these things, we cannot help experience the goodness and grace of our Amazing Father!
Deuteronomy 30:1-8 (ESV) "And 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 has driven you, 2 and return to the LORD your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you. 4 If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there he will take you. 5 And the LORD your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And he will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. 6 And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. 7 And the LORD your God will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you. 8 And you shall again obey the voice of the LORD and keep all his commandments that I command you today.
First, notice that both God's wrath in punishment and God's blessing in prosperity are signs to His people that there is a disconnect between He and them. We know as Christians who have had our hearts changed by the grace of God that we cannot ever fully enjoy sin again. We also cannot maintain a neglect of God in our times of prosperity. Something will always seem off for those who belong to Him in these moments.
Secondly, notice that most of the activity of these verse belongs to God. He will be gracious in both blessing and cursing to RESTORE the people whose hearts are returned to the Covenant. The second verse shouts promise to a seemingly hopeless people. For it is not a matter of “if” they return but “when”.
God then promises that they will return to Him and He will restore their fortunes. He will gather them from all the peoples. And then especially Verse 4: EVEN if they have been scattered to heaven. In other words, there is no height so high God's people are totally lost. His love and grace reach higher than the heavens. The Psalmist will say:
Psalm 36:5 (ESV) Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.
God will go whatever distance necessary to save what looks like unreachable people. This is why Christian, we share the message of Jesus with everyone without reservation. We never know what God will do with that presentation. He will use it to gather His people into His home.
Then not only does God return them and restore them... He will change their heart. The circumcision of the heart is a New Testament concept introduced here in Deuteronomy to show that this would happen after the resurrection. Consider the Jews at Pentecost who heard Peter and the Apostles proclaiming the glories of God in their own language. Jews who had been scattered all over the world have their hearts cut deeply by Peter's Gospel message. Surely Luke had in mind these promises of God when he was inspired to pen those words:
Acts 2:37 (ESV) Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
When people say the God of the Old Testament is mean and the God of the New Testament is kind it just proves they have never read the Bible themselves. They are getting those talking points from someone else. It's a shame because when we look into these things, we cannot help experience the goodness and grace of our Amazing Father!
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