Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 30:15

See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

15 20. The Peroration to the Discourses

15. Cp. Jer 21:8.

set before thee this day ] Deu 4:8.

life and good, etc.] Cp. Deu 11:26: blessing and curse. For death and evil cp. Deu 4:26, Deu 8:19, etc.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Deu 30:15-20

I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil.

Life and good, death and evil

1. The matter propounded. Life as the end, good as the means leading to life; or else, life, that is, the enjoyment of God; and good, the felicity following it.

2. The manner of proposing. Here is good and evil, life and death, put together, that we may embrace the one and eschew the other. As the poets feign of Hercules when he was young, virtue and vice came to woo and make court to him; virtue, like a sober chaste virgin, offering him labours with praise and renown; vice, like a painted harlot, wooing him with the blandishments of pleasure. The word exciting attention, See; I have done this in order to choice; for so it is, Deu 30:19, Choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live. It is the duty of the faithful servants of the Lord in a lively manner to set before the people life and death as the fruit of good and evil. Our work, the matter of it, and the manner in which we are to propound it to you.

I. The matter: we must set before the people–

1. Life and good.

2. Death and evil. This I shall open in these propositions–First, that there is a distinction between good and evil, vice and virtue. He that doth not acknowledge it is unworthy the name, not only of a Christian, but of a man. Secondly, the matching these two, death and evil, life and good. And here I shall speak–

(1) of the suitableness of the connection between them.

(2) The greatness of both.

(3) The certainty of both these, life and death, as the fruit of good and evil.

II. The manner how this is to be done. It must be set forth with all evidence and conviction as to the reason of men, with all earnestness and affectionate importunity to awaken their affections. Use of exhortation.

1. Suffer us to discharge our duty in this kind (Heb 13:22). Would you have us compound with you, and deceive your souls with a false hope, which will leave you ashamed when you most need the comfort of it? Men would live with the carnal, die with the sincere; therefore suffer us to be earnest with you.

2. The next thing that we exhort you to is to believe the certainty, consider the weight and importance of these truths, that there is a difference between good and evil, that the fruit of the one is death, of the other life; and consider how irrational it is for a man to love death and refuse life. No man in his right wits can make a doubt which to choose. (T. Manton, D. D.)

Life or death

I. The alternative placed before all men. Life or death–good or evil (Psa 106:4-5; 1Co 2:9; Joh 14:1-2; Isa 35:10).

1. A choice must be made. Death decides for us when it comes (Luk 16:22-23; Heb 9:27), and it may come in an hour (Mar 13:35; Mar 13:37).

2. The undecided are really decided against God: therefore against life and good (Joh 5:40; Joh 3:19; 2Ti 3:4-5; Pro 1:24-27).

3. The choice, however made, is final and eternal. On the one hand life, love, and happiness for evermore (Joh 10:28). On the other death and evil eternally (1Sa 2:9; Mat 5:41).

II. The result of decision for God (Heb 6:18-20; 1Ti 6:12).

1. Life (Deu 30:19). First temporal, as under the law (Exo 20:12); then life eternal (Joh 10:10; Joh 14:19; Heb 7:16); for Christ, who is our life, is eternal (Col 3:4).

2. Love (Deu 30:20; 1Jn 4:8; 1Jn 4:16). God is love, therefore if Gods life be in us, as Joh 10:28, then Gods love must also be in us.

3. Obedience, that thou mayest obey His voice (verse 20). Yielding to our Father the obedience of love (2Th 1:8; Rom 1:5; 1Pe 1:2; Jam 1:23).

4. To dwell in the land of promise (verse 20). A shadow of a better land–of an inheritance that fadeth not (Joh 14:1-2; 1Pe 1:4-5). All these blessings resulting from decision for God and good are not for ourselves only, but also for our children (verse 19; Act 2:39).

III. The power of this new life. He is thy life (verse 20). He is the resurrection and the life (Joh 11:25-26). He is the Prince of Life (Act 3:15). With Him is the fountain of life. Hence Christ Himself is the power of the new life (1Jn 5:12). He alone can by His Spirit quicken (Joh 5:26). If therefore we desire the life that never fails, that cannot be dissolved (Heb 7:16), we must come to Him, that, like St. Paul, we too may say, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live: yet not I, but Christ liveth in me (Gal 2:19-20; Joh 14:6; Heb 10:19-20; see also verses 11-14, and Rom 10:4-9). (H. Linton, M. A.)

The good choice

Moses said these words first to Israel. But God says them to each of us, to everyone who has a conscience, a sense of right and wrong, and sense to see he ought to do right and shun wrong. I have heard a great man call this the granite on which all other spiritual beliefs rest, and so it is. It is taken for granted and built, on in all Gods revelation, in all Christs atoning work, in all the Holy Spirits operation. This is a choice we must each make, not, like the fabled one, for once, but day by day, continually. It is the resultant of all our life.

I. This daily endeavour to be holy, to be like Christ, will be a spring of interest which will never fail, when other interests fail with our failing selves.

II. If we choose well, we must end well. If we grow here fit for a better place, pure, kind, hardworking, unselfish, we cannot be a failure.

III. It is not for ourselves only, either here or hereafter, that God bids us choose good. We have got in our keeping the worldly peace of others.

IV. Love to the Redeemer, who died for us and lives for us, is the great spring of all right-doing. Only by the grace of God can we choose good. (A. K. H. Boyd, D. D.)

The law of God sets before us good and evil

I. As a matter of information, to show us the real difference that is between them, and the different consequences which they produce.

1. The Word of God sets before us this difference, in so plain convincing terms that, though we may be perverted by evil, yet it is hard for us to be mistaken. Though God has sent us into this wilderness of a world, where there are many intricate passages to perplex us, and much variety of objects to distract our thoughts, yet He has not left us without a guide, nor Himself without a witness. He has given us His Word, as a perfect rule, by which we shall certainly be tried at last: and therefore by this rule we ought to try our own actions now.

2. Conscience, when it comes to speak for itself, as it will sometimes do, is as convincing as any revelation, and as obliging as any law; it is a witness that will not be silenced, and a judge that cannot be suborned. It is this that makes us look upon some actions with abhorrence, and upon others with delight; and according to this inward relish or disgust so we learn to discover the difference between good and evil, and find that every action of man has an indelible character stamped upon it, by which its value is easy to be known.

II. As an object of your choice. When things of so very different natures are set before us, one would think it an easy matter to be determined. If our notions of good and evil are too weak to work upon us, and hold our minds for some time in suspense; yet surely life and death admit of no dispute. One is the sole delight, and the other the utter abhorrence of our nature, and a powerful instinct within us always inclines us to the better part. What indefatigable pains do we take to gratify our foolish lusts, when with half the pains we might learn to live much happier without them. What violence do we use upon ourselves, to lay our souls and consciences asleep, for fear the beautiful prospect of life should tempt us to be virtuous, or the dismal apparitions of death should affright us from our vice, when half that force employed against our vanities and corruptions would suffice to take heaven itself by violence, and make us forever happy. (C. Hickman, D. D.)

Choose death or life.

The central thought of the text lies in the word choose. The Israelites are on the point of entering the promised land, and Moses entreats them to choose between idolatry and the religion of Jehovah. A similar alternative is before us now.

I. The choice is personal and free. These words which were addressed to Israel as a people, applied to each individual in particular; for the individual alone is free and responsible. To each human being the command is given, Choose. The power of making such a choice is ours, else the words of the text had in them no meaning. It has been said that religion enthralls conscience and thought, and that it must be rejected in the name of liberty. That is false. The Bible, on the contrary, reveals and holds out to us that glorious liberty of the children of God which is inseparable from holiness; and freedom of choice is affirmed in its pages as the primary condition and starting point of our enfranchisement. There can be no more energetic appeal than that contained in the word Choose! But the Bible never separates the idea of liberty from that of responsibility. The liberty of which it tells is that which takes the Divine law as its binding yet not coercive rule. Such a religion is, more than any other, fitted to form strong characters and free nations. Together with human liberty, the Bible teaches that mutual dependence which unites all the sons of Adam, and which we call human solidarity. A thousand influences, over which we have no control, act upon us; yet, however numerous and powerful these may be, they do not affect our liberty. We can resist them, and it is our duty to do so. Again, the Bible speaks of supernatural powers that are brought to bear upon our will, but without enchaining or destroying it. There is an enemy that prowls around you; but if you resist him he will flee from you. You have a God who loves you, but He will not save you against your will. You have a Saviour, but if you will not open your hearts to Him, He will not enter them by force. In relation to God and in relation to Satan, you are free. There is one thing, however, that you are not free to do: you cannot refuse to make your choice. And this choice, whether good or bad, is the one essential business of life.

II. This choice is to be made between two opposite courses. I have set before you life and death. Jesus Christ speaks of the broad and of the narrow way: no middle course or third way. This classification does not exclude certain differences of degree which morally exist between men. In the broad as well as the narrow way various stages may have been reached; but there are only two courses leading to two opposite ends. At this hour you are standing at the Junction of these two ways, but henceforth you shall be walking in one or the other of them. Your destinies will vary infinitely, but all outward diversities are as nothing in comparison of the moral difference which shall result from your personal choice. Each day you will take a step further in either of these two paths; the greater your progress, the riper shall you be for salvation or for condemnation. Whilst this choice is still possible and comparatively easy, choose life!

III. This choice must be made today. In the life of individuals as well as in that of nations there are certain decisive moments that determine their future. Such a time was it when Adam was subjected to the trial that involved issues of such moment for the human family. He chose. He disobeyed, and by the disobedience of one man sin entered into the world. We find such another hour in the life of Jesus. He is tempted in the wilderness. He chooses, and by the obedience of one man we have eternal life. Would you know what a moment of blind folly may cost a family, an individual, a nation? Remember Lot casting a covetous eye on the plain of Sodom; Esau selling his birthright; the Jews shouting: Not this man, but Barabbas; Felix putting off his conversion, Go thy way, and when I have, etc. Would you know, on the contrary, how fruitful in blessing may a moment of fidelity be? Remember Abraham obeying the Divine call; Moses preferring the affliction of his people to the delights of sin; Solomon praying for wisdom; the disciples of Jesus leaving all to follow Him. Will you follow the first of these examples or the last? Choose.

IV. The witnesses of your choice. I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day. The witnesses that surround you are not against you but for you. They are parents, pastors, the Church, the angels. And who can tell if among the invisible witnesses there are not some for whom you mourn! These witnesses might one day rise up against you and exclaim: We were present on such a day, at such an hour, in such a place; the exhortations of the preacher were pressing; the Christian life presented itself to this young man, with its duties, its joys, its sorrows; Jesus was there, ready to forgive the past and–that young man would not! To this outward testimony will be added that of your own conscience: That is true, it will say; you might have decided for God. Oh! how overpowering shall be the confusion of the hardened sinner! There is but one way of escaping it. Choose life today.

V. The consequences of this choice. Blessing or cursing, life or death. Many will find these words too stern. They are Divine. They are logical. The sinner cannot be blessed, else God would cease to be holy. There are two ways open before you. If you choose the straight way you shall be blest in your youth, in your manhood, in your profession, in your family, in your days of joy and of sorrow, in eternity. If you choose the broad way, whatever be your lot here below, you shall not be blest. What shall you become when Christ shall say to you: I know you not! Choose life! (Bonnefon.)

The service of God chosen

I. The service of God is ever a matter of free personal choice. Surely irresistible grace is contrary to Scripture and experience. It reduces religious service to mechanism, and destroys that free-willingness which gives worth to all religious actions. True, that exemption from compulsion is not release from obligation, and that it is mans bounden duty to serve God. To man Gods grace should be indeed irresistible. Yet if man turn from God the responsibility is with man, and not God.

II. Further, the address of Moses demonstrated that the service of God is based upon reasonable considerations. If they turned from God, then upon them would fall His judgments, but if they cleaved unto Him they would know His blessing. Religion is our reasonable service, and careful thought ever leads to the conclusion that to choose God is–

1. To obey conscience;

2. To follow wisdom.

(1) To choose God is to obey conscience. Woe be to man if the voice of conscience he disregards.

(2) To choose God is to follow wisdom. That is demonstrated in the history of Israel, and of every nation and individual. If self is served, server and served are ruined (Pro 3:17).

(3) To choose God is to express the gratitude we should feel towards Him.

III. Lastly, the address of Moses was made forceful by his noble personal example. No desire to please the people led him to qualify his words. The experience of a long life spent in the service of God had convinced him of the glory of Gods service, and from that conviction he would not swerve. (C. E. Walters.)

Choosing life

I. The solemn alternative which is offered to every soul. Now, young people come into life, and as you look forward, it has roseate tints, and there is a natural buoyancy in living by impulse, which is one of Gods best gifts to you, and which I would be the last man to try to darken; but what I would press on you is that life, as it is opening before you, is no pleasure ground, still less a factory, or a shop, or a warehouse, least of all a place for dissipation. But that it is set before every one of you–a tremendous either . . . or, which you have to deal with whether you will or no. You have the alternative of, on the one hand, a life of sense, and on the other hand a life of spirit. Is it to be sense, or is it to be spirit? Is it to be the lower needs of your nature gratified, and the higher ones starved? Is it to be licence or self-control,–which? To gather it all into one, the choice which every son of man has to make is between self and God. Now, mind! it is an alternative; that is to say, you cannot ride the two horses at once. There are plenty of us that try to do that. If we have religion at all it must be the uppermost thing in us, and must rule us. If it does not, we do not really possess it in any measure. Further, let me remind you of the issues which are wrapped up in this sharp alternative. Remember my text: life or death, blessing or cursing, said Moses. You say, Oh, I surely may indulge in these natural requirements of my corporeal nature. Yes! But in electing whether you will live for sense or spirit, for self or God, make clear to yourself that the one is life, the other is death; the one is blessed, the other is cursed. Eternal issues of the gravest sort hang upon your relation to Jesus Christ, and you cannot alter that fact.

II. The need for a deliberate act of decision. An enormous number of us do not live by the deliberate choice of our wills, but are content to take our colour from circumstances, like some lake that, when the sky above it is blue, is all sparkling and sunny, and when the great clouds are drawn over the azure is all dull and sad. So hosts of us have never once deliberately sat down to look realities in the face, or said to ourselves, in regard to the deepest things of our lives, I see these alternatives before me, and here I now, deliberately, make my choice, and take this, and reject that. Circumstances rule us. There are fishes that change the hue of their spots according to the colour of the bed of the stream. How many of you owe your innocence simply to not having been tempted? How many of you are respectable people for no other reason than because you have always lived amongst such, and it is the fashion of your circle to be like that? Now, you cannot get away from the influence of your surroundings, and it is no use trying, but you can determine your attitude to your surroundings. And you can only do that by bringing a resolved will to bear upon them as the result of a deliberate choice. Now, remember that any man who lives by anything else than deliberate choice and resolve is degrading himself by the act. Have you not got reason, judgment, common sense–call it what you like–which is meant to be your pilot? And have you not got a conscience which is meant to be your compass? And what becomes of the ship if the pilot goes to sleep and lashes the helm right away up on one side, and puts a cover over the binnacle where the compass is, and never looks at the chart? Let me remind you, still further, that unless you make for the great things of life, the deliberate choice of the better, part, you have in effect made the disastrous choice of the worse. The policy of drift always ends in ruin for a nation, for an army, for an individual. To go down stream is easy, but there is a Niagara at the far end. You choose the worse when you do not deliberately choose the better. I do not suppose that any of you have deliberately said to yourselves, I do not mean to have anything to do with Jesus Christ, but you have drifted. You have not resolved that you will have something to do with Him. Not choosing, you have chosen. It is that widespread indifference, and not either intellectual or any other kind of opposition to Christianity, that I for one am afraid of, and into which so many of you have fallen. And so there is need for decision. If the Lord be God, follow Him; and if Baal, then follow him.

III. Some reasons why that decision should be made now.

1. I pray you to make choice of Jesus Christ for your Saviour and your King now, because this is your plastic, formative time. The metal is running fluid, as it were, out of the furnace when you are young. Its gets hardened into heavy bars when you get a little older, and it needs a great deal of hammering in order to bring it into other shape than that which it has taken.

2. Let me remind you, too, of another reason for immediate decision–that you need a Guide. Your desires, longings, passions are strong. They were meant to be. Your experience is little. You need a Guide; you will never need Him more. Take Him now.

3. Another reason is, because you will save yourselves from a great deal of pain, and sorrow, and disappointment, and perhaps remorse, if you now begin your life as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

4. And the last reason that I suggest to you is this, that every moment that you put off decision, and every appeal which you leave unobeyed, will make it harder for you if over you do choose Jesus Christ. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)

The choice of life

What an awful alternative–if it were true! Who, where are they who would not choose life, if the choice were really offered them? The martyr has chosen death, but we shudder at the cruel times which have demanded such self-sacrifice; the devotee has chosen death, and chooses it today, but we pity his fanatic faith; the maniac has chosen death, but only because bereft of reason; the suicide is the remaining exception–and his example proves the rule. But this alternative is not true. Life and death, in this physical sense, are not matters of rational choice. We are started on our journey, and spontaneously and rightly we do all that we can to keep in the way until the bodily machinery either breaks down at some weak point, or wears out generally, and all our endeavours are at an end. Duty and instinct compel us in the same direction; there is no choice here. Let us pass from the physical to the spiritual, which is also the scriptural sense. I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil, the blessing and the curse; therefore choose the inner life of goodness on which the blessing is pronounced, and not the inward deadness which destroys your true being. And again we say–What an alternative, if it were true! What a crowning choice–if it were indeed ours! But actual life–spiritual life–this true inward life, cannot be chosen or cast aside at once and forever, with our eyes wide open, and our minds made up, and our wills prepared to take all the consequences–the blessing or the curse. For us life does not concentrate its chances and hazard all its prospects at one only point; it is not even a series of points, at each of which this chance is renewed. It is not a single, nor yet an occasional, game of touch and go. Rather is it an ever-varying, many-winding river, its course now this way, now that; its waters muddy or clear, shallow or deep, at one time swollen and turgid, at another peacefully gliding through quietest scenes–but never at rest, always advancing resistlessly on, and often luring us by its motion into drowsy content. We wend our way through the everydayness of this weekday world attended by associations, painful or pleasant, which touch us at every point, surrounded by interests of varying import, and more numerous than we can name, with our plans in one direction, then new hopes in another–before, behind, on either side is this ever-shifting scenery, this crowded landscape of circumstance, through which we float for evermore–this is what life means to us. Where is there space, or chance, or stopping point for that single choice between two things only, as though all the rest would vanish at a word? This is a very plausible plea, especially for busy men. But however admissible in a general sense, there are several cases which it does not cover. There are times in human experience when the vast difference between these two only things is brought so bluntly before men–when that unlovely blank between what has been and what might be seems to cover so completely their whole horizon, that they are impelled to pull up, to face a choice of two conditions, and to decide abidingly for one or the other. Then the single, final alternative–life or death–is placed before them, and it is, moreover, felt to be absolute and exclusive. When Paul heard the voice say, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? and straightway transformed himself from persecutor to preacher; when Augustine was stayed by the childlike tones chanting, Tolle, lege, and opened at words which to him were salvation; when Bunyan was suddenly stopped at his game by the warning appeal in his heart, Wilt thou leave thy sins and go to heaven, or have thy sins and go to hell? this difference was realised, this alternative accepted. But if these times, in which we are compelled to face an inner alternative, are rare, there are other times, happily less rare, when we are not compelled, but quietly prompted to face our choice. We are not forced, but asked, to look into our hearts. Our better self makes a secret suggestion that all there is not as it might be, that the lower self is allowed far too much prerogative, that one can only triumph by the others fall, and that, in fact, we must know our own mind and say deliberately which it shall be. Choose, whispers the secret voice: shake off all seeming, put away your coloured spectacles of prejudice, strip yourself of every proud thought, whether of wealth or position or ability, lay aside your little worldly triumphs, pray to be shown your transgressions as they truly are; and then look at yourself in the light of heaven, as a child of God. Such a time, surely, is the opening of a New Year. It is no mere return of habit, but a resistless instinct that invests this time with a special significance. A New Year, if it means anything beyond an altered almanac, means new life to everyone amongst us, but it will mean that only so far as we are faithful to our inner light. It may mean, and ought to mean, the awakening of holier desires, the birth of higher ideals, the death or defeat of a whole army of little sins and shallow ways, the oft-convicted traitors to our true being. It may be–let it be–a secret anniversary of the heart on which we take stock of ourselves, clear our accounts if we can, and start afresh. It is indeed a charge upon our weak wills that we need such outward promptings to attempt utterly the thing that is in us to be. The true Christlike life is an even progress towards perfection, not a series of jumps, or starts, or sudden ascents. But so long as our very weakness itself cries out for these helps, so long as these times of renewal are offered to us, let us not pass them by without hearing their message. Take them lest the chain be broken, ere thy pilgrimage be done. (F. K. Freeston.)

Freedom of mans will; or, the great decision

Two orders of men are generally fatalists–the eminently successful and the supereminently unfortunate. The former regard themselves as the children of destiny, for whom a place in the temple of the ages has been prepared, and without whom its glory would be incomplete. To this class belong the Caesars, the Napoleons, and Mahomets, whose wonderful abilities were only equalled by their complacent confidence in their own guiding star. In the ranks of the second are to be found many of those unhappy ones who have failed in lifes battle, with whom everything has fallen out badly, and who have steadily gone from loss to loss, or from crime to crime. Such people seem to derive comfort from the belief that they are the victims of fate; that they too would have succeeded if the Supreme Power had only been propitious; and that, consequently, circumstances or something else beyond their control, and not themselves, are to blame for the disasters attending their career. It is not to be denied that there is much in the philosophical speculations and the religious creeds of mankind to encourage such opinions. In India, in Greece, in Arabia, as well as among Western nations, the most ancient faiths affirmed the doctrine of necessity. Back of gods and men, and above them, in the Greek mythology reigned the unspeakable and unchangeable Fates, to whom the oppressed, like Prometheus, could appeal, and on whose final decisions everything from Olympus down to Hades absolutely depended. Buddha, also, and with him the wisest Eastern sages, regarded the race as practically in bondage to a Sovereign Soul, and as sweeping along a preordained course to its final goal. He had no logical place in his system for will-freedom, and was as far from doing justice to its phenomena as Spinoza or Mr. Buckle. This, however, is not the doctrine of the Scriptures. The Bible not only directly affirms the moral liberty of Gods intelligent creatures, but its entire revelation proceeds on the assumption that they are free to choose. Edens garden and the Fall lose their significance unless Adam was free. So when we come to study redemption the Bible does not hesitate to teach that its efficacy depends on the volition of the sinner, and that he is really able to accept or reject eternal life. On what other hypothesis can such passages as these be explained: See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil. The material universe which He has made cannot but obey His law. From age to age, and through all dispensations, the sun rises and sets, the stars peep out at night, the seasons come and go in their order, and the tides of the sea throb and surge with an exactness and regularity which precludes the possibility of derangement. Not one of these ponderous orbs or these Titanic forces has chosen the service which it renders. Blind, unknowing, uncaring, winds and waves below, and planet and constellation above, apply themselves to their allotted work. No wonder that a heart like the heart of God, full of fatherhood and brotherhood, should yearn to develop, among these enthralled masses an order of service different from theirs–a service that should be freely offered and which should be preferred beyond all others. The guilty must choose to be saved, and must choose to be saved in the way acceptable to the Almighty. Doubtless this interpretation of the Bible will to some minds be regarded as incompatible with what it seems to teach concerning Gods sovereignty. Unquestionably there is an appearance of contradiction; and yet I do not think it is as serious as many suppose. We know that even among men a great many wills come into play, and that frequently they coincide without infringing on each other; and why may not the same be possible on the part of the Creator and the creature? But when we meditate on this subject we should remember that we tread the borderland of two worlds–the natural and the supernatural–and that, like all other domains, it is next to impossible to tell how and where they flow into each other. Scientists find it difficult to trace the exact boundaries between the vegetable and animal kingdoms; they cannot tell exactly where the one ends and the other begins, and neither can they explain how and why they interpenetrate each other. Psychologists are equally perplexed. They are constrained to admit the relations between mind and brain to be inexplorable. No one can successfully deny the movement of history in which the Divine has been manifest in the human–as in the Incarnation, the founding of Christianity, and in those surprising providences which have vindicated right and confounded wrong–and yet no one can explain their harmony with the human, or prove that they in any way intrenched upon its freedom. The meeting place is veiled from us. Neither can we see in the application of redemption where these twain meet, how they interact on each other, and how they do so without limiting the power of the one or controlling the freedom of the other. Contact and interpenetration here is like contact and interpenetration in other departments of Gods wonderful cosmos, an unsearchable mystery, a mist-covered ocean, where only wreck awaits us if we insist on braving its darkness. Were not the Scriptures as decisive as they are on this general subject, I should be inclined to the doctrine already set forth by considerations of the weightiest character. What these are I shall briefly set before you, that you may be delivered from the illusions of modern fatalism, if unhappily you have been caught in their wiles. I would first of all remind you that some of the profoundest philosophers, such as Kant, Jacobi, and Hamilton, contend that consciousness is the most reliable witness of what we are, and that it testifies to our moral freedom. Analyse your own nature, and see whether it does not confirm the report which these thinkers give of its dignity. Do you not find that it discriminates between the voluntary and the involuntary, and that it attaches responsibility to the one and irresponsibility to the other? Let any man look within himself, and he will hear many voices declaring that he is free. Conscience, as it reproves him for wrong-doing, says, or there is no meaning in its voice, Thou art free; Remorse, dogging his footsteps and driving him from place to place, thunders in his ear, or his terror is absurd, Thou art free; Deliberation, as it ponders two paths and balances the reasons in favour of each, whispers distinctly, or this care and forethought are superfluous, Thou art free; and Desire, as it sways him and develops in his soul fierce contests with convictions of right or of prudence, proclaims above the battle, Thou art free! Thus he has the witness in himself, and if he doubts its reliability he may easily satisfy it by appealing from within to without. What says society, what say its leaders, what its members? Hegel, having taken a comprehensive view of humanity as revealed in history, gives utterance to the profound sentiment: Freedom is the essence of spirit, as gravitation is the essence of matter. That is, there could be no spirit without freedom, even as there could be no matter without gravitation. Society is organised on this principle. Its laws, its duties, its penalties, its censures and its praises, all centre in and derive their significance from the firm belief that whatever else man may or may not be, he is free. And the course of history, which influenced the thought of Hegel, confirms this judgment. It is seen that no mechanical theory, no doctrine of averages and of hard necessity, can be reconciled with its singular and eccentric movements, or its surprising and revolutionary changes. This Mr. Froude has clearly and admirably set forth in a paper reviewing Mr. Buckle. In opposition to that gentlemans so called Science of History, Froude reminds us that the first result of real science is the power of foresight, that when knowledge on any subject is systematised we can as accurately speak of its future as of its past. Thus, because astronomy is a true science, we can calculate eclipses and anticipate the most striking occurrences. But, he argues, when we come to the field of human endeavour certainty disappears, and we cannot tell what man will do tomorrow. He insists that such phenomena as Buddhism and Mohammedanism could not have been foretold, and he adds: Could Tacitus have looked forward nine centuries to the Rome of Gregory VII, could he have beheld the representative of the majesty of all the Caesars holding the stirrup of the Pontiff of that vile and execrated sect, the spectacle would scarcely have appeared to him the fulfilment of a rational expectation or an intelligible result of the causes in operation around him. We cannot anticipate the future of the world. Our soberest calculations may be deranged in a moment, and some unforeseen circumstances may frustrate all our expectations. Why? Why can we not as accurately predict the social convulsion that may be as the eclipse which cannot fail to be? Because in the domain of the stars there is no volition, while in that of history liberty of will is a controlling force. The freedom of mans will is vitally associated with the idea of morality. They are inseparable. Kant has exerted himself to show that they stand or fall together, and enters with so much zeal upon his task that he sometimes makes them appear synonymous. He says, We have now reduced the Idea of Morality to that of Freedom of Will, and in another place he writes, Autonomy of Will is the alone foundation of Morality. Hamilton likewise, following the sage of Koningsberg, declares that virtue involves liberty; that the possibility of morality depends on the possibility of liberty; for if man be not a free agent he is not the author of his actions, and has therefore no responsibility – nor moral responsibility – at all. In opposition to this position we find Spencer (Data of Ethics, p. 127)

asserting that the sense of duty or moral obligation is transitory; and he has certainly allowed no permanent place for it in his system. Now, I agree that we find here one of the strongest reasons for upholding the doctrine of free will. Under the declining sense of its truthfulness the colour and meaning are disappearing from the idea of duty. Indeed, we rarely hear a word now about duty but endless talk about rights. We are ready to fight and contend for rights; but, alas! our zeal for duties groweth cold. I insist on this doctrine, as it is the key to mans greatness. It shows that he is endowed with a wonderful and real power of conquering what to the faint hearted seems the unconquerable. Hamilton teaches that man is capable of carrying the law of duty into effect in opposition to solicitations, the impulsions of his material nature; and he declares that liberty is capable of resisting and conquering the counteraction of our animal nature. Kant likewise says: The instincts of mans physical nature give birth to obstacles which hinder and impede him in the execution of his duty. They are, in fact, mighty opposing forces which he has to go forth and encounter. What a grand conception is here presented of the will striving with inner enemies and overcoming their hostility. And if it can subdue inner foes, can it not resist and repel outer antagonists? I do not claim that your volition can change your nature, but I do claim that you are accountable for it, as your volition decides whether your nature shall be brought within the influence of heavens grace or not. Mere volition never built a ship, or a house, won a battle, or accomplished a voyage; and neither did it ever sanctify a soul. There is a difference between will and power. The will to be saved is of man, the power is of God. But whosoever wills cannot fail to find the power; for He has promised to confer on all such the water of life freely. For your choice, then, you are accountable, and your eternal destinies hang on your volition. (G. Lorimer, D. D.)

The offer of life and death

I. The two courses specified. Life and good, and death and evil. We shall take the latter first; that is, death and evil. Now, we observe–

1. That this is the course in which all men are involved by nature and practice.

2. This state is one of extreme wretchedness and misery.

3. It is only the shadow of the woes which await the sinner in the eternal world. Now, that is the dark side of the text.

Let us look at the other course specified, life and good.

1. Life is presented to us. For we are already dead, and life is the first essential blessing we need. Now, the life offered to us is–

(1) Freedom from the sentence of death.

(2) Regeneration of spirit.

2. Good is also presented to us. The favour of God the chief good; the love of God in the soul; the good providence of God; the good promises of God; the good enjoyments of God; and last of all, in eternity, pure unmixed good forever and ever–fulness of joy.

II. These things are set before us.

1. Where are they set before us?

(1) In the Word of God. In the Law, in the Prophets, the Gospels, Epistles, etc.

(2) In the ministry of the Gospel. See the great commission: it is to publish these great truths.

(3) In the influence of Gods truth on the conscience. Do you not feel an internal something speaking to you, etc., warning, etc.?

2. For what are they set before us?

(1) For our solemn consideration.

(2) For our own determination and choice.

Application–

1. The way of life and good is easy and free to you all. Repentance towards God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. God is the willing Saviour of all men

2. None can perish but those who willingly choose death and evil. Every lost soul has destroyed itself.

3. The necessity of now choosing life and good. Did you ever know the diseased man to choose death; the condemned man, the shipwrecked man, etc.? (J. Burns, D. D.)

Life

I. What is life and who is the author of it?

1. The life spoken of here is three fold.

(1) Natural, which consists in the union of the soul and body.

(2) Spiritual, which consists in the union of Christ and the soul.

(3) Eternal, which consists in the communion of the soul and body with the Triune God through eternity.

2. God alone is the Author of this life, for–

(1) It is He who hath made us, and not we ourselves.

(2) He infuses the Spirit of His Son in our hearts, and He is life.

(3) By His grace and power He supports and brings believers to eternal life.

II. What is implied in this life?

1. Knowledge.

2. Feeling.

3. Tasting.

4. Movement.

5. Speech.

6. Hearing. All faculties exercised in Gods service.

III. How are we to obtain spiritual and eternal life?

1. Through Jesus Christ.

2. Patient continuance in well-doing, watching, praying, fasting, etc. (W. Stevens.)

The blessing and the curse

These words were spoken by Moses to all the Israelites shortly before his death. He had told them that they owed all to God Himself; that God had delivered them out of slavery in Egypt; God had led them to the land of Canaan; God had given them just laws and right statutes, which if they kept they would live long in their new home, and become a great and mighty nation. Then he calls heaven and earth to witness that he had set before them life and death, blessing and cursing. If they trusted in the one true God, and served Him, and lived as men should, then a blessing would come on them and their children, on their flocks and herds, on their land and all in it. But if they forgot God, and began to worship the sun and the moon, then they would die; they would grow superstitious, cowardly, lazy, and profligate, and therefore weak and miserable, like the wretched Canaanites whom they were going to drive out; and then they would die. Then he says–I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. He called heaven and earth to witness. That was no empty figure of speech. If you will recollect the story of the Israelites you will see plainly enough what Moses meant. The heaven would witness against them. The same stars which would look down on their freedom and prosperity in Canaan had looked down on all their slavery and misery in Egypt, hundreds of years before. They would seem to say–Just as the heavens above you are the same, wherever you go, and whatever you are like, so is the God who dwells above the heaven: unchangeable, everlasting, faithful, and true, full of light and love, from whom comes down every good and perfect gift, in whom is neither variableness nor shadow of turning. Do you turn to Him continually, and as often as you turn away from Him: and you shall find Him still the same; governing you by unchangeable law, keeping His promise forever. And the earth would witness against them. That fair land of Canaan whither they were going, with its streams and wells spreading freshness and health around; its rich corn valleys, its uplands covered with vines, its sweet mountain pastures, a very garden of the Lord, cut off and defended from all the countries round by sandy deserts and dreary wildernesses; that land would be a witness to them, at their daily work, of Gods love and mercy to their forefathers. The ruins of the old Canaanite cities would be a witness to them, and say–Because of their sins the Lord drove out these old heathens from before you. Copy their sins, and you will share their ruin. Does not the heaven above our heads, and the earth beneath our feet, witness against us here? Do they not say to us–God has given you life and blessing? If you throw that away, and choose instead death and a curse, it is your own fault, not Gods. Look at the heaven above us. Does not that witness against us? Has it not seen, for now fifteen hundred years and more, Gods goodness to us, and to our forefathers? All things have changed: language, manners, customs, religion. We have changed our place, as the Israelites did; and dwell in a different land from our forefathers: but that sky abides forever. The same sun, that moon, those stars shone down upon our heathen forefathers, when the Lord chose them, and brought them out of the German forests into this good land of England, that they might learn to worship no more the sun, and the moon, and the storm, and the thunder cloud, but to worship Him, the living God, who made all heaven and earth. And shall not the earth witness against us? Look round upon this noble English land. Why is it net, as many a land far richer in soil and climate is now, a desolate wilderness; the land lying waste, and few men left in it, and those who are left robbing and murdering each other, every mans hand against his fellow, till the wild beasts of the field increase upon them? Why but because the Lord set before our forefathers life and death, blessing and cursing; and our forefathers chose life, and lived; and it was well with them in the land which God gave to them, because they chose blessing, and God blessed them accordingly? In spite of many mistakes and shortcomings–for they were sinful mortal men, as we are–they chose life and a blessing; and clave unto the Lord their God, and kept His covenant; and they left behind, for us their children, these churches, these cathedrals, for an everlasting sign that the Lord was with us, as He had been with them, and would be with our children after us. And then when one reads the history of England; when one thinks over the history of any one city, even one country parish; above all, when one looks into the history of ones own foolish heart: one sees how often, though God has given us freely life and blessing, we have been on the point of choosing death and the curse instead; of saying–We will go our own way, and not Gods way. The land is ours, not Gods; our souls are our own, not Gods. We are masters, and who is master over us? That is the way to choose death, and the curse, shame and poverty and ruin; and how often we have been on the point of choosing it? What has saved us from ruin? I know not, unless it be for this one reason, that into that heaven which witnesses against us the merciful and loving Christ is ascended; that He is ever making intercession for us. Yes. He ascended on high, that He might send down His Holy Spirit; and that Spirit is among us, working patiently and lovingly in many hearts–would that I could say in all–giving men right judgment; putting good desires into their hearts, and enabling them to put them into good practice. (C. Kingsley, M. A.)

Choosing life or death

I. The personal and free character of the choice to be made. The religion of the Bible is the religion of liberty. I know of no bolder affirmation of the free will than that which is contained in my text. But the Bible never separates the idea of liberty from that of responsibility; the liberty of which it speaks is that which takes the law of God as its rule, not coercive but obligatory, and of which we shall have to give an account on the judgment day.

II. Free and personal choice is between two parties, between two opposite directions. Two, said I; not three, nor a greater number. I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Thus also the Lord Jesus speaks of two ways, the narrow way and the broad way; and in the picture He draws of the last judgment He calls some blessed, and the others cursed; nowhere does He speak of an intermediate class. This moral dualism runs through the whole of Scripture.

III. Now is the time to choose. Would you know how much an hour of blindness, of impiety, may involve of malediction for an individual, a family, a nation?–Remember Esau selling his birthright, and afterwards shedding useless and bitter tears on the consequences of his shameful bargain; the Jews crying in blind fury, Not this man, but Barabbas; the governor Felix, placed by providence in contact with St. Paul, and putting a stop to conversation which troubles him, by the plea in bar so common and fatal, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season I will call for thee. Would you know, on the contrary, how fruitful in blessings may be one hour of fidelity, one generous and heroic choice?–Remember Abraham, obedient to the Divine calling and deserving to be called the father of the faithful; Moses, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. The decisive hour has come.

IV. The witnesses of the choice. Our text tells us of witnesses, sublime though speechless, heaven and earth: I call heaven and earth to record against you, says the Lord. Faithful to the Spirit of the New Covenant, we shall tell you that the witnesses you are surrounded by are not against you, but for you. Those witnesses are, in the first place, parents who ardently desire to see their children walk faithfully in the ways of the Lord; ministers, whose greatest joy would be to see you walking in the ways of piety and truth; the Church that presents you to God as its fondest hope; the holy angels who rejoice over every sinner who repents and gives himself truly to God.

V. The consequences of the choice. Blessing or cursing; life or death. If you choose life you shall be blessed. You shall be blessed in your youth and in your manhood; blessed in your career, be it long or short, obscure or brilliant; blessed in your family, present and future; blessed in your successes and in your reverses; blessed in your joys and in your griefs. At the end Christ will place you amongst those to whom He will say, Come, ye blessed of My Father, etc. If you do not choose life, I know not what may be your lot on earth. One thing is certain–you shall not be blessed. What will you do when, to all those who will not have done the will of His Father, He will say, I know you not? It does not behove me to decide what will be the end of such a way, the result of such a choice, but you have heard those two words of my text, Cursing! Death! Choose life! (C. Babut, B. D.)

The decisive choice

I. I call heaven and earth to record against you, says Moses. This was no idle rhetorical formula. The open sky over his head was the witness and pledge of permanence, the sign that in the midst of perpetual change there is that which abides. The earth at his feet had been given to man that he might dress it and keep it, and bring food for his race out of it. The one said to man, Thou art meant to look above thyself. Only in doing so canst thou find endurance, illumination, life. The other said, Thou art meant to work here. Thou must put forth an energy which is not in me, or I will not yield thee my fruits.

II. But Moses says, I have set before thee life and death, etc. There is no hint given to the Israelite upon which he can build a dream of security; he is warned in the most fearful language against forgetting the things his eyes had seen. But all the terrible warnings and prophecies of what he and his descendants may do hereafter imply that he is in a blessed condition, and that they will be.

III. And therefore he goes on, choose life. Say deliberately to thyself, I do not mean to give up the ground on which I am standing. God has placed me on it; all that is contrary to God will not prevail against God, and therefore need not prevail against me. Choose life is still the command at all times.

IV. The great reward of choosing life is, that thou mayest love the Lord thy God, etc. The growth of love and knowledge is always proclaimed in Scripture as the reward and prize of a man who walks in the way in which God has set him to walk, who chooses life, and not death.

V. That it may go well with thee and with thy seed after thee. The great lesson that the fathers are to teach their children is, that God will be the present and living Guide of each succeeding race as much as He has been of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (F. D. Maurice, M. A.)

For He is thy life, and the length of thy days.

The God of our life

I. Upon what account is God said to be our life?

1. God gives life. He is the Author and Fountain of our being. All living creatures have their life from God (Act 17:25; Psa 104:30); but especially man (Isa 42:5), who is the object of His peculiar care.

2. God maintains life. Life in man is like a lamp kindled, which wastes and consumes, and will be soon extinguished, without fresh supplies of oil. And this supply is from God, who doth not only light the lamp at first, but keeps it burning. How liberal is God to the benefit and comfort of man; other creatures die that we may live.

3. God preserves life. He doth not only maintain and keep it from inward wasting, by daily supplies, but doth also preserve and keep it from outward dangers in daily protections. He holdeth our soul in life (Psa 66:9). His daily visitation preserveth our spirits (Job 10:12).

4. God sweetens life. We have not only life from Him, but all the comforts of life, which tend to make life pleasant and delightful; and without which it would be little better than a continuing death.

5. God prolongs life. Long life is very frequently in Scripture spoken of as a special gift of God.

6. God restores life. Elijah, Elisha, Christ, and His apostles, have done it. And He will do it for all mankind at the general resurrection at the great day (Joh 11:25; 1Co 15:42; 1Th 4:16; Joh 5:26-28).

7. God is the sovereign Lord of life. The life of all the creatures is entirely at the disposal of the living God.

II. The explication and illustration of such truths as those doth all aim at the application of them. What fruit, then, may we gather from this tree of life?

1. The greatness and goodness of God. If God be our life, then He is a great God.

2. The wisdom and happiness of the saints. Their wisdom, to choose this God to be theirs, and to be solicitous to keep themselves in His favour.

3. The evil of sin, and misery of sinners.

Exhortation–

1. Own and acknowledge your dependence upon God.

2. Make God your friend, and be very careful also to keep yourself in His love. (Matthew Henry.)

.

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 15. Life and good] Present and future blessings.

Death and evil] Present and future miseries: termed, De 30:19, Life and death, blessing and cursing. And why were these set before them?

1. That they might comprehend their import.

2. That they might feel their importance.

3. That they might choose life, and the path of believing, loving obedience, that led to it.

4. That they and their posterity, thus choosing life and refusing evil, might be the favourites of God in time and eternity.

Were there no such thing as free will in man, who could reconcile these sayings either with sincerity or common sense? God has made the human will free, and there is no power or influence either in heaven, earth, or hell, except the power of God, that can deprive it of its free volitions; of its power to will and nill, to choose and refuse, to act or not act or force it to sin against God. Hence man is accountable for his actions, because they are his; were he necessitated by fate, or sovereign constraint, they could not be his. Hence he is rewardable, hence he is punishable. God, in his creation, willed that the human creature should be free, and he formed his soul accordingly; and the Law and Gospel, the promise and precept, the denunciation of wo and the doctrine of eternal life, are all constructed on this ground; that is, they all necessarily suppose the freedom of the human will: nor could it be will if it were not free, because the principle of freedom or liberty is necessarily implied in the idea of volition. See on the fifth chapter and 29th verse. See Clarke on De 5:29

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Life and good, i.e. a good or a happy life; a figure called heniaduo: or, life, and all the blessings of life, as good is oft used, as Job 7:7; Psa 4:6; 128:5; Ecc 2:24; 4:8; 6:3.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

15-20. See, I have set before theethis day life and good, and death and evilthe alternative of agood and happy, or a disobedient and miserable life. Love of God andcompliance with His will are the only ways of securing the blessingsand avoiding the evils described. The choice was left to them, and inurging upon them the inducements to a wise choice, Moses warmed as heproceeded into a tone of solemn and impressive earnestness similar tothat of Paul to the elders of Ephesus (Act 20:26;Act 20:27).

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

See, I have set before thee this day,…. Moses here returns to press the Israelites to the present observance of the laws, statutes, and judgments of one sort and another, he had been delivering to them; as being of great moment and importance to them, no other than

life and good, and death and evil; which are the effects and consequences of obedience and disobedience to them; a happy temporal life, and a continuance of it in the good land of Canaan, and an enjoyment of the blessings and good things thereof to them that are obedient; for not spiritual and eternal life, or spiritual blessings and everlasting happiness, are to be had by man’s obedience to the law of works, only through Christ, through his obedience, righteousness, sufferings, and death; see Ga 3:21; so temporal death, or a cutting short of natural life in the promised land, and evil things, calamities, and distresses, or a deprivation of all the good things of it to the disobedient; see Isa 1:19.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

In conclusion, Moses sums up the contents of the whole of this preaching of the law in the words, “life and good, and death and evil,” as he had already done at Deu 11:26-27, in the first part of this address, to lay the people by a solemn adjuration under the obligation to be faithful to the Lord, and through this obligation to conclude the covenant afresh. He had set before them this day life and good (“ good ” = prosperity and salvation), as well as death and evil ( , adversity and destruction), by commanding them to love the Lord and walk in His ways. Love is placed first, as in Deu 6:5, as being the essential principle of the fulfilment of the commandments. Expounding the law was setting before them life and death, salvation and destruction, because the law, as the word of God, was living and powerful, and proved itself in every man a power of life or of death, according to the attitude which he assumed towards it (vid., Deu 32:47). , to permit oneself to be torn away to idolatry (as in Deu 4:19).

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

      15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;   16 In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.   17 But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;   18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.   19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:   20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

      Moses here concludes with a very bright light, and a very strong fire, that, if possible, what he had been preaching of might find entrance into the understanding and affections of this unthinking people. What could be said more moving, and more likely to make deep and lasting impressions? The manner of his treating with them is so rational, so prudent, so affectionate, and every way so apt to gain the point, that it abundantly shows him to be in earnest, and leaves them inexcusable in their disobedience.

      I. He states the case very fairly. He appeals to themselves concerning it whether he had not laid the matter as plainly as they could wish before them. 1. Every man covets to obtain life and good, and to escape death and evil, desires happiness and dreads misery. “Well,” says he, “I have shown you the way to obtain all the happiness you can desire and to avoid all misery. Be obedient, and all shall be well, and nothing amiss.” Our first parents ate the forbidden fruit, in hopes of getting thereby the knowledge of good and evil; but it was a miserable knowledge they got, of good by the loss of it, and of evil by the sense of it; yet such is the compassion of God towards man that, instead of giving him to his own delusion, he has favoured him by his word with such a knowledge of good and evil as will make him for ever happy if it be not his own fault. 2. Every man is moved and governed in his actions by hope and fear, hope of good and fear of evil, real of apparent. “Now,” says Moses, “I have tried both ways; if you will be either drawn to obedience by the certain prospect of advantage by it, or driven to obedience by the no less certain prospect of ruin in case you be disobedient–if you will be wrought upon either way, you will be kept close to God and your duty; but, if you will not, you are utterly inexcusable.” Let us, then, hear the conclusion of the whole matter. (1.) If they and theirs would love God and serve him, they should live and be happy, v. 16. If they would love God, and evidence the sincerity of their love by keeping his commandments–if they would make conscience of keeping his commandments, and do it from a principle of love–then God would do them good, and they should be as happy as his love and blessing could make them. (2.) If they or theirs should at any time turn from God, desert his service, and worship other gods this would certainly be their ruin, Deu 30:17; Deu 30:18. Observe, It is not for every failure in the particulars of their duty that ruin is threatened, but for apostasy and idolatry: though every violation of the command deserved the curse, yet the nation would be destroyed by that only which is the violation of the marriage covenant. The purport of the New Testament is much the same; this, in like manner, sets before us life and death, good and evil; He that believes shall be saved; he that believes not shall be damned, Mark xvi. 16. And this faith includes love and obedience. To those who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory, honour, and immortality, God will give eternal life. But to those that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness (and so, in effect, worship other gods and serve them), will be rendered the indignation and wrath of an immortal God, the consequence of which must needs be the tribulation and anguish of an immortal soul, Rom. ii. 7-9.

      II. Having thus stated the case, he fairly puts them to their choice, with a direction to them to choose well. He appeals to heaven and earth concerning his fair and faithful dealing with them, v. 19. They could not but own that whatever was the issue he had delivered his soul; therefore, that they might deliver theirs, he bids them choose life, that is, choose to do their duty, which would be their life. Note, 1. Those shall have life that choose it: those that choose the favour of God and communion with him for their felicity, and prosecute their choice as they ought, shall have what they choose. 2. Those that come short of life and happiness must thank themselves; they would have had it if they had chosen it when it was put to their choice: but they die because they will die; that is, because they do not like the life promised upon the terms proposed.

      III. In the last verse, 1. He shows them, in short, what their duty is, to love God, and to love him as the Lord, a Being most amiable, and as their God, a God in covenant with them; and, as an evidence of this love, to obey his voice in every thing, and by a constancy in this love and obedience to cleave to him, and never to forsake him in affection or practice. 2. He shows them what reason there was for this duty, inconsideration, (1.) Of their dependence upon God: He is thy life, and the length of thy days. He gives life, preserves life, restores life, and prolongs it by his power though it is a frail life, and by his patience though it is a forfeited life: he sweetens life with his comforts, and is the sovereign Lord of life; in his hand our breath is. Therefore we are concerned to keep ourselves in his love; for it is good having him our friend, and bad having him our enemy. (2.) Of their obligation to him for the promise of Canaan made to their fathers and ratified with an oath. And, (3.) Of their expectations from him in performance of that promise: “Love God, and serve him, that thou mayest dwell in that land of promise which thou mayest be sure he can give, and uphold to thee who is thy life and the length of thy days.” All these are arguments to us to continue in love and obedience to the God of our mercies.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

Verses 15-20:

Compare verses 15, 16 with Deu 11:26-28.

Compare verse 17 with Deu 4:19.

Compare verse 18 with Deu 4:26.

The text affirms the principle of man’s free will. God does not regard man as a puppet to move when a string is pulled, or a robot to respond to a pre-planned program. Man has a will, to choose for himself what he will do. God places before man both life and death, good and evil. Man determines his own response and choice between the two.

Choose to obey God’s commandments, and good and life are the results. Choose to disobey God’s commandments, and evil and death are the results. Israel had this choice under the Law; people today have this same choice, under the direction of the Holy Spirit.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

15. See, I have set before thee this day. A solemn injunction, similar to the foregoing ones, that the Israelites should consider how inestimable a blessing it was that God should have condescended to deposit His Law with them; and that if they did not receive it with reverence, the punishments for such foul ingratitude would be by no means light. For, in order to deprive them of the pretext of error, He separates them from the heathen nations, which through ignorance of the right way vacillated, as in uncertainty, between life and death. He says, therefore, that He has set before their eyes life, and that indeed connected with true and complete happiness; and likewise death with its consequences. Now, there is no one who, under the guidance of nature, would not seek for life and recoil from death; and thence Moses reproaches them with being more than senseless if they should plunge voluntarily into all miseries. Meanwhile, he signifies that he is not addressing to them mere idle menaces, but that his doctrine is armed with the power of God, so that whosoever should embrace it would find salvation in it, whilst none would despise it with impunity. The distribution of the two clauses then follows, viz., that the love of God and the keeping of His Law is prescribed that they may live; but if they turn away from it, their destruction is denounced. It is not, then, without reason that I have called the promises and threats the Sanctions of the Law, because, in order that its authority may be assured to us, it is necessary that both the recompence of obedience, and also the punishment of transgression, should be set before us. By the worship of other gods, he means every revolt from God, as I have observed already. He does not speak of their being “drawn away” to superstition as an excuse for their instability, but rather as an aggravation of their crime, inasmuch as they are carried away by their depraved desires, (287) and thus desert the truth of God when well acquainted with it.

(287) Addition in Fr. , “comme d’un tourbillon;” as by a whirlpool.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

5. FINAL ENCOURAGEMENT TO CHOOSE THE PATH OF BLESSING RATHER THAN THE CURSE (Deu. 30:15-20)

15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; 16 in that I command thee this day to love Jehovah thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, that thou mayest live and multiply, and that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in the land whither thou goest in to possess it. 17 But if thy heart turn away, and thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; 18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish; ye shall not prolong your days in the land, whither thou passest over the Jordan to go in to possess it. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore choose life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed; 20 to love Jehovah thy God, to obey his voice, and to cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days; that thou mayest dwell in the land which Jehovah sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 30:1520

530.

It hardly seems possible that anyone would knowingly choose death and evil. There must be another factor, What is it?

531.

How much of life is suspended on the one word obedience. And yet another factor must be present before we are willing to obey. What is it?

532.

Could the Israelites have said, for me to live is Jehovah? Specifically how was this true?

AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 30:1520

15 See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil.
16 [If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which] I command you today, to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances, then you shall live and multiply and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.
17 But if your [mind and] heart turn away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them,
18 I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish, and you shall not live long in the land which you pass over the Jordan to enter and possess.
19 I call Heaven and earth to witness this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live;
20 To love the Lord your God, to obey His voice, and to cling to Him; for He is your life, and the length of your days, that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

COMMENT 30:1520

Do not these verses practically summarize the whole story of Deuteronomy? Again and again Moses has made these points: Blessings when you love, obey and observeinnumerable, excruciating hardships and curses if you do not. And as we have seen in exhortation after exhortation, this life meant their very existence as a nation. Prosperity, strength, health, hopeall gained or lost depending on their obedience or disobedience.

Very literally for them and for us God . . . is thy lifethe source of all life, physical and spiritual. If, then they would have life, the Lifesource must be heeded, Deu. 30:19. And so it is with our Lifesource, Joh. 1:4; Joh. 11:25-26; Joh. 14:6, 1Jn. 5:20.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

15-20. Choose life In striking expressions Moses summarizes his teachings. Life is connected with their obedience, death with their disobedience.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

The Choice Is Put To Them Between Life and Death ( Deu 30:15-20 ).

Analysis using the words of Moses:

a See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil, in that I command you this day to love Yahweh your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances, that you may live and multiply, and that Yahweh your God may bless you in the land to which you are going in to possess it (Deu 30:15-16).

b But if your heart turn away, and you will not hear, but shall be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them, I denounce to you this day, that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land, to which you pass over the Jordan to go in to possess it (Deu 30:17-18).

b I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore choose life, that you may live, you and your seed (Deu 30:19).

a To love Yahweh your God, to obey His voice, and to cleave to Him, for He is your life, and the length of your days, that you may dwell in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them (Deu 30:20).

Note in ‘a’ that the choice between life and death, and good and evil, has been put before them and they are commanded to love Yahweh their God and obey Him so that they might live an multiply, and so that Yahweh their God might bless them in the land which they are going in to possess, and in the parallel they are to love Him and obey Him and cleave to Him so that they might enjoy possession of the land promised to their fathers of old. In ‘b’ if their heart turn away from God and His word then he is the witness that they will surely perish, and in the parallel heaven and earth are called in as witnesses to the fact that he has given them the choice of life or death, blessing or cursing. Thus must they ensure that they choose life by responding fully to Yahweh and obeying Him as His covenant people.

Deu 30:15-16

‘ See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil, in that I command you this day to love Yahweh your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, that you may live and multiply, and that Yahweh your God may bless you in the land to which you are going in to possess it.’

And this commandment which he had commanded them set before them ‘life and good, and death and evil’. For they could choose either to love Yahweh and walk in His ways and keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances, or not. And if they did choose to follow Yahweh then they would live and multiply, and receive blessing from Yahweh their God in the land which they were about to enter and possess. They would receive all the good and the blessings which He had promised. But if they did not only evil and death awaited.

The choice rests with us too. We also must decide whether we will serve Him and wholly follow Him, or whether we will side with those who ignore Him and refuse to listen to what He has to say to them, living for the things of the moment and forgetting eternity.

In Scripture we have a constant reminder to us that there are two sides to God’s workings. On the one hand He carries out His will and none may deny Him, He carries forward His purposes whatever man may do. It is He Who circumcises our hearts. That is His side of things. And on the other He calls on man to choose Whom he will serve. That is our side of things. We must circumcise out hearts, by submitting to Him and allowing Him to circumcise them. The sheep may hear and follow, and that is what they must seek to do, but it is the Shepherd Who draws them. In the end His will and man’s choosing are but two sides of the same coin, with His side predominant.

Deu 30:17-18

‘ But if your heart turn away, and you will not hear, but shall be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them, I denounce to you this day, that you (ye) shall surely perish; you (ye) shall not prolong your days in the land, to which you (thou) pass over the Jordan to go in to possess it.’

But there was an alternative to life. The alternative of choosing death and evil happenings as described in the cursings. For if their hearts turned away and they refused to hear, because they were being drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, then he, Moses, could only denounce them. He could only stress that they would surely perish, that their days would not be long in the land that they were passing over Jordan to enter and possess it, that they would endure all the judgments that he has described.

Deu 30:19

‘ I call heaven and earth to witness against you (ye) this day, that I have set before you (thee) life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore choose life, that you (thou) may live, you (thou) and your (they) seed.’

Indeed he closed this section by calling on heaven and earth as witnesses. We can compare this with Deu 4:26 where the witness was to the effect of what would follow disobedience described in terms similar to verse 18. But now there was a choice, a choice between life and death, between the blessing and cursing that he had described in Deuteronomy 28, and they could choose either. And he called on them to choose life and the gracious activity of God that would go with it (compare Jos 24:14-24; Jer 8:3; Jer 21:8).

Calling on heave and earth as witnesses was a regular covenant feature in ancient covenants.

Deu 30:20

‘ To love Yahweh your (thy) God, to obey his voice, and to cleave to him, for he is your (thy) life, and the length of your (thy) days, that you may dwell in the land which Yahweh swore to your (thy) fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.’

And what did choosing life consist of? Of loving Yahweh their God, and obeying His voice, and cleaving to Him, for He was their life and the source of long length of days. And it consisted in living faithfully in the land which He had sworn to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and enjoying its promised blessing. Thus they would find fullness of life in God and in His promises.

For us that life consists in even more. It consists in receiving Christ’s life, His eternal life, and enjoying His presence daily; in cleaving to Him, and in obeying His voice, and in living with Him under His kingly power (Col 1:13).

And so in these words ends his appeal. He has brought them God’s covenant, he has pleaded for their response. He can do no more.

Note.

It should be noted that in this futuristic picture as depicted by Deuteronomy there is no hint of the rule of a future king, even though it was expected that they would have a king at some point. There is no Messianic expectation, no reference to a temple. The future is depicted very differently from the later prophets. It is depicted solely in terms of returning to the covenant and the land. This confirms the early date of the ‘prophecies’. It would never have been written like this in the days of the kings or after.

(End of note).

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Ver. 15. Life and good, and death and evil The life and good is explained in the next verse; the death and evil in the 18th: whence we learn, that the former signifies all manner of national happiness; the latter, all manner of national misery: both which Moses had set before them at large in the twenty-eighth chapter.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Reader! while you and I attend to the close of Moses’ Sermon, and hear the solemn appeal which the animated preacher makes to heaven, that he had executed his commission, and fully discharged his duty in referring the people to their choice: let us learn to bless GOD, that we are not only taught these things, but that we have the promise of grace, to enable us to perform them. Blessed be GOD! JESUS is the mediator of a better covenant, established upon better promises. The law made no provision for defect or inability. The law made nothing perfect. But the bringing in this better hope, hath done it in JESUS, by the which we draw nigh unto GOD. Heb 7:19 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Deu 30:15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

Ver. 15. See, I have set before thee. ] Matters of great importance must be set on with greatest vehemency.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Deu 30:15-20

15See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; 16in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. 17But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, 18I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it. 19I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, 20by loving the LORD your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.

Deu 30:15 See This (BDB 906, KB 1157, Qal IMPERATIVE) VERB is used as an idiom for pay close attention to (cf. Gen 27:27; Gen 31:50). It is used several times in Deuteronomy (cf. Deu 1:8; Deu 1:21; Deu 1:35; Deu 2:24; Deu 2:31; Deu 4:5; Deu 11:26; Deu 30:15; Deu 32:39.

I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity Even covenant Israel had to choose! This is referring to the blessing and cursing (cf. Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 27-28). Remember the choice is set in a covenant of grace. This is very similar to Wisdom Literature’s idiom of the two ways (cf. Psalms 1; Pro 4:10-19; Jer 21:8; Mat 7:13-14). Our choices show who we are! How we respond to life’s inexplicable in and outs reveals our spiritual orientation!

Deu 30:16-18 These verses are a summary of covenant conditions and consequences:

1. the responsibility (cf. Deu 8:6; Deu 19:9; Deu 26:17; Deu 28:9)

a. to love the Lord, Deu 30:16 (BDB 12, KB 17, Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT)

b. walk in His ways, Deu 30:16 (BDB 229, KB 246, Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT)

c. keep His commandments, Deu 30:16 (BDB 1036, KB 1581, Qal INFINITIVE)

2. the consequences of obedience

a. you may live, Deu 30:16 (BDB 310, KB 309, Qal PERFECT)

b. you may multiply, Deu 30:16 (BDB 915, KB 1156, Qal PERFECT)

c. your God may bless you, Deu 30:16 (BDB 138, KB 159, Piel PERFECT)

3. the conditions and consequences of disobedience

a. if your heart turns away, Deu 30:17 (BDB 815, KB 937, Qal IMPERFECT)

b. if you will not obey, Deu 30:17; (BDB 1033, KB 1570, Qal IMPERFECT)

c. idolatry

(1) drawn away (BDB 623, KB 673, Niphil PERFECT)

(2) worship (BDB 1005, KB 295, Hishtaphel PERFECT)

(3) serve (BDB 712, KB 773, Qal PERFECT)

d. you shall surely perish, Deu 30:18 (BDB 1, KB 2, Qal INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE and Qal IMPERFECT, which expresses intensity)

e. you shall not prolong your days, Deu 30:18 (BDB 73, KB 88, Hiphil IMPERFECT)

Notice how Deu 30:20 reinforces these covenant responsibilities so that the Patriarchal blessing can be fulfilled! This terminology is characteristic of Deuteronomy.

Deu 30:19 I call heaven and earth to witness These witnesses were not unique to Israel’s covenant, but are found in several ancient Near Eastern texts. These two permanent aspects of God’s creation (cf. Gen 1:1) function as God’s two required witnesses (cf. Deu 17:6; Deu 19:15; Num 35:30). This legal emphasis occurs several times in Deuteronomy (cf. Deu 4:26; Deu 30:19; Deu 31:28; Deu 32:1). For Earth see Special Topic: Land, Country, Earth .

So choose life in order that you may live God has given humans the right and responsibility to make moral choices. It is part of His image and likeness in mankind! The Hebrew VERB, to choose or to elect, is used 70% of the time for mankind’s choice (cf. NIDOTTE, vol. 1, p. 639). We must choose (cf. Eze 18:30-32).

you and your descendants Deuteronomy characteristically emphasizes the need to pass on the covenant history and responsibilities to the succeeding generations (cf. Deu 4:9-10; Deu 6:7; Deu 6:20-25; Deu 11:19; Deu 32:46).

Our children are affected by our lifestyle choices and instruction (cf. Exo 20:5-6; Deu 5:9-10; Deu 7:9).

Deu 30:20 There is a series of Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCTS which summarize the covenant:

1. responsibilities

a. loving

b. obeying

c. holding fast

2. consequences

a. that you may dwell in the land

See note at Deu 30:16-18. YHWH’s covenant demanded an initial and a continual faith, love, obedience, and perseverance.

YHWH promised the land to Israel’s patriarchs (cf. Gen 12:7; Gen 13:14-17; Deu 9:4-6), but Israel must obey His covenant requirements or the land would be forfeited (cf. Deu 11:31-32; Deu 28:36; Deu 28:63-68; Deu 30:19-20). The free gift must be responded to and maintained!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought provoking, not definitive.

1. What is the central truth of this chapter?

2. Is this chapter speaking about someone becoming a believer or believers being faithful?

3. Does this chapter contradict Paul’s theology about mankind’s inability to keep the law (i.e., Galatians 3; Romans 3)?

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

See = Behold. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6.

life and good, and death and evil. Figure of speech Metonymy (of Effect). App-6. Put for the good things which end in life, and evil things which end in death. Compare Amo 5:14.

evil. See App-44.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Deu 30:1, Deu 30:19, Deu 11:26, Deu 28:1-14, Deu 32:47, Mar 16:16, Joh 3:16, Gal 3:13, Gal 3:14, Gal 5:6, 1Jo 3:23, 1Jo 5:11, 1Jo 5:12

Reciprocal: Jos 8:34 – blessings 2Ch 33:8 – so that they Jer 21:8 – I set Eze 18:31 – for why

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

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