Grasp the Gospel — Bible Comprehension Quizzes

Deuteronomy 30 Devotional

A Heart Made New by God

“The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.”Deuteronomy 30:6 (BSB)

Moses now looks past the curses to a day after exile. When Israel, scattered among the nations, calls these things to mind and returns to the LORD, he will gather them even from the farthest horizon (30:1-4). Then comes a deeper promise. The LORD himself will circumcise their hearts and their children's hearts, so that they love him with all their heart and soul (30:6). Earlier Moses commanded Israel to circumcise their own hearts (10:16). Here God promises to do it.

That is why the command is not out of reach. No one needs to climb to heaven or cross the sea to bring it back; God's word has already come close, onto their lips and into their hearts (30:11-14). Paul reads this passage as speaking of the word of faith in Christ, confessed with the mouth and believed in the heart (Romans 10:6-9). When Moses urges Israel to choose life, he adds that the LORD himself is their life (30:19-20). Choosing life means holding fast to him, the one who gives the new heart.

To think about: What would it look like today to hold fast to the Lord as your life, instead of trying to change your own heart?

About Deuteronomy 30: Choose Life

Moses promises that when Israel returns to the Lord from exile, God will gather them and circumcise their hearts to love him. The command is not too hard or far away but near, in their mouth and heart. He sets before them life and death and urges them to choose life by loving the Lord.

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