When You Remember
30 1 And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse that I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where your Father has driven you,
Your Father Will Gather You Home
2 and you return to your Father and obey his voice in all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 then your Father will restore you from captivity, and his heart will turn toward you with compassion, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where your Father has scattered you. 4 If your exiles are at the ends of the heavens, from there your Father will gather you, and from there he will take you.
5 And your Father will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and he will bless you and multiply you more than your fathers. 6 And your Father will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, to love your Father with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. 1 1 v6 Our Father promises to do the inward work himself — changing the heart so his children can truly love him. This is the heart-transformation the new covenant fulfills, when the Spirit writes love into us.
7 And your Father will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. 8 And you shall again obey the voice of your Father and do all his commandments that I command you today. 9 And your Father will bless you abundantly in all the work of your hands, in the fruit of your womb, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground, for good. For your Father will again delight in you for good, as he delighted in your fathers, 10 when you obey the voice of your Father, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to your Father with all your heart and with all your soul.
Closer Than You Think
11 For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, nor is it far off.
Choose Life
12 It is not in heaven, that you should say, "Who will go up to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?" 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, "Who will cross the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?" 14 But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. 2 2 v14 Paul takes up this verse to describe the gospel itself — the word of faith near us, in our mouth and heart, by which we trust in Jesus and are saved.
15 See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16 If you obey the commandments of your Father that I command you today, by loving him, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and he will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess.
17 But if your heart turns away and you will not listen, but are drawn away to bow down to other gods and serve them, 18 I tell you plainly today: you will surely perish. You will not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20 loving your Father, obeying his voice, and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of your days, that you may dwell in the land that your Father swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.