Deuteronomy 30:1-10 "When We Return"

Text Read

“And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, 2 and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey His voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and He will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. 4 If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will take you. 5 And the Lord your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. 6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. 7 And the Lord your God will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you. 8 And you shall again obey the voice of the Lord and keep all His commandments that I command you today. 9 The Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, as He took delight in your fathers, 10 when you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Text Explained

I find it fascinating how our text says “when”. The promises of the Covenant were promises of such tremendous blessing if the people of God obeyed the Word of the Lord their God. The terrifying and horrendous promise of the curses falling onto the people of God if they turned to other gods nad turned to their own way were unimaginably bad. Yet our text today begins with “And when...” It does not begin with an if. It begins with a when. There was already a settled knowledge that the people, despite knowing exactly the right way and exactly the wrong way, despite the people being given explicit details on the tremendous blessings offered for obedience and the tremendous destruction explained for disobedience, the text today says “And when...” “And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, And when God has blessed you, and then when you turn away from God and the curses come and you are driven away from the Promised Land, when you are in that foreign land and when you finally come to your senses, 2 and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey His voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, When at the end of yourself you return to the Lord with ALL your Heart and with All your Soul. Remember the Shemah in Deuteronomy 6:4–5 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” When the Israelites truly return to the Lord, not just in actions but in truth, 3 then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and He will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. 4 If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will take you.This promise is given so that when the Israelites are scattered and when they are so far from the Promised Land, even in that farthest of regions, even if they are outcasts in the heavens itself, even there, the Lord their God can find them and gather them together. They are not outside the reach of their God. And when He gathers them, 5 And the Lord your God will bring you into the land that your fathers possessed, that you may possess it. And He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. 6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. Here we again see that the Lord has ALWAYS wanted the hearts of His people. Many say that the Old Testament is only a bunch of rules. No God has always wanted the heart. Obedience was always supposed to be the outward demonstration of their love for God. Remember the words of Jesus John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” The way the Israelites were to demonstrate their love for God was to keep His commandments. And when God gathered them together, then the curses that they had earned, 7 And the Lord your God will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you. 8 And you shall again obey the voice of the Lord and keep all His commandments that I command you today. 9 The Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, So once again there will be a reversal. Remember Deuteronomy 28:63 “And as the Lord took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the Lord will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you. And you shall be plucked off the land that you are entering to take possession of it.” One again, the delight of the Lord will be bringing good upon His people. The people who are His, not just in action, but in heart and soul. This will be just as He took delight in your fathers, 10 when you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Text Applied

Here in our text today we see how God knew that His people would pursue other gods. We see how they would go their own way. Despite all the positive reinforcement, despite all the dire warnings, God knew that the Hearts of His people would stray from Him. So we find a promise being given to His people. Yes they would stray. Yes the curses of the Law would come upon them and they would be driven from the Land of Promise. Yes they would be absolutely put through the ringer. Yet, yet after all of those things, we find God reminding them that He would still hear their cries of repentance. Regardless of how far away they were from the Land of Promise. Regardless of how far the consequences of their sin had taken them. We see that if they returned to the Lord. If they would only return to the Lord, then He would gather them together, and He would bring them back into the Land of Promise and He would once again pour out blessings upon them.

As I was preparing for this message, I was reminded of a parable that Jesus told. The parable of the Prodigal Son. A son who had everything He ever needed, and the promise of so much more. Yet the son left the home. In a most disrespectful manner, the son took his inheritance and then used all that his father had worked for and had given him for a life of debauchery. Only when the son had hit the absolute bottom and was eating the same food he fed to pigs, did he realize what he had. So with repentance in his heart, the son returns to the father. The son has rehearsed a speech Luke 15:18–24 “I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And when the son attempted to give his speech, And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ The father does not listen, But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.”

No Place too Far from the Grace of God. Dear one, there is no place too far from the grace of God. Our passage in Deuteronomy tells the Israelites when they stray, if they return there is no place so far that the Lord cannot get too. There is no place too far that He cannot gather them from. And when He gathers them, He will restore them. Not because they are worthy of it. In fact, it is clear that they had been driven out of the land and put under the curse of the Law because of their own decisions. Yet the grace of their God is so tremendous, that when they finally came to themselves, when they returned to the Lord, God would gather them together. Dear one, do not think you are so far away from God that you cannot return. His grace is open and offered to you. Again with the Prodigal Son, when he came to himself and returned with repentance in his heart, his Father ran to meet him and celebrated the son who was lost but is now found. Sometimes God let’s us go all the way into the bottom of the pit, not because it is healthy for us in the short term, but because He knows how stubborn and stiffnecked we can be. So he lets us go our own way. He lets us wander in the sin and muck of the world until we finally realize how much of a mess our choices have made of life. Only when we finally come to the end of ourselves do we look back and realize that in our Father’s house, we can find actual joy, contentment, and peace. Yet dear one, in that moment of realization, Satan may tempt you to think that you are too far gone. You have shaken your fist at God too much. You are too bad of a person and God will reject you. NO! BY NO MEANS! God is ready to forgive you, to gather you, to embrace you. If you are the Israelites who have gone astray, if you are the prodigal son who has made a mess of your life, you are not too far from the Grace of God. He longs for you to return to Him. Dear one, no place is too Far from the Grace of God.

Rejoice with the Lord & the Angels: In our text we see the delight the Lord has when His people return to Him. Luke 15:10 Jesus tells us “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Yet dear Christian, there is another side to the story of the Prodigal son. When the son returned, the Father and the servants rejoiced! Yet when the Older brother came in from his ordinary daily work in the fields, he came home to a celebration. Now we can find it quite easy to criticize the older brother. But I want to encourage you to put on his sandals for a moment. His younger brother insulted his Father and the entire family. The younger brother took an inheritance and lived a life of debauchery while the older brother stayed at the farm and faithfully went into the fields day after day. The younger brother should have been there to help the older bear the weight of work. Instead of two brothers working together, there was now one. So when the older brother returns, and he hears that this irresponsible and wicked younger brother has returned, is it any wonder why he is angry. The younger has lived a frivolous lifestyle and as soon as he comes home he is celebrated!! Ah, but the Father comes to the Older Brother. He listens to his complaints. The Father does not deny the legitimacy of the Older Brother’s complaints. Rather the Father puts things into a proper perspective. He says Luke 15:31–32 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ Dear one, there may be times when it is hard to celebrate with those who have lived a wicked life and then repented. It may feel that those who have strayed from God into wickedness are awarded greater celebration upon their return than you who has quietly and faithfully served. First off, God knows your faithfulness and He will reward you accordingly. Second, we need to remember that when one returns to Christ, when the one who was lost is found, it is always good to join in the celebration of the Angels for YOUR brother or sister was dead and is now alive. In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, we are not told how the older brother responded to Gentle Chastening of the Father. Rather the Parable is left open for us to decide, how will I respond when my wicked brother or sister returns. Will you rejoice with the Angels and Father or sit outside and grow bitter?

The Loving Father, The Prodigal Son, and The Faithful Son.