“So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all nations where the LORD your God has banished you, and you return to the LORD your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today, you and your sons, then the LORD your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you…. Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live” (Deut 30:1-3, 6).
The importance of Deuteronomy 30 for biblical theology can only be measured by the vast extent to which it is “reused” by Israel’s prophets. For example, the phrase “in all nations where the LORD your God has banished you” (v. 1) is cited numerous times, especially by Jeremiah (Jer 8:3; 16:15; 23:3, 8; 24:9; 29:14, 18; 32:37; 46:28; Ezek 4:13; Joel 2:20; Dan 9:7). So also the phrase, “and will gather you again from all the peoples” (v. 3; see Jer 23:3; 29:14; 31:8; 32:37; Neh 1:9). And the phrase “restore you from captivity” (v. 3) is cited by many of the prophets the Tanakh (Jer 23:3; 29:14; 30:3, 18; 31:8, 23; 32:37, 44; 33:7, 11, 26; 48:47; 49:6, 39; Ezek 39:25; Hos 6:11; Joel 4:1; Amos 9:14; Zeph 2:7; 3:20; Neh 1:9). And it is quote clear that the promise of a “circumcised heart” (v. 6) serves as the textual basis for Jeremiah’s “new covenant” (Jer 31:31-34) and Ezekiel’s “new heart” (Ezek 36:26-27). It also come as no surprise the apostle Paul, like the prophets before him, also regarded Deuteronomy 30:12-14 as the promise of the new covenant available to everyone, Jew and Gentile alike, who believes in the new Moses (Rom 10:5-8).
This extensive “reuse” of Deuteronomy 30, therefore, shows it is THE ANCHOR of hope for Israel’s prophets and for the New Testament apostles. This is the passage they turned to for hope when Israel’s enemies surrounded the walls of Jerusalem, and also when those walls were breached and the people inside were dragged away into exile. And at this time of unprecedented hatred for Israel and the growing threats of annihilation, Deuteronomy 30 is still a source of much needed comfort, reassurance, and hope. Although we have been unfaithful as a people to God, God cannot be unfaithful to himself and to his promises!
“What then? If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? May it never be! Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar, as it is written, ‘THAT YOU MAY BE JUSTIFIED IN YOUR WORDS, AND PREVAIL WHEN YOU ARE JUDGED'” (Rom 3:3-4).
