Day 526: As close as your heart - Deuteronomy 30 vs 11 - 14

11-14 “For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’  But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. Deuteronomy 30:11-14 English Standard Version

In the first part of this chapter Moses had spoken of his certainty that the Israelites would turn their backs on God and end up as battered and broken people. But then he gave them a tremendous promise and said: “When you 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, then the Lord your God  will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you.” (Deuteronomy 30:2-3) But he takes it further and points out that God was not setting them impossible obstacles to overcome in order to know His blessing. What does God say through Moses in the above verses about His commands and His promise of restoration?

He says that His word (which would include His promises) was as near to them as their mouth and heart. They simply needed to say something - and to believe something. One expression of that would be to confess their sins with their mouth, and to believe in their heart the promise of God's restoration. Think of that for a moment. God wasn’t calling them to go on some long pilgrimage (like a Muslim's compulsory visit to Mecca) or to keep rules that were too big a burden. They only needed to confess Him as God and take His words to heart.

Over 1000 years later the apostle Paul referred to these words when he was trying to show the Jewish people of His generation how they could find this peace with God that Moses had been talking about. Listen to how a paraphrased translation puts Paul's speech.

“The longing of my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal. For they don’t understand God’s way of making people right with Himself. Refusing to accept God’s way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in Him are made right with God.” (Christ met all the requirements of God's commandments perfectly.)

“Moses writes that the law’s way of making a person right with God requires obedience to all of its commands. But faith’s way of getting right with God says, 'Don’t say in your heart, “Who will go up to heaven?” (to bring Christ down to earth). And don’t say, “Who will go down to the place of the dead?”’ (to bring Christ back to life again). In fact, it says, 'The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.'”

“That message is the very message about faith that we preach - that If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved! For it's by believing in your heart that you are made right with God - and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. As the Scriptures say, 'Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.' Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on him. For 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord  will be saved.'” (Romans 10:1-13)

So Paul applied the promise God made to the Israelites (of restoration for those who returned to Him with all their heart and with all their soul) to the gospel. Jesus Christ kept the part of God's covenant that they were obliged to keep – and God keeps His part of the covenant to give salvation. But, says Paul, this salvation is for Jews AND Gentiles. If ANY man or woman realizes that they have sinned against God, the door to repent and return is open. They are not called to do all sorts of religious rites - they're only called to declare Jesus Christ as Lord, and to believe in their heart that God raised Him from the grave.