Day 533: The choice - Deuteronomy 30 vs 15 - 20

15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.  16 If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.  17-18 But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. 

19-20 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, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” Deuteronomy 30:15-20 (English Standard Version)

Who chooses who? That’s been a big question over which Christians have had fierce arguments. There are verses in the Bible which point to God as the one who does the choosing. 1 Thessalonians 1:4 says “For we know, brothers loved by God, that He has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.” And James 2:5 says: “Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?” But then there are also times, such as in vs 15 & 19-20 of today's reading, where people are called to make the choice between life and death, between loving and obeying God or turning away to serve other gods.

In the case of the Israelites here it wasn't a choice between eternal life or death, but rather a choice between long life in the land with God's blessings, or a short life and perishing before their time. It still had massive consequences, though, and it was up to them to make the right choice. It's interesting that the Bible begins with a choice too. We read in Genesis 2:15-17 that: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 'You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” That was also an invitation by God to choose life. The Bible doesn’t debate whether the man was able to make the right choice or not, the choice was simply set before him.

What was the implication of Moses' words at the start of vs 19-20?

It was as if he was calling two witnesses to the covenant they were reaffirming that day. It was a solemn moment. The choice was a serious one – indeed, a life and death decision. It would also leave them with no excuse for making the wrong choice. Once again, there’s no big debate held as to whether they were able to make such a choice. It was simply and solemnly set before them

When the apostle Paul wrote to Jews over 1000 years later he touched on this question of who does the choosing and said it's ultimately a case of God showing mercy to those He chooses. He writes: “You will say to me then, 'Why does God still find fault? For who can resist His will?'” To which Paul replied: “Who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is moulded say to its moulder, 'Why have you made me like this?'” (Romans 9:18-20)

As I said at the start – this issue has led to arguments among Christians. But the point I’d make is that God has chosen to not explain how we can reconcile the choices we are called to make, and the choices He makes. His revealed word simply calls us to choose between eternal life, which is in His Son Jesus Christ, and what the New Testament book of Revelation symbolically calls 'the second death' - the lake of fire. May we be among those who have chosen life by calling on the Lord Jesus Christ to be our Saviour and Lord.