The Covenant - Deuteronomy 29 & 30

Chapters 29 and 30 are where the whole book of Deuteronomy has been leading up to, the covenant that Moses will put the people under before they go into the promised land. TB makes a point that I think is important here. He reminds us that this is the 2nd of 3 covenants the people will make with God before settling into the promised land. The first covenant was at Mount Sinai after the incident with the golden calf, then the people wandered in the desert for 40 years. Now the second one in Moab, right before they cross the Jordan river, and the last one that Moses will do. Then the third one will be once they cross the Jordan river into the promised land to start taking it. The reason that God had the people do this was because at the time the prevailing belief of ALL people was that the gods they worshipped had geographic boundaries, meaning that the gods worshipped at Mount Sinai were different than the gods worshipped at Moab and in the promised land. We know that the God of the Torah is the one and only God that rules over the entire universe but at the time all people, including Israel, believed that there were geographic limits to a god’s authority. So by renewing these covenants in different regions, Israel was establishing their God’s authority in that area. TB also notes that God didn’t work very hard to contradict that to the people, He’s probably picking his battles, and even kind of plays into it by having them recommit to these covenants repeatedly, which probably wasn’t a bad thing either.

Moses begins by reminding the people of all the miracles and blessings that God had given to them in their journey from slavery in Egypt, that their clothes supernaturally didn’t wear out, that they relied on manna from heaven, and water from the rocks, they achieved victory in battle securing land for the tribes that wanted to stay in that land. The covenant is that Israel will be the people of God to stand with and obey him, but if they turn away from God to worship other gods, then they will receive all the curses that Moses explained in the previous chapters. TB points out here that Israel never rejects God but simply adopts other gods too and serves them as well. That was one of the ways Matthew 7:22-23 makes sense which says, “many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works?” When the Israelites are doing these things, they are doing what is expected of them by the Law of Moses and Hebrew society, but they weren’t doing it because they loved and served God, they were doing it out of obligation. So when Jesus answers, “and then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that practice lawlessness.” The lawlessness part is where they practice the letter of the law, such as how many steps to take on the sabbath, but not the spirit of the law, which is to love God and their neighbors. Moses’ command to not serve other gods or else be cursed, is found in this example, it’s not enough to just go through the motions, we are meant to “know” God, intend to serve him, build faith and obedience. That’s what is required too.

Verse 29 has a very interesting nod to personal revelation. It says, “the secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” I’m not exactly sure why this verse is in here, it doesn’t really fit with the theme but I love it because it shows that from the beginning of time, personal revelation and personal relationships with God have always been the plan. This was never meant to be a solo experience, we were always meant to be guided by the Spirit. This was always meant to be a team event. I’ve needed a lot of personal revelation recently and I’m grateful for it.

Moses goes through chapter 30 basically illustrating the cycle that Israel will go through, they were blessed in the desert with miracles then they’ll go the promised land but if they don’t keep the covenants they make with God, then they will be cursed and dispersed from the land and taken as slaves. Then when they are cursed they will repent and then God will bring them back to the promised land and they will be blessed, and so on and so forth. We’ve seen this cycle play out in the scriptures, both large scale like with Israel and the Nephites, and on a personal level like with Laman and Lemuel. When they are righteous, they are blessed and when they are wicked, they are denied God’s blessings and “cursed” where God doesn’t work in their favor and sometimes actively works against them. It’s interesting to consider that if God truly knows all things, he knows that these people will cycle through righteousness and wickedness and he still is consistent every time. Like with Laman and Lemuel, God knew that ultimately, they were try to kill Nephi and teach wickedness to their children, but when they were trying to be obedient, He blessed them. But I guess I don’t know the end of that story either, like if they repented and changed their ways after they died. I think about them a lot actually and wonder what their status is, if they are still hate filled or if they are good with Nephi and the rest of their family now. I hope so.