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Deuteronomy Chapter 30 "Injunctions
on Dispersion." This
Bible Study is written by Roger Christopherson, and it's
transcription/ location Remember that the book of Deuteronomy was written to the people directly, and not to the priest that was to teach the law. This message was given by Moses the last month before His death. It was delivered in a language plain enough that they could understand it. Notice that the ceremonial blood ritual forms are dropped because it was not necessary for a layman to have the knowledge of their use, to teach or participate in them: That was the duties of the Levitical priests. However, it is important to remember that Christ replaced all things concerning the blood sacrifices and rituals when He shed His blood on the cross and become our blood sacrifice. Jesus reminded us of this in Matthew 5:17. Matthew 5:17 "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." When Jesus Christ went to the cross, He became part of the law that was fulfilled in His life, death and resurrection. Matthew 5:18 "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, not one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Christ became all ordinances pertaining to blood sacrifices, with the exception to the health laws, that were done away with because Christ's blood was sufficient to pay the price for all sins of those that repent in His Name. Matthew 5:19 "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Before Christ's death on the cross, if you would have broke one of these blood laws, it would have been a curse to you. However now you have forgiveness through repentance, in the name of Jesus the Christ. It is through that sincere repentance that you have a new start in life. The law is the school master that teaches you how to stay out of trouble. Most of our laws are all based on the laws of God that are stated here in the book of Deuteronomy. And just like there were curses or punishments for violation of God's law, so also are there punishments or fines for violating the laws of our land. The law is to be obeyed, only those blood ordinances are fulfilled in Christ. Deuteronomy 30:1 "And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee," Moses is telling the Israelites that they are going over into the promise land, but in time God is going to scatter them around the world into many nations. When you have formed into those nations and settled in your promised lands, you are to remind the people of these laws and statutes that I am giving you. Deuteronomy 30:2 "And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey His voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;" What this is telling us is that God expects us to obey Him because He is our Father. As our heavenly Father, He is in charge of your nations, your families, and your lives. That is the reason that we are to teach our children to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our souls. Your "heart" is your mind, and that is what you think with, that controls your actions. Your soul is to take command over your flesh body and its desires, and keep yourself under control. The blessing and the cursings that we receive from God depends upon your choice of obeying God, or going against Him. Moses is telling us that what we do depends on our choices, and that we are not to blame others for our own choices, you are the one that lives your life. Our Heavenly Father sent this letter to you, and He expects you to read it and retain the knowledge in it. Then what you do about it is your business, for your are the one that chooses the blessings or the cursings. Deuteronomy 30:3 "That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee." This verse has not happened yet. The gathering from all the nations happens on the first day of the Millennium when both the house of Israel and the house of Judah shall return to their lands from where they were scattered. Many today look to the few numbers of Jews, those of the tribe of Judah, with a few Levites, and many Kenites mixed in with them as being Israel. They have lost the identity of themselves, and the house of Israel, those ten tribes to the north of the house of Israel that the Assyrians uprooted and took from their lands. Deuteronomy 30:4 "If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will He fetch thee:" We are in the time of space travel, and even if our astronauts are traveling out there to a far distant point, at that time of the gathering, their souls will all be brought back for judgment. There is no mistranslation to this word "heaven". We should also think about the gulf in the parable of Lazareth and the rich man. That great place in the heavens is where certain souls go for holding for the time of judgment. This is all part of how the gathering takes place. To "bring you into captivity" means that God through Christ is going to hold you captive. When you are held captive by Christ, you are in good standing with the Father. That captivity is up to you, whether you will be captive by Christ, to love Him and to be obedient to His ways. However there is a time when all God's children will be brought back, and given full understand in their minds, given the right to be obedient or not, and that time again is the Millennium age. Deuteronomy 30:5 "And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and He will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers." In that time of the Millennium when God does bring all souls back into their incorruptible bodies, that multiplying will be in wealth and number and not by birth, for there will be no births in the Millennium age, for there will be no flesh. All flesh will be done away with at the time of the sounding of the seventh trump. All flesh will be changed in the wink of an eye into their different bodies, as the angels have, and the things of the flesh will be finish for ever. I Corinthians 15:50 "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption." When Christ returns to earth on the "day of the Lord" and sets up His kingdom, there will be no one in their flesh and blood bodies during that kingdom age. I Corinthians 15:51 "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed," A "mystery" is something that is not yet known, however once all of the clues are in, and the mystery is revealed, there is no longer a mystery. Paul is going to shew us a mystery that has never been known until its revelation here. "Sleep" as it is used here is to "die", Paul is telling us that there is a time coming in the very near future when those that are alive in their flesh body, will not die. Why, they are going to be changed from their flesh bodies to their incorruptible bodies, that will never age nor get sick. Those bodies are for the thousand year period of the age of Jesus Christ's kingdom here on earth. I Corinthians 15:52 "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall all be changed." The change will be instant, faster than you can wink an eye. The time of this change will be "at the last trumpet", the seventh trump, for all the other trumps will have already happened. This change will be after Satan and his angels have been cast to the earth, and the world has gone through Satan's time of great deception. Those that think they are flying out of here, are going to be part of Satan's system, for they will have given themselves over to him. They will have been "taken out of season" even in ignorance, and thus this time of the Millennium age will be a time of discipline for them. At the close of the Millennium age, they will be saved by their works through that thousand year period, and that only is what will determine their eternal live. When anyone is taken by Satan and worships him as the Christ during the time of the sixth trump, the time of grace is not extended to them. When you "take the mark of the beast, the name and number of the beast, and worship the image of the beast," you give up your right to grace, if it is done in ignorance. However if you do it knowing full well what you have done, there is no hope for you. That is the unforgivable sin. In the Millennium age, Ezekiel 39-48 gives us the layout of the land with the Temple being the center of that kingdom. Deuteronomy 30:6 "And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live." This is the Old Testament that we are reading of, that this is exactly what happens as part of the New Testament. Circumcision of the Old Testament was for males only, however in the New Testament time the "circumcision is of the heart", of the mind. Circumcision today is for both males and females because it is of the mind, and it has no part in the old blood ritual of the past. Circumcision was part of the blood rituals of the Old Testament, and it acts to show identity and commitment to God. Circumcision of the heart is to love the Lord thy God with all of your heart. It is done when you tell the Father that you love Him, and prove it through your obedience to him in repentance of your sins in Jesus name. You love God through the intellect of your mind, which is your own personal spirit. Though your flesh body grows old and in time dies, the soul that is within that physical body never ages, and upon death returns to the father that gave it. Solomon told us this in Ecclesiastes 12:7 "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God Who gave it." Deuteronomy 30:7 "And the Lord thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee." All of these curses that have been discussed in chapters 27 and 28 will be applied to those that do not love the Lord. When you do something that goes against God's instructions under the law, and you violate that law, the curse for that law will be brought down on you. The choice is yours; you can receive the blessings of God, or the cursings. God is telling you that when you love and obey His laws, He is going to persecute those that do wrong to you. Deuteronomy 30:8 "And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the Lord, and do all His commandments which I command thee this day." This is the key to receiving the blessings of God: To obey the voice of the Lord and to do all His commandments. No human being is perfect, however Christ was. This is why we have repentance, for when we fall short of God's Word, that is the time to repent in Jesus name, and set things right before God. Deuteronomy 30:9 "And the Lord thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the Lord will again rejoice over thee for good, as He rejoiced over thy fathers:" It doesn't matter what line of work your are in, when you obey God's commandments, and study God's Word to follow His ways, God will bless all that you do. When God blesses you, your children will also be bless, as well as all of your possessions. If you own a truck, cafe, a bank, an orchard, or a bowling alley, your work will all be blessed when you love and try to please our Heavenly Father. You just can't go wrong in anything that you do. God created man for the sole reason of finding pleasure in him (her). Each of us are made in the image of God, and given a free spirit and a free will, so that we can serve God and give Him honor. Revelation 4:11 "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created." Our Lord is worthy, for all that is created by Him was created for His pleasure. Your were created for the sole purpose of giving the Father pleasure. How much pleasure have you given Him lately? God loved His children so much that He was willing to be born in the flesh just as we are, and to go through all the trials and testing by Satan that we go through, that then after overcoming all these things with His perfection, He went to the cross. He did all this because God wants you with Him for all eternity. When God created His children, He did not create robots, but He gave each of a mind that we could chose to follow Him, or reject His ways. Than once you have made your choice, God blesses those that chose the way of His Word, and for your commitment to Him, He offers to protects you just as you would your own children. God will not force you to love Him, for that would not be true and honest love. Your love for God must come from your inner soul and mind, and be committed to His ways. Deuteronomy 30:10 "If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul." There is a condition to this verse before you receive the blessings. That condition is "If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep His commandments and His statutes..." You are going to trust and obey God or you are going to get a cursing. God's not a beggar, for the choice is yours. Deuteronomy 30:11 "For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. Moses is telling the people that what he is telling them is not complicated, it is not a big dark secret; for if you are good to the Father and love Him and try to obey His commandments, He is going to bless you. Deuteronomy 30:12 "It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, `Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?' " Moses is telling the people, I am giving you the letter from our Father, and you can read it and study it for yourself. You don't have to have some super preacher go up to heaven to get it for you. You have an intercessor in heaven who is Christ. Deuteronomy 30:13 "Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, `Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?' " The Scriptures are not in some distant land, but it right where you are, it is in your bible, in the hands of the people to read and follow the instructions within in. Deuteronomy 30:14 "But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it." Read those Words from God, think on them and follow those instructions. Deuteronomy 30:15 "See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;" God gave us His Word, and we are to place that Word form God in our minds, and speak it from our mouths. The choice is yours and mine whether we shall follow it or turn our back to God and His Word. Life is just that simple, for when you follow God's Word, there are blessing and good in your life. However, when you turn from God's Ways, God can bring spiritual death and curses in your life. When you stray from God's law, God is going to discipline you and correct you to bring you to realize that things are not right in your life. So when corrections come, that's the time to repent and make things right with God. Deuteronomy 30:16 "In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it." God is promising us that He will bless us everywhere that we go, no matter when or in what generation we live in, as long as we love the Lord and try to walk in His ways. Deuteronomy 30:17 "But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;" However if your mind is turned away from doing what is write by God's Word and you sink into idolatry and the worship of other gods, God will not bless you. We saw in Deuteronomy 28 all the curses that come with such apostasy. Keep in mind that anything that you place between you and God can become an idol and a god to you. God will make you prosperous if you follow His Word and heed to His command. Deuteronomy 30:18 "I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it." To those that chose to disobey God, you shall surely perish. It doesn't matter where you go, God is going to bring destruction down on you when you turn away from Him. Deuteronomy 30:19 "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: there fore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:" Its up to you if you are going to receive the blessings or the cursings. You are the one that choses eternal life, or spiritual death and the way to destruction. Moses is saying that when you take life or destruction into your life, you have to also consider your children and how it will affect them. Deuteronomy 30:20 "That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey His voice, He is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them." God is the one that creates all life, he breathed life into all the races and He loves all of His children. They are all His children, and the promises that God promised to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob are the same promises that all mankind can enjoy when they love the Lord our God. God can bless your life with joy and success, or He can snuff out your life in an instant. It is you that chooses the path that you make for yourself. God is not the God of the dead, for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are with the Father today.
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