Make the Right Choice!
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Tony’s Overview Video
How to Use
Preparing to teach
- Read the Bible Lesson by Tony Cartledge in this month’s issue of the Nurturing Faith Journal
- Watch Tony’s Video for this session
- Select either the Adult or Youth teaching guide and follow the directions
Click to read the Bible Lesson by Tony Cartledge
Key Text: Deuteronomy 30:19b-20a
Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him …
If you’ve ever seen the musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” you will no doubt remember Tevye, the father, singing and dancing to celebrate his daughter’s engagement. Over and over he sang “To life, to life, l’chayim;, l’chayim, l’chayim, to life …”
Chayim, beginning with a rough “h” sound, is the Hebrew word for life, and it plays a starring role in today’s text, which portrays Moses as challenging Israel to choose life by choosing faithfulness to God, known to the Israelites as Yahweh.
A big switch
After three months in Luke, we’re turning to the Old Testament, beginning with a lesson from Deuteronomy followed by several others from the prophets, mostly Jeremiah. Along the way, we’ll learn that Jeremiah and Deuteronomy have a lot in common.
Deuteronomy is the last book of the Pentateuch, or the Torah. “Pentateuch” is from Greek and means “Five books,” namely the first five in the Bible. “Torah” is the Hebrew word for law. The five books contain much more than legal material, but Israel’s written laws are found there.
The book is written in the form of speeches or sermons proclaimed by the law-giver Moses as the Israelites came to the end of their journey from Egypt and camped just across the Jordan from the Promised Land. While preserving Mosaic traditions, it most likely was first written many years later, just before or during the exile, when Israel had both come into the land of promise and lost it. [See “The Hardest Question” online for more on this.]
As written, the stern warnings given by Moses to the nascent Israelites provided a theological explanation for the Hebrews’ loss of their land to the Assyrians and Babylonians, but also offered hope that God would redeem them from exile and return them to the land if they could prove more faithful than their ancestors.
The book is set on the verge of Israel’s initial entry to Canaan, a time of sharp transition. The people were about to end their wandering ways and enter the Promised Land – if they could be faithful enough to have God’s aid in subduing it. Just as importantly, however, they were about to lose Moses as the only spiritual leader they had ever known. God had told him he could not enter the land: they would have to learn to live without him.
On more than one occasion, the people had proven faithless even when traveling together and with Moses’ stern leadership. Now they would be scattered throughout the land in their tribal allotments. Being obedient and faithful to God would prove even more difficult when the people were dispersed in the land with no central authority to keep them accountable.
Canaan was already populated by many people who worshiped other gods, and the Israelites would be tempted to follow their example. Even a cursory reading of 2 Kings and the prophets reveals that many Israelites adopted other gods in addition to Yahweh from their entry into Canaan right up to the time of the exile – a primary reason why the phrase “until this day” appears so frequently in Deuteronomy. [DD]
Options and consequences (vv. 15-18)
Calling for Israel to stay on the straight and narrow, the author has Moses call the people to pledge their loyalty to God – or else. His lengthy speech occupies two chapters, beginning at 29:1 with the marker “These are the words of the covenant that the LORD commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in the land of Moab.” This was not to be just a renewal ceremony, but a second covenant, “in addition to the covenant that he had made with them at Horeb.” [DD]
The speech begins with a reminder of how God had delivered the Israelites from Egypt, brought them through the wilderness, and helped them defeat King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan, taking their land for themselves (29:2-9). [DD]
Covenants typically name the parties involved, and Moses made it clear that all the Israelite people were included, from the elders to the children, men and women, even the servants who chop their wood and draw their water – which describes an settled life long after Moses (29:10-15). The phrase “this day” occurs twice as a call for an immediate decision.
The anticipated problem is spelled out in 29:16-19 – some of the people might have been attracted to other gods by the idols they had seen among other peoples, and already planning to serve other gods when they came into the land. That would bring disaster, Moses declared, inciting the devastating curses that are spelled out in 29:20-29 – the same sort of disasters that had taken place prior to the exile.
The speech then called the people to remember, when they went into captivity, that Moses had warned them and called them to return to God and to “obey him with all your heart and with all your soul, just as I am commanding you today” (30:1-2).
Repentance would elicit divine compassion and God would “restore your fortunes . . . gathering you again from all the peoples among whom the LORD your God has scattered you.” Even “to the ends of the world” God would return them to “the land that your ancestors possessed” (30:3-5).
There God would “circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, in order that you may live” (30:6-10).
The narrator has Moses insist that the commandment “is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away.” It did not require an ascent to heaven or a voyage across the sea: “the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe” (30:11-14). [DD]
A challenge to choose (vv. 19-20)
Finally we come to the climax of the story: the moment of decision. As the people entered the promised land, they would have to make a choice about their allegiance to Yahweh.
“See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity” (v. 15), Moses declared. [DD] Observing the commandment by “loving the LORD your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances” would lead to life and prosperity in the land, while those who turned to other gods would perish (vv. 16-18).
For the Deuteronomist, theology was a simple transaction.
“Choose,” Moses insisted. “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the LORD swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob” (vv. 19-20).
Ancient covenants typically called on the gods of both parties as witnesses, but Israel had just one god, so “heaven and earth” served as metaphorical stand-ins.
Note how repetitive the challenges are. Love God. Obey God. Hold fast to God. Avoid other gods. Do that and live long and happy lives.
Turn away from God and meet the bad end of a short life.
Choose.
What does this text mean when we read it today? As an interpretive principle, it is essential to remember that this is Israel’s covenant, not ours.
Christians who read this text as a promise that God will grant long life and prosperity to the obedient but stir up trouble for the disobedient are not only misreading the text, but failing to take notice of the world around.
Have you ever noticed how many faithful Christians suffer poverty and hardship, or die young of cruel diseases? And have you noticed how many liars and cheaters and self-worshipers make out like bandits or achieve high office?
Proclaimers of the misguided “prosperity gospel” pick and choose verses such as these to make false promises to people who are urged to prove their faithfulness, in part, by donating money to the shysters who pass as preachers.
Christians may read the verses in all sincerity but mistakenly take them as a promise to modern believers. Jesus never promised financial success or good health or long life to his followers. He promised abundant life, life in the kingdom of God, life that has meaning and purpose beyond selfish goals.
Protestants sometimes update the challenge to choose by tying it to Jesus and making it a call for conversion, a choice between eternal life in heaven or eternal death in hell, but it is never as simple as that. Some evangelists sell the gospel as if it were fire insurance, but the question we should really ask is this: do I serve God only for what I think I can get out of it, or because I believe being faithful to God makes me a better person, doing my part to build up the kingdom, reflecting God’s love in the world?
In other words, if there were no clear tangible rewards for serving God – even if we were to one day discover that life after death isn’t what we think it is – would we still want to follow Jesus?
Choosing to serve God is always better than serving self, or power, or money. We also have choices to make, but the option of gaining rich rewards through serving God is not one of them.
Adult Teaching Resources
Download the PDF of teaching resources for this lesson.
This PDF contains the Teaching Guide, Digging Deeper, and Hardest Question pages.
Read Scripture online: Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Youth Teaching Resources
Parent Prep
Who sets the rules in your house? By-and-large it is the adults of the house. This is probably the most common, and overwhelming, answer. When do you let your students start making some of the rules? Have you ever thought about it? If they are to create their own rules when they move out, shouldn’t there be a trial period when they have something to fall back on? Rules should provide structure for life that allow one to live, not to restrict someone. Create rules with your students and see what happens. You will probably be surprised.
Additional Links/Resources
Read Scripture online: Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Download the PDF for youth teaching resources using the button below. This PDF contains the Teaching Guide for this lesson:
Video
Encourage youth to check out this video ahead of the lesson.
“To Life” from Fiddler on the Roof
Via www.youtube.com
Need Help?
Learn how to better use Nurturing Faith teaching resources.