Deut. 30; Rom. 10:6-8, By the Law is the Knowledge of Sin (2)

According to Dt. 29:4 the LORD had not given Israel the heart to perceive to this day.  That does not mean, therefore, that He will never give them such a heart.  The last half of Dt. 29 speaks of a time when the LORD would uproot Israel from the land.  Dt. 30 begins by saying now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse (v1) … and you return to the LORD your God and obey His voice (v2) … that the LORD your God will bring you back from captivity (v3) … then the LORD your God will bring you into the land (v5) … and the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live (v6).  Hooray!  Some day they will be able to keep the greatest commandment, as Jesus called it (Mt. 22:37-38), the one in Dt. 6:5! 

The prophets later in Israel’s history picked up on this.  For example, Jeremiah 32:39 speaks of a time future to Jeremiah when God will give Israel one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever.  Ezek. 11:19-20 promised a time future to Ezekiel when God will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them.

What they were talking about Jeremiah 31:31-34 describes in detail as the “new covenant.”  The New Covenant is based on the sacrifice of Christ (Heb. 7:22; 8:6; 12:24).  Thus, Israel in the OT times would have to wait until the promised Savior would come.  The writer of Hebrews, a Jewish believer, knew this.  In Heb. 11:39-40 he said that the OT saints were waiting for this, and would not be made perfect apart from NT saints.  Peter also understood this.  He said the OT prophets were searching for what was not revealed until the time of Christ (1 Pt. 1:10-12). 

In the previous post we began this discussion with Paul, asking how he knew that the purpose of the law would be to reveal sin rather than producing righteousness. Romans 9-11 is related to this question.  In Rom. 10:5-8, Paul contrasts the righteousness which is of the law with the righteousness of faith.  In today’s reading we read from Romans.  Did you see that in Rom. 10:6-8, a description of faith that saves, the Apostle quoted Deut. 30:12-14?  In other words, Moses was calling them to faith when he set before them life and good, death and evil (30:15).  He was calling them to faith in the One who was yet to come, the promised Savior.  Moses was telling Israel that, while you cannot in yourself keep the command, you can put your trust in the LORD so as to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways (v16).  In other words, Moses preached a “righteousness of faith in Christ.”

The very next section of Deuteronomy (31:1-8) is the presentation of the new leader.  Israel was moving from Moses through whom came the law, to Joshua (Jehovah is salvation), whose name is the name of the Christ, Jesus (Jehovah is salvation).