Deuteronomy 30:16
Ver. 16. In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God,.... Which is the sum and substance of the first table of the law, and includes the whole worship of God, the contrary to which are idolatry, superstition, and will worship, from which Moses had been dissuading and deterring them:to walk in his ways; which he has prescribed, as his will to walk in, and his law directs to:and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments; his laws, moral, ceremonial, and judicial, Moses had been repeating and reciting:that thou mayest live and multiply; live in the land of Canaan, and have a numerous offspring and posterity to succeed and continue in it, which is confirmed by what follows:and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it; with health and happiness, with an affluence of all good things, in the land of Canaan they were just entering into to take possession of. Deuteronomy 30:17Ver. 17. But if thine heart turn away,.... From the true God, and the right worship of him, and from his commands, statutes, and judgments:so that thou wilt not hear; the voice of the Lord and obey it, or hearken to his laws, and do them:but shalt be drawn away; by an evil heart, and by the ill examples of others:and worship other gods and serve them; the gods of the Gentiles, the idols of the people, besides the one living and true God, the God of Israel. Deuteronomy 30:18Ver. 18. I denounce unto, you this day that ye shall surely perish,.... By one judgment or another; this he most solemnly averred, and it might be depended upon that it would certainly be their case; see De 4:26;[and that] ye shall not prolong [your] days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it; but be cut short by death, of one kind or another, by sword, or famine, or pestilence, or be carried into captivity; one or other of which were frequently their case. Deuteronomy 30:19Ver. 19. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you,.... Either, literally understood, the heavens above him, and the earth on which he stood, those inanimate bodies, which are frequently called upon as witnesses to matters of moment and importance; see De 4:26; or figuratively, the inhabitants of both, angels and men:[that] I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; had plainly told them in express words what would be the consequence of obedience and disobedience to the law of God; long life, and the blessings of it in the land of Canaan, to those that obey it; death, by various means, and dreadful curses, to those that disobey it; of which see at large De 28:16;therefore choose life, that thou and thy seed may live; that is, prefer obedience to the law, and choose to perform that, the consequence of which is life; that they and their posterity might live comfortably and happily, quietly and safely, and constantly, even to the latest ages, in the land of Canaan. Deuteronomy 30:20Ver. 20. That thou mayest love the Lord thy God,.... And show it by keeping his commands:[and] that thou mayest obey his voice; in his word, and by his prophets:and that thou mayest cleave unto him; and to his worship, and not follow after and serve other gods:for he [is] thy life, and the length of thy days; the God of their lives, and the Father of their mercies; the giver of long life, and all the blessings of it; and which he had promised to those that were obedient, to him, and which they might expect:that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them; the land of Canaan, often thus described; this was the grand promise made to obedience to the law, and was typical of eternal life and happiness; which is had, not through man's obedience to the law, but through the obedience and righteousness of Christ.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.