Deuteronomy 30:11-14 - No It Is Not Hidden Or A Far Off.

Deu.30:11-14; No It Is Not Hidden Or A Far Off.

Deu.30:11-14; It Is Not Hidden, Nor Far Off; But Very Nigh Unto
Thee.

Deu 30:11 (KJV)  For this commandment which I command thee this
day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.
Deu 30:14 (KJV)  But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy
mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

Deu 30:11 (NIV)  Now what I am commanding you today is not too
difficult for you or beyond your reach.
Deu 30:14 (NIV)  No, the word is very near you; it is in your
mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

Deu 30:11 (NCV)  This command I give you today is not too hard
for you; it is not beyond what you can do.
Deu 30:14 (NCV)  No, the word is very near you. It is in your
mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

Deu 30:11 (NLT)  "This command I am giving you today is not too
difficult for you to understand or perform.
Deu 30:14 (NLT)  The message is very close at hand; it is on
your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it.

CONTEXT

The Choice of Life and Death  (30:11-20)
Exhortation to Choose Life

CROSS REFERENCES

Proverbs 8:11 (KJV)  For wisdom is better than rubies; and all
the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.

Proverbs 2:1-5 (KJV)  My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and
hide my commandments with thee; [2] So that thou incline thine ear
unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; [3] Yea, if thou
criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; [4]
If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid
treasures; [5] Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find
the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 3:13-18 (KJV)  Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,
and the man that getteth understanding. [14] For the merchandise of
it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof
than fine gold. [15] She is more precious than rubies: and all the
things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her. [16] Length
of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and
honour. [17] Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are
peace. [18] She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and
happy is every one that retaineth her.

Romans 10:8-10 (KJV)  But what saith it? The word is nigh thee,
even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith,
which we preach; [9] That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the
Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved. [10] For with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation.

Proverbs 16:6 (KJV)  By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and
by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.

Romans 16:25-26 (KJV)  Now to him that is of power to stablish
you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since
the world began, [26] But now is made manifest, and by the
scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting
God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:

Col. 1:26-27 (KJV)  Even the mystery which hath been hid from
ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
[27] To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of
this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of
glory:

Hebrews 2:1-3 (KJV)  Therefore we ought to give the more earnest
heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should
let them slip. [2] For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast,
and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence
of reward; [3] How shall we escape, if we neglect so great
salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was
confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

Matthew 7:21 (KJV)  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the
will of my Father which is in heaven.

COMMENTARY / APPLICATION

One is not required to undertake some superhuman task, to make a
long, laborious journey, or seek to climb up into heaven in order to
understand God's will for man. [SDA Commentary]

Understanding, believing and obeying the covenant were not
beyond them. [NIV SB]

Moses had not only declared God's will by word of mouth but had
also put it in writing. [SDA Commentary]

God has called us to obey his commandments, while reminding us
that his laws are not too difficult to follow.  Have you ever said
you would obey God if you knew what he wanted?  Have you ever
complained that obedience is too difficult for a mere human?  These are
unacceptable excuses.  God's laws are written in the Bible and are clearly
evident in the world around us.  Obeying them is reasonable, sensible,
and beneficial.  The most difficult part of obeying God's laws is
simply deciding to do so.  [Life Application SB]

In His Word God reveals what He can do for human beings. He
molds and fashions after the divine similitude the characters of those
who will wear His yoke. Through His grace they are made partakers of
the divine nature, and are thus enabled to overcome the corruption
that is in the world through lust. It is God who gives us power to
overcome. Those who hear His voice and obey His commandments are enabled
to form righteous characters. Those who disregard His expressed
commands will form characters like the propensities that they indulge.
{7BC 943.3}

The faith that is unto salvation is not a casual faith, it is
not the mere consent of the intellect, it is belief rooted in the
heart, that embraces Christ as a personal Saviour, assured that He can
save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by Him. To believe
that He will save others, but will not save you is not genuine faith;
but when the soul lays hold upon Christ as the only hope of
salvation, then genuine faith is manifested. This faith leads its possessor
to place all the affections of the soul upon Christ; his
understanding is under the control of the Holy Spirit, and his character is
molded after the divine likeness. His faith is not a dead faith, but a
faith that works by love, and leads him to behold the beauty of
Christ, and to become assimilated to the divine character. {Deut.
30:11-14 quoted.} "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" (Deut. 30:6).
1SM391,2

"I Do" (Deut. 30:11-20)
Perhaps the best analogy to the commitment God asks us to make
to Him is the wedding ceremony. The wedding comes as the
culmination of months (or better, years) of gradually coming to know another
person. In time friendship blossoms into love, or initial attraction
deepens into appreciation. Then each person realizes, "I want to spend
my life with this individual!" Then the two plan a wedding--a
ceremony to announce to one and all that two people have decided to
cleave only to each other, for better or for worse, in sickness and in
health, till death do them part.
Yet it's fascinating. That ceremony, the culmination of so many
young women's dreams, isn't an end but a beginning. It is the
beginning of a lifetime of acting on the decision that the ceremony
marked. It is the start of a lifetime of making choices shaped by the
fact that at a particular point in time, two people stood side by
side and committed themselves to one another. For then. And forever.
It's just this kind of ceremony that is in view in Deuteronomy
30. Moses calls on the new generation to make a life-shaping
decision. Moses calls on Israel to make a commitment to God, to choose
life with Him, and then to carry out that commitment the rest of
their lives.
As Moses says, the life this commitment calls for "is not too
difficult for you or beyond your reach." That life is spelled out in the
word God has given us, a near word, in our mouths and in our hearts.
Make and keep this commitment, Moses promised, and "you will live and
increase, and the Lord your God will bless you." Hold back or turn away,
and "you will certainly be destroyed."
We Christians need to realize that our initial relationship with
Jesus is intended to grow and deepen to the point at which we too
realize, "I want to commit my life to this Person who loves me." That
realization may come in church, in response to a pastor's call. It may
happen in the privacy of your own room, reading devotional literature
like this book. When the realization does come, then you too have a
decision to make. Will I commit myself fully to God, realizing that this
decision will shape my choices for the rest of my life?
Perhaps Moses himself gives us the most compelling reason to
make that commitment now. "This day," he says, "I call heaven and
earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and
death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your
children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His
voice, and hold fast to Him. For the Lord is your life, and He will
give you many years in the land He swore to give to your fathers,
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob" (vv. 19-20). [The 365-Day Devotional
Commentary]