11 “For this commandment which I command thee this day it is not too hard for thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, and make us to hear it, that we may do it? But the Word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.” 15 “See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; 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 that the Lord thy God may bless thee in the land whither thou goest in to possess it. But if thine heart turn away, and thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish; ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go in to possess it. I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore choose life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed; to love the Lord thy God, to obey His voice, and to cleave unto Him; for 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.”
Golden Text. “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” 1 John 5:3.
Special Helps.—“Patriarchs and Prophets,” Ch. 42, pages 462–468.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) Where were the children of Israel when the exhortation in this lesson was given? Of what had the Lord just given them a repetition? What is said of the “commandment,” or law of God? Verse 11. Note 1. (2) How is this expression further illustrated? Verse 12. (3) How is its nearness shown by earthly distances? Verse 13. (4) How very accessible is the Word of God to those who desire to obey it? Verse 14. Note 2. (5) What has been plainly set before His creatures? Verse 15. Note 3. (6) What is the command, obedience to which will give life? Verse 16. Note 4. (7) What does one virtually do whose heart is turned away from the commandments of God? Verse 17. (8) And what is the inevitable consequence? Verse 18. (9) What witnesses does the Lord summon to testify to His righteous dealing with sinners? Verse 19. Note 5. (10) What is a further result of choosing life? In whom have we life and “length of days”? Verse 20. Note 6.
NOTES.
1. On the borders of the promised land, as the wilderness probation of Israel was about to close, and they were about to enter into their temporary reward, the Lord repeated to them the promises and conditions of His covenant. Compare verses 8 and 9, just preceding the lesson scripture, with Ex. 19:5, 6. The commandments of God are not “too hard,” as many suppose. The apostle John adds his testimony that they “are not grievous.” 1 John 5:3.
2. “The Word is nigh thee.” (See also Rom. 10:5-11.) We do not have to send a messenger to some distant point on earth, or up to heaven, to learn the will of God. His Messenger has brought it to us. If we will accept it, if we will open the heart to receive it, and the mouth to speak it, and then take hold to do it, it is at hand. “What nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon Him for?” Deut. 4:7. “Ask, and it shall be given you.” Matt. 7:7.
3. Life and death are set before each individual, and he is at liberty to make a free choice. The Lord desires him to choose life. He gave His Son, and the Son gave Himself, in order that man could have eternal life for the choosing. To Israel God said, “Choose ye this day, whom ye will serve.” It is just as important that our choice be made to-day; and the invitation is abroad,—“whosoever will let him take the water of life freely.” The acceptance of life in Jesus Christ includes all other good. Rom. 8:32.
4. The principle of love and obedience is made very clear in verse 16. To love the Lord and to keep His commandments are made conditions of life. Thus spake the Spirit through Moses, and when the Prophet like unto Moses came (of whom we learned in last week's lesson), He uttered the same doctrine: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,” and “if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” Matt. 22:37; 19:17. And the apostle John so thoroughly blends the ideas of love and obedience that he makes keeping the commandments the definition of love. See memory verse.
5. The continual pleading of the Lord for sinners to turn unto Him and be saved is beyond human comprehension. And He has made the matter so plain that there is no excuse. All heaven and earth are witnesses that all has been done that divine wisdom can devise or divine power accomplish. The appeals set forth in the Word could spring only from the very Fountain of love and mercy. Note a few of them. Isa. 1:16-19; 5:1-4; Matt. 11:28-30; 23:37-39; John 3:16. Also the prayer of Jesus, John 17, and His appeal in behalf of His persecutors as they were nailing Him to the cross.—“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
6. The result of choosing life is a clinging to the Lord in loving obedience, recognizing that He is “the way, the truth, and the life.” He has backed His promise with His oath, giving assurance by these “two immutable things” (Heb. 6:15-20) that there shall be no failure in the great plan of salvation. He Himself, the eternal One, is the “life” and “length of days” (immortality) to all who will “cleave unto Him.” “In Him we live, and move, and have our being.” Acts 17:28. And He “hath brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel.” 2 Tim. 1:10.
