Sometimes it is difficult to know exactly what a biblical writers means: the point of a passage can be rather opaque. At other times, it feels like the biblical writers are trolling us, calling us idiots.
This is one of those times.
Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. It is not in heaven, that you should say, “Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?” Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?” No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.
~ Deuteronomy 30:11-14
tl:dr =
But, as always, we think context is important.
New Country, New Rules
The book of Deuteronomy begins explaining the setting, the characters, and a summary of what will follow:
These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan—in the wilderness, on the plain opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab. (By the way of Mount Seir it takes eleven days to reach Kadesh-barnea from Horeb.) In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the Israelites just as the Lord had commanded him to speak to them. This was after he had defeated King Sihon of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, and King Og of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei. Beyond the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to expound this law as follows…
~ Deuteronomy 1:1-5
Moses is with the people at the tail-end of their journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land. Here he reminds them of the law (Torah) previously given to them: a refresher before they move forward and claim the promise.
As will all things biblical, especially in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, there are arguments over when things were composed, by who, and how our current text came to be. Chapter 30 of Deuteronomy is no different. Scholars argue that this section of Deuteronomy comes from a tradition separate from the surrounding verses (vss. 1-10 & 15-20) and has been edited/redacted to fit their context.
A Slight Editorial Problem
[The next few paragraphs are nerdy, but stay with us. This is going somewhere.]
In short, vs 1-10 calls to mind the various blessings and curses previously laid out by God, through Moses, but it specifies that the people will eventually receive the curses. i.e. the people will turn away from God and will receive their just deserts (read: punishments) at the hand of God. However, it also speaks to the people’s eventual return from sin and God’s provision as a result. These verses display themes of repentance, redemption, and restoration.
The problem is that these words are at odds with verses 15-20, which repeat the call for repentance and exhortations to obey God’s command. However, the specific threats of curses given in this section do not neatly mesh with what vs 1-10 says— they seem to be positing a different reality. For example, vs 3-5 says that the punishment is exile from the land, while vs 18-19 prescribe utter annihilation. While either of these passages work well with vs 11-14, they don't all play well together.
An interesting solution to this comes from biblical scholar Richard Elliott Friedman. He proposes that 29:29 naturally flows into our passage, 30:11-14, and the intervening verses could be simply be cut out. When applied, it's easy to see his point:
The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and to our children forever, to observe all the words of this law. Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. It is not in heaven, that you should say, “Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?” Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, “Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?” No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.
~ Deuteronomy 29:29 and 30:11-14
Okay, so why should you care about any of that? Why is that speculation important?
Friedman's reading draws the eye to the clear parallel established in the text: there are things hidden and known only to the God, but there are also things that are readily reveled to humanity.
A New Story: Easy Access to the Almighty
The commandments given by God through Moses fall into the second category: the law (Torah) is freely given to us so that we may live as God intended, and without the hassle of a fight to obtain it. Thus the use of rhetorical questions-- "Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?” & “Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?” -- is significant for two reasons.
First, it highlights the ease of revelation of God's commands. Second, there is a comparison being made between the way YHWH acts, and the way of the deities in all the surrounding nations: all those people mentioned at the beginning of Deuteronomy and throughout the Exodus journey.
Moses knows, they all know, that the land that they are in, and the land to which they are going, has stories different from their own. Stories of heroes who must travel great distances on perilous adventures. Those heroes cross land and sea, ascend to the heavens, plunge into the underworld, fight nature, monsters, and gods, often to obtain a prize, tangible or abstract. Among these tales are journeys to gain special, hidden knowledge from the gods; Great odds and perils must be overcome to obtain words from the divine. The Egyptians, Ugarities, Sumerians, Babylonians, Greeks, and Canaanites of various stripes across the Levant, all have mythos of this sort.
But the Hebrew story is different.
God went to humanity with his knowledge instead of expecting humanity to struggle obtaining it
Despite what some may argue, God was very generous and very clear with knowledge in Eden: they only got in trouble when they believed that something was hidden from them: that they had to search for something other, better. God brought them what they needed, they tried to take more.
After-which God went to the First Family and then to Cain with words of warning. God went to Abraham with promises and knowledge. God went to Moses in a burning bush and sent he and Aaron to the people. Throughout the rest of the Scripture he pattern continues: God keeps sending prophets and priests, judges and kings (a couple of whom didn't suck). God lives among the people in the Ark, the tabernacle, the temple. In Jesus. In the Kingdom of God. The pattern is so clear we won't keep belaboring it. This is at the root of Paul's words in front of the Areopagus in Athens. That the God who made the world and everything in it, who gave all things things life and breath, who made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, figured out our times and locations, specifically so we can have access to a God who is so close by, we could find Him by simply reaching out our hand like a man groping in the dark (Acts 17:16-28). Here Paul is also responding (in part) to gnostic claims that divine knowledge (gnosis) is held in reserve for only special people. This is a thought that the writers of John's gospel and epistles, as well as other New Testament writings were also firmly against. God's revelatin is open to all.
Returning to the passage at hand, we see the reason both verses end with the same rhetorical question: “get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?” The answer is, "no one." The God of the Bible, unlike other gods, gives divine law freely to all. It is given, not achieved through heroic deeds or specialized positions.
You're on Your Own: Suck Less
The diction and direction of Chapter 30 of Deuteronomy revolves around two words: shema שְׁמָע ("hear"/"obey") and shuv שׂוּם ("turn"/"repent"). These words are vital to biblical concepts of holiness, and appear all over the chapter (shema vs. 2, 8, 10, 12, 13, 17, & 20 / shuv vs. 1, 2, 3, 8, 9, & 10). The people must hear and obey God. They must turn themselves toward God and away from their own desires.
This passage comes near the close of the Torah, and the end of the Moses’ life. It is presented as preceding Moses’ final words to his people. Soon they must live with these guidelines without him. They must walk before the Lord their God by themselves. Moses will not ascend any mountains to bring them the word, he will not cross the Red/Reed Sea with them as God’s emissary. Moses will no longer be the voice to remind them to shema and shuv. They are on their own. But, thankfully, it's not that hard.
But this is not only an Hebrew Bible/Old Testament concept "good chrisitians" can ignore because the law has passed away, or been fulfilled, or some other supersessionist, steeping in anti-semetic, bullshit sentiment to get them out of their moral obligations as human beings. The New Testament, doubles down on this idea. Think about it: What is the definition of sin in the New Testament? There are two of them. Really simple.
1. "All wrongdoing is sin" (1 John 5:17)
You know that thing is wrong? Yes? That's a sin.
2 "Anyone who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin" (James 4:17)
You know that thing is right, but you're not doing it? Yes? That's a sin.
The Bible gets us coming and going.
Perhaps holiness is the hardest thing there is. Not because we don't know what to do, what not to do. Not because we need someone to patiently explain to us right and wrong. Not because we need someone to bring us a set of divine revelations to act like decent human beings. But because we simply make excuses.
Perhaps that's the point.
Perhaps striving to suck less in all our endeavors-- by not doing the wrong thing, and doing the right thing-- is exactly what we and this world needs.
Perhaps when we fail, we should get up and make better choices the next time.
But what do we know: we made this game and you probably think we're going to Hell.
Afterword:
It's come to our attention that there is a subset of people (x=1) who feel that the above is putting forth the view that salvation comes through the works of the law; that we didn't spend enough time talking about the work of Jesus imparting grace through His ministry, death, and resurrection.
We find this viewpoint interesting since we don't mention salvation on purpose. We are explicating an Old Testament/Hebrew Bible passage that is not about salvation. It is about living a holy life. For our purposes, a right relationship with God (read: "being saved") is sort of assumed.
This Card Talk is about God's law coming to us ("law" = God's commands/directions) freely, and how we should respond. Thus, to use $10 words, this Card Talk is not about soteriology, it is about sanctification. It's about how to live a holy life, not how to be "saved."
We thought this was self-evident. If you were among the people who were sorely offended by the fact that Jesus wasn't mentioned enough, you should really spend more time on our site: there are a lot more things you can be offended by.