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Expanded Comments |
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| 1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt take them to heart among all the nations whither Jehovah thy God hath driven thee, |
Shall come to pass – Under the New covenant. R5047:2, R1729:6
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| 2 and shalt return to Jehovah thy God, and shalt hearken to his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy sons, with all thy heart and with all thy soul; |
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| 3 that then Jehovah thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will gather thee again from all the peoples whither Jehovah thy God hath scattered thee. |
Turn thy captivity – Israel restored under the new conditions of grace. R3071:2
Gather thee – Not from Babylon or minor captivities but the great regathering from all nations (Jer. 32:37-42). This is a deliverance R1483:5
After their "double" of punishment. SM398:1
From all nations, and with considerable wealth and general prosperity. OV67:1
Compare Rom. 11:25-30. R3071:2
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| 4 Though there were of you driven out unto the end of the heavens, from thence will Jehovah thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee; |
Gather thee – The basis for Nehemiah's prayer. (Neh. 1:4-11) R1496:4
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| 5 and Jehovah thy God will bring thee into the land that thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. |
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| 6 And Jehovah thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. |
Circumcise thine heart – Signifies a cutting off, a separation from the flesh, its aims, hopes, desires, etc. R3022:3
See Jer. 31:33, 34. R3071:2
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| 7 And Jehovah thy God will put all these curses on thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, who have persecuted thee. |
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| 8 But thou shalt return and hearken to the voice of Jehovah, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day. |
Return and obey – Under the blessed arrangement of the New covenant it will not be too difficult for them. R3071:3
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| 9 And Jehovah thy God will make thee abound in every work of thy hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, for good; for Jehovah will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers; |
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| 10 if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law; if thou turn to Jehovah thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul. |
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| 11 For this commandment which I command thee this day is not too wonderful for thee, neither is it far off. |
Neither is it far off – Not difficult to understand. R1970:2
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| 12 It is not in the heavens, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to the heavens, and bring it to us, that we should hear it and do it? |
It – Christ. R1970:3
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| 13 And it is not beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, that we should hear it and do it? |
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| 14 For the word is very near to thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. |
The word – The truth which we preach. R1970:3
Nigh unto thee – Reasonable and plain. R1970:3
In thy mouth – The first outward evidence given of a faith in the heart. R3071:6
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| 15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil, |
See I have – Moses, type of the Great Prophet (The Christ, Head and Body). R2611:5
Set before thee – Israel, type of the whole world of mankind. R2611:5
Spiritual Israel now, the world in the age to come. R401:5*
This day – Type of the 1000-year day of trial, the Millennial age. R2611:5
For the Church, the Gospel age. R401:3*
Here the words "this day" are used in the same sense as in our Lord's words to the dying thief. (Luke 23:43) F669
Life ... and death – A choice for the whole world through Israel, their type. R401:2*
Eternal life or the Second Death. R2611:5
In the 1000-year day all will be called upon to decide under that most favorable opportunity for righteousness and life or sin and death. A choice must be made. R2611:5
Not heaven or hell, but life is the promise of the Law. Q328; R822:3*
It was only in the typical sense that the Jewish nation was on trial for life or death. R4598:3
Death is not a friend, but an enemy. R625:6*
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| 16 in that I command thee this day to love Jehovah thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances, that thou mayest live and multiply, and that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. |
Command – In the sense of laying out plainly and distinctly God's only terms for life eternal. R3072:3
That thou mayest live – Jesus' life would have been protected had he not voluntarily submitted and laid it down. R4642:4
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| 17 But if thy heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and thou shalt bow down to other gods and serve them; |
Drawn away – Deceived or allured. R401:6*
Worship other gods – For spiritual Israel, the gods of wealth, fame, family circle and home, or self. R3072:5
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| 18 I denounce unto you this day that ye shall surely perish; ye shall not prolong your days upon the land whereunto thou passest over the Jordan to possess it. |
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| 19 I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you: life and death have I set before you, blessing and cursing: choose then life, that thou mayest live, thou and thy seed, |
I call heaven and earth – Such words are very forceful at this time, for Moses was about to die. R5528:1
Life and death – Typical of the great second trial and its issues of life and death-second (or restored) life and Second Death. R892:3
Blessing and cursing – There is a curse for every one who loves unrighteousness; there is a blessing for every one who loves righteousness. R5247:3
Life is the blessing; death is the curse. R5747:4
Choose life – By complying with the conditions on which God said they may have it. R363:1
Typical of the individual trial of the whole world during the great 1000-year day. R2611:5
Israel was already under condemnation of death through Adam's disobedience and could not be placed on full trial again until redeemed. R892:2, R2611:4
In the present time the Lord himself declares that it is a narrow way we walk and "few there be that find it." (Matt. 7:14) HG160:6
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| 20 in loving Jehovah thy God, in hearkening to his voice, and in cleaving to him--for this is thy life and the length of thy days--that thou mayest dwell in the land which Jehovah swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them. |
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