New Testament Explanation of Deuteronomy 30: Part 4

Deuteronomy 30:9 in the Light of the New Testament

DEUTERONOMY 30:9

Here we are proving from Scripture that God is fulfilling Deuteronomy 30:9 in the Church Age, not in a millennium.

GOD BLESSES ALL OBEDIENT NATIONS WITH PROSPERITY

Deuteronomy 30:9 is not a promise that is unique to Israel. God is promising what He promises to all nations. He guarantees us blessings for obedience to Him and curses for disobedience (Daniel 5:22-30).

But, in Deuteronomy 30:9 there is a higher promise than the literal one.

Deuteronomy 30:9 says, “So the LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the offspring of your livestock, and the produce of your land. Indeed, the LORD will again delight in your goodness, as He delighted in that of your fathers.”

In Deuteronomy 30:9 God promised material blessings to the Israelites if they obeyed Him.

This is literally true for the nation of Israel. History shows that even when Israel imperfectly obeyed Yahweh, He prospered the nation. Thus, under godly kings David and Solomon, God gave them material blessings (1 Kings 4:20-28).

And when Israel turned to God and away from sin, especially from idolatry, God blessed them with temporal blessings such as riches and peace.

God was patient with unbelieving nations up to a point. He suffered long with the Canaanite nations until their sin reached a certain level. Even though the Amorites were idol worshippers, God, in forbearance gave them “milk and honey.” 

When Amorite sins deserved it, God ordered the Israelites to destroy the nations of Canaan and take both their “milk and honey” and their land (Genesis 15:6). 

Thus, the conquering Israelites were part of God’s judgment upon the Canaanite nations. Yahweh sent them to destroy people He had already judged to be worthy of death. 

It was the same with the Amalekites whom God told Saul to execute (1 Samuel 15:3).

1 Samuel 15:3 says to King Saul, “Now go and attack the Amalekites and devote to destruction all that belongs to them. Do not spare them, but put to death men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”

God was using the Israelites as His executioners to destroy the Amalekites. 

Thus, God’s war against the Amalekites was a righteous one. And it was part of His cursing for disobedience (Genesis 15:16).

GOD BLESSES ALL NATIONS WITH PROSPERITY IF THEY OBEY HIM

God’s ultimate fulfillment of the promise of blessing for the Jews and Gentiles was in Christ. It was to individual Jews and Gentiles in His spiritual nation. Converts to Christ became part of Jesus’ holy nation (1 Peter 2:9).

1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” 

Our Lord Jesus fulfills the Old Testament promises about Messiah. And in Him is the new Israel, which is a holy nation.

In Jesus is a nation of redeemed individuals united by grace through faith.

Deuteronomy 30:9 is a blessing, not only for national Israel but for those who follow Messiah by personal faith. 

The blessings are for those individuals who believe in Christ. The cursings are for those who disobey God. 

The presupposition of Deuteronomy chapter 30 is in Deuteronomy 30:2 as follows:

“And when you and your children return to the LORD your God and obey His voice with all your heart and all your soul according to everything I am giving you today…”

The only Person who ever returned to the LORD after obeying “everything” in the Law was our Lord Jesus Christ.

The return from other lands is leaving the idolatry of those lands and embracing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Unsaved Jews of New Testament times have left the idolatry of the Baals and Molech’s, and embraced materialism, literalism, and the world. They are still idolators.

All, whether Jews or Gentiles are guilty of idolatry. 

SPIRITUAL WEALTH

Jew and Gentile alike think wealth is the ultimate protector. But it is not (Proverbs 18:11).

Proverbs 18:11 says, “A rich man’s wealth is his fortified city; it is like a high wall in his imagination.”

Notice the use of the word “imagination.” A rich man imagines that wealth is a blessing. But it is not true. Greed is also a temptation (Colossians 3:5).

Colossians 3:5 says, “Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.

The ultimate blessings are the riches in Christ [Messiah].

So, in that sense Deuteronomy 30:9 is a prophecy about spiritual wealth. 

Only in our Lord Jesus have we returned to God.

And only in Christ are there blessings of the ultimate kind of wealth, namely the spiritual kind (Matthew 6:33).

Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.”

Seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness is a spiritual thing.

So, top priority in our lives must be the glory of God and the spiritual blessings that are in His Kingdom.

God blesses the work of the hands of the unbelieving Israelites. He does this as a shadow and type of His spiritual blessings upon the work of His New Testament Jews and Gentiles in Christ.

Spiritual blessings often beget material blessings (1 Corinthians 9:11).

1 Corinthians 9:11 says, “If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much for us to reap a material harvest from you?”

God blesses Christians with material blessings as well. But His greater blessings are the treasures that He gives to us in Christ (Matthew 13:44).

Matthew 13:44 says, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy, he went and sold all he had and bought that field.”

So, the ultimate meaning of Deuteronomy 30:9 is that God blesses those who obey the good news by believing in Jesus. By that we inherit spiritual treasure (John 6:29).

We see Jesus. We value Him as the greatest of treasures. So, we divest ourselves of everything that opposes Him. Then we trust Him as our only hope of salvation.

John 6:29 says, “Jesus replied, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.”

GOD GAVE JESUS TO US IN GRACE, NOT WORKS

An adjacent promise of Israelite blessing for obedience is in Deuteronomy 28:4.

Deuteronomy 28:4 says, “The fruit of your womb will be blessed, as well as the produce of your land and the offspring of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.”

Along with God’s blessing of the Israelites with produce, calves, and lambs is His blessing of the “fruit of your womb” (Exodus 28:4). 

Luke 1:42 quotes Deuteronomy 28:4a as the ultimate blessing, namely the fruit of the womb. 

In Luke 1:42 Elizabeth says to Mary, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”

Our Lord Jesus was the fruit of Mary’s womb. Baby Jesus fulfilled Deuteronomy 28:4a. 

So, we can see that Bible prophecy can be both about the blessing of God upon our children, and it can be His utmost blessing upon the object of the virgin birth.

This point serves to illustrate the fact that the supreme meaning of the blessings of Deuteronomy chapters 28-30 have lesser and greater fulfillments. 

Thus, the consummate fulfillment of the blessings for obedience is not abounding earthly wealth. Christ raises treasures to a much higher point when they are spiritual riches in Him.

So, God gives His greatest blessings to those who receive Christ.

DISPENSATIONAL GLASSES

Dispensationalists believe that, because of the literal method of interpretation, the following is true:

They believe that God has an earthly people (Israel) and a heavenly people (the Church). (1)

They think God has pledged to keep the unsaved nation of Israel as His people forever. So, there must be a millennium as a place in which to bless national Israel on this earth.

They believe that God purposes to bless Israel with earthly goods and that He blesses the Church with spiritual wealth.

Thus, they imagine that God does not have just one purpose, namely, to redeem people by faith during all generations.

They believe that God has earthly purposes for the Jews and heavenly purposes for the Church.

They think these purposes are inseparable.

They trust that God intends that we interpret His promises to Israel literally, with no spiritual meaning whatsoever.

So, when they(2) expound Deuteronomy 30:9, they explain it using these presuppositions. It is like they are wearing “dispensational glasses.” They can only see dispensationalism in Scripture.

CHRIST GLASSES

Many of the great errors of misinterpreting the Bible are due to confusing the shadows with the reality.

Israel as a nation is a shadow of Christ. But our Lord Jesus Christ is the focal point of the whole Bible. It is better to see Him in Scripture than the Jews. They are mere types and shadows of Jesus.

TABULAR VIEW OF SCRIPTURES THAT DISPENSATIONALISTS OVERLOOK

Text	Quotation
Acts 13:32-34	“And now we proclaim to you the good news: What God promised our fathers 33He has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.’ 34In fact, God raised Him from the dead, never to see decay. As He has said: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.”
Hebrews 11:13-16	“All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14Now those who say such things show that they are seeking a country of their own. 15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.”
Matthew 21:43	“Therefore, I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you [Israel] and given to a people who will produce its fruit.”
Romans 10:12-13	“For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all and gives richly to all who call on Him 13for, "Whoever [Jew or Greek] shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved."

They expect us to wear dispensational glasses rather than the Christ glasses used by Jesus and His Apostles.

They further believe that God has different dispensations or times in which He evaluates people under different circumstances. They think God will always keep Israel in the manner of the Old Testament.

Note that yours truly believes in an Old Testament Dispensation and a New Testament one. But this author does not believe in inventing a millennial dispensation.

Dispensationalists believe that, during that millennium our Lord Jesus will reign in an earthly kingdom over this world and that He will have locked Satan away.

They insist that Jesus will bring about near-perfect environment on the earth. So, they postulate an ideal world during that 1000-year reign. And under almost sinless conditions God will test people, revealing their sinfulness, and showing that man has no excuse for not trusting and obeying Jesus. (3)

To illustrate, it is something like earthly purgatory for Israel – a second chance for Israel under better circumstances. (4)

As part of that, Dispensationalists believe God will evaluate Israelites by rewarding them with material blessings when they obey Him. 

And, in this manner Dispensationalists opine that God will continue the blessing and cursing formula of Deuteronomy 28-30 for the Jews.

He will, they say, rule the world through the Jews and through the Church.

Dispensationalists believe that each of the seven dispensations ends in the failure of God’s purposes.

But God’s purposes are always successful (Ephesians 1:11; Hebrews 11:40).

Ephesians 1:11 says, “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will (Ephesians 1:11). On this please see also Romans 8:28-30).

Hebrews 11:40 says, “God had planned something better for us, so that together with us they [Old Testament believers] would be made perfect” (Hebrews 11:40).

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE DISPENSATIONAL VIEW OF ABOUNDING RICHES

The New Testament teaches that the “Hope of Israel” is the resurrection and ascension of Christ (Acts 13:32-34). It is not God physically blessing Israel in a millennium.

Acts 13:32-34 says, “And now we proclaim to you the good news: What God promised our fathers 33He has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: ‘You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.’ 34In fact, God raised Him from the dead, never to see decay. As He has said: ‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’”

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were not expecting an earthly land but a Heavenly one (Hebrews 11:13-16). 
Hebrews 11:13-16 says, “All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14Now those who say such things show that they are seeking a country of their own. 15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.”

So, Jewish and Gentile Christians are living in the spiritual land promised to the Patriarchs.

God tests everyone in the world with riches in every age.

The Kingdom of God came to this earth when the King came. God gave it to a people who produced its fruits (Matthew 21:43).

Matthew 21:43 says, “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you [Israel] and given to a people [Jews and Gentiles] who will produce its fruit.”

During the Church Age, which is the factual millennium, God is spiritually rich to all (Jews and Gentiles) who call upon Him (Romans 10:12-13). 

The New Testament tells us that the Jewish prophet Joel was prophesying the salvation of the Gentiles during the Church Age.

Joel was not predicting a Millennium during which God would give abounding riches to the Jewish people in exchange for obedience.

Romans 10:12-13 says, “For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all and gives richly to all who call on Him 13for, "Whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved."

Joel 2:32 prophesies, “And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has promised, among the remnant called by the LORD.”

God is fulfilling the salvation of Joel 2:32 by saving everyone [Jew or Gentile] who calls on the Name of the LORD [Jesus] during Paul’s ministry and beyond. 

It is not in a future millennium.

Paul quotes Joel 2:32 as the salvation of Jews and Gentiles is occurring (Romans 10:13).

Romans 10:13 quotes Joel 2:32 as follows, “for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

So, we urge Dispensationalists to remove those dispensational glasses and put on Christ glasses when reading the Bible. 

Dispensational glasses keep us from the truth.

Begin by acknowledging that Deuteronomy 30:5 and the whole Old Testament find their fulfillment in returning to God in Christ.

It should be plain from the teaching of the entire Bible that the ultimate riches are those which are in Christ. 

1 Timothy 6:9-10 says, “Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”

THE FATHERS OF ISRAEL

Deuteronomy 30:9d says, “LORD will again delight in your goodness, as He delighted in that of your fathers.”

In this Scripture we have a pointer to the time of the fulfillment of Deuteronomy chapter 30.

According to Deuteronomy 30:9d, the time of the fulfillment of Deuteronomy chapter 30 is the time in which God delights in the goodness of Israel. 

Deuteronomy 30:9d goes back to the time of the “fathers of Israel.” Deuteronomy 30:20 names the “fathers as the Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Deuteronomy 30:20 says, “…He [the LORD] will prolong your life in the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

So, the “fathers,” of Deuteronomy 30:9d have something in common with the “Israel” that fulfills the prophecy of Deuteronomy chapter 30.

That “something in common” is salvation by God’s gracious promise through faith. 

TABULAR VIEW COMPARING THE PROMISE COVENANT WITH THE FAITH COVENANT

THE PROMISE COVENANT GALATIANS 3:16-18	THE FAITH COVENANT GALATIANS 3:22-25
God made the promise covenant with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob & their seed (Christ & His believers).	God made the faith covenant with Christ and His people of faith (Galatians 3:16-29).
Ishmael and Esau could not live in the land (Romans 9:6-10).	Those who do not believe in Christ cannot live in the Heavenlies (Ephesians 1:3).
God promised the heavenly land to believers: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Hebrews 11:10-16).	God promises the Heavenly land to whoever [Jew or Gentile] will believe (Romans 10:9-13).
So, the promise covenant has the same terms as the ----------------------🡪	Faith Covenant terms are “Believe and God will justify you (Gen 15:6; Gal. 3:24).
The promise covenant says believe and God will justify you.	The faith covenant says believe and God will justify you.
So, the promise covenant was not of the Law of Moses & circumcision.	So, the faith covenant is not of the Law of Moses & circumcision either.
So, the prophecy of Deuteronomy 30:9d “the LORD will again delight in your goodness, as He delighted in that of your fathers.”	The “again” of Deuteronomy 30:9d cannot be in the millennium. Dispensational doctrine is that God fulfills Deut. 30:9d in the millennium. But Galatians 3 says God fulfills it during Paul’s ministry, in the Church.

Conclude that every verse of Deuteronomy 30 that we have studied in this presentation, finds its fulfillment, not in a future millennium but in the Church. And this is further evidence that God is fulfilling Deuteronomy 30:5, not in a future millennium, but in the Church.

NOTES:

(1) That is, it is not the visible church on earth, but it is all whom God conforms to the image of His Son (Romans 8:28-30).

(2) Dispensationalists are not necessarily alike. One may believe part of dispensational teaching without believing in every point of it. So, a Pastor or teacher may say that he is a dispensationalist while teaching that Deuteronomy 30:9 foretells the spiritual blessings of Christians. There are many varieties of dispensationalism. Yours truly believes in an Old Testament and a New Testament dispensation. 

(3)  This is a good goal. But it lacks any Bible teaching that says that. It is a theory.

(4)  But to be honest, Dispensationalists do not believe in purgatory, and they do not believe that the same Jews who live during the Church Age go anywhere but hell when they die.