Deuteronomy 30:11

For this commandment which I command thee this day,.... Which the Jews understand of the law, but the Apostle Paul has taught us to interpret it of the word of faith, the Gospel preached by him and

For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. For this commandment ... is not hidden ... neither ... far off.

He seems to speak of the law, or of that great command of loving and obeying God, mentioned here ,6,10,16, which is the sum of the law, of which yet he doth not here speak simply, or as it is in itself, but as it is mollified and accompanied with the grace of the gospel, whereby God circumciseth men’ s hearts to do this, as is expressed . The meaning is, that although the practice of God’ s law strictly and severely be now far from us, and above our strength, yet, considering the advantage of gospel grace, whereby God enables us in some measure to our duty, and accepts of our sincere endeavours instead of perfection, and imputes Christ’ s perfect righteousness unto us that believe, now it is near and easy to us. And so this place well agrees with , &c., where St. Paul expounds or applies this place to the righteousness of faith, by which alone the law is such as it is here described. It is not hidden from thee, Heb. is not too wonderful for thee, as , i.e. not too hard for thee to know and do: the will of God, which is but darkly manifested to other nations, , is clearly and fully revealed unto thee; thou canst not pretend ignorance or invincible difficulty. Far off, i.e. out of thy reach.

Deuteronomy 30:11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it [is] not hidden from thee, neither [is] it far off.Ver. 11. For this commandment.] This word of faith, that teacheth the righteousness of faith, and speaketh on this wise, the doctrine of salvation by faith that works by love, this is clearly enough revealed in both Testaments, so that none can reasonably plead ignorance, and think to be excused by it.

Deuteronomy 30:11-14. THE LAW OF THE WHICH is OF FAITH.(11) For this commandment.—Heb., Mitzvah. This duty, this form of obedience to the law. Is not hidden from thee—i.e., not too hard. Literally, too wonderful for thee. (Comp. Deuteronomy 17:8; Psalms 139:6.) (12) It is not in heaven.—St. Paul cites the words thus: “The righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? that is, to bring Christ down from above” (Romans 10:6-7). (13) Neither is it beyond the sea.—St. Paul continues, “Or (say not), Who shall descend into the deep? that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.” The alteration here is remarkable. The LXX. will not account for it. “Beyond the sea” generally suggests the idea of a land on the other side of the surface of the ocean. But a descent into the “abyss,” which is what St. Paul indicates, means a passage through the sea to that which is beneath it, “beyond the sea “in a very different sense. No one but Jonah ever went beyond the sea in this way, as he says, “Out of the belly of hell cried I . . . Thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the heart of the seas . . . I went down to the bottoms of the mountains . . . The deep (abyss) closed me about.” And this descent of Jonah is chosen as the “sign” of Christ’s descent into hell. (14) But the word is very nigh unto thee.—Here the difference between the Jewish and the Christian commentator is very striking. “The Law is given you in Scripture and in tradition” (written and orally), says Rashi on this place. But St. Paul continues thus: “But what saith it (the righteousness of faith)? The word is nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thine heart, that is, the word of faith which we preach; 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.” It is worthy of notice that St. Paul in this place contrasts the righteousness of faith with the righteousness of the law, and describes both alike in the words of the Pentateuch. Concerning the righteousness of the law, he says, Moses describeth it, “The man which doeth those things shall live by them.” The citation is from Leviticus 18:5. And there is a similar passage in Deuteronomy 6:25. What could more clearly prove that the covenant of Deuteronomy 28, 29 was meant to present the way of salvation from a different point of view to the Sinaitic covenant, and was “beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.” Not that we are to suppose there was ever a different way of salvation. The Decalogue itself begins (like the new covenant) with “I am the Lord thy God.” But, unlike the new covenant, it makes no provision whereby Israel may keep the laws arising out of the relationship.

Verse 11. This commandment - is not hidden] Not too wonderful or difficult for thee to comprehend or perform, as the word niphleth implies. Neither is it far off - the word or doctrine of salvation shall be proclaimed in your own land; for HE is to be born in Bethlehem of Judah, who is to feed and save Israel; and the PROPHET who is to teach them is to be raised up from among their brethren.

11–20. The Close of the Concluding Addresses The commandment is not too hard nor distant, but near, articulate, intelligible and practicable (Deuteronomy 30:11-14). Sheer life and death, good and evil, is set before Israel. Obedience means blessing, apostasy destruction (Deuteronomy 30:15-19 a). Choose life that thou mayest dwell in the land, sworn to thy fathers (Deuteronomy 30:19 b – Deuteronomy 30:20).—The discourse turns back to the present of the (assumed) speaker and closes the whole series of his addresses upon the keynotes which have rung through them. As Driver says, ‘it is next to impossible that Deuteronomy 30:11-20 can have been originally the sequel of Deu 30:1-10.’ Deuteronomy 30:11-14 may be a fragment from an unknown source, for their subject connects neither with Deuteronomy 30:10 (Berth. and Marti notwithstanding) nor with anything else in Deut. except Deuteronomy 29:29 (28), which however is in the Pl. address. Deuteronomy 30:15-20 supply the needed peroration to 28, which ends abruptly; but the changes of address in them point to their editorial origin. It is the old question whether the same writer thus clenches his argument with the repetition of a number of his formulas or the hand of a later editor has collected these. The probability is with the latter. Cullen takes Deuteronomy 30:11-20 as part of his Book of the Miṣ ?wah, in his scheme the original Deuteronomy. Berth. regards Deuteronomy 30:15-20 as immediately following 28, and as belonging, therefore, to D. Steuern. holds at least Deuteronomy 30:15 b, Deuteronomy 30:19 b, and part of 20 as D’s. The changes of the form of address are signs that the passage largely consists of quotations.

Ignorance of the requirements of the law cannot be pleaded Deuteronomy 30:10-14; hence, Deuteronomy 30:15-20 life and death, good and evil, are solemnly set before the people for their own choice;

11. Hidden from thee — Rather, is not too difficult for thee. Jehovah has not imposed upon his people conditions impossible of fulfilment; nor are his requirements difficult of comprehension.