For this commandment which I command thee this day is not too wonderful for thee, neither is it far off.
Moses has just set blessing and curse before Israel. Now he presses home that what God asks is within reach. Commentators treat this verse as a turning point. It comes after Moses has foreseen Israel's failure, and Paul later uses its words for the righteousness that comes by faith.
This is not Moses restating the terms on which Israel first took the land. The chapter has already assumed the worst: the people scattered, the blessings lost. By the time Moses speaks this verse, the covenant of literal obedience is finished. Older translations render the opening phrase "it is not hidden from you," and the quote below follows that wording.
The covenant of literal obedience had been so broken that they lost its fruits, the possession of the land, and were driven out. Being driven out was at once the proof that the covenant was broken and, since they were now outside the land, the very thing that made such literal obedience impossible. Then the Lord says, "For this commandment which I command you this day, it is not hidden from you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven," etc. But it was near them. Faith recognised it in its power and principles, although, shut out from the land, keeping it literally could not be done.
The previous chapter divided what God keeps secret from what He reveals. That secret is God's own resource once Israel has failed.
The revealed things are what Israel ought to have done, but did not do. The secret things are what God would do, despite Israel's sad and shameful failure. The following chapters present them in all their blessing: the counsels of divine grace, the provisions of sovereign mercy. God will display these once Israel has fully learnt the lesson of their complete failure under both the Moab and the Horeb covenants.
Kelly names what the secret is for. It reaches further than the land.
Grace points to an unrevealed secret, though in a distant and puzzling way. The people have utterly failed on the ground of law, as we have seen. Even so, God will not fail to find ways and means of justifying them by faith. He has more than words by which to bring them all into the land for a time. He has means, still secret, by which He can justify them in the face of all their faults, and work in their hearts according to what is in His heart — in short, His secrets of grace.
One writer contrasts God's way of speaking with religions that trade on mystery.
Was it beyond Israel's ability to understand the covenant God was making with them? Not at all! Eastern religions thrive on what is mystical. They give little thought to the actions that must match what is taught. But God was not speaking in mystical terms. He did not put the truth high above the level of man's understanding (v.11). It was not in heaven so that they must only hope for someone to bring it down to them (v.12). Nor was it over the sea, impossible to act upon unless someone were to make the journey to bring it to them (v.13).
Mackintosh presses the nearness of the word to its limit.
According to the truth here unfolded, it matters not in the least where a soul may be — here, there or anywhere: "The word is near you." It could not possibly be nearer. What could be nearer than "in your mouth, and in your heart"? We need not, as we say, move a muscle to get it. If it were above us or beyond us, we could fairly complain that we are unable to reach it. But no; in this most blessed and all-important matter there is no need of either hands or feet. The heart and the mouth are what God calls into exercise.
Paul takes up these words and applies them to the gospel. What is near has changed, and so has what it asks of us.
Of old God brought His commandment very near to Israel that they might do it. He has brought His word even nearer to us in Christ. It is now not a word of what we ought to do, but of what Christ has done, and of what He Himself has done in raising Christ from the dead. On our part the word only demands that we believe with the heart that God has raised Him from the dead, and that we confess Him as Lord with our mouths.
- Failure first. Moses speaks this verse over a people already scattered and shut out. God's word comes near where legal obedience has collapsed.
- Secret opened. What God keeps hidden is not information. It is mercy held in reserve — means by which He can justify the guilty and work in their hearts.
- Reach removed. Not too hard, not far off, not in heaven, not over the sea — the verse cuts away every excuse of distance and difficulty.
- Mouth and heart. God puts His word in the two places nearest a person. Receiving it needs no journey and no work of hands or feet.
- Christ nearer still. Paul fills the same nearness with Christ. The word now asks us to believe in the heart and confess Him as Lord with the mouth.
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?
Moses speaks to a people he already sees driven out of their land, and he tells them God's word is not out of reach. So if no one has to climb to heaven and bring the word down, what is left for a person to do?
One writer marks when these words are spoken: only after the covenant of obedience has broken down.
The covenant of literal obedience had been broken. They had lost its fruits in possessing the land, and were driven out. That was at once the proof that the covenant was broken, and it made such literal obedience impossible while they were shut out of the land. Then the Lord says, "It is not in heaven…" But it was near them: what faith recognised in its power and principles, even though its literal observance was impossible while they were excluded from the land.
Shut out of the land, they could no longer keep the law. That is where God speaks.
The verse first denies that God's word is too high to grasp.
Was it beyond Israel's ability to understand the covenant God was making with them? Not at all! Eastern religions thrive on what is mystical. They give little thought to the actions their teaching requires. But God was not speaking in mystical terms. He did not put the truth high above the level of man's understanding (v.11). It was not in heaven, so that they must only hope for someone to bring it down to them (v.12). Nor was it across the sea, impossible to act on unless someone made the journey to bring it to them (v.13).
The question — who will go up for us? — assumes a distance to cross. The verse cancels it.
According to the truth unfolded here, it makes no difference at all where a soul may be — here, there, or anywhere. "The word is very near you." It could not possibly be nearer. What could be nearer than "in your mouth and in your heart"? We need not, as we say, move a muscle to get it. If it were above us or beyond us, we would have good reason to complain that we cannot reach it. But no; there is no need of either hands or feet. Here the heart and the mouth are called into exercise.
Paul turns the "who will ascend" of this verse into "who will ascend to bring Christ down." The reason is that the journey has already been made from God's side.
Man could do neither. Had it been possible, neither would have suited the glory of God. He in grace meets man… The blessing is at the doors. Christ is given and preached. It is for man to name Him with his mouth and to believe with his heart. There are no heights to be scaled or depths to be sounded, which would put honour on human earnestness and ability.
To ask the question now would deny what God has already done.
Faith does not say, "Who will ascend into heaven?" We do not have to go up to heaven to ask God to come to our help. That would be a denial that Christ has come from heaven. Nor does faith say, "Who will descend into the deep?" That would be a denial that Christ has been into death and is risen from the dead.
Nearness like this leaves nobody out.
Note this beautiful word, "whoever." It certainly takes in the Jew. It meets him wherever he may be, a poor exile at the very ends of the earth. There, obedience to the law as such was simply impossible. But there the rich and precious grace of God and His glorious salvation could meet him in the depth of his need.
There is a nearness greater than the one Moses spoke of.
The commandment was near to Israel, but righteousness could never be by the law. Thank God, the gospel is nearer still. Its message is one of assured grace: "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
- Failure — God speaks these words to a people already shut out of the land, where keeping the law was impossible.
- Nearness — God does not hide His word above human reach or beyond a sea; He brings it down to the level of the hearer.
- No journey — nobody has to ascend or descend; hands and feet do not come into it — only the heart and the mouth.
- Christ — the climb and the descent are already made: Christ has come from heaven, has been into death, and is risen.
- Whoever — grace reaches the exile at the ends of the earth, right where he is.
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?
Moses is ending his long review of the law, and verse 13 shuts down the last excuse: no one has to sail the sea to fetch God's word. So why does Paul later quote these words and call them "the righteousness based on faith"?
The verse answers an excuse before anyone makes it. Israel could not claim that God had locked His word away out of reach.
Was it beyond Israel's ability to understand the covenant God was making with them? Not at all! Eastern religions thrive on mystery, with little thought about actions that match what is taught. But God was not speaking in mystical terms, putting truth far above what people can understand (v.11). It was not in heaven, so that they had to wait for someone to bring it down (v.12). Nor was it over the sea, out of reach unless someone made the journey to bring it to them (v.13).
Moses does not aim these words at Israel at its best. He looks ahead to the nation scattered, when keeping the law was no longer possible.
Paul quotes a part of Deuteronomy with an unusual feature: Moses addresses it to Israel as a resource for the day when all would be lost under the law. Israel might then be in exile, far from the altars of the Lord, suffering the consequence of their sins. For a Jew, righteousness meant keeping the law with all its rules and ordinances. Those ordinances were tied to Israel's settlement in the land of Canaan, and no one could keep them outside the country where God had set up His altar. But Israel rebelled, and the Lord would discipline them by carrying them away. Then there was no more altar, and so no more chance of gaining righteousness by law.
When the law can do nothing more, one thing is left.
When all is over on the ground of law, they will turn to God in simple faith.
Moses says the commandment is near, but he never names it outright. One writer ties it to the secret of God named just before, in chapter 29.
Moses preaches Christ as "the secret of God" in Deut. 29:29. Right after that, in the next chapter (Deut. 30:11-14), he speaks of a certain "commandment," which he then describes. Paul in his ministry refers to those words of Moses as describing "the righteousness based on faith," or the word of Christ (Rom. 10:6). So the apostle fully reveals what the lawgiver had only hinted at, and shows that Jesus is the secret that belongs to God — God's true resource for sinners.
Romans 10:7 changes the sea voyage into a descent. The link is in the word itself.
In Rom. 10:7 "the deep" probably refers to the deep sea. Paul takes the quotation from Deut. 30:13, where it reads, "Who will go over the sea for us?" Other passages call the sea "the deep," as in Isa. 51:10 and Isa. 63:13.
Read that way, both impossible errands turn out to be things God has already done Himself.
"Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' (that is, to bring Christ down) or 'Who will descend into the abyss?' (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)." Man could do neither. Had it been possible, neither would have suited the glory of God. He in grace meets man. The Father sent His Son into the world. The Father's glory raised Him from the dead… There is no question of climbing heights or sounding depths, which would give honour to human effort and ability.
If someone had to fetch the word, geography would decide who could be blessed. Because it is near, location decides nothing.
By the truth unfolded here, it does not matter in the least where a soul may be — here, there, or anywhere: "The word is near you." It could not possibly be nearer. What could be nearer than "in your mouth and in your heart"? We need not, as we say, move a muscle to get it. If it were above us or beyond us, we would have good reason to complain that we cannot reach it. But no; in this most blessed and all-important matter we need neither hands nor feet. God calls the heart and the mouth into action.
One word makes sure the scattered Jew is not left out.
Notice that beautiful word, "whosoever." It certainly takes in the Jew. It meets him wherever he may be — a poor exile at the very ends of the earth, where obeying the law was simply impossible, but where the rich and precious grace of God and His most glorious salvation could meet him in the depth of his need.
- Near, not far. Moses names the sea only to rule it out: God never hid His word behind an ocean.
- Spoken into ruin. Moses aims these words at a scattered Israel with no altar left — the moment when doing can no longer save.
- Faith, not fetching. When the law has nothing left to give, one thing remains: turning to God in simple faith.
- Christ is the errand. Paul reads the two journeys, up and down, as bringing Christ from heaven and raising Him from the dead. Both are God's work, so no human effort earns credit.
- Whosoever. Since there is nothing to travel for, distance decides nothing: mouth and heart are enough, anywhere on earth.
For the word is very near to thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.
Moses closes his long appeal to Israel by telling them God's word is not out of reach. Centuries later Paul quotes the same sentence and applies it to faith in Christ. So is Moses speaking about the law, or about the gospel?
The first question is simple. Was God's word too deep for Israel to grasp?
Was it beyond Israel's ability to understand the covenant God was making with them? Not at all! Eastern religions thrive on mystery, with little thought for the actions that should match what is taught. But God was not speaking in mysteries. He was not putting the truth far above the level of man's understanding. It was not in heaven so that they must only hope for someone to bring it down to them. Nor was it over the sea, impossible to act upon unless someone were to make the journey to bring it to them.
This nearness is promised to people far from home.
Moses names the mouth and the heart. Neither one asks for a journey.
It does not matter in the least where a soul may be — here, there, or anywhere. "The word is near you." It could not possibly be nearer. What could be nearer than "in your mouth, and in your heart"? We need not, as we say, move a muscle to get it. If it were above us or beyond us, we could fairly complain that we are utterly unable to reach it. But no; there is no need of either hands or feet in this most blessed and all-important matter. Here it is the heart and the mouth that come into use.
Paul takes up this verse, and one writer explains the turn he gives it.
The apostle Paul applies these words in Romans 10. We can never overlook how the New Testament applies the Old without losing a deeply interesting and weighty key for understanding it. The children of Israel had completely ruined themselves under the law. They had failed before God. The righteousness which the law claimed had only proved their actual unrighteousness. What was to become of them? The apostle brings in Christ — "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." So by the Spirit he gives this passage of Deuteronomy a striking turn. There is no question of going up to heaven to find the Saviour. There is no going down into the depths to bring Him back from the dead. The gospel brings the word of salvation right to the door, "in your mouth and in your heart." It is only to believe and confess the risen Lord Jesus.
Commentators are careful here. Moses is speaking about the commandment he gave, so the gospel is implied rather than stated. One writer weighs the closing words: the word is near, so that you can do it.
If we consider verse 14 — "But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it" — we cannot help seeing that far more is implied in the passage than is stated. The law in itself had no power to plant itself in the heart. If some people did love the law of God and thirst after His commandments, that was not the result of the law. Otherwise everyone under law would have been the same. It was proof of a greater work of God.
Distance is no barrier to this word.
Mark this beautiful word, "everyone." It certainly takes in the Jew. It meets him wherever he may be — a poor exile, at the very ends of the earth. There, keeping the law was simply impossible. But there the rich and precious grace of God and His most glorious salvation could meet him in the depth of his need.
- Near, not high. God did not hide His word above human understanding or beyond the sea; He brought it down to Israel's level.
- Near, after failure. Moses speaks to a people scattered and unable to keep the law. Nearness is God's answer to their ruin, not a reward for success.
- Near, in mouth and heart. You need no hands and no feet. The word is already as close as speech and thought.
- Near, as Christ. Paul reads the verse as speaking of a Saviour who has already come down and risen. Nothing remains but to believe and confess Him.
- Near, to everyone. The same nearness that reached the exile at the ends of the earth reaches whoever hears the word today.