Numbers 1: God of Compound Interest Rate

“Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world.

If you invest a sum of money at 10 per cent for five years, you will multiply your wealth by 1.6 times.

If you invest your capital at that rate for 10 times as long (50 years), you will not multiply your wealth by 16 times.

You will multiply it by more than 117 times.”

Albert Einstein

What does the first chapter of the book of Numbers have to do with compound interest? And, is there any relation between the wonder of compound interest with one of the key characters of God?

Summary

The LORD told Moses to take a census of all the congregations of the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. For the twelve tribes of Israel, their total numbered men were 603,550, who were ready to go out to war (Numbers 1:25). The Levites were not counted among them, but they were appointed over the tabernacle of the testimony.

God’s Invisible Work

Between Genesis and Exodus, a time gap of approximately 400 years, we do not know exactly what had happened to the sons of Israel. However, this “silence” section of the Bible implicitly points out how God invisibly worked on His people, the Israelites, to produce wonder. Please refer to the equation below.

What is the equation solving? For those who are Bible and number savvy may have already recognized each component of the equation. On the left side of the equation, 603,550 is the total number of Israelite men in Numbers. On the right side of the equation, 70 is the total number of Israelite men when Jacob came to Egypt, invited by Joseph (Genesis 46:27, Exodus 1:5). 400 is the approximate number of years it took from 70 people to grow to become 603,550 men from Genesis to Exodus and Numbers. The equation is solving for the average annual population growth that enabled 70 men to be multiplied to 603,500 in 400 years.

What would be your guess of the annual average population growth if the population of 70 was to grow to 603,550 for the next 400 years?

It requires only 2.3% a year.

Most people, especially those who are not familiar with the power of compound interest, are surprised to see such a low number. Just a 2.2% annual growth would be needed for 70 to become 603,550. Year-over-year growth would be too negligible to be noticeable. However, this small growth, when compounded for 400 years, would result in an increase of an astounding factor of 8,622. This is the wonder that Einstein talked about – although his was about the money, a similar logic can be applied to population growth.

This small yearly growth would be powerfully manifested under two conditions: 1) a long time horizon; and 2) consistency. If this growth rate was disrupted significantly anytime in the 400 years, an increase from 70 to 603,550 would not have been possible. Therein lies one of the key characters of God: His steadfast love and work.

God’s Steadfast Work

Steadfast: a: firmly fixed in place: IMMOVABLE b: not subject to change

Merriam Webster Dictionary

God worked on the Israelites steadfastly over a long time. He never used His power to multiply the Israelites dramatically in a short period of time. A steadfast working of God and His consistency are two of His main characters. God allowed the Israelites to consistently multiply by protecting them from foreign invasions, pandemic, or any other unexpected natural disaster for the 400 years. In the process, a small, consistent annual growth of 2.3% turned 70 men into 603,500 men.

Lesson

God works faithfully. The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases. His mercy never ends. He who worked on the Israelites will empower you to accomplish His work through you.

As God multiplied the sons of Israelites from 70 to 603,500, let Him multiply your faith in Him.

Use of Noun-led and Verb-led Sentences to Give Life

Please read the two sentences, which share identical meaning, in the two bullets below. For lack of terminology, let’s say that Sentence A is a noun-led statement. Sentence B is a verb-led statement.

Sentence A (noun-led): Mr. Smith is a murderer.
Sentence B (verb-led): Mr. Smith killed someone.

How did you react/response to these two sentences? What were your initial thoughts on Mr. Smith based on Sentence A and Sentence B? Are they similar, or different? If they are different, why do you think they are different?

To Sentence A, people tend to react with judgement. People tend to judge early and decisively that Mr. Smith was a bad person, a person to be deservedly sentenced to many years in prison. To Sentence B, however, people’s reaction was different. People were more curious than judging. They wondered why Mr. Smith killed someone. Although identical in meaning, the verb-led statement seems to evoke different reactions from the noun-led sentence. This is one of the insights shared by Professor Kim, a psychology professor in Ajou University in South Korea.

How God uses noun-led and verb-led statements

His short lecture gave me an “aha!” moment and a new insight on how God perceives and evaluates His people despite their flaws and failures.

Here are a few examples of how the Bible uses the noun-led statements.

Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth (Numbers 12:3).
God labeled David, a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22).
Gideon was a valiant warrior (Judges 6:12).
Jephthah was a valiant warrior (Judges 11:1)
Jesus designated Peter as the rock upon which He will build His church (Matt 16:18)

Notice that these are noun-led statements and all highlight good positive aspects of that person. For positive qualities, God uses the noun-led statements for people to make a quick, decisive judgement on their goodness.

In contrast, we have never seen these statements in the Bible, although they are true.

Moses was a murderer (Exodus 2:12).
David was an adulterer and murderer (2 Samuel 11).
Gideon was a corrupt king (Judges 8).
Peter was a betrayer of Jesus (Luke 22:54-62).

Instead, the Bible uses verb-led sentences to describe the flaws and failures of these men of God, but never makes a decisive noun-led claim on their negative aspects. For Moses, the Bible describes why Moses killed the person (not to justify). For David, the Bible narrates David’s act of committing adultery with Bathsheba and of craftily killing Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, in the battle field – this allows the readers to wonder, question, and learn, instead of making a premature condemnation. The Bible also depicts the situation in which Peter denied Jesus three times, but never labeled Peter as a betrayer – so that we can read and meditate on the shortcomings of Peter, and reflect our limitations and flaws to focus more on the grace of Jesus Christ.

In summary, God labels great quality of His people by noun-led statements. For flaws and failures of His people, God narrates those events in verb-led statements for the readers to meditate, ponder and learn both the depravity of people and loving-kindness of God.

How do you use noun-led and verb-led statements?

I pray that you will use them in an apt manner as God did to His people. You will shine like stars in the sky in this crooked generation (Phil 2:15).

Joshua 1: We must move on

The book of Joshua starts with the inevitable destination for all men: death. The LORD told Joshua that Moses was dead and commanded him to lead the Israelites to cross Jordan to the land that He promised (Josh 1:2). The book of Joshua starts with death and a new mission for the Isrealites.

Mortal Man and Immortal God

However great they may be, all leaders die at some point. The work of God continues, however. God assigns and raises up a new leader. Although Moses made multiple requests before God to allow him to enter the land of Canaan, the LORD placed a hard stop on Moses. Moses passed away on top of the mountain and the LORD God Himself buried him in the valley in the land of Moab (Deut 34:6).

However extraordinary Moses was – whom the LORD knew face to face (Duet 34:10) – he died, but the work of God never stops. The work of God to redeem His people from the world began right at the moment when Adam and Eve sinned in Genesis 3. This work was carried out by Moses, and to be handed over to Joshua.

Repeated Verse: “Be strong and very courageous”

The command “be strong and courageous” is repeated three times in the first chapter. The same command and encouragement were given to Joshua twice prior to this chapter directly by Moses (Deut 31:7) and God (Deut 31:23). The LORD began to instill His encouragement to Josua before the start of the actual conquest. Repeating a phrase three times is held an important value in the Hebrew language, and what can we say about five times? These five repetitions were to remind Joshua of the LORD’s wholeheartedly support of Joshua’s leadership for the conquest of the land of Canaan.

God’s Partnership with His People: Simply Amazing

Let’s take a brief moment to meditate on Joshua 1:6:

“….YOU shall give this people possession of the land which I [the LORD God] swore to their forefathers to give them [emphasis added]”

“You” in this verse was Joshua. Although God was the ultimate leader of this conquest and the all the redemptive work, God was telling Joshua that Joshua would give this people possession of the land. This is simply amazing. God, who is sufficient and perfect, wants to work with His people. God desires to have deep fellowship and partnership with us in accomplishing His work! This attribute of God gives us the followers of Christ immense comfort and encouragement.

As soon as Joshua was empowered by the LORD, he took swift action to speak with the officers of the people for preparation.

Virtuous Cycle

The last three verses of this chapter, from verse 16 to 18, highlight the importance of oneness in the LORD within the community.

The leaders of Israel spoke back to Joshua to be strong and courageous (Josh 1:18). Where did this statement originally come from? Let’s follow the flow of communication in this chapter.

The message flowed from God to Joshua, then from Joshua to the officers of the Israelites, then from the Israelites back to Joshua. The original message of God was the encouragement to be strong and courageous. Then, Joshua received this back from the officers of the Israelites. What was flowing among the Israelite community was a virtuous cycle, essential for living out the promise of God.

Deuteronomy 34: The LORD buries Moses

Finally, the last chapter of the book of Deuteronomy. Moses was a great leader because he trusted his great God.

Obedient to the point of death

After Moses blessed the sons of Israel by each tribe, he obeyed the command of the LORD by immediately going up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo. At the end of Chapter 32, God commanded Moses to die on the mountain where he ascended, and Moses followed the command of the LORD fully and swiftly. Literally, Moses was obedient to the point of death – at least some resemblance to our LORD Jesus Christ, who was also obedient to the point of death, the death on the cross.

The LORD shows Moses the land

Why did the LORD show all the land to Moses? Perhaps, to fulfill Moses’ curiosity. It is possible to imagine that the LORD acted as Moses’ personal tour guide in His mercy and compassion. Although the LORD prohibited Moses from leading the Israelites to conquer the land of Canaan, He still accommodated Moses’ longing as much as possible.

Were the lands and the part of Mediterranean Sea visible from the top of Mount Nebo? Yes, based on our google map and search, in a clear day, 50 kilometers (about 30 mile) can be seen without special help of binoculars. So yes, Moses was able to see all of them without a supernatural help from the LORD.

What do you think was going through Moses’ heart and mind as he gazed on the land of Canaan? Jot down some of your thoughts as if you were Moses.

The LORD ultimately leads

Moses was a great leader. He led approximately 2 million grumbling people (estimated based on 600,000 adult males) into the wilderness for 40 years with an infinite amount of patience, including multiple crucial intercessory prayers to save them from the wrath of the LORD. However great Moses was, the ultimate leader had always been the LORD, their God. The LORD reminded Moses that this was the land that the LORD swore to their ancestors (Deut. 34:4). The LORD was, is, and will forever continue to be the ultimate leader.

The role that Moses played was clearly articulated in the book of Hebrews. Hebrews 3:5 states that Moses was faithful in all His [God’s] house as a servant. Moses, although greatly venerated by the Jews, was still only a servant. The glory, honor, and praise belong to our God, and the LORD Jesus Christ.

The LORD buries Moses

Let’s recollect the process of Moses’ death chronologically. The LORD commanded Moses to go up to the mountain. Moses went up and the LORD showed all the land. Moses died on the mountain – presumably at the top of the mountain. The LORD carried Moses down and buried him in the valley, at the lower ground, in the land of Moab. No man knew the burial place.

Amazing is the intimate, special treatment by the LORD on Moses. Duet 34:6 indicates that the LORD Himself buried Moses. Moses was the only person to be buried directly by the LORD God. Unfathomable.

The LORD commences

This was not it. The LORD raised up a new leader for the new conquest. Joshua was filled with the spirit (34:9) and the sons of the Israelites listened to him.

The LORD honors Moses

Although it was ultimately about the LORD, He made sure that Moses was honored. Moses was described as a man of God (Deut. 33:1) and the only person in history whom the LORD knew face to face (Exodus 33:11). The close, intimate relation between the LORD and Moses was manifested through the mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.

Deuteronomy 31: Division of Labor

Friday April 19, 2019

Good Friday. Many followers of Christ commemorated His crucifixion. Some members of the Korean Bible Study group attended the Good Friday service at their respective home church to honor Christ. For those who did not have home church assembled to press on to finish the last portion of Deuteronomy in the University of Maryland College Park campus. Praise the LORD for the great weather again – a mild temperature in the mid 60s with occasional breeze.

Deuteronomy 31

Let’s make sure, first, we are reminded of the author’s background: Moses. Although he was 120 years old, his eye was not dim, nor his vigor abated (Deut. 34:7), and he knew his death was imminent. A man of 120 years old, who knew God face to face and was still full of vigor, must have had many godly wisdoms to impart to the younger generation. In a situation like this, he would declare the most important messages and wisdoms that he accumulated over his entire 120 years of life, especially from the last 40 years, during which he had led the Israelites from Egypt to the east of Jordan River. Therefore, even for the readers in the 21st century of the Deuteronomy 31 have a strong reason to heed the last words of Moses.

This chapter presented many diverse instructions specific to each group or person. Therefore, I divided the instructions by categorizing them into distinct speaker-listener combinations. They are summarized in the table below.

Category – Speaker/Listener	Moses to All Israelites (v.1-8)	Moses to Joshua (v. 7-8)	Moses to the Levitical Priests(v. 9-13)	The LORD to Moses (v.14-22, 24)	The LORD to Joshua (v. 23)	Moses to the Levites(v. 23-29)
Old Leadership	Moses won’t be able to lead you any longer.			Moses will die soon (repeated twice)
New Leadership	The LORD your God and Joshua will lead you.	Be strong and courageous because Joshua will lead them to land.		Call Joshua that the LORD may commission him.	Be strong and courageous and you (Joshua) will bring the Israelites into the land I promised
“Steadfastness” of the Israelites				Israelites will fall away and the LORD’s anger will be kindled.		The Israelites will fall away.
Steadfast and Inclusive God	Be strong and courageous for the LORD will not fail you nor forsake you.	THe LORD will not fail you, nor forsake you.	Assemble everyone in Israel, including all the aliens, and teach the word to them to hear, learn and fear the LORD. Educate the next generation. Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priest	To Moses, write a song and teach it to the Israelites that show faithfulness of God and unfaithfulness of Israelites		Take this book of the law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD God.

Overall observation of the chapter

The Wealth of the Nations, written by Adam Smith and published in 1776, starts with an interesting topic. The book’s very first chapter is about the division of labor. After making a series of keen observations of pin manufacturing processes, Adam Smith was awed by a significant increase in productivity in pin production when the division of labor was appropriately implemented. Somewhat – although a distant “somewhat” – Deuteronomy 31 reminded me of the division of labor instructed by the LORD to each stakeholder group within the Israelites. Some messages were given directly from the LORD to Moses and Joshua. Others were from Moses to all the Israelites and Moses to the Levitical priests. These messages, although distinct, have some common elements.

Old leadership and the remaining task

One of the major questions that came up when I was reading this chapter was why the LORD God decided to have a major change in the leadership at such a crucial juncture of the Israelites. Normally, this abrupt change in leadership before a major conquest war can be extremely risky. When the question was brought up to the bible study group, we started to brainstorm.

One potential reason that the LORD decided to change the leadership was because Moses was old, the LORD wanted to relieve him from this straining duty and burden (Imagine yourself having led 600,000 people for 40 years in the wilderness!) Yet, this reasoning may be weak because Deuteronomy 34:7 states that Moses was still full of vigor. Despite his advanced age of 120, Moses was very healthy. Note that not every person of God was healthy at the end of his/her life. King David, man after God’s heart, was frail when he was old and advanced in age (1 Kings 1).

The second possible reason could be that the LORD God knew that a new, younger leadership would be more suitable to lead the second generation Israelites. This reason seems plausible. To the most second generation Israelites, Moses was a reverent, fearful leader. Their parents disobeyed the LORD and Moses, and everyone of them, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, fell dead in the wilderness. Moses was the one who received godly revelation of the Law and Ten Commandments. To them, Moses was an epitome of a vertical leadership with charisma. On the other hand, Joshua could been considered a comrade and collaborate leader, which can be more appropriate to the new generation. If Moses had continued to lead, then the Israelites community would have been robbed of the opportunity to nurture the growth of new leadership. In addition, there could have been a danger of idolizing human leader over God.

The third possible reason that the LORD God decided to change the leadership was that He loved Moses too much. Although the nominal reason that Moses was not allowed to enter the land of Canaan was his disobedience to the LORD by hitting the rock with his staff instead of speaking to it (Numbers 20), the heart of the LORD may not have been entirely in anger. It was possible that the LORD detected the frailty in Moses and decided to relieve him from the duty. Instead of implementing punishment, the LORD’s decision to have Moses step down from the leadership before the conquest of Canaan could be an ultimate sign of the LORD’s deep affection for Moses. The LORD wanted Moses to come back to Him.

Moses knew when to let go and obeyed God. In April 2018, Omar al-Bashir, the ignominious leader of Sudan for nearly four decades, was forced to step down by the military. It is incredibly difficult to step down especially after many decades of having the top position. Moses did an excellent job of leading the grumbling, stiff-necked Israelites for 40 years in the wilderness. He taught the Law, the life-giving Law, to God’s people. He oversaw the building of the tabernacle. He completed his mission assigned by the LORD God. It was the time for him to step down – and that was good in the sight of the LORD.

New Leadership and Be strong and Courageous

God was grooming Joshua to be the leader. About 40 years ago, Joshua was the general that led the Israelites to fight the army of Amalek while Aaron and Hur helped Moses to hold his hand up until the sun set (Exodus 17). Not only was he capable of leading armies, he also had the discernment – only Caleb and he were able to see the land of Canaan with God’s perspective and power. The LORD made it clear – Moses would pass away, and Joshua would lead the people.

“Faithfully” sinful human

So far so good. However, Moses knew that the Israelites would continue to be unfaithful and rebellious (Deut. 31:27). Moses warned this to the Israelites, and soon they confirmed it. The book of Judges confirmed their rebellious attitudes and unfaithfulness. Many prophets in the kingdom of Judah and Israel rebuked their unfaithfulness. Our lives continue to reflect our sinful shortcomings.

Faithfully good God

God knew that the Israelites would lead themselves astray to serve other gods and idols of other nations. Despite fully knowing their stiff-necked attitudes, God still led them through the wilderness under Moses and still promised to lead them into the land of Canaan under Joshua. God continues to abide by His faithfulness.

Good Friday

That brings us back to Good Friday. Despite knowing that we would fall short, Jesus died on the cross. Deuteronomy 31 continues to remind us of God’s faithfulness. Good Friday reminds us of faithful Christ.

Deuteronomy 30: Commandments are not difficult to keep?

Friday: Night of Inductive Bible Study on April, 12, 2019

It was a beautiful weather in Maryland with a mild temperature between 60 and 65 although slightly wet due to early afternoon rain. Around 8 p.m., five of us gathered in one of the buildings at the University of Maryland College Park campus to collectively meditate on and discuss the word of God – from the book of Deuteronomy. Chapter 30 of the book records the final portion of Moses’ sermon to the Israelites in the wilderness.

Decipher the Author’s heart and mind

The last public message by Moses, which began in chapter 28, took place in the land of Moab where the second-generation Israelites gathered. Although he was 120 years old, he was full of vigor with clear eyesight. Chapter 30 is the last portion of his exhortation to God’s people to obey the LORD. Given that Mose knew that his physical death was imminent, chapter 30 is almost equivalent to Moses’ will. He was pouring out his heart to his spiritual sons and daughters, God’s people, with all his heart, mind, strength, and soul. He might have been dripping blood like sweat knowing that Israelites, despite the warnings and pleadings, would eventually disobey and, subsequently, face curses that the LORD warned (Deut 28) – perhaps, similar to that of Jesus when He prayed for all the believers (John 16 and 17) before His crucifixion, know that He would be temporarily separated from the Father. temporary separation from the Father. Moses’ message might have been similar to Paul’s last letter to his beloved son, Timothy (2 Timothy). At first glance, Deuteronomy may be seen as a dry book of repetition of laws and warnings. However, I beg to differ. This was the painful pouring out of heart of Moses to God’s people because of deep love. Let’s read the following chapters as if we were Moses. Then, each word and phrase becomes dynamic.

Reasons for us to pay attention to the last message of Moses

One tip on meditation is to be one of the actual persons in the passage. Try to be Moses. Try to be one of the Israelites as if you were hearing his last sermon at this moment. Try to imagine even yourself as God when Moses was preaching. What was going through Moses’ mind as he was uttering these words of God? How high or low was his tone of speech? Where was his standing, and was he able to see all the audience of 600,000 Israelites? What was the weather like, the season of the year and time of the day? And so forth.

Here’s the reason for us, the readers in the 20th century, to pay attention to Moses’ last sermon. Imagine a guy, who was 120 years old, full of energy and vigor, yet knowing imminent death, this person surely wanted to impart the most important message. Before the death bed, no one will waste his/her last strengths with something meaningless. This reason alone is sufficient for us to heed the message.

Content

Here’s the content of Chapter 30. In the first part of the chapter, verse 1 to 10, Moses reiterated God’s faithfulness and eventual Israelites’ disobedience and banishment to all nations because of their persistently rebellious disobedience to God. Despite knowing the rebellious heart and deliberate disobedience of the future Israelite, the LORD their God still promised the blessings to His people if they would return to the LORD their God and obey Him with all their heart and souls according to all the commandments.

The second part of the passage, from verse 11 to 14, Moses injected an important attribute of God and His words. He encouraged the Israelites that they could keep those commandments because they are near and within the reach and not too difficult.

This may strike some of us strange given that we were taught that it is impossible to keep all the commandments written in the book of Moses. However, Moses in Deuteronomy argued that “this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you (Deut 30:11).” How can keeping the commandment not too difficult? The key to understanding this verse is to obtain a correct understanding of “keeping the commandments.” Let’s come back to this point.

The third part, from verse 15 to the end of the chapter, Moses provided a few direct commands to the Israelites: Love the LORD your God (v16); and choose life by living the LORD your God (v19).

In summary, Moses pleaded with the Israelites to obey and love the LORD with all their heart, soul, mind and strength – because that is the only way to the true life.

Insightful questions

The biggest benefit of having a bible study with a dedicated and curious group of people is the variety of questions that arise from different perspective, thinking style, and life background. During the Bible study, we threw out many questions. Here are two insightful questions which underpinned the flow of the discussion and sharing on this session.

[Q1] Moses stated that keeping the commandments would not be too difficult for the Israelites (Deut 39:11). This statement is strange especially given some of the references provided in the letters written by apostle Paul. Paul in numerous times told that it was impossible to keep the commandments of the Law and the purpose was to illuminate that we were sinners. How can we better understand the exact meaning of keeping the commandments being to too difficult?

This is a great question. One of the complacency that creeps onto the followers of Christ surrounded by church setting is simply accepting the words at their face value. Faith in God and Jesus does not mean to throw away curiosity and critical thinking. Critical thinking and questioning actually enhance our understanding of God, thus solidifying our faith in Christ.

Then, what does the “keeping the commandment is not too difficult” mean to you? Do you agree? Can you (imagine yourself as one of the Israelites listening to the last sermon by Moses around 2,000 B.C.) possibly keep all the commandments, 600 plus requirements? Probably, not. Then, why did Moses say that keeping the commandment is not too difficult?

Then, that leads to the other more fundamental question. Perhaps, there is a fundamental difference between Moses’ meaning of keeping the commandments and our understanding of “keeping the commandments.” The next question that came up during our bible study again enlighten us more.

[Q2] This verse (Deut 30:11) prompted me (the questioner) to compare and contrast the commandments uttered by Moses and commandments kept by Pharisees. I understand that the time gap between the two is about 2,000 years. However, What is the core difference in the meaning of the “obeying the commandments” by Moses and the Pharisees?

Again, great question. On the surface, Moses message in Deuteronomy for the Israelites to keep the commandments (otherwise a set of terrible consequences will ensue) and the Pharisees’ conduct of obeying the commandments of the Law during the time of Jesus may not seem to be very different. Yet, there are a key fundamental differences between Moses’ understanding of keeping the commandments of God and that of the Pharisees.

First, the purpose. Moses urged the Israelites to keep the commandments to live and honor God whereas the Pharisees used the commandments to show off their difference from the rest of the people by explicitly display their acts of righteousness. Moses taught the commandments to give life whereas Pharisees used the commandments outshine themselves and produce guilt trip to others.

Second, more importantly relation. Moses knew God face to face whereas the Pharisees knew the facts about God but did not know Him. One of the key indicators that show the difference is that Moses interceded for the Israelites three times when God was about to destroy them. Moses’ intercession was incredibly notable given that the Israelites in a few occasions wanted to stone Moses to go back to Egypt. Moses understood the heart of God – God’s deep love for the Israelites – and made an appeal to God to relent. In contrast, Pharisees were busy impressing their fellow Israelites and urged them to tithe, let alone intercede for them.

Moses understood the commandments from God by projecting the heart of God, but the Pharisees literally depended on their cognitive understanding of the letter of the words of commandments on the surface. In fact, Moses was already obeying the greatest commandments and the one like it – to Love the LORD and to love your neighbor as yourself.

The Pharisees’ way of keeping the commandment of the Law was different. They focused literally on the words of the LORD. They think that the Scripture itself could lead them to eternal life. They thought they knew God by literally living the written words of the commandments, yet, their actions gave impression to others that “religious” actions were of primacy

Connection with the New Testament: Love the LORD with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

When Moses urged the Israelites to keep the commandment, the core meaning was to establish relation and love the LORD. Loving the LORD is keeping the commandment, not one of the commandments. The Pharisees’ understanding of the commandment was the literal obedience to all the letters. If that is the case, even Jesus violated the commandment by taking the grain from the field in the Sabbath (Matt 5). Sabbath was made for men to rest and know God.

Then, why did Moses say that keeping the commandment of the LORD is not too difficult? First, it is not the literal deeds that follow all the details of the commands, but loving and depending on the LORD was core crux of the commandment. It was to be viewed as relational. Therefore, it was told that keeping the command was not too difficult. Second, verse 6, it was the LORD moreover who would circumcise the heart of the Israelites. In other words, the LORD enables them to undergo transformation of heart so that they can love the LORD. In the New Testament term, we can interpret as keeping the commandment of the LORD is not too difficult because the followers of Christ are empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Table 1: Comparison between Moses and Pharisees

	Moses	Pharisees
Relation with God	He had a face-to-face personal relationship with God.	They knew about God, but no personal relationship with God.
Posture	Although he knew that he was special (having one-on-one) conversation, he was humble.	Although they possessed tremendous knowledge about God, that led to pride and hubris.
Message	He gave life-giving messages (The LORD is your life).	Their examples were bounded by life-draining regulations.

Moses knew God as he experienced God. Deuteronomy 30, the message, by Moses was life-giving just as Jesus’ message and all his deeds were life-giving.

Pharisees did not know God. Their special status stemming from their ancestor Abraham made them arrogant. Their message to people were life-draining duties and religious acts.

Application

Moses concluded the last part of the sermon by giving a choice to the Israelites. As Moses provided choices to the Israelites, so did God. God never forces His will upon us. However, because He loves us, He urges us to choose life.

In Genesis chapter 3, Adam and Eve sinned and sin entered and we fell under the dominance of sin, whose wage is death. We live under the force of death. Without God (30:19), our choices are limited to only death and curse. Yet, God intervened in this world to provide us with life and blessings – the only way for us to choose life is loving the LORD our God, obeying His voice, and holding fast to Him. “Choose life” is still the message for us in 2019.