Deuteronomy 30

How do you come home again when you have traveled so far away from God? Is there any way to have a spiritual recovery?

Moses spoke to Israel about the curse that would come upon the nation if they disobeyed the voice of the Lord. That curse would involve a siege by foreign powers and the enslavement of exile beyond the borders of the land that God would give to them. But he also told them that they and their children would return.

The fullness of their restoration would not come just from being back in Israel. They would need to obey the Lord's voice with all their heart and soul and find great blessing. The turning point would only come from an awakening in their hearts and minds while they were still far away. Then they would remember the blessing and the curse that he wrote about in prior chapters. They would call that blessing and curse to mind among all the nations where the Lord their God had driven them. Like the prodigal son in Luke 15, they would consider the consequences of being so far away from their Father. They would remember their Father's land and the real possibility of going back, and they would determine to go home again. This was the way Moses explained what coming home after exile might look like before Israel ever entered Canaan.

God would not hate them for their past disobedience. He would shower them with the blessings that flow from His love. He had scattered them, and He would be the One who would gather them back again, providing for them and making them more numerous than previous generations.

Coming home to the Lord after being far away from Him requires a true change of heart. Is something like that possible? Not without the grace of the Lord bringing new life.

While many Jews have already embraced Jesus as the Suffering Servant of the Old Testament and the true Son of David, there are many descendants of Abraham who have not yet found the Jewish Messiah. But Jews and non-Jews can come home to God through Jesus Christ.

But how can we find the way home to the Lord? Moses said this: “The word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart.” (See also Romans 10:8-10) The way back home is not that far away. We need to hear the Word, believe with our hearts, and call upon the Name of the Lord with our lips.

The Word that has power to save is as near to a prodigal nation and a prodigal son as his own mouth and heart. If you call to mind the blessing and curse, and if you remember the love and bounty of the Father, if you remind yourself that all of this goodness is for you because of the One Lamb that God has supplied, then you are already looking homeward. Now confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe with your heart that God raised Him from the dead. Call upon His Name and find in that Name all of the salvation that anyone could ever hope for.

Life is found in the God of Israel and in the Voice of the Lord that has come from heaven. He calls us forth to life. This is not just a call to us as individuals. It is still a call to whole people groups, even to the Jews today, to hear the voice of Jesus. The Lord will grant blessing to His people, even godliness with contentment, which is great gain.