Deuteronomy 29

Deuteronomy contains the farewell addresses that Moses delivered to Israel in the land of Moab, east of the Jordan. The preceding chapter, Deuteronomy 28, sets out at length the blessings for keeping the covenant and the curses for breaking it. Chapter 29 continues from there and deals with the covenant made in Moab, a section that extends through Deuteronomy 30. Because the Hebrew Masoretic Text places the verse numbered 1 in English Bibles at the end of chapter 28 (as 28:69), each verse number in chapter 29 of the Hebrew text is one lower than in English Bibles.

Outline

• Verse 1 A heading identifying these as the words of the covenant made in the land of Moab, "beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb."
• Verses 2–9 Moses gathers all Israel and reviews the past. The people saw the signs the LORD performed in Egypt against Pharaoh, yet the LORD had not given them a heart to perceive, eyes to see, or ears to hear unto that day. During the forty years in the wilderness their clothes and sandals did not wear out, and they lived without bread or wine, so that they might know that the LORD was their God. Israel defeated Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan and gave their land to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. Moses therefore tells them that if they keep the covenant, they will prosper.
• Verses 10–15 The captains of the tribes, the elders, the officers, the men, the little ones, the wives, the stranger in the camp, the hewer of wood, and the drawer of water all stand before the LORD. The purpose is to establish Israel as his people, according to the oath he swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This covenant extends even to those who are not present.
• Verses 16–21 The people had seen the idols of wood and stone, silver and gold, in Egypt and among the nations. Moses warns against anyone who, like "a root that beareth gall and wormwood," serves other gods while assuring himself that he will have peace. The LORD will not spare such a person but will blot out his name from under heaven.
• Verses 22–28 In time to come, later generations and strangers from far lands will see the land laid waste like Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, and will ask the reason. People will answer that it is because the nation forsook the covenant of their fathers and served other gods. The LORD will root them out of their land and cast them into another land.
• Verse 29 The secret things belong to the LORD, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children, that we may do the words of the law.

Key Verses

• Deuteronomy 29:4 "Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day." Paul cites this verse to explain Israel's hardening (Romans 11:8).
• Deuteronomy 29:15 "…and also with him that is not here with us this day." This verse makes clear that the covenant extends to later generations not present at the time.
• Deuteronomy 29:29 "The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever…" This verse is widely cited to distinguish between the aspects of God's will that human beings cannot know and his revealed commandments.

People and Places

• Moses: Gathers the people and delivers the words of the covenant.
• Pharaoh: The king of Egypt, against whom the LORD's signs were performed.
• Sihon: King of the Amorites, who ruled at Heshbon.
• Og: King of Bashan.
• Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh: The tribes that received land east of the Jordan as their inheritance (see Twelve Tribes of Israel).
• Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: The patriarchs to whom the LORD swore an oath.
• Horeb: Another name for Mount Sinai, where the first covenant was made (see Sinai Covenant).
• Moab: The place where this covenant is made.
• Egypt: The land where Israel had been enslaved and from which it came out.
• Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim: Destroyed cities to which the devastated land is compared.

Points for Reflection

• The relationship between the Moab covenant and the Horeb covenant Verse 1 says the Moab covenant was made "beside" the covenant at Horeb. Scholars are divided between the view that it is a renewal of the Horeb covenant and the view that it is a separate covenant.
• The covenant and descendants (vv. 14–15) The Reformed tradition of covenant theology cites these verses as one basis for the view that the covenant extends to the children of believers. By contrast, Baptists and others who hold to believer's baptism do not apply them directly to membership in the New Testament church.
• Secret things and revealed things (v. 29) Reformed theology, including that of John Calvin, frequently cites this verse as a basis for distinguishing between God's hidden will and his revealed will. This distinction is used in discussions of predestination and providence. In the Masoretic Text, the words "unto us and to our children" in this verse are known to be marked with unusual dots, and Jewish tradition has handed down various interpretations of their meaning.
• The warning of exile (v. 28) Traditionally this verse is read as a prediction of the later Babylonian exile. Some critical scholars, however, regard it as reflecting a perspective shaped by the experience of the exile.
• Connections to the New Testament Verse 4 is quoted in Romans 11:8. The "root that beareth gall and wormwood" in verse 18 is commonly explained as connected to the warning about a "root of bitterness" in Hebrews 12:15.