Please explain to me Deuteronomy 30:19.
Deuteronomy 30:19 says, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.” Moses was speaking in this verse to the children of Israel with a message from the Lord. We see this in Deuteronomy 29:1-2, “These are the words of the covenant, which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which He made with them in Horeb. And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all His servants, and unto all His land.”
In the rest of chapter 29 and 30, Moses told the children of Israel that if any of them dishonor the Lord and worship other gods that “all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven” as we have in Deuteronomy 29:20. Also, in Deuteronomy 30:18, Moses told them that “ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land.” However, if the children of Israel were to follow the Lord, then their reward would be long life on earth, as we see in verse 20, “For He is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
Therefore, Deuteronomy 30:19 is a message to the children of Israel from the Lord that sets before them a choice. They can follow the Lord and be blessed with a long life on this earth, or not follow Him and be cursed with a shorter life and death.
The New Testament is clear that we also have a choice to make. If we trust on the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, then we have eternal life right now and will live forever with our Savior in heaven. However, if we reject the Lord Jesus, then we will perish and be tormented forever in hell. Let us read about that in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” In John 14:2-3 the Lord Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” If you have not yet confessed your sins and trusted on the Lord Jesus as your Savior, please do so today! (163.4) (DJ)