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would have been very troubling for Israel, for the occupancy of the promised land had its
roots in the unconditional promises God had made in his covenant with Abraham (Gen.
12:1-3, 15).
The inevitability of exile raises a dilemma about the faithfulness of God. On one
hand, God must be faithful to grant his unconditional and everlasting promises in order to
be trustworthy, but, on the other, he cannot overlook sin in order to bless a disobedient
people and remain true to his holy name. In a sense, Moses is dealing with the seeming
failure of God's Word, just as Paul does in Rom. 9-11. God's answer to the dilemma is
found in 29:29 [v. 28, MT], which begins the pericope in which vv. 11-14 find their
place: "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to
us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law." This
proverbial statement seems to be parallel to 30:11-14, a second and more detailed
proverbial statement addressing human limitations in perceiving the ways of God. Thus,
verse 29 of chapter 29 may be seen as a hinge verse between chapters 29 and 30,
providing an introduction to the promise of restoration in 30:1-10.
The proverbial
statements in 29:29 and 30:11-14 form an inclusio around 30:1-10, creating the
boundaries of a chiastic structure as follows:
A Proverbial statement on God's revelation to humans (29:29)
B Conditions for restoration (30:1-2)
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Most commentators take 29:29 as a concluding verse for chapter 29 and begin the following
pericope with 10:1. A.D.H. Mayes takes 29:29-30:14 together, seeing v. 29 and 30:11-14 as a framework
for vv. 1-10, but then goes on to argue that this framework is completely independent in thought from vv.
1-10. Mayes, Deuteronomy (NCB; Greenwood, SC: Attic Press, 1979) 367. Ian Cairns includes 29:29
with what precedes it, but notes, "there is an evident affinity between 29:29 and 30:11-14" (Cairns, Word
and Presence (ITC; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992) 262. P.C. Craigie comments that 30:12 means the law
is "not part of the mystery of God that man could not approach," and in a footnote suggests a comparison
with 29:29. Craigie, The Book of Deuteronomy (NICOT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976) 360f.