15
more clearly conditional than that in v. 1, and so may be best translated as "if," rather
than "when." The statement in v. 10 follows the temporal covenant blessings which
accompany the obedience Moses calls for in the present (vv. 7-9), while the statement in
v. 2 precedes the eschatological blessings accompanying God's work in the human heart
(vv. 3-6). Here is a combination of the historical and the eschatological in which the
former provides a picture and a foreshadowing of the latter. E.G. Merrill summarizes the
point of vv. 1-10 well:
If Israel historically did all that the Lord required by way of covenant observance
(v. 10), they could expect all the results listed earlier (vv. 7-9). When Israel did
eschatologically all that the Lord made possible by way of covenant observance
(vv. 1-2), they could expect all the results that followed (vv. 3-6).
The conditional statement in v. 10 begins to make the transition from the
eschatological future back to the present moment of decision. Verses 11-14 find their
place on the other end of the promise of restoration from 29:29. Whereas the "secret
things" are described in 30:1-10, vv. 11-14 describe "the things which are revealed." The
proverbial statement in 29:29 provides a contrast to contemporary ANE wisdom that saw
people as victims of fate, completely cut off from the mysteries of heaven. By contrast,
Moses affirms that God has revealed his law from heaven so that the blessings or curses
to come upon Israel would correspond exactly to what God had disclosed. After
speaking of restoration, Moses returns to the present call for commitment to the covenant
and uses another set of proverbial statements to describe God's revelation of the law.
With the questions, "Who will go up for us to heaven? ... Who will cross over for
us to the other side of the sea?" Moses makes use of a common Ancient Near Eastern
proverb to express the accessibility of the law to the people of God. Proverbial sayings