ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

 Tu‘apulelulu ‘Akosi 26, 2021

And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart

Pea ‘e kamu ho loto ‘e Sihova ko ho ‘Otua

Teutalonome 30 (Deuteronomy 30)

(v. 6) And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

(v. 6) Pea ‘e kamu ho loto ‘e Sihova ko ho ‘Otua, mo e loto ‘o ho hako, ke ‘ofa kia Sihova ko ho ‘Otua ‘aki ‘a e kotoa ‘o ho loto, mo e kotoa ‘o ho laumālie, koe‘uhiā ke ke mo‘ui.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

This chapter contains some gracious promises of the conversion of the Jews in the latter day, of their calling things to mind that have befallen them, of their repentance, and the circumcision of their hearts to love the Lord, of the return of them to their own land, and of the great increase of them, and of their enjoyment of plenty of good things, Deuteronomy 30:1; in it is an account of the Gospel, or word of faith, which at this time should be brought near to the Jews, and be received by them, Deuteronomy 30:11; and for the present Moses desires them to consider what he now set before them, and what would be the consequences of receiving or rejecting it, and so what it would be most proper for them to make choice of, Deuteronomy 30:15.

David Guzik :: Study Guide for Deuteronomy 30

As remarkable and as prophetically meaningful the modern regathering of Israel is, it is incomplete. The spiritual dimension of the regathering has not yet been accomplished.

Today Israel is a largely secular nation. There is respect for the Bible as a book of history and national identity, but there is not, and has not been, a true turning to the LORD God, particularly as a nation.

We can say that in a sense, not even the religious or Orthodox Jews have completely turned to the LORD. Though they have had an important and precious part in God's plan for Israel in helping a spiritual consciousness for the Jewish people to survive through the centuries of the Diaspora, they have not truly turned to the LORD. We can say this because the character and nature of the LORD is perfectly expressed in His Messiah, Jesus. Jesus said, He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. (John 12:44-45) Since the Jewish people, except for a precious remnant, reject Jesus, they are rejecting the LORD God.

But God's promise still stands. As the final aspect of the promise to regather Israel, God will restore them spiritually. He promises to circumcise your heart. This is an idea repeated in the promises of the New Covenant, in passages like Ezekiel 36:26-27: I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Indeed, Paul promised that all Israel will be saved (Romans 11:26). Jesus said that He would not return until Israel embraced Him as Messiah: For I say to you, you shall see Me no more til you say, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!" (Matthew 23:39)

Some have thought that because the modern regathering of Israel has not yet demonstrated this spiritual dynamic that it has nothing to do with these prophesies. But the spiritual dynamic is properly listed in Deuteronomy 30:2-6 as the last of the blessings of regathering. Also, the picture of regathering in Ezekiel 37 - the vision of the dry bones - shows Israel regathered, and strong, before the LORD breathed the breath of His Spirit on the regathered Israel. We regard the modern regathering of Israel as a remarkable sign, and an extremely significant - but thus far only partial - fulfillment of these prophesies.