Revised Common Lectionary, Year C, Proper 10 (theme reading)

The thematic OT reading from the Revised Common Lectionary for this coming Sunday is Deuteronomy 30:9-14. The series OT reading switches from 1 & 2 Kings, which it has been covering since Pentecost, to Amos. The readings from Amos only last this week and next. This post will focus on the reading from Deuteronomy.

The first thing to notice about the Deuteronomy reading is that it starts in the middle of the passage. Verse 9 is neither the beginning of a paragraph nor even the beginning of a sentence. If we read it as it stands, then it merely sounds like a promise that God will make the people of Israel prosper. The full message is actually much more involved than that.

To fully understand the passage, we need to go back to Deuteronomy 29, where this discourse begins. In that chapter, Moses is delivering a sermon to the people of Israel, who are gathered in Moab before entering the Promised Land. He lays out clearly that if the people of Israel do not follow the law, they will be sent into exile in a foreign land. Only when the people repent and return to the Lord will he forgive them and cause them to prosper. The reading for this Sunday picks up at this point. When the people are in a foreign land, realize that they have sinned, and return to obedience, then and only then will God do all of the things promised in Deuteronomy 30:9-14.

The placement of this sermon on the plains of Moab is not accidental, as it seems to indeed be intended as a sermon for Israelites who are about to enter the land. It is likely that this section of Deuteronomy was written towards the end of the Babylonian exile, when the people had repented and returned to God. The sermon is directed to them as they prepare to return to Judah. Notice the statement in 29:14-15, which extended the covenant beyond just those who were present in Moab. The sense that the people returning from exile were re-entering the covenant seems strong in this passage. Just as their ancestors had stood on the banks of the Jordan and made a covenant with God before entering the land, so do the Israelites returning from Babylon. It is now up to them to be obedient in the land, so the fate of their ancestors does not befall them as well.

Permalink