Who Will Get It for Us? Study Guide for Deuteronomy 30:12

I’m glad I live on this side of the cross.

On this side, Jesus has already come down in the flesh. He’s already finished the work God wanted Him to do.

And we can know all about it.

But when Moses was speaking to the Israelites as we read in Deuteronomy 30, they didn’t yet know about Jesus like we do. When Moses asked the question, “Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us?” they likely remembered seeing Moses ascend to Mount Sinai to meet God. And seeing him come back down with the tablets of stone, the 10 Commandments, etched with God’s signature.

“It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?'”
Deuteronomy 30:12

As we memorize and study this verse next week, put yourself in their shoes as they were listening about the law.

And then thank God for the shoes you’re in now, recipients of the gospel of grace.

Grace has come down to us.

Download as a PDF here: Study Guide Deuteronomy 30:12

Deuteronomy 30:12

“It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’”

Study

When we think about someone bringing God’s truths to us from heaven, we think of Jesus. But what would Moses’s audience have thought in Deuteronomy 30? Get the context by reading about Moses going up to Mount Sinai and bringing down the commandments in Exodus 24:1-18. Write down what stands out to you.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=exodus+24&version=ESV

Use a Hebrew lexicon or interlinear Bible like BlueLetterBible to dig deeper into an original word from Deuteronomy 30:12. What did Moses mean by “heaven”? What was the Hebrew word for “hear”? “Do”? Write down what you learn.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/deu/30/11/t_conc_183012

Read Deuteronomy 30:12 in multiple translations. Do different words give you a broader picture into the meaning of the verse?

https://www.blueletterbible.org/esv/deu/30/11/t_bibles_183012

There are three common cross-references used with Deuteronomy 30:12. Look these up (and read a couple verses before and after each reference). What similarities do you see with the message Moses is giving? Differences?

Proverbs 30:4. John 3:13. Romans 10:6-7

Moses’s question ends with hearing and doing. Pray about what you have heard from God this week. What is He wanting you to do? Write this in your journal. Continue to pray about it over the coming weeks.