Predicted exile, predicted return

 Welcome to the Daily Bible Chapter. My name is James Leroy Wilson and I invite you to join me as I attempt to read the Bible with fresh eyes, as if I don't know anything about it, and without consulting experts on what it "really" means.. Let's see where this takes us! 

Deuteronomy 30

I'm reading Young's Literal Translation (YLT) and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

It's uncertain if Deuteronomy 29 and 30 are written as a warning, a prophecy, or a history of what actually happened. It shouldn't be a spoiler alert that later in the Bible the Israelites are exiled. Deuteronomy 29:28 says "The Lord uprooted them from their land in anger, fury, and great wrath and cast them into another land, as is now the case." This suggests that this section was written while the Israelites were exiled in Babylon.

Deuteronomy 30 also suggests the book, or this part of the book, was written while the Israelites were exiled. "3  then the Lord your God will return you from your captivity and have compassion on you, gathering you again from all the peoples among whom the Lord your God has scattered you. 4 Even if you are exiled to the ends of the world,] from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there he will take you back."

Then again, the promise is that those who keep the (actually fairly simple) commandments and don't succumb to the ways of the world (or other nations) will be blessed. If they fall away and are scattered, they can always come back and prosper by loving the LORD (one's highest consciousness) and following what that consciousness says.

James Leroy Wilson writes Daily Miracles, The Daily Bible Chapter, JL Cells, and The MVP Chase. Thanks for your subscriptions and support!

(Photo credit: TyshkunVictor)