“I Have Set Before You Life and Death”

Moses had been Israel’s faithful leader for more than four decades, as they left Egypt and as they wandered through an inhospitable desert. He had been there during their most desperate times, and he had been there to celebrate their victories.

After all they had been through together, as they were about to enter Canaan, Moses delivered a crucially important message that emphasized the punishment they would suffer if they turned away from God and the blessings they would receive if they remained faithful.

He concluded by making their choice obvious: “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

What did this statement mean for the tribes gathered before him, and what does it mean for Christians today?

“I have set before you life and death” in context

To understand any passage in Scripture, we need to understand its context. In this case, the choice Moses put before the people is very much connected to the nature of the entire book of Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy is a Latin word meaning “a repetition of the law” (The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, Vol. 2, p. 109). This book repeats much of the law and covenant terms contained in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers.

This repetition came at that exciting moment just before the tribes of Israel finally entered the Promised Land. Why?

Part of the reason is that the people standing before Moses were a new generation. Israel had spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness because the older generation hadn’t trusted God to bring them safely into the land (Numbers 32:13).

God had decreed that the disobedient generation who had left Egypt would not receive the covenant promises. Those of the new generation had either not witnessed the giving of the law at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19-20) or been below the age of accountability when it was given. They needed to hear the law.

But there’s more to the book than a repetition of the law. The format of Deuteronomy sheds light on the purpose of these words. The book is in the form of ancient Near Eastern treaties common during the last half of the second millennium B.C. (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 3, p. 4).

This new generation needed to do more than hear the law. They needed to enter into the same covenant (agreement or treaty) that their fathers had broken.

Terms of the covenant

Moses spoke the words recorded in the book of Deuteronomy at this critical juncture in the history of the nation. Many scholars believe the book includes three separate discourses, all delivered within a short time frame during the 11th month of the 40th year after the tribes had left Egypt (Deuteronomy 1:1-5; 4:44-46; 29:1).

This choice set before the tribes of Israel is the same choice God has given humans throughout history. In fact, the first humans, Adam and Eve, had this choice between life and death presented to them in the Garden of Eden. Following the Near Eastern treaty format, Deuteronomy includes historical details before moving on to provide the laws and stipulations of the covenant (Deuteronomy 4:44–26:19). The 10 Commandments, already given in Exodus 20, reappear in Deuteronomy 5.

The book also spells out the consequences for both obedience (28:1-14) and disobedience (28:15-68), referred to as blessings and curses.

Moses directed the tribes to participate in a ceremony after they had crossed into the land of Canaan. In that ceremony, they were to accept the terms, saying “Amen” after each curse was pronounced (Deuteronomy 27:12-26).

It was in this context that Moses told the assembled tribes of Israel, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life.” Israel was renewing the covenant with God. The people had a clear choice between obedience and disobedience, between blessing and cursing, and between life and death.

Choosing in Deuteronomy

The Hebrew word translated “choose” in Deuteronomy is bāḥar. This word occurs 31 times in the book. It’s most often translated as “choose,” but also as “chose” and “chosen.” Generally, the word refers to God’s sovereign right to choose.

Most often, the word describes God’s choice of a place for Israel to worship Him (21 times), but it also refers to God’s choice of Israel as His people (five times), to His choice of the Levites and priests for special service (twice) and to His future choice of a king for Israel (once).

Only twice does the word bāḥar describe a choice for the nation. One of those choices was the one Moses presented to the nation when he said, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

This stark contrast highlights the magnitude of this statement. God is sovereign. He is the One who chose where Israel would worship Him. He is the One who chose which people would represent Him. And He is the One who chose which tribe (Levi) would serve in a special capacity.

God had already chosen Israel. Deuteronomy 30:15-19 indicates it was now up to Israel to choose Him.

Witnesses to the choice

The parties entering into ancient Near Eastern treaties, like people signing contracts and other legal paperwork today, called on witnesses. The same was true when Moses set the choice before Israel.

The witnesses were not human. They were creation itself: “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death” (emphasis added).

A second element of this exchange is the repetition. Moses had already told Israel, “I have set before you today life and good, death and evil” (verse 15). He used virtually the same words in verse 19. In the context, this repetition may hint at another important concept—when God repeats a statement, He is confirming it (Genesis 41:32).

At the very least, repetition of the choice between life and death, together with the call for witnesses, stressed the gravity of the moment. It was not a moment to be taken lightly.

The choice in other terms

So what does any of this have to do with us today? This choice set before the tribes of Israel is the same choice God has given humans throughout history. In fact, the first humans, Adam and Eve, had this choice between life and death presented to them in the Garden of Eden.

The garden had a bountiful array of “every tree . . . that is pleasant to the sight and good for food” (Genesis 2:9). There was no lack of variety among the trees of the garden.

In this account, only two trees are named: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. One was off-limits for our ancient parents.

God clearly warned Adam and Eve, “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (verse 17). They could have eaten of the tree of life, but instead they chose to eat of the tree that resulted in death.

Adam and Eve had the same choice put before them. Like ancient Israel, they had the choice between life and death. They chose disobedience and, as a consequence, death.

The choice in Proverbs

The entire book of Proverbs is devoted to this choice between life and death, though it is often presented as a choice between wisdom and folly. The book personifies both in chapter 9.

Wisdom invites the simple—those without understanding—to “forsake foolishness and live, and go in the way of understanding” (Proverbs 9:6).

Folly, on the other hand, is pictured as a brazen harlot, encouraging anyone who hears her to give in to temptation. “Stolen water is sweet,” she insists, “and bread eaten in secret is pleasant” (verse 17).

The next verse makes it clear that the choice is one between life and death. The way of folly leads to death (verse 18).

It’s not merely this chapter, however, that presents the choice. The book contains many couplets with contrasting statements. One presents the wise or correct choice that leads to life. The contrasting choice leads to death.

For example, “The merciful man does good for his own soul, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh” (Proverbs 11:17). This is a choice between two ways of life. It is also a choice between life and death.

The choice for Christians

In what is often labeled the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus put this choice before His listeners. He used a new metaphor, but the choice is the same as the one between life and death.

He urged those who heard Him to “enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it” (Matthew 7:13). Entering this wide gate is the easy route, but it is a matter of choosing death.

Then Jesus said, “Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (verse 14). Entering this gate is equated with choosing life.

Notice that the narrow gate opens to a difficult path. Choosing life is not a one-time choice, and it is not an easy one. Instead, it is a commitment to follow Christ’s teachings, wherever they lead. Often this choice results in the hatred of the world (John 15:18-25), and even persecution (2 Timothy 3:12).

(Read more in our article “What Is the Narrow Gate Jesus Talked About?”)

Other scriptures about choosing life

There are many other scriptures that present this same choice, though in different words. Here are a few:

• “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2).
• “For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life” (Galatians 6:8).

• “By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:24-25).

What about you?

It’s one thing to read about this choice between the one path that leads to life and the many paths that lead to death. It’s another to decide for yourself which path you want to take—the broad one that leads to destruction or the difficult one that leads to life.

But this much you should know: At some point God puts before every person life and death, blessing and cursing. Perhaps that choice is before you now.

What will you choose?

The biblical steps involved in the right choice are summarized in our concise, free booklet Change Your Life. Choose to download it now.