Deuteronomy 30:20
A plain-spoken deep dive on this verse. Read the chapter →
and that you may love the LORD your God, obey Him, and hold fast to Him. For He is your life, and He will prolong your life in the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
חיּיך הוּא כּי, for that (namely, to love the Lord) is thy life, that is, the condition of life, and of long life, in the promised land (vid., Deu 4:40).
Open source ↗One would have thought that the threatenings in the close of the foregoing chapter had made a full end of the people of Israel, and had left their case for ever desperate; but in this chapter we have a plain intimation of the mercy God had in store for them in the latter days, so that mercy at length rejoices against judgment, and has the last word. Here we have, I. Exceedingly great and precious promises made to them, upon their repentance and return to God (Deu 30:1-10). II. The righteousness of faith set before them in the plainness and easiness of the commandment that was now given them (Deu 30:11-14). III. A fair reference of the whole matter to their choice (Deu 30:15, etc.).
Open source ↗30:20 the key to your life: In its most meaningful sense, life consists of absolute commitment to the Lord.
Open source ↗Cross-references
Other passages the community most often connects to this one. Tap to read.
You are to fear the LORD your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name.
Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
Nor is He served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’
And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
Keep His statutes and commandments, which I am giving you today, so that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may live long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for all time.
He preserves our lives and keeps our feet from slipping.
For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.
Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.