The (re)making of a covenant; Israel’s sin is foretold: Deuteronomy 29–31

Why is it that the command God gave through Moses was not too difficult for the Israelites?

^{Deuteronomy 30:12–13} It is not kept in heaven, so distant that you must ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven and bring it down so we can hear it and obey?’ It is not kept beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and obey?’

The answer: it wouldn’t be hard if they kept it ‘close at hand’: on their lips and in their hearts. They were to study the word always. In this way, it would be part of their everyday lives and make it easy to obey.

On top of that, it was to be read out publicly in its entirety regularly:

^{Deuteronomy 31:10–11} At the end of every seventh year, the Year of Release, during the Festival of Shelters, you must read this Book of Instruction to all the people of Israel