Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 64:3 (Sep 2021)
Article: Yesterday, Today, And Tomorrow: Tension Regarding A Changed Heart In Deuteronomy
Author: Dean R. Ulrich

JETS 64:3 (September 2021) p. 453

Yesterday, Today, And Tomorrow: Tension Regarding A Changed Heart In Deuteronomy

Dean R. Ulrich*

^* Dean Ulrich is interim pastor at Hope Evangelical Church, 420 North Front Street, North Liberty, IA 52317. He may be contacted at [email protected].

Abstract: The book of Deuteronomy seems to contain contradictory messages. On the one hand, Moses tells the children of the exodus generation how to avoid the mistakes of their parents and thereby become a blessing to the nations. He often gives the impression that the children have an open future. On the other hand, Moses is convinced that the children will break Yahweh’s covenant and forfeit their privilege to remain in the Promised Land. He not only tells the children to circumcise their hearts in the narrative world of Deuteronomy 1:1 as if they can do this today, but he also announces that Yahweh will have to circumcise their hearts in the future after the exile. The children, of course, will no longer be alive. By means of a redemptive-historical perspective, this article tries to resolve the tension between these apparently contradictory messages. Could the children experience circumcised hearts today? Yes, by means of proleptic grace.

Key words: circumcision, covenant, Deuteronomy, grace, new, proleptic, today

Tension runs throughout the book of Deuteronomy, and it centers on the frequent appearance of the word יוֹם (today). While standing on the east side of the Jordan River (Deut 1:1), Moses repeated the Sinaitic commandments (4:44–46) for the children of the exodus generation and gave the impression that they could obey those commandments today (4:40)—that is, during their lifetime—and thereby model a redeemed community to the surrounding nations (4:5–8).1 At the same time, Moses also used Hebrew masculine forms, both singular and plural, of the pronoun you when reviewing the events of the exodus generation (1:19–46; 9:7–24). Singular number in Hebrew can have a collective sense.2 In Deuteronomy, the collective sense refers to Israel as a whole, not only at one moment but also across generations. Meanwhile, the plural forms in Deuteronomy emphasize the need for individuals to commit themselves to Moses’s instruction...