Read Galatians 3:15-25 and Romans 10:5-8.

Paul’s Quotation of Leviticus 18:5⤒🔗

At first glance, it appears that Paul’s quotation of Leviticus 18:5 is confirmation that the Mosaic Covenant was, indeed, a covenant of works: “Moses writes that the man that does the righteousness that is of the law shall live thereby” (Rom. 10:5). But upon closer examination, one discovers that Paul has taken Leviticus 18:5 “out of context.” We quote the New Testament theologian, J. Murray,

...[Leviticus 18:5] does not appear in a context that deals with legal righteousness as opposed to that of faith. Leviticus 18:5 occurs in a context in which the claims of God upon his redeemed and covenant people are being asserted and urged upon Israel. In this respect, Leviticus 18:1-5 is parallel to Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21. The preface is, “I am the LORD your God” (Lev. 18:2) and corresponds to the preface to the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:2; Deut. 5:6). The whole passage [i.e. Lev. 18:1-5] is no more “legalistic” than are the Ten Commandments. Hence, [in the original context] the words, “which if a man do he shall live by them” (Lev. 18:5), refer not to the life accruing from doing in a legalistic framework, but to the blessing attendant upon obedience in a redemptive and covenant relationship to God.¹

The question is not, “How is it possible that the apostle would quote Leviticus 18:5 out of context?” The question is, rather, “Why would he do so?” The primary reason he does so, in our opinion, is that he might proceed to present the true essence of the Mosaic Covenant in striking contrast to the misunderstanding of that covenant that was so widely propagated by the Pharisaic element in Judaism, and which was seeking to infiltrate the Christian Church. Thus, in Romans 10:5 the apostle presents the misconception of the Mosaic Covenant, then in Romans 10:6-8 he provides the true meaning of that covenant. At the very outset it is significant to note that whereas it is Moses who wrote the words of Leviticus 18:5, it is also Moses who spoke the words of Deuteronomy 30:12-14.

Paul’s Identification of the Mediator of the Mosaic Covenant←⤒🔗

It may be well for us to start by setting before us the passage of Romans where the apostle alludes to and quotes from Deuteronomy 30:12-14,

⁶But the righteousness that is by faith says, Do not say in your heart, ‘Who shall ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), ⁷or, ‘Who shall descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸But what does it say? The word is near you; in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith we are preaching.Rom. 10:6-8

In Deuteronomy it is Moses, (the mediator of the covenant), who speaks the words found in Deuteronomy 30:11-14. But notice that Paul identifies the speaker as “the righteousness that is by faith.” Note: The phrase, “the righteousness that is by faith,” means, “the righteousness that is received by faith.” So, by interpreting the voice of Moses, (the mediator of the covenant made at Mt. Sinai), as being the voice of “the righteousness that is by faith,” Paul is immediately indicating that the essence of the covenantal obligation is faith, (dependence upon the LORD), as the means of attaining righteousness, (“righteousness” both in the sense of justification and sanctification). To state it another way, the Old Testament covenant ratified at Mt. Sinai was a covenant of grace, a continuation of the covenant originally made with Abraham, (and with Adam, see Gen. 3:15).

Paul’s Interpretation of the Questions Posed in Deuteronomy 30:12-13←⤒🔗

At this point it is helpful to set before us the passage of Deuteronomy 30:11-14, which contains the questions the Apostle Paul is expounding in Romans 10:6-8,

...this commandment [or, precept] which I command you today, it is not too hard for you, nor is it far off. ¹²It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' ¹³Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 'Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?' ¹⁴But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.Deut. 30:11-14

Deuteronomy 30:12-13 asks the questions, “Who shall ascend into heaven to get it? and, “Who shall cross the sea to get it?” The Apostle Paul interprets this as meaning, “Who shall ascend into heaven in order to bring Christ down?” and, “Who shall descend into the deep in order to bring Christ up from the dead?” The pronoun “it” (of Deut. 30:12-13) and “the word,” or, “the thing,” (of Deut. 30:14) refer back to the “commandment,” or, better, “the precept,” spoken of in verse eleven, which reads: ”this commandment [or, precept], which I command you today, is not too hard for you, nor is it far off.” Thus, in Deuteronomy 30:11-14 Moses is presenting, or reminding the people of, the governing principle by which the covenantal obligation is met. In light of the Apostle Paul’s inspired interpretation of this Deuteronomic passage, it becomes evident that that principle is one of faith, as opposed to works. It should be noted that whereas Moses speaks of the principle of faith, Paul immediately transitions beyond the principle to Christ, the object of our faith. But all this is implied within the Mosaic presentation, since the principle he is presenting is nothing other than faith in the LORD as being the operative principle of the covenant.

So, when alluding to Deuteronomy 30:11-14, the Apostle Paul is bringing out the true essence of that passage in the light of New Testament revelation. Paul tells us that no one needs to raise the question, “Who shall ascend into heaven in order to bring Christ down?” There is no need to do so because the Father Himself has taken the initiative to send His one and only Son into the world (Jn. 3:16). Neither need anyone raise the question, “Who shall descend into the deep in order to bring Christ up from the dead?” Once again, there is no need to do so because God has already taken the initiative in raising His Son from the dead (Acts 3:15). The whole thrust of Paul’s argument is this: There is no need to undertake the futile task of seeking to do that which is impossible for man to accomplish. God has already taken the initiative; as He did with Abram (Gen. 15:1) and as He did with Israel (Ex. 20:1-3), and He has already accomplished it. God has done it by means of the gospel, the essence of which was already proclaimed to Abraham (Gal. 3:8) and which also forms the foundation of the Mosaic Covenant.

Then, in keeping with his earlier identification of Moses’ voice with “the righteousness that is by faith,” Paul now identifies “the word” mentioned in Deuteronomy 30:14 as being “the word of faith we proclaim” (Rom. 10:8). Thus, Paul explains that the “it” of Deuteronomy 30:12,13, (“the word” of Deut. 30:14, the “commandment/precept” of Deut. 30:11), or, as we may express it, the operative principle of the covenant, is faith, (as opposed to works); and that covenantal obligation of faith is most fully expressed in the gospel because it is in the gospel that we are most clearly confronted with the object of our faith, the Lord Jesus Christ. Commenting on this verse, J. Murray remarks, this is a reference to “the word to which faith is directed;”² that “word” to which faith is directed is the gospel, or stated another way, it is Christ.

The Meaning of “Too Hard” as Used in Deuteronomy 30:11←⤒🔗

Now we may proceed to complete the connection between the original text of Deuteronomy 30:11­ 14 and the Apostle Paul’s New Testament usage of that passage. But before actually doing so, we must appreciate the fact that the whole focus of Deuteronomy 30:11-14 is on the comprehensibility and accessibility of the covenantal obligation, or, requirement. In Deuteronomy 30:11 Moses reminds Israel that the commandment/precept he has given them “is not too hard for you” (American Standard Version) or, as the New International Version translates, it “is not too difficult for you.” But in what sense is it “not too difficult”?

What is being spoken of here is not difficulty with regard to doing; rather it is difficulty with regard to comprehending. The point being made is that the commandment/precept, (i.e. the covenantal obligation), is not too hard to grasp; it is not unintelligible. The same word translated “difficult” ( אלָ פָּ ) is also found in Deuteronomy 17:8; there it clearly conveys the sense of something being “too difficult to grasp;” namely, a case at law that is too perplexing for the judges to decide on their own.

In verses 12-13 of Deuteronomy 30, Moses is stressing the fact that the commandment/precept, (again, “commandment” is here used in the sense of the operative principle of the covenant, or, the covenantal obligation), is not incomprehensible or inaccessible to God’s people. It is not something they must fetch from heaven or seek to reclaim from the depths of the sea. On the contrary, the word is very near to them, it is in their mouth and in their heart (vs. 14). As Charles Hodge comments, “to be in the mouth and in the heart” is an Old Testament expression meaning that something is accessible or familiar.³ Hence, the focus of Deuteronomy 30:11-14 is on the comprehensibility and accessibility of the covenantal obligation. 

What Is the Covenantal Obligation of Which Deuteronomy 30:11-14 Speaks?←⤒🔗

What exactly was that obligation, or, requirement? It should have been obvious to the people that it was nothing other than faith. From the time they departed from Egypt right up until the time they stood at the base of Mt. Sinai, the Old Testament covenant people had been taught the principle of placing their faith in their ever-faithful God. On every occasion when human ability proved to be utterly futile, (standing at the edge of the Red Sea, finding themselves in a waterless wasteland, etc.), the LORD proved Himself to be their all-sufficient Redeemer. Now, when it comes to the righteousness required of those who would be received by God and who would live in His presence (Rom. 8:3-4), it should have been evident to the covenant nation that they should depend upon the LORD to provide that righteousness for them and produce that righteousness in them.

The principle by which the requisite righteousness is secured is the principle of faith, not works. It always has been faith, and this Paul makes clear when he interprets the voice of Moses (the Old Testament covenant mediator) as being the voice of “the righteousness that is by faith.” Faith was the condition specified when the covenant was originally established with Abram (Gen. 15:6), faith was depicted in the covenant ratified at Mt. Sinai (see the Appendix that accompanies the study on Galatians 4:21-5:12), and in the gospel faith is explicitly presented as the means of receiving the salvation accomplished by Christ (Acts 16:30-31; Jn. 6:28-29). Paul asserts that the requirement of faith should be evident to the people of Israel, since faith was the requirement of the original covenant the LORD had made with their great forefather Abraham (Gen. 15:6).

Thus, in Romans 10:6-8 the Apostle Paul is establishing two things simultaneously: 1) the essence and character of the Mosaic Covenant was grace, with its obligation of faith; and, 2) the ultimate object of faith is the gospel, or more precisely, the Christ who is presented in the gospel.