Through inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Moses knows a time will come when a widescale turning away from the Lord will happen. He knows the nation will be defeated by enemies and that many of the people will be taken captive to foreign countries. He knows many of the people will be scattered throughout the world. But he also knows they will turn back to the Lord. "When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord disperses you among the nations, and when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey Him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where He scattered you." (Deuteronomy 30:1-3)
This prophecy was partly fulfilled by the Assyrian exile and the Babylonian exile. After so many citizens fell into idolatry, the Lord allowed Assyria to conquer the ten northern tribes and Babylon to conquer the two southern tribes. A remnant of the exiles returned to the land after the Lord allowed Assyria and Babylon to be conquered, but a number of the Jewish people remained dispersed throughout other territories. A larger fulfillment of Moses' prophecy occurred after the fall of the second temple. The Israelites were under Roman rule at the time and attempted to revolt against their occupiers, resulting in the fall of Jerusalem and the temple in 70AD and a very widespread dispersing of the people throughout other lands. Another revolt occurred in 132AD which led to more casualties and an even wider dispersing of the people; they were forbidden reentry to Jerusalem for a long time, even after the Roman Empire fell into decay, split apart, and was eventually conquered. In today's world we can find descendants of Abraham scattered all over the world, but Moses' prophecy about the Lord's intention to "gather you again from all the nations" began to be fulfilled with the restoration of Israel as a sovereign nation in 1948. Moses was not the only person who predicted a return to the land; Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel said the same thing. Daniel, when describing end time events while he lived in exile in Babylon, spoke of Israel as a restored sovereign nation. The prophecies of Daniel could not be fulfilled unless Israel became a sovereign nation again, and although by human eyes it may have looked like an impossible dream in Daniel's day, the Lord always intended to keep His word. The prophecies of the book of Revelation, which go hand in hand with the prophecies of the book of Daniel, indicate a complete and joyous return of all the Jewish people to Israel under the reign of the Messiah.
We've all heard references to "lost tribes" but not one person from any of the tribes of Israel is lost to God. He always knew where each person was during various exiles. He knows where every person of Jewish heritage is today. Moses speaks of the ability of the Lord to gather the people back to the land. "Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. He will bring you to the land that belonged to your ancestors, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and more numerous than your ancestors." (Deuteronomy 30:4-5) Israel is a mighty nation in the world today, just as the Lord said. Becoming "more prosperous and more numerous than your ancestors" did not happen during the return from ancient exiles. For example, only a remnant of the population returned to the land after the Babylonian exile and their few number were constantly harassed and attacked by enemies who didn't want them to rebuild. They managed to rebuild by the help of the Lord but they remained a vassal state of various other nations until their restoration as a nation in 1948. Israel can truly be said to be more prosperous today than it was even under the rule of King David or King Solomon.
The Lord promised a spiritual restoration as well as a national restoration. "The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live." (Deuteronomy 30:6) Circumcision was the outward sign of being the Lord's covenant people. But a person could be circumcised in the outward flesh and not be circumcised in the heart. A person could go through the motions of religion without loving the Lord. To provide a modern example for those of us of Gentile heritage and of the Christian faith, not everyone who sits in church with us on Sunday is a Christian. They may be dressed like everyone else, they may be bowing their heads in prayer along with everyone else, they may be dropping money in the offering plate, and they may be singing along with all the hymns. We can't tell from the outward appearance which of the people sitting in church with us love the Lord and which of them have hearts that are far from Him. But the Lord sees straight to everyone's heart. He's far more concerned with the inward man than with the outward man.
The Lord promises to visit all the curses of Deuteronomy 29 on the enemies of Israel after He restores Israel to the land. This prophecy has not yet been completely fulfilled, for Israel still has enemies in this world who would love to see the nation wiped off the map, but in preserving and delivering the Jews as a people from their enemies throughout the ages up until now and in reinstating Israel as a sovereign nation He has begun bringing about the downfall of everyone who has hated and oppressed Israel. "The Lord your God will put all these curses on your enemies who hate and persecute you." (Deuteronomy 30:7)
"You will again obey the Lord and follow all His commands I am giving you today. Then the Lord your God will make you most prosperous in the work of all your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The Lord will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as He delighted in your ancestors, if you obey the Lord your God and keep His commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul." (Deuteronomy 30:8-10) Life in this fallen world isn't going to be perfect for anyone but life is better with the Lord than without Him. Life is better when we have His help and support and encouragement. I don't know how unbelievers get through some of the things life throws at us. I might have fallen into depression or addiction or I might even have taken my own life sometime during dire circumstances if I had not had hope in the Lord. Even when He doesn't change our circumstances, He gives us the grace to bear them. He uses even the bad times to produce spiritual fruit in our lives. Some of the greatest blessings of my life would not have happened if adversity hadn't come my way first. But what got me through the bad times (and will continue to help me while I live on this earth) is the knowledge that I am a child of God and that He loves me and delights in me and will be with me.
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