Moses presents the congregation with a choice. They can have life---an abundant life in the promised land as a result of remaining faithful to the Lord. Or they can choose death---hardship and exile as a result of a broken relationship with the Lord.
"Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, 'Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?' Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, 'Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?' No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it." (Deuteronomy 30:11-14) Moses says, "The Lord has made His laws and commandments very easy to understand. He has not spoken in riddles. He has not presented the terms of the covenant in a way that is difficult to interpret. The Lord doesn't want you living in ignorance about what He expects of you so He has explained His laws and commandments in simple terms that you can understand and obey."
Many times in my life I've heard preachers say, "The Lord made the gospel message so simple that even a little child can understand it." I have to say that's true. I can't recall a time when I was so young that I didn't know the basics of the gospel message. Moses is saying something similar to the congregation of Israel. The Lord has spoken to them in plain words. What good would it do if the Lord made His laws and commandments too difficult to understand? How could people follow them? What use is it if the terms He used were so obscure and so open to interpretation that people could argue and debate what He actually said? The Lord couldn't have made the rules any plainer when He said things like this, for example: "Do not commit murder," or, "Do not steal," or, "Do not worship anyone but Me." Moses is saying, "We can't claim ignorance of the Lord's holy precepts. We can't say, 'Well, I stole from my neighbor but I didn't know stealing is a sin.' We can't say, 'I slept with a married woman because I didn't know adultery is a sin.' We can't say, 'I attended a pagan festival and bowed down in front of a carved idol because I didn't know idolatry is a sin.' We also can't say, 'Who can understand the Lord's laws? They can be interpreted a number of ways. Maybe He doesn't really mean it's wrong to steal and kill and pervert justice and oppress the widow and the orphan.'"
Since the choices have been made clear, Moses urges the people to choose wisely. "See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to Him, and to keep His commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess." (Deuteronomy 30:15-16) The key to walking in obedience to the Lord and keeping His commandments is to love the Lord. When Moses commands the people to choose wisely, the first thing he says is to "love the Lord your God". If we don't love the Lord we're going to find it difficult to obey Him. He's made His laws and commandments plain enough for us to understand but we'll have trouble following these precepts unless we love Him.
How can we begin loving the Lord and why should we love Him? Well, for one thing, He loved us first! (1 John 4:19) He created us because He wanted us to exist and even before He created us He loved us and knew all about us, according to what He said to the prophet Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 1:5) He loved the thought of us and He loves the reality of us and He wants to enjoy a relationship with us and He wants us to enjoy a relationship with Him. Because He loves us He extends mercy to us when we sin. Because He loves us He has made a way for us to be forgiven and reconciled to Him. God always makes the first move and He does this because He loves us. God is the one who offered a covenant with Israel; Israel didn't offer a covenant to Him. God is the one who sent the Redeemer and offered a new covenant to us through Him; we didn't propose a new covenant to the Lord. We ought to love the Lord because He loves us.
We can put it into perspective like this: It's hard not to love a human being who thinks highly of us, isn't it? Even if we don't have much in common with that person it's hard not to feel a great deal of affection for someone who clearly loves us. I have dear friends with whom I actually have little in common (we have very different hobbies and interests and we have very different opinions on things like religion and politics) but it doesn't matter because they love me and I love them. Some of the Lord's commandments may not match up with what we want to do in our carnal natures. We want to give in to temptations sometimes. Even when the thing we want to do isn't a sin in itself, it may not be the Lord's will for us but we may find ourselves wanting to do it anyway. If we love the Lord we'll find it easier to say no to anything He wouldn't want for us. Out of respect for Him we'll decide to do the right thing. Just as we don't want to hurt the feelings of a human friend who loves us, we won't want to repay the Lord's love with disobedience and disrespect.
Another reason we ought to love the Lord is because He blesses us. He helps us and protects us in so many ways. He wants us to obey Him so He can bless us by giving us good things. Moses assures the Israelites that good things are in store for them if they'll love the Lord and walk in His ways. But if they turn away from Him they will face His discipline. If they fall into idolatry He will remove them from the promised land just like He removed the idolaters who were there before them. "But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess." (Deuteronomy 30:17-18)
"This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him. For the Lord is your life, and He will give you many years in the land He swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." (Deuteronomy 30:19-20) We must keep in mind that it's not only Moses who wants the people to make the right choice. Ever since the Lord called Moses to lead them out of Egypt, Moses has been the spokesperson for the Lord. Moses has been the mediator of the covenant between the Lord and the people. He's speaking for the Lord when he says, "Choose life!" This is what the Lord wants for them! The Lord wants them to choose the right thing---the good thing---so He can bless them.
That's what the Lord wants for you and for me. It breaks the Lord's heart when we don't want to live in fellowship with Him. It breaks His heart for our sake because we are only hurting ourselves when we reject Him. What use is it to live a life without Him? What good is eternity without Him? As David said in Psalm 16:2, "You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing." Apart from the Lord we have no good thing. The pleasures of this life are temporary. The money and possessions of this life are temporary. The desires of this life are temporary. Everything is hollow and empty and unsatisfying without the Lord. That's why there are so many wealthy and famous people who are absolutely miserable; no amount of fortune and fame can satisfy a heart that is far from God. But if we have the Lord in our hearts, everything good thing that comes our way is like the icing on the cake. We already have the greatest blessing of all if we have Him but He gives us other blessings besides. We can enjoy those blessings to the fullest when we already have the greatest blessing of all.
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