(The previous post documented the beginning of Moses' presentation of the Law to the people.)
Deuteronomy 7
1 When Jehovah thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and shall cast out many nations before thee, the Hittite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;
2 and when Jehovah thy God shall deliver them up before thee, and thou shalt smite them; then thou shalt utterly destroy them: thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them;
(They were commanded to make no covenant and show no mercy to the seven nations they had to cast out.)
3 neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.
4 For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of Jehovah be kindled against you, and he will destroy thee quickly.
(The reason they were told to not make a covenant or show mercy was because the seven nations served other gods and they would turn the Israelites away from following God. The other nations were fornicators: committing idolatry - giving themselves to an image. Covenanting with these nations would cause Israel to covenant with these false gods, making Israel a fornicator. The same is true for the Doctrine of Marriage which was why God used marriage as an analogy when Israel and Judah drifted towards fornication.)
5 But thus shall ye deal with them: ye shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire.
(Asherim meant "groves (for idol worship)" and specifically referred to a Canaanite goddess.)
6 For thou art a holy people unto Jehovah thy God: Jehovah thy God hath chosen thee to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth.
(God's command for the people to cut down and destroy these idols was because they were not like other nations. Israel was set apart, they were holy.)
7 Jehovah did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all peoples:
8 but because Jehovah loveth you, and because he would keep the oath which he sware unto your fathers, hath Jehovah brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
(God did not choose the Israelites because they were more in number but because God loved them and God kept His oaths.)
9 Know therefore that Jehovah thy God, he is God, the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and lovingkindness with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations,
10 and repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.
11 Thou shalt therefore keep the commandment, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which I command thee this day, to do them.
12 And it shall come to pass, because ye hearken to these ordinances, and keep and do them, that Jehovah thy God will keep with thee the covenant and the lovingkindness which he sware unto thy fathers:
13 and he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee; he will also bless the fruit of thy body and the fruit of thy ground, thy grain and thy new wine and thine oil, the increase of thy cattle and the young of thy flock, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
(If they obeyed God’s commands, He would make them profitable.)
14 Thou shalt be blessed above all peoples: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle.
15 And Jehovah will take away from thee all sickness; and none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, will he put upon thee, but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.
16 And thou shalt consume all the peoples that Jehovah thy God shall deliver unto thee; thine eye shall not pity them: neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that will be a snare unto thee.
(Other gods would be a snare to the Israelites. Snare meant "bait, lure, a noose (to trap someone/something).")
17 If thou shalt say in thy heart, These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them?
18 thou shalt not be afraid of them: thou shalt well remember what Jehovah thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt;
19 the great trials which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, whereby Jehovah thy God brought thee out: so shall Jehovah thy God do unto all the peoples of whom thou art afraid.
20 Moreover Jehovah thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves, perish from before thee.
21 Thou shalt not be affrighted at them; for Jehovah thy God is in the midst of thee, a great God and a terrible.
22 And Jehovah thy God will cast out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.
(God said He would remove the other nations "little by little." They were given the Promised Land "little by little" because if it had been all at once, the corpses of the enemy would have attracted "beasts" which would have overtaken the people. It would have been destructive long term (evil) to give the Israelites land that they could not care for if they had been given it all at once. God is not going to give you more than you can handle or more than you can hold. Israel had to prove they were good stewards over what God did give them before God would give them more.)
23 But Jehovah thy God will deliver them up before thee, and will discomfit them with a great discomfiture, until they be destroyed.
(The enemy would be destroyed by God making them uncomfortable. What if the enemy had seen these situations as opportunities and pursued growth during these times?)
24 And he will deliver their kings into thy hand, and thou shalt make their name to perish from under heaven: there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou have destroyed them.
25 The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein; for it is an abomination to Jehovah thy God.
(The enemies were focused on physical gods, something they could see (no faith). It does not take a growth minded person to worship the physical.)
26 And thou shalt not bring an abomination into thy house, and become a devoted thing like unto it: thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a devoted thing.
(They were told to utterly detest and abhor the devoted things. Devoted things, called "cursed things" in the KJV, were things dedicated to other gods.)
Deuteronomy 8
1 All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which Jehovah sware unto your fathers.
2 And thou shalt remember all the way which Jehovah thy God hath led thee these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble thee, to prove thee, to know what was in thy heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or not.
(God led them through the wilderness to humble them, prove them, and to know what was in their hearts.)
3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by everything that proceedeth out of the mouth of Jehovah doth man live.
(This verse stated that man lives by everything that proceeds out of the Mouth of God. When Jesus quoted this in the desert at the devil (Matthew 4:4 and Luke 4:4), the Greek translation used the word rhema - "the powerful and revelatory spoken word from God that is without precedence." That was grace (charis) - "the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life." In our dispensation, this occurs through the Holy Spirit which dwells in believers. While words do proceed out of God's Mouth, notice, this verse actually stated everything that proceeds out of the Mouth of God...which would also include His Breath.)
4 Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.
5 And thou shalt consider in thy heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so Jehovah thy God chasteneth thee.
(God treated them as His children.)
6 And thou shalt keep the commandments of Jehovah thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.
7 For Jehovah thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills;
(Moses gave the Israelites the reason and value for keeping God’s commandments. Leaders will supply a reason and a value to their followers. Moses was a leader, not a boss. He facilitated the purpose and progress of others.)
8 a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees and pomegranates; a land of olive-trees and honey;
9 a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack anything in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig copper.
10 And thou shalt eat and be full, and thou shalt bless Jehovah thy God for the good land which he hath given thee.
11 Beware lest thou forget Jehovah thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his ordinances, and his statutes, which I command thee this day:
(Moses warned the Israelites about what would happen had they forgot God and forgot to keep His commandments.)
12 lest, when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;
13 and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied;
14 then thy heart be lifted up, and thou forget Jehovah thy God, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage;
15 who led thee through the great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents and scorpions, and thirsty ground where was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint;
16 who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not; that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end:
17 and lest thou say in thy heart, My power and the might of my hand hath gotten me this wealth.
(Moses continued to remind them and build their faith so they would not believe that they received these blessings by their own hands. Moses stated the cause was God, not man.)
18 But thou shalt remember Jehovah thy God, for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth; that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as at this day.
19 And it shall be, if thou shalt forget Jehovah thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.
20 As the nations that Jehovah maketh to perish before you, so shall ye perish; because ye would not hearken unto the voice of Jehovah your God.
(If they forgot God and pursued other gods, they would be treated as their enemies had been treated.)
Deuteronomy 9
1 Hear, O Israel: thou art to pass over the Jordan this day, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fortified up to heaven,
2 a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the sons of Anak?
3 Know therefore this day, that Jehovah thy God is he who goeth over before thee as a devouring fire; he will destroy them, and he will bring them down before thee: so shalt thou drive them out, and make them to perish quickly, as Jehovah hath spoken unto thee.
(The sons of Anak must have been a strong people. Moses spoke of them as if the Israelites themselves would not have been able to defeat them. However, God would destroy them for the Israelites. The Israelites would have needed faith in order to walk into this battle, knowing that if they did not have God on their side, they would be defeated.)
4 Speak not thou in thy heart, after that Jehovah thy God hath thrust them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness Jehovah hath brought me in to possess this land; whereas for the wickedness of these nations Jehovah doth drive them out from before thee.
(They were warned not to think that God cast out the other nations because of their righteousness but because of their enemies' wickedness.)
5 Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thy heart, dost thou go in to possess their land; but for the wickedness of these nations Jehovah thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may establish the word which Jehovah sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
(The nations they overtook were wicked. It was Right and Just of God to do this.)
6 Know therefore, that Jehovah thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.
7 Remember, forget thou not, how thou provokedst Jehovah thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou wentest forth out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against Jehovah.
(Moses did not want them to be in pride. He reminded them that God was not giving this land to them because of their righteousness.)
8 Also in Horeb ye provoked Jehovah to wrath, and Jehovah was angry with you to destroy you.
9 When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which Jehovah made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights; I did neither eat bread nor drink water.
10 And Jehovah delivered unto me the two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which Jehovah speak with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.
11 And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that Jehovah gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant.
12 And Jehovah said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people that thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image.
13 Furthermore Jehovah spake unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:
14 let me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven; and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they.
(They were reminded how God wanted to destroy them because they were stiffnecked.)
15 So I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount was burning with fire: and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands.
16 And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against Jehovah your God; ye had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which Jehovah had commanded you.
17 And I took hold of the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and brake them before your eyes.
18 And I fell down before Jehovah, as at the first, forty days and forty nights; I did neither eat bread nor drink water; because of all your sin which ye sinned, in doing that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger.
19 For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith Jehovah was wroth against you to destroy you. But Jehovah hearkened unto me that time also.
20 And Jehovah was very angry with Aaron to destroy him: and I prayed for Aaron also at the same time.
(Not only did Moses pray for the people, when God wanted to destroy them, he specifically prayed for Aaron because God wanted to destroy him.)
21 And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, grinding it very small, until it was as fine as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount.
22 And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibroth-hattaavah, ye provoked Jehovah to wrath.
23 And when Jehovah sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of Jehovah your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice.
24 Ye have been rebellious against Jehovah from the day that I knew you.
25 So I fell down before Jehovah the forty days and forty nights that I fell down, because Jehovah had said he would destroy you.
26 And I prayed unto Jehovah, and said, O Lord Jehovah, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance, that thou hast redeemed through thy greatness, that thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
(Moses reminded them of his prayer that stopped God from destroying them and making a new nation out of him: Numbers 14:11-20.)
27 Remember thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; look not unto the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor to their sin,
28 lest the land whence thou broughtest us out say, Because Jehovah was not able to bring them into the land which he promised unto them, and because he hated them, he hath brought them out to slay them in the wilderness.
29 Yet they are thy people and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest out by thy great power and by thine outstretched arm.
(Moses told the people that his prayer had to do with reminding God of His Covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. His prayer did not involve convincing God that the Israelites were a righteous people.)
(This post covered Moses warning not to covenant with heathen nations and not to think their righteousness had anything to do with God giving them victory.)
Day 54
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