Moses's Exhortations and Warnings

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Deuteronomy 7:1) “When the LORD your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you;"

Moses continued his farewell speech started several chapters back.  He began this part by telling the people when God had brought them into their promised land, He would have cast out many nations from before them, specifically seven nations greater and stronger than they were--the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

(2) "And when the LORD your God delivers them over to you, you shall strike them and utterly destroy them; you shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them."

Moses continued with the warning he began in verse 1, that when their Lord had delivered those mighty nations over to them, they were commanded to utterly destroy them, showing no mercy to them.  They were certainly not to make any agreements or treaties with them.  The Lord was not merely making room for His people, but the cup of these nations' iniquity was at that time full, and it was the time the Lord had willed they should be punished for all their crimes of idolatry, incest, murder, etc.  Therefore He called upon His people to completely destroy them and forbade them to make any sort of covenant with them.  God could have certainly destroyed these people Himself at any time, but He chose to have His chosen people do it.  I believe it was to give His people a choice; this was a symbol of Christians in a fallen world, either choosing life in the ways of their one true God, or choosing death by dabbling in the ways of the wicked world.

(3) "Neither shall you make marriages with them; you shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. (4) For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the anger of the LORD will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly."

The children of Israel were commanded not to marry into any of these nations, for they would be drawn away from following the Lord and into worshiping false gods.  The Lord would not tolerate such idolatry and they would be destroyed suddenly, if not by the immediate hand of God, certainly as a result of their choice of death with the world.

(5) “But thus you shall deal with them: you shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire."

The children of Israel were commanded to destroy all symbols of the heathen nations' idol worship--their altars; their statues; their groves, "asherah", which were sacred poles or trees; and all their engraved images.

(6) “For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a special people to Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth."

Moses reminded them that they were a holy people to their Lord, not that they were holy of themselves, but because they were chosen by God to be His separate people; He chose them above all the other people of the world.

(7) “The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the fewest of all people."

Moses pointed out that the children of Israel were not loved and chosen by God because they were a great many people in number.  They, in fact, were very small in number at that time, the fewest, stated Moses.  Once again that scripture comes to mind which says that God chose the weak things of the world to confound the mighty (1 Corinthians 1:27).

(8) "But because the LORD loved you, and because He would keep the oath which He had sworn to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt."

Because the Lord loved them freely with an unmerited love, and because He kept His oath He swore to their patriarchs, He brought them out of bondage from Pharaoh and Egypt with mighty power and awesome wonders.

(9) “Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy with them who love Him and keep His commandments to a thousand generations."

Moses exhorted the people to recognize that their Lord was the only true and faithful God who kept His covenant with His people, and showed mercy to those who loved Him and kept His commandments to a thousand generations, a reference to Exodus 20:6 when God gave the commandment not to make or serve false idols.

(10) “And He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them; He will not be slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face."

Contrary to the love and mercy He would show thousands of them who loved Him and kept His commandments, the Lord would punish those who hated Him openly where they would see it and know it and be unable to avoid it.  Those who hate the Lord cannot hurt Him but they can ruin themselves as they choose death rather than life in Him.  The Lord will not be slack with those who hate Him, and will not defer the execution of His righteous judgment, but will openly bring it upon the sinners.

(11) “Therefore you shall keep the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which I command you this day, to do them."

For all the reasons given above, Moses exhorted the people to keep all the commandments, statutes, and judgments that Moses commanded they do in the name of the Lord and by His authority, to observe and do them.

(12) "Therefore it shall come to pass, if you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers."

It was a covenant made between God and His people.  The people's part was to listen to His judgments and commandments, and observe and do them.  Then God would do His part to keep His covenant and favor upon them as He had promised to their patriarchs.

(13) “And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your corn and your wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the flocks of your sheep, in the land which He swore to your fathers to give you."

God's covenant with His people was to love them, bless them, and multiply their numbers, blessing the fruit of their wombs as well as the fruit of their land and the increase of their herds and flocks, in the land promised to their forefathers.

(14) “You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or female barren among you or among your cattle."

Wow!  What a promise!  They would be blessed above all peoples of the world, and there would not be one barren one among them and among their livestock.

(15) “And the LORD will take away from you all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you know, upon you; but will lay them upon all those who hate you."

The Lord would take away all sickness and not put on them any of the diseases they had seen in Egypt.  It would be almost as the Garden of Eden again!  There would be no sickness and no barrenness, only blessings!  That is, if the people chose life in their God and in His wise commandments.  Those punishments would afflict their enemies, those who hated Israel and their God, and chose the ways of death.

(16) "And you shall consume all the people whom the LORD your God shall deliver you; your eye shall have no pity on them; neither shall you serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you."

Once again Moses gave the command that they were to destroy all the people the Lord delivered to them, showing no pity for them, and having nothing to do with their idols, as doing so would prove to be a snare to them which would bring them to destruction.

(17) “If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?’ (18) You shall not be afraid of them, but shall well remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. (19) The great trials which your eyes saw, the signs and the wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD your God brought you out, so shall the LORD your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid."

If they should have thoughts that the nations they were dispossessing were greater and mightier than theirs, and they had doubts to how they could overcome them, they were instructed not to be afraid, but remember all the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, a nation mightier than theirs, that held them in bondage.  All the trials, plagues, and miracles, which the Lord had used to bring them out of Egypt, He would do again to these people of whom they were afraid, in order to bring them into their promised land.

(20) “Moreover the LORD your God will send the hornet among them until those who are left and hide themselves from you, are destroyed."

Additionally, if any of their enemies survived and hid from them, the Lord would then send in hornets to drive out and destroy them, so that none would be left.

(21) “You shall not be terrified of them, for the LORD your God is among you, a mighty God and terrible."

Therefore, the people were not to be afraid of their enemies because their Lord was with them, an awesome God, mighty to save His people and a terror to their enemies.

(22) “And the LORD your God will put out those nations before you little by little; you may not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. (23) But the LORD your God shall deliver them to you, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed."

Moses told the people the Lord would drive those nations out little by little, for their good, that they not be overrun by the animals left behind.  Although the Lord could have struck all their enemies at once, Moses showed the wisdom in God's plan to do it little by little.  This would have been an encouragement to the people, as they might have become discouraged if they thought they were not able to totally destroy all their enemies.  They were to have no fear or doubt, the Lord would indeed destroy them little by little until they were totally destroyed.

(24) “And He shall deliver their kings into your hand, and you shall destroy their names from under heaven; there shall no man be able to stand before you, until you have destroyed them."

The Lord would also deliver the kings of those nations into their hands, and they were to also utterly destroy them as well as destroy their names and reigns forever.  No man would be able to stand against them until all were destroyed.

(25) "The graven images of their gods shall you burn with fire; you shall not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourself, lest you be snared in it, for it is an abomination to the Lord your God. (26) Neither shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be a cursed thing like it; you shall utterly detest it, and you shall utterly abhor it, for it is a cursed thing."

Moses repeated the commandment to destroy all the images of their gods; specifically they were to be burned with fire.  They were not to covet nor take any of the gold or silver on them, lest they might be tempted to keep it and even worship it to some degree.  They weren't to bring anything belonging to or making up those false gods into their houses, lest they be cursed as the false idols were cursed.  They must totally detest them as the abhorrent things they were.

(Deuteronomy 8:1) "All the commandments which I command you this day, you shall observe to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in to possess the land which the Lord swore to your fathers."

Moses repeated the exhortation to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord, as he seemed to do over and over again.  This was surely designed to impress it on their minds and to show the importance and necessity of it.  Again Moses also repeated the blessings they would receive if they would observe and do all the commandments; they would live and multiply in the land promised to their forefathers.

(2) "And you shall remember all the way which the Lord your God led you these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you, to prove you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not."

Moses exhorted the people to remember all the way their Lord had led them the past forty years in the wilderness.  This didn't just mean the path they took, but all the miracles of provision, protection, and deliverance, as well as God's dealings with them in their frequent bouts of disobedience.  These were to try them and humble them, to know what was in their hearts, to know whether they would keep His commandments or not.  Obviously, God knew whether they would keep the commandments or not, but the testing of their faith was really for their benefit.

(3) "And he humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD does man live."

The Lord had humbled them, allowing them to hunger, so that He might show them their need for Him.  Not only did He provide them food, but it was a miraculous food from heaven that no one had ever seen before.  They needed to learn that they did not live by food alone, but by the word of their Lord; He gave them the rules for life, and life more abundant.

(4) “Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years."

Miraculously, their clothes never wore out, neither had their feet swelled or blistered (another definition of the original word) after walking so many miles for so many years.

(5) "You shall also consider in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the LORD your God chastens you."

Moses asked the people to consider the Lord's chastisement of them the same as a father might discipline his son, and therefore should be seen as loving gestures to prevent their destruction.

(6) “Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him."

Therefore, because He had always provided for them and protected them, and chastened them only for their ultimate good, they should revere Him, keep His commandments, and walk in His ways.

(7) “For the LORD your God brings you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that flow out of valleys and hills; (8) A land of wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; (9) A land in which you shall eat bread without scarceness; you shall not lack anything in it, a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you may dig copper."

Moses reminded the people that their Lord was bringing them into a good land, having plenty of everything they might need or want--plenty of water, grains, fruits, grape vines, olive oil, and honey.  They would be able to eat their fill with no fear of scarcity; they would not lack a thing.  In addition, the land had iron and copper mines as plentiful as stones.

(10) “When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you."

When the people had eaten of their good land and were satisfied, Moses reminded them to thank and bless their Lord for giving that great land to them.

(11) “Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today."

Moses warned them not to forget their Lord by not adhering to all His commandments, statutes, and judgments, as Moses was giving them at that time.

(12) "Lest when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwelt in them; (13) And when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; (14) Then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage."

He cautioned them against getting full and wealthy in a life of ease where all they had was increased, and letting their hearts become puffed up with pride, and forgetting their Lord who brought them out of bondage to bring them to that good land and good life.

(15) "Who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and drought, where there was no water; who brought you water out of the flinty rock; (16) Who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might prove you, to do you good in the end."

Not only had their Lord brought them to this good land, but Moses reminded them how He had brought them through perils, and hunger, and drought.  He had fed them with that miraculous bread from heaven that even their forefathers had never seen.  He had also brought water out of a flinty rock.  All these things He had done to show them their need for dependence on Him, which was for their ultimate good, as His ways were and are always about life and a blessed life, at that.

(17) "And you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.' (18) But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day."

Not only might they be tempted to forget their Lord, but they might even come to believe it was they themselves, by their own power and might and wit, who had gathered all that wealth.  Moses exhorted them to always remember that it was their Lord God who had given them the talents and wherewithal to get that wealth.  He had done that as part of His covenant with their patriarchs, to give this good land of Canaan to their descendants, and to make them a rich and flourishing people.

(19) "And it shall be, if you do at all forget the LORD your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish."

Moses gave the people a stern warning that if they did forget their God and follow false idols, they would certainly perish.  It might be by an immediate judgment of God, but it could be by famine, pestilence, or sword by their enemies, because as stated before, God's ways are life, but the ways of the world are death.

(20) “As the nations which the LORD destroys before your face, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the LORD your God."

If the people did forget their Lord, just as the heathen nations were destroyed from before them, so would they perish because they were not obedient to the author of life.  Who else but the author of life could better give us the precepts for life?

The two chapters in this post have been pretty straight forward without too much explanation needed.  Basically, Moses is giving it all he's got because he knows he won't be with these people much longer.  When you consider how faithless they were with him, you can just imagine what he fears if he is not with them, so this exhortation of his is long and passionate, almost pleading with the people to remember their Lord and serve only Him, not just for the sake of their one true God of their forefathers, the God of the universe, but so it may go well with them because He alone was author and giver of their lives.

Another Exhortation to Obedience and What to Teach Their Children

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Deuteronomy 6:1) "Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you go to possess it."

In the last chapter and post, Moses had given a review of the Ten Commandments.  In the following chapters he continued with a review of all the other laws, statutes, and judgments, that the Lord had given him to teach to the children of Israel that they might live according to them in their promised land.

(2) "That you might fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments, which I command you, you, and your son, and your son's son, all the days of your life; and that your days may be prolonged."

Moses continued.  Learning all the commands, statutes, and judgments of the Lord would also teach the people a reverential fear for their awesome God, a respect for His sovereign authority as lawgiver, and make them feel ever bound to obey Him, and to teach that to the generations that came after them.  By doing this their days might be long in this world.

(3) "Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it, that it may be well with you, and that you may increase mightily, as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you, in the land that flows with milk and honey."

Moses continued his exhortation to the people of Israel to really listen, understand, and perform the commandments as given, that it might go well with them and that they might increase mightily in wealth and numbers, just as their Lord had promised in their land abundant with all good things.

(4) “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD."

Moses drew the people's attention to the fact that their Lord Jehovah was the one and only true God, and there was no other.

(5) "And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might."

Since there was only one God and that was the God of Israel, they were to love Him alone completely with all they had.  Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, described it this way:  "The 'heart' is mentioned as the seat of the understanding; the 'soul' as the center of will and personality; the 'might' as representing the outgoings and energies of all the vital powers."

(6) “And these words which I command you this day shall be in your heart."

Loving the Lord with all their hearts, they should also love His word and commandments and hold them dear to their hearts.

(7) "And you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up."

The children of Israel were to teach the commandments diligently to their children.  The original word translated "diligently" was "shanan" and meant more precisely "sharpen, pierce, whet".  They were to teach their children again and again and again, sharpening or refining them, as the Lord spoke of refining His people as silver (Zechariah 13:9, Malachi 3:3).  The commandments should be taught and discussed in the home, and outside the home, in the public square, if you will.  The people should begin and end the day with the Lord's word.

(8) "And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes."

Just as one might tie a string around a finger or a cord around the wrist to help him remember something, so should the people do to always remember the commands of their Lord.  Figuratively, they were always to be on the minds of the people.  Literally, the Jewish people wore phylacteries with a piece of inscribed parchment on their foreheads and on their arms; the word was literally bound on their hands and as frontlets between their eyes, certainly constant reminders of the Lord's commands.

(9) "And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

Let the commandments of the Lord be written on the doorposts of their houses and on their gates to be reminders as they left and came back.  It would also surely serve as a sign to anyone who passed by that they were children of the one true God and were not ashamed of Him or His word.

(10) "And it shall be, when the LORD your God has brought you into the land which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you great and goodly cities which you did not build, (11) And houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant; when you have eaten and are full, (12) Beware, lest you forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage."

Moses exhorted the people to always remember their Lord who brought them out of bondage in Egypt.  When they had settled in their promised land with all the great things around them that they themselves did not have to build or furnish, Moses warned them not to forget their Lord who was the One who brought them out of bondage and misery to give them this wealth and ease.

(13) “You shall fear the LORD your God and serve Him, and shall swear by His name."

The people were to revere their Lord and serve only Him.  They were to swear oaths in His name only.  The original word translated as "swear" was "shaba", and Strong's defines it literally as "to seven oneself, that is, swear (as if by repeating a declaration seven times)."  Seven in the Bible represents completeness, perfection.  Therefore the meaning of the scripture might actually be, rather than about swearing oaths, about completely recognizing and openly confessing that their Lord alone was the one true God of the universe, and there was no other.  Consider Isaiah 45:23 when the Lord said, "every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear."  When that scripture was referenced in the New Testament, it was written, "every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God."

Albert Barnes pointed out that in Matthew 5:34, Jesus said, "Swear, not at all."  However, it must be noted that He went on to expand on this that people should not swear by heaven, for it was God's throne; not by the earth, for it was God's footstool; not by Jerusalem, for it was the city of God; not even by their own bodies or lives, for they were not the authors of their own lives, but only God was.  This seems consistent with Moses's declaration that there was only one God that was to be feared, served, and confessed to Him alone.  As with so many of the laws that had been given in the Old Testament, the people had veered from the spirit of the law.  Jesus was all about teaching the heart of the law.  He said He came not to change one bit of the law, but He often pointed out the spirit of the law and how people had transgressed.  In this case, people had turned to the practice of swearing by anything other than God, because they had no intention of keeping their oath.  Jesus said they should not be swearing at all, because it was all God's, and that they should let their "yes" mean "yes", and their "no" mean "no".  Jesus was not referring to oaths sworn before a court; He was once again correcting a false interpretation of the law.  People were to always speak the truth, and swearing by something other than God did not give them an excuse to lie.

(14) “You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the people all around you, (15) (For the LORD your God is a jealous God among you), lest the anger of the LORD your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth."

Moses warned the people not to walk in the ways of the false gods of the people they would find all around them.  As their Lord had betrothed the children of Israel to Himself as a bride is to her husband, He was zealous and ever vigilant of their faithfulness, and would not tolerate their "whoring" after false gods.  Once again, God is life, and the world with its false gods is death.  Additionally, one cannot serve two different masters (Matthew 6:24).  Once one starts dabbling in the ways of false gods, he has denied that his God is the one and only God of the universe.  If the people chose the ways of death, they would necessarily be destroyed from the face of the earth.

(16) “You shall not tempt the LORD your God as you tempted Him in Massah."

In Exodus 17:7 the people were said to have tempted (or tested) the Lord by asking if He was with them or not.  The place was called Massah, which meant "temptation".

(17) “You shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you."

Moses exhorted the people to diligently keep all the commandments, statutes, and judgments of the Lord, not only the Ten Commandments, but the other commands that were to follow.

(18) “And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land which the LORD swore to your fathers, (19) To cast out all your enemies from before you, as the LORD has spoken."

Moses told the people they were to do what was right and good in the sight of the Lord, meaning what the Lord Himself told them to do.  If they obeyed Him, it would go well for them and they would be able to go in and possess the land the Lord had sworn to their patriarchs.  Following the Lord's commands, their enemies would be cast out from before them.

(20) “And when your son asks you in time to come, saying, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which the LORD our God has commanded you?’ (21) Then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt, and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.'"

When in time their children asked them what the meaning of the testimonies, statutes, and judgments were, or perhaps more precisely why they did the things they did, the people would describe to them how they had been in cruel bondage to Pharaoh in Egypt, and that it was their Lord who brought them out with His mighty power.

(22) "'And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and severe, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes. (23) And He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in, to give us the land which He swore to our fathers.'"

They would tell their children about all the terrible plagues the Lord had brought upon Egypt and on Pharaoh and his household that they had witnessed, in order to bring them out of bondage to bring them to the land they now possessed which He had long before sworn to their patriarchs.

(24) "‘And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is this day.'"

After bringing them to their promised land, they would explain to their children that the Lord gave the people these statutes to revere and respect their Lord, and that they were designed by Him for their ultimate good that they might live.

(25) "'And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as He has commanded us.'"

It would be reckoned as righteousness, they would tell their children, if the people observed and performed the commandments of the Lord as He had commanded them.  No one mortal man can really be totally righteous in the eyes of the Lord, but He would count it as righteousness if they observed His commandments.

I found these words of the Biblical scholar Adam Clarke very interesting and profound, especially considering he lived from 1762 to 1832.  Even way back then, people had these notions!

A most injurious and destructive maxim has lately been advanced by a few individuals, which it is to be hoped is disowned by the class of Christians to which they belong, though the authors affect to be thought Christians, and rational ones, too; the sum of the maxim is this: “Children ought not to be taught religion for fear of having their minds biased to some particular creed, but they should be left to themselves till they are capable of making a choice, and choose to make one.” This maxim is in flat opposition to the command of God, and those who teach it show how little they are affected by the religion they profess. If they felt it to be good for any thing, they would certainly wish their children to possess it; but they do not teach religion to their children, because they feel it to be of no use to themselves. Now the Christian religion properly applied saves the soul, and fills the heart with love to God and man; for the love of God is shed abroad in the heart of a genuine believer, by the Holy Ghost given to him. These persons have no such love, because they have not the religion that inspires it; and the spurious religion which admits of the maxim above mentioned, is not the religion of God, and consequently better untaught than taught. But what can be said to those parents who, possessing a better faith, equally neglect the instruction of their children in the things of God! They are highly criminal; and if their children perish through neglect, which is very probable, what a dreadful account must they give in the great day! Parents! hear what the Lord saith unto you: Ye shall diligently teach your children that there is one Lord, Jehovah, Elohim; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost: and that they must love him with all their heart, with all their soul, and with all their might. And as children are heedless, apt to forget, liable to be carried away by sensible things, repeat and re-repeat the instruction, and add line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little, carefully studying time, place, and circumstances, that your labor be not in vain: show it in its amiableness, excite attention by exciting interest; show how good, how useful, how blessed, how ennobling, how glorious it is. Whet these things on their hearts till the keenest edge is raised on the strongest desire, till they can say, “Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth I desire besides thee!”

Review of the Ten Commandments

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Deuteronomy 5:1) And Moses called all Israel, and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that you may learn them, and keep, and do them."

In the last chapter and post, Moses had ended his long speech to the children of Israel with an exhortation to obedience to the law.  Now he called all the people to him, in order to review with them the statutes and judgments of the Lord that they might learn them and be careful to observe them.

(2) “The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb."

Moses reminded the people of the covenant God Himself had made with the people at Horeb, that is, Mt. Sinai.  Aben Ezra, distinguished Jewish biblical commentator and philosopher of the Middle Ages, observed that Horeb and Sinai were of the same mountain which had two tops, which bore the two different names.

(3) “The LORD did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, who are all of us here alive this day."

Moses reminded the people that this particular covenant of the Ten Commandments that God Himself wrote and delivered to them, was given to them, the children of Israel in the wilderness, not to their patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

(4) “The LORD talked with you face to face on the mountain out of the midst of the fire."

Moses reminded the people that the Lord had spoken directly to them themselves out of the midst of fire that had burned on the mountain, audibly and distinctly, directly to them without going through their usual middle man, Moses.

(5) “I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the LORD; for you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up the mountain. He said, (6) ‘I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.'"

Although the people heard the words of the Lord Himself, they had stood back because they were afraid of the fire and thunderings coming from the mountain, and Moses went near to the Lord (Exodus 20:21).  The Lord began at that time reminding the people that He was their Lord God who had brought them out of bondage in the land of Egypt.

(7) "‘You shall have no other gods before Me.'"

Moses began a review of the Ten Commandments as given by the Lord at that time.  First was that they should have no other gods or idols or any superstitious worship other than their worship of their one true God.

(8) "‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth.'"

They were not to make any carved or engraved image or any likeness of anything in heaven, earth, or the deep sea, to represent their God.  Moses had already reminded them of this in Deuteronomy 4:15-19, that they had never seen the form of God, so they must not fall into a temptation of carving an image of their own imagination of Him to worship.

(9) "'You shall not bow down to them nor serve them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, (10) And shewing mercy to thousands of them who love Me and keep My commandments.'"

In reference to the carved or engraved images the people might make for themselves, they were not to worship these false idols they had created in their own minds, because the Lord was a jealous God, meaning He was zealous and vigilant in guarding them from faithlessness and ultimate death that would result from their falling away from their only source of salvation and life.  It's not that the Lord would necessarily punish a son for his father's sins, but there are consequences to a person's actions that may follow through generations after him.  A father who hated the Lord would thus teach his son the same.  In like manner, and in this case certainly by the Lord's direct actions, as He had frequently done for this particular people, He showed mercy to the generations of them that had come after their patriarchs and loved their Lord and followed His commandments.

(11) "‘You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.'"

The people were never to use the name of their Lord in vain.  His name was only to be used with the highest reverence and awe, and not in worthless, empty, or wrong purposes.  The Lord would not hold him guiltless who took His name in vain, even if the person meant no disrespect to His Lord.  One should not use the name of the most high God in flippant ways.

(12) "'Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD your God has commanded you.'"

The people were to observe the Sabbath, setting it apart as a time of rest and for the performance of holy and religious exercises, as their Lord had commanded they do.

(13) "'Six days you shall labor and do all your work, (14) But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall do no work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.'"

The people were given six days to do all their work, but the seventh day was the Lord's Sabbath, and they were to do no work on that day.  This was not for themselves alone, but to give rest to all their family, servants, animals, etc.

(15) "'And remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.'"

The people were exhorted to remember that they themselves had once been servants in Egypt, that they might be mindful of their servants, and because their God had rescued them and commanded them to observe this day of rest, they ought to do it for Him, themselves, and those in their care and service.

(16) "‘Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land which the LORD your God gives you.'"

Moses repeated to the people the commandment of God that each should honor his father and mother.  The apostle Paul pointed out in Ephesians 6:2 that this was the first commandment with promise, with a promise of long life and happiness in the land of Canaan if they so honored their parents.

(17) "'You shall not kill.'"

The original word "ratsach" means more precisely "murder".  Jesus said in Matthew 5:22 that a person could be guilty of murder in his heart.  These powerful words of John Wesley, in his Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, certainly can prick the conscience:

Have you not tempted any one, to what might shorten his life? Have you tempted none to intemperance? Have you suffered none to be intemperate under your roof, or in your company? Have you done all you could in every place, to prevent intemperance of all kinds! Are you guilty of no degree of self - murder? Do you never eat or drink any thing because you like it, although you have reason to believe, it is prejudicial to your health? Have you constantly done whatever you had reason to believe was conducive to it? Have you not hated your neighbour in your heart? Have you reproved him that committed sin in your sight? If not, you have in God's account hated him, seeing you suffered sin upon him. Have you loved all men as your own soul? As Christ loved us? Have you done unto all men, as in like circumstances, you would they should do to you? Have you done all in your power to help your neighbours, enemies as well as friends? Have you laboured to deliver every soul you could from sin and misery? Have you shewed that you loved all men as yourself, by a constant, earnest endeavour, to fill all places with holiness and happiness, with the knowledge and love of God?

(18) "'Neither shall you commit adultery.'"

In the literal meaning of the word, this is a commandment to have no sexual relations outside of marriage.  However, again Jesus went to the heart of the matter in Matthew 5:28, saying that one could be guilty if he looked upon a woman with lust in his heart.  John Wesley had some powerful soul-searching words on this, too:

If thou hast not been guilty of any act of uncleanness, hath thy heart conceived no unclean thought? Hast thou not looked on a woman so as to lust after her? Hast thou not betrayed thy own soul to temptation, by eating and drinking to the full, by needless familiarities, by foolish talking, by levity of dress or behaviour? Hast thou used all the means which scripture and reason suggest, to prevent every kind and degree of unchastity? Hast thou laboured, by watching, fasting, and prayer, to possess thy vessel in sanctification and honour?

(19) "'Neither shall you steal.'"

Moses repeated the commandment of the Lord against stealing.  Some Biblical commentators have pointed out that when the commandments were originally given, they were given without the word "neither".  They suggest they were joined together by the adverbial conjunction to make them in a sense one law.  Loving your neighbor as yourself would make it necessary to neither kill, commit adultery, steal, etc.  The apostle said this in Romans 13:9:

For this, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

(20) "'Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbor.'"

Moses repeated the commandment of the Lord to not make a false report against one's neighbor.

(21) "'Neither shall you covet your neighbor’s wife, neither shall you covet your neighbor's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor's.'"

Biblical commentators point out that "his field" was added to the list first given in the commandment in Exodus 20:17.  The meaning of the commandment is the same--one should not lust after anything that belongs to someone else, not his wife, not his house, not his land, not his servants, not his livestock, not his car, not his wealth, etc., etc. 

It occurs to me for the first time that this commandment takes care of the committing adultery in the heart that Jesus referred to in Matthew 5:28.  If you are lusting after something that is not your own, you are guilty of coveting.  If you covet a person not your own spouse, you have already broken a commandment, before it is even considered adultery in your heart.  Likewise killing in your heart probably would begin with coveting or bearing false witness.  The commandments are all linked together and can be summed as Jesus summed them in Matthew 22:37-40:

Jesus said to him, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

(22) “These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a great voice; and He added no more. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and delivered them to me."

Moses finished his review of the commandments of the Lord by reminding the people that the Lord had given those commandments to all of them from the mountain in the midst of fire, clouds, and thick darkness with a great and powerful audible voice.  The Lord had ceased talking to the people after He gave them the Ten Commandments.  He wrote the commandments on two stone tablets which He gave to Moses.

(23) "And it came to pass, when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness, for the mountain was burning with fire, that you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders."

Moses recalled and reminded the people that after they had heard God's voice from the midst of fire and clouds and darkness, the heads of the tribes and the elders came up to Moses from where they had been afar off.

(24) “And you said, 'Behold, the LORD our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice out of the midst of the fire; we have seen this day that God speaks with man, yet he lives.'"

Moses reminded the people that the heads and elders remarked at the time that God had shown His great glory to them; they had heard His voice from the midst of the fire.  They had seen and heard for themselves that God spoke to them, mere men, and yet they lived; they were not consumed by the sheer power of His voice.

(25) "‘Now therefore, why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the LORD our God anymore, then we shall die.'"

Moses continued the retelling of the events at the time.  Although the people had miraculously escaped death upon being personally exposed to their awesome God, they did not believe they would be able to bear it any longer.  They were sure that if they heard the voice of God anymore, they would surely be consumed by the fire.  The people had witnessed such a consuming fire before, like the one in Numbers 16:35 that consumed the 250 men who offered strange incense, or the one that consumed those in the uttermost parts of the camp at Taberah (Numbers 11:1) when the people complained.

(26) "‘For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?'"

The heads of the people had acknowledged that no person ever had heard the voice of the living God out of the midst of fire and had lived.  They realized nothing like this had ever happened before, and recognized the miraculous nature of it, and did not trust their frail, corruptible, mortal selves to be able to endure it again.

(27) "‘You go near and hear all that the LORD our God shall say, and tell us all that the LORD our God speaks to you, and we will hear and do it.’"

The elders had requested that Moses go near to the Lord on the mount and hear all that He had to say while they stood far away.  Moses could then tell them what the Lord had said and they would listen and do it.

(28) "And the LORD heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me, and the LORD said to me, ‘I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you; they are right in all that they have spoken.'"

The Lord had heard what the elders had told Moses, and He said that they had spoken rightly.  Their words had shown a reverence and awe of the divine majesty of their Lord God, and a knowledge of their unworthiness to be in His presence.  They also promised to listen and do whatever the Lord told Moses they should do, if he would just be their mediator.

(29) "‘Oh, that there were such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!'"

I believe the sense here is that the Lord desired that the people should forever have the same fearful and reverent heart to keep His commandments as they appeared to have at that moment.  If so, it would always go well for them and their children forever.  It would be well for most all of us if we could always have that same conviction we sometimes have in periods of great brokenness and need for our Savior.  Oh, that we would always have such a heart in us that we would fear the Lord and always keep His commandments!

(30) "'Go say to them, "Get in your tents again." (31) But as for you, stand here by Me, and I will speak to you all the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments which you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess.'"

Therefore the Lord had told Moses at the time to tell the people to return to their tents, and He would commune with just Moses to tell him all the commandments, statutes, and judgments that he would then teach the people, that they would observe and keep them in their promised land the Lord was giving them to possess.

(32) "You shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left."

At that point, Moses exhorted the people to observe what the Lord had commanded them, seeing that He had shown Himself to them and then was so willing to consider their request and grant them what they desired.  Seeing they had desired to have Moses as their mediator and teacher and that they promised so solemnly that they would hear and do what he said, they should take to heart just what the Lord commanded they do, and not veer from it.

(33) “You shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess."

Moses continued with his exhortation that the people walk in the ways that the Lord commanded them so that they might live a long and good life in their promised land.  It's not so much that God would punish them if they disobeyed and reward if they obeyed, but His commandments are life and life more abundant.  The ways of the world are death.  Therefore the Lord desires that we follow His commandments so that we will have a long and blessed life; if we veer from them, and choose the ways of the world, we will suffer the consequences.

I find it interesting that the very same language is used in the commandment to honor fathers and mothers, that it might go well with them and that their days be long in their promised land.  Just as we are to honor the One who created us, we are to honor those God chose to bring us into this world.  God created marriage and the family.  Family is important to God, and we are His family.  When we honor our families, we honor Him and what is important to Him.  Even when they are dysfunctional, we should love and honor them.  After all, doesn't our Father love and offer to forgive us no matter how dysfunctional we are?

Love doesn't always mean obedience to and enabling of abuse and unlawful behavior.  That is where obeying God and honoring parents differs.  God is always righteous; our parents are not.  However, learning to love and honor them is what most of us learn first in life and prepares us for learning to respect other authorities such as government, police, and employers, and our ultimate Authority, God.  While He is righteous and should be the easiest to honor and obey, it is often against our sinful human nature to obey His commands.  At least that is what we often think, that the laws of God mean no fun, but the exact opposite is really true.  Perhaps learning to obey those rules of parents we think were designed to deprive us of fun prepares us for learning to respect God's laws.  Even Jesus submitted to His parents!  Luke 2:51 tells us Jesus was obedient to his parents.  God Himself in human flesh at 12 years of age was obviously much more advanced in spirituality, but subjected himself to two average, ordinary, inexperienced parents.  Jesus taught us an important lesson in this--no one is too smart, too advanced, or too spiritual for God-given submission.  And here is an amazing revelation--Jesus learned Godly submission!  In human form, Jesus taught us that Godly submission doesn't just happen without effort, but it is a learned behavior.  Hebrews 5:8 states that Jesus, GOD in human form, learned obedience from what He suffered.  That revelation came to me from a beautiful article by David Mathis, Jesus Obeyed His Parents.  Honoring our parents and submitting to authority teaches us obedience and Godly submission so that we may live long and that it may be well with us.

Moses Continues His Speech, Now an Earnest Exhortation to Obedience

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Deuteronomy 4:1) "Now therefore hearken, O Israel, to the statutes and to the judgments which I teach you, to do them that you may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers gives you."

In the past chapters of Deuteronomy, Moses had been giving a speech to the Israelites before they went in to possess their promised land.  Most of his speech thus far had been a historical review of the events leading up to their present moment.  Now he turned to an exhortation to Israel to keep the commands, statutes, and judgments of God that they might live, as the laws of God are always about life and life more abundant, as Jesus later described as the reason He had come, in John 10:10.  Following the instruction of their God would also allow them to go in and take possession of the land promised long before to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

(2) “You shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you."

Moses charged the people to keep the commandments of the Lord just as he had given them to them.  They were not to add new laws of their own, nor were they to detract from or make void any part of the law as was given them.

(3) “Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baal Peor, for all the men that followed Baal Peor, the LORD your God has destroyed them from among you."

Moses reminded the children of Israel that they had seen what the Lord had done because of Baal Peor, that is, because of the idolatry the people of Israel fell into by worshiping that idol, having been drawn into it by the daughters of Moab and Midian, through the counsel of Balaam, with whom they committed fornication, which led them to idolatry.  The Lord had destroyed those who had followed Baal Peor from among them; 24,000 were killed (Numbers 25:9).

(4) “But you who held fast to the LORD your God are alive today, every one of you."

Moses offered what should seem a word of encouragement that every one of them who held to the statutes and judgments of their Lord and were not idolaters, were alive at that moment, every one of them.  I believe there is significance beyond the fact that they were not killed the day the 24,000 were killed.  There had since that incident been a war with the Midianites and not one person had died (Numbers 31:49); neither it appeared had anyone died from any other disease or accident.  Everyone who held fast to the Lord was alive that day.

(5) "Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, just as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do so in the land which you go to possess."

Moses had faithfully delivered the statutes and judgments of the Lord just as the Lord had commanded he do, instructing the people in the way they should act when they finally possessed their promised land.

(6) "Therefore keep and do them, for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations which shall hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’"

Moses charged the people with keeping and doing the commandments of the Lord for in them was their wisdom and their understanding.  I am reminded of the scripture that tells us, "There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the LORD" (Proverbs 21:30).  There is no wisdom apart from God; no human scheme can prevail against Him.  There is also, "For the LORD gives wisdom; out of His mouth comes knowledge and understanding" (Proverbs 2:6).  If they kept the laws of their Lord, the nations would hear and marvel that theirs was a great and wise nation.

(7) "For what nation is there so great, that has God so near to it, as the LORD our God is in all we call upon him for?"

Moses reflected about there being no other nation that had God so near to it, having communication with Him, being able to call upon Him for all its needs to help and deliver it from all dangers.  It's not that Israel in itself was so great, but it was great because of the guidance of their Lord who had chosen them to be His people.

(8) "And what nation is there so great that has statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?"

Moses continued in reflecting about how great a nation theirs was to have such wise and righteous statutes and judgments, as the law their Lord had given them.

(9) “Only take heed to yourself, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but teach them to your sons and your sons' sons."

Moses stressed that the people be mindful of the laws of God and careful to adhere to them, and to keep their souls from transgressions, lest they forget the things they had witnessed from their God and they allow worldly lusts to replace God in their hearts.  Moses exhorted the people to teach God's laws to their children and their grandchildren.

(10) "The day you stood before the LORD your God in Horeb, when the LORD said to me, ‘Gather the people to Me, and I will make them hear My words, that they may learn to fear Me all the days that they shall live on the earth, and they may teach their children.'"

Moses reminded the people of the day they stood before the Lord, albeit some were not yet born at that time; nevertheless God Himself gave the people the law in fire and thunder, an awesome event that surely was cemented in the young minds of those who witnessed it, and the report of it impressed upon those who were not yet born and able to witness it.  God's purpose at the time was to so impress upon the people that their God Himself gave this law that they honor and revere Him as Lord and Lawgiver, and teach their children the same.

(11) "And you came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness. (12) And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire; you heard the voice of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice."

Moses more vividly described the day the people received the Ten Commandments.  They stood at the foot of the mountain that burned with fire and smoke that went up into the air, and thick darkness and clouds covered the sky.  The Lord had spoken to them out of the midst of the fire; the people saw no form of God, but only heard His words.

(13) "And He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone."

Moses reminded the people that it was God Himself who pronounced His Ten Commandments to them, commanding them to do them; and it was God Himself who wrote the Ten Commandments on two stone tablets.  Exodus 31:18 told us of that particular event, when God had given Moses two tablets of stone "written with the finger of God".

(14) “And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might do them in the land in which you go over to possess."

Moses reflected that the Lord had commanded him at that time to teach the people statutes and judgments that they follow in their promised land.  These were all the statutes and judgments besides the Ten Commandments that Moses gave mostly in the book of Leviticus.

(15) “Take careful heed to yourselves, for you saw no form when the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, (16) Lest you corrupt yourselves, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of any figure--the likeness of male or female, (17) The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flies in the air, (18) The likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, or the likeness of any fish that is in the water beneath the earth."

Moses reminded the people that they had seen no form of God when He spoke to them to give them the Law, so he warned them to be careful not to fall into the temptation of making carved or sculpted images of a god they had formed in their own minds, with the likeness of a man or woman, or of any beast, bird, or fish, lest they corrupt themselves and fall into idolatry, and also corrupt and defile God by the images they created.

(19) "And lest you lift up your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, you feel driven to worship them and serve them, which the LORD your God has divided to all nations under the whole heaven."

In addition, Moses warned the people against the temptation of looking up toward heaven and feeling driven to worship the sun, moon, or stars.  Those things had been placed there by God.  The rotations and revolutions of the moon and earth divided them among the nations, sometimes one part of the earth enjoying them, and then another, but they were not present with all the people all at once, which it would seem would be necessary if any of them were a god.

(20) “But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be His people, an inheritance, as you are this day."

Moses reminded the people that their God had brought them out of the fiery furnace, a reference to their hell and bondage in Egypt, to be His own people, His own inheritance, as they continued to be at the day Moses spoke to them.

(21) “Furthermore the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that I would not cross over the Jordan, and that I would not enter the good land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance."

Once again Moses reminded the people that it was for their sakes that the Lord was angry with him.  I can't help but wonder if Moses was a bit resentful of the people because it was their seemingly constant faithlessness that stoked his anger and may have driven him to his actions.  However, it was Moses himself who spoke contrarily to what the Lord had told him and did not act in the way the Lord had commanded him, and therefore did not sanctify the Lord in the eyes of the children of Israel.  Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, wrote a little more generously about Moses and suggested that his point was that if the Lord was so angry with Moses so as to bar him from entering the promised land, could the people think to escape the Lord's wrath if guilty of greater provocations?  That does appear to be a good explanation since that comment was inserted at this point.

(22) “But I must die in this land, I must not cross over the Jordan; but you shall cross over and possess that good land."

Moses lamented that he must die in the land east of Jordan and would not be allowed to cross over into the good promised land.  However, he assured the children of Israel that they would cross over Jordan and possess that good land promised to them.

(23) “Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which the LORD your God has forbidden you. (24) For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God."

Moses exhorted the people one more time to take heed, perhaps the point being because he would not be with them, or else they might forget the covenant their Lord made with them, and make a carved idol which God had forbidden in His Ten Commandments.  The people had witnessed that the Lord was a consuming fire as with the men who offered incense with Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (Numbers 16).  The Lord is a jealous God in the sense that He is "solicitous or vigilant in maintaining or guarding something", one of the definitions of jealous in the dictionary.  We have come to think of jealousy as envy, but that is not the case with God's jealousy.  He is certainly not envious of other false gods and idols, but He is solicitous and vigilant in guarding our only means of salvation which is in Him alone.  He is intolerant of unfaithfulness and rivalry, once again, not because He is envious, but because it takes us away from our only salvation.  Primarily though, a Holy God simply cannot tolerate sin in His presence.  That is why we needed Jesus Christ to cover our transgressions with His everlasting sacrifice and atonement for our sins.

(25) “When you beget children and grandchildren and have remained long in the land, and you corrupt yourselves and make a carved image in the likeness of anything, and do evil in the sight of the LORD your God to provoke Him to anger, (26) I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you will soon utterly perish from the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess; you will not prolong your days in it, but will be utterly destroyed."

Moses warned the people that even many years from that point, when they were old and gray and had grandchildren and had lived in their promised land for many years, even if at that point they corrupted themselves by making carved images or idols of any likeness, therefore doing evil by disobeying God and provoking Him to anger, he called heaven and earth as witnesses of the law that had been set before them which so expressly forbade it.  Deuteronomy 30:19 gives a further explanation of this call:  "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live."  Once again we see that God's jealousy is one that guards us against death; He wishes that all should come to Him and not perish; He wants us to choose life in Him, and His laws help us to live.  Moses warned that if the people in the future should forget their God and make idols that they would soon thereafter perish from their promised land.

(27) “And the LORD will scatter you among the nations, and you will be left few in number among the heathen where the LORD will drive you."

Continuing his warning started in verse 25, if the people forgot their covenant with their Lord and made idols, the Lord would scatter them among the heathen nations, and they would be left few in number.

(28) “And there you will serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell."

Among the heathen nations they would find what it was like to serve worthless idols which could do nothing for them.

(29) "But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. (30) When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, if you turn to the LORD your God and obey His voice, (31) (For the LORD your God is a merciful God), He will not forsake you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He swore to them."

What a beautiful promise!  Even if the children of Israel forgot their God and were driven from their promised land to live among the heathen nations, if they then turned back to their God, genuinely seeking Him with all their hearts, He promised to be found.  Even when they found themselves in tribulation in the future, if they turned back to their Lord and were obedient to His word, because their Lord was a merciful God, and only punished in an effort to have them return to their only source of salvation, He would not forsake or destroy them, but would remember His covenant with their fathers.

(32) "For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one side of heaven to the other, whether there has ever been anything as great as this thing, or has ever been heard like it?"

Moses exhorted the people to inquire into and consult the annals of history, ever since God created man, from as far and wide as they could examine, if there had ever been anything as great as they had experienced, as he would go on to further detail in the next few verses.

(33) “Did people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and live?"

First he asked had any people ever heard the voice of God out of the midst of fire, as they had, and lived?  They had distinctly heard God's voice in the midst of the fire that represented His presence, and they were not consumed by His awesome presence.

(34) "Or has God tried to go and take for Himself a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?"

Moses then asked had there ever been another time when God chose a people for Himself and took them out of another nation by all the means and miracles, and by His own mighty hand, as He had done for them when He delivered them from Egypt and brought them to this point on the eve of their entering their promised land.

(35) “To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD Himself is God; there is none else besides Him."

Moses pointed out that all those signs and miracles had been shown to them alone that they would see that their Lord was the only true God of the universe and that there were no other besides Him.

(36) “Out of heaven He let you hear His voice, that He might instruct you; on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire."

Out of heaven God had allowed the children of Israel to hear His voice, and He had allowed them to see a symbol of Him in the fire, and they had heard His voice out of the midst of the fire to instruct them on how they should live.

(37) “And because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them; and He brought you out of Egypt in His sight with His mighty power, (38) To drive out nations from before you greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land as an inheritance, as it is this day."

Because God had loved Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, He had chosen their descendants to be His own special people, and He had brought them out of Egypt to be in His presence; and with His mighty power, He had driven and would continue to drive out nations greater and mightier than theirs, to bring them in to their promised inheritance.

(39) "Know therefore this day, and consider it in your heart, that the LORD Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is none else."

Moses exhorted the people to realize and know in their hearts that their Lord was God of all the heavens above them, and of all the earth, and that there was no other God but Him.

(40) “You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the LORD your God gives you forever."

Knowing that He was the one and only God who chose them to be His people, they should keep all the statutes and commandments that Moses had given them, so that they should be blessed, and their children after them, that they might live long in the land the Lord had given them.

(41) Then Moses set apart three cities on this side of the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun, (42) That the manslayer might flee there, who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without having hated him in time past, and that by fleeing to one of these cities he might live.

Then Moses set apart three cities of refuge on the east side of the Jordan.  To those cities a manslayer could flee to safety if he had accidentally and without malice killed his neighbor.  In Numbers 35:14 God had commanded that there be three cities of refuge on the east side of the Jordan River.  The law stated that anyone who murdered was to be put to death.  However, God provided cities of refuge where someone who had accidentally killed another could flee to safety, safe from the avenger, the family member of the slain person trying to avenge the victim's death.  A person in the city of refuge could stay there in safety until his case was judged.

(43) Bezer in the wilderness in the plain country of the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead of the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan of the Manassites.

The three cities of refuge that Moses appointed were Bezer in the plain of the land allotted to the Reubenites; Ramoth, that part of Mount Gilead that had been appointed to the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, that kingdom of Og, of the land allotted to that half tribe of Manasseh.  Adam Clarke wrote that the cities of refuge were a symbol of the salvation by Christ to sinners, and that the names of the cities were thought to "express some attribute of the Redeemer of mankind".  I don't totally see that in these cities' names.  Bezer literally meant "an inaccessible spot"; Ramoth meant "heights"; and Golan meant "captive".  They just sound like names of safety and refuge, but that certainly does define salvation in Christ.  Brown-Driver-Briggs' Hebrew Definitions defined Golan more fully as "their captivity: their rejoicing".

(44) And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel: (45) These are the testimonies, the statutes, and the judgments which Moses spoke to the children of Israel after they came out of Egypt, (46) On this side of the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel defeated after they came out of Egypt.

These and the last few verses of this chapter comprise a big build-up to what was to follow in the next chapter, a review of the laws, statutes, and judgments that Moses had previously delivered to the children of Israel after they had come out of Egypt, on their current side of the Jordan River in the land that had formerly belonged to Sihon king of the Amorites, but had been overtaken by Israel.

(47) And they possessed his land, and the land of Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorites, which were on this side Jordan toward the rising of the sun; (48) From Aroer, which is by the bank of the river Arnon, even to Mount Sion, which is Hermon, (49) And all the plain on this side Jordan eastward, even to the sea of the plain, under the slopes of Pisgah.

The introduction to the review of the laws continued.  The description of their current place east of the Jordan River that they now possessed also included the land of Og, another king of the Amorites.  They possessed the land from Aroer on the Arnon River in the south to Mt. Hermon (also called Sion) in the north, and all that plain east of the Jordan, as seen in this map:

Their possession included all that plain east of the Jordan, but also the slopes of Mt. Pisgah on the eastern side of the Dead Sea in the south.  Although Pisgah is not marked on the map, it is near Mt. Nebo.  They possessed the land north of the Arnon River, east of the Dead Sea in the slopes of Pisgah.

This chapter was mainly Moses's exhortation to the children of Israel to keep the commands, statutes, and judgments of God, and his warning against disobedience.  This was his introduction to a review of the laws in the next several chapters.