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.