Chapter 7

  

LITV

Deu 7:1  When Jehovah your God shall bring you into the land to which you are going, to possess it, and He casts out many nations from before you, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations larger and mightier than you; 

Deu 7:2  and when Jehovah your God shall give them up before you, and you strike them, then you shall utterly destroy them; you shall not cut a covenant with them, nor show mercy to them; 

Deu 7:3  nor shall you intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughter to his son, nor shall you take his daughter to your son. 

Deu 7:4  For he will turn your son away from following Me, that they may serve other gods; and the anger of Jehovah will glow against you, and He will destroy you quickly. 

Deu 7:5  But you shall deal with them in this way: you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces the cult-stones; and you shall cut down their Asherahs; and you will burn their carved images with fire. 

Deu 7:6  For you are a holy people to Jehovah your God. Jehovah your God has chosen you to be His own treasure out of all the people on the face of the earth. 

Deu 7:7  Jehovah did not set His love on you or choose you because you were more in number than any people, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 

Deu 7:8  But because Jehovah loved you, and because He kept the oath which He swore to your fathers, Jehovah has caused you to go out with a strong hand, and redeemed you from the house of slaves, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 

Deu 7:9  Because of this, know that Jehovah your God, He is God, the faithful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to those who love Him, and to those who keep His commands, to a thousand generations; 

Deu 7:10  and repaying to his face those that hate Him, to destroy him; He will not delay, He will repay him who hates Him, to his face. 

Deu 7:11  And you shall keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the ordinances which I am commanding you today, to do them. 

Deu 7:12  And it shall be, because you hear judgments, and keep and do them, even Jehovah your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. 

Deu 7:13  And He will love you, and bless you, and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your land, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your oxen and the wealth of your flock, in the land which He has sworn to your fathers, to give it to you. 

Deu 7:14  You shall be blessed above all people; there shall not be a barren man or a barren woman among you, nor among your livestock. 

Deu 7:15  And Jehovah shall turn aside every sickness from you; and He will not put on you any of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you have known, but He will put them on all who hate you. 

Deu 7:16  And you shall destroy all the peoples whom Jehovah your God is giving to you. And your eye shall have no pity on them; and you shall not serve their gods; for it shall be a snare to you. 

Deu 7:17  If you shall say in your heart, These nations are more plentiful than I; how can I throw them out? 

 

Deu 7:18  You shall not be afraid of them; remembering you shall remember that which Jehovah your God has done to Pharaoh, and to all Egypt, 

Deu 7:19  the great trials which your eyes have seen, and the miracles, and the wonders and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm with which Jehovah your God has brought you out. So Jehovah your God shall do to all the peoples of whose face you are afraid. 

Deu 7:20  And Jehovah your God shall send the hornets among them, until the ones who are left perish, even those who hide themselves from your face. 

Deu 7:21  You shall not tremble before them, for Jehovah your God is among you, a mighty and fearful God. 

Deu 7:22  And Jehovah your God will clear out those nations before you by little and little. You may not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon you. 

Deu 7:23  And Jehovah your God shall deliver them up before you, and destroy them with a great destruction until they are exterminated. 

Deu 7:24  And He shall give their kings into your hand; and you shall destroy their name from under the heavens. No man shall be able to stand before you until you have destroyed them. 

Deu 7:25  You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire; and you shall not lust after the silver and gold on them, nor shall you take it to yourself, that you not be snared by it; for it is an abomination to Jehovah. 

Deu 7:26  And you shall not bring an abomination into your house, that you not be a cursed thing like it. You shall utterly detest it, and you shall utterly hate it; for it is a cursed thing. 

 

Main Point(s): Moses creates a quasi-triangle. There is a direct line between “Jehovah your God” and Israel. The warning is that some nations will lead them astray if Israel aligns with them. That is an issue, because they break the line to God.

 

1.    What does call for the people to do (1-5)? --- you shall utterly destroy them; you shall not cut a covenant with them, nor show mercy to them; 
In the cases where a specific tribe of people were committing heinous acts in their worship, God required complete obliteration of those peoples. Child sacrifice was not unusual in this day and sexual immorality was rampant within many religions.

 

2.    Why were the people to do these things when they entered the land (6)?
6  For you are a holy people to Jehovah your God. Jehovah your God has chosen you to be His own treasure out of all the people on the face of the earth
This is the straight line between God and Israel. It was not to be intersected with any other religion (idol).
holy-H6918 - qâdôsh – Root word means “clean” - From H6942; sacred (ceremonially or morally); (as noun) God (by eminence), an angel, a saint, a sanctuary: - holy (One), saint.
This again shows the association that was to be placed on Israel in relation to God.

3.    What does God say is not the reason he chose Israel (7-8)? Why did He choose Israel?

…did not set His love on you or choose you because you were more in number than any people…
… Jehovah loved you, and because He kept the oath which He swore to your fathers

 

This is a repeated statement by Moses to remind them of how long God has been looking after them. It ties them back to Abraham and the promises given to him. Ultimately, this is about Jesus the Christ.

4.    How does God Describe Himself (9-10)? What does this mean for the people (11-16)?
God is certain to keep His covenant and have mercy on those who love Him, and just as certainly God will respond (repay) those who hate Him…(specifically, his enemies).
Moses is tempering obedience with matters of the heart. It is not enough to not consider yourself an enemy of God. He requires His children to come to love Him. What did that require on their part?
The outward evidence was listening (remembering/harkening) to His word and obeying. Yet, even a stubborn child will obey out of fear. God required them to draw near to Him and remember His affection for them. He wanted them to put ALL of their trust in Him. He just said Israel was holy. Were they? If they were it was because of God, not their own doing.
How should we consider someone who loves us that much….saves us from our own stupidity, and looks only to build us up?
Once Israel can achieve that level of faith, God would do virtually anything for their benefit. Has anything changed over time?

5.    What does God give the people to overcome their fear when they go in to conquer the land (17-24)? How would these things help the people? How do these things help us have faith and not fear?

Faith -

Proof of God’s physical protection: Pharaoh, being testing, signs, miracles, God’s strength. He will also send hornets ahead of them. God will be the one defeating these nations. He is the one with great strength.
Nothing has changed!

Our strength still dwells in God and His word. We have these historical things as testimony to bolster our faith.  

 

6.    What is God’s message in (25-26)?
Idols of a conquered nation were to be destroyed completely. Anything of value found in the sanctuary was to be destroyed as well. It was not to be taken as plunder. These items were considered an “abomination” and  “cursed” by God. If brought into your home, your home (and you) would be cursed!
abomination: H8841: to-ay-baw', to-ay-baw' - properly something disgusting (morally), that is, (as noun) an abhorrence; especially idolatry or (concretely) an idol:
A cursed thing: kem-o', kaw-mo' - A form of the prefix K, but used separately (compare H3651); as, thus, so: - according to, (such) as (it were, well as), in comparison of, like (as, to, unto)

Chapter 6

LITV

Deu 6:1  And this is the commandment, the statute and the judgments which Jehovah your God commanded to teach you, to do them in the land to which you are crossing over, to possess it, 

Deu 6:2  that you might fear Jehovah 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. 

Deu 6:3  Hear, then, O Israel, and take heed to do it, that it may be well with you, that you may increase greatly, as Jehovah the God of your fathers has promised you, in the land flowing with milk and honey. 

Deu 6:4  Hear, O Israel, Jehovah our God is one Jehovah. 

Deu 6:5  And you shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. 

Deu 6:6  And these Words which I am commanding you today shall be on your heart. 

Deu 6:7  And you shall teach them to your sons, and shall speak of them as you sit in your house, and as you walk in the way, and as you are lying down, and as you are rising up. 

Deu 6:8  And you shall bind them for a sign on your hand; and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes. 

Deu 6:9  And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house, and on your gates. 

Deu 6:10  And it shall be, when Jehovah your God shall bring you into the land which He has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to you great and good cities, which you have not built, 

Deu 6:11  and houses full of every good thing which you have not filled, and wells dug which you did not dig, vineyards and oliveyards which you did not plant; and you shall eat and be satisfied; 

Deu 6:12  and you shall be on guard that you not forget Jehovah who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves. 

Deu 6:13  You shall fear Jehovah your God, and you shall serve Him, and you shall swear by His name. 

Deu 6:14  You shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the peoples who are around you, 

Deu 6:15  for Jehovah your God is a jealous God in your midst, lest the anger of Jehovah your God burn against you, and He destroy you from off the face of the earth. 

Deu 6:16  You shall not test Jehovah your God as you tested Him in Massah. 

Deu 6:17  Keeping you shall keep the commands of Jehovah your God, and His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you. 

Deu 6:18  And you shall do the right thing and the good thing in the eyes of Jehovah, so that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land which Jehovah has sworn to your fathers, 

Deu 6:19  to cast out all your enemies from before you, as Jehovah has spoken. 

Deu 6:20  When your son asks you hereafter, saying, What are the testimonies and the statutes and the ordinances which Jehovah your God has commanded you? 

Deu 6:21  Then you shall say to your son, We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt, and Jehovah brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 

Deu 6:22  And Jehovah gave signs and great and grievous wonders on Egypt, on Pharaoh, and on all his household, before our eyes. 

Deu 6:23  And He has brought us out from there in order to bring us in, to give us the land which He had sworn to our fathers. 

Deu 6:24  And Jehovah commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear Jehovah our God for our good forever, to keep us alive, as today. 

Deu 6:25  And it shall be righteousness for us when we take heed to do all this commandment before Jehovah our God, as He has commanded us. 

 

Main Point(s): Moses deals with perceptions, attitudes, motivations: Respect God,  love God, associate with God, teach the next generations the same thing. God is to permeate your life (lives).

1.       What are the reasons given for why the people must fear the Lord and keep His commandments (1-3)?  Fear: yârê' yaw-ray' A primitive root; to fear; morally to revere; causatively to frighten …“ that your days may be prolonged” … “that it may be well with you, that you may increase greatly”…
This is base reasoning. It addresses a problem of perception. Why would Moses say this? It seems that Moses may possess great faith in God, but maybe not so much faith in the people. This is merely a starting point.

2.       What does God want (4-6)?  
Love: 'âhab    'âhêb aw-hab', aw-habe' A primitive root; to have affection for : you shall love Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.
Heart: lêbâb lay-bawb' From H3823; the heart (as the most interior organ) …these Words which I am commanding you today shall be on your heart
God is looking for us to grow to love Him with every fiber of our being. This is the long-term pattern of a relationship. It might start with “fear” but with attentiveness should develop into the affectionate understanding of who God is and how it is that he cares for us. It moves the relationship to a mature place of reverence.

3.       What were they to do with God’s commands (7-9)? How do we do this?  They were to teach their sons. In the broadest sense, speak about God, always, without regard to appointment s or time tables. God was to be present in all conversations. His commands were to be an integral part of what they said, and even what they saw (His word exhibited outwardly)
Nothing has changed. Today we are to keep the word open in our homes, teach our children and have Jehovah central to our lives.

4.       What warning is given (10-15)? What is the cause for this sin? “you shall be on guard that you not forget Jehovah”  - In this instance Idolatry is the warning. Forget: shaw-kakh', shaw-kay'-akh A primitive root; to mislay, that is, to be oblivious of, from want of memory or attention -
This is the end result of NOT doing what he just said; Keeping God centered in our life, keeping His words open and in front of us all the time. Nothing has changed since then.

5.       What are the people warned against doing (16-19)? How do we commit this sin?  See Ex17:1-7  - This is the incident where the people were thirsty and made accusations against God (Moses strikes the rock for water as commanded by God). The location is named Massah/Meribah “because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?””
Massah (testing)+Meribah (quarrel)
Then and now, this is something many people do without thinking. Even today we see many people accusing God when catastrophe occurs; “If there is a God why would He let…”

This is plain arrogance and lacks the heart that Moses speaks of earlier. There is no humility in the heart that seeks to accuse God. On the flip side, how does a heart of love ask a favor or request?

6.       What were the parents to teach their children (20-25)? What was to be explained? How are we to do this today?  The context is when the children asked the parents about these laws; the parents are to tell them that God freed them from slavery and REVEALED Himself through His works (establishes a visual witnessing). That is a visual component for their faith (and a subsequent building block for all future generations’ faith). THIS is the exhibition of LOVE that is key to understanding God. AFTER that, the parent was to explain that obedience to  these laws was there “for our good forever, to keep us alive” (basically that they would prosper in the land).

7.       What will be righteousness to us (24-25)? Explain. “And it shall be righteousness for us when we take heed to do all this commandment before Jehovah our God, as He has commanded us”

Take heed (observe): shâmar shaw-mar' A primitive root; properly to hedge about (as with thorns), that is, guard; generally to protect, attend to,
(some versions interpret “if we are careful”)

This is an end statement of a dedicated life. Obedience to these laws shall be righteousness. However, obedience is not just a goal. It is a lifestyle. It starts with the love described in 4-6. That is only cultivated with daily effort and attention. That love is the foundation of a trust in God. Obedience is the natural outcome to those practices.
As is indicated in Romans, God is the one who makes us righteous if we are faithful. Similarly, obedience (alone) to law did not make the subject righteous.
Righteousness: tsedâqâh tsed-aw-kaw' From H6663; rightness (abstractly), subjectively (rectitude), objectively (justice), morally (virtue) or figuratively (prosperity): - justice, moderately, right (-eous) (act, -ly, -ness).