Chapter 29

 

 

LITV

Deu 29:1  These are the Words of the covenant which Jehovah commanded Moses to make with the sons of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which He made with them in Horeb. 

Deu 29:2  And Moses called to all Israel, and said to them, You have seen all that Jehovah did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants, and to all his land. 

Deu 29:3  Your eyes have seen the great trials, the signs, and those great miracles. 

Deu 29:4  Yet Jehovah has not given to you a heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, until this day. 

Deu 29:5  And I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your garments have not worn out from off you, and your sandal has not worn away off your foot. 

Deu 29:6  You have not eaten bread, and you have not drunk wine or fermented drink, so that you might know that I am Jehovah your God. 

Deu 29:7  And you came into this place, and Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out to meet us, to battle. And we struck them, 

Deu 29:8  and took their land, and gave it for an inheritance to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and for the half tribe of Manasseh. 

Deu 29:9  Then pay attention to the Words of this covenant, and do them, that you may act wisely in all that you do. 

Deu 29:10  You are standing today, all of you, before Jehovah your God; your rulers, your tribes your elders, and your officers, every man of Israel; 

Deu 29:11  your little ones, your wives, and your alien who is in the midst of your camps, from the woodchopper to the one drawing your water; 

Deu 29:12  so that you should enter into the covenant of Jehovah your God, and into His oath, which Jehovah your God is making with you today; 

Deu 29:13  so that He may establish you today for a people to Himself, and He Himself be your God, as He has spoken to you, and as He has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham to Isaac, and to Jacob. 

Deu 29:14  And I am not making this covenant and this oath with you alone, 

Deu 29:15  but with him who stands here with us today before Jehovah your God; and also with him that is not here with us today. 

Deu 29:16  For you know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the nations through which you passed. 

Deu 29:17  And seen their detestable things, and their idols of wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them; 

Deu 29:18  that there not be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turns away today from Jehovah our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you today a root that bears gall and wormwood; 

Deu 29:19  and it happens when he hears the words of this curse, that he should bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, even though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart, to snatch away the drunken with the thirsty. 

Deu 29:20  Jehovah will not be willing to forgive him, for then Jehovah's anger and His zeal shall smoke, and His zeal shall be against that man, and all the curses written in this book shall lie upon him. And Jehovah shall blot out his name from under the heavens. 

Deu 29:21  And Jehovah shall set him apart to evil, out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the Law; 

Deu 29:22  so that the generation to come, your sons who rise after you, and the foreigner who comes in from a distant land, shall say when they see the plagues of that land, and its sicknesses which Jehovah shall send into it, 

Deu 29:23  The whole land shall be burned with brimstone and salt; it shall not be sown, nor shall it sprout; nor shall there be any herb in it. It shall be like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim, which Jehovah overthrew in His anger and in His fury. 

Deu 29:24  And all the nations shall say, Why has Jehovah done this to this land? For what is the heat of this great anger? 

Deu 29:25  Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of Jehovah, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. 

Deu 29:26  For they went and served other gods, and worshiped them, gods which they did not know, and who had not divided to them any portion. 

Deu 29:27  And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against this land to bring on it all the curses that are written in this book. 

Deu 29:28  And Jehovah rooted them out of their land in anger and wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day. 

Deu 29:29  The secret things belong to Jehovah our God; and the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may do all the Words of this Law. 

 

Main point(s): Moses qualifies the principles behind the covenant and the resulting consequences for disobedience.

 

1.    Write down all that God has done for the people as recorded in 1-9. God made them witnesses to His works: trials, signs and miracles. 40 years of wandering and their clothes/shoes have not worn out. They did not eat bread or drink wine. They defeated the kings east of the Jordan (giants).

2.    In spite of all God did, what has happened to the people (4)? Explain what this means in its context. Consider how the following passages also declare this: Is. 6:9-10, Ez. 12:2, Matt. 13:14-17, Rom. 11:8, Acts 28:26. What is God’s message? They had not developed “a heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear.” These are hallmark characteristics of a working FAITH. It was not enough to have a faith that God would deliver them, because that faith is tainted with idolatry and entitlement. God expects His people to be ALL IN with Him. Anything less is unacceptable. It took these forty years of discipline to get them to this point.
Note that Moses says there were not properly receptive “until this day.” This indicates that they were receptive properly and ready to go into the land.
Is. 6:9-10: Isa 6:9  And He said, Go and say to this people, Hearing you hear, but do not understand; and seeing you see, but do not know. Isa 6:10  Make the heart of this people fat, and make his ears heavy, and shut his eyes, that he not see with his eyes, and hear with his ears, and understand with his heart, and turn back, and one heals him.
Ezekiel 12:2 -  Eze 12:2  Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house. They have eyes to see, but they do not see; they have ears to hear, but they do not hear; for they are a rebellious house. 
Matt. 13:14-17 - Mat 13:14  And the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled on them, which says, "In hearing you will hear and in no way understand, and seeing you will see yet in no way perceive. Mat 13:15  For the heart of this people has grown fat, and they heard heavily with the ears, and they have closed their eyes, that they not see with the eyes, or hear with the ears, and understand with the heart, and be converted, and I heal them." Isa. 6:9, 10 Mat 13:16  But your eyes are blessed because they see; and your ears because they hear. Mat 13:17  For truly I tell you that many prophets and righteous ones desired to see what you see and did not see, and to hear what you hear and did not hear.
Romans 11:8 - Rom 11:8  even as it has been written, "God gave to them a spirit of slumber, eyes not seeing and ears not hearing" until this day.
Acts 28:26  - Act 28:26  saying, "Go to this people and say, You will surely hear, and not at all understand; and you will surely see, and not at all perceive; 

3.    Write down the heart warnings in 16-19. What will be the consequences for this kind of heart: 20-28? The people have witnessed idolatry in Egypt and the surrounding nations. They know they are not to turn away from God and to these idols. The process can happen in spite of the knowledge they have. It goes like this: “and it happens when he hears the words of this curse, that he should bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, even though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart, to snatch away the drunken with the thirsty.”
This is the practice of “self deception.” It reveals the absence of faith. In the context of THAT time, God was dealing directly with the people. They saw plagues happen, they saw the earth open up and swallow families (all for the cause of disobedience). There will be a time where they will be free moral agents without God immediately dispensing justice. That is when this attitude rises up against Him.
In these cases: 20/21-Jehovah will not be willing to forgive him and his name will be blotted out (utterly destroyed). 22-28 Their land will become desolate and it will be a testimony to their disobedience and God’s justice (for everyone, even the foreigner). Their NAME will be blotted out (in a society where the name’s sake is paramount).

4.    What do these warnings look like in our lives today? Throughout all bible history we see God’s people deceiving themselves and turning to “other gods.” Jehovah was just another god among many other gods. By doing this the heart of man desecrated the authority of Jehovah. Today is no different. We still have free moral agency whereby we can choose our God or other gods. The self deception occurs when we chase after those things that are diametrically opposed to Him, and think there is room in our hearts for gods we make “equal” to Jehovah. In reality  these “*things” have no right to that position. *money, people, covetousness, unbridled lust, time, …the list is nearly endless.

5.    Read Hebrews 12:14-15. Notice how there is a “root” problem identified. What must we do to deal with these roots? What does it look like?
Heb 12:14  Eagerly pursue peace and holiness with all, without which no one will see the Lord, Heb 12:15  watching diligently that not any lack from the grace of God, that "no root of bitterness growing up" may crowd "in on you", and through this many be defiled; -
In the Deuteronomy context it is God who “rooted them out” (28). These are cases where the offender blatantly disrespects God. Rooting out is a metaphor. As one would pull offensive weeds by the roots before going to seed. The weed loses its power and influence over the crop, dries up and is forgotten.
So what do we do when this happens within our own lives, or within the church? Note for that the person who does this, God is not WILLING to forgive them. This indicates that the will of God is affected by our heart and the actions we take based on our heart (faith). Within the Christian paradigm, there is a road to forgiveness, although there may still be consequences. For the person who refuses to stop sinning against God, against the church, against himself: There needs to be a “rooting out.” I Cor 5 describes the process: “…deliver such a one to Satan for destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus… not to associate intimately; if anyone is called a brother and is either a fornicator, or a covetous one, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a plunderer, with such a one not to eat…” – The term we use is “withdraw.” The hope is that the discipline of removing this one from the assembly will motivate them to see their sin and repent. Note that it is not punishment. The action is done to stop the “leaven” of sin’s affect on others.

6.    Read verse 29 carefully. What point is being made about God? What is God’s revelation intended for us to do? First, not all things have been revealed. Some things are still hidden to them. Secondly, Jehovah has dispensed enough information to them that if they just obey (and grow their faith) this will bind them to God “for ever.”
For *ever: *H5769 ‛ôlâm    ‛ôlâm o-lawm', o-lawm'

1.    From H5956; properly concealed, that is, the vanishing point; generally time out of mind (past or future), that is, (practically) eternity

We must not miss the component of “heart” in this text. Obedience without the correct heart is futile. In new-testament days, heart is faith.