PM March 5th Deuteronomy 6

March 5^th Deuteronomy 6

Keep and meditate on the Law

1: Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: 2: That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. 3: Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. 4: Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: 5: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. 6: And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8: And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9: And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. 10: And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, 11: And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; 12: Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 13: Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. 14: Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you; 15: (For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth. 16: Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah. 17: Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee. 18: And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, 19: To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken. 20: And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you? 21: Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand: 22: And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes: 23: And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers. 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 at this day. 25: And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.

Deuteronomy 7 Totally destroy the Canaanites

1: When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; 2: And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: 3: Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. 4: For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly. 5: But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire. 6: For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. 7: The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: 8: But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9: Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; 10: And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face. 11: Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them. 12: Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers: 13: And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee. 14: Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle. 15: And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee. 16: And thou shalt consume all the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them: neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that will be a snare unto thee. 17: If thou shalt say in thine heart, These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them? 18: Thou shalt not be afraid of them: but shalt well remember what the LORD thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt; 19: The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm, whereby the LORD thy God brought thee out: so shall the LORD thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid. 20: Moreover the LORD thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed. 21: Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible. 22: And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee. 23: But the LORD thy God shall deliver them unto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed. 24: And he shall deliver their kings into thine hand, and thou shalt destroy their name from under heaven: there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou have destroyed them. 25: The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God. 26: Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.

Deuteronomy 8 Remember God in Canaan

1: All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers. 2: And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. 3: And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. 4: Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years. 5: Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee. 6: Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him. 7: For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; 8: A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; 9: A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass. 10: When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. 11: Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: 12: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; 13: And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; 14: Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 15: Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; 16: Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; 17: And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. 18: But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. 19: And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish. 20: As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD your God.

In todays Bible reading the Lord instructs Israel to keep the law and meditate constantly on it. The Lord then instructs Israel to totally destroy the Canaanites and when they eventually get into the land they are to not forget the Lord. But first we read that the Lord instructed Israel to fear the Lord by keeping the commandments, statues and judgments of the Lord. If they do this they will live long and prosper. Israel is to be careful to teach its children the law of the Lord. Then the Lord warns them not to forsake the Lord or go after idols. They are not to tempt the Lord, that is, to presume on his mercy and kindness. And when the sons ask what do these things mean then you are to tell them that they were slaves in Egypt and tell how the lord brought them out of bondage. Israel is to be righteous by do all the commandments of the Lord. Israel is commanded to drive out the seven nations of the land, the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and the Jebusites. All these nations were greater than Israel. They are to not make peace with them or covenant with them but they are to totally destroy them. And they are most certainly not to breed with them. Because in doing so their false religions will be adopted by Israel. Their altars, images and groves are to be totally destroyed. He says, you Israel are to be a Holy People to the LORD your God, because the Lord has chosen Israel to be above all other peoples of the earth. The Lord did not love you because you were a big nation but he chose you because he promised to do so to your fathers. The Lord promised that If Israel kept his commandments then he would bless them, increasing their children and causing their flocks to increase. The Lord will take away all sickness and non of the diseases of Egypt will come on them. (The infectious diseases of the world were hindered or even eradicated in Israel because of the obedience of the law.) The Lord will bring disease and hornets (stinging insects) on their enemies. All of the gold and silver is to be treated with horror by the Israelites just in case it becomes a snare to Israel. And when Israel is settled in the Land they must not forget the Lord. The Lord reminded them that all through the 40 years their clothes never wore out and their feet never swelled. The Lord was going to bring them into a land of clear springs and brooks, a land of wheat, barley, vines, pomegranates, olives and honey, a land of plenty, in food and minerals of iron and copper. The Lord testifies to Israel that if they forsake him them he will cause them to perish, just like the nations that he will destroy through them. How different this covenant is to the salvation of the Christian. The covenant with Israel was a two sided covenant in which God promises blessing for obedience and curses for disobedience. But Gods blessing for the christian is not based on what the christian does, for good or bad, but on what Christ has done.

• How does the Lord want Israel to think about the Law?
• Why did the Lord want to totally destroy the Canaanites?
• How did the Lord remind Israel not to forget him?