DEUTERONOMY 7

This chapter is a continuation of Moses' message to Israel.  In this chapter he stresses the importance of God's plan.  If Israel follows the commandments of God, they will be blessed, but if they disobey, they will be chastened.

I.   Verse 1-6 - These verses tell Israel how they are to deal with nations greater than they.

A.     A reconciliation between the works of God and the works of man.

1.       Verse 1,2 - Moses makes it very plain that the Lord is the one who brings Israel into the land, defeats the seven nations which are greater and mightier than Israel, and delivers them into Israel's hands.

2.       We know that Israel has the responsibility of following God and doing the actual work of removing these hostile nations, but God gives them the power to defeat them.

B.     After Israel gets into the land of Canaan, God changes the force of His actions toward Israel.

1.       God directed Israel according to His "Will of Purpose" in bringing them into the land of Canaan, but once they are in the land, God switches to His "Will of Command".

2.       The reason for the change is because God was keeping his promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  When that promise is kept, God will deal with Israel under His "Will of Command" so Israel will learn about their own sinful nature.

3.       He will continue to give them strength, but now He will give them strength only if they ask Him.

C.     Verse 2,3 - Don't make any covenants or marriages with them.

1.       Israel should make no legal contract with these nations, for that would make Israel submissive to their government instead of to God's government.  If Israel made a legal agreement with them that would mean Israel is accepting their right to be in the land.  God said Israel ought to kill all the people of those nations.

2.       Don't make marriages with them.

a.      Israel is supposed to kill them, not feel sorry for them, and certainly not to "fall in love" with them.

b.      Satan knows the easiest way to defeat an enemy is to marry them.

3.       Verse 4 - Why is the son mentioned and not the daughter?

a.      God is recognizing a common cultural trait of all nations.

b.      The husband is the head of the family.  The wife is to follow and obey her husband.

c.      When the daughter marries an unbeliever, she is gone as far as God is concerned.  Her natural instinct is to follow and obey her husband, and he will lead her into a false religion.

d.      The husband is supposed to be the head of the house, but God has provided a helpmate for him.  God intends for the husband to ask advice of his wife.  If a man has a wife that does not believe in God, her advice will be for her husband to stop serving a God they can't see and begin to serve one they can see, namely her God.  A husband will listen to his wife and she will be able to led him away from God over the span of their lifetime together.  Then the children will grow up in a religion split family, and will either worship the false god of the mother or no God at all.

D.     The proper method of dealing with the other nations is to utterly destroy them and their religion before any of it has time to seep into the culture of Israel.

1.       We need to say that we have no right to kill anybody or destroy their religion.

2.       God is here speaking to Israel as a nation, and not to individuals.

3.       The Catholic church during the dark ages took passages like the one before us to mean God intended for them to kill anybody that didn't believe like they did.

4.       The best way to destroy anybody's religion is to teach them the truth, and let God save them.

E.      Verse 6 - Israel should remember that they are a special people unto God.

1.       No other nation on the face of the earth is like Israel.

2.       We should remember that we are not Israel, but God has also set his love on us as individual Gentiles.

3.       This is the real reason why we should serve God.

II.   Verse 7-11 - The reason God is blessing Israel.

A.     He loved them.

1.       Israel did nothing to cause God to love or bless them.

2.       This is the end of the discussion.  God is completely sovereign and can do whatsoever He pleases.

B.     Verse 10 - God will be strong to judge those people that disobey Him.

1.       He will repay them to their face.

2.       This means they will know why a bad thing has happened to them.

C.     Verse 11 - Knowing that God will judge all wickedness is a very good reason for anybody to serve the Lord. that God can and will help us in the daily troubles of this life.