Deuteronomy 7 Devotional
by Pastor Mark Hudson
The easiest outline is offered by McConville in his commentary:
1-6 Destroy false worship
7-11 Israel as holy people
12-16 Blessing
17-26 Destroy false worship
This not the first time we have seen Moses address herem. This is God’s command to kill every living thing in a town or regions. It was a brutal, violent act that a holy God commanded. This is, and should be, a challenging subject for us. In this part of Biblical history, God was giving His land to a people He was forming into a nation. Part of His covenant promise was to give them a land of their own. So, God told His people to destroy the various nations. We do not how many people constituting these “nations.” We don’t exactly know how sinful they were. But we do know God commanded this total destruction for a limited time in a specific place.
Moses does give a theological reason for this in v. 4, “for they (daughters of the Canaanites) would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods.” As unpleasant as this herem is, this is not a racial issue. This is not to be repeated but due to the specific circumstances it was commanded then. We can condemn genocide now and not by hypocritical for that reason.
Yet, we must not take this notion of herem lightly. This was a serious command that Moses never seems to express any discomfort or unease discussing. Nor does he try to hide the fact that God commanded herem. The death of the firstborn in Egypt, the drowning of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea, destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, or the death of 24,000 Israelites at Baal-Peor (Numbers 25) and many other Scripture that speaks of deadly consequences of disobedience is never treated quickly or brushed aside. These consequences to both Israel or Canaanites are front and center in the Bible.
We must keep in mind that the pull of idolatry was strong. The Israelites were told repeatedly not to serve the Canaanite gods. Idolatry never left the people of Israel although they were told of the severe consequences of idolatry in this and many other passages. But, O, did they like their idols. And they were so brazen. One of the most brazen was in Jeremiah 44 where Jeremiah is castigating the women who are in Egypt as they worship idols. They respond to Jeremiah that “. . . we will not listen to you.” Then they throw their husbands under the bus. “When we made offerings to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands’ approval . . . ?” How can God be so patient?
In v. 7 and following is one of my favorite sections of Scripture. God tells the nation of Israel why He chose them. This is important because if we know what kind of people God choses, we can be that kind of person and attract God to us or be more attractive to God. After all, there must have been something in me for God to choose me. His choice was not for no reason at all. If we can pinpoint why He chooses, we can tell others how to be, what to do or not do.
The reason? “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set His love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you. . . .” So if the question is, ‘why does God love us, the answer is because He loves us. He loves us because He loves us. You can call this grace. Some call this unconditional election. The reason for His choice is within God himself not outside Him. There is nothing in any person that would entice or cause God to choose that person. And there is nothing you can do to merit any of God’s grace. His decision is due to His own counsel. Ephesians 1 uses the term, “according to the purpose of his will” in v. 5 or “according to his purposes” in v. 9 or in v. 11, “according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.
This is exactly what Paul teaches in Romans 9:11, “though they (Jacob and Esau) were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad – in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of Him who calls” or v. 16, “So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.”
God is a covenant keeping God. In v. 8, “but it is because the Lord loves you and is keep the oath that he swore to your fathers. . . .” The promise that God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are kept and will always be kept. God is “the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations” in v. 9. But He is not merely a loving God. The next verse reminds them what kind of God He is. He “. . . repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with the one who hates him. He will repay him to his face.” So, He proclaims in the same breath as the verse about His steadfast love. What a great God He is.
In this chapter and other verses, there is a clear demarcation between God’s people, His laws, and the holiness that He demands for His people and the people of Canaan. In question 162 of the Larger Catechism when discussing the purposes for sacraments, the question is “What is a sacrament. The last phrase in the answer is “and to distinguish them from those that are without.” I often think of that phrase during communion. The doors are closed; the world is outside. God is making a distinction between those who “worthily” commune and those who do not believe. Believing in Christ as the sole reason for our salvation and continually looking to him is communing worthily. This ought to weigh on our hearts and minds.
Dear Holy Father, we will never understand the depths of Your love this side of heaven. But what joy to contemplate Your love. Thank you for choosing us. Stir us up to bring the glory due Your name. You are altogether lovely. May you remind us that loving the world is a great evil. Help us to rejoice in the created world, people of various colors and languages, but to never love the world in its opposition to You and Your gospel. May Christ be honored and adored for all ages. In Christ’s glorious name. Amen.