Deuteronomy 7:21

Deuteronomy 7:1 INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 7 In this chapter the Israelites are exhorted to destroy the seven nations of the land of Canaan, when they entered into it, and to make no alliances with them of any kind, nor suffer any remains of idolatry to continue, Deuteronomy 7:1 to observe which, and other commands of God, they are urged from the consideration of their being freely chosen of God above all other people, and of their being redeemed out of the house of bondage, and of the Lord's being a covenant keeping God to them, Deuteronomy 7:6 and it is promised them, for their further encouragement to keep the commands of God, that they should have an increase of all temporal good things, and no evils and calamities should come upon them, Deuteronomy 6:12, and, lest they should be disheartened at the numbers and might of their enemies, they are put in mind of what God had done for them in Egypt, and of what he had promised to do for them now, Deuteronomy 7:17 and they are assured that the nations should be cast out before them by little and little, until they were utterly destroyed, Deuteronomy 7:21 and the chapter is concluded with an exhortation to destroy their images, and not admit anything of that sort to be brought into their houses, Deuteronomy 7:25. Ver. 1. When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it,....

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 show 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 a 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.

7:12-26 We are in danger of having fellowship with the works of darkness if we take pleasure in fellowship with those who do such works. Whatever brings us into a snare, brings us under a curse. Let us be constant to our duty, and we cannot question the constancy of God's mercy. Diseases are God's servants; they go where he sends them, and do what he bids them. It is therefore good for the health of our bodies, thoroughly to mortify the sin of our souls; which is our rule of duty. Yet sin is never totally destroyed in this world; and it actually prevails in us much more than it would do, if we were watchful and diligent. In all this the Lord acts according to the counsel of his own will; but that counsel being hid from us, forms no excuse for our sloth and negligence, of which it is in no degree the cause. We must not think, that because the deliverance of the church, and the destruction of the enemies of the soul, are not done immediately, therefore they will never be done. God will do his own work in his own method and time; and we may be sure that they are always the best. Thus corruption is driven out of the hearts of believers by little and little. The work of sanctification is carried on gradually; but at length there will be a complete victory. Pride, security, and other sins that are common effects of prosperity, are enemies more dangerous than beasts of the field, and more apt to increase upon us.

Thou shall not be affrighted at them,.... At their numbers, nor at their gigantic stature: for the Lord thy God is among you: in the tabernacle, in the holy of holies, which was in the midst of them, and besides would give proof of his powerful presence among them, in protecting them, and destroying their enemies: a mighty God and terrible; mighty to save his people, and terrible to others.

There seems to be here not so much as a reference to the plagues inflicted miraculously by God on Egypt (compare Exodus 15:26 ), as to the terrible diseases with which, above other countries, Egypt was infested. Compare Deuteronomy 28:27 , Deuteronomy 28:35 . It is not without significance that Egypt, which represents in Scripture the world as contrasted with the Church, should thus above other lands lie under the power of disease and death.

21 . Thou shalt not be affrighted ] This, combined with the verb be afraid ( Deuteronomy 7:18 ), is found in Pl. passages. in the midst of thee ] Deuteronomy 6:15 . great God and … terrible ] Cp. Deuteronomy 10:17 , Deuteronomy 28:58 , the same epithets of the wilderness Deuteronomy 1:19 , Deuteronomy 8:15 , and of Jehovah’s deeds Deuteronomy 10:21 . Terrible , in E, Genesis 28:17 of the presence of God; nowhere else before D, for Exodus 34:10 is editorial, but very frequent in post-deuteronomic writings. Deuteronomy 7:21

Israel had no need to be afraid of them, as Jehovah was in the midst of it a mighty God and terrible. He would drive out the nations, but only gradually, as He had already declared to Moses in Exodus 23:30-31 , and would smite them with great confusion, till they were destroyed, as was the case for example at Gibeon ( Joshua 10:10 ; cf. Exodus 23:27 , where the form המם is used instead of הוּם), and would also deliver their kings into the hand of Israel, so that their names should vanish under the heaven (cf. Deuteronomy 9:14 ; Deuteronomy 25:19 ; and for the fulfilment, Joshua 10:22 ., Deuteronomy 11:12 ; Deuteronomy 12:7-24 ). No one would be able to stand before Israel.

[Bible] Deuteronomy Chapter 7 No league nor fellowship to be made with the Chanaanites: God promiseth his people his blessing and assistance, if they keep his commandments. 7:1. When the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land, which thou art going in to possess, and shall have destroyed many nations before thee, the Hethite, and the Gergezite, and the Amorrhite, and the Chanaanite, and the Pherezite, and the Hevite, and the Jebusite, seven nations much more numerous than thou art, and stronger than thou: 7:2. And the Lord thy God shall have delivered them to thee, thou shalt utterly destroy them. Thou shalt make no league with them, nor shew mercy to them: 7:3. Neither shalt thou make marriages with them. Thou shalt not give thy daughter to his son, nor take his daughter for thy son: 7:4. For she will turn away thy son from following me, that he may rather serve strange gods, and the wrath of the Lord will be kindled, and will quickly destroy thee. 7:5. But thus rather shall you deal with them: Destroy their altars, and break their statues, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven things. 7:6. Because thou art a holy people to the Lord thy God. The Lord thy God hath chosen thee, to be his peculiar people of all peoples that are upon the earth. 7:7. Not because you surpass all nations in number, is the Lord joined unto you, and hath chosen you, for you are the fewest of any people: 7:8. But because the Lord hath loved you, and hath kept his oath, which he swore to your fathers: and hath brought you out with a strong hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, out of the hand of Pharao the king of Egypt. 7:9. And thou shalt know that the Lord thy God, he is a strong and faithful God, keeping his covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments, unto a thousand generations: 7:10. And repaying forthwith them that hate him, so as to destroy them, without further delay immediately rendering to them what they deserve.