Make No Treaty with the Nations and Show No Mercy (Deuteronomy 7:1-26)

God commanded the Israelites to fear and love the Lord with all their hearts and with all their mind and with all their strength all the days of their lives in the land God gave them to possess according to the promise given to the forefathers. This is recorded in Chapter 6 after Moses reinstated the Law of God the second time in Chapter 5. The first Law was given in the Mount Horeb which is recorded in Chapter 20 of Exodus. Then the Lord God commanded the people of Israel who were about to enter the land that when God drove out and delivered many nations over to them they must destroy them totally without making any treaty with the nations and showing no mercy. It’s a God’s holy war and the Israelites were called as his holy instruments for the judgment upon the nations.

“When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you—and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy.” (Deuteronomy 7:1-2)

The nations in the land of Canaan were larger and stronger than the Israelites but the Lord God would destroy them before them. The seven nations were the descendants of Canaan, the son of Ham, the son of Noah (Genesis 10:15). Canaan was cursed by Noah when his father Ham saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers. God would drive them out of the land and delivered them into the hands of the Israelites. Why did God deliver them over to the Israelites? It’s the fulfillment of the promise given to Abraham that God would drive out the nations because their sins had reached its full measure (Genesis 15:17). God delayed the judgment upon the nations in Canaan more than four hundred years. Our God is kind and faithful and generous, giving time and opportunity to repent and come unto him. But when they continue to refuse his invitation they would be destroyed completely. Jesus warns that there is one sin which never can be forgiven. It is the sin of refusing the Son Jesus Christ to the end.

“And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.” (Matthew 12:31)

God said to the Israelites that they must not make any treaty with the nations in Canaan and show them no mercy but destroy them completely. They were called God’s holy instruments to execute the righteous judgment of the Lord. The people of Israel who were going to enter the land had no right to destroy the nations. God is the One who can judge the nations. God delivered his people out of Egypt from the hands of Pharaoh with signs and wonders and disciplined them in the wilderness, teaching them God was faithful and righteous and merciful and kind without any partiality. God is always good which means he is always the same forever without any compromise. He never bends by any means in any circumstance. It was the time for the Lord God to punish the people in the land of Canaan. That’s why the Israelites must not make treaty with the nations and show no mercy but destroy them completely.

“Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire.” (Deuteronomy 7:3-5)

Apostle Paul commands not to be yoked with unbelievers because nothing is common between righteousness and wickedness (2 Corinthians 6:14). God warned the Israelites not to intermarry with the people in Canaan because they would turn their children away from following the Lord God to serve other gods. If they did, then the Lord’s anger would burn against them and would quickly destroy them. This had happened in history when they entered the land and did not obey the commandments of God. They gave their daughters to the Canaanites’ sons and took their daughters for their sons. As a result, they fell into the trap of worshiping idols of the nations. But the Lord commanded them to break down their alters, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols in the fire.

Marriage is the union between one man and one woman. The mystery of the union between Jesus and the church is hidden in marriage. God instituted the marriage for humanity to learn what the true worship is. Marriage includes sex which represents the holy union between husband and wife physically, psychologically, and spiritually. Sex in marriage is the picture of worship. Worshiping God is the state of possessing him and being possessed by him. God searches for the people who worship him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). It’s the reason God strictly forbid the intermarriage with unbelievers.

“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. But those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction; he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.” (Deuteronomy 7:6-10)

God has made the people of Israel holy and his treasured possession to him not because they were deserved and more numerous than other peoples but because they were the fewest of all peoples. Since they were the humblest of all peoples God loved them and kept the oath he swore to their ancestors that he brought them out with a mighty hand and redeemed them from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. This is exactly the same as what our Lord Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3) The people of Israel were holy to the Lord God for they were redeemed and belonged to him who is forever holy.

Therefore, they shall know and never forget that the Lord their God is God and he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. God is love yesterday, today, and forever. God is good and never changes in keeping his covenant faithfully generations after generations to those who love and obey all the laws and decrees. But those who disobey and hate the Lord their God he will repay to their face by destruction. The Lord will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him. Apostle Paul says so pertinently what is happening to those obey and to those who disobey the commandments of God in the Epistle to the Romans.

“To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism.” (Romans 2:7-11)

Apostle James calls the measure of the Lord as the royal law and the whole law and proclaims that there is only one Lawgiver and Judge who is able to save and destroy (James 5:12). He is Jesus Chris the Lord of glory.

“Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today. If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your ancestors. He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land—your grain, new wine and olive oil—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you. You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor will any of your livestock be without young. The Lord will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will inflict them on all who hate you. You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God gives over to you. Do not look on them with pity and do not serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you.” (Deuteronomy 7:11-16)

This shows that everything is coming from the Lord our God, health and prosperity in childbearing and abundance in grain, wine, and oil and all the livestock to those who take care to follow the commands and decrees and laws God is giving to us today. It is not too difficult to find out that many unbelievers enjoy health and prosperity in the world. But the promise of God is not only true in physical level but also true in spiritual level. By God’s mercy, many a people enjoys peace and prosperity, even the wicked people. It may seem to be so but it cannot be true spiritually because unless anyone has been redeemed by the blood of Christ all are under the wrath of God, full of trouble and distress. There is no other way to be blessed and prosperous in body and spirit except through the obedience to all the commandments of God.

“You may say to yourselves, ‘These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?’ But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear. Moreover, the Lord your God will send the hornet among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished. Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God.” (Deuteronomy 7:17-21)

One thing they might say to themselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?” It happened forty years ago in Kadesh Barnea where the whole assembly of Israel wept aloud that night when they heard the report of the spies who scouted forty days in the land of Canaan (Numbers 14:1). Because they refused to enter the land and to possess God led them into the wilderness forty years. So, God commanded them not to be afraid of them and to remember well what the Lord their God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. They witnessed how the Lord their God brought them out of Egypt with the signs and wonders and the mighty hand and outstretched arm of the Lord. God would do the same to all the nations and peoples they feared. God would destroy and perish even the survivors by sending the hornet among them. One thing they shall not do was not to be terrified by them for the Lord their God who was among them was a great and awesome God.

“The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed. He will give their kings into your hand, and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand up against you; you will destroy them. The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire. Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the Lord your God. Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Regard it as vile and utterly detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.” (Deuteronomy 7:22-26)

This is the most interesting and mysterious way of the Lord God that he would not drive those nations all at once but little by little, or the wild animals would multiply around them. It doesn’t mean that he is not able to destroy all at once but that he would do this way for his people. Surely, the Lord their God would deliver them over to the Israelites, throwing them into great confusion until they were destroyed. God would drive out the nations little by little for they couldn’t handle it if God did all at once. What does it mean to our lives in Christ? It means that God reveals the truth little by little, one by one. It’s because we cannot handle if it he did reveal it all at once. Jesus said to his disciples in the Upper Room Discourse that he wanted to say much more things they could not bear (John 16:12).

It is very encouraging to know that even Apostle Paul took at least 10 years to begin his ministry for the Gentiles since he was dramatically called on the way to Damascus. During those years Paul learned and was revealed the truth on the mysteries of God and of Christ little by little. Jesus says that those who have and obey the truth will be given more in abundance but who does not have nor disobey will be taken away from them (Matthew 13:12). The new life in Christ is a long process to learn the truth and mysteries of God. It takes a lifetime. But during the process we shall always trust the Lord our God that he will drive out all the enemies before us. We shall also not turn our ways to other gods which are detestable to the Lord.

“Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” (Matthew 13:12)

Prayer: Thank you Father for the promise of driving out all our enemies if we obey all the commandments of the Lord in the land you gave to possess. Believing in the promise that God will drive out our enemies little by little, we may obey you every time we are revealed the truth in our midst. In Christ’s name. Amen.

May 31, 2016

© 2015-2016 David Lee Ministries – All Rights Reserved.

Fear the Lord Your God As Long As You Live (Deuteronomy 6:1-25)

Deuteronomy Chapter 6 is the part of the second sermon of Moses delivered to the Israelites who were poised to cross the Jordan and enter the land promised to the ancestors. Moses reinstated the Law of God, the Ten Commandments, so that they might obey them in the land God gave them to possess. Why do the Scriptures keep on saying that they must obey all the laws and decrees carefully as long as they live? It’s because it is the way to live a life worthy of the Lord, the true and eternal life in our Lord Jesus Christ.

“These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.” (Deuteronomy 6:1-3)

There are so many lofty ideas and philosophical thoughts and practical experiences in human history which are highly exalted and respected and honored. People are attracted and fascinated by the glowing  and glittering things of the world, thinking that they can build a paradise on the earth only if they work out some problems like the rich and poor gap with the investment of time and intellectually collaborative work and mind. It’s not true and history proves it, as Philosopher Hagel put it, “History teaches us that history teaches us nothing!” There is no other way to live a true life except through obeying all the commandments of the Lord God. When the people appealed with Moses that they didn’t want to listen to the voice of God for they would be consumed by fire in the mount Horeb, God was pleased with his people that they feared the Lord God. Fearing God is the beginning of knowledge, says the Scripture (Proverb 1:7). Fearing God means fully recognizing his mighty presence in the midst and submitting to him entirely and completely.

Our God is the God of promise and faithfulness. He swore to himself to keep his promise because there is no one to swear. God cannot lie, so all the words of promise shall be fulfilled without missing the smallest letter and the least stoke of a pen (Matthew 5:18). That’s the reason the Lord our God is saying his people over and over again to keep the laws and decrees carefully. It’s not that he wants us to obey him mechanically and legalistically but that he wants us to obey him voluntarily and willingly in order to have a true life which goes well in every way and increases greatly in the land God has given. Our God is truly and faithfully desiring his children to have life in full now and forevermore. In order give that life to the full, God sent his Son in keeping with the promise of his mouth.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-6)

What does it mean, “The Lord our God, the Lord is one?” It’s because the Lord is God and besides him there is no other (Deuteronomy 4:35). People say that there are many gods in heaven or on earth, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live (1 Corinthians 8:5-6).

So, the Lord God says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with your strength.” To obey the commandments of God is to love the Lord with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our strength. It is impossible to command to love someone. That’s not love if forced and involuntary. But God commands us to love him wholeheartedly and unreservedly. Why is it absolutely required for us to love the Lord God? It’s because it is the way to live a life worthy of the Lord and besides it there is no other. How can it be possible to love the Lord with all the heart and mind and strength? How can it be possible to obey all the commandments of the Lord? It is impossible with man but possible with God.

Our God knows that we cannot keep the commandments of God because we’re fatally and hopelessly lost and fallen in Adam. That’s why God has given the Law after delivering from the bondage of sin and death. He wants to teach the fallen race that they cannot keep the commandments of the Lord by any means. God never gave the Law to keep it with the best effort and endeavor of ours. It is exactly the opposite. God really wants the race to see the impossibility of keeping the Law. When we reach the point of bankruptcy in body and spirit before the Lord God, finally he can help us out. When we truly ask for his pity on us with the repentant and contrite heart, he immediately stretches out his arms for help with true and awesome power and delivers us again and again.

Therefore, the Lord our God commands us to love him with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our strength, and at the same time he provides and equips us to obey him wholly. The way is Jesus Christ our Lord. God promised to send the Holy Spirit to those who believe in the Son and the Father who sent him. Christ Jesus would never leave us nor forsake us forever (Hebrews 13:5). This is the hope of glory, “Christ in you,” says the Scripture (Colossians 1:27). The redeemed humanity is the temple of the Holy God, the eternal residence of the Holy One (1 Corinthians 6:19). It is not us who obey the Father but the Son Jesus Christ who indwells us forever does. That’s how we love the Lord our God with all our heart and mind and strength by means of the provision of God, the Son Jesus Christ.

“Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:7-9)

This part is one of the most abused passages in the Scriptures. It is widely and mostly interpreted as the parents shall literally teach their children over and over again at home and along the road with the words and tie them on their hands and foreheads and write them on the doorframes of their houses. The Jews still practice them literally. No, it’s a figurative and symbolic language. Teaching the children is two edged—one is to talk about the laws and decrees at home and outside and the other is to set the demonstration before the children in their midst.

It never works to teach the children by talking only without demonstration in their midst. The parents must not only talk about the laws of the Lord but also obey them carefully. That’s what it means to tie them as symbols on their hands and bind them on their foreheads. The children see what the parents do, not what they say. For example, if the parents say not to lie to their children and they lie, the children will immediately know what they do.

“When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” (Deuteronomy 6:10-12)

And they shall never forget the Lord who brought them into the land God swore to their fathers to give them. They were dead and powerless under the power of Pharaoh in Egypt, the land of slavery. They were suffering and groaning under the iron yoke of forced labor generations after generations. But God heard their cry and groaning and sent Moses to deliver them out of the land of slavery and led them into the land of the Lord where they were given flourishing cities, houses, wells, and vineyards and olive groves. There they ate and were satisfied with the provisions of the Lord. So, they shall never forget the Lord who brought them out of Egypt with mighty wonders and signs.

We also shall never forget the Lord Jesus Christ who delivered us from the bondage of sin and death by the power of God because it’s not our works, not even a bit but wholly by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). The devil is more cunning and crafty than any other wild animals (Genesis 3:1). He is strong enough to get hold of his captives and belongings with the lie and murderous threat. But our Lord Jesus is stronger than the devil that he infiltrated the devil’s stronghold and bound him and released those who believe in him and made his captives forever (Luke 11:21-22). When our Lord died and rose again from the dead and ascended on high he took many prisoners with him (Ephesians 4:8).

“Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah. Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said.” (Deuteronomy 6:13-19)

God says again to the Israelites to fear the Lord God and serve him only and not to follow other gods for the Lord is a jealous God. He is always among his people and his anger will burn against his people and destroy them from the face of the land if they follow other gods, the gods of the peoples. This is the serious warning to the people of God. And God says that they shall not put the Lord God to the test as they did at Massah. When they didn’t find water, they quarreled with the Lord God, putting him to the test (Exodus 17:1-7).

They shall do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, not in their own sight. It is forever true. But exactly the opposite thing happened in Israel that they did as they saw fit (Judges 21:25). That’s how the world reasons and operates persistently.

“Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.” (Revelation 22:11)

The measurement of right and wrong does not depend upon humans but solely upon the Maker of the heavens and the earth, the Lord God Almighty. No matter how much we fabricate and decorate the things of the world and try to highly exalt and honor them, it is no avail. Our God measures not based on what we humans value but on what he set as the Law of holiness and faithfulness. That’s the reason the Lord our God made an oath to the forefathers that if they obeyed all the laws and decrees and did not follow other gods they would possess the land go well in all directions, thrusting out all their enemies.

“In the future, when your son asks you, ‘What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?’ tell him: ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Before our eyes the Lord sent signs and wonders—great and terrible—on Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land he promised on oath to our ancestors. The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.’” (Deuteronomy 6:20-25)

God delivered the people of Israel and gave the Law because they were the lawless people. The Israelites in slavery under the yoke of Pharaoh is the picture of the fallen race in Adam. So, God set them free at the cost the Son Jesus Christ to make them a law abiding nation. God did not command the people in Egypt to keep all the laws and stipulations which were not even given to them yet. Only after God had delivered them from the bondage of slavery in Egypt, God gave the laws and decrees through the servant Moses and commanded them to keep them in order that they might always prosper and be kept alive. That’s the righteousness of God to all peoples of the earth who obey all the laws and decrees. Again, there is no one who can obey God on their own. We can obey him in Christ Jesus who is power and authority over all things and yet died in our place, shedding his blood as the ransom sacrifice. This is why we keep on fearing the Lord our God all the days of lives now and forever.

Prayer: Thank you once again Father for teaching us the truth that we can be kept alive and prosperous only if we obey all the laws and decrees carefully. Thank you Father for providing and equipping us power to obey the Lord our God in Christ Jesus. May we keep on fearing the Lord our God in our midst for he is in us and among us as the supreme being who has all power and authority in heavens and on earth and under the earth. In Christ’s name. Amen.

May 24, 2016

© 2015-2016 David Lee Ministries – All Rights Reserved.