Chapter Seven
A Holy Chosen People
7:1 “When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and mightier than you, 2 and when the LORD your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. 3 You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, 4 for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly. 5 But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and chop down their Asherim and burn their carved images with fire.
The people of Israel were not to have any interaction with the current occupants of the Promised Land, no exceptions. Even though the seven nations listed were considered greater than them, God promised victory, they were going to be defeat them and no one was to be left alive.[1] God makes it clear that these people were to be devoted to complete destruction and all are to be killed, no exceptions (see also Leviticus 27:28-29). Possibly to clarify these instructions, God added that they were not to make any agreements with them, show no mercy to them, and certainly not intermarry with them. Any intermarriage had the potential of the foreign spouse enticing the Israelite to embrace false gods, which would anger YHWH, and in turn bring destruction upon themselves. They are to also completely destroy anything associated with the foreign people’s pagan worship, including their altars, pillars, idols, and specifically their Asherim.[2]
Here again these instructions, and those that are similar, often cause modern readers to stumble. Asking how and why would a loving God demand the destruction of so many people? To get an overview of the potential answer to that question, see Considerations under Deuteronomy 2:32-37. Perhaps part of the problem of not understanding why God would call for the destruction of these people, comes from not fully understanding the problem of sin and the need for absolute purity. Since we live in a time after Jesus was victorious on the cross and sin can be forgiven, we forget that prior to the resurrection, sin needed to be atoned for (it still does but those who accept Jesus’ gift of salvation only need to be forgiven by Him, nothing else). If God was going to dwell among His people, they needed to follow the law to be pure and remain holy.
7:6 “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 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, 8 but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, 10 and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. 11 You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.
God chose the people of Israel to be His treasured possession (Hebrew word ‘seḡǔl·lā(h)’,[3] the word refers to a personal possession. This is the second of only eight times this word is found in Scripture, see Exodus 19:5 for the first use). Out of all the various people groups in the world, God set up and chose the people of Israel to be His (called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldeans, see Genesis 11:28, 31; 15:7; Nehemiah 9:7). It was not out of being greater in population, but because God loved them and is, at this time in Deuteronomy, fulfilling the promises He made with their forefathers, namely Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Since God brought them out of Egypt and out of the hand of Pharaoh’s slavery with His own mighty hand, they are to understand that YHWH is their God and that He is always faithful in keeping His promises. Plus, they are to understand that He will continue to love those who love Him and keep His commandments, for a thousand generations; a reference to eternity.[4]
Opposite from those who love Him, He repays (Hebrew ‘mešǎl·lēm’,[5] to make retribution, to restore, given as a substitute, to be at peace) those that hate Him by destroying them. He will not hesitate to repay those who hate Him, which is why they are to be careful to follow the law with all its statutes and rules.
7:12 “And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers. 13 He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you. 14 You shall be blessed above all peoples. There shall not be male or female barren among you or among your livestock. 15 And the LORD will take away from you all sickness, and none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you knew, will he inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you. 16 And you shall consume all the peoples that the LORD your God will give over to you. Your eye shall not pity them, neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.
In response to listening and doing everything that the law requires, YHWH will continue the covenant with them and will continue to love them, just as He promised their forefathers. In addition to loving them, bringing favor to them, and multiplying them in number, He will also increase the production of the land, including their grain, wine, olive oil, cattle, and flocks. They will be blessed above all other nations and people groups. How will this be done? None of the livestock will be barren, there will not be any illness or any of the dreadful diseases they saw in Egypt (see Exodus 15:26). Instead, those maladies will be sent to those who hate them.
They shall consume (Hebrew word ‘ā·ḵǎl·tā’,[6] the word does mean ‘to eat’, but also can refer to a victorious conquering) all the nations that were currently occupying the Promised Land. They were not to have any pity on them nor serve their gods, as doing so would be a snare (Hebrew word ‘mô·qēš’, a trap).[7]
7:17 “If you say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?’ 18 you shall not be afraid of them but you shall remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, 19 the great trials that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD your God brought you out. So will the LORD your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. 20 Moreover, the LORD your God will send hornets among them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you are destroyed. 21 You shall not be in dread of them, for the LORD your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God.
To encourage the people of Israel to not be afraid of going to battle when they cross over the Jordan River and enter the Promised Land, they are not to think (“say in your heart”) that the nations are greater than them. Instead of wondering how they can dispossess them, they are not to be afraid and are to remember what YHWH did to Pharaoh and to all of Egypt. They are to remember the great trials (tests of strength) that they (or their parents) saw, where God used many powerful signs and wonders. The mention of God’s outstretched arm connects the threat (the warning) with the action (the ability to carry out the threat, see Exodus 6:6; 7:5). However, it may also be a reference to when God used the stretched-out arms of Moses and Aaron at the beginning of a plague or miracle (see Exodus 7:19; 8:5-6, 16-17; 9:22-23; 10:12-13, 21-22; 14:16, 21, 26-27).
God will prevail against these people, the same way He prevailed against Pharaoh and Egypt. If they manage to escape or hide, God will send hornets among them (see Exodus 23:28), until they are all destroyed. They are not to fear these people in battle, as God was already in their midst, a great and awesome (Hebrew ‘nô·rā(‘)’,[8] meaning to fear, revere, respect) God.
7:22 The LORD your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once, lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you. 23 But the LORD your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed. 24 And he will give their kings into your hand, and you shall make their name perish from under heaven. No one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them.
The incremental conquering of the land was first mentioned in Exodus 23:29-30. The reason given is that since they did not have sufficient population to occupy the whole land, the wild animals would expand in number and be a problem later when they were able to populate those regions that were too few in people. But YHWH will provide victory when it was the right time, He will throw them into a great confusion until they are destroyed (Hebrew word ‘mehû·mā(h)’,[9] also means panic, tumult, or disturbance, this is the first use of word in Scripture, it describes a tactic used more than once by God to defeat Israel’s enemies, see 1 Samuel 5:9-11; 14:20; 2 Chronicles 15:5; Isaiah 22:5; Zechariah 14:13, if the people of Israel do not obey God here, He warns that He would send the same panic on them, see Deuteronomy 28:20).
God will also give over all of the kings of these nations into their hands, ultimately erasing their names from history. Again, Moses tells them that no one can stand against them, no matter how long it takes.
7:25 The carved images of their gods you shall burn with fire. You shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, lest you be ensnared by it, for it is an abomination to the LORD your God. 26 And you shall not bring an abominable thing into your house and become devoted to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest and abhor it, for it is devoted to destruction.
When they enter in the Promised Land, God had some very important and very specific instructions, not just during the initial battle but also throughout the time they occupied the land. These warnings were given several times since they are critical for their continued occupation of the land.
The instructions to burn the idols or any carved images of their gods is repeated (see verse five). Nor are they to covet any silver or gold that is on those idols or take any for themselves, as those lusts could ensnare them. No abominable thing (idol or anything that represents a false god or is used in the worship of a false god) is to enter any house, otherwise the house will be destroyed too. Anything that snares their interest or found in the possession of any abominable thing such as any object that relates to idol worship, is unacceptable to YHWH. They were to completely detest and abhor such practices, as these objects and practices are devoted to destruction by God.[10]
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[1] See commentaries under Exodus 22:20 and Leviticus 27:28-29.
[2] See commentary under Exodus 34:13-14.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 5459.
[4] See commentaries under Exodus 20:6 and Deuteronomy 5:10, see also 1 Chronicles 16:15; Psalms 105:8.
[5] Strong’s Hebrew 7999.
[6] Strong’s Hebrew 398.
[7] See commentary under Exodus 34:11-12.
[8] Strong’s Hebrew 3372.
[9] Strong’s Hebrew 4103.
[10] See commentary above under verses 1-5.