Chapter Text
Driving Out the Nations
Blessings for Obedience
Summary
Moses warns Israel against the temptations they will face in Canaan: a prosperous land with cities they did not build, wells they did not dig, and vineyards they did not plant. He cautions them not to forget the Lord in their abundance. They must not follow other gods, must not test God as at Massah, and must diligently keep His commandments. When their children ask the meaning of these laws, they are to recount the story of deliverance from Egypt.
Meaning
Prosperity is presented as a greater spiritual danger than adversity. In the wilderness, Israel's need kept them dependent on God. In abundance, the temptation to forget the source of blessing and become self-sufficient would intensify dramatically.
The instruction to answer children's questions with the Exodus story reveals that law finds its meaning in narrative. Commands are not arbitrary rules but responses to a God who has acted in history. Obedience flows from remembering who God is and what He has done.
Background
The warning against prosperity-induced forgetfulness proved prophetically accurate throughout Israel's history. The question-and-answer format prescribed for teaching children became the foundation of the Passover Seder, where the youngest child asks four questions about the meaning of the ceremony.
Chapter Outline
- vv. 1-5Command to Destroy the Canaanite Nations
- vv. 6-11Israel Chosen by God's Sovereign Love
- vv. 12-15Blessings Promised for Covenant Obedience
- vv. 16-21Do Not Fear — Remember God's Power
- vv. 22-26Gradual Victory and the Danger of Idolatry
Key Verses
“For thou art an 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.”— 7:6
This verse establishes Israel's identity as God's chosen, set-apart nation — a foundational text for the doctrine of election and the theology of holiness that runs through both Testaments.
“Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;”— 7:9
A definitive statement on God's covenant faithfulness, frequently cited to affirm His unchanging character and the enduring nature of His promises across generations.
“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: 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.”— 7:7-8
These verses ground divine election entirely in God's sovereign love and covenant fidelity rather than in any merit of the chosen people — a key text for understanding grace throughout Scripture.
People & Places
People
- Moses — The speaker delivering God's covenant instructions to Israel on the plains of Moab before they enter the Promised Land.
- Pharaoh — King of Egypt from whose hand God redeemed Israel, invoked here as a reminder of God's demonstrated power over mighty rulers.
Places
- Egypt — The land of Israel's former bondage, referenced as a reminder of God's deliverance and the diseases He inflicted on their oppressors.
- The Promised Land (Canaan) — The land God swore to Israel's fathers, currently occupied by seven nations whom Israel is commanded to dispossess.
Prophecy & Fulfillment
While not directly prophetic in the messianic sense, this chapter's theology of election and covenant love foreshadows New Testament teaching on God's choosing of believers by grace rather than merit (Ephesians 1:4–6, 1 Peter 2:9). The concept of Israel as a 'special people' (v. 6) is echoed in Peter's description of the church as 'a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people' (1 Peter 2:9). The promise of gradual victory over enemies (v. 22) prefigures the believer's progressive sanctification.
Devotional
God's love for Israel was not earned by their greatness — they were the fewest of all people. This is the nature of grace: God chooses to love, not because we deserve it, but because He is faithful to His own character and promises.
This truth frees us from the anxiety of performing for God's approval. Our standing rests on His covenant faithfulness, not our spiritual résumé. Yet grace is not passive — it calls us to radical separation from whatever would draw our hearts away from Him.
When the task ahead seems overwhelming, God's counsel is clear: remember what He has already done. Past faithfulness is the foundation for present courage.
Literary Style
This chapter is covenant exhortation in the form of Mosaic oratory — a blend of legal instruction and passionate persuasion. It employs the second-person address characteristic of Deuteronomic rhetoric, moving between command, theological rationale, and motivational remembrance. Notable features include the repeated divine epithet 'the LORD thy God' and the rhetorical anticipation of Israel's inner doubts (v. 17).