Themes: God’s promises are conditional; the Lord is revered for the gift of His presence and righteous laws; teach the commands to your children; idolatry forbidden at any time; repentance from idolatry is always received; the Lord demonstrates He is God; obedience leads to living in the land;
Verses 1-5: God says to keep His commands so you can enter the Promised Land. He witnesses to this by reminding Israel of how those who followed Baal Peor were destroyed. Jesus too says if you love Me keep my commands. This would be expected since Israel lived in Egypt so long as do Christians that they must be converted to live as God tells us and them to live.
Verses: 6-8: Observing the commands will show other nations the character of God and bring respect from other nations to Israel. Yes Christian’s righteous life will reflect the character of God and on the unrighteous life of our peers. Praise comes from those who see the blessings that come from His character and that He desires to impart that character to and into us.
Verses: 9-14: Teach your children the commands of God in part because the commands will keep you in the Land once you enter. Christians obviously are instructed to raise our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord so that they too can enter the Land.
Verses 15-28: God brought Israel out of Egypt therefore any idolatry is expressly forbidden at any time and if you begin to worship idols you will be removed from the Land. Makes sense if you saw as Israel did God delivering them from Pharaoh and the Egyptians that they would presume to worship another so called god who did not bring them out of Egypt. Therefore if you don’t worship the God that did bring you out of Egypt God will give you over to the gods who you say did and let you live with those people too.
As Christians if you believe God saved you from the power of the devil, sin and death why would you worship another God? If you do you will be returned to the life you had before salvation. It’s that simple.
Verses: 29-31: However, if you commit idolatry and then repent and seek God with your whole heart He will hear you because of the oath He made with your forefathers. God in His goodness hears the cries of His people. It’s one of His greatest qualities: the desire for the reconciliation of His people.
Verses: 32-38: God testified to Israel by speaking out of the fire, removing them from Egypt, defeating their enemies and other miracles and signs. His perseverance with Israel was because He loved their forefathers and chose their descendants.
Now God speaks to Christians through His Son and does the ‘miracle’ of salvation through Him. His perseverance with Christians is because He loves His Son and those that are begotten of Him.
Verses: 39-40: The Lord is God. Keep His decrees so life will go well and you can live in the Land. Yes it’s that simple. In faith follow His Word and you will dwell in peace with God in this life and the next. Don’t follow His Word and live at enmity with God in this life and the next.
Views from an Evangelist 