Deuteronomy 7:12-26

How do blessing, patient conquest, and resistance to idols belong together?

Berean Standard Bible

12 If you listen to these ordinances and keep them carefully, then the LORD your God will keep His covenant and the loving devotion that He swore to your fathers. 13 He will love you and bless you and multiply you. He will bless the fruit of your womb and the produce of your land—your grain, new wine, and oil, the young of your herds and the lambs of your flocks—in the land that He swore to your fathers to give you. 14 You will be blessed above all peoples; among you there will be no barren man or woman or livestock. 15 And the LORD will remove from you all sickness. He will not lay upon you any of the terrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but He will inflict them on all who hate you. 16 You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God will deliver to you. Do not look on them with pity. Do not worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you. 17 You may say in your heart, “These nations are greater than we are; how can we drive them out?” 18 But do not be afraid of them. Be sure to remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and all Egypt: 19 the great trials that you saw, the signs and wonders, and the mighty hand and outstretched arm by which the LORD your God brought you out. The LORD your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear. 20 Moreover, the LORD your God will send the hornet against them until even the survivors hiding from you have perished. 21 Do not be terrified by them, for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God. 22 The LORD your God will drive out these nations before you little by little. You will not be enabled to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals would multiply around you. 23 But the LORD your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed. 24 He will hand their kings over to you, and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand against you; you will annihilate them. 25 You must burn up the images of their gods; do not covet the silver and gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it; for it is detestable to the LORD your God. 26 And you must not bring any detestable thing into your house, or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. You are to utterly detest and abhor it, because it is set apart for destruction.

What is the context?

The promised blessings concern Israel’s covenant life in the land: children, crops, livestock, and protection from sickness. The people are told to remember the Lord’s acts in Egypt when they fear stronger nations.

The conquest is described as proceeding little by little so that wild animals do not multiply around them. The people must not preserve idols or covet their silver and gold. Material gain itself can become a snare if it leads them to retain what the Lord has commanded them to reject.

How is this passage commonly understood?

Wesley reads the promises in relation to the people’s duty and the danger of idolatry. Their setting is Israel’s specified covenant and land, not a diagnosis of every later person who experiences illness, infertility, or poverty. The text’s gradual timetable also cautions against assuming that a promised outcome must occur all at once.

What is our position?

We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.

Where can I study this further?

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