Deuteronomy 7-9; Psalm 42

Deuteronomy 7
1-11 A Chosen People
Moses to people regarding the imminent conquest of 7 nations

• They are mightier and more numerous, but God will clear them away for you
• Utterly destroy them
• Make no covenants, show no mercy, don't intermarry with them
• Break down their altars, smash their pillars, hew down their sacred poles, burn their idols
• For you are a people holy to God
• God chose you because he loved you and because he promised your ancestors
• He will be faithful to those who love him, he will reject those who reject him
• Therefore -- obey him

12-26 Blessings for Obedience

• If you obey him, he will bless you with financial success, children and good health
• Do not be afraid of stronger nations; God will defeat them for you -- gradually, so the wild animals won't be too numerous. Never thought of this aspect of conquest before!
• Remember what he's already done for you
• Again: Don't be ensnared by their gods or their wealth

Deuteronomy 8
Warning Not to Forget God in Prosperity

• Hunger in the wilderness was to make you humble and to test you. We don't have to guess that suffering helps to make us humble; here God makes that clear.
• The manna was to help you understand that "one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD." So now we can identify at least one place where this teaching originated.
• The LORD is bringing you into a prosperous land; you shall eat your fill
• Do not credit yourselves for your wealth
• If you forget me, you will perish

Deuteronomy 9
Consequences of Rebelling against God

• God is giving you this land not because of your righteousness but because of their wickedness
• Remember how stubborn you were in the wilderness
• Remember the image you built when I was on the mountain receiving the law
• Remember your lack of trust in God at Kadesh-barnea, when you refused to go into the land that he had promised you

Psalm 42
David, again depressed and discouraged, seeks for the presence of God
1 - "As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God."
3 - "People say to me continually, 'Where is your God?'"
11 - "Why are you cast down, O my soul...? Hope in God...."