Scroll to the bottom for thoughts/discussion questions!
One-sentence summary: Moses warns the people to be careful to obey God and teach His ways to their children so that they can prosper in the land the Lord is giving them; He also warns them to completely destroy the people and their idols and says that God will give them victory "little by little."
Moses calls all Israel and tells them to listen to God's laws and judgments to observe them. He reminds them of the covenant God made with them when He spoke to them from the fire and gave them the law. He relays the ten commandments that God has given them. Moses reminds them how when they heard God's voice in the midst of the darkness, they said they did not want to die, so they asked Moses to go up for them and talk to God, because they feared the fire would consume them and that if they hear God's voice any more, they may die. They asked Moses to tell them what God said and said they would do it. The Lord told Moses that He heard the people say this and that it was right. Moses says the Lord said to him, "Oh that [the people] had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep My commandments, that it may be well with them and with all their children forever." Moses says the Lord allowed the people to return to their tents while He spoke to him on the mountain, and he warns them to be careful to obey all God has commanded them, not to "turn aside to the right hand or the left," and to "walk in all the ways that the Lord God has commanded [them]," that "[they] may live, and it may be well with [them], and [they] may prolong [their] days in the land [they] will possess."
Moses reminds them that God has said, "Hear, oh Israel! The Lord your God is One! You shall love the lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your strength." He says these words must be in their heart, that they should teach them diligently to their children, and talk about them all the day long, binding them as a sign on their hand and in between their eyes. They are to write them on the doorposts of their houses and on their gates. The Lord will bring them into the land, and He will give them houses they did not build or fill, wells they did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees they did not plant. Only when they are satisfied, they must beware not to forget the Lord who brought them out of Egypt and bondage. They must fear the Lord and serve Him and not serve other gods. They should not tempt God in this way as they tempted Him in the wilderness, lest He destroy them from the face of the earth. They must do what is right and good in God's sight so that it may be well with them and they can possess the land. And when their children ask them the meaning of all God's laws, they must tell them all about God's deliverance from Egypt and how if they keep God's commandments and fear Him, He will preserve them and prosper them in the land.
Moses tells them when they go into the land and God gives them victory over the seven people groups (the giants), they are to utterly destroy them and make no covenant with them or show any mercy or intermarry with them, because it will turn their hearts away from the true God to serve other gods. If they do this, God will become angry and destroy them suddenly. They must destroy all their altars and idols, burning them with fire. Moses reminds them they are God's chosen people to be God's special treasure above all people on Earth. He says the Lord has not loved or chosen them because they were great, as they were actually the smallest in number among the people, but because He loved them and swore an oath to their fathers. Therefore, they are to know that the Lord is the only God and that He is a faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy to a thousands generations to those who love Him and keep His commandments, but He repays those who hate Him to their face to destroy them. If they obey God and keep His covenant, the Lord will also keep His covenant with them and multiply them and bless their land with abundance, and no one shall be barren among them. Also, the Lord will take away from them all sickness and will not afflict them with the diseases of Egypt but will lay them on all those who hate them. They are not to fear the people but remember what God did to the Egyptians. The Lord will also have a mighty hand and an outstretched arm toward the people to defeat them as He did the Egyptians, and He will also send hornets to destroy them. Therefore, they are not to be terrified, for "the Lord [their] God, the great and awesome God, is among [them]." The Lord says He will drive out the nations "little by little," not all at once, unless "the beasts of the field become too numerous for [them]." God will give them victory until the Canaanites are all destroyed. The must burn their idols and not covet the silver or gold on them or take it, lest it becomes a snare to them, because it is an abomination to the Lord. They must not bring it into their house, or they will be "doomed to destruction like it." They must "utterly abhor it, for it is an accursed thing."
Thoughts/Discussion Questions:
Rest is VERY important to God!
Covet means "to yearn to possess something." We should not strongly desire anything another person has. Sometimes we make a joke out of being jealous, but how often do we see something someone else has and want it? God wants us to trust Him for all that we need.
"Little by little." This is how we overcome our enemies, any demonic opposition that stands in the way of our freedom and all God wants to give us in Christ; it is also how we overcome the evil in ourselves. It is only through God's Spirit and yielding to Him that we can overcome the sin nature, so that God gets all the glory.