FEBRUARY 10, 2023 Deuteronomy 7:25-26 You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to the Lord your God. Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it. […]
FEBRUARY 9, 2023 Deuteronomy 7:22-23 And the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you little by little; you will be unable to destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, and will inflict defeat upon them until they are destroyed. Everything God does, […]
FEBRUARY 8, 2023 Deuteronomy 7:21 You shall not be terrified of them; for the Lord your God, the great and awesome God, is among you. When Moses spoke these words, it was to a generation born of those who did not heed the message. By that I mean that Israel traversed a vast wilderness, for forty years, because they […]
FEBRUARY 7, 2023 Deuteronomy 7:17-18 If you should say in your heart, “These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?” — you shall not be afraid of them, but you shall remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. It is an unfortunate truth, but throughout Israel’s existence, they have […]
FEBRUARY 6, 2023 Deuteronomy 7:16 Also, you shall destroy all the peoples whom the Lord your God delivers over to you; your eye shall have no pity on them; nor shall you serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you. This verse uses some pretty strong language in regard to the enemies of Israel — they were to […]
FEBRUARY 5, 2023 Deuteronomy 7:15 And the Lord will take away from you all sickness and will afflict you with none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you. Sickness, as we know, is an unfortunate consequence of sin. All of us suffer […]
FEBRUARY 4, 2023 Deuteronomy 7:13 He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you. In an agrarian […]
FEBRUARY 3, 2023 Deuteronomy 7:12-13 Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. And He will love you and bless you and multiply you. As we shared in the previous devotion, […]
FEBRUARY 2, 2023
Deuteronomy 7:12-13
Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. And He will love you and bless you and multiply you.
As Moses continued encouraging the people to safeguard that which had been entrusted to them, he explained to them that there would be a reward for their obedience. The Hebrew word that is translated here as “because” is an interesting one with rich connotations. The word is ekev and can be rendered as “reward” or “result” — that which comes about because of their obedience. In this case, not only would God bestow His love upon them but He would “bless and multiply” the people. Sounds simple enough, however, there is much more to this word that just that.
More literally, the root word akev (ekev) means “heel” or can imply that which is underneath our feet. There are some Jewish commentaries that suggests that, as it is used in this verse, the word ekev hints that no command God has given should be considered as insignificant, or something they would tread on with their “heel.” Man lives by “every word” that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD God. Then, there is this aspect of the word ekev — it can be translated as “end” as in the end of a matter. In this case, if we obey, in the end, we will be blessed and multiply. That thought brings us to our main point.
That which God commands us to do can be summed up in this manner: “Love God with all your heart” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” It sounds simple when read aloud but when it comes to putting this into practice, we can get tripped up by the heel. In other words, to fulfill this mandate, it is important that we don't tread underfoot those instructions that might seem insignificant in comparison to others. It is important that we consider the Word of God, with all of its precepts and principles, to be crucial for our spiritual growth and maturity. If we disregard what doesn't seem important to us, we may never accomplish the greater goal. However, if we pay attention to even the smallest matters, as it relates to our overall growth in Messiah, we will reap the rewards and be blessed from above and multiply in this life.
