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.
JANUARY 28, 2023 Deuteronomy 7:1-2 When the Lord your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, … seven nations greater and mightier than you, and when the Lord your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. Though the inhabitants were greater in number and mightier in […]
FEBRUARY 1, 2023 Deuteronomy 7:7-8 The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you. The Hebrew word that is typically translated as “love” is ahavah. However, that is not the word used when the text says […]
JANUARY 30, 2023 Deuteronomy 7:2-3 You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them. Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. If Israel was not to make covenant with the nations in the land, it only stands […]
JANUARY 29, 2023 Deuteronomy 7:2-3 You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them. Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. There is a passage in Isaiah addressing the fact that certain members of God’s people decided […]