Key Verses: Deuteronomy 7:6, 7:7, 7:9
Moses commands Israel, upon entering the land, to devote the seven Canaanite nations to destruction, to make no covenant or intermarriage with them, and to tear down their altars and idols, lest they be drawn into idolatry. The reason Israel is chosen and holy is then declared with striking humility: “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you... but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers.” Israel’s God is “the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him,” and He will bless and multiply them as they obey.
The severe commands regarding the Canaanites must be understood as God’s judgment on deeply corrupt peoples and His protection of Israel from the idolatry that would destroy them — a unique moment in redemptive history, not a template for the church. At the center of the chapter stands one of Scripture’s clearest statements of grace: Israel was chosen not for any merit, size, or strength, but simply because God set His love on them and kept His promise. Election rests on God’s love alone. The description of Him as “the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love” assures Israel that the God who chose them will never fail them, grounding obedience in gratitude for a love that came first.
Key Terms & Words:
- סְגֻלָּה (segullah) - Deuteronomy 7:6 - “Treasured possession”; Israel as God’s own prized people
- חָשַׁק (chashaq) - Deuteronomy 7:7 - “Set his love”; God’s love that clings and chooses
- חֶסֶד (chesed) - Deuteronomy 7:9 - “Steadfast love”; God’s covenant faithfulness
Cross-References:
- Deuteronomy 7:7-8 - Chosen not for merit but because God loves you
- Exodus 19:5-6 - Israel as God’s treasured possession and holy nation
- 1 Peter 2:9 - The church as “a people for his own possession”
- 1 John 4:19 - “We love because he first loved us”
Discussion Questions:
- Why does Moses stress that Israel was chosen not for its size or righteousness?
- What does it mean that God is “the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love”?
- How does grounding obedience in God’s prior love change its character?