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DEUTER ONOM Y 4
page 163
the other side, the beautiful hill country and the
Lebanon mountains.’
26 “But the Lord was angry with me because
of you, and he would not listen to me. ‘That’s
enough!’ he declared. ‘Speak of it no more. 27 But
go up to Pisgah Peak, and look over the land in
every direction. Take a good look, but you may
not cross the Jordan River. 28 Instead, commission Joshua and encourage and strengthen him,
for he will lead the people across the Jordan. He
will give them all the land you now see before
you as their possession.’ 29 So we stayed in the
valley near Beth-peor.
Moses Urges Israel to Obey
“And now, Israel, listen carefully to these
decrees and regulations that I am about
to teach you. Obey them so that you may live,
so you may enter and occupy the land that
the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving
you. 2 Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands
of the Lord your God that I am giving you.
3 “You saw for yourself what the Lord did to you
at Baal-peor. There the Lord your God destroyed
everyone who had worshiped Baal, the god of
Peor. 4 But all of you who were faithful to the Lord
your God are still alive today—every one of you.
5 “Look, I now teach you these decrees and
regulations just as the Lord my God commanded
me, so that you may obey them in the land you
are about to enter and occupy. 6 Obey them completely, and you will display your wisdom and
intelligence among the surrounding nations.
When they hear all these decrees, they will exclaim, ‘How wise and prudent are the people of
this great nation!’ 7 For what great nation has a
god as near to them as the Lord our God is near
to us whenever we call on him? 8 And what great
nation has decrees and regulations as righteous
and fair as this body of instructions that I am
giving you today?
9 “But watch out! Be careful never to forget
what you yourself have seen. Do not let these
memories escape from your mind as long as you
live! And be sure to pass them on to your children
and grandchildren. 10 Never forget the day when
you stood before the Lord your God at Mount Sinai,* where he told me, ‘Summon the people before me, and I will personally instruct them. Then
they will learn to fear me as long as they live, and
they will teach their children to fear me also.’
11 “You came near and stood at the foot of
the mountain, while flames from the mountain
shot into the sky. The mountain was shrouded
in black clouds and deep darkness. 12 And the
Lord spoke to you from the heart of the fire. You
heard the sound of his words but didn’t see his
form; there was only a voice. 13 He proclaimed his
4
4:10 Hebrew Horeb, another name for Sinai; also in 4:15.
4:13 Hebrew the ten words.
covenant—the Ten Commandments*—which he
commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on
two stone tablets. 14 It was at that time that the
Lord commanded me to teach you his decrees
and regulations so you would obey them in the
land you are about to enter and occupy.
A Warning against Idolatry
15 “But be very careful! You did not see the Lord’s
form on the day he spoke to you from the heart of
the fire at Mount Sinai. 16 So do not corrupt yourselves by making an idol in any form—whether
of a man or a woman, 17 an animal on the ground,
a bird in the sky, 18 a small animal that scurries
along the ground, or a fish in the deepest sea.
19 And when you look up into the sky and see the
sun, moon, and stars—all the forces of heaven—
don’t be seduced into worshiping them. The
Lord your God gave them to all the peoples of
the earth. 20 Remember that the Lord rescued
you from the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt in
order to make you his very own people and his
special possession, which is what you are today.
21 “But the Lord was angry with me because
of you. He vowed that I would not cross the Jordan River into the good land the Lord your God
is giving you as your special possession. 22 You
will cross the Jordan to occupy the land, but I
will not. Instead, I will die here on the east side
of the river. 23 So be careful not to break the covenant the Lord your God has made with you.
Do not make idols of any shape or form, for the
Lord your God has forbidden this. 24 The Lord
your God is a devouring fire; he is a jealous God.
25 “In the future, when you have children and
grandchildren and have lived in the land a long
time, do not corrupt yourselves by making idols
of any kind. This is evil in the sight of the Lord
your God and will arouse his anger.
26 “Today I call on heaven and earth as witnesses against you. If you break my covenant,
you will quickly disappear from the land you
are crossing the Jordan to occupy. You will live
• Anger
DE U TE R ON OM Y 4:25
Who in their right mind would want the
God of the universe to be angry at them?
The case is clear—sin makes God angry.
The best way to avoid God’s anger is
to avoid sin. It is not pleasant to be
purified in the crucible of God’s cleansing
anger, but that is better than to wallow
in the debilitating effects of sin. One of
the hardest lessons for us to learn is
that the pleasure of the moment is not
worth the agony of a lifetime.