Immerse: Beginnings Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 291
3:26–4:14
D e u teronom y
279
“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. 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. 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.’ So we stayed in the valley near Beth-peor.
“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.
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.
“You saw for yourself what the Lord did to you at B
aal-peor. There the
Lord your God destroyed everyone who had worshiped Baal, the god of
Peor. But all of you who were faithful to the Lord your God are still alive
today—every one of you.
“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. 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!’ 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? And what
great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body
of instructions that I am giving you today?
“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. 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.’
“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. 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. He proclaimed his covenant—the Ten Commandments—
which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets. It was at that time that the Lord commanded me to teach you his
