Immerse: Beginnings Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 297
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are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on
earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure.
“The Lord did not set his heart on you and choose you because you
were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all
nations! Rather, it was simply that the Lord loves you, and he was keeping
the oath he had sworn to your ancestors. That is why the Lord rescued
you with such a strong hand from your slavery and from the oppressive
hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Understand, therefore, that the Lord
your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant
for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who
love him and obey his commands. But he does not hesitate to punish and
destroy those who reject him. Therefore, you must obey all these commands, decrees, and regulations I am giving you today.
“If you listen to these regulations and faithfully obey them, the Lord
your God will keep his covenant of unfailing love with you, as he promised with an oath to your ancestors. He will love you and bless you, and
he will give you many children. He will give fertility to your land and your
animals. When you arrive in the land he swore to give your ancestors, you
will have large harvests of grain, new wine, and olive oil, and great herds
of cattle, sheep, and goats. You will be blessed above all the nations of the
earth. None of your men or women will be childless, and all your livestock
will bear young. And the Lord will protect you from all sickness. He will
not let you suffer from the terrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will
inflict them on all your enemies!
“You must destroy all the nations the Lord your God hands over to
you. Show them no mercy, and do not worship their gods, or they will
trap you. Perhaps you will think to yourselves, ‘How can we ever conquer these nations that are so much more powerful than we are?’ But
don’t be afraid of them! Just remember what the Lord your God did
to Pharaoh and to all the land of Egypt. Remember the great terrors the
Lord your God sent against them. You saw it all with your own eyes!
And remember the miraculous signs and wonders, and the strong hand
and powerful arm with which he brought you out of Egypt. The Lord
your God will use this same power against all the people you fear. And
then the Lord your God will send terror to drive out the few survivors
still hiding from you!
“No, do not be afraid of those nations, for the Lord your God is among
you, and he is a great and awesome God. The Lord your God will drive
those nations out ahead of you little by little. You will not clear them away
all at once, otherwise the wild animals would multiply too quickly for you.
But the Lord your God will hand them over to you. He will throw them
into complete confusion until they are destroyed. He will put their kings
