BUT IF FROM THERE...

Passage: Deuteronomy 4:25-49

Key verse: 29

NIV

25 After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt(A) and make any kind of idol,(B) doing evil(C) in the eyes of the Lord your God and arousing his anger, 26 I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses(D) against you(E) this day that you will quickly perish(F) from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. 27 The Lord will scatter(G) you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive(H) among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. 28 There you will worship man-made gods(I) of wood and stone,(J) which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.(K) 29 But if from there you seek(L) the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart(M) and with all your soul.(N) 30 When you are in distress(O) and all these things have happened to you, then in later days(P) you will return(Q) to the Lord your God and obey him. 31 For the Lord your God is a merciful(R) God; he will not abandon(S) or destroy(T) you or forget(U) the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.

The Lord Is God

32 Ask(V) now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth;(W) ask from one end of the heavens to the other.(X) Has anything so great(Y) as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? 33 Has any other people heard the voice of God[a] speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived?(Z) 34 Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation,(AA) by testings,(AB) by signs(AC) and wonders,(AD) by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,(AE) or by great and awesome deeds,(AF) like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?

35 You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other.(AG) 36 From heaven he made you hear his voice(AH) to discipline(AI) you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. 37 Because he loved(AJ) your ancestors and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength,(AK) 38 to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance,(AL) as it is today.

39 Acknowledge(AM) and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.(AN) 40 Keep(AO) his decrees and commands,(AP) which I am giving you today, so that it may go well(AQ) with you and your children after you and that you may live long(AR) in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time.

Cities of Refuge(AS)

41 Then Moses set aside three cities east of the Jordan, 42 to which anyone who had killed a person could flee if they had unintentionally(AT) killed a neighbor without malice aforethought. They could flee into one of these cities and save their life. 43 The cities were these: Bezer in the wilderness plateau, for the Reubenites; Ramoth(AU) in Gilead, for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, for the Manassites.

Introduction to the Law

44 This is the law Moses set before the Israelites. 45 These are the stipulations, decrees and laws Moses gave them when they came out of Egypt 46 and were in the valley near Beth Peor east of the Jordan, in the land of Sihon(AV) king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses and the Israelites as they came out of Egypt. 47 They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan. 48 This land extended from Aroer(AW) on the rim of the Arnon Gorge to Mount Sirion[b](AX) (that is, Hermon(AY)), 49 and included all the Arabah east of the Jordan, as far as the Dead Sea,[c] below the slopes of Pisgah.

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Footnotes
  1. Deuteronomy 4:33 Or of a god
  2. Deuteronomy 4:48 Syriac (see also 3:9); Hebrew Siyon
  3. Deuteronomy 4:49 Hebrew the Sea of the Arabah
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

25 “When you father children and children's children, and have grown old in the land, (A)if you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything, and (B)by doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, so as to provoke him to anger, 26 I (C)call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it, but will be utterly destroyed. 27 And the Lord (D)will scatter you among the peoples, (E)and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you. 28 And (F)there you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, (G)that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. 29 (H)But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you (I)in the latter days, you will return to the Lord your God and obey his voice. 31 For the Lord your God is (J)a merciful God. (K)He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.

The Lord Alone Is God

32 “For (L)ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of. 33 (M)Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? 34 Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, (N)by signs, by wonders, and (O)by war, (P)by a mighty hand and (Q)an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 To you it was shown, (R)that you might know that the Lord is God; (S)there is no other besides him. 36 (T)Out of heaven he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you. And on earth he let you see his great fire, and (U)you heard his words out of the midst of the fire. 37 And because (V)he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them[a] and brought you out of Egypt (W)with his own presence, by his great power, 38 (X)driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day, 39 know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that (Y)the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; (Z)there is no other. 40 (AA)Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today, (AB)that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”

Cities of Refuge

41 Then Moses (AC)set apart three cities in the east beyond the Jordan, 42 that (AD)the manslayer might flee there, anyone who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without being at enmity with him in time past; he may flee to one of these cities and save his life: 43 (AE)Bezer in the wilderness on the (AF)tableland for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.

Introduction to the Law

44 This is the law that Moses set before the people of Israel. 45 These are the testimonies, the statutes, and the rules, which Moses spoke to the people of Israel when they came out of Egypt, 46 beyond the Jordan (AG)in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, (AH)whom Moses and the people of Israel defeated when they came out of Egypt. 47 And they took possession of his land and the land (AI)of Og, the king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who lived to the east beyond the Jordan; 48 (AJ)from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, as far as Mount (AK)Sirion[b] (that is, (AL)Hermon), 49 together with all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan as far as (AM)the Sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah.

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Footnotes
  1. Deuteronomy 4:37 Hebrew his offspring after him
  2. Deuteronomy 4:48 Syriac; Hebrew Sion
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

1. Seek him with all your heart (25-31)

Moses knew sinful human nature. The time would come when the people would forget God's grace and turn to idols. God would surely punish them by removing them from the land and scattering them among the nations. But God is merciful; if from there--from their place of deepest distress--they sought God with all their hearts, they would find him.

2. Acknowledge that the Lord is God (32-49)

God's dealing with his people is unique in the annals of history. He delivered them with his mighty arm so that they might know that he is God. He loved them and gave them his word to discipline them. They must keep his laws and obey his commands, for this is the way of life and blessing. The cities of refuge are reminders that they must be merciful, for he is merciful. Moses ends his 'lessons from history' with a reminder of victory and an introduction to the law.

Prayer: Lord, help me to seek you with all my heart and acknowledge that you are God.

One Word: Seek God from where you are