Deuteronomy 29 Study Notes

29:16-17 The abhorrent images and idols of the nations through which Israel had just traveled (v. 16; Nm 25:1-5) would continue to be a snare to Israel. Sinful humans prefer gods of their own creation to the living God.

29:18 Because Israel would be attracted to gods they could see, they had to avoid the temptation of idolatry. The first two commandments—the heart of covenant confession—called for Israel to acknowledge the existence of the Lord as the only god and forbade representing him or any other deity in visual form. The root Moses warns against here no doubt refers to the concept of idolatry that, if allowed to grow in the human mind and heart, would produce the fruit of idolatrous practice.

29:19 The well-watered land as well as the dry land is a proverbial statement suggesting that no person who sins willfully against the covenant can expect to escape the judgment of the Lord, no matter how pious his confessions of faith.

29:20-21 The fate of a person who sins willfully (lit “with a high hand,” Nm 15:30) is serious indeed—the Lord will blot out his name under heaven (cp. 9:14; 25:19; Ex 32:32-33), implying that he would be forgotten by future generations.

29:22-23 The topic changes here from the individual to the whole community. The viewpoint also changes to that of future generations after the curses have been implemented.

29:24-26 When future generations saw the awful destruction of the land and inquired about its cause, the answer would be immediate and clear: because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord. This most egregious of sins violated the foundational element of the relationship between the Lord and his people—the first two commandments (5:7-8).

29:27-28 According to McConville, “the topic of the wrath of Yahweh [the Lord] . . . finds its most concentrated expression in the book in these verses [vv. 22-29], with six nouns for anger deployed.”

29:29 How could the nation continue to exist in light of its promised destruction? The best solution to this apparent contradiction between hidden things belonging to God and revealed things belonging to Israel is to view it as the perception of the other nations. They would observe Israel’s outcome and conclude that the covenant relationship had been terminated, but they would be unable to understand that God’s word to his people could never be canceled. God would bring his people to repentance so they could enjoy unending fellowship with him (30:1-10; cp. Jr 31:31-34; Ezk 36:24-38; Rm 11:1-32).