Deuteronomy 7:9 Day 1

Deuteronomy 7:9-10 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face.

You have probably heard it said that trust is the base of any relationship. Without trust, a relationship will soon die. That's true as far as it goes, but I think to get at the real base, we need to dig down a little deeper. The base of trust has a base of its own. Trust is grounded upon the trustworthiness of the one trusted.

This is where our memory verse comes in. Deuteronomy 7:9 is a call to establish our relationship with the LORD our God upon the firm foundation of His trustworthiness. He is the faithful God.

This is wonderful news, and yet it needs some unpacking. What does God's faithfulness mean? The answer is given in the rest of verse 9. Do you see the connection the verse makes between God’s faithfulness and His covenant? ‘The faithful God who keeps covenant…’ We may say that God’s faithfulness is His firm commitment to always fulfil His covenant promises.

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Definition: Covenant

A covenant is a binding relationship between two parties that establishes mutual obligations through promises and oathes.

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A marriage is an example of a covenant relationship. Husband and wife form a new binding relationship on the basis of promises to one another.

In Deuteronomy 7, God is speaking to the nation of Israel. He had rescued them from slavery in Egypt and was leading them to take possession of a land for themselves, the land that God had promised to their fathers (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob).

On the way to the promised land, God had established a covenant relationship with the nation of Israel through Moses at Mount Sinai. This is called the Mosaic covenant. In this covenant, God promised blessings for loving obedience (Deuteronomy 28:1-14) and curses for disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:15-68).

Deuteronomy 28:1-2 And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God…

Deuteronomy 28:15 But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.

Try to complete the sentence based on what you have just read.

In the Mosaic covenant, God’s faithfulness is His firm commitment to ____ the obedient and _____ the disobedient.

Can you complete the verse from memory?

Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is ___, the faithful God who _____ covenant and steadfast ____ with those who love ___ and keep his ____________, to a thousand generations,