Study Desk

But the Lord brought you out of Egypt with great power and made you free from slavery. He freed you from the control of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. The Lord did this because he loves you and he wanted to keep the promise he made to your ancestors.

but the Lord punishes people who hate him. He will destroy them. He will not be slow to punish those who hate him.

The Lord will take away all sickness from you and he will not let you catch any of the terrible diseases that you had in Egypt. But he will make your enemies catch those diseases.

But the Lord your God will let you defeat those nations. He will confuse them in battle, until they are destroyed.

When that happens, you must be careful not to become proud. You must not forget the Lord your God. You were slaves in Egypt, but he made you free and brought you out of that land.

He led you through that great and terrible desert where there were poisonous snakes and scorpions. The ground was dry, and there was no water anywhere. But he gave you water out of a solid rock.

The Lord is destroying other nations for you. But if you stop listening to the Lord your God, you will be destroyed just like them!

But you can be sure that it is the Lord your God who goes across the river before you—and God is like a fire that destroys! He will destroy those nations and make them fall before you. You will force those nations out and quickly destroy them. The Lord has promised you that this will happen.

"The Lord your God will force those nations out for you. But don't say to yourselves, ‘The Lord brought us to live in this land because we are such good people.' No, the Lord forced those nations out because they were evil, not because you were good.

You are going in to take their land, but not because you are good and live right. You are going in, and the Lord your God is forcing those people out because of the evil way they lived. And the Lord wants to keep the promise he made to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The Lord your God is giving you that good land to live in, but you should know that it is not because you are good. The truth is that you are very stubborn people!

I was afraid of the Lord 's terrible anger. He was angry enough to destroy you, but the Lord listened to me again.

And you did not obey when the Lord told you to leave Kadesh Barnea. He said, ‘Go up and take the land I am giving you.' But you refused to obey the Lord your God. You did not trust him. You did not listen to his command.

But they are your people, Lord. They belong to you. You brought them out of Egypt with your great power and strength.'

You, not your children, saw what he did to the Egyptian army—to their horses and chariots. They were chasing you, but you saw him cover them with the water from the Red Sea. You saw how the Lord completely destroyed them.

But the land that you will soon get is not like that. In Israel there are mountains and valleys, and the land gets its water from the rain that falls from the sky.

But you will get the curse if you refuse to listen and obey the commands of the Lord your God. So don't stop living the way I command you today, and don't follow other gods that you don't know.

But you will go across the Jordan River and live in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. There he will give you rest from all your enemies, and you will be safe.

But you must not eat the blood. You must pour the blood on the ground like water.

But be sure that you always share these meals with the Levites. Do this as long as you live in your land.