Deuteronomy 7:10, commentary and pictures

Christ Himself, speaking through Moses as Israel's invisible leader and teacher, told His holy chosen people that He will openly and directly bring certain destruction upon those who hate Him, without delay or failure. This warning is the judgment side of His covenant dealing, set against His identity as the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy to a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments. To love Him means to keep His commandments, including the seventh-day Sabbath, and to hate Him means to disobey them and treat disobedience as a trifling matter, with obedience bringing reward and life and disobedience bringing sure death and retribution. His people must therefore keep His commandments, statutes and judgments as the terms of covenant faithfulness and prosperity, for they are binding for a thousand generations into eternity and were commanded for their good always that obedience might preserve them alive. The thousand generations do not postpone each person's final outcome, for the Lord will return and every fate will be decided for eternity in the final division between those who honor God by keeping His commandments and those who serve half-heartedly, ending either in life in His everlasting kingdom or in eternal death.

Wording and Historical Setting

The speaker is Christ Himself, enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, acting as Israel's invisible leader and guide and protector and teacher, speaking through Moses. What was given through Moses was spoken by Christ when so enshrouded, with definite instruction for God's chosen people.

It was spoken to God's holy and chosen and special people above all peoples. They were the fewest and not many in number, and were not chosen for greatness of number. They were chosen because the Lord loved them and would keep the oath sworn to their fathers, redeeming them with a mighty hand out of the house of bondmen and out of bondage in Egypt from Pharaoh king of Egypt.

To repay to the face means openly and directly upon the hater, with certain destruction. Not to be slack means without delay or failure to repay, with direct and certain repayment.

The whole seventh chapter of Deuteronomy is to be read carefully with an attentive heart. Chapters four through eight show what God required of His ancient people that they might be a holy people unto Himself. Those chapters are to be studied and read with profit now because the day of God's great final review is near, when the people of this world must stand before the Judge of all the earth to answer for their deeds. The present is the time of investigation when every character will have been investigated and every case decided for eternity.

Covenant Mercy and Judgment

God repays those who hate Him directly to their face, without delay, slackness or failure, with judgment, punishment and certain destruction. He does not leave opposition and rebellion unanswered, but brings retribution straight upon the hater, and disobedience to His law therefore leads to death. This repayment is open, certain and immediate.

This destruction is the warning side of His covenant dealing, set against His identity as God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy to a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments. Mercy to the obedient and repayment to haters stand together, and faithfulness to covenant includes both keeping mercy toward lovers and bringing judgment upon those who reject Him. The judgment is therefore part of His covenant dealings with Israel, not outside them.

God means what He says, and His word is always certain and unfailing, with the richest blessings in store for obedience and destruction for hatred and disobedience. His judgments against sin are consistent with His love and compassion, for He has kept His promises and repeatedly shown mercy, pardoning those who truly repent. Loving Him means keeping His commandments including the seventh-day Sabbath, while hating Him means disobeying them and treating disobedience as a trifling matter.

Israel's troubles, its delay in entering Canaan, and the foretold scattering and service to idols came from its own distrust, unbelief, disobedience, unfaithfulness and covenant-breaking, pledge-breaking and violation of His requirements, not from any failure or unfaithfulness on His part. Continued unfaithfulness kept it from receiving the promised blessings and from representing His character before other nations.

Hatred, Love and Disobedience

Loving God means keeping His commandments, including the seventh-day Sabbath, while hating Him means disobeying them and treating disobedience as a trifling matter. To those who love and obey He keeps covenant and mercy, prospers them, gives clear spiritual perception, lets them see His grace and enjoy His infinite love, and for Christ's sake counts them righteous and assures them through faith in Christ that they are His sons and daughters, members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King returned to loyalty. From those who hate Him by disobedience He withdraws clear spiritual perception, so that light becomes darkness, and He repays them directly to destroy them without delay.

Those who hate Him are those who trample His commandments underfoot, make commandment-breakers and unbelievers their counsellors, unite with unbelievers in politics and parade political beliefs before the world as worldlings do. That course creates division, strife and jealousy among themselves. It is a great offense to God, shows the love of God is not in the heart, dims spiritual discernment, and makes His professed people a spectacle of disapproval to Christ and the heavenly universe. He cannot and will not prosper those who follow it, in contrast to His faithfulness in keeping covenant and mercy to a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.

He does not leave persistent rebellion and hatred unpunished or opposition unanswered, but holds rebels accountable and brings judgment upon those who oppose Him without delay. When people continue in obstinate disobedience beyond the boundary of His long-suffering, punishment follows and He repays the transgressor. Israel's troubles and delay in entering Canaan came from its own distrust, unbelief and disobedience, not from any failure on His part, for He had kept His promises and repeatedly shown mercy while the people broke their pledge and violated His requirements. His judgments against sin are consistent with His love and compassion, for He pardons those who truly repent, while continued unfaithfulness keeps men from receiving promised blessings and representing His character.

Disobedience to God's law brings sure death, destruction and retribution with serious consequences, while obedience brings reward and life. The repayment is direct, open, certain and without delay, destroying those who hate Him to their face. This warning stands together with His faithfulness as the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy to a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments, proving that obedience brings its reward and disobedience its retribution. Obedience was to bring prosperity and help fulfill His purpose, and His commandments are not a burden but commanded for good always that He might preserve alive those who obey, preserving their physical, mental and moral health.

Commandments Binding and Blessed

Therefore His people must keep His commandments and statutes and judgments, which are the terms and conditions of covenant faithfulness, prosperity and God's purpose for them. Obedience was to bring prosperity and help fulfill that purpose for His holy chosen special people, and the following verses join that duty to His promise to keep covenant and mercy and to love and bless and multiply those who listen and obey. This requirement stands beside His identity as God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy to a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments, set against His open repayment without delay to their face with destruction upon those who hate Him.

His commandments are binding for a thousand generations and reach into the kingdom of God into the presence of God and His holy angels and will endure through all time and eternity as invariable and still binding. This includes the whole Ten Commandments and the Sabbath, and their words should be stamped on every soul as though written with a pen of iron and brought before the people so they can learn and understand them. They are not given as a burden but commanded for good always that He might preserve alive those who obey, preserving their physical, mental and moral health and letting His blessing rest on them. The richest blessings are in store for obedience, and obedience is the only hope of salvation and decides salvation, reaching to the mansions Christ has gone to prepare.

The disobedient will not be brought into heaven, for father or mother or children who would not keep His commandments in this world would spoil the heavenly courts. Heaven has had one rebellion and will never have another and will never run the risk of taking an unsanctified, disobedient person. Only those who are commandment keepers, tried and loving God supremely, will be translated, raised from the dead at His coming, and welcomed by Christ Jesus into the golden city with its gates swung open.

Separation and Living Witness

As a holy and special chosen people above all others, Israel must remain separate and not mingle or confederate with those who have no respect for the truth or who transgress His commandments, but keep His commandments and statutes and judgments. Their choice was not because they were many, for they were the fewest, but because He loved them and would keep the oath sworn to their fathers, bringing them out with a mighty hand and redeeming them from bondage under Pharaoh king of Egypt. They were commanded not to intermarry with the idolatrous nations around them because such unions turn sons away from following the Lord to serve other gods, and certain destruction and sudden divine anger upon haters is given as the reason. This judgment to destroy without delay those who hate Him stands beside His covenant mercy to a thousand generations toward those who love Him and keep His commandments, and belongs to the instruction to remain separate from surrounding idolatry.

In God's sight His people are a peculiar people in a different sense from the world's regard, a spectacle unto the world and to angels and to men. They must have everything arranged in a manner approved of God to show forth His praises. They do not make this world their home but bear a living testimony as long as probation lasts.

Satan and his angels confederate with evil men against these champions of righteousness to counteract their testimony and destroy them. The same hatred was turned against Christ Himself when the Prince of Life came to His own on an embassy of mercy as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world to save and not to condemn. Yet He was refused, scorned as a deceiver, and hunted from place to place as a pretender.

The verse is to be read to believers as the rule for the church where the message is given in wisdom and righteousness. It sets before God's people the possibilities and probabilities of mercy and destruction and grounds the charge to keep His commandments and statutes and judgments. Christians are therefore to be laborers together with God, giving close attention to reading and hearing the Word and serving as earnest, practical workers for the food that endures to eternal life.

Final Decision and Eternity

The thousand generations of the preceding promise do not postpone any person's final outcome, for the Lord will return before that long period has run its course. At that coming every person's fate is decided for eternity, with no further delay of the repayment that falls without slackness upon those who hate Him unto destruction. His faithful, commandment-keeping people will then be in His kingdom, kept in covenant mercy through love and obedience. That kingdom destiny stands as the counterpart to the destruction appointed for those who reject Him.

This warning reaches to the final division of mankind according to covenant choice. On one side are those who honor Him by keeping His commandments, remembering the cross, standing for truth, and striving to honor Him. On the other are those who give Him only half-hearted service and conform to worldly ways. The one end is life in God's everlasting kingdom, the other is eternal death.

Those faithful to their covenant are welcomed with the commendation for good and faithful servants. Those who served half-heartedly are sent away as unknown to Him.