# Deuteronomy 29 š: The Covenant in Moab
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#š Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#š Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#š¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#š§ Chapter Summary]]
> [[#āļø Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#š Key Principles / š Life Application]]
> [[#š¬ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#āļø Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#š Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#š Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#š Internal Notes]]
## š Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
### Narrative Interlude
[[#Verse 01.]]Ā (28:69)Ā These are the words of the covenant that theĀ Lord commanded Moses to make with the people of Israel in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb.
### The Exodus, Wandering, and Conquest Reviewed
[[#Verse 02.]]Ā Moses proclaimed to all Israel as follows: āYou have seen all that theĀ Lord didĀ in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, all his servants, and his land.Ā
[[#Verse 03.]]Ā Your eyes have seen the great judgments,Ā those signs and mighty wonders.
[[#Verse 04.]]Ā But to this very day theĀ LordĀ has not given you an understanding mind, perceptive eyes, or discerning ears!Ā
[[#Verse 05.]]Ā I have led you through the wilderness for forty years. Your clothing has not worn outĀ nor have your sandalsdeteriorated.Ā
[[#Verse 06.]]Ā You have eaten no bread and drunk no wine or beerāall so that you might know that IĀ am theĀ LordĀ your God!Ā
[[#Verse 07.]]Ā When you came to this place King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan came out to make war and we defeated them.
[[#Verse 08.]]Ā Then we took their land and gave it as an inheritance to Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh.
### The Present Covenant Setting
[[#Verse 09.]]Ā āTherefore, keep the termsĀ of this covenant and obey them so that you may be successful in everything you do.Ā
[[#Verse 10.]]Ā You are standing today, all of you, before theĀ LordĀ your Godāthe heads of your tribes,Ā your elders, your officials, every Israelite man,
[[#Verse 11.]]Ā your infants, your wives, and theĀ resident foreignersĀ living in your encampment, those who chop wood and those who carry waterāĀ
[[#Verse 12.]]Ā so that you may enter by oath into the covenant theĀ LordĀ your God is making with you today.Ā
[[#Verse 13.]]Ā Today he will affirm that you are his people and that he is your God,Ā just as he promised you and as he swore by oath to your ancestorsĀ Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.Ā
[[#Verse 14.]]Ā It is not with you alone that I am making this covenant by oath,Ā
[[#Verse 15.]]Ā but with whoever stands with us here today before theĀ LordĀ our God as well as those not with us here today.
### The Results of Disobedience
[[#Verse 16.]]Ā ā(For you know how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we crossed through the nations as we traveled.Ā
[[#Verse 17.]]Ā You have seen their detestable thingsand idols of wood, stone, silver, and gold.)Ā
[[#Verse 18.]]Ā Beware that the heart of no man, woman, clan, or tribe among you turns away from theĀ LordĀ our God today to pursue and serve the gods of those nations; beware that there is among you no root producing poisonous and bitter fruit.
[[#Verse 19.]]Ā When such a personĀ hears the words of this oath he secretlyĀ blesses himselfĀ and says, āI will have peace though I continue to walk with a stubborn spirit.āĀ This will destroyĀ the watered ground with the parched.Ā
[[#Verse 20.]]Ā TheĀ LordĀ will be unwilling to forgive him, and his intense angerĀ will rageĀ against that man; all the cursesĀ written in this scroll will fall upon him,Ā and theĀ LordĀ will obliterate his name from memory.Ā
[[#Verse 21.]]Ā TheĀ LordĀ will single him outĀ for judgmentĀ from all the tribes of Israel according to all the curses of the covenant written in this scroll of the law.Ā
[[#Verse 22.]]Ā The generation to comeāyour descendants who will rise up after you, as well as the foreigner who will come from distant placesāwill seeĀ the afflictions of that land and the illnesses that theĀ Lordhas brought on it.Ā
[[#Verse 23.]]Ā The whole land will be covered with brimstone, salt, and burning debris; it will not be planted nor will it sprout or produce grass. It will resemble the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, which theĀ LordĀ destroyed in his intense anger.Ā
[[#Verse 24.]]Ā Then all the nations will ask, āWhy has theĀ LordĀ done all this to this land? What is this fierce, heated display of angerĀ all about?ā
[[#Verse 25.]]Ā Then people will say, āBecause they abandoned the covenant of theĀ Lord, the God of their ancestors, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.Ā
[[#Verse 26.]]Ā They went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods they did not know and that he did not permit them to worship.Ā
[[#Verse 27.]]Ā That is why theĀ Lordās anger erupted against this land, bringing on it all the cursesĀ written in this scroll.Ā
[[#Verse 28.]]Ā So theĀ LordĀ has uprooted them from their land in anger, wrath, and great rage and has deported them to another land, as is clear today.āĀ
[[#Verse 29.]]Ā The secret things belong to theĀ LordĀ our God, but those that are revealed belong to us and our descendantsĀ forever, so that we might obey all the words of this law.
## š Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
###### Verse 22.
###### Verse 23.
###### Verse 24.
###### Verse 25.
###### Verse 26.
###### Verse 27.
###### Verse 28.
###### Verse 29.
## š¤ Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. In Hebrew Bibles, 29:1 is numbered 28:69, so verse numbers in this chapter are off by one from English Bibles.
2. 29:1 distinguishes this covenant in Moab from the covenant made at Horeb.
3. Israel's clothes and sandals did not wear out in the wilderness (29:5; 8:4).
4. The covenant included woodcutters and water carriers (29:11), the same work later given to the Gibeonites (Joshua 9:21).
5. Admah and Zeboiim, destroyed with Sodom and Gomorrah (29:23), are also named in Genesis 14:2 and Hosea 11:8.
6. Hebrews 12:15 echoes the warning about a bitter root (29:18).
7. In Hebrew manuscripts, the words "to us and to our children" in 29:29 are marked with special dots, one of a handful of such markings in the Hebrew Bible.
8. Paul quotes 29:4 in Romans 11:8 to describe Israel's spiritual blindness.
9. The covenant gathering included leaders, elders, officers, men, children, wives, and foreigners (29:10-11).
10. The question of why the Lord did this to the land (29:24) is echoed in 1 Kings 9:8-9 and Jeremiah 22:8-9.
## š§ Chapter Summary
> [!note] š± Still growing. This section is on its way.
## āļø Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the One who gives the understanding heart Israel lacked (29:4). God opens blind eyes through Jesus, and when anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is removed (John 9:39; 2 Corinthians 3:14-16).
## š Key Principles / š Life Application
> [!note] š± Still growing. This section is on its way.
## š¬ Discussion Questions
1. After forty years, the Lord had not yet given Israel a heart to understand (29:4). Why do we need God to open our hearts?
2. Moses warned of a root producing poison and bitterness (29:18). How can one person's hidden sin affect a whole community?
3. The secret things belong to the Lord, but what is revealed belongs to us (29:29). How does that help when we face unanswered questions?
## āļø Key Verses to Remember
- š verse 5: For forty years Israel's clothes and sandals did not wear out.
- š verses 14-15: The covenant is made with those present and with those not yet born.
- š verse 29: The secret things belong to the Lord, but what He has revealed belongs to us and our children, so we can obey.
## š Related Passages/Cross Reference
- š [[Romans 11#Verse 08.|Romans 11:8]] - God gave them eyes that would not see.
- š [[Hebrews 12#Verse 15.|Hebrews 12:15]] - See that no bitter root grows up.
- š [[1 Kings 09#Verse 08.|1 Kings 9:8-9]] - Why has the Lord done this?
- š [[Matthew 13#Verse 13.|Matthew 13:13-16]] - Seeing they do not see.
- š [[2 Corinthians 03#Verse 14.|2 Corinthians 3:14-16]] - The veil is removed in Christ.
## š Devotional Reflection
> [!note] š± Still growing. This section is on its way.
## š Internal Notes