“For Adonai your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty and awesome God, who has no favorites and accepts no bribes. He secures justice for the orphan and the widow; he loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing. Therefore you are to love the foreigner, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.”-Deuteronomy 10:17-19
Moses continues to persuade the younger and second generation of Israelites why it is in their best interest to be obedient and pay careful attention to all the instructions of the Lord their God using language commonly understood in their day.
When I say “language commonly understood in their day“, I’m referring to expressions such as “Lord of Lords” and “God of gods“.
If such phrasing strikes you as being an acknowledgement of multiple gods, you would be right.
The ancient Israelites at this time most definitely believed in the existence of many gods…just as the whole world at the time believed in the existence of countless deities who reigned over different spheres of influence depending on location.
The only difference is the Israelites realized they were handcuffed when it came to worshipping other gods.
They were operating under a belief system that is quite common today actually.
Namely, the idea that “I have my God and my belief system and you have yours and it’s all good“.
At this stage in history, Israel had yet to embrace the notion that their God was in reality the only god in existence and that their God was not just the God of Israel but ultimately the God of all mankind.
Looking back in history, we now realize the statement “Lord of Lords, God of gods” is actually the ultimate expression affirming monotheism.
However, using typical language within the common understanding of the day to get a point across was the rule of thumb in this era.
Onward.
Moses continues on with his argument concerning why Israel should maintain loyalty to their God by affirming that HASHEM is also a very unique god who does not play favorites nor does He accept bribes.
Again, it was customary in those days to bribe the gods (by giving money to the pagan priests) to get them to do what you wanted.
HASHEM’s justice system also insists that the helpless in society such as the widows and orphans are to be loved and cared for.
And what is even more revolutionary is God insists that even those who are not part of Israel, those He refers to as the “stranger” or the “resident alien” (GER in Hebrew) are also to be given food and clothing if the situation warrants it.
The Lord is no respecter of persons.
He demands equal justice for all.
He’s not impressed with the wealth and power of princes and kings.
Heck, let’s not forget this is the same God who leveled the most powerful nation in its day to the ground (Egypt) pretty much literally overnight.
This is why Israel was chosen and the very purpose of their existence.
Their role on this planet is to demonstrate God’s “equal justice for all” morality to all the nations.
And how does Israel demonstrate this morality?
By showing the world they care for the powerless and those in need AND…
…by loving the GER (the foreigner).
This also explains why the Lord made a way for the non-Hebrew or gentile to be grafted in to the commonwealth of Israel so that they could also be saved.
The truth is God loves ALL of humanity.
His love isn’t restricted to only those born within a certain tribe or nation.
However and this is a big “however“, the ONLY WAY for the gentile to be redeemed is…
…by means of partaking in the divine covenants that God has only made with Israel.
And when I say “Israel“, I am referring to that people group spawned from the line of Jacob.
The non-Jew does not and will never have some kind of separate “gentile covenant” represented by some European-looking blue-eyed messiah.
To be redeemed or “saved“, you are either grafted into Israel or you’re not.
It’s really that simple.
NEXT TIME WE BEGIN DEUTERONOMY CHAPTER ELEVEN
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