(Deuteronomy 4:1–14)
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“Because of all that Yahweh your God has done for you, you must love and continually obey all his rules and decrees and commandments.
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It was you and your ancestors, not your children, whom he punished because you disobeyed him, putting you through many difficulties to teach and train you. So starting today, continue to think about his punishment, his mighty power, and his great strength to do whatever he wants to do to you.
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Remember the many different miracles that he performed in Egypt, miracles that showed how powerful and great he is. Think about what he did to the king of Egypt and to all the land that he ruled.
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Your children did not see the army of Egypt, or their horses and their chariots destroyed by Yahweh’s power. Your children did not see how Yahweh caused the Sea of Reeds to flood and sweep away the army of Egypt as they were coming after their ancestors. Your children did not understand that Yahweh continues to make Egypt’s army weak even to this day.
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Your children do not know how Yahweh took care of their ancestors in the desert before they all came to this place.
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Think about what he did to Dathan and Abiram, the two sons of Eliab from the tribe of Reuben. While all of your ancestors were watching, the earth split open, and they fell into the opening and disappeared, along with their families and their tents, their servants, and their animals.
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You and your ancestors have seen all these miracles that Yahweh performed.
God’s Great Blessings
(Joshua 1:1–9)
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So obey all the commandments that I am giving you today, in order that you will be strong and able to cross the river and occupy the land that you are about to enter,
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and in order that you will live for a long time in that land, a land that Yahweh solemnly promised your ancestors that he would give to them and to their descendants, a land that is very fertile.
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The land that you are about to enter and occupy is not like the land of Egypt, where your ancestors lived. In Egypt, after they planted seeds, it was necessary for them to work hard to water the plants that grew.
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But the land that you are about to enter is a land where there are many hills and valleys, where there is plenty of rain.
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Yahweh takes care of that land. He watches over it every day, from the beginning of each year to the end of each year.
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Today I am commanding you to love Yahweh our God and to serve him with your entire inner beings. If you do that,
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each year he will send rain on your land at the right times. As a result, you will have grain and grapes to make wine and olives to make olive oil.
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And he will cause grass to grow in your fields for your livestock to eat. You will have all the food that you want.
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But I warn you, do not stop worshiping Yahweh our God; do not start to worship other gods,
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because if you do that, Yahweh will become very angry with you. He will prevent any rain from falling. As a result, the crops will not grow, and you will soon die from hunger in the good land that Yahweh is about to give to you.
Remember God’s Words
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So, keep thinking about what Yahweh has commanded you. Write these words on tiny scrolls and fasten them to your arms, and write them on bands that you fasten to your foreheads to help you to remember them.
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Teach them to your children again and again. Talk about them all the time: When you are in your houses and when you are walking outside; talk about them when you are lying down and when you are doing things.
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Write them on the doorposts and on the gates of your cities.
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Do that in order that you and your children will live for such a very long time in the land that Yahweh promised to our ancestors that he would give to them. That land will belong to you and your descendants as long as there is a sky above the earth.
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Faithfully continue to obey what I am commanding you to do, to love Yahweh our God, and to conduct your lives as he wants you to do, and to be faithful to him.
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If you do that, Yahweh will drive out all the people groups in that land as you advance, people groups that are more numerous and more powerful than you are.
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All the ground in that land on which you walk will be yours. Your territory will extend from the desert in the south to the Lebanon Mountains in the north, and from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.
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Yahweh our God will cause all the people in that land to be very afraid of you, which is what he promised, with the result that no people group will be able to stop you.
A Blessing and a Curse
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Listen carefully: Today I am telling you that Yahweh will either bless you or he will curse you.
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If you obey the commandments of Yahweh our God that I am giving to you today, he will bless you.
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But if you do not obey them, and if you stop worshiping him and start worshiping other gods to whom you were never faithful before, he will curse you.
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And when Yahweh brings you into the land that you are about to enter and occupy, some of you must stand on top of Mount Gerizim and proclaim what will cause Yahweh to bless you, and the others must stand on top of Mount Ebal and proclaim what will cause Yahweh to curse you.”
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Those two mountains are west of the Jordan River, west of the plain along the Jordan, in the land where the Canaanites live. They live close to the sacred trees near Gilgal.
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“You will soon cross the Jordan River to occupy the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you. When you enter that land and start to live there,
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be sure to obey all the rules and decrees that I am giving to you today.”
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