“For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.”
My Notes
What Does Deuteronomy 7:4 Mean?
"They will turn away thy son from following me." God identifies the mechanism of apostasy: intermarriage with idol-worshipping nations produces children who don't follow God. The turning away happens in the next generation. The parents' choice produces the children's departure. The compromise starts with a wedding and ends with a worship change.
The word "turn away" (sur — to depart, to remove, to turn aside) describes directional change: your son will be turned from following God to following other gods. The departure isn't violent. It's relational. The idol-worshipping spouse redirects the child's worship through the most natural influence available: family.
The consequence — "the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly" — connects the turning to the destruction with terrifying speed. The word "suddenly" (maher — quickly, swiftly, in haste) means the destruction arrives fast once the turning happens. The process (intermarriage → child's apostasy) may be slow. The consequence (divine anger → destruction) is sudden.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What spiritual influence is your household absorbing through your closest relationships?
- 2.How does the 'turning away' mechanism (domestic, gradual, generational) challenge awareness?
- 3.What does the contrast between slow turning and sudden destruction teach about the urgency of addressing compromise?
- 4.What are your children absorbing from the worship practices of your home?
Devotional
They'll turn your son away from Me. Not you — your son. The generation affected by the compromise isn't always the generation that makes it. The parent marries outside the faith. The child grows up with divided worship. The grandchild doesn't worship God at all. The turning happens downstream.
The mechanism is domestic, not dramatic: the idol-worshipping spouse influences the household. The worship of the home determines the worship of the children. The children absorb what the household practices. If the household practices divided worship — some God, some idols — the children grow up with a menu of options. And the menu, over time, excludes the God their grandparents served.
The 'suddenly' of the destruction contrasts with the gradualness of the turning: the departure from God happens slowly — one generation's compromise, the next generation's syncretism, the third generation's abandonment. But the divine response, when it arrives, is sudden. The slow turning produces sudden destruction. The patient process meets an impatient consequence.
God identifies the spouse's influence as the primary risk factor because the spouse has the most intimate access to the household's spiritual direction. Not the school. Not the culture. Not the media. The person sharing your bed shares influence over your children's souls.
What influence is being exercised in your household — by you, by your spouse, by whoever shapes the home's worship? The turning happens through the family. The children absorb what the household practices. What are they absorbing?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
For they will turn away thy son from following me,.... From the pure worship of God, his word, statutes, and ordinances:…
See Deu 6:10 note. Deu 7:5 Their groves - Render, their idols of wood: the reference is to the wooden trunk used as a…
Here is, I. A very strict caution against all friendship and fellowship with idols and idolaters. Those that are taken…
turn away thy son from following me Expressed differently in Exo 34:16 bbut to the same effect, that the influence of…
Cross References
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