“But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”
My Notes
What Does Deuteronomy 7:8 Mean?
Moses answers the most fundamental question in Israel's story: why did God choose them? Not because they were numerous (verse 7 says they were the fewest). Not because they were righteous (chapter 9 will make that painfully clear). But for two reasons: because God loved them, and because He made a promise to their ancestors.
Love and oath. Affection and commitment. The emotional and the covenantal. God's choice of Israel rests on who He is, not on who they are. He loved them — that's His character. He swore to their fathers — that's His faithfulness. Neither reason originates in Israel's merit.
"Redeemed you out of the house of bondmen" — the word redeemed (padah) means to ransom, to buy back from slavery. God paid a price. The plagues, the Passover, the Red Sea — these weren't just displays of power. They were the cost of redemption. Freedom had a price, and God paid it.
Reflection Questions
- 1.How does knowing that God's choice of you is based on His love rather than your merit change your sense of security?
- 2.Where are you still trying to earn what God has already freely given?
- 3.What does it mean to you that God 'redeemed' you — paid a price for your freedom?
- 4.How do you rest in a love you didn't earn and can't lose?
Devotional
Why you? That's the question Moses answers here. And the answer has nothing to do with you.
God didn't choose Israel because they were impressive. He chose them because He loved them. That's it. Love, not merit. Affection, not achievement. The most powerful nation in history traces its origin not to anything it did, but to a love it didn't earn.
And He kept a promise. He swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — and He doesn't break oaths. Even when Israel was faithless, God was faithful. Not because their faithlessness didn't matter, but because His oath mattered more.
If you've ever wondered why God chose you — why He saved you, why He keeps pursuing you, why He doesn't give up — the answer is the same. Not because you're good enough. Because He loves you. And because He made a promise that He will not break.
That's the most secure foundation you'll ever stand on. Not your performance. Not your consistency. His love and His oath. Both are unchangeable. Both are aimed at you.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
But because the Lord loved you,.... With an unmerited love; he loved them, because he loved them; that is, because he…
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…
loveth you With Israel's love to God (see on Deu 6:5) God's love to Israel is equally characteristic of D and not found…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture