“Thou shalt not be afraid of them: but shalt well remember what the LORD thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt;”
My Notes
What Does Deuteronomy 7:18 Mean?
"Thou shalt not be afraid of them: but shalt well remember what the LORD thy God did unto Pharaoh." The antidote to fear is memory. When the Canaanite nations terrify you, remember Egypt. Remember what God did to the most powerful empire on earth. The memory of past deliverance defeats the fear of present enemies.
The command is both negative (don't fear) and positive (remember). The removal of fear requires the addition of memory. You can't just stop being afraid — you have to fill the fear-space with something. The something is the detailed memory of what God has already done.
The specific target of remembrance — "what the LORD thy God did unto Pharaoh" — is Israel's most dramatic experience of divine power. Not a theoretical attribute. Not a theological concept. A specific, historical, witnessed event. The Exodus. The plagues. The sea. These happened. You saw them. Remember.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What specific past deliverance could defeat your current fear if you remembered it thoroughly?
- 2.Why does Moses prescribe specific memory (Egypt) rather than general theology (God is powerful)?
- 3.How is remembering an act of will rather than just a mental event?
- 4.What fear are you carrying that God's past actions have already addressed?
Devotional
Don't be afraid. Remember Egypt. The command pairs fear-removal with memory-addition: you can't just stop being scared. You have to replace the fear with something. And the replacement is memory — specific, historical, vivid memory of what God already did.
The memory Moses prescribes isn't generic ('God is powerful'). It's specific: what God did to Pharaoh. The plagues. The firstborn. The sea. The chariots disappearing. The army drowning. Every detail is evidence against the current fear. The God who dismantled Egypt can dismantle Canaan. The power that broke Pharaoh can break any opposition.
The logic is proportional: if God defeated the strongest enemy you've ever faced (Egypt), the current enemies (Canaan) are within His capacity. The historical evidence creates the logical conclusion: the God who handled the bigger threat will handle the smaller one. Your memory bank has a withdrawal that covers your current fear.
The 'well remember' (zakhor tizkor — remembering you shall remember) is emphatic: don't just recall vaguely. Remember thoroughly. In detail. With effort. The commanding of memory means remembering is an act of will, not just a mental event. You choose to remember. You discipline your mind to recall. The fear is defeated by intentional remembering.
What specific thing has God done in your past that, if thoroughly remembered, would defeat your current fear?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Thou shalt not be afraid of them,.... Neither on account of their number, nor their strength:
but shall well remember…
Here, I. The caution against idolatry is repeated, and against communion with idolaters: "Thou shalt consume the people,…
afraid of them So simply, Deu 20:1; for the longer characteristic phrases see on Deu 1:21.
what Jehovah thy God did Deu…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture