“The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm, whereby the LORD thy God brought thee out: so shall the LORD thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid .”
My Notes
What Does Deuteronomy 7:19 Mean?
"So shall the LORD thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid." The comparison is explicit: what God did to Egypt, He'll do to Canaan. The same signs, wonders, mighty hand, and outstretched arm. The method doesn't change. The power doesn't diminish. The next enemy receives the same treatment the previous enemy received.
The five elements — great trials, signs, wonders, mighty hand, stretched arm — catalog the Exodus experience comprehensively: trials (the hardships Pharaoh endured), signs (the plagues as evidence), wonders (the supernatural dimensions), mighty hand (God's active power), and stretched arm (God's extended reach). All five will be deployed again.
The phrase "the people of whom thou art afraid" acknowledges the fear as real: you're actually afraid of these people. God doesn't dismiss the emotion. He addresses it with evidence: the fear is real, and the evidence that should overcome it is also real. Both coexist — the fear and the counter-evidence.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Is the enemy you fear larger than Egypt — and does it matter if God's response is the same?
- 2.How does the five-element toolkit from the Exodus apply to your current threats?
- 3.What does 'so shall the LORD do' — committed repetition of power — mean for your confidence?
- 4.How does God acknowledging your fear (not dismissing it) change how you hear His promise?
Devotional
What He did to Egypt, He'll do to the nations you're afraid of. Same signs. Same wonders. Same mighty hand. Same stretched arm. The next enemy gets the same treatment. The power doesn't diminish between uses.
The five-element catalog — trials, signs, wonders, mighty hand, stretched arm — is the complete toolkit God used against Egypt. And Moses says: all five will be deployed again. Against every enemy you fear. The toolkit doesn't get smaller with use. It gets redeployed.
The acknowledgment 'whom thou art afraid' is the verse's pastoral genius: God doesn't pretend you're not scared. He doesn't shame the fear. He names it — the people you're afraid of — and then addresses it with proportional evidence. You're afraid of them. Here's what I did to someone bigger than them. The fear is valid. The evidence is more valid.
The 'so shall' — future tense, promise form — means the repetition of the Exodus pattern is committed, not speculative. God will do this. Not might. Will. The same power that was deployed against Egypt is committed for deployment against Canaan. The future is as certain as the past.
What enemy are you afraid of — and is that enemy larger than Egypt? Because the God who handled Egypt has committed the same power to your situation. The signs and wonders and mighty hand and stretched arm aren't retired. They're reloaded.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders,.... The miracles wrought in Egypt; see Deu…
Here, I. The caution against idolatry is repeated, and against communion with idolaters: "Thou shalt consume the people,…
temptations … signs … wonders See on Deu 4:34.
which thine eyes saw Deu 4:9.
mighty hand, and … stretched out arm See on…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture