Deuteronomy 7:1

Deuteronomy 7:1 says, When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;  Moses told the people of Israel that there were seven nations mightier than they were in the Promised Land.  Though we as followers of Christ are promised an everlasting home in heaven, we may encounter many people who are physically stronger than us who oppose us on our way there.  Verse two adds, And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:  Moses didn't say if, but when, God delivered their enemies before them that they were to utterly destroy them.  When God gives us victory over anything that stands between Him and us today, we should completely remove it from our life.  Verse three continues, Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.  Moses warned the people of Israel to not marry any of these people that stood between God and them.  We as Christians are likewise warned to not marry nonbelievers.  Verse four concludes, 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.  Moses said if they allowed their sons, or daughters for that matter, to marry any of these people that the son or daughter would be turned away from Him and worship false gods.  Though if their faith is strong enough this will not happen when a Christian marries a non Christian, it happens very often.  Verse five states, But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.  Moses told the people of Israel that they were to destroy everything associated with the worship of false gods that they found in the Promised Land.  We as followers of Christ need to do likewise in our life, and if we are to be a Christian nation, we must also do this throughout the country.  Verse six adds, For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.  Moses told the people of Israel they were to be a holy nation, one set aside from the gods of this world, because God had chosen them above all other people to be His representatives in the world.  This was not based on their superiority to other people, but simply on God's choosing to work through them.  We as Christians today are to be a holy people, set aside to follow Christ in all things, not because of we are morally superior to anyone else, but because God has called us to come to Him through putting our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  Verse seven continues, The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:  Moses said God did not choose the people of Israel because they were the biggest nation, but because they were the smallest.  Whenever they were victorious, it would not be attributed to them, but to God.  We may feel small and unimportant in the world today, but if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ, then our victory is assured because of Who God is.  Verse eight declares, 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.  Moses told the people of Israel because of the promise God had made to their fathers that He had brought them out of the land of Egypt.  Because of the promise that God made to all who will put their faith in Jesus Christ, He still delivers us from any and all powers in the world today.  Verse nine adds, Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;   Moses called on them to know that God is the only God Who could deliver them, and not to just think maybe He might be able to.  We have to have absolute faith that Jesus Christ can deliver us from death into everlasting life spiritually and not just hope that He might be able to.  Verse ten continues, And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.  Moses also said that God would destroy those that hated Him, and this has not changed.