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A Nation “Destroyed for Lack of Knowledge”
God’s favor toward the Israelites had always been conditional on
their obedience. At Sinai they had entered into covenant with Him
as “a special treasure to Me above all people.” “All that the Lord has
spoken we will do,” they had promised.
Exodus 19:5, 8
. God had
chosen Israel as His people, and they had chosen Him as their King.
Near the close of the wilderness wandering, on the very borders
of the Promised Land, those who remained faithful renewed their
vows of allegiance. Moses called on them to remain separate from
the surrounding nations and to worship God alone. See
Deuteronomy
4
.
Moses had specially charged the Israelites not to lose sight of
the commandments of God. He warned them clearly and strongly
against the neighboring nations’ customs of idol worship. “Take
heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God
which He made with you, and make for yourselves a carved image in
the form of anything which the Lord your God has forbidden you.”
Deuteronomy 4:23
.
Calling heaven and earth to witness, Moses declared that if, after
having lived long in the Land of Promise, the people bowed down to
carved images and refused to return to the worship of the true God,
they would be carried away captive and scattered among the heathen.
“You will soon utterly perish from the land which you cross over
the Jordan to possess,” he warned them. “You will not prolong your
days in it, but will be utterly destroyed. And the Lord will scatter
you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among
the nations where the Lord will drive you.”
Verses 26, 27
.
This prophecy, partly fulfilled in the time of the judges, met
a more complete and literal fulfillment in the captivity of Israel
in Assyria and of Judah in Babylon. Satan had tried repeatedly
to cause the chosen nation to forget “the commandment, ... the
statutes, and the judgments” that they had promised to keep forever.
Deuteronomy 6:1
. He knew that if he could lead Israel to “follow
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