A chiasm in Deuteronomy 9:3-16 highlights the consequences of sinning against the commandments of God, by whatever medium you received them. The nations of Canaan were destroyed because they refused to heed God's Law and Israel was exiled for a time for the same reason. Repentance from sin will bring them back.
A: V3-4 – God is a fire, so don’t sin against him
----B: V5 – God destroys the nations for their wickedness
--------C: V6 – God gave the land to Israel despite their faults & stubbornness
------------D: V7-8 – Israel sinned from when they left Egypt
----------------E: V9 – 40 days & nights to get the stone tablets
--------------------F: V10a – The finger of God
------------------------G: V10b – All the words of God
--------------------F: V10c – The voice of God
----------------E: V11 – 40 days & nights to get the stone tablets
------------D: V12 – Israel, whom Moses brought out of Egypt, sinned
--------C: V13 – God knows Israel’s faults & their stubbornness
----B: V14 – God threatens to destroy Israel for their wickedness
A: V15-16 – God is a fire, yet Israel sinned against him
For more info on chiasms: A Brief Introduction to Chiasms
ReplyDeleteThanks for that. I'm continually amazed and perturbed by the indifference with which most Christians view the commandments, and particularly the fourth, the seal of the eternal covenant.
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