Strangers in the Land: Ger 34

Deuteronomy 29:10-12

“All of you stand today before the Lord your God: your leaders and your tribes and your elders and your officers, all the men of Israel, your little ones and your wives—also the ger who is in your camp, from the one who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water— that you may enter into covenant with the Lord your God, and into His oath, which the Lord your God makes with you today, that He may establish you today as a people for Himself, and that He may be God to you, just as He has spoken to you, and just as He has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

What Does It Say?

The context of this passage is a Covenant between God and the Israelites in Moab. This is, as it says in verse 1, in addition the Covenant made in Horeb (aka, the Ten Commandments and all that jazz).

The point of interest for us here is that the Covenant is in fact not simply between the Israelites and God, but all who "stand today before the Lord your God," including the ger. Indeed, it includes even the lowliest of the ger  - cutters or wood and drawers of water. Indeed, it is not just the leaders and elders of Israel, or even just the men, but the women and children as well.

I've been reading a lot of Star Wars memes lately

This is something we have discussed before, but the Exodus did not just involve Israelites. Ger are included in the Covenant from the beginning, even if the promises were made primarily to the descendants of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.

At the same time, this passage is not all sweetness and light. The Covenant that every person in the camp enters into individually is not just a promise, but a terrible threat.

The Covenant goes to every person so that no person is without warning. If any person turns away from the True God to worship the false gods of the land, God will rain such vengeance down upon them that the land will resemble Sodom and Gomorrah. You can read the rest of the chapter if you want details (particularly verses 20-28), but basically, God will turn the land into a smoking crater of destruction.

So yeah, the Anakin Skywalker meme above is surprisingly appropriate.

For us, this pretty much settles the question of if it is acceptable for ger to worship other gods while living "in the land." The answer is: "I will nuke you from orbit if you allow this."

Next: Deuteronomy 31