7:7-11 “Yahweh loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your fathers, and Yahweh brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. You shall therefore know that Yahweh your God, He is God, the faithful God”

Moses begins his exposition by reiterating the covenant Yahweh made with the people on Mount Sinai. The ten commandments of this covenant serve as the nation’s constitution and the basis for every individual’s relationship with Yahweh. The revelation of God’s will and purpose for Israel is accompanied by the frightening demonstration on the mountain, which should etch in their memory the weight of this moment.

With the republishing of the covenant as a foundation, as the people of God, they shall “love Yahweh with all their heart and with all their soul and with all their might.” This kind of faith and devotion has been proven to require discipline and diligence. In the same way that Yahweh and Moses have constantly retold the commandments and subsequent consequences, the people are to do the same among themselves everyday and everywhere to keep their hearts to God for generations.

Finally, there is another exhortation to totally cleanse the land of the its pagan inhabitants (Ex 23, 34; Num 33). There was evidently an allure to the way the other nations indulged their corrupt nature, as seen when the Israelites celebrated the golden calf and joined to the daughters of Midian and their gods. Israel had to decide to see these inhabitants as Yahweh saw them, and rely upon the word and power of their God to overcome their natural disadvantages in battle and resist the temptation of their culture.