Deuteronomy 7:20
Moreover, the LORD your God will send hornets among them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you are destroyed.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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God doesn't just promise to defeat His enemies; He promises to utterly dismantle their resistance, sending swarms of "hornets" – a terrifying, aggressive force – to find and destroy even those who try to hide. This isn't just about a military victory; it's about God’s complete and inescapable judgment upon those who defy Him, ensuring no refuge can protect them.
God is instructing the Israelites on how to deal with the nations already living in the land they are about to conquer. He's telling them to utterly destroy these peoples, not to show them mercy or make alliances with them, as their idolatrous practices would surely become a dangerous snare for Israel. This verse speaks to how God will even use supernatural means, like sending swarms of hornets, to finish the job of eradicating those who remain and try to hide.
When you hear about God sending 'hornets' to destroy His enemies, what comes to mind? Is it a literal insect or something else?
In Deuteronomy 7:20, God promises to send 'the hornet' among the Canaanites. While some ancient commentators debated whether this was literal or figurative, the context strongly suggests a real, physical force.
A Tangible Threat
What does it mean for God's judgment to be inescapable, even for those who try to hide?
Deuteronomy 7:20 isn't just about a divine weapon; it's about the completeness of God's judgment against those who defy Him.
Hiding is Futile
Understand the original words
tsirah · Hebrew Noun
A stinging insect, used symbolically or literally as a tool of divine judgment to harass and drive out enemies.
This passage in Exodus directly parallels Deuteronomy, promising that God will send hornets ahead of the Israelites to drive out their enemies, reinforcing the idea of supernatural aid in conquering the land.
Joshua 24:12Joshua recounts how God sent hornets before the Israelites, driving out the two Amorite kings, which serves as historical confirmation of the promise made in Deuteronomy and illustrates its fulfillment.
Psalm 78:45This psalm describes God's judgment on Egypt, mentioning He 'sent among them swarms of insects which devoured them,' which echoes the imagery of God using pests as a weapon of judgment, similar to the hornets mentioned in Deuteronomy.
Isaiah 7:18The prophet Isaiah uses the imagery of God calling for hornets and bees to come from Egypt and Assyria, showing how God can deploy even terrifying natural forces as instruments of His judgment and sovereign will against His enemies.
calvinDeuteronomy 7:16-26: "And thou shalt consume all the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them: neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that will be a snare unto thee."
The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm, whereby the LORD thy God brought thee out; so shall the LORD thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid.
Probationum magnarum quas videru…
gillDeuteronomy 7:20: "Moreover the LORD thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed."
Moreover, the Lord thy God will send the hornet among them,.... Not a single one, but several of them, and which may be understood of creatures so called, which resemble wasps, only twice as large, an insect very bold and venomous; see Exodus 23:28 . Aben Ezra interprets it of the leprosy: until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, b…
God doesn't just promise to defeat His enemies; He promises to utterly dismantle their resistance, sending swarms of "hornets" – a terrifying, aggressive force – to find and destroy even those who try to hide. This isn't just about a military victory; it's about God’s complete and inescapable judgment upon those who defy Him, ensuring no refuge can protect them.
God is instructing the Israelites on how to deal with the nations already living in the land they are about to conquer. He's telling them to utterly destroy these peoples, not to show them mercy or make alliances with them, as their idolatrous practices would surely become a dangerous snare for Israel. This verse speaks to how God will even use supernatural means, like sending swarms of hornets, to finish the job of eradicating those who remain and try to hide.
God is instructing the Israelites on how to deal with the nations already living in the land they are about to conquer. He's telling them to utterly destroy these peoples, not to show them mercy or make alliances with them, as their idolatrous practices would surely become a dangerous snare for Israel. This verse speaks to how God will even use supernatural means, like sending swarms of hornets, to finish the job of eradicating those who remain and try to hide.
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"Moreover, the LORD your God will send hornets among them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you are destroyed." — God doesn't just promise to defeat His enemies; He promises to utterly dismantle their resistance, sending swarms of "hornets" – a terrifying, aggressive force – to find and destroy even those who tr…
