12:29-31
This section kind of recaps all that has been said, and focuses on the warning. The Lord would give the land to them, cutting off the nations currently inhabiting the place. This was when the danger point would arrive. For then they had to be careful not to be captivated by the gods of the peoples they had displaced. We have an example here of curiosity killing the cat. We have a natural curiosity, and this could have led to the people wanting to know about the gods of the displaced people. It was paramount that Israel did not get involved in any of their practices. We then get the reason for this, and it is not an arbitrary ruling on God’s part. “They do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates”. And this included sacrificing their children. These pagan religions were not “quaint practices”!
12:32
The chapter finishes with yet another reminder to do all that the Lord commanded, together with a warning not to add or subtract from what God has said. There are dangers in either direction. There are obvious dangers in subtracting from God’s laws, then doing things which are forbidden. There are also dangers in adding to it, for this can then impose unnecessary burdens on people. The rabbis had done this with the Sabbath, and it is a practice that all humans are prone to.
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