Astray

Deuteronomy 17:17-20 – He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.

1 Kings 11:2 – They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love.

Isaiah 2:7 – Their land is full of silver and gold; there is no end to their treasures. Their land is full of horses; there is no end to their chariots.

Deuteronomy 4:10 – Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.”

Application:

• ·         Foreign women indeed did turn the Israelites hearts after their gods.
• ·         Accumulating large quantities of “silver and gold…horses” was forbidden to the king. They usually led to a failure to trust in God.
• ·         The divine call to Israel to remember the Lord’s past redemptive acts—especially how He delivered them from slavery in Egypt—is a common theme in Deuteronomy and is summarized: “Remember the days of old”.

All Scripture verses taken from NIV