In the Old Testament obeying the torah is the most concrete expression of loving God and being faithful to Him. The converse of this is therefore disobedience which is tantamount to forgetting Yahweh. As we shall see, the Hebrew verb forget does have the same semantic span as the English word. Forgetting is, in English, a passive verb; no one actually decides to forget. Forgetting is mental absence. Shakach, on the other hand, often implies ignoring what was to be remembered. To "shakach" Yahweh is to disobey Him.
With this in the background, Moses—having summoned GenB to radical discipleship—now warns her about the peril of forgetting who Yahweh is. Just as he had reminded them of the things they had seen at Baal Peor, so now he begins by reminding them of the things they saw at Horeb and then spells out what that means for them. The warning divides into two subunits, each one beginning with a call to "watch yourselves . . . lest you . . ." (v.9 & v.15-16):
A. The Danger of Forgetting the Covenant of Horeb, vv.9-14: "Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely . . . " (shmr nphsh m'd . . .)
B. The Danger of Forgetting that Yahweh has No Form, vv.15-20: "Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, . . ." (wnshmrtm m'd lnphshtkm . . .)
§A. warns Israel against the danger of forgetting what she had witnessed at Mount Sinai when Yahweh made a covenant with them. §B. picks up on the fact that Israel saw no form of God at Mount Sinai (v.12) and warns her against the danger of idolatry. At the same time the two subunits form a unit that highlights the place of the Ten Commandments (Decalogue) in Israel's life:1
A. Warning: Only take heed and watch yourselves diligently . . . v.9a.
B. Temptation: Watch. . lest you forget. . . and lest . . , v.9b.
C. The Horeb Experience: the day you stood before Yahweh at Horeb, when he said . . . while it blazed with fire . . . v.10-11.
D. The Form of God: you heard the sound of words but saw no form . . . v.12b.
E. Yahweh's Commandment: He declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to observe . . . v.13a.
F. The Ten Commandments, v.13b.
E'. Yahweh's Commandment: Yahweh commanded me . . . to teach you the decrees and laws for you to observe . . . v.14.
D'. The Form of God: you saw no form of any kind . . . v.15a.
C'. The Horeb Experience: the day Yahweh spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire, v.15b.
B'. Temptation: Watch . . . lest you become corrupt . . . and lest . . , v.15b-19.
A'. Encouragement: As for you, Yahweh took you and brought you . . . to make for himself a people of his inheritance, as is the case today, v.20.
Low Chai Hok
©Alberith, 2017