Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Deuteronomy 11:22-25
The Result Of This Will Be That Their Way Will Prosper Before Them (Deuteronomy 11:22).
Note that love for Yahweh commenced chapter 6 and now ends chapter 11 of the general stipulations of the covenant. And if they do love Him and obey Him then their success in conquering the land is guaranteed.
Analysis in the words of Moses:
a For if you will diligently keep all this commandment which I command you, to do it, to love Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave to him (Deuteronomy 11:22).
b Then will Yahweh drive out all these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves (Deuteronomy 11:23).
b Every place on which the sole of your foot shall tread will be yours, from the wilderness, and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even to the hinder sea shall be your border (Deuteronomy 11:24).
a There shall no man be able to stand before you. Yahweh your God will lay the fear of you and the dread of you on all the land that you shall tread on, as he has spoken to you (Deuteronomy 11:25).
Note than in ‘a' they are to diligently keep His commandments and love Yahweh their God, and walk in His ways, and cleave to Him, and the result is that their enemies will fear them (in contrast to Yahweh loving them) and all the land that they tread on (in contrast with walking in it) will be filled with dread because of God's powerful word. In ‘b' Yahweh will drive out nations more powerful than themselves, and they will dispossess them, and in the parallel they will take possession on any land on which the sole of their foot treads within the area of the promised land.
‘ For if you will diligently keep all this commandment which I command you, to do it, to love Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave to him, then will Yahweh drive out all these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves.'
Compare Deuteronomy 10:12; Deuteronomy 11:13. The dispossessing of the nations and Israel's love for Yahweh, their walking in His ways, and their cleaving to Him had to go in tandem. If they looked to Yahweh for their victory, it must be because they loved Him and were genuinely in covenant with Him, and sought diligently to keep the totality of what He has commanded because of that love. Then would they drive out the nations mightier than themselves. The corollary is that if they did not have this covenant response then the covenant would not be valid, and they would not receive Yahweh's assistance, in the same way that their fathers had not received His assistance (Deuteronomy 1:44). Then He would have to wait for another generation and begin again.
‘ Every place on which the sole of your foot shall tread will be yours, from the wilderness, and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even to the hinder sea shall be your border. There shall no man be able to stand before you. Yahweh your God will lay the fear of you and the dread of you on all the land that you shall tread on, as he has spoken to you.'
But if they do love Him and walk in His ways, cleaving to Him, and keeping all He has commanded, then every place on which the sole of their foot treads (see Deuteronomy 2:5; Joshua 1:3; Joshua 14:9) within the land promised to them will be theirs. They will take it and possess it. They will possess ‘from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the Euphrates to the western sea' (the Mediterranean). Note how Lebanon here possibly represents both a part of Canaan and the land to the north, which also belonged to Canaanites whom we know as Phoenicians, (compare Isaiah 23:11). The wilderness lay to the south, the western sea lay to the west, the Euphrates lay to the ‘north' (Deuteronomy 1:7; Genesis 15:18; Exodus 23:31; Joshua 1:4). It was to the north that they always went to reach the River Euphrates. The eastern border did not need to be mentioned because they were standing on it and possessed it, again evidence that this was spoken at the time when Moses was east of Jordan.
Indeed none would be able to stand against them for Yahweh would fill their enemies with fear at the very thought of them. Wherever they trod, those who were there would be terrified, just as he had always promised.