Deuteronomy 11:1-32
1 Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway.
2 And know ye this day: for I speak not with your children which have not known, and which have not seen the chastisement of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand, and his stretched out arm,
3 And his miracles, and his acts, which he did in the midst of Egypt unto Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and unto all his land;
4 And what he did unto the army of Egypt, unto their horses, and to their chariots; how he made the water of the Red sea to overflow them as they pursued after you, and how the LORD hath destroyed them unto this day;
5 And what he did unto you in the wilderness, until ye came into this place;
6 And what he did unto Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben: how the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and their tents, and all the substancea that was in their possession, in the midst of all Israel:
7 But your eyes have seen all the great acts of the LORD which he did.
8 Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it;
9 And that ye may prolong your days in the land, which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
10 For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs:
11 But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven:
12 A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.
13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,
14 That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.
15 And I will sendb grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full.
16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
17 And then the LORD'S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.
18 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.
19 And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
20 And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates:
21 That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth.
22 For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him;
23 Then will the LORD drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves.
24 Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be.
25 There shall no man be able to stand before you: for the LORD your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath said unto you.
26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse;
27 A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day:
28 And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.
29 And it shall come to pass, when the LORD thy God hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal.
30 Are they not on the other side Jordan, by the way where the sun goeth down, in the land of the Canaanites, which dwell in the champaign over against Gilgal, beside the plains of Moreh?
31 For ye shall pass over Jordan to go in to possess the land which the LORD your God giveth you, and ye shall possess it, and dwell therein.
32 And ye shall observe to do all the statutes and judgments which I set before you this day.
SOWING AND REAPING
(vs.1-32)
This chapter emphasizes the results of obedience in contrast to the consequences of disobedience. It begins with the commandment to love the Lord their God, which of course is the motivating power for keeping God's statutes (v.1). Yet, though told many times to love the Lord, Israel did not respond to this. For love cannot be legislated, as Israel learned by experience. It must be spontaneous and voluntary. The New Testament makes this clear, "We love Him because He first loved us" (I John
Moses spoke to those who had seen the many manifestations of God's power and grace to Israel (v.2). These were under 20 years of age when they saw these things, and should certainly have well remembered all the signs God wrought in Egypt, His bringing Israel safely through the Red Sea and destroying the Egyptians in the waters, then of all He had done in the wilderness, including the judgment of Dathan and Abiram in being swallowed up by the earth opening (vs.3-7). They themselves (not a previous generation) had witnessed all this.
With all this in mind Israel should be stirred to keep every commandment God gave them. Such obedience would make them strong to possess all their inheritance (v.8). Also this would cause them to prolong their days in the land, "a land flowing with milk and honey" (v.9). Milk speaks of the Word of God (1 Peter 2:2), while honey symbolizes the ministry of the Word of God (Song of Solomon 4:11), that is, the sweetness believers have gathered from the Word and minister to others.
For the land of their inheritance was not like Egypt, which depended on men's methods of irrigation, watered by "foot," but a land of hills and valleys, dependent on rain from heaven (vs.10-11). This pictures the spiritual inheritance of Christians today, blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly place in Christ, in contrast to the earthly, material blessings of the people of the world. Thus, we are dependent, not on our surrounding circumstances, but on the blessing of God from heaven. So, Israel's land was the object of God's care all year through (v.12).
On condition of Israel's earnest obedience to God's commands, God would give rain to the land in its season, the early and the latter rain, which would be neither too little or too much for their crops of grain, wine and oil. Their livestock would be sustained by sufficient grass in their fields (vs.13-15).
Verse 16 again warns Israel against being deceived in turning to serve and worship other gods, which would arouse the anger of the Lord, so that He might withhold the rain and cause famine in the land, with its resulting decimation of the people (v.17).
Therefore God's words should be laid up in the hearts of Israelites, bound as a sign on their hands and placed as frontlets before their eyes (v.18). Being in their hearts would imply being the motivating power, while bound on their hand speaks of the control of their actions. As frontlets before their eyes indicates that their eyes were to be kept centered on the truth of God rather than looking in other directions for help or guidance. Israel did not respond to the significance of these things, but such things are written for us today, that we should realize the spiritual blessing of having the truth always delighting our hearts.
The laws given to Israel were to be taught to their children. They were not to be used merely in public gatherings, but applied daily, to be spoken of anywhere and at all times. They were even to write them on their doorposts and on their gates (v.20). Thus it was a matter of being constantly reminded. We today have more vital things than these to keep in remembrance, all the marvelous truths concerning the Lord Jesus, His incarnation, His life on earth, His sacrifice of Calvary, His resurrection, His ascension, His present High Priesthood at God's right hand for us, His promised coming again, His subduing all creation under His feet, His reign of 1000 years, His Great White Throne judgment and His eternal glory with its infinite blessing for all believers. But the knowledge and enjoyment of Christ in all these things will have wonderful effect in keeping us diligently following Him more fully than Israel could have done.
Obedience would multiply the days of the Israelites and their children in the land, "like the days of the heavens above the earth" (v.21). Thus their hearts would be lifted up in calm, lovely dignity above the level of the their circumstances, to realize their blessings really came from heaven. Today our blessings not only come from heaven; they are secured for us in heaven in the person of the risen Lord of glory.
Again, on condition of obedience, Israel is told that the Lord will drive out the nations of Canaan before them, though they were greater and mightier than Israel (v.23). Wherever their feet trod would become theirs. The bounds mentioned are from the Euphrates River westward to the Mediterranean Sea (v.24). This has never yet been fully possessed by Israel, but will be in the Millennium. God's power was such that no man could stand against Israel (v.25), though Israel failed to take advantage of this power.
In verse 26 Moses speaks of setting before Israel a blessing and a curse. Which would Israel reap? This depended on what they sowed. If obedient they would reap the blessing (v.27); if disobedient, then the curse (v.28). Two mountains in the land were to symbolize these, the blessing put on Mount Gerazim and the curse on Mount Ebal (v.29). This was carried out by Joshua soon after Israel entered the land (Joshua 8:33).