A verse-by-verse explanation of the chapter.
An overview of the principles and applications from the chapter.
Melding the chapter to life.
Tying the chapter to life with God.
Historical, geographical, and grammatical enrichment of the commentary.
Suggested step-by-step group study of the chapter.
Zeroing the chapter in on daily life.
“All men seek happiness. This is without
exception. Whatever different means they employ,
they all tend to this end. The cause of some going
to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire
in both, attended with different views. The will
never takes the least step but to this object. This is
the motive of every action of every man, even of
those who hang themselves.”
Blaise Pascal
In Deuteronomy 11, God offers Israel a choice: either a life of productivity and enjoyment made possible by obedience to him, or a life of difficulty and opposition made necessary by disobedience. The happiness Israel desires can only be theirs by being properly related to him.
Christians often sing one of the great hymns of the faith entitled “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”:
Great is thy faithfulness,
Great is thy faithfulness,
Morning by morning
New mercies I see.
All I have needed
Thy hand hath provided;
Great is thy faithfulness,
Lord, unto me.
You may have sung this hymn without realizing that the writer did not invent those phrases; he was merely quoting Scripture—quoting the prophet Jeremiah, in fact. What is noteworthy about those words is that when Jeremiah wrote them he was not celebrating a great victory of the people of God but reflecting on the greatest defeat in the nation's history. He was looking at the city of Jerusalem as it lay in ruins following the terrible destruction brought on it by the army of Babylon. He wrote, “Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22-23).
The walls were broken down, the gates and the homes were burned, the people had been carted off into servitude, and Jerusalem lay in ruins. The temple of God was destroyed and its furnishings were taken away to Babylon to be used in drinking parties to honor pagan deities. Yet Jeremiah could muse on the faithfulness of God through it all.
It is a faithful God who chastens and disciplines his people when they need it. Man may vacillate, but the God of heaven is always faithful, and his faithfulness doesn't depend on us. We may do our worst, but he remains faithful to his own character. God's faithfulness to Israel was exhibited as much by their removal to Babylon—in fulfillment of his promise to discipline them for waywardness—as by their return seventy years later (also foretold by Jeremiah).
Interestingly, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” was written not by a pastor or evangelist but by an insurance salesman, Thomas Chisholm. His writing was not provoked by any great crisis in his life, as many hymns are; he simply was overwhelmed one day as he sat meditating on the unfailing kindness of God in his life. He wrote the words to the hymn and sent them to a friend, William Runyan, who set them to music. The church has been singing this great expression of faith ever since.
Of course, it is far better to experience the faithfulness of God in the form of blessing rather than in discipline. That is always the choice that believers face, and especially so with Israel as they stood ready to invade the promised land.
The Choice Is Ours
MAIN IDEA: Before addressing the specific stipulations that will come with living inside the land, Moses addresses again the issue of Israel's motivation. He declares the potential blessings and rewards that can be theirs and how their success is tied to their faithfulness to God.
Where Obedience Lands: The Objective (11:1-25)SUPPORTING IDEA: The land that God is providing his people is highly desirable and better than what they left behind in Egypt.
11:1. The first twenty-five verses of the chapter alternate between commands to love God and reasons for doing so. Verse 1 could be invoked as a summary of the entire chapter, with its emphasis upon love for God and obedience to his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands.
11:2-4. So Israel would be motivated to obey God, Moses turned in verses 2-7 to the issue of motivation. He urged them to remember as they prepared to invade the land that their own eyes had seen what God could do. His majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm became visible to them personally through what God did in humbling Pharaoh king of Egypt and his whole country. He executed discipline upon not only the leaders of Egypt but upon the Egyptian army with its horses and chariots. He brought the waters of the Red Sea against them as they were pursuing Israel and brought lasting ruin on Israel's enemies as a result. The people whom Moses was addressing did not know this second hand from their children, but on the strength of their experience. As a result, they were responsible for paying heed to God's truth and obeying it faithfully.
11:5-7. God operates on the principle that spiritual privilege creates spiritual obligation: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked” (Luke 12:48). Israel was being asked for a great deal, but they were in a position to do what God expected. After all, they did not know him by reputation from accounts given them by their children. They saw what God did for them in the desert right up until the day they arrived east of the Jordan River. Knowing his power and faithfulness so directly ought to encourage them to live faithfully before him and trust him for their needs.
At the very least, what they saw should keep them far from any form of rebellion. They saw what God did in the case of Dathan and Abiram and their companion Korah (who is not mentioned here). Numbers 16 records how these three men, along with 250 others, led a rebellion against Moses and Aaron. They complained that others were as qualified as Moses and Aaron to approach God in the tabernacle, and they demanded an equal participation in the priesthood. Korah was at least a Levite; but Dathan and Abiram were sons of a Reubenite man and not even from the priestly tribe.
God dealt severely with this rebellion when the earth opened its mouth… and swallowed them up with their households, their tents and every living thing that belonged to them. The point of this dramatic act of discipline was to produce a godly fear in the hearts of those whose eyes saw all these great things.
11:8. In the pattern of much of this chapter, Moses called the people to observe… the commands that he was giving them. Failure to do so would put Israel at risk, and they might not have the strength to go in and take over the land that they had been promised. God's promises of success include conditions of obedience even while they are being fulfilled. Believers who engage in putting to death the deeds of their bodies (Rom. 8:13) cannot realistically hope to accomplish that objective without his help.
11:9-10. God wanted Israel to live long in the land, a land said to be flowing with milk and honey. The promised land was not like the land of Egypt. Instead of being generally productive, Egypt was fertile only along the banks of the Nile River. The vast bulk of the land was arid and useless.
11:11-12. By contrast, the land that Israel was about to receive was a land of mountains and valleys and depended for its water on the rain from heaven. Because of its dependence on rain, the promised land was a place closely observed by the eyes of the LORD. The rains in the Holy Land fall during a brief period of the year, but the limestone subsoil captures a great deal of the rainfall and holds it in underground reservoirs that can be accessed by drilling.
11:13. The refrain of this summary section again appears, urging Israel to faithfully obey the commands that Moses was issuing. Specifically, he called on the nation to love the LORD and to serve him without reservation. Only in so doing would they find the full blessedness that awaited them.
11:14-15. When Israel obeyed, God promised to send rain on the land in the proper season. The seasons are specified: autumn and spring rains. Rain is seldom seen in Palestine between late March and October. The autumn or early rains permit the ground to be plowed and permit harvests of grain. The spring or latter rains permit the harvesting of new wine and oil. The two periods of rain together provide grass in the fields so that cattle may be fed. Together, God's provision of rain would permit his people to eat and be satisfied.
11:16-17. While God's faithfulness was assured, Israel's was not. In fact, the regularity of the rain and the fertility of the soil might lead his people astray. They might, in fact, be enticed to turn away and worship other gods. They could make no greater mistake, for in so doing they would experience the LORD'S anger against themselves instead of their enemies. Instead of enjoying abundant rainfall, Israel would discover how God would shut the heavens so that it would not rain. In turn, the ground would prove unfruitful, and the people would perish. Knowing this in advance through God's repeated warnings, they could prevent this horrible possibility if they would only be careful. The suggestion of these words (occurring fifteen times in Deuteronomy) is that more serious blunders occur through neglect than through overt rebellion. People are captured in their sins through inattention, but they are held there through its intrinsic power.
11:18. Being careful meant just that—taking the time and exercising care so that these words of God, spoken through Moses, would not be forgotten in the daily routines of life. The best location for them would be in the hearts and minds of God's people. Scripture memory programs thus are as old as the Book of Deuteronomy.
11:19-21. These verses are almost an exact repetition of the material in Deuteronomy 6:7-9. God's Word was to be perpetuated through Israel's generations. Parents were to teach them in structured ways to their children. They must reinforce such formal instruction by talking about God's commandments in informal ways: when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up (see the earlier commentary on 6:7-9). The purpose of this preoccupation with God's truth was to ensure that the days of the present generation and the days of their children may be many in the land.
11:22-25. Moses closed this large section comprising the general stipulations—the motivational section, if you will—of the covenant (Deut. 5-11) with a summary of all that is contained in these seven chapters. Israel's future success hung upon a critical condition. If and only if the people would carefully observe the commands that he was giving them, they would conquer the land. Those commands are summarized under three headings: affection, obedience, and loyalty. They must love the LORD… walk in all his ways and… hold fast to him personally. Then they could be sure that the nations then occupying the land, although they were larger and stronger, would fall before them.
The extent of Israel's success would be determined by the extent of Israel's holy boldness. Every place they would choose to set their foot would eventually be theirs. The territory they had been promised was extensive, running from the desert in the south to Lebanon in the north, and from the Euphrates River in the east to the western (what today is called the Mediterranean) sea. Although these large areas contained many enemies, no man would be able to stand against Israel. Some they would defeat in battle, and others would flee because of God's placing the terror and fear of Israel in the hearts of their enemies.
Where Obedience Leads: The Alternatives (11:26-32)SUPPORTING IDEA: Israel's enjoyment of the land is contingent on their behavior. Blessings or curses lie before them; the choice is theirs.
11:26-28. In this brief section, Moses set forth the options: a blessing or a curse upon Israel. The former would follow Israel's obedience to God's commands; the latter, their disobedience. The curse would be theirs in particular if they turned from the way that God commanded and pursued other gods. Moses cautioned God's people about the dangers of an unbridled curiosity. The practices and ceremonies of pagan deities sometimes contained attractions that would provoke Israel's interest. They were to turn away from such things and hold to Yahweh only.
11:29-30. The choice that lay before Israel was so crucial that God gave orders to formalize the two options once Israel had gained possession of the land. Moses instructed that the entire nation gather to proclaim the blessings and the curses on two mountains that stood adjacent to each other: Mount Gerizim (for the blessings) and Mount Ebal (for the curses). (The instructions given here appear again in Deuteronomy 27 in greater detail.)
These two mountains were across (i.e., west of) the Jordan and west of the road. The road was probably the north-south thoroughfare that linked Jericho with Beth Shan and pointed northward, a road that followed the general course of the Jordan River.
11:31-32. Israel was about to cross the Jordan to enter and take possession of the land. Once that had happened, the invitation should go out to all the tribes to gather for a great scene of covenant renewal in keeping with all the decrees and laws that Moses was giving Israel. Gathering the tribes would give an opportunity for Israel to rejoice together in the possession of their new homeland and to participate in the solemn ritual of blessings and cursings that would remind them of their covenant obligations.
MAIN IDEA REVIEW: Before addressing the specific stipulations that will come with living inside the land, Moses addresses again the issue of Israel's motivation. He declares the potential blessings and rewards that can be theirs, and how their success is tied to their faithfulness to God.
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson once went to the mountains on a camping trip. After enjoying a delicious meal, they retired for the night. Around midnight, Holmes awoke and nudged his faithful companion.
“Watson,” he said, “look up at the sky and tell me what you see.”
Watson, used to Holmes's tests of his observational acumen, observed, “I see millions and millions of stars.”
Holmes asked, “What does that tell you?”
Watson pondered for a minute. “Well… astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, I can see that God is omnipotent and that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. What does it tell you, Holmes?”
Holmes was silent for a minute, then said, “Watson, someone has stolen our tent.”
The world, like Watson, seems to have great difficulty with the obvious. God has built certain consequences into life so we might recognize his authority and power. Numerous scientific studies have documented how people live longer when they live better. Righteousness is good for a person's health.
For example, one magazine offered the findings of a study done at a research center on the University of Michigan campus. The authors of the study concluded that doing regular volunteer work significantly increases life expectancy. Doctors rated it a more important factor than jogging, aerobics, or a healthy diet.
During World War II, it was discovered that people who were suffering from acute anxiety attacks during bombing raids on London improved their condition by setting their own troubles aside and volunteering to help the victims of the German air raids. In helping others, they helped themselves.
An ancient legend recalls the story of a man who was a slave. One day, this downtrodden man met a genie who offered him one wish along with a warning to be careful what he wished for.
The slave decided that he wanted to be the object of servanthood rather than a participant in it. He said, “I wish that I could be waited on hand and foot and have my every longing satisfied.” His wish was granted. For three months slaves catered to his every desire.
However, by that time the ex-slave had begun to tire of people jumping each time he snapped his fingers; he had become profoundly bored, and he decided to go looking for the genie in the hopes of having his wish reversed.
Finding the genie, he complained, “Can I have my old life back? I'd rather be in hell than sit around waiting for others to do everything for me.”
The genie's response was quick and telling: “Where do you think you've been for the last ninety days?”
PRINCIPLES
APPLICATIONS
Moses urged Israel, “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads” (Deut. 11:18). His words argue for not merely reading the Scriptures, but for memorizing and meditating on them as well.
This emphasis is a consistent theme throughout the Bible. Joshua was told to meditate on God's law, which would produce success in his life: “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Josh. 1:8).
David memorized Scripture and recognized it as a key to walking with God: “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Ps. 119:11). He knew that memorization was the doorway to constant meditation and all the benefits associated with it: “But [the godly person's] delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Ps. 1:2). Fixing God's Word on the heart and mind is both preventative and corrective. Because our values change to conform with Scripture, we become less inclined to engage in foolish and sinful practices. At the same time, God will use Scripture to help us realize it when our actions are not pleasing to him.
Father, teach us the joys of loving you and others. Help us to avoid the world's lie that happiness consists of getting our way. Allow us the true fulfillment that you offer—fulfillment that comes from loving others and serving them. In the process, let us bear witness to your reality and goodness. Amen.
A. Shut the Heavens (11:17)
God warned Israel that worshiping other gods would cause him to discipline them by means of diminished rainfall (Deut. 11:17). This warning became a reality during the prophetic ministry of Elijah, who came to King Ahab and declared, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word” (1 Kgs. 17:1).
Elijah knew that God had promised to withhold the rain if Israel should defect. He could not tell, of course, the exact timing in which such discipline would be inaugurated. That required a prophetic revelation, which he undoubtedly received. In spite of the warning, however, and in spite of the remarkable ministry of the prophet, the danger to Israel became a reality when they perished from the land in 722 B.C. as a result of the Assyrian invasion.
The threat of missing rainfall is given a new use in Zechariah. In describing the age to come and the conditions following the second coming of Christ, the prophet declared: “If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, they will have no rain” (Zech. 14:17).
B. Gerizim and Ebal (11:29)
These twin mountains of blessing and cursing lay on Palestine's central mountain ridge. Both mountains are about three thousand feet in height, and the area between them forms a natural amphitheater. Joshua would later gather the tribes to fulfill Moses' command to have the blessings and curses read to the nation. The area was rich in Hebrew history.
This area near the little village of Shechem was the first stop Abraham made inside Palestine, and the place where the land first became promised: “Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The LORD appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’ So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him” (Gen. 12:6-7).
In addition, Jacob lived in the area around the two mountains for a time. The patriarch bought a piece of property adjacent to the town of Shechem and built an altar there (Gen. 33:19-20). He also apparently dug a well, the same one used by Jesus centuries later (John 4:6). Even as they came to the edge of the promised land, the people of Israel were bearing Joseph's bones, dug up in order to be carried back to the land at his own request (Gen. 50:25; cp. Exod. 13:19; Heb. 11:22). They would be buried in the same plot of ground that Jacob had bought near Shechem.
A. INTRODUCTION
C. CONCLUSION: STORING REAL TREASURE
