CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
Deuteronomy 11
Chapter 11 of 34
Chapter Overview
What happens in Deuteronomy 11
Moses calls Israel to love God and obey his commands, reminding them of the mighty things God did in Egypt and the wilderness. He sets before them a choice: blessing for obedience or curse for disobedience.
Scripture
Deuteronomy 11
Remember God's Great Acts
Study note
Moses reminded the people that they -- not their children -- had personally witnessed God's mighty acts: the plagues in Egypt, the drowning of Pharaoh's army in the Red Sea, God's care in the wilderness, and the judgment on Dathan and Abiram when the earth swallowed them.
1 "So love the Lord your God and always do what he requires -- follow his rules, his laws, and his commands. Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway.
2 Keep in mind that I speak to you, not your children. Your children did not see the Lord your God's training. They did not see his greatness or his mighty hand and strong arm. 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 They did not witness the signs and miracles he did in Egypt against Pharaoh and his whole country, 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 They did not see what he did to the Egyptian army. They did not see the horses and chariots. He drowned them in the Red Sea as they chased you. The Lord wiped them out for good. 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 They did not see what he did for you in the wilderness on the way to this place, And what he did unto you in the wilderness, until ye came into this place;
6 or what happened to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab from the tribe of Reuben. The ground split open and swallowed them whole -- their families, their tents, and every living creature they owned -- there in front of everyone in Israel. 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 substance that was in their possession, in the midst of all Israel:
7 But you have watched all these mighty acts of the Lord with your very own eyes. But your eyes have seen all the great acts of the LORD which he did.
A Land That Depends on God
Study note
Unlike Egypt, where farmers irrigated with foot-powered water systems, the Promised Land depended on rain from heaven. This meant Israel would need to trust God for their crops. It was a land God himself cared for, watching over it from the beginning of the year to its end.
8 "So follow every command I am giving you today. This will give you the strength to cross over and claim the land you are about to enter. 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 You will also live a long life in the land the Lord promised to give your ancestors and their children. It is a land flowing with milk and honey. 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 "The land you are about to enter is nothing like Egypt, where you came from. Back there you had to plant seeds and then haul water to your crops by hand, like watering a vegetable garden. 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 you are crossing the Jordan to take is covered with hills and valleys that soak up rain straight from the sky. 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 The Lord your God personally watches over this land. His eyes are on it every day, from January to December. 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.
Blessings and Warnings
Study note
If Israel loved God and served him wholeheartedly, he would send rain in its season and give them abundant crops. But if they turned to other gods, God would shut the heavens and the land would produce nothing. Moses told them to write God's words on their hearts, teach them to their children, and bind them on their hands and foreheads.
13 "So if you obey the commands I am giving you today -- loving the Lord your God and serving him with all your heart and soul -- 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 then I will send rain to your land right when it is needed. Rain will come in the fall and in the spring, so you can bring in your grain, wine, and olive oil. 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 I will make grass grow in the fields for your cattle, and you will always have enough to eat. And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full.
16 "Watch yourselves! Do not let your hearts be lured into worshipping and serving other gods. Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
17 If that happens, the Lord's fury will burn against you. He will seal up the sky so no rain falls, the ground will stop producing crops, and you will quickly die off in the excellent land the Lord is giving you. 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 "Burn these words of mine into your heart and your very being. Tie them as reminders on your hands and wear them on your foreheads. 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 Pass them on to your children. Discuss them when you are home and when you are out and about, when you are lying down at night and when you get up in the morning. 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 Write them on the frames of your doorways and on your gates. And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates:
21 Do all this, and you and your children will enjoy the land for as long as the sky hangs over the earth. This is the very land the Lord promised to your ancestors. 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 "Follow every command I give you with care. Love the Lord your God. Walk just as he leads. Stay close to him. 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 the Lord will clear all these nations out of your path. You will displace nations bigger and stronger than yourselves. Then will the LORD drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves.
24 Every piece of ground your feet touch will belong to you. Your borders will stretch from the southern wilderness to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. 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 Nobody will be able to hold their ground against you. The Lord your God will make everyone everywhere terrified of you, exactly as he promised. 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.
Blessing and Curse on Two Mountains
Study note
Moses set before Israel a clear choice: blessing for obedience or curse for disobedience. When they entered the land, they were to pronounce the blessing from Mount Gerizim and the curse from Mount Ebal. These two mountains face each other near Shechem in central Canaan.
26 "Pay attention -- today I am placing two options in front of you: a blessing and a curse. Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse;
27 The blessing comes if you follow the commands of the Lord your God that I am sharing with you today. A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day:
28 The curse comes if you disobey the Lord your God's commands. It comes if you turn off the road I am showing you and run after other gods you have never known. 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 The Lord your God will lead you into the land you are about to take. Then you must speak the blessing from Mount Gerizim. Speak the curse from Mount Ebal. 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 These two mountains are west of the Jordan. They are in Canaanite land in the Jordan Valley near Gilgal. They are next to the great trees at Moreh. 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 You are about to cross the Jordan and move into the land the Lord your God is handing over to you. Once you take possession and settle down, 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 Make sure you follow every rule and law I am giving you today." And ye shall observe to do all the statutes and judgments which I set before you this day.
Key Themes
Themes in Deuteronomy 11
Obedience opens the door to blessingThe Promised Land requires dependence on GodTeaching children through lived experienceThe choice between blessing and curse
Apply This Today
Living Deuteronomy 11
Unlike Egypt where irrigation was controlled by human effort, the Promised Land depended on rain from heaven. This forced Israel to look up and trust God for provision. The blessings and curses pronounced from Gerizim and Ebal made the choice vivid and tangible. Every day, we choose between the path of obedience and the path of self-reliance.
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