Deeper Commentary
Deu 11:1 Therefore you must love Yahweh your God and keep His
instructions, His statutes, His ordinances and His commandments always-
Yahweh was to be loved with all the heart, soul and mind (Dt. 6:5).
This is understood by Joshua as meaning that those who loved Yahweh would
not "mix with" and intermarry with the nations and accept their gods
(Josh. 23:11,12,16). "Love" for God was not therefore a feeling; Joshua
said that they must "take good heed therefore to yourselves, that you love
Yahweh" (Josh. 23:11). This is the love of conscious direction of the
mind, the love which is a choice rather than an emotion.
Some time, read through the book of Deuteronomy in one or two sessions. You'll see many themes of Moses in Deuteronomy. It really shows how Moses felt towards Israel, and how the Lord Jesus feels towards us, and especially how he felt towards us just before his death. For this is what the whole book prefigures. "Love" and the idea of love occurs far more in Deuteronomy than in the other books of the Law. "Fear the Lord your God" of Ex. 9:30; Lev. 19:14,32; 25:17 becomes "love the Lord your God" in Deuteronomy (Dt. 6:5; 7:9; 10:12; 11:1; 19:9; 30:6,16,20). There are 23 references to not hating in Deuteronomy, compared to only 5 in Ex. - Num.; Moses saw the danger of bitterness and lack of love. He saw these things as the spiritual cancer they are, in his time of maturity he warned his beloved people against them. His mind was full of them. The LXX uses the word ekklesia eight times in Deuteronomy, but not once in Moses' other words (Dt. 4:10; 9:10; 18:16; 23:1,2,3,8; 32:1). Responsibility for the whole family God had redeemed was a mark of Moses; maturity at the end of his life, at the time of Deuteronomy. It is observable that both as a community and as individuals, this will be a sign of our maturity too.
Throughout the Law of Moses, the unity of Israel was
emphasized. But that unity was not predicated upon any statement of faith,
and the history of Israel has no example of the faithful minority removing
themselves from association or “fellowship” with the majority, who clearly
were unfaithful in both theology and practice. Moses in his last great
speech as recorded in Deuteronomy seems to have purposefully confused his
use of "you" plural [AV “ye”] and "you" singular [AV “thee”] in addressing
them; as if to show that they, the many, were also one body (e.g. Dt.
10:12-22; 11:1,2).
Deu 11:2 Know this day - for I don’t speak with your children who have not
known, and who have not seen the chastisement of Yahweh your God - His
greatness, His mighty hand and His outstretched arm-
The might of Yahweh's hand was shown through His grace in as it were
forcing Israel out of Egypt, when they actually wanted to remain there and
He wished to destroy them (Ez. 20:8). They were idolatrous and had told
Moses to leave them alone and let them serve the Egyptians. Yahweh's
strength therefore refers to the power of His grace in continuing His
program with them.
Moses was to stretch forth his hand to cause the waters of the Red Sea to part and return, not his rod; because he was manifesting the hand of Yahweh which was to deliver Israel (s.w. Ex. 7:5). The repeated references to the stretched our arm or hand of Yahweh to save His people invite us to recall this incident, and to perceive that Yahweh's hand had been manifest through the hand of Moses (Dt. 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 11:2; 26:8). That stretched out, saving arm and hand of Yahweh was and is stretched out still, to save His people (1 Kings 8:42; Ez. 20:34; Dan. 9:15 "as at this day") and bring about a new creation in human lives (Is. 45:12). For the deliverance through the Red Sea is intended to be experienced by all God's people, and is now seen through His saving grace at baptism (1 Cor. 10:1,2). What happened there was but the beginning of the work of God's outstretched arm (Dt. 3:24). Yet the stretched out arm / hand of God is also a figure for His judgment (1 Chron. 21:16; Is. 9:12; 10:4). His hand is at work in our lives- either to our condemnation or our salvation. And it is for us therefore to humble ourselves beneath that mighty hand (1 Pet. 5:6).
Deu 11:3 His signs and His works, which He did in the midst of Egypt to
Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land-
It is stressed that Israel were taken out from the "midst of Egypt"
(Dt. 4:34; 1 Kings 8:51). The plagues and wonders were done in "the midst
of Egypt" (Ex. 3:20; Dt. 11:3). The midst of Egypt appears to be defined
in Ps. 135:9; Is. 19:3; Ez. 29:3 as being Pharaoh and his servants. The
narrative therefore stresses so much his response to the plagues. God's
especial focus had been upon his conversion, and yet he refused. Israel
were taken out right from under his nose, from the very heart of Egypt.
Ez. 20:8 reveals what is not recorded in the historical record; that
because the Israelites were so devoted to Egyptian idolatry still, His
thought had been to destroy them "in the midst of the land of Egypt" (Ez.
20:8). But God's pole of grace overcame the pole of necessary judgment. He
tolerated them and saved them, with enthusiasm, by the grace which comes
from love- love taken to its ultimate, saving term. The whole narrative
speaks as if the Hebrews were all at one place at one time and left "the
midst of Egypt" together. Although unrecorded in the historical narrative,
this would have meant that they gathered together "in the midst of Egypt"
with Moses, who was not in Goshen but in the locality and presence of
Pharaoh.
Deu 11:4 and what He did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and to
their chariots; how He made the water of the Red Sea overflow them as they
pursued after you-
But they were cast into the sea by God (Ex. 15:21). We see here how God
confirms people in the desires of their heart, for both good and bad.
And how Yahweh has destroyed them to this day-
Although the pursuit of Israel by the Egyptians was a historical act at
a specific time, caused by God's direct action upon the hearts of the
Egyptians (Ex. 14:8), the pursuit and their destruction is described as
ongoing "to this day" (Dt. 11:4). God's word and His actions according to
that word are somehow alive to this day. This is the unique nature of
Biblical history. All the incidents within it speak to us of later
generations. And so in Josh. 24;6 and often, Israel are bidden understand
their history as speaking directly to them, to perceive God's grace to
them in history, and respond now.
We are to understand each victory and achievement of God as somehow ongoing right down to our own day and our own lives and experience. This is what makes the Bible a living word for us. This explains why David repeatedly refers to the miracle at the Red Sea as if this had affected him personally, to the extent that he could ecstatically rejoice because of it. Thus Ps. 114:5,6 RV describes the Red Sea as even now fleeing before God’s people. And thus because of the records of God's past activities, we should be motivated in our decisions now.
It is in this sense that the punishment for sin is ‘everlasting’, in
that there will be no end to their death. To remain dead for ever is an
everlasting punishment. An example of the Bible using this kind of
expression is found in Dt. 11:4. This describes God’s one-off destruction
of Pharaoh’s army in the Red Sea as an eternal, on-going destruction in
that this actual army never again troubled Israel: “He made the waters of
the Red sea overflow them... the Lord has destroyed them to this day”.
Deu 11:5 and what He did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this
place-
The reference may be to the manna, which they received until they
came to Canaan; or to the leadership of the Angel in the pillar of fire
and cloud.
Deu 11:6 and what He did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son
of Reuben, how the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their
households and their tents and every living thing that followed them in
the midst of all Israel-
We note the Korah isn't mentioned, although he was the ringleader of
the rebellion (Jude 11). The point here is that those who followed wicked
men were punished. And that remains the abiding lesson. The earth is
likened to a monster swallowing up people.
A case could be made that the
whole record of Israel’s rejection from entering the land of Canaan is
framed to adduce a reason for this as the fact they chose to believe that
the land was inhabited by an evil dragon who would consume them there.
This was a slander of the good land, and the whole point was that if they
had believed in the power of God, then
whatever
‘adversary’ was in the land, in whatever form, was ultimately of no real
power (Num. 13:32; 14:36; Dt. 1:25). And yet it was not God’s way to
specifically tell the people that there was no such dragon lurking in the
land of Canaan – instead He worked with them according to their fears, by
making the earth literally open and swallow up the apostate amongst them
(Num. 16:30) – emphasizing that by doing this,
He was
doing “a new thing”, something that had never been done before – for there
was no dragon lurking in any land able to swallow up people. And
throughout the prophets it is emphasized that
God and
not any dragon swallowed up people – “The Lord [and not any dragon] was as
an enemy; He
has swallowed up Israel” (Lam. 2:5 and frequently in the prophets). The
people of Israel who left Egypt actually failed to inherit Canaan because
they believed that it was a land who swallowed up the inhabitants of the
land (Num. 13:32), relating this to the presence of giants in the land
(Num. 13:33). As Joshua and Caleb pleaded with them, they needed to
believe that whatever myths there were going around, God was greater than
whatever mythical beast was there. And because they would not believe
that, they failed to enter the land, which in type symbolized those who
fail to attain that great salvation which God has prepared.
Deu 11:7 Your eyes have seen all the great work of Yahweh which He did-
Because God saved them from Egypt by grace [cp. baptism- 1
Cor. 10:1,2], with they themselves so spiritually weak at the time, still
taking idols of Egypt through the Red Sea with them- therefore they were
to keep the law (Dt. 11:7,8). Because God gave them the land of Canaan, a
land for which they did not labour, didn't do any 'work' to receive, but
were given because "You did a favour unto them" (Ps. 44:3)- therefore
they were to keep the law (Dt. 26:15,16; 29:8,9; Josh. 23:5,6). David
said that he loved keeping the law because God's testimony to him
was so miraculous (Ps. 119:129 Heb.). There is an awesomeness to God's grace
in all this. Hence the paradox of Ex. 20:20: "Fear not... that the fear of
God may be before your faces". We are not to fear Him, for such perfect love
casts out fear... yet it is exactly because of the wonder of all this that
we live life in some fear / awe of misusing and abusing that grace.
Deu 11:8 Therefore you must keep all the commandment which I command you
this day, that you may be strong and go in and possess the land where you
go over to possess it-
See on Dt. 31:9; Josh. 1:6. Joshua [cp. Jesus] is repeatedly made
parallel with Israel [cp. Us]; his victories were theirs; what he achieved
is counted to them. In the same way, the people of the Lord Jesus are
counted as Him. Joshua was to be strong and possess the land (Josh. 1:6),
just as they had been told to do, using the same Hebrew words (Dt. 11:8).
Indeed, Israel and Joshua are given parallel charges, to be strong and of
good courage to take the land (Dt. 31:6,7). Both Israel and Joshua are
given the same charge to keep the words of the covenant, that they might
“prosper” (Dt. 29:9; Josh. 1:7).
Deu 11:9 and that you may prolong your days in the land which Yahweh swore
to your fathers to give to them and to their seed-
For "prolong your days", see on :21.
A land flowing with
milk and honey-
Israel came to describe the Egypt they had been called out from as
the land flowing with milk and honey (Num. 16:12), and denied that the
Kingdom was in fact like that. And so we have the same tendency to be
deceived into thinking that the kingdoms of this world, the world around
us, is effectively the Kingdom of God, the only thing worth striving
after.
Deu 11:10 For the land where you go in to possess it isn’t as the land of
Egypt that you came out from, where you sowed your seed and watered it
with your foot, as a garden of herbs-
Our separation from this world isn’t merely negative. We are
separated from the world
["come out from"] so that we might be separated
unto the things of God ["you go in"]. These two ideas are found together in the Hebrew word for
‘holiness’.
Egypt had little rainfall, and water was supplied from the flooding of
the Nile being distributed by a series of foot pumps. But Canaan would
have its own rainfall. The Biblical record is consistently credible. Hence
the punishment of Judah was to become like a garden of herbs which had no
water (Is. 1:30). Unfaithful Israel entered the land, still clutching the
idols of Egypt, and received blessings for obedience. This was by grace
alone. But they failed to respond to that grace.
Deu 11:11 but the land you go over to possess is a land of hills and
valleys which drinks water of the rain of the sky-
The people were often reminded that they were about to “go over
[Jordan] to possess” the land, as if they were on the banks of Jordan
almost.
Deu 11:12 a land which Yahweh your God cares for-
Yahweh cared for / sought after the land and Kingdom He had promised
Israel (Dt. 11:12). The same word is used of how His people were to seek
Him, to care for the things of His Kingdom above all else (Dt. 12:5).
There thus develops a mutuality between God and man.
The eyes of Yahweh your
God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the
year-
Under Michael's control (see on Dan. 12:1) there are many other
Angels ["the eyes of Yahweh"] similarly dedicated to the affairs of the people of Israel. Does
the phrase "Yahweh your God" here refer to the Angel which led them through
the wilderness? The Angel Michael? Remember Moses was speaking to
the people of Israel at this time, and they very much conceived of the
"Yahweh your God" in terms of the Angel of the presence going with them.
Thus God was promising that His Angels would physically be present in the
land and would be especially sensitive to the events there.
The Biblical record seems to very frequently seek to deconstruct
popular ideas about sin and evil. One of the most widespread notions was
the "evil eye", whereby it was believed that some people had an "evil eye"
which could bring distress into the eyes of those upon whom they looked in
jealousy or anger. This concept is alive and well in many areas to this
day. The idea entered Judaism very strongly after the Babylonian
captivity; the Babylonian Talmud is full of references to it. The sage Rav
attributed many illnesses to the evil eye, and the Talmud even claimed
that 99 out of 100 people died prematurely from this (Bava Metzia 107b).
The Biblical deconstruction of this is through stressing that God's
eye is all powerful in the destiny of His people (Dt. 11:12; Ps. 33:18);
and that "an evil eye" refers to an internal attitude of mean
spiritedness within people- e.g. an "evil eye" is understood as
an ungenerous spirit in Dt. 15:9; Mt. 6:23; 20:15; or pure selfishness in
Dt. 28:54,56; Prov. 23:6; 28:22. We must remember that the people of
Biblical times understood an "evil eye" as an external ability to
look at someone and bring curses upon them. But the Bible redefines an
"evil eye" as a purely internal attitude; and cosmic evil, even
if it were to exist, need hold no fear for us- seeing the eyes of the only
true God are running around the earth for us and not against us
(2 Chron. 16:9).
Deu 11:13 If you will listen diligently to my commandments which I command
you this day, to love Yahweh your God, and to serve Him with all your
heart and with all your soul-
See on Dt. 7:4. As Moses very intensely manifested God to the people, so he
foreshadowed the supreme manifestation of the Father in the Son. The
commands of Moses were those of God (Dt. 7:11; 11:13,18; and 12:32
concerning Moses' words is quoted in Rev. 22:18,19 concerning God's
words); his voice was God's voice (Dt. 13;18; 15:5; 28:1), as with Christ.
Israel were to show their love of God by keeping Moses' commands (Dt.
11:13); as the new Israel do in their response to the word of Christ.
Indeed, the well known prophecy that God would raise up a prophet "like
unto" Moses to whom Israel would listen (Dt. 18:18) is in the context of Israel saying they did not want to hear God's voice directly. Therefore God said that he would raise up Christ, who would be another Moses in the sense that he too would speak forth God's word.
Deu 11:14 I will give the rain of your land in its season, the former rain
and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine and
your oil-
But these blessings were given anyway, despite their disobedience;
when they were conditional upon their careful obedience to God's laws
(:13; Hos. 6:3). We see here God's grace, and overpowering desire to give
His people His Kingdom. And in our low moments of faith in His grace we
can remember this. Israel were rebuked for failing to thank God for the
former and latter rains, which were given despite their spiritual weakness
(Jer. 5:24).
Moses is one of greatest types of the Lord Jesus, in whom the Father
was supremely manifested. Because of this, it is fitting that we should
see a very high level of God manifestation in Moses. Indeed it seems that
God was manifest in Moses to a greater degree than in any other Old
Testament character. Therefore the pronouns often change (in Deuteronomy
especially), showing a confusion between the voice of God and that of
Moses. Dt. 7:4 is an example: “They will turn away thy son from following
me (this is Moses speaking for God)... so will the anger of the Lord be
kindled against you”. Thus Moses’ comments on God’s words are mixed up
with the words of God Himself. There are other examples of this in Dt.
7:11; 29:1,10,14,15 (“I” cp. “us”). Consider especially Dt. 11:13,14: “If
ye shall diligently hearken unto my commandments which I command you this
day, to love the Lord... that I will give you the rain of your land... I
will send grass in thy fields”. The “I” here switches at ease between God
and Moses. The Moses/God pronouns are also mixed in Rom. 10:19.
Deu 11:15 I will give grass in your fields for your livestock and you
shall eat and be full-
Israel were given manna in the wilderness, and they ate it and were
full (Ex. 16:8,12). But they were promised that in the promised land of
the Kingdom, they would likewise eat and be full, again from blessing
given by God (s.w. Dt. 8:10; 11:15; 14:29; 26:12; 31:20). After our Red
Sea baptism, we are now in the wilderness; but by feeding on the manna,
the word of God in the Lord Jesus, we have a foretaste of the Kingdom
experience. But the curse for disobedience was that they would eat and not
be full / satisfied (Lev. 26:26).
Deu 11:16 Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived and you
turn aside, and serve other gods and worship them-
There are so many other examples of Moses showing his recognition of
exactly
how
Israel were likely to be tempted (Dt. 6:11-13; 8:11-20; 9:4; 11:16;
12:13,19,23,30; 13:1-4; 14:27; 15:9,18; 17:11,12 ("will"),14,16,17; 21:18;
22:1-4,18; 23:21; 25:8). See on Dt. 7:16. We can take comfort in God’s
sensitivity to us in an age unlike any other and apparently with its own
unprecedented temptations.
Paul warned the new Israel that after his death ("after my departing", Acts 20:29) there would be serious apostasy. This is the spirit of his very last words, in 2 Tim. 4. it is exactly the spirit of Moses' farewell speech throughout the book of Deuteronomy, and throughout his final song (Dt. 32) and Dt. 31:29: "After my death you will utterly corrupt yourselves". Paul's "Take heed therefore unto yourselves" (Acts 20:28) is quoted from many places in Deuteronomy (e.g. Dt. 2:4; 4:9,15,23; 11:16; 12:13,19,30; 24:8; 27:9).
We note the continual emphasis upon the heart. This was unique amongst contemporary religions, which [as today] were all about external appearance rather than the internal transformation of the spirit / mind. The worship of other gods was rightly defined as a self deception deep within the heart.
Deu 11:17 and the anger of Yahweh be kindled against you-
If God's wrath burns hot against people, it means death for them
(s.w. Ex. 22:24; Num. 11:1,33; 22:22; 25:3; Dt. 6:15; 31:17). But Moses
averted this at the time of Ex. 32:10 by his intercession. He does so
because God's wrath had burned hot against him personally (Ex. 4:14 s.w.),
but he had been saved from death by grace. And so he reflects this in
appealing for he salvation of others, against whom God's wrath burned hot
(Ex. 32:10.11). But Moses at the end of his life warns them not to make
God's wrath burn hot against them again- because he will not be around to
intercede for them (Dt. 6:15; 7:4; 11:17).
And He shut up
the sky, so that there shall be no rain, and the land shall not yield its
fruit and you perish quickly-
Dt. 11:17 had said that God's people would "perish [s.w. "destroy"]
quickly from off the good land". But by grace, that didn't happen
"quickly" at all. They were finally destroyed from off it (2 Kings 24:2
and often), but God did not bring that about quickly but after much
patient pleading through the prophets. This is one of so many examples of
where God simply did not punish His people to the extent He said He would;
simply because of His grace and love toward them.
From off the good land which Yahweh gives
you-
Deu 11:18 Therefore you must lay up these my words in your heart and in
your soul, and you shall bind them for a sign on your hand and they shall
be for memorials between your eyes-
As taught in Dt. 6:6, the essence was that "These words which I
command you this day shall be on your heart". The heart refers to the
mind, the brain, if you will; and we could understand this as meaning that
this was to be externally memorialized by binding them between the eyes.
This is how orthodox Judaism understands it. But I suggest that the
memorial was essentially in the heart, and this is just another way of
speaking about the wholeness of internal and external devotion to God's
words. Whatever is done externally with the hand, whatever is thought
about in our mind between our eyes, is to be dominated by our awareness of
God's laws. We fail to read in later scripture any mention of literally
making boxes containing God's law and wearing them. The Passover
deliverance was likewise to be a "frontlet" (s.w. "memorial") between the
eyes and upon the hand (Ex. 13:16); but not in any literal sense. They
were to be ever mentally aware of their great salvation, and live
accordingly.
Contemporary ideas about Satan, demons etc. are often alluded to in
the Pentateuch, and Israel
are given the true understanding. Wearing a phylactery wasn't a
new concept; the idea "refers to amulets which were worn in order to
protect their wearers against demons". So by giving this command, Israel's
God was showing His people that instead of being on the defensive
against demons, needing good luck charms against them, they should instead
replace these by a positive remembrance of God's words in their hearts and
actions.
Rejoicing in His salvation and constantly remembering it was intended to
totally sideline the various false beliefs about demons which were
prevalent at the time.
Deu 11:19 You must teach them to your children, talking of them
when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, when you lie down
and when you rise up-
The latter day repentant remnant will be characterized by talking to
each other of spiritual things (Mal. 3:16 cp. Dan. 12:2), especially of
the law (Mal. 3:7). But we are to do this now in our day of opportunity,
and not be forced to it by tribulation. The priests were the official
teachers of Israel, but it was ever God's intention that all Israel should
be priests. All under the new covenant are declared priests (1 Pet. 2:5).
All Israel were to be teaching each other (Jer. 31:34), especially their
children- not leaving it to others, nor over relying upon a priesthood or
spiritual eldership to teach their children. This is a myth inadvertently
created by the Sunday School movement, excellent and commendable as that
movement is- that a child is sent to "Sunday School" and there learns
God's ways. The real teaching is done sitting in the house and walking by
the way, and not by specialist teachers. The specific reference to
teaching when you lie down and rise up could suggest that God specifically
intended His people to teach their children, every morning and every
evening. This is the essence of family life in the Lord.
Deu 11:20 Write them on the door posts of your house and on your gates-
Writing God's laws on door posts recalls the daubing of Passover lamb
blood on the door posts. Indeed at Passover time, the faithful Israelite
would have painted over the laws of Moses with the blood of the Passover
lamb. This was looking ahead to how those laws were to be blotted out by
the Lord's sacrifice. It was perhaps also to remind them that the blood of
the Passover lamb, shed for their salvation, was an imperative to their
obedience to God's laws. And again we see contemporary religious ideas
deconstructed; for "It was the custom of the ancient Egyptians to inscribe
on lintels and door-posts sentences of good omen". Such good luck charms
were to be replaced with realistic practical calls for obedience in real
life; for this was the basis of Divine blessing, and not good luck charms.
Deu 11:21 that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children,
in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers to give them-
Does "prolong your days" mean that long life promised to the obedient Israelite under the Old Covenant? Solomon observed that a just mad perished young and "a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness" (Ecc. 7:15). Ez. 12:22 suggests that faithless Israel cynically observed that "The days are prolonged" and God's prophetic word of condemnation had failed- implying they thought that prolonged days were being experienced by them despite their disobedience. The Hebrew phrase 'to prolong days' is found in Is. 53:10, where it is applied to how Messiah would 'prolong His days' not in this life, but in the resurrection. The repeated promises recorded in Deuteronomy of prolonged days upon the land of Israel would therefore hint at the eternity of the Kingdom rather than this life. Indeed, Dt. 4:40 says they would prolong their days "for ever". For an individual Israelite might be faithful but not prolong his or her days in the land because the whole people were to be carried away captive for their sins and the land given to a Gentile power. The opposite of 'days being prolonged' was 'utter destruction' (:26)- which would then speak of condemnation in the second death. This is one of many examples of where eternal life was possible under the Old Covenant- there were multiple different possibilities and plans God could have worked by. Israel could have accepted the Lord Jesus as their Messiah and not killed Him, and so forth. It seems the closer we probe God's word, the more open He is revealed as being.
As the days
of the heavens upon the earth-
This is the essence of the New Testament idea of the “Kingdom of
Heaven” [not, the Kingdom in
Heaven] coming upon earth at Christ’s return.
Deu 11:22 For if you will diligently keep all these commandments which I
command you, to do them, to love Yahweh your God, to walk in all His ways
and to cleave to Him-
The idea of 'cleaving' to God is a big theme of Moses in Deuteronomy
(Dt. 4:4; 10:20; 11:22; 13:4,17; 28:21,60; 30:20); the only other time
Moses uses the word in his writings is in Gen. 2:24, concerning a man
cleaving to his wife. Moses seems to have been suggesting to Israel that
their covenant relationship with God meant they were
marrying God. This was a real
paradigm breaker. We may be used to such things. But against the
theological background of the time, not to say the generally low level of
spirituality among Israel, this was a shocking idea. It reflected the
heights to which Moses had risen.
“If you love me you will
keep my commandments” (Jn. 14:15,21,23; 15:10) reflects a major identical
theme in Dt. 5:10; 7:9; 11:1,22; 13:3,4; 19:9; 30:16.
Moses at the end of his life, when he spoke Deuteronomy, was very much the
image of the future Lord Jesus.
Deu 11:23 then will Yahweh drive out all these nations from before you and
you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves-
Dt. 11:23,24 seem to imply that after God had driven out the seven
nations which lived in Canaan, He planned- given Israel's obedience- to
drive out yet greater nations from before them. I can only take that as
meaning that His intention was to drive out the nations who possessed the
rest of the land promised to Abraham, right over to the Euphrates. I see
here a promise of ultimate victory against Babylon and Assyria, who
controlled the Euphrates area. But the very opposite happened- even though
potentially, those nations need never have developed and their empires
were intended to be Israel's. These potential victories were to be because
all the land Israel trod upon [Heb. 'to bend the bow against'], they would
receive (Dt. 11:25). But they weren't ambitious enough to go much beyond
their farmsteads. We too will be given all we tread upon, all we desire to
inherit of God's Kingdom, if we go forward in faith. It's all potentially
possible, if we bend our bow with ambition, we will receive are
furthermost dreams and beyond. This line of thought inevitably connects
with the incident where Elisha sees the shooting of arrows as a symbol of
how far God would give Israel deliverance from Syria (2 Kings 13:17).
"Drive out" is s.w. "possess". We must note the difference between the
Canaanite peoples and their kings being "struck" and their land "taken" by
Joshua-Jesus; and the people of Israel permanently taking possession. This
is the difference between the Lord's victory on the cross, and our taking
possession of the Kingdom. Even though that possession has been "given" to
us. The word used for "possession" is literally 'an inheritance'. The
allusion is to the people, like us, being the seed of Abraham. The Kingdom
was and is our possession, our inheritance- if we walk in the steps of
Abraham. But it is one thing to be the seed of Abraham, another to take
possession of the inheritance; and Israel generally did not take
possession of all the land (Josh.
11:23 13:1; 16:10; 18:3; 23:4). The language of inheritance / possession
is applied to us in the New Testament (Eph. 1:11,14; Col. 3:24; Acts
20:32; 26:18; 1 Pet. 1:4 etc.). Israel were promised: "You shall possess
it" (Dt. 30:5; 33:23). This was more of a command than a prophecy, for
sadly they were "given" the land but did not "possess" it. They were
constantly encouraged in the wilderness that they were on the path to
possessing the land (Dt. 30:16,18; 31:3,13; 32:47), but when they got
there they didn't possess it fully.
The Hebrew word translated as "thousand" can mean a family, or some other administrative division. Many of the 'number problems' in the Hebrew Bible are only really resoluble using this approach. And that may be in view in the census of Israel taken in Num. 1, and in the statement that six hundred 'thousands' of footmen left Egypt (Ex. 12:37). The census of Num. 1 gives figures such as those in Num. 1:21 for Reuben, which could be rendered: "forty six families ['thousands'] and five hundred (men)". Although a "hundred" might also refer to an administrative division. The total in Num. 1 would then be 598 families with a total of 5550 men. The sum given in the second census in Num. 26 comes out as roughly the same, with 596 families amounting to 5730 men. On this basis, the total population (including women and children) would be anything between 20,000 to 40,000. This would enable us to make better sense of the statements that Israel were the smallest numerically of all the surrounding peoples (Dt. 7:1,7; 11:23; 20:1). If we insist upon taking "thousand" literally in Ex. 12:37, then 600,000 male foot soldiers would imply a total population of between two and six million. The population density would have been intense, and far greater than that of many modern nations. Estimates of global population at the time suggest it was only about 40 million, and the population of Egypt was a maximum of three million (probably far less). If the Israelites were smaller than the other nations, and they numbered say 5 million, then the total population of the seven peoples of Canaan would have been at least 40 million. The territory of Canaan could not have supported such numbers. Only 70 Israelites came into Egypt with Jacob. Expansion over 430 years to several million is not realistic. This approach helps us better understand how all the men of war marched around Jericho (Josh. 6:3). If there were literally 600,000 men then the city would have had to be many kilometers in circumference for them all to march around it seven times in one day. Archaeological evidence from Jericho simply doesn't support the idea of such a vast city. If Israel numbered say 5 million people, and recall there was also a "mixed multitude" with them, then if they marched 10 abreast this would require a column stretching around 1000 kilometers. Their promises to Edom and the Amorites to march only along a highway and not spill over it (Num. 20:17; 21:22) is unrealistic if they had such huge numbers. A figure of 600 family units leaving Egypt is more realistic; otherwise we start to wonder how ever all the Israelites, millions of them, came to be in one place at one time on Passover night.
Deu 11:24 Every place on which the sole of your foot shall tread shall be
yours, from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river Euphrates, to the
hinder sea shall be your border-
This meant that according to their spiritual ambition, so would be
their inheritance of the Kingdom. The temptation for them, as for us, was
to consider that once we have our small inheritance, our farmstead and
secure land, as it was for them- then we need have no wider vision. For to
go onwards from that parochial mentality and tread upon the entire land up
to the Euphrates was a vision only worth pursuing if they had a vision of
collective inheritance of the Kingdom. To seek to get others there is a
call which few really perceive. The entire territory promised to Abraham
could’ve been given to them if they had bothered to go there; but they
settled just for the fertile land along the Mediterranean coast. They,
like us so often, lacked any sense of spiritual ambition.
Deu 11:25 No man will 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 will
tread on, as He has spoken to you-
The command to subject the animals in Eden [the land promised to
Abraham?] corresponds to later commands to subject the tribes living in
the land (Gen. 1:28 = Num. 32:22,29; Josh. 18:1). The “fear and dread” of
humans which fell on the animals after the flood is clearly linkable with
the “fear and dread” which was to come upon the inhabitants of Canaan due
to the Israelites (Gen. 9:2 = Dt. 1:21;11:25).
Deu 11:26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse-
The blessing and curse are defined in Dt. 28, suggesting that all of
Deuteronomy was spoken on "this day"- the last day of Moses' life. The
implications of "this day" lead me to think that this is the reference,
although the blessing and cursings were pronounced on Ebal and Gerizim
some time later.
Deu 11:27 the blessing, if you will listen to the commandments of Yahweh
your God which I command you this day-
We can read this as meaning that the blessings of Dt. 28 were
conditional upon obedience. Israel were not obedient, from Sinai onwards,
as the prophets lament. But many of those blessings were still experienced
by Israel. So we conclude that this was by grace alone, and indeed the
idea of Abraham's seed being "blessed" is associated in the New Testament
with the blessing of grace. Again we note God's passionate desire to by
all means give His people His Kingdom. He wants to do this, it is the good
pleasure or will of God to give us the Kingdom. He is not indifferent to
our salvation, and wants us desperately to be in His Kingdom, as the
parable of the marriage supper also indicates. It concludes with pretty
much anyone willing to say "yes" being ushered in to the marriage supper.
The blessing of Yahweh would come if His commands were obeyed (Dt. 11:27); but in response, He would command that blessing (s.w. Dt. 28:8). His commandments were therefore effectively a commandment of blessing. They were designed for Israel's good and blessing, and not as a test of mindless obedience.
Deu 11:28 and the curse if you will not listen to the commandments of
Yahweh your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this
day, to go after other gods which you have not previously known-
Deu 11:29 When Yahweh your God brings you into the land where you go to
possess it, you shall set the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on
Mount Ebal-
God repeated the promise of blessing to Abraham at Shechem (Gen.
12:6), where later Israel had to choose between blessing and cursing (Dt.
11:29,30)- as if they had to make the choice to appropriate the promised
blessing to themselves, or not. And yet the covenant in Gen. 15 was one
way, unconditional, from God to us. It's as if His part in our
salvation is so much greater than our response.
Deu 11:30 Aren’t they beyond the Jordan, behind the way of the going down
of the sun, in the land of the Canaanites who dwell in the Arabah, over
against Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh?-
Dt. 27:2-8 had commanded that "in the day" Israel passed over Jordan,
they were to set up plastered stones with the law written upon them
[perhaps just the ten commandments], and put them "in mount Ebal". The
location was defined as near Gilgal (Dt. 11:30), where they camped after
entering the land. Clearly enough, the ceremony of blessing and cursing
ought to have been done immediately they entered the land. But they let
secular concerns dominate their spiritual obligation to be thankful as God
had asked. For when Joshua fulfilled it in Josh. 8:30, this was not "in
the day" that Israel passed over Jordan. They had indeed taken stones with
them from the Jordan, but had not used them as intended. They didn't
plaster them nor write the law upon them. And so perhaps God ammended His
intention- which was initially that they would set those stones up in
mount Ebal immediately. Instead, He sent the people against Jericho, and
then against Ai. Perhaps an instant conquest of Jericho had been
originally intended, so that they could proceed to mount Ebal immediately.
For later in Joshua we will read of God giving His people unnaturally
speedy progress against their enemies, all in the same day. Or maybe His
intention was that firstly they ought to have gone to mount Ebal with the
plastered stones, and only then attacked Jericho. But they didn't plaster
the stones nor wish to proceed immediately to Ebal. And so He arranged the
campaign against Jericho and then Ai. We see how God is so eager to
accommodate His programs to the weakness of men.
Deu 11:31 For you are to pass over the Jordan to go in to possess the land
which Yahweh your God gives you, and you shall possess it, and dwell
therein-
As noted above, possessing the land was conditional upon obedience.
But they weren't obedient, but by grace they possessed the land. Their
response to that grace was therefore to be that they kept the commandments
(:32). Such commandments as we have are likewise to be obeyed not in order
to be worthy of the Kingdom, but as a channel through which to express our
gratitude for having been given the Kingdom in prospect.
Deu 11:32 You shall observe all the statutes and the ordinances which I
set before you this day-
The Hebrew mishpat, "ordinances", has a wide range of meaning.
The idea is of judgment, as if God and His Angels gave these laws as their
considered judgment after considering the human condition, and Israel were
to abide by them. But the word also the idea of a right or privilege; and
that is how we should see God's laws. They are only felt as a burden
because of human hardness of neck towards God's ways. His laws are not of
themselves burdensome, but rather a privilege and blessing. The law was
indeed "holy, just and good" (Rom. 7:12), designed to inculcate a holy,
just and good life (Tit. 1:8), a way in which a man should "walk" in daily
life (Lev. 18:4), a culture of kindness and grace to others which
reflected God's grace to man. If we dwell upon the idea of "rights"
carried within the word mishpat, we note that the law begins in
Ex. 21:1,2 (also Dt. 15:12-18) with the rights of a slave- those
considered to have no rights in the society of that day. The "rights" to
be afforded by us to others are the essence of God's rightness / justice.
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