DEUTERONOMY LESSON 13
We will begin this lesson in Deuteronomy 11:1 "Therefore thou
shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes,
and his judgments, and his commandments, alway."
This is very similar to the last lesson. Perhaps, Moses is
repeating this to drive home the lesson of how important it is to obey
the LORD. They must first know who the LORD is, before they completely
turn their will over to the will of the LORD. It is their love for the
LORD that will cause them to keep His statutes, judgements, and
commandments.
Deuteronomy 11:2 "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,"
On this 40 year journey through the wilderness, the LORD had
revealed to them His love and His care for them, but He had, also,
been teaching them the importance of being faithful to Him. He had
shown them His great power, His greatness, and the works of His mighty
Right Hand continuously. Even the chastisement of them had been for
their learning process. Just as a mother spanks a child to teach it
not to run in the road, the Lord taught them what they were not to do.
The law taught them the things to observe. The chastisement taught
them what they were not to do.
Deuteronomy 11:3 "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;"
Some of the people had been born on the way to the promised land.
They were not in Egypt when God turned the water to blood, or when He
sent the plague of frogs, or when darkness filled the land. Moses is
repeating these miracles several times, and reminding them of these
things. The first few plagues that the LORD sent affected all of
Egypt. It even affected the Israelites. The last few plagues had no
affect on Israel. They just affected the Egyptians. The last one, of
course, killed all the firstborn of Egypt. All of these things were
for the benefit of the Israelites.
Deuteronomy 11:4 "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;"
In the last few lessons, we have spoken of the LORD opening the
Red Sea for the Israelites to walk over on dry land. This is speaking
of the destruction of the Egyptian army, their chariots, and their
horses, when the LORD let the water come back into the Red Sea and
drown them. God had held off the army of the Pharaoh, until all Israel
was passed over. When God removed His fire, and allowed the Egyptians
to pursue Israel into the Sea, He let the water go, and it drowned all
of them.
Deuteronomy 11:5 "And what he did unto you in the wilderness,
until ye came into this place;"
The manna that fed them, the water from the Rock that they drank,
and all of the other miraculous happenings must be remembered. He
even killed some of the people in the wilderness, when they disobeyed
Him, and turned to false gods.
Deuteronomy 11:6 "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
substance that [was] in their possession, in the midst of all Israel:"
They had led an uprising against Moses, Aaron, and the LORD. God
was swift in punishing them. They, and all they possessed were
swallowed into the pit. This was their families, their tents, and all
else they possessed.
Deuteronomy 11:7 "But your eyes have seen all the great acts of
the LORD which he did."
God has not kept these things secret from His people. He showed
them who He is, and what He is capable of doing in all of this. They
should fear and obey Him.
Deuteronomy 11:8 "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;"
Moses has given them a very good reason why they must do this. If
they are to go in and possess the land, they must have the power of
God within. God will cause them to be victorious, if they love and
obey Him.
Deuteronomy 11:9 "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."
The land will continue to be theirs, as long as they are faithful
to God. The LORD will fulfill His promise to their fathers, when they
receive the land. To keep the land will be their responsibility. The
land will be theirs, as long as they fear and obey the LORD.
Deuteronomy 11:10 "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:"
In Egypt, the only production of a crop they had was from their
own efforts. This land is a gift to them from God. The crops are
abundant, because of the blessings of God upon them.
Deuteronomy 11:11 "But the land, whither ye go to possess it,
[is] a land of hills and valleys, [and] drinketh water of the rain of
heaven:"
Egypt was a desert land that had to be artificially watered. The
land of promise is a land that God, Himself, waters. It is a green
fertile land. The flatlands of the desert had grudgingly grown
anything. This land is made up of hills and valleys.
Deuteronomy 11:12 "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."
This speaks of the special care of God for this land. God
actually dwelled in this land, in the temple in Jerusalem. It is a
place He has chosen above all the other lands of the world. It is
called the Holy Land, because of the presence of God, here. In the
Bible, everything is measured from Jerusalem {the city of God}. This
land is always in the view of God.
Deuteronomy 11:13 "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,"
The condition of God's covenant with them, is they must hearken
diligently unto His commandments. They must love the LORD more than
anything or anyone else, and serve Him from a pure heart.
Deuteronomy 11:14 "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."
This is the promise from God. God controls all the elements. He
controls the rain. He can send it to whom He wants to, as often as He
wants to. The rain is under the command of the LORD. Rain and sunshine
at the proper time bring abundant crops. There was an early harvest in
the spring, and a later harvest in the fall. To have a really good
year, both crops must produce. In other words, they can live, or die,
because of the rain. The former and the later rain is, sometimes,
speaking spiritually of the out pouring of the Spirit on man. There
was a former rain at Pentecost, and there will be an end time pouring
of the Spirit in abundance on all flesh.
Deuteronomy 11:15 "And I will send grass in thy fields for thy
cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full."
God will bless them with plenty to eat, if they follow Him. The
grass for the animals, in turn, feeds the people.
Deuteronomy 11:16 "Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be
not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship
them;"
They must determine in their hearts to stay faithful to their
LORD. It is so easy to be deceived, if they just let themselves get
the least bit slack. I Peter 1:13 "Wherefore gird up the loins of your
mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be
brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;" They must guard
their hearts, as you would a tremendously valuable treasure. The LORD
must remain uppermost in their hearts. False gods lead to destruction.
It is easy to be deceived.
Deuteronomy 11:17 "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."
Those who are deceived and follow after false gods, find the
LORD'S wrath upon them. The verse above, is the curse that comes, when
they follow false gods. The land will not produce for them, and the
land will be taken away from them.
Deuteronomy 11:18 "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."
This is just speaking of keeping God's Words ever before them.
The Word of God keeps a person from being deceived. We must hide His
Word in our hearts and minds to not be deceived. The Word of God
{Bible} should be in our hand. We must never be far away from our
Bible {God's Word}. It is the Word stamped into our hearts and minds
that keeps us believing the right thing.
Deuteronomy 11:19 "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."
All parents, not just these Israelites, should teach the Word of
God to their children. God's Word should be the subject of our
conversation. It should be read aloud to the family on a regular
basis. Diligent study of God's Word will keep you in His will. We
should not do this just for a few minutes of our day. It should be
part of our being.
Deuteronomy 11:20 "And thou shalt write them upon the door posts
of thine house, and upon thy gates:"
The Word of God on the gates is a constant reminder of God, when
they are going out or coming in.
Deuteronomy 11:21 "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."
This would bring about a peace that generally is only experienced
in heaven. The blessings of God would be so great, that it would be
like heaven here on the earth, if they did this.
Deuteronomy 11:22 "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;" Deuteronomy
11:23 "Then will the LORD drive out all these nations from before you,
and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves."
The word "diligently" speaks of them making a special effort upon
their part to keep God's commandments, primarily because of the great
love in their hearts for Him. To love Him so much that they want to
please Him, brings them great rewards. God will drive out their
enemies before them, and set them up instead. The nations living in
this land now are powerful, but God will remove them for Israel. All
He wants in return is their true love, and devotion, causing them to
obey His commandments.
Deuteronomy 11:24 "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."
These boundaries were set out in a previous lesson. We will not
deal with that here. When they stand upon the land of promise {by
faith}, it will be their possession. They must stand in faith to
receive it.
Deuteronomy 11:25 "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."
We just read that their enemies had larger and better armies,
than they did. Then, what makes them fear the Israelites? It is the
God of the Israelites they fear. The enemy has seen and heard how God
goes before them in battle. They are afraid of Israel's God.
Deuteronomy 11:26 "Behold, I set before you this day a blessing
and a curse;"
They can take whichever they choose. God will not overrule their
will. They must choose to follow Him and be blessed, or they will
automatically have chosen the curse.
Deuteronomy 11:27 "A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the
LORD your God, which I command you this day:"
The blessing from the LORD can be theirs, but they must choose
the blessings, by obeying His commandments.
Deuteronomy 11:28 "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."
To not obey, brings the curse. It is their own choice to make.
False gods cannot help anyone. They are nothing. The only thing they
can do, is bring a curse upon you from the True God.
Deuteronomy 11:29 "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."
Mount Gerizim sits on one side of a valley, and mount Ebal sits
on the other. Shechem was in the valley between them. Ebal was,
probably, used as the mountain of the curse, because it had nothing
growing on it. Gerizim was a fertile land with much growth. The two
mountains symbolized life {Gerizim} and death {Ebal}. It is their
choice to have life, or death.
Deuteronomy 11:30 "[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?"
The promised land lay on the west side of the Jordan River. This
is explaining that the sun comes up in the east. The land of Canaan
was on the west side of the Jordan.
Deuteronomy 11:31 "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."
We remember, the actual promised land will be inhabited of 9 1/2
of the tribes. Reuben, Gad, and the 1/2 tribe of Manasseh will possess
land on the east of the Jordan. The promised land, itself, lies on the
western side of the Jordan.
Deuteronomy 11:32 "And ye shall observe to do all the statutes
and judgments which I set before you this day."
We have studied in this lesson, that their possesion of the land
is dependent upon their faithfulness to God. They must fear Him and
keep His commandments, to be blessed with the land. The message was
given to them as a remembrance of God's law by Moses.
Deuteronomy 13 Questions
1. Quote Deuteronomy chapter 11 verse 1.
2. Why does the author believe Moses is repeating this?
3. What will cause them to keep His statutes, judgements, and
commandments?
4. What was the purpose of the 40 year journey?
5. What had His chastisement of them been for?
6. What were some of the things God had done in Egypt, to get the
release of Israel?
7. Who was affected by the plagues?
8. What was the tenth, or last, plague on Egypt?
9. What did the Lord do to the army of Egypt?
10. How had they been fed in the wilderness?
11. What was the sin of Abiram and Dathan?
12. What was their punishment?
13. What must they have within, to possess the land?
14. How long will the land be theirs?
15. How were they assured of a crop to eat in Egypt?
16. How did this land differ from Egypt?
17. What is verse 12 speaking of?
18. The conditions of God's covenant with them were what?
19. What special promise was made to them in verse 14?
20. _______ and __________ at the proper time bring abundant crops.
21. What, spiritually, do the former and latter rains mean?
22. Take heed to yourselves, that your __________ be not deceived.
23. Quote 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 13.
24. The _________ of God keeps a person from being deceived.
25. The Word of God is in our __________.
26. When should we teach God's ways to our children?
27. What will God do to Israel's enemies, if Israel stays faithful to
God?
28. What does the word "diligently" mean?
29. If their enemies are larger and greater than Israel, why do they
fear Israel?
30. What two things did Moses set before them?
31. How can they choose to be blessed?
32. What two mountains were mentioned in verse 29?
33. Which of them symbolized life?
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