Chapter 14

 

LITV

Deu 14:1  You are sons to Jehovah your God; you shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. 

Deu 14:2  For you are a holy people to Jehovah your God; and Jehovah has chosen you to be a people to Him, a special treasure out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 

Deu 14:3  You shall not eat any abominable thing. 

Deu 14:4  These are the animals which you shall eat: the ox, the flocked sheep, and the flocked goat, 

Deu 14:5  the hart and gazelle, and roe deer, and wild goat, and antelope, and oryx, and moufflon. 

Deu 14:6  And you may eat every animal that divides the hoof, and divides two hoofs wholly, and chews the cud among the animals. 

Deu 14:7  But you shall not eat of those that only chew the cud, or those only dividing the cloven hoof: the camel, and the hare, and the rock badger; for they chew the cud but do not divide the hoof. They shall be unclean to you. 

Deu 14:8  And the swine, because it divides the hoof, but does not chew the cud; it is unclean to you. You shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead body. 

Deu 14:9  These you shall eat of all in the waters: you shall eat all that have fins and scales. 

Deu 14:10  And whatever does not have fins and scales, you shall not eat. It shall be unclean to you. 

Deu 14:11  You shall eat of all clean birds. 

Deu 14:12  But you shall not eat of these: the eagle, the black vulture, and the bearded vulture, 

Deu 14:13  and the hawk, and falcons, and the kite by its kinds, 

Deu 14:14  and all ravens by their kinds; 

Deu 14:15  and the ostrich, and the great owl, and the sea gull, and small hawks by their kinds, 

Deu 14:16  the little owl, and the eared owl, and the barn owl, 

Deu 14:17  and the pelican, and the owl, and the cormorant, 

Deu 14:18  and the stork, and the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat. 

Deu 14:19  And every teeming thing that flies shall be unclean to you; they shall not be eaten. 

Deu 14:20  You may eat of all clean birds. 

Deu 14:21  You shall not eat of anything that died of itself. You may give it to the alien who is within your gates, that he may eat it. Or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a holy people to Jehovah your God. You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk. 

Deu 14:22  Tithing you shall tithe all the increase of your seed that the field yields year by year. 

Deu 14:23  And you shall eat before Jehovah your God in the place which He shall choose to cause His name to dwell there, the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock; that you may learn to fear Jehovah your God all your days. 

Deu 14:24  And if the way is too long for you, so that you cannot carry it, because the place is too far from you which Jehovah your God shall choose to set His name there, when Jehovah your God shall bless you; 

Deu 14:25  Then you shall give it for silver, and bind up the silver in your hand. And you shall go to the place which Jehovah your God shall choose. 

Deu 14:26  And you shall pay the silver for whatever your soul desires, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for fermented drink, or for whatever your soul desires. And you shall eat there before Jehovah your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household. 

Deu 14:27  And you shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no portion nor inheritance with you. 

Deu 14:28  At the end of three years, even the same year, you shall bring forth all the tithe of your increase, and shall lay it up within your gates. 

Deu 14:29  And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the alien, and the fatherless, and the widow who are within your gates shall come and shall eat and be satisfied; so that Jehovah your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do. 

 

Main Point(s): God points out that Israel is a set apart nation….holy. He then dispenses what a holy people are to eat since some things are considered “unclean.” Then, lays down the requirement of giving back through tithing.

 

1.    What is Israel described as in verse 1? What does this mean and why is it important? They are SONS of Jehovah. Sons: H1121 בֵּן bên bane From H1129; a son (as a builder of the family name) – the root word means “to build.” It describes an inheriting status. The Israelites were responsible for building, representing and keeping the name of Jehovah relevant.

2.    Because of Israel’s status in verse 1, what are they supposed to be (2)? Compare to 1Peter 2:9-10. What does this mean for us? Deu 14:2  For you are a holy people to Jehovah your God; and Jehovah has chosen you to be a people to Him, a special treasure out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 1Pe 2:9  But you are God's chosen and special people. You are a group of royal priests and a holy nation. God has brought you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now you must tell all the wonderful things that he has done. The Scriptures say, 1Pe 2:10  "Once you were nobody. Now you are God's people. At one time no one had pity on you. Now God has treated you with kindness. 
The implication of verse 2 is that they were to act/become holy. Peter clarifies it muck later, in Deuteronomy God has been revealing what it looks like all along. Loving Him, obedience, loving the humble.

Holy: - sacred, clean ..”out of all the people” (separated out)

3.    What is one way holiness would look like in the life of Israel (3-21)? Notice how this section begins and ends (2,21). The vey food choices they made were to be “clean” as dictated by God….because they are holy.
The word holy simply means sacred and clean. It’s implied consecration signifies a separation for God as is stated in verse two.

4.    What is another way that holiness would look like in the life of Israel (22-29)?
Tithing: Ten percent of the year’s increase as well as a tithing every three years for the Levites and the poor.

 

5.    Why did God command the people to tithe (23-26)? What was God wanting the people to do and what was God wanting to do with His people? What do we learn from this? “that you may learn to ear Jehovah your God”….how would tithing do this? It stands to reason that this was to be a time to remember where their blessings came from. Even more interesting is the command for them to “eat before Jehovah.” What does that mean? In the most physical sense, eating the fat of the land together, praising God, prayer together with God as the focus. This served not only as a reminder of their position before God and His grace and mercy, but this was also a unifying action.

 

6.    Why else was the tithe important (27-29)? Every three years, the tithe eating was to include the Levite, foreigner, and the less fortunate. The Levite had no land inheritance so God was commissioning a gift that would sustain them. There will be more instructions on providing for the priesthood as well. God’s system provided for the poor and those who fell on hard times.

 

7.    What was God’s goal (29)? “so that Jehovah your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.” This is an interesting argument against a “belief only” teaching when it comes to God’s blessings. “Belief” has never been the only requirement. The last generation before this one “believed” yet they fell in the desert because they lacked the faith to DO what God commanded.
God is JUST. Without a manifestation of our faith by our works, we do not afford God the opportunity for mercy. It’s as simple as that.

 

 

Additional:

Tithe: H4643

מַעַשְׂרָה    מַעֲשַׂר    מַעֲשֵׂר

ma‛ăśêr    ma‛ăśar    ma‛aśrâh

mah-as-ayr', mah-as-ar', mah-as-raw'

From H6240; a tenth; especially a tithe: - tenth (part), tithe (-ing).old testament tithing

 

Chapters 12-13

 

LITV

Deu 12:1  These are the statutes and the ordinances which you shall take heed to do in the land which Jehovah the God of your fathers has given to you, to possess it, all the days that you live on the earth: 

Deu 12:2  Destroying you shall destroy all the places where the nations which you are dispossessing served their gods, on the high mountains, and on the hills, and under every leafy tree. 

Deu 12:3  And you shall break down their altars, and shatter their standing pillars. And you shall burn their Asherahs with fire. And you shall cut down the carved images of their gods, and shall destroy their names out of that place. 

Deu 12:4  You shall not do so to Jehovah your God. 

Deu 12:5  But you shall seek to the place which Jehovah your God shall choose out of all your tribes; for you shall seek His dwelling, to put His name there. And you shall go there. 

Deu 12:6  And you shall bring your burnt offerings there, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offering, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock. 

Deu 12:7  And you shall eat there before Jehovah your God, and shall rejoice in all that you put your hand to, you and your households, with which Jehovah your God has blessed you. 

Deu 12:8  You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, each doing all that is right in his own eyes. 

Deu 12:9  For you have not come to the rest and to the inheritance which Jehovah your God is giving to you. 

Deu 12:10  And you shall cross over the Jordan, and shall live in the land which Jehovah your God is causing you to inherit. And He shall give you rest from all your enemies all around; and you shall live securely. 

Deu 12:11  And it shall be the place which Jehovah your God shall choose to cause His name to dwell there, there you shall bring all that I am commanding you, your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice freewill offerings which you vow to Jehovah. 

Deu 12:12  And you shall rejoice before Jehovah your God, you and your sons, and your daughters, and your male slaves, and your female slaves, and the Levite within your gates because he has no portion or inheritance with you. 

Deu 12:13  Take heed to yourself that you not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see; 

Deu 12:14  but in the place which Jehovah shall choose in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command. 

Deu 12:15  Only with all the desire of your soul you shall sacrifice and shall eat flesh within all your gates according to the blessing of Jehovah your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean one may eat of it, as of the gazelle and as of the hart. 

Deu 12:16  Only, you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it as water on the earth. 

Deu 12:17  You are not able to eat the tithe of your grain within your gates, and of your new wine, and your oil, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock, and any of your vows which you vow, and your freewill offering, and the heave offering of your hand. 

Deu 12:18  But you shall eat it before Jehovah your God in the place which Jehovah your God shall choose, you and your son, and your daughter, and your male slave, and your female slave, and the Levite who is within your gates. And you shall rejoice before Jehovah your God in all that you put your hand to. 

Deu 12:19  Take heed to yourself that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live on the land. 

Deu 12:20  Then Jehovah your God shall enlarge your border, as He has promised you, and you shall say, I will eat flesh, because your soul desires to eat flesh, you may eat flesh according to all the desire of your soul. 

Deu 12:21  If the place which Jehovah your God shall choose to put His name there is too far from you, then you shall kill of your herd and of your flock which Jehovah has given you, as I have commanded you; and you shall eat within your gates according to all the desire of your soul. 

Deu 12:22  Only, as the gazelle and the hart are eaten, so you shall eat of it; the unclean and the clean may eat of it alike. 

Deu 12:23  Only, be sure not to eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh; 

Deu 12:24  You shall not eat it; you shall pour it on the earth as water. 

Deu 12:25  You shall not eat it in order that it may be well with you and with your sons after you, when you do that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah. 

Deu 12:26  Only, your holy things which you have, and your vows, you shall take up and shall go to the place which Jehovah shall choose. 

Deu 12:27  And you shall offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, on the altar of Jehovah your God; and the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out by the altar of Jehovah your God; and you shall eat the flesh. 

Deu 12:28  Take heed to listen to all these Words which I am commanding you, in order that it may be well with you and with your sons after you forever, when you do that which is good and right in the eyes of Jehovah your God. 

Deu 12:29  When Jehovah your God shall cut off the nations from before you, where you are going in to possess them, and you shall possess them, and shall live in their land, 

Deu 12:30  take heed to yourself that you not be snared to follow them after they have been destroyed before you; and that you not inquire after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? And I shall do so, even I. 

Deu 12:31  You shall not do so to Jehovah your God; for everything hateful to Jehovah, which He detests, they have done to their gods. For they have even burned their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. 

Deu 12:32  All the things that I command you, take heed to do them and you shall not add to it, nor take away from it. 

Deu 13:1  If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams rises among you, and gives you a sign or a wonder, 

Deu 13:2  and the sign or the wonder which he spoke to you occurs, saying, Let us go after other gods which you have not known, and let us serve them, 

Deu 13:3  you shall not listen to the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams. For Jehovah your God is testing you, to know if you love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 

Deu 13:4  You shall walk after Jehovah your God, and you shall fear Him. And you shall keep His commandments, and you shall hear His voice, and you shall serve Him, and you shall cleave to Him. 

Deu 13:5  And that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall die, because he has spoken apostasy against Jehovah your God, who is bringing you out of the land of Egypt, and has redeemed you out of the house of slaves, to thrust you out of the way in which Jehovah your God has commanded you to walk. And you shall put away evil from among you. 

Deu 13:6  If your brother, your mother's son, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, shall entice you secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which you have not known, you and your fathers, 

Deu 13:7  of the gods of the people around you, those near you or far off from you, from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth, 

Deu 13:8  you shall not consent to him, nor listen to him, nor shall your eye have pity on him, nor shall you spare nor hide him. 

Deu 13:9  But killing you shall kill him; your hand shall be first upon him to cause him to die, and the hand of all the people last. 

Deu 13:10  And you shall stone him with stones, and he shall die, for he has sought to thrust you out from Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves. 

Deu 13:11  And all Israel shall hear and fear, and shall not again do any such wicked thing as this among you. 

Deu 13:12  If, in one of your cities which Jehovah your God is giving you to live in, you hear one saying, 

Deu 13:13  Certain men, sons of Belial, have gone out from among you and have drawn away those who live in their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which you have not known; 

Deu 13:14  then you shall inquire and make search, and ask carefully; and, behold, if the thing is truly established, that this abominable thing has been done among you, 

Deu 13:15  striking you shall strike those who live in that city by the mouth of the sword, destroying it completely, and all that is in it, and its livestock, with the mouth of the sword. 

Deu 13:16  And you shall gather all its spoil into the middle of its open place, and shall burn the city with fire, and all its spoil, completely, before Jehovah your God. And it shall be a heap forever; it shall not be built any more. 

Deu 13:17  And not any of the cursed thing shall cleave to your hand, so that Jehovah shall turn from the fierceness of His anger, and shall give mercies to you, and shall love you, and shall multiply you, as He has sworn to your fathers, 

Deu 13:18  when you listen to the voice of Jehovah your God, to keep all His commandments which I am commanding you today, to do that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah your God. 

 

Main Point(s): Note: Chapter 12 is a pivotal chapter. There will be less rehashing of history and more focus on DIRECTIVES concerning law and other contingency matters. In these chapters God is dispensing His requirements for the PLACE of worship. He also dispenses contingency directives for how to handle false prophets and actions against anyone looking to lead Israel into idolatry.

 

1.    What are the people to do when they come into the land? (1-7) – The first order is to completely demolish and remove the places of idol worship and their implements. The second order is to go to the place that God establishes and set up a place of worship for Jehovah. That will be the approved place of worship. Note: The foreshadowing of “eating” before God. How important is this for us today?

 

2.    What can worship NOT be (8-11)? What MUST worship be (8-14)? Deu 12:8  You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, each doing all that is right in his own eyes. This is an interesting statement when we consider that the tabernacle was set up and should have been where they brought their offerings. The big question is “what were they doing?” They are directed to only sacrifice in the place approved by God and they are to “rejoice” before Jehovah (12). How can we fulfill the requirement to rejoice? (See description Below)
How can Jehovah COMMAND love and joy? From a human perspective this may appear arrogant, but understanding the goodness of God is the key to understanding His love and concern (care) for His people. As humans, we can quickly forget these truths.

3.    What other rules were to govern the peoples’ worship (15-28)? What do we learn from this? Within the gates:They may eat meat, but not blood (15-16). Vowed offerings must be eaten before God in specified places, not “within the gates” (17-18). The Levites were to be supported (they did not inherit regions, just cities) (19). Feel free to eat whatever meat you desire. For sacrifices, if you live too far from the designated place of worship, you may eat within the gates of your city. Don’t eat blood, our it onto the ground (20-25). For specific offerings and vows, ONLY do these at the place specified by God (26-28).
These instructions indicate that offering sacrifices were to be a constant in their lives. Even in daily activity eating was to be in the context as something received by God.

4.    What warning is given to the people (29-32)? The warning is against the desire to learn about the defeated nations’ gods with the intent to serve those gods. The warning includes reasoning of the horrible practice of child sacrifice (burning). So what is interesting here is that people can fall into such dire practices. How does this happen?

 

5.    What were the people to do with a false prophet (13:1-5)? How would the people know if the prophet was false? What do we learn from this? In this instance, the prophet is advising the people to “go after” other gods. Jehovah is making it clear that anyone who tries this needs to be executed. The interesting part is that this person has the ability to perform a miracle, or something that may just look like a miracle. Don’t be fooled by what you see but what they ask is the main message. It is also interesting that Moses says “Jehovah your God is testing you.” This is a direct contradiction to James’ clarification that God does not test us 1:13. So how do we reconcile these two statements?
(apostasy means “to turn away”)

 

6.    What are the people to do with the family members who rebel against the Lord (6-11)? What do we learn from this? Again this offence requires execution. The brutality of this does not go unnoticed, but we must understand the conditions under which Jehovah is looking to bring the messiah. At this point, this is a great army. Any subordination will cause a breakdown in effectiveness and strength to stay focused on God. Of course, today we do not practice this, but the severity of watching for those who lead away from God is still relevant!

 

 

 

7.    What are the people to do with a city that rebels against the Lord (12-18)? What do we learn from this? Note: The children of BELIAL –The word denoted “worthlessness” meaning NO good can come of it. This describes the persons looking to lead anyone away from God to another idol. If/when an entire city does this, they were all to be executed. All of their livestock were to executed. All of their belongings and the bodies were to be heaped up and burned. The city was to be destroyed and left as a reminder and never rebuilt. The teaching here is more than just what to do and what not to do. It highlights the severity of becoming Godless. We tend to focus on this severity of judgment. The resulting absolute calamity(s) that result from becoming Godless were (are) far worse than the judgment to purge idolatry.

 

 

Additional:

You: There are instances where “you” is indicated in the original language, but sometimes it is not used because the context dictates its use. The Hebrew language apparently didn’t bother with the personal pronoun in some instances. The context was sufficient to the reader as to who the words were addressing.

Shall: Note that in the original language, the word shall does not exist. It is an adverb that denotes will and intent. It is either a positive or negative actionable item based on the context.

Rejoice- H8055: śâmach saw-makh' A primitive root; probably to brighten up, that is, (figuratively) be (causatively make) blithe or gleesome: - cheer up, be (make) glad, (have make) joy (-ful), be (make) merry, (cause to, make to) rejoice, X very.

Chapters 10-11

 

LITV

Deu 10:1  At that time Jehovah said to me, Cut out for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to Me, into the mountain, and you shall make for yourself an ark of wood; 

Deu 10:2  and I shall write on the tablets the words which were on the first tablets, which you have broken, and you shall place them in the ark. 

Deu 10:3  And I made an ark of acacia wood, and cut out two tablets of stone like the first, and went up into the mountain; and the two tablets were in my hand. 

Deu 10:4  And He wrote on the tablets according to the writing, the Ten Commandments which Jehovah had spoken to you in the mountain, out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly. And Jehovah gave them to me, 

Deu 10:5  and I turned and came down from the mountain and put the tablets in the ark which I had made. And they are there, as Jehovah commanded me. 

Deu 10:6  And the sons of Israel pulled up stakes from Beeroth of the sons of Jaakan to Mosera; Aaron died there and he was buried there; and his son Eleazar was acting as priest in his place. 

Deu 10:7  From there they pulled up stakes to Gudgodah; and from Gudgodah to Jotbath, a land of torrents of water. 

Deu 10:8  At that time Jehovah separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant before Jehovah, to stand before Jehovah and to minister to Him, and to bless in His name, until today. 

Deu 10:9  Therefore, Levi has no portion nor inheritance with his brothers; Jehovah is his inheritance, according as Jehovah your God spoke to him. 

Deu 10:10  And I stayed in the mountain forty days and forty nights, as at the first. And Jehovah listened to me that time also; Jehovah did not will to destroy you. 

Deu 10:11  And Jehovah said to me Rise up! Go before the people, causing them to pull up stakes, that they may go in and possess the land which I swore to their fathers, to give it to them. 

Deu 10:12  And now, Israel, what has Jehovah your God asked of you, except to fear Jehovah your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul; 

Deu 10:13  to keep the commandments of Jehovah, and His statutes which I am commanding you today, for your good. 

Deu 10:14  Behold, the heavens and the Heaven of the heavens, the earth and all in it, belong to Jehovah your God. 

Deu 10:15  Only, Jehovah has delighted in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their seed after them, on you out of all the peoples, as it is today. 

Deu 10:16  And you shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and you shall not harden your neck any more. 

Deu 10:17  For Jehovah your God, He is the God of gods, and the Lord of lords; the great, the mighty, the fearful God who does not lift up faces, nor take a bribe. 

Deu 10:18  He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, to give to him food and clothing. 

Deu 10:19  And you shall love the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. 

Deu 10:20  You shall fear Jehovah your God; you shall serve Him; and you shall cleave to Him; and you shall swear by His name. 

 

Deu 10:21  He shall be your praise, and He shall be your God, who has done for you these great and fearful things which your eyes have seen. 

Deu 10:22  Your fathers went down to Egypt with seventy persons; and now Jehovah your God has made you as the stars of the heavens for multitude. 

 

Deu 11:1  And you shall love Jehovah your God, and keep His charge, and His statutes and His judgments, and His commandments all the days. 

Deu 11:2  And you know today, for I do not speak with your sons who have not known, and who have not seen the chastisement of Jehovah your God, His greatness, His mighty hand, and His stretched out arm, 

Deu 11:3  and His signs, and His works which He did in the midst of Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and to all his land; 

Deu 11:4  and that which He has done to the army of Egypt, to its horses, and to its chariots, when He caused the waters of the Sea of Reeds to flow over them as they pursued them. And Jehovah destroyed them to this day; 

Deu 11:5  and that which He has done to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place; 

Deu 11:6  and that which He has done to Dathan, and to Abiram, sons of Eliab, Reuben's son, when the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them and their houses and their tents and all the living substance at their feet, in the midst of all Israel. 

Deu 11:7  But your eyes see all the great work of Jehovah which He has done. 

Deu 11:8  And you shall keep all the commandments which I am commanding you today, so that you shall be strong, and shall go in and possess the land to which you are crossing over, to possess it; 

Deu 11:9  and so that you may prolong your days in the land which Jehovah has sworn to your fathers, to give to them and to their seed, a land flowing with milk and honey. 

Deu 11:10  For the land to which you are going, to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from where you came, where you sowed your seed and watered it with your foot, as a garden of herbs. 

Deu 11:11  But the land which you are entering to possess it is a land of hills and valleys, drinking water from the rain of the heavens; 

Deu 11:12  a land which Jehovah your God cares for; the eyes of Jehovah your God are always on it from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. 

Deu 11:13  And it shall be, if listening you will listen to My commands which I command you today, to love Jehovah your God, and to serve Him with all your heart, and with all your soul, 

Deu 11:14  that I will give the rain of your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, and your wine, and your oil. 

Deu 11:15  And I will give grass in your fields for your livestock; and you shall eat and be satisfied. 

Deu 11:16  Take heed to yourselves, that your heart not be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods, and bow down to them; 

Deu 11:17  and the anger of Jehovah glow against you, and He shut up the heavens, and there be no rain, and the ground not give her increase, and you perish quickly from off the good land which Jehovah is giving to you. 

Deu 11:18  And you shall lay these Words up in your hearts, and in your souls, and shall bind them for a sign on your hand. And they shall be for frontlets between your eyes. 

Deu 11:19  And you shall teach them to your sons by speaking of them as you sit in your house, and as you walk in the way, and as you lie down, and as you rise up. 

Deu 11:20  And you shall write them on the side posts of your house, and on your gates, 

Deu 11:21  that your days and the days of your sons may be multiplied in the land which Jehovah has sworn to your fathers, to give to them, as the days of the heavens over the earth. 

Deu 11:22  For if keeping you will keep this command which I am commanding you, to do it, to love Jehovah your God, to walk in all His ways, and to cleave to Him, 

Deu 11:23  then Jehovah shall dispossess all these nations from before you, and you shall possess nations greater and mightier than you. 

Deu 11:24  Every place where the sole of your foot treads shall be yours, from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the Euphrates River even to the furthest sea shall be your border. 

Deu 11:25  No man shall stand before you. Jehovah your God shall put your dread and your fear on the face of all the land on which you tread, as He has spoken to you. 

Deu 11:26  Behold! I set before you today a blessing and a curse: 

Deu 11:27  a blessing if you hear the commandments of Jehovah your God which I command you today; 

Deu 11:28  and a curse if you will not hear the commandments of Jehovah your God, but will turn aside out of the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known. 

Deu 11:29  And it shall be when Jehovah your God shall bring you into the land to which you go to possess it, that you shall set the blessing on Mount Gerizim, and the curse on Mount Ebal. 

Deu 11:30  Are they not beyond the Jordan, behind the way of the sunset, in the land of the Canaanites that live in the Arabah, opposite to Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh? 

Deu 11:31  For you are to cross over the Jordan to go in to possess the land which Jehovah your God is giving to you; and you shall possess it and live in it. 

Deu 11:32  And take heed to do all the statutes and the judgments which I am giving before you today. 

 

Main Points: The tone is set and the articles for the covenant with God are yet iterated again. Listen and do God’s will or suffer the consequences.

 

1.    After Moses interceded what did God do (10:1-5)? Why did God do this (10:10)? How does this parallel the work of Christ? He re-wrote the ten commandments for Moses to take to the people. God was showing mercy on the people. God is just and requires an intercession for mercy. Moses’ intercession was based on a plea to God’s mercy by pragmatic means (avoiding blasphemy). Jesus’ intercession pleads to God based on His own sacrifice, thus appealing to God’s sense of mercy and at the same time Jesus satisfies Jehovah’s justice.

 

2.    Because of Moses’ intercession and God’s mercy what were the people to do (10:12-22). What do we learn from this? They were to wholly devote themselves to God. Starting with love, respect, obedience, they were to become humbled before God and extend this love to other people of humble circumstances. These concepts apply to the Christian even more since Jesus himself became the actual propitiation

 

required for sin. (God personalizes it through Jesus)

3.    What else is to be the response of the people (11:1)? Complete obedience. This required knowledge of the law…which required effort and a specific drive to know God….which ultimately grows a love for Him.

4.    What were the people to see about God and what was that to cause the people to do (11:2-17)? They were to see that God is the one taking care of them AND the land. They were to “love Jehovah your God, and to serve Him with all your heart, and with all your soul”… 
God is exhibiting His love and caring and only expected the same in return. Again, His warning is against idolatry which was easy to identify back then. Today, idolatry takes on many different forms. (i.e. covetousness)

5.    What are the people to do with God’s words (11:18-25)? This is a re-statement of the effort needed for mankind to keep God at the forefront of their lives. Man is to “keep” the word which means to protect it….build a hedge around it. It was to be at the forefront of everything they thought and did! The overriding question is why would God feel the need to repeat it? Perhaps what we found in chapters 8-9 reveals they why. People have a tendency to become arrogant against God after they have been blessed by Him.

6.    What choice was set before the people (11:26-32)? A blessing or a curse. This accentuates the reasoning behind the repetitive nature of these statements by Moses. This dispensation is legal speak in the sense that there will be no misunderstanding of God’s requirements. It alleviates any avenue of argument against the covenant and bad behavior.

 

 

Blessing: berâkâh ber-aw-kaw' From H1288; benediction; by implication prosperity: - blessing, liberal, pool, present. (1288 means “to kneel)

 

Curse: qelâlâh kel-aw-law' benediction

From H7043; vilification: - (ac-) curse (-d, -ing).