For you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and possess the land that the LORD your God is giving you. When you take possession of it and settle in it, For you are about to cross the JordanThis phrase marks a pivotal moment in the history of the Israelites. The "Jordan" refers to the Jordan River, a significant geographical and spiritual boundary. In Hebrew, "Jordan" (יַרְדֵּן, Yarden) means "descender," symbolizing a transition from the wilderness into the Promised Land. This crossing is not just a physical act but a spiritual one, representing a step of faith and obedience. Historically, the Jordan River was a formidable barrier, and crossing it required divine intervention, as seen in Joshua 3. This moment is a reminder of God's faithfulness and the fulfillment of His promises. to enter and take possession of the land
The phrase "to enter and take possession" underscores the active role the Israelites must play in God's plan. The Hebrew word for "enter" (בּוֹא, bo) implies coming into a new phase of life, while "take possession" (יָרַשׁ, yarash) suggests not just occupying but inheriting and claiming what is rightfully given by God. This land, Canaan, is a gift from God, yet it requires action and faith from the Israelites. Historically, this land was inhabited by various Canaanite tribes, and taking possession involved both physical conquest and spiritual dedication. that the LORD your God is giving you
This phrase emphasizes the divine origin of the gift. "LORD" (יְהוָה, Yahweh) is the covenant name of God, highlighting His personal relationship with Israel. The verb "is giving" (נָתַן, natan) is in the present tense, indicating that God's promise is ongoing and active. This land is not earned by the Israelites' merit but is a gracious gift from God, fulfilling His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It serves as a testament to God's sovereignty and faithfulness throughout generations. When you possess and settle it
The words "possess" and "settle" indicate a two-step process. "Possess" (יָרַשׁ, yarash) involves the initial act of taking control, while "settle" (יָשַׁב, yashab) implies establishing a permanent presence. This reflects God's desire for Israel not only to conquer but to thrive and cultivate a society based on His laws and commandments. Historically, settling the land involved building homes, planting crops, and establishing governance, all under God's guidance. This process symbolizes the transition from a nomadic lifestyle to a stable, God-centered community. Persons / Places / Events 1. MosesThe leader of the Israelites, delivering God's commandments and promises to the people. 2. The IsraelitesThe chosen people of God, preparing to enter the Promised Land. 3. The Jordan RiverThe physical boundary the Israelites must cross to enter the Promised Land. 4. The Promised LandThe land God promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, representing God's faithfulness and provision. 5. The LORD (Yahweh)The covenant-keeping God who is fulfilling His promise to give the Israelites the land. Teaching Points Faith in God's PromisesTrust in God's faithfulness as He fulfills His promises, just as He did for the Israelites. Preparation for New BeginningsLike the Israelites preparing to cross the Jordan, we must prepare our hearts and minds for the new seasons God leads us into. Obedience and PossessionPossessing the promises of God requires obedience and action, not just passive waiting. Spiritual InheritanceThe Promised Land symbolizes our spiritual inheritance in Christ, urging us to live in the fullness of God's promises. Community and LeadershipThe role of leaders like Moses and Joshua highlights the importance of godly leadership and community in pursuing God's promises. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the promise of entering the Promised Land in Deuteronomy 11:31 encourage us to trust in God's promises today? 2. In what ways can we prepare ourselves spiritually and practically for the new opportunities God places before us? 3. How does the crossing of the Jordan River symbolize transitions in our own spiritual journeys? 4. What role does obedience play in experiencing the fullness of God's promises, as seen in the context of Deuteronomy 11:31? 5. How can we support and encourage our leaders, like Moses and Joshua, in guiding us toward God's promises? Connections to Other Scriptures Joshua 1:2-3This passage continues the account as Joshua leads the Israelites across the Jordan, fulfilling the promise mentioned in Deuteronomy 11:31. Genesis 12:7God's original promise to Abraham about giving his descendants the land, showing the continuity of God's plan. Hebrews 11:8-10Reflects on the faith of Abraham and the promise of a heavenly homeland, connecting the physical land to spiritual promises. Psalm 37:29Speaks of the righteous inheriting the land, emphasizing the moral and spiritual conditions tied to God's promises. People Abiram, Canaanites, Dathan, Eliab, Moses, Pharaoh, ReubenPlaces Arabah, Beth-baal-peor, Egypt, Euphrates River, Gilgal, Jordan River, Lebanon, Moreh, Mount Ebal, Mount Gerizim, Red SeaTopics Cross, Dwell, Dwelt, Enter, Gives, Giveth, Giving, Heritage, Jordan, Pass, Passing, Possess, Possessed, Possession, Resting-place, ThereinDictionary of Bible Themes Deuteronomy 11:30 4284 sun
4528 trees
4857 west Library Canaan on Earth
Many of you, my dear hearers, are really come out of Egypt; but you are still wandering about in the wilderness. "We that have believed do enter into rest;" but you, though you have eaten of Jesus, have not so believed on him as to have entered into the Canaan of rest. You are the Lord's people, but you have not come into the Canaan of assured faith, confidence, and hope, where we wrestle no longer with flesh and blood, but with principalities and powers in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus--when …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856The God of the Rain
(Fifth Sunday after Easter.) DEUT. xi. 11, 12. The land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven. 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. I told you, when I spoke of the earthquakes of the Holy Land, that it seems as if God had meant specially to train that strange people the Jews, by putting them into a country where they …
Charles Kingsley—The Gospel of the Pentateuch Gilgal, in Deuteronomy 11:30 what the Place Was.
That which is said by Moses, that "Gerizim and Ebal were over-against Gilgal," Deuteronomy 11:30, is so obscure, that it is rendered into contrary significations by interpreters. Some take it in that sense, as if it were near to Gilgal: some far off from Gilgal: the Targumists read, "before Gilgal": while, as I think, they do not touch the difficulty; which lies not so much in the signification of the word Mul, as in the ambiguity of the word Gilgal. These do all seem to understand that Gilgal which …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Josiah, a Pattern for the Ignorant.
"Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before Me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord. Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place."--2 Kings …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII The Blessings of Noah Upon Shem and Japheth. (Gen. Ix. 18-27. )
Ver. 20. "And Noah began and became an husbandman, and planted vineyards."--This does not imply that Noah was the first who began to till the ground, and, more especially, to cultivate the vine; for Cain, too, was a tiller of the ground, Gen. iv. 2. The sense rather is, that Noah, after the flood, again took up this calling. Moreover, the remark has not an independent import; it serves only to prepare the way for the communication of the subsequent account of Noah's drunkenness. By this remark, …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Subjects of Study. Home Education in Israel; Female Education. Elementary Schools, Schoolmasters, and School Arrangements.
If a faithful picture of society in ancient Greece or Rome were to be presented to view, it is not easy to believe that even they who now most oppose the Bible could wish their aims success. For this, at any rate, may be asserted, without fear of gainsaying, that no other religion than that of the Bible has proved competent to control an advanced, or even an advancing, state of civilisation. Every other bound has been successively passed and submerged by the rising tide; how deep only the student …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life In the Fifteenth Year of Tiberius Cæsar and under the Pontificate of Annas and Caiaphas - a Voice in the Wilderness
THERE is something grand, even awful, in the almost absolute silence which lies upon the thirty years between the Birth and the first Messianic Manifestation of Jesus. In a narrative like that of the Gospels, this must have been designed; and, if so, affords presumptive evidence of the authenticity of what follows, and is intended to teach, that what had preceded concerned only the inner History of Jesus, and the preparation of the Christ. At last that solemn silence was broken by an appearance, …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah The Worship of the Synagogue
One of the most difficult questions in Jewish history is that connected with the existence of a synagogue within the Temple. That such a "synagogue" existed, and that its meeting-place was in "the hall of hewn stones," at the south-eastern angle of the court of the priest, cannot be called in question, in face of the clear testimony of contemporary witnesses. Considering that "the hall of hew stones" was also the meeting-place for the great Sanhedrim, and that not only legal decisions, but lectures …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life Among the People, and with the Pharisees
It would have been difficult to proceed far either in Galilee or in Judaea without coming into contact with an altogether peculiar and striking individuality, differing from all around, and which would at once arrest attention. This was the Pharisee. Courted or feared, shunned or flattered, reverently looked up to or laughed at, he was equally a power everywhere, both ecclesiastically and politically, as belonging to the most influential, the most zealous, and the most closely-connected religions …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life Covenanting Confers Obligation.
As it has been shown that all duty, and that alone, ought to be vowed to God in covenant, it is manifest that what is lawfully engaged to in swearing by the name of God is enjoined in the moral law, and, because of the authority of that law, ought to be performed as a duty. But it is now to be proved that what is promised to God by vow or oath, ought to be performed also because of the act of Covenanting. The performance of that exercise is commanded, and the same law which enjoins that the duties …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting The Old Testament Canon from Its Beginning to Its Close.
The first important part of the Old Testament put together as a whole was the Pentateuch, or rather, the five books of Moses and Joshua. This was preceded by smaller documents, which one or more redactors embodied in it. The earliest things committed to writing were probably the ten words proceeding from Moses himself, afterwards enlarged into the ten commandments which exist at present in two recensions (Exod. xx., Deut. v.) It is true that we have the oldest form of the decalogue from the Jehovist …
Samuel Davidson—The Canon of the Bible Deuteronomy
Owing to the comparatively loose nature of the connection between consecutive passages in the legislative section, it is difficult to present an adequate summary of the book of Deuteronomy. In the first section, i.-iv. 40, Moses, after reviewing the recent history of the people, and showing how it reveals Jehovah's love for Israel, earnestly urges upon them the duty of keeping His laws, reminding them of His spirituality and absoluteness. Then follows the appointment, iv. 41-43--here irrelevant (cf. …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Deuteronomy 11:31 NIVDeuteronomy 11:31 NLTDeuteronomy 11:31 ESVDeuteronomy 11:31 NASBDeuteronomy 11:31 KJV
Deuteronomy 11:31 Commentaries
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