See, I have placed the land before you. Enter and possess the land that the LORD swore He would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their descendants after them." SeeThe Hebrew word for "see" is "רְאֵה" (re'eh), which is an imperative form, urging the listener to perceive or understand. This command to "see" is not merely about physical sight but about spiritual insight and awareness. It calls the Israelites to recognize the fulfillment of God's promises and to trust in His faithfulness. In a broader sense, it encourages believers to open their eyes to God's work in their lives and to be attentive to His guidance. I have set the land before you
The phrase "I have set" comes from the Hebrew "נָתַתִּי" (natati), meaning "I have given" or "I have placed." This indicates God's sovereign act of provision. The land is not something the Israelites have earned; it is a divine gift. Historically, this reflects the covenantal promise God made to the patriarchs. For Christians, it symbolizes the spiritual inheritance we receive through Christ, emphasizing that our blessings are gifts from God, not results of our own efforts. Enter and possess the land
"Enter" and "possess" are commands that require action and faith. The Hebrew words "בֹּאוּ" (bo'u) for "enter" and "יְרִשְׁתֶּם" (yerishtem) for "possess" imply movement and taking hold of what is promised. This reflects the necessity of active faith; the Israelites must step into the promise and claim it. Spiritually, it challenges believers to actively engage with God's promises, stepping out in faith to claim the spiritual inheritance available through Christ. that the LORD swore to your fathers
The word "swore" is derived from the Hebrew "נִשְׁבַּע" (nishba), meaning to make an oath. This emphasizes the unbreakable nature of God's promises. The reference to "your fathers" connects the present generation to the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, highlighting the continuity of God's covenant. It reassures believers of God's unwavering faithfulness across generations, encouraging trust in His promises. to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
These patriarchs are central figures in the Hebrew Bible, representing the foundation of Israel's identity and God's covenantal relationship with His people. Each patriarch had a unique encounter with God, receiving promises that would extend to their descendants. This lineage underscores the historical and spiritual continuity of God's plan. For Christians, it points to the fulfillment of these promises in Jesus Christ, who is the ultimate heir of Abraham's promise. that He would give them and their descendants after them
The phrase "give them" highlights God's role as the ultimate provider. The Hebrew "לָתֵת" (latet) means "to give," emphasizing the generosity and grace of God. "Their descendants" refers to the ongoing fulfillment of God's promises, extending beyond the immediate generation to future ones. This speaks to the enduring nature of God's covenant, assuring believers that His promises are not limited by time but are eternal, offering hope and assurance for future generations. Persons / Places / Events 1. MosesThe leader of the Israelites, delivering God's command to enter the Promised Land. 2. The IsraelitesThe descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who are being instructed to take possession of the land. 3. The Promised LandThe land of Canaan, which God promised to the patriarchs and their descendants. 4. Abraham, Isaac, and JacobThe patriarchs to whom God made the original covenant regarding the land. 5. The CovenantThe divine promise made by God to the patriarchs, ensuring the land to their descendants. Teaching Points God's FaithfulnessGod's promise to the patriarchs is a testament to His unwavering faithfulness. He fulfills His promises despite the passage of time and human failures. Obedience to God's CommandThe Israelites are called to act on God's promise by entering and possessing the land. This requires faith and obedience, demonstrating trust in God's word. Inheritance Through FaithThe land is a physical representation of the spiritual inheritance believers receive through faith. Just as the Israelites were to take possession of the land, Christians are called to claim their spiritual inheritance in Christ. Generational PromisesGod's promises extend beyond individual lifetimes, impacting future generations. This encourages believers to live faithfully, knowing their actions can influence their descendants. Courage in the Face of ChallengesEntering the Promised Land required courage and trust in God amidst formidable obstacles. Believers today are encouraged to face life's challenges with the same courage, relying on God's promises. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the promise of the land to the patriarchs demonstrate God's faithfulness throughout generations? 2. In what ways can we apply the concept of "entering and possessing" in our spiritual lives today? 3. How does the fulfillment of God's promise to the Israelites encourage us in trusting God's promises in our own lives? 4. What are some modern-day "lands" or promises that God is calling you to enter and possess by faith? 5. How can the account of the Israelites' journey to the Promised Land inspire us to live with courage and obedience in our current circumstances? Connections to Other Scriptures Genesis 12:7This verse records God's initial promise to Abraham about giving the land to his descendants, establishing the foundation of the covenant. Exodus 3:8God reiterates His promise to deliver the Israelites from Egypt and bring them to a land flowing with milk and honey. Joshua 1:2-3Joshua is commanded to lead the people into the land, fulfilling the promise made to the patriarchs. Hebrews 11:8-9Highlights the faith of Abraham in obeying God's call to go to the land he would later receive as an inheritance. People Amorites, Anakites, Caleb, Canaanites, Eshcol, Isaac, Israelites, Jacob, Jephunneh, Joshua, Laban, Moses, Nun, Og, Seir, SihonPlaces Arabah, Ashtaroth, Bashan, Dizahab, Edrei, Egypt, Euphrates River, Hazeroth, Heshbon, Horeb, Hormah, Jordan River, Kadesh-barnea, Laban, Lebanon, Moab, Mount Seir, Negeb, Paran, Seir, Suph, Tophel, Valley of EshcolTopics Behold, Descendants, Fathers, Isaac, Jacob, Oath, Placed, Possess, Possession, Seed, Sware, Swore, Sworn, YourselvesDictionary of Bible Themes Deuteronomy 1:8 1245 God of the fathers
1335 blessing
1348 covenant, with Abraham
5096 Jacob, patriarch
7258 promised land, early history Deuteronomy 1:6-8 4269 Sinai, Mount Library Foretastes of the Heavenly Life
Early in the year 1857. NOTE: This edition of this sermon is taken from an earlier published edition of Spurgeon's 1857 message. The sermon that appears in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol. 45, was edited and abbreviated somewhat. For edition we have restored the fuller text of the earlier published edition, while retaining a few of the editorial refinements of the Met Tab edition. "And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 45: 1899Preventive against Backsliding.
It is most instructive to note how exceedingly anxious the early Christians were, that, as soon as a man was converted, he should be "filled with the Holy Ghost." They knew no reason why weary wastes of disappointing years should stretch between Bethel and Peniel, between the Cross and Pentecost. They knew it was not God's will that forty years of wilderness wanderings should lie between Egypt and the Promised Land (Deut. i. 2). When Peter and John came to the Samaritans, and found that they were …
John MacNeil—The Spirit-Filled Life Afraid of Giants
'And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain; 18. And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many; 19. And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds; 20. And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Philo of Alexandria, the Rabbis, and the Gospels - the Final Development of Hellenism in Its Relation to Rabbinism and the Gospel According to St. John.
It is strange how little we know of the personal history of the greatest of uninspired Jewish writers of old, though he occupied so prominent a position in his time. [173] Philo was born in Alexandria, about the year 20 before Christ. He was a descendant of Aaron, and belonged to one of the wealthiest and most influential families among the Jewish merchant-princes of Egypt. His brother was the political head of that community in Alexandria, and he himself on one occasion represented his co-religionists, …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah A Plain Description of the Essence and Attributes of God, Out of the Holy Scripture, So Far as Every Christian must Competently Know, and Necessarily Believe, that Will be Saves.
Although no creature can define what God is, because he is incomprehensible (Psal. cxliii. 3) and dwelling in inaccessible light (1 Tim. vi. 16); yet it has pleased his majesty to reveal himself to us in his word, so far as our weak capacity can best conceive him. Thus: God is that one spiritual and infinitely perfect essence, whose being is of himself eternally (Deut. i. 4; iv. 35; xxxii. 39; vi. 4; Isa. xlv. 5-8; 1 Cor. viii. 4; Eph. iv. 5, 6; 1 Tim. ii. 5; John iv. 24; 2 Cor. iii. 17; 1 Kings …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety The Mountainous Country of Judea.
"What is the mountainous country of Judea? It is the king's mountain." However Judea, here and there, doth swell out much with mountains, yet its chief swelling appears in that broad back of mountains, that runs from the utmost southern cost as far as Hebron, and almost as Jerusalem itself. Which the Holy Scripture called "The hill-country of Judah," Joshua 21:11; Luke 1:39. Unless I am very much mistaken,--the maps of Adricomus, Tirinius, and others, ought to be corrected, which have feigned to …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Kadesh. Rekam, and that Double. Inquiry is Made, Whether the Doubling it in the Maps is Well Done.
The readers of the eastern interpreters will observe, that Kadesh is rendered by all Rekam, or in a sound very near it. In the Chaldee, it is 'Rekam': in the Syriac, 'Rekem': in the Arabic, 'Rakim'... There are two places noted by the name Rekam in the very bounds of the land,--to wit, the southern and eastern: that is, a double Kadesh. I. Of Kadesh, or Rekam, in the south part, there is no doubt. II. Of it, in the eastern part, there is this mention: "From Rekam to the east, and Rekam is as the …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Barren Fig-Tree. Temple Cleansed.
(Road from Bethany and Jerusalem. Monday, April 4, a.d. 30.) ^A Matt. XXI. 18, 19, 12, 13; ^B Mark XI. 12-18; ^C Luke XIX. 45-48. ^b 12 And ^a 18 Now ^b on the morrow [on the Monday following the triumphal entry], ^a in the morning ^b when they were come out from Bethany, ^a as he returned to the city [Jerusalem], he hungered. [Breakfast with the Jews came late in the forenoon, and these closing days of our Lord's ministry were full of activity that did not have time to tarry at Bethany for it. Our …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel In the Temple at the Feast of Tabernacles.
(October, a.d. 29.) ^D John VII. 11-52. ^d 11 The Jews therefore sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? [It was now eighteen months since Jesus had visited Jerusalem, at which time he had healed the impotent man at Bethesda. His fame and prolonged obscurity made his enemies anxious for him to again expose himself in their midst. John here used the word "Jews" as a designation for the Jerusalemites, who, as enemies of Christ, were to be distinguished from the multitudes who were in doubt …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Moses and his Writings
[Illustration: (drop cap W) Clay letter tablet of Moses' time.] We now begin to understand a little of the very beginning of God's Book--of the times in which it was written, the materials used by its first author, and the different kinds of writing from which he had to choose; but we must go a step farther. How much did Moses know about the history of his forefathers, Abraham and Jacob, and of all the old nations and kings mentioned in Genesis, before God called him to the great work of writing …
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making Appendix ii. Philo of Alexandria and Rabbinic Theology.
(Ad. vol. i. p. 42, note 4.) In comparing the allegorical Canons of Philo with those of Jewish traditionalism, we think first of all of the seven exegetical canons which are ascribed to Hillel. These bear chiefly the character of logical deductions, and as such were largely applied in the Halakhah. These seven canons were next expanded by R. Ishmael (in the first century) into thirteen, by the analysis of one of them (the 5th) into six, and the addition of this sound exegetical rule, that where two …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah The Blessing of Jacob Upon Judah. (Gen. Xlix. 8-10. )
Ver. 8. "Judah, thou, thy brethren shall praise thee; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; before thee shall bow down the sons of thy father. Ver. 9. A lion's whelp is Judah; from the prey, my son, thou goest up; he stoopeth down, he coucheth as a lion, and as a full-grown lion, who shall rouse him up? Ver. 10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto Him the people shall adhere." Thus does dying Jacob, in announcing …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament 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 1:8 NIVDeuteronomy 1:8 NLTDeuteronomy 1:8 ESVDeuteronomy 1:8 NASBDeuteronomy 1:8 KJV
Deuteronomy 1:8 Commentaries
Bible Hub |
