But be careful that you are not enticed to turn aside to worship and bow down to other gods, But be carefulThe Hebrew root for "be careful" is "שָׁמַר" (shamar), which means to guard, keep, or watch over. This word conveys a sense of vigilance and attentiveness. In the context of Deuteronomy, it is a call to the Israelites to be constantly aware of their spiritual state and the influences around them. Historically, the Israelites were surrounded by nations with different religious practices, and this warning underscores the importance of maintaining a steadfast commitment to God amidst external pressures. The phrase serves as a timeless reminder for believers to guard their hearts and minds against anything that might lead them away from their faith. or you will be enticed
The word "enticed" comes from the Hebrew "פָּתָה" (pathah), which means to be simple, naive, or to be seduced. This term suggests a gradual and subtle process of being led astray. In the ancient Near Eastern context, the allure of other gods was often tied to tangible benefits like fertility, rain, and prosperity, which could easily seduce the Israelites. For modern believers, this serves as a caution against the subtle temptations of the world that can lead one away from a pure devotion to God. to turn away
The phrase "to turn away" is derived from the Hebrew "סוּר" (sur), meaning to turn aside, depart, or remove. This indicates a deliberate action of moving away from God’s commandments and presence. Historically, turning away from God often led to dire consequences for the Israelites, including exile and oppression. Spiritually, this phrase warns of the dangers of deviating from the path of righteousness and the importance of remaining steadfast in faith. and worship other gods
"Worship" in Hebrew is "עָבַד" (avad), which means to serve or work. This implies not just acts of reverence but a lifestyle of service and devotion. "Other gods" refers to the deities of surrounding nations, which were often represented by idols. The historical context reveals that these gods were associated with specific aspects of life, such as Baal with rain and fertility. The commandment against worshiping other gods is central to the covenant relationship between God and Israel, emphasizing exclusive devotion to the one true God. For Christians, this highlights the importance of worshiping God alone and not allowing anything else to take His place in their lives. and bow down to them
The act of "bowing down" is from the Hebrew "שָׁחָה" (shachah), meaning to prostrate oneself in homage. This physical act symbolizes submission and reverence. In ancient cultures, bowing down to idols was a common practice, signifying allegiance and worship. Theologically, this phrase warns against idolatry in any form, whether physical idols or modern-day equivalents like money, power, or status. It calls believers to examine their lives and ensure that their worship and allegiance are directed solely towards God. Persons / Places / Events 1. MosesThe author of Deuteronomy, delivering God's laws and instructions to the Israelites. 2. IsraelitesThe chosen people of God, receiving the commandments as they prepare to enter the Promised Land. 3. Promised LandThe land of Canaan, which God promised to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 4. Other godsRefers to the false deities worshiped by the surrounding nations, which the Israelites are warned against. 5. Canaanite CultureThe prevailing culture in the Promised Land, known for its idolatry and practices contrary to God's commands. Teaching Points Guard Your HeartThe Hebrew word for "enticed" (nasha) implies being deceived or led astray. Believers must vigilantly guard their hearts against influences that draw them away from God. The Danger of IdolatryIdolatry is not just the worship of physical idols but can include anything that takes precedence over God in our lives, such as money, power, or relationships. Faithfulness to GodThe call to remain faithful to God is a central theme throughout Scripture. Our relationship with God should be exclusive and undivided. Cultural InfluenceJust as the Israelites were warned about the influence of Canaanite culture, Christians today must be aware of cultural pressures that conflict with biblical values. Repentance and ReturnIf we find ourselves enticed and led astray, Scripture encourages us to repent and return to God, who is gracious and forgiving. Bible Study Questions 1. What are some modern-day "gods" or idols that can entice us away from our devotion to God? 2. How can we practically guard our hearts against being led astray by cultural influences? 3. In what ways does the warning in Deuteronomy 11:16 apply to the church today? 4. How can we encourage one another to remain faithful to God in a world full of distractions? 5. Reflect on a time when you were tempted to prioritize something over God. How did you respond, and what did you learn from that experience? Connections to Other Scriptures Exodus 20:3-5The first and second commandments, which prohibit the worship of other gods and the making of idols, reinforcing the warning in Deuteronomy 11:16. Joshua 24:14-15Joshua's call to the Israelites to serve the Lord and reject other gods, echoing the warning against idolatry. 1 Kings 11:1-11The account of Solomon's downfall due to idolatry, illustrating the consequences of turning away from God. Romans 1:21-23Paul's description of humanity's tendency to exchange the glory of God for images, highlighting the timeless nature of this warning. 1 John 5:21John's exhortation to keep away from idols, showing the New Testament continuity of this command. 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 Aside, Beware, Bow, Bowed, Care, Deceived, Enticed, Gods, Heart, Hearts, Heed, Lest, Servants, Serve, Served, Turn, Worship, Worshippers, YourselvesDictionary of Bible Themes Deuteronomy 11:16 5978 warning
8330 receptiveness Deuteronomy 11:8-17 7258 promised land, early history Deuteronomy 11:13-21 7410 phylactery Deuteronomy 11:16-17 4430 crops 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 11:16 NIVDeuteronomy 11:16 NLTDeuteronomy 11:16 ESVDeuteronomy 11:16 NASBDeuteronomy 11:16 KJV
Deuteronomy 11:16 Commentaries
Bible Hub |
