a blessing if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I am giving you today, the blessingThe Hebrew word for "blessing" is "בְּרָכָה" (berakah), which signifies a state of prosperity and divine favor. In the ancient Near Eastern context, blessings were seen as tangible expressions of God's favor, often resulting in material prosperity, peace, and well-being. The concept of blessing in Deuteronomy is deeply tied to the covenant relationship between God and Israel, where obedience to God's commandments results in His favor and protection. if you obey
The phrase "if you obey" is translated from the Hebrew "אִם תִּשְׁמְעוּ" (im tishme'u), which literally means "if you listen." The root word "שָׁמַע" (shama) implies not just hearing, but active listening and responding. In the biblical context, obedience is not merely about following rules but involves a heart posture of attentiveness and willingness to align one's life with God's will. This conditional clause underscores the covenantal nature of Israel's relationship with God, where blessings are contingent upon their faithfulness. the commandments
The term "commandments" comes from the Hebrew "מִצְוֹת" (mitzvot), referring to the laws and decrees given by God. In Deuteronomy, these commandments are part of the Torah, the divine instruction meant to guide Israel in living a life that reflects God's holiness and justice. The commandments are not arbitrary rules but are designed to cultivate a community that embodies God's character and purposes in the world. of the LORD your God
The phrase "of the LORD your God" emphasizes the personal and covenantal relationship between Yahweh and Israel. "LORD" is the English representation of the Tetragrammaton, "יהוה" (YHWH), the sacred and personal name of God revealed to Moses. This name signifies God's eternal presence and faithfulness. The possessive "your God" highlights the unique relationship and responsibility Israel has to Yahweh, who has chosen them as His people. that I am giving you today
The phrase "that I am giving you today" reflects the immediacy and relevance of God's commandments. The Hebrew word "נֹתֵן" (noten) means "giving," indicating that the commandments are a gift from God, meant to guide and bless His people. The word "today" (הַיּוֹם, hayom) underscores the present and ongoing nature of God's call to obedience. It serves as a reminder that each day presents a new opportunity to choose faithfulness and receive God's blessings. Persons / Places / Events 1. Moses- The leader of the Israelites who is delivering God's commandments to the people. He is the central figure in the book of Deuteronomy, acting as a mediator between God and Israel. 2. Israelites- The chosen people of God, who are about to enter the Promised Land. They are the recipients of the commandments and the ones who will receive the blessings or curses based on their obedience. 3. Promised Land- The land of Canaan, which God promised to Abraham and his descendants. It represents the fulfillment of God's promises and the place where the Israelites will experience blessings or curses. 4. Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal- These are the two mountains mentioned later in Deuteronomy 11, where the blessings and curses are to be proclaimed. They symbolize the choice set before the Israelites. 5. The LORD (Yahweh)- The covenant God of Israel, who gives the commandments and promises blessings for obedience. Teaching Points The Importance of ObedienceObedience to God's commandments is central to receiving His blessings. It is not merely about following rules but about aligning one's life with God's will. Covenant RelationshipThe blessings are part of a covenant relationship with God. Understanding this relationship helps believers see obedience as a response to God's love and faithfulness. Choice and ConsequenceThe passage highlights the reality of choice and consequence. Believers are encouraged to choose obedience, understanding that it leads to life and blessing. Faith and ActionTrue faith is demonstrated through action. Obedience is an expression of faith and trust in God's promises. Reflecting ChristAs Christians, obedience to God's commandments reflects the character of Christ in us, serving as a witness to others. Bible Study Questions 1. How does understanding the covenant relationship between God and the Israelites help us comprehend the importance of obedience in our own lives? 2. In what ways can we see the principle of "blessing for obedience" reflected in the New Testament teachings of Jesus and the apostles? 3. How can we practically choose obedience in our daily lives, especially when faced with difficult decisions? 4. What are some modern-day "Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal" moments where we must choose between obedience and disobedience? 5. How does our obedience to God's commandments serve as a testimony to those around us, and how can we improve in this area? Connections to Other Scriptures Deuteronomy 28This chapter expands on the blessings and curses associated with obedience and disobedience, providing a detailed list of outcomes for the Israelites. Joshua 8:30-35Describes the fulfillment of the command to proclaim blessings and curses on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, showing the importance of obedience in the life of Israel. John 14:15Jesus speaks about the connection between love and obedience, reinforcing the idea that true love for God is demonstrated through keeping His commandments. James 1:22-25Encourages believers to be doers of the word, not just hearers, which aligns with the call to obedience in Deuteronomy. 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 Blessing, Command, Commanding, Commandments, Commands, Ear, Giving, Hearken, Listen, Obey, Orders, To-dayDictionary of Bible Themes Deuteronomy 11:26-28 1335 blessing 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 11:27 NIVDeuteronomy 11:27 NLTDeuteronomy 11:27 ESVDeuteronomy 11:27 NASBDeuteronomy 11:27 KJV
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