and what He did in the midst of all the Israelites to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and every living thing that belonged to them. and what He didThis phrase emphasizes the direct action of God in the events described. The Hebrew root for "did" is "עָשָׂה" (asah), which means to do, make, or accomplish. This underscores God's sovereignty and active involvement in the affairs of His people. It serves as a reminder of His power and justice, reinforcing the idea that God is not passive but actively shapes history according to His divine will. to Dathan and Abiram
Dathan and Abiram were leaders of a rebellion against Moses and Aaron, as detailed in Numbers 16. Their account is a cautionary tale about the dangers of pride and rebellion against God's appointed leaders. The mention of their names here serves as a historical reminder to the Israelites of the consequences of disobedience and the importance of respecting God's chosen authority. the sons of Eliab the Reubenite
Eliab was a member of the tribe of Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob. The Reubenites had a significant position among the tribes of Israel, yet Dathan and Abiram's rebellion highlights that status does not exempt one from accountability to God. This phrase serves as a reminder that all are equal before God and subject to His laws, regardless of tribal affiliation or lineage. when in the middle of all Israel
The public nature of the event is emphasized here. The phrase suggests that the judgment was not done in secret but was witnessed by the entire community. This public demonstration of God's judgment served as a powerful lesson to the Israelites about the seriousness of sin and the reality of divine justice. It was meant to instill a healthy fear of the Lord and encourage obedience among the people. the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them
This vivid imagery of the earth opening and swallowing the rebels is a dramatic demonstration of God's power over creation. The Hebrew word for "swallowed" is "בָּלַע" (bala), which conveys the idea of engulfing or consuming. This act of divine intervention was a supernatural event that underscored God's ability to execute judgment in extraordinary ways, reinforcing His authority over life and death. along with their households, their tents, and every living thing that followed them
The comprehensive nature of the judgment is highlighted here. Not only were Dathan and Abiram punished, but their entire households and possessions were also consumed. This serves as a sobering reminder of the far-reaching consequences of sin, which can affect not only the individual but also their family and community. It underscores the importance of personal responsibility and the impact of one's actions on others. Persons / Places / Events 1. Dathan and AbiramSons of Eliab, from the tribe of Reuben, who rebelled against Moses and Aaron's leadership. 2. EliabFather of Dathan and Abiram, a member of the tribe of Reuben. 3. ReubenitesDescendants of Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob, who had a significant role in the early history of Israel. 4. The Earth OpeningA miraculous event where the ground split open to swallow the rebels, demonstrating God's judgment. 5. IsraelThe nation witnessing this event, serving as a reminder of God's power and justice. Teaching Points God's Sovereignty and JusticeThe event underscores God's absolute authority and His intolerance of rebellion against His appointed leaders. The Consequences of RebellionRebellion against God and His ordained leadership leads to severe consequences, as seen in the fate of Dathan and Abiram. The Importance of ObedienceObedience to God is crucial for His blessings and protection. The Israelites were reminded of this through the judgment of the rebels. Community AccountabilityThe entire community of Israel witnessed the event, highlighting the importance of communal responsibility and the impact of individual actions on the whole. Faith in God's LeadershipTrusting in God's chosen leaders is essential, as they are appointed to guide His people according to His will. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the account of Dathan and Abiram illustrate the consequences of rebelling against God's appointed leaders? 2. In what ways can we see God's justice and mercy in the account of the earth swallowing the rebels? 3. How can the community of believers today learn from the communal aspect of accountability demonstrated in this event? 4. What are some modern-day examples of rebellion against God's authority, and how can we address them biblically? 5. How does this passage encourage us to trust in God's sovereignty and His chosen leaders in our lives today? Connections to Other Scriptures Numbers 16Provides the detailed account of the rebellion led by Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and God's judgment upon them. Psalm 106Reflects on Israel's history, including the rebellion and God's response, emphasizing His justice and mercy. Jude 1Warns against rebellion and false teachers, using historical examples like Korah's rebellion to illustrate the consequences of defying God's authority. 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 Abiram, Belonged, Dathan, Eliab, Followed, Households, Middle, Midst, Mouth, Opened, Reuben, Reubenite, Sons, Swallowed, TentsDictionary of Bible Themes Deuteronomy 11:6 5167 mouth
5682 family, significance Deuteronomy 11:2-7 5854 experience, of God
8231 discipline, divine 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 11:6 NIVDeuteronomy 11:6 NLTDeuteronomy 11:6 ESVDeuteronomy 11:6 NASBDeuteronomy 11:6 KJV
Deuteronomy 11:6 Commentaries
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