You shall therefore keep every commandment I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and possess the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, You shall therefore keepThe phrase "You shall therefore keep" emphasizes the importance of obedience to God's commandments. The Hebrew root word for "keep" is "שָׁמַר" (shamar), which means to guard, observe, or give heed. This implies a vigilant and active engagement with God's laws, not merely a passive acknowledgment. In the historical context, the Israelites were on the brink of entering the Promised Land, and their success depended on their faithfulness to God's instructions. This call to obedience is timeless, reminding believers today of the necessity to diligently follow God's Word as a demonstration of faith and commitment. every commandment
The term "every commandment" underscores the comprehensive nature of God's expectations. The Hebrew word for "commandment" is "מִצְוָה" (mitzvah), which refers to a directive or ordinance given by God. This indicates that no part of God's law is insignificant; each commandment holds value and purpose. Historically, the Israelites were given a detailed set of laws to guide their community and worship. For contemporary believers, this highlights the importance of embracing the entirety of God's Word, recognizing that each commandment contributes to a holistic and righteous life. I am giving you today
"I am giving you today" reflects the immediacy and relevance of God's commandments. The phrase suggests a present and ongoing action, indicating that God's instructions are not just historical artifacts but are continually applicable. The Israelites received these commandments as they prepared to enter a new phase of their journey, symbolizing new beginnings and opportunities. For modern readers, this serves as a reminder that God's Word is ever-present and applicable to our daily lives, offering guidance and wisdom for every situation. so that you may have the strength
The phrase "so that you may have the strength" connects obedience to empowerment. The Hebrew word for "strength" is "חָזַק" (chazaq), which means to be strong, firm, or resolute. This suggests that adherence to God's commandments provides spiritual and moral fortitude. For the Israelites, this strength was necessary to conquer and settle in the Promised Land. In a broader sense, it implies that spiritual strength is derived from living in accordance with God's will, enabling believers to face life's challenges with confidence and resilience. to go in and possess the land
"To go in and possess the land" speaks to the fulfillment of God's promises. The act of possessing the land was both a physical and spiritual endeavor for the Israelites, representing the realization of God's covenant with Abraham. The Hebrew word for "possess" is "יָרַשׁ" (yarash), meaning to inherit or take possession. This highlights the idea of receiving what has been divinely appointed. For Christians today, it symbolizes the spiritual inheritance and blessings that come from living a life aligned with God's purposes. that you are crossing the Jordan to possess
The phrase "that you are crossing the Jordan to possess" signifies a pivotal moment of transition and faith. The Jordan River represented a boundary between the wilderness and the Promised Land, a crossing from the old life into a new chapter. Historically, this was a moment of great anticipation and trust in God's promises. For believers, it serves as a metaphor for stepping into God's promises and purposes, requiring faith and obedience to move from where we are to where God is leading us. It is a call to action, encouraging us to trust in God's provision and guidance as we journey through life. Persons / Places / Events 1. MosesThe leader of the Israelites who is delivering God's commandments to the people. He is the primary speaker in Deuteronomy, conveying God's laws and instructions. 2. IsraelitesThe chosen people of God, who are being prepared to enter the Promised Land. They are the recipients of the commandments and instructions given by Moses. 3. The Promised LandThe land of Canaan, which God promised to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It represents a place of rest and blessing for the Israelites. 4. The Jordan RiverA significant geographical boundary that the Israelites must cross to enter the Promised Land. It symbolizes a transition from the wilderness to the fulfillment of God's promise. 5. God's CommandmentsThe laws and instructions given by God through Moses, which the Israelites are commanded to obey in order to receive God's blessings and strength. Teaching Points Obedience as a Source of StrengthObedience to God's commandments is not just a duty but a source of spiritual strength. By aligning our lives with God's will, we are empowered to face challenges and fulfill our God-given purposes. The Importance of PreparationJust as the Israelites needed to prepare to enter the Promised Land, we must prepare our hearts and minds to receive God's promises. This involves studying His Word and applying it to our lives. Faith and ActionFaith in God's promises must be accompanied by action. The Israelites were called to actively possess the land, just as we are called to actively live out our faith. The Role of God's Word in Our LivesGod's Word is a guide for living a life that is pleasing to Him. Regular engagement with Scripture helps us to understand His will and equips us to follow His commands. Bible Study Questions 1. How does obedience to God's commandments provide strength in your personal life, and what specific areas do you feel called to strengthen through obedience? 2. In what ways can you prepare yourself spiritually to "possess the land" or fulfill the promises God has for you? 3. How does the crossing of the Jordan River symbolize transitions in your own spiritual journey, and what steps can you take to move forward in faith? 4. Reflect on a time when acting on God's Word brought about a positive change in your life. How can this experience encourage you to be a doer of the Word? 5. How can you incorporate regular study and application of God's Word into your daily routine to ensure you are living in alignment with His will? Connections to Other Scriptures Joshua 1:6-9This passage emphasizes the importance of strength and courage, as well as adherence to God's law, for success in possessing the land. Psalm 119:1-2Highlights the blessings that come from walking in the law of the Lord and keeping His testimonies. James 1:22-25Encourages believers to be doers of the word, not just hearers, which aligns with the call to obey God's commandments 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 Command, Commanding, Commandment, Commandments, Commands, Cross, Crossing, Enter, Giving, Heritage, Jordan, Kept, Orders, Pass, Passing, Possess, Possessed, Possession, Strength, Strong, To-day, WhitherDictionary of Bible Themes Deuteronomy 11:8-9 4404 food Deuteronomy 11:8-12 1335 blessing
4209 land, spiritual aspects Deuteronomy 11:8-17 7258 promised land, early history 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 11:8 NIVDeuteronomy 11:8 NLTDeuteronomy 11:8 ESVDeuteronomy 11:8 NASBDeuteronomy 11:8 KJV
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