Deuteronomy 11

This is the final chapter of Moses's second address in Deuteronomy, which begins in chapter 5. Before the specific legal provisions (chapters 12–26), the opening portion of this address urges Israel to love God and keep His commandments, and this chapter brings that exhortation to a close. It continues directly from the exhortation of Deuteronomy 10.

Outline

• Verses 1–7 Their children did not see these things, but the present generation saw them with their own eyes. Moses calls on the people to remember what they witnessed: the miracles done to Pharaoh, king of Egypt; the waters of the Red Sea overwhelming the Egyptian army; what God did in the wilderness; and the earth swallowing Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab the son of Reuben.
• Verses 8–12 If they keep the commandments, they will be strong, possess the land flowing with milk and honey, and prolong their days. Unlike Egypt, which was irrigated by foot, that land drinks the rain of heaven, and the eyes of the LORD are always upon it.
• Verses 13–17 If they serve the LORD with all their heart and soul, He will give the first rain and the latter rain in their season. If they serve other gods, He will shut up the heaven so that there is no rain.
• Verses 18–21 They are to lay up these words in their heart and bind them as a sign upon their hand and as frontlets between their eyes. They are commanded to teach them to their children continually and to write them upon the doorposts of their houses and upon their gates.
• Verses 22–25 If they keep the commandments and cleave to the LORD, He will drive out great and mighty nations before them. Their border will run from the wilderness to Lebanon and from the river Euphrates to the western sea.
• Verses 26–32 A blessing and a curse are set before the people. Once they enter the land, they are commanded to pronounce the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.

Key Verses

• Deuteronomy 11:12 "The eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year." This verse presents the promised land as under God's care. The Korean Revised Version renders the phrase with archaic Sino-Korean terms, which the New Korean Revised Version replaces with more contemporary wording.
• Deuteronomy 11:19 "And ye shall teach them your children." This is a command to pass the faith on to the next generation in the course of daily life. Its content is nearly identical to Deuteronomy 6:6–9.
• Deuteronomy 11:26 "Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse." This statement sets out the crossroads of obedience and disobedience and anticipates the choice between life and death in Deuteronomy 30:15–20.

People and Places

• Moses: the speaker of the chapter.
• Dathan and Abiram: sons of Eliab of the tribe of Reuben. They rebelled against Moses together with Korah and were swallowed by the earth (Numbers 16). This chapter does not mention Korah by name.
• Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal: the two mountains on which the blessing and the curse are to be pronounced. The text locates them "over against Gilgal, beside the plains of Moreh," and they are traditionally identified as the two mountains facing each other on either side of Shechem.
• Lebanon and the Euphrates: the northern and eastern limits of the promised land.
• The Jordan River: the boundary the people must cross to enter the land.

Points for Reflection

• In Judaism, verses 13–21 form the second paragraph of the Shema, which is recited daily together with Deuteronomy 6:4–9 and Numbers 15:37–41. Verses 18–20 are observed literally through the wearing of tefillin (phylacteries) and the affixing of the mezuzah to doorposts. Protestants generally read these verses as a call to inscribe God's word on the heart and in daily life.
• Some interpreters regard the promise of rain and harvest in verses 13–17 as a condition given to Israel under the Sinai covenant. Others apply it directly to believers today as a promise of material prosperity, and the debate over prosperity theology continues around this question.
• The first rain is understood as the rain that falls around the autumn sowing, and the latter rain as the rain that falls in spring before the harvest. The same expression appears in James 5:7.
• The command in verse 29 is set out in detail in Deuteronomy 27 and carried out in Joshua 8. Mount Gerizim later became the place of worship of the Samaritans, which forms the background of the conversation in John 4:20–23.

In the Korean Church

• Verse 12 is frequently used at New Year services and at New Year's Eve watchnight services as a text for entrusting the coming year to God.
• Verses 18–21 are often cited together with chapter 6 in sermons on family worship and the religious education of children.
• "The first rain and the latter rain" is widely used as a figurative expression in prayers and worship songs seeking revival and grace.