August 27, 2019
When Not to Keep a Secret
Deuteronomy 11
Stephanie Belongia
Central Truth
Our hearts are prone to wander and forget all that the Lord has done. In the same way that Moses is reminding the Israelites of all the ways God has provided for them, we need to call to mind daily how He has shown Himself faithful in our lives.
Key Verse | Deuteronomy 11:7, 18, 19
For your eyes have seen all the great work of the LORD that He did. . . . "You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul . . . . You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."
Deuteronomy 11
Love and Serve the LORD
1 You shall therefore love the LORD your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always. 2 And consider today (since I am not speaking to your children who have not known or seen it), consider the discipline 1 11:2 Or instruction of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand and his outstretched arm, 3 his signs and his deeds that he did in Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land, 4 and what he did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and to their chariots, how he made the water of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued after you, and how the LORD has destroyed them to this day, 5 and what he did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place, 6 and what he did to Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, son of Reuben, how the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households, their tents, and every living thing that followed them, in the midst of all Israel. 7 For your eyes have seen all the great work of the LORD that he did.
8 You shall therefore keep the whole commandment that I command you today, that you may be strong, and go in and take possession of the land that you are going over to possess, 9 and that you may live long in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give to them and to their offspring, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 For the land that you are entering to take possession of it is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and irrigated it, 2 11:10 Hebrew watered it with your feet like a garden of vegetables. 11 But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, 12 a land that the LORD your God cares for. The eyes of the LORD your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
13 And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 he 3 11:14 Samaritan, Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew I; also verse 15 will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. 15 And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full. 16 Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; 17 then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the LORD is giving you.
18 You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 20 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens are above the earth. 22 For if you will be careful to do all this commandment that I command you to do, loving the LORD your God, walking in all his ways, and holding fast to him, 23 then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and mightier than you. 24 Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours. Your territory shall be from the wilderness to 4 11:24 Hebrew and the Lebanon and from the River, the river Euphrates, to the western sea. 25 No one shall be able to stand against you. The LORD your God will lay the fear of you and the dread of you on all the land that you shall tread, as he promised you.
26 See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, 28 and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside from the way that I am commanding you today, to go after other gods that you have not known. 29 And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, you shall set the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. 30 Are they not beyond the Jordan, west of the road, toward the going down of the sun, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, beside the oak 5 11:30 Septuagint, Syriac; see Genesis 12:6. Hebrew oaks, or terebinths of Moreh? 31 For you are to cross over the Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the LORD your God is giving you. And when you possess it and live in it, 32 you shall be careful to do all the statutes and the rules that I am setting before you today.
Dive Deeper | Deuteronomy 11
I absolutely love the Old Testament. In fact, my friends will tell you that I'm most likely to give counsel from these books! I love how God's character is so vividly displayed in the way He loves, pursues, provides for, and rescues His people. Throughout the book of Deuteronomy, Moses is reminding the Israelites of all the times God has shown them that He loves them; that His commands are for their good always (Deuteronomy 6:24); and that His commands, therefore, should be followed!
I grew up in a loving Christian home and have believed in God as long as I can remember. However, when I lost my brother in 2011, I immediately accused the Lord of leaving me and "not upholding His end of the deal." I failed to remember the ways He had drawn me to Himself the previous 25 years.
This is why Moses is pleading with the Israelites to write it on your doorposts (Deuteronomy 11:20) and tell others all that God has done. Our hearts are prone to wander (Psalm 119:9-16; Jeremiah 17:9; Hebrews 3:15), and we need to be reminded of how He continually provides (Hebrews 13:8).
I didn't always have eyes to see it, but I can see now that God has had His hand on me since before I was born (Psalm 139:13). The Lord told the Israelites, "These forty years the LORD your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing." (Deuteronomy 2:7) In the similar way, He has given me all I need (2 Peter 1:3).
Later on, when I was in another extremely difficult time for my family, I was able to call to mind how God had rescued me at my lowest point four years earlier. My heart was reminded that He is for my good always and can be trusted, even in the pit.
"But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness."
(Lamentations 3:21-23)
Let us all call to mind today His faithfulness!
Discussion Questions
1. What specific times in your life can you "call to mind" to remind yourself of His faithfulness? Write them down and put them in a place you see often.
2. Life is hard, and we all need encouragement. Are you reminding the community around you that God is for our good always? Share with someone today how God has been faithful to you.
3. If we are confident in His faithfulness, His commands should be easy to follow. Are there any areas in which you aren't being obedient? What or whom are you trusting in over God?