Go Beyond

• Obedience Results in a Bountiful Land | Deuteronomy 11:10-17

11:10-17 | Moses informed the people that the land of Canaan was not like the land of Egypt. The agricultural potential of Canaan was far greater than anything they had known in Egypt (11:10-12). He told the people that they could depend on God to send rain from heaven for their crops and cattle (11:14-15) as long as they remained obedient to Him and served Him (11:13). He cautioned them to watch themselves lest they be led spiritually astray and serve and worship other gods (11:16) and thus incur the wrath of God (11:17). God would not tolerate a divided loyalty from His people. Following after other gods would shut the rains from heaven and cause the people to quickly perish from the land (11:17).

• Teach These Words to Your Children | Deuteronomy 11:18-25

11:18-21 | These verses are similar to Deuteronomy 6:6-9. They reemphasize the importance of comprehensively communicating the truths of God’s word to the next generation. Parents cannot effectively communicate the importance and truths of God’s word to the next generation apart from spending personal time with their children. Someone has noted that children spell love “T – i – m – e.” Moses urged parents to communicate with their children in the following ways.

Personally | The communication of God’s word must begin with the communicator. “You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul … “ (11:18 and see also Deuteronomy 6:6). You cannot teach others what you do not know, nor can you convince others of the importance of what you do not observe.

Privately | “talking of them when you sit in your house” (11:19). Parents should create an atmosphere in the home that fosters open communication, a place where children will ask questions about God.

Publicly | “and when you walk along the road” (11:19). Jesus taught many valuable lessons to His disciples as they walked along the road.

Persistently | “and when you lie down and when you rise up” (11:19). Parents should verbally and non-verbally communicate the importance of loving and obeying God both day and night.

Visually | “and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand … forehead” (1:18), “and you shall write them … “ (11:20). Experts say that our learning is 89 percent visual, 10 percent auditory, and 1 percent through other senses.

We should remind ourselves to remember. | Any person who wants to ‘remember’ can find a way to be reminded. Moses urged the people to employ various means to remember and communicate the importance of God’s word.

11:22-25 | Moses reminded the people that the successful conquest of the land was not dependent on their military superiority but on their careful observance of God’s commandments (11:22-23). If the Israelites were careful to observe God’s commandments, God promised to enlarge their boundaries in the land (11:24 and see also Joshua 1:3) and grant them success in battle (11:25). Isaiah 60:12 emphasizes the importance of nations relying upon God: “For the nation and the kingdom which will not serve you will perish, and the nations will be utterly ruined.”