Blessing and curse before Israel

11:1 You must love the Lord your God and do what he requires; keep his statutes, ordinances, and commandments at all times. 11:2 Bear in mind today that I am not speaking to your children who have not personally experienced the judgments of the Lord your God, which revealed his greatness, strength, and power. 11:3 They did not see the awesome deeds he performed in the midst of Egypt against Pharaoh king of Egypt and his whole land, 11:4 or what he did to the army of Egypt, including their horses and chariots, when he made the waters of the Red Sea overwhelm them while they were pursuing you and he annihilated them. 11:5 They did not see what he did to you in the desert before you reached this place, 11:6 or what he did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth in the middle of the Israelite camp and swallowed them, their families, their tents, and all the property they brought with them. 11:7 I am speaking to you because you are the ones who saw all the great deeds of the Lord! 11:8 Now pay attention to all the commandments I am giving you today, so that you may be strong enough to enter and possess the land where you are headed, 11:9 and that you may enjoy long life in the land the Lord promised to give to your ancestors and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey. 11:10 For the land where you are headed is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, a land where you planted seed and which you irrigated by hand like a vegetable garden. 11:11 Instead, the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy is one of hills and valleys, a land that drinks in water from the rains, 11:12 a land the Lord your God looks after. He is constantly attentive to it from the beginning to the end of the year. 11:13 Now, if you pay close attention to my commandments that I am giving you today and love the Lord your God and serve him with all your mind and being, 11:14 then he promises, “I will send rain for your land in its season, the autumn and the spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine, and olive oil. 11:15 I will provide pasture for your livestock and you will eat your fill.” 11:16 Make sure you do not turn away to serve and worship other gods! 11:17 Then the anger of the Lord will erupt against you and he will close up the sky so that it does not rain. The land will not yield its produce, and you will soon be removed from the good land that the Lord is about to give you. 11:18 Fix these words of mine into your mind and being, and tie them as a reminder on your hands and let them be symbols on your forehead. 11:19 Teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up. 11:20 Inscribe them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates 11:21 so that your days and those of your descendants may be extended in the land which the Lord promised to give to your ancestors, like the days of heaven itself. 11:22 For if you carefully observe all of these commandments I am giving you and love the Lord your God, live according to his standards, and remain loyal to him, 11:23 then he will drive out all these nations ahead of you, and you will dispossess nations greater and stronger than you. 11:24 Every place you set your foot will be yours; your border will extend from the desert to Lebanon and from the River (that is, the Euphrates) as far as the Mediterranean Sea. 11:25 Nobody will be able to resist you; the Lord your God will spread the fear and terror of you over the whole land on which you walk, just as he promised you. 11:26 Take note – I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 11:27 the blessing if you take to heart the commandments of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, 11:28 and the curse if you pay no attention to his commandments and turn from the way I am setting before you today to pursue other gods you have not known. 11:29 When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are to possess, you must pronounce the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. 11:30 Are they not across the Jordan River, toward the west, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah opposite Gilgal near the oak of Moreh? 11:31 For you are about to cross the Jordan to possess the land the Lord your God is giving you, and you will possess and inhabit it. 11:32 Be certain to keep all the statutes and ordinances that I am presenting to you today.

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Moses tells Israel to love the LORD and obey his commands with their whole lives. He reminds them of the LORD’s great works, sets before them blessing and curse, and calls them to teach these words to their children. Their life in the land will depend on faithful obedience or disobedience to the covenant.

Moses speaks to Israel on the edge of the promised land. He is speaking to the people who saw the LORD’s judgments and mighty acts for themselves. They saw his power in Egypt, at the Red Sea, in the wilderness, and against rebellion. Because they have seen these things, they are responsible to obey.

The land they are about to enter is not like Egypt. Egypt depended on human irrigation. Canaan depends on the LORD’s rain and care. The LORD watches over the land from beginning to end of the year. This shows Israel that their future in the land depends on him.

Moses says that if they love the LORD, keep his commands, and serve him faithfully, the LORD will give rain in season and provide grain, wine, oil, pasture, and food. But if they turn aside to other gods, the LORD’s anger will rise, the sky will close, the land will fail, and they will be removed from the good land.

Because of this, the people must keep God’s words in mind and in their daily life. They must teach them to their children at home and on the road, when they lie down and when they rise. The words must govern the whole life of the covenant people.

Moses also sets before Israel a blessing and a curse. Blessing comes with obedience. Curse comes with refusal and idolatry. When they enter the land, they are to pronounce the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. The chapter ends by repeating the call: be careful to keep all the LORD’s statutes and ordinances.

• The LORD’s commands are to be loved and obeyed with the whole person.
• Israel’s own memory of God’s mighty acts should lead to faith and obedience.
• The land is under the LORD’s care, not human control.
• Obedience is linked with blessing; idolatry is linked with judgment and removal from the land.
• Parents are to teach God’s words to their children in daily life.
• Blessing and curse are real covenant choices set before Israel.

• Warning: Do not turn aside to serve other gods.
• Warning: If Israel rejects the LORD, the sky will close, the land will fail, and they will be removed from it.
• Promise: If Israel obeys, the LORD will send rain in its season and provide for the land.
• Command: Love the LORD your God and keep his statutes, ordinances, and commandments.
• Command: Teach God’s words to your children and speak of them in daily life.
• Command: Pronounce the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.

This passage is part of the LORD’s covenant dealings with Israel as they enter the promised land. It shows that life in the land depends on loyalty to God’s word. In the broader canon, it highlights the seriousness of covenant blessing and curse and the need for faithful obedience before God.

God’s people should remember his works, love his word, and obey him in everyday life. Parents should teach Scripture at home and talk about it often. We should not turn this passage into a promise of earthly success, because it speaks first to Israel under the Mosaic covenant in the land.

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