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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
10:12-11:32 Exhortation. Having focused on the key commandments and Shema (6:4-5; see note on 6:4), and having repeatedly expressed concern at Israel's record of failure and its heart of fear and pride, Moses now exhorts the Israelites to get their hearts right.
10:12-13 And now marks a transition from history to exhortation. what does the Lord your God require of you. Cf. Mic. 6:8. Five commands follow, the central one of which is love (see Deut. 4:37; 6:5; and note on 4:37-39; also 11:1, 13, 22). fear. See note on 6:1-2. walk in all his ways. See 5:33 and note on 5:32-33. serve. See 6:13; 10:20; 11:13; 13:4. keep. See 4:40; 5:29; 6:24. for your good. Obedience is for the people's benefit in the end.
10:14-15 The contrast between heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it and Israel's fathers heightens the sense of astonishment at election and grace. love on your fathers. See 4:37 and 7:7-8; note on 4:37-39; cf. 10:12.
10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart. The mention of "offspring" (v. 15) recalls Genesis 17, where God instituted circumcision as his covenant sign for Abraham and his descendants (cf. Gen. 17:9-14). This verse explicitly recognizes Israel's need to change its heart (cf. Deut. 29:4; see also Jer. 4:4; 9:25-26; Rom. 2:25-29). Here, circumcision symbolizes removing the stubbornness that prevents the heart from properly loving God (cf. Ex. 6:12, where "uncircumcised lips" do not speak well; Jer. 6:10, where "uncircumcised ears" do not hear clearly). This is a command beyond any human's competence to fulfill (see Deut. 30:6). stubborn. See 9:6 and note.
10:17 Israel's heart needs correction because (for) God is the awesome God. not partial. See 1:17. The election of Israel (10:15) does not mean God will cut moral corners in showing special favors to Israel. He is a just God (v. 18).
10:18-19 The fatherless, the widow, and the sojourner are the main categories of landless people (in addition to the Levites). Deuteronomy commands special care for such people (e.g., 14:29; 16:11, 14; 24:17, 19-21; 27:19). you were sojourners. Israel's own experience in Egypt is a motivation for several laws in Deuteronomy (e.g., 15:15; 24:18, 22).
10:22 down to Egypt seventy persons. See Gen. 46:27 and Ex. 1:5. numerous as the stars of heaven. Having referred to the election of Abraham in Deut. 10:15, Moses now speaks of the fulfillment of part of the Abrahamic promise (Gen. 15:5). See Deut. 1:10 and note.
11:1 therefore. The command to love is grounded in God's gracious rescue of Israel from Egypt (10:21-22). love. See 4:37; 6:5; and note on 4:37-39.
11:2 Moses addresses the adults of Israel on the basis that all had experienced the exodus and wilderness events, even though the adults who left Egypt had died in the wilderness. See 5:3 and note. discipline. See 8:5.
11:6 Dathan and Abiram, along with Korah who is unnamed here, rebelled against Moses' leadership in the wilderness (Num. 16:1-35).
11:7 your eyes have seen. See notes on v. 2 and 1:29-31. See also 3:21; 4:3, 9, 12; 7:19; 10:21; 29:2.
11:9 milk and honey. See 6:3. Again, both the goodness of the land as well as God's faithfulness to the Abrahamic promise provide incentives for Israel to enter and conquer.
11:10 irrigated it. Lit., "watered it with your feet" (see ESV footnote). The need for irrigation in Egypt implies lack of rain. The use of feet, possibly to turn water wheels, implies hard work.
11:11-15 The idyllic picture of the land (cf. 6:10-11; 8:7-10) recalls the description of Eden (Gen. 2:5-13) and is an added incentive to conquer it. The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it suggests care and protection as well as bounty. if you will indeed obey. This command lies in the center of idyllic land descriptions, highlighting the centrality of obedience. early rain and the later rain. Both October/November and March/April rains are needed for good crops. eat and be full. See Deut. 6:10-11 and 8:12.
11:16-17 Take care lest. Abundance always carries warnings (6:12; 8:11-12), often expressed in terms of the heart (8:11-17). The deception here is probably wrongly thinking that the Canaanite fertility gods are the source of the rain, crops, and animals. anger. The warnings also lead to the threat of punishment (see chs. 6; 8). Here, if the Lord is not acknowledged as the provider of rain (11:14), he will cause the rain to stop (see 28:23-24; cf. 1 Kings 17:1).
11:18-21 On remembering and imparting these words to the next generation, see note on 6:7-9. as long as the heavens are above the earth. That is, forever.
11:24-25 on which the sole of your foot treads. See Josh. 1:3; cf. Deut. 2:5; 28:65. territory. See 1:7; Gen. 15:18; Josh. 1:3-4. fear of you and the dread of you. See Deut. 2:25, though the expression is not identical in Hebrew. The promise assumes Israel's faithfulness.
11:26 I am setting before you today. This expression, repeated in v. 32, brackets these verses and gives them an urgency for making the right decision. Though the conquest is the immediate concern, general obedience is the ultimate goal. The two options are summarized as a blessing and a curse (see chs. 27-28). On the decision, see 30:15, 19.
11:28 that you have not known. There has been no personal relationship with the Canaanite Baals, unlike with the Lord, who has entered a covenant relationship with Israel.
