Thru the Bible - #162-Deuteronomy 11 - Rewards of Obedience

Transcript

Welcome And Today’s Passage

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Welcome to Bereen's Corner, the podcast where we go through books of the Bible chapter by chapter and verse by verse. Wherever you are in the world, thank you for joining. Grab a glass of water, a cup of coffee, a tea, and let's get into today's lesson. Open your Bible to Deuteronomy chapter 11. The title of today's lesson is Rewards of Obedience. Last time we were together, we looked at the tablets being rewritten. Today we are looking at rewards of obedience. Deuteronomy 11, and let's read.

Deuteronomy 11 Read Aloud

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Deuteronomy 11. Love the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws, and his commands always. Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the Lord your God, his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm, the signs he performed, and the things he did in the heart of Egypt, both to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and to his whole country. What he did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots, how he overwhelmed them with the waters of the Red Sea as they were pursuing you, and how the Lord brought lasting ruin on them. It was not your children who saw what he did for you in the desert until you arrived at this place, and what he did to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliad the Reubenite, when the earth opened its mouth right in the middle of all Israel and swallowed them up with their households, their tents, and every living thing that belonged to them. But it was your own eyes that saw these great things the Lord has done. Observe, therefore, all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, and so that you may live long in the land that the Lord swore to your forefathers to give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey. The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. It is a land the Lord your God cares for. The eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end. So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today, to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain new wine and oil. I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. Then the Lord's anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain, and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the Lord is giving you. Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds. Tie them as symbols on your hands, and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the Lord sure to give your forefathers as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth. If you carefully observe all these commands, I am giving you to follow, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, and to hold fast to him, then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you. Every place where you set your foot will be yours. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon and from the Euphrates River to the Western Sea. No man will be able to stand against you. The Lord your God, as he promised you, will put the terror and fear of you on the whole land wherever you go. See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse. The blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way I command you today by following other gods which you have not known. When the Lord your God has brought you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim on Mount Gerizim the blessings, and on Mount Ebal the curses. As you know, these mountains are across the Jordan, west of the road, toward the setting sun, near the great trees of Moray, in the territory of those Canaanites living in the Arabah in the vicinity of Gilgal. You are about to cross the Jordan to enter and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you have taken it over and are living there, be sure that you obey all the decrees and laws I am setting before you today.

God Takes His Written Word Seriously

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Love God and stay grounded in his word. That is going to be the lesson for this chapter of Deuteronomy 11 that we are going through today. One of the things that becomes crystal clear when you study Deuteronomy is this God takes his written word seriously. This book repeatedly emphasizes the importance of knowing, guarding, teaching, and obeying the scriptures. Moses is giving his final exhortations to Israel before they enter the promised land, and his concern is not only merely that they survive, it is that they stay spiritually faithful when life becomes prosperous and comfortable. That is something, even in our time, that we need to stay focused on is that when things start to look good, feel good, and you you've kind of you feel the blessings falling down on you, you begin to get very comfortable. And there is a central truth of this chapter, and that is Moses reminds God's people of the importance of always loving God and knowing and obeying the words of God. See, Moses wanted Israel to carefully guard and obey the word of God down to the smallest detail, and he especially wanted them to stay committed to God's word when things were going well. Like I said, that's very important. When things are bad, it's easy to stay in God's word and to draw yourself closer to the Lord. But when things begin to get better, we begin to think that we have arrived and we begin to fall away from God's word. And there are some admonitions I would like to point out. One is that God's people are admonished to love the Lord their God. Notice verse 1 you shall therefore love the Lord your God. The word love here speaks of a deep desire, delight, and affection. See, God does not simply want outward obedience from his people, he wants their heart, he wants his people to genuinely love him and delight in him above everything else. And Moses immediately connects loving God with something else, obedience. See, true love for God will always affect how we respond to his word. When you really love the Lord, you will obey the Lord, you will want to obey him. Even when you think about going down the crooked road, you will think back to the love that you have for him, and it will straighten you right out. The second thing is God's people are admonished to always keep the word of God. We also see this in verse 1, and always keep his charge. The word keep means to carefully watch over, protect, preserve, to guard, to honor. See, Moses never uh lost his intense focus on God's word, not just doing hard times, not only in church setting, but always. No one can properly love God while uh neglecting his scriptures. See, Moses points out that there are four specific areas related to God's word. One area of obedience is keep God's charge. This refers to carefully guarding yourself according to God's instructions. The other is to keep his statutes. These are God's written decrees and established instructions. A third would be keep God's obedience. These are God's righteous judgments and standards. The fourth would be keep God's commandments. These are God's commands, including his uh prohibitions. The message is unmistakable. God wants his people deeply committed to his written word. Which brings us to the third abonition. God's people have seen and known the greatness of God. Notice verses 2 to 7. And know this day that I am not speaking with your sons who have not known and have not seen the discipline of the Lord your God, or his greatness, his mighty hand, and his outstretched arm, and his signs, and his works, which he did in the midst of Egypt, to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and all his land, and that he did to Egypt's army and to his horses and his chariots, when he made the water of the Red Sea to engulf them while they were pursuing you, and the Lord completely destroyed them. And what he did to you in the wilderness until you came to this place, and what he called to Dath Dan and Abaram, the son of Eliab, the son of Reuben, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, their every living thing that followed them among all Israel. But your own eyes have seen all the great work of the Lord which he did. Moses reminds Israel that they had personally witnessed the power and greatness of God. See, they knew what God did to Pharaoh. He reminds them of this. How God judged Egypt. He reminds them of this, how God drowned the Egyptian army in the Red Sea. They saw this with their own eyes. How God dwelt with rebellion in the wilderness. Moses specifically reminds them about Dean and Abaram. See, these men rebelled against God's appointed leadership and promoted prideful rebellion. God judged them dramatically when the earth opened up and swallowed them along with their households and possessions. Do you all remember that? Why does Moses bring this up? Because seeing the greatness of God should produce love for God, reverence for God, and obedience for God, seriousness about his word, what they had seen God do should have strength in their commitment to him. And when I asked you, did you remember you know that incident when we were talking about Dathan and Aberim? See, this is why we go through the Bible. This is why I go through it chronologically and you get it book by book, chapter by chapter, in every verse. Because if you've been with the lesson the whole time, you will remember when that happened. Which brings us to the fourth abonation. God's people need to obey every commandment of God. Notice verses 8 through 12. You shall therefore keep every commandment which I am commanding you today, so that you may be strong and go in and possess the land into which you are about to cross to possess it, so that you may prolong your days on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey. For the land into which you are entering to possess it, it is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you used to sow your seed and water it with your foot like a vegetable garden. But the land into which you are about to cross to possess it, a land of hills and valleys, drinks water from the rain of heaven, a land for which the Lord your God cares. The eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning even to the end of the year. Moses urges Israel to obey every commandment God had given them. Why? He gives them three reasons. Reason

Loving God Shows Up As Obedience

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number one, so you may be strong. We saw that in verse 8. You shall therefore keep every commandment which I am commanding you today so that you may be strong. The word strong carries the ideal of being rebuilt, restored, repaired, and strengthened. God's word restores damaged lies. See, when people become serious about scripture, God strengthens them spiritually. The word of God reveals what sin and failure have broken down. The second reason was, so you may possess everything God wants you to have. We also saw that in verse 8. See, God wanted Israel to enjoy the fullness of his blessings in the land. Obedience positioned them to experience what God desired to give them. The third reason was, so you may prolong your days in the land. Look at verse 9, so that you may prolong your days on the land. God wanted his people to enjoy a long life and blessing in the place that he prepared for them. Moses gives four realities about that land. Reality number one, it was a land promised by God. Reality number two, it was a land flowing with milk and honey. Now we have seen this mentioned several times. You're going to a land flowing with milk and honey. Reality number three, it was different from Egypt. See, Egypt required exhausting human effort, but the promised land would depend upon God's provision. See, Israel prospered because the Israelites were slaves and they built up the land. But this land all depended on God. Reality number four, it was a land continually watched over by God. God's eyes were always upon it. Which brings us to the fifth abonation. God's people are admonished to listen to God's word, obey it, love God, and serve him wholeheartedly. We see this in verses 13 through 15. It shall come about if you listen obediently to my commandments, which I am commanding you today, to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul, that he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early and the late rain, that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your oil, and he will give grass in your fields for your cattle, and you shall eat and be satisfied. The word obey means more than simply hearing, it means listening carefully, understanding what God says, and then responding with obedience. God expects his people to hear his word, obey his word, love him, serve him with all their heart and all their soul. And if they did, God promised blessings. The first blessing he promised them was that God would send rain upon the land. What did he say in verse 14? That you that he will give rain for the land in its season. God promised to bless their crops and provide what they needed. And and I want to stop here and point out something when it says the Lord will give them a blessing, he will send rain upon their land. When you hear in uh Malachi, whenever we get there, when they talk about that blessing that uh God will pour down that they will have not room to receive, listen, don't let these prosperity preachers, these prosperity crooks, convince you that that's the money that you put into the pot, and that's the blessing that the Lord is talking about when He says He will pour down a blessing that you have that you will not have room to receive. The Lord was talking about the rain. The rain was the blessing, and these people were praying that their crops grew. And when the Lord opened up the windows of heaven and let that rain fall down, that was the blessing. Blessing number two, God will provide grass for their kettle. See, God would even care uh even for their practical daily needs. The point is clear. God blesses obedience. And why was that important? Because how do your kettle get fat and how do they provide for you from the from the grass? Blessing number that moves us into admonition number six. God's people must guard their hearts against deception. Notice verses 16 and 17. Beware lest your hearts be deceived, and you turn away and serve other gods and worship them, or the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heaven so that there will be no rain, and the ground will not yield its fruit, and you will perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you. Moses warns Israel not to allow their hearts to be deceived. Just as they were to guard God's word, they were also to guard their hearts. The danger was being enticed away from God into false worship and spiritual compromise. And Moses makes it clear that this is an ongoing threat. See, God's people must stay spiritually alert. Moses gives three reasons why they must guard against deception. The first is God's anger would be kindled against his people. He said it in verse 17. Or the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you. No believer should want to live under the discipline of God. Reason number two, God would withhold blessings. We see that also in verse 17. And he will shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain, and the ground will not yield its fruit. God could stop the rain

Remember God’s Power And Discipline

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and remove prosperity from the land, and God could do that in a snap. The third reason was God could remove them from the land. We also see that in verse 17. And you will perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you. See, disobedience carried real consequences. Moses is warning them if you want God's blessing, stay focused on God and his word. Which brings us to some to some conclusions. The first is God's people need to impress God's word upon themselves. Notice verse 18. God's word was uh to saturate every part of life. See, Moses says they were to impress God's words upon their hearts, their minds, their action. God wanted his people wrapped up in his scriptures. Not partially, but he wanted them completely wrapped up, and the Lord wants the same for you and I today. The next conclusion is God's people need to teach God's words to their children. Notice verse 19. And you shall teach them to your sons, talking to them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, and when you lie down, and when you rise up. The next generation needed to hear the word of God. Parents and grandparents were responsible to teach their children the importance of scripture and obedience. Children need to understand that the blessings of God are connected to the word of God, and that not only goes for Israel, but that goes for you and I. It's not just about going to church. Parents and grandparents, you need to be giving that word of God to your children and to your grandchildren. And you know, look at verse 19 again. What did he say? When are you supposed to give it to them? You're supposed to give it to them when you are sitting in your house. You know, that could be dinner time or just your regular pastime. When you are walking along the road, hey, that's when you're going on trips, when you're taking walks, when you're on your way to the park. And when you lie down and when you rise up. That means at night, when you tuck your children in, and some of you, maybe even your grandchildren, give them that word of God, and when they get up in the morning, give them that word of God. Which brings us to the third conclusion. God's people need to publicly demonstrate the importance of God's word. We see this in verses 20 through 28. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your sons may be multiplied on the land which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them as long as the heavens remain above the earth. For if you are careful to keep all his commandments which I am commanding you, to do it, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, and hold fast to him, then the Lord will drive out all these nations from before you, and you will dispossess many nations greater and mightier than you. Every place on which the sole of your foot shall thread shall be yours. Your border shall be from the wilderness to Lebanon and from the river, the river Euphrates, as far as the western sea. There shall be no man, there shall no man be able to stand before you. The Lord your God shall lay the dread of you and the fear of you on all the land on which you set foot, and he has spoken to you. See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse. The blessing, if you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, which I am commanding you today, and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I am commanding you today by following other gods which you have not known. God's word was not meant to stay private, it was to affect personal life, family life, business life, public life. Moses gives six results that come from focusing on God's word. The first result is you and your children will be blessed, and we know that today. Number four, God will cause your enemies to fear you. Even the people who look mighter, mightier than you, they will fear you. The fifth result is God will bless obedience. If you I mean, trust me, if you stay in the Lord's obedience,

Why Obey Every Command

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He will bless you. He will see it through. He will do the things that He said He will do. And number six is God will bring consequences upon disobedience. Now remember, God set before Israel two clear paths. Blessings are cursing. So remember, there is a blessing when you obey the Lord in his word. But if you don't, there are curses that will come with that. Which brings us to the fourth conclusion. God's people are about to enter a new relationship with God, so choose obedience. We see this in verses 29 through 32. It shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, then you shall place the blessing on Mount Gerosim and the curse on Mount Ebal. Are they not across the Jordan west of the way towards the sunset in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah of opposite Gilgal, besides the oath of Moh Morai or Morah? For you are about to cross the Jordan to go and to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall possess it and live in it, and you shall be careful to do all the statutes and the judgments which I am setting before you today. Moses points out uh he points out two mountains to Israel. First, Mount Gerosim. That is the mountain of blessing. But he also uh mentions Mount Ebal, the mountain of cursing. These mountains represent a decision. Would they obey God and experience the blessing or reject God and experience discipline and judgment? The choice is yours, just like the choice was theirs. And honestly, the same principle still applies today. And I have some final thoughts on this. This chapter repeatedly drives home one powerful truth. A healthy relationship with God is directly connected to loving God and loving and obeying his written word. God's word it restores, God's word strengthens, his word protects, God's word guides, and God's word blesses. So stay grounded in the scriptures, which is very, very important. Love God deeply. Guard your heart carefully. Uh-huh. Teach the next generation faithfully. It's very important. It's not just for you, but it's for the next generation. You should be praying every day for your children and your children's children, and even some of us who don't have children's children, but one day you hope to have, be praying for them in advance and choose the path of obedience that leads to the blessing of God. Well, people, that brings us to the end of Deuteronomy chapter 11. As always, I hope that you got something out of this. I hope that it restores you. I hope that it refreshes you. And I hope that as we go through this Bible and put the pieces together, that it all connects and it refreshes you. As always, I ask you to continue to pray for me. Pray that I stay on that straight, narrow path. I pray that I stay strong and steadfast in these scriptures. And as long as the Lord tarries, we're going to keep going through this until we get through the whole Bible and then we will do it all over again and do other lessons on the side. Pray that I stay strong in that. And as always, I am praying for you. I pray for your health. I pray for you spiritually. I pray for you mentally. Wherever you are, I appreciate you a great deal. It means more to me than you will ever know that you take time out of your morning, your afternoon, or your evening to listen to me go through the word of God. I'll uh bless you and ask the Lord to cover you. Well, that is all for now. That's the end of Deuteronomy chapter 11. Until next time, God bless. Thank you for listening to Bereen's Corner. We appreciate you joining us as we dive into God's word and seek biblical truth together. If this episode encouraged or challenged you, be sure to subscribe, share, and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. You can find Berean's Corner on Buzzsprout, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, Amazon Music, and more. Let's stay connected. If you have questions, comments, or prayer requests, reach out to us at BereansCorner.buzzprout.com where you can follow along with Show Transcripts and leave a message in the fan mail slot. Also follow us on YouTube at Berean's Corner and don't forget to subscribe. We'd love to hear from you. Until next time, keep searching the scriptures like a Berean. Stay discerning, stay faithful, and God bless.