Deuteronomy 11:20

11:18-25 Let all be directed by the three rules here given. 1. Let our hearts be filled with the word of God. There will not be good practices in the life, unless there be good thoughts, good affections, and good principles in the heart. 2. Let our eyes be fixed upon the word of God, having constant regard to it as the guide of our way, as the rule of our work, Ps 119:30. 3. Let our tongues be employed about the word of God. Nor will any thing do more to cause prosperity, and keeping up religion in a nation, than the good education of children.

Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart, and in your soul,.... Treasure up the laws of God delivered to them in their minds, retain them in their memories, and cherish a cordial affection for them; which would be an antidote against apostasy, idolatry, and other sins, Psalm 119:11 . and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes; of this and the two following verses; see Gill on Deuteronomy 6:7; see Gill on Deuteronomy 6:8; see Gill on Deuteronomy 6:9.

The first rain and the latter rain - The former is the proper term for the autumn rain, falling about the time of sowing, and which may be named "the former," as occurring in the early part of the Hebrew civil year, namely, in October and November. The other word is applied to the spring rain, which falls in March and April, because it fits the earth for the ingathering of harvest. Between these two wet periods, and except them, there was little or no rain in Canaan.

But if, on the other hand, their heart was foolish to turn away from the Lord and serve other gods, the wrath of the Lord would burn against them, and God would shut up the heaven, that no rain should fall and the earth should yield no produce, and they would speedily perish (cf. Leviticus 26:19-20 , and Deuteronomy 28:23-24 ). Let them therefore impress the words now set before them very deeply upon themselves and their children ( Deuteronomy 11:18-21 , in which there is in part a verbal repetition of Deuteronomy 6:6-9 ). The words, "as the days of the heaven above the earth," i.e., as long as the heaven continues above the earth, - in other words, to all eternity (cf. Psalm 89:30 ; Job. Deu 14:12), - belong to the main sentence, "that your days may be multiplied," etc. ( Deuteronomy 11:21 ). "The promise to give the land to Israel for ever was not made unconditionally; an unconditional promise is precluded by the words, 'that your days may be multiplied'" (Schultz). (For further remarks, see at Deuteronomy 30:3-5 .) For ( Deuteronomy 11:22-25 ) if they adhered faithfully to the Lord, He would drive out before them all the nations that dwelt in the land, and would give them the land upon which they trod in all its length and breadth, and so fill the Canaanites with fear and terror before them, that no one should be able to stand against them. (On Deuteronomy 11:23 , cf.

Deuteronomy 7:1-2 ; Deuteronomy 9:1 , and Deuteronomy 1:28 .) The words, "every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours," are defined more precisely, and restricted to the land of Canaan on both sides of the Jordan by the boundaries which follow: "from the desert (of Arabia on the south), and Lebanon (on the north), and from the river Euphrates (on the east) to the hinder sea" (the Mediterranean on the west; see Numbers 34:6 ). The Euphrates is given as the eastern boundary, as in Deuteronomy 1:7 , according to the promise in Genesis 15:18 . (On Deuteronomy 11:25 , cf. Deuteronomy 7:24 ; Deuteronomy 2:25 , and Exodus 23:27 .)

20 . See on Deuteronomy 6:13 , which this repeats (with LXX, Sam., read, as there, and him ) but adds another clause, and to him shalt thou cleave ] This verb dabaḳ is used in J of close and warm affection from man to woman ( Genesis 2:24 ; Genesis 34:3 ), and in J and D of the adhesion of evil ( Genesis 19:19 ; Deuteronomy 13:17 (18) of the devoted thing, Deuteronomy 28:21 ; Deuteronomy 28:60 of diseases). It is not applied to the relation of Israel to God in the Pent, except in D, Deuteronomy 10:20 , Deuteronomy 11:22 , Deuteronomy 13:4 (5), Deuteronomy 30:20 , in which passages it is combined with some or other of the verbs love, fear, obey, serve, walk after. In Deuteronomy 4:4 the adj. dabeḳ is used by itself. Cp. deuteronomic passages in Joshua 22:5 ; Joshua 23:8 .

The terms of the promise are strongly Deuteronomic: see Deuteronomy 6:2 ; Deuteronomy 25:15 , and (in the form ‘prolong days’) Deuteronomy 4:26 ; Deuteronomy 4:40 , Deuteronomy 5:33 , Deuteronomy 11:9 , Deuteronomy 17:20 , Deuteronomy 22:7 , Deuteronomy 30:18 , Deuteronomy 32:47 ; and, for the following clause, upon the land , &c., Deuteronomy 3:20 , Deuteronomy 11:17 ; Deuteronomy 11:31 , Deuteronomy 15:7 , Deuteronomy 16:20 , Deuteronomy 17:14 , Deuteronomy 18:9 , &c., and especially Deuteronomy 4:40 , Deuteronomy 25:15 . giveth ] is giving (i.e. is in the course of giving, is about to give); so in all the passages of Dt. just quoted (and in many similar ones in the same book besides). The standpoint of the Exodus is assumed. The land is not, as ‘giveth’ in itself might suggest, the possession of the individual Israelite, but Canaan.