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So I'll just pick up reading 
in chapter 11 at verse 1. Therefore, you shall love the Lord your 
God and keep his charge, his statutes, his judgments, and 
his commandments always. Know today that I do not speak 
with your children who have not known and who have not seen the 
chasing of the Lord your God, his greatness and his mighty 
hand and his outstretched arm, his signs and his acts which 
he did in the midst of Egypt, to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and 
to all his land. What he did to the army of Egypt, 
to their horses and their chariots, how he made the waters of the 
Red Sea overflow them as they pursued you, and how the Lord 
has destroyed them to this day. What he did for you in the wilderness 
until you came to this place, and what he did to Dathan and 
Abiram, the sons of Eliah, the son of Reuben. how the earth 
opened its mouth and swallowed them up, their households, their 
tents, and all the substance that was in their possession, 
in the midst of all Israel. But your eyes have seen every 
great act of the Lord which he did. Therefore, you shall keep 
every commandment which I command you today, that you may be strong 
and go in and possess the land which you cross over to possess, 
and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord 
swore to give to your fathers, to them and their descendants, 
a land flowing with milk and honey. For the land which you 
go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you 
have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot as 
a vegetable garden. But the land which you cross 
over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which 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 of the year 
to the very end of the year. And it shall be that if you earnestly 
obey my commandments, which I command you today, to love the Lord your 
God and serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, 
then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, 
the early rain and the latter rain. that you may gather in 
your grain, your new wine, and your oil. And I will send grass 
in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be filled. 
Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you 
turn aside and serve other gods and worship them. Lest the Lord's 
anger be aroused against you, and he shut up the heavens so 
that there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and you 
perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving 
you. Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your 
heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, 
and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall 
teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit 
in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, 
and when you rise up. and you shall write them on the 
doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and 
the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of 
which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, like the 
days of the heavens above the earth. For if you carefully keep 
all these commandments which I command you to do, 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 from before 
you, and you will dispossess greater and mightier nations 
than yourselves. Every place on which the sole 
of your foot treads shall be yours, from the wilderness and 
Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even to the 
western sea shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand 
against you. The Lord your God will put the 
dread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where you 
tread, just as he has said to you. Behold, I set before you 
today a blessing and a curse. The blessing, if you obey the 
commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, 
and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the 
Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command 
you today, to go after other gods which you have not known. 
Now it shall be, when the Lord your God has brought you into 
the land which you go to possess, that you shall put the blessing 
on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. Are they not on 
the other side of the Jordan, toward the setting sun, in the 
land of the Canaanites, who dwell in the plain opposite Gilgal, 
beside the terebinth trees of Moreh? For you will cross over 
the Jordan and go in to possess the land which the Lord your 
God is giving you, and you will possess it and dwell in it, and 
you shall be careful to observe all the statutes and judgments 
which I set before you today. Amen. So as I said, many things 
are repeated here that we've already seen in chapters, primarily 
chapters 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. I do want to look at specifically 
the requirements in this chapter. There are three requirements 
given, or three things stated, and then an illustration or a 
reason as to why they ought to do this. The first is found in 
verse 1. It's a call to obey. And then 
he highlights God's dealings with them in the past as the 
reason why they ought to do that in verses 2 to 7. The second 
requirement is found in verse 8. Again, it's a call to obey. And this time he sets before 
them a consideration of the land that they will inherit when they 
go into Canaan. And then the third deals specifically 
with, again, a command to obey the Lord. And then he illustrates 
by saying that there will be promises of blessing in the land. And then there is a specific 
caution given, a warning. against idolatry. In some senses 
that's the underlying current throughout all of these chapters. 
Notice in chapter 12, it's going to deal with worship. It's going 
to deal with a specific centralized place where Israel will go to 
worship. We might say it deals with the 
second commandment. What we have been saying thus 
far is God's insistence upon the first commandment. You shall 
have no other gods before me. Remember that central confession 
of Deuteronomy 6.4. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our 
God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your 
God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your 
strength. And the recurring theme throughout these several chapters 
is that they guard against the tendency or temptation to go 
after idols. If they go after idols, they 
have broken the Decalogue, they've broken that First Commandment, 
and God will most certainly be angry with them. and expel them 
from the land. So that's the undercurrent here. All of these chapters, all of 
these calls to obedience are to highlight the importance of 
faithfulness, of fidelity to the living and true God, their 
covenant Lord. So the first, there's three requirements, 
and then there's a summary of the entire section in verses 
18 to 25, and then the chapter ends with a crucial choice. It's essentially God saying through 
Moses, choose you this day who you will serve. Choose either 
blessing or curse. And it's interesting because 
it ends in chapter 11 with these two mountains, Gerizim and Ebal. Mount Gerizim is the mount of 
blessing. Mount Ebal is the mount of cursing. Then the detailed laws, chapters 
12 to 26, And then in chapter 27 are those two mountains again, 
Gerizim and Ebal. It's like we have bookends. These two mountains are the argument, 
or these two mountains are the impetus for the obedience to 
the law that is given here in chapters 12 to 26. Well, let's 
look at this first requirement again. As I said, it's review, 
it's repetition. We won't spend a great deal of 
time, but we do want to get the main ideas here. Notice the first 
requirement and illustration in verse 1. his statutes, his judgments, 
and his commandments always. So there is to be external compliance 
with the Decalogue. There is to be external compliance 
with the laws that will be detailed in chapters 12 to 26. But it 
must also have an internal dimension. You shall love the Lord your 
God." They weren't related to God in simply a mechanistic way. They were related to God as their 
covenant Lord, as their covenant head, as their king, who redeemed 
them from the house of bondage. Therefore, as subjects to Him, 
yes, there was to be loyalty and fidelity and obedience, but 
it wasn't to be given apart from this context of love. Again, that central confession 
of 6.4 has as its proper response, and you shall love the Lord your 
God with all your heart, soul, and strength. When Jesus is asked 
which is the first commandment, he cites that, Deuteronomy 6.5. The most important thing in all 
of the world is that we love the Lord our God with all of 
our heart, soul, and strength. We are to love Him, we're to 
keep His charge, we're to keep His statutes, His judgments, 
and His commandments always. And again, the insistence given 
in each one of these commands, it is to be perpetual, it is 
to be constant, it is to be complete obedience, which underscores 
for us just how great our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, really 
is. Because not a one of us does 
what God says. Not one of us loves Him the way 
that He stipulates in His Word. We don't keep His charge, we 
don't keep His statutes, we don't keep His judgments, and we don't 
keep His commandments always. That's where Jesus answers for 
man. Jesus comes into this world. 
He keeps the charge of God. He keeps the statutes, the judgments, 
and his commandments always. He does that as our mediator. 
He does that as our head. He does that as our surety. And 
by virtue of that, we have the righteousness of Christ imputed 
to us. And it's on that basis that we 
then proceed, seeking by the grace of God to obey all that 
the Lord has called us to." You see that tension throughout the 
book of Deuteronomy. This continual refrain about 
the need to obey when they get into the land. When we get to 
Deuteronomy 30, it is very specific and very conspicuous. God, through 
Moses, says you're not going to obey. God, through Moses, 
says you're going to go into the land. You're going to sin 
in the land. You're going to be expelled from 
the land. But nevertheless, God says in 
Deuteronomy 30, He already issues the promise, what we'll later 
call the New Covenant. Already it is being foreshadowed 
here. All of these commands to obey 
and all of this emphasis upon keeping the Lord's commandment 
God knew good and well that they wouldn't do it. This is setting 
the stage for the eventual coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to save 
his people from their sins. So he makes this statement, you 
shall love him, you shall keep his charge, and then he gives 
these verses, verses 2 to 7, highlights their past, where 
they have been. You ought to obey God, you ought 
to love the Lord, you ought to keep his commandments based on 
what he has done for you in the past. Notice that he says in 
verse 2, know today that I do not speak with your children 
who have not known and who have not seen the chastening of the 
Lord your God. He's not saying I don't care 
about your children. He is appealing, verse 7, directly 
to those who have witnessed with their own eyes the majestic powerful, 
sovereign operation of God Almighty. He says that very conspicuously. No, today I do not speak with 
your children who have not known, but rather, verse seven, but 
your eyes have seen every great act of the Lord which He did. 
It's as if He's appealing to them. I want you to love, I want 
you to obey, I want you to keep, I want you to do because of what 
God has done in your life. What a great argument for us 
as Christians to obey the Lord. What has He done in our lives? 
He has redeemed us. He has sustained us. He has brought 
judgment to bear upon those who hate us. We saw that in Genesis 
12 on Sunday night. Part of God's program of blessing 
His people is cursing those who curse them." In other words, 
the Lord has promised to protect those whom he loves. And so as 
an argument for obedience, God through Moses says, look at what 
I've done in the past. And he highlights three particular 
events, the Exodus, and then the wilderness, and then the 
judgment upon the rebels, Dathan and Abiram. It is those three 
things that serve as an argument or as reasons why they ought 
to do what they're called to do in verse 1. Notice in verse 2, know today 
that I do not speak with your children who have not known and 
who have not seen the chastening of the Lord your God, His greatness 
and His mighty hand and His outstretched arm. The implication is You have 
seen these things. You've witnessed this firsthand. As Christians, we have witnessed 
firsthand God's dealings with our sins. We have witnessed firsthand 
God's sustaining us, God's preservation of us. It is a wonderful appeal. As Christians living, seeking, 
striving to be obedient to the Father, We ought to look to the 
past. We ought to look to see how God 
has indeed manifested His greatness in His mighty hand and His outstretched 
arm. And you might say, well, I've 
never seen the parting of the Red Sea. I've never seen, you 
know, judgment upon Pharaoh and his armies. If you are not currently 
in hell, you are experiencing the greatness and the majesty 
of God's outstretched arm. of his mighty hand because we 
most certainly deserve his wrath and his curse. But we have experienced 
benefit and blessing from his hand. So he says, verse 3, his 
signs and his acts which he did in the midst of Egypt, note specifically, 
to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to all his land. This is a reference 
to. Remember the 10 plagues. That 
was to all his land. Remember that 10th plague, the 
death of the firstborn. Everyone experienced that judgment 
from God Almighty. The children of Israel were protected. The children of Israel were watched 
over. And the Lord brought judgment 
against Egypt and its false gods. And so he says what he did to 
the army of Egypt, to their horses and their chariots. Remember 
that particular scene? God parts the Red Sea. His people 
cross through. Their feet don't even get wet. 
They have no problems, no difficulties whatsoever. Pharaoh and his armies 
give chase, and they get in there, and what happens initially? It's 
not the water collapsing. The first initial thing is the 
chariot wheels fell off. If I was those men, I would have 
been freaked out like no one's business. This does not bode 
well. Maybe we should turn back. Maybe 
we should run back. And then after those chariot 
wheels and then the water collapses upon them and God brings judgment 
upon Pharaoh and upon his armies. to the army of Egypt, to their 
horses and their chariots, how he made the waters of the Red 
Sea overflow them as they pursued you, and how the Lord has destroyed 
them to this day." So obey God based on his redemptive work 
in the Exodus. But obey God based on His providential 
work in sustaining you in the wilderness. Verse 5. What He 
did for you in the wilderness until you came to this place. 
Remember the children of Israel interpreted the wilderness as 
if God was out to get them. as if God had brought them out 
there to destroy them. But God interprets the wilderness 
as His taking care of them. Again, if we jump into the New 
Covenant, if we jump into Christian experience, We often look at 
the various wilderness eras in our own lives as if God somehow 
abandoned us when nothing can be further from the truth. It 
is in the midst of the fire, it is in the midst of the trial, 
it is in the midst of the difficulty that God is most conspicuously 
present. I mean, I don't think it would 
be difficult for us to think, when did we grow the most in 
our Christian life? As hard as it may be, it's times 
of trial. We dare not say that because 
we're afraid that God will really throw some trial on us to make 
us grow some more. But it's true adversity. Adversity brings about growth 
in the child of God. Remember how the Lord describes 
the wilderness. Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 29. Then I said to you do not be 
terrified or afraid of them. the Lord your God who goes before 
you, he will fight for you according to all he did for you in Egypt 
before your eyes. Notice verse 31, and in the wilderness 
where you saw how the Lord your God carried you. as a man carries 
his son in all the way that you went until you came to this place. Now notice in chapter two in 
verse seven, for the Lord your God has blessed you in all the 
work of your hand. He knows you are trudging through 
this great wilderness. These 40 years the Lord your 
God has been with you, you have lacked nothing. So they interpret 
it as if God had abandoned them. God says, I've been with you 
for those 40 years. I've carried you as a father 
carries his son. I have been with you in the midst 
of these trials. So back in chapter 11, obey the 
Lord, keep his charge, do his commandments because he's redeemed 
you from Egypt and he has sustained you in the wilderness wandering. 
But not only that, he does curse those who curse you. He does 
bring judgment to bear upon the enemies of the gospel. Remember 
that rebellion, they rose up against Moses. Moses was a godly 
man. He was a most excellent leader. 
He was not perfect. He was not without blemish. He 
was not without spot. In fact, Moses himself is not 
going to enter into the promised land. It's a very emotional time 
when we get to the end of the book of Deuteronomy. God says, 
you can look. But you're not going into that 
land. I mean, there's part of us that 
says, please, Lord, let him go. He did a lot of things, but that's 
not God's way. God says you're not supposed 
to do certain things, Moses, and he did it. But all that to 
say that Moses was a faithful servant, a faithful leader, again, 
not a perfect man, not a blemish-free man, but there was a rebellion 
against his authority. God opens up the earth, and he 
swallows the rebels. I will curse those who curse 
you. That program of blessing, that 
world-changing program instituted in Genesis chapter 12 is a reality. What does Paul say in Romans 
chapter 8? If God is for us, who can be against us? If God 
is in our corner, if God is on our side, what possible things 
can man do? Paul says, for to me to live 
is Christ and to die is gain. What do you do with a man like 
Paul who when he says, I don't care about dying because I gain 
more Christ? that's what we have in our God 
verse 5 what he did for you in the wilderness until you came 
to this place and what he did to Dathan and Abiram the sons 
of Eliab the son of Reuben how the earth opened its mouth and 
swallowed them up their households their tents and all the substance 
that was in their possession in the midst of all Israel but 
your eyes have seen every great act of the Lord which he did 
so you see this first requirement Obey God, look to the past. The first requirement, love God 
and honor God, and remember the Exodus, which is redemption, 
remember the wilderness, which is God's providential care, and 
remember Dathan and Abiram, which is God's vengeance upon the enemies 
of the Lord. Three great reasons why we ought 
to obey. Notice the second requirement, 
verse 8. Therefore you shall keep every 
commandment which I command you today, that you may be strong 
and go in and possess the land which you cross over to possess. 
That's a beautiful statement. You shall keep every commandment 
which I command you today. Notice that you may be strong. That you may go in and possess 
the land which you cross over to possess. So what is Israel's 
success dependent upon? A superior military capability? No, it's obedience to the living 
God. They are to operate in a theological 
fashion. That doesn't mean they shouldn't 
have a military. You know, Cromwell said, pray 
and keep your powder dry. We must certainly use the means 
to be sure the horse is prepared for the day of battle, Solomon 
says, but victory is of the Lord. So he calls on them to obey every 
command that I command you today, that you may be strong and go 
in and possess the land which you cross over to possess. Meredith 
Klein says, success in the stipulated program of conquest would depend 
first and last not on military prowess but on religious commitment. This is what is put forth with 
Joshua. Joshua chapter 1 verse 8 this 
book of the law shall not depart from your mouth But you shall 
meditate in it day and night that you may observe to do according 
to all that is written in it For then you will make your way 
prosperous and and then you will have good success. Have I not 
commanded you? Be strong and of good courage. 
Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with 
you wherever you go. You see the key to success there. Joshua, meditate upon the law. Do what God says. Later on in 
Deuteronomy chapter 17, when it starts dealing with what happens 
when we have a king in Israel. You know what the first order 
of business was for the king? Take his own pen, take his own 
paper, and write the law out. You know how many heartbreaks 
and how much grief it would have saved Israel if the kings actually 
obeyed that? I mean, the book of the law was 
missing for generations until Josiah, or it was found under 
Josiah. If the kings were obedient to 
Deuteronomy 17, as soon as they sat down on the throne, they 
would have written out the law of the Lord. That was the stipulation 
for the king. But of course, they reject that, 
and therefore, they have hardship and trial and difficulty and 
defeat. But God's word, specifically 
here, is obey every command that you may be strong. And here the 
incentive or here the illustration is consider what you're about 
to get. So obey verse 1, 2 to 7 reflect 
on the past. Obey verse 8, verses 9 to 12 
reflect on what you're about to possess. We might jump into 
the New Covenant for a moment. We might use this as an argument 
in terms of obedience. Look at what God has in store 
for us. Look at what God has laid up 
for us. I mean here they're looking at 
a land, a piece of property, albeit a blessed piece of property, 
not like Egypt, something that is choice and prime real estate, 
but we have so much more. We have heaven. We have Emmanuel's 
land. We have Jesus Christ himself. 
So one of the incentives to obedience is to look toward the future 
and see what God has in store for his people. But back to this 
situation on the plains of Moab. 9. OBEY THAT YOU MAY PROLONG 
YOUR DAYS IN THE LAND WHICH THE LORD SWORE TO GIVE YOUR FATHERS, 
TO THEM AND THEIR DESCENDANTS, A LAND FLOWING WITH MILK AND 
HONEY. You're receiving blessing. You're receiving a good land. 
You're receiving good gifts. long life, strength, all of these 
things. Notice in verse 10, for the land 
which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which 
you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot 
as a vegetable garden. What this means, the watering 
it by foot is either digging trenches or has to do with irrigation. You see, in Egypt you had to 
heavily irrigate or else you didn't have a crop. Agriculture 
was dependent upon human technique. Now, obviously it's under God. Secondary means are under God. 
But he's making a contrast. The land that you're going to 
in Canaan God actually cares for it. God looks upon it favorably. God sends rain. It's not dependence 
upon human technique and human irrigation, but rather it's dependence 
upon God when you get into the land. Notice. verse 10, where 
you sowed your seed and watered it by foot as a vegetable garden, 
but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of 
hills and valleys which 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 of the year to 
the very end of the year. It's almost as if the children 
of Israel standing on the plains of Moab, their mouths might have 
started to water here. They might have been able to 
taste the good things in this land. They were to think about 
this, to consider the blessing of coming out of Egypt into Canaan 
and enjoying milk and honey. There's already been descriptions 
up to this point. There'd be barley. There'd be 
grain. There would be produce aplenty. There would be grass 
that God would provide so it would sustain their livestock. 
They'd always have meat. They'd always have these riches 
and these benefits and these good things. It wouldn't surprise 
me if on the plains of Moab, as Moses is rehearsing these 
things, their mouths are watering. God says use that as an incentive. Look forward to those blessings 
as a reason to obey right now. You see, God not only calls us 
to obey, but he gives us all of these reasons or illustrations 
or incentives as to why we are to obey. This is what John says. Everyone who has this hope in 
him purifies himself even as he is pure. As John rehearses 
the fact that Jesus is coming again, John says that when we 
have that hope, we purify ourselves in him. We want to be holy. We long for those things. We 
desire godliness. Craigie says, in the promised 
land, therefore, they would be dependent not on human techniques, 
but on the provision of God. So the first requirement, look 
to the past. Second requirement, look to the 
future. Third requirement, more promise 
a blessing in the land and then a specific warning against idolatry 
third requirements in verse 13 and it shall be that if you earnestly 
obey my commandments which I command you today to love the Lord your 
God and serve him with all your heart and with all your soul 
and again it's easy for us to remember that they don't do this. We need to remember that. They 
don't do this. God brings them into this land. They do not do 
what he calls them to do. He delivers them time and time 
again. And if anybody ever says, and 
we've had cause to refer to this before, that there's no grace 
in the Old Testament, they've not read the Old Testament. As 
God is using Moses to communicate, if you obey here, he knows good 
and well they're not going to obey. Remember back in chapter 
10, he illustrates that it's not because of their righteousness 
that they're in the land. What was the primary example 
that he gave? It was Horeb. It was when God 
gave the Decalogue. God gave the Ten Commandments. Moses is up on the mountain conversing 
with God, and what are the children of Israel doing at the foot of 
the mountain? They're worshiping a gold calf, dancing around, 
engaging in all manner of evil. God doesn't stop. God doesn't 
cut them off. God doesn't destroy them. He 
threatens it, but God continues to bless. God continues to show 
mercy. So we mustn't ever forget that. 
When we read these statements, when we read these commands, 
yes, We know that they're going to sin. We know that they're 
going to reject. But God has built into the program 
the promise of a Redeemer, the promise of a coming one, even 
the Lord Jesus Christ. He makes the statement, it shall 
be that if you earnestly obey my commandments, which I command 
you today, to love the Lord your God and serve him with all your 
heart and with all your soul, then I will give you the reign 
for your land and its season. the early rain and the latter 
rain that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your 
oil. And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock 
that you may eat and be filled. So obey because of this promise 
of the good land. Now the specific warning. Verse 
16, take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived and 
you turn aside to serve other gods and worship them. lest the 
Lord's anger be aroused against you, and he shut up the heavens 
so that there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and 
you perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving 
you." It's an interesting thing because he's talking about rain. 
See, when they get into Canaan, the Canaanites believe that Baal 
sends rain. In other words, when they went 
out, they didn't say, oh, it's raining again, like we might 
do this in Chilliwack. Do you realize that, and I'll 
be the first to admit, maybe you guys don't. We complain about 
all the rain. Probably in two weeks, I'll at 
least be complaining about how hot it is. I need to repent. 
God is sovereign over the weather systems. But the Canaanites, 
when they walked outside, they didn't say, oh, it's raining. 
They said, Baal has sent this rain. What's going to happen 
when Israel goes into Canaan? They're going to hear this because 
they don't dispossess the land. There's only a couple cities 
that they actually dispossess. They're going to have Canaanite 
neighbors. They're going to have Canaanite friends. And the Canaanites are going 
to say, praise Baal that it's raining today because our crops 
are going to grow. God says don't fall prey to that. 
interesting way that he says he's going to chasten them if 
they do. Take heed to yourselves, lest 
your heart be deceived and you turn aside and serve other gods 
and worship them, lest, verse 17, the Lord's anger be aroused 
against you and he shut up the heavens so that there be no rain. 
If you attribute to Baal the rain from heaven, God will stop 
the rain. See, God is a jealous God, and 
He will not share His glory with another. When you ascribe to 
Baal what is rightfully Yahweh, God will stop the rain, and you 
will perish, and you will perish quickly from the good land which 
the Lord is giving to you. You see, it's all connected. 
Theology or meteorology leads to theology. The weather system, 
the way of providence, the things that grow, grass for livestock, 
all of that should lead them to worship and praise and adore 
the living and true God. He says if you get sidetracked, 
if you don't worship and praise and adore the living and true 
God, then I will stop the rain because I need to teach you. 
See, God does this to discipline, God does this to chasten, God 
does this to demonstrate that He alone is the living and true 
God. So there is a specific call there 
to avoid the idolatry, the temptation to it, that they would no doubt 
face when they enter into the land. So those are the three 
requirements. Verse 1, verse 8, verse 13. Summary of the entire section, 
verses 18 to 25. We can summarize it quickly in 
two things. One, the importance of the word 
of God. If you took chapter 6 and you 
laid it open right next to this section, you would see a lot 
of similarity. Notice in verse 18, therefore 
you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in 
your soul and bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be 
as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your 
children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you 
walk by the way, and when you lie down, or when you lie down 
and when you rise up. And you shall write them on the 
doorposts of your house and on your gates." You see, if longevity 
and blessing and joy and happiness are tied directly to faithful 
obedience to God, how important is His Word? right that's what's 
most important joshua chapter one verses eight and nine meditate 
on this law day and night and then your way will be prosperous 
and you will know success you see a people covenanted to the 
living and the true god must value prize and delight in his 
holy word you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart. Remember they were taught this 
lesson in the wilderness. Man does not live by bread alone, 
but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. God is 
saying, God is underscoring, God is highlighting here the 
absolute necessity of theology. You relate to God, you covenant 
with God based on the truth of Holy Scripture. If you want meteorology 
to be in your favor, you want prosperity in the land, you want 
blessing and joy and goodness, it's riding upon this word and 
your response to it. And so he tells that you need 
to internalize that word. Lay up these words of mine in 
your heart and in your soul. It's not enough just to look 
in the mirror, walk away and forget what you look like, but 
rather you need to be a doer of the word. Internalize. It 
needs to be the delight of the heart. and night. As well, you need to instruct 
your children. Verse 9, you shall teach them 
to your children. That is covenant succession. God doesn't want it to just stop 
with this generation. God wants this generation to 
teach the next generation. Catechize them. Instruct them. teach them the Shema, teach them 
their response to it, teach them this Decalogue, teach them this 
law, highlight upon them the importance to resist the temptation, 
to commit idolatry, so it perpetuates this blessed covenant that the 
Lord God has instituted. So, the importance of the word 
and the blessings associated with obedience, verses 21 to 
25. Long life. Again, this isn't always formulaic. You do this and you'll have a 
happy long life. Sometimes people obey. They walk 
out in the street and they get ran over by cars. It happens. It is a general principle, a 
general maxim, an axiom for Christian living. Obey God. And as a general 
rule, there'll be longevity. This has already been highlighted 
in Deuteronomy 4, 5, 6, and in the beginning of chapter 11, 
verse 21, that your days and the days of your children may 
be multiplied in the land of which the Lord swore to your 
fathers to give them like the days of the heavens above the 
earth. there would be dispossession 
of the land. In other words, God will go before 
you and drive out these nations. Remember, he's summarizing, he 
is reviewing, he is highlighting the key elements that have gone 
up to this point. There will be detailed legislation 
following chapters 12 to 26. We're still in that introductory 
phase and highlighting the importance of the first commandment, having 
no other gods before him. The Lord will drive out all these 
nations from before you. you will enjoy victory according 
to verse 24 every place on which the soul of your foot tread shall 
be yours from the wilderness and Lebanon from the river the 
river Euphrates even to the Western Sea shall be your territory what 
he is saying is north south east East and West. Now this would 
not be realized until David and Solomon, but it would begin to 
be realized in the dispossession under Joshua. And so they're 
being called to consider this at this point. And then they 
would possess strength. Notice in verse 25, no man shall 
be able to stand against you. The Lord your God will put the 
dread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where you 
tread, just as he has said to you. You see, God is telling 
them all these good things as reasons why when they enter into 
the land, they ought to be obedient to him. They ought to love him. 
They ought to respond to him in a manner that is consistent 
with the covenant that they have entered into. by God's grace. And then that brings us finally 
to this crucial choice verses 26 to 32. Behold I set before 
you today a blessing and a curse. He's saying here fish are cut 
bait, essentially. Joshua will do the same thing 
in the same place in Joshua chapter 24. It's interesting, where are 
they here? Where is Gerizim and Ebal? It's 
the city right in between. It's a place called Shechem. 
We saw something about that on Sunday night. This is where Abraham 
was when he went into the promised land. It was there at the terebinth 
tree, Mora, that Abraham set forth and constructed an altar, 
and there he worshiped the Lord. It's no accident here between 
Gerizim and Ebal is Shechem. This is the place for covenant 
ratification. Guess where they're going to 
ratify under General Joshua in chapter 24 of Joshua? They're 
back at Shechem. Shechem is the covenant ratification 
spot or site. So here's what we find. Behold, 
I set before you today a blessing and a curse. The blessing, verse 
27, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I 
command you today, and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments 
of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command 
you today to go after other gods which you have not known. There 
is the undercurrent. There is the central theme. This 
is why, chapters 6 to 11, there's been repetition, there's been 
review. It is a constant assault upon 
this tendency of the heart of man to commit idolatry. Do not go into the land of Canaan 
and befriend the Canaanites and bow to their gods. You cannot. You need to resist that. That 
will bring a curse, it will not bring blessing, it will not bring 
joy. Verse 29, it shall be when the 
Lord your God has brought you into the land which you go to 
possess that you shall put the blessing on Mount Gerizim and 
the curse on Mount Ebal. We'll see that again in detail. 
In chapter 27, the book of Joshua refers to it, or they do it again 
in Joshua chapter 8, verses 30 to 35. Notice in verse 30, are 
they not on the other side of the Jordan toward the setting 
sun in the land of the Canaanites who dwell in the plain opposite 
Gilgal beside the terebinth trees of Moreh? we saw on Sunday night, 
the terebinth trees of Moreh were probably where the Canaanites 
went. They were teacher trees. They 
were where they thought they received instruction from their 
gods. So this was the religious shrine, 
if you will, of the Canaanites. So the religious gathering place 
of the Canaanites. God says, No, as a sign of your 
dispossessing them of the land and your possession of the land, 
we're going to go right to Shechem, we're going to go right to those 
trees, and this is where we're going to establish this covenant 
of blessing. Harman says, Israel was to conduct 
a ceremony of blessings and curses at the very place where the people 
would come into direct conflict with Canaanite religion and false 
prophecy. This would be similar to a group 
of Christians going to a mosque and saying, you know what? This 
is our spot now. And that's the significance of 
these cherubim trees in Moriah. This is God, the God of Israel 
has called us to take possession here. Harmon says, there would 
be blessings if there was obedience to the voice of the Lord. If 
there was obedience to the idols of the Canaanites, there would 
be curses. These two mountains bracket the 
entire detailed exposition of the law, as I said here in Chapter 
11, and then again in Chapter 27. What falls in between is 
how they are to conduct themselves in the land. So choose ye this 
day what course you will pursue, either blessing through obedience 
or cursing through disobedience. Verse 31 and 32 concludes the 
whole section. You will cross over the Jordan 
and go in and possess the land which the Lord your God is giving 
you and you will possess it and dwell in it and you shall be 
careful to observe all the statutes and judgments which I set before 
you today. So chapter 11 marshals together 
all that's gone before, introduces what we will now enter into in 
terms of detailed application of God's law for life in the 
land of Canaan. Well, let's pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for this, your word, and we pray that we would take 
seriously these commands, these instructions, that we would think 
in terms of your glory and your majesty in our lives. in redemption and sustaining 
us in your providence and in dealing with enemies, we pray 
that we would as well look forward to what you have in store for 
us and may these be great incentives and encouragements for a life 
of obedience. Do forgive us, Lord, for falling 
short. Do forgive us that we oftentimes 
are hard-hearted and And we need your grace. We need your spirit. 
We need your power to go and to do the things that you call 
us to do. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you 
for his obedience. Thank you for his life and his 
death and his resurrection. And we just pray now that you 
would go with us. And we ask in his name. Amen.