Study notes

Deuteronomy 11

Introducing DeuteronomyWho wrote it, when, why, and what to look for as you read

4:44–11:32 Section

The only God is the Lord who brought the Israelites out of slavery. Deuteronomy 6:4 made this very clear. That verse is part of what is called the Shema.

The Israelites were to show that they loved God by obeying him. To obey him, they needed to remember all that he had done for them. They needed to remember all his commandments. This included the Ten Commandments.

If the Israelites loved and obeyed God faithfully, God would use them in Canaan. They would be God’s tool to bring judgement against the Canaanites. God would drive out the Canaanites. He would allow the Israelites to live there in peace.

The Israelites were to remain humble. God hadn’t made a covenant with them because they were better than the Canaanites. In fact, they were very stubborn people. The time they worshipped the statue of a metal calf was an example of that. So was the time at Kadesh Barnea when they disobeyed God.

God chooses how to show his love for people. With the Israelites he showed it by making a covenant with them.

11:4

The common translation Red Sea (literally sea of reeds) comes from the Greek Old Testament. People called it the "Sea of Reeds" because marshy plants grew along its shores.

11:6

Dathan and Abiram: See Numbers 16:1–40. In the government of God's kingdom, God set up levels of authority and command against which people could not rebel. God chose Moses and Aaron as leaders. So, when Dathan and Abiram rebelled against Moses, they also rebelled against God's sovereign rule.

11:8–32

Here, Moses adds to the covenant stipulations (the commands in chapters 5–11) a list of blessings and curses. These blessings and curses are similar to the longer list that appears at the end of the covenant text in 27–28. They show the results of obeying or disobeying the covenant.

11:12

a land for which the LORD your God cares: God’s care included blessing the land with all the resources his people would need to survive and prosper there.

11:26

In covenant contexts, a blessing is the outcome of obedience, while a curse is the result of disobedience (see chapters 27–28).

11:29

  • Mount Gerizim is a well-known hill located just west of Shechem. Later, the Samaritans built a temple there (see John 4:20).

  • Mount Ebal is on the opposite side of the valley from Mount Gerizim, to the east of Shechem.

11:30

  • Gilgal was the first camp the Israelites made in Canaan after crossing the Jordan River (Joshua 4:19). It was about 3.2 kilometers (two miles) northeast of Jericho, but its exact location is uncertain. A line from Jericho to Shechem would pass near Gilgal.

  • The Oak of Moreh was near Shechem. This was where Abram set up his first camp in Canaan (Genesis 12:6). Jacob later buried Laban’s idols there (Genesis 35:4).

Verse notes: Adapted by Mission Mutual (Aquifer Open Study Notes) from Tyndale Open Study Notes © 2023 Tyndale House Publishers. CC BY-SA 4.0. Section notes: Biblica Study Notes © 2023 Biblica, Inc. CC BY-SA 4.0, via BibleAquifer. About the sources