Deuteronomy 11:1–17

So obedience is pressed on them in a most moving way. And in Deuteronomy 11 love is pressed too, in the presence of His wonderful ways of mercy as well as judgment. All of this was so that they might enjoy the good land.

This chapter shows the results of obedience, set against the consequences of disobedience. It begins with the command to love the Lord their God (v.1). That love is, of course, the power that drives them to keep God's statutes. Yet, though told many times to love the Lord, Israel did not respond to this. For love cannot be legislated, as Israel learned by experience. It must be spontaneous and voluntary.

No person becomes obedient by good rules. What is it then that produces it? The heart must be filled with right motives; and what brings this about? Love for a person gives a sense of duty to him, and acts on the heart. This makes obedience easy. Rules are never the power but only the tests of obedience in certain cases.

Is there anything of the legal element in this? Not a trace. Love and legality have nothing in common; they are as far apart as the poles… Suppose it were taught that we must earn the high position and relationship of children of God by our obedience. Then the solemn charge of legality would be fair. But to attach such a label to Christian obedience is, we repeat, a serious moral mistake. Obedience could never come before sonship. But obedience should always follow sonship.

The law, with all its threats, could not get this from the mere child of Adam. God has obtained it by His work of grace in our hearts. The law demanded love from man, but never got it. But God has obtained it by revealing His great love to us in the death of His only begotten Son: "We love Him because He first loved us." We do not love Him because threats of wrath force us to. This never produced love in any human heart. Terror it did produce, but not love. Love produces love where that love is valued.

Moses felt it was of the very highest importance to keep all the mighty acts of the Lord clearly before the hearts of the people, and to engrave them deeply on their memory. The human mind wanders and the heart is unsteady. Israel had seen God's solemn judgments on Egypt and on Pharaoh. Even so, they were in danger of forgetting them, and of losing the impression those judgments were designed to make and were so well suited to make.

This chapter develops further the great teaching that marks this book: obedience springing from love to the LORD. It begins with a "therefore." The last verse of the previous chapter shows that the LORD had kept the promise made to the fathers of the nation. Then once more the chapter reviews the mighty acts of the LORD: His miracles and acts done in Egypt, what He did at the Red Sea, and what He did to them in the wilderness — therefore you shall love the LORD your God… What He had done and what He was going to do for them called for the love and obedience of His people. May we heed the same call.

Moses spoke to those who had seen the many displays of God's power and grace to Israel (v.2). These were under twenty years of age when they saw these things. They should certainly have remembered it all well. God worked signs in Egypt. He brought Israel safely through the Red Sea and destroyed the Egyptians in the waters. He did much more in the wilderness, including the judgment of Dathan and Abiram, whom the earth swallowed up when it opened (vs.3-7). They themselves — not a previous generation — had witnessed all this.

So obedience is pressed most movingly. Deuteronomy 11 presses love too, in the presence of His wonderful ways of mercy as well as judgment, so that they might enjoy the good land.

In a word, then, Moses called their attention to God's actions outside or inside, abroad or at home. It was all for one purpose: to impress on their hearts and minds a deep sense of the moral importance of obedience. This was the one great aim of all the rehearsals, all the comment, all the appeals of the faithful servant of God who would soon be taken from them. For this he ranges over centuries of their history. He selects, groups, comments, takes up this fact and leaves out that, as the Spirit of God guides him.

Moses felt it was of the very highest importance that all the mighty acts of the LORD should stay clearly before the hearts of the people, deeply engraved on their memory. The human mind wanders and the heart is unsteady. Israel had seen the solemn judgments of God on Egypt and on Pharaoh. Even so, they were in danger of forgetting them. They could lose the impression those judgments were designed and perfectly fitted to make on them.

Here, in Judges, a generation arose that did not know the Lord and did not know His works… The fathers and mothers carried the responsibility of passing on to the children the great events of Israel's history and the Lord's blessings to them. So if a generation arose that did not know the Lord or His works, it points to a lapse in the teaching of the fathers and mothers… They did not know the Lord, and they did not know His works, so it was very easy for them to give up. They had nothing to hold on to.

Moses felt it was of the very highest importance that all the mighty acts of the Lord should be kept before the hearts of the people, and engraved deeply on their memory. The human mind wanders and the heart is unsteady. Israel had seen God's solemn judgments on Egypt and on Pharaoh. Even so, they were in danger of forgetting them, and of losing the impression those judgments were designed and perfectly fitted to make on them.

Moses spoke to those who had seen the many displays of God's power and grace to Israel (v. 2). These were under twenty years of age when they saw these things. They should surely have remembered well all the signs God worked in Egypt. He brought Israel safely through the Red Sea and destroyed the Egyptians in the waters. Then came all He had done in the wilderness, including the judgment of Dathan and Abiram when the earth opened. They themselves — not a previous generation — had witnessed all this.

What was all the power of Pharaoh and of Egypt in the presence of the Lord God of Israel? In one hour it all sank into hopeless ruin and destruction. All the chariots of Egypt, all the pomp and glory, the courage and might of that ancient and famous nation — the depths of the sea overwhelmed it all.

Why? Because they had dared to meddle with the Israel of God. They had set themselves against the eternal purpose and counsel of the Most High. They sought to crush those on whom He had set His love. He had sworn to bless the seed of Abraham, and no power of earth or hell could possibly cancel His oath. Pharaoh, in his pride and hardness of heart, tried to block what God was doing. He only meddled to his own destruction.

At the Red Sea, God acts in power according to the purposes of His love. As a result the enemy, who was chasing the people hard, is destroyed with no way back… The blood shelters us from the judgment of God. Then His power acts for us and delivers us from the power of Satan, the prince of this world. The blood keeping us from the judgment of God was the beginning. The power which raised us up with Christ set us free from the whole power of Satan who followed us, and from all his attacks and accusations.

"When He makes bare His arm, who can withstand His might?" The chariots and the horsemen of Egypt, and the waters of the Red Sea, were as nothing to the Lord. He "brought the sea upon them and covered them." "Your eyes," said the Lord, "have seen what I did in Egypt." Yes, cries the Christian, and our eye of faith has seen His power and His grace. He has delivered us from the present evil world. We once groaned under its bondage, almost despairing of freedom.

Whether Moses pointed them to God's actions outside or inside, abroad or at home, it was all meant to impress their hearts and minds with a deep sense of the moral importance of obedience. This was the one great aim of all the retellings, all the comment, all the urging of the faithful servant of God who would soon be taken from them.

Moses spoke to those who had seen the many manifestations of God's power and grace to Israel. They were under 20 years of age when they saw these things. They should certainly have remembered all the signs God did in Egypt, how He brought Israel safely through the Red Sea and destroyed the Egyptians in the waters, and all He had done in the wilderness. They themselves — not a previous generation — had witnessed all this.

Moses felt it was of the very highest importance to keep all the mighty acts of the Lord before the hearts of the people, and to engrave them deeply on their memory. The human mind wanders, and the heart is unsteady. Israel had seen the solemn judgments of God on Egypt and on Pharaoh. Even so, they were in danger of forgetting them, and of losing the impression those judgments were designed and well fitted to make on them.

It was not only what the Lord had done to Egypt and to Pharaoh that the people were called to remember, but also what He had done among themselves. How subduing to the soul was the judgment upon Dathan and Abiram and their households! And for what? For their rebellion against what God had appointed. In the account given in Numbers, Korah the Levite is the prominent figure. Here he is left out, and Moses names the two Reubenites instead. They were two ordinary members of the congregation. Moses wants to reach the whole body of the people by setting before them the terrible result of self-will in two of their number.

Whether their attention was turned to God's actions outside or inside, abroad or at home, it all had one purpose. It was to impress on their hearts and minds a deep sense of the moral importance of obedience. For this he ranges over their history for centuries, selecting, grouping, commenting, taking up this fact and leaving out that, as guided by the Spirit of God.

He does not bring us into the desert until we are out of Egypt. Until Christ has met God for us, He does not bring us into the desert at all. We have trials and exercises there, but it is redemption that brings us into it; our path flows from that. Redemption was at the beginning, Canaan at the latter end; the wilderness comes between the two. Through the wilderness we have God with us, and for us, not charging anything to us, but exercising our hearts.

The great teaching that marks this book is obedience springing from love to the Lord. This chapter develops it further. It begins with a "therefore." Once more the mighty acts of the Lord are reviewed. His miracles and acts done in Egypt; what He did at the Red Sea and what He did to them in the wilderness — therefore you shall love the Lord your God. What He had done and what He was going to do for them called for the love and obedience of His people. May we heed the same call.

Reuben is the firstborn, and so entitled by nature to the leadership. But because of sin, he was not to have that place of honour. In these forty years of wandering his numbers dwindle. At the end we see him weaker than at the beginning. Looking at his history for a reason for this, we come to the rebellion of Dathan and Abiram, who were of this tribe. They wanted to be leaders. Under the pretence of claiming the people's rights, they rebel against God's authority in Moses, turn back in heart to Egypt, and complain about the trials of the way. Swift judgment overtakes them — the earth opens and swallows them up. How many, like these children of Reuben, rebel against God's authority in pure self-will and complain about the trials of the way! They only weaken themselves and their brothers. Instead of their independence lifting them up, it has brought them low.

In the history given in Numbers, Korah the Levite is the main figure. But here Moses leaves him out and names the two Reubenites — two members of the congregation. He is seeking to reach the whole body of the people. He sets before them the terrible result of self-will in two of their number — two ordinary members, as we would say, and not just a privileged Levite.

Numbers 26:10 seems to say that the earth swallowed up Korah. But Numbers 16:32 speaks only of the "men who belonged to Korah." In Deuteronomy 11:6 and Psalm 106:17-18 only Dathan and Abiram are named as swallowed up. There was an exception in the case of Korah: his children were not included in the punishment (Numbers 26:11).

There stand Korah and his company with their censers in proud presumption, daring the judgment of God. In the doorway of their tents, see Dathan and Abiram with their wives, their sons, and their little children. What a moment of suspense for the assembled thousands of Israel! Then comes the sentence of death — not a common death, but a death unheard of before. At once the earth opens, they go down alive into the pit, they perish from among the congregation. They had spoken wicked words against the Lord's anointed and stood there in defiance. Their judgment came suddenly, and there was no remedy.

Deuteronomy 11 sums up the whole matter. It gives the practical conclusion that the lawgiver keeps before their eyes. They were to remember what rebellion must end in. That is why he points to the fate of Dathan and Abiram. The earth swallowed them up because they had openly turned away from God and fought against Him.

In a word, then, whether Moses called their attention to God's actions outside or inside, abroad or at home, it was all for one purpose. It was to impress on their hearts and minds a deep sense of how morally important obedience is. This was the one great aim of all the retellings, all the comment, all the appeals of the faithful servant of God who was so soon to leave them. For this he ranges over centuries of their history. He selects, groups, comments, takes up this fact and leaves out that, as the Spirit of God guides him.

The main teaching of this book is obedience that springs from love to Jehovah, and this chapter develops it further. It begins with a "therefore." ... Then Moses reviews the mighty acts of Jehovah once more. His miracles and acts in Egypt, what He did at the Red Sea, what He did to them in the wilderness — therefore you shall love the LORD your God. They were also to love Him and keep His words in view of the land they were about to possess. What He had done and what He was going to do for them called for the love and obedience of His people.

Deuteronomy 11 sums up the whole matter. It gives the practical conclusion that the lawgiver keeps before their eyes. They were to remember what rebellion must end in. So he points to what happened to Dathan and Abiram. The earth swallowed them up because they openly abandoned God and fought against Him.

In the account given in Numbers, Korah the Levite is the prominent character. Here Moses leaves him out and names the two Reubenites instead. They were two members of the congregation. Moses is seeking to work on the whole body of the people by setting before them the terrible consequence of self-will in two of their own number — two ordinary members, as we should say, and not just a privileged Levite.

Moses felt it was of the highest importance to keep all the mighty acts of Jehovah before the hearts of the people, engraved deeply on their memory. The human mind wanders and the heart is unsteady. Israel had seen God's solemn judgments on Egypt and on Pharaoh, yet they were still in danger of forgetting them. They could lose the impression those judgments were designed and well fitted to make on them.

Note the beautiful moral link between those two clauses: "Keep all the commandments" — "that you may be strong." Unreserved obedience to the word of God brings great strength. It will not do to pick and choose. We are prone to this. We take up the commandments and rules that suit us. But that is self-will. What right have we to select certain rules from the word and neglect others? None whatever. What business has a servant to decide which of his master's commands he will obey? None at all. Each commandment carries the master's authority, and so it claims the servant's attention.

"When He bares His arm, who can stand against His might?" The chariots and the horsemen of Egypt, and the waters of the Red Sea, were as nothing to the Lord. He "brought the sea upon them and covered them." "Your eyes," said the Lord, "have seen what I have done in Egypt." Yes, cries the Christian, our eye of faith has also seen His power and His grace. He has delivered us from the present evil world. We once groaned under its bondage and almost despaired of freedom.

Deuteronomy 11 sums up the whole matter. It is the practical conclusion that Moses keeps before their eyes. They were to remember what rebellion must end in. So he points to the fate of Dathan and Abiram. The earth swallowed them up because they openly turned away from God and fought against Him... The rest of the chapter is full of the most earnest warnings and bright promises. In the land, everything would turn on whether they obeyed or disobeyed.

In a word, Moses pointed them to what God did abroad and to what He did at home. It all had one purpose: to impress on their hearts and minds how morally important obedience is... He presses the whole story on the conscience of the people, with remarkable force and clearness. It strengthens the ground of Jehovah's claim on their unqualified obedience to His holy commandments.

Notice the beautiful moral link between those two clauses: "Keep all the commandments" — "That you may be strong." Unreserved obedience to the word of God brings great strength. It will not do to pick and choose. We are prone to this. We take up the commands and rules that suit us; but this is really self-will... What business has a servant to decide which of his master's commands he will obey? Surely none whatever; each commandment stands clothed with the master's authority... and the more closely he obeys every command, however small, the stronger his position becomes. He also grows in his master's confidence and esteem.

When Israel was about to enter the promised land, Jehovah again required obedience to the word as the condition of victory (Deut. 11:22-23). He asked for more than obedience to the commandments. They also had to take actual possession (ver. 24, 25). It is the same for believers now. Obedience to the word, and entering spiritual blessings by faith, are both needed if they are to possess them in experience. God's sovereignty in blessing His people does not clash with their responsibility to obey His word. By grace God has made every spiritual blessing secure in Christ for all His people. Even so, every man reaps what he sows.

Once more, all this presses their responsibility home to them. They are the objects of God's delight and love. They should imitate Him and love Him in the obedience of practical holiness, as they remember His judgments on His enemies. In this way they would keep all the blessings and glories of their inheritance. Their years would be long, like the days of heaven on earth. God would give them the whole land, but only what their feet walked on would really be theirs in practice.

Now, should we not seek to refresh the heart of our blessed Master by a loving obedience to all His commandments? Only think, reader, what a privilege it is to give joy to the heart of that blessed One who loved us and gave Himself for us... He delights in our keeping His commandments. That thought should stir our whole moral being. It should lead us to study His word, to find out more and more what His commandments are — so that we may do them.

Deuteronomy 11 sums up the whole matter. It is the practical conclusion which the lawgiver keeps before their eyes. They were to remember what rebellion must end in... The rest of the chapter gives the most earnest warnings, and bright promises too. Disobedience or obedience would be the turning point in the land. The mount of blessing and the mount of curse were there on the other side of Jordan.

There is great strength gained by unreserved obedience to the word of God. It will not do to pick and choose. We are prone to this, prone to take up certain commandments and precepts which suit ourselves; but this is really self-will. What right have we to select certain precepts from the word, and neglect others? None whatever. To do so is, in principle, simply self-will and rebellion. What business has a servant to decide which of his master's commands he will obey? Surely none. Each commandment carries the master's authority, and so it claims the servant's attention. The more fully the servant obeys... the more he strengthens himself in his position and grows in his master's confidence and esteem.

Moses sets obedience before them again. Obedience is the great end of this book: God placed Israel under the condition of obedience so that they would keep on enjoying the promises. He reminds them that by obeying they would prolong their days in the land they were going up to take.

In sovereign grace He appeared to Abraham and said, "In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed... all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring... To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates." God has never yet fulfilled these promises in full. Israel has never lived in the whole stretch of land described here... Though they have been unfaithful to God, He will not be unfaithful to them, but will make good all His word.

The land is a good land and a large one, flowing with milk and honey. It is not a land of narrowness, as Egypt is... There is all "fatness," which is the literal meaning of the word for milk, and all sweetness, as the honey implies. Salvation for us must issue in satisfaction, or it is not salvation.

Milk speaks of the Word of God (1 Peter 2:2). Honey symbolises the ministry of the Word of God (Song of Songs 4:11) — the sweetness believers have gathered from the Word and pass on to others.

It was not a heavy yoke laid upon them, but the sweet privilege of treasuring up the precious commandments of the Lord their God in their hearts, and breathing the very atmosphere of His holy word. All was to hinge upon this. Canaan was a good, highly favoured land, flowing with milk and honey. The Lord's eyes always rested on it in loving interest and tender care. All its blessings, all its precious fruits, all its rare privileges were to be theirs for ever, on the one simple condition of loving obedience to the word of their covenant God.

Egypt was watered by the foot. That is, her people did the ordinary work of drawing off the water of the Nile onto their fields and gardens. Their river was everything to them. All they needed was to be busy around its banks, and they could supply themselves out of it. But Canaan was to be tilled by the Lord. He would water it from heaven Himself. His heart would care for it, and His eyes would rest on it from one end of the year to the other.

I believe what the Spirit of God refers to, when He speaks of their watering their land with their feet, is this: the only source of ancient Egypt's fruitfulness was the Nile. When the river overflowed its banks, they had to cut channels for it to run into and irrigate the soil. This was done with the foot. But what trouble and labour all that involved!

What a vivid contrast between Egypt and Canaan! Egypt had no rain from heaven. It was all human effort there. Not so in the Lord's land. The human foot could do nothing there, and there was no need. The blessed rain from heaven fell on it. The Lord Himself cared for it and watered it with the early and latter rain. The land of Egypt depended on its own resources. The land of Canaan depended wholly on God — on what came down from heaven. "My river is my own" was the language of Egypt. "The river of God" was the hope of Canaan. The habit in Egypt was to water with the foot; the habit in Canaan was to look up to heaven.

While the mercy of God feeds that land by the rain of a far country, no rain comes, or rarely falls, in Egypt. The rain falls far off. The people know nothing about it. It comes rolling down as a mighty river, and that unbroken stream supplies steady plenty to the land. It is, so to speak, independent of heaven. I do not mean it really is independent, but that it is watered not from the clouds but from the river. In their thoughts the people do not look up for it, but down. Canaan is a land of dependence. Egypt is a land of independence, figuratively.

The river itself is their all. They can even credit to themselves what is the gift of God: "My river is my own, and I made it" (Ezek. 29:3).

Egypt's water came only from below. The spiritual meaning is obvious. The world does not know God's blessing, only the treadmill — a poor substitute.

The distinction was therefore very marked. In the one, fruitfulness came through human means. The other depended entirely on its supply from heaven. The rain had to come from above to water the land, and the Lord made this depend on the people's obedience. They were to listen to His voice and obey His commandments — yes, they were to love and serve Him.

This pictures the spiritual inheritance of Christians today. They are blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ. The people of the world have earthly, material blessings instead. So we depend, not on our surrounding circumstances, but on the blessing of God from heaven.

He contrasts Egypt with the land. This world is to us both Egypt and the wilderness; it is Egypt in its moral character, and the wilderness in its experience... I believe the first part of this passage points to the fact that everything you have in the wilderness has trouble attached to it. There is no such thing in this world as a day without clouds.

What a vivid contrast between Egypt and Canaan! Egypt had no rain from heaven. It was all human effort there. It was not so in the Lord's land. There the human foot could do nothing, and there was no need. The blessed rain from heaven fell on it. The Lord Himself cared for it and watered it with the early and latter rain. The land of Egypt depended on its own resources. The land of Canaan depended wholly on God — on what came down from heaven. "My river is mine own," was the language of Egypt. "The river of God" was the hope of Canaan. The habit in Egypt was to water with the foot; the habit in Canaan was to look up to heaven.

Egypt was the land of independence. Its river watered it, and the sources of that river were so far off that people could all but forget them. Israel's land was a land of mountains and valleys, drinking the water of the rain of heaven. It was a dependent land, and its dependence was obvious. Because it was cast on God in this way, it was the very land He chose for a people who were in the same way to depend on Himself, and so to know His gracious and continual care… Israel's mountains were like a constant prayer to God, and the dews of heaven settled on them.

When God spoke of His earthly people possessing the land to which He would bring them, He said that it was "a land of hills and valleys" (Deuteronomy 11:11); but He also spoke of "fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills" (Deuteronomy 8:7). So there is provision to refresh our souls, whatever our circumstances.

Obedience was therefore the appointed means for giving the early and later rain. That rain was most needed if their blessing was to continue and be enjoyed. So came the needed warning to take care. Strange gods, and other things put in place of the Lord, His land, and His things, must have no place with them. If they did, judgment would follow. One special form of that judgment shut up the heaven and withheld the rain, so that blessing ceased.

How perfectly beautiful! Only think of God watering the ridges and settling the furrows! Think of His stooping down to do a farmer's work for His people! Yes, and delighting to do it! It was the joy of His heart to pour His sunbeams and His refreshing showers on the "hills and valleys" of His beloved people.

The land of their inheritance was not like Egypt. Egypt depended on men's methods of irrigation, watered by "foot." Israel's land was a land of hills and valleys, dependent on rain from heaven (vs. 10-11). This pictures the spiritual inheritance of Christians today. They are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. That is unlike the earthly, material blessings of the people of the world. So we are dependent, not on our surrounding circumstances, but on the blessing of God from heaven.

What a vivid contrast between Egypt and Canaan! Egypt had no rain from heaven. It was all human effort there. The Lord's land was different. The human foot could do nothing there, and there was no need. The blessed rain from heaven fell on it. The Lord Himself cared for it and watered it with the early and latter rain. Egypt depended on its own resources. Canaan depended completely on God — on what came down from heaven. "My river is mine own," was the language of Egypt. "The river of God" was the hope of Canaan. The habit in Egypt was to water with the foot; the habit in Canaan was to look up to heaven.

Egypt's river came from sources so far off that the people could practically forget all about them. Israel's land was different. It was a land of mountains and valleys, drinking the water of the rain of heaven. It was dependent by its very nature, and its dependence was plain to see. Cast upon God like this, it was the land He chose for a people who were to depend on Him in the same way, and so to know His gracious and continual care. Israel's mountains were like a constant prayer to God. The dews of heaven settled on them and brought down the rain the land constantly needed.

How perfectly beautiful! Only think of God watering the ridges, and settling the furrows! Think of His stooping down to do the work of a farmer for His people! Yes, and delighting to do it! It was the joy of His heart to pour His sunbeams and His refreshing showers upon the "hills and valleys" of His beloved people.

Could those watchful eyes overlook their need? No, certainly not. But their need might be, sadly, of chastening, and He would give it. Israel's land might suffer where Egypt escaped… The presence of the Holy One with us must mean discipline. But it is a Father's discipline of the "son in whom He delights."

Obedience, then, was the appointed means for giving the early and later rain. That rain was what they most needed if their blessing was to continue and be enjoyed… So how important it was to obey in a way that matched the position and privileges God had given them. How important to remember the word of the Lord, trusting His promised care, crowned by the truth that the eyes of the Lord would always be on the land. Surely such a promise meant blessing would not fail, if the people lived up to their privileges.

If the everlasting love of God is still toward Israel, His eyes are still upon the Land and the Temple. The land may be desolate and trampled under foot by the Gentiles. But it is still "a land that the LORD your God cares for. The eyes of the LORD your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year" (Deut. 11:12). Again, the word came to Solomon: "I have consecrated this house that you have built, by putting My name there forever. My eyes and My heart will be there for all time" (1 Kings 9:3).

I ask you tonight, what is the spot where God's eyes are always held? Where is it? Is it not the one spot where Jesus is? I know no other place on which His eye rests always except that. That, then, is the place He gives you and me for our home. He gives it to us to be the home of our hearts. The land that He cares for is the spot that holds His own affections.

What a vivid contrast between Egypt and Canaan! Egypt had no rain from heaven. It was all human effort there. It was not so in the Lord's land. The human foot could do nothing there, and there was no need. The blessed rain from heaven dropped upon it. The Lord Himself cared for it and watered it with the early and latter rain. The land of Egypt depended on its own resources. The land of Canaan depended wholly on God — on what came down from heaven. "My river is my own," was the language of Egypt. "The river of God" was the hope of Canaan. The habit in Egypt was to water with the foot; the habit in Canaan was to look up to heaven.

Obedience, then, was the appointed means for giving the early and later rain. That rain was needed if their blessing was to continue and be enjoyed. The book of Deuteronomy sets out the mind of the Lord about how the people were to live in the land. It is rightly called the book of obedience.

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 shows that the Lord our God requires the affection of the whole heart. Deuteronomy 11:13-15 shows that if they would only love the Lord with all their heart, they would have everything they could wish for. Thus the important thing is to love the Lord... If we realise this then it will be easy to serve Him.

Nothing could be simpler, nothing more blessed. It was Israel's high and holy privilege to love and serve the Lord; it was the Lord's prerogative to bless and prosper Israel. Obedience was sure to bring happiness and fruitfulness. All their supplies were to come down from heaven. So as long as they walked in loving obedience, plentiful showers dropped upon their fields and vineyards.

The Lord's original promise to Israel was this: if they would obey His commandments, love Him, and serve Him with all their heart and soul, He would give the rain for their land in its season. But Israel had forfeited that promise by their disobedience and their departure from their God. So God withheld both the early and the latter rain as chastisement. This is a lesson for every age. God never withholds from His people except to draw out their sense of need, and to teach them that He alone is the source of blessing.

Now, in all this there is deep practical instruction for the church of God. Although we are not under law, God calls us to obedience. As grace enables us to give a loving, hearty obedience, we are blessed in our own spiritual state. Our souls are watered, refreshed and strengthened.

This pictures the spiritual inheritance of Christians today. We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ. That is unlike the earthly, material blessings of the people of the world. So we depend not on our surrounding circumstances, but on the blessing of God from heaven.

What a vivid contrast between Egypt and Canaan! Egypt had no rain from heaven. It was all human effort there. It was not so in the Lord's land. There the human foot could do nothing, and it did not need to. The blessed rain from heaven fell on it. The Lord Himself cared for that land and watered it with the early and latter rain. Egypt depended on its own resources. Canaan depended completely on God — on what came down from heaven. "My river is my own," was the language of Egypt. "The river of God" was the hope of Canaan. The habit in Egypt was to water with the foot; the habit in Canaan was to look up to heaven.

Moses described the land before them as a good land of plenty where they would "eat and be full." The Lord would supply in its season the rain they could not do without. The "early" rain would prepare the soil for autumn sowing. The "latter" or spring rain would swell the grain for ripening and harvest.

So obedience was the appointed means for the giving of the early and later rain. They needed that rain most, so that their blessing might continue and be enjoyed. Deuteronomy sets out the mind of the Lord about the people's conduct in the land, and rightly bears the name the book of obedience. That is why they needed the word, "Take heed to yourselves." Strange gods, and other things put in the place of the Lord, His land and His things, must have no place with them. Such things bring judgment. One special form of that judgment shut up the heaven and withheld the rain, so that blessing ceased.

How perfectly beautiful! Only think of God watering the ridges, and settling the furrows! Think of His stooping down to do the work of a farmer for His people! Yes, and delighting to do it!

See how full the blessing was that God set before Israel. "The grain, the wine, and the oil" are joined together again and again in Deuteronomy and other scriptures. They take in the produce of the field, the vineyard and the orchard. All of it yields its increase in blessing from Him of whom it is said, "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof."

I have noticed that while the corn and the wine are mentioned once or twice in the first four books of the Bible, in Deuteronomy "oil" is added, suggesting perhaps that these things are to be enjoyed in the power of the Spirit of God, for Deuteronomy prepares the people to go into the land.

But Israel disobeyed and turned away from their God, and so forfeited this promise. As discipline, God withheld both the early and the latter rain. Now, though, it was His thought to do good to Jerusalem and to His people. So He encourages them to seek His face for a return of their former blessing. He chose to bless them now out of His own pure grace... only He would have them learn their dependence on Him for the blessing they sought, so that He might bring them into a fit state to receive it. This is surely a lesson for all dispensations. God never withholds from His people except to draw out their sense of need.

The rain speaks of that which comes from above — all that ministry of Christ which the Spirit of God brings from above to refresh and gladden the heart. The word is really "early-rain," and refers to the soft and gentle rain that refreshes the ground in seed time (Deut. 11:14).

What a vivid contrast between Egypt and Canaan! Egypt had no rain from heaven. It was all human effort there. Not so in the Lord's land. The human foot could do nothing there, and there was no need. The blessed rain from heaven fell on it. The Lord Himself cared for it and watered it with the early and latter rain. The land of Egypt depended on its own resources; the land of Canaan depended wholly on God — on what came down from heaven. The habit in Egypt was to water with the foot; the habit in Canaan was to look up to heaven.

Only think of God watering the ridges and settling the furrows! Think of His stooping down to do the work of a farmer for His people! Yes, and delighting to do it! It was the joy of His heart to pour His sunbeams and His refreshing showers on the "hills and valleys" of His beloved people. It refreshed His spirit, and brought praise to His Name, to see the vine, the fig tree and the olive flourishing. It refreshed Him to see the valleys covered with golden grain, and the rich pastures covered with flocks of sheep.

So the grass grows for cattle and plants for the service of man. God is intent on maintaining the creature whom He has set in dignity on the earth as His image and likeness, to know Him and to be for Him. And that is why He made him the most dependent of all — because he is master of all. Where is there a creature made for frailty and long helplessness like a human baby? Where is there one so defenceless by nature — with neither tooth nor claw nor strength nor speed, and his very skin bare to the wind — as man in his prime? It is spirit in him that is to show itself, and does, but by recognising his dependence and his careful use of all God's gifts.

Obedience was the appointed means for giving the early and later rain. That rain was what they most needed if their blessing was to last and be enjoyed. The book of Deuteronomy sets out the mind of the Lord about the people's conduct in the land, and people rightly call it the book of obedience.

But on the other hand, when Israel forgot the Lord and abandoned His precious commandments, the heaven became brass and the earth iron; barrenness, desolation, famine and misery were the sad companions of disobedience. How could it be otherwise? "If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

The Lord had said through Moses, "Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit." Now they had turned aside under Ahab. They were serving and worshipping other gods. So Elijah expected God to do what He had said He would do in that situation. He asked Him to do it; he expected Him to do it; he boldly announced that He would do it. That was faith.

Now in all this there is deep practical instruction for the church of God. We are not under law, yet God calls us to obedience. When grace enables us to give a loving, hearty obedience, we are blessed in our own spiritual state. Our souls are watered, refreshed and strengthened, and we bring forth the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

"Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them." Sad progress downward! The heart deceived. This is the beginning of all decline. "And you turn aside." The feet are sure to follow the heart. So there is deep need of keeping the heart with all diligence. The heart is the fortress of the whole moral being. As long as you keep it for the Lord, the enemy can gain no advantage. But once you give it up, all is really gone. Then comes the turning aside. The secret departure of the heart shows itself in practical ways: "other gods" are served and worshipped. The slide downhill is terribly fast.

The land of their inheritance was not like Egypt. Egypt depended on men's methods of irrigation, watered by "foot." Israel's land was a land of hills and valleys, and it depended on rain from heaven (vs.10-11). This pictures the spiritual inheritance of Christians today. They are blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, unlike the earthly, material blessings of the people of the world. So we depend, not on our surrounding circumstances, but on the blessing of God from heaven.

But, alas! then as now, and now as then, the very fullness of the blessing they enjoyed might make them forget the gracious hand that gave it... Trial and need wake a man up to his need of God. But when he lacks nothing, he can easily lose the sense that he still depends on God... In this condition the gods that man's own heart has invented look more attractive than the glorious God. He is our Creator; He is not our creature. And so Israel can go after the idols of Canaan.

Idolatry takes various shapes. So the question is not the shape of the thing, but the thing itself. It is not the outward form, but the root or principle behind it. We read that "covetousness is idolatry," and that a covetous man is an idolater. That is, a man who wants more than God has given him is an idolater. He is guilty of the very sin of Israel when they made the golden calf and worshipped it... Our treacherous hearts can turn away from the living God and set up some other object beside Him. What is this but idolatry?

And may we not see a striking picture here? The barren land and the desolate wilderness show a soul out of communion, through disobedience to the precious commandments of Christ. Such a person has no refreshing communication with heaven. No showers come down. No unfolding of the preciousness of Christ to the heart. No sweet ministry of an ungrieved Spirit to the soul. The Bible seems a sealed book. All is dark, dreary and desolate.

The Lord had said through Moses, "Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them. Then the Lord's anger will burn against you. He will shut up the heavens, so that there is no rain, and the land yields no fruit" (Deut. 11:16-17). Now they had turned aside under Ahab. They were serving and worshipping other gods. So Elijah expected God to do what He said He would do in that situation. He asked Him to do it; he expected Him to do it; he boldly announced that He would do it. That was faith.

But this was not the case with the Lord's land — "the land of hills and valleys." If heaven yielded no supplies, everything was parched and sterile. Israel could not say, "My river is my own." No; they were always taught to look up. Their eyes were to be always on the Lord, just as the Lord's eyes were always on them. So if anything hindered the exchange between heaven and earth, the land of Canaan felt it with painful intensity.

"Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and you turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them." A sad downward progress! The heart deceived. This is the beginning of all decline. "And you turn aside." The feet are sure to follow the heart. So there is deep need to keep the heart with all diligence. It is the fortress of the whole moral being, and as long as it is kept for the Lord, the enemy can gain no advantage. But once it is surrendered, everything is really gone. Then comes the turning aside. The outward ways prove that the heart has secretly left. "Other gods" are served and worshipped. The slide down the slope is terribly rapid.

What barrenness and desolation there must be when heaven is shut up! No refreshing showers coming down, no dewdrops falling, no communication between heaven and earth. How often Israel had tasted the awful reality of this! "He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants."

We know well that it is not God's desire that His people should suffer. He is not stingy, and if the rain is withheld, the fault lies with His people and not with Him. He had stressed this for them, so that they understood clearly that when heaven was "shut up" it was in chastening.

Now they had turned aside under Ahab. They were serving and worshipping other gods. So Elijah expected God to do what He said He would do in those circumstances. He asked Him to do it; he expected Him to do it; he boldly announced that He would do it. That was faith.

The reason why the land "flowing with milk and honey" became barren and sterile is found in Deuteronomy 11:17. God threatened the people: if they did not keep His commandments, He would withhold the latter rain and reduce the land to sterility. The threat was carried out, and for centuries there was no latter rain in Palestine. In this way the land has been kept for the people. The Turk conquered the land and held it for centuries. He had no reason to settle a land that was practically desert and could not support its inhabitants.

And may we not see a fitting and striking picture in the barren land and the desolate wilderness? It pictures a soul out of communion, through disobedience to the precious commandments of Christ. Such a person has no refreshing communications with heaven. No showers coming down. No unfolding of the preciousness of Christ to the heart. No sweet ministry of an ungrieved Spirit to the soul. The Bible seems a sealed book; everything is dark, dreary and desolate.