and so that you may live long in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers to give them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey. and so that you may live longThe phrase "live long" in Hebrew is "ya'arik yamim," which conveys not just the idea of longevity but also a quality of life that is blessed and fulfilling. In the ancient Near Eastern context, long life was seen as a sign of divine favor and blessing. This promise is contingent upon obedience to God's commandments, emphasizing the covenant relationship between God and His people. The idea of living long in the land is not merely about individual lifespan but about the enduring presence of the community in the Promised Land. in the land
The "land" refers to Canaan, the Promised Land, which holds significant theological importance as the physical space where God's people would dwell under His rule. The land is a gift from God, a place where His people can experience His blessings. In the biblical narrative, the land is not just a geographical location but a symbol of God's promise and faithfulness. It represents a place of rest, prosperity, and divine provision. that the LORD swore
The word "swore" comes from the Hebrew "shaba," meaning to make a solemn oath. This highlights the seriousness and unchangeable nature of God's promises. The covenantal language underscores God's faithfulness and the certainty of His word. The oath is a reminder of God's unbreakable commitment to His people, rooted in His character and His eternal plan. to your fathers
This phrase refers to the patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—who received the original promises of land, descendants, and blessing. The mention of the fathers connects the current generation to their heritage and the unfolding of God's redemptive plan. It serves as a reminder of the continuity of God's promises across generations and the importance of faithfulness to the covenant. to give them and their descendants
The promise extends beyond the immediate recipients to their "descendants," indicating the perpetual nature of God's covenant. This generational aspect emphasizes the enduring relationship between God and His people. It also highlights the responsibility of each generation to uphold the covenant and teach it to the next, ensuring the continuity of God's blessings. a land flowing with milk and honey
This phrase paints a vivid picture of abundance and prosperity. "Milk and honey" symbolize fertility, richness, and the bountiful provision of God. In the ancient world, such imagery would evoke thoughts of a land that is not only sufficient but overflowing with resources. This description serves as an assurance of God's provision and the goodness of the land He has prepared for His people. It is a call to trust in God's promises and to live in a way that honors the covenant, ensuring that they can fully enjoy the blessings of the land. Persons / Places / Events 1. MosesThe author of Deuteronomy, delivering God's commandments and promises to the Israelites. 2. The IsraelitesThe chosen people of God, recipients of the covenant and the ones being addressed in this passage. 3. The Promised LandThe land of Canaan, described as "a land flowing with milk and honey," promised by God to the ancestors of the Israelites. 4. The Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob)The forefathers to whom God swore to give the land to their descendants. 5. The CovenantThe agreement between God and the Israelites, involving obedience to God's laws in exchange for blessings, including the land. Teaching Points The Importance of ObedienceThe promise of long life in the land is contingent upon obedience to God's commandments. This underscores the biblical principle that blessings often follow obedience. God's Faithfulness to His PromisesThe verse highlights God's unwavering commitment to fulfill His promises to the patriarchs, encouraging believers to trust in God's faithfulness. The Concept of InheritanceThe land as an inheritance for the Israelites serves as a metaphor for the spiritual inheritance believers have in Christ, urging us to live in a way that honors this gift. The Blessing of AbundanceThe description of the land as "flowing with milk and honey" symbolizes God's provision and abundance, reminding us of His ability to meet our needs. Generational ImpactThe promise extends to the descendants, emphasizing the importance of passing down faith and obedience to future generations. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the promise of the land in Deuteronomy 11:9 relate to God's covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12:7, and what does this teach us about God's faithfulness? 2. In what ways can we apply the principle of obedience leading to blessing in our own lives today? 3. How does the concept of a "land flowing with milk and honey" reflect God's provision, and how can we see His provision in our daily lives? 4. What are some practical ways we can ensure that our faith and obedience are passed down to future generations? 5. How does the idea of spiritual inheritance in Christ, as seen in the New Testament, expand upon the physical inheritance promised to the Israelites? Connections to Other Scriptures Genesis 12:7God's initial promise to Abraham about giving the land to his descendants. Exodus 3:8God's description of the Promised Land as "a land flowing with milk and honey" during the call of Moses. Joshua 1:6God's encouragement to Joshua to lead the people into the land promised to their ancestors. Hebrews 11:8-10The faith of Abraham in God's promises, including the land. Psalm 37:29The righteous inheriting the land, reflecting the blessings of obedience. People Abiram, Canaanites, Dathan, Eliab, Moses, Pharaoh, ReubenPlaces Arabah, Beth-baal-peor, Egypt, Euphrates River, Gilgal, Jordan River, Lebanon, Moreh, Mount Ebal, Mount Gerizim, Red SeaTopics Descendants, Fathers, Floweth, Flowing, Forefathers, Ground, Honey, Milk, Oath, Prolong, Seed, Sware, Swore, SwornDictionary of Bible Themes Deuteronomy 11:8-9 4404 food Deuteronomy 11:8-12 1335 blessing Deuteronomy 11:8-17 7258 promised land, early history Library Canaan on Earth
Many of you, my dear hearers, are really come out of Egypt; but you are still wandering about in the wilderness. "We that have believed do enter into rest;" but you, though you have eaten of Jesus, have not so believed on him as to have entered into the Canaan of rest. You are the Lord's people, but you have not come into the Canaan of assured faith, confidence, and hope, where we wrestle no longer with flesh and blood, but with principalities and powers in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus--when …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856The God of the Rain
(Fifth Sunday after Easter.) DEUT. xi. 11, 12. The land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven. A land which the Lord thy God careth for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year, even unto the end of the year. I told you, when I spoke of the earthquakes of the Holy Land, that it seems as if God had meant specially to train that strange people the Jews, by putting them into a country where they …
Charles Kingsley—The Gospel of the Pentateuch Gilgal, in Deuteronomy 11:30 what the Place Was.
That which is said by Moses, that "Gerizim and Ebal were over-against Gilgal," Deuteronomy 11:30, is so obscure, that it is rendered into contrary significations by interpreters. Some take it in that sense, as if it were near to Gilgal: some far off from Gilgal: the Targumists read, "before Gilgal": while, as I think, they do not touch the difficulty; which lies not so much in the signification of the word Mul, as in the ambiguity of the word Gilgal. These do all seem to understand that Gilgal which …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Josiah, a Pattern for the Ignorant.
"Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before Me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord. Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place."--2 Kings …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII The Blessings of Noah Upon Shem and Japheth. (Gen. Ix. 18-27. )
Ver. 20. "And Noah began and became an husbandman, and planted vineyards."--This does not imply that Noah was the first who began to till the ground, and, more especially, to cultivate the vine; for Cain, too, was a tiller of the ground, Gen. iv. 2. The sense rather is, that Noah, after the flood, again took up this calling. Moreover, the remark has not an independent import; it serves only to prepare the way for the communication of the subsequent account of Noah's drunkenness. By this remark, …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Subjects of Study. Home Education in Israel; Female Education. Elementary Schools, Schoolmasters, and School Arrangements.
If a faithful picture of society in ancient Greece or Rome were to be presented to view, it is not easy to believe that even they who now most oppose the Bible could wish their aims success. For this, at any rate, may be asserted, without fear of gainsaying, that no other religion than that of the Bible has proved competent to control an advanced, or even an advancing, state of civilisation. Every other bound has been successively passed and submerged by the rising tide; how deep only the student …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life In the Fifteenth Year of Tiberius Cæsar and under the Pontificate of Annas and Caiaphas - a Voice in the Wilderness
THERE is something grand, even awful, in the almost absolute silence which lies upon the thirty years between the Birth and the first Messianic Manifestation of Jesus. In a narrative like that of the Gospels, this must have been designed; and, if so, affords presumptive evidence of the authenticity of what follows, and is intended to teach, that what had preceded concerned only the inner History of Jesus, and the preparation of the Christ. At last that solemn silence was broken by an appearance, …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah The Worship of the Synagogue
One of the most difficult questions in Jewish history is that connected with the existence of a synagogue within the Temple. That such a "synagogue" existed, and that its meeting-place was in "the hall of hewn stones," at the south-eastern angle of the court of the priest, cannot be called in question, in face of the clear testimony of contemporary witnesses. Considering that "the hall of hew stones" was also the meeting-place for the great Sanhedrim, and that not only legal decisions, but lectures …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life Among the People, and with the Pharisees
It would have been difficult to proceed far either in Galilee or in Judaea without coming into contact with an altogether peculiar and striking individuality, differing from all around, and which would at once arrest attention. This was the Pharisee. Courted or feared, shunned or flattered, reverently looked up to or laughed at, he was equally a power everywhere, both ecclesiastically and politically, as belonging to the most influential, the most zealous, and the most closely-connected religions …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life Covenanting Confers Obligation.
As it has been shown that all duty, and that alone, ought to be vowed to God in covenant, it is manifest that what is lawfully engaged to in swearing by the name of God is enjoined in the moral law, and, because of the authority of that law, ought to be performed as a duty. But it is now to be proved that what is promised to God by vow or oath, ought to be performed also because of the act of Covenanting. The performance of that exercise is commanded, and the same law which enjoins that the duties …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting The Old Testament Canon from Its Beginning to Its Close.
The first important part of the Old Testament put together as a whole was the Pentateuch, or rather, the five books of Moses and Joshua. This was preceded by smaller documents, which one or more redactors embodied in it. The earliest things committed to writing were probably the ten words proceeding from Moses himself, afterwards enlarged into the ten commandments which exist at present in two recensions (Exod. xx., Deut. v.) It is true that we have the oldest form of the decalogue from the Jehovist …
Samuel Davidson—The Canon of the Bible Deuteronomy
Owing to the comparatively loose nature of the connection between consecutive passages in the legislative section, it is difficult to present an adequate summary of the book of Deuteronomy. In the first section, i.-iv. 40, Moses, after reviewing the recent history of the people, and showing how it reveals Jehovah's love for Israel, earnestly urges upon them the duty of keeping His laws, reminding them of His spirituality and absoluteness. Then follows the appointment, iv. 41-43--here irrelevant (cf. …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Deuteronomy 11:9 NIVDeuteronomy 11:9 NLTDeuteronomy 11:9 ESVDeuteronomy 11:9 NASBDeuteronomy 11:9 KJV
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