Deuteronomy Chapter 11
As you read through these words teaching the importance to love and serve the Lord your God, think about how much different life would be today if the Israelites had followed this admonishment. Of course we could say the same about our country, life would be so different had people purposed in their heart that they would live lives pleasing to God alone. But man has been given a free will, and the choice has always been ours whether we will obey or disobey the Word of God. The chapter ends with a choice for the Israelites – a choice to obey all of God’s statutes and enjoy His abundant blessings or to disobey and to suffer the curse of judgement that He would place upon them.
Let's Reflect
1. There is the reminder of the power of God and how He can exact judgement on those who walk in disobedience. It is as if God is saying just in case you might think for a moment that God does not see what you are doing let remind you of some examples of when I exacted judgement on disobedient people. The first example is of the power of God over whom?
2. The second example was the judgement on those in the wilderness who started a revolt against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. What was God’s punishment?
3. In what ways would the promised land be different from the land of Egypt where they had spent the last 400 years?
4. What promise did they have from the Lord in verse 12 regarding their promised land?
5. The choice was theirs. If they obeyed God’s commandments the land would flourish, but if they turned their back on God and worshipped other gods what would happen?
6. What was the key to enjoying a beautiful and abundant life in the promised land according to verse 22?
7. God also promised that He would be there for them to drive out the inhabitants of the land. According to verse 25 what would be true of the enemies of Israel?
8. The three elements of the old covenant were the law, the sacrificial system, and their choice to obey or disobey God.
“It is important to recognize that in Jesus Christ, believers do not have an old covenant relationship with God. They may expect to be blessed, not because of their obedience, but because of their position in Jesus. In the new covenant, the deserved curse was laid upon Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:10-14). Though there may be an inherent curse of consequences in disobedience or even in the correcting hand of God, God does not punish us or curse believers under the new covenant. This is because all that they deserved, past, present, and future, was placed upon Jesus.“ [Guzik]
God gave them a picture reminder of the choice they had whether to obey God or not. He gave them two mountains. What were these mountains called that would represent their choice?
