Deuteronomy 11:8-14

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 11:14

The rain - in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain - By the first or former rain we are to understand that which fell in Judea about November, when they sowed their seed, and this served to moisten and prepare the ground for the vegetation of the seed. The latter rain fell about April, when the corn was well grown up, and served to fill the ears, and render them plump and perfect. Rain rarely fell in Judea at any other seasons than these. If the former rain were withheld, or... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 11:1-9

Divine judgments upon others, to ensure obedience in us. Moses wishes to bring all possible motive to bear upon the people to secure their obedience in Canaan. He has just been speaking of their national development from a family of seventy to a multitude as numerous as the stars. Such a blessing should encourage them to love the Lord their God, and to "keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments; and his commandments, always." Obedience is thus founded upon gratitude , which... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 11:1-12

EXPOSITION Moses here renews his exhortation to obedience, enforced by regard to their experience of God's dealings with them in Egypt and in the wilderness, and by consideration of God's promises and threatenings. The blessing and the curse are set before them consequent on the keeping or the transgressing of the Law. Israel was to love the Lord, and manifest this by the steadfast observance of all that he had enjoined upon them. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 11:2-9

The voice of God in passing events to be heeded, interpreted, and obeyed. As in former paragraphs, we have here much repetition of the same teachings which had been already given. We therefore select for homiletic treatment the one distinctive feature which marks it. The people of God are now on the verge of Canaan, Multitudes of them had been born since the march through the wilderness had begun forty years before. They could not have seen the wonders in Egypt, nor could they know, except... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 11:2-22

Obligations arising from personal experience. "Chastisement" ( Deuteronomy 11:2 ) in its wide sense of discipline. The educative process by which God converted, or aimed at converting, the hordes who left Egypt into a nation of brave, free, God-fearing, self-respecting, obedient men and women. This education blended deliverance with judgment on their enemies; loving-kindness in the bestowal of mercies, with severe chastisements in cases of rebellion; attention to their necessities, with... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 11:7-9

Thus from what they themselves had witnessed does Moses admonish the elder members of the congregation, summoning them to recognize in that the purpose of God to discipline and train them, that so they might keep his commandments and be strengthened in soul and purpose to go in and possess the land, and to live long therein ( Deuteronomy 1:38 ; Deuteronomy 4:26 ; Deuteronomy 6:3 ). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 11:8-9

Obedience leads to prolonged possession. We may learn here— I. THAT COMMANDS MAY CARRY A SUPREME OBLIGATION , THOUGH SPOKEN BY MAN . II. THAT OBEDIENCE IS VAIN , UNLESS IT COVERS THE WHOLE AREA OF DUTY . III. THAT COMPLETE OBEDIENCE IMPARTS STRENGTH TO THE WHOLE MAN . IV. THAT SUCH STRENGTH PRESSES INTO THE POSSESSION OF NEW KINGDOMS . V. THAT THE OATH OF GOD , AND THE ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 11:10-11

An additional motive to fidelity and obedience is here adduced, drawn from the peculiar excellence and advantages of the land. Canaan was not like Egypt, a country that depended for its fertility on being irrigated by man's labor or by artificial processes, but was a land where the supply and distribution of water was provided for in natural reservoirs and channels, by means of which the rain which God, who cared for the land, sent plentifully on it, was made available for useful purposes. In... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 11:10-17

The order of nature subservient to moral purposes. (For information concerning methods of irrigation in Egypt, see the Exposition, and works on the subject.) Moses here reminds the people: 1. That the land of Canaan would not require artificial irrigation, as that of Egypt had done; that it was a land specially cared for by God , who gave it the early rain after the sowing, and the latter rain before the harvest; so that there would be no occasion for them to put forth the same... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 11:10-17

Valuable possessions reserved for the righteous. The land of Palestine has always been a coveted prize by the surrounding nations. Compared with the territory south and east, it possesses qualities of excellence and beauty. But its fertility depends upon the rain supply, and rain supply was suspended on righteous loyalty. I. A MORAL PURPOSE UNDERLIES THE GEOLOGICAL CONFIGURATION OF OUR GLOBE . God can never experience surprise in the beneficial coincidences of events.... read more

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