Deuteronomy 11:1 - Meaning and Application

Because God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky, as the last chapter says, you should therefore love the Lord your God. Those whom God has built into families, starting from small beginnings and then greatly increasing, should let that be a reason to serve him. You must keep his charge, that is, the commands of his word and the duties of his worship, which he entrusted to you and for which you are accountable. This phrase is often used about the work of the priests and Levites, but all Israel was to be a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.

Notice how these two things belong together: love the Lord, and keep his charge. Love will lead to obedience, and only obedience that comes from love is truly acceptable. This is the point made in (John 5:3).

Moses also reminds them of the great and terrible works of God that their own eyes had seen (Deuteronomy 11:7). Here he is speaking especially to the older people among them, the elders in age, and likely also the elders in office, who were listening to him directly. Some of them could remember the deliverance from Egypt, everyone over fifty, and Moses speaks to them rather than to the children, who knew these things only by report (Deuteronomy 11:2).

We should remember God’s mercies to us when we are young, and keep their lessons with us as we grow old. What our eyes have seen, especially in early life, has made an impression on us, and we should still use it later in life. They had seen the terrible judgments God brought on the enemies of Israel’s peace. First, he judged Pharaoh and the Egyptians who had enslaved them. A rich land was ruined and left desolate by one plague after another, so that Israel might be set free (Deuteronomy 11:3). A strong army was completely drowned in the Red Sea, so that Israel would not be enslaved again (Deuteronomy 11:4). In this way, he gave Egypt for their ransom (Isaiah 43:3). He would rather destroy that famous kingdom than let Israel remain unredeemed.

Second, they had seen what God did to Dathan and Abiram, who stirred up trouble among them. They were to remember what he did in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 11:5), how he used fitting punishments (Deuteronomy 11:2) to keep them from destroying themselves. This was especially clear when those bold Reubenites challenged Moses’ authority and led a dangerous rebellion against God himself. That rebellion threatened to ruin the whole nation, and would have done so if God’s power had not quickly crushed it by burying the rebels alive, along with everything they owned (Deuteronomy 11:6). What the resentful party misunderstood as harshness was really mercy to Israel (Numbers 16:41).

Being saved from the harm of rebellion at home is just as great a kindness to a people as protection from enemies outside. For that reason, it puts them under just as strong an obligation to love and obey God.