Dueteronomy 11

If you have noticed as we have worked through this book there is a theme of loving God, following him, and remembering his great works, and this continues in this chapter.

Gods mighty works. 1-9

Love for the Lord is to be foundational for the people of Isreal and our love for him motivates us to follow him. To keep his statues, his rules, and his commandments.

The past works of the Lord are a reminder of his wondrous deeds.

For the people of Isreal the reminder of there time in Egypt and what God did there would remind them that they would be taken care of.

What he did in Egypt just as a reminder is he preformed great signs, 10 of them, he parted the Red sea, and drowned the might Egyptian army there. He took care of them in the wilderness always making sure they had what they needed.

However there were people in Isreal that did not follow God. And he gives one specific example in this text.

Numbers 16:1-3 “1 Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. 2 And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. 3 They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?””

Numbers 16:12-15 “12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and they said, “We will not come up. 13 Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also make yourself a prince over us? 14 Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.” 15 And Moses was very angry and said to the Lord, “Do not respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, and I have not harmed one of them.””

Numbers 16:25-34 “25 Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 26 And he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins.” 27 So they got away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, together with their wives, their sons, and their little ones. 28 And Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord. 29 If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. 30 But if the Lord creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord.”“31 And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. 32 And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. 33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 34 And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!””

So Isreal had seen the lord work, both to bring them to safety and to punish them for there disobedience. Really showing them that he has the power to in fact both give and take away.

V7..

Following Gods commandments help us in every aspect of our lives.

These people went from Egypt tp the wilderness and now they are going into the promised land. Which is prescribed by the text as a land flowing with milk and honey.

Long life for Israel.

Listen to some things about the land that Israel is going to give to Israel.

This land is not one that you have sow and seed and irrigate.

This land is a land that has hills and valleys which naturally allow water.

The lord will care for this land, it seems that this land with produce all year long. ( this is the best land )

But the Lord despite being the great gardner and protector wants them to love him.

A major theme as we have already discussed. Love him with all of yourself, your heart, soul.

And in doing that he is going to give you everything you need to live. Rain, grain, wine, oil, grass for your livestock, and you will never go Hungry.

With another warning. Remember what I said earlier he can give and take away, and he says in verse 16. Take care… LEST your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them. Dont be tempted to go after other gods that cant give you what I can give, because if they do look what happens verse 17. As we have read scripture he does that a few times to the people because of there following of other gods.

We must love God. “ I saw something say Love must be learned, in a lesson that is never complete. Learning to love God as he demands is the process of a lifetime.”

And how do we learn how to love God? Through his word. You can’t know about God without getting into his word, and just one night a week is not enough, you need to be in his word everyday, and unlike our foot supply that could run our or our money, or whatever else, his supply is never ending.

The problem with Isreal and what was about to happen for them is in the wilderness they were getting there daily bread and what they needed from God, learning to depend on him for all things, and the land they were going into they did not need him in that way anymore, and that should be a danger we think about. All of us in this room that I am aware of have jobs and make money, and when things are going well we seem to think this is a result of our own doing, but in reality its only because God allows you to take care of yourselves. See we need to be like the people of wilderness having this daily desire and need for God, because he, he is the only one who truly gives us anything.