Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 11:22
For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him;
For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you to do them,…. Observe and take notice of them, even all of them, and so as not merely to have a theory or notional knowledge of them, but to put them in practice:
to love the Lord your God; and show it by obeying his commands, and which is the end of the commandment, and the principle from which all obedience should flow:
to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him; see De 10:12.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Verses 22-25:
Obedience to Jehovah’s commandments insured to Israel that they would be invincible in battle against nations greater and stronger than they, see Deu 7:1; Deu 7:16-21; Deu 9:1-6.
The boundaries of Israel’s territory are clearly defined, see Gen 15:18; Exo 23:31; Num 34:3-12.
“The uttermost sea,” or, “the hinder sea,” the sea which lay behind the one they saw looking to the east, Num 34:6; Exo 23:27; the Mediterranean Sea.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(22) To walk in all his ways.He is compassionate, and thou shalt be compassionate. He showeth mercies, and thou shalt show mercies. Again Rashis comment is worthy of the New Testament. What follows shows the need of a mediator.
To cleave unto him.Is it possible to speak so? Is He not a consuming fire ? (and how can we cleave unto Him?) But cleave unto wise men and their disciples (the students of the Law), and I tell thee it will be as though thou didst cleave unto Him. In New Testament language this would read, Be ye followers of me, as I am of Christ; and He that receiveth Me, receiveth Him that sent Me.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
The Result Of This Will Be That Their Way Will Prosper Before Them ( Deu 11:22-25 ).
Note that love for Yahweh commenced chapter 6 and now ends chapter 11 of the general stipulations of the covenant. And if they do love Him and obey Him then their success in conquering the land is guaranteed.
Analysis in the words of Moses:
a For if you will diligently keep all this commandment which I command you, to do it, to love Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave to him (Deu 11:22).
b Then will Yahweh drive out all these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves (Deu 11:23).
b Every place on which the sole of your foot shall tread will be yours, from the wilderness, and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even to the hinder sea shall be your border (Deu 11:24).
a There shall no man be able to stand before you. Yahweh your God will lay the fear of you and the dread of you on all the land that you shall tread on, as he has spoken to you (Deu 11:25).
Note than in ‘a’ they are to diligently keep His commandments and love Yahweh their God, and walk in His ways, and cleave to Him, and the result is that their enemies will fear them (in contrast to Yahweh loving them) and all the land that they tread on (in contrast with walking in it) will be filled with dread because of God’s powerful word. In ‘b’ Yahweh will drive out nations more powerful than themselves, and they will dispossess them, and in the parallel they will take possession on any land on which the sole of their foot treads within the area of the promised land.
Deu 11:22-23
‘ For if you will diligently keep all this commandment which I command you, to do it, to love Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave to him, then will Yahweh drive out all these nations from before you, and you shall dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves.’
Compare Deu 10:12; Deu 11:13. The dispossessing of the nations and Israel’s love for Yahweh, their walking in His ways, and their cleaving to Him had to go in tandem. If they looked to Yahweh for their victory, it must be because they loved Him and were genuinely in covenant with Him, and sought diligently to keep the totality of what He has commanded because of that love. Then would they drive out the nations mightier than themselves. The corollary is that if they did not have this covenant response then the covenant would not be valid, and they would not receive Yahweh’s assistance, in the same way that their fathers had not received His assistance (Deu 1:44). Then He would have to wait for another generation and begin again.
Deu 11:24-25
‘ Every place on which the sole of your foot shall tread will be yours, from the wilderness, and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even to the hinder sea shall be your border. There shall no man be able to stand before you. Yahweh your God will lay the fear of you and the dread of you on all the land that you shall tread on, as he has spoken to you.’
But if they do love Him and walk in His ways, cleaving to Him, and keeping all He has commanded, then every place on which the sole of their foot treads (see Deu 2:5; Jos 1:3; Jos 14:9) within the land promised to them will be theirs. They will take it and possess it. They will possess ‘from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the Euphrates to the western sea’ (the Mediterranean). Note how Lebanon here possibly represents both a part of Canaan and the land to the north, which also belonged to Canaanites whom we know as Phoenicians, (compare Isa 23:11). The wilderness lay to the south, the western sea lay to the west, the Euphrates lay to the ‘north’ (Deu 1:7; Gen 15:18; Exo 23:31; Jos 1:4). It was to the north that they always went to reach the River Euphrates. The eastern border did not need to be mentioned because they were standing on it and possessed it, again evidence that this was spoken at the time when Moses was east of Jordan.
Indeed none would be able to stand against them for Yahweh would fill their enemies with fear at the very thought of them. Wherever they trod, those who were there would be terrified, just as he had always promised.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The extent of Israel’s country, great as it was, was nothing compared to the extent of GOD’S love for them. The boundaries here mentioned, if spiritually considered, have a delightful reference to what the apostle observes of the boundless love of GOD in CHRIST. Eph 3:18-19 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
command. Some codices, with Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, and Syriac, read “command this day”. Compare the idiom of Luk 23:43.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
if ye shall: Deu 11:13, Deu 6:17
to love: Deu 11:13, Mat 22:37, 2Ti 4:8, 1Jo 5:2, 1Jo 5:3
to cleave: Deu 10:20, Deu 30:20, Gen 2:24, Act 11:23, 2Co 11:2, 2Co 11:3
Reciprocal: Deu 19:9 – If thou shalt Jos 22:5 – take Jos 23:8 – General Psa 119:4 – General Jer 17:24 – if Mat 19:5 – cleave
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
God would drive out all the Canaanites (Deu 11:23) and give Israel all the land that He had promised Abraham (Deu 11:24; cf. Gen 15:18). [Note: See Richard D. Patterson, "The Biblical Imagery of Feet as a Vehicle for Truth," Bibliotheca Sacra 163:649 (January-March 2006):35.] Deu 11:26-28 are a concluding summary. The decision Israel faced would result in either blessing or cursing.
"One of the most frequently used words in Deuteronomy is ’today.’ It occurs almost a hundred times, most frequently in the phrase ’the commandment that I am commanding you today.’ This usage is of great significance for the theological understanding of the book. Basically it is used to indicate the crucial nature of the moment at which the covenant at Horeb is established and the people are summoned to obedience." [Note: Whybray, p. 95. Cf. Isaiah 49:8; 2 Corinthians 6:2.]
God commanded that when the Israelites entered the land they should assemble beside the oaks of Moreh (Deu 11:30, near Shechem) where Abraham had received the promise of the land (Gen 12:6-7). Gilgal may have been another name for Shechem or a town close to Shechem. This is probably not the same Gilgal that stood near Jericho. Shechem was near the geographic center of Canaan. There the people were to recite the blessings and curses from the two mountains on either side of the site (i.e., Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal; cf. chs. 27-28; Jos 8:33; Jos 24:1-28). This ceremony would repeat and reinforce the instructions Moses gave here after Israel entered the land.
Peter Craigie pointed out the chiastic structure of the major blessing and curse references in Deuteronomy as follows.
A The blessing and curse in the present covenant renewal (Deu 11:26-28)
B The blessing and curse in the future covenant renewal (Deu 11:29-32)
C The specific legislation (Deu 12:1 to Deu 26:19)
B’ The blessing and curse in the future covenant renewal (Deu 27:1-26)
A’ The blessing and curse in the present covenant renewal (Deu 28:1 to Deu 29:1). [Note: Craigie, The Book . . ., p. 212.]
This arrangement stresses the consequences of obedience and disobedience in the present and the future.
This first part of Moses’ second address concludes with an exhortation to obey God’s covenant (Deu 11:32). In this part of his speech to the Israelites, Moses explained and emphasized the essence of the Law. His words expounded the meaning of the first three commandments in the Decalogue and urged Israel to be absolutely faithful to God. Because He had loved His people they should love Him.
"The basic stipulation of covenant, then, (1) lays a foundation for the specific stipulations, a foundation that consists of a recognition of Yahweh’s election of Israel by love and grace, (2) forms a recapitulation of and commentary on that fundamental principle of covenant as seen in the Ten Words and the Shema, the latter in turn being an adumbration of the former, and (3) urges (as seen in the historical review and hortatory sections) compliance with the covenant mandate of the Ten Words and with the specific stipulations that follow." [Note: Merrill, "A Theology . . .," p. 79.]