Deuteronomy 11:18-25

How are teaching the words and holding fast to the Lord connected?

Berean Standard Bible

18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, speaking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates, 21 so that as long as the heavens are above the earth, your days and those of your children may be multiplied in the land that the LORD swore to give your fathers. 22 For if you carefully keep all these commandments I am giving you to follow—to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him— 23 then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations greater and stronger than you. 24 Every place where the sole of your foot treads will be yours. Your territory will extend from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the Western Sea. 25 No man will be able to stand against you; the LORD your God will put the fear and dread of you upon all the land, wherever you set foot, as He has promised you.

What is the context?

The people must keep the words in their hearts and minds and make them visible in daily life. They must teach their children during ordinary activities at home and on the road, morning and evening.

The promised possession of the land is again connected with loving the Lord, walking in His ways, and holding fast to Him. The statement about every place their feet tread is given within named territorial boundaries. It is not an unlimited right to claim any place a person happens to visit.

How is this passage commonly understood?

Wesley emphasizes the heart, sight, and speech being occupied with God’s word and limits the land promise to the stated promised territory. A traditional Jewish reading also includes physical observance: Maimonides’ rule for the written passages includes Deuteronomy 11:13–21 among those enclosed in leather and worn on head and arm. The outward practice and the demand for inward remembrance should not be confused with a claim that an object guarantees faithfulness.

What is our position?

We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.

Where can I study this further?

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