11:1 The demand to love God is now reinforced by the reminder of what Israel has learned of God in its experience since leaving Egypt. This verse is a conclusion to the command to fear and love God in 10:12, which is repeated in verse 20. It is also the introduction of the theme of God’s deeds for Israel, which otherwise begins abruptly.

11:2–7 Syntactically, it is challenging to determine the object of the imperative “consider.” The NJPS renders it this way: “Take thought this day that it was not your children, who neither experienced nor witnessed the lesson of the Lord your God—,” with the list of deeds then simply listed as examples. The ESV makes the children parenthetic, with the object being the list of deeds. Consideration of the list of deeds done and the need to teach the next generation are equally important. It is impossible to say that one should be subordinated to the other; the ambiguity may be a way of making both equal. The list of deeds shows why it is necessary to love God, but a love for God learned through these deeds makes more urgent the imperative to teach the children, since these lessons can be learned only through the enactment of the confessions that follow. These words must be bound “as a sign” on the hands, and the people will need to take the oath of a “a blessing and a curse” (vv. 18, 26). Consideration of the children anticipates the sequel of what is necessary as Israel enters the Promised Land.

The lessons of the sequel all deal with the consequences of rebellion against God. The lesson to be taught may appropriately be described as a “discipline” (v. 2), the primary lesson being the human propensity to rebel against the love of God as something restrictive. This is true not only for the Egyptians but equally so for Israel, as is shown in the lessons from the past. Israel witnessed the judgment of God against Pharaoh and his armies, a stupendous event that could be nothing less than the actions of the Creator. The Red Sea flowing back over the Egyptian armies defies natural explanation; this event was remembered as the sea covering the enemies of Israel in Psalm 78:53. Pharaoh had defiantly asked, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice . . . ?” (Ex. 5:2). The last of the plagues had only temporarily brought him to submission. The judgment of the Red Sea ended the power of Egypt “to this day” (Deut. 11:4). No one present could deny the truth of this great deed.

But just as Pharaoh rebelled against God, Israel defied God in refusing to enter the Promised Land and then, in her disillusionment, challenged divinely appointed leadership. Dathan and Abiram, sons of Reuben, firstborn of Jacob, challenged the leadership of Moses over the people (Num. 16:1–2). In Numbers this story is told together with that of a rebellion against Aaron of Levites who claimed his clan did not have exclusive right to the priesthood (Num. 16:3). Deuteronomy refers only to the civil rebellion against Moses, which may be analogous to the hubris of Pharaoh. A special punishment was designated for Dathan and Abiram because they refused to leave their tents at the command of Moses (Num. 16:12–15). Their punishment was unprecedented in that they literally went alive into their graves with all their families and possessions (Num. 16:25–34). No one was to go near them since they were subject to the kherem, a designation by which they were set apart exclusively to God and would no longer live in the common world. Just as it would be fatal for the people to come too close to Mount Sinai when God appeared there (Ex. 19:12), so touching anything that belonged to the rebels could be fatal.

11:8–9 The lessons of Egypt and the wilderness enforce the requirement that Israel must keep the “whole commandment,” all the Torah that Moses is setting before them. This verse concludes these lessons introduced by the demand to love God and “keep his charge” (Deut. 11:1). Love for God in keeping the whole commandment will ensure both possession of the land and a long life there. This leads Moses to a description of the land, which is not at all like what they experienced in Egypt.

11:10–12 Love for God in keeping his charge will be necessary for survival in the land Israel is about to enter. Egypt was a land requiring irrigation, a task expressed ambiguously as “watered it with your feet” (11:10 ESV mg.), involving various aspects of diverting water. Agriculture in Egypt depended on the rising of the Nile in summer and fall as a result of melting snow and of rains in Ethiopia. Vegetation in Egypt to the present time is supported by the Nile and systems of irrigation canals and reservoirs, since the levels of the Nile may vary significantly from year to year. It may be debated whether a land that depends on rain is more advantageous for agriculture. The point of this passage is that a land dependent on rain is advantageous to those who observe God’s commands. This land makes obvious the need for dependence on God. For the land to yield its abundance, God must continuously watch it, from the first of the year to the last. It is therefore the best of all lands for those who observe the whole command of God

The sentiment concerning the abundance of the land expressed here is like that already given in 6:10–11; 8:7–9. These passages express how the abundance of the land in terms of houses, vineyards, grain, oil, honey, and abundant water are entirely a gift of God.

11:13–17 This section concludes with the exhortation to love and serve God, returning to the theme of the importance of complete devotion to relationship with God. The exhortation here comes with the warning implicit in the previous verses. Ironically, the people’s temptation will be to follow fertility gods, who went through cycles of power to give rain and death when the land languished. The God of Israel could be relied upon to provide rain in its time. The requirement was faithfulness, lest Israel experience the judgment of the heavens’ withholding the rains.