Love and Obey the Lord

11 Love the Lord your God. Do what he requires. Always obey his rules, laws and commands. ² Remember today that your children weren’t the ones the Lord your God guided and corrected. They didn’t see his majesty. They weren’t in Egypt when he reached out his mighty hand and powerful arm. ³ They didn’t see the signs and the other things he did in Egypt. They didn’t see what he did to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to his whole country. ⁴ They weren’t there when the Lord destroyed the army of Egypt and its horses and chariots. He swept the waters of the Red Sea over the Egyptians while they were chasing you. He wiped them out forever. ⁵ Your children didn’t see what he did for you in the desert before you arrived here. ⁶ They didn’t see what he did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. Eliab was from the tribe of Reuben. The earth opened its mouth right in the middle of the Israelite camp. It swallowed up Dathan and Abiram. It swallowed them up together with their families, tents and every living thing that belonged to them. ⁷ But with your own eyes you saw all the great things the Lord has done.

⁸ So obey all the commands I’m giving you today. Then you will be strong enough to go in and take over the land. You will go across the Jordan River and take the land as your own. ⁹ You will live there for a long time. It’s the land the Lord promised to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children after them. He gave his word when he made that promise. The land has plenty of milk and honey. ¹⁰ You will enter it and take it over. It isn’t like the land of Egypt. That’s where you came from. You planted your seeds there. You had to water them, just as you have to water a vegetable garden. ¹¹ But you will soon go across the Jordan River. The land you are going to take over has mountains and valleys in it. It drinks rain from heaven. ¹² It’s a land the Lord your God takes care of. His eyes always look on it with favor. He watches over it from the beginning of the year to its end.

¹³ So be faithful. Obey the commands the Lord your God is giving you today. Love him. Serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. ¹⁴ Then the Lord will send rain on your land at the right time. He’ll send rain in the fall and in the spring. You will be able to gather your grain. You will also be able to make olive oil and fresh wine. ¹⁵ He’ll provide grass in the fields for your cattle. You will have plenty to eat.

¹⁶ But be careful. Don’t let anyone tempt you to do something wrong. Don’t turn away and worship other gods. Don’t bow down to them. ¹⁷ If you do, the Lord will be very angry with you. He’ll close up the sky. It won’t rain. The ground won’t produce its crops. Soon you will die. You won’t live to enjoy the good land the Lord is giving you. ¹⁸ So keep my words in your hearts and minds. Write them down and tie them on your hands as a reminder. Also tie them on your foreheads. ¹⁹ Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home. Talk about them when you walk along the road. Speak about them when you go to bed. And speak about them when you get up. ²⁰ Write them on the doorframes of your houses. Also write them on your gates. ²¹ Then you and your children will live for a long time in the land. The Lord promised to give the land to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Your family line will continue as long as the heavens remain above the earth.

²² So be careful. Obey all the commands I’m giving you to follow. Love the Lord your God. Live exactly as he wants you to live. Remain true to him. ²³ Then the Lord will drive out all the nations to make room for you. They are larger and stronger than you are. But you will take their land. ²⁴ Every place you walk on will belong to you. Your territory will go all the way from the desert to Lebanon. It will go from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea. ²⁵ No one will be able to stand up against you. The Lord your God will throw the whole land into a panic because of you. He’ll do it everywhere you go, just as he promised you.

²⁶ Listen to me. I’m setting a blessing and a curse in front of you today. ²⁷ I’m giving you the commands of the Lord your God today. You will be blessed if you obey them. ²⁸ But you will be cursed if you don’t obey them. So don’t turn away from the path I’m now commanding you to take. Don’t turn away by worshiping other gods you didn’t know before. ²⁹ The Lord your God will bring you into the land to take it over. When he does, you must announce the blessings from Mount Gerizim. You must announce the curses from Mount Ebal. ³⁰ As you know, those mountains are across the Jordan River. They are on the west side of the Jordan toward the setting sun. They are near the large trees of Moreh. The mountains are in the territory of the Canaanites, who live in the Arabah Valley near Gilgal. ³¹ You are about to go across the Jordan River. You will enter the land and take it over. The Lord your God is giving it to you. You will take it over and live there. ³² When you do, make sure you obey all the rules and laws I’m giving you today.