Love and Obey the Lord

11 Love the Lord your God. Do what he requires. Always obey his rules, laws and commands.

2Remember today that your children weren’t the ones the Lord your God taught and trained. They didn’t see his majesty. They weren’t in Egypt when he reached out his mighty hand and powerful arm. 3They didn’t see the miraculous 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. 4They weren’t there when he destroyed the army of Egypt and its horses and chariots. The Lord swept the waters of the Red Sea over the Egyptians while they were chasing you. He wiped them out forever.

5Your children didn’t see what he did for you in the desert before you arrived here. 6They didn’t see what he did to Dathan and Abiram, who were 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.

7But with your own eyes you saw all of the great things the Lord has done.

8So obey all of 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 it as your own.

9You will live in the land for a long time. It’s the land the Lord promised to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children after them. He took an oath when he made that promise. It’s a land that has plenty of milk and honey. 10You 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.

11But 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. 12It’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.

13So 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.

14Then 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. 15He’ll provide grass in the fields for your cattle. You will have plenty to eat.

16But 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. 17If you do, the Lord’s anger will burn against 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.

18So 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. 19Teach 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. 20Write them on the doorframes of your houses. Also write them on your gates.

21Then you and your children will live for a long time in the land. The Lord took an oath and promised to give the land to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Your family line will continue as long as the heavens remain above the earth.

22So be careful. Obey all of 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. 23Then the Lord will drive out all of the nations to make room for you. They are larger and stronger than you are. But you will take their land.

24Every 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.

25No man 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.

26Listen to me. I’m setting a blessing and a curse in front of you today. 27I’m giving you the commands of the Lord your God today. You will be blessed if you obey them. 28But 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 worship other gods. You haven’t known anything about them before.

29The 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. 30As you know, those mountains are across the Jordan River. They are beyond the road that runs along the west side of the Jordan. 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.

31You 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. 32When you do, make sure you obey all of the rules and laws I’m giving you today.