(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
Deuteronomy 11:8–17, “Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it; And that ye may prolong your days in the land, which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey. For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs: But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year. And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil. And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full. Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; And then the LORD’S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.”
The Lord reminded Israel of the good things that He had done for them then He reminded them that His privileges came with responsibilities. They were to obey the commandments that He gave them and He would make them strong to take possession of the Land that He was giving them. Not only would they be able to possess the Land, the Lord would also give them many years to enjoy the goodness of the Land as well. The Promised Land was different to the Land of Egypt. Everybody who came from Egypt towards the Promised Land had been born in Egypt where there was virtually no rain. Egypt was based on the Nile River, which carried abundant rain from the highlands to the south and the south east. Even though the rain rarely fell on Egypt, the Nile River flooded every year and replenished that land. The farmers would use pumps, powered by foot power, to bring the water onto their fields so that they could grow crops. On the other hand, rain fell directly onto the Promised Land and they didn’t have to irrigate their crops when the rain came. There was early rain and latter rain (see Deut 11:14, “That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.”) Rain would fall in at the right time so that they could plough the land but when it was harvest time they didn’t want the rain as that hindered the harvest. They would plant summer and winter crops and the rain would come so that both of these harvests would grow then it would stop so that they could be harvested. This was a much better way to farm and the rain was actually a gift from the Lord. This rain allowed the Israelis to be prosperous farmers, as long as they kept their contract obligations.
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