Deuteronomy 11:16

Deu 11:16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;

Ver. 16. That your heart be not deceived.] Having first deceived itself; for "the heart is deceitful above all things," {Jer 17:9} and may say to many, as the heart of Apollonius the tyrant seemed to say to him, who dreamed one night, that he was flayed by the Scythians, and boiled in a caldron, and that his heart spake to him out of the kettle and said, Eγω σοι τουτων αιτια, It is I that have drawn thee to all this. {a} Those in hell cry so.

{a} Plut.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Deu_11:16-17

Take heed . . . that your heart be not deceived.

Religion no humbug

I. Let us not be deceived in our ideas about God.

1. Let us not be deceived in thinking that our heavenly Father is partly good and partly bad.

2. Let not your heart be deceived in thinking that God cannot pardon the one who supposes himself or herself to be the worst. We all do wrong, in some sense or another; and when the thought of our sin weighs down our hearts, let us feel persuaded that God can forgive us. But do not mistake His pardon by thinking that when He forgives us, there is an end of it. Here is a careless weaver at work, throwing the shuttle containing the weft. When she has got half through the warp, she finds she has made an error in the pattern, and when the overlooker unwinds the piece he discovers the flaw running through the whole. Well, what is to be done? She says, O, do forgive me! He replies, Certainly I will; but you know it must be undone. It is weary work undoing a web of long threads; but nobody would buy that piece as it is. So the weaver begins with the last thread and pulls it out from side to side and begins again. Likewise, though the Lord forgives us, we must undo the bad life. As the kindly overlooker stands beside the weaver, saying, Let me help you, so the Lord stands by us to help us to amend the tangled web of our life. While God forgives us and inspires our heart, the rectification of what is wrong must, however, be our own act. We must undo our bad life by beginning afresh.

II. Do not be deceived in your views concerning religion. Religion is not a theory; it is the living spirit of usefulness. Religion that does not inspire us to be pure ourselves and useful to others is not the true Christian religion; it is a humbug. Religion will comfort your own heart and make you a blessing wherever you go. While it teaches you to fight against your evil propensities, it trains you to be kind-hearted at home and peaceable-minded abroad. In leading you down the steps of true humility, it exalts you to the noblest manhood; and while constraining you to surrender your will to the Christ-spirit, it gives you the glorious power of God-likeness. A minister was on one occasion preaching on peaceableness, having special reference to Messrs. Pincher and Stiggins, two of his deacons who had long been at daggers point. Such was his faithful earnestness that the whole congregation was moved, and when the benediction was pronounced, Mr. Pincher went across the chapel to the other, and with tears in his eyes, remarked, Brother Stiggins, after such a sermon there must be peace between us. Now, I cant give in, so you must! The other replied, Well, Brother Pincher, if you wont give in, Im blessed if I will! You see, they were religious in theory but not in practical life.

III. We should not be deceived in our thoughts about the invisible world called heaven and hell. If you have good things in this world, and do not care for the destitute, you cannot have good things in the other world. (W. Birch.)

A caution against deception

I. An evil anticipated. That of having the heart deceived.

1. The scantiness and imperfection of human knowledge.

2. The deceitfulness of the heart.

3. The deceitfulness of sin.

4. The deceitfulness of the world.

5. The deceitfulness of the devil.

Such are the reasons we have for believing that our hearts may be deceived. But the text assumes that this deception is an evil pregnant with very pernicious consequences. And this appears from the consideration, that those whose hearts are deceived are involved in a state of the most palpable error. What tradesman would wish to make errors in his accounts? What scholar would not guard against error in his sums? But these errors are trivial, when compared to the grievous error in which those are involved whose hearts are deceived concerning their salvation and their God. Nor is this all; those whose hearts are deceived, are exposed to extreme danger.

II. The caution urged against this deception. Take heed to yourselves, etc.

1. Be alive to a sense of your extreme danger. Let us consider what we are--how deeply fallen! Let us weigh well our circumstances, dangers, and enemies; this will lay the foundation for caution and circumspection.

2. Seek for the illuminating and sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit; O, seek His influence by fervent, importunate prayer. Take heed to yourselves.

3. By the constant practice of self-examination.

4. By watching over yourselves. Watch and pray. Be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. Watch thou in all things. Watchfulness will lead you to keep a strict guard over your thoughts, words, actions. (Sketches of Four Hundred Sermons.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Deu 11:16-17. That your heart be not deceived — By the specious pretence of idolaters, persuading you that they enjoy fruitful seasons, and other temporal blessings, as a reward for their worship. And he shut up the heaven — Withhold rain from you, which will be a sore judgment, quickly bringing a famine, whereby you will be wasted and consumed. Here, and elsewhere, heaven is compared to a great store-house, wherein God lays up his treasures of dew and rain, (Job 38:22,) the doors whereof God is said to open when he gives rain, and to shut when he withholds it.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

By devising to yourselves foolish devotions according to your own fantasies.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(16) Take heed to yourselves—i.e., when you are satisfied. (Comp. Deu_8:10-11.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16, 17. The enjoyment of so much blessing in the land suggests, as usual (cp. Deu_6:14 f., Deu_8:19 f.), a warning against being deceived into attributing it to other gods, i.e. the Baalim, already regarded in the land as the authors of its fertility, and worshipping them. Whether this warning is from the same hand as the preceding vv. is difficult to determine. The fact that it is in the Pl. while they are in the Sg., and that it is not so necessary to their argument as it is to the context in Deu_6:14 f. and Deu_8:19 f., suggests here another hand. At the same time it is relevant to what precedes, and in Deu_11:17 directly attaches itself to that. Nor is it all compiled of formulas.

16. Take heed to yourselves] See on Deu_4:9; only here and Deu_4:23 with Pl.

lest your heart be deceived] So Job_31:27.

and ye turn aside] With both Sg. and Pl., see on Deu_13:5.

17. the anger of the Lord, etc.] See Deu_6:14 f., Deu_7:4.

and he shut up the heaven … fruit] These clauses found in D only here (but cp. Deu_28:23 f. and the deuteronomic 1Ki_8:35). Fruit, rather produce, yebûl, found, save for Jdg_6:4, only in the later O.T. writings from Ezekiel (Eze_34:27) and D onwards, cp. Deu_32:22. Thus not only in the climate of Palestine, blessed directly from heaven, but in its interruptions also Israel are to see the personal Providence of their God.

and ye perish quickly, etc.] So, with slight variations, Deu_4:26.

the good land] Deu_1:35.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That your days may be multiplied,.... Long life being a very desirable blessing, and which is promised to those that obey and keep the law; see Deu 30:19.

and the days of your children; which are dear to parents, and the continuance of whose lives, next to their own, is most desirable, yea, as desirable as their own; and especially it is desirable that they might have a posterity descending from them, to enjoy for ever their estates and possessions; as it was to the people of Israel, that they might have a seed always to dwell

in the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers to give them; the land of Canaan, so often spoken of as the promise, oath, and gift of God:

as the days of heaven upon the earth; that is, as long as the heavens and the earth shall be, and the one shall be over the other, as they will be to the end of time.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

That your heart be not deceived by the specious pretenses of idolaters, who will plead the general consent of all nations, except yours, in the worship of creatures, and that they worship the creatures only for God’s sake, and as they are glorious works of God, whom they worship in and by them; which, and the like arguments, being commonly alleged by heathens for their idolatries, as their own writers declare, might possibly seduce an unwary Israelite; and therefore they are here cautioned against such deceit, and withal it is implied, that if a man’s mind be corrupted and deceived, so as he believes idolatry to be lawful, this will not excuse him in the sight of God.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

That your heart be not deceived; literally, lest your heart be enticed or seduced (ht; pyi). The verb means primarily to be open, and as a mind open to impressions from without is easily persuaded, moved either to good or evil, the word came to signify to induce in a good sense, or to seduce in a bad sense. Here the people are cautioned against allowing themselves to be enticed so as to be led astray by seductive representations. (Job_31:27; Pro_20:19 "flattereth (Job_5:2 "silly Hos_7:11)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Moses continues speaking to the people of Israel.

Pay attention to yourselves

"Be careful" or "Beware"

so that your heart is not deceived

Here "heart" represents a person's desires or thoughts. This can be stated in active form. AT: "so that your desires do not deceive you" or "so that you do not deceive yourself" (See: Metonymy and Active or Passive)

you turn aside and worship other gods

Rejecting Yahweh and worshiping other gods is spoken of as if the person would physically turn and go in a different direction away from Yahweh. AT: "you start worshiping other gods" (See: Metaphor)

so that the anger of Yahweh is not kindled against you

God becoming angry is spoken of as if it were a fire that were starting. This can be stated in active form. AT: "so that Yahweh does not become angry with you" (See: Metaphor and Active or Passive)

so that he does not shut up the heavens so that there will be no rain, and the land will not yield its fruit

God causing no rain to fall from the sky is spoken of as if he were closing the sky. AT: "so that he does not cause the rain to stop falling from the sky so that crops will not grow in the land" (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

heart

deceive

turn

worship

false god

bow

anger

Yahweh

heaven

fruit

perish

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

TAKE HEED [THAT YOUR HEART MISLEAD YOU NOT] — when you have eaten and are full, take heed to yourselves that you kick not against God; for usually no man rebels against the Holy One, blessed be He, except out of satiety, as it is said, (Deuteronomy 8:12—14) “Lest thou eat and art full … and thy herds and flocks increase”. What is stated after this? “And thy heart be lifted up and thou forget [the Lord thy God]” (Sifrei Devarim 43:7).

וסרתם AND YE TURN ASIDE, to depart from the Torah, and through this, ועבדתם אלהים אחרים YE WILL SERVE OTHER GODS, for so soon as a man departs from the Torah he goes and clings to idol-worship. Similarly did David say, (I Samuel 26:19) “For they have driven me out this day, that I should not cleave to the inheritance of the Lord (the Torah) saying, Go, serve other gods”. But who had really said thus to him?! But he meant: Since I am driven out so that I can no longer occupy myself with the Torah, I am nearly exposed to the danger of serving other gods (Sifrei Devarim 43:14).

אלהים אחרים OTHER GODS — i.e. gods that are other (alien) to those who worship them: one calls to it, and it does not answer him; consequently it becomes to him like a stranger (Sifrei Devarim 43:17).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.