Deuteronomy 11:8 ¶
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; 9 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. 10 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: 11 But the land, whither ye go to
possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of
the rain of heaven: 12 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. 13 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,
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. 15 And I will send grass in thy fields for thy
cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full. 16
Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn
aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; 17 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.
Notice how the strength of the Israelites, their ability to take
the land, is contingent upon their obedience. It is the same with their success
in the land. Notice from verse 10 a reference to Egypt depending on the
flooding of the Nile for its water while Canaan is said to be a place of
abundant rainfall.
Josephus,
chronicler of the war against the Romans, tells of the climate himself at
Christ’s time.
Its
nature is wonderful as well as its beauty; its soil is so fruitful that all
sorts of trees can grow upon it, and the inhabitants accordingly plant all
sorts of trees there; for the temper of the air is so well mixed, that it
agrees very well with those several sorts, particularly walnuts, which require
the coldest air, flourish there in vast plenty; there are palm trees also,
which grow best in hot air; fig trees also and olives grow near them, which yet
require an air that is more temperate. One may call this place the ambition of
nature, where it forces those plants that are naturally enemies to one another
to agree together; it is a happy contention of the seasons, as if every one of
them laid claim to this country; for it not only nourishes different sorts of
autumnal fruit beyond men’s expectation, but preserves them a great while; it
supplies men with the principal fruits, with grapes and figs continually,
during ten months of the year and the rest of the fruits as they become ripe
together through the whole year”
(The Jewish War, Book 3, Chapter 10:8).
But, God says He can stop this beneficent climate and cause
drought to afflict them if they disobey.
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