Eyewitness Theology: Love and Serve Yahweh Text: Deuteronomy 11:1-7
Introduction: A Religion for Adults
We live in a sentimental age, an age that prefers its religion to be a matter of private feeling and subjective experience. The modern Christian too often wants a faith that feels good but demands little. He wants the comfort of the promises without the grit of the commandments. But the faith of our fathers, the faith of the Scriptures, is not like that. It is a robust and rugged thing, a faith for grown-ups. It is a faith grounded not in fleeting emotions, but in historical fact and covenantal obligation.
Moses, standing on the plains of Moab, is addressing a generation on the cusp of war and inheritance. The generation that came out of Egypt, with a few notable exceptions, had perished in the wilderness because of their unbelief. Now, their sons stand ready to enter the land. But before they do, Moses must remind them of the basis of their entire existence as a people. Their relationship with Yahweh is not a casual affair. It is a covenant, sealed in history, demanding total allegiance.
This passage is a summons to remember. But it is a particular kind of remembering. Moses is not asking them to recall a story they heard from their grandparents. He is speaking directly to the men who saw it with their own eyes. This is not secondhand faith. This is eyewitness theology. He is telling them, "You saw the discipline, you saw the greatness, you saw the signs, you saw the works." God's dealings with Israel were not done in a corner. They were public, historical, and undeniable. And because they are undeniable, they are inescapable. What you have seen with your own eyes obligates you.
The central command of this passage, and indeed of the entire book of Deuteronomy, is to love Yahweh. But this love is not a nebulous, warm feeling. It is defined by obedience. To love God is to keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments. Love is loyalty in action. And the motivation for this loyal love is the memory of who God is and what He has done. He has revealed Himself as both a Savior and a Judge. He is the God who drowns the Egyptian army in the Red Sea and the God who opens the earth to swallow rebellious Israelites. He is not safe, but He is good. And the generation entering the land must know this. They must love and fear Him, for this is the beginning of wisdom and the foundation of a durable nation.
The Text
"You shall therefore love Yahweh your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments all your days. So know this day that I am not speaking with your sons who have not known and who have not seen the discipline of Yahweh your God, His greatness, His strong hand and His outstretched arm, and His signs and His works which He did in the midst of Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land; and what He did to Egypt’s army, to its horses and its chariots, when He made the water of the Red Sea to engulf them while they were pursuing you, and Yahweh made them perish utterly; and what He did to you in the wilderness until you came to this place; and what He did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and every living thing that followed them, among all Israel, but your own eyes have seen all the great work of Yahweh which He did."
(Deuteronomy 11:1-7 LSB)
Love is as Love Does (v. 1)
We begin with the central command, the very heart of the covenant.
"You shall therefore love Yahweh your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments all your days." (Deuteronomy 11:1)
The word "therefore" connects this command to everything that has come before. Because of who God is, because He has chosen you, because He has redeemed you, therefore, you shall love Him. This is not a suggestion; it is a command. And it is not a command to feel a certain way, but to act a certain way. Notice the immediate definition of love that Moses provides. How do you love God? You keep His stuff. His charge, statutes, judgments, and commandments. This is a comprehensive list covering all of God's revealed will.
This is the same principle Jesus taught. "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15). Love is not the opposite of law; in the biblical economy, love is the fulfillment of the law. To love God is to joyfully submit to His authority and to order your life according to His Word. It is to say, "Your will be done," and to mean it with your hands and feet. This is not legalism. Legalism is trying to earn God's favor by our obedience. The gospel is that we obey because we have already received His favor by grace. The "therefore" points us back to redemption. He saved us first, therefore we love Him.
And this is a lifelong commitment: "all your days." This is not a weekend retreat kind of faith. This is a covenant that shapes every moment from now until you die. It is a totalizing claim on your entire life. God is not interested in being a part of your life. He is your life.
A Faith for Eyewitnesses (v. 2-4)
Moses now grounds this command in the personal experience of his audience. He makes it clear that he is not dealing in abstractions.
"So know this day that I am not speaking with your sons who have not known and who have not seen the discipline of Yahweh your God, His greatness, His strong hand and His outstretched arm, and His signs and His works which He did in the midst of Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land; and what He did to Egypt’s army, to its horses and its chariots, when He made the water of the Red Sea to engulf them while they were pursuing you, and Yahweh made them perish utterly;" (Deuteronomy 11:2-4 LSB)
Moses draws a sharp distinction. He says, "I'm not talking to your kids, the ones who will have to learn this from you. I'm talking to you. You saw it." The generation of fighting men standing before him were young when they came out of Egypt. They were children and teenagers. They remembered the terror of the last plagues. They remembered the pillar of fire. They remembered the panic at the Red Sea and the roar of the water collapsing on Pharaoh's army. This is not a myth or a legend to them. It is a memory.
He calls them to remember God's "discipline." This is a crucial word. It means instruction, correction, and chastisement. God's mighty acts were not just raw power displays; they were lessons. They were teaching Israel about His character. They saw His "greatness," His "strong hand," and His "outstretched arm." This is the language of a warrior King fighting for His people. He crushed Egypt, the world's superpower, with plagues that systematically dismantled their pantheon of gods. The god of the Nile was turned to blood. The sun god Ra was blotted out by darkness. And finally, the divine Pharaoh himself was shown to be powerless to protect his own son from the angel of death.
And the climax of this discipline was the Red Sea. God did not just help Israel escape. He annihilated their enemy. He made the water "engulf them" and made them "perish utterly." This was a salvation and a judgment in one spectacular event. The same water that was a wall of protection for Israel was a watery grave for Egypt. This is the God they serve. He is a God who saves His people by judging their enemies. For this generation, this was not just a story. They walked through on dry ground and saw the bodies of their enemies washed up on the shore. They knew in their bones that their God was a warrior.
Discipline in the Desert (v. 5-6)
But God's discipline was not reserved only for Israel's enemies. Moses reminds them that they themselves have felt the sting of God's correction.
"and what He did to you in the wilderness until you came to this place; and what He did to Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben, when the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their households, their tents, and every living thing that followed them, among all Israel, " (Deuteronomy 11:5-6 LSB)
The wilderness was a forty-year object lesson in dependence and obedience. They saw God provide manna from heaven and water from a rock. But they also saw His judgment against their own sin. Moses doesn't need to list every instance of rebellion and judgment. The memory was fresh. But he highlights one particularly terrifying example: the rebellion of Dathan and Abiram.
These men, along with Korah, challenged the leadership of Moses and Aaron. It was a direct assault on God's ordained authority. Their rebellion was not against a man; it was against God's Word spoken through that man. And God's response was swift, public, and terrifying. The ground itself, a symbol of stability, became the instrument of judgment. "The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them." This was not a natural disaster. It was a supernatural judgment, a targeted strike against rebellion. It was a sign to all Israel that you do not trifle with the God who made the ground you stand on.
By reminding them of the judgment on Egypt and the judgment on Dathan and Abiram, Moses is painting a complete picture of God. He is the God who saves you from your external enemies and the God who judges you for your internal rebellion. His holiness and justice are consistent. He plays no favorites when it comes to sin. He will protect His people from Pharaoh, and He will purge sin from His own camp. This is the God they are commanded to love. This is a holy love, a reverent love, a love that is inseparable from the fear of the Lord.
The Obligation of Sight (v. 7)
Moses concludes this section by bringing it all back to their personal, direct experience.
"but your own eyes have seen all the great work of Yahweh which He did." (Deuteronomy 11:7 LSB)
This is the capstone of the argument. "But your own eyes have seen." The foundation of their covenant obligation is not hearsay. It is empirical evidence. They are witnesses. And what you have witnessed, you are responsible for. They cannot plead ignorance. They saw the plagues. They saw the parted sea. They saw the smoking mountain. They saw the ground swallow the rebels. They saw it all.
This is a principle that runs throughout Scripture. To whom much is given, much is required. And to whom much has been shown, much is required. Their unique experience in redemptive history placed a unique weight of responsibility upon them. They had seen God's glory and His judgment in a way no other people had. Therefore, their obligation to love and obey was absolute.
Conclusion: What Have You Seen?
Now, it is easy for us to read this and think that it applies only to that generation of Israelites. We might be tempted to say, "Well, if I had seen the Red Sea part, I would obey too." But this is a profound mistake. We are also a generation of eyewitnesses, though in a different way.
The apostle John says, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life, " (1 John 1:1). The apostles were eyewitnesses of the ultimate "great work of Yahweh." They saw the Word become flesh. They saw Him heal the sick, cast out demons, and raise the dead. They saw Him crucified, and they saw Him risen from the grave. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the ultimate Red Sea event. It is the ultimate act of salvation for God's people and the ultimate judgment on the powers of sin, death, and the devil.
And we have seen it. We have not seen it with our physical eyes, but we have seen it through the reliable, infallible testimony of the apostles, recorded for us in the Scriptures. The Bible is our eyewitness account. When you read the Gospels, you are seeing the great work of God in Christ. When you believe the gospel, the Holy Spirit opens your eyes to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:6).
Furthermore, like the Israelites, we have seen God's discipline in our own lives. You have seen His provision. You have seen His deliverance from your own personal Egypts. You have seen His hand of correction when you have strayed. You have seen His judgment on sin in the world and in the church. Your own life is a testimony to the faithfulness and holiness of God.
Therefore, the command comes to us with the same force. Because you have seen the cross and the empty tomb, because you have experienced His grace and His discipline, "You shall therefore love the Lord your God." You shall keep His commandments. Our faith is not based on a feeling or a private experience. It is based on the great, public, historical work of Jesus Christ. We have seen it in His Word. And what we have seen, we are obligated to obey. Let us therefore be a people who remember what our eyes have seen, and let us live as those who love our warrior King with every fiber of our being, all our days.