GOD’S CARE FOR THE LAND OF CANAAN
Deuteronomy 11: 10 - 12
Thanksgiving Sermon by:
Rev. G. R. Procee
PUBLISHED BY
PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE
OF THE
FREE REFORMED CHURCHES OF NORTH AMERICA.
(September 2004)
LITURGY:
Votum
Psalter 419: 1, 4, 5
Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 11: 1 - 17
Text: Deuteronomy 11: 10 - 12
Psalter 176: 3
Congregational Prayer
Offerings
Psalter 177
Sermon
Psalter 171: 2, 3
Thanksgiving Prayer
Psalter 230: 5, 7
Benediction
Doxology: Psalter 199: 4, 5
Congregation,
Moses is addressing the people of Israel. They are standing before and are ready to enter into the land of Canaan. But before they enter in, Moses, the servant of the Lord is addressing them. He reminds them of all the Lord’s goodness in leading them through the wilderness. The Lord gave them His special care. Moses is urging them to keep all the commandments of the Lord, for then it shall be well with them in this new land.
In our text Moses is explaining to the people what a beautiful country Canaan is. The land that the Lord is going to give to His people Israel is a blessed land. A land flowing with milk and honey. A land where flocks of sheep and goats graze in abundance. A land of fruitful vines and orchards. A land where the crops will grow abundantly. The land of Canaan was of old known for the good wheat harvests. The soil was very fertile.
But the issue here in our text is even more than all these blessings. The text explains to the people of Israel how God Himself shall care for the land. The Lord Himself shall bless this land by sending rain from the heavens. That sending of rain is a tremendous blessing. This forms a wonderful blessing above the land where they came from - Egypt. Moses compares here the land of Egypt with the land of Canaan.
We see a remarkable difference. The land of Egypt was actually a very dry land. There is little rain in Egypt. But there are still good crops. But these crops are all located around the river Nile. Every year the Nile would overflow and flood the fields. The mud would make the land fertile. The water had to be channeled and kept in ponds, trapped so that when the Nile would rescind, everywhere there would be these pools of water staying behind.
These pools of water were used to irrigate the land. The people had to work hard, digging ditches, casting up little dikes to create reservoirs and ponds. Once they had done that, then they had to pump the water onto the land. They used certain pumping wheels which they had to work with their feet in order to activate the irrigation system. That irrigation system would consist of endless long ropes extending over the fields with pails attached to it for the drawing up of the water.
This pumping mechanism would be worked by their feet. That is why we read in verse 10 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.
The Egyptians had to water the land by hard labour. They watered, as verse 10 says, a garden of herbs. Much labour is needed to grow a good garden of herbs. In Egypt intensive work and hard labour was required to secure the water flow. By hard work the Egyptians watered their land and the land would yield a good harvest.
However the land of Canaan is a different land. It didn’t have a great river the people could rely on. The river Jordan was the only river in Canaan and that was not really such a great river like the Nile. We also know that the Jordan river did not overflow her banks. The river Jordan is very low, and it flows in-between hills on either side. There is no room for the Jordan river to overflow. On the banks of this river Jordan is the land of Canaan, and Moses says here that it is a land of hills and valleys. The land of Egypt around the Nile was straight and even. There was room for water to flow, but not so in Canaan. Canaan was unsuitable for irrigation.
But there is no need for irrigation either. Because the great difference between Egypt and Canaan is that Egypt had to secure its own water through the hard labour, but in Canaan the whole country is provided with rain from heaven. It rains much more in Canaan. The Lord causes showers of rain to come down. There is no need for that tiresome work that the Egyptians had to do. The Lord would water the whole land according to its needs. The people didn’t have to work for the water supply. The Lord would give that Himself.
While the Egyptian farmer had to work knee deep in the mud digging ditches and gutters to secure the water flow, the Israelite farmer could sit comfortably at home at ease and the fields would be watered by rain from the heavens. He didn’t have to do anything for it. God would take care of the rain.
The Lord cared greatly for Canaan. The text says that His eyes were directed towards Canaan from the beginning of the year to the end. All year round the Lord looked after Canaan and the Lord blessed the country. The Lord would give the former rain and the latter rain. Psalms 65:9 says; Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it.
Truly, Canaan was a country God took care of. God gave His people a good country. A land of abundance. A land in which they didn’t even have to toil to get the water on the fields, for the Lord would do that. All by His grace, goodness and providential care.
This was a rich blessing the Lord gave to the Israelites far above what they had deserved. God gave them these rich promises not for any obedience they had given to Him, but it was His sovereign goodness and grace for them. Undeserved goodness. They had sinned much. They had repeatedly been most ungrateful. But, God remembered His grace. He gave them a country, a blessed and fertile country. God would water the fields by rain. This was a manifestation of His Fatherly care for them. He sustained the fields and crops and so the Lord blessed them. It was all His grace.
Moses said: the land 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.
Let us now look at our own situation and our own country, what must we say? Can we not say the same? The land where we dwell here in Canada, the land the Lord has given us to live in, is also a land of hills and valleys. Is it not also a land that drinks in the rain from heaven? The Lord has given us rain this past year. We had a fair portion of rain. The most part of our country does not need irrigation. The Lord opens the heavens and gives us rain and sunshine.
Looking back at the past year, can we also not say that the Lord has caused the land to drink in the rain? But more than that, is our land not a land, to use the words of our text: 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.
God has looked down upon our country. The Lord saw all the needs of nearly 30 million people and much cattle and livestock. The Lord saw the need for grain and food. The Lord opened His hand and caused the corn to grow and He caused the grain to come forth. It all grew out of the earth. We cannot cause one potato to grow. We cannot bring forth one kernel of corn. It is all God's grace and mercy.
Our country has been richly blessed by the Lord. Because the Lord cares for our land: the eyes of the LORD God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year. From winter, through spring, summer and fall. The eyes of the Lord are upon our land.
The result of all this care is that the crops are being harvested. The plants could grow, the cattle could eat and we had more than enough to eat and to drink. We have been abundantly blessed in our work and labour. These are all evidences of Gods care upon our country. God has looked upon our land the entire year.
All this all in spite of our sins. Israel received the land not because of their worthiness. They had forfeited this blessing but received it only because of God's grace. Our country has not deserved to be looked upon in grace. We have sinned. Our nation is turning away from the Lord. We have adopted sinful laws. We have forfeited God’s favour and yet, if we look back at the past year, we may say that the eyes of the Lord have looked upon our country in mercy and in rich blessing. It truly may be for us a Thanksgivings day.
God’s eyes were upon the land of Canaan. God caused rain to come down. The Israelite himself was unable to provide water for the fields and crops. God had to do it. That meant that the Israelite had to live by faith. Israel needed the Lord. They couldn’t bring the rain down. God had to do it.
In comparison to the Egyptian it seemed as if the Israelite had it easier and that the Egyptian had it harder. For the Egyptian had to work to irrigate the water. He had to do it himself, while the Israelite could stay at home and the Lord would do it for him. It seemed as if the Israelite was easier off and that the Egyptian had it harder.
In reality it was much harder for the Israelite. Because the Israelite had to trust in the Lord. He had to have faith in the Lord. When the crops needed rain and the farmer in Israel would look out at the blue sky and he would see no clouds, he could easily have concerns. But he was called to trust in the Lord. He was called to live by faith. But that is not easy.
The Israelite had to leave matters in the hands of God. It is much easier if you can arrange things yourself. It is much easier if you can work for something and then earn it and have it under your control. That is what the Egyptian could do. The Egyptian never had to look up to God. In Egypt they can manage themselves. They don’t need God. They have the river Nile and they will work hard to irrigate the water.
You know, that is a life that appeals to us. We will work for something and earn it. We will work hard and are willing to work hard, as long as we can gain something and then have it under our control. In Egypt they work and toil but they do not look unto God in trust.
In God’s Kingdom matters go differently. God's people need God to work, for they cannot do it themselves. They must live by faith and trust. That is harder than to work. It is hard for man to admit that you can’t do something. The Lord must do it for you. You need God to do something for you.
In Egypt they were self sufficient. Of course the Egyptian was also dependent upon the flooding of the river Nile, but still he could work and assure himself that he had taken care of a sufficient water supply. He could boast in his own work. He could say these are the beautiful fields that I have watered. We like that attitude. That is how we are. We don’t mind to work hard for something as long as we can give ourselves the honour for it. As long as we can say: This is the great city Babylon that I have built.
In Canaan they had to live by faith and trust. There they had to wait upon the Lord. They couldn’t water the land themselves. They needed rain. Only the God of Heaven can let the rain come down. So the farmer is dependent upon the God of Heaven. When the fields are watered, God receives the honour and not man.
Of course the farmer in Israel also had to till the soil, he had to plant and seed. He had to manure and prune the plants. But when he has done all that, he has to look to God for help and blessing. For God can only give the rain. In Canaan they realized how small man is. Man cannot cause one drop of rain to come down. Man can cast seed into the soil but cannot give the increase. No orchard, no crop can yield, no cattle can prosper unless God gives the blessing. That is what they understood in Canaan.
In Canaan they had to live by faith. That faith could be very much assaulted. It is a trial when I see no rain coming. Everything is dry. Then it is not easy to have trust that all will be well.
Then faith needs to be exercised. For the Lord had promised that His eyes would be upon the whole land from the beginning to the end. That means that the Lord knows the needs of the land from the beginning of the year to the end. God's providential eye would be upon the land. That means that the Lord shall provide.
To have that trust is difficult when you see the circumstances are different. It is harder to live by faith, instead of working yourself. Living by faith is what the Lord teaches His people. In this way they are richly blessed for this life, and besides that, the Lord prepares them for an eternal life with Him.
In Egypt the people think, they can do all things themselves. They do not need God. They do not live by faith. Therefore they are outside of God's gracious care and blessing. They have no God and no refuge when they leave this life. They are strangers to God. They do not live by faith. Canaan was a country where the Lord would teach His people to live by faith.
Now, this whole matter of living by faith has certain effects:
In the first place we highlight dependence. The Lord leads His children into a life of dependence. It is easier to be independent and to think you can manage your own affairs. But that draws people away from the Lord.
The Lord shows His people that they are dependent upon God. They learn to think small of themselves. They realize they are creatures of the dust, mortal and weak. They realize that they can do nothing without the Lord Jesus. They see that only the Lord can deliver, save and bless them. They realize that every blessing flows to them from God.
God's children are a dependent people. That is how the Lord educates them. They become more and more dependent upon Him. That is a blessed life. A life in which His people shall be tried but will never be put to shame. In this life of dependence they find out more and more who God is. They are drawn closer to Him. They learn to live by faith. They need the Lord, not only for the things of daily life, but also for spiritual matters. For salvation. They cannot live outside of the Lord. They live with the Lord and for the Lord. They learn to bow before His sovereign will, and before His dealings with them.
They see His love in the smallest blessing. They see His love in His gifts. But especially they see His love in God's unspeakable Gift: His own Son. God so loved the world that He gave His Son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but shall have everlasting life.
That is the blessing attached to this dependence. It is a life of growing closer to the Lord. A life in which you learn to trust with all you have upon the Lord. That life shall have the Lord as its aim. That is the secret. By being dependent upon the Lord, one is drawn closer and closer to the Lord. One needs God for all things. One learns to live by faith, not only for the things of this life but for the matters of eternal salvation.
These people who are dependent have become aware of their own inability. Their eyes have been opened to reality. They are poor in themselves but they are rich in the Lord. For the Lord shall provide. That is His promise. That is their comfort. His eyes are open unto them.