Deuteronomy 11:23

My Notes

What Does Deuteronomy 11:23 Mean?

"Then will the LORD drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than yourselves." God promises to drive out nations that are GREATER and MIGHTIER than Israel. The dispossession isn't of WEAKER nations but of STRONGER ones. Israel doesn't defeat inferior enemies. Israel receives territory from SUPERIOR enemies — because GOD does the driving-out. The victory isn't proportional to Israel's strength. It's proportional to God's.

The phrase "the LORD drive out all these nations from before you" (vehorish YHWH et kol haggoyim ha'elleh millifneikhem — the LORD will dispossess all these nations from before you) makes GOD the agent: the LORD drives out. Not Israel's army. Not Israel's strategy. The LORD. The dispossessing is DIVINE action executed through human participation. The nations leave because GOD pushes, not because Israel overpowers.

The "greater nations and mightier than yourselves" (goyim gedolim va'atzumim mikkem — nations greater and more powerful than you) establishes the MISMATCH: the nations are GREATER (gadol — larger) AND MIGHTIER (atzum — stronger, more powerful) than Israel. The comparison favors the ENEMY. By every human measurement — size, strength, military capacity — the Canaanite nations OUTMATCH Israel. The dispossession happens DESPITE the mismatch, not because of Israel's superiority.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What greater-and-mightier opposition is God driving out despite the mismatch?
• 2.What does God dispossessing STRONGER nations teach about divine power overcoming human disadvantage?
• 3.How does the disparity being DELIBERATE (designed to make the victory obviously divine) describe God's strategy?
• 4.What human-measurement disadvantage do you have that God's involvement completely overcomes?

Devotional

God will drive out nations GREATER and MIGHTIER than you. The enemies are BIGGER. The enemies are STRONGER. And God drives them out ANYWAY. The dispossession isn't of weaker nations by a stronger Israel. It's of stronger nations by the GOD who fights for Israel. The victory is proportional to GOD'S power, not Israel's.

The 'LORD drive out' makes the dispossession DIVINE: the verb 'drive out' (horish — dispossess, cause to lose inheritance, expel from territory) is applied to GOD. The LORD dispossesses. The driving-out is GOD'S action. Israel participates. But the causative force is DIVINE. The nations leave because God PUSHES. The territory changes hands because God TRANSFERS.

The 'greater and mightier than yourselves' makes the victory IMPOSSIBLE without God: the comparison is UNFAVORABLE. The nations are BIGGER (gedolim) and STRONGER (atzumim) than Israel (mikkem — than you). By every human calculation, Israel LOSES this fight. The size-advantage belongs to the enemy. The strength-advantage belongs to the enemy. The ONLY advantage Israel has is: God fights for them. The divine-advantage overcomes every human-disadvantage.

The DISPARITY is the POINT: God doesn't drive out nations WEAKER than Israel (that would prove nothing). He drives out nations STRONGER than Israel (which proves EVERYTHING). The disproportion between Israel's capacity and the enemy's capacity is DELIBERATE — designed to make the victory OBVIOUSLY divine. Nobody credits Israel's military when the nations were BIGGER and STRONGER. The credit goes where the credit belongs: to the God who drives out.

What 'greater and mightier' opposition is God driving out before you — despite the mismatch?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture