Deuteronomy 11:21
That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth. That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth.
God promises His people and their children long, enduring life in the land He swore to give their fathers, lasting with the permanence of heaven upon earth. That life is conditioned on treasuring His words in heart and soul, binding them upon hand and forehead, teaching them to children at all times in the home and by the way, and writing them upon doorposts and gates. It requires diligently heeding His commandments to love Him, serve Him with all heart and soul, walk in His ways, and hold fast to Him in faithfulness. Obedience brings rain in season, corn and wine and oil, fruitful fields and flocks, and a pure, happy, healthy life in His favor, while turning aside to other gods shuts heaven, withholds fruit, and causes the people to perish quickly from the good land. The requirement stands unchanged for every age for men, women, and little ones, laying grave responsibility on parents and all who know the truth to keep God's directions continually before the household and to teach them unceasingly, for blessing still follows faithfulness and cursing follows disobedience as verily now as when only two adults who left Egypt entered Canaan.
Conditions of the Promise
The promise is that the days of the people themselves and the days of their children will be multiplied in the land the Lord swore to their fathers to give them. That multiplied life in the land is to endure as the days of heaven upon the earth, with heavenly permanence. This was spoken in Moses' rehearsal of instruction to the people before they entered Canaan.
The multiplication of days is conditioned on laying up God's words in heart and soul. It requires binding them as a sign upon the hand and as frontlets between the eyes. It requires teaching them to children when sitting in the house and walking by the way and lying down and rising up, and writing them upon the doorposts of the house and upon the gates.
The obedience required is diligently hearkening to God's commandments to love the Lord and serve Him with all heart and soul. It is to love God, walk in His ways, and remain faithful to Him, keeping His words in the heart and making them part of household life. Keeping His commandments in this inward way, and teaching His words continually to children, is what connects parents and children with long life in the land promised to their ancestors.
The blessing joined to such obedience includes rain in due season, the first and the latter rain, corn and wine and oil gathered in, grass in the fields for cattle, and eating and being full. It includes blessed fields and flocks, and children brought forth to serve and glorify God. It is life kept in God's favor and love as a pure, happy, and healthy people, secured for them and their children by teaching God's law to children and preserving it in song so they will not forget it.
Set opposite the blessing is a curse if the commandments are not obeyed. If the heart is deceived to turn aside to go after and serve and worship other gods, the Lord's wrath is kindled. Then heaven is shut so there is no rain, the land yields no fruit, and the people perish quickly from the good land given them.
Fulfillment and Present Application
The command with its promise of multiplied days was not for men alone but for women and little ones as well, for all must know and do their duty toward the statutes of God. The words come from the unchanging God, without variableness or shadow of turning, and they remain the work He requires of Israel through each successive age. The lessons of the eighth and eleventh chapters of Deuteronomy are of the greatest importance and are given to present believers as verily as they were given to Israel. The word was verified in Israel's own history, for when the people disobeyed only two of the adults who left Egypt entered Canaan while the rest died in the wilderness.
Failure to honor God inwardly, while making outward ceremony a substitute for heart work, forfeited the promise and brought scattering and captivity, destruction of the Temple, and cessation of sacrifices and the Levitical service as seen in Daniel's time six hundred years before Christ. God's longsuffering compassion and love do not cancel punishment, for when rebellion and obstinacy continue until the boundary line is passed, punishment will follow the transgressor. The promise stands connected with the Lord's long-lasting covenant, and before a thousand generations have passed the Lord will come and His faithful people will be in His kingdom, keeping His commandments.
The same call to faithfulness applies in the present, for obedience brings the blessing of multiplied days for parents and children enduring as heaven upon earth, while being deceived, turning aside to serve other gods, having heaven shut so there is no rain, the land yielding no fruit, and perishing quickly from the good land is the curse of disobedience set opposite it. Israel's history shows that disobedience brought destruction, and obedience to God's commandments still brings life and prosperity through keeping His words in the heart, teaching them to children, loving God, walking in His ways, and remaining faithful to Him. This lays grave responsibility on those who know the truth and on those who bear responsibility in sacred work, to carefully observe God's directions and let faithfulness shape speech, conduct, and the example set for children and households. God will still vindicate His word today if leaders depart from His commandments.
For parents the verse requires educating the children God has given them for Him by keeping His words continually before the mind and teaching them to children for long life in the land, enduring like heaven upon earth. Keeping God's words in heart and soul, displaying them in the home, and making them part of household life is joined to long life for the people and their children in the land promised to the fathers. The people were to teach God's law to their children continually at home and abroad, when sitting in the house and walking by the way and lying down and rising up, and to preserve it in song so they would not forget it. Obedience in this would keep them in God's favor and love and allow Him to bless them as a pure, happy, and healthy people, blessing their fields and flocks and bringing forth their children to serve and glorify Him.