IV. (1) NOW THEREFORE HEARKEN. — The whole point of the exhortation in this chapter is the same which we find in Joshua’s address to the people (Joshua 24), that they should serve Jehovah. And the ground of the exhortation is His revelation of Himself in Horeb as their God. THE STATUTES... AND THE... [ Continue Reading ]
YE SHALL NOT ADD UNTO THE WORD. — _The word,_ not “the words.” The _word_ is the substance of the Law. The _words_ in which it is expressed may be more or less. The law of Moses contains in it the germ of all revelation to the very end.... [ Continue Reading ]
YOUR EYES HAVE SEEN. — Literally, _your eyes are they that see_ — _i.e.,_ you are witnesses of these things. The men who perished by the plague because of the iniquity of Beth peor — to the number of 24,000 — seem to have been all members of the younger generation; for they had already passed the br... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT YE SHOULD DO SO IN THE LAND. — It should never be forgotten that there is a special connection between _the law of Moses and the land of Canaan._ It cannot be kept in many of its precepts, except by a chosen people in a protected land.... [ Continue Reading ]
THIS IS YOUR WISDOM AND YOUR UNDERSTANDING IN THE SIGHT OF THE NATIONS. — The laws of Jehovah in Israel, and the constant presence of Jehovah with Israel, would make an impression upon the world that it would not be easy to resist. For, he adds, “what nation is there so great, that hath God so nigh... [ Continue Reading ]
WHAT NATION IS THERE SO GREAT, THAT HATH STATUTES AND JUDGMENTS SO RIGHTEOUS? — These words direct our attention to the law of Moses, as distinctly _in advance of the time_ when it was given.... [ Continue Reading ]
ONLY TAKE HEED TO THYSELF. — The exhortation contained in the following verses lays special emphasis on one point — the worship of the invisible Jehovah without images. This more than anything else would tend to separate the religion of Israel from that of all other nations. TEACH THEM THY SONS, AN... [ Continue Reading ]
THE DAY THAT THOU STOODEST BEFORE THE LORD THY GOD IN HOREB. — The Church of Israel dated from Sinai, as the Church of Christ does from Pentecost. It is noticeable that the giving of the Law appears to have taken place about fifty days after the Passover in Egypt. Jewish writers associate the Feast... [ Continue Reading ]
DARKNESS, CLOUDS, AND THICK DARKNESS. — The “blackness, and darkness, and tempest” of Hebrews 12:18.... [ Continue Reading ]
HIS COVENANT... TEN COMMANDMENTS. — See on Deuteronomy 5. HE WROTE THEM. — See on Deuteronomy 10:2.... [ Continue Reading ]
YE SAW NO MANNER OF SIMILITUDE. — The worship of the _invisible_ Jehovah is here specially insisted on. The difficulty of learning to worship one whom we cannot see is, happily, one which our education does not enable us to realise in its relation to Israel of old. All nations had their visible symb... [ Continue Reading ]
LEST YE CORRUPT... AND MAKE. — The connection between idolatry and corruption is twofold. First, it changes “the glory of the _incorruptible God_” into an image of His corruptible creatures. Secondly, it always ends in corrupting the idolater. Man was made to have dominion over the works of God’s ha... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SUN, AND THE MOON, AND THE STARS. — The purest worship of antiquity — that which we find among the Persians — hardly escaped this snare. WHICH THE LORD THY GOD HATH DIVIDED UNTO ALL NATIONS. — The heavenly bodies could never be regarded as special protectors of any _one_ nation. But Jehovah was... [ Continue Reading ]
(21-23) THE LORD WAS ANGRY WITH ME FOR YOUR SAKES... I MUST DIE IN THIS LAND... BUT YE SHALL GO OVER... TAKE HEED UNTO YOURSELVES. — The argument appears to be this: “I cannot go with you to warn you; therefore take the more heed when you are alone.” The same line of thought appears in St. Paul’s la... [ Continue Reading ]
THE LORD THY GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE. — The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews makes use of this in Deuteronomy 12:29, to enforce the lessons not of Sinai, but of Pentecost, and of the voice of “Him that speaketh from heaven_”_ by the Spirit whom He has sent.... [ Continue Reading ]
SHALL HAVE REMAINED LONG. — Literally, _shall slumber — _a very suggestive expression. Prosperity often sends true religion to sleep, and brings conventional, or fashionable, religion in its stead.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE LORD SHALL SCATTER YOU. — Our familiarity with this fact in history must not blind us to its force when uttered as a _prophecy._ The fact that the Jews were taken captive for idolatry, and dispersed for the rejection of JESUS, is a remarkable proof that the real reason why they were brought... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THERE YE SHALL SERVE GODS, THE WORK OF MEN’S HANDS. — That is, “you shall _be in bondage_ to them,” being ruled by their worshippers. And so Rashi explains it. Captivity was the means of eradicating idolatry from Israel rather than encouraging it. But the cause of a people and its idols is so co... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR ASK NOW... WHETHER THERE HATH BEEN ANY SUCH THING.-The same argument is afterwards employed by St. Paul (Romans 11:29) for the restoration of Israel: “for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance,” _i.e., irrevocable._ He did not go and take Him a nation out of the midst of another na... [ Continue Reading ]
BECAUSE HE LOVED THY FATHERS. — The reasons for God’s choice of Israel are frequently stated in this book; and they are always stated in such a way as to enforce the doctrine of God’s sovereignty, and to show the Israelites that their own merit was in no way the ground of God’s choice.... [ Continue Reading ]
KNOW THEREFORE... AND CONSIDER. — “Consider,” _i.e., reckon_ (the word for “impute” and “account” in St. Paul’s argument to the Romans). Do not indulge any polytheistic notions regarding the Deity. “To us there is but One God.” If every nation has its separate deity, how is it that Jehovah controls... [ Continue Reading ]
THE APPOINTMENT OF THREE CITIES OF REFUGE. (41) THEN MOSES SEVERED. — The word “then” appears to be a note of time. It would seem that the appointment of the three cities of refuge on the eastern side of Jordan actually followed this discourse. ON THIS SIDE JORDAN. — Heb., _b_’ ’_êber hay-yardên._... [ Continue Reading ]
SECOND DISCOURSE. (44-49) These words form an introduction to the second discourse, which occupies the larger portion of the book — from Deuteronomy 5:1 to the end of Deuteronomy 26. There is no real break between. The present introduction differs from what we find in Deuteronomy 1:1. There is no i... [ Continue Reading ]