VIII. (1) ALL THE COMMANDMENTS. — Perhaps this verse should be placed at the conclusion of the preceding paragraph rather than at the commencement of the next. The second verse of this chapter introduces a fresh branch of the subject. THAT YE MAY... GO IN AND POSSESS. — This does not refer simply... [ Continue Reading ]
THE REMEMBRANCE OF THE EXODUS. (2) AND THOU SHALT REMEMBER. — The whole of the remainder of this exhortation, to the end of Deuteronomy 10, is chiefly taken up with this topic. Israel must remember (1) the leading of Jehovah, and (2) their own rebellious perversity in the journey through the wilder... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE... SUFFERED THEE TO HUNGER, AND FED THEE. — A process naturally humbling. He might easily have fed them without “suffering them to hunger.” But He did not give them the manna until the sixteenth day of the second month of the journey (see Exodus 16:1; Exodus 16:6); and for one whole month the... [ Continue Reading ]
THY RAIMENT WAXED NOT OLD UPON THEE. — The Jewish commentators say that it grew with their growth, from childhood to manhood. We cannot say that anything miraculous is certainly intended, though it is not impossible. It may mean that God in His providence directed them to clothe themselves in a mann... [ Continue Reading ]
AS A MAN CHASTENETH HIS SON. — This is the foundation of many similar sayings in Holy Scripture: Proverbs 13:24, “He _seeketh_ chastening for him,” i.e., seeks it early. All our ideas of training necessarily imply time; it cannot be done in a moment. But the main point of the illustration is to _pro... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR THE LORD THY GOD BRINGETH THEE INTO A GOOD LAND. — The description in this and the following verses is most attractive; but it is a long time since any one has seen Palestine in that condition. Its desolation, no less than its beauty, is a proof of the truth of the Divine word. OF FOUNTAINS AND... [ Continue Reading ]
WHOSE STONES ARE IRON, AND OUT OF WHOSE HILLS THOU MAYEST DIG BRASS. — We do not hear of mining operations in Palestine from sacred history. “Brass,” _i.e.,_ copper; and so in all passages.... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN THOU HAST EATEN. — Literally, _and thou shalt eat and be satisfied, and shalt bless the Lord thy God._ There is a saying in the Talmud (_Berachoth,_ p. 35a.), “It is forbidden to any man to take any enjoyment from this present world without thanksgiving; and every one who does so is a transgres... [ Continue Reading ]
BEWARE THAT. — From Deuteronomy 8:11 to Deuteronomy 8:18 inclusive is one long sentence in the Hebrew, and may be taken thus: “Take heed to thyself _lest_ thou forget Jehovah thy God (so that thou keep not, &c.); _lest_ thou eat and be satisfied (while thou buildest, &c.); and thine heart be lifted... [ Continue Reading ]
HAST BUILT GOODLY HOUSES. — One of the conditions prescribed by Jonadab the son of Rechab to his family was, “All your days ye shall _dwell in tents;_ that ye may live many days in the land _where ye be strangers_” (Jeremiah 35:7).... [ Continue Reading ]
THE ROCK OF FLINT. — The rock in Horeb is called _tsûr;_ the rock smitten in Kadesh, _selagh._ The first word conveys the idea of “hardness”; the other is rather a “cliff,” or “height,” and suggests the idea of inaccessibility. In Numbers 20:10, the words of Moses to the rebels, “Must we fetch you w... [ Continue Reading ]
BECAUSE YE WOULD NOT BE OBEDIENT. — In return for your disobedience. The same word is employed in Deuteronomy 7:12. The use of the word in these two places might fairly be taken to mark off the intervening portion as a complete section of the discourse.... [ Continue Reading ]