Deuteronomy 29
PATin that time, they were seldom without somo trouble or other, till they wero expelled out of their country. Because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me. And followed after other gods, which was the great crimo that brought them to desolation. Vcr.21.TAe Lord shall make the pestilence cleave tmto /Ace] The pestilence is threatened in Lev. xxvi. 25. whero ho saith he will send it among them, and hero adds, that it shall cleave unto them, that is, bo incurable. And so the author of Schebct Judah confesses, that, after they had been wasted and broken in pieces by wars, they that fled into Spain, in the tinio of Alphonsus, were swept away in great numbers by a plague; and introduces one. applying theso very words, as a prophecy of it: which I thought fit to note, though this part of the prophecy doth not belong to what hath befallen them since the last destruction of Jerusalem (as I shall shew hereafter), but to tho times before the first destruction; when he often sent a pestilence to destroy them, (2 Sam. xxiv. 15. Jer. xiv. 12. xxi. 6, 7. 9. and many other places of that book, Ezck. v. 12. vi. 11,12. Amos iv. 10.) But it must be acknowledged, also, that the Greeks call such unseasonable weather as destroys the fruits of the earth, by the name of Aotfibg, pestilence. So Plato, lib. x. deLegibus, saith, that which is called Nornr/ia, a disease in bodies,‘Ei> §’ wpatg Itwv kol cwavrwv Xoipbv, &c. is called pestilence in the seasotis of the year. The murrain also in cattle is called by the same name; which even the pagans thought was sent by the anger of their gods, for the sins of men; as we learn from Callimachus, in his hymn to Diana, where he saith, (vcr. 125.)that when she was angry, pestilence ate up their cattle, and hail destroyed the fruits of the earth. • s Krt’ivta <(>tv Xotpbc ptTaftpwaKtrat, tpya Sc Trax^t) As, on the contrary, when she was well-pleased, she sent fruitful seasons, and all manner of happiness, as it follows in that hymn. Until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.] Made a great destruction, by sweeping away many people.; the rest being reserved for other judgments, which follow in the next words. Vcr. 22. And the Lord shall smite thee with a consmnp-. lion, and with a fever, and with an inflammation.] These three words signify sore diseases in men’s bodies: the two first of which, sachepheth and kaddachath, wo translate in Lev. xxvi. 1G. as wc do here; only the second of them we render the burning ague, which here wc translate fever. Unto which is here added dalleketh, which signifies such an inflammation vls is accompanied with itching (according to the LXX. who translate it’Ept Ot<rpbv), which is extremely grievous, because the scratching of it increases the inflammation. And with an extreme burning, and with the sword.] These two seem to relate unto the indisposition of the air, by extreme heat and drought; as we translate the word chereb in the margin of our Bibles; for it signifies both the word and dryness; as tho first word cliarchur signifies scorching, heat, which frequently causes diseases; for jt being the doubling of the word charar, it denotes the extremity or highest degree of it, as all such words do; of which Bochartus hath given many examples in his Ilierofcoicon, par. ii. lib. i. cap. 19. And with blasting and with mildew.] These two relate to the destruction of their corn, and.he fruits of the earth, which follows upon the corruption of the air, as famine follows upon the corruption of tho fruits of the earth. The first word schiddaphon, tho LXX. and the other Greek interpreters translate’Avspo^optav, blasting by biting winds; though elsewhere the LXX. translate it by *Efnrvpi<Tpbv and TlvpuxTtv, which signify such blighting as comes by heat. And the second word jerakon (which comes from jerek, herb or. grass, or any green thing) seems properly to bo expressed by the LXX. who translate irQxpav; for corn > and & rass ^ and herbs, turn pale and wan for want of moisture. And they shall pursue thee until thou perish.] These plagues upon their bodies, and upon the air, and the corn, and herbs, he threatens shall come upon them one year’after another, till they were consumed. tended to demonstrate at Iris first giving of manna to them, (Exod. xvi. 12.) Vcr. 7. And when ye camt into tliis place.] For they were now m a part of the country which they conquered, (iv. 45, 46, &c.) Sihon king of Ileshbon, and Og king of Baslian, came out against us to battle, arid we smote them.] SceKumb.xxi.24. 34, 35. Dcut ii. 30, &c. iii. 2, 3, &c. Vcr. 8. And tee iook their land from them, and gave it for an inheritance unto the Ileubenites, &c.] Seo Numb. xxxii. 33. and Dcut. iv. 12; &c. And how we came through the nations whom we passed by.] The Edomites, Midianites, Ammonites, and Moabites, through the skirts of whose countries they passed, and were preserved from receiving any hurt by them. their disobedience past, but rather (adding thirst to drunkenness) bless themselves when they hear the words of that curse, promising peace to themselves, though they wttlk on according to the stubbornness of their forefathers 9 hearts.
Deuteronomy 29:1
THESE are the words of the covenant. The Talmudists in the Gemara of Sota, cap. 7. sect. 24. refer these words to the benedictions and cursings mentioned in the foregoing chapter; which plainly belong to what God delivered unto Moses in Mount Sinai at the first; which he had now repeated in this book, with the addition of several blessings and curses, to make what he said the more effectual. i Which the Lord commanded Moses to make.) That is, to renew. For which end Moses repeated the principal laws of God, and explained them in this book; which is from thence called Deuteronomy: being a compendium of the Pentateuch, a breviary of the covenant, composed for the familiar and daily use of the children; of Israel. With the children of Israel in the land of 3Ioab.’) Where he declared to them the law which he had formerly delivered to their fathers, (Deut. i. 5:) Beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.] This doth not signify that he made a covenant with them, different from the former made at Horeb, (Exod. xxiv.) but only now renewed the same covenant; after they had shamefully violated it more than once. Which was the more necessary, because they were ready to enter into the land of Canaan, and lie was just upon his departure from them into another world; and therefore did all hfe could to engage them in a more firm obedience to God. And for that end, both more fully explained several laws, and added others, and at large laid before them thcTiappiness’ or the misery that would ensue upon their, fidelity or falseness in this covenant. JjLND it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee.’] God at the first bestowed great and singular blessings upon them; but when they grew so insensible of his mercy, as to violate the covenant he had made with them, then he sent his curses which he had threatened: upon theyi: which were completed in their expulsion out of the good land, which he had given them; especially in their last expulsion by the Romans, which was rather an extirpation., *..: And thou shall call to mind.] In the Hebrew, bring back to thy heart, as we observe, in the margin of 1 Kings viii. 47. where; there is the very same phrase, and there translated, shall bethink thyself, that is, reflect seriously both upon the blessings and curses, and consequently consider the truth of God in fulfilling both. In which consir deration, repentance and conversion to God begin. (See Ezek. xviii. 28.) Among all the nations whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee.] “Where they could not choose but often think of all the blessings they had enjoyed in their own land, and might have still enjoyed, if they had not been, disobedient; and all the curses which had befallen them till they were driven from thence, and had pursued them ever since. (See Lev. xxvi. 40, &c. Deut. iv. 29, 30, &c.)
Deuteronomy 29:2
And Moses calledunto all Israel. This seems to import a new summons which he sent out to them, to attend him, now he was about to conclude what he had to say to them, before he left them. Which he did not, as I have often observed, (sec ver. 1.) all at once, in one continued speech, but at several times; and now was about to wind up all in this and in the next chapter. And said unto them.] He argued with them from the knowledge and experience which they had of the power of’God in his wonderful works, particularly three, which were very memorable. Those in Egypt, which he mentions here in the two next verses; and those in the wilderness, ver. 5, G. and lately in the great victory he had given them over two potent kings, ver. 7, 8. Ye have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants^ and unto all his land.] Some of them had seen (when they were young), and others had understood from them (which is here called seeing), all the plagues which God brought upon Pharaoh, and upon his court, and upon his whole country. This he had often called to their mind, in his preface to the repetitions of his laws, (vi. 12. vii..l8, 19. xi. 3, 4.) and makes it a great aggravation of their guilt, if they should forsake Him, who had done such wonderful things for them, (xiii. 5. 10.) And now he concludes with the same argument, as most powerful to move them, if they had any sense of their obligations to the greatest Benefactor. And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice, according to all that I command thee this day, thou, and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.*] Repentance was completed by forsaking their idols, and returning to the worship of tha Lord their God alone, and by obeying all the rest of his commands, and teaching their children to do the same; and all this with sincerity of heart. This they did, in some measure, after they were carried captive to Babylon; since which’time we read nothing of their idolatry. But they fell into other sins, which stopped their ears to that great prophet, the Lord Christ, when he came to them; for which they arc punished to this day, and will be till they repent and obey.. *,,.’.-.;
Deuteronomy 29:3
The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles. Of these he had put them in mind before. (See iv. 34. vii. 19.) Tlten the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity.] That is, bring those that were carried captive back again to their own land. Thus the word captivity is used, Psal; xiv. 7. Ephcs. iv. 8. Andhave compassion upon thee.] These words express the spring of all their happiness, viz. the Divine compassion, in pardoning their sins, which had been very provoking..– And will return and gatlier thee.] This is the effect of his compassion in their restitution, and recollection again into one body after their dispersion..i From all the nations whither the Lord thy God hath scatteredthee.] This was fulfilled in part when they returned from Babylon; for then they who were scattered in other countries, flocked again to them; and will be more completely fulfilled when they shall believe on our blessed Saviour.
Deuteronomy 29:4
Yet the Lord hath not given yon a heart toperceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day. They had not so considered and laid to heart God’s wonderful works, as to’have a lasting sense of them bestowed upon them by God. He gives us an understanding heart, but we must first consider. what he, hath done for us, as the apostle instructs us, 2Tim.ii. 7. And he gives us what we do not receive; and so in effect it is not given. Thus he saith himself, that he purged Israel, but they would not be purged, (Ezek. xxiv. 13.) What the difference is between a heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, need not be curiously inquired. They are, perhaps, but three various expressions of their gross stupidity, or three degrees of it, which was so great, that they had no continued sense of the wonderful works God hath done for them; nor did so much as regard and observe them; no, nor hearken to those who put them in mind of them; which must not be imputed to any want of power in these things to move them, much less of the Divine grace to work upon their hearts by them, but wai wholly to be. ascribed to their own negligence and pcrverseness; of which God here complains, and with which he severely upbraids them, that he had not given them this grace: which is a clear demonstration the fault was in themselves. And therefore Maimonides rightly and judiciously explains these words, when he saith, the meaning is, They had not disposed themselves to receive this grace from God. - •■ -: * And if any of thine be driven out unto the uttermost parts of heaven, from thence will theLord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee.] Unto this promise Nehemiah plainly alludes in his prayer to God, to prosper his endeavours for the restoration of Jerusalem. Microsoft ® [chap. XXX. (Nebcin, i. 8, 9.) And, finding the truth of it confirmed by the king’s gracious concession to him, he went about the work, though one, who was accounted a prophet (yea, several of tho like quality), dissuaded him from the enterprise, as likely to prove dangerous to his person, (vi. 10— 12, &c.) Ezra also tells us how Cyrus made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, which was very large, that all the Jews might return, if they pleased, into their own country, (Ezra i. 1. 4. and see Zechariah vii. 7, 8.) And though, in their last dispersion by the ltomans, they bo far moro scattered, and into more distant regions, than they were in the Babylonian captivity (according, to Moses’s threatening, xxviii. G4. of this book), yet, if they did now consider the cause of it, and lay to heart their sin in crucifying tho Lord Christ, no doubt God would have compassion on them, and wonderfully restore them. For tho Jews themselves apply this place (and have long done so) to their present condition, being of opinion that God hath appointed a prefixed time in his own mind, though ho hath not declaredjt, when he will deliver thom; but, if they did repent, he would shorten the days of their banishment, and immediately bring them to their own land. Thus the ancient Kitzacon, set forth not long ago by Wagenseil, p. 254. And Jl. Isaac, since him, and more lately, often insists upon this, in his Chissuk Emuna, published by tho very samo learned person; particularly Perek. vii. where ho saith, " There can be no time prefixed for their deliverance, because it depends upon their repentance;. whereby they may Cut off the length of this banishment, provided they turn to God with their whole heart, and a full repentance.” For Which he alleges this place. And he repeats it again, (Perek. xxvii.) as the great comfort they have in this long banishment, that, upon their perfect repentance, God will be merciful to them, and overcome their sins, and perform this promise. Which I find still more lately mentioned in Manasseh ben Israel’s book, De Termino ViUe, lib. iii. sect. 3. where he saith, " Herein all the prophets imitate Moses, being wont, after terrible threatenings, to conclude with some singular consolation. Which mado R. Aquiba (as the Talmudists report) fall a laughing, when all the wise men who were with him wept and lamented, at the sight of the ruins of Jerusalem and the temple. Which they wondering at, he said, After theclouds the sun will break out; and after the end of the evils which Moses threatened, toe may hope for good things: for God is not more faithful in fulfilling the one, than in performing the other" But, alas! in all ages hitherto there are no signs of repentance, much less of a perfect one; but they have been strangely hardened in their unbelief, and have bitterly reproached the Lord Jesus and his religion. Abarbinel himself, though a gentleman of a noble family, a well-bred person, and of an excellent understanding, is extremely guilty of this. And since his time Solomon Virgse, in the age before us, considering the astonishing plagues that have befallen them, and that never any people, as he acknowledges, conflicted with so many miseries and so many ages as they have done, inquires the causes why the Divine Majesty should be so angry with them: he reckons seven; among which ho accounts the putting of Jesus of Nazareth to death as one; yet not as a crime, but that which hath enraged Christians against them. For ho wickedly illustrates this by that speech of Moses, Exod. viii. 24. which ho thus translates, If we slay and sacrifice the abominable gods of the Egyptians in their sight, will they not stone its? Which is the highest reproach he could vomit against our Saviour; mingled with the most stupid folly, in giving that as a reason of the Divine anger, which at the most is only a reason in their account of men’s indignation. (Schebet Judah, sect. G3.) The most cruel usage which they have met with in fcll Christian countries, might thus exasperate and embitter their spirits; and I cannot excuse tho violent hatred of Christians to them, and their barbarous treatment of them, thdugh they therein fulfilled the Divine threatenings, as I havo shewn upon the twenty-eighth chapter; which being ceased since the reformation of religion, the Jews have not been so virulent against our blessed Saviour; and it is to be hoped will bo won to the obedience of faith by our Christian usage of them; when those other stumblingblocks, which hinder their conversion, are removed out of the way.
Deuteronomy 29:5
And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. By a gloriouscloud, which both conducted and protected them, (viii. 2. xi. 5.) Concerning these forty years, see chap. ii. 7. Your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen oldupon thy foot.] See viii. 4. - The Jews used no shoes in Egypt, as Bochartus probably conjectures; but being to take a long journey,, through a rough way in the wilderness, he commanded them to eat the passover with shoes on their feet, (Exod. xii. 11.) And these very shoes which they put on at that festival, when they were ready to march, God suffered not to decay in all their travels for forty years following. (See Hicrozoicon, p&r. i. lib. ii. cap. 50.),- „’ i Ver. G. Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink.] Not commonly; though, when they passed, by some neighbouring country, they might possibly sometimes purchase both bread and wine, or strong liquors: but their ordinary food was the heavenly manna, aud their drink was the water that followed th£m out of the rock. So that the meaning is, they were constantly. supported by a miraculous supply from God; who took care of them, and thereby laid a greater obligation upon them to serve him, who graciously fed them without any labour of their own.* For they neither ploughed, nor sowed, nor reaped, nor took any other pains for this provision; as they must have done for bread and wine, or other liquors pressed out of dates or figs, &c. That ye may know that lam the Lord your God.] This he did for them, that he might breed and maintain them in a sense of his omnipotent power, and of his all-sufficient goodness and faithfulness to his promises;, which he in- And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shatt possess it.] Be again planted in it, as they were at their return from the captivity of Babylon; especially after they had laid the foundation of the house of the Lord, he blessed them exceedingly, Hag. ii. 18, 19. Zech. viii. 7—12. And he will do thee good.] The prophet Zcchary hath given a full explication of these words, viii. 13 — 15. and tho prophet Jeremy before him, (xxxii. 42, 43, &c.) which was fulfilled in the building of the house of the Lord, though great opposition was made to it; and in the compassing Jerusalem with walls, and settling them in a state of liberty, according to the prophecy of Isaiah, lii. 1, 2. And multiply thee above thy fathers.] The Hebre\jr words import, that ho would make them greater than their fathers. Which he did, by their vast increase after they returned from Babylon: (see Zech. viii. 4, 5. and before him, Hos. i. 10.) which is manifest from their Suunropai,?. e. spreading themselves in so many colonies, through all Asia, both the great and tho less; with Egypt, Greece, Italy, and Spain. (See Strabo, lib. xvi. concerning Joppa.) By this means they were very much exalted, as Zechariah prophesied, after their captivity; (xii. 0.) for, as they had their liberty in their own country (God being a wall of fire to them, while Jerusalem had no walls), so they spread themselves, as I said, and had their synagogues in Babylon, Arabia, Syria, and divers other countries beforementioned; and a great many proselytes.also joined themselves to them. “Yet one cannot well think that so magnificent a prophecy as this is was entirely fulfilled after their return from Babylon, when they were tributaries to the Persians, and afterward fell under the power of the Grecians, under whom they sulfered very much, especially in the days «f Antiochus Epiphanes; whose death did not conclude their troubles, as Hermannus Witsius has shewn at large, in his Decaphylon, cap. 10. n. 9 — 12, &c. where he endeavours to prove that there was no moment of time, after their return from Babylon, wherein they could be said to be made greater than their fathers, especially in the days of David and Solomon: and therefore lie concludes, that this promise is still to be completely fulfilled. And thus It. Isaac (in his book beforenamed, Chissuk Emuna) argues, (Perek vi.) that God did not bestow benefits upon them equal to those which If ilfcW V* ^r^^^^t I CHAP. XXX.] UPON DEUTERONOMY. their fathers enjoyed, much less superior, while the second temple stood; but all that time was full of straits and calamities; for which he alleges the prophecy of Daniel, ix; 25. And therefore saith, these.woTds of Moses can by no means be thought to be fulfilled, when the tribes of Judah and Benjamin returned from Babylon, and left a vast number behind them, who would not come back with them, but stay there to this day.
Deuteronomy 29:6
And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart J. By such singular benefits bestowed upon them, in a miraculous manner, God designed to take away the stubborn’ refractoriness of their spirits, (called hardness of heart, xxix. 19.) and co cut off all their wicked inclinations and dispositions to idolatry and superstition, which had been their ruin; which is called humbling their tmcircumdsed heart, Lev. xxvi. 41. But though God circumcised them, yet their hearts might remain uncircumcised, as appears from xxix. 3, 4. And therefore he calls upon them to circumcise their hearts themselves, (xvi. 10.) by laying to heart his benefits, and following the motions of his grace and holy Spirit, which thereby he put into their hearts: and their neglect of this, and resting merely in the cirgumcision of the flesh, was that which ruined them again. And the heart of thy seed.] Accordingly, we find they were freed from idolatry after their return from Babylon; though still they continued in other sins. Which brought this present captivity (as they call it) upon them; another banishment being necessary (saith R. Isaac, in the book’ beforementioned, Perek, vii.) to purge them from their gins, by the severe afflictions which jtheynow endure, and have long suffered; because their manifold sins, as he expresses it, need much scouring, by contusions and pressures. After which, he saith, they. shall sin no more, but that shall be fulfilled which is written in the law, the Lord thy God shall circumcise thine heart, &c. quoting these very words of Moses* But, alas! they are not sensible for what sin thoy suffer. (See p. 96, 97. of Wagenseil’s edition.) To love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that tlwu mayest live.] See vi. 5, This pro-r phecy, the Jews say, shall be fulfilled in the days of the Messiah, according to what Ezekiel.saith, xxxvi. 20. A netp heart will I give you, and a netv spirit will I put into you, &c. So R. Isaac, in the place abovenamed, and in p. 83. • Ver. 7; And the Lord thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which per* secute thee.] Their very restoration created them many enemies; whose hatred increased with their prosperity in their own land, and made them, when they had power, to persecute them. Whom God remarkably plagued, particularly Antiochus Epiphanes, who died in miserable torments.
Deuteronomy 29:8
And thou shall return. This may relate as well to their return unto their own land, as to their turning unto God: of both which he had spoken before. And now, having mentioned their persecution, whereby many of them might be driven out of their country, I suppose ie here promises their restoration to it again, when he had cursed their enemies. And obey the voice of the Lord thy God, and do all his commandments, which I command thee this day.] Continue steadfast in their love to him, by a strict observance of all his commandments.
Deuteronomy 29:9
Keep therefore thewordsofthiscovehant, and do (hem. Preserve them in memory, so as to make good your engagements which you passed to God in Horcb; Which Moses was now about to renew, and lay a fresh obligation on them. For most of them being a new generation, and now going to enter upon the possession of the land of promise, it was necessary to make them sensible of the condition of their tenure, by engaging them in a solemn covenant to observe the laws of God faithfully; which was but a renewal ofwhat was made before at Horeb. That ye may prosper in all that you do.] Sec iv. 6. The Hebrew word, which wo translate prosper, the LXX. translate act prudently; for they translate it v \va ouvfjrc. And the Vulgar, to the same purpose, ut intelligatis, that ye may understand to manage yourselves wisely in all your concerns, by observing the rules God hath given you; which was, the way to prosper. Vcr. 10. Ye stand this day all of you before the Lord your God.] The summons which he sent out, (ver. 2.) it seems by this^was to appear at the tabernacle, where they now stood; and from whence he delivered these words to them, by the priests gnd Levitcs, (xxvii. 9. 14.) Your captains of your tribes.] In the Hebrew, your heads of your tribes, who were the greatest persons in the nation, called sometimes princes. Your elders.] These were not only the seventy, elders, mentioned Numb. xi. 16. but all the other judges in their several courts, who arc often called by the name of elders in this book, particularly xix. 12. 18. xxi. 2. 4. 6. xxv. 8. And the officers.] Who attended upon the judge, to execute their sentence. (Sec xvi. 18.) With all the men of Israel.] AH the men of their several tribes. Vcr. 11. Your little ones, your wives.] Who were all now present, or else were represented by the men of Israel. And thy stranger that is in thy camp.] Whether Egyptians, that followed them when they camo out of Egypt, (Exod. xii. 38.) or other people who embraced thejr religion, so far, at least, to renounce all idolatry. From the hewer of thy wood unto the” drawer of thy water.’] The meanest servant, whom they had bought, perhaps, with their money, cither in Egypt, or since they came from thenqe. Vcr. 12. That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the Lord thy[God^\ In the Hebrew the words arc, pass into covenant. For so covenants were anciently made in the eastern countries, by dividing the sacrifice, and passing between the parts of it; as appears from the manner of God’s making a covenant with Abraham in Gen. xv. 10. 17. whence some derive the Hebrew word berith (which signifies a covenant) from bara, which signifies cutting off; because something was always sacrificed at the making covenants, and ancicbtly cut in pieces; For the same reason the Romans called a covenant fecdus, which they derive h feriendo, from striking, that is, killing sohie beast (particularly a swine), which was done with many fcerembnies…; •. And into his oatftJ]’ The Hebrc\v\Vord which we trans^- late oath, rather imports a curse, which was annexed to an oath. And so the LXX.‘Ev. rate apdic] for they entered into this covenant ^th such imprecations upon themselves, as arc mentioned xxvii. 15, 16, &c. wishing, perhaps, that they Wight be cut. to. pieces, as the sacrifice was (between who’sd parts they passed), if they did not faithfully perform their engagement, id IVhich the Lord thy Godmaketh with thee this day.] For tho covenant was mutual, as appears by the burning lamp, representing the Divine Majesty passing through the pieces of the’, sacrifice, when God entered into a covenant with Abraham, (Gen. xv. 17.) And the Lord thy God will make thee plenteous’ in every work of thine hand, and in the fruit of thy body,; &c] The effect of their constant and sincere obedience he promises should be still greater prosperity, in all their; undertakings; and in all their enjoyments, (See xxviii. 4; 5, &c.) For good.] To encourage them to continue faithful in the service of God. For the Lord, will again rejoice over thee for good.] Delight only in blessing them; and not send any curses upon, them. (See xxviii. 63. and Jer. xxxii.41.) As he rejoiceth over thy fathers.] In whose obedience he. delighted, (Deut. x. 15.)
Deuteronomy 29:10
And it come to pass, when he. The man spoken of before, under the name of a root.of bitterness* Heareth the words of this curse.] Against idolatry, which Moses engaged every one of them to renounce, by making a solemn covenant with God to worship him alone, and dreadful imprecations upon themselves, if they did not make good this covenant, (ver. 12. 14— 1Q. xxvii. 15.) That he bless himself in his heart.] Secretly fancy none of these curses shall fall upon him, but, quite contrary, promise himself all manner of happiness. Saying, I shall have peace.] Prosper and be happy. Though I walk in the imagination of mine heart!] Or, in the stubbornness of mine heart, as it isin the margin; that is, resolve to worship what god I best fancy. < To add drunkenness to thirst.] In the Hebrew the words are (as the margin of our Bibles observes) the drunken to the thirsty; for both words are adjectives, as grammarians speak; and, supposing a substantive to support them, many think none so proper to be understood as the word earth. Which makes this a proverbial speech, To add the wet ground to the dry cind thirsty, or rather, the thirsty to tlie wet. For the particle bet h, which in the Hebrew is the note of the accusative case, is put before the word dry, or thirsty; and, therefore, that is the thing which is to be added to the wet or drunken; not the drunken to the dry. And the sense is," draw others into the same wickedness; just asjf a drunken man should draw sober persons to play the fool with him, and do as bad as himself^ or, after one piece of land is overflowed, the water should be let into that which is dry, and spoil that also. For this seems to be the meaning of the whole.verse, If a man shall be so presumptuous, as not only to cry peace to himself, when he runs after his own devices, in serving other gods, but endeavours to draw others into the same wicked practices. There are a great “many other interpretations of these w r ords (seven or eight) given by the Hebrew doctors, besides ^others in Christian writers; whiebmay be seen in Cocceius iii his Ultima Mosis, sect. 134. But this seems to be the most easy, at which the Chaldee aims, and the LXX. if the particle firi be” omitted, which is not in the Hebrew, ribr the Chaldee, nor the Vulgar Latin. And if we take the words as.we translate them (only inverting them), add thirst unto drunkenness, the sense is as easy; viz. add more sins to the foregoing, (Isa. xxx. 1.) and to be still inflamed (as the Scripture speaks) with love.to more idols, after the service of many of them; “increasing their altars (as Hosea speaks) like heaps in the furrows of the field,” (HosJ x. 1. xii.ll.) - Dr. Jackson, in his first book upon the Creed, (chap. 30. parag. 4.) thinks the meaning is, that posterity added to the wickedness of their ancestors. For they being cast out of their good land for their infidelity and disobedience, their posterity (saith he) continue exiles and vagabonds for their stubbornness in like practices; not being willing/ to this day, to,offer up the sacrifice of a contrite heart for Ifthon shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments, &c] Persist in obedience to him. And if thou turn vnto the Lord thy God with all -thine heart, and ivithall thy soul.] With a sincere love to all his commands, (ver. 2.) who had planted them assuredly in tlieir land, with his whole heart, and his whole soul, as Jeremiah speaks, xxxii. 41. But herein they were defective, after they came out of the captivity of Babylon. For thougU they never returned again to idolatry, but kept close to the worship of God alone, yet they rested merely in the outward rites of religion, and had not a hearty love to God, and to all goodness; which made them reject the Son of God when he came among them, and fall under those long calamities, which will not end till they turn to him with all tlieir hearts and souls.
Deuteronomy 29:11
For this commandment which I command thee this day. Of hearty love to God,- and sincere obedience to all his commands, (ver. 2. 6. 8. 16.) It is not hidden from thee.] Or, it may be translated outof the Hebrew, It is not too wonderful above thee; that is, abstruse and hard to be understood, because above their reach; but easy to be known and acquainted withal, because plainly revealed* Which is as true of the gospel, (unto which St. Paul applies these words, Rom. x. G^ &c.) <as it was of the law of Moses: for therein our Saviour hath declared the mind and will of God to us, in such familiar words, that the most simple people may understand their duty. p i-.,, - Nor is it far off.] So that they should go to seek it, and learn it in some distant nation..R. Isaac, in his Chissuk Emuna, cap. 45. had his thoughts so fixed upon what is said ver. 4. that he fancies these words belong to that matter; and that Moses still speaks to them of repentance, which is of greater value than any other thing, and yet most easily acquired. Which cannot but make one wonder at their. blindness; for, if repentance be so very -easy, how comes it.to pass that they remain impenitent for so many ages, and thereby, as they confess, prolong their miseries? And yet he repeats the same words in the second part of Jiis work, Perek. lxxx. where be hath the confidence to say St. Paul misapplies this place.
Deuteronomy 29:12
It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who ivill go up for tis to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?. R. Jacob Haesad, in his preface to that part of the Mischna called Seder Nesim (as GuiJ. Vorstius observes upon Abarbinel about the Articles of their Faith), hath very fairly expounded this: which he takes to be a proverbial speech, to shew that thero is no need of hard, or rather impossible labour, to come at the knowledge Microsoft® E2 [chap. XXX. of God’s will, as there is in many human sciences, where the mind of man is tired by several propositions and’ deductions, &c. before he arrive at what he seeks: but all tilings arc plain and easy to bo understood, and not hard to be performed. For God had revealed his mind clearly by Moses from heaven, and therefore none had need to go thither to desire God to acquaint them with it, which ho had dono of his own accord, out of his good-will towards them. And thus Grotius observes upon Rom. x. G. out of several Greek authors, that they expressed things very difficult, by going vp to heaven. Maimonides, indeed, to Jesodehatorah, cap. 9. and Abarbincl, in Itosch Amana, cap. 13. make these words an argument for the eternity and unchangeablcncss of their law, and that there should be no new revelation from heaven: but there is no colour for this from these words, the particle hu being of the feminine gender, and therefore doth not refer to God, but to the comihaiid beforcmentioned, plainly importing, that men could not pretend ignorance of their duty, nor had any reason to desire that somebody would go to heaven again for those things which Moses had already brought from thence. And thu£ the npostlc most justly accommodates these words.to the new revelation from heaven by the Son of God, which was not abstruse and difficult, but as plain and perspicuous as this now made by Moses. Vet. 13. Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, IVlio shall go over the sea for us? &c] r Qc &~<r%ai iroXvxpoviov Koi k-a/iar»jpac a7ro8»j/itac (to use the words of ririlo, in his book concerning Rewards and Punishments), so as to need long and tedious voyages, laborious and wearisome travels, to fetch it from foreign countries. Such as the Greek philosophers took, who travelled into Egypt, land the eastern part of the world, to learn wisdom, which God now taught his people in the wilderness, without any pairts to attain to it. Vcr. 14. But the word is very nigh unto thee.] Being brought td their very doors by Moses, the servant of God; who now delivered to them the mind of God, as the Son of God himself did afterward, when he came and dwelt among them. In thy mouth and in thy heart.] Made so familiar to them, that they might always have it in their common discourse, to teach it their children; and had now been so often repeated, that it might be well laid up in their memory, never to be forgotten by them, (vi. 6 — 9. xi. IS — 20.) It was also in the mouth of their priests, who were to teach them knowledge, (Malachi ii. 7.) and press it upon their hearts. Here the forenamed R. Isaac, in both the places forcnamed, observes, that Repentance depends on the confession of the mouth and grief of the heart: but the largest confession and the sorest grief will not avail them, till they repent of their crucifying the Lord Jesus, and shall " confess him with their mouth, and believe in their heart, that God hath raised him from the dead," &c. as St. Paul’ speaks, Rom. x. 9, 10. That thou mayest do it.] That they might have nothing to do but to put it in practice; and in order thereunto con- * tinually read it, and keep it in mind. In which the Jews wero so diligent, that, as Joscphus tells the gentiles (lib. ii. contra Apionem),they could as easily recite all the laws of God as tell their names. But here was their error, that they were not careful to do what they knew to be the will of God: and so, when he sent his Son among them, who plainly declared to them more fully the meaning of their holy books, they could not unaerstand and receive that which they read every day. And indeed this is the common error (as Dr. Jackson well observes) of all corrupt minds, to seek that afar off, as if they were strangers to it, which is really in their mouth and in their heart, so that they would but be doers, and not only hearers of the word, as St. James speaks, alluding perhaps to these words of Moses. As St. Paul applies this whole passage to the gospel; which is that word of faith, so preached and published by the apostles, that it may be in all our mouths and hearts, without going to seek for any other infallible teacher. Vcr. 15. See, I have set before thee this day, life and good, death and evil] Life and good, death and evil, may be but two words for the same thing, viz. all manner of happiness, and all manner of misery both which he had at large set before them, in the twenty-eighth chapter. Or by life may be meant, long life in the land God had promised them; and good, all the prosperity they could wish for there: as, on the other side, death may signify their being cut off from the land of the living before their time; and evil, all the calamities he had threatened while they lived: and so the next verse seems to interpret it. Maimonides from. these words observes, that the mils of men are under no force nor coaction, but are free agents; and, therefore, have precepts imposed upon. them, with a punishment threatened to the disobedient, and a reward promised to those who keep God’s commandments. Of which he treats at large in his preface to his Commentary upon Pirke Avoth, cap. 8. Ver. 1G. In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and judgments.’] This includes their entire obedience to all God’s laws, which arc comprehended under these three names. (See vi. 1. 5. vii. 11. x. 12, 13.) Tliat thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whitJier thou goest to possess it.] This is the explication of the life and good which he set before them, if they observed God’s laws with sincere affection to them, (ver. -15.)
Deuteronomy 29:13
That he may establish thee to-day a people unto himself. Confirm them in all the privileges which they had often forfeited by breaking his covenant; of being his peculiarly above all people, (Exod. xix. 5. Deut. xix. 2.) And that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee.] Bless them and do them good, as he had solemnly promised. And sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.] Gen. xii; 2, 3. xvii. 7, 8. xxii. 16, 17. xxvi. 3, 4. xxviii. 13, 14. Vcr. 14. Neither with yon dnly do I make this Covenant and this oath.~\ He means those mentioned ver. 10, 11.
Deuteronomy 29:15
But t with him that standeth here with us this day, before the Lord our God, and also with him that is not here,&c. I think the particle ki (which’begins this verse) should not be translated but; for this is the same with what was said before, not distinct from’ it; and therefore should be translated thus, As with him that standeth here with us before, that is not here with its this day; i. e. with all that were absent from the present assembly, and with all future posterity, who.were as yet -unborn. So the Jerusalem Targum understands the latter part of this versfe, With all generations which sliall be after us, as if they stood here with us to-day; and so Uziclides, as they call h\m,WitJiall generations to come, unto the end of the world, as if they stood here with us at this present. For perpetual leagues are sometimes made between whole nations; for whom some contract in the name and place of all the rest, and bindnbt only themselves, but their successors. And thus kings give fiefs to their subjects, upon conditions which their families are bound to perform in after-ages, or else lose the benefit of them.
Deuteronomy 29:16
For you knoiv how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt. These words, and those that follow in this and the next verse, come in as an argument to move them to’enter into this covenant, and to shew them the necessity of renewing it. For, as God had wonderfully multiplied them in the land of Egypt, so he delivered them from thence no less wonderfully, when they were miserably enslaved; which* was such a mercy, as ought never to bci forgotten (and therefore frequently mentioned in this book), and laid an obligation upon them to be wholly devoted to him, as his redeemed people, (iv, 20.)
Deuteronomy 29:17
And ye have seen their abominations and their idols. They had opportunity in Egypt of seeing too much of their yilc idolatries. And so they had as they passed by the country of Moab and Midian, when some of them were seduced to the worship of Baal-Peor; though, if they had not been blinded by their lust, they could not but have seen how contemptible an idol that was, and have abominated it. All the idols of the heathen are frequently called abominations; and in Lev. xxvi. 30. they are called, as they are here, gillulim, which we translate in the margin dungliill-gods, to express the utmost contempt of them. And some think they are so called, not only in regard of their matter, “sed ob formam scarabaei habitantis in stercore,” but for the form of the beetle, which lives in dung; for so Isis, the great goddess of the Egyptians, was represented, as Plutarch tells us, in his bookd6 Iside etOsiride. But whether in such ancient times, as this of Moses, it may be justly doubted. r. •’. Wood and stone, silver and gold.] Generally they were made of wood or stone, which sometimes.were silvered or gilded over. Arid if any of them were made of massy sil ver or gold, yet, being lifeless things, they were no more able -to afford thera any help, than the dung on the earth. And it was an abominable thing to look upon dead matter as a god, or to think he made his habitation there (which was the opinion of the better sort of heathen), or would be represented by them, they having no likeness at all Tjnto him. \ in’ r. i\ fc > But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear.] Want of love to God, and of a due esteem of his wonderful love to them, made their heart turn, away to other things, and not regard what he had revealed to them from heaven. And worship other gods, and seme them.] This was the principal breach of the covenant of God.., Vcr. 18. I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish; and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land whither ye go, &c] This, is the explication of the death and evil he set before them, (ver. 15.) •
Deuteronomy 29:18
Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe. These words arc to be connected with ver. 15. as the principal end why he engaged every soul of them to renow their covenant with God, that none of them might revolt from him, to serve any other. god. And the order wherein he places these words shews, that idolatry is of a very infectious nature, spreading itself strangely, from single men and women unto families, and at last into whole tribes. • »..!..,,. Whose heart turneth away this day from the Lord our God.] Who had a hankering, as we now -speak/after other’ gods; which might afterward break onfrinto idolatry. To go and serve the gods of these nations.] When the heart, i. e. the mind, will, and affections; are depraved, men easily find occasions to follow, whither they lead them. And by this it appears, that the principal part of the covenant was to keep them close to the worship Of one God, and no other; as I have often observed, vi. 4. vii. 2. 25. ix. 1, &c. - - •.‘j \ Lest there should be among you a root that beareih gall and wormwood.] Many take a root here to signify ap evil principle, which the apostle calls an evil heart 6f unbelief Heb. iii. 12. But the words going before in this verse, and -those A that follow in the next, plainly lead us to take it for any person lurking secretly among them (like a root underground), that was tainted with idolatry, who might poison others therewith, and in time bring. forth the fruits of their impiety, which he calls gall and wormwood: Where it must ]be observed, that the Hebrew word rosdi, which we translate gall, properly signifies an herb growing among com, as bitter as gall. Which in Hosea x. 4. we translate hemlock; and commonly in Scripture is joined with wormwood, as it is here, Jer. ix. 15. Lament, iii. 19. Amos vi. 12. Unto which. idolatry is compared, because it is most ungrateful and distasteful (if I may so speak) unto God, and produces bitter effects, that is, most grievous punishments, unto men.
Deuteronomy 29:19
I call heaven and earth to record this day agahist you, that I have set before you life and death. God, angels, and men, were witnesses that he had done his duty. See iv. 2G. viii. 19. and, therefore, is owned by God himself to be " faithful in all his house," (Numb, xM* 7.) Blessing and cursing.] They are the same with life and death: but he uses several words, to make them sensible that both proceeded from God; the one being the effect of his love and favour, and the other of his anger and high displeasure. IItf*.^Vf fcr ffff Jvl ^rw^^f I CHAP. XXXI.] UPON DEUTERONOMY. Therefore choose life, that thou and thy seed may live.] That is, choose to be obedient, without which they could not be happy. Or he wishes them to set their hearts on the happiness God had promised them, that it might incline them to do as follows. ♦
Deuteronomy 29:20
The Lord will not spare him.’) That is, not pardon, or pass by his wickedness without punishment. But then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall Smokt against that man. These words import the highest degree of anger, that is, the severest plagues, which are the effects of the anger of an incensed majesty. And all the curses that are written in this book.] Particularly in the foregoing chapter. Shall lie upon him.] Not only fall, but remain upon him, to his utter ruin, as it follows in the next words. And the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven.] By his name is meant himself; so that this is a threatening of destruction to him and his posterity, till there be no memory of him left. That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and obey his voice.] Love is the noblest and the strongest spring of obedience., •,: And that thou mayest cleave unto him.] Obedience to God is the surest preservative from apostacy. For he is thy life, and the length of thy days.] The author and giver of life; which he preserves and prolongs unto those who are obedient. That thou mayest, dwell in the land which the Lordsware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.] Which promise confirmed by an oath being faithfully fulfilled, he justly claimed their fidelity to him,upon that account: which is the reason it is so often mentioned, (vi. 10. viii. 1. ix. 5. x, 11. xi, D, 21. xix. 8.)
Deuteronomy 29:21
And the Lord shall separate him unto evil, out of all the tribes of Israel. Though he offended never so secretly, (for he speaks of one that blessed himself in his heart, &c. ver. 19.) God threatens to make him a public and notorious exampleof hisvengeance to all the peopleof Israel. According to all the curses of the covenant that are written in the book of the law.] It was a singular condescension in the Divine Majesty to enter into covenant with them; but it contained not only blessings to the obedient, but curses upon the disobedient; the latter of which were as certain as the former,
Deuteronomy 29:22
So that tlie generations to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from afar land, shall say. That which follows, ver. 24. When they see the plagues of that land.] This shews that these threatenings are denounced not merely against a simple idolater, but such an one as made it his endeavour to draw others from the worship of God; not being content to be drunk himself with heathenish superstition, but zealous to intoxicate as many as he could with it, and to «root true religion out of the nation. " *- And the sicknesses which the Lord hath laid upon it.] In the Hebrew it is, The sicknesses wherewith he hath made it sick, i. e. the heavy punishments which he hath inflicted upon it, and thereby made it a miserable nation.
Deuteronomy 29:23
And thy heaven that is over, thy head shall be brass. That is, as brass, having no more moisture in it than brass hath. It is remarkable, that he doth not say the heaven, that is, the air or clouds, but thy heaven, that is, the clouds which hung over their country should be dry, though they dropped upon other lands. (See Jer. xiv.) And the earth that is under thee shall be iron.] Hard as iron, for want of rain to soften it.- (Sec Lev. xxvi. 19.) The observation of Maimonidcs is worth noting upon this paTt of the law: " That the Zabii, an ancient sort of idolaters in the eastern* countries, thought the fruitfulncss of the - earth depended upon the worship of tho planets, and the rest of the heavenly bodies: and therefore their wise men and their prophets (as he saith he found in their books, particularly in one concerning the husbandry of the Egyptians) taught the people to keep festivals in their honour, because tho fruitfulncss of the earth, by which men subsist, depends upon their will and pleasure. In opposition to which God ordered Moses to tell the Israelites in his name, that if they worshipped the stars they should have no rain; the earth should be barren, the trees yield no fruit;. the season prove unhealthful, and their lives be shortened. On tho contrary, if they worshipped him, the Lord of heaven and earth, and him alone, they should have showers from above; the earth should bring forth abundantly, and they should be blessed with healthful seasons, sound bodies, and’ long life. For it is the very foundation of the law (as his phrase is), to root the forenamed false opinion out of men’s minds." (More Nevoch. par. Hi. cap. 30.) • And that the whole land is brimstone, and salt, and burning.] Or, as it may bo translated, Is burnt up with brimstone and salt. For these make land barren and unfruitful; as Pliny particularly observes of salt, (lib. xxx. cap. 7.) “Omnis locus in quo reperitur sal, sterilis est, nihilque gignit.” All ground in which salt is found is barren, and produceth nothing. (See Judg. ix. 45. Psal. cvii. 34. Jer. xvii. G. Ezek. xlvii. II. Zeph. ii. 9.),. That it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein.] That neither nature nor art will make it fruitful. Like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim.] And the country about them, which was the most beautiful of all other in that part of the^world, (Gen. xiii. 10.) but on a sudden turned into a filthy stinking lake, where no creature, neither fish nor fowl, can live. Which the Jwd overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath.] Being highly incensed by their wickedness, (see Gen. xviii. 20. xix. 24, 25.) as he was by the wickedness of the Jews; which was the more provoking, because they had such an example of his vengeance continually before their eyes, and yet went on in their evil ways, till they brought the like judgment upon all Judea. Tikis was more exactly fulfilled in the last destruction of the Jews by the Romans, than in their first by tho Babylonians: for the whole land was laid waste, and deserted by its inhabitants, and made a den of thieves; being brought to desolation by repeated returns of wars; more especially in the time of Adrian, when* Julius Scvcrus, as I observed upon tho foregoing chapter, made such a devastation, that the whole country was turned, in a manner, into a wilderness.
Deuteronomy 29:24
And the Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust. That is, there shall be such a long drought, that, instead ofrain, showers of dust, blown up into the air by the wind, shall fall down from heaven upon them. From heaven shall it come downupon thee, till thou be destroyed.] This seems to denote something more than the falling of clouds of dust, wherowith the air was filled by" high winds; viz. showers of ashes, which have sometimes fallen in great quantities, as good historians testify. Nothing is more known than the vastclouds of ashes which- Mount iEtna hath often vomited, whereby all the country thereabout hath been laid desolate. And the like hath been thrown out by Mount Vesuvius,. which hath reached as far afc Rome and Constantinople. (SceBonfrerius.) But if there was any such thing in Judea, it must be a miraculous judgment, there being no such mountains in those parts* of the world to make such evomitions. Even all nations shall say.] All that were near them, or came that way from far countries; as it goes before, ver. 22. Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land?] Which he formerly made so populous and plenteous. And what means the heat of this great anger?] These exceeding dreadful calamities, which evidently proceeded from a Divine vengeance. For the Jews fought so valiantly, and defended Jerusalem so resolutely (as appears by Josephus), that the author of Schebet Judah had reason to say, That it was not want of arms, the unusual terror of new machines, but the anger of God, provoked by their wickedness, which was the true and only cause of their destruction. And, indeed, Titus himself said as much, That God fought for the Romans, and drove the Jews from their fortifications, E-jt& x‘P^c rf avSpdjirw, 7) firi^avai, &c. For what could the hands of men or machines have done against such strong towers? (See chap, xxxii. 22.)
Deuteronomy 29:25
Then shall men say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt. This account must be supposed to be given by tho pious Jews, or by those who were made sensible, when it was too late, how steadfast God was in his covenant; which contained curses as well as blessings,, as was before observed, ver. 21. and see vii. 9, 10. xi. 2G — 28.
Deuteronomy 29:26
For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them whom they knew?iot. This aggravated their sin, that they sought for acquaintance with strange gods, directly contrary to the covenant of God, (xii. 30, 31.) And whom he had not given unto them.] Or, as it is in the margin, had not given (or divided) to them any portion; that is, never bestowed any benefit upon them, as the Lord their God had done, who brought them out of Egypt. Or, more simply(as Boetius thinks the words will bear), to whom.no worship belonged.
Deuteronomy 29:27
And the anger of the Lord was kindled against.this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book. So Moses foretold them, vii. 4. xi. 1G, 17.
Deuteronomy 29:28
And the Lord rooted them out of their land in anger, and wrath, and in great indignation. Here is one word more to express his displeasure against them, than was used before, when he speaks of the destruction of Sodom, &c. ver. 23. And they all denote the great plagues threatened in Lev. xxvi. and in the foregoing chapter of this book. And cast them into another land, as it is this day.] This may seem to relate only to their captivity in Babylon; for, after they were rooted out by the Romans, they were scattered into all lands, (xxviii. G3, G4.) But considering what goes before, (ver. 23,24.) and that they were not 1 * ii^^i ry fi IIWl \f**\f 9 ft \ss.CHAP. XXIX.] UPON DEUTERONOMY. quite rooted out (many of them remaining in the land when Nebuchadnezzar conquered them) till the desolation made by the Romans, I think these words relate to them also, and another land is only the singular number, as is usual, for the plural. And so the author of Schebet Judah understood it, who, quoting these words [cast them out into another land), adds, which experience now proves to be true.
Deuteronomy 29:29
The secret things belong anto the Lord onr God; but those that are revealed belong unto’iis, and to our children for ever, &c. The Jews generally take these words to be meant of the punishment of secret sins, (particularly of idolatry, spoken of before, ver. 19.) which belongeth unto God, as the punishment of open sins belonged unto them, in obedience to his law, who commanded them to put to death him that seduced any person to idolatry, and to raze the city that apostatized unto it, (xiii. 5, 6, &c. 12, 13, &c.) And their negligence in doing their duty in this particular, made idolatry spread among them to their utter ruin. But these words may be understood as a farther answer to such inquiries, as that ver. 24. in which, if men persisted, and still asked, But why doth God thus punish his own people with such unusual severity, when there are many idolatrous nations, far worse than they, who continue. still in their own land, and are not thus rooted out? Moses bids them silence such, demands, and rest satisfied in this, That we cannot give an account of such things as God hath not revealed, particularly why he punishes some people, when he spares others who are as bad; but must mind our own duty, which he hath plainly revealed unto us, that is (as Moses concludes this chapter), to do after alt his commandments which he hath given us in his law, believing he will greatly reward the obedient, and terribly punish, one time or other, all those that transgress it. There may be also a more obvious sense of these words, if we translate them as some great men have done, The secrets of the Lord our God are revealed to us, and to our children. Thus Onkclos, whose judgment is very valuable; which Grotius follows, and before him Forsterus; and -Paulus Fagius represents it as a commodious sense, and makes it the same with the words of the Psalmist, cxlvii. 20- " He hath not dealt so with any nation/’ &c. For this was a peculiar favour to the Jews, that those things which God before kept secret in his own breast he now manifested to them; that they might know how to order their lives so as to please him. But this made them liable to be punished more grievously than all other people, if they did not observe his will, which he most graciously discovered to them. And if we could give any credit to the Jews, who say that all words in the Bible that have extraordinary points upon them (of which there are but ten in the Pentateuch, and these words, lanu ulebenu, to us and our children, arc the last of them) denote something peculiar and extraordinary, I should think that they relate to the revelation to be made by Jesus Christ, the great prophet promised to them, (chap, xviii.) unto which, if they did not give heed, the most dreadful punishments would be inflicted on them; as we see they have been for many ages, and arc not yet ended. vol. it CHAP. XXX;