Deuteronomy 4
PATFor all the men that followed Baal-Peor, the Lord thy God hath destroyed them from among you. The judges put to death all those that they knew to be guilty; and the hand of God found out all the rest: so that there was not a man of them left, who was not swept away by the pestilence. is a plain demonstration of the truth of these words of Moses, That no nation was so great as they. (Sec Dr. Jackson’s first book upon the Creed, chap. 21.) Maimonides observes, that the word zaddikim, which wc translate righteous, signifies as much as equal and proportionate: such, saith ho, were all these laws of God; in which there was no excess, by the prescription of long pilgrimages, or severe fastings; nor any defect which might open the window to any vice, or make them careless in the practice of virtue. (More Nevochim, par. ii. cap. 39.) cred to Osiris, and cows as sacred to Isis. Unto which Mr. Seldcn thinks the LXX. had respect, when they translated these words,‘OfJLoiwfia apvevacov teal £rj\uKOu. (De Diis Syrisj Syntag. i. cap. 4.) Vcr. 17. Tlie likeness of any beast that is on the earth, &c] The word or is to be here’ supplied, and in all that follows, in this manner: Or the likeness of any beast that is on the earth? or the likeness of any winged fowl that Jlieth in the air: where col-tzippor canaph, which we translate, any winged foivl^ signifies, all birds and insects that fly in the air; for in the shape of such creatures also the heathen represented their gods, or some of their qualities: for not only oxen were sacred to Apis, and rams to Jupiter Ammon, but hawks and eagles, and even beetles, to other deities. Vcr. 18. Or the likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground.’] Nothing was more common among the heathen than the worship of serpents. Or the likeness of any fish that is in the xvaters.] The famous Dagon, whom. the Philistines worshipped, was a fish with a human face, hands, arid feet. Certain it is, the Syrians worshipped a fish, as Cicero tells us, in his third book of the Nature of the Gods, Syri Piscem venerantur: which Mr. Selden thinks relates to the famous goddess Atargatis; which is a word made out of the Hebrew, addir* dag, i. e. magnificent, or potent fish. (See De Diis Syris, Syntag. ii. cap. 2.) The Egyptians were famous in aftertimes for worshipping allsorts of animals; and if one could find they were so in the days of Moses, it might be assigned as the most probable reason of his cautioning the Israelites against these things so particularly, they being lately come out of Egypt.,. soften and smooth, and consequently to allure; but it never signifies so in that they call kail. Maimonides makes the sense of Moses’s argument to be thus: God hath made the sun and moon to be ministers; not to be worshipped; according to that, Gen. i. 18. Which made the Psalmist so particularly call upon all the heavenly bodies to praise the Lord, Psal. cxlviii. (More Ncvoch. par. ii. cap. 5.)
Deuteronomy 4:1
-Li OW therefore hearken, O Israel. Having commemorated several benefits which God had bestowed upon them, since their coming out of Egypt, and the giving of the law at Mount Sinai, with several severe punishments which he had inflicted on them for their disobedience to it,. Moses proceeds now to exhort them earnestly, to the observance of it. Unto the statutes.] These seem to be such laws as concerned the worship of God. And the judgments.] And then these were such as concerned their dealings one with another. Which two words comprehend all that is signified by testimonies and precepts also, in other places. Witch I teach you, for to do them.] Which he was about to set before them; and press upon their practice. That ye may live, and go in, andpossess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you.] Not perish as their forefathers had done in their rebellion; but be happy, and enjoy what God had promised, and was ready.now to bestow upon them.
Deuteronomy 4:2
Ye shall not add unto the word which J command you, neither shall ye diminish from it. This is thought by some to signify, that they should not make the least alteration in the laws he had given them, about the rites of Divine worship, and abstinence from several meats, and such-like things; which were distinctive marks, whereby they were separated from other nations to be a peculiar people tp him. Thus Chaskuni interprets these words, Thou shalt not add fear, upon the fear of the blessed God. That is, any other worship to the Divine worship prescribed by these laws, nor diminish that worship: which interpretation seems to be warranted, by what follows, Thy eyes have seen what the Lord thy God did, because of Baal* Peor. But in the words beforegoing (which introduce t\ese)Judgments being mentioned as well as statutes, there must be a larger sense of this injunction, which relates, to all the laws of God: and the meaning seems to be, Ye shall not transgress any of these precepts, either by doing any thing contrary to them, which was to add; or omitting any thing which they required, which was to diminish. Thus Grotius interprets it, upon 2, Cor. xi. 24. " Addere ad |egem est facere quod lex vetat, diminuere est omittere quod lex jubet." But which way soever we take it, nothing is more certain than that.this prohibition preserved these books from any alteration, since the, time they were written: for the whole body of the people acknowledging their Divine, authority, none of them dared to change any thing, either by addition or diminution. Of which there is a wonderful instance in the people that came out of Assyria (in. the room of the Israelites, who were transportedjhithcr), to inhabit the country of Samaria; who receiving this law, their posterity have kept it.all along to this day, as uncorrupted, as the Jews themselves have done; although they were their mortal enemies, and have been exposed to all the changes and revolutions that can befal a nation during the interval of two thousand and four hundred years. Thus the most learned Dr. Alix observes, in his Reflections upon the Four last Books of Moses, p. 144. And I do not see, why the perfection of the Scripture, withr out the oral law of the Jews, should not be thought to be established by these words, as another learned person (J. Wagenseil) understands them, in his Confut. Carmiuis Lipmanni, p. 585. Yet, as the forenamed Chaskuni notes, it does not seem reasonable to conclude from hence, that they were prohibited to add any constitutions as a hedge and fence to the law; or as an explication of it, when the sense was doubtful. (See Mr. Thorndike, in his Rites of the Church in a Christian State, p. 180, &c.) That ye may keep tfie commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you.] Thisjustifies the explication I gave of the foregoing words, as respecting all God’s laws; and xii. 32. makes it more plain. And, indeed, God being their lawgiver, it was the highest presumption to make any alteration in any of his laws.
Deuteronomy 4:3
Ypur eyes have seen what the Lord did, because of Baal-Peor, &c. Howhe cut off twenty-four thousand by a plague, and by the hand of justice, who had been guilty of idolatry by the enticements of the Midiamtish women, (Numb; xxv. 5. 9.) Which seems to.be a reason, why they should take a special care about the worship of God; that nothing was done contrary to the laws ho had ordaiued concerning it-
Deuteronomy 4:4
But ye that did cleave unto the Lord. Did not depart from this worship, but bewailed the apostacy of some of their brethren, (Numb. xxv. 6.) Are alive every one of you this day.] A singular providence watched over them, to preserve them in such good health, that not one in so many thousands was dead since that time. Not in the war with the Midianites, wherein they slew all the males, did they lose so much as one man, (Numb. xxxi. 7. 49.)
Deuteronomy 4:5
Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments. See ver. 1. • Even as the Lord my God commanded me.] Sincerely and uprightly, without adding any thing of myself, or diminishing any thing that he said. That ye shall do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.] To be the rule of your life, when ye come into the land of Canaan.
Deuteronomy 4:6
Keep therefore, and do them; for this is your ivisdom and understanding in the sight of all the nations. It is your interest to observe them, as you will soon find by experience; which will teach you, that it is not only the wisest course in itself, but will get you the reputation of being a wise people among all your neighbours. Which shall hear of all these statutes.] There being mention before (ver. 1.5.) of judgments as well as statutes, and here only of the latter, Abarbinel thence infers, That even those laws which depended wholly upon the will and pleasure of God, and for which they could give no reason (for such they understood by chukkim), would procure them very great honour, if they were carefully observed. For the nations seeing how wonderfully they prospered, would be apt to impute it to these extraordinary prescriptions which they followed. Just, saith he, as a physician, who cures desperate diseases, by some small trifling remedies (as they seem to others), is highly applauded for the profoundness of his knowledge and wisdom. But Maimonides takes this word statutes to comprehend all the laws of God; and undertakes to shew, that all the six hundred and thirteen precepts have a wise end in them, for the profit and benefit of those that observe them; either to beget some wholesome opinion in their mind, or to pull out some perverse one; either to institute some good order, or to take away iniquity, &c. (See More Nevochim, par. iii. cap. 31.) And say, Surely this nation is a wise and understanding people.] Who continued in safety, liberty, and prosperity, abounding with all manner of blessings, while they continued all to go up to worship one God sincerely at one place, at certain set times, as if the whole nation was but one family.. All the rest of their laws, also, were admirably fitted to unite them unto God, and one to another; and consequently, to make them appear a wise people in the eyes of other nations; whose writers have not only highly magnified Moses, but their lawgivers have transcribed several of his laws into their own constitutions. This appears by the old Attic laws, and those of the twelve tables, as many learned men have observed; nay, the oracle, reported by Porphyry, in Eusebius’s Pneparatio Evangelica, lib. ix. cap. 10. thus extols this nation: — * Movvol XaXBaioi aotptav X&xov r/S* ap’EjSpatoi Avrb yiveOXov “Avafcra <T£j3a£oj*gvoi Qebv ayvQg. The Chaldeans and the Hebrews (who came from Chaldea) are the only wise people, who worship God, the Eternal King, in a pure manner. And the oracle of Apollo Clarius, recorded by Macrobius/lib. i. Saturnal. cap. 18. is no less remarkable: <£pa£eo rwv travruyv virarov OtbvXfXfitv’law. Acknowledge Jao (so they pronounced the name Jehovah) to be the highest God of all. For though Macrobius fancied the sun to be here called’law, (nobody can tell why); yet Diodorus Siculns acknowledges’law to be the God, from whom Moses pretended to have his laws, il e. Jehovah.
Deuteronomy 4:7
For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?’) Both Orikelos, and the paraphrase of Jonathan, and likewise the Jerusalem Targum, are very significant upon this place: " What people is ther6 who have a god that approaches to them, so as the Lord our God doth to us? At whatsoever hour we cry unto him, he answers us. It is the manner of other people, to carry their gods upon their shoulders, to shew that they are near to them; when, alas! they are afar off, and cannot hear them. But the Lord our God sits on his throne on high, and hears our prayers, whatsoever time Ave call upon him/’ &c. To which may be added, that they had a symbol of God’s presence continually among them, in the holy place, where he dwelt with them, and Moses, whensoever he pleased, consulted him in all difficult affairs; as their high-priest might do, with the urim and thummim, in all times to come.
Deuteronomy 4:8
And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous, as all this law which I set before you this day?. The true greatness of a nation (it appears bjr (his and the foregoing verse) consists in the sincere worship of God, and in the upright administration of justice. Both which were so provided for by the Divine laws among the Jews, that no-nation could compare with them, or was really so great as they were: for^ though their country was but small, and they were often oppressed by several cruel enemies, who desired their extirpation, yet they recovered themselves, and kept their laws in their worst condition (when commonly they best observed theni):* insomuch, that, as a very learned person of our own church long ago observed, after so many changes and alterations as there were in their state, from better to worse, and back again; after so many victories got by them over others, and so many captivities of their persons, and desolations of their country, as others had wrought, they continued still one and the same people, governed by the same laws, under several great and potent monarchies. The successive rise and fall of three, of which they were preserved to behold; and, in their declining state, able to stand out a great while against the fourth, the mightiest that ever wets on earth, and that when this monarchy was in its full strength; this
Deuteronomy 4:9
Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thou hast seen, &c. Their only danger was, lest they should grow careless and unmindful” of all the wonderful things that God had done for them: which he, therefore, exhorts them to think of frequently, and to keep in memory, and lay to heart; so that they might preserve the sense of them as long as they lived> and likewise teach all posterity to be mindful of them.
Deuteronomy 4:10
Especially the day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God in Horeb. But above all, that memorable’day, when the Lord delivered his law to them in Mount Sinai; at which the oldest of them were present, and had seen and heard what he said, and how it was delivered. When the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together.] Unto the foot of Mount Sinai; where they stood at such a distance from it as God prescribed, (Exod. xix. And I xoillmake them hear my words.] See Exod. xix. 9, &c. xx. 1, &c.) That they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, &c] For those words which they heard were pronounced in so terrible a manner, as to make them dread to offend his majesty, and to instruct their children to stand in awe of him.
Deuteronomy 4:11
And ye came near, and stood under the mountain. See Exod. xix. 17. And the mountain burnt ivithfire.] See Exod. xix. 1G.18. Into the midst of heaven.] Into the middle of the air, which is frequently called heaven in Scripture; as the fowls of heaven, are the fowls of the air: but whether the fire flamed up precisely into the very midst of the lower region of the air, or only a great height, is not material; either way the expression is proper enough.
Deuteronomy 4:12
And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of tiie fire. See Exod. xix. 20. xx. 1. 22. Ye heard the voice of the words.*] See Exod. xx. 19. But saio no similitude.] Though sometimes the Divine Majesty seems to have appeared in a visible shape, (Dan. vii.9,1/).) yet, when he came to give them his law, he would not appear in the figure of a man, or any other thing, that might seem to represent him to their outward senses, or their imagination: for it had been dangerous then to manifest himself under any resemblance, when he forbade thcrn to make any resemblance of him. They would have thought he forbade them to make any other resemblance, but that wherein he shewed himself to them; in which they would have concluded it was lawful to represent him. Only ye heard a voice.] From hence some of the Jews would.gather, that the people only heard the sound of God’s words, when he spake the ten commandments; but not the distinction of the sound, so as to understand the sense of >yhat he said. Thus Maimonides, in his More Nevochim, (par. ii. cap. 32.) Which is manifestly false, as appears from ver. 10. 13. and Exod. xx. 22. For therefore the day wherein he spake to them in Horeb was so remarkable, as never to be forgotten; because he made them hear his words, so that they might learn to fear him, &c. For, though he did not appear in the likeness of any thing to them, yet he vouchsafed to speak to them plainly in their own language, that they might be instructed in their duty; both which was to keep them from idolatry. He did not let them see any shape, that they might not make any image of him, to worship it, or him by it, after the manner of the heathens; but he let them hear his voice, that they might not go and worship any other’s gods, which the heathens pretended spake to them.
Deuteronomy 4:13
And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments. These were the principal laws which they covenanted with him to observe, though afterward he added others, after the tenor of which he made a covenant with them, (Exod. xxxiv. 27.) And he wrote them upon two tables of stone.] See Exod;." xxiv. 12. xxxiv. 28..
Deuteronomy 4:14
And the Lord commanded me, at that time, to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither you go over to possess it. This doth not signify, that they themselves did not hear the ten words from Mount Sinai, but were taught them by Moses (as Maimonides fancies in the forenamed place), for it plainly relates to the rest of the laws, which God immediately after gave him, (Exod. xxi. xxii. xxiii.) It being their own desire; that God would speak to them no more by himself, but communicate the rest of his will by Moses, (Exod. xx. 19.) And accordingly he told the people all the icords of the Lord, and all the judgments, which he delivered to him, (Exod. xxiv. 3.) All this will appear more plainly from the next chapter of this book, ver. 22, &c. It is a mere imagination of those Jews, who take the statutes and judgments here mentioned for their oral lata, as Abcn Ezra, II. Solomon, R. Bechai, and others do, upon this place; who say, that when God gave Moses the written law he expounded it to him: which exposition he delivered to Joshua, aud he to the seventy elders, &c. so that it came down to them in a successive tradition.
Deuteronomy 4:15
Take ye therefore good heed to yourselves, (for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire.). lie gives them a special caution about this, because the nations of the world were so prone to make images of their gods; which he expressly forbids in the second commandment. Upon this text the present Jews ground the third article of their faith, which is, that God is incorporeal. ■Ver. 16. Lest ye corrupt yourselves.] By worshipping, any thing but God himself alone. Unto whom they being espoused, the giving Divine worship unto any thing else, was such a corruption as adultery is in a married woman. And make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure.] See the second commandment, Exod. xx. 3, 4. The likeness of male or female.] The representation of. God in human shape is first forbidden, because it was most common among the heathens. Therefore I cannot think this relates to the Egyptian worship, who honoured oxen as sa-
Deuteronomy 4:19
And lest tlvou lift up thine eyes upon heaven. From hence, I believe, that common speech among the Arabians wasderived, Take heed how thou gazest on the splendour of the stars: which is, in the first century of Arabic proverbs, set forth by Erpenius, (Prov. xxviii.) who saith he knew not what to make of it: but I take it to be a caveat against idolatry, to which the ancient Arabians were addicted. And when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven.] The most ancient idolatry of all other seems to have been the worship of the sun, and the rest of the heavenly bodies, which began among the Chaldeans: for there is not any god, or goddess, among the ancient geritiles, but hath a respect to the sun, or the moon, as Gisbcrtus Cuperus hath very plainly demonstrated, jn his Harpocrates, p. 87, &c. 108, &c. And a very learned man of our own hath lately said a great deal on the same subject. (See Appendix to the Antiquity of Palmyra, cap. 4. by Mr. A. Seller; and Maimon. More Nevoch. par. iii. cap. 30.) Shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them.] Drawn in, enticed, and deceived (as Onkelos, and the LXX. translate it), either by the instigation of some" evil genius, or admiration of their splendour, or imitation of other nations, or a vain opinion that some divinity inhabits such illustrious bodies, or out of a sense of the benefits mankind receive by them: for the chief philosophers themselves were led by their weak reasonings into this error, as appears even by Plato, who saith, it is most just that the heaven should be worshipped’with all the gods and demons, and that we should Tifiav re tcai tvx^^ai cia
Deuteronomy 4:20
But the Jjord hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace. This is a phrase used also by Solomon, 1 Kings vii. 51. and by Jeremiah, xi. 4. to express the most cruel servitude; wherein God suffered them to be tried, as metals are in a furnace of iron, red hot; for he doth not allude to their making of bricks (as some imagine), which were not wrought in an iron furnace. To he unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are at this day.] These were two powerful arguments to induce them to be obedient: that they were not only delivered from the hardest slavery; but now made God’s peculiar people, (see Exod. xix. 5.) whom he had purchased for his inheritance, J. e. to be his people for ever., From this verse Sir John Marsham gathers, that Moses had respect, in the foregoing verses, to the Egyptian superstition; as if ho had said, u Excusso servitutis jugo, etiam excutienda sunt iEgypti BdeXvynara;" having shaken off the Egyptian yoke, they were also tq shake off their abominable idols: for the invisible God is not to be worshipped by, images or symbols. So that when he forbids them, ver. 1G. " to make a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male and female," he thinks Moses hath respect to the “bbves utriusque sexus sacri,” the sacred beeves of both kinds; the males to Osiris, the females to Isis. And he mentions t( the likeness of any beast that is in earth," ver. 17. because all the Egyptians worshipped not only the creatures beforementioned, but canein and felem, a dog and a cat: the Thebans and Saitae worshipped sheep; the Mendesians a goat; and others of them, wolves and lions: and he adds " the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air," because the Egyptians worshipped a hawk, and the bird called ibis; and the Thebans an eagle. In ver. 18. he mentions " the similitude of any thing that creepeth upon the ground;" because about Thebes, serpents were sacred to Jupiter: *’ and the likeness of any fish that is in the waters," because all Egypt worshipped certain fishes, and some of them the crocodile and the hippopotamus. And as for the sun, moon, and stars, (ver. 19.) the worship of them was common to the Egyptians with all other nations. All this he justifies out of good authors; and it Inight pass for truth, had we any certainty that the Egyptians in the time of Moses were as sottish as they were in the time of Herodotus. (Seo Seculum ix. Sect, de Idololatria.)
Deuteronomy 4:21
Fnrtliermore. Or rather, but. The Lord was angry xoith me for your sakes.] He remembers this again, (though he had mentioned it twice before, i. 37. iii. 26.) that they might he more deeply sensible of the danger of offending God, since such a man as he was excluded from the good land for one single fault. Or hereby he would magnify the goodness of God to them, who, though great offenders, had a privilege granted to them which was denied him. Andsware that I should not go over Jordan, &c] He only told him so at the first, (Numb. xx. 12.) but upon Moses’s importunate entreaty, that he would revoke the sentence (of which we read in the foregoing chapter of this book), it seems he silenced him, by confirming his threatening with an oath; * *
Deuteronomy 4:22
But I must die in this land, I must not go over Jordan. See Numb, xxvii. 12 — 14. His frequent repetition of this, shews how near it went to his heart. " But ye shall go over, and possess that good land." God’s promise to them, he would have them think, was as irrevocable as his threatening against him.
Deuteronomy 4:23
Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, &c. For this was the principal thing in the covenant, that they should worship him alone. Which is the reason it is so often repeated, and was, immediately after the delivery of the law from Mount Sinai, mentioned alond, as if it was the only thing that he had said unto them: (Exod. xx. 22, 23.) “Ye have not seen that I have talked with you from heaven: ye shall not make with me gods of silver; neither shall ye make unto you gods of gold.”
Deuteronomy 4:24
For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire. So he appeared upon the mount, when he delivered his laws from thence in a flaming fire, (Exod. xxiv. 17.) The learned Huetius thinks, that from these words of Moses, the ancient Persians took up the worship of fire; at first, only as a resemblance of God, or a symbol of him, (as Maximus Tyrius saith, Dissert, xviii.) but afterward, as God himself, (Demonstr. Evangel, p. 94.) Even a jealous God.] Who cannot endure any rival in your affection: (see’Exod. xx. 5.) These were two awakening arguments to keep them from idolatry; that God cannot endure it, and will" bo very terrible in his punishment of it.
Deuteronomy 4:25
When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land. When they were very much multiplied, and had been long settled in the possession of the land of Canaan. And shall corrupt yourselves.] By the worship of other gods. And make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing.] Which he had strictly prohibited, and solemnly cautioned them to beware of, ver. 23. And shall do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, to jwovoke him-to anger.] By imitating the idolatrous customs of other nations.
Deuteronomy 4:26
I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day. A solemn kind of asseveration; that, as surely as the heaven and earth shall endure, they should utterly perish. TJtat ye shall soon utterly perish from off this land, whereunto ye go, &c] As soon as the measure of your iniquity is filled up, ye shall speedily be destroyed without remedy. Which the Hebrews refer to the captivity by Salmanczer and Nebuchadnezzar, after they had been almost eight hundred years in this country; and so might bo said, to have remained long in the land.,
Deuteronomy 4:27
And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations. S(5e Levit. xxvi. 33. • And ye shall be left few in number among the heathcn r &c] See Levit. xxvi. 22. (5) CHAP. IV.] UPON DEUTERONOMY.
Deuteronomy 4:28
And’ Mere ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s Iiands, tvood and stone, &c. The idols of the heathen: to the worship of which he threatens to abandon them, as a punishment for their apostacy from God. And the heathen sometime compelled them to worship their gods, as we read in the third of Daniel. Which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell’] This is’ a description of the most stupid idolatry, to which they should be delivered, if they fell from God. (See Numb. xxi.29.)
Deuteronomy 4:29
But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God. When they were scattered among the heathen, (ver. 27.) Thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart, and all thy soul] If they then repented sincerely, and became unfeigned worshippers of the Lord their God alone, he promises them forgiveness.
Deuteronomy 4:30
When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee. In great distress, by the execution of the foregoing threatenings. Even in the latter days.] In future times, or in their most declining state. The Jews themselves apply to this’pre-’ sent state, wherein they now, and have’been many years; as appears by the ancient Nitzacon, set forth lately by Wagenseil, pi 254. where he saith, the whole nation must repent, before God send deliverance unto them. If thou turn to the Lord thy God, and shall be obedient to his voice.] The great end of punishment was to convert them, and make them more observant of God’s commands;
Deuteronomy 4:31
For the Lord thy God is a merciful God. See* Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7. Numb. xiv. 17, 18. He xvill not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, &c] He promises not to cast them off, nor destroy them utterly, (though they were utterly thrown out of their land, ver. 26.) but restore them to his favour, according to the covenant made with their fathers, and confirmed by an oath, Gen. xvii. 19. xxii.16, 17. (See Lcvit. xxvi. 44, 45.)
Deuteronomy 4:32
For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the days that God created man upon the earth, &c. Turn over the annals of the whole world, from one end of it to the other, ever since it was made, and search whether thou canst find any thing like to that which God hath done for you. Which R. Isaac thus glosses in his Munimen Fidei, (lately set forth by Wagenseil, p. 103.) " From the creation of the world, till their going out of Egypt, there were passed two thousand four hundred and forty-eight years; and yet in all that long track of time, there never were seen or heard in any part of the world such prodigious miracles as were wrought to bring them out of Egypt; and afterward, in leading them through the Red Sea; raining manna on them; and the appearance of the Divine Majesty at Mount Sinai," &c.
Deuteronomy 4:33
Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of fire, as thou hast heard, and live?. Here was a double, or rather triple prodigy, never heard of before, that God should speak to them, audibly and distinctly, so long as to inform them in their duty towards himself arid one another; and this out of the midst of devouring flames, and without the least hurt to any one of them, (Exod. xx. 18. xxiv. 17.)
Deuteronomy 4:34
Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation?. Another wonder, vol. I. never before heard of: that God, by two men alone, Moses and Aaron, should demand the delivery of a nation, under the power of another nation far greater and stronger than themselves, and effect it also, by no other means but such as here follow. By temptations.] This word may be thought to signify the grievous trials of the Israelites, whose miseries were"’ increased after the first attempt for their deliverance; which’ seemed to them a strange way of proceeding, (Exod. v. 19, 22, 23.) But by temptations may, in this place, be, in general, meant miracles, as the Hebrews understand it, and the Chaldee word tenessin signifies: this and the two fol-’ lowing words being of the very same import with the three words in the New Testament, which we often meet withal" (and seem to be taken from hence), Awafizai, ripacn, kqX atifieioic, with miracles, wonders, and signs, (Acts ii. 22. 2 Cor. xii. Heb. ii. 4.) By signs.] Which are mentioned Exod. iv. 9. vii. 9, 10. And by wonders.] This signifies’all the ten plagues of Egypt: for Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go, till Godhad multiplied his wonders on the land of Egypt; as we read, Exod. vii. 3. x. 1, 2. xi. 9, 10. And by war.] This seems to relate to the overthrow of Pharaoh in the Red Sea; where the Lord is said to fight for Israel, (Exod. xiv. 14. xv. 3.) while they, which is the greatest wonder of all, were delivered without striking a’ stroke. And by a mighty hand, and a stretched-out arm.] These are phrases which we often meet withal, when Moses speaks of their deliverance out of Egypt, Exod. iii. 19. vi. 6. xv. 12. and many other places. And the Hebrews think, that his mighty hand particularly refers to the grievous’ murrain, and the pestilence, which are called the hand of the Lord, Exod. x. 3. 15. And his stretched-out arm, to have a particular respett to the killing of the first-born; the angel that was going to smite Jerusalem appearing with a " drawn sword, and his hand stretched out," (1 Chron. xxi. 16.)’ And by great terrors.] Wherewith the minds of those were struck who heard of these things, (Exod. xv. 14 — 16.) Or else he means the frights in which the Egyptians were,’ while they remained three days in most dismal darkness; (Exod. x. 23.) for the conclusion of this verse signifies, that he speaks of all that the Lord their God did for them in Egypt before their eyes.’
Deuteronomy 4:35
Unto thee it was shewed. This was a particular kindness to the Israelites, which God never before manifested to any other nation. That thou mightest know that the Lord he is God; there is none else besides him.] That they might believe him to be the only true God, and worship none but him. Which two articles, saith Maimonides, (MoTe Nevochim, par. ii. cap. 33.) that God is, and that he is but one, are fundamentals of religion, which were known not only by prophets, but by every body else! Ver. 3G. Out of heaven he made thee to hear his twee.] See Exod. xx. 22. That he might instruct thee.] Teach them his will, which was chiefly declared in the ten commandments. Andnpon earth he shewed thee his great fire.] He means either that they saw it as they stood upon the earth; or, that it burnt upon the top of the mount in their sight- (Exod.xxiv. 17.) Microsoft® [chap. JV. And thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire.) See vcr. 11, 12. and Exod. xx: 18, 19. Vcr. 37. And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them.] See Gen. xv. 5 — 7. and many other places in that book, Exod. iii. 15 — 17. And brought than out in his sight with a mighty power.] For, as lie led them the way out of Egypt in a pillar of cloud, and of fire, (Exod. xiii. 21.) so, when they were in danger by Pharaoh’s pursuit of them, he came behind them, and they marched in his sight, (Exod. xiv. 19.) Out of Egypt.] This is mentioned in - Scripture as the highest benefit, never to be forgotten by them. So G. Schickard observes, in his MischpatHammelech: (cap. iii. Theor. 10.) That they are put in mind of this in the frontispiece of the decalogue, (Exod. xx. 2.) in the institution of sacrifices, (Levit. xxii. 33.) in the promise of a blessing, (xxvi. 13.) and here, in the enumeration of God’s wonderful works; and afterward in the commendation of his love, (Deut. vii. 8.) in his dehortation from ingratitude, (viii. 14.) in his institution of the Passover, (xvi. 6.) in the speech which the reproving angel made to them, (Judges ii. 1.) in the hope he gave them of victory over the Midianites, (vi. 9.) in his answer to their petition for a king, (1 Sam. x. 18.) and on a great many other occasions: for this was, " velut fundamentumet initium rdpublicie," &c. as another learned German speaks, (Gierus on Dan. ix.15.) the foundation, as we may call it, and the beginning of their commonwealth founded by God; which comprehended in it abundance of. miracles, far exceeding all the power of nature. ~., -.
Deuteronomy 4:38
To drive out nations before thee, greater and mightier than thou art. So mighty,’ that they frighted their fathers from attempting the conquest of them, (Numb. xiii. To bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day.] That is, as he had given them a late experiment, by overthrowing the two kings of the Amorites, and giving them their land for a possession."
Deuteronomy 4:39
“Know therefore this day, and consider it in thy heart, that the Lord he is God in.heaven above, and upon the earth, and there is none else. Be sensible, therefore, and settle this belief in thy heart, that the Lord is the sole governor of the whole world. -
Deuteronomy 4:40
Thou shalt therefore keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee this day, &c. Worship and obey him,- as the only way to make them and their posterity live happily in the land, which God was about to give them. Tliat it may be well with thee, and with thy children after’ thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy daysupon the earth, &cj Though Moses spake of their long life upon earthy yet the better sort of Jews did not set up their rest here; but from this word prolong, extended their hope as far as* the other world: for thus Maimonides saith (in his preface to Pereck Cheleck) they were taught by tradition to expound these words, That it may he well ivith thee in the world, which is all good; and mayest prolong thy days in the world, which is all long, i. e. never ends.
Deuteronomy 4:41
Then Moses severed three cities. I observed in the preface to this book, that Moses didnotdeliver all that is contained in this book in one continued speech; but at several times, as appears oven by the beginning of the next chapter, where it is said, “He called all Israel, and said unto them,” &c. Which supposes,’ that after this preface in these four chapters, he dismissed them to consider what he had said; and then some time after assembled the people again, to put them in mind of the laws which he so, earnestly pressed them to observe. But between these two times (after he had spoken all that is contained in these four chapters, and before he rehearsed the decalogue), he put in execution the command of God lately given, to set apart three cities of refuge on this side Jordan; which he here relates, in the order, I suppose, wherein it was done.. * On this side Jordan, towards the sun-rising.] On the east side of Jordan, according to what was ordered, Numb. xxxv. 14.
Deuteronomy 4:42
That the slayer might flee thither, which should kill his neighbour unawares, &c. See there, ver.ll, 12, &c.
Deuteronomy 4:43
Namely, Bezer in the wilderness, in the. plain country of the Reubenites; and Ramoth in G Head of the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan of the Manas’sites. Thus they are set down also in the book of Joshua, xx. 8. xxi. 27. 3G. 38. Ver.; 44. And this is the law which Moses set before the children oflsraeL] Now follows the law, which (after theforementioned assignation of the cities of refuge) Moses set before all the people, and pressed them to the observance of it.
Deuteronomy 4:45
These are tlie testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments. As the next chapter contains the law, that is, the ten commandments, which Moses set before them; so, in several following chapters (after new earnest exhortations to obedience), he represents to them the rest of God’s will, comprehended’ under these three words, testimonies, statutes, and judgments: some of which belong to the Divine service, others to their civil government, and the rest to ceremonial observations, for the better security and preservation of both the former. Which Moses spake unto the children of Israel, after they came forth out of Egypt.] Which he had formerly dev livered to them, after they were come out of the Egyptian bondage, Exod. xxi. xxii. xxiii. and in the following books.*
Deuteronomy 4:46
On this side Jordan, &c. In this and the two following verses he again mentions the place and the time, when and where, he set before them the law, and the testimonies, statutes, and judgments, recorded in the following part of this book: which he repeats, that all posterity might observe the discourses were made a little before he died. In the valley over against Beth-Peor.] See chap. iii. tilt. In the land ofSihori, king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.] See chap.ai. 24. 31, &c. * IVliom Moses and the children of Israel smote, after they were come forth, out of Egypt.] In the fortieth year after their departure’thence;” as appears from Numb. xxi. 24. xxxiii. 38.’
Deuteronomy 4:47
And they possessed his land, and the land of Og king of Bashan, &c. See Numb. xxi. 33, &c. Vcr. 48. From Aroer, -which is by Hie bank oftlie river Arnon, even unto Mount Sihon,. which is Hermon.] The mount here called Sihon is not that which was so famous in aftertimes, when David made it the royal seat; for that was -on the other. side Jordan, and is written with different Digitized by microsoft ® CHAP. V.] UPON DEUTERONOMY. letters in the Hebrew; but, in all probability, is a; contraction of Sirion; which is the name by which the Sidonians called Hcrmon: for the bounds of this country arc so described, (iii. 8, 9/12.) to extend from the river Arnon to Mount Hcrmon, which is called Sirion. *
Deuteronomy 4:49
And all the plain on this side Jordan eastward, even unto the sea of the plain.) See chap. iii. 17. j Under the springs ofPisgah.) The same place there called Ashdoth-Pisgah. Which is exactly described after the same manner, by Benjamin Tudelensis, in his Itinerary, set forth by I/Empereur, p. 51. where he saith, that Jordan is called at Tiberias the Sea of Genesareth; and, coming from thence with a great force, falls at the foot of this hill into the Sea of Sodom, w T hich is called the Salt Sea* * •