10 He came to him in the waste land, in the unpeopled waste of sand: putting his arms round him and caring for him, he kept him as the light of his eye.
Keep me as the light of your eyes, covering me with the shade of your wings,
Said to him, Go quickly and say to this young man, Jerusalem will be an unwalled town, because of the great number of men and cattle in her.
And they never said, Where is the Lord, who took us up out of the land of Egypt; who was our guide through the waste of sand, through an unplanted land full of deep holes, through a dry land of deep shade, which no one went through and where no man was living?
I had knowledge of you in the waste land where no water was.
Who was your guide through that great and cruel waste, where there were poison-snakes and scorpions and a dry land without water; who made water come out of the hard rock for you; Who gave you manna for your food in the waste land, a food which your fathers had never seen; so that your pride might be broken and your hearts tested for your good in the end;
Even then, in your great mercy, you did not give them up in the waste land: the pillar of cloud still went before them by day, guiding them on their way, and the pillar of fire by night, to give them light, and make clear the way they were to go. And you gave your good spirit to be their teacher, and did not keep back your manna from their mouths, and gave them water when they had need of it. Truly, for forty years you were their support in the waste land, and they were in need of nothing; their clothing did not get old or their feet become tired.
You are my safe and secret place; you will keep me from trouble; you will put songs of salvation on the lips of those who are round me. (Selah.) I will give you knowledge, teaching you the way to go; my eye will be your guide. Do not be like the horse or the ass, without sense; ... The sinner will be full of trouble; but mercy will be round the man who has faith in the Lord.
He makes his word clear to Jacob, teaching Israel his laws and his decisions. He has not done these things for any other nation: and as for his laws, they have no knowledge of them. Let the Lord be praised.
Who is this, who comes up from the waste places, resting on her loved one? It was I who made you awake under the apple-tree, where your mother gave you birth; there she was in pain at your birth.
Much in every way: first of all because the words of God were given to them.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Deuteronomy 32
Commentary on Deuteronomy 32 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 32
In this chapter we have,
Deu 32:1-6
Here is,
Deu 32:7-14
Moses, having in general represented God to them as their great benefactor, whom they were bound in gratitude to observe and obey, in these verses gives particular instances of God's kindness to them and concern for them.
Three things are here enlarged upon as instances of God's kindness to his people Israel, and strong obligations upon them never to forsake him:-
Deu 32:15-18
We have here a description of the apostasy of Israel from God, which would shortly come to pass, and to which already they had a disposition. One would have thought that a people under so many obligations to their God, in duty, gratitude, and interest, would never have turned from him; but, alas! they turned aside quickly. Here are two great instances of their wickedness, and each of them amounted to an apostasy from God:-
Deu 32:19-25
The method of this song follows the method of the predictions in the foregoing chapter, and therefore, after the revolt of Israel from God, described in the foregoing verses, here follow immediately the resolves of divine Justice concerning them; we deceive ourselves if we think that God will be thus mocked by a foolish faithless people, that play fast and loose with him.
Deu 32:26-38
After many terrible threatenings of deserved wrath and vengeance, we have here surprising intimations of mercy, undeserved mercy, which rejoices against judgment, and by which it appears that God has no pleasure in the death of sinners, but would rather they should turn and live.
Deu 32:39-43
This conclusion of the song speaks three things:
Deu 32:44-52
Here is,