5 Thou shalt also consider H3045 in H5973 thine heart, H3824 that, as a man H376 chasteneth H3256 his son, H1121 so the LORD H3068 thy God H430 chasteneth H3256 thee.
And G2532 ye have forgotten G1585 the exhortation G3874 which G3748 speaketh G1256 unto you G5213 as G5613 unto children, G5207 My G3450 son, G5207 despise G3643 not G3361 thou G3643 the chastening G3809 of the Lord, G2962 nor G3366 faint G1590 when thou art rebuked G1651 of G5259 him: G846 For G1063 whom G3739 the Lord G2962 loveth G25 he chasteneth, G3811 and G1161 scourgeth G3146 every G3956 son G5207 whom G3739 he receiveth. G3858 If G1487 ye endure G5278 chastening, G3809 God G2316 dealeth G4374 with you G5213 as G5613 with sons; G5207 for G1063 what G5101 son G5207 is he G2076 whom G3739 the father G3962 chasteneth G3811 not? G3756 But G1161 if G1487 ye be G2075 without G5565 chastisement, G3809 whereof G3739 all G3956 are G1096 partakers, G3353 then G686 are ye G2075 bastards, G3541 and G2532 not G3756 sons. G5207 Furthermore G1534 G3303 we have had G2192 fathers G3962 of our G2257 flesh G4561 which corrected G3810 us, and G2532 we gave them reverence: G1788 shall we G5293 not G3756 much G4183 rather G3123 be in subjection G5293 unto the Father G3962 of spirits, G4151 and G2532 live? G2198 For G1063 they verily G3303 for G4314 a few G3641 days G2250 chastened G3811 us after G2596 their own G846 pleasure; G1380 but G1161 he for G1909 our profit, G4851 that G1519 we might be partakers G3335 of his G846 holiness. G41 Now G1161 no G3956 G3756 chastening G3809 for G4314 G3303 the present G3918 seemeth G1380 to be G1511 joyous, G5479 but G235 grievous: G3077 nevertheless G1161 afterward G5305 it yieldeth G591 the peaceable G1516 fruit G2590 of righteousness G1343 unto them which are exercised G1128 thereby. G1223 G846
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Deuteronomy 8
Commentary on Deuteronomy 8 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 8
De 8:1-20. An Exhortation to Obedience.
1. All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live—In all the wise arrangements of our Creator duty has been made inseparably connected with happiness; and the earnest enforcement of the divine law which Moses was making to the Israelites was in order to secure their being a happy (because a moral and religious) people: a course of prosperity is often called "life" (Ge 17:18; Pr 3:2).
live, and multiply—This reference to the future increase of their population proves that they were too few to occupy the land fully at first.
2, 3. thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness—The recapitulation of all their checkered experience during that long period was designed to awaken lively impressions of the goodness of God. First, Moses showed them the object of their protracted wanderings and varied hardships. These were trials of their obedience as well as chastisements for sin. Indeed, the discovery of their infidelity, inconstancy, and their rebellions and perverseness which this varied discipline brought to light, was of eminently practical use to the Israelites themselves, as it has been to the church in all subsequent ages. Next, he enlarged on the goodness of God to them, while reduced to the last extremities of despair, in the miraculous provision which, without anxiety or labor, was made for their daily support (see on Ex 16:4). Possessing no nutritious properties inherent in it, this contributed to their sustenance, as indeed all food does (Mt 4:4) solely through the ordinance and blessing of God. This remark is applicable to the means of spiritual as well as natural life.
4. Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years—What a striking miracle was this! No doubt the Israelites might have brought from Egypt more clothes than they wore at their outset; they might also have obtained supplies of various articles of food and raiment in barter with the neighboring tribes for the fleeces and skins of their sheep and goats; and in furnishing them with such opportunities the care of Providence appeared. But the strong and pointed terms which Moses here uses (see also De 29:5) indicate a special or miraculous interposition of their loving Guardian in preserving them amid the wear and tear of their nomadic life in the desert. Thirdly, Moses expatiated on the goodness of the promised land.
7. For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land—All accounts, ancient and modern, concur in bearing testimony to the natural beauty and fertility of Palestine, and its great capabilities if properly cultivated.
a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills—These characteristic features are mentioned first, as they would be most striking; and all travellers describe how delightful and cheerful it is, after passing through the barren and thirsty desert, to be among running brooks and swelling hills and verdant valleys. It is observable that water is mentioned as the chief source of its ancient fertility.
8. A land of wheat, and barley—These cereal fruits were specially promised to the Israelites in the event of their faithful allegiance to the covenant of God (Ps 81:16; 147:14). The wheat and barley were so abundant as to yield sixty and often an hundredfold (Ge 26:12; Mt 13:8).
vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates—The limestone rocks and abrupt valleys were entirely covered, as traces of them still show, with plantations of figs, vines, and olive trees. Though in a southern latitude, its mountainous formations tempered the excessive heat, and hence, figs, pomegranates, &c., were produced in Palestine equally with wheat and barley, the produce of northern regions.
honey—The word "honey" is used often in a loose, indeterminate sense, very frequently to signify a syrup of dates or of grapes, which under the name of dibs is much used by all classes, wherever vineyards are found, as a condiment to their food. It resembles thin molasses, but is more pleasant to the taste [Robinson]. This is esteemed a great delicacy in the East, and it was produced abundantly in Palestine.
9. a land whose stones are iron—The abundance of this metal in Palestine, especially among the mountains of Lebanon, those of Kesraoun, and elsewhere, is attested not only by Josephus, but by Volney, Buckingham, and other travellers.
brass—not the alloy brass, but the ore of copper. Although the mines may now be exhausted or neglected, they yielded plenty of those metals anciently (1Ch 22:3; 29:2-7; Isa 60:17).
11-20. Beware that thou forget not the Lord—After mentioning those instances of the divine goodness, Moses founded on them an argument for their future obedience.
15. Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions—Large and venomous reptiles are found in great numbers there still, particularly in autumn. Travellers must use great caution in arranging their tents and beds at night; even during the day the legs not only of men, but of the animals they ride, are liable to be bitten.
who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint—(See on De 9:21).