3 `And He doth humble thee, and cause thee to hunger and doth cause thee to eat the manna (which thou hast not known, even thy fathers have not known), in order to cause thee to know that not by bread alone doth man live, but by every produce of the mouth of Jehovah man doth live.
But he answering said, `It hath been written, Not upon bread alone doth man live, but upon every word coming forth from the mouth of God.'
And Jesus answered him, saying, `It hath been written, that, not on bread only shall man live, but on every saying of God.'
And all the company of the sons of Israel murmur against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness; and the sons of Israel say unto them, `Oh that we had died by the hand of Jehovah in the land of Egypt, in our sitting by the flesh-pot, in our eating bread to satiety -- for ye have brought us out unto this wilderness to put all this assembly to death with hunger.'
And He commandeth clouds from above, Yea, doors of the heavens He hath opened. And He raineth on them manna to eat, Yea, corn of heaven He hath given to them. Food of the mighty hath each eaten, Venison He sent to them to satiety.
Without covetousness the behaviour, being content with the things present, for He hath said, `No, I will not leave, no, nor forsake thee,' so that we do boldly say, `The Lord `is' to me a helper, and I will not fear what man shall do to me.'
`I have heard the murmurings of the sons of Israel; speak unto them, saying, Between the evenings ye eat flesh, and in the morning ye are satisfied `with' bread, and ye have known that I `am' Jehovah your God.' And it cometh to pass in the evening, that the quail cometh up, and covereth the camp, and in the morning there hath been the lying of dew round about the camp, and the lying of the dew goeth up, and lo, on the face of the wilderness a thin, bare thing, thin as hoar-frost on the earth. And the sons of Israel see, and say one unto another, `What `is' it?' for they have not known what it `is'; and Moses saith unto them, `It `is' the bread which Jehovah hath given to you for food. `This `is' the thing which Jehovah hath commanded: Gather of it each according to his eating, an omer for a poll; and the number of your persons, take ye each for those in his tent.' And the sons of Israel do so, and they gather, he who is `gathering' much, and he who is `gathering' little; and they measure with an omer, and he who is `gathering' much hath nothing over, and he who is `gathering' little hath no lack, each according to his eating they have gathered. And Moses saith unto them, `Let no man leave of it till morning;' and they have not hearkened unto Moses, and some of them do leave of it till morning, and it bringeth up worms and stinketh; and Moses is wroth with them. And they gather it morning by morning, each according to his eating; when the sun hath been warm, then it hath melted. And it cometh to pass on the sixth day, they have gathered a second bread, two omers for one, and all the princes of the company come in, and declare to Moses. And he saith unto them, `It `is' that which Jehovah hath spoken `of'; a rest -- a holy sabbath to Jehovah -- `is' to-morrow; that which ye bake, bake; and that which ye boil, boil; and all that is over, let rest for yourselves in charge till the morning.' And they let it rest until the morning, as Moses hath commanded, and it hath not stank, and a worm hath not been in it. And Moses saith, `Eat it to-day, for to-day `is' a sabbath to Jehovah; to-day ye find it not in the field: six days ye do gather it, and in the seventh day -- the sabbath -- in it there is none.' And it cometh to pass on the seventh day, some of the people have gone out to gather, and have not found. And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `How long have ye refused to keep My commands, and My laws? see, because Jehovah hath given to you the sabbath, therefore He is giving to you on the sixth day bread of two days; abide ye each `in' his place, no one doth go out from his place on the seventh day.' And the people rest on the seventh day, and the house of Israel call its name Manna, and it `is' as coriander seed, white; and its taste `is' as a cake with honey. And Moses saith, `This `is' the thing which Jehovah hath commanded: Fill the omer with it, for a charge for your generations, so that they see the bread which I have caused you to eat in the wilderness, in My bringing you out from the land of Egypt.' And Moses saith unto Aaron, `Take one pot, and put there the fulness of the omer of manna, and let it rest before Jehovah, for a charge for your generations;' as Jehovah hath given commandment unto Moses, so doth Aaron let it rest before the Testimony, for a charge. And the sons of Israel have eaten the manna forty years, until their coming in unto the land to be inhabited; the manna they have eaten till their coming in unto the extremity of the land of Canaan.
Trust in Jehovah, and do good, Dwell `in' the land, and enjoy faithfulness,
All of them unto Thee do look, To give their food in its season. Thou dost give to them -- they gather, Thou dost open Thy hand -- they `are' satisfied `with' good. Thou hidest Thy face -- they are troubled, Thou gatherest their spirit -- they expire, And unto their dust they turn back.
They have asked, and He bringeth quails, And `with' bread of heaven satisfieth them.
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).