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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
In these verses we have the inscription and general introduction to the book, announcing the contents of the book, the author of it, the parties whom he addressed, and the time and place of his addresses.
Deu_1:1
These be the words. Some would render here "Such are the words," and understand the expression as referring to the preceding books. But it seems more natural to refer it to what follows—to the addresses in this book. The pronoun these ( àÅìÆÌä ) may be used with a prospective reference, as well as with a retrospective (cf. e.g. Gen_2:4; Gen_6:9). The author does not by this connect this book with the preceding, but rather distinguishes it. The subscription to Numbers (Num_36:13) indicates that what precedes is occupied chiefly with what God spake to Moses; the inscription here intimates that what follows is what Moses spake to the people. This is the characteristic of Deuteronomy. Unto all Israel. It cannot be supposed that Moses spoke to the whole multitude of the people so as to be heard by them. Hence the Jewish interpreters say that he spoke to the elders of the people, who carried his words to the people at large. This is just; for what was thus mediately communicated to the people might be fairly described as spoken to them; and we find from other passages in the Pentateuch that the phrase, "the elders of Israel," in the mind of the writer, was equivalent to "the congregation of Israel" (comp. e.g. Exo_12:3 with Exo_12:21; Le Exo_9:1 with Exo_9:5). But through whatever medium conveyed, it was to the people that these words were addressed; this is emphatically a book for the people. On this side Jordan. This should be On the other side or beyond Jordan, and so also in verse 5, as in Deu_3:20, Deu_3:25. The word here used ( òÅáÆø ) means properly something beyond, over, or across, and indicates that which, to the speaker, lies on the other side of some line or limit. When coupled with "the Jordan," it usually indicates the region to the east of that river; only in one or two instances, where the speaker takes his standpoint on the east of the river, does it designate the regions to the west of Jordan (Deu_3:25; Deu_11:30) The phrase "beyond Jordan" seems to have been the established designation of the region east of the Jordan (cf. Ezr_4:10, and Canon Rawlinson's note there). It is this, unquestionably, which is here so designated, as what follows expressly shows. The wilderness. This term is used of any extensive district not occupied by inhabitants or subjected to culture; hence of vast prairies or pasturelands, as well as of places properly desert and desolate. It here denotes the grassy plains or downs on the east and southeast of the Jordan, in the land of Moab (Deu_3:5). In the plain; in the Arabah. This is properly the whole of that remarkable depression which stretches from the source of the Jordan on to Akabah, or the Ailanitic Gulf; but here it is only that part of it which extends from the south end of the Dead Sea to Allah (Deu_2:8). This part still bears the name of the 'Arabah, the northern part being known as the Ghor. Over against the Red sea. The name by which the Red Sea is elsewhere designated is Yam-suph ( éÇíÎñåÌó ); here only the latter word occurs, and this has led some to doubt if the Red Sea be here intended. Patrick, Rosenmüller, and others suggest that Suph denotes some place in that region, probably Suphah, so called because lying at its extremity, as the verb suph, from which it comes, means, to come to an end; but it is not certain that Suphah designates a place in Num_21:14. The Hebrew word ñåÌôÀä means a tempest or whirlwind; and this meaning may be assumed here, as it is by Gesenius, Keil, and others: "Waheb [he conquered] in a storm." Knobel suggests that probably the pass now called Es Sufah, on the north side of the Wady Murreh—the Maleh-acrabbim (Scorpion-ascent) of Jos_15:3—is meant; others have suggested Zephath (Jdg_1:17; comp. Num_14:45), and others Zuph (1Sa_9:5). It is probable, however, that Suph is here merely a breviloquence for Yam-suph, the Red Sea; and so all the ancient versions take it. The identification of the Yam-suph of the Old Testament with the ἐρυθρὰ θάλασσα of the Greeks, the mare erythraeum, or rubrum, of the Latins, is due to the LXX; which other versions have followed. The identification is undoubtedly correct (cf. Num_33:10 and 1Ki_9:26). Yam-suph, indeed, means simply sea of weeds, and might be the name of any sea in which algae are found; but these passages clearly prove that by this the Hebrews designated the Red Sea. At what part of this sea the Israelites crossed, and the hosts of Pharaoh were submerged, is and must remain uncertain, because we know not what was the condition of the Isthmus of Suez at the time of the Exodus. It is probable it was not at any part of what is now known as the Red Sea or Gulf of Suez. Brugsch Bey places it at that—
"Serbonian bog
Betwixt Damiata and mount Casius old,
Where armies whole have sunk."
(Milton, 'Paradise Lost,'Bk. 2:592.)
But this has not been accepted by scholars generally. It seems probable that originally only a marshy district lay between the Gulf of Suez and the Mediterranean; and somewhere in this probably the passage of the Israelites and the drowning of the Egyptians occurred. Between Paran, and Tophel, etc. This serves more fully and particularly to indicate the locality here intended; but the details present considerable difficulty. Taken in connection with the words "over against the lied sea," the names here given can only be regarded as intended more precisely to indicate the region in which the Israelites had been during the forty years of their wandering. Paran: this is the name of the wilderness bordering on Idumea, where the Israelites encamped (Num_10:12; Num_12:16); the place of their encampment being Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin (Num_13:21, Num_13:26), which was the eastern part of the wilderness of Paran. hod. Wady Murreh. The wilderness of Paran corresponds in general outline with the desert of Et-Tih. This is a vast plateau of irregular surface stretching from the Et-Tih range northwards to the boundaries of the Holy Land, and from the Gulf of Akabah and the Wady cf. Arabah on the east to the Gulf of Suez and the Mediterranean on the west. It is described as "a chalky formation, the chalk being covered with coarse gravel, mixed with black flints and drifting sand;" not, however, wholly sterile: in many parts vegetation abounds, considerable portions are under cultivation, and there are evidences that it one time water was abundant there. It is not, however, to the wilderness of Paran that the reference is in the text, but to some definite locality or spot in the region in which the Israelites then were, or which they had recently passed through. It has been suggested that the place now called Feiran, and where there are the ruins of a town, once of some importance in the early history of Christianity, is the Paran of this passage, as it apparently is the Paran of I Kings Jos_11:18. But this locality at the base of Jebel Serbail is much too far west to be the Paran here referred to. More probable is the suggestion that it is the Faran mentioned by Eusebius and Jerome ('Onomast.,' s.v. Φαράν ), a city to the cast (northeast) of Allah or Elath, about three days' journey. Tophel: this name occurs only here; it is supposed to be the place now coiled Tufailah or Tafyleh, a large village of six hundred inhabitants, between Bozrah and Kerak, on the eastern slope of the mountains of Edom. As this is a place where the Syrian caravans are supplied with provisions, it has been conjectured that the Israelites, when at Oboth (Num_21:10, Num_21:11), may have resorted to it for a supply, and that it was here that they purchased meat and drink from the children of Esau (Deu_2:29). And Laban. Laban is generally identified with Libnah, the second place of encampment of the Israelites on their return from Kadesh (Num_33:20, Num_33:21). Knobel, however, thinks it is the place called by Ptolemy ' Αὔαρα , lying between Petra and Allah; this name, from the Arabic, see Arabic word, (he was white), having the same meaning as the Hebrew ìÈáÈï . Hazeroth is supposed to be the place mentioned in Num_11:35; Num_12:16, from which the Israelites entered the wilderness of Paran; but as the other places here mentioned are on the east side of the Arabah, it is not probable that this Hazeroth is the same as that of Numbers, which must have been not far from Sinai, in a northerly or north-westerly direction from that mountain, probably at or near to the fountain now called El Hudherah (Wilson, 'Lands of the Bible,' 1.235; Kitto, 'Cyclopedia,' 2.243). There were probably several places bearing the name of Hazeroth, i.e. villages. Dizahab. This is generally identified with Dhahab, a place on a tongue of land in the Gulf of Akabah. But it is extremely improbable that the Israelites ever were at this place, the approach to which is exceedingly difficult; and the mere resemblance of the names Dizahab and Dhahab is not sufficient to prove the identity of the places. There were probably more places than one which were named from zahab (gold) in the region traversed by the Israelites. There is a Dhahab on the east of the Jordan near the Zerka or Jabbok, a double mound, which is said to derive its name from the yellowish color of the sandstone rock of which it consists, and which is metalliferous. In the Arabic of the Polyglot, Dizahab appears as Dhi-dhahab, which signifies "auro praeditum vel ab auro dictum; nam ãå vel ãé , apud Arabes in compositione nominum propr. idem est ac Hebrews áòì " (J. H. Michaelis). There is a various reading here, Di-waheb, and this has been supposed to connect this place with the Waheb of Num_21:14. But, as above noted, it is by no means certain that Waheb is there the name of a place; it may, as Bishop Patrick suggests, be that of a man, some hero or chief, who was conquered in Sufah or in a storm. Waheb is a name among the Arabs. The maternal grandfather of Me-hammed had this name; and the sect of the Wahabees take their name from Abdul Wahab, a fanatic who appeared about the beginning of last century. The words "between Paran and Tophel" have been taken to indicate' the termini of the wanderings; at the commencement of these the people were at Paran, and towards the close of them they were at Tophel. '"Looking from the steppes of Moab over the ground that the Israelites had traversed, Suph, where they first entered the desert of Arabia, would lie between Paran where the congregation arrived at the borders of Canaan toward the west, and Tophel where they first ended their desert wanderings thirty-seven years later on the east" (Keil). But this assumes that Paran here is the wilderness of Paran.
Deu_1:2
Horeb. The name generally given to Sinai in Deuteronomy (see introduction, § 4). Sinai, however, occurs in Deu_33:2 of this book. By the way of mount Seir, i.e. by the way that leads to Mount Seir; just as in Deu_2:1, "the way of the Red sea" is the way that leads to that sea (see also Num_14:25). Mount is here, as often elsewhere, for mountain range. The mountain range here referred to seems to have been, not that on the east of the 'Arabah, but what is in Deu_2:6 and Deu_2:19 called "the mountain of the Amorites," "the Seir by Hormah" of verse 44, i e. the southern part of what was afterwards called the mountains of Judah. According to Deu_2:19, the Israelites, when they left Horeb, passed through the wilderness along the way that led to the mountains of the Amorites, and came to Kadesh-barnea. Kadesh must, therefore, be looked for, not on the eastern side of the 'Arabah, but somewhere in the wilderness of Zin. It has been identified with the place now known as 'Ain Kudes, near the northern extremity of Jebel Halal, and to the east of that hill; but this is far from being certain. Moses reminds the Israelites that the distance between Horeb and Kadesh is eleven days—i.e; about one hundred and sixty-five miles, the day's journey being reckoned at fifteen miles—not to give them a piece of information, but rather to suggest to them how, in consequence of rebellion, a journey which might have been so easily accomplished, had been protracted through many wearisome years.
Deu_1:3, Deu_1:4
Here is intimated the time when the following addresses were delivered to the people. It was on the first day of the eleventh month in the fortieth year; therefore near the end of their wanderings, and towards the close of the lawgiver's own career. He could thus speak to them according unto all that the Lord had given him in commandment unto them, i.e. in accordance with the legislative contents of the preceding books (comp. Deu_4:5 23; Deu_5:28-33; Deu_6:1). It was also after the destruction of Sihon and 'Og (Num_21:21-35). This also is significant. By the destruction of these kings, who sought to bar the access of the Israelites to the Promised Land, God had given proof that he would indeed fulfill his promise to his people, and had at once laid them under obligations to obedience, and given them encouragement to go forward on the course to which he had called them. The "he" here is Moses, who, at the command of God, had led the Israelites against Sihon and 'Og. Edrei, hod Draa (Num_21:33) was the second capital of 'Og; he "reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei" (Jos_13:12). Here, however, it denotes the place where he was slain in battle, and the words "in Edrei" are to be referred to the verb "smote" and not to "dwelt" (cf. Deu_3:1 : Num_21:33).
Deu_1:5
The locality is again described as beyond Jordan (see on Deu_1:1), and in the land of Moab. This designates the region elsewhere called Arboth Moab—the Plains of Moab (Num_22:1; Deu_34:1, etc.), the region on the east of the Jordan, opposite to Jericho, now known as the region of Kerak. Began; rather set himself to. The Hebrew word signifies to undertake, to betake one's self to, and so to begin It is variously rendered in the Authorized Version (comp. Gen_18:27, "taken it upon me;" Exo_2:21, "was content," had made up his mind; 1Sa_12:22, "it pleased;" 1Sa_17:39,"assayed," etc.). To declare, i.e. make clear, explain, expound (Hab_2:2, "make plain "). The Hebrew word here used ( áÈàø ) signifies primarily to cut or dig, then to cut into, to grave, and then to cut or dig out so as to make evident, to declare, to make plain. What Moses set himself to do, then, was not to publish a new law, but to make plain to the people the Law already promulgated, to set forth clearly and pointedly what they were required by the Law to be and to do. This explains more fully the "spake" ( ãÄáÆÌø ) of Deu_1:3. This exposition of the Law was designed specially for the sake of those who, at the time the Law was first promulgated, either were not born or were incapable of understanding it (Grotius). The expression used by Moses plainly indicates that this book was not intended to furnish a second code of laws different from the former, but simply to explain and enforce what had before been enjoined.
With this verse begins Moses' first address to the people, which extends to the end of Deu_4:1-49. It is of an introductory character, and is occupied chiefly with a retrospective survey of the events that had occurred during the forty years of their wanderings. By this Moses reminded the people how God had fulfilled his promises to them, and at the same time, how they had by their rebellion drawn down on them his displeasure, which had caused their wanderings to be so much more protracted than they would otherwise have been.
Deu_1:6-8
The Lord's command to depart from Horeb, and his promise to the people.
Deu_1:6
The Lord our God—Jehovah our God. The use of this epithet implies the covenant union of Israel with Jehovah, and presupposes the existence of that covenant which was entered into at Sinai. In Horeb. This was the starting-point, so to speak, of Israel's being as the special people of God—his segullah ( ñÀâËÌìÈÌä , Exo_19:5), his special treasure. There he made himself known to them as Jehovah, the Eternal and Unchangeable, and entered into covenant with them; and there they received that Law, on the keeping of which depended their retention of the privileges to which they had been elected. At Horeb the Israelites had remained for about a year (comp. Exo_19:1 and Num_10:11, Num_10:12), and as the purpose for which they had been brought thither was answered, they were enjoined to move, not indeed by express command, but by the rising of the cloud from over the tabernacle, which was the signal of their march (Num_9:15, etc.; Num_10:11-13), preceded by the instructions they had received preparatory to their removal (Numbers 50:4-7). Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount. The Israelites remained at Sinai from the third month of the first year to the twentieth day of the second year after they came out of Egypt (cf. Exo_19:1 and Num_10:11).
Deu_1:7
Go to the mount of the Amorites, and unto all that dwell thereon; literally, its dwellers or inhabitants ( ùÀÑëÅðÈéå ). The mountain range of the Amorites, afterwards called the hill country of Judah and Ephraim, was the object which would first strike the view of one advancing from the south; and so, it stands here for the whole land of Canaan, with which it is in this context identified. Those "that dwell thereon" are the inhabitants of the whole of Canaan. The Amorites (Hebrew Emori, so called from Amor, or Emor) oftener than once appear as standing for the Canaanites generally (cf. Gen_15:16; Deu_1:20, Deu_1:21, etc.). That all the inhabitants of Canaan are intended here is evident from the specification of the different districts of the land of Canaan which immediately follows. In the plain: the 'Arabah (see Deu_1:1). In the hills: the hill country of Judah (Num_13:17). In the vale: the shephelah, or lowland, the country lying between the mountain range of Judah and the Mediterranean Sea, and stretching northwards from the parallel of Gaza to that of Carmel. In the south: the negeb, or southland (literally, dryness), the district which formed the transition from the desert to the cultivated land, extending from the south of the Dead Sea westwards to Gaza, a vast steppe or prairie, for the most part pasture land. The seashore: the narrow strip of land on the coast of the Mediterranean from Joppa to Tyre (in the New Testament, "the coast of Tyre and Sidon," Luk_6:17). The land of the Canaanites: the whole country of which these were the separate parts. And unto Lebanon: the Whale Mountain, so called, probably, from the snow which rests on its summit. The great river, the river Euphrates. The Phrath, or Euphrates, which has its sources in the mountains of Armenia, and in its course divides Armenia from Cappadocia, formed the eastern limit of the territory promised by God to Abraham. The epithet "great" seems to have been commonly applied to it. Callimachus calls it ' ΑΣΣυριοῦ ποταμοῖο μέγας ρόος , and Lucan has-
"Quaque caput rapido tollit cum Tigride magnus Euphrates."
('Phars.,' 3:256.)
As by much the most considerable river of western Asia, the Euphrates was known as "the river" par excellence (cf. Exo_23:31; Isa_8:7; Jer_2:18; Psa_72:8). The mention of Lebanon and the Euphrates is not, as Keil suggests, "to be attributed to the rhetorical fullness of the style;" but is due to the fact that these were included in what God promised to Abraham and his seed (Gen_15:18; Exo_23:31; Deu_11:24).
Deu_1:8
Behold, I have set the land before you: literally, have given the land before you, i.e. have made it over to you, that you may go and take possession of it. The Lord had placed this land in the power of the Israelites, had given it up to them to possess and use it, according as he had sworn to their fathers, the patriarchs, to give it to them and their seed (comp. Gen_12:7; Gen_13:15; Gen_15:18, etc.; Gen_22:16). At Horeb, therefore, they received the charter of their inheritance, and might have gone on at once to take possession of the land. The delay that had occurred had arisen solely from their own waywardness and perversity, not from anything on the part of God.
Deu_1:9-18
Moses reminds them that he had done all that was required on his part to conduct the people to the enjoyment of what God had freely given to them. The people had so increased in number that Moses found himself unable to attend to all the matters that concerned them, or to adjudicate in all the differences that arose among them. God had brought to pass that which he had promised to Abraham (Gen_15:5), that his seed should be as the stars of heaven for multitude; in this Moses rejoiced, nay, he would even that their numbers were, with the Divine blessing, increased a thousandfold beyond what they were. But he found the burden, the weight of care and trouble, especially in connection with their strifes and suits thereby brought on him, too much for him; and, therefore, whilst they were still at Horeb, he had, following the advice of Jethro, his father-in-law, counseled them to select competent men from among themselves, who should relieve him by attending to those duties which he found it too burdensome for him to have to attend to (cf. Exo_18:13, etc.). This appointment of captains was quite distinct from that of the elders whom God directed Moses to select that they might assist him in bearing the burden of the people (Num_11:10, etc.). The occasion of the appointment was the same in both cases, viz. the complaint of Moses that the task was too onerous for him, but the time, the place, and the manner of the two transactions were different.
Deu_1:9
I spake unto you at that time. The somewhat indefinite phrase, "at that time" (comp. Gen_38:1), does not refer to the time after the people departed from Horeb, but to the time generally when they were in that region (see Exo_18:5, Exo_18:13). "The imperfect ( åÈàÉîÇã , I spake), with vaw rel. expresses the order of thought and not of time" (Keil). It is not mentioned in Exodus that Moses spake to the people, as here stated, but what Jethro said to him to this effect is recorded; and as Moses proceeded to put in execution what his father-in-law advised, it is probable that in doing so he told the people what he proposed to do, with his reasons for so doing, and obtained their assent, as here mentioned.
Deu_1:10
Notwithstanding the cruel oppression to which they were subjected in Egypt, the Israelites had so increased in numbers that they went out of the house of their bondage a mighty host. Ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude (cf. Gen_15:5; Gen_22:17). God had promised to Abraham that his seed should be as the stars of heaven for multitude; and Moses here reminds the people that this promise had been fulfilled. This is hardly to be regarded as the utterance of hyperbole. When God gave the premise to Abraham it was to the stars as seen by the patriarch, not as actually existing in the immensity of space, that reference was made; and as the number of stars which can be taken in with the naked eye does not exceed 3000, and as Israel at this time numbered more than 600,000, counting only the adult males (Num_2:32),—it might be literally said of them that they had been multiplied as the stars of heaven. The comparison, however, imported nothing more than that their numbers were very great.
Deu_1:11
It was not the vast increase of the people in numbers that distressed Moses, rather was this to him a matter of rejoicing, and his desire was that their increase might become still greater, even a thousandfold. But he felt his own inability, as leader, ruler, and judge, alone to cope with so vast a multitude.
Deu_1:12
Moses appeals to the good sense of the people themselves: How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife? Cumbrance: this is a just rendering of the Hebrew word îÉøÂç , from èÈøÇç , which, though it occurs only in the Hiphil in Hebrew, in the sense of to cast down (Job_17:11), probably was in use also in the Kal, in the sense of to lay upon, to encumber, which is the meaning of the cognate Arabic, see Arabic word, followed by, see Arabic word. Burden ( ùÈÌÑà , from ðÈùÈÒà , to lift up, to carry, to bear), something lifted up and carried, a load or burden. Strife: ( øÄéá ) here, not mere contention, but litigation, suit-at-law. Some understand all these three, of troubles and burdens laid upon Moses, by his being called upon to compose differences, and adjust competing claims among the people. But other burdens besides these came upon him as the leader of the nation; and it seems best, therefore, to understand the first two of troubles and burdens generally.
Deu_1:13
Take you; literally, give to you or for you, i.e. yourselves. The selection was to be made by the people themselves. Jethro, in giving Moses the advice on which he thus acted, described the men who were to be selected as "such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness" (Exo_18:21). Moses here describes them rather by qualities, indicating ability and fitness for such a post as that to which they were to be called; they were to be wise; understanding men, men of discernment and sagacity, as well as intelligence; and known among their tribes, men of good repute in the community ("quorum conversatio sit probata," Vulgate; comp. Act_6:3; 1Ti_3:7). And I will make them rulers over you; literally, will set them for your heads, i.e. will appoint them to act as superintendents, managers, and judges over you.
Deu_1:14, Deu_1:15
The people approved of the proposal, and acted upon it; and Moses accordingly appointed the persons selected to be chiefs over thousands, and over hundreds, and over fifties, and ever tens (Exo_18:21); he appointed men also to be officers, that is, persons who should preserve order in the tribes, keeping the registers, acting as scribes, to prescribe and to take account of work, and perhaps also attending to fiscal arrangements ( ùÉÑèÀøÄéí , shoterim, a word of general application; cf. Exo_5:6, Exo_5:10, Exo_5:14; Jos_3:2; 2Ch_26:11, etc. LXX. γραμματεῖς and γραμματο εισαγωγεῖς ). In Exodus, Moses is said to have chosen these functionaries (Exo_18:25); but what many do under the direction of one may be said to be done by him.
Deu_1:16, Deu_1:17
In installing the judges, Moses solemnly charged them to deal impartially, fairly, and equitably with those who might come before them.
Deu_1:16
Hear between your brethren, i.e. hear impartially both parties, and judge righteously between man and man, whether both parties are Israelites, or one of the parties a stranger.
Deu_1:17
Ye shall not respect persons; literally, look at or regard aces, i.e. ye shall not deal partially, favoring the one party rather than the other (comp. Exo_23:2, Exo_23:3; Le Exo_19:15); the small as well as the great were to be heard, and neither for favor nor from fear were they to pervert justice. The judgment is God's; i.e. appointed by God and administered in his name, the judge acting for God and by his authority, and being answerable to him. Hence the phrases, "to inquire of God," "to bring before God" (Exo_18:15, Exo_18:19; Exo_21:6; Exo_22:8, etc.) phrases still in use among the Arabs for a summoning to judicial trial. In the case of a matter coming before the judges which they found it beyond their power to decide, they were to bring it before Moses as a superior authority (see Exo_18:26) "Some think there were certain causes reserved to the cognizance of Moses; but the contrary appears by these words, that all manner of causes were brought before the judges; and they, not the people, brought such causes before Moses as they found too hard for them to determine. So that they, not the person whose cause it was, judged of the difficulty of the cause. See Selden, lib. 1. "De Synedriis, cap. 16." (Bishop Patrick).
I. THERE IS A MINE OF WEALTH IN THE LAW OF GOD. This is the case, even if we thereby intend the Mosaic Law alone. Its theology, its ethics, its directory of religious faith and worship, its civil and political code for the Hebrew commonwealth, are all so pure and elevated, that no account can be given of how any man at that age of the world could have propounded such a system, save that he was taught of God (cf. 2Pe_1:21). (See Homiletics, Deu_5:7-22.) If, moreover, we would see how the devout Hebrews estimated the Law, let us turn to Psa_19:1-14.; Psa_103:7, et seq. Our Savior honored the Law, and maintained it in all its integrity (cf. Mat_5:17, Mat_5:18). He removed the glosses by which it had in his time become disfigured, but he never depreciated it. We are by no means to confound "the Law" with the abstract idea of "law." See how sharply the Apostle Paul distinguishes between these two in Rom_3:1-31, especially in Rom_3:21, "But now there has been manifested a righteousness of God apart from law, being witnessed by THE Law and the prophets." The Law given by Moses is based on the gospel (cf. Gal_3:1-29; see also Homiletics, Deu_5:6). If, however, to all that Moses gave, we add all "the grace and the truth" which came in by Jesus Christ, how unsearchably vast is the wealth stored up for us in the "Word of everlasting Truth!"
II. THE EFFORT OF DIGGING INTO THIS MINE WILL BE WELL REPAID. How much difference there is between a man who knows only what men say about the Book, and one who knows the Book for himself] The one may be easily beguiled into the belief that it is so out of date that it is scarcely worth while to study it at all. The other will find it so far ahead of the actual attainments of the wisest and best of men, that he will pity those who dismiss it with but a glance from afar. The continuous, careful, thorough student of the Law of Moses, will be ever discovering a richness in it which will at once astonish and enrapture him. Its harmony with, its historical preparation for, the gospel, will be continually disclosing to him new proofs of its Divine original, that will be worth more to him than any merely "external evidence." And when the whole Word of God is made the constant study of one whose heart is open to the truth and loyal to God, such a one will find fuller and richer meaning in single words, such as goel, "grace," "righteousness," etc; when these words are put to their highest use in Divine revelation, than in whole tomes of merely human lore!
III. THE WORD SHOULD BE DUG INTO, THAT WE MAY APPROPRIATE ITS CONTENTS, BY ENLIGHTENED REASON AND LOWLY FAITH. These treasures are for the use of all, not merely to gratify them with the consciousness of ever making new discoveries, but to make them richer in the accumulating stores of holy thought. And if we, in the right spirit, explore these sacred pages, we shall ourselves become richer in knowledge, in gladness, in hope. If we cultivate a willingness to do God's will, and seek to know the truth for the purpose of doing the right, we shall find that much that is "hidden from the wine and prudent is, by means of the Book," revealed unto babes."
IV. THE MORE WE THUS DIG INTO THE BOOK OF THE LAW, THE MORE EXHAUSTLESS IT WILL SEEM. No one is there, who lovingly and prayerfully studies it, who will not come to say, with a feeling that becomes intenser year by year, "There remaineth very much land to be possessed." "High as the heaven is above the earth, so are" God's "ways higher than" our "ways, and" God's "thoughts than" our "thoughts!"
V. THE ACCUMULATING STORES OF HOLY THOUGHT SHOULD BE TRANSMUTED BY US INTO THE WEALTH OF HOLY LIFE. It is not for naught that our God has so enriched this world with thoughts from heaven. It is not merely that the intellect may be furnished or the taste for research gratified. Oh no; it is for our life. Heaven has poured forth its wealth upon earth, that earth may send up its love and loyalty to heaven. Precious are the riches of truth. The riches of holiness are more precious still. God gives us the first that we may yield him the second. God would win Israel's love by unveiling his own. So now, "God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." How great will be our guilt, how severe our condemnation, if we let such priceless disclosures remain unnoticed and unused! It were better for us not to have known the way of righteousness than, after we have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto us. May we, through the Spirit, so use the truth of God as to find our joy and salvation in the God of the truth.
Deu_1:1-8
together with Exo_23:20-33.
I. THE HEBREW RIGHT TO CANAAN DIVINELY CONFIRMED. A double use has been made of the command to dispossess the Canaanites:
1. By skeptics, to impugn the morality of the Old Testament.
2. By professing Christian men, to justify wars of aggression now. Now we might meet both these by one short and ready reply, viz. "If God commanded the Hebrews to exterminate the Canaanites, no defense is required; if God did not command them, no defense avails." But there is a more appropriate way of meeting the two cases. As to the first, we would say, "Before you pronounce it immoral, look at the entire bearings of the case, that you may see if the Israelites had an adequate warrant for the course they took." As to the second, "Before you regard this as a pattern, look at the entire bearings of the case, that you may see if there is any ground for adducing the wars of the Hebrews as a justification or palliation of aggressive war now." If men go to the Book to learn what the Israelites did, they must in all fairness go to the Book to see the grounds on which they did it. And the same teaching that will answer the one question, Were they justified? will also answer the other, Should we be justified in imitating them? Thirteen points present themselves for distinct and cumulative consideration. We can but name them.
(1) God spake to Moses.
(2) In speaking to Moses, God but confirmed the promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
(3) God defines the bounds of the land to be possessed.
(4) God makes the claim, "All the earth is mine;" consequently he has a right to give the land to whomsoever he will.
(5) In choosing Israel, God would have a people for himself who should be his witnesses.
(6) God foresaw the time for carrying out this plan (Gen_15:1-21.).
(7) The preparation of the land was of God (Exo_23:20).
(8) The ground on which the Canaanites were dispossessed was their enormous wickedness (Deu_9:4, Deu_9:5).
(9) Israel was consequently only the means in the Divine hand of carrying out an explicit Divine purpose.
(10) To spare the Canaanites would have been to infect Israel with their abominations.
(11) God would deliver the nations into Israel's hand.
(12) On a land and among a people recognized as God's, the Most High would reassert in the world the well-nigh forgotten truth, "The Lord our God is holy."
(13) Even Israel's continuance in the land would depend on their maintenance of the principles which had been entrusted to their keeping, and on their loyalty to the God who had chosen them for his own (Deu_28:49). When we put all these principles together, the two questions suggested at the outset receive a direct and sufficient reply.
II. ACCESS TO CANAAN DIVINEY SECURED. "I will send an angel before thee" (Exo_23:14; Exo_32:34; Isa_63:9; Mal_3:1; Act_7:38, Act_7:53; Joh_1:51). It is only as we study the more advanced revelations of the New Testament as to the place of angels in the Divine administration, and the lordship of Jesus Christ over them, that all these texts of Scripture are seen to fit in together. Note the specific statements in Exodus xxiii, as to God clearing Israel's way.
III. DUTY IN REFERENCE TO CANAAN DIVINELY REGULATED. Negatively: they were neither to bow down to false gods nor to mix with the heathen. Positively: they were to serve and fear God and to practice the right.
IV. PROMISES CONCERNING PROSPERITY IN CANAAN DIVINELY GIVEN (Exo_23:25). Blessing on food, health, long life (cf. Mat_6:33; Psa_91:16). A separate homily might well be devoted to the temporal benefits naturally resulting from obedience to God. The application of all this to us in these days is manifest.
1. What Israel was once in the world God expects his Church to be now (cf. Exo_19:5, Exo_19:6 with 1Pe_2:9).
2. In Jesus Christ we have a new covenant, a better ministry, greater promises (Heb_8:6).
3. We have a commission for the world. We have to co-operate with God in bringing about new heavens and a new earth, by working in accordance with his plan of redeeming and educating our race. We have no commission to destroy. The Lord hath given us a power for edification but none for destruction. Our commission runs, "Go, baptize and teach." We have not to supersede the occupation of territory held by a barbarous nation, through its enforced occupation by a civilized one, but to go and teach all nations that each nation may supersede its own barbarism by a civilization that is equally its own.
4. This commission is to be fulfilled by the Word of Truth, by the power of God. By spiritual weapons only can our victories be won. In the might of a love that has conquered us, and in that might alone, we are to go forth to make the conquest of the world.
"These weapons of the holy war,
Of what almighty force they are,
To make our stubborn passions bow,
And lay the proudest rebel low!"
Deu_1:6-18
1. That the choice of rulers, etc; is put into the people's hands; they are to select, Moses is to ratify the selection.
2. They are to choose men of righteousness, who will fear God and do justice.
3. When the judges are chosen, Moses seeks solemnly to impress on them the high and holy responsibilities of their office.
4. The supreme reason for this care in judging rightly is found in the fact that the cause is God's, i.e. that they are rulers under God and for him—representing Divine laws in the earthly sphere. The state is sacredly to be governed by the laws of righteousness, and by such laws alone. Hence a subject is opened up to us which is of no small moment, viz. Principles and facts to be borne in mind in choosing rulers of the people. Observe—
I. THAT THE CHOOSING OF MEN TO TAKE PART IN MAKING OR ADMINISTERING A NATION'S LAWS IS A SOLEMN AND MOMENTOUS CONCERN. It matters comparatively little, so far as our present topic is concerned, what may be the peculiar form of government adopted, or what may be the mode of choosing men for office in the State. For—
1. The position such men occupy is an exalted one. It is self-evident that when they have to take part in governing or carrying out the laws of the laud, it is of the utmost moment that they should be men who are capable of perceiving what measures will tend to the people's good. A country may be perishing from the want of good laws, if its rulers are not competent, wise, and just.
2. The influence such men wield in private circles is largely increased from the fact of their public position.
3. Their representative character is another element of great moment. Great men and good will elevate common questions to their own level; while worthless men will fail to appreciate the importance of the greatest questions of the day.
4. The great matters which may—nay, must—come before the rulers of a nation, are such as may involve that nation's honor or discredit among the nations of the world; yen, more, they are such as will do much, according as they are decided, to bring upon a people the blessing or the wrath of Almighty God! Hence—
II. THE POSSESSION OF A POWER TO PUT MEN IN SUCH AN OFFICE OR OFFICES, IS A TRUST FOR THE USE OF WHICH THOSE WHO POSSESS THAT POWER ARE RESPONSIBLE TO THEIR COUNTRY AND THEIR GOD! The decisions of earthly judges ought to be the earthly expression of heavenly law. Hence to let whim, or caprice, or passion, or partisanship carry us away, when such concerns are at issue, and to forget the everlasting laws of righteousness, is to tamper with the public interest, and to betray a solemn trust. Therefore—
III. IN THE DISCHARGE OF THIS TRUST, STRICT REGARD MUST BE PAID TO PERSONAL CHARACTER. (See Exo_18:21.) Even a pagan felt this. It was the priest of Midian who said, "Thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness"—a fourfold qualification, so comprehensive that, where it is possessed, a man may be safely entrusted with any office. Such men will undertake their work as those who are responsible to God; they will ever be on the look out to perceive what the interests of their country may require at their hands; they will seek to qualify themselves to take part in the public questions which will come before them; without seeking their own honor, they will aim at judging as is wisest and best; and their supreme aim will be that the government they help to administer should be ever in harmony with righteousness and truth. If all its public men answer all these requirements, a country cannot go far wrong; but if a nation's leaders are themselves lacking in virtue, how can there be any security for that righteousness and truth which exalt a nation, when a country is at the mercy of men who knew not the one neither regard the other?
IV. A CONSIDERATION WHICH GIVES INFINITE WEIGHT TO THE ABOVE PRINCIPLES IS THAT THE JUDGMENT OF EARTHLY RULERS IS INTENDED, IN ITS WAY, TO BE A COPY OF THE DIVINE. "The judgment is God's," says Moses. It is God's judgment, expressed through his own appointed officers (see Rom_13:1-14.). Secular judgments should have sacred principles underlying them. And we cannot divorce the secular from the sacred without great mischief accruing. But, finally: the judgment is God's in another sense. HE is the Supreme Judge; and whether men use their judgment well or ill, God will exercise his own. The principles of the Divine government of nations are developed by Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, Amos, and others. [No nation can escape from the sway of the Mighty One; if God's laws are set at naught, his judgments will follow, that, while they are abroad in the earth, the inhabitants thereof may learn righteousness.
II. MATERIAL PENURY A CONDITION FOR HEAVENLY ENRICHMENT. The scene for the revelation of God, is the wilderness. Stripped of earthly luxuries, the mind opens its portals to heavenly visitation. This is not a necessity arising out of the nature of things, but it is a necessity for man in his present state. The son of Zacharias, though a priest, turned his back upon the temple, and chose the wilderness as the theatre most suitable for his ponderous undertaking. This the spirit of prophecy had foreseen. It was in the desert, Jesus fed the thousands by a creative word. In the desert, Paul was equipped for shaking the foundations of paganism. In Patmos, John passed through- the—portals of the spirit-world.
III. HUMAN POWER IS FORMAL—GOD'S POWER REAL. To the eye of mortal sense, the Hebrews, drilled and officered, fought victoriously with Amalek and Moab; nevertheless, a clearer vision sees that it was God that slew Sihon, King of the Amorites, and 'Og, King of Bashan. Let us be sure that what we do, God does by us! Be we the agents; God the principal! In righteous warfare, "He teacheth our fingers to fight." In us hourly let God be immanent. "God wills it," therefore let us will it also. "He worketh in us."
IV. IMMEDITATION AND ACTION INTEGRAL PARTS OF HEALTHFUL LIFE. "Ye have dwelt long enough in this mount." The body may be wrecked by surfeit, as well as by hunger. Knowledge is not entirely ours, until it is reduced to practice. Heavenly wisdom is essentially practical. All light is designed for service. The doctrines of religion are raw materials, which are to be put into the warp and woof of our daily life. Is "the Lamb the light of the heavenly place?" The saints "follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth." Meditation qualifies for action; action demands new meditation. These are the two wings, without both of which the eagle cannot rise. "Come ye into the desert;" "Go and preach;"—these are the twin behests of Christ.
V. GOD'S ABSOLUTE PURPOSES LEAVE FULL SCOPE FOR MAN'S OBEDIENCE. How the two things are co-related, we cannot ascertain. The point of junction is among the incomprehensible—beneath the surface of things. There is now and again seeming discord; but as we listen on there is a profounder harmony. The Lord swore unto the patriarchs to give them the land of Canaan. Yet the spies brought back an ill report; and the people debated and murmured, vacillated and countermarched, as if they had been the umpires of their destiny.
VI. GOD'S PROVISION IS ALWAYS MORE AMPLE THAN MAN'S DESIRE. God's plan for Israel's territory extended from Mount Lebanon to the Euphrates; but Israel never rose to the full height of God's design. "Ask what I shall give thee" is still the message from heaven to every man. "Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it." "We have not because we ask not." There is abundance of sea-room in God's plan for the largest human endeavor; and every day the voice of the Great Proprietor reminds us, "There is yet very much land to be possessed." "All things are yours."—D.
Deu_1:9-18
II. POPULAR CHOICE OF RULERS TO BE DETERMINED BY A SINGLE LAW, VIZ. PERSONAL MERIT. To lift the voice for an unqualified ruler is a crime against the State—an injury, and not a benefit, to the person elect. To allow personal qualification to dominate the choice, is to make God the umpire. This is, in civic affairs, "to do his will on earth as it is done in heaven."
III. THERE IS ROOM, BOTH IN THE CHURCH AND IN THE STATE, FOR VARIOUS OFFICES. If a man cannot rule five thousand, he may be able to rule fifty. Service in a subordinate station may qualify for higher dignity. Gradation of rank best conserves the interests of the nation. "Order is Heaven's first law."
IV. ALL HUMAN AUTHORITY IS IN THE STEAD OF GOD. "The judgment is God's." Magistrates act in God's stead. Parents likewise. Every man is bound to act as God would act. He represents God always and everywhere. All talent is a trust. We are the stewards of God's estate.
V. HUMANITY IS FAR SUPERIOR TO NATIONALITY, CLASS, OR SECT. Every man, however poor or ignorant, is to be accounted a brother. In the commonwealth of Israel there are no strangers. Nationality is but a pasteboard separation. "God hath made of one blood all nations." The great divider is sin. A heaven-kindled eye penetrates through every crust of barbarism and vice, and sees a man beneath. Here is a kingly nature, though now enslaved.
VI. GROWTH OF NUMBERS IS A TOKEN OF DIVINE APPROBATION. In the ratio of material abundance and contentment, is increase of population. It was one of the presages of Messiah's kingdom, "they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth." In heathen lands population is sparse. War and pestilence decimate the ranks. In proportion as sound Christianity prevails, the subjects of the state augment. Every additional man ought to be an increment of strength and usefullness.
VII. PRAYER HAS A RECOGNIZED PLACE IN GOD'S GOVERNMENT. Promise always waits on prayer, as harvest waits on the husbandman's toil. However abundant are the promises, yet for the fulfillment God will be inquired of to do it for us. When prayer has its root in God's specific promise, it must bear fruit in proportion as faith enlarges her boughs. This is wise building, for we found our expectations upon eternal rock.
VIII. GOOD MEN GREATLY DESIRE THEIR COUNTRY'S GOOD. Patriotism is a goodly virtue, though not the noblest. To fence ourselves round with selfish interests is despicable. We envy not that man's narrow soul who has no sympathy nor energy for his nation's weal. The best Christian will take some interest in everything—in municipal matters, international treaties, literature, science, commerce, art. In the broadest sense, he is a citizen of the world. He lives to bless others. This is Christ like.—D.
II. THE HEARERS. "All Israel." A new generation had sprung up from that which had received the Law at Sinai.
1. All are concerned in hearing God's message. "It is your life" (Deu_32:47).
2. New-comers need new teaching.
III. THE SITUATION. "In the wilderness"—still there at the end of forty years. The places named (Deu_1:1), suggestive of past wanderings and rebellions. Form a background to the discourses that follow, and point home their lessons. We learn:
1. The value of association as an aid in teaching.
2. Our past cannot be got rid of, but it may be utilized.
3. God's Word is to be pondered in the light of bygone experiences.
4. The comparison of our actual situation with what it might have been (Deu_1:2) is often a salutary exercise (cf. Luk_15:17).
IV. THE SUBJECT. "All that the Lord had given him in commandment." We find that this does not refer to a new commandment, but to the old commandment which they had from the beginning (cf. 1Jn_2:8).
1. Men crave for novelty, but the function of the preacher is to remind them of the truths which do not change, and to give "line upon line, precept upon precept," until loyal and hearty obedience is rendered to the same.
2. Exhortation is most effective when it takes as its basis the sure Word of God.
3. God's Word is to be spoken in its entirety.
V. THE TIME. "In the fortieth year, in the eleventh month"—when the attack on the Canaanites was about to be renewed, and after signal tokens of Divine favor had already been granted (Deu_1:4).
1. God's mercies call for renewed dedication (Psa_116:12-14).
2. The recollections of wasted years should prove an incentive to obedience in the future (Rom_13:11, Rom_13:12; Eph_5:15, Eph_5:16; 1Pe_4:3).
3. We need God's commandment in our memories and hearts when entering on work in which formidable opposition is to be encountered, and which will put our fidelity to a severe test.
VI. THE MOTIVE.
1. The natural solicitude of old age. It is characteristic of old age to fall back upon and reiterate previous counsels. Compare Peter in his second Epistle (2Pe_1:16); the traditional stories of the old age of John; Paul in the pastoral Epistles, "urging and repeating and dilating upon truths which have been the food of his life" (Alford).
2. The lawgiver's knowledge of the rebelliousness of the people's disposition (Deu_9:24).
3. The Divine command (verse 3). This had respect to the altered circumstances of the new generation, and to the prospect of their entering the land promised to their fathers, continuance in which was conditional on obedience.—J.O.
Deu_1:2