and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, “Let’s go after other gods” (which you have not known) “and let’s serve them,” you shall not listen to the words of that prophet, or to that dreamer of dreams; for Yahweh your God is testing you, to know whether you love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after Yahweh your God, fear him, keep his commandments, and obey his voice. You shall serve him, and cling to him. That prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death, because he has spoken rebellion against Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to draw you aside out of the way which Yahweh your God commanded you to walk in. So you shall remove the evil from among you.
If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, entices you secretly, saying, “Let’s go and serve other gods”—which you have not known, you, nor your fathers;
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 5, 6 He showeth whereunto the false prophets tend.
He showeth whereunto the false prophets tend.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv2–6 Deu 13:2 And the sign or the wonder come…
Deu 13:2 And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;
Ver. 2. And the sign or the wonder come to pass.] For so it may happen by divine permission, for the exposing and shame of hypocrites; as when Jannes and Jambres turned water into blood, or at least seemed to do so. {Exo 7:22}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv2–6 And the sign or the wonder come to pass;…
And the sign or the wonder come to pass; which God may suffer for the reason after mentioned.
Saying: this word is to be joined with the beginning of Deu 13:1,
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If there arise among you a prophet, or dreamer of dreams, saying, what there follows,
and giveth thee a sign, & c., to confirm his doctrine; such transpositions are frequent.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v6 Further provision is made by this branch of the…
Further provision is made by this branch of the statute against receiving the infection of idolatry from those that are near and dear to us.
I. It is the policy of the tempter to send his solicitations by the hand of those whom we love, whom we least suspect of any ill design upon us, and whom we are desirous to please and apt to conform ourselves to. The enticement here is supposed to come from a brother or child that are near by nature, from a wife or friend that are near by choice, and are to us as our own souls, Deu 13:6. Satan tempted Adam by Eve and Christ by Peter. We are therefore concerned to stand upon our guard against a bad proposal when the person that makes it can pretend to an interest in us, that we many never sin against God in compliment to the best friend we have in the world. The temptation is supposed to be private: he will entice thee secretly, implying that idolatry is a work of darkness, which dreads the light and covets to be concealed, and in which the sinner promises himself, and the tempter promises him, secrecy and security. Concerning the false gods proposed to be served, 1. The tempter suggests that the worshipping of these gods was the common practice of the world; and, if they limited their adorations to an invisible Deity, they were singular, and like nobody, for these gods were the gods of the people round about them, and indeed of all the nations of the earth, Deu 13:7. This suggestion draws many away from religion and godliness, that it is an unfashionable thing; and they make their court to the world and the flesh because these are the gods of the people that are round about them. 2. Moses suggests, in opposition to this, that it had not been the practice of their ancestors; they are gods which thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers. Those that are born of godly parents, and have been educated in pious exercises, when they are enticed to a vain, loose, careless way of living should remember that those are ways which they have not known, they nor their fathers. And will they thus degenerate?
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II. It is our duty to prefer God and religion before the best friends we have in the world. 1. We must not, in complaisance to our friends, break God's law (Deu 13:8): "Thou shalt not consent to him. nor go with him to his idolatrous worship, no, not for company, or curiosity, or to gain a better interest in is affections." It is a general rule, If sinners entice thee, consent thou not, Pro 1:10. 2. We must not, in compassion to our friends, obstruct the course of God's justice. He that attempts such a thing must not only be looked upon as an enemy, or dangerous person, whom one should be afraid of, and swear the peace against, but as a criminal or traitor, whom, in zeal for our sovereign Lord, his crown and dignity, we are bound to inform against, and cannot conceal without incurring the guilt of a great misprision (Deu 13:9): Thou shalt surely kill him. By this law the persons enticed were bound to the seducer, and to give evidence against him before the proper judges, that he might suffer the penalty of the law, and that without delay, which the Jews say is here intended in that phrase, as it is in the Hebrew, killing thou shalt kill him. Neither the prosecution nor the execution must be deferred; and he that was first in the former must be first in the latter, to show that he stood to his testimony: "Thy hand shall be first upon him, to mark him out as an anathema, and then the hands of all the people, to put him away as an accursed thing." The death he must die was that which was looked upon among the Jews as the severest of all deaths. He must be stoned: and his accusation written is that he has sought to thrust thee away, by a kind of violence, from the Lord they God, Deu 13:10. Those are certainly our worst enemies that would thrust us from God, our best friend; and whatever draws us to sin, separates between us and God, is a design upon our life, and to be resented accordingly, And, lastly, here is the good effect of this necessary execution (Deu 13:11): All Israel shall hear and fear. They ought to hear and fear; for the punishment of crimes committed is designed in terrorem - to terrify, and so to prevent their repetition. And it is to be hoped they will hear and fear, and by the severity of the punishment, especially when it is at the prosecution of a father, a brother, or a friend, will be made to conceive a horror of the sin, as exceedingly sinful, and to be afraid of incurring the like punishment themselves. Smite the scorner that sins presumptuously, and the simple, that is in danger of sinning carelessly, will beware.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv2–6 And the sign and wonder come to pass whereof…
And the sign and wonder come to pass whereof he spake unto thee,.... The sign he promised to give, or the miracle he proposed to do, to show the reality of his mission, and the truth of his doctrine, which is performed, or seemingly performed, by legerdemain, by magic art, or by the help of the devil; which the Lord sometimes suffered for the trial of the faith and obedience of his people, and for the hardening of others in their unbelief, and which issues in their destruction; see Th2 2:9,
saying, let us go after other gods (which thou hast not known), and let us serve them; other gods besides the one living and true God, the Creator of all things; strange gods, the idols of the people, as the Targum of Jonathan; such as they had never heard of, nor had any knowledge of, nor any benefit from, as they had of the Lord their God. Now the doctrines of these, and of their worship, are what the false prophet or dreamer is supposed to come with, and inculcate into the minds of the people; and for the confirmation of which, and in order to draw them into the reception of them, and act according to them, he proposed to give a sign or wonder.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv3, 5, 6 Thou shalt not hearken to that prophet - Not…
Thou shalt not hearken to that prophet - Not receive his doctrine, though the sign come to pass. For although when such a sign or wonder foretold did not follow or come to pass, it was a sign of a false prophet, yet when it did come to pass, it was no sufficient sign of a true one, especially, in such a case. There are many things, which may be wrought by evil spirits, God so permitting it for wise and just reasons, not only for the trial of the good, but also for the punishment of ungodly men. Proveth you - That is, trieth your faith and love and obedience. To know - Namely, judicially, or in a publick manner, so as both you and others may know and see it, that so the justice of his judgments upon you may be more evident and glorious.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv3, 6 Verse 3. The Lord your God proveth you] God…
Verse 3. The Lord your God proveth you] God permits such impostors to arise to try the faith of his followers, and to put their religious experience to the test; for he who experimentally knows God cannot be drawn away after idols. He who has no experimental knowledge of God, may believe any thing. Experience of the truths contained in the word of God can alone preserve any man from Deism, or a false religion. They who have not this are a prey to the pretended prophet, and to the dreamer of dreams.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv2, 5, 6 Deu 13:2-3. And the sign or wonder come to…
Deu 13:2-3. And the sign or wonder come to pass — God permitting Satan or his agents to do what is above the ordinary course of nature for thy trial. Saying, Let us go after other gods — That is, who, upon the sign’s coming to pass which he gave thee to confirm his doctrine, would persuade thee to go after other gods. Thou shalt not hearken unto that prophet — Shalt not receive his doctrine; but, though the event confirm the prediction, thou shalt look upon him as a liar, and teacher of false doctrine. For the Lord your God proveth you — That is, trieth your faith, love, and obedience, and examineth your sincerity by your constancy in his service, in opposition to all temptations to desert it. To know — Or make known publicly and openly, namely, that both you and others may know and see it, in order that the justice of his dispensations toward you, whether in judgment or mercy, may be evident and glorious. The reasonableness of what Moses here enjoins is manifest. For the existence and infinite perfections of the one living and true God, the truth and goodness of his religion, and the authority of his laws being already so fully demonstrated by evidences of all kinds, evidences continued, and beyond all exception; and, on the contrary, the gods of the heathen being so evidently either nonentities or false pretenders to divinity, and their worship so full of absurdity, folly, and the worst kinds of wickedness, it was not to be thought that a mere miracle, or a number of miracles or wonders, for the performance of which, if really performed, they could not account, or the fulfilling of a prediction, by any opposer of the true God, was a sufficient reason why they should abandon God’s worship, call in question the truth of his religion, or go after any other god. Moses properly teaches them that the true divinity of miracles and wonders ought to be judged of by the doctrines, designs, and purposes, for the abetting and confirming whereof they were wrought; that every pretender to miracles, who would seduce men to false and irrational principles of religion, was to be looked upon as an impostor, and notwithstanding all he could do or say, they were steadily to adhere to the service of Him who had given them so many proofs that he, and he alone, was the true God, and to his religion and worship, which had been so amply confirmed; concluding that God, by permitting such impostors, intended only to try their faith and sincerity. Compare 1Co 12:3; 1Jn 4:1-6. We may infer from hence, that the attempts of the Roman Catholics to prove their peculiar doctrines by miracles are vain; for they ought first to show them to be agreeable to reason and religion, before they attempt to prove them by miracles. For so long as they appear contrary to reason and Scripture, and repugnant to common sense, it will never be in the power of miracles, how numerous and stupendous soever, to establish the truth of them. Far less of their pretended miracles, which are nothing else but mere tricks and impostures.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv2, 5, 6 The Lord had said, “Thou shalt have none other…
The Lord had said, “Thou shalt have none other gods but Me.” A prophet is here supposed who invites the people “to go after other gods.” To such a one no credit is under any circumstances to be given, even should he show signs and wonders to authenticate his doctrine. The standing rule of faith and practice had been laid down once for all - that the people were to hold fast. The prophet who propounded another rule could only be an impostor.
A different case is considered in Deu 18:18, etc.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 5, 6 To pass. The completion of a prophecy does not…
To pass. The completion of a prophecy does not always prove, that the person who uttered it was a true prophet. Chance, a knowledge of natural causes, &c., may enable an impostor sometimes to hit upon the truth. God may also, for reasons known to himself, declare what will come to pass, by the mouth of a false prophet, or of a wicked man, as he did by Balaam and Caiphas. Judas wrought miracles before his apostacy. (Calmet) --- Yet if any who had been so highly favoured, should attempt to enforce by their preceding miracles, any false doctrine, let him be anathema, Galatians i. 8. --- Not. The Hebrews had inconvertible proofs of the existence of one God. They could not therefore acknowledge any other. (Haydock) --- Novelty in religion is a mark of idolatry or of heresy. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v6 WITHOUT REGARD TO NEARNESS OF RELATION. (Deu 13:6-18)
WITHOUT REGARD TO NEARNESS OF RELATION. (Deu 13:6-18)
If thy brother . . . entice thee secretly--This term being applied very loosely in all Eastern countries (Gen 20:13), other expressions are added to intimate that no degree of kindred, however intimate, should be allowed to screen an enticer to idolatry, to conceal his crime, or protect his person. Piety and duty must overcome affection or compassion, and an accusation must be lodged before a magistrate.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv3, 5, 6 3. The Lord your God proveth you — These…
3. The Lord your God proveth you — These false prophets with their lying wonders would test the sincerity of the obedience of the people. Comp. Deu_8:2.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On v6 6–11 (7–12 in Heb.). Against Israelites, who entice to…
6–11 (7–12 in Heb.). Against Israelites, who entice to Strange Gods
A subtler source of seduction to idolatry may be found in one’s own kith and kin: one of the many proofs of D’s sympathy with, and understanding of, the influences of family life.
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Deu_13:6. If thy brother, the son of thy mother] With Sam. and LXX, after brother add the son of thy father or; so that both full brother and half-brother are included.
or thy son, or thy daughter] Completing the blood relations (very significantly and characteristically father and mother are not mentioned as possible sources of temptation) only after whom we come to—
or the wife of thy bosom] Deu_28:54; Deu_28:56, cp. ‘Mi.’ Deu_7:5 : a tribute (cp. daughter) to the spiritual influence of women in D’s view. As a matter of fact the danger was as great here as anywhere else.
or thy friend, which is as thine own soul] or self. 1Sa_18:1; 1Sa_18:3; 1Sa_20:17.
entice] or allure, in D only here.
secretly] In contrast to the public enticements of the prophet.
saying, Let us go, etc.] See on Deu_13:2.
Deu_13:7. of the gods of the peoples which are round about you] The Pl. you (confirmed by LXX) shows that the words which are round-about-you are merely an editorial echo of Deu_6:14, and ought to be deleted; they are unnecessary and awkward with the following nigh unto thee, etc.
or far off from thee, etc.] By the 8th and 7th centuries (under Ahaz and Manasseh) the evil influence of cults of peoples at a distance had been added to those of the Canaanites, prevalent in the previous centuries.
Deu_13:8. consent] be willing, cp. Deu_1:26.
neither shalt thine eye pity him] Deu_7:16, Deu_19:13; Deu_19:21, Deu_25:12.
spare] In D only here.
conceal] That is by silence (Psa_32:5; Psa_40:11): cp. secretly, Deu_13:6.
Deu_13:9. thou shalt surely kill him] No such previous procedure as in Deu_17:4 is necessary in this case, for the persons commanded to slay are themselves witnesses of the fact. Note, however, that LXX has here, thou shalt report or denounce him (ἀναγγέλλων ἀναγγελεῖς περὶ αὐτοῦ) which is possible by a small change in the consonants of the Hebrew text.
thine hand shall be first upon him] As that of the witness of his crime and also because the family responsibility precedes that of the people. But—
afterwards the hand of all the people] For throughout D the people is the ultimate judiciary: see on Deu_1:13, Deu_16:18.
Deu_13:10. stone him with stones] Also in Deu_17:5, Deu_21:21, Deu_22:21; Deu_22:24 : cp. Jos_7:25. This form of capital punishment was natural because of the ready supply of stones on the soil of Palestine, because it was a form in which all the people responsible for its execution could share, and also because of the belief that by covering the corpses the spirits of the dead were also finally laid to rest. For a curious case of the stoning of women who had reviled (or blasphemed) the sun see Musil, Ethn. Ber. 312.
to draw thee away] See on Deu_13:5.
house of bondmen] See on Deu_13:5.
Deu_13:11. all Israel] D’s usual phrase for the people: see on Deu_4:44.
shall hear, and fear] Deu_17:13, Deu_19:20, Deu_21:21.
do no more] Sam., LXX add still or again.
There is no more reason for taking this verse as secondary (Steuern.) than for taking as such the corresponding clause in Deu_13:5 (q.v.).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v6 (6) If thy brother.—The substance of this law is…
(6) If thy brother.—The substance of this law is that individual idolaters might be executed in Israel. It justifies Jehu and Jehoiada in destroying Baal out of Israel and Judah (2Ki_10:19-27; 2Ki_11:18). It also accounts for the covenant made in the time of Asa (2Ch_15:13), that whosoever would not serve the Lord God of Israel should be put to death whether man or woman.
The law may seem harsh, but its principle is reproduced in the Gospel: “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me” (Mat_10:37). “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Luk_14:26).
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It is impossible to deny or escape the identity of the Lord Jesus with the Jenovah of the Old Testament He does not always put the execution of His judgments into human hands, but He is the same for ever.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On v6 Vers. 6-11. A second case supposed is that of…
Vers. 6-11. A second case supposed is that of temptation to apostasy proceeding from some near relative or intimate friend. Not only was this to be resisted, but no consideration of affection or bend of friendship was to be allowed to interfere with the stern sentence which doomed the tempter to death; on the contrary, the person tempted was to be the first to lay hands on the tempter and put him to death. This was to be done by stoning, and the person he had tried to seduce was to cast the first stone.
Thy brother, the son of thy mother; thy full brother, allied to thee by the closest fraternal tie. The wife of thy Bosom; the object of thy tenderest affection, Whom it is thine to protect and cherish. (cf. Deu_28:54, Deu_28:56; Mic_7:5) Thy friend, which is as thine own soul; i.e. whom thou lovest as thyself. The word translated "friend" (re, for hore) is from a verb which signifies to delight in, and conveys primarily the idea not merely of a companion, but of a friend in whom one delights; and the definition of true friendship is the loving another as one"s self (Aristot., "Eth. Nic.," 9:5). As commonly used, however, the word designates any one with whom one has any dealing or intercourse; and so our Lord expounds it. (Luk_10:29, etc.) Secretly. If the temptation was in private, and so known only to thyself.
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Vers. 6-12. God or our brother.
Terribly stern is the duty here laid on the person enticed to idolatry. The law is adapted to an age of stern deeds, and to a people living under a stern dispensation. Yet, reflecting on the nature of the crime, on the constitution of the Jewish state, and on the issues to mankind which hung on the slender thread of this one nation"s fidelity, it is difficult to see how it could well have been less stern than it is. Its severity was perhaps its mercy. Note, too, that the criminal could be executed only after formal impeachment, fair trial, and conclusively established guilt. (cf. ver. 14; Deu_17:2-8 Deu_19:15-21)
I GOD ALLOWS NO CLAIM OF NATURAL AFFECTION TO INTERFERE WITH HIGHER DUTY TO HIMSELF. It is the same stern voice which we hear even in the Gospels (Mat_8:21, 22 10:37; Luk_14:26) The demands of God on his people"s supreme and undivided allegiance are not now a whit less rigorous than they were of old.
II GOD WOULD HAVE US REGARD THOSE WHO DELIBERATELY ATTEMPT TO SEDUCE US FROM HIM AS OUR WORST FOES. They really are so, whether they think it or not. No language is strong enough to paint the crime of seeking to seduce a soul from its allegiance to its God. The guilt of the man who deliberately sets himself to counter-work a child"s affection for its parent, and to produce alienation of heart between them, is trivial in comparison with it. The crime is that of soul-murder. For in fidelity to God lies the happiness of life here, and salvation in the world to come. We are not, therefore, to allow any private affection to blind us to the enormity of this crime. Those whom we cherish as dearest are only the more guilty if they take advantage of our affection to betray us into deadly sin.
III GOD REQUIRES THAT WE DO NOT SPARE THOSE WHO ARE GUILTY OF THIS CRIME. We are no longer called upon and we may be thankful for it-to impeach our seducers, and lead them out to death. Our religion requires that we return good for evil, that we pray for those who injure us, that we seek their conversion and salvation. But it does not require of us that we do not abhor their conduct, and severely reprobate and denounce it. We fail in duty if there is not placed on all attempts at spiritual seduction the immediate brand of our strongest condemnation. J.O.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv4, 6 Ye shall walk after the Lord your God.
Deu_13:4
Ye shall walk after the Lord your God.
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With, before, after
(with Gen_5:22; Gen_17:1):--You see that these three fragments, in their resemblances and in their differences, are equally significant. They concur in regarding life as a walk--a metaphor which expresses continuity, so that every mans life is a whole, which expresses progress, and which implies a goal. They agree in saying that God must be brought into a life somehow, and in some aspect, if that life is to be anything else but an aimless wandering, if it is to tend to the point to which every human life should attain. But then they diverge, and, if we put them together, they say to us that there are three different ways in which we ought to bring God into our life. We should walk with Him, like Enoch; we should walk before Him, as Abraham was bade to do; and we should walk after Him, as the command to do was given to all Israel.
I. Enoch walked with God. Two men travelling along a road keep each other company. How can two walk together except they be agreed? The Companion is at our side all the same, though the mists may have come down and we cannot see Him. Enoch and God walked together, by the simple exercise of the faith that fills the Invisible with one great, loving face. The one thing that parts a man from God, and makes it impossible for a heart to expatiate in the thought of His presence, is the contrariety to His will in our conduct.
II. And now take the other aspect suggested by the other little word God spoke to Abraham: I am the Almighty God, walk before Me and be thou perfect. That suggests, as I suppose I do not need to point out, the idea not only of communion, which the former phrase brought to our minds, but that of the inspection of our conduct. As ever in the great Taskmasters eye, says the stern Puritan poet, and although one may object to that word Taskmaster, yet the idea conveyed is the correct expansion of the commandment given to Abraham. Observe how walk with me is dovetailed, as it were, between the revelation I am the Almighty God and the injunction be thou perfect. This thought that we are in that Divine Presence, and that there is silently, but most really, a Divine opinion being formed of us, consolidated, as it were, moment by moment through our lives, is only tolerable if we have been walking with God. We must first walk with God before the consciousness that we are walking before Him becomes one that we can entertain and not go mad. When we are sure of the with we can bear the before. A masters eye maketh diligent servants. Walk before Me and you will be perfect. If you will walk before Me you will be perfect.
III. Lastly, take the other relation, which is suggested by the third of my texts, where Israel as a whole is commanded to walk after the Lord their God. In harmony with the very frequent expression of the Old Testament about going after idols, so Israel here is to go after God. What does that mean? Communion, the consciousness of being judged by God will lead on to aspiration and loving, longing effort to get nearer and nearer to Him. My soul followeth hard after Thee, said the Psalmist, Thy right hand upholdeth me. That element of yearning aspiration, of eager desire to be closer and closer, and liker and liker, to God must be in all true religion. And I need not do more than remind you of another meaning involved in this same expression. If I walk after God, then I let Him go before me and show me my road. Do you remember how, when the ark was to cross Jordan, the commandment was given to the Israelites to let it go well on in front, so that there could be no mistake about the course, for ye have not passed this way heretofore. Do not be in too great a hurry to press upon the heels of God, if I may so say. Do not let your decisions outrun His providence. Keep back the impatience that would hurry on, and wait for His ripening purposes to ripen and His counsels to develop themselves. Walk after God, and be sure you do not go in front of your Guide, or you will lose both your way and your Guide. I need not say more than a word about the highest aspect which this third of our commandments takes: His sheep follow Him, leaving us an example that we should follow in His steps. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)
The ladder of attainment
From these words we gather that many expressions were needed to describe the true disposition and attitude of the mind of Israel toward God. Each expression denotes something different, and each seems to make a progressive advance.
I. Ye shall walk after the Lord your God. This means follow Him, i.e. go whither He would have you go. We must follow as the sheep follows the shepherd. But, again, we are not simply like sheep. When Israel came out of Egypt the trumpets were blown, and all followed in order behind them. This is of the first importance, that men should joyfully obey the cry. Follow Him--follow after Jesus!
II. Fear him. Those who resolve to follow Him must so do it that they shall honour Him and remember that He has power to withstand those who oppose Him. Gods people must be filled with a sense of His greatness, majesty, and righteousness as revealed in the Redeemer. Without the sense of this, we lose the attitude of mind in which we can best honour Him. Those who seek to follow Him without this fear are likely in time to become rebels in His kingdom.
III. Ye shall keep His commandments. God has given commands Thou shalt; Thou shalt not. The fear of God impels to the keeping of these. Not a cringing dread is this fear. This would make the keeping of the commandments merely a secondary matter. God must be so feared that what He has commanded shall be our delight to perform.
IV. Ye shall obey his voice. Even when His way seems enigmatic, and also when He gives special intimations of His will besides the commands laid down, just as He led Israel by ways they knew not, etc. On the way of life we must ever be on our guard so that we may find the right way, so much the more as snares are laid in our way by the adversary--from which we cannot deliver ourselves, but which we shall be able to avoid if we listen to the voice of the Spirit, who teaches us to be circumspect, and points out the way to us.
V. Ye shall serve Him, i.e. we must not be autocrats, but servants of God only. Thus we learn to please Him in self-denial and in a jealous care for His glory. Then, too, we shall gladly be found where the honour due to Him is offered with prayer and adoration.
VI. Ye shall cleave unto him, i.e. ye shall seek His presence with burning desires, and with deepest love and warmth of heart and spirit. When we have reached thus far, that we cleave to Him and Then grow up in Him, as the branch in the vine stem, great shall be our gain I may it be said of us, Where I am, there shall also My servant be! (J. C. Blumhardt.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v4 ‘Enoch walked with God,’- Gen 5:22.
Genesis
WITH, BEFORE, AFTER
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‘Enoch walked with God,’- Gen 5:22.
‘Walk before Me.’- Gen 17:1.
‘Ye shall walk after the Lord your God.’- Deu 13:4.
You will have anticipated, I suppose, my purpose in doing what I very seldom do-cutting little snippets out of different verses and putting them together. You see that these three fragments, in their resemblances and in their differences, are equally significant and instructive. They concur in regarding life as a walk-a metaphor which expresses continuity, so that every man’s life is a whole, which expresses progress, which expresses change, and which implies a goal. They agree in saying that God must he brought into a life somehow, and in some aspect, if that life is to be anything else but an aimless wandering, if it is to tend to the point to which every human life should attain. But then they diverge, and, if we put them together, they say to us that there are three different ways in which we ought to bring God into our life. We should ‘walk with Him,’ like Enoch; we should ‘walk before’ Him, as Abraham was bade to do; and we should ‘walk after’ Him, as the command to do was given to all Israel. And these three prepositions, with, before, after, attached to the general idea of life as a walk, give us a triple aspect-which yet is, of course, fundamentally, one-of the way in which life may be ennobled, dignified, calmed, hallowed, focussed, and concentrated by the various relations into which we enter with Him. So I take the three of them.
1. ‘Enoch walked with God.’
That is a sweet, simple, easily intelligible, and yet lofty way of putting the notion which we bring into a more abstract and less impressive shape when we talk about communion with God. Two men travelling along a road keep each other company. ‘How can two walk together except they be agreed?’ The companion is at our side all the same, though the mists may have come down and we cannot see Him. We can hear His voice, we can grasp His hand, we can catch the echoes of His steps. We know He is there, and that is enough. Enoch and God walked together, by the simple exercise of the faith that fills the Invisible with one great, loving Face. By a continuous, definite effort, as we are going through the bustle of daily life, and amid all the pettiness and perplexities and monotonies that make up our often weary and always heavy days, we can realise to ourselves that He is of a truth at our sides, and by purity of life and heart we can bring Him nearer, and can make ourselves more conscious of His nearness. For, brethren, the one thing that parts a man from God, and makes it impossible for a heart to expatiate in the thought of His presence, is the contrariety to His will in our conduct. The slightest invisible film of mist that comes across the blue abyss of the mighty sky will blot out the brightest of the stars, and we may sometimes not be able to see the mist, and only know that it is there because we do not see the planet. So unconscious sin may steal in between us and God, and we shall no longer be able to say, ‘I walk with Him.’
The Roman Catholics talk, in their mechanical way, of bringing down all the spiritual into the material and formal, about the ‘practice of the presence of God.’ It is an ugly phrase, but it means a great thing, that Christian people ought, very much more than they do, to aim, day by day, and amidst their daily duties, at realising that most elementary thought which, like a great many other elementary thoughts, is impotent because we believe it so utterly, that wherever we are, we may have Him with us. It is the secret of blessedness, of tranquillity, of power, of everything good and noble.
‘I am a stranger with Thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were,’ said the Psalmist of old. If he had left out these two little words, ‘with Thee,’ he would have been uttering a tragic complaint; but when they come in, all that is painful, all that is solitary, all that is transient, bitterly transient, in the long succession of the generations that have passed across earth’s scene, and have not been kindred to it, is cleared away and changed into gladness. Never mind, though you are a stranger, if you have that companion. Never mind, though you are only a sojourner; if you have Him with you, whatever passes He will not pass; and though we dwell here in a system to which we do not belong, and its transiency and our transiency bring with them many sorrows, when we can say, ‘Lord! Thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations,’ we are at home, and that eternal home will never pass.
Enoch ‘walked with God,’ and, of course, ‘God took him,’ There was nothing else for it, and there could be no other end, for a life of communion with God here has in it the prophecy and the pledge of a life of eternal union hereafter. So, then, ‘practise the presence of God.’ An old mystic says: ‘If I can tell how many times to-day I have thought about God, I have not thought about Him often enough.’ Walk with Him by faith, by effort, by purity.
2. And now take the other aspect suggested by the other word God spoke to Abraham: ‘I am the Almighty God, walk before Me and be thou perfect.’
That suggests, as I suppose I do not need to point out, the idea not only of communion, which the former phrase brought to our minds, but that of the inspection of our conduct. ‘As ever in the great Taskmaster’s eye,’ says the stern Puritan poet, and although one may object to that word ‘Taskmaster,’ yet the idea conveyed is the correct expansion of the commandment given to Abraham. Observe how ‘walk before Me’ is dovetailed, as it were, between the revelation ‘I am the Almighty God’ and the injunction ‘Be thou perfect.’ The realisation of that presence of the Almighty which is implied in the expression ‘Walk before Me,’ the assurance that we are in His sight, will lead straight to the fulfilment of the injunction that bears upon the moral conduct. The same connection of thought underlies Peter’s injunction, ‘Like as He . . .is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation,’ followed immediately as it is by, ‘If ye call on Him as Father, who without respect of persons judgeth’-as a present estimate-’according to every mail’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear’-that reverential awe which will lead you to be ‘holy even as I am holy.’
This thought that we are in that divine presence, and that there is silently, but most really, a divine opinion being formed of us, consolidated, as it were, moment by moment through our lives, is only tolerable if we have been walking with God. If we are sure, by the power of our communion with Him, of His loving heart as well as of His righteous judgment, then we can spread ourselves out before Him, as a woman will lay out her webs of cloth on the green grass for the sun to blaze down upon them, and bleach the ingrained filth out of them. We must first walk ‘with God’ before the consciousness that we are walking ‘before’ Him becomes one that we can entertain and not go mad. When we are sure of the ‘with’ we can bear the ‘before.’
Did you ever see how on a review day, as each successive battalion and company nears the saluting-point where the General inspecting sits, they straighten themselves up and dress their ranks, and pull themselves together as they pass beneath his critical eye. A master’s eye makes diligent servants. If we, in the strength of God, would only realise, day by day and act by act of our lives, that we are before Him, what a revolution could be effected on our characters and what a transformation on all our conduct!
‘Walk before Me’ and you will be perfect. For the Hebrew words on which I am now commenting may be read, in accordance with the usage of the language, as being not only a commandment but a promise, or, rather, not as two commandments, but a commandment with an appended promise, and so as equivalent to ‘If you will walk before Me you will be perfect.’ And if we realise that we are under ‘the pure eyes and perfect judgment of’ God, we shall thereby be strongly urged and mightily helped to be perfect as He is perfect.
3. Lastly, take the other relation, which is suggested by the third of my texts, where Israel as a whole is commanded to ‘walk after the Lord’ their God.
In harmony with the very frequent expression of the Old Testament about ‘going after idols’ so Israel here is to ‘go after God.’ What does that mean? Communion, the consciousness of being judged by God, will lead on to aspiration and loving, longing effort to get nearer and nearer to Him. ‘My soul followeth hard after Thee,’ said the Psalmist, ‘Thy right hand upholdeth me.’ That element of yearning aspiration, of eager desire to be closer and closer, and liker and liker, to God must be in all true religion. And unless we have it in some measure, it is useless to talk about being Christian people. To press onwards, not as though we had already attained, but following after, if that we may apprehend that for which also we are apprehended, is the attitude of every true follower of Christ. The very crown of the excellence of the Christian life is that it never can reach its goal, and therefore an immortal youth of aspiration and growth is guaranteed to it. Christian people, are you following after God? Are you any nearer to Him than you were ten years ago? ‘Walk with Me, walk before Me, walk after Me.’
I need not do more than remind you of another meaning involved in this same expression. If I walk after God, then I let Him go before me and show me my road. Do you remember how, when the ark was to cross Jordan, the commandment was given to the Israelites to let it go well on in front, so that there should be no mistake about the course, ‘for ye have not passed this way heretofore.’ Do not be in too great a hurry to press upon the heels of God, if I may so say. Do not let your decisions outrun His providence. Keep back the impatience that would hurry on, and wait for His ripening purposes to ripen and His counsels to develop themselves. Walk after God, and be sure you do not go in front of your Guide, or you will lose both your way and your Guide.
I need not say more than a word about the highest aspect which this third of our commandments takes, ‘His sheep follow Him’-’leaving us an example that we should follow in His steps,’ that is the culmination of the walking ‘with,’ and ‘before,’ and ‘after’ God which these Old Testament saints were partially practising. All is gathered into the one great word, ‘He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk even as He walked.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv4–5 (See Scofield "Psa 19:9").
fear
(See Scofield "Psa 19:9").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v6 Seducers Among Relatives
Seducers Among Relatives
v. 6. If thy brother, the son of thy mother, one with whom a person is connected by the ties of the most intimate relationship, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, the very nearest relative, or thy friend which is as thine own soul, with whom one shares secrets unknown even to the very nearest kinsman, Pro 17:17; Pro 18:24, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods which thou hast not known, thou nor thy fathers;
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v. 7. namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth, whether the idols mere those of their heathen neighbors or such as were worshiped by heathen in the remote places of the world;
v. 8. thou shalt not consent unto him nor hearken unto him, neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him, the accumulation of synonyms serving to emphasize the greater duty toward God, one which exceeded that of any obligation toward any human being;
v. 9. but thou shalt surely kill him, immediately take the steps which were necessary to bring the Lord’s punishment upon him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, as accuser, witness, and even first avenger, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
v. 10. And thou shalt stone him with stones that he die, because He hath sought to thrust thee away from the Lord, thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, from the place where they were bondmen, serfs, and slaves.
v. 11. And all Israel shall hear and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you; the severity of the punishment as meted out to the seducer should serve to keep them from indulging in similar attempts and, in so far at least, cause the Law to be observed. So far as the Christians are concerned, it is the will of God that they separate themselves from every open, idolater and sinner who seduces others, by excommunicating him. Here the ties of even the closest relationship must be set aside in the interest of God’s honor, 1Co 5:11-13.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv4, 6 You will walk after Yahweh your God
You will walk after Yahweh your God
Obeying and worshiping Yahweh is spoken of as if the people were walking after or following Yahweh. AT: "You will obey Yahweh" (See: Metaphor)
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obey his voice
Here "voice" represents what Yahweh says. AT: "obey what he says" (See: Metonymy)
cling to him
To have a good relationship with Yahweh and to completely rely on him is spoken of as if the person were clinging to Yahweh. AT: "rely on him" (See: Metaphor)
will be put to death
This can be stated in active form. AT: "you must kill" (See: Active or Passive)
he has spoken rebellion
The abstract noun "rebellion" can be stated as a verb. AT: "he has tried to make you rebel" (See: Abstract Nouns)
who redeemed you out of the house of bondage
Yahweh rescuing the people of Israel from being slaves in Egypt is spoken of as if Yahweh paid money to redeem his people out of slavery. AT: "who rescued you out of the place where you were slaves" (See: Metaphor)
the house of bondage
Here "house of bondage" represents Egypt where the people of Yahweh had been slaves. AT: "Egypt where you were slaves" (See: Metonymy)
draw you out of the way in which Yahweh your God commanded you to walk
How God wants a person to live or behave is spoken of as if it were a way or road on which God wants his people to walk. A person trying to cause someone else to stop obeying God is spoken of as if the person were trying to get the other person to stop walking on God's way or road. AT: "make you disobey what Yahweh your God commanded" (See: Metaphor)
So put away the evil from among you
Here "the evil" refers to the evil person or the evil behavior. This nominal adjective can be stated as an adjective. AT: "So you must remove from among the people of Israel the person who does this evil thing" or "So you must kill this evil person" (See: Nominal Adjectives)
translationWords
walk
honor
command
obey
voice
worship
die
rebel
Egypt
redeem
house
enslave
evil
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv5–6 13:5 visionaries: Literally dreamer of dreams. • purge (literally…
13:5 visionaries: Literally dreamer of dreams. • purge (literally burn): God wanted false prophets to be completely eliminated, leaving no residue of their evil ways. See also 17:12; 19:13.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.