It shall happen, if you shall listen diligently to Yahweh your God’s voice, to observe to do all his commandments which I command you today, that Yahweh your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you, and overtake you, if you listen to Yahweh your God’s voice. You shall be blessed in the city, and you shall be blessed in the field. You shall be blessed in the fruit of your body, the fruit of your ground, the fruit of your animals, the increase of your livestock, and the young of your flock. Your basket and your kneading trough shall be blessed. You shall be blessed when you come in, and you shall be blessed when you go out. Yahweh will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be struck before you. They will come out against you one way, and will flee before you seven ways. Yahweh will command the blessing on you in your barns, and in all that you put your hand to. He will bless you in the land which Yahweh your God gives you. Yahweh will establish you for a holy people to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you shall keep the commandments of Yahweh your God, and walk in his ways. All the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by Yahweh’s name, and they will be afraid of you. Yahweh will grant you abundant prosperity in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground, in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers to give you. Yahweh will open to you his good treasure in the sky, to give the rain of your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You will lend to many nations, and you will not borrow. Yahweh will make you the head, and not the tail. You will be above only, and you will not be beneath, if you listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God which I command you today, to observe and to do, and shall not turn away from any of the words which I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
But it shall come to pass, if you will not listen to Yahweh your God’s voice, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come on you and overtake you. You will be cursed in the city, and you will be cursed in the field. Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed. The fruit of your body, the fruit of your ground, the increase of your livestock, and the young of your flock will be cursed. You will be cursed when you come in, and you will be cursed when you go out. Yahweh will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you put your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the evil of your doings, by which you have forsaken me. Yahweh will make the pestilence cling to you, until he has consumed you from off the land where you go in to possess it. Yahweh will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with fiery heat, with the sword, with blight, and with mildew. They will pursue you until you perish. Your sky that is over your head will be bronze, and the earth that is under you will be iron. Yahweh will make the rain of your land powder and dust. It will come down on you from the sky, until you are destroyed. Yahweh will cause you to be struck before your enemies. You will go out one way against them, and will flee seven ways before them. You will be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth. Your dead bodies will be food to all birds of the sky, and to the animals of the earth; and there will be no one to frighten them away. Yahweh will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with the tumors, with the scurvy, and with the itch, of which you can not be healed. Yahweh will strike you with madness, with blindness, and with astonishment of heart. You will grope at noonday, as the blind gropes in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways. You will only be oppressed and robbed always, and there will be no one to save you. You will betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her. You will build a house, and you won’t dwell in it. You will plant a vineyard, and not use its fruit. Your ox will be slain before your eyes, and you will not eat any of it. Your donkey will be violently taken away from before your face, and will not be restored to you. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and you will have no one to save you. Your sons and your daughters will be given to another people. Your eyes will look, and fail with longing for them all day long. There will be no power in your hand. A nation which you don’t know will eat the fruit of your ground and all of your work. You will only be oppressed and crushed always, so that the sights that you see with your eyes will drive you mad. Yahweh will strike you in the knees and in the legs with a sore boil, of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head. Yahweh will bring you, and your king whom you will set over yourselves, to a nation that you have not known, you nor your fathers. There you will serve other gods of wood and stone. You will become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where Yahweh will lead you away. You will carry much seed out into the field, and will gather little in, for the locust will consume it. You will plant vineyards and dress them, but you will neither drink of the wine, nor harvest, because worms will eat them. You will have olive trees throughout all your borders, but you won’t anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives will drop off. You will father sons and daughters, but they will not be yours, for they will go into captivity. Locusts will consume all of your trees and the fruit of your ground. The foreigner who is among you will mount up above you higher and higher, and you will come down lower and lower. He will lend to you, and you won’t lend to him. He will be the head, and you will be the tail.
All these curses will come on you, and will pursue you and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you didn’t listen to Yahweh your God’s voice, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded you. They will be for a sign and for a wonder to you and to your offspring forever. Because you didn’t serve Yahweh your God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things; therefore you will serve your enemies whom Yahweh sends against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in lack of all things. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you. Yahweh will bring a nation against you from far, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flies: a nation whose language you will not understand, a nation of fierce facial expressions, that doesn’t respect the elderly, nor show favor to the young. They will eat the fruit of your livestock and the fruit of your ground, until you are destroyed. They also won’t leave you grain, new wine, oil, the increase of your livestock, or the young of your flock, until they have caused you to perish. They will besiege you in all your gates until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout all your land. They will besiege you in all your gates throughout all your land which Yahweh your God has given you. You will eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters, whom Yahweh your God has given you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies will distress you. The man who is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye will be evil toward his brother, toward the wife whom he loves, and toward the remnant of his children whom he has remaining, so that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he will eat, because he has nothing left to him, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy will distress you in all your gates. The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye will be evil toward the husband that she loves, toward her son, toward her daughter, toward her young one who comes out from between her feet, and toward her children whom she bears; for she will eat them secretly for lack of all things in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy will distress you in your gates. If you will not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and fearful name, YAHWEH your God, then Yahweh will make your plagues and the plagues of your offspring fearful, even great plagues, and of long duration, and severe sicknesses, and of long duration. He will bring on you again all the diseases of Egypt, which you were afraid of; and they will cling to you. Also every sickness and every plague which is not written in the book of this law, Yahweh will bring them on you until you are destroyed. You will be left few in number, even though you were as the stars of the sky for multitude, because you didn’t listen to Yahweh your God’s voice. It will happen that as Yahweh rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so Yahweh will rejoice over you to cause you to perish and to destroy you. You will be plucked from the land that you are going in to possess. Yahweh will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth. There you will serve other gods which you have not known, you nor your fathers, even wood and stone. Among these nations you will find no ease, and there will be no rest for the sole of your foot; but Yahweh will give you there a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and pining of soul. Your life will hang in doubt before you. You will be afraid night and day, and will have no assurance of your life. In the morning you will say, “I wish it were evening!” and at evening you will say, “I wish it were morning!” for the fear of your heart which you will fear, and for the sights which your eyes will see. Yahweh will bring you into Egypt again with ships, by the way of which I told to you that you would never see it again. There you will offer yourselves to your enemies for male and female slaves, and nobody will buy you.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 17, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32, 36, 40, 42, 46, 50, 51, 52, 56, 57, 58, 61, 64, 66, 68 He will make thee the most excellent of all…
He will make thee the most excellent of all people.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68 Deu 28:1 And it shall come to pass, if…
Deu 28:1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe [and] to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
Ver. 1. If thou shalt hearken diligently.] Heb., If hearkening thou shalt hearken; if when God speaks once, thou shalt hear it twice; as David did, {Psa 62:11} by a blessed rebound of meditation and practice.
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Will set thee on high.] "Thou shalt ride upon the high places of the earth." {Isa 58:14} There thou shalt have thy commoration, but in heaven thy conversation {a} {Php 3:20} being a high and holy people, {Deu 26:19} high in worth, and humble in heart, as one saith of Athanasius.
{a} υψηλος τοις εργοις, ταπεινος δε τω φρονηματι - Nazian
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 vv1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 36, 37, 43, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 54, 56, 57, 58, 63, 65, 66, 68 i.e. Advance and honour thee with divers privileges and…
i.e. Advance and honour thee with divers privileges and blessings, as it here follows.
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 vv1, 15, 45 The blessings are here put before the curses, to…
The blessings are here put before the curses, to intimate, 1. That God is slow to anger, but swift to show mercy: he has said it, and sworn, that he would much rather we would obey and live than sin and die. It is his delight to bless. 2. That though both the promises and the threatenings are designed to bring and hold us to our duty, yet it is better that we be allured to that which is good by a filial hope of God's favour than that we be frightened to it by a servile fear of his wrath. That obedience pleases best which comes from a principle of delight in God's goodness. Now,
I. We have here the conditions upon which the blessing is promised. 1. It is upon condition that they diligently hearken to the voice of God (Deu 28:1, Deu 28:2), that they hear God speaking to them by his word, and use their utmost endeavours to acquaint themselves with his will, Deu 28:13. 2. Upon condition that they observe and do all his commandments (and in order to obedience there is need of observation) and that theykeep the commandments of God (Deu 28:9) and walk in his ways. Not only do them for once, but keep them for ever; not only set out in his ways, but walk in them to the end. 3. Upon condition that they should not go aside either to the right hand or to the left, either to superstition on the one hand, or profaneness on the other; and particularly that they should not go after other gods (Deu 28:14), which was the sin that of all others they were most prone to, and God would be most displeased with. Let them take care to keep up religion, both the form and power of it, in their families and nation, and God would not fail to bless them.
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II. The particulars of this blessing.
1. It is promised that the providence of God should prosper them in all their outward concerns. These blessings are said to overtake them, Deu 28:2. Good people sometimes, under the sense of their unworthiness, are ready to fly from the blessing and to conclude that it belongs not to them,; but the blessing shall find them out and follow them notwithstanding. Thus in the great day the blessing will overtake the righteous that say, Lord, when saw we thee hungry and fed thee? Mat 25:37. Observe,
(1.) Several things are enumerated in which God by his providence would bless them: - [1.] They should be safe and easy; a blessing should rest upon their persons wherever they were, in the city, or in the field, Deu 28:3. Whether their habitation was in town or country, whether they were husbandmen or tradesmen, whether their business called them into the city or into the field, they should be preserved from the dangers and have the comforts of their condition. This blessing should attend them in their journeys, going out and coming in, Deu 28:6. Their persons should be protected, and the affair they went about should succeed well. Observe here, What a necessary and constant dependence we have upon God both for the continuance and comfort of this life. We need him at every turn, in all the various movements of life; we cannot be safe if he withdraw his protection, nor easy if he suspend his favour; but, if he bless us, go where we will it is well with us. [2.] Their families should be built up in a numerous issue: blessed shall be the fruit of thy body (Deu 28:4), and in that the Lord shall make thee plenteous (Deu 28:11), in pursuance of the promise made to Abraham, that his seed should be as the stars of heaven for multitude, and that God would be a God to them, than which a greater blessing, and more comprehensive, could not be entailed upon the fruit of their body. See Isa 61:9. [3.] They should be rich, and have an abundance of all the good things of this life, which are promised them, not merely that they might have the pleasure of enjoying them, but (as bishop Patrick observes out of one of the Jewish writers) that they might have wherewithal to honour God, and might be helped and encouraged to serve him cheerfully and to proceed and persevere in their obedience to him. A blessing is promised, First, On all they had without doors, corn and cattle in the field (Deu 28:4, Deu 28:11), their cows and sheep particularly, which would be blessed for the owners' sakes, and made blessings to them. In order to this, it is promised that God would give them rain in due season, which is called his good treasure (Deu 28:12), because with this river of God the earth is enriched, Psa 65:9. Our constant supplies we must see coming from God's good treasure, and own our obligations to him for them; if he withhold his rain, the fruits both of the ground and of the cattle soon perish. Secondly, On all they had within doors, the basket and the store (Deu 28:5), the store-houses or barns, Deu 28:8. When it is brought home, God will bless it, and not blow upon it as sometimes he does, Hag 1:6, Hag 1:9. We depend upon God and his blessing, not only for our yearly corn out of the field, but for our daily bread out of our basket and store, and therefore are taught to pray for it every day. [4.] They should have success in all their employments, which would be a constant satisfaction to them: "The Lord shall command the blessing (and it is he only that can command it) upon thee, not only in all thou hast, but in all thou doest, all that thou settest thy hand to," Deu 28:8. This intimated that even when they were rich they must not be idle, but must find some good employment or other to set their hand to, and God would own their industry, and bless the work of their hand (Deu 28:12); for that which makes rich, and keeps so, is the blessing of the Lord upon the hand of the diligent, Pro 10:4, Pro 10:22. [5.] They should have honour among their neighbours (Deu 28:1): The Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations. He made them so, by taking them into covenant with himself, Deu 26:19. And he would make them more and more so by their outward prosperity, if they would not by sin disparage themselves. Two things should help to make them great among the nations: - First, Their wealth (Deu 28:12): "Thou shalt lend to many nations upon interest" (which they were allowed to take form the neighbouring nations), "but thou shalt not have occasion to borrow." This would give them great influence with all about them; for the borrower is servant to the lender. It may be meant of trade and commerce, that they should export abundantly more than they should import, which would keep the balance on their side. Secondly, Their power (Deu 28:13): "The Lord shall make thee the head, to give law to all about thee, to exact tribute, and to arbitrate all controversies." Every sheaf should bow to theirs, which would make them so considerable that all the people of the earth would be afraid of them (Deu 28:10), that is, would reverence their true grandeur, and dread making them their enemies. The flourishing of religion among them, and the blessing of God upon them, would make them formidable to all their neighbours, terrible as an army with banners. [6.] They should be victorious over their enemies, and prosper in all their wars. If any were so daring as to rise up against them to oppress them, or encroach upon them, it should be at their peril, they should certainly fall before them, Deu 28:7. The forces of the enemy, though entirely drawn up to come against them one way, should be entirely routed, and flee before them seven ways, each making the best of his way.
(2.) From the whole we learn (though it were well if men would believe it) that religion and piety are the best friends to outward prosperity. Though temporal blessings do not take up so much room in the promises of the New Testament as they do in those of the Old, yet it is enough that our Lord Jesus has given us his word (and surely we may take his word) that if we seek first the kingdom of God, and the righteousness thereof, all other things shall be added to us, as far as Infinite Wisdom sees good; and who can desire them further? Mat 6:33.
2. It is likewise promised that the grace of God should establish them a holy people, Deu 28:9. Having taken them into covenant with himself, he would keep them in covenant; and, provided they used the means of stedfastness, he would give them the grace of steadfastness, that they should not depart from him. Note, Those that are sincere in holiness God will establish in holiness; and he is of power to do it, Rom 16:25. He that is holy shall be holy still; and those whom God establishes in holiness he thereby establishes a people to himself, for a long as we keep close to God he will never forsake us. This establishment of their religion would be the establishment of their reputation (Deu 28:10): All the people of the earth shall see, and own, that thou art called by the name of the Lord, that is, "that thou art a most excellent and glorious people, under the particular care and countenance of the great God. They shall be made to know that a people called by the name Jehovah are without doubt the happiest people under the sun, even their enemies themselves being judges." The favourites of Heaven are truly great, and, first or last, it will be made to appear that they are so, if not in this world, yet at that day when those who confess Christ now shall be confessed by him before men and angels, as those whom he delights to honour.
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 vv1–64 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt…
And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God,.... In his law, and by his prophets:
to observe and to do all his commandments, which I command thee this day; for without observing them to do them, hearing them would be to little purpose, and they were all of them to be observed and done, the lesser and weightier matters of the law as they were commanded by Moses in the name of the Lord, and as they would be taught, explained, and enforced by the prophets:
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that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: as they were in the times of David and Solomon; See Gill on Deu 26:19.
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 vv1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 20, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 32, 33, 34, 36, 43, 45, 46, 54, 56, 57, 63, 65, 66, 68 The blessings of obedience, personal, family and national, ver.…
The blessings of obedience, personal, family and national, ver. 1-14. The curses of the disobedient; their extreme vexation, ver. 15-44. Their utter ruin and destruction, ver. 45-68.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 14, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 35, 36, 48, 49, 52, 56, 57, 64, 65, 68 The blessings which God pronounces on the obedient, 1-6.
CHAPTER XXVIII
The blessings which God pronounces on the obedient, 1-6.
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Particular privileges which the faithful shall receive, 7-13.
The curses pronounced against the ungodly and idolatrous, 14-19.
A detailed account of the miseries which should be inflicted on
them, should they neglect the commandments of the Lord, 20.
They shall be smitten with the pestilence, 21;
with consumption, fever, c., 22
drought and barrenness, 23, 24;
they shall be defeated by their enemies, 25, 26;
they shall be afflicted with the botch of Egypt, 27;
with madness and blindness, 28, 29;
they shall be disappointed in all their projects, 30;
deprived of all their possessions, and afflicted in all their
members, 31-35;
they and their king shall go into captivity, 36,
and become a by-word among the nations, 37.
Their land shall be unfruitful, and they shall be the lowest of
all people, 38-44.
All these curses shall come on them should they be disobedient,
45-48.
Character of the people by whom they should be subdued, 49, 50.
Particulars of their dreadful sufferings, 51-57.
A recapitulation of their wretchedness, 58-63.
The prediction that they shall be scattered among all the
nations of the earth, 64-68.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXVIII
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 vv1, 2, 9, 11, 13, 15, 20, 21, 27, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 43, 45, 46, 48, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 56, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 68 Deu 28:1. If thou hearken diligently — The foregoing…
Deu 28:1. If thou hearken diligently — The foregoing blessings and curses being appointed to be pronounced in so solemn a manner, Moses takes occasion from thence to enlarge upon both of them, to show the Israelites what they and their posterity had to expect at the hands of God, according as they complied or not with the terms of the covenant which they were now under.
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 vv1, 15 A comparison of this chapter with Exo 23:20-23 and…
A comparison of this chapter with Exo 23:20-23 and Lev. 26 will show how Moses here resumes and amplifies the promises and threats already set forth in the earlier records of the Law. The language rises in this chapter to the sublimest strains, especially in the latter part of it; and the prophecies respecting the dispersion and degradation of the Jewish nation in its later days are among the most remarkable in scripture. They are plain, precise, and circumstantial; and the fulfillment of them has been literal, complete, and undeniable.
The Blessing. The six repetitions of the word “blessed” introduce the particular forms which the blessing would take in the various relations of life.
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Deu 28:5
The “basket” or bag was a customary means in the East for carrying about whatever might be needed for personal uses (compare Deu 26:2; Joh 13:29).
The “store” is rather the kneading-trough Exo 8:3; Exo 12:34. The blessings here promised relate, it will be observed, to private and personal life: in Deu 28:7 those which are of a more public and national character are brought forward.
Deu 28:9
The oath with which God vouchsafed to confirm His promises to the patriarchs (compare Gen 22:16; Heb 6:13-14) contained by implication these gifts of holiness and eminence to Israel (compare the marginal references).
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 vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 13, 15, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 42, 43, 46, 47, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54, 56, 57, 59, 65, 66, 68 Earth. Similar denunciations are made, Leviticus xxvi. (Menochius)
Earth. Similar denunciations are made, Leviticus xxvi. (Menochius)
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).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 The Blessing and Curse and the Renewing of the…
The Blessing and Curse and the Renewing of the Covenant—the Last Discourse
Deuteronomy 28— 30
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Deu_28:1-68
1And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day: that the Lord thy God will set [give] thee on high above all nations of the earth: 2And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake [reach, come to, fall upon] thee, if [because (for)] thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the 3Lord thy God. Blessed shalt thou be1 [art thou] in the city, and blessed shalt thou 4be [art thou] in the field. Blessed shall be [is] the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks2 5[young] of thy sheep. Blessed shall be [is] thy basket and thy store [6kneading-trough: so the margin]. Blessed shalt thou be [art thou] when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be [art thou] when thou goest out. 7The Lord shall cause [give will the Lord] thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. 8The Lord shall command3 [May the Lord command] the blessing upon thee [for thy companion] in thy storehouse [gathering places, treasure houses, granaries], and in all that thou settest thine hand unto: and he shall [om. he shall] bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 9The Lord shall establish thee [set thee up, confirm] an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways. 10And all people of the earth shall see that [for] thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee. 11And the Lord shall make thee plenteous [superabundance will the Lord let thee have] in goods [for good, prosperity, as margin], in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee. 12The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure [his treasure, the good], the heaven to give the rain unto [of] thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. 13And the Lord shall make [give] thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be [thou art] above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: 14And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after [behind] other gods to serve them. 15But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this 16day: that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: Cursed shalt thou be [art thou] in the city, and cursed shalt thou be [art thou] in the field. 17, 18Cursed shall be [is] thy basket and thy store. Cursed shall be [om. shall be] the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks 19of thy sheep. Cursed shalt thou be [art thou] when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be [art thou] when thou goest out. 20The Lord shall send upon [against thee cursing, vexation [perplexity (confusion, consternation)], and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do [which thou wouldest do], until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly:4 because of the wickedness of thy doings whereby [in respect to which; because] thou hast forsaken me. 21The Lord shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it. 22The Lord shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning [with a parching, withering], and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew 23[yellowing (jaundice?)]: and they shall pursue thee until thou perish. And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. 24The Lord shall make [give (as)] the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed. 25The Lord shall cause [give] thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them; and shalt be removed5 into 26all the kingdoms of the earth. And thy carcass shall be meat unto all fowls of the air [heaven], and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away. 27The Lord will smite thee with the botch [ulcer, sore (elephantiasis)] of Egypt, and with the emerods [boils, tumors], and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. 28The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness [dazzling blindness], and astonishment of heart: 29And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee. 30Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her [humble her]: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and 31shalt not gather6 [break, cut off] the grapes thereof. Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee [shall not return to thee]: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them. 32Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall beno might in thine hand [and not to God is thine hand]. 33The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours [toil], shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up: and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed always: 34So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. 35The Lord shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole [ball] of thy foot unto the top of thy head. 36The Lord shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone. 37And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a by-word [taunt], among all nations whither the Lord shall lead thee. 38Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in: for the locust shall consume it. 39Thou shalt plant vineyards and dress them, but [and] shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes: for the worms shall eat them. 40Thou shalt have olive-trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself [thy body] with the oil: for thine olive shall cast his fruit. 41Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them [they shall not be for thee; belong, remain]: for they shall go into captivity. 42All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust7 consume [take possession of]. 43The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high [higher and higher]; and thou shalt come down very low. 44He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: 45he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail. Moreover, all these curses shall come upon thee, and shall pursue thee, and overtake thee, till thou be destroyed: because thou hearkenedst not unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded thee. 46And they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder, and upon thy seed for eDeut Deu_28:47 Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart, for the abundance 48of all things; Therefore [So thus] shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put [give] a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee. 49The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift, as the eagle flieth, a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand 50[margin: hear]; A nation of fierce countenance [margin: strong of face], which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favor to the young: 51And he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until thou be destroyed: which also shall not leave thee either corn, wine, or oil, or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have destroyed [utterly destroyed] thee. 52And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced [firm, fortified] walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land which the Lord thy God hath given thee. 53And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body [margin: belly], the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters which the Lord thy God hath given thee, in the 54siege and in the straitness wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee: So that the man that is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which he shall leave [keep, as a remnant, save]: 55So that he will not give [Than that he should give] to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat: because he hath nothing left8 him in the siege and in the straitness wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates. 56The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, 57and toward her daughter, And toward her young one [margin: after birth] that cometh out from between her feet, and toward her children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly in the siege and straitness wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates. 58If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious [revered, glorified] and fearful name THE LORD THY GOD; 59Then the Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. 60Moreover, he will bring [turn back] upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. 61Also every sickness, and every plague [stroke] which is not written in the book of this law, them will the Lord bring [marg.: cause to ascend] upon thee, until thou be destroyed. 62And ye shall be left few in number [in few people], whereas ye were as the stars of heaven for multitude; because thou wouldest not obey the voice of the Lord thy God. 63And it shall come to pass, that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. 64And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor 65thy fathers have known, even wood and stone. And among [under] these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the Lord shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind 66[panting of soul]. And thy life shall hang in doubt [hang up over against thee] before thee: and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life [believe in thy life]: 67In the morning thou shalt say, Would God [Who will give?] it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning [who will give the morning]? for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. 68And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold [he will give you there for sale] unto your enemies for bond-men and bond-women, and no man shall buy you.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. Deu_28:1-14. As the blessings were not specified in the symbolical direction with respect to Gerizim and Ebal, so the following detailed statement of the blessing and the curse occurs here in its proper place. It is inserted as a commentary upon Deu_27:12 sq., before the renewal of the covenant, Deu_29:1 sq., which is connected specially with Deu_27:5. Comp. the parallel passages from the earlier law-giving. Exo_23:20 sq.; Leviticus 26 (Deu_11:26 sq.). Deu_28:1-14. The blessing
Deu_28:1-2. Introductory. Deu_28:1. Comp. Deu_7:12 and other passages. To hear and obey the voice of Jehovah, as to which Israel alone is taught (chap. 4) is repeated again, Deu_28:2, as an indispensable condition, and in another form is emphasized in Deu_28:9, at the middle, and again at the close, Deu_28:13 sq. For the rest comp. Deu_26:19, (Deu_2:25). In Deu_28:2 “the manner of the exaltation of Israel is intimated,” Schultz, so far as the way in which it comes to pass, for the blessing of Jehovah enriches without sorrow. Pro_10:22. The blessings and the curses also, Deu_28:15; Deu_28:45, are personified, because God Himself is, as it were, in them. Thus the condition, promise, and way to its fulfilment, form the introduction. Deu_28:3. Within and without in its whole life. Deu_28:4. Comp. Deu_7:13. Deu_28:5. See Deu_26:2; Exo_12:34. Deu_28:6. Comp. Num_27:17; Psa_121:8. Spoken of the individual and of the whole people. (Deu_20:1). Deu_28:7. Comp. Lev_26:7 (Deu_2:25). The advance is in regular order, the flight in entire dispersion. Comp. Deu_7:20 sq. Seven because of the covenant. Deu_28:8. The optative form renders it more suggestive and impressive. (Lev_25:21). Comp. further Deu_12:7. Deu_28:9. Comp. Deu_7:6; Deu_26:19; Exo_19:5 sq., and Deu_8:6. As the name of the Lord is to be acknowledged by Israel, in its blessed condition in its own land, so also in Deu_28:10 by all the nations beyond. (Deu_4:6 sq.). The name of Jehovah, i.e., Jehovah Himself in His revelation, is called upon Israel, i.e., impressed upon it as the definite characteristic of the people. Not “that it is transformed into the glory of the divine nature” (Keil) which is not taught even in Isa_63:19; Jer_14:9, but simply that Jehovah is its husband (Isa_4:1) its king, has and holds it as His possession (Deu_12:5; Num_6:27.) The knowledge of Jehovah, His kingly power and glory, His priestly blessing is over Israel. The fear on the part of the nations is the first result, but that is only the one aspect. Comp. upon Deu_2:25. Deu_28:11, according to others, to give the pre-eminence. Gen_49:4; ut quasi primogenitus omnibus excellas, sq.; J. H. Mich. Comp. for the rest Deu_6:24; Deu_10:13. It is a return to Deu_28:4. Deu_28:12 is to be explained according to Deu_11:10 (Lev_26:4). Treasure, store-house. Comp. Gen_7:11. Agricultural labor. Comp. Deu_15:6; here Deu_28:13 occurs in a like connection. Position of power and dignity, and indeed continually increasing. Semper sursum. Deu_28:14. Comp. Deu_5:29; Deu_17:11; Deu_11:28; Deu_6:14.
2. Deu_28:15-68. The curse. Deu_28:15, is introductory, as Deu_28:1-2. Deu_28:16-19 contain a counterpart to the six-fold blessing in Deu_28:3-6. Deu_28:17 is placed more impressively before the fruit of the body. Ver 20 is analogous in form to Deu_28:7. Instead of the blessing (Deu_28:8). As it happened to the enemy, Deu_28:7, so here to Israel. Comp. Deu_7:23. Instead of: “the threatening word of the divine wrath” (Keil) which is scarcely fitting here, others: destruction, injury. משׁלח alluding to ישׁלח, comp. Deu_28:8; Deu_12:7. Deu_28:21. דבר from its radical meaning, to drive together as a flock, thus on account of its destruction: the pestilence. ידבק represents at the same time the contagious nature of the disease. In Deu_28:22. שׁחפּת shrunken, shrivelled together. Phthisis. Lev_26:16. Fever, inflammatory diseases, as also the two following terms. Sword, war, but if we read הֹרֶב then it is heat, drought, (Gen_31:40). [Blasting and mildew, to blacken and make yellow. The former denotes the result of the scorching east wind, the latter that of an untimely blight falling on the green ear and turning it yellow.” Bib. Com., Keil.—A. G.]. Deu_28:23. Comp. Lev_26:19. Instead of rain, the products of the contrary, dust and ashes—or: “and ashes (עָפָר the more coherent, although not coarser dust, as sand) shall fall from heaven upon thee.” [When the heat is very great the air in Palestine is often full of dust and sand, the wind is a burning sirocco, so that the air resembles the glowing heat at the mouth of a furnace.” Robinson II. 504.—A. G.]. Deu_28:25. (Lev_26:17) in opposition to Deu_28:7. According to others: ill usage, cruelty, i.e., thou shalt experience such treatment, or: a football, [“a ball for all the kingdoms of the earth to play with,” Schultz]. (2Ch_29:8). Deu_28:27. Comp. Deu_7:15. The עפלים, as the K’ri טחרים, are ulcers, boils (עפל to swell up). The Rabbinical disease of the anus men, and in utero in women, is not alluded to in the text. (1 Samuel 5), גרב to rub, scratch, חרם from the dryness of the skin. Deu_28:28. שגע from the fettering, binding of the consciousness, thus insanity, madness. עור from the drawing together, closing of the eyes. תמה to restrain, to stop the play of the heart. [Keil holds from the fact that blindness occurs between madness and confusion of heart, that it is mental blindness which is here threatened.—A. G.]. Deu_28:29. At noonday, either objectively; when the things are doubly clear. (Dualis) or subjectively when there is even to the blind some shimmer of light. As the blind, i.e., doubly helpless. Thus it neither hits upon the right nor completes it. אך as in Deu_16:15 only, utterly. Comp. further Deu_24:14. Oppressed and spoiled. Comp. further Deu_22:27. Deu_28:30. Comp. Deu_20:5-7. K’ri ישכבנה, to lie with. Deu_28:31. Israel must see it, as helpless, as powerless. Deu_28:32. To God (no might) (Gen_31:29), i.e., thy hand may not, is not strong enough to free them from bondage. Deu_28:33. רק as Deu_28:29. Deu_28:34. What it must see with the eye of the body, takes away the eye of the spirit. Deu_28:35. Comp. with Deu_28:27. According to Knobel, Keil, the joint leprosy; but the latter clause is against that view. Deu_28:36. Comp. Deu_17:14 sq.; Deu_28:33; Deu_4:28. [“The leprosy excluded from fellowship with the Lord, and is hence followed by the dissolution of covenant fellowship. This thought connects Deu_28:36 with Deu_28:35.” Keil.—A. G.]. With Deu_28:37 at the end, comp. Deu_4:27. Deu_28:38. See Exo_10:4. Deu_28:39. Either: not once gather, or: still less, collect, lay up. Deu_28:40. Instead of fall off, cast (Knobel, vii. 1), Schultz, Keil, “thine olives shall be rooted out,” (Deu_19:5), by the weather, or by the hand of the enemy. (J. H. Michaelis). According to others: thine olive trees shall cast off (the berries). Deu_28:42. צלצל from the buzzing tone, or rapid movement of the wings, a peculiar kind of locusts. Deu_28:44 is a counterpart of Deu_28:12 sq. Deu_28:45. Comp. Deu_28:2; Deu_28:15; Deu_28:20. Deu_28:46. Comp. Deu_13:3. עוֹלָם is that which is hidden in the distant time before or after, here used in reference to the people, and not concerning the individual. [The term forever cannot, with Keil, be limited “to the generation smitten with the curse.” It is rather to be limited by thy seed in distinction from the holy seed. Thy seed, seed of evil doers, involving themselves in iniquities of their fathers—upon such the curse rests forever. There is a remnant here also according to the election of grace.—A. G.]. Deu_28:47. With joyfulness, which thou hadst, and it went well with thee, (Deu_6:11; Deu_8:7 sq.) or with joy and a good heart, heartily. Deu_28:49. Shadowing with broad wing, flying easily and rapidly, rushing with a violent thrust upon the prey, seizing with his sharp claws, the eagle swoops upon the carcass; fitting well even to the Roman power, and to all such enemies, Assyrians, Chaldeans (Isa_8:8; Jer_48:40). Indeed the more distant, by so much the more barbarous. As Israel would not hearken to the voice of Jehovah, which it understood, it must now hear a language of men which it could not understand, whence instead of any verbal mediation or palliation, the rough, unsoftened violence gives the blow in the case. Deu_28:50. According to others: shameless countenance, or: bold in aspect, or: fierce in look. It is well rendered: of firm, hard, features immovable to any mildness, which even the weakness of old age, and the tender years of youth, cannot touch (Isa_13:18; Dan_7:7; Dan_7:23). Deu_28:51. Comp. Deu_7:13. Deu_28:52. Comp. Deu_20:20. Deu_28:53. As the siege was so comprehensive (Deu_28:52, in all thy gates, through all thy land) so it will be exhaustive, there will be no provisions. Comp. 2Ki_6:26 sq.; Lam_2:20. The conquest of Jerusalem by the Romans, (Lev_26:29). במצור ובמצוק, a paronomasia. Others: in the anguish and distress. Deu_28:54. He who had formerly despised the ordinary food, grudges (Deu_15:9) now to those allied to him by nature, love, and fortune, any part of the flesh of his children. Deu_28:55. Comp. Deu_3:3. Such is the eager craving of hunger. Deu_28:56. The still more awful case of the woman, the mother. She who once for softness and delicacy let herself be carried, rode upon the ass or camel, or reclined upon the cushions of the litter. Hengstenberg, Egypt and Moses, p. 235. ב is here of the persons to whom; Deu_28:57 : with Vav Expl. of the thing which she grudged. Others: on account of, because. Or: even towards the very young, the children just born, which she would rather consume. שִׁלְיָה is separation generally, and is not necessarily used precisely of the after birth. The description refers to a birth in helplessness and in the distress of the siege. That which is born generally, or indeed sons, of whom the mother is usually proud. Comp. further Deu_28:48. Deu_28:58. Comp. Intro., § 2. A wider outlook to the time when the book form of Deuteronomy has completed the Pentateuch. [The book of the law, the legislative parts of the Pentateuch; including Deuteronomy.—A. G.]. (Comp. Deu_28:15; Deu_28:45). It is in accordance with this that Jehovah appears as the name, as He who has made Himself such a name in His progressive revelation. Comp. further Lev_24:11; Exo_14:4; Exo_14:17; Lev_10:3. Deu_28:60; see Deu_28:27; Deu_7:15, מדוה used as a collective noun. Comp. Deu_9:19. Deu_28:62. Comp. Deu_26:5; Deu_1:10. Deu_28:63. Is a bold anthropomorphic figure, but spoken from the profoundest view of the truth, since righteousness on the basis of His holiness, as His mercy according to His love, is in full accordance with the nature of God. As He is glorious, so also He is fearful (Deu_28:58). Deu_28:64; Deu_13:18; Deu_4:27-28. Deu_28:65. Comp. Lev_26:36 sq. They could not procure rest for themselves, and others will not allow them places for rest; thus in unrest externally, as indeed first inwardly. Deu_28:66. Their life hangs suspended before their eyes, as upon a thread, which may be sundered at any moment; thou wilt not be able to trust its preservation; have no confidence in it even. Deu_28:67 (Deu_5:26): Would it were evening! were morning! Deu_28:68 : The bringing back to Egypt! (not through the Egyptians) must form the close which Moses makes; as Egypt was the beginning in the very opposite sense. That is the highest, beyond which there is nothing, that Israel should return to Egypt, to a bondage still fresh in its recollections, and even a worse bondage. (Hengstenberg: “Egypt is a type of future oppressors, as Shinar in Zechariah”). Comp. also Num_14:3-4. In ships, i.e., with violence packed in slave ships, and without any possibility of escape. By the way, sq. (Deu_17:16) as much as to say: back thither whence thou hast come forth never again to see it; a way which they would never have seen again had they been faithful. Even in the slave markets of Egypt, their look, the curse of God, would frighten the buyer away. The fulfillment under Titus, Hadrian. [Schultz: But the word of God is not so contracted. The curses were fulfilled in the time of the Romans, in Egypt, but they were also fulfilled in a terrible manner during the middle ages, and are still in a course of fulfillment, though frequently less sensibly felt.”—A. G.].
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. The previously unuttered blessings are here immediately and expressly brought out. It is not however merely for the sake of exemplification, when it here, and still more fully in the curses, descends to the utmost particularity, but essentially to bring before us in such an organism of blessing and curse, the most minute providence; that it is not fortune and misfortune, as accidents, or success and failure as the result of human activity, but that in general, and particular, in all and each one, God Himself rules, works, as a savor of life unto life, and of death unto death.
2. Religion is not barely knowledge, nor merely worship, but is here experience, where one day teaches another.
3. As the blessing, “measured with an obvious moral determination oraim, takes from earthly prosperity its attractiveness; it appears as a gift which may be enjoyed with peace of conscience, as well as with a fear of desecration.” (Harless.)
4. With a like aim or determination has the temporal distress here, its leading tendency “to repentance and conversion, and the usually morally effective character of the curse and the penalty.” (Beck).
5. “If Deu_28:12 points to the heavens as the good treasure of Jehovah, then God dwelling in heaven embraces all, and the rain falling from heaven is the sense image of every good and perfect gift, which with divine strength gives success to every work of the hands of men.” (Baumgarten).
6. “That Israel should return to Egypt has the same force as when it is said to man that he shall return to the dust from which he was taken (Gen_3:19): is the abrogation and destruction of the history of Israel.” (Baumgarten).
7. If we would understand these curses and blessings, we must retain in Deuteronomy the reference which in Genesis is already directed to the land and the people. This is the theological point of view for this chapter, which proceeds from the promise of God to the patriarchs.
8. [This chapter, in its prophetic declarations, which have been so strikingly fulfilled, contains clear proof of the divine foreknowledge, and of the inspiration of Moses. This is all the more clear since the prophecies relate mainly, and in their extreme and awful particularity, to the curses, which should rest upon the unfaithful people. Moses does not spare his own people, but holds before them the glass of their future defection and sufferings, as he foresaw them. There might have been a motive for dwelling particularly upon their prosperity, but there is no assignable motive for the character of this discourse, unless it is found in the clear foresight given to him of what was to occur.—A. G.].
9. [While God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, His holiness and justice demand the punishment of those who disobey His voice, and despise the riches of His goodness. And as He rejoices in all His perfections, so in that sense He rejoices in these displays of His judgment.—A. G.].
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Deu_28:1 sq. Tub. Bib.: “Here is the gospel of the old covenant, which presents to us heavenly blessings under the shadow of the earthly.” Deu_28:15. Starke: “O man, thou art troubled about the future, thou questionest the stars and the calendar; take this chapter, which sets before thee blessing and happiness if thou wilt obey God, curse and distress if thou wilt not obey. The horoscope (kalendar) for time and eternity.” Berl. Bib.: “In the perverted all is perverted.” Deu_28:29; Deu_28:31 sq. Richter: “Believers must often suffer wrong, but they have ever a Saviour. In their hands there is might, even in prayer.” Deu_28:36 sq. This is the history of the Jews, written by God Himself. The history of Israel a judgment of God. [Has not all human history this character? Is it not a process of judgment?—A. G.]. Deu_28:47 sq. Berl. Bib.: “If we will not serve God, then we must be slaves of lust, serve sin, the world, and the devil, and that with a pining spirit, which can find no rest nor satisfaction therein, but must starve in it.” The service of the world is a wretched service (as that of the lost son among the swine). How blessed on the other hand is the servant of God, here and hereafter—Israel under the curse of God at home, Deu_28:16 sq.; 38 sq.; and abroad, Deu_28:36 sq.; 47 sq.
Deu_28:48. Richter: “First the stubborn neck, then the iron yoke.”
Deu_28:49. God has rods even far off for disobedient children.
Deu_28:58. The voice out of the fire upon Sinai, to which Israel was warned continually to hearken, began with the name Jehovah; I am Jehovah. Shall we not fear before Him who is the true object of fear; it is the root of all true joyfulness, especially as Jehovah, i.e., Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day and for ever.
Deu_28:63. Baumgarten: “It is included in the idea of all divine acts, that they are performed with perfect joy.” Deu_28:66. Many of the Christian fathers have referred this verse to Christ, the life, whom Israel hung upon the cross, and in whom they would not believe. Baumgarten: “This was the condition of the Jews in the Persian kingdom, according to the book of Esther, and is their condition in the Turkish empire down to the present time.” (Comp. Da Costa, Israel and the Nations, also the well-known book of Keith for the fulfillment). [See also Dean Jackson on the Creed. Deu_28:46. For ever; yet the remnant, Rom_9:27; and the 11th chap. would be saved.—A. G.]
Footnotes:
[1][Deu_28:3. The futures, although allowable, are needless, and take from the force of the original here and in the following verses.—A. G.].
[2][Deu_28:4. Literally: the Ashtaroth Astartes of the flocks. See Deu_7:13.—A. G.].
[3][Deu_28:8. The verb here and is Deu_28:7 is in the optative, and the literal rendering should be preserved. It is not a command, but a wish.—A. G.].
[4][Deu_28:20. Literally: from the face of. The accents do not justify the colon here.—A. G.].
[5][Deu_28:25. Literally: for a shaking, agitation. Keil holds that זַעֲוָה is here in its original uncontracted form, and not a transposed and later form of וְוָעָה.—A. G.].
[6][Deu_28:30. Margin: prepare, use it as common food, or appropriate it to common uses.—A. G.].
[7][Deu_28:42. Literally: the buzzer, from עָלַל. They were a peculiar kind of locusts—apparently more destructive than others.—A. G.].
[8][Literally: from there not being left to him, all, say thing.—A. G.].
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29, 35, 36, 37, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 62, 63, 64, 68 all these blessings shall come on thee--Their national obedience…
all these blessings shall come on thee--Their national obedience was to be rewarded by extraordinary and universal prosperity.
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 vv1, 3, 7, 15, 16, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 35, 36, 38, 43, 45, 49, 53, 58, 60, 64, 66, 67, 68 BLESSINGS PROMISED TO OBEDIENCE, Deu_28:1-14.
BLESSINGS PROMISED TO OBEDIENCE, Deu_28:1-14.
1, 2. If thou shalt hearken — If the nation will be obedient to Jehovah their God he will exalt them above the nations of the earth. Moses lays down the condition on which these blessings will be bestowed, at the beginning, in the middle, and at the close of the address. The blessings — in poetical imagery so common among the Eastern nations — are personified, and represented as following after and overtaking the nation.
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 vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 42, 43, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68 1. For the connection see on Deu_27:9 f. Parallels…
1. For the connection see on Deu_27:9 f. Parallels in Deu_11:13, Deu_15:5.
set thee on high] See on Deu_26:19.
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1–14. The Blessings
Parallels in Deu_7:12-24, Deu_11:13-15; Deu_11:22-25. On the assurance of material blessings as the consequence of obedience to the commandments of God see the word of Jesus, Mat_6:33.
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 vv1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 45, 49, 50, 52, 53, 55, 56, 58, 60, 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68 Deu_28:1-14. BLESSINGS OF OBEDIENCE.
Deu_28:1-14. BLESSINGS OF OBEDIENCE.
(1) Will set thee on high.—Literally, will make thee Most High, using a name of God, as in Deu_26:19. Compare what is said of Jerusalem. “She (Jerusalem) shall be called Jehovah-Tzidkenu” (Jer_33:16), and “the name of the city from that day shall be Jehovah-Shammah” (Eze_48:35), and “I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God” (Rev_3:12), and “His Name shall be in their foreheads” (Rev_22:4).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. H. Mackintosh 1880 · Public Domain On v1 Deuteronomy 28
Deuteronomy 28
In approaching the study of this remarkable section of our book, the reader must bear in mind that it is by no means, to be confounded with chapter 27. Some expositors, in seeking to account for the absence of the blessings in the latter, have sought for them here. But it is a grand mistake - a mistake absolutely fatal to the proper understanding of either chapter. The obvious fact is, the two chapters are wholly distinct, in basis, scope and practical application. Chapter 27 is - to put it as pointedly and briefly as possible - moral and personal. Chapter 28 is dispensational and national. That deals with the great root principle of man’s moral condition, as a sinner utterly ruined and wholly incapable of meeting God on the ground of law; this, on the other hand, takes up the question of Israel as a nation, under the government of God. In short, a careful comparison of the two chapters will enable the reader to see their entire distinctness. For instance, what connection can we trace between the six blessings of our chapter and the twelve curses of chapter 27? None whatever. It is not possible to establish the slightest relationship. But a child can see the moral link between the blessings and curses of chapter 28.
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Let us quote a passage or two in proof. "And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God" - the grand old Deuteronomic motto, the key note of the book - "to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth; and all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God" - the only safeguard, the true secret of happiness, security, victory and strength - Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out."
Is it not perfectly plain to the reader that these are not the blessings pronounced by the six tribes on mount Gerazim? What is here presented to us is Israel’s national dignity, prosperity, and glory founded upon their diligent attention to all the commandments set before them in this book. It was the eternal purpose of God that Israel should be pre-eminent on the earth, high above all the nations. This purpose shall, assuredly, be made good although Israel, in the past, have shamefully failed to render that perfect obedience which was to form the basis of their national pre-eminence and glory.
We must never forget or surrender this great truth. Some expositors have adopted a system of interpretation by which the covenant blessings of Israel are spiritualised and made over to the church of God. This is a most fatal mistake. Indeed, it is hardly possible to set forth in language, or even to conceive the pernicious effects of such a method of handling the precious word of God. Nothing is more certain than that it is diametrically opposed to the mind and will of God. He will not and cannot sanction such tampering with His truth, or such an unwarrantable alienation of the blessings and privileges of His people Israel.
True, we read, in Galatians 3. "That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive" - what? Blessings in the city and in the field? Blessings in our basket and store? Nay; but "the promise of the Spirit through faith." So also we learn, from the same epistle, in Galatians 4, that restored Israel will be permitted to reckon amongst her children all those who are born of the Spirit, during the Christian period. "But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not; for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband."
All this is blessedly true; but it affords no warrant whatever for transferring the promises made to Israel to New Testament believers. God has pledged Himself, by an oath, to bless the seed of Abraham His friend - to bless them with all earthly blessings, This promise holds good and is absolutely inalienable. Woe be to all who attempt in the land of Canaan. to interfere with its literal fulfilment, in God’s own time. We have referred to this in our studies on the earlier part of this book, and must now rest content with warning the reader, most solemnly, against every system of interpretation which involves such serious consequences as to the word and ways of God. We must ever remember that Israel’s blessings are earthly; the church’s blessings are heavenly. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ."
Thus, both the nature and the sphere of the church’s blessings are wholly different from those of Israel, and must never be confounded. But the system of interpretation above referred to does confound them, to the marring of the integrity of holy scripture, and the serious damage of souls. To attempt to apply the promises made to Israel to the church of God, either now or hereafter, on earth or in heaven, is to turn things completely upside down, and to produce the most hopeless confusion in the exposition and application of scripture. we feel called upon, in simple faithfulness to the word of God, and to the soul of the reader, to press this matter upon his earnest attention. He may rest assured it is, by no means, an unimportant question; so far from this, we are persuaded that it is utterly impossible for any one who confounds Israel and the church, the earthly and the heavenly, to be a sound or accurate interpreter of the word of God.
However, we cannot pursue this subject further here. we only trust that the Spirit of God will arouse the heart of the reader to feel its interest and importance, and give him to see the necessity of rightly dividing the word of truth. If this be so, our object will be fully gained.
With regard to this twenty-eighth of Deuteronomy, if the reader only seizes the fact of its entire distinctness from its predecessor, he will be able to read it with spiritual intelligence and real profit. There is no need whatever for elaborate exposition. It divides itself naturally and obviously into two parts. In the first, we have a full and most blessed statement of the results of obedience. (See verses 1-15.) In the second, we have a deeply solemn and affecting statement of the awful consequences of disobedience. (See verses 16-68.) And we cannot but be struck with the fact that the section continuing the curses is more than three times the length of the one containing the blessings. That consists of fifteen verses; this of fifty-three. The whole chapter furnishes an impressive commentary on the government of God, and a most forcible illustration of the fact that "our God is a consuming fire." All the nations of the earth may learn from Israel’s marvellous history, that God must punish disobedience, and that, too, first of all, in His own. And if He has not spared His own people, what shall be the end of those who know Him not "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." It is the very height of extravagant folly for any one to attempt to evade the full force of such passages, or to explain them away. It cannot be done. Let any one read the chapter before us and compare it with the actual history of Israel, and he will see that as sure as there is a God on the throne of the majesty in the heavens, so surely will He punish evildoers, both here and hereafter. It cannot be otherwise. The government that could or would allow evil to go unjudged, uncondemned, unpunished, would not be a perfect government, would not be the government of God. It is vain to found arguments upon one-sided views of the goodness, kindness and mercy of God. Blessed be His Name, He is kind and good and merciful and gracious, long-suffering and full of compassion. But He is holy and just, righteous and true; and "he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world [the habitable earth, oikoumenen] in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance [given proof, pistin] unto all, in that he hath raised him from the dead." (Acts 17.)
However, we must draw this section to a close; but, ere doing so, we feel it to be our duty to call the reader’s attention to a very interesting point in connection with verse 13 of our chapter. "The Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them." This, no doubt, refers to Israel as a nation. They are destined to be the head of all the nations of the earth. Such is the sure and settled purpose and counsel of God respecting them. Low as they are now sunk, scattered and lost amongst the nations, suffering the terrible consequences of their persistent disobedience, sleeping, as we read in Daniel 12, in the dust of the earth; yet they shall, as a nation, arise and shine in far brighter glory than that of Solomon.
All this is blessedly true, and established, beyond all question, in manifold passages in Moses, the Psalms, the prophets and the New Testament. But, in looking: through the history of Israel, we find some very striking instances of individuals who were permitted and enabled, through infinite grace, to make their own of the precious promise contained in verse 13, and that too in very dark and depressing periods of the national history, when Israel, as a nation, was the tail and not the head. We shall just give the reader an instance or two, not only to illustrate our point, but also to set before him a principle of immense practical importance and universal application.
Let us turn, for a moment, to that charming little book of Esther - a book so little understood or appreciated - a book which, we may truly say, fills a niche and teaches a lesson which no other book does. It belongs to a period when, most assuredly, Israel was not the head, but the tail; but, notwithstanding, it presents to our view the very edifying and encouraging picture of an individual son of Abraham so carrying himself as to reach the very highest position, and gaining a splendid victory over Israel’s bitterest foe.
As to Israel’s condition, in the days of Esther, it was such that God could not publicly own them. Hence it is that His name is not found in the book, from beginning to end. The Gentile was the head and Israel the tail. the relationship between Jehovah and Israel could no longer be publicly owned; but the heart of Jehovah could never forget His people; and we may add, the heart of a faithful Israelite could never forget Jehovah or His holy law; and these are just the two facts that specially characterise this most interesting little book. God was acting for Israel behind the scenes, and Mordecai was acting for God before the scenes. It is worthy of remark that neither Israel’s best Friend, nor their worst enemy, is once named in the book of Esther; and yet the whole book is full of the actings of both. The finger of God is stamped on every link in the marvellous chain of providence; and, on the other hand, the bitter enmity Of Amalek come out in the cruel plot of the haughty Agagite.
All this is intensely interesting Indeed, in rising from the study of this book, we may well say, "Oh! scenes surpassing fable and yet true." No romance could possibly exceed in interest this simple but most blessed history. But we must not expatiate, much as we should like to do so. time and space forbid. We merely refer to it now in order to point out to the reader the unspeakable value and importance of individual faithfulness, at a moment when the national glory was faded and gone. Mordecai stood like a rock for the truth of God. He refused with stern decision, to own Amalek. He would save the life of Ahasuerus and bow to his authority as the expression of the power of God; but he would not bow to Haman. His conduct, in this matter, was governed simply by the word of God. The authority for his course was to be found in this blessed book of Deuteronomy. Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; how he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God" - here was the true secret of the whole matter - "therefore it shall be, when the Lord thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the Lord thy God giveth for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it." (Deut. 25: 17-19.)
This was distinct enough for every circumcised ear, every obedient heart, every upright conscience. Equally distinct is the language of Exodus 17. "And the Lord said unto Moses, write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua; for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it JEHOVAH-nissi [the Lord my banner]: for he said, Because the Lord hath sworn that the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation." (Vers. 14-16.)
Here then was Mordecai’s authority for refusing a single nod of his head to the Agagite. How could a faithful member of the house of Israel bow to a member of a house with which Jehovah was at war? Impossible. He could clothe himself in sackcloth, fast and weep for his people, but he could not, he would not, he dare not bow to an Amalekite. He might be charged with presumption, blind obstinacy, stupid bigotry, and contemptible narrow-mindedness; but with that he had nothing whatever to do. It might seem the most unaccountable folly to withhold the common mark of respect from the highest noble in the kingdom; but that noble was an Amalekite, and that was enough for Mordecai. The apparent folly was simple obedience.
It is this which makes the case so interesting and important for us. Nothing can ever do away with our responsibility to obey the word of God. It might be said to Mordecai that the commandment as to Amalek was a bygone thing, having reference to Israel’s palmy days. It was quite right for Joshua to fight with Amalek; Saul, too, ought to have obeyed the word of Jehovah instead of sparing Agag; but now all was changed; the glory was departed from Israel, and it was perfectly useless to attempt to act on Exodus 17 or Deuteronomy 27.
All such arguments, we feel assured, would have no weight whatever with Mordecai. It was enough for him that Jehovah had said, "Remember what Amalek did.... Thou shalt not forget it." How long was this to hold good? "From generation to generation. Jehovah’s war with Amalek was never to cease until his very name and remembrance were blotted out from under heaven. And why? Because of his cruel and heartless treatment of Israel. Such was the kindness of God toward His people! How then could a faithful Israelite ever bow to an Amalekite? Impossible. Could Joshua bow to Amalek? Nay. Did Samuel? Nay; "he hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal." How then could Mordecai bow to him? He could not do it, cost what it might. It mattered not to him that the gallows was erected for him. He could be hanged, but he could never do homage to Amalek.
And what was the result? A magnificent triumph! There stood the proud Amalekite near the throne, basking in the sunshine of royal favour, boasting himself in his riches, his greatness, his glory, and about to crush beneath his foot the seed of Abraham. There, on the other hand, lay poor Mordecai in sackcloth and ashes and tears. What could he do? He could obey. He had neither sword nor spear; but he had the word of God, and by simply obeying that word, he gained a victory over Amalek quite as decisive and splendid in its way, as that gained by Joshua, in Exodus 17 - a victory which Saul failed to gain, though surrounded by a host of warriors selected from the twelve tribes of Israel. Amalek sought to get Mordecai hanged; but instead of that he was obliged to act as his footman, and conduct him in all but regal pomp and splendour through the street of the city. "And Haman answered the king, For the man whom the king delighteth to honour, let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head: and let this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king’s most noble princes, that they may array the man withal whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour. Then the king said to Haman, Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king’s gate: let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken. Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour. And Mordecai came again to the king’s gate. But Haman hasted to his house mourning and having his head covered."
Here, assuredly Israel was the head and Amalek the tail - Israel, not nationally but individually. But this was only the beginning of Amalek’s defeat and of Israel’s glory. Haman was hanged on the very gallows he had erected for Mordecai, "And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a garment of fine linen and purple: and the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad."
Nor was this all. The effect of Mordecai’s marvellous victory was felt far and wide over the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of the empire. "In every province, and in every city whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a good day. And many people of the land became Jews; for the fear of the Jews fell upon them." And, to crown all, we read that "Mordecai the Jew was next unto king Ahasuerus, and great among the Jews, and accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed."
Now, reader, does not all this prove to us, in the most striking manner, the immense importance of individual faithfulness? Is it not eminently calculated to encourage us to stand for the truth of God, cost what it may? Only see what marvellous results followed from the actings of one man! Many might have condemned Mordecai’s conduct. It might have seemed like unaccountable obstinacy to refuse a simple mark of respect to the highest noble in the empire. But it was not so. It was simple obedience. It was decision for God, and it led to a most magnificent victory, the spoils of which were reaped by his brethren at the very ends of the earth.
For further illustration of the subject suggested by Deuteronomy 28: 13, we must refer the reader to Daniel 3 and Daniel 6 there he will see what morally glorious results can be reached by individual faithfulness to the true God, at a moment when Israel’s national glory was gone; their city and temple in ruins. The three worthies refused to worship the golden image. They dared to face the wrath of the king, to withstand the universal voice of the empire, yea, to meet the fiery furnace itself, rather than disobey. They could surrender life, but they could not surrender the truth of God.
And what was the result? A splendid victory! They walked through the furnace with the Son of God, and were called forth from the furnace as witnesses and servants of the Most High God. Glorious privilege! Wondrous dignity! And all the simple result of obedience. Had they gone with the crowd, and bowed the head in worship to the national god, in order to escape the dreadful furnace, see what they would have lost! But, blessed be God, they were enabled to stand fast in the confession of the grand foundation truth of the unity of the Godhead - that truth which had been trampled under foot amid the splendours of Solomon’s reign; and the record of their faithfulness has been penned for us by the Holy Spirit, in order to encourage us to tread, with firm step, the path of individual devotedness, in the face of a God-hating, Christ-rejecting world, and in the face of a truth-neglecting Christendom. It is impossible to read the narrative and not have our whole renewed being stirred up and drawn out in earnest desire for more deep-toned personal devotedness to Christ and His precious cause.
Similar must be the effect produced by the study of Daniel 6. We cannot allow ourselves to quote or expatiate. We can only commend the soul-stirring record to the attention of the reader. It is uncommonly fine, and it furnishes a splendid lesson for this day of soft, self-indulgent, easy-going profession, in which it costs people nothing to give a nominal assent to the truths of Christianity; but in which, notwithstanding, there is so little desire or readiness to follow, with whole-hearted decision, a rejected Lord, or to yield an unqualified and unhesitating obedience to His commandments.
How refreshing, in the face of so much heartless indifference, to read of the faithfulness of Daniel! He, with unflinching decision, persisted in his holy habit of praying three times a day, with his window open toward Jerusalem, although he knew that the den of lions was the penalty of his act. He might have closed his window and drawn his curtains and retired into the privacy of his chamber to pray, or he might have waited for the midnight hour when no human eye could see, or human ear hear him. But no; this beloved servant of God would not hide his light under a bed or a bushel. There was a great principle at stake. It was not merely that he would? pray to the one living and true God, but he would pray with "his windows open towards Jerusalem." And why "toward Jerusalem"? Because it was God’s centre. But it was in ruins. True, for the present and as looked at from a human standpoint. But to faith, and from a divine standpoint, Jerusalem was God’s centre for His earthly people. It was and it shall be, beyond all question. And not only so, but its dust is precious to Jehovah; and hence Daniel was in full communion with the mind of God when he opened his windows toward Jerusalem and prayed. He had scripture for what he did, as the reader may see by referring to 2 Chronicles 6. "If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name."
Here was Daniel’s warrant. This was what he did, utterly regardless of human opinions; and utterly regardless, too, of pains and penalties. He would rather be thrown into the den of lions than surrender the truth of God. He would rather go to heaven with a good conscience than remain on earth with a bad one.
And what was the result? Another splendid triumph! "Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, BECAUSE HE BELIEVED IN HIS GOD."
Blessed servant! Noble witness! Assuredly he was the head, on this occasion, and his enemies the tail. And how? Simply by obedience to the word of God. This is what we deem to be of such vast moral importance for this our day. It is to illustrate and enforce this that we refer to those brilliant examples of individual faithfulness at a time when Israel’s national glory was in the dust, their unity gone and their polity broken up. We cannot but regard it as a fact full of interest, full of encouragement, full of suggestive power, that in the darkest days of Israel’s history as a nation we have the brightest and noblest examples of personal faith and devotedness. We earnestly press this upon the attention of the Christian reader. We consider it eminently calculated to strengthen and cheer up our hearts in standing for the truth of God at a moment like the present, when there is so much to discourage us in the general condition of the professing church. It is not that we are to look for such speedy, striking and splendid results as were realised in those cases to which we have referred. This is by no means the question. What we have to keep before our hearts is the fact that, no matter what may be the condition of the ostensible people of God at any given time, it is the privilege of the individual man of God to tread the narrow path and reap the precious fruits of simple obedience to the word of God and the precious commandments of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
This, we feel persuaded, is a truth for the day. May we all feel its holy power! We are in imminent danger of lowering the standard of personal devotedness because of the general condition. This is a fatal mistake; yea, it is the positive suggestion of the enemy of Christ and His cause. If Mordecai, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel had acted thus, what would have been the result?
Ah! no; reader, we have ever to bear in mind that our one great business is to obey and leave results with God. It may please Him to permit His servants to see striking results, or He may see fit to allow them to wait for that great day that is coming when there will be no danger of our being puffed up by seeing any little fruit of our testimony. Be this as it may, it is our plain and bounden duty to tread that bright and blessed path indicated for us by the commandments of our precious and adorable Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. May God enable us, by the grace of His Holy Spirit so to do! May we cleave to the truth of God with purpose of heart, utterly regardless of the opinions of our fellow men who may charge us with narrowness, bigotry, intolerance and such like. We have just to go on with the Lord.
C. H. Mackintosh, Notes on the Pentateuch — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28, 30, 32, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 49, 50, 52, 56, 57, 58, 60, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 68 THE BLESSING AND THE CURSE. Having enjoined the proclamations…
THE BLESSING AND THE CURSE. Having enjoined the proclamations of the blessing and the curse on their entering into possession of Canaan, Moses, for the sake of impressing on the minds of the people both the blessing and the curse, proceeds here to dilate upon both, dwelling especially upon the latter as that which the people the more needed to have brought home to them. As he proceeds, the language of terrible denunciation passes into that of no less terrible prediction, in which the calamities that should come upon the nation because of their apostasy and rebellion are clearly and pointedly foretold.
The blessing. The condition sine qua non of all enjoyment of the Divine bounty was obedience on the part of the people to the word and Law of Jehovah their God. This rendered, the blessing would come on them rich and full, and abide with them (cf. vers. 2, 9, 13, 14).
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Vers. 1-14. God"s blessing promised to the obedient.
The aged lawgiver was finishing his course. Ere the end comes he would open up to the people once more the dread alternative of blessing and cursing, and would show them that they must accept either one or the other. And so, before the Holy Land is taken possession of, they are reminded how very much the realization of the promises of temporal good depends on what they are. We cannot be too frequently reminded of the fact, however, that, though prima facie this chapter looks as if people were then under Law; yet it was not so in reality. They were being educated by the Law; but under it the Abrahamic promise lay as firm as granite. (Gal_3:17) This is seen by the fact that God speaks to them as their God. This was of his free grace. But, though this educatory law is based on grace, grace must bring with it its own law. Grace never gives the reins to lawlessness. But it teaches us that one of the motive forces by which God would quicken men to righteousness and educate them in it, is found in showing them that his providential arrangements are such that the shaping of their earthly destiny is, in some sort, in their own hands. "Of their earthly destiny," we say. For it is a well-known fact that Moses seldom, if ever, refers to the next state of being. The rewards and punishments known to the Pentateuch are almost entirely connected with this earthly state. Of course, there is nothing like a denial of a life beyond the grave. But it did not fall within the scope of the revelation given through Moses that another world should be brought clearly into view. We doubt not that there was mercy as well as wisdom in this arrangement; the people had as much revealed to them as they could bear, and more than they knew how to improve. There is a world of deep meaning in the disclosure of the laws of God"s providence which are unfolded to them here. One would think that such promises as are made to the obedient would have been enough to win them to follow the will of God; and that the long-continued, terrific, appalling statement of what would follow on their disobedience would have been enough to dissuade them by "the terrors of the Lord" from venturing on the highway of evil. It would be easy to write a separate Homily on each verse in this paragraph, but, with such expansion, our work would extend to a most inordinate length. We will but suggest, and leave the expansion to others. We have but one more proviso to make before coming to our main divisions; that is this: Barring the special complexion here given to the chapter, owing to the peculiar feature of Israel"s national constitution, the main laws of providential administration which were disclosed by Moses are still in force. Even now it is true, "Godliness is profitable unto all things: having promise of the life that now is." And this is the truth which, in varied forms, is set forth here. Let us observe
I A MAN"S EARTHLY DESTINY IS, IN SOME SORT, IN HIS OWN HANDS. (Vers. 1, 2.) If thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God," such and such blessings shall "come upon thee, and overtake thee." If Israel sought success for its own sake, irrespectively of the rightness or wrongness of any methods adopted to secure it, there would be no guarantee whatever of their securing the end at which they aimed; and even if they should, the results would be fraught with evil; for "the prosperity of fools would destroy them." But if their supreme, their sole aim, was to do right, to serve and please the Lord, then the Divine blessing would be sure to follow them. ours to obey, "tis his to provide." If we do right, and leave the issues with God, we shall not be left without tokens of his approving smile. (Mat_6:33) There may be large temporal gains, or there may not; but, with the much or with the little, that blessing will come which maketh rich; and he addeth no sorrow therewith.
II THE BLESSING ENJOYED BY THE OBEDIENT MAN WILL REST ON EVERYTHING WHICH HE HAS, AND WILL FOLLOW HIM EVERYWHERE. Let every clause in the paragraph be separately weighed. Would we set this in gospel light, if any one were to ask the question, "What are the signs of God"s blessing which God"s faithful ones enjoy, even in this life?" we would enumerate six of them.
1. They have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. They have a clear conscience; they know that the aim of pleasing God is right, whatever difficulties it may involve.
3. They enjoy what they have as from God, and as the loving gifts of a Father"s hand.
4. If much be given, they delight to use it for God.
5. If little be theirs, they know that a little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.
6. And, above all, the supreme proof of God"s blessing is that gains and losses, joys and cares, health and sickness, do "all work together for good" to them; they minister to the growth of character, and help to make them better, wiser, and holier men.
III THERE IS A SPECIAL LAW OF GOD"S PROVIDENTIAL GOVERNMENT WHICH ENSURES THIS BLESSING TO THE OBEDIENT. (Ver. 12.) It may, at first sight, seem to be an antiquated setting of things which we find in this verse, in which it is said, virtually, that the amount of rain will depend on the amount of virtue, and that the accumulation of men"s possessions will depend on their fidelity to God! The second sentence we can understand, since fidelity to God implies, among other things, fidelity in the use of God"s appointed means of success; so that this is only saying, Use the right means rightly, and you will gain your end. But as to the former, who can understand it? The amount of rain dependent on the measure of virtue how can such a thing be? We ask, first of all, Hath the rain a father? The reply is, Yes, beyond all question God. But then God is the Father of spirits also. That is to say, there are two spheres: that of matter and force, and that of spirit; the one governed by physical laws, the other by laws which are spiritual; but all laws, whether physical or spiritual, are ordained and regulated by one Supreme Being, and in his hands there is unity of action therein. So that, concerning these two as governed by one God, we ask, Is there any relation at all between them? Does the fact of both sets of laws originating with the same Being give them a point of contact, or does it not? In a word, Is the world of physical forces governed without the slightest reference to the government of souls? or is it so governed as to help on the training of souls? which? If the first alternative is true, the doctrine of ver. 12 is shut out. But who can believe that the Great Father, in governing the less, ignores the greater? We, at any rate, recoil in horror from a view so unworthy of God. We fall back, therefore, on the second alternative, which alone is reasonable, that the less is governed in the interest and on the behalf of the greater; that things are for spirits. But this principle allows room for the point of detail in ver. 12, and for ten thousand more details in the physical sphere. God would make the natural world a theatre for, and a means of, the evolution of principles and the growth of souls. (cf. Amo_4:6-13 Psa_107:33-43) (See Homily on Deu_11:10-17)
IV LOYALTY TO GOD TENDS, NOT ONLY TO TEMPORAL SUCCESS, BUT ALSO TO HONOR. (See end of ver. 12 and ver. 13.)
1. Individually; men, in the long run, go pretty much for what they are worth. Faithful fulfillment of duty to God and man must tell, and will. "Seest thou a man diligent in his business; he shall stand before kings, he shall not stand before mean men.
2. And collectively; if a nation has in it a preponderance of wise, truehearted, upright men, such as fear God, love righteousness, and hate iniquity, nothing can prevent such a nation rising in the scale. Its prosperity will be manifest in its inward peace, in the readiness of other nations to deal with it by opening up commercial relations, and in the good will of other nations which it will certainly share. It will have the armor of light. Its virtue will be a wall of defense. "Its land will yield her increase; and God, even its own God, will bless it." "Happy is the nation that is in such a case; yea, happy is that people whose God is the Lord." To such a nation it may well be said, "Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee". (Num_24:5-9)
HOMILIES BY J. ORR. Vers. 1-14. The blessing.
Blessing and curse, as Keil says, are viewed in these verses "as actual powers, which follow in the footsteps of the nation, and overtake it". (vers. 2, 15, 22; Zec_1:6) The blessing of God is a vera causa in human life. It is not to be resolved entirely into natural tendencies. A cheerful mind conduces to health; virtuous habits tend to prosperity, etc. But this is not the whole. Conspiring with natural tendencies, we must recognize a special providence, a designed direction of the beneficent powers of nature and life, so as to pour treasures of goodness on the favored individual.
Virtue has its natural reward in the approval of conscience; but it would not of itself suffice to bring about the exceptionally fortunate condition in the outward lot which these verses represent. So strongly was this felt by the philosopher Kant, that, as is well known, he postulates the existence of God, for the express purpose of bringing about an ultimate harmony between virtue and felicity.
1. THE SPHERE OF THE BLESSING. The covenant rested largely on temporal promises. Jehovah was doubtless felt by the believing soul to be a better portion than any of his gifts, (Ps 16 Ps 73) and the relation which he sustained to his worshipper could not but be thought of as subsisting beyond death, and yielding its appropriate fruit in a future life (Psa_16:11 Psa_17:15 Psa_48:14 Psa_49:14, Psa_49:15; Heb_11:9-17) Yet, inasmuch as "life and immortality" had not been clearly brought to light, (2Ti_1:10) his favor was specially exhibited in the abundant communication of earthly blessings. A higher order has supervened, and the temporal promises of these verses are swallowed up in better and more enduring. (Heb_8:6) The gospel does not sever the connection between godliness and prosperity. It gives it a new sanction. (1Ti_4:8) Were the obedience of God"s children more uniform and perfect, and piety more widely diffused in communities, the connection would be more manifest than it is. But on the whole, temporal prosperity occupies a lower relative place in the New Testament than in the Old.
2. The spiritual man, serving Christ, and witnessing for him amidst the evil of the world, is more frequently exposed to persecution. (Mat_5:11 Mat_10:24, Mat_10:25; Joh_4:15-21) He has more occasion to take up the. (Mat_16:24) He may require to sacrifice all he has, with life itself, for Christ"s sake and the gospel"s. (Mar_10:29, 30)
3. Temporal prosperity is in every case subordinated to spiritual good. (2Co_12:7-10 3Jn_1:2) Bacon"s saying has, therefore, truth in it, "Prosperity is the blessing of the Old Testament; adversity is the blessing of the New, which carrieth the greater benediction, and the clearer revelation of God"s favor." Adversity, however, even in the New Testament, is but a step to something higher. Spiritual compensations now; hereafter, "a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory". (2Co_4:17)
II THE OPERATION OF THE BLESSING, It is viewed as pervading every department of the earthly life. It mingles itself with all the good man is, with all he does, with the circumstances of his lot, with the powers of the natural world which constitute his environment. It rests on his person, on his household, on his possessions. It helps him against his enemies, making him wealthy and powerful (Abraham, Job), and exalting him to a position in which others are dependent on him. It attends him in city and field, in his coming in and going out, so that whatever he does prospers. (Psa_1:3) These promises demonstrate:
1. That the providence of God, in the sphere of the outward life, is free, sovereign, all-embracing.
2. That there is under this providence a connection between outward events and circumstances and spiritual conditions.
3. That, subordinately to higher ends, piety and virtue, under this providence, will be rewarded by prosperity. (See a valuable treatment of this subject in M"Cosh"s "Method of the Divine Government," bk. 2: De 2) Yet glorious as these promises are, they "have no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth" of the promises of the New Testament.
Promises:
1. Of salvation. (Rom_5:9, Rom_5:10)
2. Of spiritual blessings. (Eph_1:3)
3. Of a heavenly inheritance. (1Pe_1:3, 1Pe_1:4)
4. Of "riches" of goodness which will remain unexhausted through eternal. (Eph_2:6, Eph_2:7)
5. Of perfected transformation into the moral image of God. (1Co_4:4-9; Col_1:22; 1Jn_3:2)
III THE CONDITION OF THE BLESSING. Obedience (vers. 1, 2, 9, 13, 14).
1. Legally, perfect obedience.
2. Evangelically, obedience habitual and sincere, albeit imperfect.
The meritorious ground of a believer"s acceptance, and of the blessings he receives, is the obedience unto death of Christ. (Rom_5:19-21) Christ expiates his sins, and fulfils de novo the condition of the covenant. It is well to remember, as explaining anomalies in the histories of righteous men under the old covenant, that the promises in these verses were primarily national. They could be realized to the individual only in connection with the obedience of the nation as a whole. When apostasy provoked God"s judgments, pious individuals suffered in the general calamities. They suffered, too, as drawing upon themselves the hatred of the wicked. Hence the development in the Psalms and Prophets of the idea of the "Righteous Sufferer One whose afflictions are entailed on him by the hatred and injustice of the wicked, or who, innocent himself, suffers as a member of the body politic. This idea, which has throughout a Messianic reference, culminates in the prophecy of the" Servant of Jehovah", (Ps 52 Ps 53) who, by the holy endurance of sufferings for others, makes their sin his own, and vicariously atones for it. J.O.
HOMILIES BY R.M. EDGAR Vers. 1-14. The purpose of temporal blessing.
After the "Amens" from Mount Ebal had been faithfully given, the Levites turned to Gerizim with the detail of blessings, and received from the assembled thousands the grand "Amen." We have in these verses before us the purpose of the blessing. The children of Israel had been brought out of Egypt by a Divine deliverance, they were about to settle in Canaan as the people of the Lord. They were a spectacle, therefore, to the rest of the world of how a people fared at the hands of the Lord in obedience or in disobedience. We must regard Israel as a visible experiment, so to speak, for the instruction of the rest of mankind. Now, the rest of mankind at this early stage could only appreciate such a reward as temporal blessing. Spiritual blessing would have been no demonstration to them, and have made no impression upon them. Hence it was temporal blessing which God in the main gave them. Of course, we do not at all accept the special pleading of Warburton, in his "Divine Legation of Moses," in favor of temporal rewards and punishments being all that the Law of Moses contemplates. There are significant references to a future life in the Mosaic books, but for the reason now stated, God was mainly working in the temporal sphere. Let us notice some of the particulars in which an obedient people were to experience blessing.
I CITY LIFE was to be blessed. It has been said that "God made the country, but man the town." And doubtless the concentration of population in cities is fraught with peculiar temptation and danger. Yet God"s Law is sufficiently "broad" to secure right order and government in cities as well as in country districts. If men would only carry out the law of love, if they would live by the golden rule, then cities would soon put on an air of holiness, and wickedness within them would hide its head. It is through the conscience and heart God"s Law works, and city life can alone be elevated and regenerated thereby. If we had pious mayors, aldermen, and councilors, pious high sheriffs and officials, then corruption, rapacity, and self-seeking would disappear through a general and conscientious desire for the public good.
II AGRICULTURE was to be prosperous. Palestine was intended to be occupied by a pastoral people, and peasant proprietors were to fill the laud. It was to flow with milk and honey if man co-operated with God, and did his share honestly. The conditions of the country, as already remarked, (cf. Homily on Deu_11:10-17) fostered faith in God, and success was the outcome of constant dependence upon him. A dependent people wrought diligently and received the blessings of nature as the gifts of a faithful God. There was to be increase of cattle, of swine, of sheep, of the fruit of the field, and of all that is implied by "basket and store." In the basket, as Van Lennep somewhere observes, grapes, olives, and the like are collected, and so the blessing on the basket means general agricultural prosperity.
Now, there can be no doubt that piety is an excellent handmaid to agriculture. All the cant now talked in the name of science about God"s practical exclusion from the reign of law," is insufficient to overturn the plain truth that those who try to keep his commandments and live in his fellowship are more likely than others to fulfill the conditions of agricultural prosperity.
III POPULATION will increase. The fruit of their body was also to be blessed. We can understand how important numbers are to national power. When the population advances in the sunshine of advancing prosperity, the elements of national greatness are secured. The Malthusian scare introduced into political economy was an exaggerated lesson upon prudence. Population progresses with sufficient check upon it in the ordinary struggles of life, without requiring such prophets of evil as the Malthusians have been. The prudence fostered, being of a worldly character, has degenerated, it is feared, in many cases, into licentiousness as legitimate, when marriage, except in most favorable circumstances, is deemed imprudent. Now, it is well known that Palestine must have been very populous, containing about as many human beings to the square mile as the most densely populated countries at the present time, and in its densely filled country districts testified to the general security which then existed.
IV They will be VALIANT IN REPELLING INVASION. It is noticeable that foreign conquest is not contemplated when they are settled in the land. It is when the enemies rise up against them that the Lord will give them, as obedient people, the power to disperse them. The invasion may take place in one way, but their rout will be complete, they shall flee before Israel seven ways (ver. 7) the perfect number indicating perfect defeat. The Lord will not encourage them in a "spirited foreign policy," but will make them invincible defenders of their hearths and homes.
V They shall be in a position to LEND UNTO SURROUNDING NATIONS. Not only would they repel successfully all invasion, but be able to lay other nations under obligation. Now, we see that, in being able to serve others in this way, lies the secret of sovereignty and influence. The thrifty nations that can lend to others, so far get these others into their power. In the lending power God promises to Israel, if obedient, we see the germ of undoubted ascendancy.
No wonder, then, that other nations are to fear and to honor them, if this is to be their career. No wonder they are to be the head, and not the tail; to be above only, and not beneath. Obedience will prove the one condition of ascendancy.
Now, it is true that the world can think better in these latter days than it did in the days of Moses. Religion does not now need a demonstration of temporal prosperity nor a favored nation. Religion now demonstrates its reality and sustaining power in making poor saints bright and joyful; in making suffering saints patient and hopeful; and in making the sorrowing ones resigned and confident of reunion. These are the "martyrs" now, and the seed of the Church. At the same time, it may be seen written clearly on the order of providence that "righteousness exalteth a nation;" that the religious nations, other things being equal, are the more prosperous. It cannot but be so. As nations get no resurrection as nations, only as individuals, it then comes to pass that as nations they must be judged in this world, and get their reward or punishment, as the case may be, while the individuals composing the nations may be asked in many cases to wait for their compensation and reward in the world to come. R.M.E.
HOMILIES BY D. DAVIES Vers. 1-14. The present portion of a good man.
The natural world may be fitly regarded as the visible symbol of the spiritual world, the earthly state a lower copy of the heavenly. The order of cause and effect is as uniform in the spiritual sphere as in the material. Fire in contact with gunpowder will result in explosion. True seed in fitting soil will bear fruit. "Whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap.
I WE HAVE HERE A DESCRIPTION OF A GOOD MAN.
1. He is described by his teachableness. He "hearkens diligently unto the voice of the Lord." This is a trait of a true child. He has a sense of need, a sense of dependence upon another. He admits God"s right to instruct and to command. He inquires after God, and reverently listens to his voice. It is his delight to hear the wise precepts of the unerring God.
2. He is described by his circumspection. He is observant of God"s ways, discovers manifold and hidden indications of his will. Not only is his ear intent to the whispers of his Father, but his eye is open too. Blindness of mind has gone.
3. He is described by his completeness of obedience. He practically "does all the commandments of God." These came of old by the agency of Moses; but a good man detects within the human voice the Divine message the authority of Heaven. And his entire conduct is determined by theknown will of God.
II GOODNESS IS ALLIED TO GREATNESS AS SURELY AS CAUSE TO EFFECT. "The Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth." As in nature it is certain that all botanical life shoots upward, or that gases, as they expand, also ascend; so in the spiritual kingdom it is certain that goodness will grow into eminence. "Tis not merely an arbitrary decree of God; "tis the outcome of the very constitution of the universe. The character of Jehovah is a guarantee that the constitutional principles of his empire do not change. Hostile influences and powers may for a time prevent goodness from receiving its due reward just as superincumbent clay may prevent the young plant from shooting upward, but the final issue is certain. Faithful service shall be crowned with honor.
III THE REWARD OF GOODNESS IS ITS OWN PERMANENCE. "The Lord shall establish thee a holy people" (ver. 9). "And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee." In the life of obedience "God helps those who help themselves." Separate acts become easier by repetition. They evolve into habits. Habits tend to permanence and constitute character and foreshadow destiny. All proceeds by virtue of an eternal law: "God helps those who help themselves." It is easier for a good man to resist temptation now than it was in the first stages of his Christian life. Devotion has become the natural outflow of his soul, the fruitage of his new life.
IV BEHIND ALL FORMS OF BLESSING A PERSONAL GOD MAY BE SEEN. The material food does not sustain bodily life; it is God acting through the food. Neither fertile land, nor good husbandry, nor auspicious weather, nor all combined, will in themselves secure a copious harvest; it is God acting through natural forces. "The Lord shall command the blessing." However riches may increase, if God smile not, there will be no joy. The house may be full of children; yet instead of ruddy health there may be wasting sickness instead of intellectual vigor, imbecility instead of laughter, weeping; the blessing of God is wanting. We may possess substantial homes, yet no security; marauders and incendiaries may infest the land, True prosperity is a Divine Father"s benediction.
V A GOOD MAN DELIGHTS IN DISTRIBUTING GOOD. He himself becomes an inferior God, a lesser source of blessing. "Thou shalt lend, and shalt not borrow." The Name of God is put upon him. He acts in God"s stead, and imitates God in all things. The result of the Divine favor will be conspicuous. All people shall see the gracious distinction which marks and signalizes the friend of God. All his beneficent deeds will be covered with a glory not born of earth. His mysterious influence will spread far and wide. He becomes a "burning and a shining light; many will rejoice in his light. D.
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 vv3, 5, 12, 13, 15, 47, 67 Blessed shalt thou be in the city.
Deu_28:3
Blessed shalt thou be in the city.
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Blessed in the city
The city is full of care, and he who has to go there from day to day finds it to be a place of great wear and tear. It is full of noise, and stir, and bustle, and sore travail: many are its temptations, losses, and worries. But to go there with the Divine blessing takes off the edge of its difficulty; to remain there with that blessing is to find pleasure in its duties, and strength equal to its demands. A blessing in the city may not make us great, but it will keep us good; it may not make us rich, but it will preserve us honest. Whether we are porters, or clerks, or managers, or merchants, of magistrates, the city will afford us opportunities for usefulness. It is good fishing where there are shoals of fish, and it is hopeful to work for our Lord amid the thronging crowds. We might prefer the quiet of a country life; but if called to town, we may certainly prefer it because there is room for our energies. Today let us expect good things because of this promise, and let our care be to have an open car to the voice of the Lord, and a ready hand to execute His bidding. Obedience brings the blessing. In keeping His commandments there is great reward. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
City life
We have accustomed ourselves so long to think that the glory and beauty displayed on the open fields of the country, where life lies palpitating and warm with the impress of His creative hand, and where all the works of the Lord are ceaselessly singing His praise, must in itself impress more vividly those who linger amid its beauties, and do their work in the glow of its magnificence, than do the streets and lanes and the visible signs of man which stretch out through the city. And yet we do not seek from the hard-working farmer the highest appreciation of nature as such, nor from the toiling agricultural labourer the keenest poetic sentiment. Men are crowded into the city, the villages become more and more depleted. What does it mean? Ask them, and they would tell you that they are going to see life. To the labourer town life means a more stirring existence, he thinks he sees there a wider field, a quicker return, a more brilliant career, and too often he is bitterly disappointed in these hard times. To the pleasure seeker the city is the great lamp towards which he flies with outstretched wings to flicker for a short space around it, to scorch his wings, to burn himself in the nearest approach to nothingness. But life is a very real thing to seek for. In the city there are gathered together various forms of excellence. Here art treasures are collected, and art studies are at their fullest perfection; here music receives its fullest development; here perfection of all kinds tends to aggregate; here the blood courses fuller and stronger; here might be realised that which we speak of so often in the Creed--the communion of saints. (Canon Newbolt.)
Blessed shalt thou be in the field.
Blessed in the field
So was Isaac blessed when lie walked therein at eventide to meditate. How often has the Lord met us when we have been alone! The hedges and the trees can bear witness to our joy. We look for such blessedness again. So was Boaz blessed when he reaped his harvest, and his workmen met him with benedictions. May the Lord prosper all who drive the plough! Every farmer may urge this promise with God, if, indeed, he obeys the voice of the Lord God. We go to the field to labour as father Adam did; and since the curse fell on the soil through the sin of Adam the first, it is a great comfort to find a blessing through Adam the second. We go to the field for exercise, and we are happy in the belief that the Lord will bless that exercise, and give us health, which we will use to His glory. We go to the field to study nature, and there is nothing in a knowledge of the visible creation which may not be sanctified to the highest uses by the Divine benediction. We have at last to go to the field to bury our dead; yea, others will in their turn take us to Gods acre in the field: but we are blessed, whether weeping at the tomb or sleeping in it. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 CRITICAL NOTES.—Moses now enlarges and gives the blessings and…
CRITICAL NOTES.—Moses now enlarges and gives the blessings and curses in detail (cf. Exo_23:20-23 and Leviticus 26.) The blessings are declared in fourteen verses; the curses require nearly four times as many. Thus here again the curse is the more conspicuous feature in the law Speak. Com. Obedience the condition of blessing and this is repeated at beginning (Deu_28:2) middle (29) and close (Deu_28:13-14) in positive and energetic form.
Deu_28:1-6. Blessings actual powers which follow and overtake them in all relations of life. Field (Deu_28:3; Lev_26:3.) Body (Deu_28:4), i.e. children. Basket (Deu_28:5) for carrying articles for personal use (Deu_26:2). Store lit. kneading-trough, in which daily bread is prepared (Exo_12:34). Comest in all journeys or affairs and administrations (Num_27:17; Deu_31:2; 2Sa_3:25.)
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Deu_28:7-14. Effects of blessings expressed in the optative forms earnestly desired. May the Lord bless, etc. Conquest over enemies (Deu_28:7). Flee in rout, in many ways. Storehouses (Deu_28:8) underground generally (Lev_26:7-8). Exhaltation (Deu_28:9). Holy (Exo_19:5-6; Deu_7:6). Called (Deu_28:10) rightly and truly a most excellent and favoured people. Plenteous (Deu_28:11) lit. shall make thee abound in good, superabundance for good, i.e. for happiness and prosperity (cf. Deu_30:9.) Treasures rain and fruitful seasons. Head (Deu_28:13) independent in power and dignity (Isa_9:14; Isa_19:15). Tail not vassals. (Deu_28:14) emphatic conditions on which blessings depend.
Deu_28:15-19. Curses proclaimed in sixfold repetition, the exact counterpart of blessing almost. “The special modes in which these threats should be executed are described in five groups of denunciations,” Deu_28:20-68. (Speak. Com.)
Deu_28:20-26. First group. Cursing (cf. Mal_2:2) on all they do, issuing in various forms of disease. famine, and defeat in war. Vex. Confusion, as armies in defeat (cf. Deu_7:23; 1Sa_14:20), Pestilence. Fatal epidemic (1Ki_8:37; Amo_4:10). Consumption. Wasting sickness, not European phthisis. Fever. Acute disease. Sword. Others drought or heat; curse rests on vegetation. Brass (Deu_28:23). Hard, dry, and shut up from giving rain. Dust shall fall like showers—dry, and as a burning sirocco (Deu_28:25). Smitten (cf. Lev_26:17; Isa_30:17). Removed. Not dispersion among heathen, but driven from one place to another without settlement. Meat (Deu_28:26), a great horror, the case with many Jews in Antiochian persecution (Psa_79:2).
Deu_28:27-34. Second Group. Loathsome diseases, and humbled and oppressed by calamities. Botch, black leprosy, peculiar to Eg. (Exo_9:9). Emarods. fistula or piles. Scab. scurvy. Itch, most malignant in East. Deu_28:28. Mental ailments, bewilderment, and paralysed with terror. Mad (Jer_25:16-18). Grope, like the blind, in painful uncertainty (Isa_59:10). Deu_28:30. Utter spoliation. Everything dear taken and not restored (Deu_28:31). Might. All help would fail (Gen_31:29).
Deu_28:35-46. Third Group. As such diseases separated from men so Israel would be separated, rejected by God and brought under the dominion of strangers. Knees. Incurable leprosy, affecting joints, extremities, and whole body. King. A prophetic anticipation. No king given under Mosaic system. Serve. Seduced or compelled by idolatry as in Assyrian and Babylonish captivity (Jer_44:17-19).
Deu_28:38. In their own land curse would rest upon labour and enterprise (Mic_6:15; Hag_1:6; Joe_1:4). Worms. Weevil destructive to vines. Deu_28:43-44 compare with Deu_28:12-13 Sign (Deu_28:46). A warning to other nations. For ever. A remnant would return to faith and obedience (Rom_9:27; Rom_11:5)
Deu_28:47-57. Fourth Group. More severe calamities are described in subjugation to a foreign foe.
Deu_28:49. Nation. Some think the Chaldeans. “But it needs only to read this part of the denunciation and to compare it with the narrative of Josephus’ De Bell. Jud. VI. to see that its full and exact accomplishment took place in the wars of Vespasian and Titus against the Jews, as indeed the Jews generally admit.” Speak. Com. Eagle. Roman ensign (cf. Mat_24:28). Fierce (Deu_28:50). Strong of face (cf. Dan_7:23), upon whom nothing would make impression. The foe would consume cattle, besiege towers, and so distress them that they would eat the fruit of their body, i.e., their own children (2Ki_6:24-30; Jer_19:9). The effeminate man would have an evil eye. i.e., envy toward a brother who had nothing left to give to the revolting viands.
Deu_28:55. The tender woman would be led to appease hunger by her young one, her after-birth, and then with her children.
Deu_28:58-68. Ultimate issue of the curse in uprooting Israel and dispersing them if obstinate in rebellion Book the Law or Pentateuch. The diseases of Egypt would decimate them remarkably fulfilled in persecution and war. God, who had done them good, would rejoice over their destruction; those who survived would be scattered (cf Lev_26:33; Jer_16:13; Eccles. 48:15; Jos. De Bell. Jud. 6. 9:2). They would find no rest (cf. Jer_36:26; Amo_9:4). Life would be suspended on a mere visible thread, which might be snapped any moment (Deu_28:66). Brought out of Egypt by mighty power, they would be carried back in slave ships and become bondmen.
NATIONAL OBEDIENCE AND UNIVERSAL PROSPERITY.—Deu_28:1-6
National obedience would be rewarded with extraordinary prosperity.
I. Prosperity in city and country (Deu_28:3). The city needs God in business; councils, boards, and counting-houses would never increase and prosper without Him. “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that (are builders of it) build it; except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain” (Psa_127:1). The field—such a contrast from the city, for “God made the country, but man made the town”—needs God’s sunshine and shower. In trade and agriculture they would prosper if obedient.
II. Increase of population and of cattle (Deu_28:4). “The fruit of thy body.” A numerous offspring was promised to Abraham (Gen_22:17). Children healthy and happy “are a heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward” (Psa_127:3). There should be increase in cattle, kine, nd flocks of sheep, and the ground should produce enough to keep them.
III. Abundant supply of the necessities of life. In their basket and in their store they would never want—enough for personal and domestic use, no scarcity in anything. “Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.”
IV. Safety in all journeys. “When thou comest in and when thou goest out” (Deu_28:6). We need constant protection on sea and land, in train and market traps. What wrecks, what accidents we read of! How we depend upon God! Never safe, never easy, if He suspends His favour! If He bless, go where we will and engage in what trade we like, all is well. “The blessing of the Lord it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it.”
EFFECTS OF DIVINE BLESSING IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF LIFE.—Deu_28:7-10
The effects of God’s blessing, like the influence of gentle showers, would be diffusive and rest upon them in all circumstances and conditions of life. This is seen in three relationships, to their enemies, to trade, and to other nations.
I. Supremacy over enemies (Deu_28:7). They shall be smitten and put to flight in various ways. A small number would over-match a mighty host. On God’s side we are on the right side. “God and one man are always a majority” says one. “There is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few.
II. Success in all undertakings. “In all that thou settest thine hand unto” (Deu_28:8). In all handicraft and labour, in what they had and in what they did they would be blessed. If rich, we must not be idle. Accumulation of wealth may be accumulation of sorrow. Life which may be a continual feast may be a constant vexation if not faithful to God. “Godliness is profitable unto all things, etc.”
III. Increase of national glory. This glory is special, universal and certain.
1. In renewed covenant. God would exalt them in character and position according to the oath which he made from the first. An oath never forgotten, but specially mentioned and confirmed for help and encouragement to His people. They were a peculiar and special treasure unto Him above all people.
2. In exalted holiness. “An holy people unto himself” (Deu_28:9). He not only takes them, but keeps them in the covenant. Establishes them in holiness and truth. This is the highest honour. Outward prosperity decays like a flower, withers away like Jonah’s gourd; but the glory of holy character and conduct is a glory that excels.
3. In great wealth. “Thou shalt lend unto many nations and thou shalt not borrow” (Deu_28:12). The borrower is always servant to the lender. But they would have money to lend, never be reduced to straits, to dependence upon others—never become victims of cruelty, nor even objects of sympathy.
4. In mighty power. “The head and not the tail.” Never servile, but always supreme. “Above only rising in wealth, dignity, and power, and not beneath.” This realised in the time of David and Solomon. Loyalty to God is the way to ascendency among nations. “The ancient and honourable he is the head.”
5. In universal favour “All people of the earth shall see and be afraid of thee (Deu_28:10). When God is with us, and his glory reflected in holy life, men reverence our grandeur and fear our authority. The nearer to God, the greater our influence over men. An obedient holy Church would be a formidable power, “terrible as an army with banners.” All people would see its spiritual distinctions, feel its moral force and mysterious influence (Act_2:43; Act_4:13; Jos_2:10-11.) “There shall no man be able to stand before you: for the Lord your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land.”
WONDERFUL BLESSINGS.—Deu_28:1-14
I. Blessings extensive in their character (Deu_28:3-7). Given to Israel first, but for every nation that fears God and keeps His commands. Reaching into the future and enduring for ever.
1. Wide in their sphere. For family and city, social intercourse, business and war. Comprehending everything needful for a nation’s wealth, health, and happiness.
2. Abundant in variety. Rain in its seasons, increase of cattle and flocks, increase of men and of honour. Temporal and spiritual in going out and coming in, upon individuals, households and possessions.
II. Blessings certain in their bestowment. Not merely by the soil of Canaan or the laws of Nature; but by special promise and special providence “Thy God will set thee on high.” “All these blessings shall come upon thee.” We speak of “the reign of law,” and forget that all laws physical or spiritual are ordained and controlled by one supreme lawgiver. Fidelity to God prompts to right use of means and reaps the results of natural laws. “All things work together” (in harmony, not in opposition) for good (as the result) to them that love God” (Rom_8:28).
III. Blessings conditioned in their enjoyment. Not given at random and without special design. The conditions of their tenure are plain—
1. Attention to God’s will. “If thou shalt hearken diligently”—eager and diligent attention given to every word of God.
2. Obedience to God’s commands. “To observe and to do all His commandments”—obedience habitual, sincere, and devout.
3. Perseverance in good. Unswerving in principle, apostacy would provoke divine judgments. These are the conditions, repeated in positive and negative form, in Deu_28:2; Deu_28:9; Deu_28:13-14. “Thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them” (Deu_28:14).
IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES OF LIFE
We may sum up the preceding thoughts in a brief sketch of the principles which ought to influence our conduct.
I. That our future happiness largely depends upon our present conduct. “If thou shalt.” Man is free to choose, obedience is not forced. Life and death set before us, which shall it be? “Choose ye.”
II. That obedience to God alone will secure this happiness. God has pledged this; a kind providence fulfils the pledge, sends blessings in time and place where most needed.
III. That therefore obedience is the best policy for nations and individuals. There is intimate connection between conduct and destiny, between morality and worldly prosperity. Regard to our own interests, to divine law, and to the future welfare of the country urge decision for God—instant and earnest decision. “For it is not a vain thing for you, because it is your life, and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.”
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_28:2. The happy journey. I. The direction indicated, “overtake thee.”
1. Started for God and His service, or could not be overtaken.
2. Obedient to the guide. The voice heard. God’s will revealed in Scripture or could not be fulfilled.
3. Progress made. No loitering, no standing still, constantly going on. II. The blessings which accompany those who walk in this direction. All good things mentioned shall come upon them, overtake them and rest upon them in every stage of their journey—“Unexpectedly befall thee. ‘Surely goodness and mercy shall follow thee’ (Psa_22:6), as the evening sunbeams follow the passenger, as the rock-water followed the Israelites in the wilderness and overtook them in their stations (1Co_10:4). ‘O continue,’ or draw out to the length, ‘thy loving kindness unto them that know thee (Psa_36:11). There will be a continued series, a connexion between them to all such.”—Trapp.
Deu_28:5. Store. Cicero saith, one friend should wish to another three things only, to enjoy health, to possess honour, and not suffer necessity. He that observeth God’s commands, shall have all these and more.—Trapp.
Deu_28:7. The routed enemy. This is a world of conflict. Incessant war between truth and error. This verse describes I. The enemy’s attack.
1. It was united: gathered into one force;
2. Concentrated. II. The enemy’s defeat.
1. Not a strategic movement;
2. But a disorderly flight (ill. morning at Waterloo: the evening cry—“Let him save himself who can”). III. The cause of the defeat.
1. Not by the courage of Israel, or sagacity of leaders.
2. But the help of God.
Divine help is sometimes most apparent (ill. Armada scattered by storm). Learn
(1.) To serve God in times of peace, and then
(2.) you may safely trust him in times of war.—Bib. Museum.
Deu_28:9-10. Israel’s pre-eminence.
1. In relationship to God.
2. In temporal prosperity, abundant harvest, etc.
3. In the influence over international counsels. Deu_28:10. Be afraid. The homage of the world to moral worth. God’s name, God’s glory reflected in human character, will not merely command respect, but receive the homage of conscience, and conversation—Nebuchadnezzar and Darius and Daniel, Herod and John, Pharoah and Joseph.
Deu_28:12. Heaven God’s storehouse, earth depends upon this storehouse—Canaan especially required rain. God keeps the key, opens and shuts according to his good pleasure, to discipline and train the people.
Deu_28:12-13. I. God in Nature, giving rain and fruitful seasons. II. God in history, bestowing wealth to individuals, exalting nations to dignity favouring the good and confounding the evil.
DISOBEDIENCE AND ITS PENALTIES.—Deu_28:15-20
The curses are given as counterparts of blessings (Deu_28:16-19) in sixfold repetition. covering all relationships of life, corresponding to Deu_28:3-6—Learn:
I. If men are disposed to act rightly, they may be happy. Difficulties lie not in the Lord, in the providence or in the sovereignty of God; all things are ready with him, but men are unwilling. Jerusalem “would not.” Obedience is the surest way to happiness. “Righteousness tendeth to life.” Walking in the precepts we enjoy the promises of God. God appeals to us, seeks to dispose, not to compel us to do right, “Will ye?” If we serve him, we find that in the way of righteousness is life, and in the pathway thereof is no death.
II. If men persist in doing wrong they may be ruined. “If thou wilt not hearken.”
1. Ruined in business. “In city and in field,” in commerce and agriculture (Deu_28:16). If we love gain and forget God, our schemes may be upset and security taken away. “Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right” (Pro_16:8).
2. Reduced in daily necessities. “Cursed in basket and in store” (Deu_28:27). God gives daily bread, sends scarcity and want at his pleasure. Life is sustained, not by bread only, but by his will. If in the midst of plenty, we offend God, the blessings may be turned into curses.
3. Disappointed in family prospects. No fruit of the body: or if children, sickness, and death cut them down in early bloom. No lambs for the flock, no increase of kine; God does not bless and multiply them, but suffers cattle to decrease and disappoints expectations. “The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just” (Pro_3:33).
4. Unsafe in journeys (Deu_28:19). A kind providence watches over a good man; but the wicked, through imprudence and neglect, often meet with mishaps. God alone can make our journey prosperous (Gen_24:21), and for this a Christian will pray (Rom_1:10). Such are some of the ways in which a man may be ruined. The very reverse of former prosperity and a sure indication of God’s providence.
III. Hence persistence in wrong doing is most foolish. Heedless, impetuous, and thoughtless, stripped of all they esteem valuable, exposed to mischief, and deaf to divine learning, sinners go on to their doom. Conduct most reckless and most criminal! God expostulates but in vain. Fighting against God and their own interests! What monstrous folly! What infinite mercy to prevent irremediable destruction. “Ye fools, when will ye be wise?”
FIRST GROUP: SIN AND SUFFERINGS.—Deu_28:20-26
Judgments are grouped together in series. Examine each in order. From the first group, learn—
I. That sin brings miseries. Sin and suffering are bound together by iron chains. This is—
1. A doctrine of Scripture. “He that pursueth evil, pursueth it to his own death.” “The wages of sin is death.”
2. A law of nature. “Curses never come causeless.” Sin is violation of natural order, and suffering must follow as season follows season.
3. A Divine appointment. Misery springs not from the dust, but is linked by Divine decree to evil doing. Moral laws are as certain in operation and results as natural laws. We cannot evade the issues of conduct; the seed determines the nature of the crop, and the sowing the reaping.
II. That the miseries of sin are often most distressing. What a list in these verses!
1. Consuming pestilence. Cleaving unto men, cemented and inseparable—defying the skill of the physician and the efforts of sanitary authorities.
2. Manifold bodily diseases (Deu_28:22). Germs of disease float in the atmosphere, and are developed by the conduct of depraved men. Moral poison destroys physical beauty and life, and covers the body with sores and diseases.
3. Terrible drought. Destroying vegetation by “blasting and mildew” (Deu_28:22). Early and latter rain withheld, and the earth hard and incapable of cultivation. Heaven above as brass, and earth beneath as iron. The surface of the ground reduced to powder, which is taken up by strong winds and poured down in showers of destructive violence (Deu_28:24).
4. Defeat in war. A nation ever victorious through God, bereft of his help, smitten by the enemy; fleeing away in disgrace; “removed into all the nations of the earth,” or left on the field exposed to indignity, “meat unto all the fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth” (Deu_28:26). Sin brings ruin—ruin in everything connected with the sinner—ruin in body and soul, in family and estate. We best serve our own interests, and preserve our well-being, for this world and the next, by acting in conformity with God’s word.
“When sorrows come,
They come not single spies,
But in battalions.”—Shakespeare.
ABOVE AND BENEATH.—Deu_28:23-24
These words have a moral application and may typify spiritual dearth.
I. Above abundant supplies. A storehouse full of good things, ready to be poured out. The Holy Spirit and showers of divine blessings. “I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground.”
II. Beneath, parched ground. The ministry needs quickening. The Church languishes. Failure of effort and lack of conversions. The vineyard of God unfruitful and the world perishing. “Popularize your societies” is the cry of many; we say vitalize them. “I beheld, and lo. the fruitful place was a wilderness.”
III. How to remove the sterility. It is not designed to be permanent.
1. Forsake sin. This brings blight and curse. “He turneth a fruitful land into barrenness for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.”
2. Pray to God. “Prayer,” says Robert Hall, “is a spring which the Almighty never fails to touch when He has a rich blessing to communicate to His church.” Unexpected and marvellous things may be witnessed through prayer. “Prove me now herewith, said the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open to you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_28:20. The Threefold Curse. Cursing, vexation, and rebuke.
1. Moral in its cause. “Wickedness of thy doings … Thou hast forsaken me.”
2. Extensive in its scope. “In all that thou settest thine hand unto.”
3. Long in its duration. “Until.”
4. Terrible in its end. “Destroyed.” “Perish quickly.” … “The first of these words seems to import that God would blast all their designs; the second relates to disquiet and perplexity of mind arising from disappointment of their hopes, and presages of approaching miseries; the third respects such chastisements from God as would give them a severe check and rebuke for their sins and follies.”
Deu_28:22. Seven Plagues. What a fearful thing, to fall into the hands of the living God!
Deu_28:23-24. The pitiless storm.
1. Endangering life, blinding eyes, filling nostrils and mouth, making it difficult to breathe and drive in the street.
2. Creating intense thirst; the lips crack, and no water to slake burning thirst.
3. Affording no shelter; often no bush, no rock, no friendly house to hide from the fierce simoon.—Cf. Dr. Porter, and Ld. and Bk. II. 311, Thom.
SECOND GROUP: THE POWER OF GOD IN THE AFFLICTION OF MEN.—Deu_28:27–Once the sinner having set himself against God, he of necessity suffers in mind, body, and estate. The primitive laws of nature become executors of God’s power and judgments.
I. God’s power displayed in human life. God is absolutely supreme, a law unto Himself and does what He will among men.
1. In the human body (Deu_28:27). God, who built our body, can smite it with disease; acute and loathsome; torture every nerve, and render man hideous from “the sole of the foot to the crown of the head.”
2. In the human mind (Deu_28:28). Mental sufferings are greater than bodily. It the mind is smitten and reason dethroned, man is down and no physician can help him up. With a healthy body, elevated desires and happy prospects, we may triumph over physical suffering. But when body and mind are tortured, how terrible! “A wounded spirit, who can bear?”
3. In the social circle (Deu_28:30). Wife, house and vineyard, everything most dear would be touched and taken by the curse. Sin robs of family joys and family status. Domestic comfort, reputation and property all go. Often from heights of worldly greatness, families fall to the lowest depths of degradation and distress. “For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this” (2Ch_29:9).
II. God’s power displayed in national history. Nations are but men, governed by the providence, according to the purpose of God. He can dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. God has power.
1. Over the possessions of nations. “Vineyards” are planted by Him. Sheep and oxen; “the cattle on a thousand hills are His.” A nation’s property may be great, constantly accumulating, and apparently secure, but if unjustly gained, ungratefully held or wickedly abused, God may give it to the “enemies and thou shalt have none to rescue” (Deu_28:31). “He increaseth the nations and destroyeth them; He enlargeth the nations and straiteneth (carrieth them away) again (Job_12:23).
2. Over the population of nations. God builds up a people in number, as well as in material wealth. But “He breaketh down and it cannot be built again.” Vice poisons the blood and destroys the life; war, famine and pestilence waste the inhabitants of nations. Posterity, to whom are committed the interests of commerce, the defence of the throne and the glory of our name, are often cut off by divine judgments. “I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord.”
Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,
Where wealth accumulates, and men decay.
III. God’s power irresistible in its displays. Israel would see their children carried captives but have “no might in their hand” to rescue them, and would pine away in sorrow (Deu_28:32).
1. Powerless to resist His doings. Power is seen in creation, sustenance and government of the world. “He is mighty in strength,” the force of all forces, in heaven and earth. “Men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts.” “I will work and who shall let it” (hinder, or turn it back) Isa_43:13.
2. Powerless to resist his purpose. No man, no combination of men can prevent the fulfilment of His plan. “He is of one mind, and who can turn Him?” Can a pebble hinder the advancing tide? God moves on in majestic power. Nations are futile in their rage and opposition. “If he cut off and shut up (i.e. arrest and imprison), or gather together (call an assembly for judgment), then who can hinder Him?” (Job_11:10). What folly to resist God. “Why dost thou strive against Him?” Has He done you harm? Can you succeed? Submit, avoid the curse and secure the blessing.”
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_28:28-29. The dreadful power of suffering. “Smite thee with madness.” God’s judgments reach the mind as well as body and estate, make men a terror to themselves and drive them to desperation.
Blindness, physical and mental, loss of sight and confounding of understanding. Unable to devise means to prevent or remove calamities, and led to adopt those which tended directly to their ruin. How true the saying, Quos Deus vult perdere prius dementat “Those whom God wishes to destroy, he first infatuates.” What a warning to nations! What an awful type of wicked men!
Judicial Blindness.
1. When truth is rejected.
2. Moral light intellectnal and spiritual withdrawn. And
3. Moral vision entirely obscured (cf. Rom_11:18; 2Co_3:4). “They met with (run into) darkness in the daytime, and grope in the noonday as in the night (Job_5:14).
Deu_28:27-34. Elements of Distress.
1. Personal annoyances (Deu_28:27).
2. Mental derangement (Deu_28:28).
3. Providential reverses (a) In domestic life (Deu_28:30). (b) In commercial life (Deu_28:31-33). Distress indicating Divine agency. Divine severity.
THIRD GROUP: THE REJECTION AND DEGRADATION OF ISRAEL.—Deu_28:35-46
We have here solemn gradation of evils. Confusion and anarchy, uniting with oppression, produce madness of heart; disease pursues its ravages in most malignant forms; labour and enterprise are blasted by the curse, and the nation sinks into total disgrace and ruin.
I. Israel would be cut off from fellowship with God (Deu_28:35). From “the sole of the foot unto the crown of the head” they would be smitten with loathsome and incurable disease, “a sore botch that cannot be healed.” Leprosy cut off from the society of man, so Israel would be excluded from fellowship with God.
II. Israel would become impoverished at home.
1. The fruits of the land would be consumed. Locusts would devour the seed. They might carry much into the field, but would reap little (Deu_28:28); the planting and dressing of the vineyard would give no wine to drink, for the worm would devour the vine (Deu_28:39); the trees would yield no oil to anoint, but would be uprooted or destroyed (Deu_28:40).
2. They would fall into an inferior position. They would have to borrow money instead of lending (Deu_28:44); strangers would rise above them in wealth and social rank, “become the head, and they would be the tail;” their condition would be the opposite to Deu_28:13.
3. A curse would rest upon their children. Children may deteriorate through sin, and carry in their persons the curse of God to future generations. “And upon thy seed for ever.” Israel as a nation would be rejected, but a remnant would be saved (cf. Isa_10:22; Isa_6:13; Rom_9:27; Rom_11:5).
III. Israel would be a terror to spectators. “For a sign and for a wonder” (Deu_28:46). God’s doings are not simply wonderful, but signs of supernatural interposition, illustrations of spiritual truth. Never was a people such a sign as the Jews, whose seed for thousands of years have been a wonder over the face of the earth!
IV. Israel would be brought under subjection to a foreign Power.
1. They were taken into captivity (Deu_28:36). Their kings—Jehoichin (2Ki_24:12; 2Ki_24:14), Zedekiah (2Ki_25:7; 2Ki_25:11), and Manasseh (2Ch_33:11)—were taken away by foreign nations. Edward III. had the King of Scots and the King of France captives together. Monarchs with body-guards and means of protection cannot escape the vengeance of God. How hopeless that case when the defender shares the fate of the subjects!
2. They were forced to serve other gods. As in Babylon and in Popish countries. “Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favour” (Jer_16:13).
V. Israel would become a byeword among nations (Deu_28:37). Jews have been despised among Mahometans, Pagans, and Christians. There is scarcely any part of the globe where the prediction has not been verified. “In short, the annals of almost every nation, for 1800 years, afford abundant proofs that this has been, as it still is, the case, the very name of Jew being a universally recognised term for extreme degradation and wretchedness, and is often applied by passionate people in derision—‘You Jew!’ ” “And now am I their song; yea, I am their byeword” (Job_30:9).
GOD’S CONTROL OVER NATURE.—Deu_28:35; Deu_28:38-42
I. In the material department. Earth with its produce, in fields and vineyards—heaven with its sun and its showers, are under the superintendence of God and governed in the interests of men. The heavens satisfy the earth and the earth yields its increase to men; but all things in heaven and earth depend upon God. “So that without His bidding,” says Calvin, “not a drop of rain falls from heaven, and the earth produces no germ, and consequently all nature would be barren, unless he gave it fertility by his blessing.” “How long shall the land mourn and the herbs of every field wither for the wickedness of them that dwell therein.
II. In the intelligent department. Over the bodies and minds of men. The beauty of the one and the vigour of the other. The strength of the limb (Deu_28:35) and the use of reason (Deu_28:28) come from Him. The condition of the parents and the fate of the children are fixed by His providence (Deu_28:41). God directs and controls all forces and all agencies to accomplish His designs. None are beyond the reach and none can escape the punishment of God. “All troubles,” says Bishop Reynolds, “have their commission and instructions from Him—what to do, whither to go, whom to touch, and whom to pass over.”
PARENTAL DISAPPOINTMENT.—Deu_28:41
I. Parents anticipate great things from children. Dutiful conduct and reverence, joy, advancement, honour and prosperity. Gratitude, needful help and preservation of family name.
II. Parents are often disappointed in their children. Sometimes cut down by early death. They often turn out badly, a curse instead of a blessing. They are taken captives by evil habits and evil company—because disloyal and unnatural. “God help me, my own children have forsaken me,” said James
2. who stands forth a type of a deserted father. “A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.”
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_28:35. Diseases.
1. Painful.
2. Degrading.
3. Incurable (cf. Isa_1:4-6).
Deu_28:37. A Proverb.
1. A fact.
2. A dishonour.
3. A punishment.
4. A witness to prophetic truth. What a fall from the original mission of Israel. “Poets, dramatists, have all taken the Jew as the personation of what is mean, grasping, and avaricious (“Greedy as a Jew.” “Avaricious as a Jew”). Yet he is not more so, intrinsically, than we are; it is circumstances that have made him so; it is persecution and ill-treatment that have crushed him. And all this is the fulfilment of prophecies old as the days of Moses, and yet not the justification of his persecutors.”—Dr. Cumming. This teaches two important lessons: First, he explains this severe persecution, permitted by God to fall upon them because they were set up as a model nation chosen from heathendom, enriched with privileges, glory and position. But they were untrue, forsook God; and the height of the dignity to which they were raised, is the measure of the depth of degradation to which they have sunk for abuse of it. Secondly, how impossible to escape the conclusion that the Book of Deuteronomy is inspired! The predictions in this chapter, and in the ensuing one, are so specific, so literal, that they carry in their own bosoms the tests of inspiration.—(Idem).
FOURTH GROUP: DISOBEDIENCE TO GOD RESULTING IN SERVITUDE TO MAN. Deu_28:47-57
Every department of national life has been under the curse; yet, in love to His people and earnest desire to preserve them from wrath, the faithful servant of God goes further, and pictures greater severity in bondage to heathen yoke. Having forsaken God, they were left in servitude to man.
I. If Israel would not obey God, they would be compelled to serve enemies. “Because thou servedst not the Lord, therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies” (Deu_28:47-48).
1. Serve in hunger and want. “In hunger, thirst, nakedness and in want of all things.” “Man’s life,” says Calvin, “is not shut up in bread, but hangs on the Sovereign will and good pleasure of God.” He can withhold bread, take away water, create natural and spiritual distress in schools, churches, and nations.
2. Serve in vigorous oppression. “He shall put a yoke of iron about thy neck” (Deu_28:49). Instead of the easy yoke of God, they would be slaves to a cruel foe (cf. Jer_27:11-12). Those who refuse reasonable service to God, will have to bow to the tyranny of sin.
II. These enemies would be most barbarous and cruel. This description might apply to the Chaldeans when compared with Moabites, Philistines and other neighbours in Judea, but the Romans answer best to it.
1. Enemies which scorn the distant foe. They came “from far,” from France, Spain and Britain—then considered the end of the earth.
2. Enemies which defy the strength of battlements (Deu_28:52). All fortified places to which the people escaped were taken, and the walls of Jerusalem razed to the ground.
3. Enemies which have no pity for the people. “Not regard the person of the old, nor show favour to the young” (Deu_28:50). Josephus says the Romans had no mercy for infants and spared neither sex nor age. Cruel and insensible to human instincts.
4. Enemies of ruthless vengeance. “Fruit of thy cattle, fruit of thy land,” all consumed. The invader destroyed everything within reach, every district through which they passed was strewed with wrecks of devastation.
5. Enemies of sudden approach. Swift as an eagle—the ensign of the standards of the Roman army—pouncing violently upon its prey. It is true morally and physically that “where the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.”
III. In their distress and siege Israel would be driven to horrible extremities (Deu_28:53-57).
1. Famine would lead them to eat the fruit of their own body (Deu_28:53). Fulfilled 2Ki_6:25; 2Ki_6:28-29; Lam_2:20; Lam_4:10; Bar_2:3; and in the Roman siege.
2. Famine would create domestic jealousy. The man of luxury would envy his relatives if better off than himself; or avoid them in jealousy and fear lest they should discover and demand a share of his unnatural viands. “In every house where there was any appearance of food, the dearest relatives fought each other for it—even mothers their infants.”—(Josephus).
3. Famine would destroy natural affection. The delicate and sensitive woman would be unrestrained by natural affection and appease her hunger with her offspring and afterbirth. In the siege of Samaria, a woman boiled her son (2Ki_6:28-29), which was also done in the siege by the Romans. Famine was so terrible, that “for want of all things,” the leather of girdles, shoes and shields, and even stale dung of oxen were eagerly devoured (cf. Eze_5:10; Jer_19:9). Such were the awful consequences of forsaking God.
One woe doth tread upon another’s heel,
So fast they follow.—Shakespeare.
Thus woe succeeds woe, as wave a wave.—Herrick.
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_28:47. Joyful Service. I. Its Motive. God’s goodness in personal mercies, family mercies, spiritual mercies. II. Its embodiment in secret and social devotion, in songs of praise, grateful offerings and loyal obedience. Here we have duty and favour, “the duty of delight,” as a modern writer would say, labour and sunshine. “The love which does not lead to labour will soon die out; and the thankfulness which does not embody itself in sacrifices is already changing to ingratitude.”
Deu_28:47-48. The dread alternative. God or man, with joyfulness or in want, etc.
Deu_28:49-52. Foreign conquest. I. The foe described swift, cruel and strong. II. The mischief he commits. III. The impotence to resist.
Deu_28:52. Confidence in strongholds. Jews seldom ventured to fight in open fields. They trusted to high and fenced walls. In a special manner they confided in the strength and situation of Jerusalem, as Jebusites, former inhabitants did before them (2Sa_5:6-7). Vain is the confidence of the sinner. His stronghold a refuge of lies (Isa_28:15). Divine Retribution.
1. Discovers every subject. None can hide from God.
2. Overturns every stronghold.
3. Penetrates every place. “Prince’s palaces are not above, the poor man’s cottage is not beneath the judgment of God.” God is the only stronghold in whom we should trust. Christ is the refuge, flee to him!
THE GLORIOUS AND FEARFUL NAME.—Deu_28:58
The name of Jehovah most prominent here to check the downward course, secure glory and regard. Pause and consider its nature and demands.
I. A Name revealed in Scripture. Not known to patriarchs, or if known not understood in its fulness and blessing (Exo_6:3). It was a preface to the law (Exo_20:2) and a special revelation to Moses (Exo_3:13-15; Exo_6:3), indicating a God faithful and self-existent, absolute being, and infinite perfection; a Name above every name, never to be uttered without reverence, the sanctity of which aggravates crime against it. It is the scriptural, the theocratic name of God.
II. A Name written in Nature. In letters of burning splendour in heaven above and earth beneath; “glorious” in goodness and “fearful” in power. In thunder, lightning, and earthquake we have displays of power and majesty. Men speak of laws and forces of nature; true science discerns God, and spells his name in all departments (cf. Psalms 104.): “For that Thy name is near Thy wondrous works declare” (Psa_75:1).
III. A Name illustrated in Providence. It has been vindicated and honoured in history—
1. In displays of power. “Twice”—. ie., again and again in his providential government of the world—” have I heard this, that power belongeth unto God” (Psa_62:11). God repeats the lesson if man will only hear (Job_33:14).
2. In displays of judgment. In Egypt and Babylon, in the Flood, in the destruction of Sodom and Jerusalem, God’s “judgments are manifest” (Rev_15:4).
3. In displays of mercy. Mercy as well as power belongs to God (Psa_62:12); mercy consonant with justice—mercy to the obedient and justice to offender. “The name of the God of Jacob (the manifested power and faithfulness of the God who saved Jacob in the day of trouble (Genesis 32) defend thee (lit. exalt, set thee on high and in a secure place”) (Psa_20:1). Thus have we a continual manifestation of this memorial name (Hos_12:5). “This is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations (Exo_3:15).
FIFTH GROUP: OBSTINATE REBELLION BRINGS UTTER RUIN—Deu_28:58-68
These are not expressions of vindictive feeling. God delights to bless, not to curse. But they describe natural consequences of transgression. In its beginning, progress and ultimate issue fearful is rebellion—constant rebellion against God.
I. Obstinate Rebellion increases calamities. Sin unpardoned develops new symptoms, and as the evil grows greater miseries follow.
1. It prolongs and intensifies those we have. “The Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, great plagues of long continuance (Deu_28:59).” God must rule. Afflictions are not taken away until the desired end is accomplished, Deu_28:23; Deu_20:2. It brings others upon us. “Every plague not written will the Lord bring upon thee,” Deu_28:61. God has infinite resources. As in the case of Job the climax is terrible. “Thou renewest thy witnesses (marg. plagues) against me, and increases thine indignation upon me; changes and war (successions and a host, i.e., one host succeeding another) are against me” (Job_10:17).
II. Obstinate rebellion turns God’s love into anger. His procedure towards men is changed by their disobedience.
1. In rejecting His people. “As the Lord rejoiced to do good so will be rejoice to destroy, bring to nought and pluck off” (Deu_28:63). The loss of children, the decay of prosperity and future hope grievous. But when God withdraws His presence and providence, nothing can sustain a church or people. Awful to be forsaken of God. To have his countenance turned from us and against us in trouble—to have frowns instead of smiles, must be hell and not heaven. “Woe also to them when I depart from them.”
2. In scattering them abroad. “The Lord shall scatter thee among all people,” etc. (Deu_28:64). Uprooted from Canaan, and driven to wander homeless to the ends of the earth. If no true allegiance to God, country, societies, and creeds cannot unite and secure. “The Lord scattered them abroad” (Gen_11:8).
3. In reducing them to slavery. “Ye shall be sold for bondsmen” (Deu_28:68). Once they marched triumphant out of Egypt, but they would return as slaves in the ships of Tyre, Sidon, and Rome (Josephus). Those who live in luxury often lose their liberty and become reduced to servitude—servitude disgraceful and most severe. “So they came into the land of Egypt, for they obeyed not the voice of the Lord” (Jer_43:7).
III. Obstinate rebellion endangers human life. “Thy life shall hang in doubt before thee” (Deu_28:66). Endangers.
1. By grievous suffering. Diseases of Egypt were brought upon them. Often acute physical disease, hideous and loathsome. Sometimes mental agony, sorrow of mind extinguishing the hope of life, or rendering it impossible to bear. “The days of affliction have taken hold (fast hold) upon me (as armed men besieging a city) a sad contrast to former days (Job_30:16).
2. By constant risks. There was no assurance, no certainty of life (Deu_28:66). Dangers, real and imaginary, create constant fear. Life’s thread may break. Its length may be unexpected and strong, but time will cut it down. “For live how we can, yet die we must.”—(Shakespeare.)
3. By premature death. Wickedness shortens life. “The evil that men do,” as well as the good, “lives after them.” “Deceitful men shall not live out half their days” (Psa_55:23). Sin by its own nature and the righteous judgments of God upon it, bring men to untimely ends; but piety contributes to the length and enjoyment of life. “The fear of the Lord prolongeth days, but the years of the wicked shall be shortened” (Pro_10:27). Sinner, stop lest thy sin rise to presumption and forbearance end in certain death! “Neither be thou foolish; why shouldest thou die before thy time?” (Ecc_7:17).
IV. Obstinate rebellion destroys all remedy. Wilful opposition to the word of God leads to judicial blindness and destruction. When God abhors, he will soon abandon. Mighty population, regal sovereignty, military prowess and national prestige will be smitten like a flower. No remedy, no security against the judgment of God but submission. That kingdom is strongest, most splendid, and most secure which makes God its sovereign. Otherwise hated, forsaken, cast away! Divorced from God, forsaken of God. “I will love them no more.”
What day, what hour, but knock at human hearts,
To wake the soul to sense of future scenes.
—Young.
GOD-FORSAKEN LIFE—Deu_28:63-68
When God withdraws, nothing can sustain a church or nation. When the ark of God was taken Ichabod was pronounced. Present affections only foreshadow future judgments. “Woe also to them when I depart from them.”
I. A life of bitterness and sorrow.
1. Bitterness in mind and heart. Conscience stings and fears alarm. Sin is bitterness and gall. Lord Byron declared that his days were “in the yellow leaf,” the flowers and the fruits were gone, “the worm, the canker, and the grief are mine alone.”
2. Bitterness in condition and prospect. Without ease, peace and comfort now (Deu_28:65) and nothing better in the future. “I close my eyes in misery, and open them without hope,” said the poet Burns, in dying hours.
II. A life of bondage and misery. Bondage to lust, evil habits, and fear of death. Misery is ever linked to sin; like a scorpion, vice brings its own torment (Rev_9:5). Whatever the sinner does, he finds no relief. “Which way I move is hell, myself am hell,” Milton makes Satan say. “Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.”
III. A life excluded from God’s Inheritance. “Plucked off the land” and driven into captivity and death. Sin drove man from Eden, and idolatry the Jews from Canaan; so unbelief and rebellion will exclude from heaven. Sinners cannot enter the kingdom of God on earth, and will be disinherited at last. What a warning to all in the bosom of the Church and under the sound of the Gospel! How sad a godless life! “I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, ‘Are not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’ ” (Deu_31:17).
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_28:58. The Divine Name—
1. In its glorious nature: “glorious and fearful.”
2. In its covenant relation: “the Lord thy God.”
3. In its requirements upon life: “that thou mayest fear.” The duty of fearing God. I. What God requires of us. That we regard him
(1) with reverential awe;
(2) with obedient love;
(3) with undivided attachment. II. What we must expect at his hands if we comply not with his requisition; our plagues also shall be wonderful (Deu_28:59)—
(1) here;
(2) hereafter.—C. Simeon, M. A.
Deu_28:59-64. Great evils.
1. Smitten by the judgment of God with sickness severe, long and increasing (Deu_28:59-62).
2. Rejected in the covenant of God (Deu_28:63). “Greatly as the sin of man troubles God, and little as the pleasure may be which he has in the death of the wicked, yet the holiness of his love demands the punishment and destruction of those who despise the riches of his goodness and long-suffering; so that he displays his glory in the judgment of the wicked no less than in blessing and prospering the righteous” (Keil).
3. Scattered by the providence of God (Deu_28:64).
4. Forced to reject the worship of God. “Thou shalt serve other gods” (Deu_28:64)—lifeless, senseless gods, which hear not prayer nor deliver from distress.
“When sorrows come
They come not single Spies
But in battalions.”
Deu_28:63. Great must be wickedness which provokes God to reject and hate His people. Notice,
1. Exclusion from the blessings of the covenant. Driven from the house of God, loss of outward privileges and position. God deprives sinful nations of prestige and position, removes their candlestick for ingratitude, and casts them off for wickedness.
2. Uprooted from the land. God plants and uproots. He can overturn a people as well as pluck up a tree. Nations may have flourishing trade and nobility grand mottoes, but God candestroy their prosperity root and branch; leave them without power to revive inwardly or outwardly. We cannot flourish without God. “He shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling-place, and root thee out of the laud of the living” (Psa_52:5).
NO REPOSE IN A GODLESS LIFE.—Deu_28:65
When Israel forsook God He forsook them. The predictions were fulfilled, and they were worse than fugitives and vagabonds in the earth, without settlement and ease. There is no repose in a Godless life.
I. This truth is illustrated in Jewish history. The Jews have been driven from land to land; from Russia, Poland and Spain. For 1800 years or more, they have been homeless, restless, and wretched—a byeword and a proverb.
II. This truth is confirmed by experience. God is the centre of rest, the fountain of bliss, and away from Him we can never find peace. “Thou madest us for thyself, and our heart is restless until it repose in thee” (Augustine).
1. The ungodly find no satisfaction in sin. Sin is disorder, disease, and creates dissatisfaction, bitterness, and anguish. Lord Chesterfield “run the silly rounds of pleasure,” but had “no wish to repeat the nauseous dose.” There is no peace to the wicked; their hearts are “like the troubled sea when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt” (Isa_57:20-21).
2. The ungodly find no comfort in affliction. They are full of fear and of “tossings to and fro.” Distracted with anxiety, accused by conscience and tormented with guilt, they have restless nights and wearisome days. Sleep, the gift of God, and “tired nature’s sweet restorer,” never refreshes them. Phantoms of horror terrified Tiberius and Caracalla, and fearful visions murdered the rest of Nero. “When I say, my bed shall ease my complaint, then thou scarest me with dreams and terrifiest me with visions” (Job_7:4; Job_7:13).
3. The ungodly have no hope in death. “No ease” nor foundation “for the sole of the foot” on the rock. Solon’s maxim not far wrong—“Call no man happy till death.” Whatever life may be, “What is the hope of the hypocrite (godless person), though he hath gained, when God takes away (cuts off, 6, 9; Isa_38:12) his soul?” (Job_27:8). There is rest in Christ, hope in the Gospel. Come and believe—“Ye shall find rest.”
Who builds on less than an immortal base,
Fond as he seems, condemns his joys to death.
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_28:65. Triple sorrows.
1. A trembling heart, as opposed to a fixed and courageous heart. A heart without dread of detection, disgrace and punishment. “Virtue is bold and goodness never fearful.”—(Shakespeare).
2. Failing of eyes. Weary of darkness and light, day and night a terror. When the eyes of the soul are put out, the spiritual universe is midnight and despair. “The eyes of the wicked shall fail.”
3. Sorrow of mind. Mental agony depriving of rest, affecting health and spirits. “Full of scorpions is my mind.”—(Shakespeare).
Better be with the dead
Than in the torture of the mind to lie
In restless ecstacy.—Shakespeare.
Deu_28:66. Life in suspense. “Hang in doubt, lit. “thy life shall be hanging before the, i.e. shall be hanging as it were on a thread, and that before thine eyes.”—(Speak. Com.) This might be taken as a warning. (The sword of Damocles). Take it as a fact.
1. Because naturally uncertain.
2. Because constantly endangered. Risks through guilt, disease, enemies, and divine judgments. Take warning, the thread may be cut any moment. What indifference? “Though death be before the old man’s face it may be behind the young man’s back.”—(Seneca). Serious things to-morrow cost Cæsar and Archias their lives.
Deu_28:67. A sad picture of a weary life. Deprived of comfort—of physical health and mental vigour under the curse of God. Such a life intolerable. “I loathe it” (Job_7:16). Let us learn from this chapter that our supreme interest is to cultivate the friendship and obey the word of God. Then blessings and not curses! Blessings here, blessings for ever!
Well may your hearts believe the truths I tell; ‘Tis virtue makes the bliss where’er we dwell;
—Collins.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 28
Deu_28:1-6. Prosperity. Some years ago, when preaching at Bristol, among other notes I received to pray for individuals, one was this—“A person earnestly desires the prayers of this congregation, who is prospering in trade.” “Ah!” said I to myself, here is a man who knows something of his own heart; here is a man who has read the scriptures to some purpose.”—Jay.
Deu_28:7-10. Blessing upon thee. God gives us what we have, not so much that we may have it, but that we may do good. Everything in life, even the best earned rewards, are seeds sown for a future harvest.—Bengel. Deu_28:9. Keep. The virtue of Paganism was strength; the virtue of Christianity is obedience.—Hare.
Deu_28:13. Above. As long as time endureth there will be distinction of rank, not simply for the weal of the great, but for the economy and safety of the world.—(E. Davies). True elevation does not consist in the elevation of nature, in the material or exterior hierarchy of beings. True elevation, an elevation essential and eternal, is one of merit, one of virtue. Birth, fortune, genius, are nothing before God.—Lacordaire.
Deu_28:28-29. Madness is the last stage of human degradation. It is the abdication of humanity. Better to die a thousand times.—Napoleon I.
Deu_28:30. House. If men lived like men indeed, their houses would be temples—temples which we should hardly dare to injure, and in which it would make us holy to live.—Ruskin.
Deu_28:31. Rescue. As the net does not spring up without catching the bird, can ye imagine that when destruction passes by, ye will not be seized by it, but will escape without injury.—Hitzig.
Deu_28:34. Mad for sight. A man in great misery may so far lose his measure as to think a minute an hour.—Locke.
Deu_28:36. King. The lot of a dethroned king, who was born a king and nothing more, must be dreadful. The pomp of the throne, the gewgaws which surround him from his cradle, which accompany him step by step throughout life, become a necessary condition of his existence.—Napoleon I.
The king’s name is a tower of strength,
Which they upon the adverse party want.
—Shakespeare.
Deu_28:37. A proverb. Reputation is gained by many acts, but is lost by one.—(Bacon). It is hopeless to recover a lost reputation.—Idem.
The purest treasure mortal times afford is spotless reputation; that away, Men are but guilded loam, or painted clay.—Shakespeare.
Deu_28:45-46. Wonder.
Think not the things most wonderful
Are those beyond our ken;
For wonders are around the paths,
The daily paths of men.—Hawkshaw.
Deu_28:47. Joyfulness. I have often read my duty and my sin in this verse. Notwithstanding innumerable proofs of His munificence how deficient our songs in number, and how languid in performance! In the commonest engagements of life, and in our daily enjoyments was sweet ingredient mingled, it would really enhance the worth of everything, however otherwise inconsiderable.—Dr. W. Hamilton.
Deu_28:53-57. Eat. During a famine in Italy A.D. 450, parents ate their children. Eaters of human flesh—(Anthropophagi)—have existed in all ages.
Famine has a sharp and meagre face.
’Tis death in an undress of skin and bone.—
Dryden.
Deu_28:58. Fear. Disobedience is the beginning of evil, and the broad way to rain.—D. Davies.
Return, my senses range no more abroad,
He only finds his bliss who seeks for God.—
Parnell.
Deu_28:59-61. Long continuance.
One woe doth tread upon another’s heel
So fast they follow.
—Shakespeare.
Thus woe succeeds woe, as wave a wave.
—Herrick.
Deu_28:63. Rejoice to destroy. The wrath of man is the rage of man; but the wrath of God is the reason of God.—Bp. Reynolds.
Not thou, O Lord, from us, but we
Withdraw ourselves from thee.
—French.
Deu_28:66. Hang. My life hangs by a single thread; but that thread is in a Father’s hand.—J. H. Evans.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain On v1 I. The curse which Moses foretold was the natural…
Deu 28:15
I. The curse which Moses foretold was the natural consequence of the sins of the people. The Bible meaning of a curse is simply the natural consequence of men’s own ill actions.
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For even in this life the door of mercy may be shut, and we may cry in vain for mercy when it is the time for justice. This is not merely a doctrine; it is a common, patent fact. Men do wrong and escape again and again the just punishment of their deeds; but how often there are cases in which a man does not escape, when he is filled with the fruit of his own devices, and left to the misery which he has earned.
II. Terrible and heart-searching for the wrong-doer is the message, God does not curse thee; thou hast cursed thyself. God will not go out of His way to punish thee; thou hast gone out of His way, and thereby thou art punishing thyself. God does not break His laws to punish sins. The laws themselves punish; every fresh wrong deed, and wrong thought, and wrong desire of thine sets thee more and more out of tune with those immutable and eternal laws of the moral universe which have their root in the absolute and necessary character of God Himself. The wheels move on, but the workman who should have worked with them is entangled among them. He is out of his place, and slowly, but irresistibly, they are grinding him to powder.
III. Let us believe that God’s judgments, though they will culminate, no doubt, hereafter in one great day and "one far-off Divine event," are yet about our path and about our bed now, here, in this life. Let us believe that if we are to prepare to meet our God, we must do it now, for in Him we live, and move, and have our being, and can never go from His presence, never flee from His spirit.
C. Kingsley, Town and Country Sermons, p. 262.
References: Deu 28:47, Deu 28:48.—J. Keble, Sermons for the Christian Year: Lent to Passiontide, p. 150. Deu 28:67.—T. Arnold, Sermons, vol. vi., p. 32. Deu 29:4.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxviii., No. 1638.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v47 Deu 28:47 - Deu 28:48.
Deuteronomy
A CHOICE OF MASTERS
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Deu 28:47 - Deu 28:48.
The history of Israel is a picture on the large scale of what befalls every man.
A service-we are all born to obedience, to depend on and follow some person or thing. There is only a choice of services; and he who boasts himself free is but a more abject slave, as the choice for a nation is either the rule of settled order and the sanctities of an established law, or the usurpation of a mob and the intolerable tyranny of unbridled and irresponsible force.
I. The service of God or the service of our enemies.
Israel was the servant in turn of Egypt, Philistia, Edom, Assyria, Babylon, Syria, and Rome. It was every invader’s prey. God’s invisible arm was its only guard from these, and an all-sufficient guard as long as it leaned on Him. When it turned from Him it fell under their yoke. Its lawful Lord loved it; its tyrants hated it.
So with us. We have to serve God or enemies. Our lusts, our passions, the world, evil habits-in a word, our sins ring us round. God is the only defence against them.
The contrast between the one and the many-a king or an ochlocracy. The contrast of the loving Lord and the hostile sins.
II. A service which is honour or a service which is degradation.
God alone is worthy of our absolute submission and service. How low a man sinks when he is ruled by any lesser authority! Such obedience is a crime against the dignity of human nature, and the soul is not without a galling sense of this now and then, when its chains rattle.
III. A service which is freedom because it is rendered by love, or a service which is hard slavery.
‘With joy for the abundance of all things.’ How sin palls upon us, and yet we commit it. The will is overborne, conscience is stifled.
IV. A service which feeds the spirit or a service which starves it.
The soul can only in God get what it wants. Prison fare is what it receives in the other service. The unsatisfying character of all sin; it cloys, and yet leaves one hungry. It is ‘that which satisfieth not.’ ‘Broken cisterns which hold no water.’
V. A service which is life or a service which is death.
The dark forebodings of the text grow darker as it goes on. The grim slavery which it threatens as the only alternative to joyful service of God is declared to be lifelong ‘penal servitude,’ and not only is there no deliverance from it, but it directly tends to wear away the life of the hopeless slaves. For the words that follow our text are ‘and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.’ That is dismally true in regard to any and every life that has shaken off the service of God which is perfect freedom, and has persisted in the service of sin. Such service is suicidal; it rivets an iron yoke on our necks, and there is no locksmith who can undo the shackles and lift it off, so long as we refuse to take service with God. Stubbornly rebellious wills forge their own fetters. Like many a slave-owner, our tyrants have a cruel delight in killing their slaves, and our sins not only lead to death, but are themselves death.
But there is a bright possibility before the most down-trodden vassal of sin. ‘The bond-servant abideth not in the house for ever.’ He is not a son of the house, but has been brought into it, stolen from his home. He may be carried back to his Father’s house, and there ‘have bread enough and to spare,’ if a deliverer can be found. And He has been found. Christ the Son makes us free, and if we trust Him for our emancipation we ‘shall be free indeed,’ ‘that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, should serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 The Blessing and the Curse
The Blessing and the Curse
This chapter properly follows Deu_26:19, and concludes the second discourse. It enforces the injunctions given, by exhibiting the blessings associated with the keeping of them, and the curses entailed upon disobedience.
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1-14. The Blessings for Obedience.
5. Store] lit. 'kneading-trough' as in Exo_12:34. The basket is that used for holding bread: see Gen_40:17; Lev_8:2; Mat_14:20.
7. Seven ways] (at once), a proverbial saying expressing a disorderly rout.
12. See on Lev_26:4 and on chapter Deu_11:10.
15-48. The Curse for Disobedience.
22. The sword] rather, 'drought.'
23, 24. A graphic description of long-continued drought. In Palestine the E. wind is hot and dry; and, blowing from the desert, is often full of fine sand-dust which gives the sky the appearance of burnished metal. When this wind (called the 'sirocco') is strong, it produces the terrible sand storm so destructive to life, when 'the rain of the land is powder and dust': see on Lev_26:19.
26. Fray] frighten, or scare: cp. 1Sa_17:44; 2Sa_21:10.
27. The botch of Egypt] the boil with which the Egyptians were plagued: see Exo_9:9. Emerods] hæmorrhoids, as in 1Sa_5:6. What is meant is probably the Oriental bubonic plague.
28. They will be afflicted with mental as well as bodily diseases.
30-34. These troubles are the consequences of defeat in war and oppression by foreign nations. For a historical instance see Jdg_6:3-6.
34. For the sight of thine eyes] i.e. on account of what you see.
36. Serve other gods] see on Deu_4:28.
37. Cp. 1Ki_9:7-9.
38. Cp. Hag_1:6-11.
40. Shall cast its fruit] i.e. unripe.
42. See on Exo_10:4-6.
49. The Chaldeans or Assyrians are meant: see Jer_5:15; Hab_1:6-8.
53-57. This crowning horror of a longcontinued siege actually took place during the siege of Samaria by the Syrians (2Ki_6:26-29), in the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar (Lam_4:10), and later in the final overthrow of Jerusalem by Titus, as recorded by Josephus in his 'Wars of the Jews.'
58: The name of God is His revealed character: see on Num_6:27. The name here, Jehovah thy God, expresses what God is in Himself, and what He is to Israel. He is the eternal and self-existent God who has made Israel His people.
64, 65. These words were fulfilled at the exile, and even more literally at the destruction of Jerusalem during the Roman supremacy. Since that time the Jews have been repeatedly persecuted and driven from one country to another; but, wonderfully enough, they have always preserved their identity. They still present the strange spectacle of a nation without a country: see on Num_23:9.
65. The failing of the eyes indicates the gradual extinction of hope: cp. Deu_28:32.
68. After the capture of Jerusalem the Roman general Titus sent a great many captives to the Egyptian mines.
No man shall buy you] This does not mean 'shall redeem you,' but 'purchase you as slaves.' They would be exposed for sale as slaves, and no man would consider them worth the buying.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv1, 52, 58 if thou shalt hearken
if thou shalt hearken
Deuteronomy 28-29 are, properly, an integral part of the Palestinian covenant, Deu 30:1-9. (See Scofield "Deu 30:3").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 24. The Blessing and the Curse
24. The Blessing and the Curse
CHAPTER 28
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1. The blessing promised (Deu 28:1-14)
2. The curse announced (Deu 28:15-68)
This is one of the most solemn chapters in the Pentateuch. Orthodox Hebrews read in their synagogues each year through the entire five books of Moses. When they read this chapter, the Rabbi reads in a subdued voice. And well may they read it softly and ponder over it, for here is prewritten the sad and sorrowful history of that wonderful nation. Here thousands of years ago the Spirit of God through Moses outlined the history of the scattered nation, all their suffering and tribulations, as it has been for well nigh two millenniums and as it is still. Here are arguments for the divine, the supernatural origin of this book which no infidel has ever been able to answer; nor will there ever be found an answer.
It would take a great many pages to follow the different predictions and show their literal fulfilment in the nation, which turned away from Jehovah and disobeyed His Word. What a warning this chapter is to Gentile Christendom! “If God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest He also spare not thee” (Rom 11:21).
Apart from such general predictions as found in verses 64-66 and fulfilled, as everybody knows, in the dispersion of Israel, there are others, which are more minute. The Roman power, which was used to break the Jews, is clearly predicted by Moses, and that in a time when no such power existed. Read verses 49-50. “The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth, a nation, whose language thou shalt not understand.” The eagle was the standard of the Roman armies; the Jews understood many oriental languages, but were ignorant of Latin. “Which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young.” Rome killed the old people and the children. “And he shall beseige thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land” (verse 52). Fulfilled in the siege and overthrow of Jerusalem by the Roman legions. “The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, shall eat their children, for want of all things in the siege and straitness wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee in thy gates” (54-57). Fulfilled in the dreadful sieges of Jerusalem, perhaps the most terrible events in the history of blood and tears of this poor earth. Every verse beginning with the fifteenth to the end of this chapter has found its oft repeated fulfilment. It does not surprise us that the enemy hates this book, which bears such a testimony, and would have it classed with legends.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv1, 15 The Blessings of Obedience
The Blessings of Obedience
v. 1. And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord, thy God, to observe and to do all His commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord, thy God, will set thee on high above all nations of the earth, this being the thought which is developed in the description of the blessings, as it now follows;
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v. 2. and all these blessings shall come on thee and overtake thee, so as to surround every obedient Israelite with their fullness, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord, thy God, for that is always the condition whose fulfillment may not be evaded.
v. 3. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field, out in the country, these two designations including the spheres in which life ordinarily moves.
v. 4. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. The rich blessing of many children, always represented so in the Bible, would be equaled by the number and the quality of all other products.
v. 5. Blessed shall be thy basket, the place where the products of farm and orchard are stored for immediate use, and thy store, the kneading-trough, Exo 12:34, where the bread was prepared from day to day.
v. 6. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out, Num 27:17, the blessing thus extending to all undertakings.
v. 7. The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face, said in the form of a sincere wish: May the Lord deliver thine enemies smitten before thy face! the obligation of obedience thus being brought out once more. They shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways, in hopeless confusion, in utter rout.
v. 8. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, literally, place it at their disposal in causing their granaries and elevators to he full to overflowing, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto, in business of every kind; and He shall bless thee in the land which the Lord, thy God, giveth thee.
v. 9. The Lord shall establish thee, set thee up on high, an holy people unto Himself, as He hath sworn unto thee, Exo 19:5-6; Gen 22:16, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord, thy God, and walk in His ways. Thus the destiny of Israel would be realized.
v. 10. And all the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord, this conviction would be impressed upon them by the evidence before their eyes, the life of the entire people serving as an object-lesson, showing that Israel was in intimate fellowship with Jehovah; and they shall be afraid of thee, filled with awe and fear of the almighty power of Jehovah as shown in His dominion over Israel.
v. 11. And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, give them more than enough for good fortune and prosperity, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
v. 12. The Lord shall open unto thee His good treasure, the storehouse of His rich blessings, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, Lev 26:4, and to bless all the work of thine hand; and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow, Deu 15:6.
v. 13. And the Lord shall make thee the head and not the tail, always first and never last; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath, having the advantage in every undertaking, always the victor in every war, if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord, thy God, which I command thee this day to observe and to do them;
v. 14. and thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand or to the left, the slightest deviation from the path of God’s commands being regarded as unfaithfulness to the covenant between them and Jehovah, to go after other gods to serve them. There is always that suggestive and impressive reminder of the necessity of keeping the covenant with all strictness, in that perfection which the holiness of God demands. This applies also today. Where the fear of God dwells in a country, the blessing of the Lord is usually in evidence, for righteousness exalteth a nation.
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 vv1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23, 25, 27, 30, 32, 33, 36, 38, 40, 42, 45, 47, 49, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 63, 65, 67 General Information:
General Information:
Moses speaks to the Israelites as if they were one man, so the words "you" and "your" here are singular. (See: Forms of You)
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to the voice of Yahweh your God
Here the metonym "voice of Yahweh" refers to what he says. AT: "to what Yahweh your God says" (See: Metonymy)
so as to keep
"and obey"
set you above
Moses speaks of being important or being great as if it were being physically higher, as on a higher hill. AT: "make you more important than" or "make you greater than" (See: Metaphor)
All these blessings will come on you and overtake you
Moses describes the blessings as a person who would attack them by surprise or chase and catch them. AT: "Yahweh will bless you like this in ways that will completely surprise you, and it will be as if you cannot escape having him bless you" (See: Metaphor and Personification)
translationWords
voice
Yahweh
God
command
nation
earth
bless
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 vv1, 5, 7, 10, 12, 13, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 36, 43, 44, 46, 48, 49, 50, 54, 56, 57, 58, 60, 64, 68 28:1-68 This section presents the conditions for receiving the…
28:1-68 This section presents the conditions for receiving the covenant blessing, the nature of the blessings (28:1-14), and the curses that will come if these mandates are ignored or disobeyed (28:15-68).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.