Be careful, lest you forget the covenant of Yahweh your God, which he made with you, and make yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which Yahweh your God has forbidden you. For Yahweh your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God. When you shall father children and children’s children, and you shall have been long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a carved image in the form of anything, and shall do that which is evil in Yahweh your God’s sight to provoke him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from off the land which you go over the Jordan to possess it. You will not prolong your days on it, but will utterly be destroyed. Yahweh will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where Yahweh will lead you away.
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Deuteronomy 4:23-27 sits inside this longer paragraph.
Only be careful, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes saw, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your children and your children’s children— the day that you stood before Yahweh your God in Horeb, when Yahweh said to me, “Assemble the people to me, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.” You came near and stood under the mountain. The mountain burned with fire to the heart of the sky, with darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. Yahweh spoke to you out of the middle of the fire: you heard the voice of words, but you saw no form; you only heard a voice. He declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even the ten commandments. He wrote them on two stone tablets. Yahweh commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances, that you might do them in the land where you go over to possess it. Be very careful, for you saw no kind of form on the day that Yahweh spoke to you in Horeb out of the middle of the fire, lest you corrupt yourselves, and make yourself a carved image in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the sky, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth; and lest you lift up your eyes to the sky, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the army of the sky, you are drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which Yahweh your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole sky. But Yahweh has taken you, and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be to him a people of inheritance, as it is today. Furthermore Yahweh was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that I should not go over the Jordan, and that I should not go in to that good land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance; but I must die in this land. I must not go over the Jordan, but you shall go over and possess that good land. Be careful, lest you forget the covenant of Yahweh your God, which he made with you, and make yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which Yahweh your God has forbidden you. For Yahweh your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God. When you shall father children and children’s children, and you shall have been long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a carved image in the form of anything, and shall do that which is evil in Yahweh your God’s sight to provoke him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from off the land which you go over the Jordan to possess it. You will not prolong your days on it, but will utterly be destroyed. Yahweh will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where Yahweh will lead you away. There you shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. But from there you shall seek Yahweh your God, and you shall find him when you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in oppression, and all these things have come on you, in the latter days you shall return to Yahweh your God and listen to his voice. For Yahweh your God is a merciful God. He will not fail you nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which he swore to them. For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and from the one end of the sky to the other, whether there has been anything as great as this thing is, or has been heard like it? Did a people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the middle of the fire, as you have heard, and live? Or has God tried to go and take a nation for himself from among another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, by war, by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that Yahweh your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? It was shown to you so that you might know that Yahweh is God. There is no one else besides him. Out of heaven he made you to hear his voice, that he might instruct you. On earth he made you to see his great fire; and you heard his words out of the middle of the fire. Because he loved your fathers, therefore he chose their offspring after them, and brought you out with his presence, with his great power, out of Egypt; to drive out nations from before you greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is today. Know therefore today, and take it to heart, that Yahweh himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath. There is no one else. You shall keep his statutes and his commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which Yahweh your God gives you for all time.
Parallel Translations
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Be careful, lest you forget the covenant of Yahweh your God, which he made with you, and make yourselves a carved image in the form of anything which Yahweh your God has forbidden you.
For Yahweh your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.
When you shall father children and children’s children, and you shall have been long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a carved image in the form of anything, and shall do that which is evil in Yahweh your God’s sight to provoke him to anger,
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from off the land which you go over the Jordan to possess it. You will not prolong your days on it, but will utterly be destroyed.
Yahweh will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where Yahweh will lead you away.
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Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee.
For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.
When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger:
I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.
And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you.
Show all 3 translations
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Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which He made with you, and make you a graven image, even the likeness of any thing which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee.
For the LORD thy God is a devouring fire, a jealous God.
When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have been long in the land, and shall deal corruptly, and make a graven image, even the form of any thing, and shall do that which is evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke Him;
I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over the Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.
And the LORD shall scatter you among the peoples, and ye shall be left few in number among the nations, whither the LORD shall lead you away.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (2)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (75)
- Deuteronomy 32:1 (v26) Give ear, you heavens, and I will speak. Let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
- Deuteronomy 28:62-64 (v27) 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…
- Micah 6:2 (v26) Hear, you mountains, Yahweh’s controversy, and you enduring foundations of the earth; for Yahweh has a controversy with his people, and he…
- Hebrews 12:29 (v24) for our God is a consuming fire.
- Deuteronomy 9:3 (v24) Know therefore today that Yahweh your God is he who goes over before you as a devouring fire. He will destroy them and he will bring them…
Show all 73 cross-references
- Jeremiah 22:29 (v26) O earth, earth, earth, hear Yahweh’s word!
- Nahum 1:6 (v24) Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the fierceness of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are…
- Exodus 24:17 (v24) The appearance of Yahweh’s glory was like devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.
- Deuteronomy 30:18-19 (v26) I declare to you today that you will surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you pass over the Jordan to go in to…
- Isaiah 1:2 (v26) Hear, heavens, and listen, earth; for Yahweh has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up children and they have rebelled against me.
- Jeremiah 2:12 (v26) “Be astonished, you heavens, at this and be horribly afraid. Be very desolate,” says Yahweh.
- Ezekiel 36:4 (v26) therefore, you mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh: The Lord Yahweh says to the mountains and to the hills, to the…
- Joshua 23:16 (vv23, 26) when you disobey the covenant of Yahweh your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods, and bow down yourselves to them.…
- Leviticus 18:28 (v26) that the land not vomit you out also, when you defile it, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.
- Isaiah 33:14 (v24) The sinners in Zion are afraid. Trembling has seized the godless ones. Who among us can live with the devouring fire? Who among us can live…
- Jeremiah 44:22 (v26) Thus Yahweh could no longer bear it, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which you have committed.…
- 1 Corinthians 10:22 (vv24–25) Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
- Exodus 34:14 (v24) for you shall worship no other god; for Yahweh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
- Leviticus 26:31-35 (v26) I will lay your cities waste, and will bring your sanctuaries to desolation. I will not take delight in the sweet fragrance of your…
- Deuteronomy 6:15 (v24) for Yahweh your God among you is a jealous God, lest the anger of Yahweh your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the…
- Deuteronomy 29:28 (v26) Yahweh rooted them out of their land in anger, in wrath, and in great indignation, and thrust them into another land, as it is today.”
- Deuteronomy 31:28 (v26) Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to…
- Isaiah 6:11 (v26) Then I said, “Lord, how long?” He answered, “Until cities are waste without inhabitant, houses without man, the land becomes utterly waste,
- Jeremiah 6:19 (v26) Hear, earth! Behold, I will bring evil on this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not listened to my words; and as…
- Zephaniah 3:8 (v24) “Therefore wait for me”, says Yahweh, “until the day that I rise up to the prey, for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may…
- Luke 21:24 (v26) They will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles,…
- Exodus 20:5 (v24) you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on…
- Isaiah 24:1-3 (v26) Behold, Yahweh makes the earth empty, makes it waste, turns it upside down, and scatters its inhabitants. It will be as with the people, so…
- Ezekiel 33:28 (v26) I will make the land a desolation and an astonishment. The pride of her power will cease. The mountains of Israel will be desolate, so that…
- Zephaniah 1:18 (v24) Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of Yahweh’s wrath, but the whole land will be devoured by the…
- Isaiah 42:8 (v24) “I am Yahweh. That is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to engraved images.
- Leviticus 26:33 (v27) I will scatter you among the nations, and I will draw out the sword after you. Your land will be a desolation, and your cities shall be a…
- Deuteronomy 29:20 (v24) Yahweh will not pardon him, but then Yahweh’s anger and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and all the curse that is written in this…
- Psalms 21:9 (v24) You will make them as a fiery furnace in the time of your anger. Yahweh will swallow them up in his wrath. The fire shall devour them.
- Micah 1:2 (v26) Hear, you peoples, all of you. Listen, O earth, and all that is therein: and let the Lord Yahweh be witness against you, the Lord from his…
- Nahum 1:2 (v24) Yahweh is a jealous God and avenges. Yahweh avenges and is full of wrath. Yahweh takes vengeance on his adversaries, and he maintains wrath…
- Deuteronomy 4:9 (v23) Only be careful, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes saw, and lest they depart from your heart all…
- Deuteronomy 4:16 (v25) lest you corrupt yourselves, and make yourself a carved image in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
- Deuteronomy 5:9 (v24) You shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them; for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on…
- Deuteronomy 32:21-22 (v24) They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God. They have provoked me to anger with their vanities. I will move them to jealousy…
- Jeremiah 21:12-14 (v24) House of David, Yahweh says, ‘Execute justice in the morning, and deliver him who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my wrath…
- Deuteronomy 32:16 (v24) They moved him to jealousy with strange gods. They provoked him to anger with abominations.
- Psalms 78:58 (v24) For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their engraved images.
- Deuteronomy 29:25 (v23) Then men will say, “Because they abandoned the covenant of Yahweh, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them…
- Deuteronomy 31:20 (v23) For when I have brought them into the land which I swore to their fathers, flowing with milk and honey, and they have eaten and filled…
- 1 Chronicles 16:15 (v23) Remember his covenant forever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations,
- Nehemiah 1:3 (v27) They said to me, “The remnant who are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach. The wall of…
- Nehemiah 1:8-9 (v27) “Remember, I beg you, the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you trespass, I will scatter you among the peoples; but…
- Isaiah 24:5 (v23) The earth also is polluted under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, and broken the…
- Isaiah 30:27 (v24) Behold, Yahweh’s name comes from far away, burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke. His lips are full of indignation. His tongue…
- Isaiah 30:33 (v24) For his burning place has long been ready. Yes, for the king it is prepared. He has made its pyre deep and large with fire and much wood.…
- Ezekiel 12:15 (v27) “ ‘They will know that I am Yahweh when I disperse them among the nations, and scatter them through the countries.
- Ezekiel 16:59 (v23) “ ‘For the Lord Yahweh says: “I will also deal with you as you have done, who have despised the oath in breaking the covenant.
- Ezekiel 32:26 (v27) “There is Meshech, Tubal, and all their multitude. Their graves are around them, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for they…
- Hosea 9:9 (v25) They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah. He will remember their iniquity. He will punish them for their sins.
- Matthew 24:4 (v23) Jesus answered them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray.
- Hebrews 3:12 (v23) Beware, brothers, lest perhaps there might be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God;
- Exodus 20:4-5 (v23) “You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or…
- Exodus 32:7 (v25) Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Go, get down; for your people, who you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves!
- Deuteronomy 4:15-16 (v23) Be very careful, for you saw no kind of form on the day that Yahweh spoke to you in Horeb out of the middle of the fire, lest you corrupt…
- Deuteronomy 6:12 (v23) then beware lest you forget Yahweh, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
- Deuteronomy 27:9 (v23) Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel, saying, “Be silent and listen, Israel! Today you have become the people of Yahweh your…
- Deuteronomy 31:16-18 (v25) Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, you shall sleep with your fathers. This people will rise up and play the prostitute after the strange gods…
- Deuteronomy 31:29 (v25) For I know that after my death you will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn away from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will…
- Joshua 23:11 (v23) Take good heed therefore to yourselves, that you love Yahweh your God.
- Judges 2:8-15 (v25) Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Yahweh, died, being one hundred ten years old. They buried him in the border of his inheritance in…
- 2 Kings 17:17-19 (v25) They caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do that which…
- 2 Kings 21:2 (v25) He did that which was evil in Yahweh’s sight, after the abominations of the nations whom Yahweh cast out before the children of Israel.
- 2 Kings 21:14-16 (v25) I will cast off the remnant of my inheritance, and deliver them into the hands of their enemies. They will become a prey and a plunder to…
- 2 Chronicles 36:12-16 (v25) He did that which was evil in Yahweh his God’s sight. He didn’t humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from Yahweh’s mouth. He…
- Jeremiah 31:22 (v23) How long will you go here and there, you backsliding daughter? For Yahweh has created a new thing in the earth: a woman will encompass a…
- Luke 12:15 (v23) He said to them, “Beware! Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man’s life doesn’t consist of the abundance of the things which he…
- Luke 21:8 (v23) He said, “Watch out that you don’t get led astray, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is at hand.’ Therefore…
73 distinct cross-references across this passage (75 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (18 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv24–27 To those that come not unto him with love…
To those that come not unto him with love and reverence, but rebel against him, Heb. 12:29.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv24–25 Deu 4:24 For the LORD thy God [is] a…
Deu 4:24 For the LORD thy God [is] a consuming fire, [even] a jealous God.
Ver. 24. For the Lord thy God.] And should therefore be served truly, that there be no halting; and totally, that there be no halving. {Heb 12:28-29}
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 vv23–26 Or, commanded thee, to wit, not to do, which…
Or, commanded thee, to wit, not to do, which is easily understood by comparing this place with Exo 20:4,5, and with Gen 3:11, where this phrase is fully expressed. See more on Lev 4:2; Deu 2:37.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv23–27 Take heed unto yourselves,.... Since he should not be…
Take heed unto yourselves,.... Since he should not be long with them, to advise, instruct, and caution them:
lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you; what that required of them, and what was promised unto them on the performance of it, and what they must expect should they break it, and particularly be so forgetful of it, and the first articles in it, as follows:
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and make you a graven image, or the likeness of anything which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee; a graven image in the likeness of men or women, of any beast on the earth, or fowl in heaven, or fish in the sea.
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 v24 A consuming fire - A just and terrible God,…
A consuming fire - A just and terrible God, who, notwithstanding his special relation to thee, will severely punish thee, if thou provoke him. A jealous God - Who being espoused to thee, will be highly incensed against thee, (if thou follow after other lovers, or commit whoredom with idols) and will bear no rival or partner.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv24, 26, 27 Verse 24. Thy God is a consuming fire] They…
Verse 24. Thy God is a consuming fire] They had seen him on the mount as an unconsuming fire, while appearing to Moses, and giving the law; and they had seen him as a consuming fire in the case of Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and their company. They had, therefore, every good to expect from his approbation, and every evil to dread from his displeasure.
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 vv23–25 Deu 4:23. Lest you forget the covenant of the…
Deu 4:23. Lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God — Lest you either disregard the knowledge of God’s law, or wilfully disobey it, now it is declared to you, and thereby bring misery and destruction upon yourselves.
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 v25 Compare with these verses Lev 26:33-40, and Deu 28:64…
Compare with these verses Lev 26:33-40, and Deu 28:64 ff.
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 vv23, 24, 26, 27 Made. Hebrew, "and make to thyself a sculpture, the…
Made. Hebrew, "and make to thyself a sculpture, the likeness of any thing which the Lord thy God commanded thee." He ordered them to abstain from idolatry. (Du Hamel)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you--This…
I call heaven and earth to witness against you--This solemn form of adjuration has been common in special circumstances among all people. It is used here figuratively, or as in other parts of Scripture where inanimate objects are called up as witnesses (Deu 32:1; Isa 1:2).
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 vv24–27 24. God is a consuming fire — This term…
24. God is a consuming fire — This term is applied to Jehovah with special reference to his manifestation of himself in Sinai. Comp. Exo_24:17, where it is said the glory of Jehovah was like devouring, or consuming, fire. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, in Heb_12:29, quotes from these passages, “Our God is a consuming fire.”
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 vv23–27 23. Take heed unto yourselves] See on Deu_4:9; Deu_4:15;…
23. Take heed unto yourselves] See on Deu_4:9; Deu_4:15; covenant, see on Deu_4:13; and for the rest Deu_4:16.
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 vv24, 25, 27 (24) The Lord thy God is a consuming fire.—The…
(24) The Lord thy God is a consuming fire.—The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews makes use of this in Deu_12:29, to enforce the lessons not of Sinai, but of Pentecost, and of the voice of “Him that speaketh from heaven” by the Spirit whom He has sent.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv23–27 A graven image, or the likeness of any thing,…
A graven image, or the likeness of any thing, etc. literally, a graven (sculptured) image of a form of all that Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee; s.c. not to make (cf. Deuteronomy 16-18 and 2:37).
HOMILIES BY J. ORR. Vers. 23-32. National backsliding.
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The history of the Jews is an unanswerable argument in favor of the truth of prophecy and the reality of Divine revelation. The singularity of that history is such as can only be fully accounted for on the idea of a supernatural Providence interesting itself in their fortunes; but the strangest fact is in that, their own sacred books, this wonderful history is predicted with minute precision. The Book of Deuteronomy furnishes a series of these predictions, the extraordinary character of which is not removed by any date to which the book may be assigned. We may read this passage first as a prophecy, then as a warning.
I A PROPHECY. It does not, as several later passages do, put the backsliding of the Jews hypothetically, but states the fact plainly that they will backslide takes it for granted (ver. 25). There is a prediction:
1. Of national apostasy. The whole history of Israel, beginning with the time of the judges, (Jud_1:2:19) is a commentary on this statement.
2. Of national rejection (vers. 26-29). How remarkably has this testimony been fulfilled in the rooting out of both Judah and Israel from their own land; in their scattering throughout the nations, in every region and country under heaven; in their preservation amidst all vicissitudes as a distinct people; in the conformity to alien worships, customs, and beliefs, to which they have so often been compelled; in the miseries and indignities which they have endured! Surely we are entitled to ask from the unbeliever that he should give us, when rejecting revelation, some satisfactory explanation of these coincidences.
3. Of national repentance (vers. 29-32; cf. De 30). Though yet unfulfilled, there can be little doubt in the minds of any who study past fulfillments, that this prophecy of the repentance of Israel will in God"s good time receive its accomplishment also. (Zec_12:10; Rom_11:26)
II A WARNING. We learn the truths:
1. That backsliding is possible from a state of high attainment.
2. That backsliding is commonly of gradual development (ver. 25).
3. That backsliding may assume very aggravated forms.
4. That backsliding exposes to severe punishment from God. But, finally, and for our encouragement:
5. That backsliding, if repented of, will be graciously forgiven. J.O.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v24 Even a jealous God.
Deu_4:24
Even a jealous God.
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The jealousy of God
The assertion that such a quality as this belongs to God as one of the attributes of His moral character involves a number of deep and awful considerations; they seem to include the love as well as the holiness and justice of the Deity in one complex idea; and to form, from the union of these qualities in one attribute of jealousy, a touching, as well as a tremendous, picture of His feelings towards us. For let us remark, first, that the existence of jealousy in God implies the previous existence of love. If He had not loved us Himself He would have been indifferent to our dispositions towards Him. If He had not felt that love was due from us to Him, as a return for love already exercised towards us, He would not have resented its being withheld, nor made use of this phrase as declaratory of the state of His affections. In agreement with this idea we find that jealousy in God is never spoken of except with a reference to those whom, in one sense or other, He has called and chosen as His own; whose love therefore He has a right to claim as due to Himself, in virtue of some covenant relation; and whose love He has excited by some previous exercise of favour and benevolence. Any wandering of affections, any deviation from the truth of allegiance, however slight it may seem to the eye of indifference, carries wounds and provocation to that of jealousy, and we may therefore say that such behaviour as this, when existing in the people of God, is calculated to excite in Him a feeling of resentment analogous to that which unrequited love and infidelity excite in the heart of man. Let us also remark that this attribute is peculiar to the true God, to the Jehovah of our worship. The idols of heathenism were imagined to be ready to share their honours with another, and were never supposed to object to the devotions which were paid to deities of other names or of other lands. They felt that they had no exclusive prerogative to power. They felt, or rather their worshippers felt, that even while they were the objects of adoration, they had no absolute dominion. And what was then true with regard to them is equally true with regard to the idols and idolaters of the world at present. They have no jealousy of one another. They are only jealous of God, and exhibit no feelings of the sort except when He is the object of attraction. Again, let us remark that the natural objects of jealousy are the affections of the heart. Justice may, in some respects, be thought to fulfil the object of jealousy, but justice is a gross and inactive feeling in comparison with jealousy. The slights and wanderings which inflict anguish unspeakable on the heart cannot be put into a balance and have the extent of their criminality noted by weight. How, then, can we imagine that justice is the only attribute with which those are concerned whose duty it is to love God with all their heart, and who are directed to worship Him in spirit and in truth, if they would worship Him acceptably at all? Under faith in this attribute of God it is not merely actual sin that we are told to deprecate in ourselves, or in others, but it is the love of other things than God. Have we gone, for instance, to seek pleasure in the company of His enemies? Have we sought our bread in ways which are not His? Have we looked for comfort and peace and enjoyment in other objects than in His favour? Have we been betrayed into forgetfulness of His love in the hour of trial? Have we felt coldly in His service? Whatever our own opinions may have been on such subjects, and whatever may be the system of the world, we cannot deny, and we cannot doubt, that these, and all such wanderings of the heart, must be provocations to a jealous God. It is perhaps from considering in this manner the attribute of jealousy in God that we are best able to appreciate the danger of what is commonly called the world. The world sees the justice of God, and the world fears it, and therefore it is cautious of advising anything which may seem to provoke it. But if the words of our text be true--If the Lord our God be a consuming fire, even a jealous God, what are the terrors of His justice compared with those of His jealousy? Compared with jealousy, justice seems a cold, deliberating principle. It comes, but its very name implies that it comes slowly and maturely. It comes, but it may be pleaded with; it may be reasoned against; it may be retarded or mollified by our reasonings. But jealousy is like fire. It comes to act, to consume; and little has the world gained for its votaries by teaching them to try not to offend the justice of God, while it encourages them daily to provoke His jealousy. For, lastly, let us remark on this subject the violence of those feelings which jealousy brings into action. Do we not see that among, ourselves it bursts at once the tenderest ties of which the heart of man is conscious? Founded on justice as its principle, but quickened by resentment in its action, it seems the most tremendous quality which we are capable of provoking against ourselves; and indeed, as it is peculiarly directed against that which is thought to be of all sins the most offensive--the sin of ingratitude--and of ingratitude, not for favours, but for love--it may well excite terror in those against whom it may be directed from our Maker. Let us close this subject with considering the degree in which we ourselves may be in danger of experiencing its exercise. If jealousy, which arises from love and proceeds only from love, is to be in proportion to that love which it proceeds from, what jealousy can be compared to that with which God is jealous now towards His people? (H. Raikes, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v25 The Appeal Supported by a Reference to God’s Kindness
The Appeal Supported by a Reference to God’s Kindness
v. 25. When thou shalt beget children and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, literally, become old in the land, which would include the forgetting of the former acts of God’s mercy, and shall corrupt yourselves, the first zealous love for Jehovah having grown cold, and make a graven image, or the likeness of anything, and shall do evil in the sight of the Lord, thy God, to provoke Him to anger,
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v. 26. I call heaven and earth, as living, sensible creatures, to witness against you this day that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. The witness summoned by Moses would be able to testify to the fact that the Lord had given His people the choice of life and death, Deu 30:19, and therefore was fully justified in punishing unfaithfulness.
v. 27. And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you, Lev 26:33. All the judgments of the Lord upon His disobedient people are here included, down to the time of the Romans and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A. D.
v. 28. And there, in the captivity and in the final dispersal among the nations, ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell, Psa 115:4-5; Psa 135:15-16; Isa 44:9; Isa 46:7. Having rejected Jehovah, they would find themselves condemned by Him in being given up to the foolishness of their idolatrous hearts.
v. 29. But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord, thy God, turning back to Him in true repentance, thou shalt find Him, if thou seek Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. Cf Luk 15:17. The promise that the children of Israel should find Jehovah is a wonderful and comforting Gospel-message: for it assures them that His kindness, grace, and mercy will be poured out upon the truly repentant sinners once more.
v. 30. When thou art in tribulation, misery, oppression, and all these things are come upon thee, find thee, strike thee, even in the latter days, in the far-distant future, if thou turn to the Lord, thy God, and shalt be obedient unto His voice,
v. 31. (for the Lord, thy God, is a merciful God,) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them. The covenant of God’s faithfulness and mercy would not be broken on His side.
v. 32. For ask now of the days that are past, search the records of the world’s history from the beginning, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, as far as the world extends, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it.
v. 33. Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? All of which goes to show that the Lord had singled out Israel for unusual manifestations of His kindness.
v. 34. Or hath God assayed (essayed) to go and take Him a nation from the midst of another nation, as He did in leading Israel out of the midst of the Egyptians, by temptations, by which the position of Pharaoh over against the Lord was tried out, by signs and by wonders, the great plagues of Egypt, and by war, when the Egyptians were about to attack the children of Israel at the Red Sea, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched-out arm, Exo 13:3; Exo 6:6, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord, your God, did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
v. 35. Unto thee, before every other nation on the earth, it was showed that thou mightest know that the Lord, He is God; there is none else beside Him. He is the one exclusive, the one true God.
v. 36. Out of heaven he made thee to hear His voice, Exo 19:9-19, that He might instruct thee; and upon earth He showed thee His great fire, in the burning of Mount Sinai; and thou heardest His words out of the midst of the fire. The purpose of this instruction was to impart a wholesome fear of the sanctity of Jehovah to the hearts of the people.
v. 37. And because He loved thy fathers, from Abraham down, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in His sight with His mighty power out of Egypt, Exo 13:3-14;
v. 38. to drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an in heritance, as it is this day, for the conquest of the country east of the Jordan was a guarantee of the conquest of the entire country.
v. 39. Know, therefore, this day, and consider it in thine heart, contemplate the lessons of all these happenings most carefully, that the Lord, he is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath; there is none else, there is only one true God; He is unity.
v. 40. Thou shalt keep, therefore, His statutes and His commandments which I command thee this day, both those pertaining to them, concerning them, as men, and those having reference to them as the covenant people, that it may go well with thee, since they would have Jehovah on their side, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth which the Lord, thy God, giveth thee, forever; for a long and happy life, accompanied by the goodness of the Lord, is a blessing. We Christians also know the precepts of the Lord’s holy will and should live in accordance with them. If we are always mindful of the fact that God has redeemed us from the kingdom of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son, we shall also be ready to serve Him in true obedience, to do according to His commandments.
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 vv23, 25, 27 Pay attention to yourselves
Pay attention to yourselves
"Pay careful attention"
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Yahweh your God has forbidden you ... Yahweh your God
Moses speaks to the Israelites as if they were one person, so the words "you" and "your" are singular. (See: Forms of You)
Yahweh your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God
Moses compares how Yahweh acts when he is angry to the way a fire destroys things. AT: "Yahweh your God will severely punish and destroy you like a fire does because he does not want you to worship other gods" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
covenant
image
devour
fire
jealous
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 vv24, 26, 27 4:24 God does not have the petty human emotion…
4:24 God does not have the petty human emotion of jealousy. Rather, the phrase jealous God shows that God was asserting his uniqueness and claiming exclusive worship (6:15; Lev 10:2; Num 16:35). The Hebrew word can be rendered as “jealous” or “zealous.” God zealously protects his own reputation as the universal sovereign.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.