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.
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Deuteronomy 4:34-36 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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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.
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Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him.
Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he shewed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire.
Show all 3 translations
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Or hath God assayed to go and take Him a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before thine eyes?
Unto thee it was shown, that thou mightiest know that the LORD, He is God; there is none else beside Him.
Out of heaven He made thee to hear His voice, that He might instruct thee; and upon earth He made thee to see His great fire; and thou didst hear His words out of the midst of the fire.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (46)
- Deuteronomy 26:8 (v34) Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs, and with wonders;
- Deuteronomy 5:15 (v34) You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an…
- Exodus 6:6 (v34) Therefore tell the children of Israel, ‘I am Yahweh, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you…
- Deuteronomy 7:19 (v34) the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which Yahweh your God brought…
- Deuteronomy 7:8-9 (v34) but because Yahweh loves you, and because he desires to keep the oath which he swore to your fathers, Yahweh has brought you out with a…
Show all 46 cross-references
- Jeremiah 32:21 (v34) and brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, with wonders, with a strong hand, with an outstretched arm, and with…
- Deuteronomy 6:21 (v34) then you shall tell your son, “We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand;
- Isaiah 45:18 (v35) For Yahweh who created the heavens, the God who formed the earth and made it, who established it and didn’t create it a waste, who formed…
- Exodus 13:3 (v34) Moses said to the people, “Remember this day, in which you came out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand Yahweh…
- 1 Samuel 2:2 (v35) There is no one as holy as Yahweh, for there is no one besides you, nor is there any rock like our God.
- Psalms 78:48-53 (v34) He gave over their livestock also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts. He threw on them the fierceness of his anger, wrath,…
- Isaiah 45:5 (v35) I am Yahweh, and there is no one else. Besides me, there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not known me,
- Exodus 3:17-20 (v34) I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the…
- Deuteronomy 4:39 (v35) 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.
- Isaiah 44:8 (v35) Don’t fear, neither be afraid. Haven’t I declared it to you long ago, and shown it? You are my witnesses. Is there a God besides me?…
- Deuteronomy 32:39 (v35) “See now that I myself am he. There is no god with me. I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal. There is no one who can deliver out of…
- Deuteronomy 34:12 (v34) and in all the mighty hand, and in all the awesome deeds, which Moses did in the sight of all Israel.
- Psalms 83:18 (v35) that they may know that you alone, whose name is Yahweh, are the Most High over all the earth.
- Isaiah 44:6 (v35) This is what Yahweh, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Yahweh of Armies, says: “I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there…
- Isaiah 45:22 (v35) “Look to me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other.
- Exodus 12:30-33 (v34) Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a…
- Exodus 15:11 (v35) Who is like you, Yahweh, among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
- Exodus 3:10 (v34) Come now therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
- 1 Samuel 17:45-47 (v35) Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin; but I come to you in the name of Yahweh…
- 1 Kings 18:36-37 (v35) At the time of the evening offering, Elijah the prophet came near, and said, “Yahweh, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it…
- Mark 12:32 (v35) The scribe said to him, “Truly, teacher, you have said well that he is one, and there is none other but he,
- Exodus 10:7 (v34) Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve Yahweh, their God. Don’t you…
- Exodus 19:9 (v36) Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you…
- Exodus 19:19 (v36) When the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice.
- Deuteronomy 32:23 (v35) “I will heap evils on them. I will spend my arrows on them.
- Psalms 58:11 (v35) so that men shall say, “Most certainly there is a reward for the righteous. Most certainly there is a God who judges the earth.”
- Mark 12:29 (v35) Jesus answered, “The greatest is, ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one:
- 1 Peter 5:6 (v34) Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time,
- Exodus 7:3 (v34) I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
- Exodus 9:20-21 (v34) Those who feared Yahweh’s word among the servants of Pharaoh made their servants and their livestock flee into the houses. Whoever didn’t…
- Deuteronomy 4:33 (v36) Did a people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the middle of the fire, as you have heard, and live?
- Deuteronomy 29:3 (v34) the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders.
- 2 Kings 19:19 (v35) Now therefore, Yahweh our God, save us, I beg you, out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Yahweh, are God…
- Nehemiah 9:13 (v36) “You also came down on Mount Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven, and gave them right ordinances and true laws, good statutes and…
- Exodus 20:18-22 (v36) All the people perceived the thunderings, the lightnings, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they…
- Hebrews 12:25 (v36) See that you don’t refuse him who speaks. For if they didn’t escape when they refused him who warned on the earth, how much more will we…
- Exodus 24:16 (v36) Yahweh’s glory settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. The seventh day he called to Moses out of the middle of the cloud.
- Hebrews 12:18 (v36) For you have not come to a mountain that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and to blackness, darkness, storm,
- 1 John 5:20-21 (v35) We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us an understanding, that we know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in…
- Exodus 1:9 (v34) He said to his people, “Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we.
- Psalms 78:12 (v34) He did marvelous things in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (11 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv34–35 By so manifest proofs that none could doubt thereof.
By so manifest proofs that none could doubt thereof.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv34, 36 By temptations; by tribulations and persecutions, which are commonly…
By temptations; by tribulations and persecutions, which are commonly called temptations, which are here fitly mentioned as one great occasion first of their cries unto God, and then of God’s coming for their rescue. Or, temptations is the general title, which is explained by the following particulars,
signs and wonders, & c., which are called temptations, because they were trials both to the Egyptians and Israelites, whether thereby they would be induced to believe and obey God or no.
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Great terrors, raised in the minds of the Egyptians, as the history showeth; compare Deu 2:25; 34:12; or by terrible things done among them.
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 vv34–36 Or hath God assayed to go and take him…
Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation,.... As he now had done, namely, the nation of Israel out of the nation of the Egyptians; this he not only had assayed to do, but had actually done it; whereas no such instance like it could be produced, and especially as done in the manner this was:
by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war; the word "temptations" may be considered as a general word, as Aben Ezra thinks, and may signify the temptations by signs, &c. or the various essays and trials, ways, means, and methods taken by the Lord to bring about the event; by "signs" may be meant those which were required of Moses, and done by him before the people of Israel, and before Pharaoh, as proofs of his mission from the Lord, Exo 4:1 and by "wonders", the ten plagues of Egypt, which were done by a supernatural and miraculous operation, and were amazing things; see Psa 78:11; and by "war", either the slaying of the firstborn, with the destruction of the judges and gods of Egypt, as Aben Ezra; or the Lord's fighting for Israel at the Red sea, as Jarchi; he saved them and destroyed the Egyptians, and showed himself to be a man of war, Exo 14:14.
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and by a mighty hand and stretched out arm; phrases frequently used when this affair is spoken of, and are expressive of the mighty power of God in the above instances, and in the issue of them, bringing Israel out of Egypt; though Aben Ezra interprets it of the pillar of fire and cloud in which the Lord went before them:
and by great terrors; which the same writer interprets of the drowning of Pharaoh and his host in the sea, and dividing it for Israel; but may be understood not only of the terrors which possessed him and his people then, but at other times, especially at the time of the thunder and lightning, and when they sat in thick darkness, and particularly when all their firstborn were slain; see Deu 26:8,
according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes; among the men of Egypt, as the above writer, Pharaoh and his courtiers: the above things were done as before them for their terror, so before Israel for their encouragement.
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 v34 By temptations - Temptations is the general title, which…
By temptations - Temptations is the general title, which is explained by the following particulars, signs, and wonders, &c. which are called temptations, because they were trials both to the Egyptians and Israelites, whether they would be induced to believe and obey God or no. By terrors - Raised in the minds of the Egyptians, or, by terrible things done among them.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v34 Verse 34. From the midst of another nation] This…
Verse 34. From the midst of another nation] This was a most extraordinary thing, that a whole people, consisting of upwards of 600,000 effective men, besides women and children, should, without striking a blow, be brought out of the midst of a very powerful nation, to the political welfare of which their services were so essential; that they should be brought out in so open and public a manner; that the sea itself should be supernaturally divided to afford this mighty host a passage; and that, in a desert utterly unfriendly to human life, they should be sustained for forty years. These were such instances of the almighty power and goodness of God as never could be forgotten.
In this verse Moses enumerates seven different means used by the Almighty in effecting Israel's deliverance.
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1. TEMPTATIONS, מסת massoth, from נשה nasah, to try or prove; the miracles which God wrought to try the faith and prove the obedience of the children of Israel.
2. SIGNS, אתת othoth, from אתה athah, to come near; such signs as God gave them of his continual presence and especial providence, particularly the pillar of cloud and pillar of fire, keeping near to them night and day, and always directing their journeys, showing them when and where to pitch their tents, c., c.
3. WONDERS, מופתים mophethim, from יפת yaphath, to persuade persuasive facts and events, says Parkhurst, whether strictly miraculous, and exceeding the powers of nature, as Ex 7:9; Ex 11:9-10; or not, as Isa 20:3; Eze 12:6; Eze 12:11. It probably means typical representations: in this signification the word is used, Zec 3:8. Joshua, the high priest, and his companions were אנשי מופת anshey mopheth, typical men, raised up by God as types of Christ, and proofs that God would bring his servant THE BRANCH. All the dealings of God with this people, and even the people themselves, were types-present significators of distant facts and future occurrences.
4. WAR, מלחמה milchamah, hostile engagements; such as those with the Amalekites, the Amorites, and the Bashanites, in which the hand of God was seen rather than the hand of man.
5. A MIGHTY HAND, יד חזקה yad chazakah; one that is strong to deal its blows, irresistible in its operations, and grasps its enemies hard, so that they cannot escape, and protects its friends so powerfully that they cannot be injured. Neither stratagem nor policy was used in this business, but the openly displayed power of God.
6. A STRETCHED-OUT ARM, זרוע נטויה zeroa netuyah; a series of almighty operations, following each other in quick astonishing succession. Let it be noted that in the Scriptures,
(1) The finger of God denotes any manifestation of the Divine power, where effects are produced beyond the power of art or nature.
(2) The hand of God signifies the same power, but put forth in a more signal manner.
(3) The arm of God, the Divine omnipotence manifested in the most stupendous miracles.
(4) The arm of God stretched out, this same omnipotence exerted in a continuation of stupendous miracles, both in the way of judgment and mercy. In this latter sense it appears to be taken in the text: the judgments were poured out on the Egyptians; the mercies wrought in favour of the Israelites.
7. GREAT TERRORS, מוראים גדלים moraim gedolim; such terror, dismay, and consternation as were produced by the ten plagues, to which probably the inspired penman here alludes: or, as the Septuagint has it, εν ὁραμασιν μεγαλοις, with great or portentous sights; such as that when God looked out of the cloud upon the Egyptians, and their chariot wheels were taken off, Ex 14:24-25. More awful displays of God's judgments, power, and might, were never witnessed by man.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v34 Temptations. The Chaldean and Arabic understand this of the…
Temptations. The Chaldean and Arabic understand this of the prodigies which God wrought in favour of his people; though they may also denote the trials to which the Patriarchs and the Hebrews had been exposed, that their virtue might shine more brightly. Many indeed lost courage under these trials, but they were of great service to form a perfect people; and those who continued to lead a virtuous life received the reward of their labours. (Calmet) --- Visions, during the three days’ darkness mentioned, Wisdom xvii. 9, 18, &c., (Menochius) or those terrible appearances on Sinai, ver. 33, 36., and chap. v. 22. (Calmet) Hebrew may be, "by great terrors." --- In Egypt. God himself fought for his people, when he brought them out of that country. He repeatedly made the king and his people feel the impressions of terror, but as they presently recovered their wonted insolence and pride, he at last miraculously divided the Red Sea, and buried vast multitudes in its waters. (Haydock)
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).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv34–36 34. Or hath God assayed] Rather, hath a god.…
34. Or hath God assayed] Rather, hath a god. The verb nissah is rendered in Deu_28:56 adventured. It is also used for the tempting or testing of Israel by God, Deu_8:2; Deu_8:16, Deu_13:3 (4) (also in E), or of God by Israel, Deu_6:16 (also in JE).
to go] Heb. to come, which is better, meaning to come upon earth.
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by temptations, by signs, and by wonders] Deu_7:19, Deu_29:2 (partly Deu_6:22, Deu_11:3). Temptations, rather tests, provings or experiments, massôth (from the verb explained in previous note), such as those applied to Phara‘oh; not only to prove him, but to offer him proofs that God was with Israel—so in the account of the plagues in JE, especially Exo_8:9 ff; Exo_9:27. Signs or evidences, ’othôth, in the widest sense, any distinguishing mark (e.g. blood on the doorposts of the Israelites, Exo_12:13; a family mark or ensign, Num_2:2); but usually of an action or event attached to an oracle, either to illustrate or enforce its meaning (Isaiah stripped and barefoot, Isa_20:3) or to prove its divinity (Isa_7:3, etc.). These last, though startling, were not necessarily miraculous; cp. 1Sa_2:34, the death of Eli’s sons, Isa_8:18, the prophet’s sons with the ominous names and as above, Isa_20:3; but as in the cases before us they might be so. Orientals make no distinction, except, of degree, between one kind and another. Wonders, môphethîm (usually with signs; in addition to deuteronomic passages quoted above, and Deu_13:1 (2), see Isa_8:18; Isa_20:3), rather portents, more closely attached to the idea of the extraordinary than sign is. Also with the particular sense of foreshadowing, prodigium; cp. Zec_3:8. See also Driver’s Exodus p. 59.
by war] To ask whether this implies a supernatural element, or simply the inspiration of Israel’s armies, is to ignore the fact that Israel themselves made no such distinction. Jehovah himself was their warlord. J, Exo_14:14, Jehovah shall fight for you, ye shall hold your peace; E, id. Exo_14:24 b, He discomfited the Egyptian host; J, id. Exo_14:25, He took off their chariot-wheels … so that the Egyptians said, Jehovah fighteth for them. But in other cases Israel themselves also fought.
by a mighty hand] In D 10 times, both with Sg. and Pl.; Deu_3:24, thy mighty hand; followed by outstretched arm, as here, Deu_5:15, Deu_7:19, Deu_11:2, Deu_26:8; alone, Deu_6:21, Deu_7:8, Deu_9:26; followed by great terrors, Deu_34:12. In JE (?), Exo_3:19; Exo_6:1, alone; cp. Deu_13:14; Deu_13:16, strength of hand.
and by a stretched out arm] In D 6 times both with Sg. and Pl.; of which five times (as above) with a mighty hand, and once Deu_9:29 with great power. Elsewhere in the Hex. only in P, Exo_6:6, which also uses the verb stretch forth in Exo_7:5.
by great terrors] Heb. môra’îm, terrifying things. LXX ὀράματα, marĕ’îm, accepted by Geiger; but it is weaker than the other. Cp. Deu_10:21, great and terrible things.
for you] LXX omits and for your God gives our God. The only plurals in this section; probably editorial.
before your eyes] Heb. thine eyes; the your of both EVV shows how easy it is to change the original forms of address under the influence of attraction: there is a similar instance in A.V. Deu_4:3 you for thee.
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.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv34–36 Hath God assayed, etc.; hath he ever made the…
Hath God assayed, etc.; hath he ever made the attempt to come on the earth and take a nation from the midst of a nation, as he took the Hebrew people from among the Egyptians? By temptations (twOSm, plu. of hSm, a testing, a trial)i.e. by the plagues inflicted on Pharaoh and his people, whereby they were tested and triedby signs and by wonders. "The wonder (tpewm) differs from the sign (twOa) in this, that the former denotes the properly marvelous, the extraordinary, the uncommon, consequently the subjective apprehension of the miraculous event; the latter the significant element in the miracle, the reference to the higher, Divine design, the purpose of God in it, consequently to the objective side of the miracle". (comp. Deu_13:2) (Havernick, "Comment. ub. Ezech," p. 161). By war; (cf. Exo_14:14 Exo_15:3-10) by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm (Exo_6:6 Exo_14:8; Deu_5:15) and by great terrors, (Exo_12:30-36) the effect on the Egyptians of the Divine inflictions (cf. Psa_105:27-38 Psa_106:21, Psa_106:22)
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 v35 Unto thee it was shewed.
Deu_4:35
Unto thee it was shewed.
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All national and individual responsibility to God peculiarly applicable to Britain, both as a Church and State
I. That while all nations and all people are bound to serve the lord, and are accountable to Him for so doing or not, according to the opportunities they possess and the privileges with which they are favoured for knowing His character and learning His truth and will, some nations and people are more peculiarly engaged thus to serve Him, and are under a correspondent degree of responsibility for doing so or not; because some nations and people are more highly favoured than others in all these respects, and are distinguished by greater privileges and opportunities for knowing and doing the Divine will than many others, who are, notwithstanding, all accountable unto God. Now, in order to place this truth in its proper light, let us suppose a case whose propriety and certainty few, we expect, will be disposed to dispute. And, to begin with--
1. Individuals, let us suppose the case of one man, born and bred a pure heathen; another, brought up with some degree of opportunity for gaining the true knowledge of God, etc., in civilised life; and a third, in the same condition, in full possession of the Word of truth and salvation. The great law of mans universal responsibility, amidst all this variety of condition, equally applies to them all. But the advantages which the one possesses over the other bind the one in a more powerful manner to the duty enforced. And when you arrive at the greatest measure of privilege, do you not behold its accompanying claims rising to the same point, and bearing an even requisition with the highest elevation?
2. Nations. Nations are nothing more than vast numbers of individuals, located in various parts of the earth, and cemented by certain laws and regulations in orderly and social compact. The same truths, therefore, which apply to one person will surely extend to ten thousand, or to as many millions, of the human family thus connected together.
3. Whether the doctrine we inculcate is founded upon, and stands in agreement with, the pure Word of God. Did not the very mercies and privileges which the Lord bestowed upon Israel lay them under peculiar obligations, and bind them in an especial manner to love and serve Him?
II. Where does the truth thus propounded and established fall in its full weight; and to whom does it more peculiarly apply in all its authority and aggravation? The inquiry evidently regards the past and the present time.
1. The past time. Where, in the ages that are passed, are we to look for such a nation or people? Must we not at once fix our attention upon Israel of old, and say, Thou art that nation, and thou art that people? What wonders did God work on their behalf! What large and unmerited mercies did He bestow on them! What astonishing deliverances did He vouchsafe to them! But must our inquiries terminate here?
2. The present time. Many nations are presented to our view. Some great and strong; others weak and debased. Some altogether enshrouded in heathen blindness; others groaning under Mohammedan tyranny and delusion. Some rent with internal convulsions; others sitting down in comparative quiet. Some, once mighty and renowned, merged in the general streams of rival powers, and known no more as separate kingdoms, except in the records of their ancient exploits and fame. But amidst all this national and political chaos presented to our view can we fix on no spot which in a more especial manner is more highly favoured than any other? Yes, we can. Like some tall majestic oak amidst the under wood of the forest, or like the cloud-capped mountain contrasted with the hillocks of the plain, or like the stately man-of-war amidst the wharfage of the port, there is one nation amidst all the diversified tribes of man which stands thus conspicuous in the view, and thus crowned with privileges and blessings! Oh England, my beloved place and nation, thou wearest this crown! thou standest on this elevation! Not only in common with all others, but above and beyond all others, hast thou been blessed and crowned with loving kindness and tender mercies! What hath not the Lord done for thee?
(1) As a nation. Hath He not raised thee from small beginnings to unexampled greatness? Hath He not brought thee from a poor degraded state of heathen misery, in which thy forefathers were sunk, to be at once the mistress, the envy, and the glory of the world? And in the course of thy experience, from thy low original to thy present greatness, hath not the Lord often wrought for thee by a mighty hand and by a stretched-out arm? And art thou not bound, in proportion to what He hath done for thee? Oh! beware lest thou stand as conspicuous in ingratitude and guilt as thou art in privilege and blessing! But are national distinctions and advantages all that the Lord hath done for thee? Are not thy privileges--
2. As a church, as great as thy mercies as a nation? He hath not left thee without witness; not merely, as He testified to the heathen, giving rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, and filling our hearts with food and gladness; but as He deals with His own inheritance, sending to thee the truths of His Word and the messages of His salvation. Do we, as a nation, church, or people, live up to these privileges, and bring forth the fruit which God so justly requires at our hands? Are the mercies we possess prized as they ought to be? Are they improved as they ought to be? Is God honoured and glorified as tie ought to be? Is the Gospel of peace valued as it ought to be? Is the Word of life received as it ought to be? Do we walk in the statutes and ordinances of God as we ought to do? (R. Shittler.)
The revelation of God
I. In his name. Is it answered, That is only a word? But what are words? People do not forge and utter words as they please. They cannot be made or unmade by votes of assemblies or edicts of kings. They are chronic. They come into existence by a law of nature. They are carved out of unstable air by a supernatural power. To call Gods Word or name priest craft is itself cant. A set of priests could no more have created it than they could an ocean or a mountain range. Matthew Arnold says, God means the Brilliant in the sky. But what makes it to shine, and to wear the blue firmament for a robe? There could have been no name if no Lord,--as no names for plant, beast, earth, sea, but that these things were, and to do aught in His name is to do it by His strength and for His honour. Caesar may be a myth, and Eve in the garden a tale, but no appellations can overrate the Eternal.
II. In his work: what He does shows what He is. All the phrases which sceptics think so lightly of are but the labels of His wonders. But all the Bibles, says the denier, are human compositions written in time: show me the sacred books that not affirm a God out of us. What is out of us is not so easy to say. The whole creation is somehow in our thought. I have a feeling that fetches down from Orion. My imagination girdles the Pleiades. God is not less to me because He exists not externally but in the consciousness of my own bosom, and I cannot dismiss my guest. If no characters by Him were ever entered on a paper leaf, stone tablet from Sinai, or Egyptian column, do we not find His engraving in living organisms and on the vast layers of the globe? Providence is one of these obstinate, indestructible words in the daily discourse of mankind. A great, forthreaching, unbaffled, and unending plan, a purpose through the ages, one must be worse than colour blind not to see, with a steady accomplishment,--style it fitness, adjustment, design, as you will. Not a nook of nature but is His workshop, not an event without His procedure.
III. In his nature or image. Had He left no sign manual of His authorship in our frame all else were to us a dumb show. Why do beasts and insects not perceive the drift of the plot on this broad external stage? Because, even in their innocence, they cannot yet come to themselves, and in themselves find their Father. But what features of His face are unveiled to us?
1. First, of sincerity, the open look. Why can we not be free from this candid bond, but that the Divinity reveals within us His essence of truth, as a claim beyond convenience or uses of the hour, so infinite that no liar can be content till he has confessed? After what long and stubborn perjury, from at last being convinced by some co-conspirator that falsehood is kindest and best, a quickened conscience forces the wretched deceiver, man or woman, in mutual crime, to own at last even the forswearing, and throw off the disguise that hinders peace with God!
2. Next, the line of rectitude in this countenance we pray God to lift upon us, and which He never quite withdraws. Truth is right speech, and righteousness is true conduct. If your neighbour will not rest in any wrong you do him, you will be the last to be satisfied with your own unfairness, because Deity is equity in your vital parts.
3. There is one more lineament in that face whose glance we cannot escape: it is goodness. But the goodness must be more than doting on one person, however winsome and dear. I know an earnest love; but God save me from an exclusive one, and keep me from wishing or enduring the monopoly of a human heart! We may be partial to one person, like the sun flattering some mountain top or blazing back from some windowed tower as he rises or sets; but be we also impartial as the sun, making the whole earth his reflection and flinging his radiance through the sky.
IV. In the healthful exercise of our powers. We find God in innocent pleasures as in solemn forms, as parents are as much pleased with their childrens gambols as with their deferential requests. The little orthodox boy, repeating his prayers so punctually in his country cot, said one morning, Good-bye, God: I am going to Boston to stay a fortnight; he not having been taught how that sublime Presence would smile on him amid all the sights of the city, as when the soul was commended to Him in sleep. The small girl was pious in a more rational way who, going home from her first dance, ere she put off her pretty dress, fell on her knees to thank God for the pleasure He had given her at the childrens ball. God is the problem whose last and clearest solution is in the corollary of duty, which, as Kant says, is the practical reason piecing out the ladder to climb to Him, where the speculative ends. In this transparency of conscience all the vexing riddles conclude. With a dogged satisfaction, in dire extremity, it helps us to stand at our post and do our office, as the old Cumberland still fired her guns when sinking to her gunwale. There was something in those sailors, as in all faithful unto death, not going down! (C. A. Bartol, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv34–35 General Information:
General Information:
Moses continues to speak to the people of Israel.
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by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm
Here "a mighty hand" and "an outstretched arm" are metaphors for Yahweh's power. AT: "by showing his mighty power" (See: Metaphor)
before your eyes
Here "eyes" refer to the whole person. AT: "in front of you" (See: Synecdoche)
translationWords
God
nation
trial
miracle
might
hand
terror
Yahweh
Egypt
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 vv34, 36 4:34 strong hand, a powerful arm: Describing divine qualities…
4:34 strong hand, a powerful arm: Describing divine qualities in human terms is called anthropomorphism (see study note on 8:2). Here it represents God’s sovereign power in delivering Israel from bondage in Egypt.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.