Deuteronomy 14:1-16:22

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 14:1-21

Moses here tells the people of Israel, I. How God had dignified them, as a peculiar people, with three distinguishing privileges, which were their honour, and figures of those spiritual blessings in heavenly things with which God has in Christ blessed us. 1. Here is election: The Lord hath chosen thee, Deut. 14:2. Not for their own merit, nor for any good works foreseen, but because he would magnify the riches of his power and grace among them. He did not choose them because they were by their... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 14:1

Ye are the children of the Lord your God ,.... Some of them were so by the special grace of adoption, and all of them by national adoption; which was the peculiar privilege of the people of Israel, and laid them under great obligation to honour and obey the Lord their God, who stood in the relation of a father to them, and they of children to him, Malachi 1:6 . The Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it "beloved children"; so the apostle calls the saints; the "dear children of God", who... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 14:1

Ye are the children of the Lord - The very highest character that can be conferred on any created beings; ye shall not cut yourselves, i. e., their hair, for it was a custom among idolatrous nations to consecrate their hair to their deities, though they sometimes also made incisions in their flesh. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 14:1

Ye are the children of Jehovah your God (cf. Exodus 4:22 , etc.). As his children, it behooved them to avoid all that would be offensive to him or indicate distrust in him. Ye shall not cut yourselves , etc. (cf. Le 19:28; Deuteronomy 21:5 ; Jeremiah 16:6 ; Jeremiah 48:36 , Jeremiah 48:37 ; Ezekiel 7:18 ; Ezekiel 27:31 ). ("Ex hac opinions sunt ilia varia et detestabilia genera lugendi, paedores, muliebres lacerationes genarum, pectoris, feminum, capitis percussiones."... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 14:1-2

The people of God when death is in the home. If God chose out a people for himself, with the view of planting in the world a new and nobler faith, it is no wonder if he would have the people super add to that a new and higher life. But if the life is to be higher in any sense which could be acceptable to Jehovah, it must be one based on the new faith and manifesting itself to others in a new deportment, i . e . it must be both an outer and inner life. But if the people are just... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 14:1-2

Sorrow is to be in holy hopefulness. After guarding them so carefully from all idolatry, Moses next charges the Israelites not to imitate the heathen nations by mutilating themselves or making themselves bald for the dead. The reason assigned is their consecration unto the Lord. There must have been, therefore, in these heathen practices something unholy expressed. Let us first consider what this was, and then proceed to the lessons in the prohibition. I. WHAT WAS MEANT BY ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 14:1-2

Against conformity with heathen customs. Israel had been called to honorable privilege; therefore it was fitting there should be seemly conduct. Royal children should be royal in all their acts. I. ISRAEL 'S SPECIAL PRIVILEGE . They enjoyed a position superior to all the nations of the earth. 1. They were the objects of God ' s choice . Out of all the peoples and tribes which dwelt on this round globe, Israel had been selected for a noble purpose. We may not be able to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 14:1-3

Self-respect in mourning. Mourning customs have significance, as testifying to the ideas of God, of human worth, and of immortality, held by those who practice them. Those here forbidden were degrading in their own nature, and embodied the false idea that God is pleased with the self-inflicted miseries of his creatures. They are condemned— I. AS DISHONORING TO THE CREATOR . God, the Creator of the body, cannot take delight in seeing it abused. This proposition seems... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 14:1-21

EXPOSITION HEATHEN CUSTOMS OF MOURNING TO BE AVOIDED . NO ABOMINABLE THING TO BE EATEN . MEATS CLEAN AND UNCLEAN . TITHES . Israel, as the people of God, chosen by him to be his children by adoption, must not only abstain from idolatry, but also avoid all heathenish usages and practices, such as those connected with mourning for the dead, and those pertaining to the use of food. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Deuteronomy 14:1

Make any baldness between your eyes - i. e. by shaving the forepart of the head and the eyebrows. The practices named in this verse were common among the pagan, and seem to be forbidden, not only because such wild excesses of grief (compare 1 Kings 18:28) would be inconsistent in those who as children of a heavenly Father had prospects beyond this world, but also because these usages themselves arose out of idolatrous notions. read more

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