Deuteronomy 28:22

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:15-44

Having viewed the bright side of the cloud, which is towards the obedient, we have now presented to us the dark side, which is towards the disobedient. If we do not keep God's commandments, we not only come short of the blessing promised, but we lay ourselves under the curse, which is as comprehensive of all misery as the blessing is of all happiness. Observe, I. The equity of this curse. It is not a curse causeless, nor for some light cause; God seeks not occasion against us, nor is he apt to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:22

The Lord shall smite thee with a consumption ,.... An emaciation of their bodies, either through famine or wasting diseases, whereby the fluids are washed off, and men are reduced to skin and bones: and with a fever ; a hot burning disease, which dries up the radical moisture, consumes it, and so threatens with death; of which there are various sorts, and some very pestilential and mortal Jarchi and Aben Ezra interpret it of a fire in the face, by which they seem to mean what is called... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 28:22

Consumption - שחפת shachepheth , atrophy through lack of food; from שחף shacaph , to be in want. Fever - קדחת kaddachath , from קדח kadach , to be kindled, burn, sparkle; a burning inflammatory fever. Inflammation - דלקת dalleketh , from דלק dalak , to pursue eagerly, to burn after; probably a rapidly consuming cancer. Extreme burning - חרחר charchur , burning upon burning, scald upon scald; from חר char , to be heated, enraged, etc. This probably... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:15-44

The Nemesis of disloyalty. It is instructive that Moses dilates with far greater fullness on the curses attached to disloyalty than on the rewards of disobedience. In the childhood of the world people were more under the influence of fear than of hope, more deterred by threatening than drawn by promise. The message of Moses was admirably adapted to the people's need. I. THE EQUITY OF THESE CURSES . 1. Disobedience under such circumstances of privilege was eminently base... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:15-48

The curse. Like the blessing, the curse is a reality. It cleaves to the sinner, pursues him, hunts him down, ruins and slays him ( Deuteronomy 28:45 ). Does some one say, "An exploded superstition"? If so, it is a superstition in the belief of which mankind has shown itself singularly unanimous. View its reality as attested: 1. By conscience . The criminal cannot divest himself of the belief that avenging powers are following on his track. 2. By experience . "Rarely,"... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:15-68

The curse . In case of disobedience and apostasy, not only would the blessing be withheld, but a curse would descend, blighting, destructive, and ruinous. As the blessing was set forth in six announcements ( Deuteronomy 28:3-6 ), the curse is proclaimed in form and number corresponding ( Deuteronomy 28:16-19 ). The curse thus appears as the exact counterpart of the blessing. The different forms in which the threatened curse should break forth are then detailed in five groups. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:15-68

Love veiled in frown. Probably many may think that this is one of the most awful chapters in the Word of God. Certainly we are not aware of any other in which there is such a long succession of warnings, increasing in terror as they advance. In fact, Matthew Henry tells us of a wicked man who was so enraged at reading this chapter that he tore the leaf out of his Bible! Impotent rage! Impotent as if, when a man dreaded an eclipse of the sun, he were to tear up the announcements thereof. ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:15-68

A nation becoming a beacon. If Mount Gerizim had the weight cf. the people on the side of the blessing, Mount Ebal had certainly the weight of the deliverance. No wonder the Law was to be written on its rocky tablets, since the major part of the Law consists in such denunciation of possible disobedience as might serve to render it improbable. As Dr. Arnold has said, "As if, too, warning were far more required than encouragement, we find that the blessings promised for obedience bear a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:20-26

First group . The curse should come upon them in various forms of evil, filling them with terror and dismay, and threatening them with utter ruin (cf. Malachi 2:2 ). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 28:21-22

The afflictive visitations here named are such as destroy life; but the distinctive character of each it is not easy exactly to define. The pestilence is probably a generic term for any fatal epidemic. In the LXX . it is usually represented by the general word Odoacer , death. Consumption ; literally, wasting ; the designation of any species of tabes or marasmus. Fever ( דַּלֶּקֶת , from דָּלַק , to be parched, to glow); inflammation ( חַחְתֻר , from חָרַר , to... read more

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