The Lord shall cause thine enemies, etc. - This is a promise of security from foreign invasion, or total discomfiture of the invaders, should they enter the land. They shall come against thee one way - in the firmest and most united manner. And flee seven ways - shall be utterly broken, confounded, and finally routed. read more
The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee - Every thing that thou hast shall come by Divine appointment; thou shalt have nothing casually, but every thing, both spiritual and temporal, shall come by the immediate command of God. read more
God's blessing promised to the obedient. The aged lawgiver was finishing his course. Ere the end comes he would open up to the people once more the dread alternative of blessing and cursing, and would show them that they must accept either one or the other. And so, before the Holy Land is taken possession of, they are reminded how very much the realization of the promises of temporal good depends on what they are. We cannot be too frequently reminded of the fact, however, that, though ... read more
The blessing. Blessing and curse, as Keil says, are viewed in these verses "as actual powers, which follow in the footsteps of the nation, and overtake it" ( Deuteronomy 28:2 , Deuteronomy 28:15 , Deuteronomy 28:22 ; Zechariah 1:6 ). The blessing of God is a vera causa in human life. It is not to be resolved entirely into natural tendencies. A cheerful mind conduces to health; virtuous habits tend to prosperity, etc. But this is not the whole. Conspiring with natural tendencies,... read more
The purpose of temporal blessing. After the "Amens" from Mount Ebal had been faithfully given, the Levites turned to Gerizim with the detail of blessings , and received from the assembled thousands the grand "Amen." We have in these verses before us the purpose of the blessing. The children of Israel had been brought out of Egypt by a Divine deliverance, they were about to settle in Canaan as the people of the Lord. They were a spectacle, therefore, to the rest of the world of how a... read more
The present portion of a good man. The natural world may be fitly regarded as the visible symbol of the spiritual world, the earthly state a lower copy of the heavenly. The order of cause and effect is as uniform in the spiritual sphere as in the material. Fire in contact with gunpowder will result in explosion. True seed in fitting soil will bear fruit. "Whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap." I. WE HAVE HERE A DESCRIPTION OF A GOOD MAN . 1. He is described... read more
The fullness of the blessing in all the relations of life, external and internal, is presented in six particulars, each introduced by the word "blessed." Israel should be blessed in the house and in the field, in the fruit of the body, in the productions of the soil and the increase of herd and flock, in the store and in the use of what nature provided,—in all their undertakings, whether in peace or in war, at home or abroad. Basket and thy store ; rather, basket and kneading-trough (see ... read more
The effect of the blessing should be seen, not only in the supremacy of Israel over all opposition, but in the abundance of their possessions, in the success of their undertakings, and in the respect in which they should be held by all nations. Storehouses . The Hebrew word ( אֲסָמִים ), which occurs only here and in Proverbs 3:10 , is properly thus rendered. It comes from a root which signifies to lay up. read more
The blessing that maketh rich. I. FULL STOREHOUSES , WITHOUT GOD 'S BLESSING , ARE NOT RICHES . God does not count a man rich further than the good things he has are of real and lasting benefit to him. Wealth unblessed of God is not to be desired. 1. Unblessed good is ill ( Ecclesiastes 5:10-15 ). 2. It turns to ill—is not enduring ( Proverbs 13:22 ), takes wings and leaves, is a curse to offspring ( Ecclesiastes 5:14 , Ecclesiastes 5:15 ; Ecclesiastes... read more
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Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 28:6
When thou comest in - From thy employment, thou shalt find that no evil has happened to the family or dwelling in thy absence. When thou goest out - Thy way shall be made prosperous before thee, and thou shalt have the Divine blessing in all thy labors. read more