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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 8:1-9

The charge here given them is the same as before, to keep and do all God's commandments. Their obedience must be, 1. Careful: Observe to do. 2. Universal: To do all the commandments, Deut. 8:1. And, 3. From a good principle, with a regard to God as the Lord, and their God, and particularly with a holy fear of him (Deut. 8:6), from a reverence of his majesty, a submission to his authority, and a dread of his wrath. To engage them to this obedience, besides the great advantages of it, which he... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 8:8

A land of wheat and barley ,.... There were two harvests in it, one a barley harvest, which began at the passover, and the other a wheat harvest, which began at Pentecost: instances of the great plenty of these might be observed in the vast quantities consumed in the times of Solomon, in his household, and in the yearly distribution he made to Hiram, 1 Kings 4:22 , yea, there was such plenty of wheat in this land, that it not only supplied the inhabitants of it, but even furnished other... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 8:8

A land of wheat, etc. - On the subject of this verse I shall introduce the following remarks, which I find in Mr. Harmer's Observations on the Fertility of the Land of Judea, vol. iii., p. 243. "Hasselquist tells us that he ate olives at Joppa (upon his first arrival in the Holy Land) which were said to grow on the Mount of Olives, near Jerusalem; and that, independently of their oiliness, they were of the best kind he had tasted in the Levant. As olives are frequently eaten in their... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 8:7-8

Brooks of water , running streams, mountain torrents, and watercourses in the narrow valleys or wadys; fountains, perennial springs; depths , "the fathomless pools from which such streams as the Abana (now Barada), near Damascus, spring up full-grown rivers, almost as broad at their sources as at their mouths", or this may include also the inland seas or lakes, such as the sea of Galileo and Lake Haleh. Palestine is in the present day, on the whole, well supplied with water, though the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 8:7-10

The duty of thankfulness for the bounty of God in nature. The people of Israel were being led by the Lord their God to a land beautiful, luxuriant, fruitful. (For an account of the productions of Palestine, of the fertility of its soil, and of the treasures hidden in its hills, see works by Kitto, Stanley, Wilson, Thomson, and others; as well as Bible dictionaries and Cyclopedias, under the several headings.) Evidently, at the time Moses uttered the words before us, the people had not... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 8:7-10

The good land. I. A LAND OF GREAT NATURAL ADVANTAGES —a wealthy possession . Wood, water, metals, a fertile soil, good pasturage, honey in the clefts of the rocks, etc. ( Deuteronomy 11:11 , Deuteronomy 11:12 ; Deuteronomy 33:13-16 , Deuteronomy 33:19 , Deuteronomy 33:25 ). Dr. Dykes remarks on it as uniting, as no other does, the two indispensable conditions of central position and yet of isolation, and points out that few regions offer so few temptations to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 8:7-20

The land on which they were about to enter is described as a good laud, fertile and well watered, and yielding abundant produce to its cultivators; and they are cautioned against forgetting, in their enjoyment of the gift, the bounty of the Giver, or congratulating themselves on having achieved the conquest of such a land, instead of gratefully acknowledging the grace which had sustained them during their protracted wandering in the wilderness, and by which alone they had been enabled to take... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 8:7-20

Wealth perilous to piety. God's policy in the government of men is to win by prodigal kindness. A churlish parsimony has never been found with him; the very opposite. An open eye discovers widespread munificence—a royal banquet. The present is only a sample of the future. The full inheritance is always the object of hope. The children of a king have large expectations. This passage contains— I. A NOTABLE INSTANCE OF DIVINE MUNIFICENCE . 1. The heritage of Israel was a "... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 8:7-20

God forgotten amid second causes. The support of the wilderness was manifestly miraculous. They could not doubt their dependence there upon God. They might murmur even amid daily miracle, but they could not doubt it. It would be different in Canaan, and it is in view of this Moses warns them. There they would get sustenance in ordinary ways; and they might say that their own power, and not God's blessing, made them wealthy. I. THERE IS A VERY GREAT TENDENCY TO FORGET GOD... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 8:8

"Palestine has been celebrated in all ages for three products: corn, wine, and oil, which still continue to be its most valuable crops". The principal corn crops were wheat and barley. The vine was largely and carefully cultivated; the olive required little cultivation, being almost a spontaneous growth, and forming one of the most valuable productions of the country; the fig was also indigenous in Palestine, and still grows there, both wild and cultivated, in abundance; that the pomegranate (... read more

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