Furthermore the Lord was angry with me for your sakes ,.... See Deuteronomy 3:26 , and sware that I should not go over Jordan ; this circumstance of swearing is nowhere else expressed: and that I should not go in unto that good land ; the land of Canaan; he might see it, as he did from Pisgah, but not enter into it: which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance ; to them and to their children after them. read more
But I must die in this land ,.... The land of Moab, in a mountain in it he died, and in a valley there he was buried, Deuteronomy 32:50 , I must not go over Jordan ; this he repeats, as lying near his heart; he had earnestly solicited to go over, but was denied it: but ye shall go over, and possess that good land ; this he firmly believed and assures them of, relying on the promise and faithfulness of God. read more
Take heed unto yourselves ,.... Since he should not be long with them, to advise, instruct, and caution them: lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord your God , which he made with you; what that required of them, and what was promised unto them on the performance of it, and what they must expect should they break it, and particularly be so forgetful of it, and the first articles in it, as follows: and make you a graven image, or the likeness of anything which the Lord thy God hath... read more
For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire ,.... To his enemies; his wrath is like fire to burn up and destroy all that oppose him and break his commands, and especially idolaters; whose sin of all others is the most provoking to him, since it strikes at his being, his honour and glory; wherefore it follows: even a jealous God ; who is jealous of his honour in matters of worship, and will not suffer his glory to be given to another, nor his praise to graven images, without resenting it or... read more
When thou shall beget children, and children's children ,.... Children and grandchildren, and several ages and generations have passed: and shalt have remained long in the land ; many years and even ages, or have grown old F8 נושנ־תאם "inveteraveritis", Montanus: "veteres facti fueritis", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "senueritis", Vatablus. in it: now they were in their infancy, and as such they were about to enter into it; during the times of the judges, they were in their... read more
I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day ,.... Should they be guilty of such a sin, since they were so strongly and publicly cautioned against it; and even the heaven and the earth were called upon as witnesses of the law being set before them, which so expressly forbids it, Deuteronomy 30:19 . that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto you go over Jordan to possess it ; though they were now about to go over Jordan and inherit the land of Canaan, yet... read more
And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations ,.... As they were by both captivities; the ten tribes were dispersed among the cities of the Medes, and the two tribes throughout the empire of Babylon: and ye shall be left few in number among the Heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you ; or be "men of number" F9 מתי מספר "viri numeri", Montanus, Drusius. , so few that they might be easily numbered; which intimates that it should be other wise with them than when in Egypt;... read more
And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone ,.... Idols made by men, cut out of wood and stone; these they should be enticed into the service of, or compelled to serve; which was still more brutish and stupid than to worship the sun, moon, and stars, which were not the works of men's hand, but the glorious works of the eternal God. But since in their captivities they were not subject to idolatry, but were cured of it thereby, another sense of the words is given by... read more
But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God ,.... By prayer and supplication, acknowledging and confessing sin, and desiring that God would be gracious and forgive it, and bring them out of their miserable condition; even if out of those depths of affliction and distress, and though scattered about in the world, and in the uttermost parts of it: thou shalt find him ; to be a God hearing and answering prayer, gracious and merciful, ready to help and deliver: if they seek him... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 4:1-40
This most lively and excellent discourse is so entire, and the particulars of it are so often repeated, that we must take it altogether in the exposition of it, and endeavour to digest it into proper heads, for we cannot divide it into paragraphs. I. In general, it is the use and application of the foregoing history; it comes in by way of inference from it: Now therefore harken, O Israel, Deut. 4:1. This use we should make of the review of God's providences concerning us, we should by them be... read more