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Deuteronomy Chapter
Eight
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 8
In
this chapter Moses repeats the exhortation to observe the commands of God, and
urges the Israelites to it, from the consideration of the great and good things
God had done for them in the wilderness, and even in those instances which were
chastisements, and were of an humbling nature, Deuteronomy 8:1,
and on the consideration of the blessings of the good land they were going to
possess, Deuteronomy 8:7 for
which blessings they are exhorted to be thankful, and are cautioned against
pride of heart through them, and forgetfulness of God, and of his goodness to
them while in the wilderness, and when brought into the land of Canaan, which
they were to ascribe to his power and goodness, and not their own, Deuteronomy 8:10,
and the chapter is concluded with a warning against idolatry, lest they perish
through it as the nations before them, Deuteronomy 8:19.
Deuteronomy 8:1 “Every
commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you
may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers.
YLT
1`All the command which I am
commanding thee to-day ye observe to do, so that ye live, and have multiplied,
and gone in, and possessed the land which Jehovah hath sworn to your fathers;
All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye
observe to do,.... It is repeated over and over again, to impress it on their
minds, and to show the importance and necessity of it, how greatly it was
expected from them, and how much it was incumbent on them:
that ye may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land
which the Lord sware unto your fathers; for their temporal life,
and the mercies and comforts of it, the multiplication of their offspring, and
of their substance, their entrance into the land of Canaan, possession of it,
and continuance in it, all depended on their obedience to the commands of God;
see Deuteronomy 19:20.
Deuteronomy 8:2 2 And
you shall remember that the Lord your God
led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and
test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His
commandments or not.
YLT
2and thou hast remembered
all the way which Jehovah thy God hath caused thee to go these forty years in
the wilderness, in order to humble thee to try thee, to know that which [is] in
thy heart, whether thou dost keep His commands or not.
And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led
thee these forty years in the wilderness,.... For this was now the
fortieth year of their coming out of Egypt into the wilderness, into which they
quickly came after their departure from thence, and had been in one wilderness
or another ever since, in which God went before them in a pillar of cloud and
fire, and directed their way; and now they are called upon to remember all the
occurrences in the way, what favours and mercies had been bestowed upon them,
what provisions had been made for them, what enemies they had been delivered
from or overcome, as well as what afflictions and chastisements had attended
them: and so the people of God should call to mind how they were brought to see
their wilderness state and condition by nature; how they were brought out of
it, and stopped in their career of sin, and turned from their evil ways, and led
to Christ; what gracious promises have been made to them; what light has been
afforded them; what communion they have had with God; what pleasure in his
ordinances; what food they have been fed with; what temptations have befallen
them, and how delivered out of them; and what afflictions have been laid upon
them, and how supported under them, and freed from them:
to humble thee; under the mighty hand of God, to bring down
the pride of their hearts and hide it from them; to lay them low in their own
eyes, and clothe them with humility, that the Lord alone might be exalted: and
to prove thee; whether they would be obedient to his laws,
or how they would behave towards him both in prosperity and adversity, and to
try their graces, their faith and patience, fear and love:
to know what was in thine heart; that is, to make it
known to themselves and others; for God knew all that was in it, the wickedness
of it, the unbelief, rebellion, and frowardness of it, and needed not any ways
and means to get into the knowledge of it; see 2 Chronicles 32:31,
whether thou wouldest keep his commandments or no; which they
had in such a solemn manner promised to do; Deuteronomy 5:27.
Deuteronomy 8:3 3 So
He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not
know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not
live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the
mouth of the Lord.
YLT
3`And He doth humble thee,
and cause thee to hunger and doth cause thee to eat the manna (which thou hast
not known, even thy fathers have not known), in order to cause thee to know
that not by bread alone doth man live, but by every produce of the mouth of
Jehovah man doth live.
And he humbled thee,.... Or afflicted thee
with want of bread:
and suffered thee to hunger; that there might be an
opportunity of showing his mercy, and exerting his power:
and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy
fathers know; a sort of food they had never seen before, and when they saw it,
knew not what it was, but asked, what is it? Exodus 16:15. Thus
the Lord humbles his people by his Spirit and grace, and brings them to see
themselves to be in want, and creates in them desires after spiritual food, and
feeds them with Christ the hidden manna, whose person, office, and grace, they
were before ignorant of:
that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only; which is the
stay and staff of life, and which strengthens man's heart, and is the main
support of it, being the ordinary and usual food man lives upon, and is put for
all the rest:
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord
doth man live: not so much by the food he eats as by the blessing of God upon
it, and who can make one sort of food as effectual for such a purpose as
another; for every creature of God is good being received with thankfulness,
and sanctified by the word and prayer; and particularly he could and did make
such light food as manna was to answer all the purposes of solid bread for the
space of forty years in the wilderness; the Targum of Jonathan is,"but by
all which is created by the Word of the Lord is the life of man;'which seems to
agree with 1 Timothy 4:3,4 for the meaning
is not that the Israelites in the wilderness, and when come into the land of
Canaan, should not live by corporeal food only, but by obedience to the
commands of God, by means of which they should continue under his protection,
which was indeed their case; nor that man does not live in his body only by
bread, but in his soul also by the word of God, and the doctrines of it, which
is certainly true; spiritual men live a spiritual life on Christ, the Word of
God, and bread of life, and on the Gospel and the truths of it, the wholesome
words of our Lord Jesus, and are nourished up with the words of faith and sound
doctrine, by means of which their spiritual life is supported and maintained;
but this is not what is here intended.
Deuteronomy 8:4 4 Your
garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years.
YLT
4`Thy raiment hath not worn
out from off thee, and thy foot hath not swelled these forty years,
Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, &c. They wanted not
clothes all the forty years they were in the wilderness; which some account for
by the rising generation being supplied with the clothes of those that died in
the wilderness, and with the spoils they took from Amalek, Exodus 17:1 and others,
as Aben Ezra observes, remark that they brought much clothes with them out of
Egypt, which no doubt they did; see Exodus 12:35 and he
adds, as worthy of notice, that the manna they lived upon did not produce
sweat, which is prejudicial to clothes; but be it so, that they were
sufficiently provided with clothes, it must be miraculous that these clothes
they wore should not wax old. This, in a spiritual sense, may denote the
righteousness of Christ, which is often compared to raiment, the property of
which is, that it never waxes old, wears out, or decays; it is an everlasting
righteousness, and will never be abolished, but will answer for the saints in a
time to come; see Isaiah 51:6 neither
did thy foot swell these forty years; or puff up like paste, as Jarchi explains
it, which is often the case in long journeys; the Septuagint version is,
"did not become callous"; a callousness or hardness is frequently
produced by travelling; in Deuteronomy 29:5 it
is explained of the shoes on their feet not waxing old; so Ben Melech, and the
Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, and the Syriac and Arabic versions here,
"thy feet were not naked", were not without shoes; these were no more
wore out by travel than their clothes upon their backs, and this was equally as
miraculous: the Gibeonites, pretending to come from a far country, and to have
travelled much and long, put on old garments and old shoes, to make it probable
and plausible, Joshua 9:5. This
may be an emblem of the perseverance of the saints in faith and holiness: shoes
upon the feet denote a Gospel conversation, which is very beautiful, Song of Solomon 7:1
the feet of saints being shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace;
which, as shoes to the feet, guides and directs the Christian walk, strengthens
and makes fit for walking, keeps tight and preserves from slipping and falling,
and protects from what is harmful, accompanied by the power and grace of God.
Deuteronomy 8:5 5 You
should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you.
YLT
5and thou hast known, with
thy heart, that as a man chastiseth his son Jehovah thy God is chastising thee,
Thou shalt also consider in thine heart,....
Frequently think of, and meditate upon, revolve in their thoughts, well weigh
in their minds, and take into thorough and deliberate consideration in their
hearts; it being a matter of great moment and importance to them for their
peace and comfort and the glory of God, namely, what follows:
that as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth
thee; that they stood in the same relation to God as a son to a
father, and therefore happy and honourable; that all their afflictions came
from God, were appointed, sent, directed, and overruled by him for his own
glory and their good; that these were the chastenings and corrections of a
father, and were not done in wrath, but in love, and therefore should be
patiently endured; and it became them to consider well from what hand they
came, and in what manner, and for what ends and purposes, how they ought to
behave under them, and what they should do, as follows.
Deuteronomy 8:6 6 “Therefore
you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God,
to walk in His ways and to fear Him.
YLT
6and thou hast kept the
commands of Jehovah thy God, to walk in His ways, and to fear Him.
Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God,.... Not only
because they are the commands of God, and of a covenant God and Father, which
are reasons sufficient for the observance of them; but because the Lord had
dealt so bountifully with them, in providing food and raiment for them in the
wilderness, which always continued with them; and because, when he afflicted
them, it was a fatherly chastisement, with great tenderness and compassion, and
for their good; all which laid them under obligations to keep the commands of
God, whatsoever he had enjoined them, whether of the moral, ceremonial, or
judicial kind:
to walk in his ways, and to fear him; to walk in
the ways he directed, to be under an awe of his majesty, a fear of offending
him, and a reverential affection for him, such as children have to a father.
Deuteronomy 8:7 7 For
the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of
water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills;
YLT
7`For Jehovah thy God is
bringing thee in unto a good land, a land of brooks of waters, of fountains,
and of depths coming out in valley and in mountain:
For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land,.... The land
of Canaan, abounding with good things after enumerated, a land flowing with
milk and honey, having in it plenty of everything both for convenience and
delight; which is another reason why they were under obligations to serve the
Lord, to walk in his ways and keep his commandments:
a land of brooks of water; rivers and torrents,
such as Jordan, Jabbok, Kishon, Kidron, Cherith, and others:
of fountains; as Siloam, Gihon, Etam, the baths of
Tiberias, and others:
and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; deep waters,
caverns, wells, and lakes, which had their rise from such places, of which
there were many. With this agrees the account of it by our countrymen, Mr.
SandysF7Travels, l. 3. p. 110. , as it was in the beginning of the
last century; that it was adorned with beautiful mountains and luxurious
valleys, the rocks producing excellent waters, and no part empty of delight or
profit.
Deuteronomy 8:8 8 a
land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of
olive oil and honey;
YLT
8a land of wheat, and
barley, and vine, and fig, and pomegranate; a land of oil olive and honey;
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 countries with it; with this the
merchants of Israel and Judah traded at the market of Tyre, Ezekiel 27:17.
According to the Jewish writers, the best fine wheat flour was at Mechumas and
Mezonichah, and the next to them was Chephraim, or Ephraim, in the valleyF8Misn.
Menachot, c. 8. sect. 1. :
and vines; with which this land abounded everywhere; the places most noted
were Lebanon, Eshcol, Engedi, Ashkelon, Gaza, and Sarepta; according to the
above writersF9lbid. sect. 6. , Cerotim and Hatolim were the first
for wine, and the second to them were Beth Rimah and Beth Laban in the
mountain, and Caphat Sigmah in the valley; the wine of Sharon is also highly
commended by themF11T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 77. 1. .
and fig trees and pomegranates: according to JosephusF12De
Bello Jud. l. 3. c. 9. sect. 8. , the country of Gennesaret furnished with the
best grapes and figs for ten months without intermission, and the rest of
fruits throughout the whole year. Figs and pomegranates, the spies brought with
them when they returned from searching the land, as well as grapes, are a
specimen of the fruits of it, Numbers 13:23.
a land of oil olive; the mount of Olives was famous
for olive trees, and had its name from thence; the whole land abounded with
them, and though oil was so much in common use with the Jews, they supplied
their neighbours with it: see 1 Kings 5:11. It
was usual also, as we are told, for the ten tribes to send oil into EgyptF13Echa
Rabbati, fol. 59. 3. ; according to the Jewish doctors, Tekoah was the first
place for oil, and the second, Ragab, beyond JordanF14Misn.
Menachot, c. 8. sect. 3. ; very probably the same with Argob, Deuteronomy 3:4.
and honey; besides the great quantities of honey produced by bees in this
country, there was much of another sort that dropped from trees, called wild
honey, the food of John the Baptist in the wilderness, Matthew 3:4. PlinyF15Nat.
Hist. l. 23. c. 4. Tikkune Zohar, correct. 16. fol. 27. 1. speaks of a sort of
honey which he calls "eloeomeli", or oil honey, which is said to flow
from the olive trees in Syria; but this honey here is generally thought by the
Jewish writers to be an honey which was made of the fruit of palm trees,
frequent in this country, and especially about Jericho; of which JosephusF16De
Bello Jud. l. 4. c. 8. sect. 3. says, that the palm trees about Jericho, the
fatter of them (i.e. of the fruit of them) being pressed, emit a large quantity
of honey, scarce exceeded by any; and MaimonidesF17In Misn.
Menachot, c. 5. sect. 1. so Bartenora in Misn. Biccurim, c. 1. sect. 3. says,
that the honey spoken of in the law, particularly in this place, is honey of
palm trees, so Ben Melech; and it was not unusual for people of other nations
to make honey of the fruit of them. HerodotusF18Clio, sive, l. 1. c.
193. reports, that the Babylonians made honey out of palm trees; so the Arabs
call honey of palm trees "dibs, dibis, dipso"F19See Shaw's
Travels, p. 143. , the same with the word here used; agreeably to which both
the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem paraphrase the words,"out of whose
palm trees honey is made.'
Deuteronomy 8:9 9 a
land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack
nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig
copper.
YLT
9a land in which without
scarcity thou dost eat bread, thou dost not lack anything in it; a land whose
stones [are] iron, and out of its mountains thou dost dig brass;
A land wherein thou shall eat bread without scarceness,.... That is,
should have plenty of all sorts of provisions, which bread is often put for:
thou shall not lack anything in it; for necessity and
convenience, and for delight and pleasure:
a land whose stones are iron; in which were iron
mines:
and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass; both which
are taken out of the earth and the stones of it, Job 28:2 and were
to be found in the land of Canaan, and particularly in the tribe of Asher, as
seems from Deuteronomy 33:25
and more particularly at Sidon and Sarepta, which were in that tribe; the
latter of which seems to have its name from the melting of metals there, and
the former is said in HomerF20
εκ μεν σιδωνος πολυχαλκου. Homer. Odyss. 15. l. 424. to abound
with brass.
Deuteronomy 8:10 10 When
you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you.
YLT
10and thou hast eaten, and
been satisfied, and hast blessed Jehovah thy God, on the good land which he
hath given to thee.
When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord
thy God,.... For as the Lord would furnish them with plenty of food, they
might eat of it liberally, provided they did not indulge to intemperance, as
everyone may whom God has blessed with a fulness of good things; and this shows
that we are to return thanks to God for a plentiful meal, as well as to ask a
blessing on it:
for the good land which he hath given thee; which
supplied them with such plenty, that they enjoyed full meals every day.
Deuteronomy 8:11 11 “Beware
that you do not forget the Lord your God
by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I
command you today,
YLT
11`Take heed to thyself, lest
thou forget Jehovah thy God so as not to keep His commands, and His judgments,
and His statutes which I am commanding thee to-day;
Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God,.... The
Father of mercies and fountain of goodness, the author and donor of every good
and perfect gift. Plenty is apt to induce a forgetfulness of God, when on the
contrary one would think it should keep him in continual remembrance, and
engage to daily thankfulness to him:
in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his
statutes, which I command thee this day; gave a repetition of,
and in the name of God afresh enjoined them, even laws moral, ceremonial, and
judicial, which, when not observed, God is forgotten.
Deuteronomy 8:12 12 lest—when
you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in
them;
YLT
12lest thou eat, and hast
been satisfied, and good houses dost build, and hast inhabited;
Lest when thou hast eaten and art full,.... Not only
once and again, but continually, day after day, being indulged with great
plenty:
and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; who for forty
years had only dwelt in tents, moving from place to place in the wilderness.
Deuteronomy 8:13 13 and
when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold
are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied;
YLT
13and thy herd and thy flock
be multiplied, and silver and gold be multiplied to thee; and all that is thine
be multiplied:
And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply,.... Having
good pasture for them in so fruitful a land:
and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied; by trading
with other nations:
and all that thou hast is multiplied; children,
servants, and substance.
Deuteronomy 8:14 14 when
your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;
YLT
14`And thy heart hath been
high, and thou hast forgotten Jehovah thy God (who is bringing thee out of the
land of Egypt, out of a house of servants;
Then thine heart be lifted up,.... As the heart is apt
to be when riches increase; hence the advice in 1 Timothy 6:17.
and thou forget the Lord thy God; from whom all good
things come, and who can take them away when he pleases, and therefore should
be ever kept in mind, for ever looked to and trusted in for the continuance of
them; yet such is the evil heart of man, and such the stupefying nature of
riches, that they bring on forgetfulness of the author of them, lead off from
dependence on him and obedience to him; in order to prevent which, an
enumeration is given of wonderful instances of divine goodness to Israel, as
follows:
which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house
of bondage; into a land abounding with all the above good things, and
therefore it must be the highest ingratitude to forget such a God, and disobey
his commands.
Deuteronomy 8:15 15 who
led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery
serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought
water for you out of the flinty rock;
YLT
15who is causing thee to go
in the great and the terrible wilderness -- burning serpent, and scorpion, and
thirst -- where there is no water; who is bringing out to thee waters from the
flinty rock;
Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness,.... The
wilderness of Paran, which was great and large, reaching from Sinai to Kadesh,
eleven days' journey, and terrible to the sight, nothing being to be seen but
dry rocks and barren mountains; see Deuteronomy 1:19,
and especially for what follows: wherein were fiery serpents and scorpions;
fiery serpents, such as bit the Israelites, of which see Numbers 21:6 and
scorpions, a kind of serpents, venomous and mischievous, which have stings in
their tails they are continually thrusting out and striking with, as Pliny saysF21Nat.
Hist. l. 11. c. 25. ; and have their name from their great sting; for AristotleF23Hist.
Animal. l. 4. c. 7. says, this alone of insects has a large sting:
and drought where there was no water; a dry and
barren place where no water was to be had; see Psalm 63:1 or it
may be rather another kind of serpents may be meant, which is called
"dipsas"; and so the Vulgate Latin, Septuagint, and Samaritan
versions render it; the biting of which produces such a thirst as proves
mortal, and which must be intolerable in a wilderness where no water is; and
from whence it has its name, which signifies thirsty, as does the Hebrew word
here used:
who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; which was done
both at Horeb and Kadesh, Exodus 17:6 and was
very extraordinary; by striking flint, fire is ordinarily produced, and not
water. Dr. Shaw observesF24Travels, p. 317, 442. , that it may be
more properly named, with other sorts of graphite marble here to be met with,
"the rock of amethyst", from their reddish or purple colour and
complexion.
Deuteronomy 8:16 16 who
fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He
might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end—
YLT
16who is causing thee to eat
manna in the wilderness, which thy fathers have not known, in order to humble
thee, and in order to try thee, to do thee good in thy latter end),
Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna,.... Even all
the forty years they were in it, Exodus 16:35 which
thy fathers knew not; when they first saw it, Exodus 16:15.
that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee; they were
kept humble, being dependent on God for their daily bread, having nothing in
the wilderness to support themselves with; and this tried them, whether they
would trust in God for their daily supply, and be thankful for it, or not:
to do thee good at thy latter end; that by living on such
light bread, and this only and continually, his goodness might appear the
greater, and be the sweeter to them, when they came into a land abounding with
all good things; which is not to be understood of the latter end and last days
of their commonwealth, as our version, with the Septuagint, Samaritan, Arabic
versions, and others, and the Targum of Onkelos; but of time following nearer,
and the phrase should be rendered "hereafter"F25באחריתך "tandem", Tigurine version, Vatablus,
Piscator; "posthac", Noldius, p. 180. No. 807. ; which better agrees
with the promise of a divine blessing; though, come when it would, it was the
more acceptable for the trial; as heaven will be the sweeter to the saints,
through the afflictions, hardships, straits, and difficulties, which attend
them here.
Deuteronomy 8:17 17 then
you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this
wealth.’
YLT
17and thou hast said in thy
heart, My power, and the might of my hand, hath made for me this wealth:
And thou say in thine heart,.... These words are in
connection with the former part of the Deuteronomy 8:14,
and thou forget the Lord thy God; the author and giver of
all the good things enjoyed, and think within themselves, though they might not
express it in words at length:
my power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth; so ascribing
that to themselves, their labour, and diligence, which ought to be ascribed to
the bounty and blessing of God; see Hosea 12:8.
Deuteronomy 8:18 18 “And
you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He
who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He
swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
YLT
18`And thou hast remembered
Jehovah thy God, for He it [is] who is giving to thee power to make wealth, in
order to establish His covenant which He hath sworn to thy fathers as [at] this
day.
But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God,.... That he
was the author of their beings, the God of their lives and mercies; what great
and good things he had done for them in Egypt, and in the wilderness; and
particularly in putting them into the possession of such a fruitful country,
abounding with all that heart could wish for:
for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth; for though
men may have seeming opportunities for getting wealth, may have capacities for
the management of business for the acquisition of it, and may not be wanting in
diligence and industry, yet may not attain it; it is the blessing of God that
makes rich, and to that it should be imputed whenever it is enjoyed; see Psalm 127:2.
that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers,
as it is this day; that he would give the
land of Canaan to their seed, and make them a rich and flourishing people, as
they would be and were when possessed of the land, which is supposed throughout
this discourse.
Deuteronomy 8:19 19 Then
it shall be, if you by any means forget the Lord your God,
and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you
this day that you shall surely perish.
YLT
19`And it hath been -- if
thou really forget Jehovah thy God, and hast gone after other gods, and served
them, and bowed thyself to them, I have testified against you to-day that ye do
utterly perish;
And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the Lord thy God,.... Either
the mercies they received from him, not acknowledging they came from him, but
ascribing them to themselves; or their duty to him, to whom they were so
greatly obliged: and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them;
which would be to forget him indeed, forsaking his worship, and giving homage
and adoration to idols, which is what is intended by these expressions:
I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish; by one
judgment and calamity or another, as the sword, famine, pestilence, and
captivity; there being nothing more provoking to God than idolatry, which so
much detracts from his honour and glory: and which besides, in such a people,
so highly favoured of God, it argued the basest ingratitude.
Deuteronomy 8:20 20 As
the nations which the Lord destroys before you, so you
shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God.
YLT
20as the nations whom Jehovah
is destroying from your presence, so ye perish; because ye hearken not to the
voice of Jehovah your God.
As the nations which the Lord destroyeth before your face, so
shall ye perish,.... Be cut off by the sword, or cast out as they were, the same
sins, particularly idolatry, being committed by them. This is to be understood
of the seven nations of the land of Canaan, which the Lord would be gradually
destroying when Israel came into the possession of their land; and they might
righteously expect the same treatment, should they be guilty of the same sins:
because ye would not be obedient to the voice of the Lord your God; expressed in
his law, especially in the two first precepts of it, which require the worship
of one God, and forbid the worshipping of idols; or to the Word of the Lord, as
the Targum of Jonathan, Christ, the essential Word, in whom the name of the
Lord was, and whose voice Israel was to obey, Exodus 23:20.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》