21. And the LORD shall separate him unto evil out of all the Tribes of Israel Though he offended Verse 21 never so secretly for he speaks of one that blessed himself in his heart c. v. 19. God threatens to make him a publick and notorious Example of his Vengeance to all the People of Israel According to all the Curses of the Covenant that are written in the Book of the Law It was a singular condescension in the Divine Majesty to enter into Covenant with them but it contained not only Blessings to the obedient but Curses upon the disobedient the latter of which were as certain as the former Ver. 22. So that the Generations to come of your Children Verse 22 that shall rise up after you and the stranger that shall come from a far Land shall say That which follows v. 24. When they see the Plagues of that Land This shows that these Threatnings are denounced not meerly against a simple Idolater but such an one as made it his endeavour to draw others from the Worship of God not being content to be drunk himself with Heathenish Superstition but zealous to intoxicate as many as he could with it and to root true Religion out of the Nation And the sicknesses which the LORD hath laid upon it In the Hebrew it is The sicknesses wherewith he hath made it sick i. e. the heavy Punishments which he hath inflicted upon it and thereby made it a miserable Nation Ver. 23. And that the whole Land is brimstone and salt and burning Or as it may be translated Is burnt up with brimstone and salt For these make Land Verse 23 barren and unfruitful as Pliny particularly observes of Salt Lib. XXX Cap. VII Omnis locus in quo reperitur Sal sterilis est nihilque gignit All ground in which Salt is found is barren and produceth nothing See IX Judges 45. CVII Psal 34. XVII Jerem 6. XLVII Ezek. 11. II Zephan 9. That it is not sown nor beareth nor any grass groweth therein That neither Nature nor Art will make it fruitful Like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah Admah and Zeboim And the Country about them which was the most beautiful of all other in that part of the World XIII Gen. 10. but on a sudden turned into a filthy stinking Lake where no Creature neither Fish nor Fowl can live Which the LORD overthrew in his anger and in his wrath Being highly incensed by their wickedness See Gen. XVIII 20. XIX 24 25. as he was by the wickedness of the Jews which was the more provoking because they had such an example of his Vengeance continually before their eyes and yet went on in their evil ways till they brought the like Judgment upon all Judoea This was more exactly fulfilled in the last destruction of the Jews by the Romans than in their first by the Babylonians For the whole Land was laid waste and deserted by its Inhabitants and made a Den of Thieves being brought to desolation by repeated returns of Wars More especially in the time of Adrian when Julius Severus as I observed upon the foregoing Chapter made such a devastation that the whole Country was turned in a manner into a Wilderness Ver. 24. Even all Nations shall say All that were near them or came that way from far Countries as it goes before v. 22. Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this Land Verse 24 Which he formerly made so populous and plenteous And what means the heat of this great anger These exceeding dreadful Calamities which evidently proceeded from a Divine Vengeance For the Jews fought so valiantly and defended Jerusalem so resolutely as appears by Josephus that the Author of Schebet Juda had reason to say that it was not want of Arms nor the unusual terrour of new Machines but the Anger of God provoked by their Wickedness which was the true and only Cause of their destruction And indeed Titus himself said as much that God fought for the Romans and drove the Jews from their Fortifications 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for what could the hands of Men or Machines have done against such strong Towers See Chap. XXXII v. 22. Ver. 25. Then shall men say because they have forsaken Verse 25 the Covenant of the LORD God of their Fathers which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the Land of Egypt This account must be supposed to be given by the pious Jews or by those who were made sensible when it was too late how stedfast God was in his Covenant which contained Curses as well as Blessings as was before observed v. 21. And see VII 9 10. XI 26 27 28. Ver. 26. For they went and served other gods and Verse 26 worshipped them whom they knew not This aggravated their sin that they sought for acquaintance with strange gods directly contrary to the Covenant of God XII 30 31. And whom he had not given unto them Or as it is in the Margin had not given or divided to them any portion that is never bestowed any benefit upon them as the LORD their God had done who brought them out of Egypt Or more simply as Bootius thinks the words will bear to whom no worship belonged Verse 27 Ver. 27. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this Land to bring upon it all the Curses that are written in this Book So Moses foretold them VII 4. XI 16 17. Verse 28 Ver. 28. And the LORD rooted them out of their Land in anger and wrath and in great indignation Here is one word more to express his displeasure against them than was used before when he speaks of the destruction of Sodom c. v. 23. And they all denote the great Plagues threatned in XXVI Levit. and in the foregoing Chapter of this Book And cast them into another Land as it is this day This may seem to relate only to their Captivity in Babylon for after they were rooted out by the Romans they were scattered into all Lands XXVIII 63 64. But considering what goes before v. 23 24. and that they were not quite rooted out many of them remaining in the Land when Nebuchadnezzar conquered them till the desolation made by the Romans I think these words relate to them also and another Land is only the singular number as is usual for the plural And so the Author of Schebet Juda understood it who quoting these words cast them out into another land adds which experience now proves to be true Verse 29 Ver. 29. The secret things belong unto the LORD our God but those that are revealed belong unto us and to our Children for ever c. The Jews generally take these words to be meant of the punishment of secret sins particularly of Idolatry spoken of before v. 19. which belongeth unto God as the punishment of open sins belonged unto them in obedience to his Law who commanded them to put to death him that seduced any Person to Idolatry and to raze the
so much of our Religion when they are Men and Women as the Jews do of theirs when they are meer Children From the Hebrew word limmathtem in this Verse ye shall teach them the Jews have framed a Conceit that their Talmud hath its Name signifying teaching and instruction as R. Jechiel saith in his Disputation with Nicolaus pag. 9. Speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house and when thou walkest by the way c. Taking all occasions to inculcate these Precepts upon them See VI. 7. and upon their Daughters as well as their Sons though the Jewish Doctors commonly fancy there is no command to instruct their Daughters in the Law See Mischna Sota Cap. III. Sect. IV. with Wagenseil's Annotations and the Gamara there p. 471 501. Verse 20 Ver. 20. And thou shalt write them upon the Door-posts of thy House and upon thy Gates See VI. 9. By this means God's Word being so rooted in the hearts of the Parents to use the words of Dr. Jackson as to bring forth this good Fruit in their Practice the Seed of it might be sown in the tender Hearts of their Children and be propagated from one Generation to another Verse 21 Ver. 21. That your days may be multiplied and the days of your Children in the Land which the LORD sware unto your Fathers to give them Nothing is wont to move Men more than Love to themselves and Love to their Children whom they Love next to themselves As the days of Heaven upon the Earth As long as this World shall last Which the Psalmist speaking of David expresses in this manner His Seed shall endure for ever and his Throne as the days of Heaven LXXXIX Psal 29. Which doth not signifie absolutely for ever but a long time For thus Baruch says the Jews in Babylon were commanded to pray for the Life of Nebuchadnezzar and the Life of Baltasar his Son 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that their days might be as the days of Heaven upon Earth Which is the very Phrase of Moses here in this place importing a very long Life And such Hyperbolical Expressions every one knows are used by the Heathen particularly by Virgil. Aeneid 1. Convexa polus dum sidera pascet Ver. 22. For if ye shall diligently keep all these Commandments Verse 22 c. To love the LORD your God This is still made the Condition of all their Happiness See v. 13. X. 20. To walk in all his ways In observance of his Laws which was the Fruit of true love to him And to cleave unto him So as to serve no other God but to persevere in the Worship of the LORD their God alone The Jews make this one of the DCXIII Precepts of the Law as they count them distinct by it self but they interpret it foolishly of sticking to the CABALA of their wise Men whereby they fancy themselves united unto God Ver. 23. Then will the LORD drive out all these Verse 23 Nations from before you As he had often promised VII 23. XXIII Exod. 27. And ye shall possess Nations greater and mightier than your selves VII 1. Ver. 24. Every place wherein the soles of your feet Verse 24 shall tread shall be yours That is every place of the promised Land as it is explained in the next words From the Wilderness Viz. of Sin which was on the South of Canaan And Lebanon Which was its Bounds on the North. From the River the River Euphrates Which was the Eastern Limits when in the days of Solomon their Empire reached hither according to the Promise unto Abraham in XV Gen. 18. Even unto the uttermost Sea shall your Coast be Which is now called the Mediterranean or the Midland Sea which bounded it on the West See XXXIV Numb 6. where it is called the Great Sea and in that Chapter the Bounds of their Country round about are described Verse 25 Ver. 25. There shall no Man be able to stand before you See VII 24. For the LORD your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the Land that ye shall tread upon as he hath said unto you For God had promised to terrifie the Inhabitants of Canaan and take away their Courage XXIII Exod. 27. And accordingly the Spies whom Joshua sent brought him an account of the great Consternation wherein the whole Country was when they were about to enter into it II Josh 9 24. Verse 26 Ver. 26. Behold I set before you this day a Blessing and a Curse That is he proposed them to their choice Verse 27 Ver. 27. A Blessing if you obey the Commandments of the LORD your God which I command you this day Which he more largely explains XXVIII 2 3 4 c. Verse 28 Ver. 28. And a Curse if ye will not obey the Commandment of the LORD your God Which is also more particularly laid before them XXVIII 15 16 17 c. The whole Historical Part of the Old Testament witnesses the Truth of this that God blessed or cursed them according as they observed or broke his Laws And if the People of Israel had diligently marked considered and laid to heart that their Happiness or Misery were always correspondent to their good and bad Behaviour towards God it would have confirmed their Belief of their Law as much as if they had seen all the Miracles done before their Fore-fathers and supplied the want or the rarity of them in after Ages Nay this would have done more than all the Miracles did which were forgotten in a short time whereas their own daily Experience of the happy Fruits of Obedience and the Mischief of Disobedience would have sealed these Truths unto their Conscience But turn aside out of the way which I command you this day to go after other gods which ye have not known It was not every sin that turned God's favour from them but their Idolatry and Apostacy from him against which he principally warns them throughout all these Chapters IV. 3 4 15 16 23. V. 32. VI. 4 14. VII 4 5 25. VIII 19. IX 12. X. 20. Ver. 29. And it shall come to pass when the Lord thy Verse 26 God hath brought thee into the Land whither thou goest to possess it that thou shalt put the blessing upon Mount Gerizim and the curse upon Mount Ebal To quicken them unto a strict care in their Obedience Blessings and Cursings were to be pronounced with great Solemnity at their first entrance into the Land of Canaan as is more fully ordered XXVII 11 12 c. and performed by Joshua VIII 33 34 35. And Moses seems to enjoyn them the like Solemnity every Seventh Year XXXI 10 11 12 13. Ver. 30. Are they not on the other side Jordan Verse 30 With respect to the place where Moses now was the Mountains he mentions were on the other side of Jordan in the Land of Canaan In which they had no sooner got footing but Joshua took care to execute this Command that their
and stony places have the least swelling in them Or as some translate it grow callous There are those that refer this last Clause not to their Feet but to their Shoes according to what we read XXIX 5. Ver. 5. Thou shalt also consider in thine Heart Often reflect and ponder Verse 5 That as a Man chastneth his Son so the LORD thy God chastneth thee All the Afflictions which God had sent upon them he would have them think were not for their undoing but for their amendment and correcting what was amiss in them and therefore ought to be thankfully acknowledged as well as his Benefits Ver. 6. Therefore thou shalt keep the Commandments Verse 6 of the LORD thy God to walk in his ways and to fear him Howsoever therefore he dealt with them it ought to have led them to Obedience In the repetition of this so often Moses doth but practice his own Lesson which he had taught them VI. 7. That they should teach these Words diligently to their Children c. Ver. 7. For the LORD thy God bringeth thee into a Verse 7 good Land Therefore there was the greater need they should enter into it with the pious Resolution before-mentioned to fear God and walk in his ways Otherwise they would be in great danger to be corrupted by such plenty and variety of all good things as this Land afforded A Land of Brooks of Water of Fountains and Depths that spring out of Valleys and Hills The Hebrew word Tehom which we translate deep and in the plural Number Depths signifies sometimes those great Caverns of Water that are within the Ground which were made by the plentiful Rains which God sent upon this Country while they were obedient to him Which both made it fruitful tho' now barren and abounding also with Water for their Cattle LXXVIII Psal 15. XXXI Ezek. 4. But it is here commonly interpreted Lakes or Wells of Water Verse 8 Ver. 8. A Land of Wheat and Barley and Vines and Fig-trees and Pomegranates Plentifully stored with all things necessary for the support and pleasure of Life A Land of Oyl-Olive and Honey The same word Debas which signifies Honey signifies also Dates And so de Dieu thinks it most reasonable to translate it here being joyned with four other sorts of Fruits And so Kimchi saith the ancient Jews expounded it in this place and in 2 Chron. XXXI 5. where it is said That Israel brought in abundance the first Fruits of Corn Wine Oyl and Honey or Dates as we there translate it in the Margin Verse 9 Ver. 9. A Land wherein thou shalt eat Bread without scarceness Be in no want of any sort of Provision which is comprehended under the Name of Bread Thou shall not lack any thing in it No other Conveniences of Life A Land whose Stones are Iron and out of whose Hills thou mayst dig Brass Where there are useful Minerals as plentiful as Stones are in other places These are the rather mentioned because there were no such Mines in Egypt where they had long dwelt and were stored with plenty of other things XI Numb 5. Verse 10 Ver. 10. When thou hast eaten and art full After a liberal Meal Then thou shalt bless the LORD thy God for the good Land which he hath given thee Give solemn Thanks to God not only for that present Repast but for the plentiful Provision he had made for them of all good things in the Land he had bestowed on them From this place the Jews have made it a general Rule or as they call it an affirmative Precept That every one bless God at their Meals That is as I said give him Thanks for his Benefits For he blesses us when he bestows good things upon us and we bless him when we thankfully acknowledge his Goodness therein Which is a natural Duty which we owe to the Fountain and Original of all Good Ver. 11. Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy Verse 11 God in not keeping his Commandments and his Judgments and his Statutes which I command thee this day He would have their Thanksgiving for his Benefits leave such a sence of God upon their Minds as should make them careful to yield him an entire Obedience Ver. 12. Lest when thou hast eaten and art full Verse 12 and hast built goodly Houses and dwelt therein Feasted in stately Houses wherein they enjoyed their Ease Ver. 13. And when thy Herds and thy Flocks are multiplied Verse 13 and thy Silver and thy Gold is multiplied and all that thou hast is multiplied The sence of these two Verses is when they had great abundance of all good things within Doors and without Ver. 14. Then thine Heart be lifted up Which is Verse 14 an usual Effect of great Riches as Euripides observes in that known Saying of his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Wealth breeds Pride Scorn and Contempt of others This Moses Kotzensis thought so great a Sin that he puts it among the Negative Precepts and pretends he was warned in a Dream so to do tho' Maimonides and others had omitted it And when he awaked he was confirmed in it by reading a place in the Gemara upon Sota Cap. I. which saith Wheresoever we find these Words in Scripture Take heed lest there is a Prohibition as there is v. 11. and here to take heed of Pride For whosoever is proud he shall be brought low as the Gemara there adds which are in a manner the Words of our blessed Saviour XVIII St. Luke 14. And thou forget the LORD thy God This is another common effect of large Possessions which make the Owners of them fall into Sloth and Luxury and such Forgetfulness of the Donor of all good Things that they trust in uncertain Riches as the Apostle speaks and not in the living God imagining now they can never want not because God is so good but because they have such store of good Things laid up for many Years Which brought thee forth out of the Land of Egypt and from the House of Bondage No wonder if they forgot all his former Benefits when they were unthankful for the present Verse 15 Ver. 15. Who led thee through that great and terrible Wilderness See I. 19. Wherein were fiery Serpents See XXI Numb 6. And Scorpions These are commonly joyned with Serpents in Scripture even in the New Testament X Luke 19. XI 12 13. being found in the same places especially in this Desert of Arabia And Drought The Hebrew word Tsimmaon signifies a dry place as we translate it CVII Psal 33. XXXV Isa 7. And that best agrees with what here follows Where there was no Water Who brought thee forth Water out of a Rock of Flint From which one would have sooner expected Fire than Water XX Numb 11. Who fed thee in the Wilderness with Manna which thy Fathers knew not v. 3. The great Salmasius in a Treatise on purpose about Manna hath said a great deal to prove that the Manna which God sent
rewarded their Obedience to them as if he had received the Benefit thereof Verse 14 Ver. 14. Behold the Heaven Where the Sun Moon and Stars shine And the Heaven of Heavens And all the glorious Regions beyond them Is the LORD 's thy God Are all his Possession as they are his Work The Earth also with all that therein is As well as this Earth and all the Creatures that are in it Ver. 15. Only the LORD had a delight in thy Fathers to love them and he chose their Seed after them Verse 15 even you above all People c. He would have them sensible therefore that the Possessor of Heaven and of Earth could have no need of them or of their Services who were a very inconsiderable Part of his Creatures But it was his own meer good Will and Pleasure which moved him to show such Love to Abraham as he had done and to his Posterity for his sake above all other Nations on Earth Ver. 16. Circumcise therefore the fore-skin of your Verse 16 heart Do not satisfie your selves therefore with the bare Circumcision of your Flesh and the Observance of such External Rites and Ceremonies but cut off and cast away all your naughty Affections which make you insensible both of God's Mercies and Corrections and disobedient to his Commands And be no more stiff-necked As he had often before complained they were particularly XXXII Exod. 9. and see IX 6. of this Book It is a Metaphor as I observed from Oxen who when they are to draw in a Yoke and go forward pull back their Neck and their Shoulder to withdraw themselves from the Yoke To both which the Scripture alludes IX Nehem. 29. And sometime severally we find mention of them as in the place before-named in Exodus he speaks of their stiff-neck and in VII Zachar. 11. he saith They pull'd away the shoulder St. Stephen puts both these together in his Character of the wicked Jews that killed our blessed Saviour VII Acts 51. that they were stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart Therefore the contrary disposition God promises towards the Conclusion of this Book as the greatest Blessing he could bestow on them XXX 6. Ver. 17. For the LORD thy God is God of gods and Verse 17 Lord of lords Superiour to all other Beings whether Kings on Earth or Angels in Heaven A great God a mighty and a terrible Who can do what he pleases every where and therefore is to be greatly dreaded Which regardeth not persons nor taketh reward The most righteous Judge of Men who will not connive at your Sins because you are Circumcised nor be bribed by any Sacrifices to overlook your Wickedness XXIII Exod. 8. XIX Lev. 15. I Deut. 17. Nor on the contrary reject those that uprightly obey him though they be not Jews So St. Peter learnt to understand these words X Acts 34. Verse 18 Ver. 18. He doth execute the Judgment of the Fatherless and Widow Takes their part as we speak and defends them against those that would oppress them And loveth the Stranger in giving him Food and Raiment Provideth for those who are driven unjustly out of their own Country or travelling on their honest Occasions fall into want For he seems here to speak of those who were neither Proselytes of Justice nor of the Gate as the Jews speak but were meer Gentiles Verse 19 Ver. 19. Love ye therefore the Stranger Be kind and hospitable to such distressed Persons which is a Vertue that flows from the Love of God v. 12. to which it is in vain to pretend if we love not all Mankind This Love consists in imitating God's Care of such Persons whereof he speaks in the foregoing Verse viz. doing them Justice equally with others and affording them Food and Raiment For ye were strangers in the Land of Egypt This Vertue was peculiarly required of the Jews who had been in that Condition which he commanded them to pity See XXIII Exod. 9. XIX Levit. 33 34. And if they had sincerely practised this Duty towards Aliens the Grace of God shown to the Gentiles in our blessed Saviour would not have seemed so strange to them as it did Ver. 20. Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God him Verse 20 shalt thou serve This was explained before v. 12. To him shalt thou cleave Serve that is and Worship none but him And swear by his Name See VI. 13. Ver. 21. He is thy praise Whom thou oughtest Verse 21 therefore to praise Or rather in whose Love and Favour thou oughtest to glory and to think it the highest honour to be his Servant and to have him for thy God as it here follows He is thy God Who hath bestowed upon thee all the good things which thou enjoyest That hath done for thee all these great and terrible things which thine eyes have seen In bringing them out of Egypt destroying Pharaoh in the Red-sea leading them through the Wilderness giving them the Country of Sihon and Og c. Whom therefore they were bound to Love and Serve and to confide in his Mercy and not in their own Power or Righteousness VIII 17 18. IX 4 5 6. Ver. 22. Thy Fathers went down into Egypt with Verse 22 threescore and ten persons See XLVI Gen. 27. I Exod. 5. Their Family he would have them remember was very small Chapter XI about Two hundred Years ago And now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the Stars of Heaven for multitude Vastly increased them according to his Promise unto Abraham XV Gen. 5. XII Exod. 37. XXVI Numb 51 62. Which alone as Conradus Pellicanus here notes was sufficient to fill their Hearts with his Love and their Mouths with his Praise CHAP. XI Verse 1 Verse 1. THerefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God Who of so small hath made thee so great a Nation And keep his charge A Phrase used frequently concerning the Levites III Numb 7 8 c. But here comprehends all the Particulars following His Statutes and his Judgments and Commandments which he had charged them to observe See VI. 1. Verse 2 Ver. 2. And know you this day Consider seriously what I have said to you till you be sensible of it VIII 5. IX 6. For I speak not with your Children which have not known and which have not seen The words I speak are not in the Hebrew and they may as well be supplied thus For not with your Children have these things been done c. Which agrees well with v. 7. The Chastisement of the LORD your God The Plagues he sent upon the Egyptians His greatness Which appeared by the many great things he did only upon the stretching out of Moses his Rod. His mighty hand and stretched out arm These are more words to express the same thing Ver. 3. And his miracles and his acts which he did in the midst of Egypt Or His miraculous Acts c. Verse 3 He uses so many words to make them sensible how much they were
should lay a Fine or a Mulct upon her for her Immodesty which is sutable to their interpretation of that Law XXI Exod. 24. Eye for eye tooth for tooth c. See L'Empereur on Bava kama p. 198. But it is an intollerable presumption in Maimonides to say That if any one interpret this of a proper Abscission of the Womans hand though he pretend to be a Prophet and say the LORD hath said unto me these words Thou shalt cut off her hand are to be understood as the words sound i. e. literally as we speak and do a Miracle to confirm it he is to be lookt upon as a lying Prophet and may be put to death because it is contrary to the constant Tradition of their Elders So he writes in Seder Zeraim translated by our famous Mr. Pocock p. 15. p. 38. Upon which Principle they killed our Blessed Saviour Verse 13 Ver. 13. Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights In the Hebrew the words are a stone and a stone for their weights then were made of Stone as are ours now commonly of Lead or Brass A great and a small To buy in Commodities with the great and sell them out again by the small which was then and is now an usual way of cheating Ver. 14. Thou shalt not have in thine house divers measures Verse 14 c. In the Hebrew an Ephah and an Ephah for this was the most known Measure among them by which all the rest of their Measures were made See XVI Exod. 36. From hence it was that Lucius Ampelius thought Mochâ—s that is Moses who by ancient Writers is called Moschos was the Inventor of Weights and Measures because he took such pious care there should be no deceit in them as the most Learned Huetius observes in his Demonstr Evangel Prop. IV. Cap. VIII N. 16. Ver. 15. But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight Verse 15 and a perfect and just measure Neither too scanty nor too large See XIX Levit. 35 36. where all these three Verses are sufficiently explained That thy days may be long in the Land which the LORD thy God giveth thee Justice as well as Charity was necessary to prolong their happiness in the Land of Promise XVI 20. Ver. 16. For all that do such things and all that do Verse 16 unrighteously All that any way wrong their Neighbours Are an abomination to the LORD thy God This is an Expression commonly used to declare God's hatred of all idolatrous practices See XVIII 9 12. Ver. 17. Remember what Amalek did unto thee by Verse 17 the way when ye were come forth out of Egypt The Jews have framed three Precepts out of this and the two following Verses One is that they should remember what Amalek did unto them Which Maimonides according to their Oral Tradition refers to the Mouth that they should always be talking of what Amalek did to them The second Not to forget it which he refers to their Heart that they should never let slip out of their mind the hatred Amalek had to them And the third that they should blot out their remembrance from under Heaven i. e. utterly destroy them and leave none of them remaining But none of the Jews hath explained this better than Abarbinel who inquiring why such Severity was expressed against the Amalekites when the Edomites who were of the same Race were dealt withal very favourably as we read before XXIII 8. observes four Reasons given here by Moses himself why they should remember when they were settled in the Land of Canaan and able to effect it to exterminate this Nation For that is the single Precept he gives them in charge only he bids them not forget what Amalek had done to deserve that heavy Sentence long ago passed upon them and remaining on Record XVII Exod. 14 15 16. confirmed with a Solemn Oath though they were not able to execute it till they were settled in the Land of Promise The first of these Reasons is Because whereas Men undertake War against others either to defend their own Country or to subdue their Enemies Country the Amalekites came forth against the Israelites without any such Cause for the Israelites did not pass by their Country and consequently gave them no apprehension of an Invasion nor had the Israelites then possession of any Land of their own which might tempt the Amalekites to covet it and drive them out of it But they undertook this War with a petulant Malice only to bring them into slavery again Which is the thing here intimated in this Verse Remember what Amalek did to thee c. Unto which he should have added that their barbarity was much aggravated by their assaulting them when they were newly delivered from grievous Oppressions and were unaccustomed to War and without any provocation Ver. 18. How he met thee by the way This the Verse 18 same Abarbinel takes to be the second Cause of God's high displeasure against Amalek that whereas it is the Custom of all Countries before they begin a War to denounce it by Heralds showing the grounds of it they rose up against the Israelites unexpectedly which was a piece of the basest Treachery Which he thinks is intimated in these words He met thee by the way that is on a sudden by surprize without any Notice by a Declaration of War He might have added that they did this when the Israelites were in a Journey and had travelled a great way and in a Wilderness where they stood in need of Refreshment but were very unfit for fighting Then saith one of their Rabbins in Pirke Elieser Cap. XLIV They came like a Bear in their way to devour the Mother with the Children And smote the hindermost of thee even all that were feeble behind thee when thou wast faint and weary This he makes the third Cause that they did not offer them a pitcht Battle but only fell upon their Rear as we speak and there cut off such as lagg'd behind through feebleness and weariness being unable to march so fast as the rest of their Brethren This is a very sober sense sutable to the use of the word in X Josh 19. But what some of the Jews say that the Amalekites cut off the Privy Members of certain of the Tribe of Dan in derision of Circumcision is disowned by others of them as having no foundation See Schickard in his Jus Regium p. 112 113. Where Carpzovius observes this was only a fancy of their Midraschim or Preachers wherewith they entertained the People in their Sermons on occasion of the ambiguity of the word we translate cut off the hindermost Which R. Zacharias much better interprets in Pirke Elieser Cap. XLIV where he makes it to signifie all that were behind the Cloud which protected those who were under it as those were who went out of the Camp by reason of some Uncleanness to wash themselves But this is no more than an ingenious Conceit for the Laws
represented as Plutarch tells us in his Book de Iside Osiride But whether in such ancient times as this of Moses it may be justly doubted Wood and Stone Silver and Gold Generally they were made of Wood or Stone which sometimes were silvered or gilded over And if any of them were made of massy Silver or Gold yet being liveless things they were no more able to afford them any help than the Dung on the Earth And it was an abominable thing to look upon dead matter as a god or to think he made his habitation there which was the opinion of the better sort of Heathen or would be represented by them they having no likeness at all unto him Ver. 18. Lest there should be among you man or woman Verse 18 or family or tribe These words are to be connected with v. 15. as the principal end why he engaged every Soul of them to renew their Covenant with God that none of them might revolt from him to serve any other god And the order wherein he places these words show that Idolatry is of a very infectious nature spreading it self strangely from single Men and Women unto Families and at last into whole Tribes Whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God Who had a hankering as we now speak after other gods which might afterwards break out into Idolatry To go and serve the gods of these Nations When the heart i. e. the Mind Will and Affections are depraved Men easily find occasions to follow whither they lead them And by this it appears that the principal part of the Covenant was to keep them close to the Worship of one God and no other as I have often observed VI. 4. VII 2 25. IX 1 c. Lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood Many take a root here to signifie an evil principle which the Apostle calls an evil heart of unbelief III Hebr. 12. But the words going before in this Verse and those that follow in the next plainly lead us to take it for any Person lurking secretly among them like a root under ground that was tainted with Idolatry who might poison others therewith and in time bring forth the fruits of their Impiety which he calls gall and wormwood Where it must be observed that the Hebrew word Rosch which we translate Gall properly signifies an Herb growing among Corn as bitter as Gall. Which in X Hosea 4. we translate Hemlock and commonly in Scripture is joyned with Wormwood as it is here IX Jerem. 15. III Lament 19. VI Amos 12. Unto which Idolatry is compared because it is most ungrateful and distastful if I may so speak unto God and produces bitter effects that is most grievous Punishments unto Men. Verse 19 Ver. 19. And it come to pass when he The Man spoken of before under the name of a root of bitterness Heareth the words of this Curse Against Idolatry which Moses engaged every one of them to renounce by making a Solemn Covenant with God to Worship him alone and dreadful Imprecations upon themselves if they did not make good this Covenant v. 12 14 15 16. XXVII 15. That he bless himself in his heart Secretly fancy none of these Curses shall fall upon him but quite contrary promise himself all manner of happiness Saying I shall have peace Prosper and be happy Though I walk in the imagination of mine heart Or in the stubborness of mine heart as it is in the Margin That is resolve to worship what God I best fancy To add drunkenness to thirst In the Hebrew the words are as the Margin of our Bibles observes the drunken to the thirsty for both words are Adjectives as Grammarians speak and supposing a Substantive to support them many think none so proper to be understood as the word Earth Which makes this a Proverbial Speech to add the wet ground to the dry and thirsty or rather the thirsty to the wet For the Particle beth which in the Hebrew is the Note of the Accusative Case is put before the word dry or thirsty and therefore that 's the thing which is to be added to the wet or drunken not the drunken to the dry And the sense is draw others into the same wickedness just as if a drunken Man should draw sober Persons to play the fool with him and do as bad as himself or after one piece of Land is overflowed the Water should be let into that which is dry and spoil that also For this seems to be the meaning of the whole Verse If a Man shall be so presumptuous as not only to cry peace to himself when he runs after his own Devices in serving other gods but endeavours to draw others into the same wicked practices There are a great many other Interpretations of these words seven or eight given by the Hebrew Doctors besides others in Christian Writers which may be seen in Coccejus in his Vltima Mosis Sect. 134. But this seems to me the most easie at which the Chaldee aims and the LXX if the Particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be omitted which is not in the Hebrew or the Chaldee nor the Vulgar Latin And if we take the words as we translate them only inverting them add thirst unto drunkenness the sense is as easie viz. add more sins to the foregoing XXX Isa 1. and to be still inflamed as the Scripture speaks with love to more Idols after the Service of many of them increasing their Altars as Hosea speaks like heaps in the furrows of the field X Hos 1. XII 11. Dr. Jackson in his first Book upon the Creed Chapt. XXX Paragr 4. thinks the meaning is that Posterity added to the wickedness of their Ancestors For they being cast out of their good Land for their Infidelity and Disobedience their Posterity saith he continue Exiles and Vagabonds for their stubborness in like Practices not being willing to this day to offer up the Sacrifice of a contrite heart for their disobedience past but rather adding thirst to drunkenness bless themselves when they hear the words of that Curse promising peace to themselves though they walk on according to the stubborness of their fore-fathers hearts Verse 20 Ver. 20. The LORD will not spare him That is not pardon or pass by his wickedness without punishment But then the anger of the LORD and his jealousie shall smoak against that man These words import the highest degree of Anger That is the severest Plagues which are the effects of the Anger of an incensed Majesty And all the Curses that are written in this Book Particularly in the foregoing Chapter Shall lye upon him Not only fall but remain upon him to his utter ruin as it follows in the next words And the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven By his name is meant himself so that this is a threatning of Destruction to him and his Posterity till there be no memory of him left Ver.
City that apostatized unto it XIII 5 6 c. 12 13 c. And their negligence in doing their duty in this particular made Idolatry spread among them to their utter ruin But these words may be understood as a further answer to such Enquiries as that v. 24. In which if Men persisted and still askt But why doth God thus punish his own People with such unusual Severity when there are many Idolatrous Nations far worse than they who continue still in their own Land and are not thus rooted out Moses bids them silence such Demands and rest satisfied in this that we cannot give an account of such things as God hath not revealed particularly why he punishes some People when he spares others who are as bad but must mind our own duty which he hath plainly revealed unto us That is as Moses concludes this Chapter to do after all his Commandments which he hath given us in his Law believing he will greatly reward the obedient and terribly punish one time or other all those that transgress it There may be also a more obvious sense of these words if we translate them as some great Men have done The secrets of the LORD our God are revealed to us and to our Children Thus Onkelos whose Judgment is very valuable which Grotius follows and before him Forsterus and Paulus Fagius represents it as a commodious sense and makes it the same with the words of the Psalmist CXLVII 20. He hath not dealt so with any Nation Chapter XXX c. For this was a peculiar favour to the Jews that those things which God before kept secret in his own breast he now manifested to them that they might know how to order their lives so as to please him But this made them liable to be punished more grievously than all other People if they did not observe his Will which he most graciously discovered to them And if we could give any credit to the Jews who say that all words in the Bible that have extraordinary Points upon them of which there are but ten in the Pentateuch and these words lanu ulebenu to us and our Children are the last of them denote something peculiar and extraordinary I should think that they relate to the Revelation to be made by Jesus Christ the great Prophet promised to them Chapt. XVIII unto which if they did not give heed the most dreadful Punishments would be inflicted on them as we see they have been for many Ages and are not yet ended CHAP. XXX Verse 1 Verse 1. AND it shall come to pass when all these things are come upon thee the Blessing and the Curse which I have set before thee God at the first bestowed great and singular Blessings upon them but when they grew so insensible of his Mercy as to violate the Covenant he had made with them then he sent his Curses which he had threatned upon them Which were compleated in their Expulsion out of the good Land which he had given them especially in their last Expulsion by the Romans which was rather an Extirpation And thou shalt call to mind In the Hebrew Bring back to thy heart as we observe in the Margin of 1 Kings VIII 47. where there is the very same phrase and there translated shall bethink thy self that is reflect seriously both upon the Blessings and Curses and consequently consider the truth of God in fulfilling both In which consideration Repentance and Conversion to God begins See XVIII Ezek. 28. Among all the Nations whither the LORD thy God hath driven thee Where they could not chuse but often think of all the Blessings they had enjoyed in their own Land and might have still enjoyed if they had not been disobedient and all the Curses which had befaln them till they were driven from thence and had pursued them ever since See XXVI Levit. 40 c. IV Deut. 29 30 c. Ver. 2. And shall return unto the LORD thy God Verse 2 and shall obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day thou and thy Children with all thine heart and with all thy soul Repentance was compleated by forsaking their Idols and returning to the Worship of the LORD their God alone and by obeying all the rest of his Commands and teaching their Children to do the same and all this with sincerity of heart This they did in some measure after they were carried Captive to Babylon since which time we read nothing of their Idolatry But they fell into other sins which stopt their Ears to that great Prophet the LORD Christ when he came to them for which they are punished to this day and will be till they repent and obey him Ver. 3. Then the LORD thy God will turn thy Captivity That is bring those that were carried Captive back again to their own Land Thus the word Verse 3 Captivity is used XIV Psal 7. IV Ephes 8. And have compassion upon thee These words express the Spring of all their Happiness viz. the Divine Compassion in pardoning their sins which had been very provoking And will return and gather thee This is the effect of his Compassion in their Restitution and Recollection again into one Body after their Dispersion From all the Nations whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee This was fulfilled in part when they returned from Babylon for then they who were scattered in other Countries flockt again to them And will be more compleatly fulfilled when they shall believe on our blessed Saviour Verse 4 Ver. 4. And if any of thine be driven out unto the uttermost parts of Heaven from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee and from thence will he fetch thee Unto this Promise Nehemiah plainly alludes in his Prayer to God to prosper his endeavours for the Restoration of Jerusalem I Nehem. 8 9. And finding the truth of it confirmed by the King 's gracious Concession to him he went about the work though one who was accounted a Prophet yea several of the like quality disswaded him from the Enterprize as likely to prove dangerous to his Person VI. 10 11 12 c. Ezra also tells us how Cyrus made a Proclamation throughout all his Kingdom which was very large That all the Jews might return if they pleased into their own Country I Ezra 1 4. And see VIII Zachariah 7 8. And though in their last dispersion by the Romans they be far more scattered and into more distant Regions than they were in the Babylonian Captivity according to Moses his threatning XXVIII of this Book 64. yet if they did now consider the Cause of it and lay to heart their Sin in crucifying the LORD Christ no doubt God would have Compassion on them and wonderfully restore them For the Jews themselves apply this place and have long done so to their present Condition being of Opinion that God hath appointed a prefixed time in his own mind though he hath not declared it when he
to Circumcise their hearts themselves XVI 10. by laying to heart his Benefits and following the Motions of his Grace and Holy Spirit which thereby he put into their hearts And their neglect of this and resting meerly in the Circumcision of the Flesh was that which ruined them again And the heart of thy seed Accordingly we find they were freed from Idolatry after their return from Babylon though still they continued in other sins Which brought this present Captivity as they call it upon them another Banishment being necessary saith R. Isaac in the Book before mentioned Perek VII to purge them from their sins by the severe Afflictions which they now endure and have long suffered because their manifold sins as he expresses it needs much scouring by contusions and pressures After which he saith they shall sin no more but that shall be fulfilled which is written in the Law the LORD thy God shall circumcise thine heart c. quoting these very words of Moses But alas they are not sensible for what sin they suffer See p. 96 97. of Wagenseils Edition To love the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul that thou mayest live See VI. 5. This Prophecy the Jews say shall be fulfilled in the days of the Messiah according to what Ezekiel saith XXXVI 26. A new heart will I give you and a new spirit will I put into you c. So R. Isaac in the place above-named and in p. 83. Verse 7 Ver. 7. And the LORD thy God will put all these Curses upon thine enemies and on them that hate thee which persecute thee Their very Restoration created them many Enemies whose hatred increased with their prosperity in their own Land and made them when they had power to persecute them Whom God remarkably plagued particularly Antiochus Epiphanes who died in miserable Torments Verse 8 Ver. 8. And thou shalt return This may relate as well to their return unto their own Land as to their turning unto God of both which he had spoken before And now having mentioned their Persecution whereby many of them might be driven out of their Country I suppose he here promises their Restoration to it again when he had cursed their Enemies And obey the voice of the LORD thy God and do all his Commandments which I command thee this day Continue stedfast in their love to him by a strict observance of all his Commandments Verse 9 Ver. 9. And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand and in the fruit of thy body c. The effect of their constant and sincere obedience he promises should be still greater prosperity in all their undertakings and in all their enjoyments See XXVIII 4 5 c. For good To encourage them to continue faithful in the Service of God For the LORD will again rejoyce over thee for good Delight only in blessing them and not send any Curses upon them See XXVIII 63. and XXXII Jerem 41. As he rejoyced over thy fathers In whose obedience he delighted X Deut. 15. Ver. 10. If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Verse 10 LORD thy God to keep his Commandments c. Persist in obedience to him And if thou turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul With a sincere love to all his Commands v. 2. who had planted them assuredly in their Land with his whole heart and his whole soul as Jeremiah speaks XXXII 41. But herein they were defective after they came out of the Captivity of Babylon For though they never returned again to Idolatry but kept close to the Worship of God alone yet they rested meerly in the outward Rites of Religion and had not an hearty love to God and to all Goodness which made them reject the Son of God when he came among them and fall under those long Calamities which will not end till they turn to him with all their hearts and souls Ver. 11. For this Commandment which I command Verse 11 thee this day Of hearty love to God and sincere obedience to all his Commands v. 2 6.8 16. It is not hidden from thee Or it may be translated out of the Hebrew It is not too wonderful above thee That is abstruse and hard to be understood because above their reach but easie to be known and acquainted withal because plainly revealed Which is as true of the Gospel unto which St. Paul applies these words X Rom. 6 c. as it was of the Law of Moses for therein our Saviour hath declared the Mind and Will of God to us in such familiar words that the most simple People may understand their Duty Nor is it far off So that they should go to seek it and learn it in some distant Nation R. Isaac in his Chissuk Emuna Cap. XLV had his thoughts so fixed upon what is said v. 4. that he fancies these words belong to that matter and that Moses still speaks to them of Repentance which is of greater value than any other thing and yet most easily acquired Which cannot but make one wonder at their blindness for if Repentance be so very easie how comes it to pass that they remain impenitent for so many Ages and thereby as they confess prolong their Miseries And yet he repeats the same words in the Second Part of his Work Perek LXXX where he hath the confidence to say St. Paul misapplies this place Verse 12 Ver. 12. It is not in heaven that thou shouldst say Who will go up for us to heaven and bring it unto us that we may hear it and do it R. Jacob Hacsaei in his Preface to that part of the Misna called Seder Nesim as Guil. Vorstius observes upon Abarbinel about the Articles of their Faith hath very fairly expounded this which he takes to be a Proverbial Speech to show that there is no need of hard or rather impossible labour to come at the knowledge of God's Will as there is in many Humane Sciences where the Mind of Man is tired by several Propositions and Deductions c. before he arrive at what he seeks But all things are plain and easie to be understood and not hard to be performed For God had revealed his Mind clearly by Moses from Heaven and therefore none had need to go thither to desire God to acquaint them with it which he had done of his own accord out of his good will towards them And thus Grotius observes upon X Rom. 6. out of several Greek Authors that they expressed things very difficult by going up to heaven Maimonides indeed in Jesodehatorah Cap. IX and Abarbinel in Rosh Amana Cap. XIII make these words an Argument for the eternity and unchangeableness of their Law and that there should be no new Revelation from Heaven But there is no colour for this from these words the Particle hu being of the Feminine Gender and therefore doth not refer to God but to the Command
Land Verse 20 which I sware unto their Fathers that floweth with milk and honey VI. 10 c. XV. 8 9. And they shall have eaten and filled themselves and waxen fat VIII 10 11 12 c. XXVII 15. Then they will turn unto other gods and serve them c. Against which he had most solemnly foremarned them in the places before-mentioned and XI 16. XII 29 30. Ver. 21. And it shall come to pass when many evils Verse 21 and troubles are befaln them that this Song shall testifie against them as a witness That they are most justly punished for their foul ingratitude and unbelief with which this Song upbraided them having told them plainly XXXII 18 19. what would be the effect of their forsaking him and at the delivery of it God having solemnly said here v. 17. that when they went a whoring from him he would forsake them and hide his face from them For it shall not be forgotten out of the mouth of their seed The Calamities which fell upon them according to what is predicted in this Song brought it to their remembrance when they had forgotten it or did not regard it For these words do not seem to be a Precept requiring them to remember this Song but a Prediction foretelling that their Miseries should not suffer them quite to forget it For I know their imagination which they go about even now before I have brought them into the Land which I sware He saw the secret Inclinations and Designs which were in their hearts and perceived that at that very present they hankered as we speak after Idols Verse 22 Ver. 22. Moses therefore wrote this Song the same day And so did Joshua as he was commanded v. 19. who spake the words of this Song unto the People as well as Moses XXXII 44. And taught it the Children of Israel Commanded them to learn it v. 19. In order to which the Jews say every Man was bound to write for himself a Copy of it and more than that they make it one of the affirmative Precepts as Maimonides tells us which obliged every Israelite to write out the whole Book of the Law with his own hand For so they interpret those words v. 19. Write ye this Song for you as if they were spoken to all the People and their meaning had been Write ye this Law for you wherein is this Song for they were not to write the Law by small parts and sections as his words are but all of it intirely And if a Man's Parents had left him a Copy yet he was bound to write one himself or if he could not write to procure one to be written for him by some other Person c. See Schickard's Mischpat Hameleck Cap. II. Theor. V. Verse 23 Ver. 23. And he gave Joshua the son of Nun a charge That is the LORD who had hitherto spoken to him by Moses now spake to him himself and gave him this charge to gain him the greater Authority For which end he had ordered Joshua to present himself before him together with Moses verse 14. Be strong and of a good courage Which he repeats to him after the death of Moses I Josh 6 7. For thou shalt bring the Children of Israel into the land which I sware unto them I have appointed thee to be the Captain of my People to lead them into the Land of Canaan And I will be with thee To give him success in all his Enterprises Which words being spoken in the audience of all the People as may be supposed from v. 14. made them readily submit to the Authority of Joshua and confide in his Conduct Ver. 24. And it came to pass when Moses had made Verse 24 an end of writing the words of this Law in a Book until they were finished The whole Book of his Laws which he put together before his death as I said on v. 9. Ver. 25. That Moses commanded the Levites c. Verse 25 The Priests who were of the Tribe of Levi. See v. 9. Ver. 26. Take this Book of the Law and put it in the Verse 26 side of the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD your God Not in the inside of it for he doth not say put it into the Ark but in the side of the Ark that is on the outside in a little Box as Jonathan and others expound it For it is the very same Phrase with that 1 Sam. VI. 8. where the Philistims are said to have put the Jewels of Gold which they returned for a Sin-offering in a Coffer by the side of the Ark. Where none could put it but the High Priest because no Body else might go into the Holy Place where the Ark was And therefore those Priests who received the Book of the Law from Moses delivered it to Eleazer to be there placed See Buxtorf Histor Arcae Cap. V. and Huetius more lately in his Demonstratio Evangelica Propos IV. Cap. de Can. Libr. Sacrorum Sect. VIII where he observes that R. Meir in both the Talmuds Abarbinel himself and many others have been of opinion from this very place that the Book of the Law was put into the Ark it self being no less precious than the Tables of Stone which were there But the Scripture tells us There was nothing in the Ark save the two Tables of Stone 1 Kings VIII 9. 2 Chron. V. 10. and their reason is good for nothing the two Tables far excelling this Book because written by the Finger of God And therefore other great Doctors among the Jews rightly place it without the Ark as the very words of Moses import That it may be there for a witness against thee It was deposited in that place as a publick Record that if any one should falsifie or deprave any thing in the Law as Abarbinel interprets it he might be convicted out of this Book which was sacredly preserved to be produced as a Witness against him Or as the Author of Tzeror Hammor expresses it that if they should be so wicked as to lose the Books of the Law this Copy kept under the care of the Priests might remain to testifie what was the Will of God As we see it did in the days of Josiah when it was casually found in the House of God as they were about the reparations of it Though I cannot say they found it in the side of the Ark but rather upon the Roof of the House or in the Rafters where the Priests had hid it as some of the Jews think when Manasseh endeavoured to destroy this Authentick Copy of the Law as he had done all other that he could find and when they came to uncover the House there it appeared Ver. 27. For I know thy rebellion and thy stiff-neck I have been sufficiently acquainted with your perverse disposition Behold while I am yet alive with you this day ye Verse 27 have been rebellious against the LORD and how much more after my death For it was not