Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 10:12
And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
12. And now ] in conclusion; in the same way opened the concluding stage of the first discourses, Deu 4:1.
What doth require of thee ] what is asking of thee. Cp. Mic 6:8, seeking from thee. The force of the question lies in this, that it is nothing impossible or extraordinary or complicated, that God demands, but what is simple and within the people’s duty.
to fear ] Deu 4:10 ( q.v.), Deu 6:2; Deu 6:13, Deu 10:20.
to walk in all his ways ] See on Deu 5:33.
to love him with all thy heart, etc.] See on Deu 6:5.
to serve ] or worship; see on Deu 4:19, Deu 6:13; combined with love or fear, Deu 10:20, Deu 11:13, Deu 13:4, etc., and deuteronomic passages in other books.
13. to keep ] or in that thou keepest, for this is how they are to fear and love Him.
commandments and statutes ] Varied from Deu 7:11. for thy good, Deu 6:24. That the verse is made up of formulas does not necessarily prove its secondary character (Steuern.).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
12, 13 sum up once more the main demand of the discourses.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Chs. Deu 10:12 to Deu 11:32. Final Exhortations, Introductory to the Laws
Enforced by the preceding Retrospect, the discourse continues to urge its practical conclusions of full fear and love to God, by worshipping and obeying Him (Deu 10:12-13); because, though all heaven and earth is His, He was pleased to love the fathers of Israel and to choose their posterity (Deu 10:14-15). Changing to the Pl. address the discourse urges Israel to circumcise their hearts and be no more stiffnecked, for their God is the greatest God and Lord, mightiest and most terrible and absolutely impartial (Deu 10:16-17). He secures justice for the widow and orphan and loves the stranger, as Israel, themselves strangers in Egypt, must do (Deu 10:18-19). Returning to the Sg. exhortations follow to fear, worship, and cleave to Jehovah, for He is Israel’s God who has done all these mighty things for the people, and out of seventy individuals who went down to Egypt, made them a multitude like to the stars; therefore loving God they shall keep His commandments (Deu 10:20 to Deu 11:1). Once more in the Pl., Israel are reminded of the discipline of God, which they themselves have experienced in their deliverance from Egypt and guidance through the desert, and in the punishment for rebellion of Dathan and Abiram (Deu 10:2-7); therefore they shall keep the commandment, that they may be strong, possess the land and prolong their days upon it (Deu 10:8-9). Oscillating between Sg. and Pl. there follows a description of the distinction of the land from the flat and rainless Egypt, irrigated from the Nile by the foot of man: it is a land whose water comes from heaven and God’s eyes are always upon it (Deu 10:10-12); if Israel observe His commandments (vv. here the discourse passes from Moses to the person of the Deity), He will give the rains in their seasons and fulness of crops (Deu 10:13-15). Let them not turn away from Him to other gods, lest in His anger He send drought and they perish (Deu 10:16-17). Therefore they shall lay His words to heart, bind them as signs on their hands and brows, teach them to their children, and write them by their doors and gates that their days, and their children’s, may be long in the land (Deu 10:18-21). For if they keep all his commandments (vv. the discourse is already again in the person of Moses) God will expel all these nations and give them every part of the land they tread, from the desert to Lebanon and from the Euphrates to the Western Sea (Deu 10:22-22). The speaker, in short, has set a blessing and a curse before Israel on conditions respectively, and they shall put them up on Gerizim and Ebal on the other side of Jordan, which they are about to cross and then they must keep all the statutes and judgments now to be delivered to them (Deut 10:26 32). So we reach the close of the discourses introductory to the Laws. The frequent changes between the Sg. and Pl. forms of address, sometimes coinciding with transitions to subjects not always relevant to the main theme of the discourses, are proof of the composite character of this closing section; and after the text (which, as the versions show, is by no means certain) has been corrected, furnish material for the question whether it is possible to discriminate two original discourses, introductory to the Code, one Sg. the other Pl., or whether the changes of address may be explained by the expansion of one original at the hands of editors.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
After these emphatic warnings against self-righteousness the principal topic is resumed from Deut. 6, and this division of the discourse is drawn to a conclusion in the next two chapters by a series of direct and positive exhortations to a careful fulfillment of the duties prescribed in the first two of the Ten Words.
Deu 10:12
What doth the Lord thy God require … – A noteworthy demand. God has in the Mosaic law positively commanded many things. However, these relate to external observances, which if need be can be enforced. But love and veneration cannot be enforced, even by God himself. They must be spontaneous. Hence, even under the law of ordinances where so much was peremptorily laid down, and omnipotence was ready to compel obedience, those sentiments, which are the spirit and life of the whole, have to be, as they here are, invited and solicited.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Deu 10:12; Deu 10:18
What doth the Lord thy God require of thee.
The true life of man
The true life of man is the life of practical conformity to Divine claims. All is summed up and expressed here.
I. Loving reverence.
1. Fear of not acting worthily of the object of love.
2. Fear of offending the object of love.
II. Practical obedience.
1. God has ways, that is methods of action–
(1) In material nature. Acquaintance with these is what is called science.
(2) In moral mind. Acquaintance with these is the highest knowledge. Embodied in the life of Christ.
2. To walk in Gods ways is–
(1) The only righteous walk.
(2) The only secure walk.
(3) The only elevating walk.
III. Hearty service.
1. Perfect freedom.
2. Sunny cheerfulness.
3. Thorough completeness. All the powers fully employed. (Homilist.)
Educated towards spirituality
That was the Divine intention from the very beginning. God does not disclose His purpose all at once, but out of consideration for our capacities and our opportunities and our necessities He leads us one step at a time, as the wise teacher leads the young scholar. What wise teacher thrusts a whole library upon the dawning mind of childhood? A picture, a toy, a tempting prize, a handful to be going on with, and all the rest covered by a genial smile: so the young scholar passes from page to page until the genius of the revelation seizes him, and life becomes a sacred Pentecost. This thought supplies a standard by which to measure progress. What are we? To what have we attained? Are we still among the beggarly elements? Do we still cry out for a kind of teaching that is infantile and that ought to be from our age altogether profitless? Or do we sigh to see the finer lines and hear the lower tones and enter into the mystery of silent worship–so highly strung in all holy sensibilities that even a word jars upon us and is out of place under circumstances so charged with the Divine presence? Still keeping by this same line of thought, notice how the promises were adapted to the mental condition of Israel. What promises could Israel understand? Only promises of the most substantial kind. Moses addresses himself to this necessity with infinite skill (Deu 10:22; Deu 11:11-12). Still preserving the marvellous consistency of the whole economy, we cannot fail to notice how beautifully the sacrifices were adapted to the religious condition of the people. This explains the sacrifices indeed. What was the religious condition of the people? Hardly religious at all. It was an infantile condition; it was a condition in which appeal could only lie with effect along the line of vision. So God will institute a worship accordingly; He will say to Israel, Bring beasts in great numbers, and kill them upon the altar; take censers, put fire thereon; spare nothing of your herds and flocks and corn and wine; have a continual burnt offering, and add to the continual burnt offering other offerings great in number and in value. Israel must be kept busy; leisure will be destruction. There must be seven Sabbaths in the week, and seven of those seven must be specialised by fast or festival or sacred observance. Give Israel no time to rest. When he has brought one bullock, send him for another; when he has killed a ram, call for a thousand more; this will be instructive to him. We must weary him to a higher aspiration; to begin this aspiration would be to beat the air, or to speak an unknown language, or to propound a series of spiritual impossibilities. Men must be trained according to their capacity and their quality. The whole ceremonial system of Moses constitutes in itself–in its wisdom so rich, its marvellous adaptation to the character and temper of the times,–an unanswerable argument for the inspiration of the Bible. So far the line has been consistent from its beginning, what wonder, then, if it culminate in one splendid word? That word is introduced here and there. For example, in Deu 10:12, the word occurs; in Deu 11:1, it is repeated. What is that culminating word? How long it has been kept back! Now that it is set down we see it and acknowledge it; it comes at the right time, and is put in the right place:–To love Him. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Exhortation to serve the Lord
Who obeys this command? A part of my hearers obey it in some degree. They esteem God above every other object. They consider His glory as their highest interest, and communion with Him as their supreme happiness. It is their greatest grief that their treacherous hearts are so prone to wander from Him. Their most fervent desires pant after Him. And when in a favoured hour they find Him whom their soul loveth, they hold Him fast and will not let Him go. I have no reproaches for these. But are all such? Would to God all were. But there is no service without love. Love is the fulfilling of the law. Supreme love to God will certainly produce self-denial for His sake. It will habitually avoid everything which He has forbidden, and obey, not a part, but all He commands. Supreme love will seek communion with its object more than any worldly pleasure. It will pant after Him and after greater conformity to Him; it will seek His glory as the highest interest; it will renounce the world and idols and cultivate a heavenly mind. Unless we have that which will produce all these effects, we have no supreme love to God; and if we have no supreme love, we have no love at all; and if we have no love, as there is no neutral state, we are His enemies. It was God that made you what you are, and put you into a world which He had richly furnished for your use. Have you nothing to do with Him, or He with you? Do you imagine that He created you and raised you so much above the brutes, and put you into a world on which He had expended so much labour, that you might wander from Him in the regions of darkness? that you might seek your happiness out of Him, and live in rebellion against Him? that you might spend your life only in preparing to live in this transitory state? or that you might live only to eat and drink? As God is true, He sent you into His world for the same end that a master sends a servant into his vineyard–to labour for Him. He has sent you into the field abundantly furnished with powers and means to serve Him, and has strictly commanded you to use these talents in His service. Say not that He is too far above you to be apprehended. He has brought Himself down, and spread Himself out before you in His works and word, and it is only to unbelief that He is invisible. Having sent you into His vineyard, He looks after you to see whether you are faithful or not. Has He nothing to do with you? His eyes are upon you every moment–upon the very bottom of your heart. Did your Creator turn you loose into the world, to run wild in pursuit of your own imaginations, without law or restraint, intending to look no further after you, but to throw you out from His care? Woe to you if He had done this; though this, I fear, you have often wished. But He did no such thing. His intention was still to follow you with His care, as beloved creatures, whom His own hands had formed–to exercise government over you–to establish eternal communion with you–to lead your desires up to Him–to fill you with His own sublime happiness, and to make you a part of an harmonious, blessed, and glorious kingdom. To accomplish these ends He put you under law–a law admirably calculated to unite you to Him and to consummate your happiness. The unreasonable will complain of anything, and murmurs have filled the world because this law requires the heart. But were it otherwise–were God to relinquish His claims on the heart and compound for outward service only, would it be better then? Could they be happy here, could they be happy in heaven, without a holy heart? They had better never been born than be excused from loving God. Should God give up His law, still they are wretches to eternity without love to Him. The law enjoins nothing but what in the nature of things is essential to happiness. From this moment you must either renounce your Bible, or understand that God accounts you rebels for not loving and serving Him with all the heart and soul. He admits no excuse. Your plea that you cannot, is only pleading guilty. A heart that refuses to love the Creator and Redeemer of the world, is the very thing for which God condemns you–is the vilest rebel in the universe. (E. Griffin, D. D.)
Gods requirements
Gods exactions, if we be Christians, are our own free-will offerings. What God demands is what thankful hearts should gladly give.
1. First of all to fear Him. Not to be terrified, that is the natural mans religion. Unless taught of God men look upon Him with alarm. Hence religion is a sepulchral and gloomy thing to them. To the Christian all is reverse. He has no alarm; he courts Gods presence and feels that presence to be the inspiration of hope and joy.
2. Next to walk in all His ways. All the ways proceed from one source and terminate in the same again. There are varieties of expression, but one religion. A way of righteousness, a way of truth, a way of peace, and a way of pleasantness.
3. Then to love Him. If the fear enjoined were terror, it would be impossible to love. Love is the germ in the heart that blossoms and bursts into all the fragrant fruits demanded by Gods holy law. The law, like the imperious taskmaster, says, Give me fruit, and you cannot; but love softly, progressively, originates and develops all the fruits of the Spirit. The absence of this love is the absence of Christianity. This love, lost in the Fall, regained by the Cross, is the result of seeing Gods love for us. The measure and extent is all your hearts. Not cold, calculating preference; but warm, cordial attachment–attachment not blind and unintelligible, but with all the soul.
4. Also to serve Him, service in the sense of worship. The word liturgy strictly means service; here service means adore, pray, and praise; worship outwardly, publicly, and privately with all the heart. We learn the essence of all true acceptable worship before God. Not material glory, ritual splendour; but depth of sincerity, intensity of love, the supremacy of God in the heart.
5. What is the end of all this? First, God asks this, not for His benefit, but for our good. Is there no benefit in meeting together in the house of God, in unloading the thankful heart in praise? When you give the greatest glory, worship, and homage to God, the reaction of it is showers of blessings, mercies, and privileges upon yourselves. God requires this in His Word, in seasons of affliction and prosperity. He requires it that holy effects may be seen, and that men may feel that religion purifies. It is also good for the world. The best evidence that you are Christians is in what you feel, suffer, sacrifice, and do; not as servants obeying for reward, but as sons serving God out of affection. (J. Cumming, D. D.)
An imperative demand
Yea, and what does the Lord require of us?
1. Reverence–But to fear the Lord thy God.
2. Obedience To walk in all His ways. To go when He tells us, and to take the way He has prepared for us. Matthew Henry says, It ought to be the care of every one of us to follow the Lord fully. We must, in a course of obedience to Gods will, and service to His honour, follow Him universally, without dividing; uprightly, without dissembling; cheerfully, without disputing; and constantly, without declining: and this is following Him fully.
3. Love–And to love Him. This exhortation comes in beautifully to prevent the possibility of reverence becoming a terror, and obedience servility.
4. Service–And to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul. Conviction, principle, truth, sentiment, and emotion find their level in service, as the waters of the river do in the sea. Life, of every kind, is energy from within towards an outward object.
5. Diligence–To keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good. (T. Davies.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 12. Now, Israel, what doth the Lord – require of thee] An answer is immediately given. God requires,
1. That ye fear him as Jehovah your God; him who made, preserves, and governs you.
2. That ye walk in all his ways – that, having received his precepts, all of which are good and excellent, ye obey the whole; walking in God’s ways, not your own, nor in the ways of the people of the land.
3. That ye love him – have confidence in him as your father and friend, have recourse to him in all your necessities, and love him in return for his love.
4. That you serve him – give him that worship which he requires, performing it with all your heart – the whole of your affections, and with all your soul – your will, understanding, and judgment. In a word, putting forth your whole strength and energy of body and soul in the sacred work.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
What doth the Lord thy God require, by way of duty and gratitude to God for such amazing mercies?
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee,…. For all these favours bestowed upon them, the forgiveness of their sins, and a fresh intimation of their possession of the land of Canaan, and the renewal of the promise of it made to their fathers:
but to fear the Lord thy God; to fear him with a filial fear, to fear him and his goodness, and him for his goodness sake, and particularly for his pardoning grace and mercy vouchsafed to them; see Ps 130:4,
to walk in all his ways; prescribed and directed to by him, every path of duty, whether moral, ceremonial, or judicial:
and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul; for that is the best service which springs from love, and love constrains unto, and which is hearty and sincere, as that is, and is performed in the best manner such are capable of.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The proof that Israel had no righteousness before God is followed on the positive side by an expansion of the main law laid down in Deu 6:4., to love God with all the heart, which is introduced by the words, “and now Israel,” sc., now that thou hast everything without desert or worthiness, purely from forgiving grace. “ What doth the Lord thy God require of thee? ” Nothing further than that thou fearest Him, “to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve Him with all the heart and all the soul.” , unless, or except that, presupposes a negative clause (cf. Gen 39:9), which is implied here in the previous question, or else to be supplied as the answer. The demand for fear, love, and reverence towards the Lord, is no doubt very hard for the natural man to fulfil, and all the harder the deeper it goes into the heart; but after such manifestations of the love and grace of God, it only follows as a matter of course. “Fear, love, and obedience would naturally have taken root of themselves within the heart, if man had not corrupted his own heart.” Love, which is the only thing demanded in Deu 6:5, is here preceded by fear, which is the only thing mentioned in Deu 5:26 and Deu 6:24.
(Note: The fear of God is to be united with the love of God; for love without fear makes men remiss, and fear without love makes them servile and desperate (J. Gerhard).)
The fear of the Lord, which springs from the knowledge of one’s own unholiness in the presence of the holy God, ought to form the one leading emotion in the heart prompting to walk in all the ways of the Lord, and to maintain morality of conduct in its strictest form. This fear, which first enables us to comprehend the mercy of God, awakens love, the fruit of which is manifested in serving God with all the heart and all the soul (see Deu 6:5). “ For thy good,” as in Deu 5:30 and Deu 6:24.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Exhortation to Obedience. | B. C. 1451. |
12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, 13 To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? 14 Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD‘s thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is. 15 Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day. 16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. 17 For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: 18 He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. 19 Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. 20 Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name. 21 He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen. 22 Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the LORD thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.
Here is a most pathetic exhortation to obedience, inferred from the premises, and urged with very powerful arguments and a great deal of persuasive rhetoric. Moses brings it in like an orator, with an appeal to his auditors And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee? v. 12. Ask what he requires; as David (Ps. cxvi. 12), What shall I render? When we have received mercy from God it becomes us to enquire what returns we shall make to him. Consider what he requires, and you will find it is nothing but what is highly just and reasonable in itself and of unspeakable benefit and advantage to you. Let us see here what he does require, and what abundant reason there is why we should do what he requires.
I. We are here most plainly directed in our duty to God, to our neighbour, and to ourselves.
1. We are here taught our duty to God, both in the dispositions and affections of our souls and in the actions of our lives, our principles and our practices. (1.) We must fear the Lord our God, v. 12, and again v. 20. We must adore his majesty, acknowledge his authority, stand in awe of his power, and dread his wrath. This is gospel duty, Rev 14:6; Rev 14:7. (2.) We must love him, be well pleased that he is, desire that he may be ours, and delight in the contemplation of him and in communion with him. Fear him as a great God, and our Lord, love him as a good God, and our Father and benefactor. (3.) We must walk in his ways, that is, the ways which he has appointed us to walk in. The whole course of our conversation must be conformable to his holy will. (4.) We must serve him (v. 20), serve him with all our heart and soul (v. 12), devote ourselves to his honour, put ourselves under his government, and lay out ourselves to advance all the interests of his kingdom among men. And we must be hearty and zealous in his service, engage and employ our inward man in his work, and what we do for him we must do cheerfully and with a good will. (5.) We must keep his commandments and his statutes, v. 13. Having given up ourselves to his service, we must make his revealed will our rule in every thing, perform all he prescribes, forbear all the forbids, firmly believing that all the statutes he commands us are for our good. Besides the reward of obedience, which will be our unspeakable gain, there are true honour and pleasure in obedience. It is really for our present good to be meek and humble, chaste and sober, just and charitable, patient and contented; these make us easy, and safe, and pleasant, and truly great. (6.) We must give honour to God, in swearing by his name (v. 20); so give him the honour of his omniscience, his sovereignty, his justice, as well as of his necessary existence. Swear by his name, and not by the name of any creature, or false god, whenever an oath for confirmation is called for. (7.) To him we must cleave, v. 20. Having chosen him for our God, we must faithfully and constantly abide with him and never forsake him. Cleave to him as one we love and delight in, trust and confide in, and from whom we have great expectations.
2. We are here taught our duty to our neighbour (v. 19): Love the stranger; and, if the stranger, much more our brethren, as ourselves. If the Israelites that were such a peculiar people, so particularly distinguished from all people, must be kind to strangers, much more must we, that are not enclosed in such a pale; we must have a tender concern for all that share with us in the human nature, and as we have opportunity; (that is, according to their necessities and our abilities) we must do good to all men. Two arguments are here urged to enforce this duty:– (1.) God’s common providence, which extends itself to all nations of men, they being all made of one blood. God loveth the stranger (v. 18), that is, he gives to all life, and breath, and all things, even to those that are Gentiles, and strangers to the commonwealth of Israel and to Israel’s God. He knows those perfectly whom we know nothing of. He gives food and raiment even to those to whom he has not shown his word and statutes. God’s common gifts to mankind oblige us to honour all men. Or the expression denotes the particular care which Providence takes of strangers in distress, which we ought to praise him for (Ps. cxlvi. 9, The Lord preserveth the strangers), and to imitate him, to serve him, and concur with him therein, being forward to make ourselves instruments in his hand of kindness to strangers. (2.) The afflicted condition which the Israelites themselves had been in, when they were strangers in Egypt. Those that have themselves been in distress, and have found mercy with God, should sympathize most feelingly with those that are in the like distress and be ready to show kindness to them. The people of the Jews, notwithstanding these repeated commands given them to be kind to strangers, conceived a rooted antipathy to the Gentiles, whom they looked upon with the utmost disdain, which made them envy the grace of God and the gospel of Christ, and this brought a final ruin upon themselves.
3. We are here taught our duty to ourselves (v. 16): Circumcise the foreskin of your hearts. that is, “Cast away from you all corrupt affections and inclinations, which hinder you from fearing and loving God. Mortify the flesh with the lusts of it. Away with all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, which obstruct the free course of the word of God to your hearts. Rest not in the circumcision of the body, which was only the sign, but be circumcised in heart, which is the thing signified.” See Rom. ii. 29. The command of Christ goes further than this, and obliges us not only to cut off the foreskin of the heart, which may easily be spared, but to cut off the right hand and to pluck out the right eye that is an offence to us; the more spiritual the dispensation is the more spiritual we are obliged to be, and to go the closer in mortifying sin. And be no more stiff-necked, as they had been hitherto, ch. ix. 24. “Be not any longer obstinate against divine commands and corrections, but ready to comply with the will of God in both.” The circumcision of the heart makes it ready to yield to God, and draw in his yoke.
II. We are here most pathetically persuaded to our duty. Let but reason rule us, and religion will.
1. Consider the greatness and glory of God, and therefore fear him, and from that principle serve and obey him. What is it that is thought to make a man great, but great honour, power, and possessions? Think then how great the Lord our God is, and greatly to be feared. (1.) He has great honour, a name above every name. He is God of gods, and Lord of lords, v. 17. Angels are called gods, so are magistrates, and the Gentiles had gods many, and lords many, the creatures of their own fancy; but God is infinitely above all these nominal deities. What an absurdity would it be for them to worship other gods when the God to whom they had sworn allegiance was the God of gods! (2.) He has great power. He is a mighty God and terrible (v. 17), who regardeth not persons. He has the power of a conqueror, and so he is terrible to those that resist him and rebel against him. He has the power of a judge, and so he is just to all those that appeal to him or appear before him. And it is as much the greatness and honour of a judge to be impartial in his justice, without respect to persons or bribes, as it is to a general to be terrible to the enemy. Our God is both. (3.) He has great possessions. Heaven and earth are his (v. 14), and all the hosts and stars of both. Therefore he is able to bear us out in his service, and to make up the losses we sustain in discharging our duty to him. And yet therefore he has no need of us, nor any thing we have or can do; we are undone without him, but he is happy without us, which makes the condescensions of his grace, in accepting us and our services, truly admirable. Heaven and earth are his possession, and yet the Lord’s portion is his people.
2. Consider the goodness and grace of God, and therefore love him, and from that principle serve and obey him. His goodness is his glory as much as his greatness. (1.) He is good to all. Whomsoever he finds miserable, to them he will be found merciful: He executes the judgment of the fatherless and widow, v. 18. It is his honour to help the helpless, and to succour those that most need relief and that men are apt to do injury to, or at least to put a light upon. See Psa 68:4; Psa 68:5; Psa 146:7; Psa 146:9. (2.) But truly God is good to Israel in a special obligations to him: “He is they praise, and he is thy God, v. 21. Therefore love him and serve him, because of the relation wherein he stands to thee. He is thy God, a God in covenant with thee, and as such he is thy praise,” that is [1.] “He puts honour upon thee; he is the God in whom, all the day long, thou mayest boast that thou knowest him, and art known of him. If he is thy God, he is thy glory.” [2.] “He expects honour from thee. He is thy praise,” that is “he is the God whom thou art bound to praise; if he has not praise from thee, whence may he expect it?” He inhabits the praises of Israel. Consider, First, The gracious choice he made of Israel, v. 15. “He had a delight in thy fathers, and therefore chose their seed.” Not that there was any thing in them to merit his favour, or to recommend them to it, but so it seemed good in his eyes. He would be kind to them, though he had no need of them. Secondly, The great things he had done for Israel, Deu 10:21; Deu 10:22. He reminds them not only of what they had heard with their ears, and which their fathers had told them of, but of what they had seen with their eyes, and which they must tell their children of, particularly that within a few generations seventy souls (for they were no more when Jacob went down into Egypt) increased to a great nation, as the stars of heaven for multitude. And the more they were in number the more praise and service God expected from them; yet it proved, as in the old world, that when they began to multiply they corrupted themselves.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Verses 12-22:
Jehovah Elohim had shown great love, patience, and goodness toward Israel. In return He required that they:
(1) Fear Jehovah: reverence, respect, no terror or fright.
(2) Walk in His ways: lifestyle which God prescribes, Gen 18:19; Psa 25:1-5; Psa 47:1-2.
(3) Love God: Exo 20:6. This is not a love of emotion, but a love of the will, in which one chooses to regard highly its object.
(4) To serve Jehovah: a willing service, with the mind, will, emotions, and the inner spirit. Such service is the response to love, Joh 14:15.
(5) To keep the commandments: to learn, observe, and put into practice what God has commanded. It is for man’s own good that he do this. God never commands man to do something that is either impossible for him, or harmful to him, see 1Jn 5:1-3.
Verse 14 affirms the sovereignty and ownership of God over all creation, whether in Heaven or on the earth, see Exo 9:29; Psa 24:1; 1Co 10:26-28.
Verse 15: the reason for God’s choice of Israel as His people.
Verse 16: circumcision was the sign of Israel’s separation to God and their purification. In this text, Moses admonishes Israel to discern the reality of which circumcision is a symbol: the purification and consecration of the heart, the innermost being, to Jehovah God.
Verse 17: this verse affirms the supremacy of Jehovah Elohim over all spirit beings who lay claim to man’s allegiance and worship.
Verse 18: Jehovah’s gracious provision for the widow, the orphan, and the stranger or foreigner.
Verse 19: Israel’s admonition to extend hospitality to the stranger or foreigner, in remembrance of their own sojourn in Egypt.
Verse 20, 21: Jehovah is worthy of all allegiance, praise, honor.
Verse 22: No marvel was greater than Israel itself. Seventy souls had gone from Canaan to Egypt (see Gen 46:26-27), ‘and an innumerable multitude left to go to the Land God had promised. The only way this could have been possible was the grace of Jehovah God.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Deu 10:12
. And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require? After having expounded each Commandment in its order, it now remains for us to see what is the sum of the contents of the Law, and what the aim and object of its instructions. For Paul elicits its true use, when he declares that its end is
“
charity, out of a pure heart and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned,” (1Ti 1:5,)
since even then it had its false interpreters, who, he says, had “turned aside unto vain jangling,” when they swerved from that object. Now, as it is contained in two Tables, so also Moses reduces it to two heads, that we should love God with all our heart, and our neighbor as ourselves; for, although he does not unite the two in one passage, yet Christ, by whose Spirit he spoke, ought to suffice to explain to us his intention, (Mat 22:37😉 for, when He was asked what was the great Commandment of the Law, He replied that the first indeed was, that God should be loved, and the second like unto it, regarding the love of our neighbor; as if He had said, that the whole perfection of righteousness, which is set before us in the Law, consists of two parts, that we should serve God with true piety, and conduct ourselves innocently towards men according to the rule of charity. The same is the sense of Paul’s words, for the faith, which is there called the source and origin of charity, comprehends in it the love of God. At any rate, the declaration of Christ stands sure, that nothing is required of us by the Law, but that we should love God, together with our neighbors. From hence a short and clear definition may be laid down, that nothing is required unto a good life except piety and justice. (174)
Paul, indeed, seems to add a third clause, when he says, that
“
the grace of God hath appeared, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world,” ( Titus 2:11, 12;)
but this σωφροσύνη, (soberness,) is there added as the seasoning, so to speak, of a just and pious life; and assuredly no one will prove that he aims at holiness and integrity, unless by living chastely, honestly, and temperately. Thus, where the service of God is omitted, (175) and the doctrine of the Law confined to the love of our neighbor alone, it is not so much that religion is put out of sight (176) ( sepelitur,) as that the proof of it is made to rest on serious self-examination; for since it is the way with hypocrites to cover themselves with ceremonies as with a mask of sanctity, whilst they are puffed up with pride, burn with avarice and rapacity, are full of envy and malice, breathe out threatenings and cruelty, and are abandoned to filthy lusts, Christ, in order to disperse these clouds of pretense, declares that the three chief points in the Law are “judgment, mercy,” and fidelity, (177) ( Mat 23:23😉 and elsewhere, discoursing of the righteousness of the Law, He makes no mention of the First Table. ( Mat 19:18.)
For the same reason, Paul calls charity the fulfillment of the Law, (Rom 13:8,) and elsewhere, “the bond of perfectness.” (Col 3:14.) Still, nothing was further from their intention than to draw us away from the fear of God, that we might devote ourselves to our duties towards men, as I have already shown from another passage, where Christ, in summing up the Law, begins with the love of God. And Paul, where he teaches that we should be altogether perfect, if faith works in us by love, (Gal 5:6,) does not omit the cause and principle of a good life. And thus are reconciled the passages which else might appear contradictory, via, that holiness is perfected in the fear of the Lord, when
“
we cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit,” (2Co 7:1😉
and
“
all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” (Gal 5:14😉
that is to say, because our piety cannot otherwise make itself clear by certain proof, unless we behave justly and harmlessly towards men. (178) Again, since “our goodness extendeth not to” God, so it is perceived what our mind is by our performance of the duties of the Second Table, as it is said in the Psalm,
“
my goodness extendeth not to thee, but to the saints that are in the earth, in whom is all my delight,” (179) (Psa 16:2😉
for how will any one boast, (as John says,) that he loves God, whom he does not see, if he loveth not his brother with whom he is familiarly united? (1Jo 4:20.) Since, therefore, falsehood is thus detected, God exercises us in piety by mutual charity; and hence John concludes, that
“
this Commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.” (1Jo 4:21.)
Before, however, I say any more of these two precepts, we must observe the end of the Law as it is described by Moses; “Now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy soul?” For, although he further eulogizes the Law, because it prescribes nothing which nature does not itself dictate to be most certain and most just, and which experience itself does not shew us to be more profitable, or more desirable than anything else, still, at the same time, he reminds us what is the means by which it is to be kept. (180) Therefore he sets before us at the same time the fear and the love of God; for, inasmuch as God is the Lord, He justly desires to be feared in right of His dominion; and, inasmuch as He is our Father, He requires to be loved, as it is said in Mal 1:6. Let us learn, therefore, if we would set ourselves about keeping the Law, that we must begin with the fear of God, which is hence called the “beginning of wisdom.” (Psa 111:10; Pro 1:7, and Pro 9:10.) But, since God has no pleasure in extorted and forced obedience, love is immediately added. And this deserves to be well weighed, that whereas there is nothing pleasanter than to love God, still it always occupies the first place in all His service. Surely he must be more than iron-hearted who is not attracted by such kindness; since, for no other cause, does He invite and exhort us to love Him, than because He loveth us; nay, He has already prevented us with His love, as is said in 1Jo 4:10. Meanwhile, we may at the same time gather, that nothing is pleasing to God which is offered “grudgingly or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver.” (2Co 9:7.) It is true that Paul is there speaking of alms-giving; but this voluntary and hearty inclination to obey, such as we see in good and ingenuous children, who take delight in subjection to their parents, ought to be extended to all the actions of our lives. And assuredly the reverence which is paid to God flows from no other source than the tasting of His paternal love towards us, whereby we are drawn to love Him in return; as it is said in Psa 130:4, “There is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.” Whenever, then, we hear what Scripture constantly inculcates; “O love ye Jehovah, (181) all ye his meek ones!” (Psa 31:23.) let us remember that God shews Himself loving towards us, in order that we may willingly and with becoming cheerfulness acquiesce in what He commands.
The perfection which is here required shews with sufficient clearness how far we are from a thorough obedience to the Law. We are commanded to love God with all our heart, and soul, and strength. However much we strive, our efforts are weak and imperfect, unless the love of God has possession of all our senses, and all our desires and thoughts are altogether devoted to Him, whilst all our endeavors are also directed to Him alone. But every one is abundantly convinced by his own experience, in how many ways our minds are carried away to vanity; how many corrupt affections creep over us; how difficult it is for us to restrain and overcome the evil motions of our flesh. Surely the very best wrestler, with all his strivings, is hardly able to make advances in this spiritual warfare; and if it be a great attainment not to faint altogether, certainly none will dare to boast that he comes near the mark which is set before us in the Law. In short, whenever worldly snares and foolish appetites insinuate themselves upon us, we must so often feel that some part of our soul is empty of the love of God, since otherwise nothing repugnant to it would penetrate there. The word heart here, (182) as elsewhere, is not used for the seat of the affections, but for the intellect; and, therefore, it would have been superfluous to add διάνοιας, as the Evangelists have done, unless for the purpose of removing all ambiguity; but because this signification was not commonly in use among the Greeks, they have not hesitated to add a word of their own in explanation. Those, however, who are well acquainted with the teaching of Moses, are not ignorant that the word heart is equivalent to mind; for he elsewhere says, “The Lord hath not given you an heart to understand, (183) and eyes to see, unto this day,” ( Deu 29:4😉 but the expression would have been obscure to the Greeks, as being unusual in their language. (184)
(174) “Que la somme de bien vivre est d’honorer Dieu, et converser justement avec les hommes;” that the sum of a good life is to honor God, and to demean ourselves justly towards men. — Fr.
(175) “En d’aucuns passages;” in some passages. — Fr.
(176) “Ce n’est pas tant pour ensevelir la religion, et ce qui concerne la premiere table, que pour en rendre tesmoignage par fruits;” it is not so much to bury religion, and what concerns the first table, as to give testimony of it by its fruits. — Fr.
(177) Faith. — A. V. “Faith (says C. Harm. of Evang., vol. 3. 90,) is nothing else than strict integrity; not to attempt anything by cunning, or malice, or deceit, but to cultivate towards all that mutual sincerity which every man wishes to be pursued towards himself.” See also Inst., book 2. ch. 8. sect. 52.
(178) “Innoxie” — Lat. “En bonne simplicite” — Fr.
(179) “Voluntas mea.” — Lat.
(180) “Quel est le moyen de bien garder la Loi, quand on saura ou elle nous mene;” what is the means of properly keeping the Law, when we know whither it leads us. — Fr.
(181) “O love the Lord, all ye his saints.” — A. V. See C. ’ s version, Calvin Society’s edition. “ Misericordes ejus, i. e. , quotquot sensistis bonitatem ejus.” — Vatablus in Poole’s Synopsis.
(182) The word לבב, lebab, the heart, is “extensively applied to the mind, and includeth the mind and every faculty, action, passion, disposition, and affection thereof, as thoughts, understanding, reasoning, memory, will, judgment, wisdom, counsel; desire, love, hatred, courage, fear, joy, sorrow, anger.” — Taylor’s Concordance. See C. on Mat 22:37, Mar 12:33, and Luk 10:27, in Harmony of Evangelists: (Calvin Society’s translation,) vol. 3, p. 58
(183) “An heart to perceive.” — A. V.
(184) The last sentence omitted in Fr.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(2) BY AN ABIDING LOVE (Deu. 10:12 to Deu. 11:1)
12 And now, Israel, what doth Jehovah thy God require of thee, but to fear Jehovah thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve Jehovah thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, 13 to keep the commandments of Jehovah, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? 14 Behold, unto Jehovah thy God belongeth heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth, with all that is therein. 15 Only Jehovah had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all peoples, as at this day. 16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked. 17 For Jehovah your God, he is God of gods, and Lord of lords, the great God, the mighty, and the terrible, who regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward. 18 He doth execute justice for the fatherless and widow, and loveth the sojourner, in giving him food and raiment. 19 Love ye therefore the sojourner; for ye were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 20 Thou shalt fear Jehovah thy God; him shalt thou serve; and to him shalt thou cleave, and by his name shalt thou swear. 21 He is thy praise, and he is thy God, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen. 22 Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now Jehovah thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.
Therefore thou shalt love Jehovah thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his ordinances, and his commandments always.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 10:12-11:1
208.
Please read carefully this whole section as an expression of the heart of our Lord respecting His children. Does this sound like a tyrant type law giver?
209.
Fill in the blanks: “What does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear _______ _______ your God, to walk in all _______ _______, to love _______, to serve _______ _______ your God with all your _______.
210.
In what sense are God’s commandments for our good?
211.
Why mention the thought that God owns all?
212.
Isn’t Deu. 10:16 a strange word? What does it mean?
213.
Why mention the fatherless and widow?
214.
Please list the verbs that refer to the proper relationship of the Israelite to Jehwah, such as “fear, walk, love,” . . . etc. What does the Lord require of thee and me?
215.
What is the suggestion in the expression: “Ile is your praise”?
AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 10:12-11:1
12 And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but (reverently) to fear the Lord your God: [that is,] to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your (mind and) heart and with your entire being.
13 To keep the commandments of the Lord, and His statutes, which I command you today for your good?
14 Behold, the heavens and the Heaven of heavens belong to the Lord your God, the earth also, with all that is in it and on it;
15 Yet the Lord had a delight in loving your fathers, and He chose their descendants after them, you above all people, as this day.
16 So circumcise the foreskin of your [mind and] heart; be no longer stubborn and hardened.
17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, the terrible God, Who is not partial and takes no bribe.
18 He executes justice for the fatherless and widow, and loves the stranger or temporary resident and gives him food and clothing.
19 Therefore love the stranger and sojourner, for you were strangers and sojourners in the land of Egypt.
20 You shall (reverently) fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and by His name and presence you shall swear.
21 He is your praise; He is your God, Who has done for you these great and terrible things which your eyes have seen.
22 Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons; and now the Lord your God has made you as the stars of the heavens for multitude.
Therefore you shall love the Lord your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His precepts, and His commandments always.
COMMENT 10:12-11:1
WHAT DOTH JEHOVAH . . . REQUIRE OF THEE, etc. (Deu. 10:12-13)Surely one of the most moving passages in this book! We are immediately reminded of Deu. 6:4-5, and also that famous scripture in Mic. 6:8. One cannot help but see in these passages that God demanded the heart of his servants in the Old Testament! He was dissatisfied and displeased when service was rendered to him only out of habit, form, and dry conformity. Reader, if that was true then, under the partial light of that distant age, what shall we say of the expectations of God now?
FOR THY GOOD (Deu. 10:13)See also Deu. 6:24, Deu. 8:16.
UNTO JEHOVAH THY GOD BELONGETH HEAVEN AND THE HEAVEN OF HEAVENS, THE EARTH, WITH ALL THAT IS THEREIN (Deu. 10:14)A graphic way of saying that all belongs to God. The earth is Jehovahs, and the fullness thereof (Psa. 24:1) on one hand, The heavens are the heavens of Jehovah (Psa. 115:16) on the other. Concerning the phrase, heaven and the heaven of heavens, Gesenius remarks, i.e. all the spaces of heaven, however vast and infinite, citing this passage and 1Ki. 8:27.
CIRCUMCISE . . . THE FORESKIN OF YOUR HEART, AND BE NO MORE STIFFNECKED (Deu. 10:16)See also Deu. 30:6. Circumcision was, of course, an identifying mark of all Israelites. But, as Paul later states, he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God (Rom. 2:28-29).
Before God would be pleased, their hearts must be circumcised. Circumcise yourselves to Jehovah, the prophet said, and take away the foreskin of your heart (Jer. 4:4), A mere outward alteration simply would not (and will not) do with God! The inner man, the hidden man of the heart must be changed. See Joe. 2:12-13.
[GOD] LOVETH THE SOJOURNER . . . LOVE YE THEREFORE THE SOJOURNER (Deu. 10:18-19)If Israel was to be godlike, his love, like Gods, would extend to all. The reference here is, of course to those who joined themselves to Israel and embraced Jehovah and his worship, such as Ruth the Moabitess and Uriah the Hittite. Cf. Lev. 19:33-34.
BY HIS NAME THOU SHALT SWEAR (Deu. 10:20)See Deu. 5:11 and remarks, Also 613.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(12) And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee.Although ye have done all this, still His tender mercies and His affection are set upon you, and after all that ye have sinned before Him, He doth not ask anything of you but to fear, &c. (Rashi). The Rabbis have drawn this exposition from hence: Everything is in the hand of Heaven (to bestow), save only the fear of Heaven. But it is written elsewhere, I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. (Comp. also Mic. 6:8; Mat. 23:23.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. What doth the Lord thy God require of thee In few words Moses sums up the requirements of the law: Obedience, reverence, love. In these consists the fulfilling of the law.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Back to the Present And The Greatness of Yahweh ( Deu 10:12-22 ).
In view of the command to go forward Moses now draws attention to what Yahweh requires of them, followed by a description of the glory of Who and What He is. He wants the people to have a full appreciation of what God requires of them, and a full appreciation of the God Whom they serve, and He wants them to have a full confidence in Him.
Analysis in the words of Moses:
a And now, Israel, what does Yahweh your God require of you, but to fear Yahweh your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul, to keep the commandments of Yahweh, and His statutes, which I command you this day for your good? (Deu 10:12-13).
b Behold, to Yahweh your God belongs heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth, with all that is in it (Deu 10:14).
c Only Yahweh had a delight in your fathers to love them, and He chose their seed after them, even you above all peoples, as at this day (Deu 10:15).
d Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked (Deu 10:16).
e For Yahweh your God, He is the God of gods, and Lord of lords, the great God, the mighty, and the terrible, Who does not regard people with favouritism (literally ‘does not lift up faces’), nor takes reward (Deu 10:17).
e He executes justice for the fatherless and widow, and loves the resident alien, in giving him food and clothing (Deu 10:18).
d You, therefore, love the resident alien, for you were resident aliens in the land of Egypt (Deu 10:19).
c You shall fear Yahweh your God; Him shall you serve; and to Him shall you cleave, and by His name shall you swear (Deu 10:20).
b He is your praise, and He is your God, Who has done for you these great and terrible things, which your eyes have seen (Deu 10:21).
a Your fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now Yahweh your God has made you as the stars of heaven for multitude (Deu 10:22).
Note that in ‘a’ Yahweh their God requires of them that they fear Yahweh their God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve Yahweh their God with all their heart and with all their soul, to keep the commandments of Yahweh, and His statutes (note the threefold reference to Yahweh their God), and in the parallel Yahweh has multiplied them from small beginnings so that they are as the stars in heaven for multitude. This is poignant for it contrasts with the situation that had been a real possibility that they would be few in number indeed through Yahweh’s judgment. But having renewed the covenant and having accepted them again as His blessed people He can now make His requirement of them. In ‘b’ to Yahweh their God belongs heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth, with all that is in it, and in the parallel He is their praise, and He is their God, Who has done for them these great and terrible things, which their eyes have seen. In ‘c’ Yahweh had a delight in their fathers to love them, and He chose their seed after them, even them above all peoples, and in the parallel they must fear Yahweh their God; Him shall they serve; and to Him shall they cleave, and by His name shall they swear demonstrating that they recognise that they are chosen and delighted in. In ‘d’ they are to circumcise the foreskin of their heart, and be no more stiffnecked, and in the parallel one of the results of this will be that they love the resident alien, for they had been resident aliens in the land of Egypt. In ‘e’ Yahweh your God, is the God of gods, and Lord of lords, the great God, the mighty, and the terrible, Who does not regard people with favouritism (literally ‘does not lift up faces’), nor takes reward, that is, He is the great Judge of all, and in the parallel He executes justice for the fatherless and widow, and loves the resident alien, in giving him food and clothing as would be expected of such a great Judge.
What God Requires of Them ( Deu 10:12-13 ).
Deu 10:12-13
‘ And now, Israel, what does Yahweh your God require of you (thee), but to fear Yahweh your (thy) God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul, to keep the commandments of Yahweh, and his statutes, which I command you this day for your good?’
Note that ‘thee, thy’ is used throughout the verse. They are to go forward in obedience as one nation, and each one individually.
“And now, Israel.” Moses has reached the point of summing up the first part of his speech, and has come to the point of decision. They must now face up to what God has demanded of them. Compare ‘this day’ (Deu 10:13), ‘as at this time’ (Deu 10:15), With the command to go forward came the requirement. What did He require of them as a result of the renewal of the covenant and His not decimating them? (Compare Deu 10:22). That they should fear Yahweh their God, walk in all His ways, love Him, and serve Him with all their heart and soul, keeping His commandments and the statutes that he was about to set before them. This sums up much of what has gone before. It is very possible that Mic 6:8, where Yahweh’s requirement are described as being to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God, echoes this passage.
Note the two twofold injunctions, ‘fear Him — love Him’ (compare Deu 5:26; Deu 6:2; Deu 6:5; Deu 6:13; Deu 6:24; Deu 10:20; Deu 11:1; Deu 11:13; Deu 11:22), followed by the need to, ‘walk in all His ways — serve Him with all their heart and soul’ (Deu 5:33; Deu 8:6; Deu 11:22; Deu 13:4; Deu 19:9; Deu 26:17; Deu 28:9; Deu 30:16; Deu 6:5; Deu 11:13; Deu 30:6). Fear (awe of the Overlord) was to be balanced by love (genuine response to and affection for the Overlord). Both had to be from the heart. For what He sought was a pouring out of their hearts, a devotion to Him that would do anything. This was then to result in a step by step obedience to His ways as they feared Him and walked in them, and wholehearted service with heart and soul because they loved Him. And this in accordance with the stipulations laid down in the covenant. Their service was not to be in order to obtain favour, but because they acknowledged Yahweh as their God, were in awe of Him and loved Him, and therefore were filled with a desire to please Him.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
What The Fear of God Demands
v. 12. And now, Israel, what doth the Lord, thy God, require of thee, v. 13. to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes, v. 14. Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens, v. 15. Only the Lord, v. 16. Circumcise, therefore, the foreskin of your heart, v. 17. For the Lord, your God, is God of gods, v. 18. He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, v. 19. Love ye, therefore, the stranger; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt, v. 20. Thou shalt fear the Lord, thy God; v. 21. He is thy praise, v. 22. Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Ver. 12. And now, Israel Moses here, applying what he had said, exhorts the Israelites to obedience, by various motives taken from the preceding benefits of God, ver. 10, 11. 22 from His supreme authority and their dependance, ver, 14 from his particular care and paternal tenderness towards them, ver. 15 from his infinite power, ver. 17 and from his inflexible justice, ver. 17, 18.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 201
REASONABLENESS AND EXCELLENCY OF GODS COMMANDS
Deu 10:12-13. And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?
PECULIAR seasons call for the exercise of peculiar duties. A new era was just opening upon the Hebrews, at the time when this address to them was delivered. They had, by the worshipping of the golden calf, entirely annulled the covenant which God had made with them, and had subjected themselves to his heavy displeasure. But, at the intercession of Moses, God had graciously renewed his covenant with them, by giving them again a copy of that Law which they had broken, and by committing them again to the care of Moses, whom he had appointed to conduct them to the land of Canaan. Now, therefore, Moses called on them to renew their solemn dedication of themselves to God, according to the tenor of those commandments which he had given them.
Somewhat of a similar era has commenced to us this day [Note: This supposes that the subject is used on New-Years Day.]. Many have been our offences in the past year: and God might have justly cast us off, and abandoned us to utter ruin. But he is now renewing to us his tender mercies: and may, therefore, justly call upon us to renew our surrender of ourselves to his service.
The words which I have just read to you will lead me to point out,
I.
What God requires from us
Israel had been redeemed from Egypt, and were regarded as a peculiar people unto the Lord. And such is our state. We have been redeemed from a far sorer bondage, by the blood of Gods only dear Son; and by the very name we bear, we profess ourselves the followers of Christ, and the servants of the living God. Our duty, then, is to serve our God, and to serve him in the very way prescribed in our text. We must serve him,
1.
With reverential fear
[Never for a moment must we forget that we are sinners, deserving of Gods wrath and indignation. The circumstance of our having been forgiven by him, so far from removing all occasion for reverential fear, is rather a reason for the augmentation of it. We should lothe ourselves the more because our God is pacified towards us [Note: Eze 16:63.]; for his very mercy shews how basely we have acted, in sinning against so good a God. If the glorified saints in heaven fall upon their faces before the throne, whilst yet they are singing praises to God and to the Lamb, much more should we on earth, who have yet so much corruption to mourn over, and so many evils to deplore. As for that kind of experience which some think to be warranted by their views of Gods faithfulness to his promises, and which others derive from a conceit of their own sinless perfection, (I mean, that confidence, on the one hand, which is divested of fear; and that familiarity, on the other hand, which is not tempered with contrition,) I cannot but regard it as most delusive and dangerous. It would be well, too, if some, who are not carried to these extremes of doctrinal error be not equally defective, through a captious abhorrence of all forms in external discipline and deportment. Many, from a zeal against what they are pleased to designate as Popish superstition, conduct themselves with sad irreverence in the worship of the Most High: and, if they feel not already a contempt for the Majesty of heaven, sure I am that they take the most effectual means to generate it in their hearts. Men, as sinners, should lie low in the dust before God: and though, as redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ, they are to put away slavish fear, they are never for a moment to divest themselves of that fear which is filial, but to walk in the fear of the Lord all the day long.]
2.
With ardent love
[A filial fear will not in the least degree impede the exercise of love; but will temper it with a becoming modesty and care. Blended with fear, it cannot possibly be too ardent. We should so love our God, as to serve him with all our heart and with all our soul. In truth, without love, our obedience, however exact, would be nothing worth. Love is the crown of all. Even amongst men, it is love which constitutes the essence of every acceptable service. We value not the efforts of friends by their intrinsic worth, so much as by the measure of affection displayed in them: and much more is this the standard by which the Almighty will try, and estimate, our services to him. It was this which rendered the widows mite a more acceptable offering to God, than all the treasures of the opulent: and if only we give our whole souls to God, the very disposition to glorify him shall be equivalent to the act. We may not be able to do great things for him: but, if we have the desire, he will accept it, and say, Thou didst well, in that it was in thine heart.]
3.
With unreserved fidelity
[There is to be no limit to our obedience; no line beyond which we will not go, if God call us. No commandment is to be considered as grievous [Note: 1Jn 5:3.]; nor is any thing to be regarded as a hard saying [Note: Joh 6:60.]. We are to walk in all Gods ways, obeying every commandment without partiality and without hypocrisy. We are to do his will on earth, even as it is done in heaven. Of the angels we are told, that they do Gods will, hearkening to the voice of his word. They look for the very first intimation of his will, and fly to execute it with all their might. They never for a moment consider what bearing the command may have on their own personal concerns: they find all their happiness in fulfilling the divine will. And this should be the state of our minds also: it should be our meat and our drink to do the will of Him that sent us. And, if suffering be the recompence allotted us, we should rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer for His sake. Even life itself should not be dear to us in comparison of His honour; and we should be ready to lay it down, at any time, and in any way, that the sacrifice may be demanded of us.]
The text will lead me to shew you further,
II.
The reasonableness and excellency of his requirements:
That they are reasonable, is evident from the appeal which Moses makes respecting them
[Two things are intimated in this appeal to Israel; the one, that these things were required of them; the other, that the requisitions were such as they could not but approve. If they only considered themselves as Gods creatures, they could not but acknowledge that these services were due to him: but when they viewed the mercies that had been vouchsafed unto them, and the blessings which God had yet further in reserve for them, they could not doubt Gods right to every return which it was in their power to make. How much stronger his claim is to our obedience, must be obvious to every considerate mind. Think of yourselves, Brethren, as redeemed from death and hell by the blood of Gods only dear Son, and then say whether you are not bound to love and serve him with your whole hearts. Think how mercifully God has borne with your transgressions hitherto, (for you have been a stiff-necked people, even as Israel of old were:) think how your every want is still supplied, not only for the body, as theirs was, but for the soul, by the bread of life sent down from heaven, and by water from Christ Jesus, the stricken rock: think how mercifully God has committed you to the guidance of his own Son; and to what a glorious land he is leading you, even a land flowing with milk and honey. Can you, in the contemplation of these things, doubt whether the entire surrender of your souls to God be a reasonable service [Note: Rom 12:1.]? Or rather say, whether the smallest wish to reduce or limit His claims would not be the most unreasonable thing that could enter into your minds?]
But the excellency of them also is equally apparent
[Every command of God is given us for our good. There is not one which has not a direct tendency to make us happy. If they require us to subdue and mortify our indwelling corruptions, what is this, but to heal the diseases of our souls, and to restore us to the image of our God? If they require us to love and serve our God, what is this, but to bring us, so far as they are obeyed, to a foretaste of our heavenly inheritance? Who ever found an evil issuing out of a conformity to Gods holy will? If it has brought a cross upon us, who has not found that very cross an occasion and a ground of more exalted joy? Were present happiness alone consulted, there is nothing in the universe that can advance it like the service of our God: but, if the future state be considered, and the augmented weight of glory which shall be accorded to us in proportion to our services, we may well say, that every command of God is good, and that in keeping his commandments there is great reward.]
Let me now address you, brethren, in a way,
1.
Of faithful reproof
[You all profess yourselves to be the Israel of God; and are convinced that your obligations to Jehovah are as much superior to those of the Jews, as your redemption and your destination are superior to theirs. But how have you requited the Lord? Oh! compare your lives with what has been, before spoken, and with what you cannot but acknowledge to have been your bounden duty. Which of you, in the retrospect, has not reason to blush and be ashamed? And as for the generality amongst us, is there not just ground to utter against them that complaint of the Prophet Jeremiah, This thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imaginations of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward [Note: Jer 7:23-24.]? In truth, this is but too faithful a picture of the generality amongst us. And what can be expected, but that Gods wrath should break forth to the uttermost against such a sinful and rebellious generation?]
Let me then add a word,
2.
Of affectionate admonition
[I call heaven and earth to record this day against you all, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that ye may live [Note: Deu 30:19-20.]. You cannot but acknowledge that every thing which God requires of you is both good in itself, and conducive to your greatest good. Observe, then, to do as the Lord your God hath commanded you: you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left [Note: Deu 5:32.]. You surely have every inducement to serve God that your hearts can wish. Oh, be not stiff-necked: be not like that faithless generation, respecting whom God sware, in his wrath, that they should never enter into his rest: but to-day, while it is called to-day, devote yourselves altogether to His service! And then shall ye not be ashamed, when ye have respect unto all his commandments [Note: Psa 119:6.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Nothing can be more persuasive than the address which Moses makes from what he had said before, to prevail upon Israel to the love of GOD. It is a highly finished exhortation and truly pathetic. Observe, the man of GOD makes the whole sum and substance of our duty to GOD, to consist in fearing the LORD, walking in his ways, loving him, serving him, and keeping his commandments. But who is sufficient for these things? Alas! in ourselves we have not power of ourselves to help ourselves, and all our sufficiency is of GOD. But is not the precept designed to act as our schoolmaster to bring us unto CHRIST? Here again, adored Redeemer, as in all other cases, so in this, thou art our strength, and our sufficiency. United to thee, in thy righteousness we are accepted; and in thy fear and love we shall live, go up and down in thy name, and walk humbly with our GOD. Mic 6:8 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Deu 10:12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
Ver. 12. What doth the Lord thy God require of thee? ] Beneficium postulat officium; mercy calls for duty.
Require of thee.
But to fear the Lord.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Deu 10:12-22
12And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13and to keep the LORD’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? 14Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it. 15Yet on your fathers did the LORD set His affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day. 16Circumcise then your heart, and stiffen your neck no more. 17For the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality, nor take a bribe. 18He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing. 19So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. 20You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. 21He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen. 22Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.
Deu 10:12-13 See Special Topic below.
SPECIAL TOPIC: YHWH’S COVENANT REQUIREMENTS OF ISRAEL
Deu 10:13 for your good Obedience brings blessing; disobedience brings judgment (cf. chapters 27-29).
Deu 10:14 This verse implies monotheism. This refers to the atmosphere of this planet, the universe (starry canopy), and the throne of God (i.e., the three heavens).
Deu 10:15 Notice the parallel ways of describing YHWH’s election of Israel as His special people (i.e., even you above all peoples, cf. Exo 19:5-6; Deu 7:6; Deu 14:2):
1. set His affection – BDB 365 I, KB 362, Qal PERFECT, cf. Deu 7:7. In Deu 4:37 the other word for love (BDB 12, KB 17) is used.
2. He chose their descendants – BDB 103, KB 119, Qal IMPERFECT, cf. Deu 4:37.
as it is this day See note at Deu 3:14.
Deu 10:16 Israel was to respond to YHWH’s choice by:
1. circumcise your heart – BDB 557, KB 555, Qal PERFECT. This is a metaphor of openness to God (cf. Lev 26:41; Deu 10:16; Deu 30:6; Jer 4:4; Jer 9:25-26). It is expressed in several ways:
a. circumcise your flesh – Gen 17:14 (covenant sign)
b. circumcise your lips – idiom in Exo 6:12; Exo 6:30
c. circumcise your ears – Jer 6:10
d. refers to a true heart, not just body circumcision – Deu 30:6; Jer 4:4; Jer 9:25-26; Eze 44:9; Rom 2:28-29
2. stiffen your neck no more – BDB 904, KB 1151, Hiphil IMPERFECT, cf. Deu 9:6-7; Deu 9:13; Deu 9:24; Deu 9:27; Deu 31:27. See note at Deu 2:30.
Deu 10:17 Notice the accolades used to describe YHWH:
1. God of gods – BDB 43, cf. Psa 136:2
2. Lord of lords – BDB 10, cf. Psa 136:3
3. the great God – BDB 152, cf. Deu 3:24; Deu 5:24; Deu 9:26; Deu 11:2; Deu 32:3; Neh 1:5; Neh 9:32
4. the mighty God – BDB 150, cf. Neh 9:32; Psa 24:8; Isa 10:21
5. the awesome God – BDB 431, KB 432, Niphal PARTICIPLE, cf. Deu 7:21; Neh 1:5; Neh 9:32
who does not show partiality The Hebrew phrase means who does not lift up faces (BDB 669, KB 724, Qal IMPERFECT plus BDB 815). This is used often of judges (cf. Deu 1:17; Deu 16:19; Deu 24:17; Lev 19:15). This implies that God is a God of fair judgment (cf. Deu 10:17; 2Ch 19:7).
nor take a bribe YHWH’s character is described in human legal terms (cf. Deu 10:18-19). This is often associated with the above phrase.
Deu 10:18-19 Notice how the legal characteristics of God in Deu 10:18 are put into practice:
1. He executes (BDB 793 I, KB 889, Qal PARTICIPLE) justice for:
a. the orphan
b. the widow (cf. Deu 24:17; Deu 26:12-13; Deu 27:19; Psa 68:4-5)
2. shows His love (BDB 12, KB 17, Qal PARTICIPLE) for the alien by giving him (BDB 678, KB 733, Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT):
a. food
b. clothing
The Israelites are to do these things for two reasons:
1. It reflects the character of their God (Deu 10:17; Isa 58:6-7; Isa 58:10).
2. They know how being treated unfairly feels (Deu 10:19; Deu 24:18; Deu 24:22; Exo 22:21; Exo 23:9).
Exo 22:22-23 also mentions that God will hear the prayers of these socially powerless ones and act on their behalf (cf. Psa 146:9; Mal 3:5; as will the Messiah, cf. Isa 11:4).
Deu 10:20 As the requirements of God were set out in Deu 10:12-13 by several INFINITIVE CONSTRUCTS, here they are set our again in Qal IMPERFECT VERBS:
1. fear the LORD – BDB 431, KB 432, cf. Deu 5:29; Deu 6:13; Deu 13:4
2. serve Him – BDB 712, KB 773, cf. Deu 13:4
3. cling to Him – BDB 179, KB 209, cf. Deu 11:22; Deu 13:4
4. swear by His name – BDB 989, KB 1396, cf. Deu 5:11; Deu 6:13. See full note at Deu 5:11.
All of these relate to proper motives and actions of worship.
Deu 10:21 He is your praise The language of Deuteronomy has much in common with Wisdom Literature. This phrase is seen in Psa 109:1. There is no VERB with this phrase or the next one. They are strong affirmations that YHWH’s redemptive action during the exodus and wilderness wandering period are praiseworthy:
1. their praise (BDB 239)
2. their Elohim (BDB 43)
who has done these great and awesome things for you which you have seen This refers to YHWH’s actions and provisions during the exodus from Egypt, the wilderness wandering period (cf. Deu 11:2), and that which will be repeated during the conquest!
Deu 10:22 seventy persons in all Seventy is a round number used of people. See Gen 46:27; Exo 1:5.
One text of Exo 1:5, found at Qumran (i.e., Dead Sea Scrolls) has the number 75, which matches Act 7:14-15. For a good brief discussion of the different numbers, see Hard Sayings of the Bible, p. 521 or Gleason L. Archer, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, pp. 378-379.
as the stars of heaven This is a fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. See full note at Deu 1:10.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought provoking, not definitive.
1. What is the purpose of God’s law (OT sense)?
2. Does this chapter reflect monotheism? Where and how?
3. How does Deuteronomy express God’s love for mankind?
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
what. ? Figure of speech Erotesis. App-6. Compare Mic 6:8. Hos 12:6. Jos 22:5. 1Sa 15:22.
soul. Hebrew. nephesh. App-13.
statutes. See note on Deu 4:1.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
6. Jehovahs Love and His Requirements of His People
CHAPTER 10:12-22
1. Jehovahs delight and love (Deu 10:12-15)
2. Admonition to fear and serve Jehovah (Deu 10:16-22)
This section is especially precious. Jehovah speaks through Moses and reminds His people of Himself and His Love and what He requires of them. Behold the heaven and the heaven of heavens is Jehovahs thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is. What a marvellous call to fear and serve such a Lord! What He required of them was a loving obedience, to fear Him, to walk in all His ways, to love Him and to serve Him. They were to be followers of Jehovah their God. He is God of gods, Lord of lords, great, mighty, terrible. His goodness again is revealed by Moses as an incentive to love and to obey Him. He cares for the fatherless and loveth the stranger; for this reason they were to love the stranger. Yet far greater is our knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, who loveth us and hath washed us from our sins in His own blood and made us priests and kings unto God His Father. And this carries with it a higher obligation to serve Him, to love Him and to walk in obedience, than Israels obligation.
Well then, let us ever bear in mind–yea, let us have it deep, deep down in our hearts, that according to our privileges are our obligations. Let us not refuse the wholesome word obligation, as though it had a legal ring about it. Far from it! It would be utterly impossible to conceive any thing further removed from all thought of legality than the obligations which flow out of the Christians position. It is a very serious mistake to be continually raising the cry of Legal! legal! whenever the holy responsibilities of our position are pressed upon us (C.H. Mackintosh).
Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)
fear
(See Scofield “Psa 19:9”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
what doth: Jer 7:22, Jer 7:23, Mic 6:8, Mat 11:29, Mat 11:30, 1Jo 5:3
fear: Deu 6:13, Psa 34:9, Psa 128:1, Jer 32:39, Jer 32:40, Act 9:31, 1Pe 1:17
to walk: Deu 5:33, Jos 22:5, Psa 81:13, Eze 11:20, Tit 2:11, Tit 2:12, 1Pe 1:15, 1Pe 1:16
love: Deu 6:5, Deu 11:13, Deu 30:16, Deu 30:20, Psa 18:1, Psa 145:20, Mat 22:37, Mar 12:29-33, Luk 10:27, Luk 11:42, Rom 8:28, 1Jo 2:15, 1Jo 4:19, 1Jo 4:20, 1Jo 5:2, 1Jo 5:5
to serve: Job 36:11, Zep 3:9, Rom 1:9, Heb 12:28
God with all: Deu 4:29
Reciprocal: Exo 20:20 – his fear Exo 23:25 – And ye Deu 4:8 – General Deu 5:10 – love me Deu 6:2 – fear Deu 11:8 – Therefore Deu 26:17 – and to Deu 27:10 – General Jos 24:14 – fear 1Ki 2:4 – with all their heart 1Ki 3:3 – loved 2Ki 10:31 – walk 2Ki 23:3 – with all their heart 1Ch 21:30 – he was afraid 2Ch 15:12 – seek 2Ch 31:21 – he did it Neh 9:13 – gavest Psa 31:23 – O love Ecc 12:13 – Fear Jer 11:7 – in the Eze 18:9 – walked Zec 8:16 – are Joh 14:21 – that hath Rom 7:12 – the law
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
GODS REQUIREMENTS
What doth the Lord thy God require of thee?
Deu 10:12
The fact that God requires something of us is in itself sufficient to transform all life. It shows that He thinks of us and cares for us. Pause and consider what life would be without this conviction. Daniel Webster said once that the only doubt that had crossed his mind as to the truth of revealed religion, sprang from the thought of mans littleness and Gods greatness, and the fear that a God so great could not concern himself with a creature so small. But if God has requirements for us, He must have thoughts about us. Even without the incarnation, the moral law and Gods expectations in Old Testament law and prophecy reveal in their requirements the thoughtful mind of God. Our life then is not a personal caprice, a thistledown without a law, blown by unordered winds. It is a free conformity asked for by the loving Father, Who has revealed to us on the Mount of Sinai, and on the mount of His Son, in the word of the prophet and the heart of every man, His will for His childrens ways. What is that will?
I. To fear the Lord thy God.The Old Testament thought of fear is equivalent to the New Testament thought of faith. To fear God is not the same thing as to be afraid of God. Those may be afraid who do not fear, and those who truly fear are not afraid. When St. John says that perfect love casts out fear, he means fear in the sense of afraid, and not in the Old Testament sense of faith, of reverent love. The Psalmist means fear in this noble sense when he says, The fear of the Lord is clean. To fear the Lord is to be subject to Him, to look ever to His hand, and to humble ourselves thereunder.
II. To walk in all His ways.God has His ways. Each of us has his ways. People know us by our ways. It is a homely, illuminating phrase, and we can discern Gods ways. It is not His way to hate any one, to be untrue or unjust. And we are capable of walking in the ways of God, of living like Him in the quiet and orderly workings of our lives.
III. And to love Him.Life wants a dash of tenderness. But more, life needs to be transfused with love. And it is great that God is willing to be the loved one, and makes our loving Him a requirement of our lives. To be allowed to love God is wonderful. To be bidden to love Him is life.
IV. To serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy soul.To be sure that is the only sort of service worth the name. This is Gods call for the consecration of heart and mind. All our emotion, and all our intellect, are to go into His work. No cry of emotionalism is to intimidate us on one side, or of rationalism on the other. The infinite heart is the infinite mind, and all that we are is to be satisfied in Him and to serve Him.
V. To keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes.When men speak about the progress of humanity, and the new spirit of the age, as though these could remove the moral landmarks of God, it is good to remember that the infinite living Spirit is the source of law, and that He has spoken to man in commandments and statutes that are to obtain approval and obedience, not abrogation from the moral nature of man.
VI. For thy good.Surely it will be so. If it is for the good of every piece of a machine of mans building to conform to the mind of its builder, it is more true of man in his place in the infinitely delicate organism of life.
SECOND OUTLINE
These words were addressed to Israel when their period of waiting was almost over, and they were about to receive many great promises of prosperity on the conditions laid down in the text.
I. Fear the Lord.Fear Him as Creator. He is thy God. Creation supplies us with a new conception of fear. There is a life in the universe which is above man. Fear Him as Redeemer. We have fallen, but He has not cast us off. Fear Him as a Father. As such He admits us into His very presence, not by external law or material sacrifice, like Israel of old, but as His very own children. This is the highest zone of fear. It reverences His spotless goodness, and is one of the great springs of religious life.
II. Walk in His ways.How are we to live in the sense of the glory of God? Great emotions tend to expend themselves, but by walking in all Gods ways we may abide in His presence. His will is to be supreme. A divided allegiance is the death of godly fear. It dethrones God. He has made us our own masters, and our surrender is only real in the extent to which we make all over to Him. Let Jesus occupy the whole being. He only takes the place we give Him. As our surrender is thorough, His filling is thorough. Walking thus with Him will we see wider horizons of blessing.
III. The next step is love Him.Even in the Old Testament God required this, and there were men who reached it, and whose whole being went out in the enthusiasm of love. How much more is this possible in our times! A mother is one who lives to love. She is love incarnate. Such should we be for Jesus.
IV. Serve the Lord.This is the blessed result to which the other steps lead. The whole heart and soul are occupied for God. The whole life becomes capable of receiving impressions of His mind. The intelligence takes in mighty thoughts of God, the emotions receive the currents of His revelation, and the imagination is filled with dreams of His power.
Illustrations
(1) This great chapter is only one among many in which the Scripture preaches, trumpet-tongued, that the sole gauge and pledge of national prosperity is national character. That subtle, pervading entity which we call our nation can be felt far better than it can be analysed and defined. Race and language, history and literature, law and government are all strands woven into the mighty web by which God has bound us together. But the seal of a peoples unity is the sense of a Divine calling and election. It remains true in England, as it was in Israel, that a covenant with God is the ground of all covenants between man and man. National righteousness is bred in a people as they recognise the judgments and the mercies of the God of truth. National loyalty depends at last on our relation to the immortal and invisible King.
(2) To keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord. I am not sure that we have learned the lesson of obedience, not only in things which we can understand and see the reason for, but in all. That a certain thing is forbidden is not always a sufficient reason for refusing to entertain it against the solicitation of desire. But notice that clause, For thy good. There is nothing arbitrary in the Divine prohibitions and injunctions. God ever seeks our good in all His statutes.
Let us ask the Holy Spirit to create in us a heart which shall fulfil these blessed precepts, not because it must, but for loves dear sake. Write all these, thy laws, in our hearts, we beseech Thee.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Deu 10:12. What doth he require? By way of duty and gratitude for such amazing mercies? But to fear the Lord thy God, &c. When Jehovah is our God in Christ, pacified toward us after all we have done, and has received us for his adopted children, then, and not before, are we qualified to comply with his will as here enjoined, to love as well as fear him, and to walk in all his ways, yea, to serve him, as it is here expressed, with all our heart and all our soul. For then, beholding what manner of love be hath bestowed upon us, in making us his children, we love him because he hath first loved us, and that love becomes a source of never failing obedience in our souls: it makes the tree good, and then the fruit is good also. Reader, consider this well, lest thy religion be mere formality and hypocrisy, and while thou hast a name to live, thou be dead to God and things divine!
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Deu 10:12 to Deu 11:32. Resumes Moses second address interrupted by the long didactic narrative of Deu 9:7 b Deu 10:11.
Deu 10:12-22 Deuteronomy 11. Reasons why Israel should fear and serve Yahweh.
Deu 10:12. Cf. Mic 6:8.
Deu 10:16. Physical circumcision implied consecration of the entire man to Yahweh. The verb to circumcise came thus to be used figuratively of the heart (Deu 2:30*) as here (so Deu 30:6, Jer 4:4), of the lips (Exo 6:12), of the ear (Jer 6:10).
Deu 10:17. God of gods and Lord of lords: one form of the Heb. superlative, i.e. the greatest God, lord (Deu 3:24*).reward: better, bribe (see Deu 16:19, Deu 27:25, Exo 23:8).
Deu 10:18. Render, securing justice for the orphan and widow and loving the sojourner (see Deu 1:16*), etc. The three classes mentioned were specially exposed to injustice through bribery, social influence, etc. They are often, therefore, along with the Levites (Deu 10:9*) described as objects of pity and help.
Deu 10:21. praise: i.e. object of praise (Jer 17:14).
Deu 10:22. Omit with. The Heb. construction (beth essentiae) implies that they went down as (not with) seventy persons.threescore and ten persons: i.e. all the Israelites in Egypt at the time. In Exo 1:5 (F) it covers all the descendants of Jacob (including Joseph, his sons etc.). In Genesis 46 (P) the two traditions are combined.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
10:12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God {f} require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
(f) For all our sins and transgressions God requires nothing but to turn to him and obey him.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Admonition to fear and love God 10:12-22
Having recited what God had done for the Israelites, Moses now called on them to respond and make a commitment to Him.
"The structure of the passage reveals an enveloping pattern in which injunctions to obey God (Deu 10:12-13; Deuteronomy 20-22) embrace the corollary command to exhibit proper care and concern for other people, especially the socially and economically disadvantaged (Deu 10:14-19). The motive clause and that which binds the whole together is Deu 10:17, a confession of the sovereignty of God and of his justice." [Note: Merrill, Deuteronomy, p. 201.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
In view of His past grace to His people, what did God require of them? Moses summarized Israel’s responsibility: fear, walk, love, serve, and keep. God expected total allegiance to Himself and obedience to His covenant.
"These are the central ideas not only of Deuteronomy but of the whole Pentateuch in its final shape." [Note: Sailhamer, p. 444.]
The fear of the Lord (Deu 10:12) includes the response that springs from one’s knowledge of his personal sinfulness as he realizes that he stands before a holy God.
"Reverence, obedience, total commitment are the ingredients of the fear of the Lord." [Note: Miller, p. 107.]