Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 2:7
For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God [hath been] with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.
7. For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee ] Another formula recurrent in D.
in all the work of thy hand ] Some Heb. MSS, LXX, Sam., hands: another recurrent phrase.
he hath known thy walking ] Rather hath cared for. The Heb. verb to know means frequently, especially in a religious connection, to put the mind to, attend to, regard; cp. Gen 39:6: Potiphar had no thought or care, about anything in Joseph’s charge, 1Sa 2:12; Pro 9:13; Pro 27:23; Job 35:15. See Book of the Twelve Pr., i. 321 f. But LXX read the verb here as imperative, consider thy walking.
these forty years ] So exactly Deu 8:2; Deu 8:4, also in the Sg. address. The tradition that the time of the wandering was 40 years, stated by Amo 2:10; Amo 5:25, is common to D and P (Deu 1:3; Num 14:33; Num 32:13; cp. Num 33:38), also in editorial passages in JE, Jos 5:6; Jos 16:10. The Semites frequently reckoned by multiples of 4 and 40: the latter express many round numbers in O.T. chronology. Forty years seems to have been equivalent to a generation. That Israel was 40 years in the wilderness agrees with the tradition that a generation died out there. For the same equation in Babylonian chronology see Modern Criticism and the Preaching of the O.T., 90 f., n. 1.
This verse is the third in the Sg. address. Note that in harmony with other Sg. passages it affirms the well-being of Israel during the 40 years, while the Pl. passages emphasise their dangers and losses. It is not necessary to the context, and therefore regarded as a later insertion. Yet it would not be unnatural for the same writer to change from Pl. to Sg. when taking a conjunct view of Israel’s experience.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 7. The Lord – hath blessed thee, c.] God had given them much property, and therefore they had no need of plunder they had gold and silver to buy the provender they needed, and therefore God would not permit them to take any thing by violence.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
By Gods blessing thou art able to buy thy conveniences, and therefore thy theft and rapine will be inexcusable, because without any pretence of necessity.
He knoweth, Heb. he hath known, i.e. observed, or regarded with care and kindness, which that word oft notes, as Psa 1:6; 31:7; which experience of Gods singular goodness to thee, should make thee trust him still, and not use any indirect and unjust practices to procure. what thou wantest or desirest.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thine hands,…. Had increased their cattle and substance, even though in a wilderness:
he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness; every step they took, and he owned them and prospered them in all things in which they were concerned:
these forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee: not only to protect and defend them, but to provide all things necessary for them. This number of years was not fully completed, but the round number is given instead of the broken one:
thou hast lacked nothing: and since they had wherewith to pay for their food and drink, they are directed to do it, and not take anything from the Edomites in an unjust way; nor make themselves look poor when they were rich, as Jarchi says.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Deu 2:7
For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee. This reason is added, lest the people should be grieved at spending their money, of which they had not much, in buying meat and drink. There are, however, two clauses; first, that they were so enriched by God’s bounty, that they were fully supplied with the means of buying food; and, secondly, that they must not doubt but that He would relieve their necessity, if it were required, since He had thus far provided for them, and had not suffered them to want anything. He, therefore, encourages them to hope, in consideration of their past experience; because God would take care of them, as tie had before been accustomed to do.
The question, however, arises, how God could say, that He had blessed the work of their hands, when they had had no commerce with other nations, so as to make the smallest gains whatever. But I thus understand it, viz., that although they were gratuitously sustained in the wilderness, and had not expended a single penny in buying even shoelatchets, still their cattle had increased, and, besides, they had made some profits by their daily labor; not by receiving, indeed, daily wages, but by providing for themselves furniture and other necessaries.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(7) The Lord thy God hath blessed thee.There is nothing unreasonable in the view suggested by these words, that the Israelites acquired wealth by trade or by ordinary occupations during their wilderness journey. They had skilled workmen among them.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Ver. 7. For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee People who had such proofs of the care of an immediate providence over them, as the Jews had, would have been extremely culpable if, contrary to the orders of God, they had had recourse to violence to procure them such things as they wanted. They came out of Egypt loaden with the riches of that country: they had many excellent workmen among them; and it is very probable that they carried on a commerce with the Arabians and other neighbouring nations. See Le Clerc. Moses uses the term forty years as a round number. See chap. Deu 8:2 Deu 29:5. Indeed, from the fifteenth day of the first month, on which the Israelites left Egypt, to the tenth of the same month, on which their descendants passed the Jordan to enter into Canaan, was exactly forty years, save five days.
REFLECTIONS.God hath his appointed times for exercising his people’s faith, and permitting his enemies’ prosperity. When he says it is long enough, then cometh the end. Israel is now advancing to Canaan. Edom lay in their way; but they are forbidden to molest the people of that country. They might not take advantage over their fears, nor revenge for their unkindness. Note; The people of God are ever generous, forgiving, and disinterested. They must treat them kindly, and with strict justice: as they wanted nothing from them which they were not well able to pay for, they must not take their water without a price. It is the spirit of the Gospel, not only to do no injury to our enemies, but to keep ourselves from being unnecessarily burdensome to our friends. Every thing mean and mercenary is as much forbidden as every thing malignant.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 187
GODS CONTINUED MERCIES TO US
Deu 2:7. These forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee: thou hast lacked nothing.
WHOEVER would enter fully into the doctrine of a divine providence, should study the history of the Israelites in the wilderness. We at this day are ready to imagine, that, however God may superintend the affairs of the universe sufficiently to keep them in order, and to subserve his own purposes, he yet leaves minuter matters to a kind of chance; and that to expect his interposition in our own behalf, especially in things of daily occurrence, would be the height of presumption. In a word, we draw lines of distinction between a general and a particular providence; and feel ourselves at liberty to acknowledge the one, whilst we deny the other. But in the Scriptures there will not, I apprehend, be found any ground for such a distinction. We cannot conceive any thing of less moment than a sparrow falling to the ground, or an hair of our head perishing; yet these things are expressly declared to be within the bounds of Gods peculiar care. The truth is, that God is the same as ever he was; and that his attention to the affairs of men is still the same: the only difference is, that for special ends he made his interpositions visible in former days; whereas, now he would have us to walk by faith, and not by sight. Of his people in the wilderness, he was the visible Leader, Protector, Nourisher: and so constant had been his attention to their every want, that, at the close of their pilgrimage, Moses could appeal to the whole nation, These forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee: thou hast lacked nothing.
That we may see that his care has not been exclusively confined to them, I will shew,
I.
What mercies have been vouchsafed to us during the whole period of our sojourning in this wilderness
Surprising, indeed, was his attention to his ancient people. They were in a wilderness where there was literally nothing for their sustenance. Neither bread nor water could be found there: but of both did God afford them a daily and miraculous supply; causing bread to descend from heaven for them, and the waters of the rock to follow them. But from whence should they obtain raiment? None could be fabricated; none be found. But God superseded the need of any fresh supply, by causing that their clothes, for the whole space of forty years, should never decay; and that, notwithstanding all their travelling, their shoe should never wax old upon their foot [Note: Deu 29:5.]. Nor would he suffer their strength to fail: for, as their raiment waxed not old upon them, so neither did their foot swell for forty years [Note: Deu 8:4.]. With these corporeal blessings, God imparted to them no less richly for their souls. He gave them his word; he continued to them his ministers; he sent to them, also, his Holy Spirit to instruct them [Note: Neh 9:20.].
Now in all this we may see what God, in his mercy, has done for us also, during the whole of our sojourning in this wilderness:
1.
In relation to temporal concerns
[Us, also, has God supplied with all the necessaries of life: but because, in providing these things, the agency of man is required, we overlook His hand; whereas, in fact, he is as much the author and giver of these blessings to us, as he was of the mercies vouchsafed to Israel. What can we do to secure fruitful seasons ? Who amongst us could make so much as a blade of grass to grow ? Who could prevent the fruits of the earth from being devoured by locusts and caterpillars, or from being destroyed by blasting and mildew? Who has kept from our borders the desolating scourge of war ? Who has preserved us from the more terrific calamities of civil war? To whom are we indebted, that we have not been reduced to the lowest ebb of misery by some destructive conflagration? Men, it is true, are actively employed in providing for themselves: but what are men? they are nothing but agents, (unconscious agents, I had almost said,) accomplishing the will of another: for, whilst they are universally seeking their own personal advantage, they are, in reality, Gods instruments, employed by him for the benefit of the world. We see this exemplified in the labours of bees; from which we may form a just idea of all that is passing in the world. Thousands of persons are employed, daily and hourly, to supply our wants. Little do we think of this. Were we placed for any length of time in a country uninhabited except by ourselves and our own domestic circle, we should soon feel how deeply we are indebted to God for innumerable comforts, which, through his good providence, we enjoy; and which, through a stimulus imparted by him, other persons are engaged in procuring for us. What their motives may be, is no concern of ours: it is sufficient for us to know, that, as God directed and overruled the ambition of Sennacherib to correct and chasten his people Israel [Note: Isa 10:5-7.], so he directs and overrules the selfish, dispositions of mankind to administer to the wants of each other, and to provide for the comfort of the whole world. And the poorest person amongst us has thousands of persons at this very time engaged for him, to provide him with the comforts and conveniences of life.]
2.
In relation to the concerns of our souls
[Has not God preserved to us, also, his word and ordinances; dispensed, too, by the same ministry for forty years [Note: In the year 1822, the Author had ministered at Trinity Church the precise time that Moses and Aaron had to Israel.]? and may we not say, too, that God has, during the whole of that period, sent his good Spirit to instruct you? Yes; God has borne testimony to the word of his grace, and caused it to come to you not in word only, but in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance [Note: 1 These. 1:5.]. I would not willingly speak of any thing relating to myself: that is the last subject that should ever be brought before you: but, having fulfilled the term that Moses and Aaron did before me; and being able to call to witness, that, during the whole of that time, I have lived for you, and laboured for you, and declared unto you faithfully the whole counsel of God; I cannot but remind you of Gods dealings with you in that particular, and make my appeal to you in the words of my text, These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; ye have lacked nothing [Note: The example of St. Paul, in his address to the Elders of Ephesus (Act 20:17-27; Act 20:31.) must be the Authors apology for the foregoing observations; which, after forty years of labour in the same church, may well be allowed.].]
Whatever be the value of these mercies, it will be greatly heightened by considering,
II.
Under what circumstances they have been continued to us
If we look at Israel, they will serve as a mirror, to reflect our image to the very life. In them we may see,
1.
How great our provocations have been
[Grievously neglectful of their duties were the Israelites, during the whole of their sojourning in the wilderness. Though commanded to circumcise their children, they never administered that rite in all that time [Note: Jos 5:5-7.]. Never but once had they held a Passover; and that was in the very first year after they had come out of Egypt [Note: Num 9:5.]. And during the whole forty years they offered no sacrifice to God; but, on the contrary, paid their devotions to senseless gods, and graven images [Note: Act 7:41-43.]. Such was their conduct in the wilderness. And what has been ours? Have not our most solemn duties been neglected, or performed only in such a way as to shew that our heart was not in them? Have we attained the true circumcision, even the circumcision of the heart, which is not in the flesh, but in the Spirit; whose praise is not of men, but of God [Note: Rom 2:29.]? Have we fed upon the Paschal Lamb, even on Christ our Passover, who has been sacrificed for us [Note: 1Co 5:7.]? Have we presented ourselves as living sacrifices to God, which has been our reasonable service [Note: Rom 12:1.]? Have we not rather set up idols in our hearts [Note: Eze 14:3.], even every heathenish abomination, and in ten thousand instances loved and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for evermore [Note: Rom 1:25.]? And do we find these things by secret search [Note: Jer 2:34.]? No: your whole lives proclaim it. Must we go back to the Apostles days to find that covetousness which is idolatry, or the people whose god is their belly, and who have no delight in any thing but the gratification of their sensual appetites? Let us look back through the whole time of our sojourning in this wilderness, and we shall find our whole lives to have been one continued series of provocations; as if we had determined to weary out our God [Note: Isa 43:24.], and break down his very Spirit with our whorish heart [Note: Eze 6:9.]. Yes; this has been our manner from our youth [Note: Jer 22:21.]. God has known this to be our walking through this great wilderness: and our consciences also attest that these accusations are true.]
2.
How entirely we have been under the influence of unbelief
[Notwithstanding all that God did for Israel, yet would they never believe his word [Note: Psa 78:22; Psa 78:32; Psa 106:24.]. And it was this very thing which most of all provoked him to swear, that they should never enter into his rest [Note: Heb 3:18.]. And what has been our state in this respect? We have had Gods promises and threatenings set before us with all fidelity: but neither the one nor the other have been regarded: they have all appeared to us but as idle tales; and have had no more influence upon us, than if they had been unworthy of the smallest credit Every earthly vanity has been able to excite a hope or fear: but Gods word has been altogether despised. Say, Brethren, whether this be not true? Say whether the terrors of hell have been sufficient to keep you from sin, or the glories of heaven sufficient to stimulate you to a surrender of yourselves to God? With the exception of a few instances, wherein divine grace has wrought successfully upon this or that particular individual, the whole mass of us have lived as without God in the world, preferring our own will before his, and the gratification of ourselves before the honour of our God.
Such have been the circumstances under which our God has continued to load us with his benefits. We have lacked nothing that was conducive to our comfort: but he has lacked every thing that should promote his glory.]
See then, here
1.
What reason we have to admire the patience of our God
[He complains that he has been pressed under us, even as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves [Note: Amo 2:13.]: yet has he borne with us even to the present hour; many a time turning his anger away, and not stirring up all his wrath, to punish us, as we deserved [Note: Psa 78:38.]. Can you look back upon no season, Brethren, when God might well have cut you off; and have got honour to himself in executing upon you the most signal vengeance [Note: Exo 14:17.]? I call upon you, then, to glorify his name; and to acknowledge from your inmost souls, that it is of his mercies that you have not been long since consumed, even because his compassions fail not [Note: Lam 3:22.].]
2.
What need we have to humble ourselves before him
[Gods patience will come to an end. His Spirit will not always strive with man [Note: Gen 6:3.]. He waits to be gracious unto us; but it is to the penitent only that he will impart the full blessings of salvation. His determination is, Whoso covereth his sins, shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth, and forsaketh them, shall have mercy. Contend, then, with him no longer; but let his goodness and long-suffering and forbearance lead you to repentance [Note: Rom 2:4.].]
3.
What need professors of religion, in particular, have to fear and tremble
[The whole people of Israel had been brought out of Egypt, and been both blessed and honoured by God as his peculiar people: and yet they perished in the wilderness. And this is recorded as an admonition to us [Note: 1Co 10:1-12.]. St. Jude, also, particularly labours to impress this warning on our minds [Note: Jude, ver. 5.]. Let it sink, then, into all our hearts [Note: Heb 3:12; Heb 4:1.]: for the very bounty of our God, in the bestowment of temporal and spiritual blessings upon us, will only aggravate our condemnation, if we do not make a suitable improvement of them. We may have lacked nothing for forty years, and yet lack a drop of water to all eternity. I pray you, Brethren, see to it, that your hearts be right with God; and that the blessings bestowed on you in this life, be the means of preparing you for richer blessings in the world to come.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Reader, let me beg of you to read this verse again and again; and then see, whether the sweet expressions it contains can be discovered by you in your own experience. Dearest JESUS! dost thou indeed know all my walkings, and all my wanderings? and shall I strive, shall I even wish, to conceal anything from thee? No! my gracious and most compassionate GOD! I desire to fall before thee, under a deep sense that all I am, and all I have done, even my most secret sins, are in the light of thy countenance. Oh! how dear, how inconceivably dear to my, soul, under this view, is the assurance that in thee and thy covenant righteousness, is the only remedy for poor lost sinners such as I am. Reader, turn to that scripture, 1Jn 1:7-9 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Deu 2:7 For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God [hath been] with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.
Ver. 7. For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee, ] viz., With money, to fetch thee in other commodities. It is the blessing of God, when all is done, that maketh rich; without this men do but labour in the fire, labour all night and take nothing, trouble themselves to no purpose; all their endeavours are but Arena sine calce, sand without lime, they will not hold together, but, like untempered mortar, fall asunder; there being a curse upon unlawful practices, though men be never so industrious: as you may see in Jehoiachim. Jer 22:18-19
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the LORD thy God. Jehovah thy Elohim = the triune God.
hand. Some codices, with some early printed editions, and Samaritan Pentateuch, The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate, read “hands”.
forty years. Compare Neh 9:21.
nothing. Hebrew “not a word”: i.e. of what Jehovah had promised. Compare Deu 8:2-4.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
blessed: Gen 12:2, Gen 24:35, Gen 26:12, Gen 30:27, Gen 39:5, Psa 90:17
he knoweth: Job 23:10, Psa 1:6, Psa 31:7, Joh 10:27
these forty: Deu 8:2-4, Deu 29:5, Neh 9:21, Luk 22:35
Reciprocal: Deu 2:3 – long enough Deu 20:1 – the Lord Jos 5:6 – walked Jer 2:2 – when Jer 27:5 – and have Jer 31:2 – found Hos 13:5 – in the wilderness Amo 2:10 – and led Act 4:34 – was 1Ti 6:8 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Deu 2:7. The Lord hath blessed thee By Gods blessing thou art able to buy thy conveniences, and therefore thy theft and rapine will be inexcusable, because without any pretence of necessity. He knoweth Hebrew, He hath known; that is, observed, or regarded with care and kindness, which that word often denotes. Which experience of Gods singular goodness to thee should make thee rely on him still, and not use any unjust practice to procure what thou wantest or desirest.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
2:7 For the LORD thy God hath {d} blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God [hath been] with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.
(d) And given you means, with which you may make recompence: also God will direct you by his providence, as he has done.