Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Deuteronomy 4:32
For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and [ask] from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been [any such thing] as this great thing [is], or hath been heard like it?
32. For ] The connection, as we have seen, is not with the immediately preceding Deu 4:29-31, but with either Deu 4:28 or Deu 4:24.
ask now, etc.] The challenge is bold and characteristic of D. From the first of time, from one end of heaven to the other, nothing has ever happened like that which Israel has experienced at oreb or in the deliverance from Egypt to which the next verses proceed.
the day that God created man ] P, Gen 1:27; Gen 5:1, created, bara’, P’s characteristic expression for J’s made and formed.
whether there hath been ] Heb. brought itself into being, happened.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
32 40 . The Uniqueness of the God of Israel
This further appeal to the sole deity of Israel’s God is founded upon the nation’s experience of the unparalleled revelations He has made to them, the unparalleled deeds which He has performed for their deliverance (Deu 4:32-39); and it closes on the note with which the ch. opened, the enforcement of the practice of His laws (Deu 4:40). Throughout in the Sg. form of address; for apparent exceptions see on Deu 4:34. The section is joined by Berth. with Deu 4:9-24 as one separate discourse, but as we have seen Deu 4:32 connects even more naturally with Deu 4:28. Over against the change to the Sg. address we have to place the sympathy of the contents and the similarity of the style with those of Deu 4:1-8. Deu 4:32-39 best develop Deu 4:7, while Deu 4:40, which there is no reason for supposing with Steuern. to be a mere scribal addition of formulas, suitably rounds off the whole by a return to the keynote of Deu 4:1. If Deu 4:9-40 be a later addition to Deu 1:6 to Deu 4:8, it has been very skilfully and sympathetically added.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Deu 4:32
Ask now of the days that are past.
Inquiry of the past
1. The past may refer to–
(1) General history. So in context.
(2) Individual life. So we take it now.
2. Inquiry of the past.
(1) Some do not think of the past. This arises from–
(a) Thoughtlessness.
(b) Guilt.
(c) A false philosophy.
(2) It is our wisdom to ask of the days that are past.
(a) Because the past is in existence now.
(b) Because for the past we are responsible.
(c) Because the past is full of useful lessons.
I. Ask of past blessings. How have they been received?
1. The blessings.
(1) Material.
(2) Spiritual.,
Prayers answered, inspiring and uplifting influences imparted, help rendered, souls need supplied, strength in trial, light in darkness, wisdom in ignorance, discipline to purify and perfect.
2. Their reception. Have they been received–
(1) As from God?
(2) As undeserved mercies?
(3) In a thankful spirit?
II. Ask of past opportunities. How have they been used?
1. Opportunities of getting good.
(1) Mental good.
(2) Moral good. Have they been turned to profit, or lost forever?
2. Opportunities of doing good.
(1) To the bodies of men.
(2) To the souls of men. Instructing the ignorant, guiding the perplexed, comforting the sorrowful, rebuking the sinner, reclaiming the citing, speaking the word in season, etc.
III. Ask of past sills. Have they been repented of and pardoned?
1. Sins of omission.
2. Sins of commission.
(1) Against God. Irreverence. Unsubmissiveness. Ingratitude. Unfaithfulness.
(2) Against man. Injustice. Untruthfulness. Uncharitableness. (Homilist.)
The days that are past
An imperial philosopher, having divided time into the past, the present, and the future, says, we should give the past to oblivion, the present to duty, and the future to Providence. Now, we admire two of these admonitions. We readily give the future to Providence, and we ought to give the present to duty, so that whatsoever our hands find to do, we may do it with our might. But we can never consent to give the past to oblivion. God requires that which is past, and He requires us to remember it.
I. The past days of others, those who have lived before us.
1. See that your aim in this be not only, or principally, mere amusement; but endeavour to derive lessons mental and moral, and religious instruction, from the characters and the events recorded.
2. Secondly, beware how you place implicit confidence in history. Endeavour to distinguish between fiction and truth.
3. Relinquish the prejudice which Solomon assails when he says, Ask not why the former days were better than these, for thou dost not wisely concerning this matter. No, the thing is not true; we ought to be wiser than the ancients, for we are much more ancient than they. Certainly, the world is older now than it was ages ago. Surely mankind are not incapable of intellectual or moral progression and improvement.
II. Those of yourselves: those which you have passed through in your own history and experience. These come nearer home, and are more easily reviewed and compared. There is something very solemn in the thought of days that are past; past, never to return, while their moral results remain forever as subjects of future responsibility. And who has not to reckon upon days that are past? for time, like tide, stays for no man.
1. Let us ask, then, what they have to say concerning the world. Mr. Savage has strikingly remarked, I never knew any of the people of the world praise it at parting. Nor need we wonder at this: we should wonder if they did. They have been too much in it, they have seen too much of it, they have been too much deceived by it, to recommend it to others, when dying, from their own history and experience.
2. Ask the days that are past what they have to say concerning yourselves. Have they not shown you many things with which you were formerly unacquainted, and filled you with surprise and regret? Ah! how many convictions have you violated, how many resolutions have you broken? Instead of the paradise you promised yourself, you have found yourselves in a wilderness. Have not your dependencies often proved broken reeds–not only unable to sustain your hopes, but which have pierced you through with many sorrows? And yet will not these days that are past also tell you something else? Will they not tell you that life has been at least a chequered scene If you have been in the wilderness, have you not found grace in the sanctuary Have you not had there the fiery, cloudy pillar to guide you? Have you not had the manna to sustain you? Have you not had the waters from the rock to refresh you? Have you not had some of the grapes of Eshcol?
3. Ask of the days that are past what they have to say concerning the Scriptures.
(1) Have they not tended to confirm them?
(2) Have they not tended to explain them?
(3) Have they not tended to endear them?
4. Ask the days that are past what they have to say concerning our Lord and Saviour. Ask them whether He has not been a good Master; whether you cannot say at the end of ten, or twenty, or thirty, or forty, or sixty years, Thou hast dealt well with Thy servant, O Lord. Ask them whether He has not been a good Master; whether you cannot say at the end of ten, or twenty, or thirty, or forty, or sixty years, Thou has dealt well with Thy servant, O Lord. Ask them whether He has not been your powerful Helper and your kindest Friend. Three conclusions are derivable from this:–
(1) The first is, that you commit yourselves to God by prayer, that you may be prepared for all your future days, whatever may be their complexion.
(2) Secondly, that you should beware of presumption; that you should leave off devising, and say, The Lord shall choose my inheritance for me.
(3) Thirdly, you should equally guard against despondency; for though you know not what your future days may be, you know that nothing they contain in them will happen by chance. One thing you know, that all the way of the Lord towards you will be mercy and truth. One thing you know, that all things work together for good to them that love God. (W. Jay.)
The voice of the past
Time is a great mystery. Time, says Carlyle, is forever very literally a miracle–a thing to strike us dumb; for we have no word to speak about it. Strictly speaking, it is we who move, and time stands still, although the contrary appears to be the ease; as to travellers in any speedy kind of locomotion, the objects close at hand seem to flit rapidly past them, whereas they know that it is themselves that are in motion. Of nothing are we more slow to think than of the nature and value of time, both as regards its highest present uses and its relation to that eternity from which, by Divine fiat, it was first drawn, and into which it shall finally return. The past is a very solemn word. It is irrevocably gone, marked on the part of us all by manifold follies and sins; replete with painful accusations of conscience. Although the past is so irrevocably gone from our reach that it cannot be used for the purpose for which it was originally given,–that of living in its duration to God,–yet a serious review of the past year, for instance, may and, if rightly made, must, be productive of profit to us all. Just as the ship which has been totally wrecked, although it can no more traverse the sea, yet its shattered planks may be rendered serviceable for many useful purposes. Let us ask of the days that are past–
I. That we may entertain a humbling consciousness of our own unprofitableness in the use we have made of our time. Constituted as we are, it is imperative upon us that we should give much of our attention to the care of the body and to the regulation of our temporal affairs; yet it is a humbling reflection that beings possessed of such amazing capacities as those enfolded in every human soul, should have so much of their attention engaged in things which bear unequivocal marks of insignificance. Much of the past year has passed in sleep, in providing and partaking of food, in humble domestic arrangements, in the dull routine of business or the idle lassitude of relaxation. And who amongst us can plead guiltless to such charges as these? Who can say of the past year, Its time has gone just as I could have wished; I could not desire any future year to be better spent than this has been? Alas! none.
II. That we may have a grateful sense of the Divine goodness and forbearance.
III. That we may, by Divine help, resolve to correct in the future those things which have been evils in the past. (J. Foster.)
The goodness of God displayed in creation, providence, and redemption
I. View the text as the language of a contemplative and spiritual mind, retired from the cares of the world, surveying with pious delight the wonders of creation, and tracing in all the works of God the glory and goodness of their Almighty Maker. Universal nature proclaims the glory of God. This earth which we inhabit, the ground upon which we tread, declare to us the greatness and mercy of the Almighty. How great is its beauty! How beneficial its fruits! By its liberal provision all former generations have been supported, and from its unexhausted magazines and varied resources all nations are supplied with food and raiment. When, from the inanimate creation, the Christian turns his views to the animal world, he traces there the footsteps of the Almighty, and the operations of His hand. The beasts of the field, the fowls of the air, and the fish of the sea, their shape and figure, their infinite variety, the fit season of their production, their skill in procuring food, and especially their utility to man, all testify that the earth is replenished with the Creators goodness. Man himself is the perfection of this lower world. Let the Christian, from himself and the wonders around him, rise to the contemplation of the heavenly bodies. These celestial luminaries instruct as well as shine. And perhaps, could we wing our way beyond this visible diurnal sphere, and soar above these rolling planets, we should discover other suns, other stars, other and perhaps nobler systems, established through the boundless regions of space. But here inquiry stops; here our views terminate; yet from such a survey of the heavens and the earth we feel an elevating impulse: we are lost in wonder and admiration.
II. Consider the text as the reflection of a child of providence, after a serious and devout review of the dispensations of God to himself and to others. Nothing yields us so certain a conviction of the providence of God, or evinces so fully its extent, equity, and care, as the consideration of the experience of it which we ourselves have had. It will therefore be the frequent and delightful employment of good men to recall the memory of Gods great goodness, and to reflect upon the measures of His providence with them in former years. They gratefully contemplate the Divine care which protected them from many dangers. But with still Greater satisfaction the Christian reflects upon the care of providence extended to his spiritual concerns. To Thee, my God, I ascribe all the glory and the praise of all that I am, and all that I enjoy! To the silent, secret, effectual influences of Thy Spirit I owe the pleasures of religion which I experience; to the unseen hand of Thy providence conducting me through the mazes of the world I ascribe that comfortable situation in life which I have attained. But the Christian confines not his contemplations upon providence to himself, or the inconsiderable transactions of his own life. He extends his prospect, and sees God ruling over all; he views the Almighty sitting upon His throne of justice and judgment, dispensing to every man a just proportion of good and evil, according to the counsel of His sovereign will. Numberless events in the course of providence, indeed, are to him dark and intricate; he cannot penetrate into their causes, nor assign any satisfactory reason for them. But he checks every hasty, unguarded thought and expression upon the subject. He knows that only a small corner of the plan of Divine administration is made known to him; how these partial evils shall promote the general good, and display the glory of the sovereign Disposer, he cannot now explain. But a scene far more bright and joyous opens upon the Christians view in the conduct of the Almighty respecting the redemption of man. He contemplates, with astonishment, that plan of wisdom and grace into which angels desire to look. He views the kingdom of Christ advancing in the world, mean and contemptible in its origin, opposed in its progress by the hostile persecuting spirit of the rulers of the world, yet gathering strength from every wound, spreading far and wide, including, in process of time, a great part of the habitable world, and now established on such solid permanent foundations as affords warrant, even upon principles of human probability, for believing that no weapon formed against its interests shall finally prosper. These are subjects which, to the pious, contemplative Christian, afford inexhaustible matter of delightful meditation and praise.
III. Consider the text as the breathings of the Christian when adoring the unsearchable riches of Christ Jesus, and ascribing all his salvation to unmerited sovereign grace. This is the noblest theme of all. A Christian beholds with delight the Supreme Judge passing an act of indemnity, and acquitting the sinner from the charge of guilt, restoring to favour and adopting him into His family. I conclude with a few practical inferences:–
1. Consider how unsearchable must be the greatness, and how ineffable the glory, of that God who does so great things for the children of men.
2. Observe the ingratitude, the guilt, and danger of impertinent sinners, who remain at ease without God and without Christ in this life.
3. Let the children of God give glory to their heavenly Father for all His mercies. (A. Bonar.)
Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire?—
The speciality of the Bible
This is the eternal challenge of the Bible. The appeal may be regarded as a call to the study of comparative religion There are many religions in the world gather them up rote one view, extend the inquiry far and wide, through time and space, and see whether the Bible does not separate itself from all other books by miracles that cannot be rivalled and by excellences that cannot be equalled. The Bible simply wants to be heard, to be read, and to be understood. It asks nothing from its ablest teachers but a paraphrase true to its own spirit and tone. It will not have addition; it will have expansion: it will not be decorated from the outside; it asks that its root may have full scope to express in leaf and blossom and bud and fruit all the bloom of its beauty and all the wealth of its uses. This is the position Moses occupies: we cannot amend the position; we accept it. Note the speciality which Moses fixes upon. He asks a question–Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?–if so, prove it. The challenge is not a lame one. The Bible awaits the evidences. We, if earnest men, should be in quest of the best book, without asking who wrote it or by what authority was it written. If it speak to us as no other book can speak, we are bound to accept it. Christianity says in effect–What other religion is there that deals with sin as I deal with it? I do not ignore it; I do not hasten over it; I do not treat it as a mere incident, or a cutaneous affection which superficial means may subdue and which proper attention may remove. What other religion, theory, philosophy, grapples with sin as Christianity does? It will penetrate it, cleave it asunder, analyse it, search into it, and never rest until it gets out of the soul the last fibre of the bad root, the last stain of the fatal poison. Let us be fair to facts; whether we are in the Church or out of the Church, whether we belong to this section or to that section, do let us in common decency acknowledge that Christianity, come whence it may, does grapple with infinite energy with sin. The appeal of Christianity also is–Ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether any other religion tries to make the same kind of men that Christianity makes? Let us judge the tree by its fruit. We are not superstitious or fanatical or narrow-minded; we do ask the question, and insist upon an answer, Does any other religion make such men as Christianity makes? Here Christianity must be judged by its purpose, by its own written word and claim, and not wholly by the men themselves, because we are still in the land of bondage in many particulars: we are in the flesh; we suffer from a thousand weaknesses; Christianity, therefore, must be judged in its declared intention regarding the culture of manhood. What kind of men does Christianity want to make? Weak men? It never made one weak man. Strong men, valiant men, men of the keenest mind, men of the largest judgment, men of the most generous disposition; if that is the kind of men Christianity wants to make, where is the religion that can excel or equal Christianity in that purpose? Produce the men! Judge by facts. Where Christianity has entered into a life, what has it done with that life? Can it be proved that Christianity, fairly understood and thoroughly received, has soured the temper, narrowed the sympathies, dwarfed the noble ambitions of the soul? Has Christianity ever made unhappy homes, unrighteous parents? Let the challenge be thoroughly understood and frankly replied to. Christianity lives visibly in the Christian. Christianity wants to put away all other evidence, argument, and wordy encounter, and to be able to say, Judge me by my children; judge me by my believers; I am what they are. Therefore, if the Church of the Living God could stand up complete in the purpose of its Redeemer and Sanctifier, the snowy pureness of its character, the lofty dignity of its moral temper would abash every assailant and silence every accuser. Do not be harsh, or point with mocking finger to some poor weak soul, and say, If this man represents Christianity we do not want to know further what Christianity is. Christianity can only be judged by the Book which reveals it, by the Christ who founded it, and by the noble history which has surrounded it. So we accept and repeat this challenge. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
From the one side of heaven, i.e. of the earth under heaven. Ask all the inhabitants of the world. Compare Mat 24:31, with Mar 13:27.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee,…. Inquire into and consult the annals of former times, of ages past:
since the day that God created man upon the earth; trace them quite up to the creation of the world, and men in it:
and [ask] from the one side of heaven to the other; traverse the whole globe, and examine the records of every nation in it in both hemispheres:
whether there hath been any such [thing] as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? whether they can give any account of anything seen, heard, or done like what follows; suggesting that they cannot furnish out an instance to be mentioned with it.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
But in order to accomplish something more than merely preserving the people from apostasy by the threat of punishment, namely, to secure a more faithful attachment and continued obedience to His commands by awakening the feeling of cordial love, Moses reminds them again of the glorious miracles of divine grace performed in connection with the election and deliverance of Israel, such as had never been heard of from the beginning of the world; and with this strong practical proof of the love of the true God, he brings his first address to a close. This closing thought in Deu 4:32 is connected by ( for) with the leading idea in Deu 4:31. “Jehovah thy God is a merciful God,” to show that the sole ground for the election and redemption of Israel was the compassion of God towards the human race. “ For ask now of the days that are past, from the day that God created man upon the earth, and from one end of the heaven unto the other, whether so great a thing has ever happened, or anything of the kind has been heard of: ” i.e., the history of all times since the creation of man, and of all places under the whole heaven, can relate no such events as those which have happened to Israel, viz., at Sinai (Deu 4:33; cf. Deu 4:12). From this awfully glorious manifestation of God, Moses goes back in Deu 4:34 to the miracles with which God effected the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt. “ Or has a god attempted (made the attempt) to come and take to himself people from people (i.e., to fetch the people of Israel out of the midst of the Egyptian nation), with temptations (the events in Egypt by which Pharaoh’s relation to the Lord was put to the test; cf. Deu 6:22 and Deu 7:18-19), with signs and wonders (the Egyptian plagues, see Exo 7:3), and with conflict (at the Red Sea: Exo 14:14; Exo 15:3), and with a strong hand and outstretched arm (see Exo 6:6), and with great terrors? ” In the three points mentioned last, all the acts of God in Egypt are comprehended, according to both cause and effect. They were revelations of the omnipotence of the Lord, and produced great terrors (cf. Exo 12:30-36).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
32. For ask now. Moses here more forcibly extols and pronounces magnificent praises upon the miracles which he had before more simply related to have taken place at the promulgation of the Law, his object being to produce a fuller conviction of its dignity. He magnifies, too, by comparison, the testimonies whereby its authority had been ratified, viz., because nothing like it had ever occurred; for if any such instance had previously taken place, some portion of its preciousness or honor would have been taken from it. But since from the beginning of the world only one such illustrious manifestation of His power had been given by God, it afforded the greater sanction to the Law. He adds, too, that if they were to search over the whole world they would nowhere find anything similar. For I do not approve of the more refined exposition which some give of this clause, as if he said that all creatures above and below were witnesses that God’s might had never been manifested by so many and such illustrious miracles; as also the sense appears too restricted which others give, understanding “the days that are past” to mean annals or chronicles; for I make no question that Moses simply desires them to inquire and to examine whether from the creation of the world, or in any most remote region, any such thing had come to pass.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
3. THE GLORY AND GREATNESS OF ISRAELS GOD (Deu. 4:32-40)
32 For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and from the one end of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? 33 Did ever a people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? 34 Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that Jehovah your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 Unto thee it was showed, that thou mightest know that Jehovah he is God; there is none else beside him. 36 Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he made thee to see his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire. 37 And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out with his presence, with his great power, out of Egypt; 38 to drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as at this day. 39 Know therefore this day, and lay it to thy heart, that Jehovah he is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath; there is none else, 40 And thou shalt keep his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days in the land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, for ever.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 4:3240
87.
Why ask now for the days that are past?
88.
What was peculiarly unique about Gods dealings with Israel? Name three.
89.
What several purposes were accomplished in delivering Israel from Egypt?
90.
The giving of the law on mount Sinai is very graphically described here, please note Deu. 4:36.
91.
Please review your own past life and review three incidents that encourage you to trust God for the future.
92.
What benefits occur to the faithful? Read Deu. 4:40 for an answer.
AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 4:3240
32 For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and from the one end of the heavens to the other, whether any such a great thing as this has ever occurred or been heard of anywhere?
33 Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you heard, and live?
34 Or has God ever tried to go and take for Himself a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, by war, by a mighty hand, by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
35 To you it was shown, that you might realize and have personal knowledge that the Lord is God; there is no other besides Him.
36 Out of Heaven He made you hear His voice, that He might correct, discipline and admonish you; and on earth He made you see His great fire, and you heard His words out of the midst of the fire.
37 And because He loved your fathers, He chose their descendants after them, and brought you out with His own presence, by His mighty power from Egypt,
38 Driving out nations from before you, greater and mightier than yourselves, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as this day;
39 Know, recognize and understand therefore this day, and turn your [mind and] heart to it, that the Lord is God in the heavens above, and upon the earth beneath; there is no other.
40 Therefore you shall keep His statutes and His commandments, which I command you this day, that it may go well with you and your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the Lord your God gives you for ever.
COMMENT 4:3240
Gods glory and greatness are revealed here in several ways:
a.
His dealings with Israel are unique (Deu. 4:32-34; Deu. 4:36)
b.
He is the only true and living God (Deu. 4:35; Deu. 4:39)
c.
He has loved and chosen Israel (Deu. 4:37)
d.
He has preserved them (Deu. 4:38)
e.
He offers a blessed future (Deu. 4:40)
All of these truths argued for Israels faithfulness! No other nation had such advantages and blessings as they. With every blessing and advantage God gives us, a divine responsibility is in our hands to use such to his glory. It was so then, it is so now.
ASK NOW OF THE DAYS THAT ARE PAST (Deu. 4:32)Cf. Deu. 32:7. Look back into your own history, yea, go back even to the creation of man, and see how he has dealt with his own people. It will do you good. It will edify your soul. You will see that Gods own people have always been the object of special privileges, mercies, and blessings.
Such meditation and reflection is also profitable for every Christian. Ask now of the days that are pastlook back into the pages of scripture, and then down through history, and even into your own past, and see if it is not true that you have not been blessed abundantly by the hand of God.
DID EVER A PEOPLE HEAR THE VOICE OF GOD SPEAKING . . . AND LIVE? (Deu. 4:33)It seems to have been a general belief that if God appeared to men, it was for the purpose of destroying them; and indeed most of the extraordinary manifestations of God were in the way of judgment; but here it was different; God did appear in a sovereign and extra-ordinary manner; but it was for the deliverance and support of the people. 1. They heard his voice speaking with them in a distinct, articulate manner. 2. They saw the fire, the symbol of his presence, the appearances of which demonstrated it to be supernatural. 3. Notwithstanding God appeared so terrible, yet no person was destroyed, for he came, not to destroy, but to save. (Clarke)
UNTO THEE IT WAS SHOWED, THAT THOU MIGHTEST KNOW THAT JEHOVAH HE IS GOD: THERE IS NONE ELSE (Deu. 4:35)Note also Deu. 4:39. This conclusion should have been obvious from all the many wonderful and mighty works God had performed in their presence, from the time of their deliverance from Egypt to the present hour. Both the Egyptians and Israel should have seen the uniqueness and power of the one true God when Israel was delivered from bondage (Exo. 8:10; Exo. 9:14). And when one thinks of the constant and continual display of miracles from God Israel viewed in the wilderness, we stand amazed that they would no sooner cross the Jordan than be engrossed in the basest idolatry. But has it changed much today? How often and how quickly have those who have received the greatest blessings gone back to the pit from which they were digged and the rock from whence they were hewn!
THAT THOU MAYEST PROLONG THY DAYS IN THE LAND (Deu. 4:40)That is, that they as a nation would not be conquered or exterminated by a foreign power. See Deu. 5:33. Moses has primary reference here to a long national life, rather than a long individual life. But, (as in Deu. 4:1, Deu. 5:16; Exo. 20:12; Eph. 6:3) the concept of a long individual life may also be implied. The whole idea of the above verses is that if Israel would be obedient, there would be peace, prosperity, and health for Gods people. This thought is expressed often in Deuteronomy (Deu. 8:1, Deu. 16:20, etc.)
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(32) For ask now . . . whether there hath been any such thing.-The same argument is afterwards employed by St. Paul (Rom. 11:29) for the restoration of Israel: for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance, i.e., irrevocable. He did not go and take Him a nation out of the midst of another nation in order to abandon them at last. He never did so much in the way of personal and visible interposition for any people; and He will not forsake the work of His own hands. Moses had proved the truth of what he says here in many scenes of sin and peril averted by his own intercession. (See especially Num. 14:11-21, and comp. 1Sa. 12:22.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
If we read these verses with an enlightened understanding, and paraphrase them in gospel terms, as they really ought to be read by every awakened and regenerated soul, how precious do the evidences of distinguishing grace manifest themselves under everyone of them, to the believer’s own experience. Reader! suffer me, for example’s sake, only to suppose that you are the happy partaker of the covenant mercies of GOD in CHRIST; and may I not then say to you, as Moses did to Israel; Ask now of the days that are past, or of the thousands of the unawakened around you: did any of them ever hear the sweet voice of the HOLY GHOST in his word? Hath your GOD taken you out of the midst of a sinful world, in which you dwelt at ease, while in your unregeneracy, like Israel in Egypt: and hath he caused you to hear his voice and endeared all his covenant mercies to your heart? Hath he undertaken to drive out all the enemies of your salvation before you, and give you an inheritance, among them that are sanctified? Oh! how precious is it to remark distinguishing mercies; and how powerfully do the arguments, like those of Moses to Israel, constrain the true believer in JESUS! Compare those two last verses, with that sweet one of the Apostles. 2Co 5:14-15 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
The Speciality of the Bible
Deu 4:32-40
This is the eternal challenge of the Bible. The appeal may be regarded as a call to the study of comparative religions. There are many religions in the world; gather them up into one view, extend the inquiry far and wide, through time and space, and see whether the Bible does not separate itself from all other books by miracles that cannot be rivalled and by excellences that cannot be equalled. Other miracles are not denied, other excellences are not disputed; the point is whether the Bible after occupying common ground with many other religions does not represent forces and qualities unknown to any of them. Let it not be supposed that other good books are denied; let it not be imagined that idolatries are ignored; let it not be supposed that the Bible is afraid of comparison or competition. God himself inquires for all other gods; he will have them skilfully displayed: the best of our artists may be engaged in arranging all the deities that were ever named in mythology or philosophy, or the best dreaming of the human mind; God will have them well shown: there shall be no attempt whatever to underrate values and dignities, or to cover with the disadvantage of obscurity any god who can do anything. The God of the Bible says concerning gods, “Where are they?” and awaiting the production of other gods there is silence in the universe. If the Bible were a priest’s book, or a mere trick on the part of some incipient divinity, it would keep all to itself: it would ignore the existence of all other gods and religious claims and even revelations, and it would turn darkness into an instrument of protection, and employ obscurity to add to the accent of its claim. The Bible does nothing of the kind. In the spirit of Moses it says, “Ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?” ( Deu 4:32 ). Never forget this challenge on the part of the Bible. It is a noble speech. The Bible will not remain with us one day longer than it can supply what no other book can furnish. The Bible awaits to be displaced. As soon as any one can arise who can speak in a nobler eloquence, in a tenderer music, with a profounder wisdom, the Bible is willing that its old pages should be closed for ever. There are good men who have no Bible; there have been virtuous men who never heard of Christ; there are good writings which the world will not willingly let die that have not been baptised in the triune name of God. This is acknowledged, and must be broadly and frankly and gratefully confessed; the question still remains, Does not the Bible by some quality stand out above all other books the very pinnacle of the temple of literature? The inspiration of the Bible must be proved by the quality of the Bible. For a considerable period other books may keep pace with the Bible, but at a certain point it bids them farewell and rises into heights they can never ascend. The Bible lives by its peculiarities. Individuality is a matter of speciality. Up to a given point all men are alike: in repose it might be very difficult to distinguish between one man and another: both claim to be men, both lay claim to certain dignities and honours of citizenship: there is, no doubt, a broad and indisputable democracy; but in special circumstances, great national crises, in struggling with certain difficulties, and attempting the solution of special problems, men are distinguished from one another sharply, and the greatest man proclaims his ascendency not in words but in deeds, by giving the best answer, the largest reply to the necessities of the mind. This is substantially the case with the Bible in the first instance. When all other books have made their speeches, the Bible rises as though no voice had been heard, clears a space for itself, and by uniqueness of majesty and sympathy it claims the primacy of literature. If the Bible is merely held sacred as an expression of a superstitious feeling, it will daily lose influence, it will daily evaporate as to all the energies which have given it position and authority, and hence on it will do nothing but decay and die. The Bible simply wants to be heard, to be read, to be expounded, and to be understood. It asks nothing from its ablest teachers but a paraphrase true to its own spirit and tone. It will not have addition: it will have expansion; it will not be decorated from the outside: it asks that its root may have full scope to express in leaf and blossom and bud and fruit all the bloom of its beauty and all the wealth of its uses. This is the position Moses occupies; we cannot amend the position: we accept it.
Note the speciality which Moses fixes upon. He asks a question “Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?” if so, prove it. The challenge is not a lame one. The Bible awaits the evidences. We, if earnest men, should be in quest of the best book, without asking who wrote it or by what authority it was written. If it speak to us as no other book can speak, we are bound to accept it. Books must not be imposed upon us: they must consort with the soul, develop a latent and often unconscious kinship of mind and spirit, and so educate the whole man that at last the man will scarcely be able to distinguish between his own thoughts and the thoughts which are inspired: they are so alike in quality, in range, in purpose, in nobleness. How easily Moses speaks about “fire!” How early he seized upon the right word! the very keyword of the universe, for what is there in all the temple of space but fire? Is not thought fire? Is not spirit fire? How did Moses come to speak so familiarly about hearing God out of the fire and living afterwards? He came to do so because he himself had passed through this very experience: he said, I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is burned with fire and yet is not consumed. And as he drew near a voice said unto him, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses saw the fire, heard the voice, and lived. Personal experience is the great secret of preaching. If Moses had only heard of the fire as a possible vehicle of the infinite and eternal God, he might have spoken about fire in a very different tone; but he himself had seen the fire, had been warmed by its glow, had watched the whole miracle, had heard the God of history, and yet he lived. Such men must lead the Church; such men must preach to the world. Since the world began was it ever heard that God died, and yet faith in the existence of God was required on the part of man? When a man can say, I have seen that very miracle; I have watched at the Cross until it became a ladder reaching unto heaven; I myself have seen the dying Christ, and felt the cleansing of his blood, such a man begins with power, grows in power; age cannot wither him: and as tor preaching, custom cannot stale its infinite variety, because the man himself lives in God. The appeal of Moses is so rational, so broad in its common sense, as to be wholly invincible by logic. That is true in its moral purpose. By asking a question you may outlive an argument. An inquiry may be a reply. Sometimes men have to express their wonder in interrogation; simple affirmation would fall below the necessity of the case. Moses adopts this course: “Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?” The thing was historical: the argument was based upon facts, something had occurred that could be identified, and every assertion based upon that fact partook of the quality and strength of the fact itself. The pulpit cannot live upon dreams, impulses, or imaginations: it must be founded upon a rock, if it would survive the shaking wind, the tempest, the great rain. What was the gift of God? It was the gift of a word. Call that word by such names as “statutes,” “judgments,” “commandments,” it comes to the same thing; it was the word of God, the speech of God, the mind, the will, and thought of God. What more can even God give? He has given wondrous framework in the matter of suns and stars and great gleaming fires that have not yet received baptism at the hands of men who would describe the universe in parcels and in names; but having set up all the framework, he must needs speak the word or, in other terms, breathe the word, and give meaning and dignity to the works of his hands. We have received nothing until we have received the word the word of wisdom and of grace; the subtle, spiritual music that sings in the soul and charms the life out of its tumult and fever. They miss the king who only see the palace. It is something to be permitted to walk over the state-apartments when the monarch is absent, then curiosity is touched, then vanity may in some degree be pleased; but what is really wanted to be seen by the truly earnest observer and inquirer is majesty, monarchy, living sovereignty, the I AM THAT I AM. Until we have heard the living word, we have but seen the exterior framework of the Most High.
Christianity adopts this challenge: Christianity says in effect, What other religion is there that deals with sin as I deal with it? I do not ignore it; I do not hasten over it; I do not treat it as a mere incident, or a cutaneous affection which superficial means may subdue and which proper attention may remove. What other religion, theory, philosophy, grapples with sin as Christianity does? It will penetrate it, cleave it asunder, analyse it, search into it, and never rest until it gets out of the soul the last fibre of the bad root, the last stain of the fatal poison. Let us be fair to facts; whether we are in the Church or out of the Church, whether we belong to this section or to that section, do let us in common decency acknowledge that Christianity, come whence it may, does grapple with infinite energy with sin. The appeal of Christianity also is, “Ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other,” whether any other religion tries to make the same kind of men that Christianity makes? Let us judge the tree by its fruit. We are not superstitious or fanatical or narrow-minded; we do ask the question and insist upon an answer, Does any other religion make such men as Christianity makes? Here Christianity must be judged by its purpose, by its own written word and claim, and not wholly by the men themselves, because we are still in the land of bondage in many particulars: we are in the flesh: we suffer from a thousand weaknesses; Christianity, therefore, must be judged in its declared intention regarding the culture of manhood. What kind of men does Christianity want to make? Weak men? It never made one man weak. Strong men, valiant men, men of the keenest mind, men of the largest judgment, men of the most generous disposition; if that is the kind of men Christianity wants to make, where is the religion that can excel or equal Christianity in that purpose? Produce the men ! Judge by facts. Where Christianity has entered into a life, what has it done with that life? Can it be proved that Christianity, fairly understood and thoroughly received, has soured the temper, narrowed the sympathies, dwarfed the noble ambitions of the soul? Has Christianity ever made unhappy homes, unrighteous parents? Let the challenge be thoroughly understood and frankly replied to. Christianity lives visibly in the Christian. Christianity wants to put away all other evidence, argument, and wordy encounter, and to be able to say: Judge me by my children; judge me by my believers; I am what they are. Therefore, if the Church of the Living God could stand up complete in the purpose of its Redeemer and Sanctifier, the snowy pureness of its character, the lofty dignity of its moral temper would abash every assailant and silence every accuser. Do not be harsh, or point with mocking finger to some pool weak soul, and say: If this man represents Christianity, we do not want to know further what Christianity is. Christianity can only be judged by the Book which reveals it, by the Christ who founded it, and by the noble history which has surrounded it. So, we accept and repeat this challenge. Christianity has no reason to retire from the field if there is to be a thorough and impartial examination of the races which have been under its nurture and the races which have never known its influence.
The inference which Moses suggests is perfectly clear: If there is a religion anywhere for Moses gives the points within which the examination is to be completed “ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other” if there is a religion with equal credentials, equal miracles, equal morality, equal grasp of the future, produce it. Can a challenge be more rational, more dignified? We do not live in a corner, or perform the little miracles of Christian faith under the shadows of night. Christianity longs with eagerest solicitude to meet on an open field to contest any other religion that has ever touched the imagination or affected the will of man. We must, however, limit this matter of contest and comparison. Let us see whether the limitation be not reasonable. The challenge cannot apply to anything found in nominally Christian countries. Who can tell what Christianity has done even for countries that are not practically Christian? How soon we forget our indebtedness to the influences which shaped our life and blessed us in times of unconsciousness! No man can be permitted to rise in any Christian country and say he has a Bible which surpasses the Bible of Moses and the prophets, Christ and the Apostles. Why may not he arise and challenge? Because he was born in a Christian atmosphere, he was trained by Christian parents; there never was a moment of his life that was not influenced by Christian ministries of one kind or another; he lived under the light of the Cross, enjoyed the liberties of Christianity, was educated in the civilisations of Christianity; and, therefore, he cannot say, This is original: this has been invented by me without any obligation to Christian teaching, and therefore I produce it in reply to the challenge of Moses and of Christ. We cannot tell how much we are indebted to the earliest associations of life. It is pitiful to see some broken-down, vain-headed infidel starting up with some theory of morality which, consciously or unconsciously, he stole from the Christ whom he is anxious to depose. I know of no object more hideous and contemptible than some weakling boy, who was prayed over morning and night, loved with all Christian love, indulged because of the very excess of that love, turning out to play the infidel and to be wiser than his parents were; specially is he ineffable in contemptibleness when he wants to play off some other morality against the morality of Christ, saying he has found in Hindoo literature various beautiful proverbs, or seen in the Koran lines glittering with moral beauty, and has understood that long before Christ came into the world men spake morals and discussed ethics and set up philosophies of conduct. There is no speech permitted to well-regulated minds that can meet a case so morally contemptible. It is a cleverness that ought to be frowned down, an originality that ought to awaken the moral laughter and scornful derision of just men. We have been trained in a Christian country; we learned to read out of the Bible; one of our first little lessons on which we laid our young finger was “God is love,” and another, “The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost,” all words of one syllable, which our mother helped us to read. The child that learned these lessons, that uttered these syllables lispingly because of infantile weakness, can never rise to claim originality and to compete with Moses and the Lamb; he drank in these thoughts with his mother’s milk; he was reared upon them; they are part of him: sooner can he part with his blood and remain a living man than he can take out of his intellectual and moral nature all these influences, and pretend to have invented civilisation or discovered a religion.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
Deu 4:32 For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and [ask] from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been [any such thing] as this great thing [is], or hath been heard like it?
Ver. 32. For ask now of the days. ] Historiae suntfidae monitrices; great good use is to be made of history, – this holy history especially, whereof every word is pure, precious, and profitable.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Deu 4:32-40
32Indeed, ask now concerning the former days which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and inquire from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything been done like this great thing, or has anything been heard like it? 33Has any people heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard it, and survived? 34Or has a god tried to go to take for himself a nation from within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders and by war and by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm and by great terrors, as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35To you it was shown that you might know that the LORD, He is God; there is no other besides Him. 36Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice to discipline you; and on earth He let you see His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire. 37Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power, 38driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in and to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is today. 39Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the LORD, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other. 40So you shall keep His statutes and His commandments which I am giving you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may live long on the land which the LORD your God is giving you for all time.
Deu 4:32 ask The VERB (BDB 981, KB 1371, Qal IMPERATIVE) means inquire of God about the uniqueness of Israel’s relationship to deity (cf. Deu 4:32-40).
since the day that God created man on earth This refers to Genesis 1-2; also see Psalms 104.
Deu 4:34 by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm These are anthropomorphic idioms (see Special Topic: Hand ) used to describe YHWH’s power of deliverance on behalf of Israel (cf. Deu 5:15; Deu 6:21; Deu 7:19; Deu 9:29; Deu 11:2; Deu 26:8). In some texts the phrase is shortened to mighty hand (cf. Deu 3:24; Deu 6:21; Deu 7:8; Deu 9:26; Jos 4:24) or outstretched arm (cf. Deu 9:29; Exo 6:6). This idiomatic terminology has a specific parallel in Egyptian texts related to the king (NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 92).
Deu 4:35 that you might know The miracles of Deu 4:34 were for the purpose of establishing Israel’s faith (cf. Exo 7:5; Exo 7:17; Exo 10:2; Exo 31:13). For know (BDB 393, KB 390, Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT) see Special Topic following.
SPECIAL TOPIC: KNOW (USING MOSTLY DEUTERONOMY AS A PARADIGM)
the LORD, He is God See Special Topic: NAMES FOR DEITY .
no other besides Him There is no other spirit or god in YHWH’s category (e.g., Deu 4:39; Deu 6:4; Deu 32:39). See full note at Deu 6:4.
Deu 4:36 Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice This verse is referring to YHWH’s physical manifestation of His presence on Mt. Horeb/Sinai, recorded in Exodus 19.
Deu 4:37 Because He loved your fathers This refers to God’s choice of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (the Patriarchs of Genesis 12-50, cf. Deu 7:7-8; Deu 10:15).
He chose Election (i.e., choose BDB 103, KB 119, Qal IMPERFECT) in the OT is for service (e.g., Cyrus, Isa 44:24 to Isa 45:7), not salvation as in the NT.
He personally brought you from Egypt The term personally (BDB 815) is literally face, which denotes God’s personal presence (cf. Deu 5:4; Gen 32:30; Exo 33:14-15; Isa 63:9, the angel of His presence). This is also the root behind face to face (cf. Exo 33:11; Deu 34:10 and same thought in mouth to mouth of Num 12:8).
YHWH truly is the God who is with us (i.e., Immanuel of Isa 7:14; Isa 8:8; Isa 8:10). Sin breaks the intimacy and YHWH turns His face away (cf. Deu 31:17; Lev 17:10; Lev 20:3; Lev 20:6; Isa 59:2; Jer 18:17; Eze 7:22; Eze 39:23-24; Eze 39:29).
Deu 4:38
NASB, NKJV,
NRSVnations greater and mightier
TEV, REBnations greater and more powerful
NJBnations greater and more populous
These nations can be seen (Deu 4:38; Deu 7:1; Deu 11:23; Jos 23:9) as
1. more numerous in population (cf. Deu 7:7)
2. inhabitants physically greater (giants) in size (cf. Num 13:22; Num 13:28; Num 13:33; Deu 1:28)
as it is today This seems to be a sign of a later editor’s statement, but it can refer to the kingdoms of Sihon and Og on the eastern side of Jordan. See note at Deu 3:14.
Deu 4:39 This is another strong statement of monotheism. See note at Deu 6:4.
Deu 4:40 statutes. . .commandments See Special Topic: Terms for God’s Revelation .
that you may live long on the land The VERB is literally prolong (BDB 73, KB 88, Hiphil IMPERFECT, cf. Exo 20:12; Deu 4:26; Deu 4:40; Deu 5:16; Deu 5:33; Deu 6:2; Deu 11:9; Deu 17:20; Deu 22:7; Deu 25:15; Deu 30:18; Deu 32:47). Notice the conditional element!
which the LORD your God is giving you for all time The VERB (BDB 678, KB 733, Qal ACTIVE PARTICIPLE) must be interpreted in light of the meaning of for all time. See Special Topic below.
SPECIAL TOPIC: FOREVER (‘OLAM)
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
the days. Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct), App-6, put for the events which took place in them.
created (singular) These two words occur together three times (Gen 1:1; Gen 2:3, and here).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Israels Peculiar Privileges
Deu 4:32-49
Every argument that love and wisdom, the great past and the miracles of the Exodus could suggest, was brought to bear on the hearts of the chosen people, fortifying them against the temptations to backsliding. They were bidden to ask from ancient history and from one end of heaven to another, if any such wonders had ever been known in the history of the nations. But it must be sorrowfully confessed that memory and wonder are not enough to permanently fortify the heart against the insidious entrance of evil. Only the Holy Spirit can do that, Rom 8:1-4; Gal 5:16.
So eager is the divine heart that none should perish but that all should come to repentance, that guide-posts to refuge are carefully multiplied. Here again their names and locations are specified, lest any should not have met with former notifications, Num 35:6; Num 35:14; 2Pe 3:9.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
ask now: Job 8:8, Psa 44:1, Joe 1:2
from the one: Deu 30:4, Mat 24:31, Mar 13:27
Reciprocal: Gen 21:7 – Who Exo 34:10 – I will do marvels Deu 10:21 – that hath Deu 29:3 – General Deu 32:7 – ask 2Sa 7:23 – what one 1Ch 17:21 – what one Psa 111:6 – showed Psa 147:20 – not dealt so Jer 27:5 – and have Eze 16:14 – thy renown Joe 2:21 – for Mar 13:19 – from
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Deu 4:32-34. The one side of heaven That is, of the earth under heaven. Ask all the inhabitants of the world. And live And was not overwhelmed and consumed by such a glorious appearance. By temptations Temptations is the general title, which is explained by the following particulars, signs, and wonders, &c., which are called temptations, because they were trials both to the Egyptians and Israelites, whether they would be induced to believe and obey God or not. By terrors Raised in the minds of the Egyptians, or, by terrible things done among them.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
4:32 For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and {x} [ask] from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been [any such thing] as this great thing [is], or hath been heard like it?
(x) Man’s negligence is partially the cause for his ignorance of God.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
5. The uniqueness of Yahweh and Israel 4:32-40
"The passage at hand is without comparison as a discourse on the doctrine of God." [Note: Merrill, Deuteronomy, p. 130.]
Moses’ three rhetorical questions (Deu 4:32-34) clearly point out the uniqueness of Yahweh.
"In addition to His self-disclosure in event, in history, Yahweh revealed Himself as sovereign in theophany. In this manner the glorious splendor of the King contributes to His aura of majesty and power and is thereby persuasive of His dignity and authority. Almost without exception the theophanic revelation was in the form of fire and its opposite, darkness (Deu 1:33; Deu 4:11-12; Deu 4:33; Deu 4:36; Deu 5:4; Deu 5:22-26; Deu 9:10; Deu 9:15; Deu 10:4; Deu 33:2; cf. Psa 50:2; Psa 80:2 [sic 1]; psa 94:1). . . . The darkness speaks of His transcendence, His mysterium, His inaccessibility. On the other hand, the fire represented His immanence, the possibility of His being known even if in only a limited way (cf. Eze 1:4; Eze 1:27-28; Dan 7:9; Rev 1:14). [Note: Idem, "A Theology . . .," p. 64. Cf. Samuel Terrien, The Elusive Presence, pp. 109-12.]
Israel was not to miss the point (Deu 4:35). The articulation of God’s motivation in His great redemptive and saving acts for Israel as being His love for them (Deu 4:37) brings this mounting crescendo of argument to its climax. [Note: See William L. Moran, "The Ancient Near Eastern Background of the Love of God in Deuteronomy," Catholic Biblical Quarterly 35 (1963):77-87; Greg Chirichigno, "A Theological Investigation of Motivation in OT Law," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (1981):303-13; and Pinchas Doron, "Motive Clauses in the Laws of Deuteronomy: Their Forms, Functions and Contents," Hebrew Annual Review (1978):61-77.]
"What is important to note here is that the exodus deliverance was predicated on Israel’s prior election by the Lord. It was precisely because of his love and choice that he acted to redeem. . . . The exodus and even the ensuing covenant did not make Israel the people of the Lord. Rather, it was because they were his people by virtue of having been descended from the patriarchs, the objects of his love and choice, that he was moved to save them and enter into covenant with them." [Note: Merrill, Deuteronomy, p. 133. See also idem, "A Theology . . .," pp. 30-32.]
"From a literary point of view, these verses are among the most beautiful in Deuteronomy. They are prosaic in form, but poetic in their evocation of the marvelous acts of God." [Note: Craigie, The Book . . ., p. 142.]
The earliest reference to Israel’s election in Deuteronomy is in Deu 4:37 (cf. Deu 7:6-8; Deu 10:15-16; Deu 14:2; Deu 26:18-19; Exo 19:5-6).
"National election does not guarantee the salvation of every individual within the nation since only individual election can do that. Nor does national election guarantee the physical salvation of every member of the nation. What national election does guarantee is that God’s purpose(s) for choosing the nation will be accomplished and that the elect nation will always survive as a distinct entity. It guarantees the physical salvation of the nation and, in the case of Israel, even a national salvation. It is the national election of Israel that is the basis of Israel’s status as the Chosen People." [Note: Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, "Israel and the Church," in Issues in Dispensationalism, p. 114.]
This whole address by Moses (Deu 1:6 to Deu 4:40), and especially the exhortation to observe the Law faithfully (Deu 4:1-40), is one of the greatest revelations of God’s character in the Old Testament. The address builds to a climax, as every great sermon does. The total impression God and Moses intended must have been awe and humble gratitude in the hearts of the Israelites.
"One of the principal means by which God has revealed Himself is in historical event, that is, by acts the community of faith could recognize as divine. [Note: G. Ernest Wright and Reginald H. Fuller, The Book of the Acts of God, pp. 9-10.] To Israel on the plains of Moab, these acts made up the constellation of mighty deeds Yahweh had displayed before them and on their behalf from the days of the patriarchs to their present hour. It was on the basis of such historical interventions, in fact, that Yahweh’s claim as Sovereign could be made.
"Elsewhere in the Old Testament the foundational act of God is creation itself, but here the matter is less cosmic; the focus of Deuteronomy is not on God’s universal concerns but on His special purposes for His people." [Note: Merrill, "A Theology . . .," p. 63.]
The best way to motivate people to obey God is to expound His character and conduct, as Moses did here. Note too that Moses appealed to the self-interest of the Israelites: ". . . that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may live long on the land . . ." (Deu 4:40; cf. Deu 5:16; Deu 6:3; Deu 6:18; Deu 12:25; Deu 12:28; Deu 19:13; Deu 22:7; Pro 3:1-2; Pro 3:16; Pro 10:27).