The Covenant Renewed in Moab and the Warning Against Hidden Apostasy

Deu 29:5-8 With the appeal to the gracious guidance of Israel by God through the desert, the address of Moses passes imperceptibly into an address from the Lord, just as in Deu 11:14. (On Deu 29:5, Deu 29:6, vid., Deu 8:3-4; on Deu 29:7, vid., Deu 2:26., and Deu 3:1. and Deu 3:12.).

Deu 29:5-8 With the appeal to the gracious guidance of Israel by God through the desert, the address of Moses passes imperceptibly into an address from the Lord, just as in Deu 11:14. (On Deu 29:5, Deu 29:6, vid., Deu 8:3-4; on Deu 29:7, vid., Deu 2:26., and Deu 3:1. and Deu 3:12.).

Deu 29:5-8 With the appeal to the gracious guidance of Israel by God through the desert, the address of Moses passes imperceptibly into an address from the Lord, just as in Deu 11:14. (On Deu 29:5, Deu 29:6, vid., Deu 8:3-4; on Deu 29:7, vid., Deu 2:26., and Deu 3:1. and Deu 3:12.).

Deu 29:9 These benefits from the Lord demanded obedience and fidelity. “ Keep the words of this covenant ,” etc. (cf. Deu 8:18). השׂכּיל, to act wisely (as in Deu 32:29), bearing in mind, however, that Jehovah Himself is the wisdom of Israel (Deu 4:6), and the search for this wisdom brings prosperity and salvation (cf. Jos 1:7-8). Summons to enter into the covenant of the Lord, namely, to enter inwardly, to make the covenant an affair of the heart and life.

Deu 29:10 “ To-day ,” when the covenant-law and covenant-right were laid before them, the whole nation stood before the Lord without a single exception - the heads and the tribes, the elders and the officers, all the men of Israel. The two members are parallel. The heads of the people are the elders and officers, and the tribes consist of all the men. The rendering given by the lxx and Syriac (also in the English version: Tr.), “ heads (captains) of your tribes ,” is at variance with the language.

Deu 29:11 The covenant of the Lord embraced, however, not only the men of Israel, but also the wives and children, and the stranger who had attached himself to Israel, such as the Egyptians who came out with Israel (Exo 12:38; Num 11:4), and the Midianites who joined the Israelites with Hobab (Num 10:29), down to the very lowest servant, “ from thy hewer of wood to thy drawer of water ” (cf. Jos 9:21, Jos 9:27).

Deu 29:12 “ That thou shouldest enter into the covenant of the Lord thy God, and the engagement on oath, which the Lord thy God concludeth with thee to-day .” עבר with בּ, as in Job 33:28, “to enter into,” expresses entire entrance, which goes completely through the territory entered, and is more emphatic than בברית בּוא (2Ch 15:12). “Into the oath:” the covenant confirmed with an oath, covenants being always accompanied with oaths (vid., Gen 26:28).

Deu 29:13 “ That He may set thee up (exalt thee) to-day into a people for Himself, and that He may be (become) unto thee a God ” (vid., Deu 28:9; Deu 27:9; Exo 19:5-6).

Deu 29:14-15 This covenant Moses made not only with those who are present, but with all whether present or not; for it was to embrace not only those who were living then, but their descendants also, to become a covenant of blessing for all nations (cf. Act 2:39, and the intercession of Christ in Joh 17:20).

Deu 29:14-15 This covenant Moses made not only with those who are present, but with all whether present or not; for it was to embrace not only those who were living then, but their descendants also, to become a covenant of blessing for all nations (cf. Act 2:39, and the intercession of Christ in Joh 17:20).

Deu 29:16-17 The summons to enter into the covenant of the Lord is explained by Moses first of all by an exposition of the evil results which would follow from apostasy from the Lord, or the breach of His covenant. This exposition he introduces with an allusion to the experience of the people with reference to the worthlessness of idols, both in Egypt itself, and upon their march through the nations, whose territory they passed through (Deu 29:16, Deu 29:17).

The words, “ for ye have learned how we dwelt in Egypt, and passed through the nations... and have seen their abominations and their idols ” ( gillulim : lit. , clods, see Lev 26:30), have this signification: In our abode in Egypt, and upon our march through different lands, ye have become acquainted with the idols of these nations, that they are not gods, but only wood and stone (see at Deu 4:28), silver and gold.

את־אשׁר, as in Deu 9:7, literally “ye know that which we dwelt,' i. e. , know what our dwelling there showed, what experience we gained there of the nature of heathen idols.

Deu 29:16-17 The summons to enter into the covenant of the Lord is explained by Moses first of all by an exposition of the evil results which would follow from apostasy from the Lord, or the breach of His covenant. This exposition he introduces with an allusion to the experience of the people with reference to the worthlessness of idols, both in Egypt itself, and upon their march through the nations, whose territory they passed through (Deu 29:16, Deu 29:17).

The words, “ for ye have learned how we dwelt in Egypt, and passed through the nations... and have seen their abominations and their idols ” ( gillulim : lit. , clods, see Lev 26:30), have this signification: In our abode in Egypt, and upon our march through different lands, ye have become acquainted with the idols of these nations, that they are not gods, but only wood and stone (see at Deu 4:28), silver and gold.

את־אשׁר, as in Deu 9:7, literally “ye know that which we dwelt,' i. e. , know what our dwelling there showed, what experience we gained there of the nature of heathen idols.

Deu 29:18-19 “ That there may not be among you ,” etc. : this sentence may be easily explained by introducing a thought which may be easily supplied, such as “consider this,” or “do not forget what ye have seen, that no one, either man or woman, family or tribe, may turn away from Jehovah our God. ” - “ That there may not be a root among you which bears poison and wormwood as fruit .

” A striking image of the destructive fruit borne by idolatry (cf. Heb 12:15). Rosh stands for a plant of a very bitter taste, as we may see from the frequency with which it is combined with לענה, wormwood: it is not, strictly speaking, a poisonous plant, although the word is used in Job 20:16 to denote the poison of serpents, because, in the estimation of a Hebrew, bitterness and poison were kindred terms.

There is no other passage in which it can be shown to have the meaning “poison. ” The sense of the figure is given in plain terms in Deu 29:19, “ that no one when he hears the words of this oath may bless himself in his heart, saying, I will prosper with me, for I walk in the firmness of my heart . ” To bless himself in his heart is to congratulate himself. שׁרירוּת, firmness, a vox media ; in Syriac, firmness, in a good sense, equivalent to truth; in Hebrew, generally in a bad sense, denoting hardness of heart; and this is the sense in which Moses uses it here.

- “ To sweep away that which is saturated with the thirsty: ” a proverbial expression, of which very different interpretations have been given (see Rosenmüller ad h. l. ), taken no doubt from the land and transferred to persons or souls; so that we might supply Nephesh in this sense, “to destroy all, both those who have drunk its poison, and those also who are still thirsting for it” ( Knobel ).

But even if we were to supply ארץ (the land), we should not have to think of the land itself, but simply of its inhabitants, so that the thought would still remain the same.

Deu 29:18-19 “ That there may not be among you ,” etc. : this sentence may be easily explained by introducing a thought which may be easily supplied, such as “consider this,” or “do not forget what ye have seen, that no one, either man or woman, family or tribe, may turn away from Jehovah our God. ” - “ That there may not be a root among you which bears poison and wormwood as fruit .

” A striking image of the destructive fruit borne by idolatry (cf. Heb 12:15). Rosh stands for a plant of a very bitter taste, as we may see from the frequency with which it is combined with לענה, wormwood: it is not, strictly speaking, a poisonous plant, although the word is used in Job 20:16 to denote the poison of serpents, because, in the estimation of a Hebrew, bitterness and poison were kindred terms.

There is no other passage in which it can be shown to have the meaning “poison. ” The sense of the figure is given in plain terms in Deu 29:19, “ that no one when he hears the words of this oath may bless himself in his heart, saying, I will prosper with me, for I walk in the firmness of my heart . ” To bless himself in his heart is to congratulate himself. שׁרירוּת, firmness, a vox media ; in Syriac, firmness, in a good sense, equivalent to truth; in Hebrew, generally in a bad sense, denoting hardness of heart; and this is the sense in which Moses uses it here.

- “ To sweep away that which is saturated with the thirsty: ” a proverbial expression, of which very different interpretations have been given (see Rosenmüller ad h. l. ), taken no doubt from the land and transferred to persons or souls; so that we might supply Nephesh in this sense, “to destroy all, both those who have drunk its poison, and those also who are still thirsting for it” ( Knobel ).

But even if we were to supply ארץ (the land), we should not have to think of the land itself, but simply of its inhabitants, so that the thought would still remain the same.

Deu 29:20-21 “For the Lord will not forgive him (who thinks or speaks in this way); but then will His anger smoke (break forth in fire; vid. , (Psa 74:1), and His jealousy against that man, and the whole curse of the law will lie upon him, that his name may be blotted out under heaven (vid. , Deu 25:19; Exo 17:14). “ The Lord will separate him unto evil from all the tribes , - so that he will be shut out from the covenant nation, and from its salvation, and be exposed to destruction - according to all the curses of the covenant .

” Although the pronominal suffix refers primarily to the man, it also applies, according to Deu 29:18, to the woman, the family, and the tribe. “That is written,” etc. , as in Deu 28:58, Deu 28:61.

Deu 29:20-21 “For the Lord will not forgive him (who thinks or speaks in this way); but then will His anger smoke (break forth in fire; vid. , (Psa 74:1), and His jealousy against that man, and the whole curse of the law will lie upon him, that his name may be blotted out under heaven (vid. , Deu 25:19; Exo 17:14). “ The Lord will separate him unto evil from all the tribes , - so that he will be shut out from the covenant nation, and from its salvation, and be exposed to destruction - according to all the curses of the covenant .

” Although the pronominal suffix refers primarily to the man, it also applies, according to Deu 29:18, to the woman, the family, and the tribe. “That is written,” etc. , as in Deu 28:58, Deu 28:61.

Deu 29:22-23 How thoroughly Moses was filled with the thought, that not only individuals, but whole families, and in fact the greater portion of the nation, would fall into idolatry, is evident from the further expansion of the threat which follows, and in which he foresees in the Spirit, and foretells, the extermination of whole families, and the devastation of the land by distant nations; as in Lev 26:31-32. Future generations of Israel, and the stranger from a distant land, when they saw the strokes of the Lord which burst upon the land, and the utter desolation of the land, would ask whence this devastation, and receive the reply, The Lord had smitten the land thus in His anger, because its inhabitants (the Israelites) had forsaken His covenant.

With regard to the construction, observe that ואמר, in Deu 29:22, is resumed in ואמרוּ, in Deu 29:24, the subject of Deu 29:22 being expanded into the general notion, “all nations” (Deu 29:24). With וראוּ, in Deu 29:22 , a parenthetical clause is inserted, giving the reason for the main thought, in the form of a circumstantial clause; and to this there is attached, by a loose apposition in Deu 29:23, a still further picture of the divine strokes according to their effect upon the land.

The nouns in Deu 29:23, “ brimstone and salt burning ,” are in apposition to the strokes (plagues), and so far depend upon “they see. ” The description is borrowed from the character of the Dead Sea and its vicinity, to which there is an express allusion in the words, “ like the overthrow of Sodom ,” etc. , i. e. , of the towns of the vale of Siddim (see at Gen 14:2), which resembled paradise, the garden of Jehovah, before their destruction (vid.

, Gen 13:10 and Gen 19:24.)

Deu 29:22-23 How thoroughly Moses was filled with the thought, that not only individuals, but whole families, and in fact the greater portion of the nation, would fall into idolatry, is evident from the further expansion of the threat which follows, and in which he foresees in the Spirit, and foretells, the extermination of whole families, and the devastation of the land by distant nations; as in Lev 26:31-32. Future generations of Israel, and the stranger from a distant land, when they saw the strokes of the Lord which burst upon the land, and the utter desolation of the land, would ask whence this devastation, and receive the reply, The Lord had smitten the land thus in His anger, because its inhabitants (the Israelites) had forsaken His covenant.

With regard to the construction, observe that ואמר, in Deu 29:22, is resumed in ואמרוּ, in Deu 29:24, the subject of Deu 29:22 being expanded into the general notion, “all nations” (Deu 29:24). With וראוּ, in Deu 29:22 , a parenthetical clause is inserted, giving the reason for the main thought, in the form of a circumstantial clause; and to this there is attached, by a loose apposition in Deu 29:23, a still further picture of the divine strokes according to their effect upon the land.

The nouns in Deu 29:23, “ brimstone and salt burning ,” are in apposition to the strokes (plagues), and so far depend upon “they see. ” The description is borrowed from the character of the Dead Sea and its vicinity, to which there is an express allusion in the words, “ like the overthrow of Sodom ,” etc. , i. e. , of the towns of the vale of Siddim (see at Gen 14:2), which resembled paradise, the garden of Jehovah, before their destruction (vid.

, Gen 13:10 and Gen 19:24.)

Deu 29:24-25 “ What is this great burning of wrath? ” i.e., what does it mean - whence does it come? The reply to such a question would be (Deu 29:25-29): The inhabitants of the land have forsaken the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers; therefore has the wrath of the Lord burned over the land.

Deu 29:24-25 “ What is this great burning of wrath? ” i.e., what does it mean - whence does it come? The reply to such a question would be (Deu 29:25-29): The inhabitants of the land have forsaken the covenant of the Lord, the God of their fathers; therefore has the wrath of the Lord burned over the land.

Deu 29:26-29 “ Gods which God had not assigned them ” (vid. , Deu 4:19). “All the curses,” etc. , are the curses contained in Deut 28:15-68; Lev 26:14-38. - Those who give the answer close their address in Deu 29:29 with an expression of pious submission and solemn admonition. “ That which is hidden belongs to the Lord our God (is His affair), and that which is revealed belongs to us and our children for ever, to do (that we may do) all the words of this law .

” That which is revealed includes the law with its promises and threats; consequently that which is hidden can only refer to the mode in which God will carry out in the future His counsel and will, which He has revealed in the law, and complete His work of salvation notwithstanding the apostasy of the people.

Deu 29:26-29 “ Gods which God had not assigned them ” (vid. , Deu 4:19). “All the curses,” etc. , are the curses contained in Deut 28:15-68; Lev 26:14-38. - Those who give the answer close their address in Deu 29:29 with an expression of pious submission and solemn admonition. “ That which is hidden belongs to the Lord our God (is His affair), and that which is revealed belongs to us and our children for ever, to do (that we may do) all the words of this law .

” That which is revealed includes the law with its promises and threats; consequently that which is hidden can only refer to the mode in which God will carry out in the future His counsel and will, which He has revealed in the law, and complete His work of salvation notwithstanding the apostasy of the people.

Deu 29:26-29 “ Gods which God had not assigned them ” (vid. , Deu 4:19). “All the curses,” etc. , are the curses contained in Deut 28:15-68; Lev 26:14-38. - Those who give the answer close their address in Deu 29:29 with an expression of pious submission and solemn admonition. “ That which is hidden belongs to the Lord our God (is His affair), and that which is revealed belongs to us and our children for ever, to do (that we may do) all the words of this law .

” That which is revealed includes the law with its promises and threats; consequently that which is hidden can only refer to the mode in which God will carry out in the future His counsel and will, which He has revealed in the law, and complete His work of salvation notwithstanding the apostasy of the people.

Deu 29:26-29 “ Gods which God had not assigned them ” (vid. , Deu 4:19). “All the curses,” etc. , are the curses contained in Deut 28:15-68; Lev 26:14-38. - Those who give the answer close their address in Deu 29:29 with an expression of pious submission and solemn admonition. “ That which is hidden belongs to the Lord our God (is His affair), and that which is revealed belongs to us and our children for ever, to do (that we may do) all the words of this law .

” That which is revealed includes the law with its promises and threats; consequently that which is hidden can only refer to the mode in which God will carry out in the future His counsel and will, which He has revealed in the law, and complete His work of salvation notwithstanding the apostasy of the people.

Deu 30:1-3 “ When all these words, the blessing and the curse which I have set before thee, shall come . ” The allusion to the blessing in this connection may be explained on the ground that Moses was surveying the future generally, in which not only a curse but a blessing also would come upon the nation, according to its attitude towards the Lord as a whole and in its several members, since even in times of the greatest apostasy on the part of the nation there would always be a holy seed which could not die out; because otherwise the nation would necessarily have been utterly and for ever rejected, whereby the promises of God would have been brought to nought, - a result which was absolutely impossible.

“ And thou takest to heart among all nations ,” etc. , sc. , what has befallen thee - not only the curse which presses upon thee, but also the blessing which accompanies obedience to the commands of God, - “ and returnest to the Lord thy God, and hearkenest to His voice with all the heart ,” etc. (cf. Deu 4:29); “ the Lord will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and gather thee again .

” את־שׁבוּת שׁוּב does not mean to bring back the prisoners, as the more modern lexicographers erroneously suppose (the Kal שׁוּב never has the force of the Hiphil ), but to turn the imprisonment, and that in a figurative sense, viz. , to put an end to the distress (Job 42:10; Jer 30:8; Eze 16:53; Psa 14:7; also Psa 85:2; Psa 126:2, Psa 126:4), except that in many passages the misery of exile in which the people pined is represented as imprisonment.

The passage before us is fully decisive against the meaning to bring back the prisoners, since the gathering out of the heathen is spoken of as being itself the consequence of the “turning of the captivity;” so also is Jer 29:14, where the bringing back (השׁיב) is expressly distinguished from it. But especially is this the case with Jer 30:18, where “turning the captivity of Jacob’s tents” is synonymous with having mercy on his dwelling-places, and building up the city, again, so that the city lying in ruins is represented as שׁבוּת, an imprisonment.

Deu 30:1-3 “ When all these words, the blessing and the curse which I have set before thee, shall come . ” The allusion to the blessing in this connection may be explained on the ground that Moses was surveying the future generally, in which not only a curse but a blessing also would come upon the nation, according to its attitude towards the Lord as a whole and in its several members, since even in times of the greatest apostasy on the part of the nation there would always be a holy seed which could not die out; because otherwise the nation would necessarily have been utterly and for ever rejected, whereby the promises of God would have been brought to nought, - a result which was absolutely impossible.

“ And thou takest to heart among all nations ,” etc. , sc. , what has befallen thee - not only the curse which presses upon thee, but also the blessing which accompanies obedience to the commands of God, - “ and returnest to the Lord thy God, and hearkenest to His voice with all the heart ,” etc. (cf. Deu 4:29); “ the Lord will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and gather thee again .

” את־שׁבוּת שׁוּב does not mean to bring back the prisoners, as the more modern lexicographers erroneously suppose (the Kal שׁוּב never has the force of the Hiphil ), but to turn the imprisonment, and that in a figurative sense, viz. , to put an end to the distress (Job 42:10; Jer 30:8; Eze 16:53; Psa 14:7; also Psa 85:2; Psa 126:2, Psa 126:4), except that in many passages the misery of exile in which the people pined is represented as imprisonment.

The passage before us is fully decisive against the meaning to bring back the prisoners, since the gathering out of the heathen is spoken of as being itself the consequence of the “turning of the captivity;” so also is Jer 29:14, where the bringing back (השׁיב) is expressly distinguished from it. But especially is this the case with Jer 30:18, where “turning the captivity of Jacob’s tents” is synonymous with having mercy on his dwelling-places, and building up the city, again, so that the city lying in ruins is represented as שׁבוּת, an imprisonment.

Deu 30:1-3 “ When all these words, the blessing and the curse which I have set before thee, shall come . ” The allusion to the blessing in this connection may be explained on the ground that Moses was surveying the future generally, in which not only a curse but a blessing also would come upon the nation, according to its attitude towards the Lord as a whole and in its several members, since even in times of the greatest apostasy on the part of the nation there would always be a holy seed which could not die out; because otherwise the nation would necessarily have been utterly and for ever rejected, whereby the promises of God would have been brought to nought, - a result which was absolutely impossible.

“ And thou takest to heart among all nations ,” etc. , sc. , what has befallen thee - not only the curse which presses upon thee, but also the blessing which accompanies obedience to the commands of God, - “ and returnest to the Lord thy God, and hearkenest to His voice with all the heart ,” etc. (cf. Deu 4:29); “ the Lord will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and gather thee again .

” את־שׁבוּת שׁוּב does not mean to bring back the prisoners, as the more modern lexicographers erroneously suppose (the Kal שׁוּב never has the force of the Hiphil ), but to turn the imprisonment, and that in a figurative sense, viz. , to put an end to the distress (Job 42:10; Jer 30:8; Eze 16:53; Psa 14:7; also Psa 85:2; Psa 126:2, Psa 126:4), except that in many passages the misery of exile in which the people pined is represented as imprisonment.

The passage before us is fully decisive against the meaning to bring back the prisoners, since the gathering out of the heathen is spoken of as being itself the consequence of the “turning of the captivity;” so also is Jer 29:14, where the bringing back (השׁיב) is expressly distinguished from it. But especially is this the case with Jer 30:18, where “turning the captivity of Jacob’s tents” is synonymous with having mercy on his dwelling-places, and building up the city, again, so that the city lying in ruins is represented as שׁבוּת, an imprisonment.

Deu 30:4-5 The gathering of Israel out of all the countries of the earth would then follow. Even though the rejected people should be at the end of heaven, the Lord would fetch them thence, and bring them back into the land of their fathers, and do good to the nation, and multiply them above their fathers. These last words show that the promised neither points directly to the gathering of Israel from dispersion on its ultimate conversion to Christ, nor furnishes any proof that the Jews will then be brought back to Palestine.

It is true that even these words have some reference to the final redemption of Israel. This is evident from the curse of dispersion, which cannot be restricted to the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities, but includes the Roman dispersion also, in which the nation continues still; and it is still more apparent from the renewal of this promise in Jer 32:37 and other prophetic passages.

But this application is to be found in the spirit, and not in the latter. For if there is to be an increase in the number of the Jews, when gathered out of their dispersion into all the world, above the number of their fathers, and therefore above the number of the Israelites in the time of Solomon and the first monarchs of the two kingdoms, Palestine will never furnish room enough for a nation multiplied like this.

The multiplication promised here, so far as it falls within the Messianic age, will consist in the realization of the promise given to Abraham, that his seed should grow into nations (Gen 17:6 and Gen 17:16), i. e. , in the innumerable multiplication, not of the “Israel according to the flesh,” but of the “Israel according to the spirit,” whose land is not restricted to the boundaries of the earthly Canaan or Palestine (see p.

144). The possession of the earthly Canaan for all time is nowhere promised to the Israelitish nation in the law (see at Deu 11:21).