Cone a:
-N this chapter the J/raelites are affured of the I ejection of the Canaanites, though fo great and mighty, to make room forthem, y. 1, 2, 3: and they are cautioned not to attribute this to riehteoufnefs, but to the wickednefs of the nations which deferved to be fo treated, and to the nefs of God in performing his promife made to]is no their fathers, ¥. 4,5, 6. and that it might appear, that it could not be owing to their righteoufnels, it is affirmed and proved that they had been a lious and provoking people from their coming out of Egypt to that time, as was evident from their idolatry at Hore, a particular account of which} is given, and of the difpleafure of the Lord at it, y. 7—21. and of their murmurings, with which they provoked the Lord at other places, y. 24. and the chapter is clofed with an account of the prayer of Adojes for them at Horeb, to avert the lieve it: shat the Lord thy God is be which gocth over before thee as a con/uming Jire 5 did not only go before them over the river Jordan, in a pillar of cloud theirown jand fire, to guide and direct them, and was asa wall of fire around them to protect and defend taithful- them, but asa confuming fire before which there tanding, to deftroy their enemies; fee ch. iv. 24. Heb. xii. 29. be shall defiroy them, and he /bad/ bring them down before thy face; be they as great rebel-jand as mighty, as large and as tall as they’ may, they’ll not be able to ftand before the Lord, but will foon be made low, and be eafily brought down to the earth by him, and to utter deftruétion; which would be done in apublic and vifible manner, fo as that the hand of the Lord would be feenin it 22, 23, by the Tjraelites: fo foalt thou drive them out, and de- [firey them quickly, as the Lord hath faid unto thee; that is, the tar greater part of them, and fo many wrath of God from them for their making and worfhipping the golden calf, y. 25—29.
y. 1. Hear O Irael, &c.] A paule being made after the delivery of the preceding difcourfe; or perhaps what follows might be delivered at another asto make room for the J/reelites, and which was quickly done. The Fews commonly fay*, that they were feven years in fubduing the land; otherwife they were not to be driven out and deftroyed at once, but by little and little; fee ch. vii. 22, ¥.4. Speak not. thou in thine heart, &c ] Never time, at fome little diitance; and which being of once think within thyfelf, or give way to fuch a moment and importance to the glory of God, and that J/rae! might have a true notion of their duty, they are called upon to liften with attention to what was now about tobe faid: thou art to pafs over Fordan this day, not precifely that very day, but in a vain imagination, and pleafe thyfelf with it: after that the Lord thy God hath caft them out from before: thee; tomake way for the J/raelites, and put them into the pofleffion of their land; which is to be afcribed notto them, butto the Lord: faying, for fhort time after this; for it was on the firft day of theeleventh month, that Mofes began the repetition of the laws he was now going on with, ch, i. 3. and it was not until the tenth day of the firft month of the next year that the people paffed over Yordan, my righteou/ne/s the Lord hath brought me in to po /e/s this land; fucha thought as this was not to be fecretly cherifhed in their hearts, and much lefs expreffed with their lips; nothing being more foreign from truth than this, and yet a notion they
Folb. iv. 19. which was about two months after this: io go in and poffe/s nations greater and mightier than thyfelf; the feven nations named ch. vil. 1. where the fame characters are given of them: cities great and fenced up to heaven; asthey were faid to be by the fpies, ch. i. 28. and were no doubt both large and {trongly fortified, and not to be eafily taken by the J/raelites, had not the Lord been with them, a 2. A people great and tall, &c.) Of a large bulky fize, and of an high ftature, fo that the pies feemed to be as grafhoppers ‘to them, Numb, xiii. 33. the children of the Anakim, whom thou knoweft; by report, having had an account of them by the fpies, who defcrived them as very large bodied men, and of a gigantic {tature, the defcendants of one Anak, a giant; and fo-the Targum of Fonathan, ‘* a people {trong and high like the giants; ” from thefe Bene Anak, children of Anak, or Phene Anak, as the words might be pronounced, the initial letter of the firft word being of the fame found, Bochart * thinks the country had its name of
Phenicia: and of whom thou haji heard fay, who can fland before the children of Anak? or the children of the giants, as the Targums of Onkelos and
Jonathan; which they had heard either from the were prone to entertain. They were always a people, more or lefs, from firft to laft, tainted with a conceit of their own righteoufnefs and goodnefs, which they laboured to ettablifh, and were ready to attribute all the good things to it they enjoyed; and nothing is more natural to men, than to fancy they fhall be brought to the heavenly Canaan, by and for their own righteoufnefs; which is contrary to the perfections of God, his purity, holinefs, and juftice, which can never admit of an imperfect righteouinefs in the room of a perfect one; to juftity any one thereby, iscontrary to the gofpel-fcheme of falvation; which is not by works of righteoufnefs men have done, but by the grace and mercy of God through Chrift; ic would make ufelefs, null, and void, the righteoufnefs of Chrift, which only can juttify men in the fight of God, give a title to heaven and happinefs, and an abundant entrance into it; and would occafion boafting, not only ia the prefent ftate, but even in heaven itfelf; whereas the fcheme of falvation is fo framed and fixed, that there may be no room for boafting, here or hereafter:, fee Rem, iii. 27, 28. Eph. ii. 8, 9. Tit. iii. 5, 7. but for the wickednefs of thefe nations the Lord doth drive them out from before thee; namely, their idolatry, inceft, and other notorious crimes;
{pies who had fuggefted the fame, Numb. xiii. 31. or as acommon proverb in the mouths of moft fee Lev. xviii. 3—28. which fufficiently juftifies God in all his dealings with thefe nations.
¥..5. Not for thy righteoufnefs, or for the up-
¥. 3. Underfiand therefore this day, 8c.) Or be rightne/s of thine heart, &c.] Neither for their ex- jt known to you for your encouragement, and be- ternal righteoufneis before men, or their outward conformity conformity to the law, nor for the inward ererity ir hearts, and their upright intentions in do- | ee de, in which they rae doft thou\ y. 7. goto poffe/s their land? this is repeated, and-enlarged on, and explained, that this notion might be entirely removed from them, and not entertained by them; fimilar to which is that of men, who fancy that their fincere obedience, though imperfeet, will be accepted of God inftead of a perfect one, on account of which they fhall be juftified and faved; but by the deeds of the law no flefh ing can be juttified in the fight of God, nor by any works of righteoufnefs done by the beft of men, and in the beft manner they are capable of, will any be faved; but for the wickednefs of thofe nations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee which is repeated, that it might be taken notice of as the true reafon of the Lord’s dealing with them in fuch feveriry; and which becaule it be now doing, when the J/raelites pafled over Fordaz, and went in to poffefs the land, it is exprefled in the prefent tenfe doth drive, the work being not yet finifhed; fin was the caufe of their ejection out of their land, and another thing was the reafon of the [/raelites pofieffing it, and not their righteoufnefs next exprefled: and that be may perform the word which the Lord fware unto thy fathers, Abrabam, Ifaac, and Facob; it was to fulfil his covenant, and make good his word of promife to their fathers, and noton account of any righteoufnefs theirs; and the falvation of the Lord’s people in a fpiritual fenfe, and their enjoyment of the heavenly Canaan, are Owing to the gracious purpofes and promifes of God, and to his covenant-engage- ment ments, as well as to the undertakings, obedience, and righteoufnefs of his Son, and not to any righteoufnels of theirs.
trines of juftification by the righteoufnefs of Chri and not man’s, and of falvation by the grace of God, and not the works of men, are paints of knowledge and underftanding; and to lead men into an acquaintance with them, isthe general of the gofpel; and he can’t be reckoned an underftanding man, but ignorant of God and his righteoufnefs, of the law and the fpirituality of it, of Chrift and the way of falvation by him, of ‘Se we ony were fuch a people as here defcribed, everai inttances are given..
Remember and forget not how thou provokedft the Lord thy God to wrath in the wildernefs, &c.] dben Ezra remarks that this was after they journeyed from Horeb; but before they came thither, even as foon as they were in the wildernefs they provoked the Lord, as by their murmuring for water at Marah, when they had been but three days in the wildernc{s; and for bread in the wilder~ liv- nels of Sim, and for water again at Rephidim; all which were before they came to Horeb or Sinai; and which agrees with what follows: from the day. #hat thou didjt depart cut of the land of Egypt unssb ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious againft; the Lord; though they had fuch a feries of mercies, yet their lite was a continued courfe of rebellion againft the Lord; which is a fad character of would them indeed, and given by one that thoroughly knew them, was an eye-witnefs of facts, and had. a hearty refpect for them too, and cannot be thought to exaggerate things 3 fo that they were far from being righteous perfons in themfelves, nor was there any reafon to conclude it was for their righteou{nefs the land of Cenaaz was given them.
y.8. Alfo in Horeb ye provoked the Lord to wrath, &c.] The word alfo thews that they had provoked him before, but this inftance is given as a very notorious one; here they made the golden calf and of worfhipped it, whilft Mofes was on the mount with God, receiving inftructions from him for their good. Near to this place a rock had been {mitten for them, from whence flowed water for the refrefhof them and their cattle; here the Lord appeared in the glory of his majefty to them, and from hence, for it is the fame mount with Sizai, the law was given to them in fuch an awful and terrible manner; and yet none of thefé things were thy rigb- fufficient to rettrain them from provoking the Lordto wrath by their fins: /o that the Lord was angry wth you to have deftroyed you; fo very angry with them, them, and fo juftly, that he ptopofed to Mofes to good deftroy them, and make of him a great nation in their room, Lwod, xxxii. ro. |;
y. 6. Underftand therefore that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good land to poffe/s st for teoufnefs, &c.] This is again repeated to imprefs it upon their minds, that it was not for any goodnefs of theirs, but asa gift of divine goodnels to that they were put into the poffeflion of the land, which greatly exceeded any merits of theirs, and was entirely owing to the kindnefs of Godto them, and not to any righteoufnefs of theirs; this he frequently inculcates, that they might a thorough underftanding of it.
¥.9. When I was gone up into the mount to reand ceive the tables of ftone, Sc | Ihe tables of the law, have the fame law which forbid idolatry, and which And fo the doc-jthey had lately heard from the mouth of God him-?, |lelf: even the tables of the covenant which the Lord made with you; which they had agreed unto, and folemnly promifed they would obferve and do, Exed. xxiv. 7. then I abede in the mount forty days and forty defign nights 5 and this long flay was one reafon of their falling into idolatry, not knowing what was become of him, £wed. xxiv. 18. and xxxii. 1. I neither aid eat bread, nor drink water; all thofe 40 days thejand nights, Zwod. xxxiv. 28. to
Spirit and of fpiritual things, of the gofpel and its doétrines, nor can he be wife unto falvation, who expects to get to heaven by his own works of righteoufnefs; and it might be added, that he is ignorant of himfelf, of his ftate and condition, of his finfulnefs and vilenefs, and of the nature of his beft works; as the J/raelites in a good meafure feemed to be, whofe conviction is laboured in the following part of this chapter: for thou art a ftiff-mecked people; vefraétory and unruly, like an heifer unaccuftomed to the yoke, that draws back from it, and wriggles its neck out of it; fo untoward and perverfe were this people, and difobedient to the commands of God; wherefore there was no fhew of reafon that they were put into the poffeffion of Canaan for their righteoufnefs; and to make it ap-
¥. 10. And the Lord delivered unto me two tables of fione, written with the finger of God, &c.) The letters were of his devifing and forming, the writing was his, the engraving them on the ftones was his own doing; and which was done to fhew its’ original, to enftamp a divine authority on it, and to denote its duration; fee’ Exed. xxxi. 18. and XXxil. 16. and on them was written according to alf the words which the Lord fpake with you im the ‘mount; the ten commands, exaétly in the fame or~ der, and in the fame words, without any variation,” — as they were delivered to them with an articulate voice in their hearing; but now were written im this manner, that they might be read by them, and remain with them; fee Exod. xxxive28. out of the midft of the fire; in which the lord was, and from ~ 7: wh ence’
Chix y.11-21. DEUTERONOMY 47 whence he fpake: in the day of ‘the affembly, when all the people..of J/rae! were gathered together at the foot of the mount; fee #wod. xix. 17. Deut., iv. 10, 11,12. 4 y.a1. And it came to pafs at the end of forty days and forty nights, ®c.] The time of Mofes’s ftay in the mount, when it! was juft up, and not before: that the Lord gave me the two tables of ftone, even the tables of the covenant, asin ¥.9. Aben Ezra obferves, that this fhews that the day the tables were given to Maj/es the calf wasmade. _ y¥. 12. And the Lord faid unto me, &c.\: The omnifcient God, who’ knew what was doing in the camp of J/rael, though Mojes did not, of which he informs him: arife, get\thee down quickly from hence; from the mount where he was; and the word arife does not fuppofe him to be fitting or lying along, neither of which poftures would have been fuitable, confidering in whofe prefence he was; but is only expreffive of urgency and hafte of his departure; it is not ufed in Exod. xxxil. 7. for thy people which thou haft brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themfelves; their way, as the Targum of Jonathan, that is, by idolatry, than which nothing is more corrupting and defiling; the Lord calls them not his people, but the people of Mojes, being highly difpleafed with them; and afcribes their coming out of Egypt to Mo/es the inftrument, amd not to himfelf, as if he re-
19. ye bad turned afide quickly out of the way which the Lord bad commanded you, fee ¥. 12. | v.17. And I took the two tables, and caft them out of my two bands, &c.] In wrath and indignation at the fin they were guilty of: and brake them before your eyes; as an embleny of their breach of them by tranfgreffing them. Me 18. And I fell down before the Lord, &c.| In prayer for J/rael who had finned; but this he did hot immediately after he had broken the tables, but when he had firft ground the calf to powder, ftrowed it on the water, and made the children of Trae? drink it’; and when he had chided 4eron, and ordered’ the ‘fons of Levi to flay every ‘Man his © brother:\ as at the firft forty days and forty nights; which is to be connected, I think, not with what goes before; for we read not that he fell down before the Lord, at the firft time. he was with him 6 lone in the mount; but with what follows: J did $e ther eat bread, nor drink water; as he neither eat nor drank the firft forty days, fo neither did he thefe fecond forty; fee ¥. 9. becaufe of all your fins which ye finnéd, in doing wickedly in the fight of the Lord to provoke him to anger, for they were guilty of more fins than ‘one; befides idolatry, they were guilty of unbelief, ingratitude, &c. which were notorious and flagrant, were done openly and publickly, in fight of his glory*and majefty on the mount; all which muft be very provoking to pented of bringing them from thence: quickly turned afide out of the way which I them; it being but about fix weeks ago, that the command forbidding idolatry, the fin they had fal- Jen into, had been given them: and they have made them a molten image; the image of acalf made of they arethim, and on account of thefe Mo/es prayed and fafted, commanded) yr. 19. For I was afraid of the anger and hot difpleafure wherewith the Lord was wroth againft you. &c.] Which was exceeding vehement, as appeared by his words to Mo/es, forbidding to intercede for them, that he might confume them, and make of melted gald. him a greater nation; wherefore he dreaded the if.
y. 13. Furthermore the Lord [pake unto me, faying, &c.] After he had» given him the two tables, and before hisdeparture from the mount: J have _ feen this people, took notice of them, their ways, and their works: and behold, it is a fliff-necked people; unwilling to fubmit to, and bear the yoke of my commandments; fee Exod. XXxXii. 9. alfo,;
y. 16. And I looked, &c.] When he was come down from the mount, and was nigh the camp: and bebold, ye bad finned againft the Lord your God; that plainly appeared by what they had done, and at which he was amazed; and therefore a behold is prefixed to it, it being fuch a grofs fin, having fo much impiety and ingratitude, and ftupidity init: and made you a molten calf; that he faw with his eyes, and them dancing about it; fee Exod. xxxii. fue of it, left it fhould be to deftroy yous that that fhould be his full refolution and determination; however, he made ufe of means, and betook himfelf to fafting and prayer; fo heartily affe@ted was he to this people when his temptations lay another way: out the Lord bearkened unto me at that time as he had at other times, when this people \had finned, and he intreated for them; in‘which he was a type of Chrift, the mediator and advocate, azdtwhom the Father always hears.
y. 14. Let me alone that I may deftroy them, &c.} Do not fay one word to me on their behalf, or intreat mie to fpare them, and not deftroy them: blot out their name from under heaven, thatno fuch nation may be heardof, or known by the name of Hrael: and I will make of thee a nation mightier greater than they, of his family, whereby the Lord’s promife to Abrakam would not have been made void, but equally firm and fure, finee this mightier and greater nation would have been of his feed; fee the note on Exod. xxxii. 10. Mofes:
. ¥.20. And the Lord was very angry with Aaron to have defiroyed him, &c.] For complying with the andjrequeft. ot the people in making a calf for them, and for that miferable fhift he made to excufe himfelf; which fo provoked the Lord, that he threatened to deftroy him, and he was in danger of be— ing cut off, had it not been for the interceffion of and I prayed for Aaron alfo the fame time, mount,)who either was included in the general prayer for and the mount)the people, Exod. xxxii. 31. or a particular prayer was made for him, though not recorded, and which alfo fucceeded. Pett 21. And I took your fin, the calf which ye bad made, 8&cc.] Which was the objeé&t of their fin, which lay in making and worfhipping ic; fee J/- xxxi. 7. and burnt it with fire and ftamped it; with his feet after it was burnt, to bring it into {mall pieces: and ground it very fmall; or, as the Targum of Jonathan, ‘ ground it in a mortar well;” the burnt and broken pieces: even until it was as fall as duft; being ground to powder, as in Exod. xxxii. 20. and I caft the duft thereof into the brook that defcended out of the mount; and made the children of J/rael to drink of it, as in the fore-cited place; fee the note there; all this was done before the prayer for Aaron and the people.
y.15. Sol turned and came down from the &c.] As “the Lord commanded:
burned with fire; as it had for fix weeks paft, ever fince the Lord’s defcent upon it; and fo it continued, for the words’ may be rendered, and the) yr. mount was burning»; and yet this did not deter the Tiraelites from idolatry: and the two tables of the covenent were in my two hands; one table’in one " and, andthe other in the other band.
¥.22. And at Taberah, and at Mafjab, and at Kibroth-hattaavak, ye provoked the Lord to wrath;) Thefe places are not mentioned in the {trict order in which the provocations were made at them; for they provoked the Lord at Majfab by murmuring for water, before they provoked him at Taberab, by complaining as it fhould feem of their journeying; for Maffab was before they came to Sinai, and Taberah atter they departed from thence; though fome, as ben Ezra obferves, fay that Taberab is Maffah, but it could not be the Majfab in Rephidim, for that was on one fide of mount Sinai, and Taberah on another; though different places might be fo called from their tempting the Lord at them; rather Taberah and Kibroth-hattaavab feem to be the fame; where the people died with the flefh in their mouths they lufted after, the people on, yet he declared that he would vifit their fin upon them, Exod. xxxii. 34.
¥.26. And I prayed therefore unto the Lord, &c.] What follows is a different Prayer from that in Exod, xxxii. 31, 32. and agrees better with that in¥. 11, 12, 13. delivered before he came down from the mount, yet could not be the fame, becaufe delivered at another forty days and nights: and faid, O Lord God, deftroy not thy people, and thine inheritance, becaufe they were his inheritance, a people whom he had chofen for his peculiar trea- {ure; this is the firft argument ufed, another follows: which thou haft redeemed through thy greatne/s; redeemed out of the houfe of bondage, the land of Egypt, by his great power, as next explained: which thou haft brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty band: intiicting plagues on the Egyptians, and were buried; fince no mention is made of particularly deftroying their Arft-born, which made their removal at that time from the one place to the other, nor of Taberah in the account of their journeys, only Kibroth-hattaavah; fee Exod. xvii. 7: Numb. xi. 3,.24:
¥. 23. Likewife when the Lord fent you from Kadefb-barnea, &c.| From whence the fpies were fent to fearch the land, though previous to it they had the following order to go up and poffefs it; fee Numb, xxxii. 8. Deut. i. 19, 20, 21. faying, go up and poffe/s the land which I have given you; this they were bid to do, before they defired the {pies might be fent to fearch it firft; and after they had returned and made their report, they were encouraged to go up and take poffeffion of it: then ye rebelled againft the commandment of the Lord your God; refufing to go up into it: and ye believed him not; that he would caft out and deftroy the inhabitants of it, and put them into the poffeffion of ir; which they diftrufted by reafon of the gigantic ftature of fome that dwelt in it, and their fortified cities: wor bearkened to bis voice; whether commanding or encouraging.
y. 24. You from the day that I knew you | Either from the time he firft had and took knowledge of them and vifited them, before his departure from Egypt to the land of Midian; (fee Exod. i. 11 pared with Aés vil. 25.) or from the time that he was fent tothem to deliver them out of Egypt; fee Exod. v. 20,21. and efpecially from the time he brought them into the wildernefs.
¥. 25. Thus [fell down before the Lord forty days and forty nights, as 1 sell down at the firft, &c.
Which ‘archi fays are tne felf-fame faid above, y. 18. but doubled or repeated, becaufe of the order of his prayer. The words at the firft are not in the text; and as before obferved, we do not read that Moj/es fell down at the firft forty days he was in the mount, unlefs it can be thoughthe did, Exod. xxxii. 11. wherefore this falling down feems to be as he fell down at the fecond forty days; and fo this was a third forty days, according to the Fewsh writers, and of which opinion were Dr. Lightfoot and others; fee the note on Exod. xxxiv. 28. becaufe the Lord had faid he would deftroy you; threa- them the J/raedites urge to depart.
¥. 27. Remember thy servants Abraham, Iaac and Facob, &c.} The covenant he had made with them, the promifes he had made to them of the multiplication of their feed, and of giving the land of Canaan to them; which is a third argument ufed with the Lord not to deftroy them: /ook not unto the fiubbornnefs of this people, nor to their wickedne/s, nor to their fin; not to the natural temper and difpofition of the people, which was to be ftubborn, obftinate, ftiff-necked and felf-willed; nor to their wickednefs, which appears in various inftances; nor to that particular fin of idolatry they had now been guilty of; tacitly owning that if God looked to thefe things, there was fufficient reafon to deftroy them.
¥. 28. Left the land whence thou broughteft us out, fay, &c.] Theland of Egypt, the inhabitants of it: becaufe the Lord was not able to bring them into the land which he promifed them; the land of Canaan, the inhabitants of it being fo mighty, and their cities fo ftrongly fortified. Here Mojes ex- have been rebellious againft the Lord preffes his concern for the glory of God, and the honour of his perfections, and makes that a fourth argument why he fhould not deftroy them: and becaufe be hated them, be hath brought them out to
14..com- lay them in the wilderne/s, out of Egypt, a’ plentiful country, into a wildernefs where nothing was to be had; but his choice of them for his inheritance, his redemption of them out of bondage and mifery, the care he took of them, and the provifion he had made for them in the wildernefs, clearly fhewed that they were not the objeéts of his hatred but of his love.
¥. 29. Yet they are thy people, &c ] Though they had finned againft him: and thine inheritance; which he would not forfake and caft off; at leaft Mofes boped on this account he would not, and makes ufe thereof as an argument with him, why he fhould not, and which he repeats, adding, in effect what he had faid before: which thou broughtoft out by thy mighty power, and firetched-out arm, even out of the land of Zgypt; the doing of which was plainly the effe@ of his all-mighty power, and an evidence of it, confidering the weaknefs of Jf tened them with deftruétion,-and feemed as if it 74e/ and the ftrength of Egypt, and the manner in was his intention to deftroy them; nay, even after which the Lord brought about this furprifing e-
Mo/es’s firft prayer, though he bid him go and lead vent,
N this chapter an account is given of an order to Mo/es to hew two tables of ftone, on which the Lord would write the words that were on the firft, and to make an ark and put them into it, all which was accordingly done, ¥. 1—5. and o ¥. 3. fome of the journeys of the children of J/rae/, ¥. 6, 7. and of the feparation of the tribe of Levi to the fervice of the fanctuary, ¥..8, 9. and of Mofes’s. {tay in the mount forty days and nights, and his fuccefs there, and the direction he had to on the people of J/rael towards Canaan’s land, y 30, 11. and who by various arguments are exhorted to fear the Lord, and ferve him, and keep his commands, ¥. 12—22. the former were, of which the fulfilling end of the law for righteoufnels to every believer; and that as this was in his heart to fulfil it, fo it is in his hand as a rule of faith and converfation to his people.
And I made an ark of Shittim-wood, &c.] That is, ordered it to be made, and it was made by Bezaleel, and that of fhittim-wood; fo the ark that was put into the holy of holies was made of this wood; fee Exod. xxv. 10. and the note there, leadjand xxxvii. 1. and hewed two tables of ftone like unto the firft; two marble ones, as the Targum of Yoxathan; that is, he ordered them to be hewed, and took care that they fhould be exa¢tly made as he had perfect eknow- ledge, having received them of the Lord, and y. 1. At that time the Lord faid unto me, &c.] On the 4oth day, mentioned in the preceding chap ter, as Aben Ezra, or at the end of forty days, as Farchi; not of the firft forty, for then were given him the firft two tables of ftone with the written on them, which he broke when he camejwere down; but at the end of the fecond forty days, as fome think, when he had fallen before the Lord, and entreated him for the people, and as a token of his reconciliation to them, gave the following order: hew thee two tables of fione like unto the firft, &c. Of the fame fort of ftone, of the fame fize and form with thofe God gave him in the mount the firft time he was there, and which he broke his defcent from thence; they were the work of God, but thefe were to be hewed by Mo/es: the order feems to be given between the requeft Mo/es made to fee the glory of the Lord, and the proclamation made of it; fee Ewod. xxxiv. 1. and come up unto me into the mount; mount Sinai; this was certainly the third time of his going up there, and where he continued forty days and nights; but whether he continued there fo long the fecond time may be a matter of queftion, though he certainly did the third time; fee Exod. xxxii. 30, 31. and xxxiv. 1, 4, 28. and make thee an ark of wood; Farchi thinks this was not the ark Beza/eel made, but made after, and is that which went out to battle; and fome take it to be a temporary ark, made for the prefent purpofe till that was finifhed; but Aben Ezra is of opinion it is the fame that Bezaleel made: and it may be faid to be made by Mofes, becaule he was not only ordered to make it, but it was by his orders and the direction he! gave to Bezaleel that it was made;
the more probable, becaufe there the tables brought them with him down the mount: and went up into the mount, having the two tables in my amd; in order to have the words of the law, the ten commands, written on them, thefe being only lawjhewn ftones without any thing on ‘them; they very probably marble, of which great quantities were near at hand.
». 4. Aud be wrote on the tables according to the firft writing, 8&cc.] The fame laws, in the fame |letters: the ten commandments which the Lord fpake unto you in the mount; in mount Sinai, on which he defcended, and from whence he delivered the decalogue by word of mouth in an audible maninJner, that all the people could hear it: cut of the midjf of the fire; in which he defcended, and where he continued, and from whence he fpake, fo that it was indeed a fiery law: in the day of the affembly; when all the people of J/rael were affembled together at the bottom of the mount to hear it: and the Lord gave them unto me;*the two tables when he had wrote upon them the ten commands.
y. 5. And I turned myfelf, &c.] From the Lord, out of whofe hands he had received the tables: and came down from the mount; with the two tables in his hand as before, one in one hand, and the o her in the other hand: and put the tables in the ark which I had made; or ordered to be made: and there they be, as the Lord commanded me, there they were when Mo/es rehearfed what is contained in this book, on the plains of Moab, about 38 years after the putting them into it; and there they continued to be when the ark was brought into Solomon’s temple, 1 Kings viii. g. and there they were as long as the ark was in being; which may and this feems denote the continuance of the law in the hands of re-)Chrift under the gofpel-difpenfation as a rule of mained, ¥. 5. walk and converfation to his people.+
¥. 2. And I will write on the tables the words were in the firft tables which thou brakeft, 8c. Though they were hewn by Mo/és, the writing on or them was the Lord’s; and the very fame laws, in the fame words, without any alteration or - tion were written by him on thefe as on the former; partly to fhew the authenticity of them, they were of God and not Mojes, of a divine ar inal and not human; and partly to thew the invariablenefs of them, that no change had been made in them, though they had been broken by the people; of which Mo/es’s breaking the tables was reprefentation: and thou fhalt put them in the ark; which being a type of Chrift may fignify the fulfilment of the law by him, who is the end,) from Mo that; y. 6. And the children of Ifrael took their journey from Beeroth of the children of Faakan, &c. | Not when foon after they removed from Siuzaz; for if this place is the fame with Bene Faakan, as is generally fupvaria-pofed, they hada great many journies, manfions, and {tations before they came to it; fee Numb. xxxiii. 31. that and befides, fince daron, according to this account, bapa at their next {tation from hence, that was 38 years after their departure from mount Sinai; and it is hard to fay what fhould be the reafon of making mention of thefe two or three journies here; a and whereas they are here faid to journey from the place bere mentioned to Mofera; on the contrary in Numb. xxxiii. 31. they are faid to depart era and pitch in Bene Faakan; which is
2 accounted * See a Sermon of mine on this text, called, “* The law in the hand of Chrift.”
accounted for by their going backwards and forthe firft time, forty days and forty nights, 8c.
wards, and fo both may be true. opinion, that Beeroth Bene Faakan, or the wells of the children of faekan, is not the fame with Bene Faakan, nor Mofera the fame with Moferotb; but Beeroth.is Kade/h, and. Mofera is the name of the defert of mount Hor; and it is certain that Moferoth was the 27th ftation, and Mofera, or the defert of mount Hor, where Aaron died, was the 34th, and therefore muft be diftant; fee Numb. XXXiii. 30-37. which feems to agree with what follows: there Aaron died, and there he was buried; it is certain that Aaron died on mount Hor, Numb. xx. 23, 28. and xxxiii, 38, 39. or there died and was buried when inthe defert of Mofera: ana Eleazer kis fon miniftred in the priefts office in bis fead; fo that though the high-prieft died, the office continued, and the law of it remained in force, and the tribe of Levi was feparated forthe fervice of the’fanctuary, as afterwards exprefied.
y. 7. From thence they journeyed unto Gudgodab, | &c.) Which Farchi takes to be the fame with Horbagidgad, and fo do moft; fee Numb. XXXili. 32, 33. but Aven Ezra fays it is not, but isa general name, including Zelmanab, Punoen and Obvoth, places the J/raelites came to after they removed from mount Hor, where Aaron died; fee Numb, xxxiii. 41, 42,.43. and from Gudgodab: to
Fothath, a land of rivers of waters; which the above writer takes to. be the fame with Beer, the:
well, Numd. xxi. 16, and by this defcription of it, it was a place where there was much water.
y¥. 8. At that time the Lord separated the tribe of Levi, &c.] Not at the time that Mao/es came down from the mount with the tables of the law, but fome confiderable time after, even after the
Aben Ezra is of which is to be connected with y. 6: and rela |what paffed before he came down from the mount with the two tables; as that he ftayed there as long as he did when he received the firft tables, and fafted alfo as long ashe did then;:fe Exod. xxxiv. 28. and the Lord hearkened unto me at t. time alfox to his prayer on the behalf of the people: and the Lord would not deftroy Ihitie he had threatened it, and their finvhad:d it. ¥. 11. And the Lord faid unto me, arife, take thy journey before the people, &c.| Here rMofes goes on with his relation of things at mount Sinai, how that upon his fupplication for the: people, on’ account of the dettruction they were threatened with for their idolatry, the Lord was gracioufly pleafed not only to hear him and forgive the people, but ordered him to go before them, and Jead them on towards the land of Canaan he had promifed them,
|Exod. xxxii. 34. and xxxiil. 1. that they may go in and poffels the land, whith Ifware unto their fa— thers to give unto them; and which had it-not been for their after murmurings: and rebellions, the} had been in the poffeffion of it in adittle time, < pecially after their departure frony Simat. ¥, 12. dnd now lracl, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, 8¢c:] » For «all ‘thefe favours beftowed upon them, the forgivenefs of: their’ fins, and a frefh intimation of their poffeffion of the land of Canaan, and the renewal: of the promife of it made to their fathers: dat to fear the Lord t God; to fear him with a filial fear, to fear him a his goodnefs, and him for his goodnefs fake, and particularly for his pardoning grace and mercy vouchfafed to them; fee Pf cxxxi 4. 10° walk in all bis ways; prefcribed and directed to by him, tabernacle was erected, nor at the time that died, and Eleazar fucceeded him, but many years before that; unlefs there was a freth feparation of them, or a renewal of it when Eleazar became high-prieft in his father’s ftead, and fo that being mentioned is the reafon of its being repeated here: to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord; even that into which the law, fometimes called the covenant, was put, and therefore here called the ark of the covenant: when this was carried from place to place, as it was efpecially in the wildernefs, it was the bufinefs of the Levies to bear it, cularly the Kobathites; Numb. iii. 31. and x, 21. fee 1 Chron. v. 1. to ftand before the Lord to minifer unto him that is, to his priefts, in the tabernacle, and to keep and guard that: and to ble/s in bis name unto this day; not to blefs the people, which was the work of the prieft, but to fing praife in the name of the Lord, to give thanks unto him, and blefs and praife him.
¥..9. Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inberitance with his brethren, &c.) Inthe divifion of| the land of Canaan, becaufe being feparated to the Aaron jevery path of duty, whether moral, ceremonial, or judicial; and to love bim, and to ferve the Lord ¢4y God with all thy heart, and with all thy fouls for that is the beft fervice which {prings*from love, and love conftrains unto, and which is hearty and fincere, as that is, and “is performed in the beft manner fuch are capable of. 3
¥. 13. To keep the commandments of the Lord; ¢nd his fratutes, &c.] Both the ten commandsand all others: which I command thee this. day for thy good; promifes of temporal good things, introducparti-jtion into the land of Canaan, poffeffion of it, and continuance in it, being made to obedience to \them..
¥. 14. Bebold the heaven, and the heaven of beavens are the Lord’s thy Cod, &c. | Made and poflefied, by him; the airy and ftarry heaven, the third heaven, which is the heaven of heavens, the feat of the divine majefty, the habitation of angels and glorified faints: the earth alfo, with all therein is; that is his property, and at his difpofal, being made by him, and all that is upon it, or contain in it, even whatfoever is on or in the whole ter fervice of the fanctuary, he had no leifure to plow and. fow, as archi obferves: the Lord is bis inheritance, as the Lord thy God promifed him notin a fpiritual fenfe, for fo the Lord was an inheritance and portion of other J/raelites; though thefe being “taken off of worldly employments, and devoted to fanctuary-fervice, might have more communion with God than others; but in a temporal fenfe, provifion being made particularly by tithes, which were the Lord’s, for their maintenance; and fo the Tarzums of Onkelos and Jonathan paraphrafe the words; ‘* gifts which the Lord gave him are his inheritance;, fee Numb. xviii. 20, 2 i.
y. 10. And 1 flayed in the mount, according to queous globe; fee Pfcxv. 15, 16. 9 ¥. 15. Only the Lord bad a delight im thy fathers to love them, &c.] Though the heavens and the earth, and all the inhabitants of them are Lord’s by creation, yet he had a fpecial re unto, and a peculiar complacency in, the fathers the I/raelites, Abraham, Ifaac and Facob; fron whence arofe fome particular expreffions of love t them, fignified by various acts of kindnefs don them, and promifes made unto them: and their feed after them, even you above all the peopl as it is thic day; to be a fpecial people to him enjoy civil and religious privileges greater thar other; and particularly to have his law | er |
¥. 16. Circumcife therefore the foreskin of your| beart, &c.| Content not yourfelves with, nor put your confidence in outward circumcifion of the flefh, but be concerned for the circumcifion of the heart; for removing from that whatever is greeable to the Lord, even all carnality, fenfuality, hypocrify, and fuperfluity of naughtinefs, and for having that put there which is well pleafing in his fight; and which though it is the work of God, and he only can do it and has promifed it, yet fuch an exhortation is made to bring men to a fenfe of their need of it, and of the importance of it, fhew how agreeable it is to the Lord, and fo to ftir them up to feek unto him for it; fee ch. xxx. 6. and be no more fliff-necked, froward, obftinate and difobedient, as they had been hitherto; ch. ix. 6, the widow, in his holy habitation; P/- Ixviil. 5. and oveth the ftranger, in giving bim food and raiment; one that is in a foreign country, at a diltance from Rom. his native land, and deftitute of friends, fuch God in his providence takes care of, and expreffes his \ove and kindnefs to, by giving them the néceffaries of life, food and raiment.
y. 19. Love ye therefore the firanger, 8c.] Bes caufe the Lord loves him; and another reafon foldifa-;lows, particularly binding on the J/raelites: for yé were ffrangers in the land of Egypt, and therefore fhould fympathife with fuch, and fhew them compaffion, relieve them in diftrefs, and afford them whatever they want, and is in the power of their hands to communicate to them; remembering their own condition in Egypt, and how welcome {uch a and toytreatment would have been to them then, as well as the kind and careful providence of God towards them at that time.
y. 20. Thou fhalt fear the Lord thy God, &c. Which includes the whole worfhip of him piel
13, 24. ' and internal: im fhalt thou ferve; heartily and y.17. For the Lord your Ged is God of gods, &c.] Of angels and civil magiftrates, who fometimes fo called; thefe are his creatures, act for him and under him, and are accountable to him: the Lord of lords, of the kings and princes of the earth, who have their crowns, fcepters, and kingdoms from him, and hold them of him, fincerely, according to his revealed will, and him arejonly: and to him fhalt thou cleave; and not turn afide to follow other gods, and worfhip them: and fwear by his name; and his only, whenever it is neceffary to take an oath, which fhould not be done rafhly or on trivial accounts, and never by any creature, but by the living Gods fee ch. vi.
by and under whom they reign and decree judg-} 13. ment, and who are fubject to his authority and controul: @ great God; as the perfections of his nature, the works of his hands, the bleffings of his providence and grace, and the extenfivenefs of his dominion in heaven, earth, and hell fhew him to be: a mighty and a terrible; mighty and powerful to help, protect and defend his people; terrible to his and their enemies, even to the kings of the earth: which regardeth not perfons, but beftows his favours whether in a way of providence or grace, according to his fovereign will and pleafure, without regard to the works and merits of men, their characters or circumftances: nor taketh reward, or bribes, to avert threatened and deferved Judgments; fee ‘Fob xxxvi. 18, 19. ¥. 22.
y. 21. He is thy praife, &c.] The objeét and matter of it, who deferves the praifes of all his creatures, becaufe of his perfections, works, and bleffings of goodnefs; for all mercies temporal and fpiritual come from him, and therefore he is greatly to be praifed for them: praife is his due, and it is comely in his people to give it to him; fee ‘Fer. xvii. 14. and he is thy God, which hath done for thee thefe great and terrible things, which thine eyes have feen; which were done upon the Egyptiaus for their fakes, both in the land of Egypt and atthe Red-/ea; and alfo what he had done for them in the wildernefs, to Sion and Og, kings of the Amorites, Pf. cvi. 22. and cxxxvi. 10—21. Thy fathers went down into Egypt with 70 perfons, &c.] That is, in all; for there were not 7o befides acob and ‘the patriarchs his fons, but; fee Gen. xlvi. 26, 27. and now th Zord thy God hath made thee as the flars of heaven for multitude, as he promifed they fhould be, Gen. xv. 5.
y. 18. He doth execute the judgment of the fatherlef; and widow, &c.] Who have none to help them, and whofe patron and - he is, and}with them will do them juftice himfelf, and take care that it is done them by others, or avenge their injuries, for he is a father of the fatherlefs, and a judge of