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Deuteronomy Chapter
Twenty-eight
Deuteronomy 28
Chapter Contents
The blessings for obedience. (1-14) The curses for disobedience.
(15-44) Their ruin
if disobedient. (45-68)
Commentary on Deuteronomy 28:1-14
(Read Deuteronomy 28:1-14)
This chapter is a very large exposition of two words
the
blessing and the curse. They are real things and have real effects. The
blessings are here put before the curses. God is slow to anger
but swift to
show mercy. It is his delight to bless. It is better that we should be drawn to
what is good by a child-like hope of God's favour
than that we be frightened
to it by a slavish fear of his wrath. The blessing is promised
upon condition
that they diligently hearken to the voice of God. Let them keep up religion
the form and power of it
in their families and nation
then the providence of
God would prosper all their outward concerns.
Commentary on Deuteronomy 28:15-44
(Read Deuteronomy 28:15-44)
If we do not keep God's commandments
we not only come
short of the blessing promised
but we lay ourselves under the curse
which
includes all misery
as the blessing all happiness. Observe the justice of this
curse. It is not a curse causeless
or for some light cause. The extent and
power of this curse. Wherever the sinner goes
the curse of God follows;
wherever he is
it rests upon him. Whatever he has is under a curse. All his
enjoyments are made bitter; he cannot take any true comfort in them
for the
wrath of God mixes itself with them. Many judgments are here stated
which
would be the fruits of the curse
and with which God would punish the people of
the Jews
for their apostacy and disobedience. We may observe the fulfilling of
these threatenings in their present state. To complete their misery
it is
threatened that by these troubles they should be bereaved of all comfort and
hope
and left to utter despair. Those who walk by sight
and not by faith
are
in danger of losing reason itself
when every thing about them looks frightful.
Commentary on Deuteronomy 28:45-68
(Read Deuteronomy 28:45-68)
If God inflicts vengeance
what miseries his curse can
bring upon mankind
even in this present world! Yet these are but the beginning
of sorrows to those under the curse of God. What then will be the misery of
that world where their worm dieth not
and their fire is not quenched! Observe
what is here said of the wrath of God
which should come and remain upon the Israelites
for their sins. It is amazing to think that a people so long the favourites of
Heaven
should be so cast off; and yet that a people so scattered in all
nations should be kept distinct
and not mixed with others. If they would not
serve God with cheerfulness
they should be compelled to serve their enemies.
We may justly expect from God
that if we do not fear his fearful name
we
shall feel his fearful plagues; for one way or other God will be feared. The
destruction threatened is described. They have
indeed
been plucked from off
the land
verse 63. Not only by the Babylonish captivity
and when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans; but afterwards
when they were
forbidden to set foot in Jerusalem. They should have no rest; no rest of body
ver. 65
but be continually on the remove
either in hope of gain
or fear of
persecution. No rest of the mind
which is much worse. They have been banished
from city to city
from country to country; recalled
and banished again. These
events
compared with the favour shown to Israel in ancient times
and with the
prophecies about them
should not only excite astonishment
but turn unto us
for a testimony
assuring us of the truth of Scripture. And when the other
prophecies of their conversion to Christ shall come to pass
the whole will be
a sign and a wonder to all the nations of the earth
and the forerunner of a
general spread of true christianity. The fulfilling of these prophecies upon
the Jewish nation
delivered more than three thousand years ago
shows that
Moses spake by the Spirit of God; who not only foresees the ruin of sinners
but warns of it
that they may prevent it by a true and timely repentance
or
else be left without excuse. And let us be thankful that Christ hath redeemed
us from the curse of the law
by being made a curse for us
and bearing in his
own person all that punishment which our sins merit
and which we must
otherwise have endured for ever. To this Refuge and salvation let sinners flee;
therein let believers rejoice
and serve their reconciled God with gladness of
heart
for the abundance of his spiritual blessings.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Deuteronomy》
Deuteronomy 28
Verse 2
[2] And
all these blessings shall come on thee
and overtake thee
if thou shalt
hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.
Overtake thee —
Those blessings which others greedily follow after
and never overtake
shall
follow after thee
and shall be thrown into thy lap by special kindness.
Verse 3
[3] Blessed shalt thou be in the city
and blessed shalt thou be in the field.
In the city
and in the field — Whether they were husbandmen or tradesmen
whether in the town or
country
they should be preserved from the dangers of both
and have the
comforts of both. How constantly must we depend upon God
both for the
continuance and comfort of life! We need him at every turn: we cannot be safe
if he withdraw his protection
nor easy
if he suspends his savour: but if he
bless us
go where we will
'tis well with us.
Verse 5
[5]
Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
Store —
Store-house
it shall always be well replenished and the provision thou hast
there shall be preserved for thy use and service.
Verse 6
[6]
Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in
and blessed shalt thou be when thou
goest out.
Comest in —
That is
in all thy affairs and administrations.
Verse 9
[9] The LORD shall establish thee an holy people unto himself
as he hath
sworn unto thee
if thou shalt keep the commandments of the LORD thy God
and
walk in his ways.
Establish thee —
Shall confirm his covenant with thee
by which he separated thee to himself as
an holy and peculiar people.
Verse 10
[10] And
all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD;
and they shall be afraid of thee.
Of the Lord —
That you are in truth his people and children: A most excellent and glorious
people
under the peculiar care and countenance of the great God.
Verse 11
[11] And
the LORD shall make thee plenteous in goods
in the fruit of thy body
and in
the fruit of thy cattle
and in the fruit of thy ground
in the land which the
LORD sware unto thy fathers to give thee.
The same things which were said before are
repeated
to shew that God would repeat and multiply his blessings upon them.
Verse 12
[12] The
LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure
the heaven to give the rain unto
thy land in his season
and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt
lend unto many nations
and thou shalt not borrow.
His treasure —
The heaven or the air
which is God's storehouse
where he treasures up rain or
wind for man's use.
Verse 13
[13] And
the LORD shall make thee the head
and not the tail; and thou shalt be above
only
and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments
of the LORD thy God
which I command thee this day
to observe and to do them:
The head —
The chief of all people in power
or at least in dignity and privileges; so
that even they that are not under thine authority shall reverence thy greatness
and excellency. So it was in David's and Solomon's time
and so it should have
been much oftner and much more
if they had performed the conditions.
Verse 15
[15] But
it shall come to pass
if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy
God
to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command
thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee
and overtake thee:
Overtake thee — So
that thou shalt not be able to escape them
as thou shalt vainly hope and
endeavour to do. There is no running from God
but by running to him; no flying
from his justice
but by flying to his mercy.
Verse 20
[20] The
LORD shall send upon thee cursing
vexation
and rebuke
in all that thou
settest thine hand unto for to do
until thou be destroyed
and until thou
perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings
whereby thou hast
forsaken me.
Vexation —
This seems chiefly to concern the mind
arising from the disappointment of
hopes and the presages of its approaching miseries.
Rebuke —
Namely
from God
not so much in words as by his actions
by cross providences
by sharp and sore afflictions.
Verse 23
[23] And
thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass
and the earth that is under
thee shall be iron.
Brass —
Like brass
hard and dry
and shut up from giving rain.
Iron —
Hard and chapt and barren.
Verse 24
[24] The
LORD shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come
down upon thee
until thou be destroyed.
Dust —
Either thy rain shall be as unprofitable to thy ground and seed as if it were
only so much dust. Or instead of rain shall come nothing but dust from heaven
which being raised and carried up by the wind in great abundance
returns
and
falls upon the earth as it were in clouds or showers.
Verse 27
[27] The
LORD will smite thee with the botch of Egypt
and with the emerods
and with
the scab
and with the itch
whereof thou canst not be healed.
The botch of Egypt —
Such boils and blains as the Egyptians were plagued with
spreading from head
to foot: The emerodes - Or piles.
Verse 28
[28] The
LORD shall smite thee with madness
and blindness
and astonishment of heart:
Blindness — Of
mind
so that they shall not know what to do: Astonishment - They shall be
filled with wonder and horror because of the strangeness and soreness of their
calamities.
Verse 29
[29] And
thou shalt grope at noonday
as the blind gropeth in darkness
and thou shalt
not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore
and no man shall save thee.
Grope at noon day — In
the most clear and evident matters thou shalt grossly mistake.
Thy ways —
Thy counsels and enterprizes shall be frustrated and turn to thy destruction.
Verse 32
[32] Thy
sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people
and thine eyes shall
look
and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no
might in thine hand.
Unto another people — By
those who have conquered them
and taken them captives
who shall give or sell
them to other persons.
Fail —
Or
be consumed
partly with grief and plentiful tears; and partly with earnest
desire
and vain and long expectation of their return.
No might — No
power to rescue
nor money to ransom them.
Verse 33
[33] The
fruit of thy land
and all thy labours
shall a nation which thou knowest not
eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway:
Which thou knowest not — Which shall come from a far country
which thou didst not at all expect
or fear
and therefore will be the more dreadful when they come; a nation whose
language thou understandest not
and therefore canst not plead with them for
mercy
nor expect any favour from them.
Verse 34
[34] So
that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
Thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes — Quite put out of the possession of their own souls; quite bereaved of
all comfort and hope
and abandoned to utter despair. They that walk by sight
and not by faith
are in danger of losing reason itself
when all about them
looks frightful; and their condition is bad indeed
who are mad for the sight
of their eyes.
Verse 36
[36] The
LORD shall bring thee
and thy king which thou shalt set over thee
unto a
nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou
serve other gods
wood and stone.
Thy king —
The calamity shall be both universal
which even thy king shall not be able to
avoid
much less the subjects
who have far less advantage and opportunity for
escape; and irrecoverable
because he who should protect or rescue them is lost
with them
Lamentations 4:10.
Wood and stone — So
what formerly was their choice and delight now becomes their plague and misery.
And this doubtless was the condition of many Israelites under the Assyrian and
Balylonish captivities.
Verse 43
[43] The
stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt
come down very low.
Within thee —
Within thy gates; who formerly honoured and served thee
and were some of them
glad of the crumbs which fell from thy table.
Verse 45
[45]
Moreover all these curses shall come upon thee
and shall pursue thee
and
overtake thee
till thou be destroyed; because thou hearkenedst not unto the
voice of the LORD thy God
to keep his commandments and his statutes which he
commanded thee:
Moreover all these curses — It seems Moses has been hitherto foretelling their captivity in Babylon
by which even after their return
they were brought to the low condition
mentioned
Deuteronomy 28:44. But in the following he
foretells their last destruction by the Romans. And the present deplorable
state of the Jewish nation
so exactly answers this prediction
that it is an
incontestable proof of the truth of the prophecy
and consequently of the
divine authority of the scriptures. And this destruction more dreadful than the
former shews
that their sin in rejecting Christ
was more provoking to God
than idolatry itself
and left them more under the power of Satan. For their
captivity in Babylon cured them effectually of idolatry in seventy years. But
under this last destruction
they continue above sixteen hundred years
incurably averse to the Lord Jesus.
Verse 46
[46] And
they shall be upon thee for a sign and for a wonder
and upon thy seed for
ever.
They —
These curses now mentioned.
A wonder —
Signal and wonderful to all that hear of them. 'Tis amazing
a people so
incorporated
should be so universally disperst! And that a people scattered in
all nations
should not mix with any
but like Cain
be fugitives and
vagabonds
and yet so marked as to be known.
Verse 54
[54] So
that the man that is tender among you
and very delicate
his eye shall be evil
toward his brother
and toward the wife of his bosom
and toward the remnant of
his children which he shall leave:
Evil —
Unkind
envious
covetous to monopolize these dainty bits to themselves
and
grudging that their dearest relations should have any part of them.
Verse 56
[56] The
tender and delicate woman among you
which would not adventure to set the sole
of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness
her eye shall be
evil toward the husband of her bosom
and toward her son
and toward her
daughter
Evil - Unmerciful: she will desire or design
their destruction for her food.
Verse 57
[57] And
toward her young one that cometh out from between her feet
and toward her
children which she shall bear: for she shall eat them for want of all things
secretly in the siege and straitness
wherewith thine enemy shall distress thee
in thy gates.
Her young one —
Heb. after-birth: that which was loathsome to behold
will now be pleasant to
eat; and together with it she shall eat the child which was wrapt up in it
and
may be included in this expression.
Which she shall bear — Or
which she shall have born
that is
her more grown children.
She shall eat them —
This was fulfilled more than once
to the perpetual reproach of the Jewish
nation. Never was the like done either by Greek or Barbarian. See the fruit of
being abandoned by God!
Verse 63
[63] And
it shall come to pass
that as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good
and
to multiply you; so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you
and to bring
you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to
possess it.
To destroy you —
His just indignation against you will be so great
that it will be a pleasure
to him to take vengeance on you. For though he doth not delight in the death of
a sinner in itself
yet he doth delight in glorifying his justice upon
incorrigible sinners
seeing the exercise of all his attributes must needs
please him
else he were not perfectly happy.
Verse 65
[65] And
among these nations shalt thou find no ease
neither shall the sole of thy foot
have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart
and failing of
eyes
and sorrow of mind:
Neither shall thy foot have rest — Ye shall have no settlement in the land whither you are banished
but
there you shall be tossed about from place to place
and sold from person to
person
or Cain - like
wander about.
Verse 66
[66] And
thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night
and shalt have none assurance of thy life:
Thy life shall hang in doubt — Either because thou art in the hands of thy enemies that have power
and
want no will
to destroy thee: or because of the terrors of thy own mind
and
the guilt of thy conscience making thee to fear
even where no fear is.
Verse 68
[68] And
the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships
by the way whereof I
spake unto thee
Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold
unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen
and no man shall buy you.
Into Egypt —
Which was literally fulfilled under Titus
when multitudes of them were carried
thither in ships
and sold for slaves. And this expression seems to mind them
of that time when they went over the sea without ships
God miraculously drying
up the sea before them
which now they would have occasion sadly to remember.
By the way —
Or
to the way. And the way seems not to be meant here of the usual road-way
from Canaan to Egypt
which was wholly by land
but to be put for the end of
the way or journey
even the land of Egypt
for to this
and not to the
road-way between Canaan and Egypt
agree the words here following
whereof I
speak unto thee
thou shalt see it
(that is
Egypt) no more again.
No man shall buy you — Either because the number of your captives shall be so great
that the
market shall be glutted with you; or because you shall be so loathsome and
contemptible that men shall not be willing to have you for slaves. And this was
the condition of the Jews after the destruction of Jerusalem
as Josephus the
Jew hath left upon record. Let us all learn hence
to stand in awe and not to
sin. I have heard of a wicked man (says Mr. Henry) who on reading these
threatenings
was so enraged
that he tore the leaf out of his bible. But to
what purpose is it
to deface a copy
while the original remains unchangeable?
By which it is determined
that the wages of sin is death: yea
a death more
dreadful than all that is here spoken!
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Deuteronomy》
28 Chapter 28
Verse 3
Blessed shalt thou be in the city.
Blessed in the city
The city is full of care
and he who has to go there from day to
day finds it to be a place of great wear and tear. It is full of noise
and
stir
and bustle
and sore travail: many are its temptations
losses
and
worries. But to go there with the Divine blessing takes off the edge of its difficulty;
to remain there with that blessing is to find pleasure in its duties
and
strength equal to its demands. A blessing in the city may not make us great
but it will keep us good; it may not make us rich
but it will preserve us
honest. Whether we are porters
or clerks
or managers
or merchants
of
magistrates
the city will afford us opportunities for usefulness. It is good
fishing where there are shoals of fish
and it is hopeful to work for our Lord
amid the thronging crowds. We might prefer the quiet of a country life; but if
called to town
we may certainly prefer it because there is room for our
energies. Today let us expect good things because of this promise
and let our
care be to have an open car to the voice of the Lord
and a ready hand to
execute His bidding. Obedience brings the blessing. “In keeping His
commandments there is great reward.” (C. H. Spurgeon.)
City life
We have accustomed ourselves so long to think that the glory and
beauty displayed on the open fields of the country
where life lies palpitating
and warm with the impress of His creative hand
and where all the works of the
Lord are ceaselessly singing His praise
must in itself impress more vividly
those who linger amid its beauties
and do their work in the glow of its magnificence
than do the streets and lanes and the visible signs of man which stretch out
through the city. And yet we do not seek from the hard-working farmer the
highest appreciation of nature as such
nor from the toiling agricultural
labourer the keenest poetic sentiment. Men are crowded into the city
the
villages become more and more depleted. What does it mean? Ask them
and they
would tell you that they are going to see life. To the labourer town life means
a more stirring existence
he thinks he sees there a wider field
a quicker
return
a more brilliant career
and too often he is bitterly disappointed in
these hard times. To the pleasure seeker the city is the great lamp towards
which he flies with outstretched wings to flicker for a short space around it
to scorch his wings
to burn himself in the nearest approach to nothingness.
But life is a very real thing to seek for. In the city there are gathered
together various forms of excellence. Here art treasures are collected
and art
studies are at their fullest perfection; here music receives its fullest
development; here perfection of all kinds tends to aggregate; here the blood
courses fuller and stronger; here might be realised that which we speak of so
often in the Creed--“the communion of saints.” (Canon Newbolt.)
Blessed shalt thou be in
the field.
Blessed in the field
So was Isaac blessed when lie walked therein at eventide to
meditate. How often has the Lord met us when we have been alone! The hedges and
the trees can bear witness to our joy. We look for such blessedness again. So
was Boaz blessed when he reaped his harvest
and his workmen met him with
benedictions. May the Lord prosper all who drive the plough! Every farmer may
urge this promise with God
if
indeed
he obeys the voice of the Lord God. We
go to the field to labour as father Adam did; and since the curse fell on the
soil through the sin of Adam the first
it is a great comfort to find a
blessing through Adam the second. We go to the field for exercise
and we are
happy in the belief that the Lord will bless that exercise
and give us health
which we will use to His glory. We go to the field to study nature
and there
is nothing in a knowledge of the visible creation which may not be sanctified
to the highest uses by the Divine benediction. We have at last to go to the
field to bury our dead; yea
others will in their turn take us to God’s acre in
the field: but we are blessed
whether weeping at the tomb or sleeping in it. (C.
H. Spurgeon.)
Verse 5
Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
A blessing on basket and store
Obedience brings a blessing on all the provisions which our
industry earns for us. That which comes in and goes out at once
like fruit in
the basket which is for immediate use
shall be blessed; and that which is laid
by with us for a longer season shall equally receive a blessing. Perhaps ours
is a hand basket portion. We have a little for breakfast
and a scanty bite for
dinner in a basket when we go out to our work in the morning. This is well
for
the blessing of God is promised to the basket. If we live from hand to mouth
getting each day’s supply in the day
we are as well off as Israel; for when
the Lord entertained His favoured people He only gave them a day’s manna at a
time. What more did they need? What more do we need? But if we
have a store
how much we need the Lord to bless it! For there is the care of
getting
the care of keeping
the care of managing
the care of using; and
unless the Lord bless it
these cares will eat into our hearts
till our goods
become our gods
and our cares prove cankers. O Lord
bless our substance.
Enable us to use it for Thy glory. Help us to keep worldly things in their
proper places
and never may our savings endanger the saving of our souls. (C.
H. Spurgeon.)
Verse 12
The Lord shall open unto thee His good treasure.
The Lord’s treasure
This refers first to the rain. The Lord will give this in its
season. Rain is the emblem of all those celestial refreshings which the Lord is
ready to bestow upon His people. Oh
for a copious shower to refresh the Lord’s
heritage! We seem to think that God’s treasury can only be opened by a great
prophet like Elijah
but it is not so
for this promise is to all the faithful
in Israel
and
indeed
to each one of them. O believing friend
“the Lord
shall open unto thee His good treasure.” Thou
too
mayest see heaven opened
and thrust in thy hand and take out thy portion
yea
and a portion for all thy
brethren round about thee. Ask what thou wilt
and thou shalt not be denied
if
thou abidest in Christ
and His words abide in thee. As yet thou hast not known
all thy Lord’s treasures
but He shall open them up to thy understanding.
Certainly thou hast not yet enjoyed the fulness of His covenant riches
but He
will direct thy heart into His love
and reveal Jesus in thee. Only the Lord
Himself can do this for thee; but here is His promise
and if thou wilt hearken
diligently unto His voice
and obey His will
His riches in glory by Christ
Jesus shall be thine. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Verse 13
The head
and not the tail.
The saints leading the way
If we obey the Lord He will compel our adversaries to see that His
blessing rests upon us. Though this be a promise of the law
yet it stands good
to the people of God; for Jesus has removed the curse
but He has established
the blessing. It is for saints to lead the way among men by holy influence:
they are not to be the tail
to be dragged hither and thither by others. We
must not yield to the spirit of the age
but compel the age to do homage to
Christ. If the Lord be with us we shall not crave toleration for religion
but
we shall seek to seat it on the throne of society. Has not the Lord Jesus made
His people priests? Surely they are to teach
and must not be learners from the
philosophies of unbelievers. Are we not in Christ made kings to reign upon the
earth? How
then
can we be the servants of custom
the slaves of human
opinion! Have you taken up your true position for Jesus? Too many are silent
because diffident
if not cowardly. Should we allow the name of the Lord Jesus
to be kept in the background? Should our religion drag along as a tail? Should
it not rather lead the way
and be the ruling force with ourselves and others?
(C. H. Spurgeon.)
Verses 15-19
If thou wilt not hearken.
Blessing and cursing-an Ash Wednesday sermon
Does the Commination Service curse men? Are these good people (who
are certainly right in their horror of cursing) right in the accusations which
they bring against it? I cannot but think that they mistake when they say that
the Commination Service curses men. For to curse a man is to pray that God may
vent His anger on the man by punishing him. But I find no such prayer and wish
in any word of the Commination Service. Its form is not “Cursed be he that
doeth such and such things
” but “Cursed is he that doeth them.” Does this seem
to you a small difference? A fine-drawn question of words? Is it
then
a small
difference whether I say to my fellow man
I hope and pray that you may be
stricken with disease
or whether I say
You are stricken with disease
whether
you know it or not? I warn you of it
and I warn you to go to the physician!
For so great
and no less
is the difference.
I. We know that
the words of the text came true. We know that the Jews did perish out of
their native land
as the author of this book foretold
in consequence of doing
that against which Moses warned them. We know also that they did not perish by
any miraculous intervention of providence
but simply as any other nation would
have perished--by profligacy
internal weakness
civil war
and
at last
by
foreign conquest. We know that their destruction was the natural consequence of
their own folly. Why are we to suppose that the prophet meant anything but
that? He foretells the result. Why are we to suppose that he did not foresee
the means by which that result would happen? For even in this life the door of
mercy may be shut
and we may cry in vain for mercy when it is the time for
justice. This is not merely a doctrine: it is a fact; a common
patent fact.
Men do wrong
and escape
again and again
the just punishment of their deeds;
but how often there are cases in which a man does not escape; when he is filled
with the fruit of his own devices
and left to the misery which he has earned;
when the covetous and dishonest man ruins himself past all recovery; when the
profligate is left in a shameful old age
with worn-out body and defiled mind
to rot into an unhonoured grave; when the hypocrite who has tampered with his
conscience is left without any conscience at all. They have chosen the curse
and the curse is come upon them to the uttermost. So it is. Is the Commination
Service uncharitable
is the preacher uncharitable
when they tell men so?
II. Truly terrible
and heart-searching for the wrong-doer is the message--God does not curse thee:
thou hast cursed thyself. God will not go out of His way to punish thee; thou
hast gone out of His way
and thereby thou art punishing thyself. Just as
by
abusing the body
thou bringest a curse upon it; so by abusing thy soul. God
does not break His laws to punish drunkenness or gluttony. The laws of nature
the beneficent laws of life
nutrition
growth
and health
they punish thee;
and kill by the very same means by which they make alive. And so with thy soul
thy character
thy humanity.
III. Let us believe
that God’s good laws and God’s good order are in themselves and of themselves
the curse and punishment of every sin of ours; and that Ash Wednesday
returning year after year
whether we be glad or sorry
good or evil
bears
witness to that most awful and yet most blessed fact. (C. Kingsley
M. A.)
The prophecy
1. Look
first
at the intensity of the sufferings which it denounces
upon the Jewish race. The prophet seems to labour under the weight of the
theme
and strives to give it adequate expression
as though it were beyond his
power. There is scarcely anything that could go to heighten human anguish
bodily and mental that is not thrown into the frightful conglomeration
to make
up such an assemblage of miseries as was hardly ever elsewhere known or
imagined. Dante’s pictures are terrific
but they are dispersed and distributed
into portions
and every man has his own torment
from which other sufferers
are exempt. But Moses concentrates his
and pours them all in one terrible
mixture on the same devoted head. War
pestilence
and famine in their
extremest terrors combine to swell the bitter grief
until they rise to those
intolerable anguishes in which the bonds of society are dissolved
human
sympathies are quenched
natural affection obliterated
and society transformed
into a herd of ravening wolves
preying on one another without conscience and
without pity. And this horrid state of things is to be without respite
affording no moment of relief; so that men are driven to madness
and rave with
the frantic incoherence of despair. And now
if we turn to the page of history
we find the correspondence exact to a wonderful degree. No more revolting
picture of human misery
and of the demoralisation and unhumanising effect of
extreme distress is anywhere to be found in the annals of the world than that
which is exhibited in the last days of Jerusalem as the accounts of it have
come down to us. What in the prophecy might have seemed antecedently
impossible
the faithful record of history has shown to be possible
because
actual.
2. Look next at their dispersion
almost as wonderful as their
miseries. This
too
Moses explicitly foretells (Deuteronomy 28:64-65). Alone of peoples
that inhabit the earth
foreigners everywhere
having no country that they call
their own
and dwelling in all countries as a distinct element in their
society
nay
always a society that adheres to general society only by a kind
of parasitical life
sucking strength from its substance without assimilating
to its character
it is a sort of mistletoe that drapes the branches of trees
and lives upon their sap
but sends no roots into the earth to draw from the
soil a life of its own.
3. And now
finally
look at his preservation. I mean his
preservation as a Jew. His physiognomy everywhere tells the tale of his
lineage. And yet never was a people so unfavourably situated for the
preservation of its identity. They did not go out in colonies to any
considerable extent. Units they have been
floating like waifs and strays upon
the great ocean of human society. Yet wherever he strays
there is the Jew
unabsorbed
unamalgamated
unmistakably a Jew. National bounds hedge in
nations
and with some admixtures preserve substantially national marks and
qualities. But this is a nation that has no such protection
without a country
without a home. Yet it remains a nation; and there is not another nation in all
the limits of civilisation today that can boast so pure a blood
so unmixed and
genuine a pedigree.
1. A lesson of danger. If the Israelites were punished beyond other
men
it was because they had been favoured beyond other men. Privilege and
responsibility are correspondent and parallel. The sins of Christians are far
worse than the like sins of heathens
more criminal
more dangerous (Romans 11:20-21).
2. A lesson of duty. None can look upon the ancient people of God in
their fallen condition
it might seem
without sensibility and compassion. God
has made their fall an occasion of benefit to the Gentile world. “We have
obtained mercy through their unbelief.” The fall broke through the wall that
threatened to confine Christianity within the narrow precincts of Jewish pride
and prejudice
and gave it to “have free course and be glorified.” Surely
however
it becomes us not to look coldly or scornfully on the disfranchised
heir. (R. A. Hallam
D. D.)
The dispersion of the Jews
Davison
in his Discourses on Prophecy
uses the following
beautiful illustration when speaking of modern Jews. Present in all countries
with a home in none; intermixed
and yet separated; and neither amalgamated nor
lost
but
like those mountain streams which are said to pass through lakes of
another kind of water
and keep a native quality to repel commixture; they hold
communication without union
and may be traced as rivers without banks
in the
midst of the alien element which surrounds them.
Because thou servedst not the lord.
Right service
The text brings before us a subject essentially important--that as
the service of the Lord Jesus Christ must be such as answered the great end
that was to be brought about
and did answer it
so the object of the service
of the people of God is to bring them into possession of what the Lord has for
them. Let us take a two-fold view of this service.
1. First
then
the true service of the Lord; it must be by faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us hear what the Scriptures say upon this
for it is
a most essential matter: either we are serving God as Abel did
acceptably; or
as Cain did
not acceptably. We cannot serve God by the works of the law; for
the apostle saith
“Whatsoever the law saith”--and I may mention two things which
it saith: first
that “he that offendeth in one point is guilty of the whole.”
Now
that one thing said by the law is enough to stop the mouth of anyone. Then
again
it saith
“Cursed is he that continueth not in all things written in the
book of the law to do them.” There are three things especially essential to
serve God acceptably; these must be knowledge
faith
and love. You cannot do
without these three. It is true
there are many other excellencies arising from
them.
2. Now
a word or two upon this--to serve Him with joyfulness and
with gladness of heart. I think we need the spirit of prayer upon this subject.
So then may the Lord give us the spirit of prayer
that we may pray to be
quickened
and to be made more and more lively in the service and ways of the
Lord; for it is sure well to repay us; as saith David
“In keeping His ways
there is indeed great reward”; a reward that far surpasseth gold
even much
fine gold; and there is a sweetness therein sweeter than honey and the
honeycomb. So
I say
we need the spirit of prayer for the Lord to keep us more
and more in His blessed ways. (J. Wells.)
Would God it were even!
Sufferings of the Israelites
This chapter is an awful communication: it threatens the
Israelites with every conceivable evil if they departed from serving the Lord
their God; it leaves them absolutely without hope unless they turned with all
their hearts
and repented them of their disobedience.
So the Israelites entered Canaan and took the lands of the heathen into
possession
not without much to sober their prides and to make them not high
minded
but fear. The severe judgments spoken of ill this chapter declare also
another great law of God’s providence
that “to whomsoever much is given
of
him shall much be required.” It was because the Israelites were God’s redeemed
people
because He had borne them on eagle’s wings and brought them to Himself;
because He had made known to them His will
and promised them the possession of
a goodly land
flowing with milk and honey; it was for these very reasons that
their punishment was to be so severe if they at last abused all the mercies
which had been shown to them. For theirs was to be no sudden destruction
to
come upon them and sweep them away forever: it was a long and lingering misery
to endure for many generations
like the bush which burned
but was not
consumed. We know that Ammon
Amalek
Moab
Assyria
and Babylon have long
since utterly perished; the three former
indeed
so long ago
that profane
history does not notice them; its beginnings are later than their end. But
Israel still exists as a nation
however scattered and degraded; they have gone
through for ages a long train of oppressions
visited on them merely because
they were Jews. Nay
even yet the end is not; however much their condition is
bettered
still
taking them the world through
they have even now much to
bear; their hope is still deferred
and as far as their national prospects are
concerned
the morning dawns on them with no comfort
the evening descends upon
them and brings no rest. This is one remarkable part in their history; and
there is another which deserves notice. It is declared in this chapter that
amongst the other evils they should suffer for disobedience
they should endure
so long a siege from their enemies as to suffer the worst extremities of famine
(Deuteronomy 28:56). Now
this has
in
fact
befallen them twice over. Of the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar we
have
indeed
no particulars given; it is only said
in general terms
that
after the city had been besieged for eighteen months the famine prevailed in
it
and there was no bread for the people of the land
so that the king and all
the fighting men endeavoured to escape out of the town as the only resource
left them. But of the second siege
by Titus and the Romans
we have the full
particulars from Josephus
a Jew
who lived at the time
and had the best
authority for the facts which he relates. And he mentions it as a horror
unheard of amongst Greeks or barbarians
that a mother
named Mary
the
daughter of Eleazar
from the country beyond Jordan
was known to have killed
her own child for her food
and to have publicly confessed what she had done.
Now
we know that the horrors of war have been felt by many nations; but such
an extremity of suffering occurring twice in the course of its history
and
under circumstances so similar
as in the two sieges of Jerusalem
there is
hardly another nation
so far as I am aware
that has experienced. Indeed
the
history of the calamities of the last siege of Jerusalem
as given by Josephus
is well worthy of our attentive consideration: it is a full comment on our
Lord’s words (Luke 23:28; Luke 23:30; Matthew 24:22). Eleven hundred thousand
Jews perished in the course of the siege
by the sword
by pestilence
or by
famine. I do not believe that the history of the world contains any record of
such a destruction within so short a time
and within the walls of a single
city. I said that this dreadful story was well worth our studying; and it is so
for this reason. These miseries
greater than any which history mentions
fell
upon God’s Church
upon His chosen people
with whom He was in covenant
to
whom He had revealed His name
while all the rest of the world lay in darkness.
To us
each of us
belongs in the strictest sense the warning of the text. For
us
each of us
--if we do fail of the grace of God
if Christ has died for us
in vain
if
being called by His name
we are not walking in His Spirit
--there
is reserved a misery of which
indeed
the words of the text are no more than a
feeble picture. There is a state in which they who are condemned to it shall
forever say: “In the morning would God it were even
” etc. There is a state in
which the tender and delicate woman shall hate those whom once she most loved;
in which they who lived together hero in friendship wherein God was no party
will have their eyes evil against one another forever. For when selfishness has
wrought its perfect work
and the soul is utterly lost
there love is perished
forever
and the intercourse between such persons can be only one of mutual
reproaches and suspicion and hatred. An eternal restlessness and eternal evil
passions mark the everlasting portion of the enemies of God; just as an eternal
rest and a never-ending life of love and peace are reserved for those who
remain to the end His true children. (T. Arnold
D. D.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》