Charles Ellicott Commentary Deuteronomy 4
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Deuteronomy 4
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Deuteronomy 4
"And now, O Israel, hearken unto the statutes and unto the ordinances, which I teach you, to do them; that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which Jehovah, the God of your fathers, giveth you." — Deuteronomy 4:1 (ASV)
Now therefore hearken. —The whole point of the exhortation in this chapter is the same which we find in Joshua’s address to the people (Joshua 24), that they should serve Jehovah. And the ground of the exhortation is His revelation of Himself in Horeb as their God.
The statutes ... and the judgments. —Perhaps we should say “institutions and requirements” in modern language. For “judgments,” see Exodus 21-23.
That ye may live, and go in. — Life is put before possession. The penalty of the broken law is death.
"Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of Jehovah your God which I command you." — Deuteronomy 4:2 (ASV)
Ye shall not add unto the word. — The word, not “the words.” The word is the substance of the Law. The words in which it is expressed may be more or less. The law of Moses contains in it the germ of all revelation to the very end.
"Your eyes have seen what Jehovah did because of Baal-peor; for all the men that followed Baal-peor, Jehovah thy God hath destroyed them from the midst of thee." — Deuteronomy 4:3 (ASV)
Your eyes have seen. —Literally, your eyes are the ones that see — i.e., you are witnesses of these things. The men who perished by the plague because of the iniquity of Beth Peor—to the number of 24,000—seem to have been all members of the younger generation; for they had already passed the brook Zered. (See on Deuteronomy 2:13.)
"Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, even as Jehovah my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the midst of the land whither ye go in to possess it." — Deuteronomy 4:5 (ASV)
That you should do so in the land. —It should never be forgotten that there is a special connection between the law of Moses and the land of Canaan. It cannot be kept in many of its precepts, except by a chosen people in a protected land.
"Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, that shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people." — Deuteronomy 4:6 (ASV)
This is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations. —The laws of Jehovah in Israel, and the constant presence of Jehovah with Israel, would make an impression upon the world that it would not be easy to resist. For, he adds, what nation is there so great, that hath God so nigh unto them?
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