John Calvin Commentary Deuteronomy 10:14

"Behold, unto Jehovah thy God belongeth heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth, with all that is therein." — Deuteronomy 10:14 (ASV)

Behold the heaven. He again impresses upon them the grace for which we have seen that the people were indebted to God. This was the most powerful reminder for persuading them to submit to their deliverer, to whom they were reminded that they owed their very selves and all that they possessed.

First, then, he reminds them that they differed from others, not by their personal dignity, nor the excellence of their lineage, but because God was pleased to prefer them, when He ruled equally over all. Literally, it is, “Jehovah coveted to love your fathers,” by which expression, as may be gathered from many passages, the inclination to love them is undoubtedly indicated. Jerome, therefore, has not aptly used the word “adhere.”²³⁰

Now, this desire, by which God was freely and generously moved, Moses contrasts with all other causes, so that Israel would not claim anything for themselves or their fathers. We must also note the comparison between the less and the greater, for this was an inestimable condescension: that He should, in a way, pass by the heaven and earth with all their beauty and abundance, and set His heart upon a few obscure men.

This limitation means that, of all people, He chose the descendants of Abraham alone. For the word רק, rak, is used here exclusively, therefore, I have translated it “tantummodo,” meaning ‘only,’ unless it should be thought better to render it “But,” or “And yet.” The meaning, however, is clear: God, having disregarded all the nations of the earth, had gratuitously adopted Abraham and his race. For he says that not only were their fathers loved, but all their descendants were loved in them, since otherwise the exhortation that follows would not be suitable.

²³⁰ Conglutinatus est. — V.