John Calvin Commentary Deuteronomy 4:19

"and lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the host of heaven, thou be drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which Jehovah thy God hath allotted unto all the peoples under the whole heaven." — Deuteronomy 4:19 (ASV)

And lest you lift up your eyes. Moses proceeds further, so that the Jews would not imagine any divinity in the sun, moon, and stars. Nor does he only recall them from the error with which many were filled,⁹⁶ thinking that these were so many gods; he also anticipates another superstition: that, captivated by the brightness of the stars, they might conceive them to be images of God.

The expression to be driven refers to this. For since God represents His glory in the heavenly host, Satan also, under this pretext, confuses and stupefies men’s minds by a cunning trick, so that they might worship God in these luminaries and thus stumble at the very threshold.

Therefore, so that the Israelites might better recognize how absurd it is to seek God in earthly things, or in the elements of the world, or in corruptible matter, he expressly declares that they must not even rely⁹⁷ on heavenly creatures, since God’s majesty is superior to the sun, moon, and all the stars.

Besides, he reproves the absurdity of transferring the worship of God to the stars, which, by God’s appointment, are to serve us. For when he says that God has divided them unto all nations, it implies subjection, as if he had said that the sun was our servant, and the moon, together with all the stars, our servant.

Still, by the word “divided,” God’s admirable providence is suitably praised concerning their varied position, course, and different functions. For the sun does not enlighten and warm all lands at the same moment; and again, it now withdraws from us and now comes nearer to us. The moon has its circuits; the stars rise and set as the sky revolves. I will not discuss the slower movement of the planets; but, according to the position of the stars, one climate is more moist, another drier; one feels more heat, another more cold. This variety is appropriately called dividing by Moses.

Yet it aggravates the sin of superstition if the Jews give themselves to the service of the stars, which also serve heathen nations. For what can be more unworthy than for the children of God to worship the sun, which is the servant of all the world? From this, it again follows that in proportion to the dignity and excellence of the creatures themselves, the ingratitude of men towards God is all the more despicable if they adorn with His worship, as with spoils, those creatures which He has appointed to serve their benefit.

The silly notion in which some of the Rabbis delight themselves⁹⁸ is unworthy of mention, namely, that God has divided the stars to the Gentiles, since they are subject to their influences, from which by special privilege the Jews are free—as if the condition of the human race had not been the same from the beginning. But the reason which I have presented plainly shows that they stray very far from the meaning of Moses and therefore pervert his intention: namely, that the creatures which are destined for our use are by no means to be worshipped as God.

⁹⁶ See Job 31:26-27. Any discussion on the history of Sabaism would be superfluous here. Dr. Layard, (Nineveh and its Remains, vol. 2, p. 446,) points out, that “representations of the heavenly bodies, as sacred symbols, are of constant occurrence in the most ancient sculptures;” whilst the “one symbol” of the supreme Deity is “a winged figure in a circle,” sometimes assuming the form of “a winged globe, wheel, or disc,” resembling the Egyptian representation of the sun, and the Persian Ormuzd.. Any discussion on the history of Sabaism would be superfluous here. Dr. Layard, (Nineveh and its Remains, vol. 2, p. 446,) points out, that “representations of the heavenly bodies, as sacred symbols, are of constant occurrence in the most ancient sculptures;” whilst the “one symbol” of the supreme Deity is “a winged figure in a circle,” sometimes assuming the form of “a winged globe, wheel, or disc,” resembling the Egyptian representation of the sun, and the Persian Ormuzd.

⁹⁷ Lat. “subsistendum.” Fr. “s’amuser."

⁹⁸ S.M. says, “Rabbi Aben-Ezra, and the author of the ‘Bundle of Myrrh,’ foolishly think that the Gentiles were under the dominion of decrees emanating from the stars; but that the Jews were free, because the Lord turneth aside their noxious influences. But this text teaches us, that the functions of the stars are distributed among the nations, inasmuch as they afford light and heat, and temper the cold to all men.” — says, “Rabbi Aben-Ezra, and the author of the ‘Bundle of Myrrh,’ foolishly think that the Gentiles were under the dominion of decrees emanating from the stars; but that the Jews were free, because the Lord turneth aside their noxious influences. But this text teaches us, that the functions of the stars are distributed among the nations, inasmuch as they afford light and heat, and temper the cold to all men.” — W..