John Calvin Commentary Deuteronomy 8

And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger. Since they were sometimes made to suffer hunger in the wilderness, he proves the advantage of this discipline, because they thus learned that the human race does not live by bread and wine alone, but by the secret power of God.

For though all confess that it is through God’s goodness that the earth is fruitful, still their senses are so tied to food and drink that they rise no higher. They do not acknowledge God as their Father and Nourisher, but rather bind Him down to the external means to which they are attached, as if His hand, by itself and without instruments, could not accomplish or supply anything. Their perception, therefore, that the fruits of the earth are produced by God, is but a cold notion, which quickly vanishes and does not cling to their memory.

The power of God, as well as His goodness, is indeed abundantly manifested in the use of His creatures, which we naturally enjoy; but the depravity of the human mind causes these testimonies to act like a veil, obscuring that bright light. Besides, the majority of mankind think of God as if banished far away and dwelling in inactivity, as if He had resigned His office in heaven and earth. Consequently, trusting in their present abundance, they do not implore His favor; indeed, they pass it by as needless. And, when deprived of their accustomed supplies, they altogether despair, as if God’s hand alone were insufficient for their aid.

Since, then, men do not sufficiently profit from the guidance and instruction of nature, but rather are blinded in their view of God’s works, it was desirable that in this miracle (of the manna) a standing and manifest proof should be given: that men do not only live upon God’s bounty when they eat bread and drink wine, but even when all supplies fail them.

Although there is some harshness in the wording, yet the sense is clear: that men’s life does not consist in their food, but that God’s inspiration is sufficient for their nourishment. We must remember that the eternal life of the soul is not being referred to here; rather, we are simply and solely taught that although bread and wine fail, our bodies may be sustained and invigorated by God’s will alone. Let it then be regarded as settled that it is improper, however acutely some may argue, to apply this to the spiritual life, or to imagine a doctrinal relation to faith—as if the grace offered in the promises and received by faith gave life to our souls. For it is simply stated that the animating principle (vigor), which is diffused by the spirit of God for sustenance, proceeds from His mouth.

In Psalm 104:30, there is an exact repetition of what was said here before by Moses: Thou sendest forth thy Spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.

The word translated “not only” seems to have been expressly added, lest Moses, if he had altogether excluded the bread destined for our food, should not do justice to God. Thus, then, he guards his words, as if to say that although bread sustains man’s life, this support would still be too weak unless the hidden power of God occupied the first place; and that this intrinsic virtue, as it is called, which He Himself inspires, would be sufficient, even if all other aids should fail. This doctrine, first of all, arouses us to gratitude, referring to God Himself whatever He supplies to us by His creatures for the nourishment and preservation of our lives, while it teaches us that although all the instruments of this world should fail, we may still hope for life from Himself alone. There is no ordinary wisdom in remembering both these points.

Christ admirably applied this passage to its true and genuine practical use. For when the devil tried to persuade Him to command the stones to be made bread for the satisfaction of His hunger, He answered, Man shall not live by bread alone, etc. (Matthew 4:4), as if He had said, "There is in God’s hands another remedy, for even though He does not supply food, He is still able to keep men in life by His will alone." But I touch upon this more briefly because I have treated it more fully in my Commentaries on “The Harmony of the Gospels.”²⁵⁷

With the same object, he adds that their clothing was not worn out in so long a time, and that their shoes remained whole; namely, that they might be fully convinced that whatever concerns the preservation of human life and man’s daily wants is so entirely in God’s hands that not only its enjoyment, but even its continuance and existence, depend upon His blessing.

You shall also consider in your heart. He concludes that in the consistent pattern of God’s acts, from the time the Israelites were brought out of Egypt, His paternal care for their instruction could be recognized. For the word יסר,²⁵⁸yasar, is taken by some in too restricted a sense as “to chastise,” whereas it encompasses the whole process of proper education. It is as if he had said the following: if they were not submissive and dutiful in the future, they would be more than merely intractable. This is because they had been properly taught and kept under the best discipline, and God had omitted nothing which could be required from a father of a family.

Therefore, it follows that long ago, and through much instruction, they were accustomed to embrace the teaching of the Law, just as it is fitting for children to be obedient to their father’s voice. He explains this more clearly in the next verse, again concluding that they were therefore to observe the Law and to walk in the commandments of God.

On this point, we may also briefly observe that the fear of God, as I have stated elsewhere, is the foundation of proper obedience to the Law. The passage I have interwoven from Deuteronomy 11 may also be counted among the promises, for in it God allures His people to obedience with the hope of His blessing. And since the possession of the land, which was then in sight, is set before them, these words seemed to me to fit quite well here. This is because God had no other intention in this praise of it than to prepare the minds of the people for keeping the Law.

For the Lord thy God. We can briefly summarize the words and the matter. He almost sets before their eyes a dwelling place full of wealth and various advantages, so that they might worship God there more cheerfully and strive to repay such a significant benefit with their gratitude. In chapter 8, he commends the goodness of the land because it is watered by the streams that flow through its valleys and mountains, and because it produces all kinds of fruits to supply them with nourishment. Not only so, but it also contains mines of iron and brass.

In chapter 11, he expresses the same thing more plainly and in greater detail by adding a comparison with the land of Egypt. The fruitfulness of Egypt, although marvelous due to the yearly flooding of the Nile and renowned as an extraordinary miracle, still requires much labor and cultivation, since it is irrigated by means of drains through human labor and effort. But the land of Canaan depends on God’s blessing and waits for rain from heaven.

Moreover, Moses praises in glowing words the unique privilege of the land, saying that it is always watched over by God, so that the Israelites, on their part, might also attentively and constantly look to Him. For this is the meaning of the words, always, from the beginning of the year, even unto the end of the year; as if he had said that they would be ungrateful to God unless they constantly and zealously directed their attention to Him, since He never ceased to look upon them daily.

It is true, indeed, that there is no corner of the earth that does not experience God’s blessing—consider how the Nile fertilizes the whole of Egypt. But because that happens only once a year, and since its waters are conducted here and there by man-made drains, Moses, therefore, rightly makes it the basis of his exhortation that they should constantly devote themselves to meditating on the Law. For not only at a particular season of the year, but at almost every moment, their need would compel them to ask for God’s help when they saw that the land was always requiring from Him the solution for its dryness.

The question arises, however, how Moses could declare in such magnificent terms the richness of the land of Canaan, when nowadays it is hardly counted among fertile lands. And so²⁶² the ungodly wantonly mock him, since all who have gone there for business or any other reason contradict his praises.

Yet I do not doubt that it was always distinguished by the abundance of its various fruits, as we shall soon see in its proper place, where its fertility was proved by the bunch of grapes. But, at the same time, it is to be observed that its abundance was increased in a new and unusual manner by the arrival of the people, so that God might show that He had blessed that country above all others for the generous provision of His children. Therefore, as long as that land was granted as the inheritance of the descendants of Abraham, it was remarkable for the fertility that God had promised through Moses.

But now, far from wondering that it is largely desert and barren, we ought rather to be surprised that some small traces of its ancient fruitfulness still exist, since what God Himself had so often threatened against it must necessarily be fulfilled. The barrenness of the land as it now appears, therefore, instead of detracting from the testimony of Moses, rather gives visible proof of the judgment of God, which, as we shall see elsewhere, was proclaimed against it.

In summary, just as God, for the sake of His people, further enriched a land already fruitful, so also, for the punishment of the sins of this same people, He sowed it with salt, that it might serve as a sad spectacle of His curse.