Deuteronomy 4 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Deuteronomy 4

Moses Commands Obedience

4:1 “And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules¹ that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you. 3 Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at Baal-peor, for the LORD your God destroyed from among you all the men who followed the Baal of Peor. 4 But you who held fast to the LORD your God are all alive today. 5 See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ 7 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? 8 And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?

9 “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children—10 how on the day that you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’ 11 And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom. 12 Then the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a voice. 13 And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments,² and he wrote them on two tablets of stone. 14 And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and rules, that you might do them in the land that you are going over to possess.

Idolatry Forbidden

15 “Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, 16 beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, 17 the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18 the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. 19 And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. 20 But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day. 21 Furthermore, the LORD was angry with me because of you, and he swore that I should not cross the Jordan, and that I should not enter the good land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance. 22 For I must die in this land; I must not go over the Jordan. But you shall go over and take possession of that good land. 23 Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make a carved image, the form of anything that the LORD your God has forbidden you. 24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

25 “When you father children and children’s children, and have grown old in the land, if you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything, and by doing what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, so as to provoke him to anger, 26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it, but will be utterly destroyed. 27 And the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you. 28 And there you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. 29 But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the LORD your God and obey his voice. 31 For the LORD your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.

The Lord Alone Is God

32 “For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of. 33 Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? 34 Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him. 36 Out of heaven he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you. And on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire. 37 And because he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them³ and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power, 38 driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day, 39 know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. 40 Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for all time.”

Cities of Refuge

41 Then Moses set apart three cities in the east beyond the Jordan, 42 that the manslayer might flee there, anyone who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without being at enmity with him in time past; he may flee to one of these cities and save his life: 43 Bezer in the wilderness on the tableland for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.

Introduction to the Law

44 This is the law that Moses set before the people of Israel. 45 These are the testimonies, the statutes, and the rules, which Moses spoke to the people of Israel when they came out of Egypt, 46 beyond the Jordan in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, whom Moses and the people of Israel defeated when they came out of Egypt. 47 And they took possession of his land and the land of Og, the king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who lived to the east beyond the Jordan; 48 from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, as far as Mount Sirion⁴ (that is, Hermon), 49 together with all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan as far as the Sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah.

Footnotes

[1] 4:1 Or just decrees; also verses 5, 8, 14, 45
[2] 4:13 Hebrew the ten words
[3] 4:37 Hebrew his offspring after him
[4] 4:48 Syriac; Hebrew Sion

Commentary

v1: Having reviewed the journeys, Moses presented the laws of God, which His people were required to keep. As the people obeyed, there would be great blessing; "so that you may live and go in and take possession of the land". The people therefore had to take note of all the "decrees and laws" which Moses was laying down. To this point, this generation had not heard the law given and explained.

v2: There was a specific prohibition, not to add to or subtract from the law of God. This is because it encourages disobedience; some add or subtract to justify their own unwillingness to obey God. Faithfulness to Scripture encourages godly living.

This principle is repeated in 12.32; and a similar statement is found in Rev 22.18-19. We understand, therefore, that the command to the Israelites applies equally to Christians.

v3-4: Moses referred to the incident at Baal Peor, where many Israelites rebelled against the Lord, and suffered the consequences. Those who held fast to the Lord remained alive. The lesson is that some among the Lord's people rebelled; compare Acts 20.29-30. Thus, while sinful behaviour in unbelievers is to be expected, the Lord's people are expected to live in obedience.

v5: The commands of the Lord were laid down so that the people might follow them. The ordinances of God were given especially that the people living in His promised land might obey them, as in v14, and Num 15.2. This did not excuse their disobedience before they entered the land.

v6: The laws of God, and the fact that His people obeyed them, were to be a testimony to the Gentile nations. The obedience people are a "wise and understanding" people. Yet the Name of God was blasphemed because of these people (Rom 2.24), and the same may sometimes be said of those who claim to be Christians.

v7-8: The privileged position; God is "near" to His people, and they had "righteous decrees". Israel had been made a great nation by God (Rom 9.4-5), and now the command was that they lived up to that calling. One of the glories of the nation of Israel was the commands that God had given them.

v9: There is a great need for personal watchfulness (also v15, 19, 23), to stick close to what God has revealed; compare also 1 Tim 4.15-16. There was also a responsibility to pass on to children and grand children the truths of God. There were reasons why the people should be watchful;

lest they forget the commands of God, v10;
lest they become corrupt, v16;
lest they worship what God had not commanded, v19; and
lest they forget the promises of God, v23.

v10-14: Moses relates the giving of the Ten Commandments. The people had been gathered together to hear the words of God (v10), so that they might obey them. The Lord declared His Covenant (v13), the Ten Commandments, which were written on two tablets of stone. Moses had the responsibility to explain all the laws and decrees which followed (v14). The covenant to Israel was tied up with the land itself, and hence the command to obey the decrees and laws in the land.

v15-18: When God revealed Himself, the people "saw no form" (v12). This contrasted sharply with the neighbouring nations which made idols, images of the gods.

The Israelites were therefore forbidden from making anything to be like God, whether man or animal. The effect of so doing was to make them "corrupt." It was not just an alternative means of worship, but disobedience.

v19: Further, the people were not to worship anything in the skies. These are things God has made, they are therefore distinct from Him. God made the stars for "all the nations," since they are visible from anywhere on the earth.

v20: The Israelites had been delivered form Egypt, the furnace, to be God's people. They therefore had to reflect His holy character.

v21-22: Even Moses disobeyed the Lord, and forfeited blessing (3.26). He brought the people as far as he could, and established Joshua as leader after him.

v23: The people had to be careful not to forget the covenant of God, in particular, not to make any idol for worship.

v24: God is a jealous God, tolerating no rivals. The later practice of worshipping other gods also was abhorrent, for example, see 2 Kings 17.33. In the present day, syncretism joins together elements of different religions, including Christianity. This is clearly forbidden.

v25-28: A warning for the future, that the people's children and grandchildren do not worship idols. This warning emphasised the importance of teaching later generations the ways of God (v9). The sad fact is that these words were fulfilled, as the people turned to idolatry (see Judges, and Kings and Chronicles), and were driven out from the land. In those places they would be driven to, they would have little choice but to worship idols.

v29: Compare Jer 29.13; Jeremiah quoted Moses' words, because the things warned against here actually happened.

v30-31: Trusting in the merciful God. Whilst the people may forget His covenant, He would not, and He remained ready to forgive and restore His people. Their part is repentance and a fresh commitment to obedience.

v32-34: "Ask now", meditate on the truths of God's salvation. Compare v7-8. What had happened to the nation of Israel was utterly unique, it was no accident, nor powerful political movement. This was the indisputable work of God. No other nation had been delivered in such circumstances. The people had to remember that. God had been working on behalf of His own people, the very people Moses addressed 40 years later. All this was to motivate them to obedience and devotion to God (v35-38).

v35: All this happened so that the people might recognise that there was no other God.

v36: His people heard His voice; in this request also they were unique.

v37: God loved the nation, and chose them. The people were not actually worthy of His love (see 7.7-8). But, because God loved them, He delivered them.

v38: Not only were they delivered from Egypt, they would be delivered into the land of Canaan. The Israelites were not, of themselves, mightier than other nations; but victory was theirs through the power of their God.

v39-40: Therefore, in conclusion, acknowledge that He alone is God, and obey what He has commanded. Those who did so would receive great blessings.

v41-43: Moses set aside three cities east of the Jordan as cities of refuge (Num 35.6-34).

v44-49: This chapter introduces Moses' detailed explanation of the covenant of God.