The Pulpit Commentary — Deuteronomy — Section 97

mu~I olnim lsl'llol RB loyal and foithrul; t,hy atantly remincle,1 thRt "they were thereby GnrJ •· (Sohrnoder). freed from tho dominion of tho world to be Ycrs. 7-21.-Repelt'.lion of the ten com- n peculiar possession or J chovnh, and ao mnnrJme,it". On these, as tho basis of tho amid the toil nnd trouble of the world hnd 00vennnt, the whole legislnlion rests, nnd part in tho holy rest ot' their God " (Baum- lheref0re a rehearsal of them is a fitting garten). It was also fitting in 11, rocnpitula- introduction f{) n repetition nnd enforcement tory address that special emph11,sis should bo of the laws oft.be t.heocrney. Some differences laid on the fact that •·hattho Law enunciatecl nppenr hetwC'en the statement of tho "ten was what" the Lord had commanded," 'fho words," ns given llC'rc nnd ns gi,•en in Exod. addition of" field" in the tenth command- xx. It is chiefly in the fourth commandment ment is probably duo to the fe.ct tlmt now, thnt these nre to be found. It begins here the occup11,tion and division of the land with "remember" for "keep;" reference is having begun, the people wore about to have, made to the command of God as sanction- what they had not before-each his own ing the sabbat.h (ver. 12), which is omitted in property in land. In the tenth comme.nd- Exodus; n fuller description of the animals ment, also, there is 11, differcnco in the two to he exempted from work on that day is accounts worthy of notice, In Deuteronomy, civen (ver. 14); the words," that thy man- " .field" is added to the enumeration of serrnnt and thy maidservnnt may rest as objects not to be coveted, and the "wife" is well as thou," are added (ver. l !) ; and in put .first and apnrt, while in Exodus the place of n reference to the resting of God "house" precedes the "wife" 11nd the le.tter after the Creution as the ground of the ranks with the rest, In Deuteronomy also sabbath institute, as in Exodus, there is this separation of the wife is emphasized by here a reference to the deliverance of the a che.ngo of the verb: "Neither shalt thou Israelites out of bondage in Egypt as a de,ire (1br:ir,) thy nei9hbour's wife, neither reason why the Lord cmumandcd them to shalt thou· covet (ol)~r;,r:,) th11 neighbour's keep the sabbath day (v~r. 15), In the house," etc. fifth commandment there are two additions Vers, 7-16.-FmsT TABLE 01!' 1.'IlE LAW• here-the one of the words, "as Jehovah thy prrecepta pietatis. God hath commanded thee," and the other Ver. 7.--In this, the first commandment, of the words," the.t it may go well with thee" the great principle and basis of all true (ver. 16). In the tenth commandment, the religion is asserted-monotheism, 11,e opposed first two clauses are tre.nsposed, "desire" to polytheism or pantheism There is but one God, and that God is Jehovah, the eelf- appears in place of "covet" in relation to exi,tent and eternal, who yet has personal "wife," and •·field" is added to the speti.fi- relations with men, cation of olijects (.er. 21 '. These differ- Vers. 8-10.-HertJ theepii-ituality of God ences are of little momeot. The only one is as~erte.d, and, in the prohibition of the use demanding notice is that in the fourth com- of images in the ;;-c!sbir of the Deity, all waudment, where different reasons are as- idolatry is denounced, and all deification of signed for the ordinance of the sabbath. the. powers of nature in any sense is pro- hibited. Dy the Jews, this commandment The two reasons assigned, howe,·er, are wos not always regarded, for they were not p, rfcctly compatible; the one is funda- unfrequently seduced into following the rncntal and uni,·ercally upplicahle, the other idolatrous W!e.ges of the nations uround is sulisidiary and special in it8 api:;lication; them, It does not appear, however, that, llw one is a 1easo11 why the sabbath was though they set np images of the idol-gods whom they were thus led to worship, 11Jey originally instituted and is for all men, the ever attempted to repr<•sent by im11,ge or other is a reason why it was specially and picture the great God whom their fathers formally inotitnted iu Israel and was espe- worshipped-Jehovah-by whom this com- cially lllcmornble to that people. In a mand was given; and at a le.ter period, wher. 1,opule.r addre,s to them it seen,s fitting that they had long renounced all idolLLtry, they became noted as the one nation that adored the latter rather than the former should be the Deity e.s a spirit, wit.bout any sensible the one adduced. As a memorial of their represente.tion of him: "Ju<lrei meute sol11, rle!iverance from Egypt, the aabbaih was all unumque Numen intclligunt , . . igitur i;1.;.,r•rt1lnt to them, for by it 14ry were oon- , m1!la simulflcra urbibqs suie, neclnlll ~lllpli11 en. v. 1-33.] THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY. 85