Deuteronomy 8:1-10

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Deuteronomy 8:1

1. All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live—In all the wise arrangements of our Creator duty has been made inseparably connected with happiness; and the earnest enforcement of the divine law which Moses was making to the Israelites was in order to secure their being a happy (because a moral and religious) people: a course of prosperity is often called "life" (Genesis 17:18; Proverbs 3:2). live, and multiply—This reference to the future increase... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Deuteronomy 8:2

2, 3. thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness—The recapitulation of all their checkered experience during that long period was designed to awaken lively impressions of the goodness of God. First, Moses showed them the object of their protracted wanderings and varied hardships. These were trials of their obedience as well as chastisements for sin. Indeed, the discovery of their infidelity, inconstancy, and their rebellions and... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Deuteronomy 8:4

4. Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years—What a striking miracle was this! No doubt the Israelites might have brought from Egypt more clothes than they wore at their outset; they might also have obtained supplies of various articles of food and raiment in barter with the neighboring tribes for the fleeces and skins of their sheep and goats; and in furnishing them with such opportunities the care of Providence appeared. But the strong and pointed... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Deuteronomy 8:7

7. For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land—All accounts, ancient and modern, concur in bearing testimony to the natural beauty and fertility of Palestine, and its great capabilities if properly cultivated. a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills—These characteristic features are mentioned first, as they would be most striking; and all travellers describe how delightful and cheerful it is, after passing through the barren and thirsty... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Deuteronomy 8:8

8. A land of wheat, and barley—These cereal fruits were specially promised to the Israelites in the event of their faithful allegiance to the covenant of God (Psalms 81:16; Psalms 147:14). The wheat and barley were so abundant as to yield sixty and often an hundredfold (Genesis 26:12; Matthew 13:8). vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates—The limestone rocks and abrupt valleys were entirely covered, as traces of them still show, with plantations of figs, vines, and olive trees. Though in a... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Deuteronomy 8:9

9. a land whose stones are iron—The abundance of this metal in Palestine, especially among the mountains of Lebanon, those of Kesraoun, and elsewhere, is attested not only by JOSEPHUS, but by Volney, Buckingham, and other travellers. brass—not the alloy brass, but the ore of copper. Although the mines may now be exhausted or neglected, they yielded plenty of those metals anciently (1 Chronicles 22:3; 1 Chronicles 29:2-7; Isaiah 60:17). read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Deuteronomy 8:1-6

God humbled the Israelites in the sense that He sought to teach them to have a realistic awareness of their dependence on Himself for all their needs. This is true humility. God’s provision of manna to eat and clothing to wear should have taught the people that they were dependent on His provision for all their needs, not just food and clothing.What proceeds from God’s mouth (Deuteronomy 8:3) does not refer to the spoken revelations of God exclusively but, more comprehensively, to all that... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Deuteronomy 8:1-20

Warning against pride and forgetfulness of God ch. 8"Two important lessons from the past are now referred to. First, the experience of God’s care in the wilderness period, when the people of Israel were unable to help themselves, taught them the lesson of humility through the Lord’s providential discipline. The memory of that experience should keep them from pride in their own achievements amid the security and prosperity of the new land (Deuteronomy 8:1-20)." [Note: Thompson, p. 134.] The... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Deuteronomy 8:7-20

Moses applied the lesson to Israel’s future in this section. When the people settled in the land and experienced God’s blessing of material wealth, they would face temptation to think they were responsible for it rather than God (Deuteronomy 8:17). The prophylactic to this spiritual delusion was to remember what God had taught them in the past. It had been He, not themselves, that had been responsible for their prosperity. [Note: See Eugene H. Merrill, "Remembering: A Central Theme in Biblical... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 8:1-20

Practical Exhortations (continued)The people are reminded of God’s goodness to them at the time of the exodus and during their sojourn in the wilderness. They are exhorted to humility and obedience, and warned against worshipping strange gods.2, 3. The events of the wanderings were intended to teach Israel humility and dependenee on God alone: see on Deuteronomy 7:19. 3. Which thou knewest not] see Exodus 16:15. But by every word, etc.] If necessary God can sustain human life apart from the... read more

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