Deuteronômio 32
Charles Spurgeon · Citado em PreceptAustin
Deuteronômio 32
Spurgeon - Many can endure the trials of adversity who cannot escape the perils of prosperity. Solomon truly said, “As the fining pot for silver, and the furnace for gold; so is a man to his praise;” and many a man has failed in that time of testing. When you come to be wealthy, to be admired, to receive honor among men, then is the time of your severest trial. Driver - Israel, which ought to have been docile and obedient, like an ox—or perhaps (Calv. Ew.) like a horse—that had grown fat and strong through good feeding, and had consequently become intractable (cf. Hos. 4:16; Is. 10:27), turned rebelliously against its Owner and Benefactor. Grew fat (cf Jer 5:28) means well fed, but in this context clearly speaks of material prosperity which paradoxically would lead to their spiritual famine! As NIDOTTE says grew fat in this context "has an adverse sense, denoting the moral turpitude that comes of excess wealth (Deut 32:15 [bis; NIV, fat and filled with food]; Jer 5:28)." Nehemiah 9:25 “They captured fortified cities and a fertile land. They took possession of houses full of every good thing, Hewn cisterns, vineyards, olive groves, Fruit trees in abundance. So they ate, were filled and grew fat, And reveled (delighted) in Your great goodness. (As they say "so far, so good," but sadly they soon forgot to "delight in Yahweh's goodness." You are grown fat, thick, and sleek- (See "commentary" in Jer 5:18 above) Moses identifies the assembly of Israel as Jeshurun. and then identifies their problem of failure to properly appreciate their material prosperity. Once they crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land of milk and honey, they would eat and be "satisfied." (Dt 8:10+). Grown fat (abah in perfect mood - their fixed state or condition) is rendered in the Lxx with the verb epachuno which literally means to make fat, but here in the Lxx in the passive voice means to make insensitive, dull, unable to understand (as used in Mt 13:15 and Acts 28:27). Recall that in Dt 29:4 Moses declared "Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear." The converse of not giving insight to the disobedient, is to give insight/understanding to the one who is obedient as Jesus declared in John 7:17 --“If anyone is willing to do His will (THAT IS THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING SPIRITUAL TRUTH), he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself." Paul quoted part of Dt 29:4+ in Ro 11:8+ to describe how Israel as a nation had been judicially blinded as a result of its volitional (aka, willful) refusal to see or hear the true revelation and will of God. Here is the point, grown fat is not just a description of their physical condition but more significantly a description of their spiritual condition! THE PERIL OF PROSPERITY - Deuteronomy 31:20+ “For when I bring them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and are satisfied and become prosperous (PROSPERITY), THEN (MARKER OF PROGRESSION IN A NARRATIVE) they will turn to other gods and serve them, and spurn Me and break My covenant. Then - This marks progression in a narrative and here functions as introducing a cause (fat, et al) and effect (forsook) . He forsook God who made him - Made him as in Dt 32:6. NET = "he deserted the God." Israel Forsook summarizes the declension of Israel (Lxx has egkataleipo to leave in a lurch). This is a sad note for while Israel abandoned (natash/natas) God, the psalmist writes "the LORD will not abandon (natash/natas) His people, nor will He forsake His inheritance." (Ps 94:14) Moses had already warned them of the danger declaring "Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God." (Dt 8:11+) And this same verse tells you how one forgets Yahweh which is "by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes." Forsook (left)(05203) natash/natas means to abandon, to forsake, to leave alone. About 50% of the 40 uses convey the idea to forsake, reject leave alone. The idea is to cause a relationship or association to cease until there is the possibility of renewal. Things abandoned or forsaken - Of land that should be "forsaken" in the seventh year (Ex. 23:11), of Israel who abandoned God (Dt. 32:15), of Saul's father who forgot about the donkeys (1 Sa 10:2), of David who left his flock (1 Sa 17:20), of the psalmist who pleaded with God not abandon him (Ps. 27:9), of God abandoning His dwelling place at Shiloh (Ps 78:60), of abandoning a quarrel (Pr 17:14), of a mother's teaching which should not be forsaken (Pr 6:20). Natash means to not permit when Laban was not allowed to kiss his grandchildren good-bye (Ge 31:28). And scorned the Rock of his salvation - KJV = "Lightly esteemed" ESV = "scoffed at." NIV = "rejected." Israel treated Yahweh with it disgust, contempt, disapproval or as if the Worthy One was unworthy! Amazing! The English rendering of the Greek Septuagint is "departed from God his Saviour (Lxx = soterios)." Salvation is the Hebrew word yeshua. Driver sums up v15 - The four clauses of this verse express a climax: a states the cause and beginning of Israel’s lapse, b depicts it as confirmed, c describes how Israel forsook Jehovah, d how it ended by loading Him with contempt. Scorned (05034)(nabel cp nabal = fool) means to fall away, to fail, to despise. Nabel represents a state or condition of leaves when they are dried but still attached to the tree-parallel to dry grass. he image of withered leaves about to fall given by this verb or other dried up vegetation often serves as a figure of judgment. . The verb is used only five times, once to describe one who exalts himself as foolish. Four times, in the Piel stem, it expresses disgust or contempt, by a person who scorns the rock of his salvation (Deut 32:15), or treats his father contemptuously (Mic 7:6). God makes vile the recalcitrant (Nah 3:6). The prophet prays to fend off God’s wrath so that he will not disgrace the throne of his glory (Jer 14:21). The derivatives picture the full significance of the word. Nabel - 5v - been foolish(1), disgrace(1), make vile(1), scorned(1), treats...contemptuously(1). Deut. 32:15; Prov. 30:32; Jer. 14:21; Mic. 7:6; Nah. 3:6 Salvation (03444) (yeshua see note on related word "Yehosua" in next paragraph) is from a root in Arabic = "make wide" or "make sufficient' sarar = "narrow," = "be restricted" or "cause distress." The idea of wide connotes freedom from distress and ability to pursue one's objectives. It means to move from distress (enemies, natural catastrophies, plague or famine, sickness) to safety which requires deliverance. Generally deliverance comes from some an outside source. The one who brings deliverance is known as the "savior." Yeshua may be used in everyday life free of theological overtones at a well Moses saved daughters of Reuel (Ex 2:17) but generally has strong religious meaning. And so we read Yahweh wrought deliverance - God of our salvation Ps 68:19-20. Yeshua can also describe salvation through human agents empowered by God. While the NT idea of salvation is primarily forgiveness of sin, deliverance from sin's power and defeat of Satan, the OT only begins to point in this direction. And so in the OT the majority of references to salvation speak of Yahweh granting deliverance from real enemies and out of real catastrophies. The Lxx translates Yeshua with the Greek adjective soterios/soterion (from soter = savior) an adjective which refers to that which is pertains to the means of salvation = bringing salvation, delivering, rescuing and is used 5x (Lk. 2:30; 3:6 = Luke's uses clearly refer to the salvation wrought by the Savior Christ Jesus as does the use in Acts 28:28; Eph. 6:17; Titus 2:11). Soterios describes the act of delivering or saving from great danger or peril and of healing, protecting and preserving. Deuteronomy 32:16 "They made Him jealous with strange gods; With abominations they provoked Him to anger. jealous: De 5:9 1Ki 14:22 Na 1:1,2 1Co 10:22 abominations: De 7:25 Lev 18:27 2Ki 23:13 Related Passages: Deuteronomy 4:24 “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. Deuteronomy 5:9 ‘You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, Deuteronomy 6:15 for the LORD your God in the midst of you is a jealous God; otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth. Psalm 78:58 For they provoked Him with their high places And aroused His jealousy with their graven images. Jeremiah 2:25 “Keep your feet from being unshod And your throat from thirst; But you said, ‘It is hopeless! No! For I have loved strangers, And after them I will walk.’ Jeremiah 3:13 ‘Only acknowledge your iniquity, That you have transgressed against the LORD your God And have scattered your favors to the strangers under every green tree, And you have not obeyed My voice,’ declares the LORD. HOW TO MAKE A HOLY GOD JEALOUS Driver - The verse exemplifies how Israel had treated Jehovah with contumely ("rudeness or contempt arising from arrogance or insolence." Dt 32:15), viz. by robbing Him, its Benefactor, of the honour which was His due, and bestowing it upon false gods,—the intrinsic worthlessness of which is then further illustrated in v. 17. Steven
Deuteronômio 32
Spurgeon - Here is a sweet word of grace amid the just judgments of Jehovah: “Were it not”—So he spared, them for his own name’s sake; and, to this day, when God can find no other reason for showing mercy to the guilty, he does it for his name’s sake; and this is a blessed plea, to be urged by a man who can see no reason why God should have mercy upon him. He may say, “Lord, do it for thy name’s sake, to make thy grace and thy mercy illustrious, in the salvation of such a poor, hopeless wretch as I am.” John Maxwell has an interesting comment - God is about to unleash the ultimate punishment on His people—annihilation—but then He stops after further reflection. Here we have an instance of God deliberating with Himself. Gerhard von Rad, commenting on these verses, said, “This section is therefore an interlude which takes us out of the turmoil of historical processes and allows us to overhear a soliloquy within the depths of the divine heart.” God’s decision is to exercise restraint, not because Israel deserves it, but because His honor is at stake. Israel’s lack of understanding keeps her from considering her coming calamity. (Preacher's Commentary) Driver - the enemy, by taking to themselves the credit of annihilating the Chosen People, and not recognizing in their success Jehovah’s hand, would not render Him His due Provocation (03708)(kaas) A masculine singular noun meaning anger, provocation, vexation. The alternate spelling of the word occurs only in Job. The majority of occurrences are in poetic literature. Human sinfulness and idolatry (1 Kgs. 15:30; Ezek. 20:28) cause God’s anger, while fools, sons, wives, and rival wives can also cause vexation (1 Sa 1:6; Prov. 27:3; 17:25; 21:19, respectively). That they would say, "Our hand is triumphant - The Hebrew (yad + ruwm) is the same combination in numbers for presumptuous sins = "the person who does anything with a high hand," (Nu 15:30ESV)" The only thing that would prevent the Lord from permitting the complete destruction of His people would be His concern that the Gentiles might claim for themselves the honor of victory over Israel. This was the same "argument" Moses had used with Yahweh when He was prepared to destroy them after the golden calf, Moses reasoning Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your burning anger and change Your mind about doing harm to Your people." (Ex 32:12+) And the LORD has not done all this - NAB = “Our own hand won the victory.” The pagan nations would have concluded that they have been the ones who have brought about Israel's ruin. Ryrie adds that "God would limit the victories of Israel's enemies over her, lest they think they accomplished them in their own power and thus take glory from God. Moses longed for Israel to understand that God used her enemies for His purposes." Deuteronomy 32:28 "For they are a nation lacking in counsel, And there is no understanding in them. De 32:6 Job 28:28 Ps 81:12 Pr 1:7 Isa 27:11 29:14 Jer 4:22 8:9 Ho 4:6 Mt 13:14-15 Ro 11:25 1Co 3:19 Related Passages: Isaiah 27:11 When its limbs are dry, they are broken off; Women come and make a fire with them, For they are not a people of discernment, Therefore their Maker will not have compassion on them. And their Creator will not be gracious to them. Jeremiah 4:22 “For My people are foolish, They know Me not; They are stupid children And have no understanding. They are shrewd to do evil, But to do good they do not know.” Matthew 13:14-15+ “In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; 15 FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’ ISRAEL WAS COMPLETELY WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING I agree with Merrill that while "The identification of the subject throughout the passage is a matter of some difficulty, but the overall argument suggests that Israel was in view in vv. 28–30" (NAC) For - Yahweh explains why He had been forced to threaten His chosen people with such severity. In short they simply could not discern the source of their welfare. Driver says this passage "emphasizes Israel’s lack of insight, and assigns it (“For”) as the ground of the withdrawal of Jehovah’s favour (Dt 32:20–27); They are a nation lacking in counsel - NET - devoid of wisdom; NLT - senseless. The Hebrew for lacking is abad which the NASB marginal note says means "perishing," which is accurate because this Hebrew word was used of something being destroyed, ruined, or obliterated, so that it ceases to exist or function as it once did. In this case it is Israel's counsel, that attribute which provides direction and/or advice as to a decision or a course of action. The Septuagint uses apollumi in the perfect tense, indicating their counsel has been destroyed or ruined and that is their permanent state or condition! and there is no understanding in them - NIV = "there is no discernment in them". In the Septuagint the Greek reads that there is absolutely no understanding in them! Augustine has a good word on understanding - "Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand." Israel was described by Jer 3:14 as "faithless sons" and in v20 above as "sons in who is no faith." Little wonder that they failed to understand. 🙏 THOUGHT - Disobedience always blunts understanding of divine truth. Jesus laid down the principle in John 7:17 "If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself." Note the critical conditions - "willing" and "to do," the former speaking of the heart's desire and the latter of the heart's obedience. While you may be a new born believer and obviously many truths in God's Word would not be fully understandable. But if you have walked with Jesus a while and you are still having trouble understanding God's Word, you might want to pray Ps 139:23-24. Understanding(08394) tebunah from bin = to discern) is a noun describing the ability to discern a right course of action (Dt 32:28, Ps 136:5, 145:5, Pr 3:19). In other contexts, tebunah refers to skill or the ability to perform a craft (Ex 31:3). Tebunah is the object of knowledge (Pr 2:3; 3:13; 5:1; 14:29; 18:2; 19:8 Ps 49:4; 147:5 Is 40:28 1Ki 5:9; 7:14) Vine summarizes tebunah - it represents the act (Job 26:12), faculty (Ex. 31:3), object (Pr 2:3), and personification of wisdom (Pr. 8:1). Understanding (Webster) = power of comprehending; especially the capacity to apprehend general relations of particulars; the power to make experience intelligible by applying concepts and categories. The faculty of the human mind by which it apprehends the real state of things presented to it, or by which it receives or comprehends the ideas which others express and intend to communicate. The understanding is called also the intellectual faculty. It is the faculty by means of which we obtain a great part of our knowledge. Deuteronomy 32:29 "Would that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would discern their future! would that: De 5:29 Ps 81:13 107:15,43 Isa 48:18,19 Ho 14:9 Lu 19:41,42 they would: Isa 10:3 47:7 Jer 5:31 17:11 La 1:9 Lu 12:20 Lk 16:19-25 Related Passages: Lamentations 1:9 Her uncleanness was in her skirts; She did not consider her future. Therefore she has fallen astonishingly; She has no comforter. “See, O LORD, my affliction, For the enemy has magnified himself!” YAHWEH'S DESIRE FOR ISRAEL TO DISCERN HER FUTURE Would that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would discern their future! - Note the sadness and compassion in the heart of God. This reads almost like a prayer (NLT, NET - "I wish that they were wish.") This passage echoes Yahweh's words in Deuteronomy 5:29+ "‘Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!"
Deuteronômio 32
Spurgeon - What, a striking and startling question that is, as though God laid up the memory of man’s sin, sealed it up, and kept it in a secret place against the day when he shall call sinners to account, and visit them for their iniquities! What an awful thing it is to have the sins of one’s youth laid up, sealed up, and put away in God’s treasury; and the sins of middle life, and perhaps the sins of old age, too, to be brought out, by-and-by, and laid to our charge! Who shall be able to stand in that great day? Only those who are washed in the blood: and robed in the righteousness of Christ Jesus our Lord. Is it not laid up in store with Me, sealed up in My treasuries - Verses 34-35 are a quote from Yahweh. The point is that the moral corruption of the pagans (their poison wine) has not been overlooked but is remembered by Yahweh, and is been "laid away" for future payback. While God exercised restraint against Israel (Dt 32:26-27 - for His Name, not theirs), He would not do the same for the pagan nations. The evil done to Israel by her enemies, as alluded to in Dt 32:32-33, is not forgotten by God and He will punish them even as he explains in the next verse -- in due time (when their bill comes due so to speak). Sealed up was a phrase used in the ancient world to describe the act of affixing an impression on something (e.g., a letter - 1 Ki 21:8, bill of sale - Jer 32:10, etc) to serve as a seal to authenticate and secure that which was sealed. The Lxx translate sealed with psphragizo (used of believer sealed by the Spirit - Eph 1:13, 2 Cor 1:22) in the perfect tense indicating it was sealed in the past and the seal is still present. The "bill" the pagans owe because of their evil against Israel is kept safe in God's depository. Sealed up in My treasuries is an image used by Paul in Ro 2:4-5+. Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? 5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, Related Resource: Robert G Lee's famous sermon Payday Someday. Deuteronomy 32:35 'Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; For the day of their calamity is near, And the impending things are hastening upon them.' Vengeance is Mine: Dt 32:43 Ps 94:1 Na 1:2,6 Ro 12:19 Ro 13:4 Heb 10:30 In due time their foot will slip: Ps 73:17-19 Pr 4:19 Isa 8:15 Jer 6:21 Jer 13:16 1Pe 2:8 for the day: 2Pe 2:3 the impending Isa 5:19 Isa 30:12,13 Isa 60:22 Hab 2:3 Lu 18:7,8 2Pe 2:3 2Pe 3:8-10 Damocles Sword - Click to Enlarge (look closely to see sword) GOD'S PREROGATIVE: PAYDAY SOMEDAY! Vengeance is Mine, and retribution (recompense) - NET = "will get revenge and pay them back at the time their foot slips." Mark it down that divine judgment may be delayed but it will not be indefinitely deferred! Retribution (shillem - only OT use) is translated in Lxx with antapodidomi meaning to give back in return for something received (in this case payback for sin). The Hebrew verb (shillem) speaks of of a deserved punishment, in the sense of a repayment for whatever wrong was done by a person. The point is that the punishment is deserved and it is ultimately only God Who has the right to avenge the wrongdoers, giving them what the deserve. Spurgeon - To you who trust in anything except God, the day will come when you will hear such terrible words as these—”Now let your riches save you, let your pleasures and your vices cheer you; go ye now in your own wicked ways, and see if you can find any comfort in them!” What holy sarcasm there is in these words, which will cut to the quick the conscience when it is once fairly aroused! Driver - the words are not intended as a warning against self-vengeance (as the verse is applied, Rom. 12:19)—for the prostrate nation is not in a condition to think of that: it is meant as a declaration that there is, after all, a source when vengeance will be forthcoming: “I, of whom, under the circumstances, you least expect it, will arise, and recompense your foes” For the thought of Jehovah’s vengeance (נקם) see Dt 32:41, 43, Is. 1:24, Mic. 5:15 Nah. 1:2, Ezek. 25:14, 17, Jer. 5:9, 29, 9:8 (cf. Jer 11:20, 20:12), 46:10, 50:15, 28, 51:6, 11, Is. 34:8, 35:4, 47:3, 59:17, 61:2, 63:4; cf. also Lev. 26:25, Nu. 31:3, Ps. 94:1, 99:8. Paul quotes this verse in Romans in his exhortation to believers not to seek revenge when wronged writing "Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord." (Ro 12:19) The writer of Hebrews says For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” (Heb 10:30+) Vengeance (noun)(05359) naqam from the verb form naqam = to avenge or take vengeance) is the act of taking revenge (harming someone in retaliation for something harmful that they have done). It refers to punishment inflicted or retribution exacted for an injury or wrong and can refer to punishment beyond what is physical. Naqam is translated in the Septuagint in this verse with ekdikeo (ek = out or from + dike = right, justice; see cognates = ekdikesis and ekdikos) is literally that which proceeds from justice. The idea is to vindicate one's right or to do one justice. In due time their foot will slip - Notice the sense of urgency is heightened by the use of three time phrases - due time, day near, impending...hastening.
Deuteronômio 32
Spurgeon - It is only in mercy, you see, that the Lord deals with his people; they cannot stand before him on the ground of justice, but in his mercy is their place of refuge. May we all find that mercy by fleeing for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us in Christ Jesus and his glorious gospel! Amen. If I sharpen My flashing sword - lit. “the lightning of my sword” Yahweh's omnipotence depicted as a Warrior arming Himself for the day of battle. (cf Ex. 15:3, Is. 42:13, 59:17) and My hand takes hold on justice (Hebrew = "judgment") - Yahweh's perfect justice. NET = my hand will grasp hold of the weapon of judgment; (Dt 32:41NET) NET NOTE explains that "This is a metonymy, a figure of speech in which the effect (judgment) is employed as an instrument (sword, spear, or the like), the means, by which it is brought about. Driver - He “seizes hold” of judgment, as though it were a weapon, lying at His side, and so is ready for the combat with His foes, whose time of triumph over Israel is now drawing to its close. As the context shows, the foes whom the poet has in view are the victorious heathen (v. 30–35): the sinners in Israel itself (though of course, if pressed, he would not deem them included in the promised salvation) lie, as before (v. 36), outside the range of his thoughts. I will render vengeance on My adversaries - Yahweh's righteous judgment. And I will repay those who hate Me - Yahweh's just retribution. NET NOTE - "The Hebrew term שָׂנֵא (sane’, “hate”) in this covenant context speaks of those who reject Yahweh’s covenant overtures, that is, who disobey its stipulations (see note on the word “rejecting” in Deut 5:9; also see Deut 7:10; 2 Chr 19:2; Ps 81:15; Ps 139:20–21)." Deuteronomy 32:42 'I will make My arrows drunk with blood, And My sword will devour flesh, With the blood of the slain and the captives, From the long-haired leaders of the enemy.' I will make My arrows: De 32:23 Ps 45:5 68:23 Isa 34:6-8 Jer 16:10 Eze 35:6-8 38:21,22 revenges: Job 13:24 Jer 30:14 La 2:5 Driver - The figure of v. 41a is developed; and Jehovah’s vengeance is pictured as accomplished amidst a scene of carnage, such as the Hebrew prophets, esp. the later ones, love to imagine (e.g. Is. 34:5f., 49:26, 63:3–6, 66:16, Jer. 12:12, 25:30–33, 46:10, 50:25–29). I will make My arrows drunk with blood - This depicts the fulfilment of the declaration in Dt 32:39 "It is I who put to death and give life." Blood for blood. His adversaries (and Israel's adversaries) will pay the price of their bloodguiltiness with their own blood. Driver - The “arrows,” which were formerly (Dt 32:23) to be exhausted against Israel, will now be directed, with fatal effect, against Israel’s foes. And My sword will devour (eat) flesh - Devour (akal) means to destroy completely as when consumes (or eats) something completely. See the same figure in 2Sa 2:26, 2Sa 11:25, Isa 1:20. Whether the sword is literal or figurative, the result is not in doubt. The flesh of His enemies will be devoured. With the blood of the slain and the captives - See Nu 23:24 and 2 Sa 1:22. The captives alludes to the custom in ancient warfare of killing all the prisoners after a victory, this passage showing the completeness of the carnage! From the long-haired leaders of the enemy - Driver suggests "Long-haired heads] alluding either to the exuberant vigour and pride of Israel’s wild assailants, or perhaps (W.R.S. in Black’s Judges in the Smaller Camb. Bible for Schools, p. 39) to their being as warriors consecrated to their sanguinary work, the unshorn locks being the mark of a vow:" Deuteronomy 32:43 "Rejoice, O nations, with His people; For He will avenge the blood of His servants, And will render vengeance on His adversaries, And will atone for His land and His people." Rejoice: Ge 12:3 1Ki 8:43 Ps 22:27 Isa 11:10 Isa 19:23,25 Lu 2:10,11,32 Ac 13:47,48 Ro 15:9-13 Rev 5:9,10 avenge: De 32:35 Job 13:24 Jer 13:14 La 2:5 Lu 19:27,43,44 21:22-24 Ro 12:19 Rev 6:10 15:2,4 18:2,20 19:2 render: De 32:41 will : Ps 85:1 A WORSHIP SERVICE LIKE NO OTHER Rejoice, O nations, with His people - Time for a worship service for God's (Israel's) enemies are finally devoured. The nations that remain are apparently Gentiles who were not active enemies of Israel. 🙏 THOUGHT - When does this worship service take place? While one cannot be dogmatic, this could be the victorious return of Christ at the end of this age, defeating all His enemies and setting up His Messianic Kingdom on earth. There are not enough facts in this description to allow one to be definitive. Passages like Isaiah 11:10 support this interpretation for "in that day the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious." (Isa 11:10) One also thinks of Zech 14:16 which says "Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths."
Deuteronômio 32
Spurgeon - Because men are so slow of hearing, Moses calls on the heavens and the earth to bear witness against them; and because of the sublimity of his subject, he calls upon the heavens and the earth to pay attention to it.
Deuteronômio 32
Spurgeon - It is good preaching, and good hearing too, when the gospel comes like a gentle shower which saturates and soaks into the soil, and refreshes and makes it fruitful; may God the Holy Spirit make it to be so whenever we gather together for worship! The Word of the Lord may be as a driving hail, breaking everything upon which it falls, and so becoming the savor of death unto death. But may God. make it to us as the dew and the small rain from heaven., that it may be a savor of life unto life! Teaching (learning) (03948) leqah/leqach from laqach = to take, grasp) can mean teaching (Dt 32:2, Pr 16:21, 23, Isa 29:24) or learning which is "grasping" with the mind (Pr 1:5, 4:2, Pr 9:9). In Pr 7:21 it refers to persuasive words, words that hold power to change one's behavior. Laqah embraces “comprehension of truth well enough to teach it."Walter Kaiser - As with the root meaning (of leqach) “take, seize,” the “grasping” is with the mind and hence “perceiving” is the nuance prominent in this derivative. Note some of the words with which it is paired: bînâ “understanding” (Isa 29:24), ākām “wisdom” (Pr 1:5; 9:9) and tôrâ “instruction, law” (Pr 4:2). In Pr 7:21 leqah/leqach means “the persuasiveness” of a harlot. But in Pr 16:21 the word is used in a good sense of a teacher’s persuasiveness. (TWOT) Deuteronomy 32:3 "For I proclaim the Name of the LORD; Ascribe greatness to our God! For: Ex 3:13-16 6:3 20:24 34:5-7 Ps 29:1,2 89:16-18 105:1-5 Ps 145:1-10 Jer 10:6 23:6 Mt 1:23 Joh 17:6,26 ascribe: De 5:24 1Ch 17:19 1Chr 29:11 Ps 145:3 Ps 150:2 Jer 10:6 Eph 1:19 Related Passages: 1 Chronicles 17:19 “O LORD, for Your servant’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have wrought all this greatness, to make known all these great things. 1 Chronicles 29:11 “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. Psalm 145:3 Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised, And His greatness is unsearchable. Psalm 150:2 Praise Him for His mighty deeds; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness. THE NAME AND GREATNESS OF OUR GOD Moses begins with the summum bonum, the highest good, the great Name of the LORD. Steven
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Spurgeon: Moses had to be put into a cleft of a rock before he could see God. There was a rock in the wilderness, Moses smote it, and water gushed out. The apostle tells us “that rock was Christ.” (1 Cor 10:4) Very well, Paul, I believe it was, but there is another thing that I believe, I believe that this rock was Christ. I know it was not Christ literally. Moses stood in a literal rock; he stood on the top of a high mountain, hidden in a cleft of a real rock. But, O my soul, what is the cleft of the rock where thou must stand, if thou wouldst ever see God’s face, and live? Oh, it is the “Rock of ages, cleft for me,” where I must hide! Oh, what a cleaving that was when Jesus died! (Jn 19:34, 37, 20:27) O my soul, enter into the cleft in Jesus’ side. That is the cleft of the Rock where thou must abide, and see God. But when I get into the cleft of that rock, O my soul, when I get into that cleft whose massive roof is the well-ordered everlasting covenant, whose solid golden floor is made of the solemn decrees of the predestination of the Most High, and whose sides are called Jachin and Boaz, that is, establishment and strength, I am in a cleft of a rock which is so enduring that time can never dissolve it. Precious Christ, may I be found in Thee amidst the concussion of the elements when the world shall melt away, and the heavens shall be dissolved! Oh, may I stand in Thee, Thou precious cleft of the Rock, for Thou art all-in-all to my soul!...In closing, I want to draw one practical inference; what shall it be? Draw it yourselves. Let it be this: There is an hour coming when we must all, in a certain sense, see God (Php 2:10-11, Rev 1:7). We must see Him as a Judge (2 Ti 4:1). It becomes us, then, to think seriously whether we shall stand in the cleft of the Rock when He comes. (God's Glory and His Goodness - Sermon on Exodus 33:18-23) Maxwell - God is prominently pictured as “a Rock” in this poem (vv. 4, 18, 30, 31). This metaphor is often used by the psalmist, and it appears at other places in the Bible. It represents the divine unchangeability and security to which men come for refuge in a world filled with physical and spiritual foes. This imagery has found its way into the music of the Christian church in such songs as “Rock of Ages” and “The Solid Rock.” For Moses, the characterization of God as a Rock was born out of personal experience: the law was proclaimed on the rock of Sinai; Moses hid himself in the cleft of a rock; out of a smitten rock the waters gushed forth. How natural it was for Moses to apply this image to the eternal God! (Preacher's Commentary) His work is perfect - Perfect is tamim (from root meaning "complete" comprehensive, all-sided so as to cover all aspects of a thing) means “single-hearted, without blame, sincere, and in Ex 12:5 refers to a “unblemished” sacrifice, which the Rock Christ Jesus fulfilled. In this verse the Septuagint translates perfect with alethinos which means true (conforming to facts), dependable, genuine. For all His ways are just - Just is mishpat/mispat an attribute of God (Isa. 30:18 [cf. Ge 18:25]). He loves mishpat (Ps 37:28). It is rooted in His character and ought to be emulated by godly people (Ps. 37:30; Pr 12:5; 21:15; 29:4; Mic 3:1, 6:8). Think about this statement from the lips of Moses. The very One Who had told Him he could not enter the Promised land because he had smitten the Rock a second time.
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Spurgeon - “The spot of his children.” — Deuteronomy 32:5 (Morning and Evening) What is the secret spot which infallibly betokens the child of God? It were vain presumption to decide this upon our own judgment; but God’s word reveals it to us, and we may tread surely where we have revelation to be our guide. Now, we are told concerning our Lord, “to as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to as many as believed on his name.” Then, if I have received Christ Jesus into my heart, I am a child of God. That reception is described in the same verse as believing on the name of Jesus Christ. If, then, I believe on Jesus Christ’s name—that is, simply from my heart trust myself with the crucified, but now exalted, Redeemer, I am a member of the family of the Most High. Whatever else I may not have, if I have this, I have the privilege to become a child of God. Our Lord Jesus puts it in another shape. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” Here is the matter in a nutshell. Christ appears as a shepherd to his own sheep, not to others. As soon as he appears, his own sheep perceive him—they trust him, they are prepared to follow him; he knows them, and they know him—there is a mutual knowledge—there is a constant connection between them. Thus the one mark, the sure mark, the infallible mark of regeneration and adoption is a hearty faith in the appointed Redeemer. Reader, are you in doubt, are you uncertain whether you bear the secret mark of God’s children? Then let not an hour pass over your head till you have said, “Search me, O God, and know my heart.” Trifle not here, I adjure you! If you must trifle anywhere, let it be about some secondary matter: your health, if you will, or the title deeds of your estate; but about your soul, your never-dying soul and its eternal destinies, I beseech you to be in earnest. Make sure work for eternity. Deuteronomy 32:6 "Do you thus repay the LORD, O foolish and unwise people? Is not He your Father who has bought you? He has made you and established you. Do you thus repay: De 32:18 Isa 1:2 2Co 5:14,15 Tit 2:11-14 O foolish: Ps 74:18 Jer 4:22 5:21 Ga 3:1-3 Is not He your Father Ex 4:22 Isa 63:16 Lu 15:18-20 Joh 8:41 Ro 8:15 Ga 3:26 4:6 1Jn 3:1 bought: Ex 15:16 Ps 74:2 Isa 43:3,4 Ac 20:28 1Co 6:20 2Pe 2:1 made: Job 10:8 Ps 95:6 pS 100:3 pS 149:2 Isa 27:11 Isa 43:7 44:2 RECOMPENSE TO THE RIGHTEOUS ONE! Do you thus repay the LORD, O foolish and unwise people? - Moses is asking Israel is this how you repay Yahweh (acting as a perverse and crooked generation)? Israel acted foolishly, since the nation chose to provoke Yahweh by infidelity, according to the Song of Moses (Deut. 32:6, 21). Fools are equated with non-belief (Job 2:10; 30:8; Pss. 14:1; 39:8; 53:1; 74:22; Jer. 17:11). The righteous should not die like a fool, cut off in their prime by violence (2 Sa. 3:33). Unwise is the Hebrew negative (lo) and the Hebrew word chakam meaning wise. Unwise people is the antithesis of what they were to be as a light among the Gentiles a "great nation (that) is a wise (chakam) an understanding people." (Dt 4:6). In short, Israel's sin caused them to miss one of their major purposes for their creation and existence which was to shine the light of Yahweh into a dark world. THOUGHT - Beloved, this principle still holds true. You are called to be a light to the lost (Mt 5:16+, Php 2:14-15+) but if your "temple" (1 Cor 6:19-20+) is corrupted by sin, God cannot and will not use you. One of His major purposes for your life is sadly ruined. Run from sin that you might "be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work." (2Ti 2:21+) and great will be your reward (Ps 19:11+, Mt 5:12+, Lk 6:23+, Heb 10:35+). Foolish (05036)(nabal from verb nabal = to be senseless) means devoid of wisdom, good sense or sound judgment, and especially associated with insolence and/or ungodliness. The concept of uselessness pervades all the uses of the root verb. Nabal means insensibility to God, as well as a moral insensibility, close the mind to reason. Nabal refers to lacking understanding or even the capacity for understanding, implying a willful moral insolence and impudence and disobedience to the law of God (Dt 32:6, 21; Ps 74:18; Eze 13:3) Nabal - 18v - fool(9), foolish(5), foolish man(1), foolish women(1), fools(1), fools*(1). Deut. 32:6; Deut. 32:21; 2 Sam. 3:33; 2 Sam. 13:13; Job 2:10; Job 30:8; Ps. 14:1; Ps. 39:8; Ps. 53:1; Ps. 74:18; Ps. 74:22; Prov. 17:7; Prov. 17:21; Prov. 30:22; Isa. 32:5; Isa. 32:6; Jer. 17:11; Ezek. 13:3 Wise (02450)(chakam from verb chakam - to be wise) means wise, shrewd, i.e., a capacity for understanding and discernment (Pr 10:8). It can mean skilled, i.e., pertaining to the knowledge of a craftsman in some technical work (Ex 35:10, 25; 36:1, 2, 4, 8; Isa 3:3; Jer 10:9; Eze 27:8) Chakam is an adjective which can refer to professional skill and ability, or to moral character and a person’s relationship with God. It also refers to a “God-fearing person,” Complete Biblical Library - Chākhām refers to professional skill in several OT contexts. The men and women who were called upon to make the priestly garments and help construct the Tabernacle and its furnishings possessed skills in working with cloth, precious and semiprecious stones and wood. The same is said of those who later built the Temple (Exo. 28:3; 31:6; 1 Chr. 22:15; 2 Chr. 2:7). Professional mourning was also a skilled activity (Jer. 9:17). Wise people constituted a class of palace administrators and high court officials who gave advice to kings and other political leaders. When Pharaoh had puzzling dreams, he called in his wise men and magicians to interpret them for him. They could not interpret the dreams, which affirms that the wisdom of the wise men of the nations does not compare with the wisdom of God (Jer. 10:7). Joseph was brought in before Pharaoh, and he interpreted the dreams, suggesting a wise course of action in preparation for the coming famine foretold by the dreams (Gen. 41:8, 33). In the Persian court, the wise men were experts in matters of law and justice (Est. 1:13). A lesser ruler Haman had his own advisers (Est. 6:13), as did the wife of the military commander, Sisera (Judg. 5:29). The wise men were classed with the priests and prophets as leaders and advisers in Israel (Jer. 18:18). A woman of Tekoa and a woman of Abel-Beth-Maacah were noted for their wisdom. The administrative and advisory sense of the term in this context indicates that these women probably held some kind of leadership or advisory position within their cities. Joab brought the woman of Tekoa to David to act as an advisor to the king regarding his relationship with his son Absalom (2 Sam. 14:2ff), and the woman of Abel-Beth-Maacah led the meeting that resulted in the beheading of Sheba, who had rebelled against David and the kingdom (2 Sam. 20:16). Those who lead God’s people should possess wisdom, and God is the source of their wisdom. There were too many people for Moses to handle effectively, so wise and respected men were chosen from among the tribes to help him in matters of justice and administration (Deut. 1:13, 15). The LORD gave Solomon a wise and discerning heart so he could govern the nation justly (1 Ki. 3:12). The LORD warns judges and officials not to accept bribes, for such gifts blind the eyes of the wise, turn them into fools, and corrupt their hearts (Deut. 16:19; Ecc. 7:7). In the moral sense, the wise love those who rebuke them (Prov. 9:8), they are teachable (9:9), they accept commands (10:8), do not loose control in anger (29:11), seek knowledge (18:15), and bring healing words to others (12:18). In the spiritual sense, to walk in wisdom is to walk in proper relationship with God, for God is the source of all true wisdom. The LORD promised Israel that if they would follow his laws, the nations would acknowledge their wisdom, the favor of God (Deut. 4:6). Both wise and foolish people die. The grave becomes the home of the fool, but God redeems the life of the wise person from the grave and takes him to himself, indicating that even in the OT, there was hope beyond the grave for those who followed God (Ps. 49:10). This is in contrast to the preacher who claimed that the wise and the fool both die and then are quickly forgotten (Ecc. 2:16). People are not to follow what appears to be wise, but they are to fear the LORD, following his ways and turning from evil. This is the source of life and health, and it will cause the person to become a source of life to others (Prov. 13:14). The wise are not to boast in their own wisdom; rather, they are to boast in their knowledge of God’s kindness, justice and righteousness (Jer. 9:23). The wise will do what is right, although no one is wise enough to comprehend all of God’s ways. Thus, all our works must be committed into God’s hands. The future may bring success or failure; despite all our wisdom and abilities, there is still an element of chance in life. The wise, however, will still do what is right (Ecc. 8:17; 9:1, 11; 10:2). Chakam - 133v - expert(1), men who are skillful(1), sage(1), shrewd(2), skilled(2), skilled men(3), skilled men and with those(1), skilled*(1), skillful(1), skillful man*(1), skillful men(1), skillful men*(1), skillful persons*(1), skillful*(3), unwise*(1), wailing women(1), who(1), who are wise(1), wise(64), wise man(21), wise man's(2), wise men(22), wise son(1), wisehearted(1), wiser(2), wisest(1). Gen. 41:8; Gen. 41:33; Gen. 41:39; Exod. 7:11; Exod. 28:3; Exod. 31:6; Exod. 35:10; Exod. 35:25; Exod. 36:1; Exod. 36:2; Exod. 36:4; Exod. 36:8; Deut. 1:13; Deut. 1:15; Deut. 4:6; Deut. 16:19; Deut. 32:6; Jdg. 5:29; 2 Sam. 13:3; 2 Sam. 14:2; 2 Sam. 14:20; 2 Sam. 20:16; 1 Ki. 2:9; 1 Ki. 3:12; 1 Ki. 5:7; 1 Chr. 22:15; 2 Chr. 2:7; 2 Chr. 2:12; 2 Chr. 2:13; 2 Chr. 2:14; Est. 1:13; Est. 6:13; Job 5:13; Job 9:4; Job 15:2; Job 15:18; Job 17:10; Job 34:2; Job 34:34; Job 37:24; Ps. 49:10; Ps. 107:43; Prov. 1:5; Prov. 1:6; Prov. 3:7; Prov. 3:35; Prov. 9:8; Prov. 9:9; Prov. 10:1; Prov. 10:8; Prov. 10:14; Prov. 11:29; Prov. 11:30; Prov. 12:15; Prov. 12:18; Prov. 13:1; Prov. 13:14; Prov. 13:20; Prov. 14:1; Prov. 14:3; Prov. 14:16; Prov. 14:24; Prov. 15:2; Prov. 15:7; Prov. 15:12; Prov. 15:20; Prov. 15:31; Prov. 16:14; Prov. 16:21; Prov. 16:23; Prov. 17:28; Prov. 18:15; Prov. 20:26; Prov. 21:20; Prov. 21:22; Prov. 22:17; Prov. 23:24; Prov. 24:5; Prov. 24:23; Prov. 25:12; Prov. 26:5; Prov. 26:12; Prov. 26:16; Prov. 28:11; Prov. 29:8; Prov. 29:9; Prov. 29:11; Prov. 30:24; Eccl. 2:14; Eccl. 2:16; Eccl. 2:19; Eccl. 4:13; Eccl. 6:8; Eccl. 7:4; Eccl. 7:5; Eccl. 7:7; Eccl. 7:19; Eccl. 8:1; Eccl. 8:5; Eccl. 8:17; Eccl. 9:1; Eccl. 9:11; Eccl. 9:15; Eccl. 9:17; Eccl. 10:2; Eccl. 10:12; Eccl. 12:9; Eccl. 12:11; Isa. 3:3; Isa. 5:21; Isa. 19:11; Isa. 19:12; Isa. 29:14; Isa. 31:2; Isa. 40:20; Isa. 44:25; Jer. 4:22; Jer. 8:8; Jer. 8:9; Jer. 9:12; Jer. 9:17; Jer. 9:23; Jer. 10:7; Jer. 10:9; Jer. 18:18; Jer. 50:35; Jer. 51:57; Ezek. 27:8; Ezek. 27:9; Ezek. 28:3; Hos. 13:13; Hos. 14:9; Obad. 1:8 Spurgeon - Sin is the basest form of ingratitude. We owe everything to God, and we ought therefore to treat him as our Creator and Father should be treated. On the contrary, how often have we requited him evil for good, and acted as if we regarded him as our enemy rather than as our best Friend! Is not He your Father Who has bought you? - NET and NIV have "Is He not your Father, your Creator?" NLT = "Isn't He your Father Who created you?"
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Spurgeon - His first thought was concerning his own people. He provided Canaan for them; it was just the very land for them, with space enough, and yet with not too much room, so that they might cultivate it all, and prove it to be a land flowing with milk and honey. Yet these special thoughts of God, with regard to his own chosen people, did not exclude kind thoughts towards the rest of mankind, for “he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people,” that is, the people belonging to other nations; but, still, his deepest and his highest thoughts were concerning the children of Israel. Deuteronomy 32:9 "For the LORD'S portion is His people; Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance. the LORD'S: De 26:18,19 Ex 15:16 19:5,6 1Sa 10:1 Ps 78:71 135:4 Isa 43:21 Jer 10:16 51:19 Eph 1:18 1Pe 2:9,10 the allotment of His inheritance: Mic 2:5 Related Passage: Deuteronomy 4:20+ “But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, from Egypt, to be a people for His own possession (nachalah), as today. Deuteronomy 9:26 “I prayed to the LORD and said, ‘O Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people, even Your inheritance (nachalah), whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Deuteronomy 9:29 ‘Yet they are Your people, even Your inheritance (nachalah), whom You have brought out by Your great power and Your outstretched arm.’ PEOPLE OF ISRAEL YAHWEH'S PORTION & INHERITANCE For - Explains why Yahweh showed such high regard for Israel in verse 8. The LORD'S portion is His people - Israel belongs to Yahweh. Portion means a share of something often land (Dt 12:12, 18:1, but in this case "someone") set aside for a specific purpose, and for Israel is was for them to have been a light to the nations, a purpose they did not fulfill. Of course, the Messiah came from Israel and He became the light of the world (Jn 8:12), so in that sense the purpose was fulfilled.
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Spurgeon - “The Lord’s portion is his people.” — Deuteronomy 32:9 (Morning and Evening) How are they his? By his own sovereign choice. He chose them, and set his love upon them. This he did altogether apart from any goodness in them at the time, or any goodness which he foresaw in them. He had mercy on whom he would have mercy, and ordained a chosen company unto eternal life; thus, therefore, are they his by his unconstrained election. They are not only his by choice, but by purchase. He has bought and paid for them to the utmost farthing, hence about his title there can be no dispute. Not with corruptible things, as with silver and gold, but with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord’s portion has been fully redeemed. There is no mortgage on his estate; no suits can be raised by opposing claimants, the price was paid in open court, and the Church is the Lord’s freehold for ever. See the blood-mark upon all the chosen, invisible to human eye, but known to Christ, for “the Lord knoweth them that are his”; he forgetteth none of those whom he has redeemed from among men; he counts the sheep for whom he laid down his life, and remembers well the Church for which he gave himself. They are also his by conquest. What a battle he had in us before we would be won! How long he laid siege to our hearts! How often he sent us terms of capitulation! but we barred our gates, and fenced our walls against him. Do we not remember that glorious hour when he carried our hearts by storm? When he placed his cross against the wall, and scaled our ramparts, planting on our strongholds the blood-red flag of his omnipotent mercy? Yes, we are, indeed, the conquered captives of his omnipotent love. Thus chosen, purchased, and subdued, the rights of our divine possessor are inalienable: we rejoice that we never can be our own; and we desire, day by day, to do his will, and to show forth his glory. Deuteronomy 32:10 "He found him in a desert land, And in the howling waste of a wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye. found: De 8:15-16 Ne 9:19-21 Ps 107:4,5 Song 8:5 Jer 2:6 Ho 13:5 cared for De 4:36 Ne 9:20 Ps 32:7-10 147:19,20 Ro 2:18 3:2 guarded: Ps 17:8 Pr 7:2 Zec 2:8 Related Passages: Deuteronomy 8:15-16 “He led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water; He brought water for you out of the rock of flint. 16“In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end. Jeremiah 2:6 “They did not say, ‘Where is the LORD Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, Who led us through the wilderness, Through a land of deserts and of pits, Through a land of drought and of deep darkness, Through a land that no one crossed And where no man dwelt?’ Nehemiah 9:19-21 You, in Your great compassion, Did not forsake them in the wilderness; The pillar of cloud did not leave them by day, To guide them on their way, Nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way in which they were to go. 20“You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, Your manna You did not withhold from their mouth, And You gave them water for their thirst. 21“Indeed, forty years You provided for them in the wilderness and they were not in want; Their clothes did not wear out, nor did their feet swell. Psalm 17:8 Keep me as the apple of the eye; Hide me in the shadow of Your wings Proverbs 7:2 Keep my commandments and live, And my teaching as the apple of your eye. Zechariah 2:8 For thus says the LORD of hosts, “After glory He has sent me against the nations which plunder you, for he who touches you, touches the apple of His eye. YAHWEH'S CARE AND PROTECTION OF HIS "PUPIL" In verses 10-12 Moses recounts how Yahweh led and sustained the infant nation of Israel in the wilderness. He found him in a desert land - The English of the Septuagint has "He maintained him in the wilderness," conveying not simply finding but also providing for someone (Greek verb autarkeo = supply with necessities). Driver - to illustrate His providential care; Israel was found (cf. Hos. 9:10; and the figure of the exposed child in Ez. 16:3–6) by Jehovah, at a time when it was homeless, and might readily have perished from want; it was tenderly taken charge of by Him, and brought to a land abundantly provided for its needs (comp. Jer. 2:6–7). And in the howling waste of a wilderness - NET - "In an empty wasteland where animals howl." Moses depicts the perils of the wilderness journey. The word waste (תֹּהוּ) implies a wild and desolate expanse (Job 12:24, Ps. 107:40) NET NOTE- Heb “in an empty, howling wasteland.” The word “howling” is derived from a verbal root that typically refers to the wailing of mourners. Here it likely refers to the howling of desert animals, or perhaps to the howling wind, in which case one may translate, “in an empty, windy wasteland.” Spurgeon - And is not this also a true description of God’s love and kindness to you and to me, beloved in the Lord? Did he not find us in the wilderness? Has he not led us about, trod by our experience instructed us, and has he not guarded us with as much watchful care as a man bestows upon the apple of his eye? Oh, blessed be his holy name, we owe everything to him! He giveth us everything that we have. He encircled him - The Hebrew word sabab means to surrounding on all sides at the same time. It was if God "circled the (divine) wagons" so to speak (even as wagon trains did in crossing the dangerous frontier in America) to protect them from enemies. Yahweh provided protection (cf Ps 32:10). THOUGHT - And does the omnipresent God not also surround us on all sides with His omnipotent protection, so that nothing contacts us that is not filtered through His sovereign, omnipotent hands? (Rhetorical of course). Psalm 5:12 For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD, You surround him with favor as with a shield. Timothy Rogers, 1691. When the strong man armed comes against us, when he darts his fiery darts, what can hurt us, if God compass us about with his lovingkindness as with a shield? He can disarm the tempter and restrain his malice, and tread him under our feet. If God be not with us, if he do not give us sufficient grace, so subtle, so powerful, so politic an enemy, will be too hard for us. How surely are we foiled, and get the worse, when we pretend to grapple with him in our own strength! How many falls, and how many bruises by those falls have we got, by relying too much on our own skill? How often have we had the help of God when we have humbly asked it! And how sure are we to get the victory, if Christ pray for us that we do not fail! #Luke 22:31. Where can we go for shelter but unto God our Maker! When this lion of the forest does begin to roar, how will he terrify and vex us, till he that permits him for awhile to trouble us, be pleased to chain him up again! Psalm 32:7 You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah. Spurgeon - Thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. What a golden sentence! The man is encircled in song, surrounded by dancing mercies, all of them proclaiming the triumphs of grace. There is no breach in the circle, it completely rings him round; on all sides he hears music. Before him hope sounds the cymbals, and behind him gratitude beats the timbrel. Right and left, above and beneath, the air resounds with joy, and all this for the very man who, a few weeks ago, was roaring all the day long. How great a change! What wonders grace has done and still can do! Selah. There was a need of a pause, for love so amazing needs to be pondered, and joy so great demands quiet contemplation, since language fails to express it. Psalm 32:10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked, But he who trusts in the LORD, lovingkindness shall surround him. Spurgeon - Faith is here placed as the opposite of wickedness, since it is the source of virtue. Faith in God is the great charmer of life's cares, and he who possesses it, dwells in an atmosphere of grace, surrounded with the bodyguard of mercies. May it be given to us of the Lord at all times to believe in the mercy of God, even when we cannot see traces of its working, for to the believer, mercy is as all surrounding as omniscience, and every thought and act of God is perfumed with it. The wicked have a hive of wasps around them, many sorrows; but we have a swarm of bees storing honey for us. Psalm 89:8 O LORD God of hosts, who is like You, O mighty LORD? Your faithfulness also surrounds You. Psalm 125:2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, So the LORD surrounds His people From this time forth and forever. Spurgeon - The hill of Zion is the type of the believer's constancy, and the surrounding mountains are made emblems of the all surrounding presence of the Lord. The mountains around the holy city, though they do not make a circular wall, are, nevertheless, set like sentinels to guard her gates. God doth not enclose his people within ramparts and bulwarks, making their city to be a prison; but yet he so orders the arrangements of his providence that his saints are as safe as if they dwelt behind the strongest fortifications. What a double security the two verses set before us (Ps 125:1-2+)! First, we are established, and then entrenched; settled, and then sentinelled: made like a mount, and then protected as if by mountains. This is no matter of poetry, it is so in fact; and it is no matter of temporary privilege, but it shall be so for ever. Date when we please, "from henceforth" Jehovah encircles his people: look on as far as we please, the protection extends "even for ever." Note, it is not said that Jehovah's power or wisdom defends believers, but he himself is round about them: they have his personality for their protection, his Godhead for their guard. We are here taught that the Lord's people are those who trust him, for they are thus described in the first verses: the line of faith is the line of grace, those who trust in the Lord are chosen of the Lord. The two verses together prove the eternal safety of the saints: they must abide where God has placed them, and God must for ever protect them from all evil. It would be difficult to imagine greater safety than is here set forth. Psalm 139:5 You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Spurgeon - As though we were caught in an ambush, or besieged by an army which has wholly beleaguered the city walls, we are surrounded by the Lord. God has set us where we be, and beset us wherever we be. Behind us there is God recording our sins, or in grace blotting out the remembrance of them; and before us there is God foreknowing all our deeds, and providing for all our wants. We cannot turn back and so escape him, for he is behind; we cannot go forward and outmarch him, for he is before. He not only beholds us, but he besets us; and lest there should seem any chance of escape, or lest we should imagine that the surrounding presence is yet a distant one, it is added, Psalm 142:7 Bring my soul out of prison, So that I may give thanks to Your name; The righteous will surround me, For You will deal bountifully with me.” Surround (04141) (sabab) to turn about, go around, surround, encircle, to turn, go around, turn around (change direction). Vine - This verb occurs only in Hebrew (including post-biblical Hebrew) and Ugaritic. Nouns using these radicals appear in Arabic and Akkadian. Biblical Hebrew attests the word in all periods and about 160 times. Basically this verb represents a circular movement—“to take a turning.” First, it refers to such movement in general. The first occurrence of sabab having this emphasis is in Gen. 42:24, where Joseph “turned himself about” from his brothers and wept. Here the verb does not tell the precise direction of his departure, only that he left their presence. Similarly, when Samuel was told that Saul went to Carmel and “is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal” (1 Sam. 15:12), we are not told that he reversed direction in order to get from his origin to Carmel and Gilgal. God led Israel out of the way (by an out-of-the-way route) when He took them into the Promised Land. He wanted to avoid having them face war with the Philistines, an event that was unavoidable if they proceeded directly north from Egypt to Palestine. Therefore, He led them through the wilderness—a back route into the land: “But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea …” (Exod. 13:18). Perhaps one of the passages where this meaning is clearest is Prov. 26:14, which speaks of the “turning” of a door on its hinges. An extension of this meaning occurs in 1 Sam. 5:8–9, “to remove, to take away”: “And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried about [taken away] unto Gath. And they carried the ark of the God of Israel about thither” (cf. 2 Kings 16:18). A second emphasis of sabab is “to go around,” in the sense of to proceed or be arranged in a circle. Joseph tells his family: “… Lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf” (Gen. 37:7). They moved so as to surround his sheaf. This is the action pictured when Israel besieged Jericho, except with the further nuance of encircling in a processional and religious march: “And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once” (Josh. 6:3). “To travel” and “to return” are used together to represent traveling a circuit. It is said of Samuel that he used to go annually “in circuit” (1 Sam. 7:16). Another variation of this emphasis is “to go around” a territory in order to avoid crossing through it: “And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to compass [go around] the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way” (Num. 21:4). Sabab is also used of the completion of this movement, the state of literally or figuratively surrounding something or someone. The very first biblical occurrence of the word carries this force (according to many scholars): “The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth [flows around] the whole land of Havilah …” (Gen. 2:11). Judg. 16:2, where the Gazites “compassed [Samson] in, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city,” represents another occurrence of this nuance. When David spoke of the cords (as a trap) of Sheol “surrounding” him (2 Sam. 22:6), he meant that they actually touched him and held him fast. Sabab can be used of sitting down around a table. So Samuel told Jesse to fetch David, “for we will not sit down till he come hither” (1 Sam. 16:11). A third use of this verb is “to change direction.” This can be a change of direction |toward:“Neither shall the inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe …” (Num. 36:9); the usual direction of passing on an inheritance is down family lines, and God’s commandment that the daughters of Zelophehad marry within their father’s families would make certain that this movement of things not be interrupted. This emphasis appears more clearly in 1 Sam. 18:11: “And David [escaped] out of his presence twice”; it is certain that David is putting as much space between himself and Saul as possible. He is “running away or turning away” (cf. 1 Sam. 22:17). Sabab may also refer to a change of direction, as in Num. 34:4: “And your border shall turn.…” There are three special nuances under this emphasis. First, the verb may mean “to roam through” as a scout looking for water: “… And they fetched a compass [made a circuit] of seven days’ journey: and there was no water for the host, and for the cattle that followed them” (2 Kings 3:9). Some scholars suggest that this is the idea expressed in Gen. 2:11 that the Pison meandered through Havilah rather than flowed around it. Second, Sabab may be used of “turning something over” to someone. So Adonijah said of Solomon: “… The kingdom was mine, … howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother’s …” (1 Kings 2:15). Third, Sabab may be used of “changing or turning one thing into another”: “And the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem …” (Zech. 14:10). (Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old Testament and New Testament Words) Swanson - SALAB 1. (qal) go around, surround, encircle, i.e., move around an object with linear motion, which can conclude with an object being encircled or surrounded at each spatial position around the object (Jdg 16:2), note: this can be a threatening or protecting motion; (nif) surrounded (Ge 19:4; Jos 7:9; Jdg 19:22; Eze 41:7); (polel) surround, shield, go about, gather around (Dt 32:10; Ps 7:8; 26:6; 32:7, 10; 55:11; 59:7,15; Song 3:2; Jer 31:22); (hif) cause to surround, carry around (Ex 13:18; 1Ch 14:14); (hof) surrounding (Eze 41:7); 2. (qal) winds through, goes around, i.e., linear motion which includes a arching, rounding motion (Dt 2:1); (nif) turn, change direction (Nu 34:4, 5; Jos 15:3, 10; 16:6; 18:14; 19:14; Jer 31:39; Eze 1:9, 12; Eze 10:11b); (hif) turn (Jdg 18:23); (hof) be turned (Isa 28:27); 3. (qal) turn, i.e., a non-linear pivot motion (Pr 26:14); (nif) pivot, swing (Eze 26:2); (hof) hinged (Eze 41:24); 4. (nif) turn in a circle, roll, i.e., the spinning motion of a wheel (Eze 1:17; Eze 10:11 a; 10:16); 5. (hof) set, be mounted, i.e., pertaining to the placing of an object into a secure setting so as not to move (Ex 28:11; 39:6, 13); 6. (piel) change over, i.e., cause a difference by differing the nature or relationship of an object or event (2Sa 14:20); (nif) turned over, formally, surrounded (Jer 6:12); (hif) bring over, change over (2Sa 3:12); (hof) be changed (Nu 32:38); 7. (polel) engulf, i.e., be surrounded by a mass (Jnh 2:4,6); 8. unit: (hif) סָבַב אֵת פָּנֶה (sā·ḇǎḇ ʾēṯ pā·ně(h)) sulk, formally, turn the face, i.e., be in an offended, angry mood (1Ki 21:4), note: for another interp in Eze 41:7b Salab - 153v - about(2), all around(1), around(2), around*(1), away*(1), bring back(1), bring...over(1), brought(2), brought around(2), brought about(1), change(1), changed(5), circle around(2), circled(2), circled around(1), circling(1), circuit(1), circumference*(3), come around(1), completely*(1), directed(1), driven(1), encircled(2), encircling(1), encompass(2), engulfed(2), escaped(1), faced*(2), flows around(2), form(1), gathered around(2), go about(3), go around(4), led around(2), made a circuit(1), make the rounds(2), march around(3), marched around(3), measured the circumference(1), opened(1), removed(2), returned(1), set(3), set*(1), sit(1), surround(7), surrounded(18), surrounding(2), surrounds(2), swinging(1), swirling(1), taken around(1), transferred(2), turn(13), turn around(2), turn aside(1), turn away(2), turn back(1), turned(12), turned about(4), turned around(2), turned aside(2), turned away(3), turned over(1), turned round(1), turning(5), turns(1), walk about(2), went about(1), went throughout(2). Gen. 2:11; Gen. 2:13; Gen. 19:4; Gen. 37:7; Gen. 42:24; Exod. 13:18; Exod. 28:11; Exod. 39:6; Exod. 39:13; Num. 21:4; Num. 32:38; Num. 34:4; Num. 34:5; Num. 36:7; Num. 36:9; Deut. 2:1; Deut. 2:3; Deut. 32:10; Jos. 6:3; Jos. 6:4; Jos. 6:7; Jos. 6:11; Jos. 6:14; Jos. 6:15; Jos. 7:9; Jos. 15:3; Jos. 15:10; Jos. 16:6; Jos. 18:14; Jos. 19:14; Jdg. 11:18; Jdg. 16:2; Jdg. 18:23; Jdg. 19:22; Jdg. 20:5; 1 Sam. 5:8; 1 Sam. 5:9; 1 Sam. 5:10; 1 Sam. 7:16; 1 Sam. 15:12; 1 Sam. 15:27; 1 Sam. 16:11; 1 Sam. 17:30; 1 Sam. 18:11; 1 Sam. 22:17; 1 Sam. 22:18; 1 Sam. 22:22; 2 Sam. 3:12; 2 Sam. 5:23; 2 Sam. 14:20; 2 Sam. 14:24; 2 Sam. 18:15; 2 Sam. 18:30; 2 Sam. 20:12; 2 Sam. 22:6; 1 Ki. 2:15; 1 Ki. 5:3; 1 Ki. 7:15; 1 Ki. 7:23; 1 Ki. 7:24; 1 Ki. 8:14; 1 Ki. 18:37; 1 Ki. 21:4; 2 Ki. 3:9; 2 Ki. 3:25; 2 Ki. 6:15; 2 Ki. 8:21; 2 Ki. 9:18; 2 Ki. 9:19; 2 Ki. 16:18; 2 Ki. 20:2; 2 Ki. 23:34; 2 Ki. 24:17; 1 Chr. 10:14; 1 Chr. 12:23; 1 Chr. 13:3; 1 Chr. 14:14; 1 Chr. 16:43; 2 Chr. 4:2; 2 Chr. 4:3; 2 Chr. 6:3; 2 Chr. 13:13; 2 Chr. 14:7; 2 Chr. 17:9; 2 Chr. 18:31; 2 Chr. 21:9; 2 Chr. 23:2; 2 Chr. 29:6; 2 Chr. 33:14; 2 Chr. 35:22; 2 Chr. 36:4; Ezr. 6:22; Job 16:13; Job 40:22; Ps. 7:7; Ps. 17:11; Ps. 18:5; Ps. 22:12; Ps. 22:16; Ps. 26:6; Ps. 32:7; Ps. 32:10; Ps. 48:12; Ps. 49:5; Ps. 55:10; Ps. 59:6; Ps. 59:14; Ps. 71:21; Ps. 88:17; Ps. 109:3; Ps. 114:3; Ps. 114:5; Ps. 118:10; Ps. 118:11; Ps. 118:12; Ps. 140:9; Prov. 26:14; Eccl. 1:6; Eccl. 2:20; Eccl. 7:25; Eccl. 9:14; Eccl. 12:5; Cant. 2:17; Cant. 3:2; Cant. 3:3; Cant. 5:7; Cant. 6:5; Isa. 23:16; Isa. 28:27; Isa. 38:2; Jer. 6:12; Jer. 21:4; Jer. 31:22; Jer. 31:39; Jer. 41:14; Jer. 52:21; Ezek. 1:9; Ezek. 1:12; Ezek. 1:17; Ezek. 7:22; Ezek. 10:11; Ezek. 10:16; Ezek. 26:2; Ezek. 41:7; Ezek. 41:24; Ezek. 42:19; Ezek. 47:2; Hos. 7:2; Hos. 11:12; Jon. 2:3; Jon. 2:5; Hab. 2:16; Zech. 14:10 He cared for him - Literal Heb “he gave him understanding.” NET is a better translation "taught him," for Hebrew word biyn primarily means understanding, and the Lxx translates it with paideuo meaning to chasten, correct, educate, teach, train, give guidance. He guarded him as the pupil of His eye - ESV, NIV, KJV = "apple of His eye." What is more tender and precious than the pupil of one's eye? The metaphor of pupil or "apple of one's eye" speaks of one's treasure, that which is precious and dear. This was Israel to the heart of Yahweh! Even in their rebelliousness. Is this not a picture of the Father's unconditional love. Amazing grace indeed! John Maxwell on as the pupil of His eye - The Hebrew reads literally, “He kept them as the ‘little men’ of His eye.” How close do you have to get to another person before you see yourself reflected in that person’s eye? God has gotten that close to Israel. He knows His people face to face. (Preacher's Commentary) Guarded (preserved, watched) (05341) natsar means to guard, keep, observe, hide, preserve, hide. Many of the uses of natsar are nuanced by the object that is being watched or guarded. The first use in Ex 34:7 speaks of God keeping His faithfulness! Natsar is used with a similar sense of keeping faithfulness in “keeping” the covenant (Dt. 33:9); “keeping” the law (Ps. 105:45); “keeping” the rules of parents (Pr. 6:20). Scripture uses natsar to describe men guarding truths about God (Ps 25:10, Ps 119:2, 22, 33, 34, 100, 129, Pr 3:1) Pupil or apple (of the eye) (0380)('iyshown/ishon) ("little man of the eye" = pupil, "apple of the eye") and is translated in Lxx with the Greek noun kore = primary meaning = ‘girl, young woman’ Homer. et al; On a smaller scale = ‘doll’ Dio Chrys. 31, 153). The tiny image reflected in the iris of the eye gave rise to the use of the term kore (=Lat. pupilla) to denote the ‘pupil’ of the eye (e.g., used this way by Hippocrates; Septuagint; Philo) pupil, in our literature kore is used in imagery of something held dear: agapan os kore tou opthalmou ~ love as the pupil of one’s eye = love as the darling, favorite, or ‘apple’ of the eye. Kore is used in Deut 32:10; 3 Macc 5:47; 4 Macc 18:21; Ps 17:8; Odes 2:10; Prov 7:2; Pr 20:9; Sir 17:22; Ishon - 5v - apple(2), middle(1), pupil(1), time(1).Deut. 32:10; Ps. 17:8; Prov. 7:2; Prov. 7:9; Prov. 20:20 Disciple's Study Bible - God found Israel in a barren, desert land with no one to care for her and called Israel to be His own chosen people. His blessings came to the nation in a remarkable and unlimited way. He was patient with His people. When everyone else abandoned her, God still cared for Israel and provided for her. He had a father's undying love for his children. He did not always approve of what His children did, but He always loved His children and stood ready to receive them when they turned back in repentance. Perhaps the deepest and most comprehensive word that can be said about God is that He is love, and that all of His actions are loving actions. God's love for His people does not mean that He is blind to their sins when they turn aside from Him. Nor does God's love mean that He never brings suffering to His people. The love of God means that God must chastise His people, on occasion, because He loves them. When God's love is expressed in wrath or judgment, it is always wrath from a broken heart of love and with a purpose of bringing His people to obedience and maturity. Blink and Think of God He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye. Deuteronomy 32:10 Today's Scripture & Insight: Deuteronomy 32:1–12 “God is like an eyelid,” my friend Ryley said, and I blinked in surprise. What could she mean by that? “Tell me more,” I replied. Together, we had been studying surprising pictures of God in the Bible, things like God as a laboring mother (Isa. 42:14) or as a beekeeper (7:18), but this one was new to me. Ryley pointed me to Deuteronomy 32, where Moses praises the way God takes care of His people. Verse 10 says that God shields and protects His people, guarding them “as the apple of his eye.” But the word we translate apple, Ryley told me, literally means pupil. And what encircles and guards the pupil? The eyelid, of course! God is like the eyelid, which instinctively protects the tender eye. The eyelid guards the eye from danger, and by blinking helps remove dirt or dust. It keeps sweat out of the eye. It lubricates the eyeball, keeping it healthy. It closes, allowing rest. Thank You, God, for using surprising metaphors to help us understand You better. Thanks for guarding us just as the eyelid guards the eye. When you blink, remember to thank God for His protection. Hovering Over Us He shielded him and cared for him . . . like an eagle that . . . hovers over its young. Deuteronomy 32:10–11 Today's Scripture & Insight: Deuteronomy 32:7–12 Betty’s daughter arrived home from an overseas trip, feeling unwell. When her pain became unbearable, Betty and her husband took her to the emergency room. The doctors and nurses set to work, and after a few hours one of the nurses said to Betty, “She’s going to be okay! We’re going to take good care of her and get her healed up.” In that moment, Betty felt peace and love flood over her. She realized that while she hovered over her daughter anxiously, the Lord is the perfect parent who nurtures His children, comforting us in difficult times. In the book of Deuteronomy, the Lord reminded His people how, when they were wandering in the desert, He cared for them as a loving parent who hovers over its young. He never left them, but was like an eagle “that spreads its wings” to catch its children and “carries them aloft” (32:11). He wanted them to remember that although they experienced hardship and strife in the desert, He didn’t abandon them. Father God, Your love as a parent is greater than anything I can imagine. May my confidence rest in You, and may I share Your love with others. Our God hovers over us with love. Deuteronomy 32:11 "Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, That hovers over its young, He spread His wings and caught them, He carried them on His pinions. Ex 19:4 Isa 31:5 40:31 46:4 63:9 Heb 11:3 Rev 12:4 Related Passages: Exodus 19:4+ ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Myself. Isaiah 31:5 Like flying birds so the LORD of hosts will protect Jerusalem. He will protect and deliver it; He will pass over and rescue it. YAHWEH IS LIKE AN EAGLE CARRYING ITS YOUNG Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, That hovers over its young, He spread His wings and caught them, He carried them on His pinions - This verse speaks of the training of Israel to "fly on its own," so to speak. Notice this verse begins with like so clearly is a simile, a comparison. God did not literally carry Israel in the desert (or later). The point is that (like the apple of His eye), God was watching over Israel (in context especially when she was newly born from her Egyptian slavery) as Israel "learned to fly." Unfortunately Israel did not "learn to fly" using Yahweh's instructions, but repeatedly rebelled against Him until they were destroyed (exiled) from the Promised Land. Regarding the picture of an eagle catching its young eaglets if they fail to fly the first few times, some have stated this is an error in the Bible, because there are no reports in ornithology (bird watcher) literature. However read the interesting discussion of this verse in Answers in Genesis where they record two anecdotal reports of eagles dropping and catching their young eaglets as they teach them to fly “Last summer while my father and I were extracting honey at the apiary about a mile southeast of Tliacher School, Ojai, California, we noticed a golden eagle teaching its young one to fly. It was about ten o'clock. The mother started from the nest in the crags, and roughly handling the young one, she allowed him to drop, I should say, about ninety feet, then she would swoop down under him, wings spread, and he would alight on her back. She would soar to the top of the range with him and repeat the process. One time she waited perhaps fifteen minutes between flights. I should say the farthest she let him fall was 150 feet. My father and I watched this, spellbound, for over an hour. I do not know whether the young one gained confidence by this method or not. A few days later father and I rode to the Cliff and out on Overhanging Rock. The eagle's nest was empty.” (Quote attributed to a Miss F. E. Shuman.) V.C. Holmgren wrote, "Many ornithologists have thought that the Bible picture of an eagle carrying her young was merely figurative, but in recent years certain reliable observers have actually seen a parent bird let its young rest for a moment on the feathered back—especially when there was no other roosting place in sight. When an eagle nests on the ledge of a sheer-walled canyon, many feet above the earth, with no jutting tree or protruding rock to break the fall, the quick movement of a mother bird to offer her own back to a frightened fledgling may be the only way to let it live to try its wings again." (Both quotes from Answers in Genesis) Driver - as the bird stirs up its nest, with the object of encouraging its young ones to flight, but at the same time hovers over them so as to be at hand to support them on its wings, in case their strength fails and they are in danger of falling, so Jehovah (the figure of the bird being still retained) spread out His wings, and bare Israel upon them, until its powers were matured, and the nation was able to support itself alone (cf. Hos. 11:3). W. L. Alexander quotes from Davy, Salmonia, p. 87, the following pertinent illustration: “Two parent eagles on Ben Weevis were teaching their offspring, two young birds, the manœuvres of flight.” Rising from the top of a mountain, they “at first made small circles and the young imitated them; they paused on their wings waiting till they had made their first flight, holding them on their expanded wings when they appeared exhausted, and then took a second and larger gyration, always rising towards the sun, and enlarging their circle of flight, so as to make a gradually ascending spiral.” Keil - Under the figure of an eagle, which teaches its young to fly, and in doing so protects them from injury with watchful affection, Moses describes the care with which the Lord came to the relief of His people in their helplessness, and assisted them to develop their strength. This figure no doubt refers more especially to the protection and assistance of God experienced by Israel in its journey through the Arabian desert; but it must not be restricted to this. It embraces both the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt by the outstretched arm of the Lord, as we may see from a comparison with Ex 19:4+, where the Lord is said to have brought His people out of Egypt on eagles' wings, and also the introduction into Canaan, when the Lord drove the Canaanites out from before them and destroyed them. This verse contains an independent thought; the first half is the protasis, the second the apodosis. The nominative to "spread" is Jehovah; and the suffixes in [yiqaacheehuw (H3947)] and [yisaa'eehuw (H5375)] ("caught" and "carried") refer to Israel or Jacob (v9), like the suffixes in v10. Examples of this, according to the popular belief, are given by Bochart (Hieroz. ii. p. 762). [richeep (heb 7363)], from [raachap] to be loose or slack (<Jer. 23:9>): in the Piel it is applied to a bird in the sense of loosening its wings, as distinguished from binding its wings to its body; hence (1) to sit upon eggs with loosened wings, and (2) to fly with loosened wings. Here it is used in the latter sense, because the young are referred to. The point of comparison between the conduct of God towards Jacob and the acts of an eagle towards its young, is the loving care with which He trained Israel to independence. The carrying of Israel upon the eagle's wings of divine love and omnipotence was manifested in the most glorious way in the guidance of it by the pillar of cloud and fire, though it was not so exclusively in this visible vehicle of the gracious presence of God as that the comparison can be restricted to this phenomenon alone. (Deuteronomy 32) Deuteronomy 32:1-14 FREE-FALLING "The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." - Deuteronomy 33:27 In the tender song of Moses found in today's Bible reading, God is portrayed as a dedicated mother eagle who can be trusted by her young, even in the scary experience of learning to fly (Deuteronomy 32:11). A mother eagle builds a comfortable nest for her young, padding it with feathers from her own breast. But God-given instinct that builds that secure nest also forces the eaglets out of it before long. Eagles are made to fly, and love will not fail to teach them. Only then will they become what they are meant to be. So one day the mother eagle will disturb the twigs of the nest, making it an uncomfortable place to stay. Then she will pick up a perplexed eaglet, soar into the sky, and drop it. The little bird will begin to free-fall. Where is Mama now? She is not far away. Quickly she will swoop under and catch the fledgling on one strong wing. She will repeat this exercise until each eaglet is capable of flying on its own. He will ever keep your soul, What would harm, He will control: In the home and by the way He will keep you day by day. God's love does not always keep us from trials but always sees us through the trials F B