---
title: "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Deuteronomy 8"
description: "CHAPTER 8   :-. AN EXHORTATION
TO OBEDIENCE. 1. All the commandments which I
command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live—In
all the wis"
image: "/images/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/deuteronomy/8"
---

CHAPTER 8

. AN EXHORTATION
TO OBEDIENCE.

**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](../../../kjv/genesis/17/18);
[Proverbs 3:2](../../../kjv/proverbs/3/2)).
**live, and multiply**—This
reference to the future increase of their population proves that they
were too few to occupy the land fully at first.

**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
perverseness which this varied discipline brought to light, was of
eminently practical use to the Israelites themselves, as it has been
to the church in all subsequent ages. Next, he enlarged on the
goodness of God to them, while reduced to the last extremities of
despair, in the miraculous provision which, without anxiety or labor,
was made for their daily support (see on ). Possessing no nutritious properties inherent in it, this
contributed to their sustenance, as indeed all food does () solely through the ordinance and blessing of God. This
remark is applicable to the means of spiritual as well as natural
life.

**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 terms
which Moses here uses (see also ) indicate a special or miraculous interposition of their
loving Guardian in preserving them amid the wear and tear of their
nomadic life in the desert. Thirdly, Moses expatiated on the goodness
of the promised land.

**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 desert, to be among
running brooks and swelling hills and verdant valleys. It is
observable that water is mentioned as the chief source of its ancient
fertility.

**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](../../../kjv/psalms/81/16);
[Psalms 147:14](../../../kjv/psalms/147/14)). The wheat and barley
were so abundant as to yield sixty and often an hundredfold ([Genesis 26:12](../../../kjv/genesis/26/12);
[Matthew 13:8](../../../kjv/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 southern latitude, its
mountainous formations tempered the excessive heat, and hence, figs,
pomegranates, &c., were produced in Palestine equally with wheat
and barley, the produce of northern regions.
**honey**—The word "honey"
is used often in a loose, indeterminate sense, very frequently to
signify a syrup of dates or of grapes, which under the name of *dibs*
is much used by all classes, wherever vineyards are found, as a
condiment to their food. It resembles thin molasses, but is more
pleasant to the taste [ROBINSON].
This is esteemed a great delicacy in the East, and it was produced
abundantly in Palestine.

**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](../../../kjv/1-chronicles/22/3);
[1 Chronicles 29:2-7](../../../kjv/1-chronicles/29/2-7); [Isaiah 60:17](../../../kjv/isaiah/60/17)).

**11-20. Beware that thou forget not
the Lord**—After mentioning those instances of the divine
goodness, Moses founded on them an argument for their future
obedience.

**15. Who led thee through that great
and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and
scorpions**—Large and venomous reptiles are found in great
numbers there still, particularly in autumn. Travellers must use
great caution in arranging their tents and beds at night; even during
the day the legs not only of men, but of the animals they ride, are
liable to be bitten.
**who brought thee forth water
out of the rock of flint**—(See on ).

**11-20. Beware that thou forget not
the Lord**—After mentioning those instances of the divine
goodness, Moses founded on them an argument for their future
obedience.

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