Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition)
Blessing!- Jor Obedience, DEUTEFvOXOMY XXVIII. and Ihe Curses /or DLsobedimce, of the solemn assembly, the priests standing round the ark in the valley below, said aloud, looliiug to (jerizim, "Blessed is the man that maketli not any graveii image," When the people ranged on tliat hill responded in lull firaultaneous sliouts of "Amen;" then turning round to Ebal, they cried, "Cursed is the man that maltetli anj' graven image;" to wliich those that covered the ridge ansvv'Cied, "Amen." The same course at every pause was followed with all tile blessings and curses (see on Joshua of licart—they would be bewildered and paralyzed with terror at the extent of their calamities. aO-33. tlioa slialt grope at noonday—a general description of the painful uncertainty in which they would live. During t!ie middle ages the Jews were driven from society into hiding-places which they were afraid Jto leave, not knowing from what quarter they might be assailed, and their ciiildren dragged into captivity, from which no friend could rescue, and no moiKy random them. 35. tlic ILord sliall smite dee in tite luiees aiitl in tlic legs—this is an exact description of elephantiasis, a horrible diser.se, something like leprosy, which attacks particulaily the lower extremities. 3tt. Tbc Lord shall bring tltee and tliy king—This shows how widespread would be the national calamity; and at the same time how hopeless, when he wlu) should have been their defender shared the captive fate of his subjects, tliere slualt thon serve otber go<ls, wood and stone—The Hebrew exiles, with some honourable exceptions, were seduced or compelled into idolatry in tlie Assyrian and Babylonish captivities (Jeremiah 44. 17-19). Thus, the sin to which they had too often betrayed a perverse fondness, a deep-rooted propensity, became their punishment and their misery. 37. thon Shalt become an astonishment, a proverl*, and a byword among all natioits whither tike Lord sliall, ikc. —The annals of almost every nation, for eighteen hundred years, alford abundant proofs that this has been, as it still
8. S'-i, 81). These curses attendant on disobedience to the Divine will, whicli had been revealed as a law from heaven, be it observed, are given in the form of a declaration, not a Irish, as the words sliould be rendered, " Cursed is he," and not "Cursed be he."
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Ver. 1-6''. The Blessings FOR Obedience. 1. iftlioH slialt lifarkeii diligently iiuto tike voiee of tSie Lord tliy God—In tliis chapter the blessings and curses are enumerated at lengtli, and in various minute details, so that on tlie first entrance of tlie Israelites into the land of promise, their whole destiny was laid before them, as it was to result from their obedience or tlie contrary. 'Z6. AH tiiese biessi Jigs sliall come on tliee—tlieir nalional obedience was to be rewarded by extraordinary and universal prosperity. 7. flee before tliee seven waj-s— /. c, in various directions, as always happens in a rout. 10. calleiJ by tlif name of tUc Lord i. c, are really an(i actually His people (eh. It. 1 ; 26. 18). 11. TSie I,oi-d sUall jnaUe tliee jjienlcons in goods—Beside the natural capabilities of Canaan, its extraordinary fruitlulness was traceable to the special blessing of Heaven, la. TKc Lord shall open imto t5\ee Uis good treasure—The seasonable supply of tiie early and latter rain was one of the principal means by which their land was so uncommonly fruitful, tboii sHnlt lend unto many nations, and stiall not borrow i. e., thou shall be in such aliluent circum Btaiices, as to be capable, out of thy superfluous wealth, to give aid to thy poorer neighbours. 13, 14. tbc liead and not flic tail—an Oriental form of expression, indicating the possession of independent powi>r and great iligtiity and acivtiowledged excellence (Isaiah 9. 1 1 ; 1!). 1.')). l."»-^0. But if tUou wilt not liearken unto the voice of tbe ioi-d—Curses that were to follow them in the event of disobedience ai'e now enumerated, and they ai'e almost exact counterparts to the blessings which were described in the preceiling context, ,as the reward of a faitlilul adherence to the covenant, ai. pestilence—some fatal epidemic; tliere is no reason, liowever, to think that the plague, which is the great modern scourge of the East, is I'eferr(nl to. 'M. a ennsnniplion—a waslingdisorder; but the European plitliisis is almost unknown in Asia, fever . . . tntlamniation . . . extreme burning—(fever is rendered "burning ague" (Leviticus 20. 10), and the others mentioned along with it evidently point to those febrile ad'eclions wliich are of malignant charact(:r and great frequency in the East. tUe sword—rather " dryness,"—the ejfect on the human body of such violent disorders, lilastiuf; ajid mildew—two atmosiiheric inllueiices fatal to grain. ^3. lieuven . . . brass . . . eartli . . . iron—strong Oriental figures used to d( scrilie the effects of long-continued drought; and this want of regular and seasonable rain is allowed by the most intelligent observers to be one great cause of the present sterility of Palest i in;. Si'l. tl«e rain of tliy land powder and dust—An allusion i>robably to the dreaillul ellects of tornadoes in the Kast, which, raising the sand in immense twisted pillars, drive them along with the fury of a tempest. These shifting sands are most destiuctive to cultiv.at,ed Lands; .and in conseqiumee of their encroachments, many once fertile regions of (he I'ast are now barren <ieserts. '^7, tl»e botcii of Kgypt— is, the case—the very name of Jew being a universally recognized term for extreme degradation and wretchedness. 49. the Lord sliall bring a nation against thee from far—The invasion of the Itomans—"they came from far." The soldiers of the invading army were taken from France, Spain, and Britain—then considered " the end of the earth." Julius .Severus, the commander, afterwards Vespasian and Hadrian, left Britain for the scene of contest. Moreover, the ensign on the standards of the Roman army was^'an eagle;" and the dialects spoken by the soldiers of the different nations that composed that army were altogether unintelligible to tlie Jews. 50. A natlou of fierce countenance — A just description of the Romans, who were not only bold and unyielding, but ruthless and implacable. 51. he sltall eat the fruit of thy cattle, Ac—According to tlie Jewish historian, every district of the country through which they passed was strewed with the wrecks of their dev.astation. 51. He sliall besiege tltee until thy Iisgh and fenced walla come down—.Ml the fortified places to which the people betook themselves for safety, were burnt or demolished, and the walls of Jerusalem itself razed to the ground. 53-57. tlioii shalt eat the fruit of tliine own body (See on 2 Kings 6. 29; Lamentations 4.10.) Such were the dreadful extremities to which the inhabitants during the siege were reduced, that many women sustained a wretched existence by eating the ffesh of their own children. Parental affection was extinguished, and tlu' nearest relatives were jealously avoided, lest they should discover anil demand a share of the revolting viands, ca. ye sliall be few in number—There has been, ever since the destruction of Jerusalem, only an inconsiderable remnant ol Jews existing in that land—aliens in the land of their fathers; and of all classes of the inhabitants they are the most degraded and miserable beings, dependent for their support on contributions from Europe. C3. ye shall I>e plucked from ofl' tlie land—Hadrian issued a in'oclaiiiation, Ibibidding any Jews to reside in Jndea, or even to apiiroaeh its contines. 04. The Lord sliall scatter thee among all people—There is, perhaps, not a country In tlie world where .Tews are not to be found. Who that looks on this condition of the Hebrews is not fllled with awe, when he considers the fulfilment of this prophecy? r>S. The I.ortl shall lining thee into Kgypt again with ships—The accomplishment of tliis jiredtetion took place under Til lis, when, according to JosepluiR, multitudes of .lews were transiiorted In ships to the land oftlK Nile, and sol<l as slaves. " Here, then, are InstnncM of i)roi)lieci(-s delivered above lliree thousand years ago; and yet, as we see, being fnlti Ued In the world at this very time; and what stronger proofs can we desire of the DU troublesome eruption, marked by red pimples, to which, at the rising of the Nile, tin; Egyptians are subject, cmerodii—tlstuho or piles, scab—scurvy, itcli—the disease commonly known that name; but It is far more malignant in the East than Is ever witnessed in our jiart of the world. 'ZH. inudiiesfc, bliiidneW) and uatonigliment 138