| DEUTERONOMY |
| Explanatory Footnotes |
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| 1:37 Moses Distributes the Blame God forbade Moses to enter the promised land because of the incident reported in Numbers 20. In his farewell speech, Moses could not resist expressing his own resentment at the Israelites' part in provoking his punishment. Both in this verse and in 3:26 and 4:21, he turned the blame back on his countrymen. 2:14 Children of the Desert As he reviewed the Israelites' history, Moses recalled with bitterness the series of rebellions leading to the 40-year punishment in "that vast and dreadful desert" (1:19). Actually, of course, the people listening to him had been mere children when the decisive rebellions occurred (1:39); their parents were the ones forbidden to enter the promised land. Except for Joshua, Caleb, and Moses' own family, all those listening to Moses had grown up in the desert. 4:6 Old Testament Evalgelism As he explained various laws to the Jews, Moses often appealed to their unique calling as a nation. God had chosen them as a "kingdom of priests" and a "treasured possession." This passage describes yet another benefit to keeping the law: what today we would call evalgelism. The purity of the Israelites would serve as an example to the nations around them, who would thus be attracted to the true God. 4:23 Relating Laws to Experience Chapter 4 follows a typical pattern in Deuteronomy: Moses begins with the Israelites' experience and then shows how the laws of the covenant relate directly to that experience. In this chapter, he vividly reminds them of their own encounters with God, especially at Mount Sinai. How did God reveal himself to them? "You saw no form of any kind," Moses concludes (4:15); therefore, idols made with human hands would insult and devalue such a God. Then he describes the unique privilege the Jews have: to know personally the God who created the universe. |