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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>D E U T E R O N O M Y</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. III.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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Moses, in this chapter, relates,
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I. The conquest of Og, king of Bashan, and the seizing of his country,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+3:1-11">ver. 1-11</A>.
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II. The distribution of these new conquests to the two tribes and a
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half,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+3:12-17">ver. 12-17</A>.
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Under certain provisos and limitations,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+3:18-20">ver. 18-20</A>.
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III. The encouragement given to Joshua to carry on the war which was so
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gloriously begun,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+3:21,22">ver. 21, 22</A>.
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IV. Moses's request to go over into Canaan
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+3:23-25">ver. 23-25</A>),
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with the denial of that request, but the grant of an equivalent,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+3:26-29">ver. 26</A>,
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&c.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="De3_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Sihon and Og Subdued.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1451.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Then we turned, and went up the way to Bashan: and Og the
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king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to
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battle at Edrei.
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2 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> said unto me, Fear him not: for I will deliver
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him, and all his people, and his land, into thy hand; and thou
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shalt do unto him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites,
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which dwelt at Heshbon.
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3 So the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> our God delivered into our hands Og also, the
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king of Bashan, and all his people: and we smote him until none
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was left to him remaining.
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4 And we took all his cities at that time, there was not a city
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which we took not from them, threescore cities, all the region of
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Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.
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5 All these cities <I>were</I> fenced with high walls, gates, and
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bars; beside unwalled towns a great many.
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6 And we utterly destroyed them, as we did unto Sihon king of
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Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children, of
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every city.
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7 But all the cattle, and the spoil of the cities, we took for
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a prey to ourselves.
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8 And we took at that time out of the hand of the two kings of
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the Amorites the land that <I>was</I> on this side Jordan, from the
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river of Arnon unto mount Hermon;
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9 (<I>Which</I> Hermon the Sidonians call Sirion; and the Amorites
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call it Shenir;)
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10 All the cities of the plain, and all Gilead, and all Bashan,
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unto Salchah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.
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11 For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of
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giants; behold, his bedstead <I>was</I> a bedstead of iron; <I>is</I> it
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not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits <I>was</I> the
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length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the
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cubit of a man.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here another brave country delivered into the hand of Israel,
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that of Bashan; the conquest of Sihon is often mentioned together with
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that of Og, to the praise of God, the rather because in these Israel's
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triumphs began,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+135:11,136:19,20">Ps. cxxxv. 11; cxxxvi. 19, 20</A>.
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See,</P>
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<P>
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I. How they got the mastery of Og, a very formidable prince,
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1. Very strong, for he was of the remnant of the giants
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+3:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>);
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his personal strength was extraordinary, a monument of which was
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preserved by the Ammonites in his bedstead, which was shown as a rarity
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in their chief city. You might guess at his weight by the materials of
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his bedstead; it was iron, as if a bedstead of wood were too weak for
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him to trust to: and you might guess at his stature by the dimensions
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of it; it was nine cubits long and four cubits broad, which, supposing
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a cubit to be but half a yard (and some learned men have made it appear
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to be somewhat more), was four yards and a half long, and two yards
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broad; and if we allow his bedstead to be two cubits longer than
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himself, and that is as much as we need allow, he was three yards and a
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half high, double the stature of an ordinary man, and every way
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proportionable, yet they smote him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+3:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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Note, when God pleads his people's cause he can deal with giants as
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with grasshoppers. No man's might can secure him against the Almighty.
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The army of Og was very powerful, for he had the command of sixty
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fortified cities, besides the unwalled towns,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+3:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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Yet all this was nothing before God's Israel, when they came with
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commission to destroy him.
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2. He was very bold and daring: He <I>came out against Israel to
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battle,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+3:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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It was wonderful that he did not take warning by the ruin of Sihon, and
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send to desire conditions of peace; but he trusted to his own strength,
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and so was hardened to his destruction. Note, Those that are not
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awakened by the judgments of God upon others, but persist in their
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defiance of heaven, are ripening apace for the like judgments upon
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themselves,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+3:8">Jer. iii. 8</A>.
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God bade Moses not fear him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+3:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>.
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If Moses himself was so strong in faith as not to need the caution, yet
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it is probable that the people needed it, and for them these fresh
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assurances are designed; "<I>I will deliver him into thy hand;</I> not
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only deliver thee out of his hand, that he shall not be thy ruin, but
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deliver him <I>into thy hand,</I> that thou shalt be his ruin, and make
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him pay dearly for his attempt." He adds, <I>Thou shalt do to him as
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thou didst to Sihon,</I> intimating that they ought to be encouraged by
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their former victory to trust in God for another victory, for he is
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God, and changeth not.</P>
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<P>
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II. How they got possession of Bashan, a very desirable country. They
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took all the cities
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+3:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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and all the spoil of them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+3:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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They made them all their own,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+3:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>.
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So that now they had in their hands all that fruitful country which lay
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east of Jordan, from <I>the river Arnon unto Hermon,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+3:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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Their conquering and possessing these countries was intended, not only
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for the encouragement of Israel in the wars of Canaan, but for the
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satisfaction of Moses before his death. Since he must not live to see
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the completing of their victory and settlement, God thus gives him a
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specimen of it. Thus the Spirit is given to those that believe as the
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<I>earnest of their inheritance,</I> until the redemption of the
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purchased possession.</P>
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<A NAME="De3_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Allotment of the Conquered Lands.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1451.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>12 And this land, <I>which</I> we possessed at that time, from
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Aroer, which <I>is</I> by the river Arnon, and half mount Gilead, and
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the cities thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites and to the
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Gadites.
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13 And the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, <I>being</I> the kingdom
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of Og, gave I unto the half tribe of Manasseh; all the region of
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Argob, with all Bashan, which was called the land of giants.
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14 Jair the son of Manasseh took all the country of Argob unto
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the coasts of Geshuri and Maachathi; and called them after his
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own name, Bashan-havoth-jair, unto this day.
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15 And I gave Gilead unto Machir.
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16 And unto the Reubenites and unto the Gadites I gave from
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Gilead even unto the river Arnon half the valley, and the border
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even unto the river Jabbok, <I>which is</I> the border of the children
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of Ammon;
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17 The plain also, and Jordan, and the coast <I>thereof,</I> from
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Chinnereth even unto the sea of the plain, <I>even</I> the salt sea,
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under Ashdoth-pisgah eastward.
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18 And I commanded you at that time, saying, The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> your God
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hath given you this land to possess it: ye shall pass over armed
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before your brethren the children of Israel, all <I>that are</I> meet
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for the war.
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19 But your wives, and your little ones, and your cattle,
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(<I>for</I> I know that ye have much cattle,) shall abide in your
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cities which I have given you;
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20 Until the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> have given rest unto your brethren, as well
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as unto you, and <I>until</I> they also possess the land which the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> your God hath given them beyond Jordan: and <I>then</I> shall ye
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return every man unto his possession, which I have given you.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Having shown how this country which they were now in was conquered, in
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these verses he shows how it was settled upon the Reubenites, Gadites,
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and half the tribe of Manasseh, which we had the story of before,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+32:1-42">Num. xxxii.</A>
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Here is the rehearsal.
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1. Moses specifies the particular parts of the country that were
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allotted to each tribe, especially the distribution of the lot to the
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half tribe of Manasseh, the subdividing of which tribe is observable.
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Joseph was divided into Ephraim and Manasseh; Manasseh was divided into
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one half on the one side Jordan and the other half on the other side:
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that on the east side Jordan was again divided into two great families,
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which had their several allotments: Jair,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+3:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>,
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Machir,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+3:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>.
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And perhaps Jacob's prediction of the smallness of that tribe was now
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accomplished in these divisions and subdivisions. Observe that Bashan
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is here called <I>the land of the giants,</I> because it had been in
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their possession, but Og was the last of them. These giants, it seems,
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had lost their country, and were rooted out of it sooner than any of
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their neighbours; for those who, presuming upon their strength and
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stature, had their hand against every man, had every man's hand against
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them, and went down slain to the pit, though they were the terror of
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the mighty in the land of the living.
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2. He repeats the condition of the grant which they had already agreed
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to,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+3:18-20"><I>v.</I> 18-20</A>.
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That they should send a strong detachment over Jordan to lead the van
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in the conquest of Canaan, who should not return to their families, at
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least not to settle (though for a time they might retire thither into
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winter quarters, at the end of a campaign), till they had seen their
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brethren in as full possession of their respective allotments as they
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themselves were now in of theirs. They must hereby be taught not to
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<I>look at their own things only, but at the things of others,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Php+2:4">Phil. ii. 4</A>.
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It ill becomes an Israelite to be selfish, and to prefer any private
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interest before the public welfare. When we are rest we should desire
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to see our brethren at rest too, and should be ready to do what we can
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towards it; for we are not born for ourselves, but are members one of
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another. A good man cannot rejoice much in the comforts of his family
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unless withal he sees <I>peace upon Israel,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+128:6">Ps. cxxviii. 6</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="De3_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_22"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_23"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_24"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_25"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_26"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_27"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_28"> </A>
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<A NAME="De3_29"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Joshua Named as Moses's Successor.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1451.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>21 And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, Thine eyes have
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seen all that the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> your God hath done unto these two kings:
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so shall the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> do unto all the kingdoms whither thou passest.
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22 Ye shall not fear them: for the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> your God he shall fight
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for you.
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23 And I besought the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> at that time, saying,
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24 O Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT>, thou hast begun to show thy servant thy
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greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God <I>is there</I> in heaven
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or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to
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thy might?
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25 I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that <I>is</I>
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beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon.
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26 But the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not
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hear me: and the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no
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more unto me of this matter.
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27 Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes
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westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold
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<I>it</I> with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan.
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28 But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him:
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for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them
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to inherit the land which thou shalt see.
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29 So we abode in the valley over against Beth-peor.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here is
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I. The encouragement which Moses gave to Joshua, who was to succeed him
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in the government,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+3:21,22"><I>v.</I> 21, 22</A>.
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He commanded him not to fear. This those that are aged and experienced
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in the service of God should do all they can to strengthen the hands of
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those that are young, and setting out in religion. Two things he would
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have him consider for his encouragement:--
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1. What God has done. Joshua had seen what a total defeat God had given
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by the forces of Israel to these two kings, and thence he might easily
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infer, <I>so shall the Lord do to all the rest of the kingdoms</I> upon
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which we are to make war. He must not only infer thence that thus the
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Lord can do with them all, for his arm is not shortened, but thus he
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will do, for his purpose is not changed; he that has begun will finish;
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<I>as for God, his work is perfect.</I> Joshua had seen it with his own
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eyes. And the more we have seen of the instances of divine wisdom,
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|
power, and goodness, the more inexcusable we are if we <I>fear what
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flesh can do unto us.</I>
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2. What God had promised. The <I>Lord your God he shall fight for
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you;</I> and that cause cannot but be victorious which the Lord of
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hosts fights for. <I>If God be for us, who can be against us</I> so as
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to prevail? We reproach our leader if we follow him trembling.</P>
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<P>
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|
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II. The prayer which Moses made for himself, and the answer which God
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gave to that prayer.</P>
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|
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<P>
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1. His prayer was that, if it were God's will, he might go before
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Israel over Jordan into Canaan. At that time, when he had been
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|
encouraging Joshua to fight Israel's battles, taking it for granted
|
|
that he must be their leader, he was touched with an earnest desire to
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go over himself, which expresses itself not in any passionate and
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|
impatient complaints, or reflections upon the sentence he was under,
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|
but in humble prayers to God for a gracious reversing of it. <I>I
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|
besought the Lord.</I> Note, We should never allow any desires in our
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|
hearts which we cannot in faith offer up to God by prayer; and what
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|
desires are innocent, let them be presented to God. We have not because
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|
we ask not. Observe,</P>
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|
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<P>
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|
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(1.) What he pleads here. Two things:--
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[1.] The great experience which he had had of God's goodness to him in
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what he had done for Israel: "<I>Thou hast begun to show thy servant
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|
thy greatness.</I> Lord, perfect what thou hast begun. Thou hast given
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|
me to see thy glory in the conquest of these two kings, and the sight
|
|
has affected me with wonder and thankfulness. O let me see more of the
|
|
outgoings of my God, my King! This great work, no doubt, will be
|
|
carried on and completed; let me have the satisfaction of seeing it."
|
|
Note, the more we see of God's glory in his works the more we shall
|
|
desire to see. <I>The works of the Lord are great,</I> and therefore
|
|
are sought out more and more <I>of all those that have pleasure
|
|
therein.</I>
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|
|
|
[2.] The good impressions that had been made upon his heart by what he
|
|
had seen: For <I>what God is there in heaven or earth that can do
|
|
according to thy works?</I> The more we are affected with what we have
|
|
seen of God, of his wisdom, power, and goodness, the better we are
|
|
prepared for further discoveries. Those shall see the works of God that
|
|
admire him in them. Moses had thus expressed himself concerning God
|
|
and his works long before
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+15:11">Exod. xv. 11</A>),
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|
|
|
and he still continues of the same mind, that there are no works worthy
|
|
to be compared with God's works,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+86:8">Ps. lxxxvi. 8</A>.</P>
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|
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|
<P>
|
|
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|
(2.) What he begs: <I>I pray thee let me go over,</I>
|
|
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|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+3:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
God had said he should not go over; yet he prays that he might, not
|
|
knowing but that the threatening was conditional, for it was not
|
|
ratified with an oath, as that concerning the people was, that they
|
|
should not enter. Thus Hezekiah prayed for his own life, and David for
|
|
the life of his child, after both had ben expressly threatened; and the
|
|
former prevailed, though the latter did not. Moses remembered the time
|
|
when he had by prayer prevailed with God to recede from the
|
|
declarations which he had made of his wrath against Israel,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+32:14">Exod. xxxii. 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
And why might he not hope in like manner to prevail for himself? <I>Let
|
|
me go over and see the good land.</I> Not, "Let me go over and be a
|
|
prince and a ruler there;" he seeks not his own honour, is content to
|
|
resign the government to Joshua; but, "Let me go to be a spectator of
|
|
thy kindness to Israel, to see what I believe concerning the goodness
|
|
of the land of promise." How pathetically does he speak of Canaan, that
|
|
<I>good land,</I> that <I>goodly mountain!</I> Note, Those may hope to
|
|
obtain and enjoy God's favours that know how to value them. What he
|
|
means by <I>that goodly mountain</I> we may learn from
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+78:54">Ps. lxxviii. 54</A>,
|
|
|
|
where it is said of God's Israel that <I>he brought them to the border
|
|
of his sanctuary, even to this mountain which his right hand had
|
|
purchased,</I> where it is plainly to be understood of the whole land
|
|
of Canaan, yet with an eye to the sanctuary, the glory of it.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. God's answer to this prayer had in it a mixture of mercy and
|
|
judgment, that he might sing unto God of both.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) There was judgment in the denial of his request, and that in
|
|
something of anger too: <I>The Lord was wroth with me for your
|
|
sakes,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+3:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>.
|
|
|
|
God not only sees sin in his people, but is much displeased with it;
|
|
and even those that are delivered from the wrath to come may yet lie
|
|
under the tokens of God's wrath in this world, and may be denied some
|
|
particular favour which their hearts are much set upon. God is a
|
|
gracious, tender, loving Father; but he is angry with his children when
|
|
they do amiss, and denies them many a thing that they desire and are
|
|
ready to cry for. But how was he wroth with Moses <I>for the sake of
|
|
Israel?</I> Either,
|
|
|
|
[1.] For that sin which they provoked him to; see
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+106:32,33">Ps. cvi. 32, 33</A>.
|
|
|
|
Or,
|
|
|
|
[2.] The removal of Moses at that time, when he could so ill be spared,
|
|
was a rebuke to all Israel, and a punishment of their sin. Or,
|
|
|
|
[3.] It was for their sakes, that it might be a warning to them to take
|
|
heed of offending God by passionate and unbelieving speeches at any
|
|
time, after the similitude of his transgression; for, if <I>this were
|
|
done to such a green tree, what should be done to the dry?</I> He
|
|
acknowledges that God would not hear him. God had often heard him for
|
|
Israel, yet he would not hear him for himself. It was the prerogative
|
|
of Christ, the great Intercessor, to be heard always; yet of him his
|
|
enemies said, <I>He saved others, himself he could not save,</I> which
|
|
the Jews would not have upbraided him with had they considered that
|
|
Moses, their great prophet, prevailed for others, but for himself he
|
|
could not prevail. Though Moses, being one of the wrestling seed of
|
|
Jacob, did not seek in vain, yet he had not the thing itself which he
|
|
sought for. God may accept our prayers, and yet not grant us the very
|
|
thing we pray for.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) Here is mercy mixed with this wrath in several things:--
|
|
|
|
[1.] God quieted the spirit of Moses under the decree that had gone
|
|
forth by that word
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+3:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>Let it suffice thee.</I> With this word, no doubt, a divine power
|
|
went to reconcile Moses to the will of God, and to bring him to
|
|
acquiesce in it. If God does not by his providence give us what we
|
|
desire, yet, if by his grace he makes us content without it, it comes
|
|
much to one. "<I>Let it suffice thee</I> to have God for they father,
|
|
and heaven for thy portion, though thou hast not every thing thou
|
|
wouldest have in this world. Be satisfied with this, <I>God is
|
|
all-sufficient.</I>"
|
|
|
|
[2.] He put an honour upon his prayer in directing him not to insist
|
|
upon this request: <I>Speak no more to me of this matter.</I> It
|
|
intimates that what God does not think fit to grant we should not think
|
|
fit to ask, and that God takes such a pleasure in the prayer of the
|
|
upright that it is no pleasure to him, no, not in any particular
|
|
instance, to give a denial to it.
|
|
|
|
[3.] He promised him a sight of Canaan <I>from the top of Pisgah,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+3:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>.
|
|
|
|
Though he should not have the possession of it, he should have the
|
|
prospect of it; not to tantalize him, but such a sight of it as would
|
|
yield him true satisfaction, and would enable him to form a very clear
|
|
and pleasing idea of that promised land. Probably Moses had not only
|
|
his sight preserved for other purposes, but greatly enlarged for this
|
|
purpose; for, if he had not had such a sight of it as others could not
|
|
have from the same place, it would have been no particular favour to
|
|
Moses, nor the matter of a promise. Even great believers, in this
|
|
present state, see heaven but at a distance.
|
|
|
|
[4.] He provided him a successor, one who should support the honour of
|
|
Moses and carry on and complete that glorious work which the heart of
|
|
Moses was so much upon, the bringing of Israel to Canaan, and settling
|
|
them there
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+3:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Charge Joshua and encourage him</I> in this work. Those to whom God
|
|
gives a charge, he will be sure to give encouragement to. And it is a
|
|
comfort to the church's friends (when they are dying and going off) to
|
|
see God's work likely to be carried on by other hands, when they are
|
|
silent in the dust.</P>
|
|
|
|
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