1 These bee the woordes which Moses spake vnto all Israel, on this side Iordane in the wildernes, in the plaine ouer against the Red sea, betweene Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
2 (There are eleuen daies iourney from Horeb, by the way of mount Seir, vnto Kadesh Barnea.)
3 And it came to passe in the fourtieth yeere, in the eleuenth moneth, on the first day of the moneth, that Moses spake vnto the children of Israel, according vnto all that the Lord had giuen him in commandement vnto them:
4 After hee had slaine Sihon the King of the Amorites, which dwelt in Heshbon, and Og the King of Bashan, which dwelt at Astaroth, in Edrei.
5 On this side Iordane, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying,
6 The Lord our God spake vnto vs in Horeb, saying, Ye haue dwelt long ynough in this mount:
7 Turne you, and take your iourney, and goe to the mount of the Amorites, and vnto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plaine, in the hills, and in the vale, and in the South, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and vnto Lebanon, vnto the great riuer, the riuer Euphrates.
8 Behold, I haue set the land before you: Goe in, and possesse the land, which the Lord sware vnto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Iacob, to giue vnto them, and to their seed after them.
9 ¶ And I spake vnto you at that time, saying, I am not able to beare you my selfe alone:
10 The Lord your God hath multiplied you, and beholde, you are this day as the starres of heauen for multitude.
11 (The Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many moe as ye are, and blesse you as he hath promised you.)
12 How can I my selfe alone beare your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?
13 Take ye wise men, and vnderstanding, and knowen among your tribes, and I will make them rulers ouer you.
14 And ye answered me, and saide, The thing which thou hast spoken, is good for vs to doe.
15 So I tooke the chiefe of your tribes, wise men, and knowen, and made them heads ouer you, captaines ouer thousands, and captaines ouer hundreds, and captaines ouer fifties, and captaines ouer tennes, and officers among your tribes.
16 And I charged your Iudges at that time, saying, Heare the causes betweene your brethren, and iudge righteously betweene euery man and his brother, & the stranger that is with him.
17 Ye shall not respect persons in iudgement, but you shall heare the small aswell as the great: you shall not bee afraid of the face of man, for the iudgment is Gods: and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it vnto me, and I will heare it.
18 And I commanded you at that time all the things which ye should doe.
19 ¶ And when wee departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wildernes, which you saw by the way of the mountaine of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded vs: and wee came to Kadesh Barnea.
20 And I said vnto you, Ye are come vnto the mountaine of the Amorites, which the Lord our God doth giue vnto vs.
21 Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee: Goe vp, and possesse it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said vnto thee: Feare not, neither be discouraged.
22 ¶ And ye came neere vnto mee euery one of you, and said, We will send men before vs, and they shall search vs out the land, and bring vs word againe, by what way we must goe vp, and into what cities we shall come.
23 And the saying pleased mee well: and I tooke twelue men of you, one of a tribe.
24 And they turned and went vp into the mountaine, and came vnto the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out.
25 And they tooke of the fruit of the land in their handes, and brought it downe vnto vs, and brought vs worde againe, and said, It is a good lande which the Lord our God doeth giue vs.
26 Notwithstanding, ye would not goe vp, but rebelled against the commandement of the Lord your God.
27 And ye murmured in your tents and said, Because the Lord hated vs, he hath brought vs forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliuer vs into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy vs:
28 Whither shall wee goe vp? our brethren haue discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller then we, the cities are great, and walled vp to heauen, and moreouer we haue seene the sonnes of the Anakims there.
29 Then I said vnto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them.
30 The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that hee did for you in Egypt before your eyes:
31 And in the wildernes, where thou hast seene how that the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth beare his sonne, in all the way that ye went, vntil ye came into this place.
32 Yet in this thing ye did not beleeue the Lord your God,
33 Who went in the way before you to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should goe, and in a cloud by day.
34 And the Lord heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying,
35 Surely there shall not one of these men of this euill generation see that good land, which I sware to giue vnto your fathers:
36 Saue Caleb the sonne of Iephunneh, he shall see it, and to him will I giue the land that he hath troden vpon, and to his children, because hee hath wholly followed the Lord.
37 Also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not goe in thither.
38 But Ioshua the sonne of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall goe in thither. Encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherite it.
39 Moreouer, your litle ones, which ye said should be a pray, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge betweene good and euil, they shall goe in thither; and vnto them will I giue it, and they shall possesse it.
40 But as for you, turne ye, and take your iourney into the wildernesse, by the way of the Red sea.
41 Then ye answered, and said vnto mee, Wee haue sinned against the Lord, we will goe vp and fight, according to all that the Lord our God commanded vs. And when ye had girded on euery man his weapons of warre, yee were ready to goe vp into the hill.
42 And the Lord said vnto me, Say vnto them, Goe not vp, neither fight, for I am not among you: least ye be smitten before your enemies.
43 So I spake vnto you, and you would not heare, but rebelled against the commandement of the Lord, and went presumptuously vp into the hill.
44 And the Amorites which dwelt in that mountaine, came out against you, and chased you, as Bees doe, and destroyed you in Seir, euen vnto Hormah.
45 And ye returned and wept before the Lord; but the Lord would not hearken to your voyce, nor giue eare vnto you.
46 So yee abode in Kadesh many dayes, according vnto the dayes that ye abode there.
This book repeats much of the history and of the laws contained in the three foregoing books: Moses delivered it to Israel a little before his death, both by word of mouth, that it might affect, and by writing, that it might abide. The men of that generation to which the law was first given were all dead, and a new generation was sprung up, to whom God would have it repeated by Moses himself, now they were going to possess the land of Canaan. The wonderful love of God to his church is set forth in this book; how he ever preserved his church for his own mercies sake, and would still have his name called upon among them. Such are the general outlines of this book, the whole of which shows Moses' love for Israel, and marks him an eminent type of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us apply the exhortations and persuasions to our own consciences, to excite our minds to a believing, grateful obedience to the commands of God.The words Moses spake to Israel in the plains of Moab, The promise of Canaan. (1-8) Judges provided for the people. (9-18) Of the sending the spies-God's anger for their unbelief and disobedience. (19-46)1-8 Moses spake to the people all the Lord had given him in commandment. Horeb was but eleven days distant from Kadesh-barnea. This was to remind them that their own bad conduct had occasioned their tedious wanderings; that they might the more readily understand the advantages of obedience. They must now go forward. Though God brings his people into trouble and affliction, he knows when they have been tried long enough. When God commands us to go forward in our Christian course, he sets the heavenly Canaan before us for our encouragement.
9-18 Moses reminds the people of the happy constitution of their government, which might make them all safe and easy, if it was not their own fault. He owns the fulfilment of God's promise to Abraham, and prays for the further accomplishment of it. We are not straitened in the power and goodness of God; why should we be straitened in our own faith and hope? Good laws were given to the Israelites, and good men were to see to the execution of them, which showed God's goodness to them, and the care of Moses.
19-46 Moses reminds the Israelites of their march from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea, through that great and terrible wilderness. He shows how near they were to a happy settlement in Canaan. It will aggravate the eternal ruin of hypocrites, that they were not far from the kingdom of God. As if it were not enough that they were sure of their God before them, they would send men before them. Never any looked into the Holy Land, but they must own it to be a good land. And was there any cause to distrust this God? An unbelieving heart was at the bottom of all this. All disobedience to God's laws, and distrust of his power and goodness, flow from disbelief of his word, as all true obedience springs from faith. It is profitable for us to divide our past lives into distinct periods; to give thanks to God for the mercies we have received in each, to confess and seek the forgiveness of all the sins we can remember; and thus to renew our acceptance of God's salvation, and our surrender of ourselves to his service. Our own plans seldom avail to good purpose; while courage in the exercise of faith, and in the path of duty, enables the believer to follow the Lord fully, to disregard all that opposes, to triumph over all opposition, and to take firm hold upon the promised blessings.
Commentary by Matthew Henry, 1710.