When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars--all the host of heaven--do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. When you look to the heavensThe phrase "look to the heavens" invites us to consider the vastness and majesty of the sky above. In Hebrew, the word for "heavens" is "shamayim," which encompasses the sky, the universe, and the dwelling place of God. This phrase sets the stage for a reflection on the natural world as a creation of God, meant to inspire awe and wonder, but not worship. The heavens declare the glory of God ( Psalm 19:1), reminding us of His creative power and sovereignty. and see the sun and moon and stars
The sun, moon, and stars are often seen as symbols of constancy and order in the universe. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, these celestial bodies were frequently deified and worshipped. However, in the Hebrew context, they are part of God's creation, serving specific purposes (Genesis 1:14-18). The Hebrew word for "see" is "ra'ah," which implies not just physical sight but also understanding and discernment. This calls believers to recognize these celestial bodies as part of God's handiwork, not objects of worship. all the host of heaven
The "host of heaven" refers to the multitude of stars and celestial bodies. In Hebrew, "host" is "tsaba," often used to describe armies or organized groups. This term underscores the order and precision with which God has arranged the universe. Historically, many cultures viewed the stars as divine beings or spirits. However, Scripture consistently presents them as part of God's creation, serving His purposes and under His command (Isaiah 40:26). do not be enticed
The warning "do not be enticed" speaks to the human tendency to be drawn away from God by the allure of created things. The Hebrew word "nadach" means to be led astray or seduced. This is a caution against idolatry, which is a recurring theme in the Old Testament. It reminds believers to guard their hearts and remain faithful to God, resisting the temptation to elevate creation above the Creator. to bow down and worship
"Bowing down and worshiping" involves acts of reverence and submission. In Hebrew, "bow down" is "shachah," which means to prostrate oneself, and "worship" is "avad," meaning to serve or work for. This phrase highlights the physical and spiritual acts of devotion that belong solely to God. It serves as a reminder that worship is due only to the Creator, not to His creation. what the LORD your God has apportioned
The word "apportioned" suggests a deliberate distribution or assignment. In Hebrew, "chalaq" means to divide or assign. This indicates that God, in His sovereignty, has given the sun, moon, and stars to all nations as part of His common grace. They are meant to serve humanity by marking times and seasons, not as objects of worship. This reflects God's provision and order in creation. to all the nations under heaven
This phrase emphasizes the universality of God's creation. "Nations" in Hebrew is "goyim," referring to all peoples and ethnic groups. The celestial bodies are a shared gift to all humanity, pointing to God's inclusive care and the common experience of His creation. This universality underscores the call to worship the one true God, who is the Creator of all, rather than the created order itself. Persons / Places / Events 1. MosesThe speaker of Deuteronomy, Moses is delivering God's laws and commandments to the Israelites before they enter the Promised Land. 2. IsraelitesThe audience of Moses' address, the chosen people of God, who are being warned against idolatry. 3. The HeavensRefers to the celestial bodies—sun, moon, and stars—that were often objects of worship in ancient cultures. 4. The LORD (Yahweh)The one true God of Israel, who commands exclusive worship and devotion from His people. 5. NationsThe surrounding peoples who often worshipped celestial bodies, contrasting with the Israelites' call to worship Yahweh alone. Teaching Points Avoiding IdolatryThe passage warns against the temptation to worship created things. In today's context, this can extend to anything that takes the place of God in our lives, such as material possessions, status, or even relationships. Recognizing God's SovereigntyThe celestial bodies are described as being "apportioned" by God, reminding us of His ultimate authority and control over creation. Worship the Creator, Not the CreationThis verse calls us to direct our worship and reverence to God alone, recognizing that all of creation is meant to point us back to Him. Cultural Influence and FaithfulnessJust as the Israelites were surrounded by nations with different beliefs, Christians today must remain faithful amidst a culture that often promotes values contrary to biblical teachings. The Role of Creation in WorshipWhile we are not to worship creation, we can use it as a means to worship God, appreciating the beauty and order of the universe as a reflection of His glory. Bible Study Questions 1. How does understanding the creation account in Genesis 1 help us resist the temptation to idolize created things? 2. In what ways might modern Christians be tempted to "worship" the creation rather than the Creator, and how can we guard against this? 3. How does the warning in Deuteronomy 4:19 relate to the first and second commandments given in Exodus 20? 4. What are some practical ways we can use the beauty of creation to enhance our worship of God rather than distract from it? 5. How can we remain faithful to God’s commands in a culture that often promotes values contrary to biblical teachings? Connections to Other Scriptures Genesis 1Describes the creation of the sun, moon, and stars, emphasizing that they are creations of God, not deities themselves. Exodus 20:3-5The Ten Commandments, which include the prohibition against idolatry, reinforcing the message of Deuteronomy 4:19. Romans 1:25Discusses the folly of worshipping created things rather than the Creator, echoing the warning against idolatry. Psalm 19:1Declares that the heavens declare the glory of God, pointing to their purpose as a testament to God's majesty, not objects of worship. People Amorites, Baalpeor, Bezer, Gadites, Israelites, Manasseh, Manassites, Moses, Og, Reubenites, SihonPlaces Arabah, Aroer, Bashan, Beth-baal-peor, Bezer, Egypt, Gilead, Golan, Hermon, Heshbon, Horeb, Jordan River, Mount Sion, Peor, Pisgah, Ramoth, Sea of the Arabah, Valley of the ArnonTopics Allotted, Apportioned, Army, Array, Assigned, Beware, Bow, Bowed, Bowing, Divided, Drawn, Driven, Enticed, Equally, Forced, Hast, Heaven, Heavenly, Heavens, Host, Lest, Lift, Lifted, Moon, Moved, Nations, Peoples, Seest, Servants, Serve, Served, Shouldest, Shouldst, Sky, Stars, Thyself, Towards, Worship, Worshiping, YourselvesDictionary of Bible Themes Deuteronomy 4:19 4251 moon
4272 sky
4281 stars
4284 sun
8709 astrology
8769 idolatry, in OT Deuteronomy 4:15-19 1225 God, as Spirit
5345 influence
8780 materialism, and sin Deuteronomy 4:16-19 5211 art Library February the Sixteenth Crowding Out God
"Lest thou forget." --DEUTERONOMY iv. 5-13. That is surely the worst affront we can put upon anybody. We may oppose a man and hinder him in his work, or we may directly injure him, or we may ignore him, and treat him as nothing. Or we may forget him! Opposition, injury, contempt, neglect, forgetfulness! Surely this is a descending scale, and the last is the worst. And yet we can forget the Lord God. We can forget all His benefits. We can easily put Him out of mind. We can live as though He were …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling YearDeuteronomy
(Third Sunday after Easter.) Deut. iv. 39, 40. Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else. Thou shall keep therefore his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, for ever. Learned men have argued much of late as to who wrote …
Charles Kingsley—The Gospel of the Pentateuch Political and Religious Life of the Jewish Dispersion in the West - their Union in the Great Hope of the Coming Deliverer.
It was not only in the capital of the Empire that the Jews enjoyed the rights of Roman citizenship. Many in Asia Minor could boast of the same privilege. [327] The Seleucidic rulers of Syria had previously bestowed kindred privileges on the Jews in many places. Thus, they possessed in some cities twofold rights: the status of Roman and the privileges of Asiatic, citizenship. Those who enjoyed the former were entitled to a civil government of their own, under archons of their choosing, quite independent …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Of the Cities of Refuge.
Hebron, the most eminent among them, excites us to remember the rest. "The Rabbins deliver this; Moses separated three cities of refuge beyond Jordan, [Deut 4:41-43;] and, against them, Joshua separated three cities in the land of Canaan, [Josh 20:7,8]. And these were placed by one another, just as two ranks of vines are in a vineyard: Hebron in Judea against Bezer in the wilderness: Shechem in mount Ephraim against Ramoth in Gilead: Kedesh in mount Napthali against Golan in Basan. And these three …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica That the Devout Soul Ought with the Whole Heart to Yearn after Union with Christ in the Sacrament
The Voice of the Disciple Who shall grant unto me, O Lord, that I may find Thee alone, and open all my heart unto Thee, and enjoy Thee as much as my soul desireth; and that no man may henceforth look upon me, nor any creature move me or have respect unto me, but Thou alone speak unto me and I unto Thee, even as beloved is wont to speak unto beloved, and friend to feast with friend? For this do I pray, this do I long for, that I may be wholly united unto Thee, and may withdraw my heart from all created …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ The First Covenant
"Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice, and keep My covenant, ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me."--EX. xix. 5. "He declared unto you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, even ten commandments."--DEUT. iv. 13.i "If ye keep these judgments, the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant,"--DEUT. vii. 12. "I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, which My covenant they brake."--JER. xxxi. 31, 32. WE have …
Andrew Murray—The Two Covenants The Unity of God
Q-5: ARE THERE MORE GODS THAN ONE? A: There is but one only, the living and true God. That there is a God has been proved; and those that will not believe the verity of his essence, shall feel the severity of his wrath. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.' Deut 6:6. He is the only God.' Deut 4:49. Know therefore this day, and consider it in thy heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath, there is none else.' A just God and a Saviour; there is none beside …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity The Northern Coasts of Galilee. Amanah. The Mountain of Snow.
This coast is described by Moses, Numbers 34:7: "From the Great Sea to mount Hor: from mount Hor to the entrance of Hamath," &c. Mount Hor, in the Jewish writers, is Amanah; mention of which occurs, Canticles 4:8, where R. Solomon thus: "Amanah is a mount in the northern coast of the land of Israel, which in the Talmudical language is called, The mountainous plain of Amanon; the same with mount Hor." In the Jerusalem Targum, for mount 'Hor' is the mount Manus: but the Targum of Jonathan renders it …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Ninth Sunday after Trinity Carnal Security and Its vices.
Text: 1 Corinthians 10, 6-13. 6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. 9 Neither let us make trial of the Lord, as some of them made trial, and perished by the serpents. 10 Neither murmur ye, as …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III Epistle cxxvii. From S. Columbanus to Pope Gregory .
From S. Columbanus to Pope Gregory [89] . To the holy lord, and father in Christ, the Roman [pope], most fair ornament of the Church, a certain most august flower, as it were, of the whole of withering Europe, distinguished speculator, as enjoying a divine contemplation of purity (?) [90] . I, Bargoma [91] , poor dove in Christ, send greeting. Grace to thee and peace from God the Father [and] our [Lord] Jesus Christ. I am pleased to think, O holy pope, that it will seem to thee nothing extravagant …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great The Second Commandment
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am o jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of then that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.' Exod 20: 4-6. I. Thou shalt not …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments "They have Corrupted Themselves; their Spot is not the Spot of his Children; they are a Perverse and Crooked Generation. "
Deut. xxxii. 5.--"They have corrupted themselves; their spot is not the spot of his children; they are a perverse and crooked generation." We doubt this people would take well with such a description of themselves as Moses gives. It might seem strange to us, that God should have chosen such a people out of all the nations of the earth, and they to be so rebellious and perverse, if our own experience did not teach us how free his choice is, and how long-suffering he is, and constant in his choice. …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning A Reformer's Schooling
'The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, 2. That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Second visit to Nazareth - the Mission of the Twelve.
It almost seems, as if the departure of Jesus from Capernaum marked a crisis in the history of that town. From henceforth it ceases to be the center of His activity, and is only occasionally, and in passing, visited. Indeed, the concentration and growing power of Pharisaic opposition, and the proximity of Herod's residence at Tiberias [3013] would have rendered a permanent stay there impossible at this stage in our Lord's history. Henceforth, His Life is, indeed, not purely missionary, but He has …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Covenant Duties.
It is here proposed to show, that every incumbent duty ought, in suitable circumstances, to be engaged to in the exercise of Covenanting. The law and covenant of God are co-extensive; and what is enjoined in the one is confirmed in the other. The proposals of that Covenant include its promises and its duties. The former are made and fulfilled by its glorious Originator; the latter are enjoined and obligatory on man. The duties of that Covenant are God's law; and the demands of the law are all made …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting Subjects of Study. Home Education in Israel; Female Education. Elementary Schools, Schoolmasters, and School Arrangements.
If a faithful picture of society in ancient Greece or Rome were to be presented to view, it is not easy to believe that even they who now most oppose the Bible could wish their aims success. For this, at any rate, may be asserted, without fear of gainsaying, that no other religion than that of the Bible has proved competent to control an advanced, or even an advancing, state of civilisation. Every other bound has been successively passed and submerged by the rising tide; how deep only the student …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life Wisdom and Revelation.
"Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness …
W. H. Griffith Thomas—The Prayers of St. Paul Links Deuteronomy 4:19 NIVDeuteronomy 4:19 NLTDeuteronomy 4:19 ESVDeuteronomy 4:19 NASBDeuteronomy 4:19 KJV
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