1._Observe the month Abib. _For what purpose God instituted the Passover, has already been shewn in the exposition of the First Commandment; for since it was a symbol of redemption, and in that ceremony the people exercised themselves in the pure worship of the One God, so as to acknowledge Him to b... [ Continue Reading ]
Deuteronomy 16:3_Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it. _Because by this sign they were reminded of their having escaped in haste, as it were from the very flames; therefore does Moses so often enforce the prohibition of leaven. And here this reason for it is alleged, viz., that their recollectio... [ Continue Reading ]
9._Seven weeks shalt thou number. _It must be observed that the Passover fell in a part of the year when the harvests were beginning to ripen; and consequently the first-fruits, of which I treated under the First Commandment, were then offered. Seven weeks afterwards they celebrated another feast-da... [ Continue Reading ]
11._And thou shalt require. _On another ground he exhorts and excites them to willingness, because the service of God brings this rejoicing; for there is nothing which ought more to stimulate us to obedience, that when we know that God rather consults our good than seeks to obtain any advantage from... [ Continue Reading ]
13._Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles. _Its first day was called the day of In-gathering, (_collectionum _,) because the produce of the whole year was then stored in their granaries (361) and provision cellars. Since, therefore, they then rested from their rural labors, it was a convenient... [ Continue Reading ]
16._Three times in a year. _We have previously said that although the other feast-days were not to be neglected, still, because God would make some allowance for the infirmity of His people, the necessity of going up to Jerusalem five times a year was not imposed upon them. Again, because only half... [ Continue Reading ]
18._Judeges and officers shalt thou make_. I have placed this passage among the Supplements of the Fifth Commandment, for, if it pleases God that judges should be appointed for ruling the people, it follows that their laws and edicts should be obeyed; and thus the parental authority extends also to... [ Continue Reading ]
20._That which is altogether just _(131) By an emphatic repetition God inculcates that judges should study equity with inflexible constancy; nor is this done without cause, for nothing is more likely to happen than that men’s minds should be clouded by favor or hatred. Besides there are so many quib... [ Continue Reading ]
21._Thou shalt not plant thee. _It is plain from the end of this verse that it is part of the Second Commandment. We know (300) that amongst the heathen nations groves were sacred, so that with them no religious object would receive due reverence, except under the shade of trees. Wherefore lest conf... [ Continue Reading ]
22._Neither shalt thou set thee up. _Hence also it more clearly appears what is the meaning and tendency of the Second Commandment. God elsewhere commands, (100) (as we have seen,) that statues (101) should be erected on the borders of the land, on which the sum of the Law should be inscribed. At fi... [ Continue Reading ]