Deuteronomy 9:14

. See Gill on "Deuteronomy 14:6" Deuteronomy 14:9 Ver. 9,10. These ye shall eat of, all that are in the waters,.... The fishes there, even such as have fins and scales, but they that have not were not to be eaten: See Gill on "Leviticus 11:9" See Gill on "Leviticus 11:10" See Gill on "Leviticus 11:11" See Gill on "Leviticus 11:12". Deuteronomy 14:10 Ver. 10. See Gill on "Deuteronomy 14:9" Deuteronomy 14:11 Ver. 11. Of all clean birds ye shall eat. Which the Targum of Jonathan describes, everyone that has a craw, and whose crop is naked, and has a superfluous talon, and is not rapacious; but such as are unclean are expressed by name in the following verses, so that all except them might be reckoned clean and fit for food. Maimonides {p} observes, that only the number of the unclean are reckoned, so that all the rest are free. {p} Hilchot. Maacolot Asurot, c. 1. sect. 14. Deuteronomy 14:12 Ver. 12-18. But these are they of which they shall not eat,....

9:7-29 That the Israelites might have no pretence to think that God brought them to Canaan for their righteousness, Moses shows what a miracle of mercy it was, that they had not been destroyed in the wilderness. It is good for us often to remember against ourselves, with sorrow and shame, our former sins; that we may see how much we are indebted to free grace, and may humbly own that we never merited any thing but wrath and the curse at God's hand. For so strong is our propensity to pride, that it will creep in under one pretence or another. We are ready to fancy that our righteousness has got for us the special favour of the Lord, though in reality our wickedness is more plain than our weakness. But when the secret history of every man's life shall be brought forth at the day of judgment, all the world will be proved guilty before God. At present, One pleads for us before the mercy-seat, who not only fasted, but died upon the cross for our sins; through whom we may approach, though self-condemned sinners, and beseech for undeserved mercy and for eternal life, as the gift of God in Him. Let us refer all the victory, all the glory, and all the praise, to Him who alone bringeth salvation.

Let me alone, that I may destroy them,.... Do not say one word to me on their behalf, or entreat me to spare them, and not destroy them: and blot out their name from under heaven; that no such nation may be heard of, or known by the name of Israel: and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they; of his family, whereby the Lord's promise to Abraham would not have been made void, but equally firm and sure, since this mightier and greater nation would have been of his seed; See Gill on Exodus 32:10.

12-29. Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people … have corrupted themselves—With a view to humble them effectually, Moses proceeds to particularize some of the most atrocious instances of their infidelity. He begins with the impiety of the golden calf—an impiety which, while their miraculous emancipation from Egypt, the most stupendous displays of the Divine Majesty that were exhibited on the adjoining mount, and the recent ratification of the covenant by which they engaged to act as the people of God, were fresh in memory, indicated a degree of inconstancy or debasement almost incredible.

14 . let me alone] desist from me ; Exodus 32:10 let me rest , give me peace. destroy ] See on Deuteronomy 1:27 . blot out their name , etc.] Deuteronomy 29:20 , Deuteronomy 25:19 : cp. synonym in Deuteronomy 7:24 q.v. Not in Exodus 32:10 . a nation mightier and greater ] Expansion of great nation , Exodus 32:10 . This whole v . is illustrative of the expansive style of D. Bertholet sees the immediate continuation of the v . in Deuteronomy 10:10 and points out how excellently Deuteronomy 9:15 follows on Deuteronomy 9:12 . This would account for the omission of Moses’ first intercession while still on the Mount, Exodus 32:11-14 . Deuteronomy 9:14

When Moses went up the mountain, and stayed there forty days, entirely occupied with the holiest things, so that he neither ate nor drank, having gone up to receive the tables of the law, upon which the words were written with the finger of God, just as the Lord had spoken them directly to the people out of the midst of the fire, - at a time, therefore, when the Israelites should also have been meditating deeply upon the words of the Lord which they had but just heard, - they acted so corruptly, as to depart at once from the way that had been pointed out, and make themselves a molten image (comp. Exodus 31:18-32:6 , with chs. Deuteronomy 24:12-31:17 ). "The day of the assembly," i.e., the day on which Moses gathered the people together before God ( Deuteronomy 4:10 ), calling them out of the camp, and bringing them to the Lord to the foot of Sinai ( Exodus 19:17 ). The construction of the sentence is this: the apodosis to "when I was gone up" commences with "the Lord delivered unto me," in Deuteronomy 9:10 ; and the clause, "then I abode," etc., in Deuteronomy 9:9 , is a parenthesis. - The words of God in Deuteronomy 9:12-14 are taken almost word for word from Exodus 32:7-10 . הרף ( Deuteronomy 9:14 ), the imperative Hiphil of רפה, desist from me, that I may destroy them, for לּי הנּיחה, in Exodus 32:10 .

But notwithstanding the apostasy of the people, the Lord gave Moses the tables of the covenant, not only that they might be a testimony of His holiness before the faithless nation, but still more as a testimony that, in spite of His resolution to destroy the rebellious nation, without leaving a trace behind, He would still uphold His covenant, and make of Moses a greater people. There is nothing at all to favour the opinion, that handing over the tables ( Deuteronomy 9:11 ) was the first beginning of the manifestations of divine wrath (Schultz); and this is also at variance with the preterite, נתן, in Deuteronomy 9:11 , from which it is very evident that the Lord had already given the tables to Moses, when He commanded him to go down quickly, not only to declare to the people the holiness of God, but to stop the apostasy, and by his mediatorial intervention to avert from the people the execution of the divine purpose. It is true, that when Moses came down and saw the idolatrous conduct of the people, he threw the two tables from his hands, and broke them in pieces before the eyes of the people ( Deuteronomy 9:15-17 ; comp. with Exodus 32:15-19 ), as a practical declaration that the covenant of the Lord was broken by their apostasy. But this act of Moses furnishes no proof that the Lord had given him the tables to declare His holy wrath in the sight of the people.