Synopsis of the Chapter
Moses continues to impress upon the Hebrews God's law and fear: first, from the tablets of the law which God gave them, and which He commanded to be enclosed in the ark, and the ark to be carried about by the Levites, so that through it the Hebrews might always be reminded of the covenant and the law of God. Second, because our God is the God of gods and Lord of lords, verse 17.
Verse 1: You Shall Make a Wooden Ark ¶
1. AND YOU SHALL MAKE A WOODEN ARK -- namely, the one whose construction is described in Exodus. Note: The ark was built by Moses after receiving from God the second tablets of the law, as is clear from Exodus 34:28, compared with Exodus 25:10. The ark is mentioned here because it was made for the tablets of the law, to be their chest and guardian. There is therefore a hysteron proteron here; for the construction of the ark is narrated before the giving of the tablets of the law, although it was built after them.
Verse 6: The Children of Israel Moved Their Camp ¶
6. NOW THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL MOVED THEIR CAMP. -- Here again there is a hysteron proteron; for the sequence of the speech that was begun is interrupted up to verse 10: there are many such instances in these books. This is therefore like a parenthesis, added on account of the Levitical tribe; for since the ark, in which the tablets of the law were kept, was just mentioned, the death of Aaron, who had offended God, is here inserted parenthetically, along with the succession of his son Eleazar, to whom the custody of the laws given by God pertained; and then the institution of the tribe of Levi and the consecration of the Levites, whose duty it was to carry the ark before the people, so that through it they might perpetually remind the people about keeping the covenant and the law of God.
IN MOSERA. -- This encampment is distinct from Moseroth, Numbers 33:31; for Moseroth is not Hor, since many encampments lie between Moseroth and Hor, Numbers 33. But Mosera is Hor: so Moseroth was the twenty-seventh, and Mosera the thirty-fourth encampment of the Hebrews. Similarly, "Beeroth of the sons of Jaakan," or in Hebrew, Beroth Bene Iacan, is a different encampment from Bene-jaakan, mentioned in Numbers 33:31, as is clear to the reader. Nor is it unusual for different places to have the same or similar names, and conversely for the same place to have several names.
Mosera, or as Numbers 33:37 calls it, Hor: for there Aaron died; and consequently Beeroth of the sons of Jaakan is Kadesh, mentioned in Numbers 33:37. So says Abulensis. Which encampments in Numbers 33 correspond to Gudgodah and Jotbathah, which follow here, is not certain; Vatablus however thinks that Gudgodah is Oboth.
Verse 8: He Set Apart the Tribe of Levi ¶
8. AT THAT TIME HE SET APART (the Lord, as the Hebrew has it) THE TRIBE OF LEVI. -- It is likely that this was a second separation of the Levites, distinct from the one that occurred at Sinai during Aaron's lifetime, Numbers 3:6. For this one seems to have happened after Aaron's death, at Jotbathah, under Eleazar: otherwise the mention of Aaron's death and Eleazar's succession would have been inserted needlessly in verse 7. This was therefore like a confirmation and repetition of the first separation made in Numbers 3, under the new high priest: so Cajetan. Abulensis thinks otherwise: for he considers this to be the same separation of the tribe of Levi as that in Numbers 3; for verses 6 and 7 are inserted incidentally, to recall Aaron's death, and thus verse 8 should be connected with verse 5: for then everything fits together perfectly; this opinion is sufficiently probable, since many such insertions occur in the Pentateuch, as I said in the preface to Genesis.
TO CARRY THE ARK OF THE COVENANT (this was the duty of the ordinary Levites; but what follows), AND TO STAND BEFORE HIM IN MINISTRY -- seems to refer only to the priests, who belonged to the same tribe as the Levites. For they alone stood before the Lord, ministering in the tabernacle and offering sacrifices, and it was their role to bless the people.
Verse 9: The Lord Is His Possession ¶
9. THE LORD IS HIS POSSESSION -- meaning: Those things that are given to the Lord, such as offerings, first-fruits, etc., become the possession of the Levites; for they have no other in Israel.
Verse 10: I Stood on the Mountain as Before ¶
10. AND I STOOD ON THE MOUNTAIN AS BEFORE, FOR FORTY DAYS. -- Some think Moses was on Mount Sinai three times for forty days, and that this was the third time. But it is clear that this was not the third time but the second, and the same as the one mentioned in the preceding chapter, verse 18. Therefore there is again a hysteron proteron here; for in the correct order, this verse should be placed before the beginning of the chapter.
Verse 12: What Does the Lord Your God Ask of You? ¶
12. AND NOW, ISRAEL, WHAT DOES THE LORD YOUR GOD ASK OF YOU? -- Meaning: Since God has so often pardoned your sins, O Israel, this one thing only does He ask of you in return for all His benefit and mercy -- namely, that henceforth you fear Him: it is therefore just that you do this.
The Fear of God: Six Fruits
Note: The fear of God restrains the soul from lusts and spurs it to all good. "Blessed is the man who is always fearful," Proverbs 28. "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord; he delights greatly in His commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth; the generation of the upright shall be blessed. Glory and riches are in his house, and his justice endures forever," Psalm 111. "The fear of the Lord is like a paradise of blessing," Sirach 40. "Fear God and keep His commandments; for this is the whole duty of man," Ecclesiastes 12. "Serve the Lord in fear, and rejoice before Him with trembling," Psalm 2. "If I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a Lord, where is My fear?" Malachi 1. "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather fear Him who can cast both body and soul into hell," Matthew 10. "If you do not hold fast in the fear of the Lord constantly, your house will quickly be overthrown," Sirach 27. Hence Jonas says: "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the God of heaven."
Second, the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and piety -- indeed it is the consummation of them, the Wise Man says: therefore, the more you grow in the fear of God, the more you grow in wisdom and piety, and the more you please God. "Those who fear the Lord will seek what is pleasing to Him," Sirach 2. "From Your fear we have conceived and brought forth the spirit of salvation," Isaiah 26, according to the Septuagint. Hence of his mother St. Monica, St. Augustine says in the Confessions: "There was in the heart of Your handmaid a chaste fear," etc.
Third, filial fear is nothing other than the love of God: for from the fact that we love God as a father, we fear to offend Him. "Love and fear of God lead to every good work; love and fear of the world lead to every sin," says St. Augustine in his Sentences.
Fourth, the fear of God gives constancy in temptations and adversities. "He who fears the Lord will not tremble or be afraid, for He Himself is his hope," Sirach 34. By the fear of God the martyrs overcame their torments.
Fifth, the fear of God produces God's favor and all good things. "His mercy is from generation to generation upon those who fear Him," sings the Blessed Virgin. "Many good things we shall have if we fear God," Tobit 4. "There is no want to those who fear Him," Psalm 33.
Sixth, it produces joy of heart. "The fear of the Lord will delight the heart and give gladness and joy," Sirach 1. Finally, it produces confidence in a happy passage from this life, and is the guardian of chastity, innocence, and all virtues, says St. Jerome, epistle 127.
Verse 14: The Heaven of Heavens ¶
14. THE HEAVEN OF HEAVENS. -- In Hebrew, "the heavens of heavens," that is, the most vast and highest heavens, which encompass all the lower spheres.
Verse 15: The Lord Was Joined to Your Fathers ¶
15. THE LORD WAS JOINED TO YOUR FATHERS. -- The word "joined" (literally "glued to") signifies the vehemence of divine love, by which God most tightly unites us to Himself, which is the highest effect and sign of love.
So the soul of Shechem is said to be glued to Dinah, Genesis 34:3, and the soul of Jacob is said to depend on the soul of Benjamin, or, as the Hebrew has it, to be bound to his, Genesis 44:34.
Verse 16: Circumcise the Foreskin of Your Heart ¶
16. CIRCUMCISE THEREFORE THE FORESKIN OF YOUR HEART. -- The Septuagint has σκληροκαρδίαν, that is "hardness," and the Chaldean has "foolishness of your heart." For "foreskin" is metaphorically attributed to the heart, and signifies a will covered over and hardened by wickedness, lust, vanity, and blindness. See what was said at Leviticus 26:41.
St. Gregory however, Book 28 of the Moralia, chapter 7, takes "heart" as "mind" or "reason"; for he says: "Circumcise the foreskins of your hearts, that is, after you have extinguished lust from the flesh, cut away also the superfluities of your thoughts."
Verses 18-19: He Loves the Foreigner ¶
18 and 19. HE (God) LOVES THE FOREIGNER: THEREFORE YOU ALSO SHALL LOVE FOREIGNERS. -- God here commends mercy to the Hebrews, that they may help the wretched -- such as foreigners, orphans, and widows -- just as God especially loves and aids them; for, as the Psalmist says: "To You the poor man is left; You will be the helper of the orphan."
Verse 21: He Is Your Praise ¶
21. HE (God) IS YOUR PRAISE -- that is, He is the object of your praise, the material object, whom you ought to praise unceasingly; or the formal object, on account of whom you are praised and who makes you praiseworthy among all nations. Second, God is "praise," that is, your strength and power, who makes you praiseworthy among all peoples. By metonymy the effect is put for the cause. So the Poet says: "Praise has its own rewards," that is, virtue; and Psalm 8: "Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings You have perfected praise" -- in Hebrew: "You have founded strength"; and Psalm 105: "Glory (that is, take courage, be strong) in His holy name."
On the Praise of God
Note: God is the supreme majesty, goodness, wisdom, power, and providence, by which He creates, preserves, feeds, protects, justifies, and glorifies us: hence He is to be praised by us to the utmost, and this alone can we render to Him. "Offer to God the sacrifice of praise," Psalm 49. "A hymn befits You, O God, in Zion," Psalm 64:2. It is the work of the angels to praise God, says St. Basil on Psalm 28. For the angels unceasingly cry out: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts," Isaiah 6. The blessed in heaven have no other occupation: for their voice is in Revelation 4: "You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power and divinity; for You have created all things, and by Your will they existed and were created."
Sorcerers and witches testify that among themselves there is a certain hierarchical -- that is, diabolical -- order: namely, that the highest among them do nothing other than blaspheme God, the middle ones poison people and animals, and the lowest assist the middle ones. Conversely, the highest saints in this life are those who with the Blessed Virgin unceasingly sing: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior"; the middle ones are those who in the active life help their neighbors toward salvation; the lowest are those who serve the middle ones with their wealth and external works.
The sun, the moon, and all creatures praise God with a silent voice; for they cry out: "He made us, and not we ourselves. The Lord is great and exceedingly praiseworthy, and of His greatness there is no end. Exalt Him as much as you can: for He is greater than all praise," Sirach 43:32. So did David, Psalm 33: "I will bless the Lord at all times (both in adversity and in prosperity): His praise shall always be in my mouth. Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. Let all flesh bless His holy name."
Hence we ought to invite all angels, men, and creatures, together with David and the three young men in the furnace, to the praise of God, saying: Bless the Lord, all His angels; heaven, stars, fish, birds, praise and exalt Him forever.
Hence again we ought to praise God not only with our mouth, but with our whole heart and in our deeds, so that our life may be a continual praise of God; and especially so that we may convert sinners, who by their sins blaspheme God, that by their repentance and pious life they may praise God. Would that I could praise You, O Lord, with a thousand hearts, a thousand tongues, indeed with the voice of all men and angels!