Synopsis of the Chapter
Moses strengthens the people and Joshua to go on to Canaan. Second, at verse 9, he writes Deuteronomy and commands it to be read to the people in the seventh year of release. Third, at verse 14, God addresses and appoints Joshua in the place of Moses. Fourth, at verse 19, He commands the canticle of the following chapter to be written, and to be learned and sung by the Israelites. Fifth, at verse 26, He commands Deuteronomy to be kept at the side of the Ark.
Verses 1-3: Moses' Farewell and the Appointment of Joshua
1. SO MOSES WENT AND SPOKE, that is, Moses therefore added, or began to speak these words that follow: for the Hebrews by "go out," "depart," "arise," often mean "to begin": therefore "he went," that is, "he began." So Abulensis and Oleaster.
2. I CAN NO LONGER GO OUT AND COME IN, I can no longer lead you and be your leader, both because of old age and because God has forbidden me from entering the promised land, as follows. So Oleaster.
3. THE LORD YOUR GOD THEREFORE WILL CROSS OVER BEFORE YOU, not by changing His location, but by working and defeating your enemies, as if to say: God will be your leader all the way to Canaan.
Verse 9: Moses Wrote This Law ¶
SO MOSES WROTE THIS LAW, namely of Deuteronomy. Note: Moses wrote these things (as well as the following canticle, chapter 32, as is clear from verse 22 here) before he spoke and promulgated them to the people. For on the same day that Moses said these things and blessed the people, he ascended Mount Nebo, as is clear from the following chapter, verse 48, and there he died: for Moses could not on the same day both speak the whole of Deuteronomy and also write it. So Abulensis.
From this it appears that Moses did not deliver the whole of Deuteronomy in a single sitting: both because this would have been long and burdensome; and because after he began to speak it, before he finished, he wrote it, as is said here.
Verses 10-11: Reading the Law in the Year of Release
10 and 11. After seven years (to be counted from the division and peaceful possession of the holy land), IN THE YEAR OF RELEASE, AT THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES, etc., YOU SHALL READ THE WORDS OF THIS LAW. Therefore every seventh year Deuteronomy had to be read publicly before everyone, including the little ones. For first impressions are the strongest. Whence Aristotle says: It matters greatly to become accustomed in one way or another from youth. Hence also Plato commanded that people be instructed from a tender age in proper rejoicing and grieving, because in these things consists perfect discipline, namely that we rejoice in virtues and grieve over vices.
Mystically, the seventh year of release is the time of grace, in which Christ and the Apostles promulgated the second law, namely the Gospel. So Cyril in the Glaphyra.
Verse 13: Their Children Who Are Ignorant ¶
13. THEIR CHILDREN ALSO WHO NOW ARE IGNORANT, namely the little ones, who know nothing yet, and therefore likewise are ignorant of this law of God.
Verses 16-17: The People Will Go Astray
16. THIS PEOPLE RISING UP WILL GO ASTRAY AFTER FOREIGN GODS, it will follow foreign gods and worship them, forsaking Me; for idolatry is called fornication by the Prophets.
17. I WILL HIDE MY FACE FROM HIM, by withdrawing My protection from him.
Verse 19: Write This Canticle ¶
19. WRITE FOR YOURSELVES THIS CANTICLE (namely the song of which chapter 32 treats), AND TEACH IT TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, THAT, etc., IT MAY BE FOR A TESTIMONY, namely of their own iniquity and of divine justice.
Verse 21: The Canticle as Testimony ¶
21. AFTER EVILS SHALL HAVE BEFALLEN THEM, etc., THIS CANTICLE SHALL ANSWER THEM, as if to say: Then this canticle, which I shall compose in the following chapter, will testify to the Hebrew people that they have sinned and departed from God, when they see that the very evils I threaten and foretell in this song for deserters of God have befallen them.
FOR I KNOW THEIR THOUGHTS, WHAT THEY WILL DO TODAY. The word "today" should be referred not to "will do," but to "I know," as if to say: I know today and from now, the character and inclination of this people toward idols and other evils, and that they will actually do those things in their own time.
Verse 26: Place the Book at the Side of the Ark ¶
26. TAKE THIS BOOK (of Deuteronomy), AND PLACE IT AT THE SIDE OF THE ARK OF THE COVENANT OF THE LORD. Not that this book was placed or ordered to be placed inside the Ark itself, in some corner of it: for only the tablets of the law were stored in the Ark, as is evident from 3 Kings 8:9 and 2 Paralipomenon 5:10; but it was placed at the side of the Ark, as the Hebrew has it, that is, outside the Ark, on its border or ledge, or near it, together with Aaron's rod and the urn containing manna, says Abulensis; from which place, after the temple was later built, it appears to have been transferred to the treasury, that is, to the place of the treasures, as is gathered from 2 Paralipomenon 34:14.
Verses 27-29: Contentiousness and Heaven as Witness
27. I KNOW YOUR CONTENTIOUSNESS AND YOUR MOST STIFF NECK, as if to say: Because you, O Hebrew people, are obstinate and inclined to contention and rebellion, and could impudently deny that this law was ever given to you by me; therefore I want this book of the law to be stored in the Ark, and to be brought forth from there as a testimony against you when needed. Note: God here addresses the Levites as though they were the whole people, because they, as priests and Levites, represented the whole people.
28. I WILL CALL HEAVEN AND EARTH TO WITNESS AGAINST THEM, to be witnesses of the things I say, namely of their future transgression as well as their punishment. Hence the following canticle, which is about this matter, begins thus: "Hear, O heavens, what I speak; let the earth hear the words of my mouth." See what was said at chapter 4, verse 26.
29. THROUGH THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS, through your wicked actions. Second, through the idols which you will make and worship with your hands. So Abulensis.
Verse 30: Moses Spoke to the Whole Assembly ¶
30. SO MOSES SPOKE, WHILE THE WHOLE ASSEMBLY OF ISRAEL LISTENED. From this it appears that by a miracle the aged voice of Moses was so strengthened and amplified that it could be heard by each individual, namely by three million people, as I said at chapter 1, verse 1: so Abulensis.
THE WORDS OF THIS CANTICLE, which Moses composed and sang next in chapter 32.
Note here the zeal and the final admonitions of Moses now about to die: for like a fire he burns, to impress upon the people the law of God.
Thus Joshua, in chapter 24, being about to die, bound the people to the law of God by a covenant, and erected a great stone which would be a witness against them, lest they break the faith given to God.
Thus David, about to die, said to Solomon his son and heir to the kingdom: "I am going the way of all the earth; be strong and show yourself a man, and observe that you keep the commandments of the Lord your God," 3 Kings 2.
Thus Constantius Caesar, father of Constantine the Great, about to die and placing the crown on his son, said to him and to the Senate: "Now death will be sweeter to me than life itself, now the longed-for end is at hand. For I leave behind a son as Emperor, who will wipe away the tears of the Christians and avenge the cruelty of the tyrants." Then turning to the multitude, he bade all be of good cheer who had not departed from true piety toward Christ, and added that Christ would henceforth be with Constantine in arms. So from Eusebius, Baronius, volume 2, year of Christ 306.
Thus Emperor Theodosius, about to die, called his sons Arcadius and Honorius, and with burning affection earnestly exhorted them, adjuring them by their own welfare and that of the state, that following in his footsteps they should make it their sole concern that the doctrine of faith and piety be preserved pure and uncorrupted and handed down to posterity: in this endeavor they should spare no labors or expenses, for in this one thing the sum of happiness was placed: and by this means alone, and no other, could peace be rightly secured, wars concluded, trophies raised, and victories won. So Theodoret, book 5, chapter 25, and others.
St. Louis the king, about to die, gave these instructions to his son: "My son, above all take care to love God: for no one can be saved unless he loves God. Beware lest you ever admit a mortal sin, but rather choose to endure all kinds of torments than to commit any such fault. Confess your sins frequently, and choose for yourself wise confessors who can teach you what you ought to do and what to avoid: conduct yourself before them in such a way that they may dare sincerely both to reprove you and to point out your faults. You owe your parents love, obedience, and reverence. Always be devoted and dedicated to the Roman Church, and show yourself obedient to its Pontiff just as to a spiritual father." So his Life records, and Robert Gaguin, book 7 of the History of France.
Erric, king of the Visigoths, having summoned the nobles to himself, predicted that he would depart this mortal life on the ninth day, and obtained from them a promise that they would place his son Alaric on the royal throne. Dying, he commanded him above all to love God, to honor God's ministers, to attempt nothing difficult without the counsel of faithful nobles, to love his subjects, to cultivate justice, to maintain clemency, and to show himself kind and generous to all. The witness is John Magnus, book 15 of the History, final chapter.
Philip II, King of Spain, about to die in the year 1600, commended these things to his son Philip III: "God will have done you a great favor if He raises you to that pinnacle of glory at which I have seen myself; and if He prospers you as He has prospered me. I earnestly beseech you that when you have attained this, you remember this bed in which you see me, and where all the glory of this world comes to a halt. I commend to you obedience to the Apostolic See, the protection of the Catholic faith, zeal for the Christian religion, peace for the state, and justice toward your subjects. If God confirms these counsels of mine, this kingdom will not have lost its king, but will merely have exchanged him with profit."