What Moses says here about the second tablets belongs to the previous chapter, to make the sin that they had worshiped the calf great. For the chapters are not properly divided; as often in other places, so also here. But what is said of the journeys and the camps of Israel, of the death of Aaron and the appointment of his son Eleazar in his place, of the ordinance that the Levites should bear the ark and stand in the service and praise the name of the Lord, he will
either because this happened when this was going on, or because Moses arranged at these camps with the Levites what was commanded on the mountain Sinai, or, what I rather believe, because after the death of Aaron, since a new priest, Eleazar, had been appointed, also the service of the Levites is improved and arranged anew and once more, as it is used to happen in human things, which fall and change daily. After this, Moses returned to the priesthood.
back to the sin they committed with the calf, and after obtaining mercy (for the people), he receives the command to lead the people into the Promised Land.
The secret interpretation of the calf and the tablets also belongs to the previous chapter. About the tablets Paul instructs us sufficiently in 2 Cor. 3, 3, namely that the stone tablets are the hard hearts of the people of the law, while the people of grace have the fleshy and soft tablets of the heart. Now the laws are written on tables of stone, because the work of the law is written in all hearts, since their conscience testifies to it, Rom. 2:15. But the hardness of the heart causes it not to be grasped with the mind, not to be loved, not to be kept, not to be fulfilled in works. As the tablets of stone preserve only the written letters, but do nothing, so the hard hearts, without the Spirit, have the law only for a witness against themselves. Especially the Jewish people is such a host (hospes) of the law and of the whole Moses, for testimony against themselves.
The calf, which is made of gold, is the doctrine of works, which is made of words of the scripture and the falsified law, and twisted by the service and the art of the priests, who are supposed to preside over the people. This (doctrine of works) is worshipped, if one seeks honor in it and the confidence of the conscience (which is only due to the true God) is placed on it, as the saints of works (justitiarios) must necessarily do. Moses, however, takes it, burns it with fire, breaks and crushes it, and throws it into the brook that flows from the mountain, that is, the true service of the law teaches the knowledge of sin, and that works together with their teachings are nothing, but that the grace of God is necessary to justify. Therefore, this whole doctrine is crushed and thrown away and devoured by the stream of the Gospel, which flows from the mountain, Christ, that fills the earth. Moses gives the people to drink from it, showing that the gospel is necessary, and presses toward it through the knowledge of sin.
Then Moses comes back to it.
that he exhorts to the first commandment and praises the same, saying [v. 12.], "Now, Israel, what does the LORD your GOD require of you?" as if to say: This is the summa of the first commandment, of which I have said all these things, and for whose sake all that was said before was done, that thou fear the LORD thy GOD, and walk [in his ways], and love him, and serve him, that thou keep the commandments which I command thee this day. I said above that with the Hebrews "the fear of GOD" means the same as with us the worship of GOD. And see here the order: fear, walk, love, serve with all your heart 2c. Moses puts before what follows [v. 13.]: "That you keep the commandments and the statutes" 2c., 1) That thou mayest know that nothing can be kept of the outward commandments, that it is pleasing to God, unless it proceed from a heart that fears, loves, obeys, and serves, so that the power of the first commandment, which is faith, may rule and work in all commandments and works; without which all things are but appearances and guises.
V. 14. 15. Behold, the heavens and all the heavens are the heavens of the LORD your God 2c.
Again, after the manner of a good lawgiver, he inculcates and repeats how great and how good God is, who commands. Behold, he says, there are different heavens and different gods, but your God is One over all (as Paul 1 Cor. 8, 5. f. also almost speaks), and yet out of all nations, under all heavens, he loved and chose your fathers and their seed. It is known that in Scripture "the heavens" are not distinguished according to circles (sphaeras), as mathematicians are wont to do, but according to parts of the earth, just as the earth is divided [into various parts], as it is said elsewhere [Deut. 28:23]: "Your heaven, which is over your head, will be brazen," namely, that it [Scripture] indicates another heaven for this people, another heaven for another people. But this GOd is a GOd of all heavens, that is, he rules
1) In the Jena one the words are missing: prasinittit Iiuis, Hnoct soHuitnr: I5t ssrvss prassspta st statuta sts. - In the Erlanger a new sentence is started with "krasmittit" (erroneously).
over all heavens in the horizon of all people, and not only of the Jews, but of all nations. Thus it is said in Ps. 115, 16: "The heavens are the Lord's in all places, but the earth He has given to the children of men.
V. 16. 17. Circumcise your heart's foreskin 2c.
This is a clear saying about the twofold circumcision, where at the same time the trust and presumption in the fleshly circumcision is condemned. Otherwise, if it were sufficient, what need would there be to require circumcision of the heart? Jeremiah also says that the Gentiles are uncircumcised in the flesh, but Israel is uncircumcised in the heart. With this word Moses throws to the ground all the glory of this people, with which he had puffed them up in the previous word, as it seemed, when he said that they were chosen before all nations, under all heavens, so that they would not be hopeful against the other nations. Yea, it soon follows, that the LORD is the LORD above all lords, and great, who regardeth not persons, nor receiveth gifts [v. 17.] What [does he regard] then? Nothing but the obedience of the heart, or the circumcision of the spirit, whose praise is from God, Rom. 2, 29. Now since he does not regard the person, but the circumcision of the flesh, and the begetting according to the flesh (sanguinis) from the fathers, and all things, except the circumcision of the heart, are personal things 1) and make regard to the person (personas), it follows that they cannot please God by this, but only by the circumcision of the heart. If the Gentiles have this, as the second chapter of the Epistle to the Romans [vv. 26, 27] states, they fulfill the law and judge the Jews who are circumcised according to the flesh.
So Moses destroys the opportunity to sin against the first commandment, which arises from the keeping of the circumcision and all works of the law. A very strange lawgiver, who at the same time commands the works and yet condemns them when they are done. But he does this so that
1) Instead of persovatiae in the Erlanger is to read personal!".
They should know that the law is not fulfilled by the works of the law, but by the circumcision of the heart, and only these works are truly good works, which do not come from the compulsion of the law, but from a heart that is previously circumcised. For this is demanded by him who does not look at the persons; otherwise the works make nothing but appearance (personas). And this teaching of Moses is similar to the one Paul treats in his letter to the Romans.
V. 18. And lent the strangers, that he might give them meat and raiment.
These very sweet promises of God are well to be remembered: "He who respects no person", likewise: "He takes no gift", likewise: "He provides justice for widows and orphans", likewise: "He loves the stranger, that he gives them food and clothing". For with these words God clearly comforts all the wretched, abandoned and afflicted in the whole world, and draws their hearts to Himself so that they entrust themselves to Him and rely on His goodness, as is fitting against the true, one and only God. For if he respects no person, I have already, that I can boast and be proud with a puffed up heart against all kings, princes, rich, strong of the world, sure that I, who am despised and abandoned by them as a poor, ignoble, weak one, am nevertheless respected, received and protected by him, who is the GOD of gods and the HEART of all lords (as Moses is also emblazoned with words here and is hopeful), mighty and terrible above all my despisers. What should I lack, then, if any lord despises me above a few servants, while the LORD above all lords, and the GOOD of all gods, dignifies me with his care?
Even if I am a fool, a sinner, a desperate and lost man, even if I am condemned, condemned and condemned as a sinner, a heretic, a cursed man, a blasphemer, a servant of the devil, what does it matter? Those are holy, righteous, honored, praised, reckoned among the children of God, and numbered among the stars: what does it matter? Here is the God of all gods, who has made these
He does not look at the appearance (personas), nor does he care for their gifts (dona); he cares for me sinners and fools just as much as those presume that he cares for them. Dear one, holding these promises in faith, what event (res) could possibly occur that could grieve me? What sin could oppress me, what sin could bring me to despair? Yes, what height, what depth, what present, what creature could make us puffed up or humble? Only let your heart cling to these words, and you will lack nothing, even if everything should leave you; but nothing will be there, even if everything would be favorable to you (arriserint). Only believe that he who speaks these words does not lie, as he cannot lie, and you will have a safe and cheerful heart in all things and through all things.
See, this is called explaining the first commandment, here is the interpretation of Moses himself. Thus he teaches to understand what it means that there is one God, what it means to have one God, what it means to keep the first commandment. Dear, what great sources even these words alone have been for the prophets, who have taken from them everything they cry out about God's care for the weak, the lowly, the poor, sinners, widows, orphans, the condemned, the damned, the afflicted and the miserable; in turn, [everything] they thunder about God's wrath and vengeance against the rich, tyrants, powerful and judges, against the violent, the hard and the proud. For all this flows out of the great Ocean of the first commandment and flows back into it again, so that no word has ever been heard that was more fruitful and richer in comfort, nor will ever be heard, again also no harsher and more severe than this word of the first commandment: "I am the LORD your GOD."
And now, to go on to the rest: The widows and the orphans suffer much, who cares for them? No one, no one. But they shall look here with a sure heart, because it is said for their joy: The God of all gods, the Lord over all lords, the great God, mighty and terrible, he brings justice to the widows and orphans. Therefore also Ps. 68, 6: "He who is a father of the fatherless and a judge of the fatherless.
who" wants this title of honor to be praised so that it may be seen that out of pure mercy he admonishes the tyrants so that they do not commit something by which he is forced to do enough for this title, but faithfully scares them so that they fear to harm the widows and orphans, but rather, according to his example, do them good and love them. And this is even more glorious, that whether the widows and orphans believe or not, he will nevertheless do them justice and judge the tyrants, even though the unbelief of the widows and orphans does not deserve this in this life, or to experience it as long as the unbelief lasts. For this promise continues and is fulfilled against the violent and the hard, although no one here should believe; but it would be fulfilled much more powerfully and quickly if the widows and orphans also believed.
He so loves the strangers that he feeds and clothes them. I pray thee, who would now rely upon his house or his paternal inheritance? though this also is not to be despised. But if it should happen that one must be a stranger, let no one despair or believe less than if he could enjoy his father's house, but let him sing with the Psalmist [Ps. 27:10], "My father and my mother have forsaken me, but the LORD hath taken me up." The Book of Wisdom [Cap. 10, 10. 1 says of the patriarch Jacob: "Wisdom guided the righteous, who had to flee from his brother's wrath, straightway, and showed him the kingdom of God, and made him know what is holy, and helped him in his work, so that he increased well and gained much good in his work. "2c. Who doubts that it therefore happens that more people become rich, high and famous in foreign lands than those who stay at home with their parents and are raised there? For God is a Father of all people, who loves the stranger, that He may give him food and clothing.
V. 21. He is your glory and your God.
This is a Hebrew way of speaking. "Glory" (laus) in this passage seems to me to be actually what Paul calls in Greek or χαόχρ,αα, gloriationem, in German:
"Glory," so that the meaning is, Because of no thing, neither because of thy person, nor because of thy works, shalt thou blow thyself out or boast, but boast thyself of God, in him blow thyself up, in him be hopeful, knowing that it is he who regardeth not the person 2c., who has done such great and terrible things for you, which your eyes have seen, as if to say, By experience you have learned that when you were a stranger he gave you food and clothing, that he does not regard the person, that he gives justice to the fatherless and the widow 2c. So you have, by which you can be puffed up and hopeful against all tyrants, yes, against all evil, namely your God, who provides you with all good. So you see that this is the fulfillment of the first commandment, when God is the glory, the prize, the emblazonment, the hope of our heart, both at the time of prosperity and adversity. For this is to have GOD in truth.
The secret interpretation of the broken tablets and the unfinished ones is this, that the office of the law is in twofold use: First, when only works are done without the heart being present, that is, in truth, raising up and worshipping a calf, that is, making a carnal doctrine of works out of the law, and boasting in it, which is the same thing.
as transgressing the law. This is what Moses shows when he breaks the tablets after seeing the calf, that is, he announces that the law of God has been transgressed through the teaching and delusion of works. Therefore, the law does not come to the people in this way, because it is not understood by the carnal people. Secondly, when it comes to the people but is not endured because of the splendor of the face of Moses, and the worshippers of the calf are killed, that is, the spiritual law causes wrath [Rom. 4:15] by showing sin, Rom. 7:7, and one cannot endure the strength (cornu) of its splendor because it requires something quite different from the work.
Therefore the journey of the children of Israel, and the death of Aaron, and the reformation of the Levites are described here at the same time, namely, that the second custom of the law follows after the first, and that the priests and masters (magistri) of the calf must be taken away, that is, the teaching of works, so that the people may come to a different mind, and the Levites, that is, the ministers of the word, be reformed, so that they may be in the service of the Lord, not of works, and praise the name of the Lord. 8], that is, preach the word of grace, so that the Lord alone may be their portion in pure faith. Then the first commandment is fulfilled.