Deuteronomy 29 Magical Sandals

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
Deuteronomy 29:1 [a]These are the terms of the covenant the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb.

2 Moses summoned all the Israelites and said to them:

Your eyes have seen all that the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to all his land. 3 With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those signs and great wonders. 4 But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear. 5 Yet the Lord says, “During the forty years that I led you through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet. 6 You ate no bread and drank no wine or other fermented drink. I did this so that you might know that I am the Lord your God.”​

a. Deuteronomy 29:1 In Hebrew texts 29:1 is numbered 28:69, and 29:2-29 is numbered 29:1-28

This is from the easy English site.

The ‘words of the covenant’ may refer to chapters 1-28. But in chapters 29 and 30 Moses repeats the covenant with a new generation of Israelites. He reminds them about their history. And he urges them to be faithful to God. The Israelites had all escaped from Egypt. And they had all had the experience of the journey through the desert. However, the people that Moses spoke to in verse 1 had not had that experience themselves. But they were part of the nation called Israel.

Then God tells them how he had provided for them. God provided for them so that their clothes did not wear out. He had given to them food and water. He helped them to defeat the kings. God gave to them the country so that it belonged to them. They had done nothing to deserve it. But each tribe received a share of the land as their possession. That was similar to a father who divided his land among his sons before his death. However, the Israelites did not appreciate properly what God had done for them. They refused to trust him. As a result, God did not allow them to understand what he had done. For that reason, the Israelites did not listen to the prophets. And later, many did not listen to Jesus himself.

The commentaries are still skipping verses. I found this at bibletrack.org.

Here's more of the same as we saw in chapter 28. Look at Deuteronomy 29:9, "Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do." Here's yet another chapter dedicated to warning Israel of the consequences of disobedience toward God. The history of Israel is interesting. Why did God spend sooooo much time warning Israel that they must follow the God who delivered them from Egypt in order to continue prospering? Why was it necessary to spend sooooo much time talking about the curses of not following God? Well...despite all the warnings, Israel's demise followed centuries of turning their backs on God. By the way, "Horeb" keeps getting mentioned - another 13 times after the actual occasion of the giving of the law on Mt. Sinai (Horeb). It's mentioned those 13 times in the remainder of the Old Testament in the context of being the covenant that God made with Israel represented by the tables of stone that we know as the Ten Commandments. So, "Horeb" is the word indicating the covenant of the Law.​

I found this comment at bible.org.

29:5 "clothes have not worn out. . .sandal has not worn out" Rashi says clothes and shoes grew as the children grew ( Neh. 9:21).

Nehemiah 9:21 For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen.

I knew a guy back in the Vietnam draft days. He didn't want to be at war.... he ordered his boots a size too small.... and his feet swelled.... and he was hospitalized.... and he got out of the draft..... His feet swelled because his boots were too small.

Now, looking back at the verse.... Verse 5 says their sandals held up.... these people were 40 years old. Can you imagine? A pair of shoes that fit for forty years! This says that they were wearing the same sandals that they learned to walk in. They put on the same sandals for forty years.... They had been traveling on foot through the desert for 40 years.... they didn't bring shoes with them for the kids to grow into.... so the commentary at Bible.org makes sense. Magical Sandals....

:coffee:
 
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