◄ Deuteronomy 4:7 ►
For what nation is great enough to have a god as near to them as the LORD our God is to us whenever we call on Him?
Study Bible
For what nation is great enough
This phrase sets the stage for a rhetorical question that highlights the uniqueness of Israel among the nations. The Hebrew word for "nation" is "goy," which often refers to a people or ethnic group. In the ancient Near Eastern context, nations were often defined by their gods and religious practices. The rhetorical question implies that no other nation can compare to Israel because of their unique relationship with Yahweh. Historically, Israel's identity was deeply intertwined with their covenant relationship with God, setting them apart from surrounding nations.

to have a god as near to them
The concept of a deity being "near" is significant in the ancient world. Many cultures believed their gods were distant and required elaborate rituals to be appeased. The Hebrew word for "near" is "qarov," which implies proximity and accessibility. This nearness of God to Israel is a profound theological statement, emphasizing God's immanence and personal involvement in the lives of His people. Unlike the gods of other nations, who were often seen as capricious and remote, Yahweh is depicted as intimately involved with His people.

as the LORD our God is to us
The use of "LORD" in all caps indicates the translation of the divine name "YHWH," the personal name of God revealed to Moses. This name signifies God's eternal, self-existent nature and His covenantal faithfulness. The phrase "our God" underscores the personal and communal relationship between Yahweh and Israel. It is a possessive term that reflects the covenant bond, where God has chosen Israel as His people, and they have chosen Him as their God. This relationship is central to Israel's identity and mission.

whenever we call on Him
The act of calling on God implies prayer and communication, a privilege granted to Israel as part of their covenant relationship. The Hebrew word "qara" means to call out, proclaim, or summon. This accessibility to God in prayer is a distinctive feature of Israel's faith, contrasting with the often unpredictable and inaccessible nature of pagan deities. The assurance that God hears and responds whenever they call highlights His faithfulness and readiness to engage with His people. This promise of divine attentiveness is a source of comfort and strength for the Israelites.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Moses
The leader of the Israelites who is delivering this message to the people. He is reminding them of the unique relationship they have with God.

2. Israelites
The chosen people of God, who are being reminded of their covenant relationship with Him and the laws they are to follow.

3. Mount Horeb (Sinai)
The place where God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, symbolizing God's closeness and covenant with Israel.

4. The LORD (Yahweh)
The personal name of God, emphasizing His covenantal relationship with Israel and His nearness to them.

5. Promised Land
The land that God promised to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, which the Israelites are preparing to enter.
Teaching Points
God's Nearness
The verse emphasizes the unparalleled closeness of God to His people. Unlike other nations, Israel has a God who is intimately involved in their lives and responsive to their prayers.

Covenant Relationship
The relationship between God and Israel is based on a covenant, which includes promises and responsibilities. This covenant is a model for our relationship with God through Christ.

Prayer and Communication
The verse highlights the importance of prayer as a means of communication with God. Believers are encouraged to call on God, knowing He is near and attentive.

Identity and Purpose
Understanding our identity as God's people should inspire us to live according to His purposes, reflecting His character and values in our lives.

Witness to the Nations
Israel's unique relationship with God was meant to be a testimony to other nations. Similarly, Christians are called to be a light to the world, demonstrating God's love and truth.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the nearness of God to Israel in Deuteronomy 4:7 compare to His relationship with believers today through Jesus Christ?

2. In what ways can we cultivate a sense of God's nearness in our daily lives, and how does this impact our prayer life?

3. How does understanding our identity as God's people influence the way we interact with the world around us?

4. What responsibilities come with being in a covenant relationship with God, and how can we fulfill them in our current context?

5. How can we, as individuals and as a church, serve as a witness to God's nearness and love to those who do not yet know Him?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Exodus 19:5-6
This passage highlights Israel's unique status as a treasured possession and a kingdom of priests, emphasizing their special relationship with God.

Psalm 145:18
This verse speaks of the LORD being near to all who call on Him in truth, reinforcing the theme of God's nearness to His people.

James 4:8
This New Testament verse encourages believers to draw near to God, promising that He will draw near to them, echoing the promise of God's closeness.
Sermons
The Sacredness of the Divine LawD. Davies Deuteronomy 4:1-13
Obedience the Secret of SuccessR.M. Edgar Deuteronomy 4:1-14
The Curse of IdolatryD. Davies Deuteronomy 4:1-28
God's Dealings with His PeopleH. J. Hastings, M. A.Deuteronomy 4:1-40
HearkenJ. Parker, D. D.Deuteronomy 4:1-40
Moses' DiscourseHenry, MatthewDeuteronomy 4:1-40
The Bible the Wisdom of NationS. Hayman, B. A.Deuteronomy 4:1-40
A Nation's GloryJ. Orr Deuteronomy 4:6-10
A Righteous BibleJ. Parker, D. D.Deuteronomy 4:7-8
The Bible and CivilisationJ. S. Gilbert, M. A.Deuteronomy 4:7-8
The Glory of IsraelJ. C. Blumhardt.Deuteronomy 4:7-8
The National Utility of the BibleJ. Blakey.Deuteronomy 4:7-8
People
Amorites, Baalpeor, Bezer, Gadites, Israelites, Manasseh, Manassites, Moses, Og, Reubenites, Sihon
Places
Arabah, Aroer, Bashan, Beth-baal-peor, Bezer, Egypt, Gilead, Golan, Hermon, Heshbon, Horeb, Jordan River, Mount Sion, Peor, Pisgah, Ramoth, Sea of the Arabah, Valley of the Arnon
Topics
Gods, Nation, Nigh, Prayer, Whenever, Whensoever
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Deuteronomy 4:7

     1060   God, greatness of
     2227   Immanuel

Library
February the Sixteenth Crowding Out God
"Lest thou forget." --DEUTERONOMY iv. 5-13. That is surely the worst affront we can put upon anybody. We may oppose a man and hinder him in his work, or we may directly injure him, or we may ignore him, and treat him as nothing. Or we may forget him! Opposition, injury, contempt, neglect, forgetfulness! Surely this is a descending scale, and the last is the worst. And yet we can forget the Lord God. We can forget all His benefits. We can easily put Him out of mind. We can live as though He were …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Deuteronomy
(Third Sunday after Easter.) Deut. iv. 39, 40. Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else. Thou shall keep therefore his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, for ever. Learned men have argued much of late as to who wrote …
Charles Kingsley—The Gospel of the Pentateuch

Political and Religious Life of the Jewish Dispersion in the West - their Union in the Great Hope of the Coming Deliverer.
It was not only in the capital of the Empire that the Jews enjoyed the rights of Roman citizenship. Many in Asia Minor could boast of the same privilege. [327] The Seleucidic rulers of Syria had previously bestowed kindred privileges on the Jews in many places. Thus, they possessed in some cities twofold rights: the status of Roman and the privileges of Asiatic, citizenship. Those who enjoyed the former were entitled to a civil government of their own, under archons of their choosing, quite independent …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Of the Cities of Refuge.
Hebron, the most eminent among them, excites us to remember the rest. "The Rabbins deliver this; Moses separated three cities of refuge beyond Jordan, [Deut 4:41-43;] and, against them, Joshua separated three cities in the land of Canaan, [Josh 20:7,8]. And these were placed by one another, just as two ranks of vines are in a vineyard: Hebron in Judea against Bezer in the wilderness: Shechem in mount Ephraim against Ramoth in Gilead: Kedesh in mount Napthali against Golan in Basan. And these three …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

That the Devout Soul Ought with the Whole Heart to Yearn after Union with Christ in the Sacrament
The Voice of the Disciple Who shall grant unto me, O Lord, that I may find Thee alone, and open all my heart unto Thee, and enjoy Thee as much as my soul desireth; and that no man may henceforth look upon me, nor any creature move me or have respect unto me, but Thou alone speak unto me and I unto Thee, even as beloved is wont to speak unto beloved, and friend to feast with friend? For this do I pray, this do I long for, that I may be wholly united unto Thee, and may withdraw my heart from all created …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

The First Covenant
"Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice, and keep My covenant, ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me."--EX. xix. 5. "He declared unto you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, even ten commandments."--DEUT. iv. 13.i "If ye keep these judgments, the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant,"--DEUT. vii. 12. "I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, which My covenant they brake."--JER. xxxi. 31, 32. WE have …
Andrew Murray—The Two Covenants

The Unity of God
Q-5: ARE THERE MORE GODS THAN ONE? A: There is but one only, the living and true God. That there is a God has been proved; and those that will not believe the verity of his essence, shall feel the severity of his wrath. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord.' Deut 6:6. He is the only God.' Deut 4:49. Know therefore this day, and consider it in thy heart, that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath, there is none else.' A just God and a Saviour; there is none beside …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The Northern Coasts of Galilee. Amanah. The Mountain of Snow.
This coast is described by Moses, Numbers 34:7: "From the Great Sea to mount Hor: from mount Hor to the entrance of Hamath," &c. Mount Hor, in the Jewish writers, is Amanah; mention of which occurs, Canticles 4:8, where R. Solomon thus: "Amanah is a mount in the northern coast of the land of Israel, which in the Talmudical language is called, The mountainous plain of Amanon; the same with mount Hor." In the Jerusalem Targum, for mount 'Hor' is the mount Manus: but the Targum of Jonathan renders it …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Ninth Sunday after Trinity Carnal Security and Its vices.
Text: 1 Corinthians 10, 6-13. 6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. 9 Neither let us make trial of the Lord, as some of them made trial, and perished by the serpents. 10 Neither murmur ye, as …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

Epistle cxxvii. From S. Columbanus to Pope Gregory .
From S. Columbanus to Pope Gregory [89] . To the holy lord, and father in Christ, the Roman [pope], most fair ornament of the Church, a certain most august flower, as it were, of the whole of withering Europe, distinguished speculator, as enjoying a divine contemplation of purity (?) [90] . I, Bargoma [91] , poor dove in Christ, send greeting. Grace to thee and peace from God the Father [and] our [Lord] Jesus Christ. I am pleased to think, O holy pope, that it will seem to thee nothing extravagant …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

The Second Commandment
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am o jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of then that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.' Exod 20: 4-6. I. Thou shalt not …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

"They have Corrupted Themselves; their Spot is not the Spot of his Children; they are a Perverse and Crooked Generation. "
Deut. xxxii. 5.--"They have corrupted themselves; their spot is not the spot of his children; they are a perverse and crooked generation." We doubt this people would take well with such a description of themselves as Moses gives. It might seem strange to us, that God should have chosen such a people out of all the nations of the earth, and they to be so rebellious and perverse, if our own experience did not teach us how free his choice is, and how long-suffering he is, and constant in his choice. …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

A Reformer's Schooling
'The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, 2. That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Second visit to Nazareth - the Mission of the Twelve.
It almost seems, as if the departure of Jesus from Capernaum marked a crisis in the history of that town. From henceforth it ceases to be the center of His activity, and is only occasionally, and in passing, visited. Indeed, the concentration and growing power of Pharisaic opposition, and the proximity of Herod's residence at Tiberias [3013] would have rendered a permanent stay there impossible at this stage in our Lord's history. Henceforth, His Life is, indeed, not purely missionary, but He has …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Covenant Duties.
It is here proposed to show, that every incumbent duty ought, in suitable circumstances, to be engaged to in the exercise of Covenanting. The law and covenant of God are co-extensive; and what is enjoined in the one is confirmed in the other. The proposals of that Covenant include its promises and its duties. The former are made and fulfilled by its glorious Originator; the latter are enjoined and obligatory on man. The duties of that Covenant are God's law; and the demands of the law are all made …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

Subjects of Study. Home Education in Israel; Female Education. Elementary Schools, Schoolmasters, and School Arrangements.
If a faithful picture of society in ancient Greece or Rome were to be presented to view, it is not easy to believe that even they who now most oppose the Bible could wish their aims success. For this, at any rate, may be asserted, without fear of gainsaying, that no other religion than that of the Bible has proved competent to control an advanced, or even an advancing, state of civilisation. Every other bound has been successively passed and submerged by the rising tide; how deep only the student …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Wisdom and Revelation.
"Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness …
W. H. Griffith Thomas—The Prayers of St. Paul

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