Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 18:15–end
Here is, I. The promise of the great prophet, with a command to receive him, and hearken to him. Now,
1. Some think it is the promise of a succession of prophets, that should for many ages be kept up in Israel. Besides the priests and Levites, their ordinary ministers, whose office it was to teach Jacob God's law, they should have prophets, extraordinary ministers, to reprove them for their faults, remind them of their duty, and foretel things to come, judgments for warning and deliverances for their comfort. Having these prophets, (1.) They need not use divinations, nor consult with familiar spirits, for they might enquire of God's prophets even concerning their private affairs, as Saul did…
Read the whole note in the consoleJamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 18:19
whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him--The direful consequences of unbelief in Christ, and disregard of His mission, the Jewish people have been experiencing during eighteen hundred years.
Next: Deuteronomy Chapter 19
John Gill on Deuteronomy 18:22
When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord,.... Says he comes from God, is sent by him, and has a commission from him to say so:
if the thing follow not, nor come to pass; as the prophecy of Hananiah, Jeremiah 28:3 that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken; or otherwise it would have come to pass, unless when a condition is either expressed or implied, as the repentance or disobedience of a people; see Jeremiah 18:7.
but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously; in a bold and daring manner, with great impiety and impudence, out of his own head and heart, being a mere device and imagination of his own, which, not having the fear of God, he delivered as coming from the Lord:
th…
Read the whole note in the consoleJohn Calvin on Deuteronomy 18:21–end
Deuteronomy 18:21, 22
21. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken?
21. Quia si dixeris in corde tuo, Quomodo cognoscemus verbum quod non loquutus fuerit Jehova?
22. When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.
22. Quando loquetur propheta in nomine Jehovah, et non extiterit res illa, neque evenerit: sermo est quem non loquutus est Jehova, per superbiam enim loquutus est propheta ille: ne timeas ab eo.
21. And if thou say in thy heart. This exception has reference…
