Deuteronomy 28:12

12 The Lord will open his excellent treasure, the heaven, that it may give rain in due season: and he will bless all the works of thy hands. And thou shalt lend to many nations, and shalt not borrow of any one.

Deuteronomy 28:12 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 28:12

The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure
The Lord has his treasures of snow and of hail, and of wind, ( Job 38:22 ) ( Psalms 135:7 ) ; but here his good treasure, as appears by what follows, is his treasure of rain. In the Targum of Jonathan it is said,

``there are four keys in the hand of the Lord of the whole world, which he does not deliver into the hands of any prince; the keys of life, and of the grave, and of food, and of rain:''

the heaven, to give the rain unto thy land in its season;
that is, he will open the heaven, where his good treasure of rain is laid up, and bring it forth or, the land of Canaan for the enriching of it; or will open the windows thereof, and pour down the blessing; see ( Malachi 3:10 ) ; and that at the proper time, both in autumn and spring, the one is called the former, and the other the latter rain; the one was in Marchesvan, or October, and the other in Nisan, or March, as the Targum of Jonathan; the former rain for the fitting the earth for seed, or for watering it when sown, and the latter for the plumping of it before harvest: and to bless all the work of thine hand;
in agriculture, for without the blessing of rain, all the labour of the husbandman would be to little purpose: and thou shall lend unto many nations, and thou shall not borrow;
(See Gill on Deuteronomy 15:16). The connection of these words with what goes before may lead to observe this sense of them, that they should furnish other countries with corn, and not need any of theirs; see ( Ezekiel 27:17 ) .

Deuteronomy 28:12 In-Context

10 And all the people of the earth shall see that the name of the Lord is invocated upon thee, and they shall fear thee.

11 The Lord will make thee abound with all goods, with the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy cattle, with the fruit of thy land, which the Lord swore to thy fathers that he would give thee.

12 The Lord will open his excellent treasure, the heaven, that it may give rain in due season: and he will bless all the works of thy hands. And thou shalt lend to many nations, and shalt not borrow of any one.

13 And the Lord shall make thee the head and not the tail: and thou shalt be always above, and not beneath: yet so if thou wilt hear the commandments of the Lord thy God which I command thee this day, and keep and do them,

14 And turn not away from them neither to the right hand, nor to the left, nor follow strange gods, nor worship them.