Deuteronomy 32:17

17 They offered to fiends, or devils, and not to God, to gods which they knew not, (to) new gods, and fresh(ly) came up by their findings, which their fathers worshipped not. (They offered to fiends, or to devils, and not to God, to gods which they knew not, to new gods which they discovered in their searching, that their fathers did not worship.)

Deuteronomy 32:17 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 32:17

They sacrificed to devils, not to God
Their sacrifices being continued, when it was the will of God they should cease, were reckoned by him not as, offered to him, but to demons, and to such that were not God; they being therein under the instigation of Satan, and doing his lusts, ( John 8:44 ) ; just as Pagans and Papists, worshipping idols under the influence and direction of Satan, are said to worship devils, and sacrifice to them, ( 1 Corinthians 10:20 ) ( Revelation 9:20 ) ; and indeed setting up their own righteousness was sacrificing to their own net, and burning incense to their own drag, to an idol, and not to God: to which may be added, that whereas they trampled under foot the Son of God, and did despite to the Spirit of grace, by which Christ cast out devils, and offered himself without spot, they excluded two of the divine Persons in the Deity, and so worshipped not the true God, Father, Son, and Spirit:

to gods whom they knew not, to [gods that] came newly up;
such as angels, into the worship of which they fell, as their writings testify {i}, and to which the apostle seems to have respect, ( Colossians 2:18 ) ;

whom your fathers feared not;
paid no regard unto, put no trust or confidence in; or, as the Targum of Jonathan,

``with whom your fathers had nothing to do:''

as they had not with the idol of man's righteousness, but wholly looked unto and trusted in the grace and righteousness of Christ, and expected salvation alone by him: the Gospel of righteousness and salvation by Christ was preached to our first parents in Eden's garden, which they embraced and believed in; Noah was an heir and preacher of the righteousness of faith, that is, of the righteousness of Christ, received by faith; that righteousness, which was what Abraham believed in, was imputed to him for his justifying righteousness; and Jacob waited for the Messiah, the salvation of God; in short all the Old Testament saints were saved by the grace of Christ, as we are; the idols, the works of men's own righteousness, are new deities they paid no deference to, placed no confidence in.


FOOTNOTES:

F9 Vid. Van Till in loc.

Deuteronomy 32:17 In-Context

15 The beloved people was made fat, and (they) kicked against (God); made fat withoutforth, made fat within, and alarged; he forsook God his maker, and went away from God his health/from God his saviour. (And Jeshurun was made fat, and rebellious; made fat withoutforth, made fat within, yea enlarged; and they forsook God their Maker, and went away from God their salvation/from God their Saviour.)
16 They stirred God to wrath in alien gods that they praised, they stirred him to wrathfulness in their abominations, that is, their own findings. (They provoked God to anger with foreign, or other, gods that they praised, and they stirred him to rage with their abominable doings.)
17 They offered to fiends, or devils, and not to God, to gods which they knew not, (to) new gods, and fresh(ly) came up by their findings, which their fathers worshipped not. (They offered to fiends, or to devils, and not to God, to gods which they knew not, to new gods which they discovered in their searching, that their fathers did not worship.)
18 Thou hast forsaken God that begat thee, and thou hast forgotten thy Lord creator/the Lord thy maker. (Thou hast forsaken the God who begat thee, and thou hast forgotten the Lord thy Creator/the Lord thy Maker.)
19 The Lord saw that, and he was stirred to wrathfulness; for his sons, and daughters stirred him to vengeance. (The Lord saw this, and he was stirred to rage; yea, his sons and his daughters, stirred him to vengeance.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.