Deuteronomy 4:19

19 And when you look up into the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars—all the forces of heaven—don’t be seduced into worshiping them. The LORD your God gave them to all the peoples of the earth.

Deuteronomy 4:19 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 4:19

And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven
The starry heaven, which to do in itself is not sinful; and may be lawfully and commendably done, to raise admiration at the wonderful works of God in them, and lead to adore the author of them: but if not guarded against may be ensnaring:

and when thou seest the sun and the moon, and the stars, [even] all the
host of heaven;
those bright luminaries, so glorious to behold, and so useful and beneficial to the earth, and the inhabitants of it:

shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them;
should have an impulse on their minds and their hearts, be inclined and drawn to the worship of them, partly by considering their splendour, glory, and usefulness, and partly by the example of others; for the worshipping of these seems to be and is the first kind of idolatry men gave into, at least it was very ancient; see ( Job 31:26 Job 31:27 ) ,

which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole
heaven;
the sun and the moon by their constant revolutions visit all the parts of the world, and stars are fixed in both hemispheres, so that all nations of the earth receive the benefit and advantage of all these heavenly bodies; but were never designed to be the objects of their worship, as might be learnt from their being divided to them, sometimes one part of the earth enjoying them, and then another, and not present with them all at one and the same time, which, if deities, would have been necessary; see ( Psalms 19:6 ) ( Matthew 5:45 ) .

Deuteronomy 4:19 In-Context

17 an animal on the ground, a bird in the sky,
18 a small animal that scurries along the ground, or a fish in the deepest sea.
19 And when you look up into the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars—all the forces of heaven—don’t be seduced into worshiping them. The LORD your God gave them to all the peoples of the earth.
20 Remember that the LORD rescued you from the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt in order to make you his very own people and his special possession, which is what you are today.
21 “But the LORD was angry with me because of you. He vowed that I would not cross the Jordan River into the good land the LORD your God is giving you as your special possession.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.