19. And lest thou lift up thine eyes. Moses proceeds further, lest the Jews should imagine any divinity in the sun, and moon, and stars; nor does he only recall them from the error with which many were imbued, (96) thinking that these were so many gods; but also anticipates another superstition, lest, being ravished by the brightness of the stars, they should conceive them to be images of God. And to this the expression, to “be driven,” refers. For since God represents His glory in the heavenly host, so also Satan, under this pretext, confuses and stupefies men’s minds by a wily artifice, in order that they may worship God in these luminaries, and thus stumble at the very threshold. Therefore, that the Israelites may the better acknowledge how absurd it is to seek for God in earthly things, or in the elements of the world, or in corruptible matter, he expressly declares that they must not even lean (97) on heavenly creatures; since God’s majesty is superior to the sun, and moon, and all the stars. Besides, he reproves the absurdity of transferring the worship of God to the stars, which, by God’s appointment, are to minister to us; for when he says that “God hath divided them unto all nations,” it implies subjection; as if he had said that the sun was our minister, and the moon, together with all the stars, our handmaid. Still, by the word “divided,” God’s admirable providence is fitly commended in respect to their varied position, and course, and different offices; for the sun does not enlighten and warm all lands at the same moment; and, again, it now retires from us, and now approaches us more closely; the moon has her circuits; the stars rise and set as the heaven revolves. I pass over the slower movement of the planets; but, according to the aspect of the stars, one climate is moister, another drier; one feels more heat, another more cold. This variety is aptly called by Moses “dividing ” Yet it aggravates the sin of superstition, if the Jews give themselves to the service of the stars, which minister also to heathen nations; for what can be more unworthy than for the children of God to worship the sun, which is the servant of all the world? whence again it follows, that in proportion to the dignity and excellence of the creatures themselves, so is the ingratitude of men towards God all the more base, if they adorn with His worship as with spoils, those creatures which He has appointed to minister to their advantage. The silly notion in which some of the Rabbins delight themselves, (98) is unworthy of mention, viz., that God has divided the stars to the Gentiles, since they are subject to their influences, from which by special privilege the Jews are free; as if the condition of the human race had not been the same from the beginning. But the reason which I have adduced plainly shews, that they depart most widely from the meaning of Moses, and therefore pervert his intention; viz., that the creatures which are destined for our use, are by no means to be worshipped as God.
(96) See Job 31:26. Any discussion on the history of Sabaism would be superfluous here. Dr. Layard, (Nineveh and its Remains, vol. 2, p. 446,) points out, that “representations of the heavenly bodies, as sacred symbols, are of constant occurrence in the most ancient sculptures;” whilst the “one symbol” of the supreme Deity is “a winged figure in a circle,” sometimes assuming the form of “a winged globe, wheel, or disc,” resembling the Egyptian representation of the sun, and the Persian Ormuzd.
(97) Lat. “ subsistendum .” Fr. “ s’amuser ."
(98) S.M. says, “Rabbi Aben-Ezra, and the author of the ‘Bundle of Myrrh,’ foolishly think that the Gentiles were under the dominion of decrees emanating from the stars; but that the Jews were free, because the Lord turneth aside their noxious influences. But this text teaches us, that the functions of the stars are distributed among the nations, inasmuch as they afford light and heat, and temper the cold to all men.” — W.