“Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.”
My Notes
What Does Deuteronomy 4:39 Mean?
"Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else." Moses calls Israel to the most fundamental theological conviction: there is one God, and he is God everywhere — above and below, heaven and earth. "There is none else" eliminates every rival, every alternative, every competitor. This isn't just monotheism as a theological position. It's a declaration of total reality: the LORD is the only God who exists.
The command to "know" and "consider it in thine heart" means this truth must move from head to heart — from intellectual assent to lived conviction. Knowing there's one God theoretically and living as though there's one God practically are different things. Moses wants the second.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What 'backup gods' or spiritual alternatives are you keeping open just in case?
- 2.What's the difference between knowing there's one God intellectually and living as though it's true?
- 3.How does 'there is none else' simplify your spiritual life?
- 4.What rivals to God's authority are you entering — in culture, in practice, in your thought life?
Devotional
There is none else. Four words that eliminate every rival. Every alternative spiritual system. Every other claim to deity. Every option you've been keeping open in case the God of Israel doesn't work out. There is none else.
Moses doesn't just say this is a theological fact. He says know it. Consider it in your heart. Let it move from your head to the place where decisions are made. Because the difference between knowing there's one God and living as though there's one God is the difference between theology and faith.
Israel was about to enter a land filled with alternatives — Baal, Asherah, Dagon, a buffet of local deities for every need and every season. And Moses says: before you cross that river, settle this. In heaven above and on the earth beneath — there is no other God. Not "our God is the biggest." Not "our God is the best." There is none else. The others don't exist. What you'll see in Canaan — the temples, the rituals, the spiritual systems — they're aimed at nothing. Because there is no one there to receive them.
This is the most liberating truth in the universe. You don't need a backup god. You don't need a spiritual Plan B. You don't need to hedge your bets across multiple spiritual options. There is one God. In heaven and on earth. And everything else is a conversation with empty air.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart,.... Own and acknowledge it now with thy mouth, and lay it up…
Unwilling, as it might seem, to close his discourse with words of terror, Moses makes a last appeal to them in these…
This most lively and excellent discourse is so entire, and the particulars of it are so often repeated, that we must…
Know therefore The apodosis in the long sentence Deu 4:37-39 begins here and not as the R.V. gives it with chosein Deu…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture