The phrase יד משׁלח (cf. Deu 12:18; Deu 15:10; Deu 23:21; Deu 28:8, Deu 28:20) signifies that to which the hand is stretched out, that which a man undertakes (synonymous with מעשׂה), and also what a man acquires by his activity: hence Isa 11:14, יד משׁלוח, what a man appropriates to himself with his hand, or takes possession of. אשׁר before בּרכך is dependent upon ידכם משׁלה, and בּרך is construed with a double accusative, as in Gen 49:25. The reason for these instructions is given in Deu 12:8, Deu 12:9, namely, that this had not hitherto taken place, but that up to this day every one had done what he thought right, because they had not yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which the Lord was about to give them. The phrase, “whatsoever is right in his own eyes,” is applied to actions performed according to a man's own judgment, rather than according to the standard of objective right and the law of God (cf. Jdg 17:6; Jdg 21:25). The reference is probably not so much to open idolatry, which was actually practised, according to Lev 17:7; Num 25:1; Eze 20:16-17; Amo 5:25-26, as to acts of illegality, for which some excuse might be found in the circumstances in which they were placed when wandering through the desert, - such, for example, as the omission of the daily sacrifice when the tabernacle was not set up, and others of a similar kind.
verses 10-14
But when the Israelites had crossed over the Jordan, and dwelt peaceably in Canaan, secured against their enemies round about, these irregularities were not to occur any more; but all the sacrifices were to be offered at the place chosen by the Lord for the dwelling-place of His name, and there the sacrificial meals were to be held with joy before the Lord. “The choice of your vows,” equivalent to your chosen vows, inasmuch as every vow was something special, as the standing phrase נדר פּלּא (Lev 22:21, and Num 15:3, Num 15:8) distinctly shows. - “Rejoicing before the Lord,” which is the phrase applied in Lev 23:40 to the celebration of the feast of Tabernacles, was to be the distinctive feature of all the sacrificial meals held by the people at the sanctuary, as is repeatedly affirmed (Deu 14:26; Deu 16:11; Deu 26:11; Deu 27:7). This holy joy in the participation of the blessing bestowed by the Lord was to be shared not only by sons and daughters, but also by salve (men-
