Commentaire sur Le Deutéronome 4:7

כי מי גוי גדול אשר אלוקים קרובים אליו, for it will pay you to be considered intelligent and wise in the eyes of the gentiles seeing that G’d is close to us בכל קראנו אליו, whenever we call upon Him. This teaches the gentiles that we are the chosen people. If the gentiles would consider you as being fools this would be a desecration of G’d’s name for they would then ask derisively: “is this the nation that claims to be G’d’s special nation?” (compare Ezekiel 36,20)

בכל קראנו אליו. Moses refers to matters which have been documented in Exodus 2,24 וישמע אלוקים את נאקתם, “G’d heard their moaning,” and Exodus 14,10 ופרעה הקריב ויצעקו בני ישראל אל ה', “when Pharaoh (in his pursuit) drew near, the Children of Israel cried out to the Lord.” Similar appeals were made before G’d gave them the manna, the quails, and the traveling well. (compare Exodus 16,12 and 17,6)