Deuteronomy 32 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Deuteronomy 32

32:1   “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak,
    and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
2   May my teaching drop as the rain,
    my speech distill as the dew,
  like gentle rain upon the tender grass,
    and like showers upon the herb.
3   For I will proclaim the name of the LORD;
    ascribe greatness to our God!
4   “The Rock, his work is perfect,
    for all his ways are justice.
  A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,
    just and upright is he.
5   They have dealt corruptly with him;
    they are no longer his children because they are blemished;
    they are a crooked and twisted generation.
6   Do you thus repay the LORD,
    you foolish and senseless people?
  Is not he your father, who created you,
    who made you and established you?
7   Remember the days of old;
    consider the years of many generations;
  ask your father, and he will show you,
    your elders, and they will tell you.
8   When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,
    when he divided mankind,
  he fixed the borders¹ of the peoples
    according to the number of the sons of God.²
9   But the LORD’s portion is his people,
    Jacob his allotted heritage.
10   “He found him in a desert land,
    and in the howling waste of the wilderness;
  he encircled him, he cared for him,
    he kept him as the apple of his eye.
11   Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,
    that flutters over its young,
  spreading out its wings, catching them,
    bearing them on its pinions,
12   the LORD alone guided him,
    no foreign god was with him.
13   He made him ride on the high places of the land,
    and he ate the produce of the field,
  and he suckled him with honey out of the rock,
    and oil out of the flinty rock.
14   Curds from the herd, and milk from the flock,
    with fat³ of lambs,
  rams of Bashan and goats,
    with the very finest⁴ of the wheat—
    and you drank foaming wine made from the blood of the grape.
15   “But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked;
    you grew fat, stout, and sleek;
  then he forsook God who made him
    and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation.
16   They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods;
    with abominations they provoked him to anger.
17   They sacrificed to demons that were no gods,
    to gods they had never known,
  to new gods that had come recently,
    whom your fathers had never dreaded.
18   You were unmindful of the Rock that bore⁵ you,
    and you forgot the God who gave you birth.
19   “The LORD saw it and spurned them,
    because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.
20   And he said, ‘I will hide my face from them;
    I will see what their end will be,
  for they are a perverse generation,
    children in whom is no faithfulness.
21   They have made me jealous with what is no god;
    they have provoked me to anger with their idols.
  So I will make them jealous with those who are no people;
    I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
22   For a fire is kindled by my anger,
    and it burns to the depths of Sheol,
  devours the earth and its increase,
    and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.
23   “‘And I will heap disasters upon them;
    I will spend my arrows on them;
24   they shall be wasted with hunger,
    and devoured by plague
    and poisonous pestilence;
  I will send the teeth of beasts against them,
    with the venom of things that crawl in the dust.
25   Outdoors the sword shall bereave,
    and indoors terror,
  for young man and woman alike,
    the nursing child with the man of gray hairs.
26   I would have said, “I will cut them to pieces;
    I will wipe them from human memory,”
27   had I not feared provocation by the enemy,
    lest their adversaries should misunderstand,
  lest they should say, “Our hand is triumphant,
    it was not the LORD who did all this.”’
28   “For they are a nation void of counsel,
    and there is no understanding in them.
29   If they were wise, they would understand this;
    they would discern their latter end!
30   How could one have chased a thousand,
    and two have put ten thousand to flight,
  unless their Rock had sold them,
    and the LORD had given them up?
31   For their rock is not as our Rock;
    our enemies are by themselves.
32   For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom
    and from the fields of Gomorrah;
  their grapes are grapes of poison;
    their clusters are bitter;
33   their wine is the poison of serpents
    and the cruel venom of asps.
34   “‘Is not this laid up in store with me,
    sealed up in my treasuries?
35   Vengeance is mine, and recompense,⁶
    for the time when their foot shall slip;
  for the day of their calamity is at hand,
    and their doom comes swiftly.’
36   For the LORD will vindicate⁷ his people
    and have compassion on his servants,
  when he sees that their power is gone
    and there is none remaining, bond or free.
37   Then he will say, ‘Where are their gods,
    the rock in which they took refuge,
38   who ate the fat of their sacrifices
    and drank the wine of their drink offering?
  Let them rise up and help you;
    let them be your protection!
39   “‘See now that I, even I, am he,
    and there is no god beside me;
  I kill and I make alive;
    I wound and I heal;
    and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
40   For I lift up my hand to heaven
    and swear, As I live forever,
41   if I sharpen my flashing sword⁸
    and my hand takes hold on judgment,
  I will take vengeance on my adversaries
    and will repay those who hate me.
42   I will make my arrows drunk with blood,
    and my sword shall devour flesh—
  with the blood of the slain and the captives,
    from the long-haired heads of the enemy.’
43   “Rejoice with him, O heavens;⁹
    bow down to him, all gods,¹⁰
  for he avenges the blood of his children¹¹
    and takes vengeance on his adversaries.
  He repays those who hate him¹²
    and cleanses¹³ his people’s land.”¹⁴

44 Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua¹⁵ the son of Nun. 45 And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. 47 For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”

Moses’ Death Foretold

48 That very day the LORD spoke to Moses, 49 “Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel for a possession. 50 And die on the mountain which you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died in Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 because you broke faith with me in the midst of the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah-kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, and because you did not treat me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel. 52 For you shall see the land before you, but you shall not go there, into the land that I am giving to the people of Israel.”

Footnotes

[1] 32:8 Or territories
[2] 32:8 Compare Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint; Masoretic Text sons of Israel
[3] 32:14 That is, with the best
[4] 32:14 Hebrew with the kidney fat
[5] 32:18 Or fathered
[6] 32:35 Septuagint and I will repay
[7] 32:36 Septuagint judge
[8] 32:41 Hebrew the lightning of my sword
[9] 32:43 Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint; Masoretic Text Rejoice his people, O nations
[10] 32:43 Masoretic Text lacks bow down to him, all gods
[11] 32:43 Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint; Masoretic Text servants
[12] 32:43 Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint; Masoretic Text lacks He repays those who hate him
[13] 32:43 Or atones for
[14] 32:43 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew his land his people
[15] 32:44 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew Hoshea

Commentary

v1-4: The introduction to Moses' song, referred to in 31.19, 21, 28; both a testimony against the people, and a series of prophecies. Moses taught the song to the Israelites (31.22); as they later recalled these words, they would be reminded of the promises and warnings that God had sent. The previous song was in Ex 15, when the people had come through the Red Sea. It is probably significant that, for the intervening 40 years, there is no record of any song of praise to God.

v1: Heaven and earth are witnesses; these are things that last, for the witness of the song had to last.

v2: God had inspired and anointed Moses (compare Ps 45.1; 2 Sam 23.1-2); his words therefore bring refreshment and fruitfulness.

v3-4: "I will proclaim the Name of the Lord"; the character of God is declared first, before any reference to Israel; He is great, unchangeable, reliable, perfect, just, true, righteous, upright. A central part of worship is to declare, with adoration, the very character of God. How wonderful that this God has revealed Himself, and given us the privilege of worship!

In Mal 3.14-15, Israel denied this character, claiming that God was unjust. In the N.T, Jesus Christ perfectly displayed the same character.

v5-6: Words of prophecy, as in 31.29. The people are described as corrupt, warped (or perverse), crooked, and they are therefore no longer "His children"; the Lord expects those who are His to demonstrate character as well as obedience.

He is the Lord who bought them, made them, and established them (see v6 NIV margin); they had failed to appreciate all that God had done for them. And that failure led to rebellion.

In Ex 4.22-23, Israel is described as "my son, my first-born". Here, for the first time, God is "your Father"; see also Ps 103.13; Is 9.6; 63.16; 64.8; Mal 1.6; 2.10.

v7-14: Testimony of past blessings.

v7: A consideration of past blessings should encourage devotion and obedience

v8-9: The special place of Jacob, chosen by God out of all the peoples. When the nations were divided up, Israel was at the centre, the central part of God's working on earth. This nation was God's inheritance.

v10: God's initiative in caring for His people.

v11: Eagle's wings; describing the way in which God delivered His people; Ex 19.4. Here is the practice of the parent, training the young to leave the nest. We rightly see the image of the eagle as the Father instructing His people to trust Him.

We recommend this sermon by the nineteenth century precher, C.H. Spurgeon on the subject: C. H. Spurgeon: Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 59: 1913 - Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org)

v12: "No foreign god"; an indication of God's jealousy, and the necessity of an exclusive love for Him. Israel had initially been innocent, but later fell into idolatry (see v16).

v13-14: Privilege and position; God had given wonderful things to His people. He had provided abundantly for His people. Here too was an assurance of on going blessings, but only whilst the people kept from idolatry. See also Ps 105.10-41.

v15-18: Predictions of future rebellions.

v15: Prosperity led to rebellion; kicking off self-restraint, and the restraint of God and His law. Unless we respect and esteem God, we will esteem something else.

v16-17: They pursued foreign gods, gods that should have no place in their minds, abominations, detestable idols, demons, new gods, new arrivals (see 13.2). The way to avoid such idolatry was to stick close to the true God.

v18: They deserted God; rather they should have set their hearts and minds upon Him.

v19-25: God's judgment upon a rebellious people.

v19-20: God rejected them, turning His back on them; "I will hide my face from them"; they had no faith, and that was the heart of the problem. God is more angered by His own people, than by the unbelievers, see Amos 3.2.

v21-22: "They have made me jealous...I will make them envious"; Israel would receive from God in the same way that they had treated Him.

"and angered me...I will make them angry"; their persistent disobedience had real and serious consequences.

See also Rom 10.19; 11.11; references to the Church, "not a people...a nation that has no understanding". Here we are given insight into God's plans over many centuries, into the N.T.

v23-25: The details of judgment are given so that no one will doubt that this is indeed the hand of God, when these things are fulfilled. God sends His arrows of judgment, but His strength remains undiminished.

v26-27: God's judgment upon His people is always with mercy. A remnant of Israel would always remain, as a sign of God's mercy, and a testimony to God's mercy; no one could claim to have destroyed Israel, for God would always preserve some.

v28-29: Without sense, or void of counsel; there was no understanding in them; disobedience is foolish. The blind man stumbles without a guide; the wise man looks ahead, and considers his "latter end", that is, God's rewards and punishments.

For the Christian, we need to live in the Spirit, not walking in the flesh, considering eternity, for ourselves and for others.

v30: Wisdom learns form the past. Victory and defeat had occurred by the hand of God, and would do so again.

v31-34: The unique Rock; one and only God, before whom all idols are nothing. Their rock is different from the true God; their vine from Sodom, the fruit of Gomorrah; full of poison and bitterness.

v35: It is the Lord's prerogative to bring recompense and vengeance.

v36: The Lord will judge those who are His; this means to weigh up or discern, and does not necessarily imply punishment. The Lord's people belong to Him. This means that the honour of His Name is at stake. Where the Name of God is blasphemed, then God must act; see Ezek 36.22-23, quoted in Rom 2.24.

In Is 52.5, the treatment of Israel at the hands of Gentiles similarly constitutes a blasphemy against His Name, therefore He acted in compassion.

v37-38: The folly of idolatry; "Where are your gods?" Israel had to learn that worship of another god was foolish and futile.

v39: There is no other god; words taken up later by the prophet; Is 43.11-13; 45.21, etc.

v40-42: God is not inactive; He will act against those who oppose Him.

v43: The day will come when wrongs will be put to right; God will punish the unbelieving nations, and provide atonement for His own people, and for the land.

v46-47: The people were commanded to set their hearts on these words, not to despise what God had said, but to observe and obey everything. What God had said had rebuked and challenged, but these words were "your life". The folly did occur later when the people rebelled against God, and departed from the law of God. The words of Moses' song were fulfilled.

v48-52: The Lord's final instructions to Moses. He would ascend the mountain, and view the land of Canaan, which he could not enter. Both Moses and Aaron had broken faith with God, and dishonoured Him (v51). We do see, however, that Moses prepared the people to enter into the blessing that he would miss out on; here is genuine unselfishness.