The Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32: 1-44)

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Welcome:

Today, we dive into "The Song of Moses" from Deuteronomy 32:1-44. This beautiful passage represents Moses’ final message to the Israelites through a song that captures profound truths about God, human nature, and the call to faithfulness. We'll explore the depth of Moses' words and discuss how his insights into God's character and Israel's history offer us lessons on both devotion and accountability.

Episode Notes

Summary:
In this episode, we examine Moses’ song recorded in Deuteronomy 32, a poetic and theological reflection on God's faithfulness and Israel’s unfaithfulness. Moses calls all creation to witness his words, reminding the Israelites of God's greatness, their history of deliverance, and God's righteous character. He contrasts God’s unwavering justice and mercy with Israel's repeated failures, warning them of the consequences of turning away from God and embracing idols. Moses also highlights the blessings of obedience and the dangers of forgetting God, even amid prosperity. This song reminds us to reflect on our relationship with God, to remember His faithfulness, and to strive for steadfastness in our own faith journeys.

Key Themes:

• God’s Righteousness and Justice: God is described as a steadfast "Rock," unchanging and perfect, in contrast to the people’s unfaithfulness.
• Israel’s Spiritual Drift: Moses recounts how Israel has strayed from God despite His blessings, warning of the dangers of idolatry and self-reliance.
• Call to Repentance and Faithfulness: Moses’ words urge Israel to remember their unique relationship with God, to learn from their history, and to live in alignment with His will.
• Promise of Restoration: Despite judgment, God promises ultimate justice, showing mercy to His people and inviting the nations to witness His redemption.

Listen as we uncover these lessons in The Song of Moses, exploring how they resonate with us today and inspire us to seek a closer walk with God.

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• 10:40 (Cont.) The Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32: 1-44)

Transcript

The Song of Moses.  (Deuteronomy 32:1-44)

Transcript:

Using music to convey spiritual truths is an ancient practice in the history of monotheist beliefs. The first recorded son in the Bible is found in Exodus chapter 15 where Moses and the Israelites spontaneously burst into singing to celebrate their safe journey across the red sea,

In fact later, Moses himself would go on to write songs in order to teach the people a key lessons about God, and the first of those particular types of songs are recorded for us in Deuteronomy 32.

Today, we're going to look at that song. It’s a long passage with an introduction, a conclusion, and, in between, several important spiritual truths. 

Today we will walk us through this song, and Ill try and explain what I think Moses is trying to say as we progress through it.

Then tomorrow I will come back and try and distil it down to the central messages Moses intended for his people to hear before he dies…..

.

So, let’s begin with Deuteronomy 32, verse 1, where Moses opens with an introduction in the first three verses. He says.

Listen, you heavens, and I will speak;

    hear, you earth, the words of my mouth.

2 Let my teaching fall like rain

    and my words descend like dew,

like showers on new grass,

    like abundant rain on tender plants.

3 I will proclaim the name of the Lord.

    Oh, praise the greatness of our God!

4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect,

    and all his ways are just.

A faithful God who does no wrong,

    upright and just is he.

(Deuteronomy 32: 1-4)

Right from the start, Moses is calling the heavens and earth to listen, underscoring that this message is not only for Israel but for all creation. He’s teaching something essential—so essential that he wants all of creation as a witness to these truths.

He describes his teaching like rain and dew, a blessing that brings refreshment and life. Rain, after all, nourishes crops and sustains life. This teaching, then, is going to be a life-giving blessing intended to refresh the people spiritually.

The teaching is about the greatness of God, focusing specifically on His character. Moses’ song isn’t simply poetic; it’s theological. It’s a celebration of God’s nature and a call to remember His greatness.

This introduction gives us a clue to the rest of the chapter: Moses will go on to describe various aspects of God’s character and His relationship with Israel, contrasted sharply with Israel’s failure to live up to this greatness.

Moses points to God as a stable, unshakable Rock. God’s work is perfect, just, true, and without injustice. In contrast to the capricious and immoral gods of the surrounding nations, the God of Israel is righteous and unchanging.

But then, Moses pivots. In verse 5, he says of the people,

They are corrupt and not his children;

    to their shame they are a warped and crooked generation.

Is this the way you repay the Lord,

    you foolish and unwise people?

Is he not your Father, your Creator,

    who made you and formed you?

(Deuteronomy 32: 5-6)

In sharp contrast to God’s perfection, the people have become corrupted. Their behavior shows no resemblance to the character of their heavenly Father. Despite being His children, they’ve strayed so far from His example that they no longer reflect Him in their lives.

Moses challenges them, he reminds them that, while God is their Father and Creator, they have forgotten His greatness and have become spiritually estranged from Him. The stark difference between God’s righteousness and Israel’s corruption magnifies His holiness.

Next, Moses shifts to remind them of God’s provision. 

Remember the days of old;

    consider the generations long past.

Ask your father and he will tell you,

    your elders, and they will explain to you.

8 When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance,

    when he divided all mankind,

he set up boundaries for the peoples

    according to the number of the sons of Israel.

9 For the Lord’s portion is his people,

    Jacob his allotted inheritance. 

(Deuteronomy 32: 7-9)

Moses calls Israel to remember their history—how God provided for them, established boundaries for the nations, and chose them specifically as His people. Despite Israel’s failings, God has chosen them and considers them His prized possession. Throughout Deuteronomy, Moses repeatedly tells them to “remember” because they continually forget the God who sustained them.

Moses’ song is both a celebration of God’s faithfulness and a stark reminder of Israel’s unfaithfulness. As Moses contrasts God’s perfection, justice, and faithfulness with Israel’s corruption and forgetfulness, he offers a timeless lesson. We, too, are called to remember God’s greatness and remain faithful to Him. Like the rain that nourishes, God’s word and presence are life-giving. But we must be receptive, remembering who He is and who we are called to be in Him.

This passage challenges us: in our lives, are we reflecting the character of our Father, or have we strayed, as Israel did? Moses’ song teaches us that despite our shortcomings, God remains faithful. His character does not change. May we, like the heavens and earth called to listen to this song, recognize God’s greatness, draw near to Him, and let His truth refresh and shape our lives.

In verse 10-13 of Deuteronomy 32, Moses recounts how God cared for Israel:

In a desert land he found him,

    in a barren and howling waste.

He shielded him and cared for him;

    he guarded him as the apple of his eye,

11 like an eagle that stirs up its nest

    and hovers over its young,

that spreads its wings to catch them

    and carries them on its pinions.

12 The Lord alone led him;

    no foreign god was with him.

13 He made him ride on the heights of the land

    and fed him with the fruit of the fields.

He nourished him with honey from the rock,

    and with oil from the flinty crag,

14 with curds and milk from herd and flock

    and with fattened lambs and goats,

with choice rams of Bashan

    and the finest grains of wheat.

You drank the foaming blood of the grape.

(Deuteronomy 32: 10-14)

Here, God is reminding Israel of how He chose them and provided for them. The reference to the “desert” and “wilderness” refers to their time in Egypt and their journey through the wilderness. Despite being in harsh conditions, God cherished them as the “apple of His eye”—a phrase that signifies being precious and dearly loved.

In verse 11, God uses another metaphor of an eagle in its nest protecting it’s young. This image of the eagle is powerful. Just as an eagle teaches its young to fly by nudging them out of the nest but flies underneath to catch them if they fall, God took care of Israel, training and protecting them.

This reference to Israel enjoyed honey and olive oil. make it clear: God’s provision was going to be abundant.

But then, the focus shifts back to Israel.

Jeshurun grew fat and kicked;

    filled with food, they became heavy and sleek.

They abandoned the God who made them

    and rejected the Rock their Saviour.

16 They made him jealous with their foreign gods

    and angered him with their detestable idols.

17 They sacrificed to false gods, which are not God –

    gods they had not known,

    gods that recently appeared,

    gods your ancestors did not fear.

18 You deserted the Rock, who fathered you;

    you forgot the God who gave you birth. 

(Deuteronomy 32: 14-18)

However, instead of gratitude, it says they turned from God as they grew comfortable and self-satisfied. Moses warns us here of the spiritual dangers of prosperity. When life is easy, we’re often less inclined to see our need for God, but in times of adversity, our dependence on Him becomes clearer. Israel’s prosperity led them to forget God and rely on themselves instead.

God’s reaction to their unfaithfulness is described as jealousy—a protective, righteous jealousy. God’s jealousy isn’t petty but rooted in His rightful place as the one true God deserving of Israel’s devotion. By turning to idols, Israel disregarded the honour due to Him alone.

When they turned to idols, they were, in reality, sacrificing to demons. The Apostle Paul references this as a fact in 1 Corinthians 10, suggesting that behind idolatry is the influence of all demonic forces. Israel had not only forsaken God—they had aligned themselves with false gods, forsaking the God who fathered them and the rock upon who they were to build their faith and practice.

Here, Moses uses both maternal and paternal imagery for God, emphasizing the nurturing and foundational relationship God had with Israel. Yet they had turned away, forgetting the love and care He had shown them.

Now, God’s response to Israel’s rebellion takes shape.

19 The Lord saw this and rejected them

    because he was angered by his sons and daughters.

20 ‘I will hide my face from them,’ he said,

    ‘and see what their end will be;

for they are a perverse generation,

    children who are unfaithful.

21 They made me jealous by what is no god

    and angered me with their worthless idols.

I will make them envious by those who are not a people;

    I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding.

22 For a fire will be kindled by my wrath,

    one that burns down to the realm of the dead below.

It will devour the earth and its harvests

    and set on fire the foundations of the mountains. 

(Deuteronomy 32: 19-22)

To “reject used here means to spurn with contempt, and God’s words here reflect the severity of Israel’s disobedience. He warns that He will “hide His face,” symbolizing the withdrawal of His protective presence and blessings.

Israel’s actions had not severed their relationship with God as His people, but their persistent disobedience led to a period of judgment and God’s hidden face. God’s heart here is not one of abandonment but of correction, hoping that Israel will eventually return to Him in repentance.

Here, God warns that His response to Israel’s idolatry will be fitting: just as Israel has provoked Him by worshiping other gods, He will stir jealousy in them by blessing other nations. The Apostle Paul echoes this in Romans 11, where he shows how God uses other people to draw Israel back to Him.

God’s judgment is then seen to intensify and becomes more specific about His judgment: 

23 ‘I will heap calamities on them

and expend my arrows against them.

24 I will send wasting famine against them,

consuming pestilence and deadly plague;

I will send against them the fangs of wild beasts,

the venom of vipers that glide in the dust.

25 In the street the sword will make them childless;

in their homes terror will reign.

The young men and young women will perish,

the infants and those with grey hair.

26 I said I would scatter them

and erase their name from human memory,

27 but I dreaded the taunt of the enemy,

lest the adversary misunderstand

and say, “Our hand has triumphed;

the Lord has not done all this.”’

(Deuteronomy 32: 23-27)

These verses paints the grim consequences Israel will face, from hunger to deadly beasts, emphasizing the completeness of God’s judgment. God warns that war will strike down people of all ages, spreading terror throughout Israel.

But God also clarifies there will be limits to this judgment. God restrains the extent of Israel’s punishment so that Israel’s enemies do not take credit for God’s actions. He prevents them from claiming victory over Israel in their own strength, preserving His glory as the one in control.

Verse 28 continues.

28 They are a nation without sense,

    there is no discernment in them.

29 If only they were wise and would understand this

    and discern what their end will be!

30 How could one man chase a thousand,

    or two put ten thousand to flight,

unless their Rock had sold them,

    unless the Lord had given them up?

31 For their rock is not like our Rock,

    as even our enemies concede.

32 Their vine comes from the vine of Sodom

    and from the fields of Gomorrah.

Their grapes are filled with poison,

    and their clusters with bitterness.

33 Their wine is the venom of serpents,

    the deadly poison of cobras.

(Deuteronomy 32: 28-33)

These verses explain why Israel is facing judgment: Israel lacks discernment and wisdom, having forgotten the spiritual truths and knowledge of God. They have become blind to the consequences of their rebellion.

This underscores how complete Israel’s surrender to their enemies will be: “The strength of Israel’s enemies is only possible because God has handed Israel over to them.

Moses contrasts Israel’s true Rock with the false gods of their enemies: The “rock” of Israel’s enemies is weak and temporary compared to the Rock of Israel, who is God Himself.

In verse 32, Moses uses a metaphor of the vine of Sodom and of the fields of Gomorrah. This comparison with Sodom and Gomorrah underscores the depth of depravity in Israel’s enemies. Their deeds are as toxic as bitter grapes and venomous as a snake’s poison.

In verse 34, God shifts focus to His judgment on Israel’s enemies:

34 ‘Have I not kept this in reserve

    and sealed it in my vaults?

35 It is mine to avenge; I will repay.

    In due time their foot will slip;

their day of disaster is near

    and their doom rushes upon them.’

36 The Lord will vindicate his people

    and relent concerning his servants

when he sees their strength is gone

    and no one is left, slave or free.

37 He will say: ‘Now where are their gods,

    the rock they took refuge in,

38 the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices

    and drank the wine of their drink offerings?

Let them rise up to help you!

    Let them give you shelter!

(Deuteronomy 32: 34-38)

Here, God is storing up judgment for those who have harmed Israel. What follows is a powerful statement of divine justice: “Vengeance is Mine, says the Lord.” God assures that judgment is coming, and justice will be served.

These verses highlight God’s justice, showing how He disciplines His people and how He will eventually punish the nations that oppress Israel. Even as God’s anger leads to judgment, He shows restraint, emphasizing that His ultimate goal is justice and the preservation of His people.

Beginning in verse 36, we see God’s promise of restoration:

After Israel’s enemies are defeated, God will extend compassion to Israel. His judgment won’t last forever, and His mercy will come when Israel has reached the point of total dependence on Him.

God the mockingly addresses Israel’s enemies. He challenges Israel’s enemies to see if their gods, whom they’ve relied on, can offer any real protection. It’s as if God is saying, “If you trust these false gods, let’s see if they’ll actually come through for you.” The comparison exposes the emptiness of their idols.

Verses 39-42 emphasize God’s unique power and sovereignty:

39 ‘See now that I myself am he!

    There is no god besides me.

I put to death and I bring to life,

    I have wounded and I will heal,

    and no one can deliver out of my hand.

40 I lift my hand to heaven and solemnly swear:

    as surely as I live for ever,

41 when I sharpen my flashing sword

    and my hand grasps it in judgment,

I will take vengeance on my adversaries

    and repay those who hate me.

42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,

    while my sword devours flesh:

the blood of the slain and the captives,

    the heads of the enemy leaders.’

(Deuteronomy 32: 39-42)

 In these verses, God declares His unmatched authority. He has the power to give life, take it away, and ultimately hold the fate of all creation in His hands.

He reinforces His judgment by swearing an oath, saying, “I raise My hand to heaven.” God pledges to deliver judgment on Israel’s enemies, making it clear that their punishment will be absolute. “I will make My arrows drunk with blood, and My sword shall devour flesh.” This is vivid imagery of God’s wrath against those who oppose Him.

Verse 43 invites the Gentiles to rejoice with Israel because God will bring justice, avenging the blood of His people and restoring them. 

43 Rejoice, you nations, with his people,

for he will avenge the blood of his servants;

he will take vengeance on his enemies

and make atonement for his land and people.

(Deuteronomy 32: 43)

God will make “atonement for His land and His people,” demonstrating that His judgment leads to justice, mercy, and ultimately, redemption. 

This verse points to a future where God’s people, both Israel and the Gentiles, find unity and peace in His final victory.

Following the song’s completion, Moses will turn to the people in verses 44-47, urging them to heed its message, then turning he will bless the tribes which will be his final message before his death at the end of the next chapter. Which we begin to look at tomorrow.