THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE
Meaning and purpose come in life as we deepen our walk with God and trust Him completely. Believers want to know that their lives count for something beyond just getting through the day. When we take the time to step back and see the big picture, we understand what really matters for time and eternity. Life can have meaning now, and we can make a difference in the world around us now. God gave Moses a song that would help Israel see the big picture. This song can teach the believer what matters for time and eternity.
Read Deuteronomy 32:1-4 God is Worthy
Moses had grown old (120 Years old), and knew God would not let him enter the Promised Land (Deut. 32:2). Moses also knew that when Israel crossed the Jordan, they would need some type of testimony to remind them of the covenant they had made with God at Sinai. So Moses wrote down the words of the law and entrusted them to the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant (31:9). He instructed them to read the law on a regular basis to all Israel so that they might learn to fear the Lord and follow Him (31:10-13). However, God Knew Israel was a rebellious and stubborn nation (31:16-18). He commanded Moses to do one more thing. God directed Moses to give Israel another witness, a song (31:19). The ancient Near East gives us evidence of songs of all kinds from 3000 BC onward.
Moses was not only a great prophet but also a song leader. He changed his form of his message from sermons to singing, which mad it easier to remember. All of us show were involved in Vacation Bible School in the past or other types of Bible training as kids remember the songs that were sung and the stories if these songs better than sermons or talks. This is a big reason that Veggie Tales are so popular (even Larry’s Silly Songs). God told Moses to write down the song and teach it to the people. This song gives a brief history of Israel. (Wish I knew the melody to go with the words.) Moses’ song reminds the people of their mistakes, warns them to avoid repetition of those mistakes, and offers the hope that comes only in trusting God. God intended for this song to testify against Israel because He knew they would worship other gods and break the covenant (32:20-21). Then by remembering the song, they would repent and seek forgiveness.
This poem (song) is one of the most beautiful and eloquent compositions in the Old Testament. The poem begins with Moses calling upon the heavens and earth to listen…to the words that he would speak. Two literary issues need to be pointed out here. First, the song follows the common practice of Hebrew poetry in repeating the basic meaning of one line in the following line or lines. This gives beauty and depth to the song. So Moses says “pay attention” to the heavens and “listen” to the earth. Second, the song uses simile to draw attention to the poem’s thought. For an example, the teaching of the song falls “like rain”, and the words “settle like dew”. “Like” signals a simile, a figure of speech where one thing is compared to another. This helps us understand why this poem/song is so well respected by so many. Then Moses calls God “The Rock”. What is the significance of this? (This represents the stability and permanence of God and is followed by a series of phrases which elaborates the attributes of God as the Rock of Israel. It also declares God’s Greatness.)
Read Deuteronomy 32:5-9 Humanity is Willful
Verse 5 picks up on the second great theme of the poem. In stark contrast to God’s faithfulness, Israel has acted like a “devious and crooked generation”. First, the song reminds God’s people that they have already “acted corruptly toward Him”. Second, the song also points prophetically to the future when Israel would turn their attention to pagan gods, breaking the covenant at Sinai and turning their back on the Lord. In doing so, they would not be acting like His children. The second line of verse 5 is difficult to translate. The Hebrew word “defect” in Holman, is “spot” in KJV, “blemish” in American Standard, or “shame in NIV. The “defect” and the term “perfect” (v.4) (or unblemished) are used to designate sacrificial animals that are either unacceptable or acceptable for worship (Lev. 22:21; Numbers 19:2). So unlike God’s deeds and actions, which are “perfect” (Deut. 32:4), Israel’s were defective and unacceptable. The moral blemish or “defect” was Israel’s willfulness: a desire to reject God as the Father and act as disobedient and willful children. IN Matthew 17:17, Jesus used the phrase like “a perverse and crooked generation” to describe an unbelieving generation and Paul (Philippians 2:15) talks about the dark world of mankind in rebellion against God.
Moses directly addressed Israel in verse 6 and continued the indictment in a series of rhetorical questions. These show that Israel failed to realize God’s requirements were not wearisome burdens but were the result of God’s covenant love. Moses urged them to “remember the days of old”. Then he uses the title “Most High”, which is Genesis 14 refers to Yahweh or God, to say that was who gave the nations their inheritance (Amos 9:7; Deut. 4:20). This was “dividing the human race” into separate nations. God wanted Israel to be “His own” special possession (Ex. 19:5; Deut. 7:6; 14:2). With such a lofty position and role, the betrayal and corruption of Israel starkly highlights their wickedness. What reaction do you have or what do these verses say to you? (God is God and we are not!)
Read Deuteronomy 32:36-39, 43 God’s Ways are Wonderful
The main purpose of these verses is to establish the truth of God’s grace: despite Israel’s arrogant rebellion, God still loved His people and would willingly have compassion on them. In contrast to Israel’s willful actions, “God’s Ways are Wonderful”. Verse 36 is the promise that the Lord will judge Israel as a nation, but that the nation is composed of both righteous and wicked. It seems to be saying that God helps the righteous (His servants) by destroying the wicked- a prediction of what is to come also. This verse also tells us what had to happen before Israel could experience God’s mercy. What was it? (When Israel’s “strength “to rebel was “gone”.) In the next two verses, Moses uses rhetorical questions again to say that trust in any other possible source of strength will prove useless. Then verse 39 contains a noble declaration of God’s nature. In contrast to the inability of idols, the God of Israel “alone” is “He”- the living God. “There is no God” but Yahweh- this makes the strong point that He alone is the Only One capable enough to offer help and protection. It spells out that God’s hand holds the power of “death” and “life”, and He alone can exercise the power to “wound” and “heal”. Then it says “No one” could be rescued “from” His “hand”- which exclaims that when a person is a true child of His no one can take them away. This is the forerunner of “once saved, always saved”.
The final verse (43) of the song boldly proclaims that the Lord will “avenge the blood of His servants” and execute “vengeance” on “His adversaries”. This is a reference to the second Coming and the last days for the wicked. In addition, He “will purify” both ”His land and His people”. The Hebrew verb translated “purify” actually means “to make atonement”. This indicates that hope exists for reconciliation between God and His people. This atonement would find its fulfillment and fullness in Christ Jesus (Ezekiel 16:60-63; Romans 3:25; Hebrews 2:17) on the Cross (this is referenced in Psalms 79:9.) Verse 43 is quoted by Paul in Romans 15:10; as does the writer of Hebrews in 1:6. As an end result, all “nations” would be called on to “rejoice” with Israel for God’s wonderful ways.
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