Isaiah 55:10-11(v2)For as the rain comes down and the snow from the sky, and doesn’t return there, but waters the earth, and makes it grow and bud, and gives…
Isaiah 1:2(v1)Hear, heavens, and listen, earth; for Yahweh has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up children and they have rebelled against me.
Deuteronomy 4:26(v1)I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from off the land which you go over the Jordan to…
Psalms 72:6(v2)He will come down like rain on the mown grass, as showers that water the earth.
Micah 5:7(v2)The remnant of Jacob will be among many peoples, like dew from Yahweh, like showers on the grass, that don’t wait for man, nor wait for the…
Show all 39 cross-references
Jeremiah 10:6(v3)There is no one like you, Yahweh. You are great, and your name is great in might.
Job 29:22-23(v2)After my words they didn’t speak again. My speech fell on them. They waited for me as for the rain. Their mouths drank as with the spring…
Psalms 49:1(v1)Hear this, all you peoples. Listen, all you inhabitants of the world,
Deuteronomy 30:19(v1)I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore…
Deuteronomy 31:28(v1)Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to…
Psalms 50:4(v1)He calls to the heavens above, to the earth, that he may judge his people:
Jeremiah 6:19(v1)Hear, earth! Behold, I will bring evil on this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not listened to my words; and as…
Hosea 14:5(v2)I will be like the dew to Israel. He will blossom like the lily, and send down his roots like Lebanon.
2 Samuel 23:4(v2)shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, when the tender grass springs out of the earth, through…
Jeremiah 2:12(v1)“Be astonished, you heavens, at this and be horribly afraid. Be very desolate,” says Yahweh.
Hosea 6:4(v2)“Ephraim, what shall I do to you? Judah, what shall I do to you? For your love is like a morning cloud, and like the dew that disappears…
1 Corinthians 3:6-8(v2)I planted. Apollos watered. But God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the…
Hebrews 6:7(v2)For the land which has drunk the rain that comes often on it and produces a crop suitable for them for whose sake it is also tilled,…
Psalms 150:2(v3)Praise him for his mighty acts! Praise him according to his excellent greatness!
Zechariah 10:1(v2)Ask of Yahweh rain in the spring time, Yahweh who makes storm clouds, and he gives rain showers to everyone for the plants in the field.
Deuteronomy 5:24(v3)and you said, “Behold, Yahweh our God has shown us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the middle of the fire.…
Ephesians 1:19(v3)and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might
Exodus 6:3(v3)I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty; but by my name Yahweh I was not known to them.
Exodus 33:19(v3)He said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim Yahweh’s name before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be…
Deuteronomy 3:24(v3)“Lord Yahweh, you have begun to show your servant your greatness, and your strong hand. For what god is there in heaven or in earth that…
1 Chronicles 29:11(v3)Yours, Yahweh, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty! For all that is in the heavens and in the earth is…
Jeremiah 23:6(v3)In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely. This is his name by which he will be called: Yahweh our righteousness.
Matthew 1:23(v3)“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel;” which is, being interpreted,…
John 17:6(v3)I revealed your name to the people whom you have given me out of the world. They were yours, and you have given them to me. They have kept…
John 17:26(v3)I made known to them your name, and will make it known; that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
Exodus 3:13-16(v3)Moses said to God, “Behold, when I come to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they…
1 Chronicles 17:19(v3)Yahweh, for your servant’s sake, and according to your own heart, you have done all this greatness, to make known all these great things.
Psalms 29:1-2(v3)Ascribe to Yahweh, you sons of the mighty, ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength. Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due to his name. Worship…
Psalms 89:16-18(v3)In your name they rejoice all day. In your righteousness, they are exalted. For you are the glory of their strength. In your favor, our…
Psalms 105:1-5(v3)Give thanks to Yahweh! Call on his name! Make his doings known among the peoples. Sing to him, sing praises to him! Tell of all his…
Exodus 20:24(v3)You shall make an altar of earth for me, and shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your…
Exodus 34:5-7(v3)Yahweh descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed Yahweh’s name. Yahweh passed by before him, and proclaimed,…
Psalms 145:1-10(v3)I will exalt you, my God, the King. I will praise your name forever and ever. Every day I will praise you. I will extol your name forever…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (26 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv1–2As witness of this people’s ingratitude.
As witness of this people’s ingratitude.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv1–3Deu 32:1 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I…
Deu 32:1 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
Ver. 1. Give ear, O ye heavens,] q.d., Such is this people’s stupidity and obstinacy, that I may as soon gain audience of these inanimate creatures as of them. See Isa 1:2 Jos 24:27 Jer 22:29. We may cry till we are hoarse; speak till we spit forth our lungs, and to no more purpose than Bede did, when he preached to a heap of stones. Holy Melancthon, being himself newly converted, thought it impossible for his hearers to withstand the evidence of the gospel. But after he had been a preacher a while, it is said he complained, that "old Adam was too hard for young Melancthon."
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv1–3O ye heavens, and, O earth: either,
O ye heavens, and, O earth: either,
1. Angels and men; or,
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2. You lifeless and senseless creatures, heaven and earth, which he calls upon partly to accuse the stupidity of Israel, that were more dull of hearing than these; and partly as witnesses of the truth of his sayings, and the justice of God’s proceedings against them.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry1710 · Public DomainOn v1Here is, I. A commanding preface or introduction to…
Here is, I. A commanding preface or introduction to this song of Moses, Deu 32:1, Deu 32:2. He begins, 1. With a solemn appeal to heaven and earth concerning the truth and importance of what he was about to say, and the justice of the divine proceedings against a rebellious and backsliding people, for he had said (Deu 31:28) that he would in this song call heaven and earth to record against them. Heaven and earth would sooner hear than this perverse and unthinking people; for they revolt not from the obedience to their Creator, but continue to this day, according to his ordinances, as his servants (Psa 119:89-91), and therefore will rise up in judgment against rebellious Israel. Heaven and earth will be witnesses against sinners, witnesses of the warning given them and of their refusal to take the warning (see Job 20:27); the heaven shall reveal his iniquity, and the earth shall rise up against him. Or heaven and earth are here put for the inhabitants of both, angels and men; both shall agree to justify God in his proceedings against Israel, and to declare his righteousness, Psa 50:6; see Rev 19:1, Rev 19:2. 2. he begins with a solemn application of what he was about to say to the people (Deu 32:2): My doctrine shall drop as the rain. "It shall be a beating sweeping rain to the rebellious;" so one of the Chaldee paraphrasts expounds the first clause. Rain is sometimes sent for judgment, witness that with which the world was deluged; and so the word of God, while to some it is reviving and refreshing - a savour of life unto life, is to others terrifying and killing - a savour of death unto death. It shall be as a sweet and comfortable dew to those who are rightly prepared to receive it. Observe, (1.) The subject of this song is doctrine; he had given them a song of praise and thanksgiving (Ex. 15), but this is a song of instruction, for in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, we are not only to give glory to god, but to teach and admonish one another, Col 3:16. Hence many of David's psalms are entitled Maschil - to give instruction. (2.) This doctrine is fitly compared to rain and showers which come from above, to make the earth fruitful, and accomplish that for which they are sent. (Isa 55:10, Isa 55:11), and depend not upon the wisdom or will of man, Mic 5:7. It is a mercy to have this rain come often upon us, and our duty to drink it in, Heb 6:7. (3.) He promises that his doctrine shall drop and distil as the dew, and the small rain, which descend silently and without noise. The word preached is likely to profit when it comes gently, and sweetly insinuates itself into the hearts and affections of the hearers. (4.) He bespeaks their acceptance and entertainment of it, and that it might be as sweet, and pleasant, and welcome to them as rain to the thirsty earth, Psa 72:6. And the word of God is likely to do us good when it is thus acceptable. (5.) The learned bishop Patrick understands it as a prayer that his words which were sent from heaven to them might sink into their hearts and soften them, as the rain softens the earth, and so make them fruitful in obedience.
II. An awful declaration of the greatness and righteousness of God, Deu 32:3, Deu 32:4.
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1. He begins with this, and lays it down as his first principle, (1.) To preserve the honour of God, that no reproach might be cast upon him for the sake of the wickedness of his people Israel; how wicked and corrupt soever those are who are called by his name, he is just, and right, and all that is good, and is not to be thought the worse of for their badness. (2.) To aggravate the wickedness of Israel, who knew and worshipped such a holy god, and yet were themselves so unholy. And, (3.) To justify God in his dealings with them; we must abide by it, that God is righteous, even when his judgments are a great deep, Jer 12:1; Psa 36:6.
2. Moses here sets himself to publish the name of the Lord (Deu 32:3), that Israel, knowing what a God he is whom they had avouched for theirs, might never be such fools as to exchange him for a false god, a dunghill god. He calls upon them therefore to ascribe greatness to him. It will be of great use to us for the preventing of sin, and the preserving of us in the way of our duty, always to keep up high and honourable thoughts of God, and to take all occasions to express them: Ascribe greatness to our God. We cannot add to his greatness, for it is infinite; but we must acknowledge it, and give him the glory of it. Now, when Moses would set forth the greatness of God, he does it, not by explaining his eternity and immensity, or describing the brightness of his glory in the upper world, but by showing the faithfulness of his word, the perfection of his works, and the wisdom and equity of all the administrations of his government; for in these his glory shines most clearly to us, and these are the things revealed concerning him, which belong to us and our children, Deu 32:4. (1.) He is the rock. So he is called six times in this chapter, and the Septuagint all along translates it theos, God. The learned Mr. Hugh Broughton reckons that God is called the rock eighteen times (besides in this chapter) in the Old Testament (though in some places we translate it strength), and charges it therefore upon the papists that they make St. Peter a god when they make him the rock on which the church is built. God is the rock, for he is in himself immutable immovable, and he is to all that seek him and fly to him an impenetrable shelter, and to all that trust in him an everlasting foundation. (2.) His work is perfect. His work of creation was so, all very good; his works of providence are so, or will be so in due time, and when the mystery of God shall be finished the perfection of his works will appear to all the world. Nothing that God does can be mended, Ecc 3:14. God was now perfecting what he had promised and begun for his people Israel, and from the perfection of this work they must take occasion to give him the glory of the perfection of all his works. The best of men's works are imperfect, they have their flaws and defects, and are left unfinished; but, as for God, his work is perfect; if he begin, he will make an end. (3.) All his ways are judgment. The ends of his ways are all righteous, and he is wise in the choice of the means in order to those ends. Judgment signifies both prudence and justice. The ways of the Lord are right, Hos 14:9. (4.) He is a God of truth, whose word we may take and rely upon, for he cannot lie who is faithful to all his promises, nor shall his threatenings fall to the ground. (5.) He is without iniquity, one who never cheated any that trusted in him, never wronged any that appealed to his justice, nor ever was hard upon any that cast themselves upon his mercy. (6.) Just and right is he. As he will not wrong any by punishing them more than they deserve, so he will not fail to recompense all those that serve him or suffer for him. He is indeed just and right; for he will effectually take care that none shall lose by him. Now what a bright and amiable idea does this one verse give us of the God whom we worship; and what reason have we then to love him and fear him, to live a life of delight in him, dependence on him, and devotedness to him! This is our rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him; nor can there be, Psa 92:15.
III. A high charge exhibited against the Israel of God, whose character was in all respects the reverse of that of the God of Israel, Deu 32:5. 1. They have corrupted themselves. Or, It has corrupted itself; the body of the people has: the whole head sick, and the whole heart faint. God did not corrupt them, for just and right is he; but they are themselves the sole authors of their own sin and ruin; and both are included in this word. They have debauched themselves; for every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust. And they have destroyed themselves, Hos 13:9. If thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear the guilt and grief, Pro 9:12. 2. Their spot is not the spot of his children. Even God's children have their spots, while they are in this imperfect state; for if we say we have no sin, no spot, we deceive ourselves. But the sin of Israel was none of those; it was not an infirmity which they strove against, watched and prayed against, but an evil which their hearts were fully set in them to do. For, 3. They were a perverse and crooked generation, that were actuated by a spirit of contradiction, and therefore would do what was forbidden because it was forbidden, would set up their own humour and fancy in opposition to the will of God, were impatient of reproof, hated to be reformed, and went on frowardly in the way of their heart. The Chaldee paraphrase reads this verse thus: They have scattered or changed themselves, and not him, even the children that served idols, a generation that has depraved its own works, and alienated itself. Idolaters cannot hurt God, nor do any damage to his works, nor make him a stranger to this world. See Job 35:6. No, all the hurt they do is to themselves and their own works. The learned bishop Patrick gives another reading of it: Did he do him any hurt? That is, "Is God the rock to be blamed for the evils that should befal Israel? No, His children are their blot," that is, "All the evil that comes upon them is the fruit of their children's wickedness; for the whole generation of them is crooked and perverse." All that are ruined ruin themselves; they die because they will die.
IV. A pathetic expostulation with this provoking people for their ingratitude (Deu 32:6): "Do you thus requite the Lord? Surely you will not hereafter be so base and disingenuous in your carriage towards him as you have been." 1. He reminds them of the obligations God had laid upon them to serve him, and to cleave to him. He had been a Father to them, had begotten them, fed them, carried them, nursed them, and borne their manners; and would they spurn at the bowels of a Father? He had bought them, had been at a vast expense of miracles to bring them out of Egypt, had given men for them, and people for their life, Isa 43:4. "Is not he thy Father, thy owner (so some), that has an incontestable propriety in thee?" and the ox knoweth his owner. "he has made thee, and brought thee into being, established thee and kept thee in being; has he not done so? Can you deny the engagements you lie under to him, in consideration of the great things he has done and designed for you?" And are not our obligations, as baptized Christians, equally great and strong to our Creator that made us, our Redeemer that bought us, and our Sanctifier that has established us. 2. Hence he infers the evil of deserting him and rebelling against him. For, (1.) It was base ingratitude: "Do you thus require the Lord? Are these the returns you make him for all his favours to you? The powers you have from him will you employ them against him?" See Mic 6:3, Mic 6:4; Joh 10:32. This is such monstrous villany as all the world will cry shame of: call a man ungrateful, and you can call him no worse. (2.) It was prodigious madness: O foolish people and unwise! Fools, and double fools! who has bewitched you? Gal 3:1. "Fools indeed, to disoblige one on whom you have such a necessary dependence! To forsake your own mercies for lying vanities!" Note, All wilful sinners, especially sinners in Israel, are the most unwise and the most ungrateful people in the world.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv1–3Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak;…
Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth,
the words of my mouth. This song is prefaced and introduced in a very grand and pompous manner, calling on the heavens and earth to give attention; by which they themselves may be meant, by a "prosopopaeia", a figure frequently used in Scripture, when things of great moment and importance are spoken of; and these are called upon to hearken, either to rebuke the stupidity and inattention of men, or to show that these would shed or withhold their influences, their good things, according to the obedience or disobedience of Israel; or because these are durable and lasting, and so would ever be witnesses for God and against his people: Gaon, as Aben Ezra observes, by the heavens understands the angels, and by the earth the men of the earth, the inhabitants of both worlds, which is not amiss: and by these words of Moses are meant the words of the song, referred to in Deu 31:29; here called his words, not because they were of him, but because they were put into his mouth, and about to be expressed by him, not in his own name, but in the name of the Lord; and not as the words of the law, which came by him, but as the words and doctrines of the Gospel concerning Christ, of whom Moses here writes; whose character he gives, and whose person and office he vindicates against the Jews, whom he accuses and brings a charge of ingratitude against for rejecting him, to which our Lord seems to refer, Joh 5:45; the prophecies of their rejection, the calling of the Gentiles, the destruction of the Jews by the Romans, and the miseries they should undergo, and yet should not be wholly extirpated out of the world, but continue a people, who in the latter days would be converted, return to their own land, and their enemies be destroyed; which are some of the principal things in this song, and which make it worthy of attention and observation.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv1–3The song of Moses contains the preface, ver. 1,…
The song of Moses contains the preface, ver. 1, 2. A high character of God, ver. 3-6. A recital of the great things God had done for them, and as their carriage toward him, ver. 7-18. A prediction of judgments for their aggravated impieties, ver. 19-35. A promise of vengeance upon their enemies, and deliverance for a remnant, ver. 36-43. An exhortation annext, ver. 44-47. Orders given to Moses, to go up to the mount and die, ver. 48-52.
O heavens, O earth - You lifeless and senseless creatures, which he calls upon partly to accuse the stupidity of Israel, that were more dull of hearing than these: and partly as witnesses of the truth of his sayings and the justice of God's proceedings against them.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv1–2The prophetical and historical song of Moses, showing forth…
CHAPTER XXXII
The prophetical and historical song of Moses, showing forth the
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nature of God's doctrine, 1-3.
The character of God, 4.
The corruption of the people, 5, 6.
They are called to remember God's kindness, 7,
and his dealings with them during their travels in the
wilderness, 8-14.
Their ingratitude and iniquity, 15-18.
They are threatened with his judgments, 19-28.
A pathetic lamentation over them because of their sins, 29-35.
Gracious purposes in their behalf, mixed with reproaches for
their manifold idolatries, and threatenings against his enemies,
36-42.
A promise of salvation to the Gentiles, 43.
Moses, having finished the song, warmly exhorts the people to
obedience, 44-47.
God calls him up to the mount, that he may see the good land and
then die, 48-52.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXXII
Verse 1. On the inimitable excellence of this ode much has been written by commentators, critics, and poets; and it is allowed by the best judges to contain a specimen of almost every species of excellence in composition. It is so thoroughly poetic that even the dull Jews themselves found they could not write it in the prose form; and hence it is distinguished as poetry in every Hebrew Bible by being written in its own hemistichs or short half lines, which is the general form of the Hebrew poetry; and were it translated in the same way it would be more easily understood. The song itself has suffered both by transcribers and translators, the former having mistaken some letters in different places, and made wrong combinations of them in others. As to the translators, most of them have followed their own fancy, from good Mr. Ainsworth, who ruined it by the most inanimate rhyming version, to certain latter poets, who have cast it unhallowedly into a European mould. See the observations at the end of the chapter. See Clarke on De 32:52".
Give ear, O ye heavens] Let angels and men hear, and let this testimony of God be registered both in heaven and earth. Heaven and earth are appealed to as permanent witnesses.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv1–3Deu 32:1. “This very sublime ode,” says Dr. Kennicott,…
Deu 32:1. “This very sublime ode,” says Dr. Kennicott, “is distinguished even by the Jews, both in their manuscripts and printed copies, as being poetry. In our present translation it would appear to much greater advantage if it were printed hemistically: and the translation of some parts of it may be much improved.” We subjoin his translation of the following verses as a specimen.
“1. Let the heavens give ear, and I will speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
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2. My doctrine shall drop, as the rain; my speech shall distil, as the dew, as the small rains upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass.
3. Verily, the name of JEHOVAH will I proclaim; ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
4. He is the rock, perfect is his work; for all his ways are judgment; a God of truth, and without iniquity: just and right is he.
5. They are corrupted, not his, children of pollution, a generation perverse and crooked!
6. Is this the return which ye make to JEHOVAH?
O people foolish and unwise!
Is not he thy Father, thy Redeemer?
He who made thee, and established thee?”
Give ear, O ye heavens — hear, O earth — By appealing, in this solemn manner, to the heavens and the earth in the beginning of this song, Moses intended to signify, 1st, The truth and importance of its contents, which were such as deserved to be known by all the world: and, 2d, The stupidity of that perverse and unthinking people, who were less likely to hearken and obey than the heavens and the earth themselves. 3d, He hereby declares also the justice of the divine proceedings toward them, according to what he had said, Deu 31:28. See Job 20:27. Or, heaven and earth are here put for the inhabitants of both, angels and men: both will agree to justify God in his proceedings against Israel, and to declare his righteousness, Psa 50:6; Rev 19:1-2.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn v1Song of Moses
Song of Moses
If Deu 32:1-3 be regarded as the introduction, and Deu 32:43 as the conclusion, the main contents of the song may be grouped under three heads, namely,
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(1) Deu 32:4-18, the faithfulness of God, the faithlessness of Israel;
(2) Deu 32:19-33, the chastisement and the need of its infliction by God;
(3) Deu 32:34-42, God’s compassion upon the low and humbled state of His people.
The Song differs signally in diction and idiom from the preceding chapters; just as a lyrical passage is conceived in modes of thought wholly unlike those which belong to narrative or exhortation, and is uttered in different phraseology.
There are, however, in the Song numerous coincidences both in thoughts and words with other parts of the Pentateuch, and especially with Deuteronomy; while the resemblances between it and Ps. 90: “A Prayer of Moses,” have been rightly regarded as important.
The Song has reference to a state of things which did not ensue until long after the days of Moses. In this it resembles other parts of Deuteronomy and the Pentateuch which no less distinctly contemplate an apostasy (e. g. Deu 28:15; Lev 26:14), and describe it in general terms. If once we admit the possibility that Moses might foresee the future apostasy of Israel, it is scarcely possible to conceive how such foresight could be turned to better account by him than by the writing of this Song. Exhibiting as it does God’s preventing mercies, His people’s faithlessness and ingratitude, God’s consequent judgments, and the final and complete triumph of the divine counsels of grace, it forms the summary of all later Old Testament prophecies, and gives as it were the framework upon which they are laid out. Here as elsewhere the Pentateuch presents itself as the foundation of the religious life of Israel in after times. The currency of the Song would be a standing protest against apostasy; a protest which might well check waverers, and warn the faithful that the revolt of others was neither unforeseen nor unprovided for by Him in whom they trusted.
That this Ode must on every ground take the very first rank in Hebrew poetry is universally allowed.
Deu 32:1-3
Introduction. Heaven and earth are here invoked, as elsewhere (see the marginal references), in order to impress on the hearers the importance of what is to follow.
Deu 32:4
He is the Rock, his work is perfect - Rather, the Rock, perfect is his work. This epithet, repeated no less than five times in the Song Deu 32:15, Deu 32:18, Deu 32:30-31, represents those attributes of God which Moses is seeking to enforce, immutability and impregnable strength. Compare the expression “the stone of Israel” in Gen 49:24; and see 1Sa 2:2; Psa 18:2; Mat 16:18; Joh 1:42. Zur, the original of “Rock,” enters frequently into the composition of proper names of the Mosaic time, e. g., Num 1:5-6, Num 1:10; Num 2:12; Num 3:35, etc. Our translators have elsewhere rendered it according to the sense “everlasting strength” Isa 26:4, “the Mighty One” Isa 30:29; in this chapter they have rightly adhered to the letter throughout.
Deu 32:5
Render: “It” (i. e. “the perverse and crooked generation”) “hath corrupted itself before Him (compare Isa 1:4); they are not His children, but their blemish:” i. e., the generation of evil-doers cannot be styled God’s children, but rather the shame and disgrace of God’s children. The other side of the picture is thus brought forward with a brevity and abruptness which strikingly enforces the contrast.
Deu 32:6
Hath bought thee - Rather perhaps, “hath acquired thee for His own,” or “possessed thee:” compare the expression “a peculiar people,” margin “a purchased people,” in 1Pe 2:9.
Deu 32:8
That is, while nations were being constituted under God’s providence, and the bounds of their habitation determined under His government (compare Act 17:26), He had even then in view the interests of His elect, and reserved a fitting inheritance “according to the number of the children of Israel;” i. e., proportionate to the wants of their population. Some texts of the Greek version have “according to the number of the Angels of God;” following apparently not a different reading, but the Jewish notion that the nations of the earth are seventy in number (compare Gen 10:1 note), and that each has its own guardian Angel (compare Ecclus. 17:17). This was possibly suggested by an apprehension that the literal rendering might prove invidious to the many Gentiles who would read the Greek version.
Deu 32:9-14
These verses set forth in figurative language the helpless and hopeless state of the nation when God took pity on it, and the love and care which He bestowed on it.
Deu 32:10
In the waste howling wilderness - literally, “in a waste, the howling of a wilderness,” i. e., a wilderness in which wild beasts howl. The word for “waste” is that used in Gen 1:2, and there rendered “without form.”
Deu 32:11
Compare Exo 19:4. The “so,” which the King James Version supplies in the next verse, should he inserted before “spreadeth,” and omitted from Deu 32:12. The sense is, “so He spread out His wings, took them up,” etc.
Deu 32:12
With him - i. e., with God. The Lord alone delivered Israel; Israel therefore ought to have served none other but Him.
Deu 32:13
i. e., God gave Israel possession of those commanding positions which carry with them dominion over the whole land (compare Deu 33:29), and enabled him to draw the richest provision out of spots naturally unproductive.
Deu 32:14
Breed of Bashan - Bashan was famous for its cattle. Compare Psa 22:12; Eze 39:18.
Fat of kidneys of wheat - i. e., the finest and most nutritious wheat. The fat of the kidneys was regarded as being the finest and tenderest, and was therefore specified as a part of the sacrificial animals which was to be offered to the Lord: compare Exo 29:13, etc.
The pure blood of the qrape - Render, the blood of the grape, even wine. The Hebrew word seems (compare Isa 27:2) a poetical term for wine.
Deu 32:15
Jesbarun - This word, found again only in Deu 33:5, Deu 33:26, and Isa 44:2, is not a diminutive but an appellative (containing an allusion to the root, “to be righteous”); and describes not the character which belonged to Israel in fact, but that to which Israel was called. Compare Num 23:21. The prefixing of this epithet to the description of Israel’s apostasy contained in the words next following is full of keen reproof.
Deu 32:16
They provoked him to jealousy - The language is borrowed from the matrimonial relationship, as in Deu 31:16.
Deu 32:17
Devils - Render, destroyers. The application of the word to the false gods points to the trait so deeply graven in all pagan worship, that of regarding the deities as malignant, and needing to be propitiated by human sufferings.
Not to God - Rather, “not God,” i. e., which were not God; see the margin and Deu 32:21. Compare Deu 13:7; Deu 29:25.
Deu 32:19
The anger of God at the apostasy of His people is stated in general terms in this verse; and the results of it are described, in words as of God Himself, in the next and following verses. These results consisted negatively in the withdrawal of God’s favor Deu 32:20, and positively in the infliction of a righteous retribution.
Daughters - The women had their full share in the sins of the people. Compare Isa 3:16 ff; Isa 32:9 ff; Jer 7:18; Jer 44:15 ff.
Deu 32:20
I will see what their end shall be - Compare the similar expression in Gen 37:20.
Deu 32:21
God would mete out to them the same measure as they had done to Him. Through chosen by the one God to be His own, they had preferred idols, which were no gods. So therefore would He prefer to His people that which was no people. As they had angered Him with their vanities, so would He provoke them by adopting in their stead those whom they counted as nothing. The terms, “not a people,” and “a foolish nation,” mean such a people as, not being God’s, would not be accounted a people at all (compare Eph 2:12; 1Pe 2:10), and such a nation as is destitute of that which alone can make a really “wise and understanding people” Deu 4:6, namely, the knowledge of the revealed word and will of God (compare 1Co 1:18-28).
Deu 32:24
Burning heat - i. e., the fear of a pestilential disease. On the “four sore judgments,” famine, plague, noisome beasts, the sword, compare Lev 26:22; Jer 15:2; Eze 5:17; Eze 14:21.
Deu 32:26, Deu 32:27
Rather, I would utterly disperse them, etc., were it not that I apprehended the provocation of the enemy, i. e., that I should be provoked to wrath when the enemy ascribed the overthrow of Israel to his own prowess and not to my judgments. Compare Deu 9:28-29; Eze 20:9, Eze 20:14, Eze 20:22.
Behave themselves strangely - Rather, misunderstand it, i. e., mistake the cause of Israel’s ruin.
Deu 32:30
The defeat of Israel would be due to the fact that God, their strength, had abandoned them because of their apostasy.
Deu 32:31
Our enemies - i. e., the enemies of Moses and the faithful Israelites; the pagan, more especially those with whom Israel was brought into collision, whom Israel was commissioned to “chase,” but to whom, as a punishment for faithlessness, Israel was “sold,” Deu 32:30. Moses leaves the decision, whether “their rock” (i. e. the false gods of the pagan to which the apostate Israelites had fallen away) or “our Rock” is superior, to be determined by the unbelievers themselves. For example, see Exo 14:25; Num. 23; 24; Jos 2:9 ff; 1Sa 4:8; 1Sa 5:7 ff; 1Ki 20:28. That the pagan should thus be constrained to bear witness to the supremacy of Israel’s God heightened the folly of Israel’s apostasy.
Deu 32:32
Their vine - i. e., the nature and character of Israel: compare for similar expressions Psa 80:8, Psa 80:14; Jer 2:21; Hos 10:1.
Sodom ... Gomorrah - Here, as elsewhere, and often in the prophets, emblems of utter depravity: compare Isa 1:10; Jer 23:14,
Gall - Compare Deu 29:18 note.
Deu 32:35
Rather: “Vengeance is mine and recompence, at the time when their foot slideth.
Deu 32:36
Repent himself for - Rather, have compassion upon. The verse declares that God’s judgment of His people would issue at once in the punishment of the wicked, and in the comfort of the righteous.
None shut up, or left - A proverbial phrase (compare 1Ki 14:10) meaning perhaps “married and single,” or “guarded and forsaken,” but signifying generally “all men of all sorts.”
Deu 32:40-42
Render: For I lift up my hand to heaven and say, As I live forever, if I whet, etc. On Deu 32:40, in which God is described as swearing by Himself, compare Isa 45:23; Jer 22:5; Heb 6:17. The lifting up of the hand was a gesture used in making oath (compare Gen 14:22; Rev 10:5).
Deu 32:42
From the beginning of revenges upon the enemy - Render, (drunk with blood) from the head (i. e. the chief) of the princes of the enemy.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv1–3Speak. Hebrew and Septuagint, "Heaven attend, and I will…
Speak. Hebrew and Septuagint, "Heaven attend, and I will speak." (Haydock) --- Never was there an exordium more pompous, or better adapted to the subject. Moses calls those who never die to witness what he asserts, as if to insinuate that these truths ought never to be forgotten. See Numbers iv. 6. Virgil (Æneid xii.) imitates this style, Esto nunc sol testis & hæc mihi terra precanti, (Calmet) which puts inthe moth of Æneas, to whom Latinus replies, Hæc eadem Ænea, terram, mare, sidera juro.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures1864 · Public DomainOn v1Deuteronomy 32-34
THE SUPPLEMENTS
Deuteronomy 32-34
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THE DIVINE SONG OF MOSES
Deuteronomy 32
1Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak;
And hear, O earth [hear shall the earth] the words of my mouth.
2My doctrine shall drop [Let my doctrine drop] as the rain,
My speech [words] shall distil [flow] as the dew,
As the small rain [showers] upon the tender herb [grass],
And as the showers [rain-drops] upon the grass [herb];
3Because [For] I will publish the name of the Lord:
Ascribe [give] ye greatness unto our God.
4He is the rock, his work is perfect [The rock, perfect is his work];
For all his ways are judgment [right];
A God of truth [faithfulness] and without iniquity [deceit],
Just and right is he.
5They have corrupted themselves 1[corruptly act against him],
Their spot is not the spot of his children [sons]:2
They are a perverse and crooked generation.
6Do ye thus requite the Lord,
O foolish people and unwise?
Is not he thy father [?] that hath bought thee?3
Hath he not made and established [prepared] thee?
7Remember the days of old,
Consider the years of many generations [of generation and generation]:
Ask thy father—and he will show thee;
Thy elders [thine old men] and they will tell thee.
8When the Most High divided to the nations [Gentiles] their inheritance,
When he separated the sons of Adam [men],
He set [firm] the bounds of the people
According to [with reference to] the number of the children of Israel.
9For the Lord’s portion is his people;
Jacob is the lot [cord] of his inheritance.
10He found him in a [the] desert land [land of the desert],
And in the waste4 [waste, the] howling [of the steppe] wilderness;
He led him about [surrounded him], he instructed him,5
He kept him as the apple of his eye.
11As an [As the] eagle [, he] stirreth up her [his] nest,
Fluttereth [settles] over her [his] young,
Spreadeth abroad her [his] wings,
Taketh them, beareth them on her [his] wings [pinions]:
12So [om. So] the Lord alone did lead him,
And there was no strange God with him.
13He made him ride [drive] on [over] the high places of the earth,
That he might eat [And eat] the increase [fruits] of the fields;
And he made him to suck honey out of the rock,
And oil out of the flinty rock;
14Butter [cream] of kine, and milk of sheep [the flock],
With [the] fat of lambs,
And rams of the breed [sons] of Bashan, and goats [bucks],
With the fat of the kidneys of wheat;
And thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape [blood of the grape, even wine].
15But Jeshurun waxed [was] fat, and kicked.
Thou art waxen [Thou becamest] fat, thou art grown thick,
Thou art covered with fatness [art full, gross];
Then he forsook [And forsookest, rejected] God, which made him,
And lightly esteemed [despised] the Rock of his salvation.
16They provoked him to jealousy, with [through] strange gods,
With abominations provoked they him to anger.
17They sacrificed to devils [shedim6], not to God [which were not God],
To gods whom they knew not,
To new gods that came newly up [from near at hand],
Whom your fathers feared not [did not shudder at].
18Of the Rock that begat thee [The Rock, he bare thee] thou art unmindful [thou forsookest],
And hast forgotten God that formed thee [turned thee round].
19And when the Lord saw it, he abhorred them,
Because of the provoking of his sons and of his daughters,7
20And he said, I will hide my face from them,
I will see what their end [their last] shall be,
For they are a very froward [a generation of perversities] generation,
Children [sons] in whom is no [faithfulness] faith.
21They have moved me to jealousy, with that which is not God [through no God];
They have provoked me to anger [angered me] with their vanities;
And I will move them to jealousy, with those which are not8 a people [a no people].
22For a fire is kindled [burns] in [through] mine anger,
And shall burn9 [burns] unto the lowest hell [Sheol],
And shall consume10 [consumes] the earth with [and] its increase,
And sets on fire [devours] the foundations of the mountains.
23I will heap mischiefs [evils] upon them;
I will spend mine arrows upon [against] them.
24They shall be [or are] burnt [wasted, made lean] with [by] hunger,
And devoured with burning heat [fever heat], and with bitter [poisonous sting] destruction:
I will also send the teeth of beasts [wild animals] upon them,
With the poison of serpents [the creeping] of the dust.
25The sword without [From without the sword shall sweep thee away],
And terror within [From within—from the chambers of terror]
Shall destroy both the young man and the virgin,
The suckling also, with the man of gray hairs.
26I said, I would scatter them into corners11 [will blow them away],
I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:
27Were it not that I feared the wrath of [upon] the enemy,
Lest [That] their adversaries should behave themselves strangely,
And lest [that] they should say, Our hand is high,12
And the Lord hath not done all this.
28For they are a nation void [ruined as to counsel];
Neither is there any understanding [judgment] in them.13
29O that they were wise, that [If they were yet wise, they would] they understood this,
That they [They] would consider their latter end!
30How should one [yet] chase a thousand,
And two put ten thousand to flight,
Except their Rock had sold them,
And the Lord had shut [delivered] them up?
31For their rock is. not as our Rock,
Even our enemies themselves being [And our enemies are] judges.
32For their vine is of the vine of Sodom,14
And of the fields of Gomorrah:
Their grapes are grapes of gall [poisonous grapes],
Their clusters are bitter [Bitter clusters have they]:
33Their wine is the poison of dragons,
And the cruel venom [gall] of asps.
34Is not this laid up in store with me,
And sealed up among my treasures [in my treasure-chambers]?
35To me belongeth vengeance and recompense [retribution for the time],
Their foot shall slide [When their foot shall slide] in due time,15
For the day of their calamity [destruction] is at hand,
And the things that shall come upon them [prepared for them] make haste.
36For the Lord shall judge his people,
And repent himself for [have compassion upon] his servants,
When [For] he seeth that their power [hand] is gone [vanished],
And there is none shut up, or left [set free].
37And he shall say, Where are their gods, [?]
Their rock [?] in whom they trusted [they trusted on him],
38Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices,
And drank the wine of their drink-offerings?
Let them rise up and help you,
And be your protection [covering upon you].
39See now that I, even I [for I, I] am he,
And there is no God with [besides] me;
I kill, and I make alive, I wound [crush] and I heal;
Neither is there any that can deliver [any deliverer] out of my hand.
40For I lift up my hand to heaven,
And say, I live forever!16
41If I whet my glittering sword,
And mine hand take hold on judgment,
I will render vengeance to mine enemies [adversaries],
And will reward [requite] them that hate me.
42I will make mine arrows drunk with blood,
And my sword shall devour [eat] flesh;
And that with [From] the blood of the slain and the captives,
From the beginning [the head] of revenges [of the hairy] upon the enemy.17
43Rejoice [Praise], O ye nations, with his people [Schroeder: om. with]].18
For he will avenge the blood of his servants,
And will render [repay] vengeance to his adversaries,
And will be merciful unto his land, and to his people [expiate his land, his people].
44And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he and Hoshea the son of Nun. 45And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel: 46And he said unto them, Set [place, direct] your hearts unto all the words which I testify among [against] you this day, which ye shall command your 47children to observe to do, all the words of this law. For it is not a vain thing [word] for you: because it is your life; and through [in] this thing [word] ye shall 48prolong your days in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it. And the Lord spake unto Moses that self-same day, saying, 49Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against [before the face of] Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession: 50And die in [upon] the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people: 51Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel. 52Yet thou shalt see the land before thee, but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.
PRELIMINARY REMARKS
Literature.—See Introd. pp. 44, 45.
Criticism.—Knobel: “The hints as to the religious and political condition of the people leave no doubt that it belongs to the post-Mosaic time. So also Vater, Gesenius, De Wette, Ewald, Bleek, and others. Fundamentally out of the assumption that there is no prophecy, and out of dogmatic prejudices (comp. Deu_31:16 sq.; Introd. §4, I. 18; Hengstenberg, Chris., 2d Ed., II., p. 196 sq.). The particulars cited by V. Lengerke, Ewald, and others, are either to be understood generally, or are directly a misunderstanding. For the rest, the striking remark of Lange upon the blessings of Jacob (Genesis, p. 650), as to “the reckless disposition of our time,” is of force here also. Knobel supposes it to be a remodelling; by the second Jehovist author, in the Syrian time, of a song found by him, and held to be Mosaic. Bunsen (Bibelwerk V.): “It is an address at the time of the Mesopotamian captivity (Jdg_3:7 sq.).” Bleek: “The Deuteronomist has first given to this song, not originally published as Mosaic, its present relation and position.” Comp. further Introd. § 3.
The Mosaic Authorship.—“The most important thing here is that it breathes throughout the spirit of Moses, and in a measure seems to exclude any imitation. The manifold coincidences in the manner of representation, and in style with Deuteronomy are very noticeable—not indeed for those who believe that the authorship of this book by Moses must be rejected on independent grounds, but for those to whom these grounds or reasons are not satisfactory, and who find in the similarity as to style between this book and this song a proof of the Mosaic origin of Deuteronomy, while the Mosaic authorship of the song is not indeed for them conditioned or determined through that of the book, since that speaks indeed for itself.” Sack. The ever-recurring figure which rules the whole song is that of the Rock, the firm, the faithful; without a figure, Jehovah (Exo_3:13 sq.; Deu_6:3 sq.). It is thus throughout, as is fitting the Song of God, as it were, a self-revelation of Jehovah. But that which thus corresponds to the divine origin testifies not less to the Mosaic authorship. The unity and simplicity of this fundamental thought, in the first place, guarantees the great antiquity of the song. With the sacred “earnestnestness, to which nothing in the world approaches, save one only,” the “fitting yet overwhelming energy,” the “profound losing of himself in God and his glory” (Schultz), appear precisely in the second place, as specifically Mosaic. Herder: “No shepherd people, no mere shepherd ideas of God and the circle of life; a man born and educated in Egypt, to whom Arabia is a second fatherland, the scene of his preparation, deeds, journey, and wonders, stands out clearly before us. The spirit of poetry takes from thence also its form and imagery. No one can mistake the altered style compared with the patriarchal history. The desert of Arabia gives the tone throughout: God is a rock—a burning, consuming fire. He whets the glittering of His sword—He shoots his arrows, which thirst for blood—His angry messengers are serpents, etc. The poetry of Moses is stern, earnest, simple, as were also his life and character. It gleams as his countenance, but a veil hangs before it. The spirit is widely different from that of Job, David and Solomon. Here the rugged, zealous soul of Moses, vexed even unto death, reveals itself in his last flaming song. In this poem appear the flaming mountain, the pillar of fire and cloud which went before Israel, and in if, the angel of his face.” The “rock” is his dwelling-place (Deu_33:27), Psa_90:1. “The long residence of Moses upon the lofty rocks of Horeb, and the finding of his God upon it, is urged by Schultz in favor of this Mosaic authorship. Comp. also further Schultz, p. 648–650. Lastly, the fact that this song, with its peculiar, fixed, and very perfect method, remains and gives tone to the post-Mosaic poetry, speaks in favor of its Mosaic authorship. “The highest poetic images in the Psalms and the Prophets,” says Herder, “are derived especially from this last song of Moses; for this is, as the primitive prophecy, the type and canon of all the prophets.”
[The objections urged against the Mosaic authorship rest either upon the style, or the ideas of the song. The differences in style between this song and the preceding chapters in Deuteronomy are obvious and striking, but they prove nothing as to its authorship. They are just such differences as would be natural in a passage of this kind, and which appear in all languages between the prose and lyrical passages of the same writer. They may fairly be urged in favor of the Mosaic authorship, since they indicate, as the critics themselves concede, a very great antiquity. In many cases, too, these peculiarities point back to similar expressions in other parts of the Pentateuch. Thus, as Keil says, “The figure of the eagle, Deu_32:11, refers to Exo_19:4; the description of God as a Rock in Deu_32:4; Deu_32:15; Deu_32:18; Deu_32:30-31; Deu_32:37, recalls Gen_49:24; the fire of the wrath of God, Deu_32:22, points to Deu_4:24; the expression “move to jealousy” in Deu_32:16; Deu_32:21, recalls the jealous God, Deu_4:24; Deu_6:15; Exo_20:5; Exo_34:14, etc.” The obvious similarity between this song and the 90th Psalm also confirms its Mosaic authorship. The Psalm claims to be the prayer of Moses, and in the judgment of the critics themselves there is no sufficient reason for denying the validity of this claim. Kamphausen indeed admits “that if it were really certain that Deuteronomy was composed b]bout the authenticity of the song would be decided in the traditional way.”
The objection drawn from the ideas taught in the song rests mainly upon the assumption that any foreknowledge and prediction of the future is impossible, and therefore does not lie against this part of Deuteronomy any more than against those other passages, both of this book and the other books of the Pentateuch, which so distinctly contemplate the apostacy of Israel, its fearful punishments, and its ultimate return and blessedness. These are more vividly set forth in this song, as its poetical character demanded; but they are no less certainly predicted elsewhere. And the question therefore, so far forth, as to the Mosaic authorship of the song, resolves itself into the wider question, whether predictions of the future are possible. The fitness of the song in its style and character, its imagery and ideas to the person, position and life of Moses; its relation to the later poetry of the Bible; its adaptedness to the end sought, i.e. to protest vividly and impressively against apostacy, and to testify to the faithfulness of God; and still more the divine seal set upon this song as the work of Moses, Rom_10:19, place its Mosaic authorship beyond reasonable question.—A. G.]
The poetical form is in general the symmetry of the so-called parallelism of the clauses. This simple and elevated rhythm of the thought, as it was suited to the Hebrew poetry, was well calculated in the case before us to make a strong impression, to fasten on the memory, and also to aid to a better understanding, and on the other hand also fitted for the enunciation in song and with music. But in particular, three words (feet, מדות) nearly always form a clause, the small words, or those joined by Makkeph, not being reckoned; the two-membered strophes are partly used as grace-notes (Deu_32:1; Deu_32:3), and partly (Deu_32:9; Deu_32:12) they alternate parenthetically with the doubled four-membered strophes. The whole is arranged as a double song or dialogue between Moses and Jehovah. Comp. Deu_32:20; Deu_32:34; Deu_32:37.
The prophetical character. “The song is poetry in this highest style, only possible in Israel” (Sack), i.e. it has a prophetic character. If Genesis 49 is “the prophetic life-picture of the future of Israel” (Lange), so here Israel as a nation; the patriarchal family-prophecy gives place to the legal national prophecy. Israel’s position in the world is the prophetic element in this song, i.e. in particular, his being set for the world, his introduction into the world (Deu_32:6 sq.), his appearance in the world, his position yet to be presented to the world; the future position of the world to Israel in respect to retribution and promise (Deu_32:26 sq.). As in the succeeding prophets, the final judgment upon all the enemies of God is perfectly clear, so here already the prospect of it dawns upon us (Deu_32:34-35; Deu_32:41 sq.)—personally presented here, because as to form, the fundamental tone of the song is Jehovah, and as to substance the realization of the idea of God through the kingdom of God in Israel was assigned to the following prophecies (at the same time there is a progress here in comparison with chap. 30)—and this final judgment concerns every enemy both inward (Deu_32:35 sq.) and external (Deu_32:41 sq.), and is partly a retributory sifting, and partly a retributory destruction. The prophetic contents of the song close with this horizon, not avowedly, but essentially Messianic, namely, in the wider sense of that word.
Its character as to its contents. The point of departure, the basis in the present, that which Moses had sufficiently experienced, namely, the apostacy of the people still for the last time proclaimed, more especially the rejection of the first generation, is recalled to mind. Next follows the picture of the future. The approaching already manifoldly described enjoyment of the promised land, with its results in pride and idolatry, also already frequently repeated, is spoken of in the most fearful and monitory method, a real prophecy from Israel’s nature and way. The time of the judges gives already a satisfactory commentary upon it. The symbolical significance of this picture of the future for the wider history of salvation. The entire rejection, but also the restoration of an Israel, which shall be the true Israel, and indeed out of the Gentiles. Comp. Doctrinal and Ethical.
Deuteronomy 32 and Exodus 15. The distinction: here upon the threshold of Canaan, there upon that of the desert; there at the morning after the night filled with salvation, here with the look at the night, approaching with Canaan, of the corruption of Israel; there pre-eminently the subjection and terror of the heathen, here the judgment upon Israel and its consequences. The unity: as there so here, the rejoicing at the close of the song, because in both Jehovah is the fundamental thought (comp. Deu_32:3 and Exo_15:1 sq.). As “the hallelujah has passed from Exodus 15 over to the Psalms” (Herder), so the succeeding prophecy of Israel from Deuteronomy 32. If the song of Moses, Rev_15:3, has its bud and blossom in Exodus 15, the song of the Lamb finds the same in Deuteronomy 32. (We might say with Ziegler in reference to Exodus 15 and Deuteronomy 32 : “that the latter is to the former as the old wine is better than the new.”)
The Division.
Deu_32:1-5, the introduction and theme; Deu_32:6-14, Israel’s position through Jehovah; Deu_32:15-18, Israel’s apostacy; Deu_32:19-25, Jehovah’s sentence; Deu_32:26-43, the execution of the judgment in vengeance and mercy.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. Deu_32:1-5. The introduction must indeed reconcile the actual divine address to Moses, with his human historical individuality. Hence, Deu_32:1, the truly deuteronomic invocation of the heavens and the earth. Comp. upon Deu_4:26 (32); Deu_30:19 (12); Deu_31:28. That they are summoned directly by the law-giver as witnesses is intelligible from his legal character (Deu_17:6; Deu_19:15); and still more historically from Deu_4:36, since they were participants in the law-giving, in the most solemn natal hour of Israel as a people. They were here invoked only as attentive hearers, as also in Isaiah 50, which is entirely appropriate, since not merely threatening, but promise also, appears in what follows. אָזַן, in Hiph. is not used in the sense of to be pointed, to sharpen, prick up the ear, rather in the sense of ready, quick, to fasten, to hold fast, (hence the ear as that which receives, catches up); to hearken. Moses here, as Christ, Joh_15:22 : Had I not spoken unto them? The figure of the rain, dew, sq., is suggested by the mention of the heavens, as also that of the grass and the herb, through the mention of the earth. His song comes from above, whence all good comes which does good, all blessings which produce fruit. The earth should not receive the curse, nor misery, the law is not given for this (Rom_7:12), still less should this most peculiar, testamentary work of Moses, and indeed this dying strain of Deuteronomy tend to this end. (לֶקַּה) to seize, grasp; but the reception is necessary (1Th_2:13; 1Ti_1:15; 1Ti_4:9), and hence the term occurs here; and not “merely to make prominent the dignity and worth of his word, as one received, 1Co_11:23; 1Co_15:3” (Schultz). Power generally, the heavenly (rain), the gentle, secret flow (dew), the mighty, copious (showers, or storm-torrents, heavy rain, thick rain-drops רביבים from the multitude of the drops); are the points of comparison, not the refreshing, fertilizing, enlivening, and the like (Keil, Knobel), which relate rather to the effects of the rain, dew, etc. (יערף, only elsewhere, Deu_33:28; שׂעירם, only here.) Comp. Job_29:22-23; Isa_55:10-11; Psa_72:6; Hos_14:5; Mic_5:9. Deu_32:3 gives the reason for the demand, Deu_32:1, as also for the fulness of power which he wished, Deu_32:2, Let my doctrine drop. Luther: “It is as if he had said, I will sing a song, which I will begin in so high a strain that no one under the sun can strike a higher strain, or be able to make a nobler song. My best song and best doctrine shall be the first commandment.” שׂם קרא (not בשם, to invoke as the poets the muses, Ewald, not even to praise), but to proclaim, to make known to all the world, what he had said, the revelation of his being whereof heaven and earth should make confession, in case Israel should neglect it, who therefore is not directly addressed in the following clause: Ascribe, sq. Comp. Deu_3:24; Deu_5:21; Deu_9:26; Deu_11:2. This greatness is not His majesty generally, or as Luther: “Ye shall not honor other gods, or ascribe greatness to any creature, all other gods are vain, false and nonentities,” but in the transition to what follows, points out already as with all the fingers, His exalted nature, his glory as Jehovah. הצור, the Rock, placed first absolutely, and thus given the greater prominence. צוּר, the thick, strong, firm. Herder: “Derived without doubt from Sinai, where the covenant was made which on the side of God as the Rock was everlasting.” It reminds us of Gen_49:24. It is the refuge, protection, security, for the forsaken. It presents the name Jehovah by a striking comparison (Isa_17:10; Isa_26:4; Psa_18:2; Psa_18:31). As alone in His being, so perfect in His work; without defect, without stain, nothing to be supplied, and nothing to be removed, both with respect to creation and providence (Herder: “Israel often blamed the providence, in its way through the desert”). For his ways are only right, as this is still more personally expressed in the fourth member parallel to the second. אמונח, firmness, the nature of the rock. עול (Deu 35:16) crooked, perverted nature, imperfection, vileness. (The prayer of the Jews in their burial-service begins as Deu_32:4, which is also found engraved upon their cemeteries and tables.) [How deeply the idea of God as the Rock (Tsur) penetrated the Jewish mind and life, is apparent from its frequent recurrence in names as Pedah-zur, Eli-zur, Zur-iel, Zur-ishaddai, etc.—A. G.]—The theme of the song finds its necessary completion, Deu_32:5, in the opposite description of Israel. Hence שׁחת לו cannot possibly refer to Jehovah; He deals not corruptly with him (Schultz), as already J. H. Michaelis: Num deus corrupit sibi (ipsi Israel) sc. vias suas? num ille est Israelitis causa exitii?Cocceius: Num corruptio ipsi? Nequaquam minime. The subject is clearly the generation, sq. Whether לו refers to Israel (Num_32:15), or to Jehovah in the Dat. Comm. may be doubtful; the latter appears to suit the connection better. Not Jehovah in His nature, work, ways, attributes (Deu_32:4), but Israel in its work, ways, nature, attributes, Deu_32:5, is an antithetic parallel to Deu_32:4. Comp. Deu_9:12. We are to recall the apostacy immediately at Sinai, and still further in the wilderness (Numbers 13 sq.). The clause in apposition with generation occurs parenthetically before it. Your ways should have appeared as that of His children (Deu_14:1). Sack “they are not His children” is almost too strong. לא before בניו, as frequently in this song before the substantive, is an observable idiomatic peculiarity. Their spot (the apposition and the opposition once more), rather: the children of Jehovah, as they should be, and His children as they are actually.—[Keil: They are not the children of Jehovah, but their stain, i.e. the stain or disgrace of God’s children.—A. G.]—(Others: to their own blemish, shame.) Schultz: His children are their own disgrace. [Regarding Jehovah as the subject, has He dealt corruptly with them? No, His children, etc.—A. G.]—The historical explanation of Knobel, referring it “to Judah and the faithful in Israel,” is needless, since even earlier the children of God (comp. Gen_5:22), e.g. Noah, the patriarchs, Caleb, Joshua, are thus distinguished, and the idea was always made prominent as simply set over against the actual evil character (Php_2:15; Mat_17:17).
2. Deu_32:6-14. Upon the ground of such a theme, of this opposite actual character, there is raised for the future, as the present, the question in Deu_32:6. גמל, to show, to cause, do, with reference to the recompense, retribution. נבל, as the following context shows (Deu_32:29), is foolish. Gesenius, Hupfeld, of the insipid, stale conduct, wanting the salt of divine wisdom, here used of the forgetfulness of God, godlessness. The derivation from, to swell, distend, and hence to be haughty, arrogant, agrees well also with the context. Comp. Deu_1:13; Deu_4:6. The fatherhood of Jehovah is set over against the not His children, Deu_32:5 (comp. Deu_32:20; Deu_14:1; Exo_4:22 sq.). The thought that Abraham was only their father in the beneficent strength of the divine promise, seems apparent from the emphasis placed upon הוא (see Genesis 17). קנה combines the ideas, to prepare, to form (not precisely, create, Gen_14:19; Gen_14:22), to acquire, possess. If קנה marks the descent from Abraham, then עשה denotes fitly the constituting of the people in Egypt, and כון, the forming or preparation in the wilderness. Comp. upon the verse Isa_63:16; Isa_64:8; Isa_1:2; Mal_2:10. In the יְמוֹת עולם, Deu_32:7 (this form occurs only here as the similar poetical term, שׁנוֹת, Psa_90:15, agreeing with it), the עולם designates the covered time either before or behind the speaker (Deu_4:32). From the hoary antiquity the tradition here comes down through generation and generation (the repetition used poetically for the plural), forming the revolution or succession of old men (דוּר, the circle or revolving period), Psa_90:1. Thus it comes to the fathers and elders (from the bowed, decrepid age, זָקֵן). עם in Deu_32:6 is collective, and hence the alternating singular and plural verbs. בִּינוּ (to separate, distinguish and understand). נגד, in Hiph.: to bring near, to bring over, to point out, declare. Deu_32:8 contains the result of the tradition; a retrospect to Genesis. The separation of the people as described Genesis 11עליון occurs constantly without the article, and here used instead of Jehovah, and equivalent to the Exalted One, the Highest. When He divided to the nations all their inheritance determined in Genesis 10; when He, the sons of Adam, (comp. Gen_10:1; Gen_10:32) dispersed, separated, Genesis 11 (Act_17:26), He did so למספרaccording to the number, sq., i.e., so that Israel should possess a land corresponding to its population. Comp. also Gen_9:25 sq.; Deuteronomy 2. Baumgarten combines the number seventy of the genealogical table, with the seventy ancestors of Israel, (Deu_10:22). [So Wordsworth also.—A. G.]. Deu_32:9 gives the reason for this earliest provision and care. Comp. Deu_7:6; Deu_10:15; (Act_14:16). חכל a cord, measure, then that which is measured by it. Comp. Deu_3:13. This two-membered strophe forms a beautiful pause or interruption. Thus it is from the beginning placed for the world, Exo_19:5 sq. It follows now, Deu_32:10, how it was introduced into the world, to the ideal follows the real provision on the part of God. The connection is directly with Deu_32:6. The words form a description of that frequently enforced (Deu_1:27; Num_14:11; Num_14:4; Exo_16:2) helpless condition of Israel. Thus even after the redemption from Egypt, thus always indeed with respect to Israel. Instead of Canaan, to which Deu_32:8 points, the land of the desert was the land where He found Israel. The reference to Egypt, with Keil, is artificial. As ארצ is clearly defined from the preceding, so it is placed also in reference to what follows, e.g., Deu_32:13. Tha prominence given to the leading through the wilderness is genuinely Deuteronomic. Comp. Deu_8:2 sq., 15 sq.; Deu_11:5; Deu_29:4 sq.; Deu_1:1. As the deliverance from Egypt was evidently presupposed, it is the more readily passed over here in silence because Israel is here spoken of as a nation, and Israel’s national existence dates from Sinai, from the wilderness. Found either after he had sought him in Egypt, the one that was lost (Luk_15:4) without him, or had found out, selected (Psa_89:20) since he had closed the covenant with him at Sinai, or simply met with him; thus Israel found itself, began its conscious existence, when Jehovah took it into His school, to train and educate it to a people, (Hos_9:10, a description as to the other side). Schultz emphasizes the fact that the Lord first appeared to Israel in the pillar of fire and cloud in the desert, Exo_13:20 sq. The emphasis, he remarks correctly, does not lie upon the finding, but upon the desert land, which is made still more explicit by the (וְ). The waste (Gen_1:2), from תהה literally; the dense, close wilderness, where no way is, Psa_107:40. Comp. upon Deu_1:1; Deu_1:31. Howling: emphasizes the horrible howling of the beasts of the desert, especially in the early part of the night. Led him (compassed him) about—near Him in his love, to care for, (Psa_26:6) but also to protect as a shield; (the pillar of fire and cloud, Zec_2:8). נצר; to keep, watch, preserve. אִישׁוֹןGesen.: the pupil (of the well-known little man, pet, the daughter, for the miniature image of him who looks in the eyes of another), literally the man (איש) of the eye. Or should one go back to the signification of אָנֵשׁ from which אישׂ is derived to bend, thus the arched eye-ball. Others: the eye-lid. Generally the comparison intimates that Jehovah had not left Israel out of His sight; the most careful, thoughtful protection, Psa_17:8; Zec_2:12. On account of the desert, of the hostile nations, but especially after the rejection of the old, for preservation of the new generation. The first and second, and third and fourth clauses are parallel to each other, as also in Deu_32:7. [“The whole description of what the Lord did for Israel, Deu_32:10-14, is figurative.” Israel is represented as a man ready to perish in the wilderness, and so found and rescued by God. But there is no design or attempt to bring out in their succession, the events in Israel’s history, or what God had done for them. Only those are selected which bear upon the general theme and purpose of the song.—A. G.]. Deu_32:11 gives the desert figure of the eagle. Israel is the eagle’s brood in the nest (קֵן a separated mountainous place) in the rocks at Sinai. Jehovah stirs it up, as He came down over it in the giving of the law (her young, from גזל, the stripped, naked, featherless young). Farther: the pillar of fire and cloud was like the outspread wings! Indeed He took it and bare it in His power and love, and with what patience? As the eagle is the subject, the suffixes refer to the nest, or to each individual one of the young. Deu_32:12 is a continuous exposition of the figure used. (Others refer alone and with him to Israel). For the rest comp. Exo_19:4. (As out of Egypt so in the way to Canaan), Gen_1:2; Deu_1:31. It is only a two-membered strophe, as Deu_32:9. [Keil: “If no other god stood by the Lord to help Him, He thereby laid Israel under the obligation to serve Him alone as its God.”—A. G.]. Deu_32:13 treats of the partly begun and partly approaching occupation of the mountainous Canaan. With the high places was the “earth,” (land) promised to Israel, assured. The occupation of Gilead was the beginning of the victorious dominion (chap. 3). So the enjoyment of Canaan is described with prophetic foresight, as in Deu_8:7-10. Comp. upon Deu_6:3. Palms, date trees growing upon the mountains, as well as bees building their hives in the rocks introduce honey into Palestine; olive trees are found in apparently the most unproductive places. A pleasant, childlike enjoyment, because throughout a blessing. Deu_32:14 is a continuation. The specification “testifies to the general faithfulness of the song,” (Herder) the East Jordan land was an earnest of the farther side. חָלָב: that which is drawn out through strokes or rubbing, the milk from the milking. חֵלֶב the selected, picked out; hence the fat, generally the best, (Num_18:12) here strengthened still further by the kidneys, the very finest wheat (in reference to the flour) or in the size of the grains. Lastly the bubbling, foaming red wine (Gen_49:11). The last clause here, as in Deu_32:7, takes the form of an address. The five-membered strophe also shows the poetic fervor. For the rest comp. Num_32:1; Eze_39:18. (It may be regarded as a four-membered strophe thus: butter of kine and milk of sheep with the fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat. And thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape). [Fat of kidneys was, as the best fat, specified as a part of the sacrificial animals which were to be presented to the Lord, and hence the figure here—for the finest, most nutritious wheat.—A. G.].
3. Deu_32:15-18. The apostacy of Israel comes to pass as was already foreseen, Deu_6:11; Deu_8:12 sq.; Deu_31:20. Deu_32:15. Jeshurun, found twice elsewhere in Deut. (Deu_33:5; Deu_33:26) and in Isa_44:2. Beyond question from ישׂר; comp. Jesharim, Num_23:10 (Jos_10:13; 2Sa_1:18). It is not a diminutive (Gesenius: the pious, precise, blameless little people), which is destitute of philological (comp. Hengst.: Balaam, p. 98), proof (the אִישׁוֹן, Deu_32:10, referred to, is correctly with (Delitzsch) rather: the man, if not man-like), and an appellatio blanda et charititiva does not accord well with the serious character of the passage in which “a loving being, but no mere lover speaks,” but is perhaps a nomen proprium; the just, honorable man, the just, the righteous; but by no means the happy or the like, not even the justified (Calvin) although that is nearer the truth. The legal character, the national essence or nature of Israel was expressed in this term. (Comp. Deu_32:4). Over against the idea of the nation, as it rests in Jehovah, enters so much more offensively the character in which Israel actually appears in the world. A prophetic preterite. Johlson sees in Jeshurun a pun, which the figure of the fat and kicking ox (שור) completes. Comp. Act_9:5 (Hos_4:16; Hos_13:6). The direct address in the second person vividly interrupts, and gives greater energy to the statement begun in the third person. It is not jocosely spoken, as Ewald, but the keenest sacred irony. [By reminding them of what they were in idea, of what they were called to in character and dignity, he censures more severely their guilt and perfidy.—A. G.]. אֱלוֹהַּ is the pathetic form for אלהים both in the old and in the later Aramaic Hebrew. Comp. Deu_32:6; Deu_32:4. [Lightly esteemed, from נָכָל to treat as a fool.—A. G.]. Deu_32:16. The plural form, which gives the poetical coloring, occurs instead of the previously used singular, as in Deu_32:7. Upon the provocation of the divine zeal (jealousy), comp. Deu_4:24-25; Deu_5:9; Deu_6:15. The covenant is a marriage covenant, (Deu_31:16). זרים, “those standing beyond marriage, and the relationship effected by it, Deu_25:5,” Schultz. For the rest comp. Deu_7:25; Deu_27:15. A two-membered strophe, as Deu_32:9; Deu_32:12. Deu_32:17. שֵׁשדִים. Baalim, lords (1Co_8:5), Demons? Further comp. Deu_11:28; Deu_13:7; Deu_29:25. [Wordsworth: “Wasters, destroyers” Bib.Com: “As indicating the malignant character of the deities in heathen worship”—A. G.]. New.—Lately risen in a temporal, as the following clause in a local sense. In both references not God, Jer_23:23 sq. (Schultz figuratively; not worth much). Baumgarten: Israel had no historical relations with them. To understand the second clause, came newly up, temporally also, is tautological, and is not demanded by the parallelism. The third member is parallel to the first, the fourth to the second. In Deu_32:18 he renews at the close what was said in Deu_32:15; there using the masculine, and here the feminine termination. צור, as: to make thick is also to form (ציר in the plural: birth-throes) thus in a verbal way reconciling the figure of bearing (ילד to break through, of the birth) with the rock; with respect to its source, e.g., the noble metal, may be actually said to be born of the iron stone of the rock. תשׁי from נשׁה, to forsake, forget, Knobel, Schultz, Keil; from שיה, to neglect. The direct address appears again as at the close of Deu_32:14. God as the woman in birth throes (Psa_2:7; Psa_90:2; Isa_49:15; Gal_4:19). [“To bring out more prominently the base ingratitude of the people, he represents the creation of Israel by Jehovah, the Rock of its salvation, under the figure of generation and birth, in which the paternal and maternal love of the Lord to His people had manifested itself.” Keil.—A. G.]
4. Deu_32:19-25. The judgment of Jehovah upon His apostate people, proceeds upon a personal observation. He needs no testimony, Deu_32:19. A comprehensive two-membered strophe, as Deu_32:16; Deu_32:9; Deu_32:12. (Comp. Deu_1:34). Schultz: “From indignation at, sq.” Herxheimer: “On account of the provocation of, sq.” [Our version brings out the force of the preposition as well, and is equally as intelligible as those suggested.—A. G.]. Deu_32:20. The declaration of the judgment. Comp. Deu_31:17-18. He speaks after the manner of men (Gen_37:20). They are no more regarded with favor; He will only see what their end, their last sins and last punishments will be. The reason is their wicked and faithless (Deu_32:4) way, which with them comes to the uttermost (1Th_2:16). Deu_32:21. The retribution will at last correspond to the offence. Not God, is not a monster (1Co_8:4 sq.; Deu_10:19 sq.), to which in a corresponding way “not people,” would signify “an inhuman people, repulsive and frightful,” (Ewald, in order to bring into the text in a historical way the Assyrians), but: as idols to which the heathen correspond. Moreover the no-gods are explained through the term vanities (nothingness); they are as the breath of men, fugitive human forms (Mat_15:9); and no-people through גוֹי, and the alliteration between נבל and הבל The designation occurs with more express reference to Israel, and is thus, as even Knobel concedes, “not to be pressed,” not even “to the Syrians under Baasha and Ahab,” generally not to any particular nation. No-people in the view of Israel, a foolish nation according to Israel’s own conscience, is a godless nation, one which has gone hitherto its own way, etc. (Eph_2:12). The Acts of the Apostles is a biblical commentary upon this passage. Comp. also Deu_32:6; thus it is such a nation or people, who (notwithstanding all the grace they had received) are, as they are by nature (comp. Deu_4:6 sq.). The emphasizing of the Gentile world for the end of Israel, Rom_10:19 (1Th_2:15-16). The reception of the Gentiles in the place of Israel is certainly and literally contained in this verse. [No-people is not a people which does not deserve to be called a people, because it is behind the Israelites in its outward organization, or in its culture and general civilization, but because it does not rest as to its existence and growth upon the choice of God, because it does not “recognize Him as its Head and King,” because it does not submit itself to His statutes and judgments, (Deu_4:6) which alone make a wise or understanding people. The designation does not imply any inferiority in worldly or secular respects on the part of those to whom it is applied.
The Apostle Paul, quoting (Rom_10:19), the precise words of the Sept. here, gives the true interpretation, and puts their significance, as teaching the adoption of the Gentiles in the place of the Jews beyond question, by any one who accepts the teaching of the Apostle as inspired. His use of this passage, too, ought to settle the question as to the inspiration of this song, and as to its Mosaic authorship.—A. G.]. It is nowhere said in Deu_32:22 sq., that the Lord would use the Gentiles only as a rod against Israel comp. Deu_32:31, as Kamphausen asserts;and what else is “the provoking and angering,” (Deu_32:16) in this connection, than what J. H. Michaelis “illustrates metaphorically by the spirit of a loving husband, who sees himself scorned by his wife, and takes some poor maiden in her place, as Ahasuerus Esther in the place of Vashti.” The description which underlies and grounds the judicial sentence, Deu_32:22, corresponds to these awful extremities (Deu_4:24; Deu_6:15). Comp. upon Deu_29:19. The dimension even to the lowest (sheol) hell (the chasm, abyss; see Hupfeld upon Psalms 66) according to which this stands as the underworld in opposition to heaven,—here the lowest depth (Deu_30:13) may be intended,—presents the judgment first of all as a destruction reaching beyond the earthly life, and continuing in Sheol, (Num_16:30 sq.). The intensive extent or compass in the next place, when the fire which is kindled (Deu_11:17) consumes indeed the foundations of the earth, expresses the judgment, as in the analogy of Sodom (Deu_29:22 sq.), extending from Palestine, and spreading out to one which concerns the whole world. [The judgment thus described was not to fall upon Israel alone. It was first to suffer. “But the words were not intended to foretell one particular judgment, but refer to judgment in its totality and universality, as realized in the course of centuries in different judgments upon the nations, and only to be completely fulfilled at the end of the world.” Keil.—A. G.]. (2Pe_3:7). Thus only does it correspond with the universal idea of Israel. Since the land of promise loses its peculiar significance through the curse of God, the heaven of Israel passed away with the temple, there exists in Christ with the new Israel, which is entirely, completely spiritual, already a new heaven and a new earth, according to the Spirit. Israel is the nearest object of the Divine love-judgment, Deu_32:23 sq. The transition to another figure, comp. Deu_31:11; Deu_31:21. In masses one upon another; as a warrior against his enemies, exhausting his arrows to the very last one in his quiver, heaps them together around the enemy. Deu_32:24. מָזָה, to draw, exhaust, or simply to extend, make thin. רֶשֶׁף the licking, lapping flame, used of fever, burning pestilence. קטב, cut, thrust, blow. Comp. Lev_26:22. [Keil paraphrases “when hunger, pestilence, plague, have brought them to the verge of destruction I will send, sq”.—A. G.]. Deu_32:25. שׁכל in Piel: lonely, bereaved, made childless, (Gen_43:14). חֶדֶר the closed, within the tent, house, where especially are the wives and children. בָחוּר, the chosen, manly youth, especially soldiers. שׂיב to have gray hairs, (Lev_19:32).
5. Deu_32:26-43. In such a position to the world would God bring them, but they should not disappear entirely from the race. In Deu_32:26, in which he passes from the sentence to its execution. I said occurs as “he said“(Deu_32:20) and with a similar purport. פאה, used only here, may mean: to drive into every corner, or: to cast out from every corner (Schultz); the last signification may agree with the connection, but not the first.—To blow away agrees still better, so that they are dispersed. Vulg., Luther, according to the Rabbinical solution אפּ אי הם: where are they? i.e., destroyed beyond any trace, so that one seeks after them in vain. Others: to make an end. Others still: they are exposed, abandoned as the corners of the fields to the poor. Or deriving it from אף anger, to let this have success or control). שׁבת in Hiphil: remove the Sabbath from their memory (Lev_26:43). Comp. Deu_25:19. Once more a two-membered strophe. Deu_32:27. What restrains Jehovah from this utter destruction is not anything in Israel, not even anything in Him in reference to Israel,—this is the icy character of the passage,—but Jehovah fears His wrath of (upon) the enemy, i.e., because the oppressors of Israel, if they should ignore (misunderstand) the fact, that Jehovah and not their power (Isa_26:11) had destroyed Israel, would excite His wrath. Comp. Cicero; pro Flacco, c. 28, cited by Baumgarten. The impeachment of His honor or glory through the enemy is to be explained perhaps as Deu_9:28. There may, however, be an intimation also of the gracious purpose of God toward the Gentiles. The blessedness of all is indeed the glory of God. The world should not occupy such a position to Israel on its own account; it should execute and recognize the judgment of God upon Israel; therefore it is arrested, however little the nation deserves it. As Israel, e.g., Deu_9:4 sq., could not assert its own goodness as a motive, so with the gentile world its power; there the heart, here the hand. In what follows, the correct reasons are presented against these possible false reasons: not the gentile power, but Israel’s corruption, which presents it as ripe for overthrow, is the reason, for its destruction by Jehovah. Thus Deu_32:28 gives the reasons for Deu_32:26, so that Deu_32:27 forms the conclusion to Deu_32:26. We have still the words of God, as also in the reasons given for the declaration of the judgment (Deu_32:20); Knobel: “the author here proceeds with his own words.” That the discourse treats of Israel is not doubtful, as Sack thinks, because the גוֹי, which is more commonly used for the gentiles, occurs here. It stands for Israel also, e.g., Deu_4:6 sq., agrees well with the more general style here, and moreover when emphasized could well serve to present the equality of Israel and the Gentiles. Void of counsel, generally; not knowing what to advise, they have lost the power of wise consideration, counsels, or: lost, ruined, truly with respect to that with which they might consult; they do not take advice from the law of God (Deu_4:6 sq.). תבונה, comp. with בינו Deu_32:7. The moral corruption has wrought intellectual. With reference to this sign of deserved destruction, Moses breaks out, Deu_32:29, in a sad lamentation: לוּ! (it will not be so, surely not in the whole people). [The particle expresses here the simple condition without any wish, implying that the condition does not exist, or is uncertain.—A. G.]. Luk_19:42. Comp. Deu_32:6-7, and upon Deu_32:20. זאת especially what follows, that Israel could not have the victory, but that its end was near. Deu_32:30 is usually understood of the unsuccessful wars of Israel, from which either the Gentiles could perceive (this is expressed Deu_32:27 sq.), how Jehovah gave over His people, or that Israel should perceive and consider. More correctly: the review of the earlier history, which they were not considering (Deu_32:29 comp. with Deu_32:7) would prove to them how mighty Israel could be, (Lev_26:8; comp. Jos_23:10). But, since the actual case is altogether the reverse, the self-judgment of their end must follow upon this review, (אי, how would it still כהthus be, namely: it would, sq. אמ־לא כי־except (according to the usual interpretation) their Rock, sq., or: the actual case was that, sq.). Their Rock, as is clear from the parallel clause, is Jehovah (Deu_32:4). Deu_32:31 gives the proof through a comparison of Jehovah with that which the Gentiles call their rock. Their gods could only be called rock, never be so, (Deu_32:21). Moses includes himself with his people (according to the idea, [i.e., the true Israel]). פליליםSchultz: Against the faithless ones who had proved the vanity of idols. Most: Since they even had experienced the omnipotence of Jehovah, and the weakness of all gods besides Him, as e.g., of Egypt, Moab, Midian. (Num_23:24). Perhaps still more simply:—And our enemies are judges. Israel’s judges (Exo_21:22) instead of Jehovah, carry out His judicial sentence, and do nothing more. Thus Deu_32:31 connects itself with the close of Deu_32:30 : because the rock of the heathen, the gods whom they worship, are not as Jehovah, so the Rock of Israel must have given it into their power. Otherwise Israel would, as of old, have been victorious in the field, instead of as now recognizing its enemies as its judges. Deu_32:32 holds a similar relation to Deu_32:31, and Deu_32:30, as Deu_32:28, to Deu_32:26-27. Israel had placed itself on an equality, in pleasure and pride (Deu_32:15), with the Gentiles, and indeed with those of Canaan, against whom a previous judgment of God had long ago warned, and is soon therefore to be upon an equality with them, in punishment likewise, (Deu_29:22). Against Sack and those who with him apply Deu_32:32-33 to the Gentiles, Keil asserts “that throughout the Old Testament the corruption of the lsraelites, and never that of the Gentiles, is compared with that of Sodom, sq.; Isa_1:10; Isa_3:9; Jer_23:14; Eze_16:46 sq.” Their vine, so far as it is to be compared with any such, is of the vine of Sodom, is a scion from that, (רוֹש as Deu_29:17). Deu_32:33. “The sweetness of the luxuries was a bitter, fatal poison to the dwellers in the garden of God”. Baumgarten. As Deu_32:29 Moses, so now Deu_32:34 Jehovah breaks up the thought into the form of a dramatic dialogue. The position of the world to Israel should thus not be for the glory of its power, but for the glory of the Lord; Israel should be judged through the world, but from the Lord. הוא refers to the immediately foregoing, only so far as the corruption of Israel involves guilt which demands punishment, for as corruption is it plainly discovered, manifested, Deu_32:32 sq., thus in any case not “concealed,” as Schultz renders כמם, which is found only here. But the rendering also by “preserved,” or: “coiled up,” “shrivelled, bound,” (Isa_8:16) does not accord well with the sins of .the people as such; but does agree well with the guilt, the recorded guilt registers which were rolled together, so that nothing might fall out and be lost, Job_14:17; Hos_13:12, and Dan_7:10; but Psa_139:6; Mal_3:16, do not belong here. The sense is perfectly clear from the parallel sealed up, i.e., still secret, but to be opened in due time. (Dan_12:9). The treasures (treasure chamber) according to Deu_28:12 is heaven. Comp. upon the whole Deu_29:28. Deu_32:35. What it is which this refers to is designated here more precisely under the known prominence of the literal Supreme Judge, (Gen_18:25). לי not: “vengeance, as well as punishment, is prepared with me” (Herxheimer), which would be the same as Deu_32:34; but it belongs to me, is my part. The judge, the avenger am I peculiarly (Rom_12:19; Heb_10:30). נקם is destination, judicial sentence, decision, and hence first vengeance. שלם Piel: consummation, restitution, reaches to the end of Israel. When your support gives way, your pride, your secure confidence wavers, then is the time of God; for now, only kept sealed, but then also manifested where it was perhaps little expected, the day of their calamity is at hand. איד literally: crushing, oppressive burden. The singular includes all that shall come upon them, as that which is prepared (Deu_7:10). Deu_32:36. In which Moses again is the speaker, gives a new reason for the judgment in due time, and introduces also a new element. The mere fact that Jehovah appears as the one judging, allows us to infer a separation (Gen_18:23 sq.), or distinction. The solemn and formal עַמּוֹ, while hitherto גוי (Deu_32:28) or at most עם נבל־ Deu_32:6 had been used of Israel, renders that inference more probable. The parallel עבדיו strengthens it, since the word refers to the true servants, those who are faithful in Israel. The judgment as a sifting. The people of the Lord indeed in name, but in nature apostate (so also Heb_10:30) causes and experiences the judgment, which not only procures their right, does not prevent their punishment, but as generally, it procures right to the true Israel, who correspond to its idea, so especially by such a distinction it helps that part of Israel which constitutes this people of the Lord, to its vindication (Romans 11). Thus also the name of Israel in the best sense, is not extirpated, comp. Deu_32:26; as a sign of judgment so also of mercy. יתנחם. The sorrow of His own gives Him sorrow (Psa_90:13; Mat_24:22). His seeing corresponds with Deu_32:19 : there the apostacy, here the result of the execution of the judgment, which is such that it excites to compassion: power, with national strength, namely, run out, dried up, exhausted. אפם a noun which takes the place of a verb and signifies to cease, i.e., is no more. The fourth-time occurring paranomasia עצור ועזוב.—There is none shut up or left. Keil, Knobel: the married and single, i.e., all men. Baumgarten: the captive and freed-man. Ewald: close and liberal, i.e., all, as our thick and thin, is in any case a proverbial designation of persons; but scarcely of boys who were still at home, and those of age; scarcely also of the impure, who must remain at home, and in this reference the free, but either servants and freed-men, (עצור the ruled), or the men of rank (who remain in the house) and the common people. Schultz, Meier: the vassal and the lord, the borrower and the lender, or one bound to service, and the free. Understanding the expression of things, some render it: the shut up (treasures) and the left free (the herd in the field), the precious and the trifling, and the like. Israel’s nationality is at an end. Deu_32:37 corresponding to Deu_32:20. It is naturally not the servants of the Lord, Deu_32:36, who are addressed, since they have held fast to Him as their Lord, but the question concerns the larger part of Israel. Their gods, and with this the rock used ironically here is not easily misunderstood. Literally, Jehovah alone could be the Rock (Deu_32:30), but they have despised Him (Deu_32:15), and strange gods, Deu_32:16 sq., have become their rock, even a rock as that of the Gentiles, Deu_32:31. The theme of the song in all its variations is repeated. Deu_32:38. Sept., Vulg., Luth., Schultz, “Whose sacrificial fat they ate, the wine of whose drink-offerings they drank,” as if it was said of the Israelites, while yet both the fat is burned for the deity (Lev_3:3 sq.) and the libations are poured out before it (Num_15:5), and this is certainly to be specially retained here, with respect to the way of the Lord, in order to bring out more prominently the qui [quid] pro quo right. The gods ate and drank in this way (Deu_4:28); had in Israel so good an entertainment. Upon יקומו comp. Num_10:35. A covering and defence they could still claim from them, in any case it is the cloud pillar of Jehovah over His people which is referred to.
Deu_32:39. The connection through their own sight, especially with respect to that upon which they were visibly trusting, is an altogether fitting connection. Now, after the strange gods have proved their powerlessness. אני אני ,הוא, an emphatic repetition, and at the same time an exposition of the name Jehovah. There is no God besides (with) me (Deu_32:12; Deu_3:24), thus הוא is equivalent to האלהים; Jehovah alone the true God (Joh_8:24). Schultz: “Jehovah could not be the true being, having the cause of His being in Himself, purely dependent upon Himself alone, if He had any one beside Himself, which He Himself could not be.” Baumgarten: “Jehovah the absolute subject.” What this exclusiveness and unchangeableness of His being says in the sphere of His deity, that, the killing and the making alive (וַאֲחַיֶּה alluding to Jehovah, in any case to the immediately following חַי, Deu_32:40) the wounding and healing, say in the sphere of the becoming (Werdens) and the mutable, the creature. Kill, wound, at first because of the judgment; make alive, heal, in reference to the true people of God, the servants of the Lord, (Deu_32:36) by which contrast it was intimated that the suffering which they endure here,is salvation through the hand of God. Moreover ידי here and in Deu_32:40 forms an antithesis to יד Deu_32:36. The declared execution of the judgment in vengeance and in mercy is confirmed Deu_32:40, for men, and hence, in the divine condescending love after the manner of men, by the oath. To heaven— the throne of God, essentially as if it was: by myself, but formally as men are accustomed to swear, who by the lifting up of the hand confess and invoke Him (Gen_14:22). חי the oath formula: as truly as I live, by my life. What is sworn follows. The oath reaches over the whole world to heaven. Jehovah has to show the judgment, inwardly, with respect to Israel itself, in vengeance and mercy; and in the like manner also outwardly, so far as the future position of the world to Israel should be the right position, perfectly right; and hence it must be a final judgment over the collective enemies of the Lord. Otherwise it might occur, that as with Israel, their intractable pride grew out of their possessions and their apparent goodness, so with the others, the Gentile world, it might arise from their apparent powerful position. Comp. Deu_32:27; Deu_32:15). Deu_32:41. The warlike figure as in Deu_32:23 (sword, Deu_32:25). Entirely personal: my, sq., on account of the fundamental thought (Jehovah) of the prophetic stand-point of the song, and because the enemies of Israel as such could not come into view here, since it also is the very object of the divine judgment. Israel itself even is become an enemy of Jehovah (Deu_32:15 sq.).—Glittering (the flash) of the piercing (ברק) point of that in the hand of the heavenly hero, as the quivering flash of his sword.—Whet, denoting its preparation with all the earnestness of his zeal or anger. The judicial procedure (משפט) explains the sword which God grasps, and which He (ב) holds fast, until the judgment is completed. אשיב is explained through אשלם (Deu_32:35), as a retributive destruction. Deu_32:42. There is no exemption even of the captives. The divine arrows would become drunk as they drink the blood of the slain, as the divine sword would eat the flesh. פרע, to break forth, to be at the head, or in the front; hence Schultz: of the head, chief of the princes; Ewald: of the supreme ruler (King) of the princes; Keil, Knobel: of the hairy head (because פרע designates the hair of the head); others: “from the head of the uncovering (Lev_10:6) of the enemy, i.e. the uncovered enemy;” thus the destruction of the people as of their rulers (comp. Psa_110:5-6), or as a supplementary portraiture of the destroyed power of the enemy; the hair, as already the head, naturally symbolizing youth, wanton strength, pride, haughtiness, and the like. Comp. Hupfeld upon Psa_68:21.—[The rendering in our version has no foundation in the language itself, is not supported by other passages in which the word occurs, and breaks up the parallelism of the verse, the third clause being obviously related to the first, and the fourth in like manner to the second.—A. G.].
Deu_32:43 forms the conclusion, but in which also the divine mercy is announced in connection with the divine vengeance in reference to the world, those without or beyond Israel. As at the beginning, as especially at Deu_32:36, so now also at the close Moses takes up the word. If it was vengeance only which was in view for the Gentiles, the solemn, sacred summons to rejoice, which is directed to the Gentiles (thus at the end, as at the beginning, to heaven and earth with regard to Israel), would be simply fiendish. Comp. Rom_15:10 (Rev_12:10; Rev_12:12; Rev_15:3); Gen_12:3. The object of this loud rejoicing is His people, but is immediately set in its true light by His servants, as in Deu_32:36. (רנן in Hiph. with the accus. of the object is unusual, but surely to take עמו as in apposition with גוים, “nations which are His people” (e.g.Header) is still more unusual, and the way is not sufficiently prepared for it through Deu_32:21, or other passages. Sept.: μετὰ τοῦ λαοῦ αύτοῦ.)—[Our version follows the Sept., as does St. Paul in Rom_15:10. Nor does this rendering differ essentially from that which makes His people the direct object of the joy. “For the heathen here called upon to laud God’s people can only be required to do so when they have themselves received a share in God’s mercies to His land and His people, and had cause therefore themselves to rejoice with His people. It is apparent also that since the praise is to be addressed in the first instance to ‘His people,’ and not directly to God Himself, the mercies must be regarded as overflowing to the rejoicing Gentiles through and from the Jews. Nor can we imagine such praise to be bestowed by the Gentiles upon the Jews for such mercies whilst the Jews were themselves excluded from the same. It seems then that in this profound passage there is shadowed forth the purpose of God to overrule (1) the unbelief of the Jews to the bringing in of the Gentiles, and (2) the mercy shown to the Gentiles to the eventual restoration of the Jews (comp. Rom_11:25-36).” Bib. Com.—A. G.]—The blood of His servants appears as the blood of martyrs who have sealed their faithfulness to Jehovah with their blood (Mat_23:31; Mat_23:34-35; Luk_18:7; Rev_6:10; Rev_18:20; Rev_18:24; Rev_19:2). For the rest comp. Deu_32:41. Genuinely Mosaic is it to the last: to His land and people, the two fundamental references of the Pentateuch from Genesis onward. To which the remark of J. H. Michaelis well agrees, that in this song the enemies of God are peculiarly Israel after the flesh. How else indeed could the song be a testimony against Israel? At all events it relates to the guilt of blood, pressing as a burden upon the land, and at the same time the stain which through it comes upon the people, first of all upon Israel. Comp. Deu_21:8; Lev_16:33; Num_35:33; Zec_3:9. With this wonderful, mysterious tone the song ceases. (The close of the Old Covenant reflects itself in the way in which this song closes, Psa_22:27 sq.” Schultz.)
6. Deu_32:44-52. This passage commends itself to us as from a different hand than that of Moses (Introd. § 2). It is not against this view, but rather in its favor, that it is from the same hand which has added also chaps. 33 and. 34הושׁע, Deu_32:44, instead of the earlier constantly used יהושע, is remarkable. The former, his domestic name, denotes simply help, salvation; the latter, his more public official name, denotes that Jehovah is this or his help. The first natural name of Joshua would be most appropriate if he was the person who has added this section and the following chapters, especially that at the first opportunity at which it could occur, he should thus at the beginning designate the tone corresponding to his modesty. He was Hoshea, as he was the servant of Moses, and so he names himself again when he, in this writing, actually serves him. Comp. further Deu_31:30; Deu_31:19.—And Hoshea, thus according to the divine direction; Joshua only assisted. Comp. Deu_32:45. In this way Israel could reach the conviction of the entire accord between the predecessor and his successor. Deu_32:45. Comp. Deu_31:24. Deu_32:46. Testify, more exactly, which I take to witness, or better still, through which I lay down my testimony; a reference to Deu_31:26, but especially to Deu_31:19; Deu_31:21. It is the song pre-eminently which is intended, which should help to faithfulness to the law. Comp. Deu_6:7; Deu_11:19. Deu_32:47. The proof as Deu_30:11. רֵק, from רוּק (ריק), contracted from רחק, to remove, put far away. Hence מִכֶּם is neither: “so that it had no importance for them” (Schultz), nor as equivalent with “not more vain and empty than you yourselves” (Knobel). For the rest comp. Deu_30:20. Deu_32:48. The day of the song; thus this was his dying (swan) song. Deu_32:49. (Num_27:12 sq.) The particularity in the description of the locality should not escape notice; more appropriate for Joshua: than for God. Keil calls attention also to the imperatives. Comp. upon Deu_3:27. The plural, העברים, designates the mountain range on that side, east of the Jordan. The particular (הזה) mountain of this mountainous border of Moab is the הר־נבו. Hengstenberg, Hist. of Balaam. In this region (Buckingham, Travels) there are outlooks stretching from thirty to sixty miles in breadth, e.g. at Heshbon, from whence one can see Jerusalem directly to the west, and still more clearly Bethlehem. Deu_32:50. Comp. Gen_25:8; Gen_25:17; Num_20:25 sq. (Deu_10:6)—[Unto thy people seems to indicate something more than that the body of Moses was gathered with the buried dust of his fathers, and if not a proof of the immortality and consciousness of the soul after death” (Wordsworth), it is one of those passages which imply that truth.—A. G.]
Deu_32:51. מָעַל, to separate, to be rebellious, to act faithlessly. Num_20:12; Num_27:14; Num_20:13; Num_20:24.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. What is said, Num_12:8, as to the distinct position of Moses, from the literal prophetic order, receives its full confirmation in this chapter. As God speaks to Moses without any reserve what related to the destiny of Israel and the world, literally “mouth to mouth,” it is a conversation or dialogue. The servant faithful “in all the house,” introduces the song in inspired faith and with burning zeal, accompanies and closes it with painful lamentation (Deu_32:29 sq.), yet not without blessed hope (Deu_32:43).
2. If Moses nevertheless is a prophet in the more general sense of the word, the בַּמַּרְאָה which is denied to him in distinction from the literal prophets, Num_12:6-7, and the וּמַרְאֶה granted to him, Deu_32:8 (although the latter is qualified and explained by בְחִירֹת (riddles) and וְלֹא), is intelligible through the figurative and generally poetical style of this chapter. We may say: the figurative term הַצּוּר for Jehovah, is perhaps from the תְּמוּנָה, which, according to Num_12:8, Moses saw.
3. Poetry and prophecy in their relationship and their difference. The relation is not a barely formal one. Goethe: “Poetry is inspiration,” which he explains more fully by “genius;” with which, for the Christian view of the world and life, there arises at once a distinction—a distinction like that between nature and grace. Comp. the excellent work of Sack (Songs in the Historical Books of the Old Testament, p. 3 sq.). Steinbeck, the Poet a Seer, Leipsic, 1836. Comp. Lange, Phil. Dogm., p. 367, 374.
4. But it is not poetry alone, music also, which here appears in the service of religion; the song, chap. 32, is not only a poem, it is at the same time a song. In the song we have the unity of poetry and music. Comp. the thoughtful treatment of the point in view here, in Lange as cited above, p. 375 (2Ki_3:15).
5. The parallel between the ancient classical poetry and the Old Testament poetry and prophecy. “The form, the beautiful, festive appearance,” rules in the former; “the living realities,” the vehement, struggling conflict which marks the progress of history (des werdens), for the latter. “There the beautiful is prominent; here the sublime, exalted.” Lange (Herzog’s Realencycl. 11 773).
6. It is as a festive celebration of the beautiful with the good (the kalokagathie), that not only the deuteronomic discourses, but the entire historical activity of Moses closes in poetry and song. In correspondence with this is the look at Canaan from Nebo, closing his life—the most beautiful image.
7. “The contents and connection,” Sack correctly calls “so great and comprehensive,” that he speaks here of the “prototype of all prophecy in a certain measure of the connection of the Old and New Testaments.” That which forms the contents of the word of God, the contents of prophecy in the narrower sense, that also forms the contents of this song: the law and the gospel. The thread of its idea runs from Israel, the people of God in truth (Deu_32:36), in order to reach the nations generally in the future (Deu_32:43). Tholuck designates it “as a prophetical theodicee of God in history.”
8. Whoever is accustomed to place the divine anger in opposition to the divine love will never win an understanding of the deepest and truest nature of this song. The “perception of the burning zeal of God proceeds from the zeal of His love” (Sack).
9. “The righteousness of God is not especially a judicial, punitive righteousness, but a forthgoing in the direct way of that justice, grounded in His eternal holiness and love, according to which His creatures must regulate their lives,” etc. (Sack).
10. The fact that the adoption belonged to the Israelites, Rom_9:4 puts beyond question. The parallelism there is in any case between υἱοθεσία and νομοθεσία, and so much the more truly, as throughout the (morally) filial relation, outward or inward, formal or essential, must be formed according to the conduct in reference to the will of the Father, i.e. the law. If we hold to the objective side, then the law demands love. Thus it includes the gospel, love; and there remains thus between the Old and the New Testaments a difference only of method; there the demand, here the fulfillment, of which the antelegal time forms the promise. Thus the law is an institution, and the Israelitish adoption is also an institution, not, however, a ceremonial, but political, i.e. Israel as a nation is the adoption of God, placed as His right, His house, His glory among the nations. “Limited to Israel as the chosen people, the idea is therein proclaimed, that God is the creative founder and builder of its theocratic life, cherishing and training Israel as a child. It is (Gal_4:1 sq.) the relation of a minor child, when in respect to the father, as is fitting the time of life, he is conscious only of that life-support in the form of care and guardianship, not the free spiritual communion which inwardly develops itself in riper years” (Beck, Christ. Lehr-wissensch. I., p. 344 sq.). It is not barely in a figurative (comparative) method (Hengstenberg); neither only typical (Lange). The typical in the Old Testament idea of adoption refers to the true Israel, and to Israel according to the truth. As to the subjective realization of the adoption of God, it does not require to be spoken to here upon this chapter: but its treatment properly belongs to the Psalms. It is not to be forgotten that the kernel of Israel, which comes into account here as to the adoption, appears rather as the servant of Jehovah (Deu_32:36; Deu_32:43). The stage of the Holy Spirit’s manifestation alluded to (Joh_7:39) is that of consummation (comp. Del., Bibl. Proph. Theol., p. 233 sq., 243 sq.), or better still, that of the seal, of confirmation, but not first of efficient working.
11. “The existence of Israel as a nation is indeed like that of other nations brought about in a natural way, not through a spiritual new birth, but still Israel has its remotest ground in the supernatural mighty word of promise given to Abraham (Gen_17:15 sq.); and a circle of wonderful, mighty proofs and gracious leadings have brought Israel from this starting point of its existence, to the goal to which it attained with the exodus from Egypt” (Del. upon Isa_1:2).
12. It is very strange when Sack in opposition to Schultz, calls “the distinction of a better kernel in Israel, conceded to the later prophets,” here “a forced distinction, and one which in this Mosaic work has no place, is not even intimated in the song.” So essential a view could not fail entirely in “the very magna charta of prophecy” (Hengstenberg); it must at least be intimated, although its actual carrying out may be handed over to that which follows. The distinction between the nation, and the people of God, the separation of the servant of Jehovah is truly Mosaic; not merely according to the narrative of the primitive and preliminary history of Israel (comp. upon Deu_32:5), which Moses gives, but directly through the events with reference to Caleb, Joshua (Deu_1:36; Deu_1:38), Phinehas (Num_25:7), the Levites (Deu_10:8; comp. Exo_32:26), and indeed through his own existence as the servant of the Lord above others (Num_12:7). On the other hand Schultz remarks upon Deuteronomy 30 : “In the most eventful moments of his life he had experienced that the Lord even then, when His anger burned most fiercely, and when He was ready to condemn Israel without any restraint, would spare at least him, the one, etc. He must have had the consoling conviction, without which he would not have had strength, even from the beginning, over against the general obstinacy of the people, that there was a sacred seed still existing, in order to produce from itself a new and better sowing for victory and glory. In the very being of God Himself, it lay concealed,” etc., etc. The exposition has pointed out the intimations in the song.
13. Sack, Deu_32:10 sq., opposes very finely “the view which has never yet entirely vanished, according to which the God of the Old Testament is pre-eminently a frightful and terrible God.” “It is the fundamental thought of the divine education of Israel to religious, godly sorrow, or a sorrow which works a change of mind, agreeing on one side with the drawing of the first man to love and obedience through the fullness of the surrounding glorious creation, and on the other side with the evangelical motive: Let us love Him, for He has first loved us.”
14. A superficial view only of the history of Israel reveals merely the opposition to Jeshurun; a closer examination will justly bring out the variance between the idea in Jeshurun and the reality in the manifestation of Israel. The history of the people is the history of this variance, reaches its greatest crisis when the Gentile judge repeatedly proclaims Him the Jeshurun, and Israel, on the contrary, cries: Crucify Him! crucify Him! A purpose fixed by God, which He realizes in the fullness of time through the Messiah, must verify itself also by the way, as drawing nearer this goal, however separated into its parts or elements in its realization. This is the truth of the divine word. “A deeper view of the history of Israel,” says Hengstenberg, “reveals to us, even in the most corrupt times, the existence of an ἐκλογὴ, to whom the predicate perfect belongs (?); the best evidence of whose existence is found in the judgment upon the dishonesty and unrighteousness of the people, which at all times comes forth from its own bosom. Where do we find such a morally reacting force among the Gentiles? So also the history shows that the times of corruption, in which honesty and righteousness are confined to the little flock, are ever followed by times of reformation, in which honesty and righteousness more or less penetrate the whole life of the nation. (The period of the judges already.) Israel is, especially in relation to the Gentiles, Jeshurun.”
15. The results of the sanctifying ordinances and institutions of Jehovah among His people entitle it to this name “Jeshurun;” of the law as giving the knowledge of His will; of the sacrifice especially as procuring the pardon of sin, of the Spirit working in the people, giving the experience of communion with God, the covenant-communion. It is equally erroneous to ground salvation upon a state or disposition attained subjectively by one’s own strength, and to regard this inward state as unnecessary (Hengstenberg).
16. The thought, Deu_32:26-27, is the more striking, inasmuch as after Israel, as this people, has come to an entire end, it presents its evil condition historically, and legitimates itself as a thought of God through the continuous existence of the Jews. Over against the hatred of the nations, foaming out in persecutions of the Jews (since the time of the Romans, especially in the Christian middle ages), its existence willed by God was strongly assured both through the remarkable outward means of existence (Deu_15:6; Deu_28:12), and through the peculiar inward and intellectual endowments which characterize it even to this day. (Keith, Witnesses, supposes their prosperity, indeed their wealth, to serve as the object of the threatened spoiling (28, 29?), and also for the approaching enrichment of the Israel of the future, formed again to a people; accompanied with the very singular remark, that their ill successes were limited to Canaan during the lime of the divine judgment upon them, as if under the Turkish power they could not prosecute their pursuits there as they could elsewhere!)
17. Israel’s end as to the flesh, Deu_32:29 (20), must be at the same time Israel’s completion as to the Spirit, and this is the Messianic horizon which environs this song.
18. The rejoicing of the nations, with which the song closes, sets in a clear light the conversion of the Gentiles as the consequence of the judicial sifting and destructive mighty deeds of the Lord upon Israel and upon the world at large (e.g. Heathen Rome). The first song of Moses already (Exo_15:14 sq.) dwelt upon the issues of the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. The resulting impression upon the contiguous heathen nations at first indeed an impression of alarm. The other side of the results of the falling away of Israel, both for the world and the Gentiles, is set forth by St. Paul, Rom_11:11 sq. Whether the πλήρωμα, Rom_11:12, brings into view another complement of Israel than that through the Gentiles, a rescuing, namely, even of the unbelieving part of Israel, and thus the entire conversion of the people is intended, or whether the gain by means of the whole Israel, which is the new true Israel composed of Jews and Gentiles, for the yet wider world and all the Gentiles, and thus the conquest of the race through the Church of Christ is intended, may be left undecided. Comp. Doct. and Eth. upon chap. 30.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Deu_32:1. Luther: “It happens also that when God visits unbelievers, and lays hold upon them, they imagine that all the creatures have become their enemies. The whole creation agrees as a witness of the law with the law. Moses shows in this whole song the method of the law (Rom_4:15; Rom_7:7), and acts as a true preacher of the law. But he summons heaven and earth to witness, because he treats of so great a matter, which does not concern a kingdom, or gold and silver, but that which is of the utmost moment to every one, namely, either to have God, the fountain of all good, and with Him all eternal and temporal salvation, or to be eternally without either.” R. Bechai: “He begins with the creation of the world, and from thence onwards until he closes his discourse with the days of the Messiah.”—Heaven and earth as spectators, hearers and witnesses.—Jahn: “There is nothing elsewhere comparable to these first two verses in the boldness of expression.”
Deu_32:2. Luther: “When God’s word is preached purely then it is not as with human statutes, clouds without rain, 2Pe_2:17. But he sets the herb and the grass over against the stony ground and the sand; for it belongs to the word, that the doctrine should be healthful, and the hearers thirsty and docile.” V. Gerlach: “The richness and fullness can only be a fullness of blessing. For the severest punitive testimony of the law has a life-giving and invigorating efficacy for the true servant of his covenant God.”
Deu_32:3. Luther: “But the little flock, the believers and saints upon the earth, give the glory to God the Lord alone. But hypocrites and other godless persons, whatever they may confess in words, in heart rely upon their own goodness, wisdom, power, or look to men for help and consolation.”
Deu_32:4. Teller (Engl. Bib.): “It declares the eternity of God, the unchangeableness of His purposes, and the insuperable power of His majesty.” Baumgarten: “He had proved Himself as the Rock, both in Egypt and the wilderness, as He had manifested Himself as the only support in heaven or upon earth, for Israel.”—The Rock of Israel: Jehovah according to His work, ways, nature and attributes.—Starke: “The name of the Lord is a strong tower, Pro_18:10; Nah_1:7.” Zinzendorf: “Jesus is the true one, faithful unto death, in respect to His merits for us over death and the grave. A husband, who is perfection in His nature, has such an evil bride.” Schultz: “It is a great consolation that God is immutable in His power and will (faithfulness); that His way is right, He Himself without injustice, therefore, it is inculcated, because with this knowledge the punishment would not be received with incredulity.”
Deu_32:5. Richter: “The reformation corresponds with the redemption from Egypt; to the rejection of Jehovah corresponds, alas! the modern unbelief and apostacy.”
Deu_32:6. Herder: “God remains the father; but they cease to be His children, first by their wickedness, then in their destiny.”—[Wordsworth: “This is more fully verified in Christ, who hath purchased His Church with His own blood (Act_20:28; 1Co_6:20). Dost thou, O Christian, who sinnest against Christ, thus requite the Lord who bought thee (Judges 4)?”—A.G.]
Deu_32:7. Richter: “How many Christian fathers, alas! would now grow dumb at such questions!” Cramer: “The Church the witness of the truth.”
Deu_32:8. Schultz: “His own people must at last possess the whole earth, or bear away the spoil thereof; for the meek shall inherit the earth.”—God is the Highest; why should men flatter others and call them by this title?
Deu_32:10. Starke: “God finds us; His grace is all, and in all. He here appears as the bridegroom who goes out to seek His bride. Israel unmarried was without law, etc. He named him after His own name,” etc. V. Gerlach: “The wilderness is the point of departure, because of the vivid contrasts to the fullness of blessing of the land of promise. He finds Israel as a lost sheep.”
Deu_32:11. Bochart: “In the Old Testament the figure of the eagle; in the new that of the hen.”—Here Israel, the eagles brood, over the carcass of Canaan; later the Romish eagle over the carcass of Israel.
Deu_32:12. Jehovah alone; thus the song sings, thus the whole history of Israel proclaims, and thus the experience of all the children of God attests.
Deu_32:13 sq. When the Lord is the leader then is the victory and the blessing. The lofty flight of His people to victory, to proud security, to a full enjoyment of all.
Deu_32:15. Cramer: “Good times and plenty often lead to a contempt of the word of God and to many sins.”—[The temptations and dangers of prosperity.—A. G.]
Deu_32:20. Richter: “Hidden as the sun behind the clouds.”
Deu_32:21. Baumgarten: “In so far as all the Gentile nations rest upon the ground of nature, their national character is transient and no people; thus in the light of the full eternal truth all and every one of the Gentiles are foolish nations, because they are without the source of all wisdom, the knowledge of God, because they do not possess the law of Israel.” Deu_32:22 sq. Herder: “With such a prophetic outlook must the law-giver of the people close his wearied life.” Deu_32:29. Cramer: “Blindness and security precede the divine punishments.” Berl. Bib.: “Who is there who has shown sufficient earnestness, diligence and care in a preparation for his latter end? Where is the dying before one dies, the judging before one is judged?”
Deu_32:37 sq. Cramer: “There is no protection or help in false doctrine.”
Deu_32:40. What consolation still is heaven for the earth!
Deu_32:43. The penitential Psalm becomes a song of rejoicing, as true repentance ends ever in shouts of triumph. True repentance is true joy. The history of the world is not first a world-judgment, but truly a judgment of Israel. The thoughts of peace of the Eternal One as to the times, in the calling of Israel, in the fullness of the Gentiles.
Deu_32:46. Berl. Bib.: “The command is without force if the example is worthless. We understand correctly; for hypocrisy makes hypocrites. The divine life and work conceals and carries with it also a divine authority more than in all blows, cries and words.”
Deu_32:47. Sin is suicide.
Deu_32:48 sq. Berl. Bib.: “Thus the Lord prepared Moses for his death.”
Deu_32:52. Berl. Bib.: He shall not go in thither; as David also should not build the temple whose model he was permitted to see.
Footnotes:
[1][Deu_32:5. Margin: He hath corrupted himself.—A. G.].
[2][Deu_32:5. Margin: That they are not his children; that is, their blot. Schroeder, more literally: not his children—their spot—taking מום in the moral sense, as equivalent with stain or blemish.—A. G.].
[3][Deu_32:6. The word used here denotes rather the founding, or perhaps redeeming, and thus acquiring for himself.—A. G.].
[4][Deu_32:10. ובתהו, without form, Gen_1:2—A. G.].
[5][Deu_32:10. Literally: took thought for him. Schroeder supplies nothing after the נשׁר, and makes כְּ open the sentence, and the apodosis begin at once: as the eagle, He, etc.—A. G.].
[6][Deu_32:17. Shedim. Schroeder transfers the Hebrew. The root seems to mean to waste, destroy. Gesen. derives it from the root meaning to rule, and hence renders idols, lords. It is used here most probably with reference to the malignant, destructive character of idol worship.—A. G.].
[7] [Deu_32:19. Our version, while substantially correct, is needlessly verbose, and weakens the force of the original. Better:
And the Lord saw, and rejected,
Out of indignation, his sons and his daughters.—A. G.].
[8][Deu_32:21. The italics are not only needless, but impair the force of the original.—A. G.].
[9][Deu_32:22. Margin: hath burned.—A. G.].
[10][Deu_32:22. Margin: hath consumed.—A. G.].
[11][Deu_32:26. The verb פּאה occurs only here, and is derived from a root to which Ges. and Fuerst assign the meaning—to breathe, blow,—thus utterly to scatter them.—A. G.].
[12][Deu_32:27. Margin: Our high hand, and not the Lord, hath done all this.—A. G.].
[13][Deu_32:28. Schröder views this as the close of what Jehovah began to say in the twentieth verse, regarding the intervening verses as in a special sense belonging to the Lord.—A. G.].
[14][Deu_32:32. Margin: is worse than the vine of Sodom, taking the מו in its local, comparative sense, rather than as a partitive.—A. G.].
[15][Deu_32:35. Literally: To me is vengeance, and retribution for the time their foot shall shake. Deu_32:34-35 are marked by Schroeder as in a peculiar sense the words of Jehovah.—A. G.].
[16][Deu_32:40. Keil and Bib. Com. remove the stop at the end of this verse, and make 40–42 one sentence. There is no necessity for this, as the sense is equally clear with the present pointing.—A. G.].
[17][Deu_32:42. Others, following Gesenius, take פרע here for princes, and render, from the head of the princes of the enemy. But see Psa_68:22, which seems to confirm the rendering of Schroeder: the hairy head of the enemy.—A. G.].
[18][Deu_32:43. Or, Praise, O ye nations, his people. Keil: Rejoice, nations, over his people. The rendering of Schroeder is preferable. It preserves the distinction between nations and people which is insisted upon in the song, and supplies nothing to the text. The transitive sense of the verb, if not usual, is permissible.—A. G.].
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn v2My doctrine shall drop, &c.--The language may justly be…
My doctrine shall drop, &c.--The language may justly be taken as uttered in the form of a wish or prayer, and the comparison of wholesome instruction to the pure, gentle, and insinuating influence of rain or dew, is frequently made by the sacred writers (Isa 5:6; Isa 55:10-11).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv2–32. My doctrine shall drop as the rain —…
2. My doctrine shall drop as the rain — This may be rendered,
Let my doctrine drop as the rain,
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And my words fall as the dew.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv1–31. heavens … earth] To these he appeals, not…
1. heavens … earth] To these he appeals, not as witnesses of the divine events which he is about to declare (so Deu_4:26; Deu_31:28), nor as proofs of the regularity or goodness of the divine action (so frequently in the Prophets and Psalms 1[150]), but in the feeling that so great a theme—God’s dealings with His people—demands no less an auditory! The faith of the prophets (of so small and so irresponsive a people) in the infinite interest of their message, in its power of reverberating through the universe, is very striking. And such an assurance, because spiritual and not material, remains steadfast (Carlyle in some of his moods notwithstanding) whatever views be taken of the Universe, whether pre-Copernican or post-Copernican. It is the conviction of man which commands Nature, and not Nature which crushes the conviction. The Universe cannot silence, but must listen to, the spiritual truth. M. Henry interprets less probably: Heaven and Earth will listen sooner than this unthinking people, for they revolt not from their obedience to their Creator, Psa_119:90 f.
[150] Cp. Carlyle: ‘The stars in the heavens and the blue-bells by the wayside shew forth the handiwork of Him who is Almighty, who is All Good. In a bad weak world what would become of us did not our hearts understand at all times that this is even so?’ (Life i. 338).
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1–3. The Exordium
1 Give ear, O Heavens, let me speak,
And let Earth hear the words of my mouth.
2 May my message drop as the rain,
My speech distil as the dew,
Like mists on the grass,
And like showers on the herb.
3 For the name of the Lord I proclaim,
To our God give the greatness!
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv1–3(1) Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will…
XXXII.
(1) Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.—Comp. the opening of Isa_1:2, which is almost identical, excepting that the two words for “hearing” are transposed.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. H. Mackintosh1880 · Public DomainOn v1Deuteronomy 32
Deuteronomy 32
"And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words; of this song, until they were ended." It is not too much to say that one of the very grandest and most comprehensive sections in the divine Volume now lies open before us and claims our prayerful attention. It takes in the whole range of God’s dealings with Israel from first to last, and presents a most solemn record of their grievous sin and of divine wrath and judgement. But, blessed be God, it begins and ends with Him; and this is full of deepest and richest blessing for the soul. If it were not so, if we had only the melancholy story of man’s ways, we should be completely overwhelmed. But in this magnificent song, as indeed in the entire Volume, we begin with God and we end with God. This tranquillises the spirit most blessedly, and enables us, in calm and holy confidence, to pursue the history of man; to see everything going to pieces in his hands, and to mark the actings of the enemy in opposition to the counsels and purposes of God. We can afford to see the complete failure and ruin of the creature, in every shape and form, because we know and are assured that God will be God, in spite of everything. He will have the upper hand in the end, and then all will be, must be right. God shall be all in all, and there shall be neither enemy nor evil occurrent throughout that vast universe of bliss of which our adorable Lord Christ shall be the central sun for ever.
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But we must turn to the song.
"Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth." Heaven and earth are summoned to hearken to this magnificent outpouring. Its range is commensurate with its vast moral importance. "My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass; because I will publish the name of the Lord; ascribe ye greatness unto our God."
Here lies the solid, the imperishable foundation of everything. Come what may, the Name of our God shall stand for ever. No power of earth or hell can possibly countervail the divine purpose, or hinder the outshining of the divine glory. What sweet rest this gives the heart, in the midst of this dark, sorrowful sin-stricken world, and in the face of the apparently successful schemes of the enemy! Our refuge, our resource, our sweet relief and solace are found in the Name of the Lord our God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Truly the publication of that blessed Name must ever be as the refreshing dew and tender rain falling upon the heart. This is, of a truth, the divine and heavenly doctrine on which the soul can feed, and by which it is sustained, at all times, and under all circumstances.
"He is the Rock" - not merely a rock. There is, there can be no other Rock but Himself. Eternal and universal homage to His glorious Name! - "His work is perfect;" - not a single flaw in anything that comes from His blessed hand, all bears the stamp of absolute perfection. This will be made manifest to all created intelligences by-and-by. It is manifest to faith now, and is a spring of divine consolation to all true believers. The very thought of it distils as the dew upon the thirsty soul. "For all his ways are judgement; a God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right is he." Infidels may cavil and sneer; they may, in their fancied wisdom, try to pick holes in the divine actings; but their folly shall be manifest to all. "Let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged." God must have the upper hand, in the end. Let men beware how they presume to call in question the sayings and doings of the only true, the only wise and the almighty God.
There is something uncommonly fine in the opening notes of this song. It gives the sweetest rest to the heart to know that however man and even the People of God may fail and come to ruin, yet we have to do with One who abideth faithful and can not deny Himself, whose ways are absolutely perfect, and who, when the enemy has done his very utmost, and brought all his malignant designs to a head, shall glorify Himself and bring in universal and everlasting blessedness.
True, He has to execute judgement upon man’s ways. He is constrained to take down the rod of discipline and use it, at times, with terrible severity upon His own people. He is perfectly intolerant of evil in those who bear His holy Name. All this comes out, with special solemnity in the song before us. Israel’s ways are exposed and dealt with unsparingly; nothing is allowed to pass; all is set forth with holy precision and faithfulness. Thus we read, "They have corrupted themselves; their spot is not the spot of his children; they are a perverse and crooked generation. Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?"
Here we have the first note of reproof, in this song; but no sooner has it fallen on the ear than it is followed by a most precious outpouring of testimony to the goodness, loving kindness, faithfulness, and tender mercy of Jehovah, the Elohim of Israel, and the Most High, or Elion of all the earth. "Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations; ask thy father, and he will show thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee; when the Most High [God’s millennial title] divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel."
What a glorious fact is here unfolded to our view! A fact but little understood or taken account of by the nations of the earth. How little do men consider that, in the original settlement of the great national boundaries, the Most High had direct reference to "the children of Israel"! That thus it was, and the reader should seek to grasp this grand and intensely interesting fact. When we look at Geography and History from a divine standpoint, we find that Canaan and the seed of Jacob are God’s centre. Yes; Canaan, a little strip of land, lying along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, with an area of eleven thousand square miles, about a third of the extent of Ireland is the centre of God’s geography; and the twelve tribes of Israel are the central object of God’s history. How little have geographers and historians thought of this! They have described countries, and written the history of nations which in geographical extent and political importance far outstrip Palestine and its people, according to human thinking, but which, in God’s account, are as nothing compared with that little strip of land which He deigns to call His own, and which it is His fixed purpose to inherit through the seed of Abraham His friend.*
{*How true it is that God’s thoughts are not man’s thoughts, or His ways as man’s ways? Man attaches importance to extensive territories, material strength, pecuniary resources, well-disciplined armies, powerful fleets. God, on the contrary, takes no account of such things, they are to Him as the small dust of the balance. "Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in; that bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. Hence we may see the moral reason why, in selecting a country to be the centre of His earthly plans and counsels, Jehovah did not select one of vast extent, but a very small and insignificant strip of land of little account in the thoughts of men. But oh! what importance attaches to that little spot! What principles have been unfolded there! What events have taken place there! What deeds have been done there! What plans and purposes are yet to be wrought out there! There is not a spot on the face of the earth so interesting to the heart of God as the land of Canaan and the city of Jerusalem. Scripture teems with evidence as to this. We could fill a small volume with proofs. The time is rapidly approaching when living acts will do what the fullest and clearest testimony of scripture fails to do, namely, convince men that the land of Israel was, is, and ever shall be God’s earthly centre. All other nations owe their importance, their interest, their place in the pages of inspiration simply to the fact of their being, in some way or other, connected with the land and people of Israel. How little do historians know or think of this! But surely every one who loves God ought to know it and ponder it.}
We cannot attempt to dwell upon this most important and suggestive fact, but we would ask the reader to give it his serious consideration. He will find it fully developed and strikingly illustrated in the prophetic scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. "The Lord’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye" - the most sensitive, delicate part of the human body - "As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them upon her wings;" - to teach them to fly and keep them from falling "so the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him. He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock; butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape."
Need we say that the primary application of all this is to Israel? No doubt, the church may learn from it, and profit by it; but to apply it to the church would involve a double mistake, a mistake of the most serious nature; it would involve nothing less than the reducing of the church from a heavenly to an earthly level; and the most unwarrantable interference with Israel’s divinely appointed place and portion. What, we may lawfully inquire, has the church of God, the body of Christ to do with the settlement of the nations of the earth? Nothing whatever. The church, according to the mind of God, is a stranger on the earth. Her portion, her hope, her home, her inheritance, her all is heavenly. It would make no difference in the current of this world’s history if the church had never been heard of. Her calling, her walk, her destiny, her whole character and course, her principles and morals, are, or ought to be heavenly. The church has nothing to do with the politics of this world. Our citizenship is in heaven, from whence she looks for the Saviour: She proves false to her Lord, false to her calling, false to her principles in so far as she meddles with the affairs of nations. It is her high and holy privilege to be linked and morally identified with a rejected, crucified, risen and glorified Christ. She has no more to do with the present system of things, or with the current of this world’s history, than her glorified Head in the heavens. "They," says our Lord Christ, speaking of His people, "are not of the world, even as I am not of the world."
This is conclusive. It fixes our position and our path in the most precise and definite way possible. "As he is so are we in this world." This involves a double truth, namely, our perfect acceptance with God, and our complete separation from the world. We are in the world, but not of it. We have to pass through it as pilgrims and strangers looking out for the coming of our Lord, the appearing of the bright and morning star. It is no part of our business to interfere with municipal or political matters. We are called and exhorted to obey the powers that be, to pray for all in authority, to pay tribute, and owe no man anything; to be "blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation" among whom we are to "shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life."
From all this we may gather something of the immense practical importance of "rightly dividing the word of truth." We have but little idea of the injury done both to the truth of God and to the souls of His people by confounding Israel with the church, the earthly and the heavenly. It hinders all progress in the knowledge of scripture, and mars the integrity of Christian walk and testimony. This may seem a strong statement; but we have seen the truth of it painfully illustrated, times without number; and we feel that we cannot too urgently call the attention of the reader to the subject. We have, more than once, referred to it in the progress of our studies on the Pentateuch, and therefore we shall not further pursue it here, but proceed with our chapter.
At verse 15, we reach a very different note in the song of Moses. Up to this point, we have had before us God and His actings, His purposes, His counsels, His thoughts, His loving interest in His people Israel, His tender gracious dealings with them. All this is full of deepest, richest blessing. There is - there can be no drawback here. When we have God and His ways before us, there is no hindrance to the heart’s enjoyment. All is perfection - absolute, divine perfection, and as we dwell upon it, we are filled. with wonder, love and praise.
But there is the human side; and here alas! all is failure and disappointment. Thus at the fifteenth verse of our chapter we read, "But Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked" - what a very full and suggestive statement! How vividly it presents, in its brief compass, the moral history of Israel! - thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not. Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee."
There is a solemn voice in all this for the writer and the reader. We are, each of us, in danger of treading the moral path indicated by the words just quoted. Surrounded, on all hands, by the rich and varied mercies of God, we are apt to make use of them to nourish a spirit of self-complacency. We make use of the gifts to shut out the Giver. In a word, we, too, like Israel, wax fat and kick. We forget God. We lose the sweet and precious sense of His presence, and of His perfect sufficiency, and turn to other objects as Israel did to false gods. How often do we forget the Rock that begat us, the God that formed us, the Lord that redeemed us! And all this is so much the more inexcusable in us, inasmuch as our privileges are so much higher than theirs. We are brought into a relationship and a position of which Israel knew absolutely nothing; our privileges and blessings are of the very highest order; it is our privilege to have fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ; we are the objects of that perfect love which stopped not short of introducing us into a position in which it can be said of us, "As he [Christ] is, so are we in this world." Nothing could exceed the blessedness of this; even divine love itself could go no further than this. It is not merely that the love of God has been manifested to us in the gift and the death of His only-begotten and well-beloved Son, and in giving us His Spirit; but it has been made perfect with us by placing us in the very same position as that blessed One on the throne of God.
All this is perfectly marvellous. It passeth knowledge. And yet how prone we are to forget the blessed One who has so loved us, and wrought for us, and blessed us! How often we slip away from Him in the spirit of our minds and the affections of our hearts! It is not merely a question of what the professing church, as a whole, has done, but the very much deeper, closer, more pointed question of what our own wretched hearts are constantly prone to do. We are apt to forget God, and to turn to other objects, to our serious loss and His dishonour.
Would we know how the heart of God feels as to all this? Would we form anything like a correct idea of how He resents it? Let us hearken to the burning words addressed to His erring people Israel, the overwhelming strains of the song of Moses. May we have grace to hear them aright, and deeply profit by them!
"And when the Lord saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of His sons and of His daughters. And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be;" - alas! alas! a truly deplorable end - "for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith. They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities; and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and shall set on fire the foundations of the mountains. I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them. They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction; I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust. The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs." (Vers. 19-26.)
Here we have a most solemn record of God’s governmental dealings with His people - a record eminently calculated to set forth the awful truth of Hebrews 10: 31, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." The history of Israel, in the past; their condition, at present; and what they are yet to pass through, in the future, all goes to prove in the most impressive manner that "our God is a consuming fire." No nation on the face of the earth has ever been called to pass through such severe discipline as the nation of Israel. As the Lord reminds them in those deeply solemn words, "You only have I known of all the families of the earth, therefore will I punish you for your iniquities." No other nation was ever called to occupy the highly privileged place of actual relationship with Jehovah. This dignity was reserved for one nation; but the very dignity was the basis of a most solemn responsibility. If they were called to be His people, they were responsible to conduct themselves in a way worthy of such a wondrous position, or else have to undergo the heaviest chastenings ever endured by any nation under the sun. Men may reason about all this; they may raise all manner of questions as to the moral consistency of a benevolent Being acting according to the terms set forth in verses 22-25 of our chapter. But all such questions and reasonings must, sooner or later, be discovered to be utter folly. It is perfectly useless for men to argue against the solemn actings of divine government, or the terrible severity of the discipline exercised towards the chosen People of God. How much wiser, and better, and safer to be warned by the facts of Israel’s history to flee from the wrath to come, and lay hold upon eternal life, and full salvation revealed in the precious gospel of God!
And then, with regard to the use which Christians should make of the record of His dealings with His earthly people, we are bound to turn it to most profitable account by learning from it the urgent need of walking humbly, watchfully and faithfully in our high and holy position. True, we are the possessors of eternal life, the privileged subjects of that magnificent grace which reigns through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord; we are members of the body of Christ, temples of the Holy Ghost, and heirs of eternal glory. But; does all this afford any warrant for neglecting the warning voice which Israel’s history utters in our ears? Are we, because of our incomparably higher privileges, to walk carelessly and despise the wholesome admonitions which Israel’s history supplies? God forbid! Nay, we are bound to give earnest heed to the things which the Holy Ghost has written for our learning. The higher our privileges, the richer our blessings, the nearer our relationship, the more does it become us the more solemnly are we bound to be faithful, and to seek, in all things, to carry ourselves in such a way as to be well-pleasing to Him who has called as into the very highest and most blessed place that even His perfect love could bestow. The Lord, in His great goodness, grant that we may, in true purpose of heart, ponder these things in His holy presence, and earnestly seek to serve Him with reverence and godly fear!
But we must proceed with our chapter.
At verse 26, we have a point of deepest interest in connection with the history of the divine dealings with Israel. "I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men." And why did He not? The answer to this question presents a truth of infinite value and importance to Israel - a truth which lies at the very foundation of all their future blessing. No doubt, so far as they are concerned, they deserved to have their remembrance blotted out from among men. But God has His own thoughts, and counsels, and purposes respecting them; and not only so, but He takes account of the thoughts and the actings of the nations in reference to His people. This comes out with singular force and beauty at verse 27. He condescends to give us His reasons for not obliterating every trace of the sinful and rebellious people - and oh! what a touching reason it is! "were it not what I feared the wrath of the enemy lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the Lord hath not done all this."
Can anything be more affecting than the grace that breathes in these words? God will not permit the nations to behave themselves strangely toward His poor erring people. He will use them as His rod of discipline, but the moment they attempt, in the indulgence of their own bitter animosity, to exceed their appointed limit, He will break the rod in pieces, and make it manifest to all that He Himself is dealing with His beloved, though erring people, for their ultimate blessing and His glory.
This is a truth of unspeakable preciousness. It is the fixed purpose of Jehovah to teach all the nations of the earth that Israel has a special place in His heart, and a destined place of pre-eminence on the earth. This is beyond all question. The pages of the prophets furnish a body of evidence perfectly unanswerable on the point. If nations forget or oppose, so much the worse for them. It is utterly vain for them to attempt to countervail the divine purpose, for they may rest assured that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will confound every scheme formed against the people of His choice. Men may think, in their pride and folly, that their hand is high, but they will have to learn that God’s hand is higher still.
But our space does not admit of our dwelling upon this deeply interesting subject; we must allow the reader to pursue it for himself, in the light of holy scripture. He will find it a most profitable and refreshing study. Most gladly would we accompany him through the precious pages of the prophetic scriptures, but we must just now confine ourselves to the magnificent song which is in itself a remarkable epitome of the entire teaching on the point - a brief, but comprehensive and impressive history of God’s ways with Israel and Israel’s ways with God, from first to last - a history strikingly illustrative of the great principles of grace, law, government and glory.
At verse 29, we have a very touching appeal. "O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end? How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up? For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges." - There is, there can be but the one Rock, blessed, throughout all ages be His glorious Name! - "For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter; their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps."
Terrible picture of a people’s moral condition drawn by a master hand! Such is the divine estimate of the real state of all those whose rock was not as the Rock of Israel. But a day of vengeance will come. It is delayed, in long-suffering mercy, but it will come as sure as there is a God on the throne of heaven. A day is coming when those nations which have dealt proudly with Israel shall have to answer at the bar of the Son of man for their conduct, hear His solemn sentence, and meet His unsparing wrath.
"Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures? To me belongeth vengeance, and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste. For the Lord shall judge [vindicate, defend or avenge] his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up or left." Precious grace for Israel, by-and-by - for each, for all, now, who feel and own their need!
"And he shall say, "Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted: which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you and be your protection. See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound and I heal:" - wound in governmental wrath, and heal in pardoning grace; all homage to His great and holy Name, throughout the everlasting ages! - "neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever." - Glory be to God in the highest! Let all created intelligences adore His matchless Name! - "If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgement," - as it most assuredly, will - "l will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me" - whoever and wherever they are. Tremendous sentence for all whom it may concern - for all haters of God - all lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God! - "I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy."
Here we reach the end of the heavy record of judgement, wrath and vengeance, so briefly presented in this song of Moses, but so largely unfolded throughout the prophetic scriptures. The reader can refer, with much interest and profit, to Ezekiel 38 and 39, where we have the judgement of Gog and Magog, the great northern foe who is to come up, at the end, against the land of Israel and there meet his ignominious fall and utter destruction.
He may also turn to Joel 3 which opens with words of balm and consolation for the Israel of the future. "For behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land." Thus he will see how perfectly the voices of the prophets harmonise with the song of Moses; and how fully, how clearly, and how unanswerably, in both the one and the other, does the Holy Ghost set forth and establish the grand truth of Israel’s future restoration, supremacy and glory.
And then how truly delightful is the closing note of our song! How magnificently it places the topstone upon the whole superstructure! All the hostile nations are judged, under whatever style or title they appear upon the scene, whether it be Gog and Magog, the Assyrian, or the king of the north - all the foes of Israel shall be confounded and consigned to everlasting perdition, and then this sweet note falls upon the ear, "REJOICE, O YE NATIONS, WITH HIS PEOPLE; FOR HE WILL AVENGE THE BLOOD OF HIS SERVANTS, AND WILL RENDER VENGEANCE TO HIS ADVERSARIES, AND WILL BE MERCIFUL UNTO HIS LAND AND TO HIS PEOPLE"
Here ends this marvellous song, one of the very finest, fullest and most forcible utterances in the whole Volume of God. It begins and ends with God, and takes in, in its comprehensive range, the history of His earthly people Israel, past, present and future. It shows us the ordering of the nations in direct reference to the divine purpose as to the seed of Abraham. It unfolds the final judgement of all those nations that have acted or shall yet act in opposition to the chosen seed; and then when Israel is fully restored and blessed, according to the covenant made with their fathers, the saved nations are summoned to rejoice with them.
How glorious is all this! What a splendid circle of truths is presented to the vision of our souls in the thirty-second chapter of Deuteronomy! Well may it be said, "God is the Rock, his work is perfect." Here the heart can rest, in holy tranquillity, come what may. Everything may go to pieces in man’s hand; all that is merely human may and must issue in hopeless wreck and ruin; but "The Rock" shall stand for ever, and every "work" of the divine Hand shall shine in everlasting perfection to the glory of God and the perfect blessing of His people.
Such, then, is the song of Moses; such its scope, range and application. The intelligent reader does not need to be told that the church of God, the body of Christ, the mystery of which the blessed apostle Paul was made the minister, finds no place in this song. When Moses wrote this song, the mystery of the church lay hid in the bosom of God. If we do not see this, we are wholly incompetent to interpret or even to understand the holy scriptures. To a simple mind, taught exclusively by scripture, it is as clear as a sunbeam that the song of Moses has for its thesis the government of God, in connection with Israel and the nations; for its sphere, the earth; and for its centre, the land of Canaan.
"And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun. And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel; and he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law. For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life; and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it" (Vers. 44-47.)
Thus, from first to last, through every section of this precious book of Deuteronomy, we find Moses, that beloved and most honoured servant of God, urging upon the people the solemn duty of implicit, unqualified, hearty obedience to the word of God. In this lay the precious secret of life, peace, progress, prosperity, all. They had nothing else to do but obey. Blessed business! Happy holy duty! May it be ours, beloved reader, in this day of conflict and confusion in the which man’s will is so fearfully dominant. The world, and the so-called church are rushing on together, with appalling rapidity, along the dark pathway of self-will - a pathway which must end in the blackness of darkness for ever. Let us bear this in mind, and earnestly seek to tread the narrow path of simple obedience to all the precious commandments of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Thus shall our hearts be kept in sweet peace; and although we may seem to the men of this world, and even to professing Christians to be odd and narrow-minded, let us not be moved, the breadth of a hair, from the path indicated by the word of God. May the word of Christ dwell in us richly, and the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, until the end?
It is very remarkable, and indeed eminently impressive, to find our chapter closing with another reference to Jehovah’s governmental dealing with His beloved servant Moses. "And the Lord spake unto Moses that self-same day" - the very day in which he uttered his song in the ears of the people - "saying, Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession; and die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people; because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel. Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel." (Vers. 48-52)
How solemn and soul-subduing is the government of God! Surely it ought to make the heart tremble at the very thought of disobedience. If such an eminent servant as Moses was judged for speaking unadvisedly with his lips, what will be the end of those who live from day to day, week to week, month to month, and year to year, in deliberate and habitual neglect of the plainest commandments of God, and positive self-willed rejection of His authority?
Oh! for a lowly mind, a broken and contrite heart! This is what God looks for and delights in; it is with such He can make His blessed abode. "To this man will I look, even to him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word." God in His infinite goodness, grant much of this sweet spirit to each of His beloved children, for Jesus Christ’s sake!
C. H. Mackintosh, Notes on the Pentateuch — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv1–3In accordance with the Divine injunction, Moses composed an…
SONG OF MOSES AND ANNOUNCEMENT OF HIS DEATH.
In accordance with the Divine injunction, Moses composed an ode, which he recited in the hearing of the people, and committed to writing, to remain with them as a witness for God against them. With this end in view, the ode is directed principally to a contrasting of the unchanging faithfulness of the Almighty with the anticipated perversity and unfaithfulness of his people. The poem may be divided into six parts.
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1. An introduction (vers. 1-3), in which the importance of the doctrine to be delivered is announced.
2. The blamelessness and excellency of Jehovah are placed in contrast with the corruptness and perversity of Israel (vers. 4, 5).
3. The folly and ingratitude of the rebellious people is dwelt upon (vers. 718).
4. The purpose of God to punish and reject the rebellious generation is declared (vers. 19-23).
5. The fulfillment of this purpose in the judgments which should come upon the rebels, whilst mercy and favor should be showed to those that repented and were humbled under the hand of God (vers. 24-34).
6. And finally, the judgment which God would execute on the enemies of Israel, and the mercy he would show to his servants (vers. 35-43).
In this ode plane divine" (Lowth) Moses displays the genius of the poet, as in the other parts of this book he has showed the sagacity of the legislator and the skill of the orator. Vigor of diction, elevation of sentiment, vivacity of representation, beauty and sublimity of imagery, characterize this ode throughout. Nor is the piety less noticeable than the poetry; zeal for God, earnest desire far his honor, and devout reverence of his majesty pervade and inspire the whole. Remarkable also is this ode in relation to the later prophetic utterances in Israel. "It is the compendious anticipatory sketch and the common watchword of all prophecy, and stands related to it as fundamentally as the Decalogue to all laws, and the Lord"s Prayer to all prayers. The legislator has here condensed in a song the prophetic contents of his last address, (De 27 De 28 De 29 De 30) wherewith he lives on in the memory and mouth of the people. He here sets before them their whole history to the end of the days. In this ode, each age of Israel has a mirror of its present condition and future fate. This mirror prophecy holds up before its contemporaries" (Delitzsch, "Jesaias," s. 33).
Heaven and earth are summoned to hearken to his words, both because of their importance, and because heaven and earth were interested, so to speak, as witnesses of the manifestation of God"s righteousness and faithfulness about to be celebrated. (cf. Deu_4:26 Deu_30:19 Deu_31:28, Deu_31:29; Isa_1:2; Jer_2:12 Jer_22:29)
Vers. 1-4. God the believer"s Rock.
change: principles never." So have we had often to remark in discovering in and developing from this book the everlasting principles which are therein set in archaic forms. The song of Moses here recorded will yield us many illustrations of this kind of teaching. Its first four versos suggest three lines of thought.
I THERE IS HERE A REVEALED DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. In the last song which the old man utters ere he climbs the mount of Nebo to die, he declares, "I will publish the Name of the Lord.
1. This Name is "Jehovah." The word involves self-existence, self-sufficiency, immutability, pure being, personality. "I am that I am" expresses all this. It would be a burning shame for any one to apply the term "anthropomorphic" to such a revelation as this. Such a conception may be revealed to man, but assuredly it borrows naught from him.
2. To this Being, greatness is ascribed; i.e. royal magnificence and splendor. The sovereignty of heaven and earth is there!
3. All moral perfections are in the" Name "of God (cf. Exo_34:6, Exo_34:7)
4. His work is perfect. The revealed attributes of God warrant us in drawing this conclusion. The intention of Moses here is to set the perfection of God"s work over against the sin of man"s.
5. His ways are judgment; i.e. they are according to justice.
6. He is the Rock. This epithet is a "piece of Mosaic." It was indeed used by others long after. But the use of it began with Moses. On the rocks of Sinai was the Law proclaimed. In the rock-cleft was Moses hidden. From the smitten rock the waters gushed forth. How natural for Moses to apply this figure to the eternal God! In ver. 31, Moses speaks of God as our Rock." He was known to Israel as theirs, their own firm, changeless ground of strength, through all the changing years!
II THIS DOCTRINE OF THE LIVING GOD AS THE ROCK IS FRAUGHT WITH COMFORT AND REFRESHMENT FOR MAN (ver. 2); i.e. what the rain is to the herb, what the showers are to the grass, that is this teaching concerning God to the soul of man.
1. Our heart wants God. (Psa_84:2)
2. Such a God this God is as rain and as dew: refreshing, enlivening, restoring.
3. This doctrine of God is meant to make the heart productive of holiness. God"s revelation of himself is meant to draw men to himself; in doing this God saves them!
III THE DOCTRINE THUS PROPOUNDED DESERVES TO BE UNIVERSALLY HEARD, LISTENED TO, AND BELIEVED. (Ver. 1.) Moses would summon all to hear it. It is
1. For all classes.
2. For all lands.
3. For all the ages.
The day will never come when this doctrine of God will be obsolete never!
HOMILIES BY J. ORR. Vers. 1-3. Beneficial teaching.
Moses was directed to instruct the people by composing for their use. (Deu_31:19, Deu_31:21) A song is:
1. Memorable.
2. Easily handed down from mouth to mouth.
3. Of singular power to awaken sympathetic feeling (cf. influence of ballads, of Jacobite songs, of the "Marseillaise," of popular hymns). The action of song is not violent, but gentle and persuasive. It steals about the heart like rippling water or like sunlight, trickles into its pores, works as if by spirit-influence on its seats of laughter and tears, explores its innermost labyrinths of feeling. Here compared (ver. 2) to the gently distilling dew and rain.
I THE DEW AND RAIN AS EMBLEMS OF THE TEACHING MOST LIKELY TO PROVE EFFECTIVE. Their action is:
(1) gentle,
(2) silent,
(3) pervasive,
(4) kindly; yet:
1. Invigorative. They revive, refresh, stimulate.
2. Powerful Rocks shattered by drops of water in their pores and crevices.
3. Deep-reaching. They act on plants by watering their roots. Take a lesson from them. It is not the best kind of teaching which is loud and violent, which tries to force men"s convictions. Convictions must have time to grow. Teaching must be loving. The earthquake, the whirlwind, the fire, have their own place, but "the still small voice" is needed to succeed them. The Lord is peculiarly in that. Angry scolding, petulant rebuke, biting censure, clever satire, seldom do much good. Love alone wins the day.
II THE DEW AND RAIN AS EMBLEMS OF THE TEACHING MOST SUITABLE IN THE INSTRUCTIONS OF RELIGION. Moses employed it here. Christ employed it. "He shall not strive nor cry," etc.. (Mat_12:19) Paul commends "truthing it in love". (Eph_4:15) "The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves". (2Ti_2:24, 2Ti_2:25) This kind of teaching harmonizes best:
1. With the subject of religion Name of the Lord" (ver. 3). God had revealed his Name to Moses, (Exo_34:6, Exo_34:7) and the attributes of mercy preponderate.
2. With the end of religion the ascription of greatness to God (ver. 3). Religious teaching fails if it does not inspire men with such convictions of God"s greatness as will lead them to fear, honor, worship, praise, and serve him.
3. With the special theme of the gospel peace, love, good will to men. This song of Moses has to deal with stern truths, but even in its sternest passages it breathes the pathos of tender and sorrowful affection. It dwells largely on God"s kindnesses and the people"s ingratitude, and ends with loving promises. The song has numerous echoes in Isaiah. J.O.
HOMILIES BY R.M. EDGAR Vers. 1-14. The fatherhood of God.
In this first section of the Divine song, the predominating idea is God"s fatherhood. It comes out in ver. 6 in express terms; it is implied in the care that is attributed to him for his children of Israel; it passes into the still tenderer idea of motherhood in the illustration of the eagle (ver. 11); and may fairly be taken as the idea dominating the whole. It has been thought that the fatherhood of God is almost altogether a New Testament idea; but we have it here expressly stated, and it underlies many portions of the Old Testament. This whole song is, in fact, a paternal expostulation with children that have been wayward in the wilderness, and will be more wayward still in the land of promise. We shall notice in order the ideas suggested by this section.
I FERTILIZING DOCTRINE. Divine doctrine, even in its severest forms, has a gracious and fertilizing influence like rain or dew. It comes down upon the wilderness of human nature, and makes it a fruitful field. It comes down upon the tender herb of implanted graces, upon the grass of humble and useful piety, and makes all to grow more luxuriantly. Nothing is so important as "good doctrine.
II THE ROCK-STABILITY OF GOD. This is the first inquiry. Can God be trusted as truly stable? The answer is that he is a Rock, and that upon his veracity and justice and helpfulness we can constantly rely. Moses and the Israelites had experienced this; as they wandered amid the rocky fastnesses of the desert, they had found him as firm and as reliable as the rocks. Up to this time, the figure had not been applied to God. The Israelites have, indeed, from the hard and flinty rock, had refreshing streams; the rock was to them a fountain of waters; and doubtless when here the figure is for the first time applied to God, they would find it delightful to associate refreshment and shelter with him. Then in course of time it became a favorite figure, as the Psalms in many passages show. (cf. Psa_28:1 Psa_31:2, 3 42:9 62:2, 7 78:20, 35 95:1, etc.) And we rejoice to call our Redeemer "Rock of Ages," in the clefts of which, according to Toplady"s idea, taken from Exo_33:22, we can take shelter and feel safe.
III PATERNAL APPEAL. Although God is so worthy of trust, the Israelites have corrupted themselves; they are unwilling to have upon them the mark or spot of the children of God, but the mark of some other tribe; and so as a Father he appeals to them because of their ingratitude. Has he not made them, bought them, and established them, and, in consequence, earned a right to different treatment from this? Fatherhood has rights by reason of service which no grateful child can overlook.
IV PATERNAL FORESIGHT. He speaks next of the days of old, of the years of many generations, which the fathers and elders could testify about, during which time the Father was but evolving his glorious plan, separating and scattering the sons of Adam according to the interests and number of the children of Israel. At Babel and the subsequent migrations of men, "God so distributed the earth among the several peoples that were therein, as to reserve, or in his sovereign counsel to appoint, such a part for the Israelites, though they were then unborn, as might prove a commodious settlement and habitation for them." Noble foresight, worthy of an everlasting and infinite Father.
V PATERNAL INSTRUCTION. One element in fatherhood is a sense of possession in the children. The father rejoices that the children are his, and will not part readily with his portion. So with God. "The Lord"s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance." Out of this sense of property comes the improvement of the children by faithful instruction. Hence Israel were led into the wilderness, and their Father found them there, and led them about, instructing them, and keeping them as "the apple of the eye." It was the Father educating them through his own companionship, and leading them onwards in safety towards their home.
VI PARENTAL DISCIPLINE. The song introduces (ver. 11) the figure of the eagle, and the motherly discipline to which she subjects her brood. Naturalists tell us that when her young are old enough to fly, the eagle breaks her nest in pieces, in order to compel them to use their powers of flight; fluttering over them, that by imitation they may learn how to employ their wings, but, when unwilling to fly, spreading abroad her wings, she bears them upwards in the air, and then shaking them off, compels them to use their own exertions." From this Mr. Hull deduces the truth that "the Divine discipline of life is designed to awaken man to the development of his own powers." We see thus the kindness of the parental discipline, and that it takes motherhood as well as fatherhood to illustrate the Divine relation. (cf. Isa_49:15)
VII PARENTAL BLESSING. Having exercised such parental care over the people, the result was abundant temporal success and blessing. This is beautifully brought out as a "riding upon the high places of the earth." And then the whole panorama of agricultural prosperity is presented, "the increase of the fields" providing bread, the rocks affording shelter for the bees which extracted abundant honey from the flowers, the olives clinging to the flinty rocks and affording abundance of oil, while the kine in the fat pastures gave butter, and the sheep milk, and the lambs were choice food, and the rams of the breed of Bashan, while the finest wheat and the purest wine made the lot of Israel princely. It was a land of promise surely which supplied their wants in such a fashion. God"s goodness was exceeding great.
The "fatherhood of God" had thus its grand exemplification in the history of Israel. A Father who was firm as the rocky fastnesses around them and as reliable; who provided for his children long before they were born; who instructed and disciplined them, and brought them eventually to a splendid inheritance, might well look for their trust and obedience. The Lord shows a similar fatherly care still to all men, even those who do not return a filial spirit; and if, in his grace, they yield at length to his paternal appeals, then he comes and gives them a fellowship such as they never dreamed of. "He that loveth me," saith Jesus, shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him". R.M.E. (Joh_14:21)
HOMILIES BY D. DAVIES Vers. 1-6. God"s vicegerent as poet.
The true poet is God"s messenger. He that sings not of truth and goodness is not a genuine poet; he is but a rhymester. As the swan is said to sing sweetly only in the act of dying, so, on the eve of his departure, Moses sings his noblest strains.
I OBSERVE THE POET"S AUDITORY. He summons heaven and earth to hear. We read in ancient story that when Orpheus made music with his lyre, the wild beasts listened, and the trees and rocks of Olympus followed him about. This may serve as a just reproof to some men, who, having ears, act as if they had them not.
1. Heaven and earth may denote both angels and men. For even "the principalities of heaven learn from the Church the manifold wisdom of God.
2. Heaven and earth may denote all classes of the people, high and low. Frequently in Scripture great men are represented as the stars of heaven. The man of ambition is said to lift his head to the stars. The righteous are to shine as the brightness of the firmament.
3. Heaven and earth may denote the intelligent and the material creation. On account of man"s sin, "the whole creation groaneth;" and the effect of man"s obedience will be felt beneficially on the material globe. It will increase its fertility, its beauty, its fragrance, its music. "Truth" shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness shall look "down from heaven." "Then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice.
II THE POET"S BENEFICENT INFLUENCE. "My doctrine shall drop as the rain," etc. (ver. 2). This imagery teaches us:
1. The silent, unobtrusive power of truth. It finds it way, quietly and unobserved, to the roots of human judgment and feeling.
2. It is refreshing. What a draught of clear water is to a thirsty man, truth is to a healthy, active soul.
3. It is fertilizing. It nourishes all good affections, and strengthens every virtue.
4. It is most suitable. No fitness can be more manifest than dew for tender grass. Poetic truth is suited to every grade of human understanding.
III THE POET"S LOFTY THEME. His theme is God; but God is only known as he reveals himself in his Name.
1. He descants upon his majesty, his supreme power, and the splendors of his state.
2. He touches upon his eternal stability. What the unchanging rock is amid the shifting sands, God is unalterably the same.
3. He dwells upon the perfections of his character ("just and right is he"); upon the perfection of his works, which are incapable of any improvement; upon the perfection of his government ("all his ways are judgment"); and upon the perfection of his speech. He is "a God of truth." He alters nothing, retracts nothing.
IV THE POET"S MORAL PURPOSE. To restore harmony between man and God.
1. He proclaims man"s fallen state: "they have corrupted themselves." Human nature is not as it was when it came from the hands of God. Man holds this tremendous power of ruining his own nature.
2. The mark of sonship has disappeared. "Their spot is not the spot of his children." Childlike docility and submissiveness form the family lineament.
3. This depravity has spread like the virus of disease. The whole race is infected. "They are a perverse and crooked generation.
4. Such conduct is suicidal folly. It is most antagonistic to self-interest. No madman could have acted worse.
5. Such conduct is the basest ingratitude. "Do ye thus requite the Lord?" Consider his claims. Did he not create thee? Has he not been a Father to thee? Has he not redeemed thee? Tender expostulation with the conscience is the poet"s mission. For this vocation he has been specially inspired by God. A heavenly spirit breathes through his every word. No higher honor can man attain on earth. D.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn vv1, 3Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak.
Deu_32:1-2
Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak.
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Moses adjuration
Isaiah makes a similar sublime commencement to his prophecies, apostrophising heaven and earth in nearly identical language. Moses had already used the same sentiment in simple didactic form when he said, I call heaven and earth to witness this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse, and thereby he explains the meaning of this more highly poetic style of adjuration. Such an adjuration indicates great intensity, elevation, and sincerity of feeling, while calling attention to the solemn importance of what is about to be said. It is like a heralds cry, the sound of the tocsin, or the summoning of an assize. For heaven and earth had both of them been witnesses of the covenant and giving of the law. By a sudden but suggestive transition we are introduced to the style and theme of the song. The change is from the awe-inspiring to the tenderest of moods; but it is made without derogating from the loftiness of the thought. The imagery of the gentle rain and the softly distilling dew is a fit sequel to the opening appeal to heaven and earth, and bespeaks attention to the source, the quality, and the design of the song.
1. Its source. The reference to dew and rain implies, first of all, that the whole subject, suggestion, and origin of the song is from above. Nothing but a voice Divine will ever avail to soften human nature, come home to the conscience, subjugate the will and reign in the affections. Ascribe ye greatness, therefore, that is, authoritativeness, unto our God.
2. Its quality. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew. The song is just the pith and substance of the Book of Deuteronomy; the distilled quintessence of the Deuteronomic law and covenant. It is a protestation that no community can ever thrive, surmount their dangers and slough off their corruptions, by simply confining their attention to earthly relations and requisitions. They need a higher motive and spirit of life as a sustaining and self-cleansing principle--in one word, a Gospel of God.
3. Its design. As the small rain upon the tender grass, and as the showers upon the herb; gentle, yet copious and penetrative; soft, seasonable and saturating; not like a sudden but soon spent thunderstorm, nor the beating of hail that dashes where it alights; rather like small rain, the softer it falls the deeper it sinks; or like the dew, the more insinuating it is, the more fertilising and lastingly effective. (A. H. Drysdale, M. A.)
My speech shall distil as the dew.
Gods doctrine as the dew
What a representation of gentleness! The doctrine shall not fall in torrents, but it shall drop; the speech shall not even be felt in its descent, for it shall distil. Yet who is it employs this gentlest of all gentle imagery? It is Moses: the self-same man who had pronounced the terrific judgments on Egypt. He had promulgated a system which was given forth in thunder, and lightning, and thick darkness, and a terrible tempest; the publication of this law was attended with the severest penalties. Notwithstanding every appearance to the contrary, it was true of every word which God spake by Moses, as well as of every word which Jesus spoke, that His doctrine dropped like the rain, and distilled like the dew. We need scarcely tell you that the term doctrine includes all Gods teaching in every portion of His revelation to man. It matters not whether truth be found in direct assertions of great principles, or whether it be wrapped up in the imagery of poetry, the shadows of the types, the facts of history, or the allegories of parables; it is all the same truth. Thus not only is every form of Gods Word doctrine, but in its fertilising effects on the soul may most appropriately be compared to the dropping rain and distilling dew. But in order to understand this gentle character ascribed by Moses to Gods doctrine, you must take heed that you do not fall into several errors which will perplex your belief in the dew-like influence of Divine truth. The first of these errors is to confound the effect of doctrine itself with that outward teaching by which it may often be set forth. The mere manner of teaching is no just criterion of the matter of teaching. There are differences of character which even demand differences of outward instruction. But, secondly, we must warn you against supposing that God does not sometimes adopt an internal as well as an external mode of teaching, which may appear to conflict with the statements of our text. How often do the threatenings of Divine wrath seem to lay hold on the spirit, and for a time keep it shrinking beneath the prospect of inevitable destruction! But notwithstanding these modes of teaching which God may often employ, yet we maintain that the substance of that teaching is what Moses describes it--gentle as the dropping rain, the distilling dew, the small rain, the soft shower. You will remark that the sacred writer declares that his doctrine is to be like small rain on the tender herb; and this sentence it is which explains the entire seeming anomaly we have noticed. Gods truth does not fall like small rain on the hardy, tough, strong herb, but like small rain on the tender herb. There must be a preparation--a softening of the soul to receive the gentle influences of the Gospel. And not only at our first conversion to God, but even afterwards, the herb may become hardened, and require occasional softening, before the small rain is given. The advanced Christian sometimes complains of waves and billows; he hears deep calling to deep at the noise of Gods waterspouts. But the sole reason of this is that there is some deficiency in the tenderness of the herb--some setting up of the head which needs the blast of the storm to bring it low, God loves not to see a proud look; He loves not a stiff-necked obedience; He loves not to find His servant chafing against the bit; He must have the herb tender. The ground being thus prepared, the doctrine of the Lord always drops as the rain and distils as the dew. But let us glance at a few brief practical truths which the imagery of our text suggests.
1. If you are watered by this heavenly dew, it must be all--pervading: Look at the grass after the dew has fallen; it is thoroughly covered with moisture; nothing saturates it so completely; a storm would not wet it half so effectually; the plant is all over the same; no leaf but it sparkles with dewdrops; no blade escapes; all are steeped in dew. Now, is it the same with you? The operation of the Spirit is always total and entire. All things become new where He works.
2. Then, secondly, recollect that another of the characteristics of this dew is its diffusiveness. Not only is the dew the most equal and general giver of moisture, but the plants which receive it pass it on to others. From leaf to leaf, and from blade to blade it falls, so that if you pass through a forest on a dewy morning it is one constant dropping. So must it be with the Christian. He is not only to be influenced by the Spirit himself, but by the aid of the same Spirit he must pass on that influence to others.
3. Thirdly, still another feature of this dew is its fertilising effects. It often falls most heavily at times of the year when drought prevails, and when the plants would otherwise be scorched and withered. Its final effect is not superficial; it does not merely wet the leaves and flowers, but it percolates to the very root. The dew thus develops itself in fruits: it waters the plant, and makes it bring forth abundantly. And so with our dew. Whenever the influences of the Spirit are felt, the fruits of the Spirit are seen.
4. But, lastly, another feature of this dew is that it will prove specially and abundantly operative in the time of trial. It is not when the sun shines that the dew falls; it principally descends when the day is wrapped in evening shades or when the morning is still hidden in twilight, or when dark night has already set in: so likewise is sorrow a time of special dew falling. When have the promises and love of God so gentle and yet powerful an influence as in afflictions sad hour? When are His cheering truths so sweet as when trouble embitters the soul? (D. F. Jarman, M. A.)
The dew of the Word
Distil as the dew. Who hears the dew fall? What microphone could reveal that music to our gross unpurged ears?
1. The dew distils in silence. So does the speech of God. In stillness Gods love is condensed into dew like communications; not read, nor heard, but known by direct power of the Spirit upon the soul. Not much in noise, turmoil, and bustle.
2. The dew distils in darkness. You look out some dark night: there is no storm, no rain, not the least token to your senses of what is going on. In the morning you see every blade and leaf tipped with a dewdrop, everything revived and freshened, prepared for the heat of the day. So His words fall on your souls in darkness, not with sensible power; nothing flashes out from the page, nothing shines to shed pleasant light on your path. You do not hear sound of abundance of rain, but the words are distilling as the dew and preparing you for day.
3. The dew falls not in one mass of water, but innumerable little drops. What one drop does not reach another does. It is not one overwhelmingly powerful word which does this holy night work in the soul, but the unrealised influences of many, dropping silently on the plants of the Lord; one resting here, another there; one touching an unrecognised need, another reaching an unconsciously failing grace. Each drop uncounted hath its own mission, and is duly sent to its own leaf or blade.
4. Sometimes Gods dew goes on falling many hours of night. Watches seem long, and starlight does not reveal it. But none is lost; some is already doing hidden work as it falls around the very roots of our being, some ready to be revealed in sparkling brightness when the night is over; lessons learnt among the shadows to be lived out in the sunshine.
5. The object of the dew is to maintain life in dry places and seasons. In rainless regions this is better understood. Any dry week in summer we see enough to understand the beauty of the figure. This speech is spirit and life to souls, however feebly, yet really alive to God. Dew does nothing for stones, nor a dead leaf. It falls on little fading plants, whose leaves absorb life, renewing moisture, and closed blossoms open out again with fresher fragrance than before. Dryness is more to be dreaded than darkness. (F. R. Havergal.)
Genuine religious teaching
I. Genuine religious teaching is gentle. Descends on the soul as the dew and small rain. The great religious teachers have been quiet talkers.
II. Genuine religious teaching is penetrating. Goes down through the intellect into the conscience and heart.
III. Genuine religious teaching is refreshing. Descends with quickening influence into the soul. (Homilist.)
Soothing nature of Christian doctrine
The lovely gentleness, the refreshing and cheering nature, of Divine doctrine is here most beautifully set forth. And, indeed, very useful is it that the amiable character of our blessed religion should be as much as possible presented to the view of men. For could they once see it they would be so in love with its beauty that their whole soul would be ravished with delight in thinking of it, and would teem with desire to be effectually possessed of it. But how is the beauty of religion to be shown to men? It cannot be really apprehended but by experience. Wherefore offer a fervent prayer to heaven for grace to dispose your hearts to receive this Word. We cannot be surprised at finding the yoke easy and the burden light of that Master who is thus meek and lowly in heart. He graciously promises that if we take this yoke upon us we shall find rest to our souls. This doctrine does, indeed, drop upon the souls of troubled sinners with the softness of a gentle rain falling upon a fleece of wool. Is, then, all forgiven? Am I cleansed from all my sin, relieved from all my guilt? Am I at peace with God? Do I partake of His love? Blessed is he whose unrighteousness is forgiven, and whose sin is covered. But when we come to consider the new life, the service of Christ, which must follow if we are to walk in favour with God, shall we then find this comfort and gentleness of Christian doctrine? Most assuredly we shall in the doctrine itself. The resistance which our passions and inclinations make to the Divine law causes all the discomfort and painfulness in submitting our hearts to be ruled by it. But it may be acknowledged that holiness of heart and life when attained may be comfortable, delightful; and yet a man may say, Doubtless it would be good for me to give up my unchaste and intemperate manner of living, but I cannot endure the self-denial necessary for it. A man may say, It would be good indeed for me to be a devoted servant of Jesus, but I don t know how to tear myself from my old habits, and leave my feigner companions. Could I see all this done, see myself become a new creature, and become associated with religious people, I believe that I could be happy. But now think of this one thing. What kind of Master are you called upon to serve? Is it not Jesus Christ, the kind and forbearing? Will not He be a gentle Master to you? With what gentleness is He represented administering spiritual food to the souls of His people! How considerate is He set forth of the different spiritual condition and circumstances of men, how tender to those who are in weakness, or in a great trial and difficulty! By the gentle influences of the Holy Spirit He can convert the soul, and change all its dispositions and affections. Thus will Jesus, in the most-gentle and yet the most powerful manner, lead those who commit themselves to Him. (R. L. Cotton, M. A.)
Doctrine as rain; speech as dew
The earth without rain cannot grow one tiny grass blade; when the clouds keep away the flowers hang down their heads, and shrivel and burn, and represent the very spirit of necessity and pain. We must have the black clouds; how welcome they are after a time of drought and scorching, when the earth is opening its mouth and asking for a draught of water! So Gods doctrine is to be poured out upon thirsty souls, burnt and scorched lives, ruined and unproductive natures. The rain plash is a sweet music, a tender appeal, a liquid persuasion. The rain will accommodate itself to all forms and shapes, and it will impartially visit the poor mans little handful of garden and the great mans countless acres. Such is the Gospel of Christ: it is impartial, gentle, necessary; it finds the heart when the heart is scorched, and asks to heal its burning, and to make the barren land of the inner life beautiful with summer flowers. We cannot tell how the Word gets into the heart--how softly, how silently: it is there, and we knew it not; we expected it, and at the very time we were looking out for it, it was already there; it is the secret of the Lord, and it moves by a noble mystery of action, so that no line can be laid upon it, and no man may arbitrarily handle the wealth of gold. As the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass. There shall be adaptation between the one and the other: if the herb is tender the rain must be small. Do not thunder upon us with Thy great power; do not plead against us with all the winds of Thine eloquence, for who could stand against the storm? On the other hand, the tenderer the grass the better it can bear even the scudding shower and the heavy downpour. Great trees are torn, or wrenched from their roots, or are thrust down in contempt, but all the grass of the meadow is but the greener for the winds which have galloped over it, or the great rivers that have poured themselves upon the emerald bed. Jesus will bless the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peace loving; but as for those who in heathen vanity set themselves up against Him, He will dash them in pieces like a potters vessel. The Word does not always produce an instantaneous effect: the Word has sometimes to filter well down into the thought and into the heart and life; and the Word does not report itself in the mere quantity of the doctrine, but in the greenness of the young grass, in the beauty and fruitfulness of the tender herb: no statistical return shall be made of the number of discourses heard, or the number of chapters read, but the life shall be the more verdant in spring-like beauty, and the more splendid in all the colouring of summer. (J. Parker, D. D.)
As the small rain upon the tender herb.--
Small rain for tender herbs
The highest power is consistent with the lowliest tenderness. He that is mightiest in word is mighty, not so much in thunder, and earthquake, and fire, as in a silent persuasiveness.
I. Moses meant to be tender. Moses intended, in the sermon he was about to preach, to be exceedingly gentle. He would water minds as tender herbs, and water them in the same fashion as the small rain does. He would not be a beating hail, nor even a down-pouring shower, but he would be as the small rain upon the tender herb.
1. And this is the more remarkable, because he was about to preach a doctrinal sermon. Does he not say, My doctrine shall drop as the rain?
2. It is equally remarkable that this discourse of Moses was a sermon of rebuke, lie rebuked the people, with no small degree of sternness, when he said, Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked; thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick; then he forsook God which made him. He warned the people of their great sin, and he did not hesitate to say, They are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them. Yet he felt that he had rebuked with the utmost meekness, and had still been as the soft dew and gentle rain. Upbraiding must be done in tenderness.
3. Furthermore, his style of speech was compassionately considerate, even as the dew seems to consider the withered grass, and the small rain to adapt itself to the tender herb. In his teaching he evidently thought of the feebler sort, and suited himself to those depressed by grief.
4. Furthermore, note well that the truth which our Lord spoke had always a refreshing effect upon those who were spiritually alive,. Our blessed Masters sermons were as the small rain upon the tender herb, not merely for the softness of their descent, but for the wondrous efficacy with which they came. His words fell not as fire flakes to destroy, nor as the dust from the wilderness to defile, but ever as the warm shower to cherish. So we learn that Moses meant to be tender, and Jesus was tender. What else do we learn?
5. Why, that all the servants of Jesus Christ ought to he tender; for if Moses was so, much more should we be.
II. Moses hoped to be penetrating: as the small rain upon the tender herb. Now, small rain is meant to enter the herb, so that it may drink in the nourishment and be truly refreshed. The rain is not to drench the herb, and it is not to flood it; it is to feed it, to revive it. This was what Moses aimed at. That is what all true preachers of Christ aim at. Why is it some people never seem to take in the Word, as the small rain upon the tender herb?
1. I suppose it is, first, because some of it may be above their understanding. If you hear a sermon, and you do not know at all what the good man is about, how can it benefit you?
2. Many do not drink in the sacred Word because it seems to them too good to be true. This is limiting the goodness of God: God is so good that nothing can be too good to be looked for from Him.
3. Many persons do not receive the Gospel promise to the full because they do not think it is true to them; anybody else may be blessed in that way, but they cannot think it probable that they shall be. Though the Gospel is particularly directed to sinners, yet these good folks think, Surely grace could never reach to us. Oh, how we lose our labour, and fail to comfort men, because of the unbelief which pretends to be the child of humility, but is really the offspring of pride! The small rain does not get at the tender herb, because the herb shrinks from the silver drops which would cherish it.
4. No doubt many miss the charming influences of heavenly truth because they do not think enough. Is it not strange that people should think sermons worth hearing, but not worth meditating upon? It is as foolish as if a man thought a joint of meat worth buying, but not worth cooking; for meditation is, as it were, a sort of holy cookery by which the truth is prepared to be food for the soul.
5. And, once more, we ought to pray that when we hear the Word we may be prepared to receive it: it is of great importance that we should open the doors of our soul to let the Gospel enter us. Hospitality to truth is charity to ourselves.
III. Moses hoped to see results. As the small rain upon the tender herb. Now, observe, in looking about among mankind, that whenever wise men expect any result from their labours, they always go to work in a manner adapted to the end they have in view. Finding the people to be comparable to tender herbs, he adapted his speech to them, and made it like the small rain. Now, what will be the result if we do the same? It will come to pass there will be among us young converts like tender herbs, newly planted, and if we speak in tenderness we shall see the result, for they will take root in the truth, and grow in it. Paul planted, and then Apollos watered. Why did Apollos water? Because you must water plants after you have planted them, that they may the more readily strike into the earth. Happy shall you be if you employ your greater experience in strengthening those whose new life is as yet feeble. Next, when a mans discourse is like small ram to the tender herb, he sees the weak and perishing one revive and lift up his head. The herb was withering at first, it lay down faint and ready to die; but the small rain came, and it seemed to say, Thank you, and it looked up, and lifted its head, and recovered from its swoon. You will see a reviving effect produced upon faint hearts and desponding minds. You will be a comforter, you will cheer away the fears of many, and make glad the timid and fearful. What a blessing it is when you see that result, for there is so much the more joy in the world, and God is so much the more glorified! When you water tender herbs, and see them grow, you have a further reward. It is delightful to watch the development and increase of grace in those who are under our care. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible1887 · Public DomainOn v1Deuteronomy 32
THE SONG AND BLESSING OF MOSES
(A) THE SONG OF MOSES
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Deuteronomy 32
CRITICS have debated the date, authorship, and history of this song. For the present purpose it is sufficient, perhaps, to refer to the statement on these points in the note below.
But in discussing the meaning and contents of the song the differences referred to cause no difficulties. On any supposition the time and circumstances, whether assumed as present, or actually and really present to the prophets mind, can clearly be identified as not earlier than those of the Syrian wars. Accepted as dealing with that time, this poem takes its place among the Psalms of that period. Its subject is a very common one in Scripture: the goodness of Yahweh to his people, and their unfaithfulness to Him; His grief at their rebellion; His punishment of them by heathen oppressors; and His turning in love to them, along with His destruction of the nations who had prematurely triumphed over the people of God. Practically this is the burden of all the prophecies, as indeed it may be said to be the burden of the whole Book of Deuteronomy itself. Here it is stated and elaborated with great poetic skill; but in the main, the essential thought, there is little that has not already been elucidated.
As regards form the poem is among the finest specimens of Hebrew literary art which the Old Testament contains. Every verse contains at least two parallel clauses of three words or word-complexes each, and the parallelism in the great majority of instances is of the "Synonymous" kind; that is to say, "the second line enforces the thought of the first by repeating, and as it were echoing it in a varied form." But into this as a foundation there is wrought a great deal of pleasing variation. The two-clause verses are varied by single instances or couplets or triplets of four-clause verses; while in two cases, at the emphatic end of sections, in Deu_32:14 and Deu_32:39, the rare five-clause verse is found. Further, the synonymous parallelism is relieved by occasional appearances of the "synthetic" parallelism, in which "the second line contains neither a repetition nor a contrast to the thought of the first, but in different ways supplements and completes it," e.g., Deu_32:8, Deu_32:19, and Deu_32:27.
The contents of the song are in every way worthy of the origin assigned to it, and higher praise than that it is impossible to conceive. Beginning with a fine exordium calling upon heaven and earth to give ear, the inspired poet expresses the hope that his teaching may fall with refreshing and fertilising power upon the hearts of men, for he is about to proclaim the name of Yahweh, to whom all greatness is to be ascribed. In Deu_32:4 ff. the character and dealings of Yahweh are set over against those of the people:-
"The Rock! His deeds are perfect, For all His ways are judgment; A God of faithfulness and without falsity, Just and upright is He."
They, on the contrary, were perverse and crooked; and, acting corruptly, they requited all Yahwehs benefits with rebellion. To win them from that perverseness, he calls upon his people to look back upon the whole course of Gods dealings with them. Even before Israel had appeared among the nations, Yahweh had taken thought for His people. When He assigned their lands to the various nations of the world He had always before Him the provision that must be made for the children of Israel, and had left a space for them from which none but Yahweh could ever drive them out. For He had the same need of and delight in His people as the nations had in the lands assigned to them, the lot of their inheritance. And not only had He thus prepared a place for Israel from the beginning, but He had led him through the wilderness, through the waste, the howling desert.
"He compassed him about, He cared for him, He kept him as the apple of His eye."
To depict the Divine care worthily, he ventures upon a simile of a specially tender kind, rare in the Old Testament, but to which our Lords comparison of His own brooding affection for Jerusalem to that of a "hen gathering her chickens under her wing" is parallel.
"As an eagle stirs up her nest, Flutters above her young; He, Yahweh, spread abroad His wings, He took him, He bore him upon His pinions."
All the hardship and the toil were of Gods appointment to drive His beloved people upwards and onwards. Whatever they might think or believe now, it was Yahweh alone, without companion or ally, who had done this for them, borne them up through it, and had bestowed upon them all the luxury of the goodly land once promised to their fathers. Even from the rocks He had given them honey, and the rocky soil had produced the olive tree. They had, too, all the luxuries of a pastoral people in abundance, and the wheat and foaming wine which were the finest products of agriculture.
In every way their God had blessed them. They had all the prosperity which a complete fulfillment of the will of God could have brought, but the result of it all was unfaithfulness and rejection of Him. Jeshurun, the upright people, as the sacred singer in bitter irony calls Israel, waxed fat and wanton. Instead of being drawn to God by His benefits, they had been puffed up with conceit concerning their own power and discernment. Full of these, they had mingled idolatrous rites with their worship of Yahweh. He had suffered them to read the results of their own unfaithfulness in defeat at the hands of their foes.
Instead of seeking the cause of their ill-success in themselves, they had found it in the weakness of their God. All the victories Yahweh had given them over foes whose strength they had feared were forgotten, and they "despised the Rock of their salvation." They had adopted new and upstart deities whom their fathers had never heard of, who as they had come up in a day might disappear in a day, and neglected the Rock who begat them.
Yahweh on His part saw all this, and scorned His people and their doings. In a vivid imaginative picture the poet represents Him as resolving to hide His face from them, to see what their end would be. Without the shining of Gods countenance there could be but one issue for a people who were so faithless and perverse. He will recompense them for their doings.
"They made Me jealous with a no-God, They vexed Me with their vain idols, And I will make them jealous with a no-people, With a foolish nation will I vex them."
For the fire of Divine wrath is kindled against them. It burns in Yahweh with an all-consuming power, and fills the universe even to the lowest depths of Sheol. Upon this sinful people it is about to burst forth; Yahweh will exhaust all His arrows upon them. By famine and drought; by disease and the rage of wild beasts, and of "the crawlers of the dust"; by giving them up to their enemies, and by overwhelming them with terror. He will destroy this people, "the young man and the virgin, the suckling and the man of grey hairs" alike. Nothing could save them, save Yahwehs respect for His own name.
"I had said, I shall blow them away, I shall make their memory to cease from among men: Were it not that I feared vexation from the enemy, Lest their adversaries should misdeem, Lest they should say, Our hand is exalted, And Yahweh hath not done all this."
Nothing but that stood between them and utter destruction, for as a nation they had no capacity for receiving and profiting by instruction. If they had been wise they would have known that there was but a step between them and death; they would have seen that their deeds had separated them from Yahweh, and could have but one issue. Their frequent and shameful defeats should have taught them that, for
"How could one chase a thousand, And two put to flight ten thousand, Were it not that their Rock had sold them, And that Yahweh had delivered them up?"
There was no possible explanation of Israels defeats but this; for neither in the gods of the heathen nor in the heathen nations themselves was there anything to account for them. Their gods were not comparable to the Rock of Israel; even Israels enemies knew as much as that. Israel might forget and doubt Yahwehs power, but those who had been smitten before Him in Israels happier days knew that He was above all their gods. Nor was the explanation to, be sought in the heathen nations themselves. For they were not vines of Yahwehs planting, but shoots from the vine of Sodom, tainted by the soil of Gomorrah. They were, perhaps, in race, of the old Canaanite stock; in any case they were morally and spiritually related to them, and their acts were such as brought death and destruction with them. In themselves, consequently, they could not have been strong enough to discomfit the people of God as they were doing, nor could they have been helped to that by any favor of His. Only the determination of Yahweh to chastise His people could explain Israels unhappy fate in war.
But Yahwehs purpose was only to chastise. He was in no way finally forgetful of His chosen, nor of the ineradicable evil of their enemies nature. The inner character of men and things is always present to Him, and their deeds are laid up with Him as that which must be dealt with, for it is one of the glories of Deity to sweep evil away and to restore anything that has good at its heart. Recompense is Gods great function in the world, and evil, however strong it may be, and however long it may triumph, must one day be dealt with by Him. It is laid up and sealed
"Against the day of vengeance and of recompense, Against the time when their foot shall slip; For the day of their calamity is at hand, And hastening are the things prepared for them."
Without that, justice could never be done to the people of God; and justice should be done to them when they had been brought to the verge of extinction, when, according to the antique Hebrew phrase, there "was none fettered or set free," none left under or over age. Then when all but the worst had come, Yahweh would demand, "Where are their gods, with whom they took refuge, and who have eaten the fat of their sacrifices, and drunk the wine of their drink offerings?" He will challenge them to arise and help in this last disastrous state of their votaries.
But there will be no response, and it will be made clear beyond all doubting that Yahweh alone is God. He will declare Himself, saying:-
"See now that I, I, am He, And there is no god with Me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: And there is none that delivereth out of My hand."
In that great day of Yahwehs manifested glory He will stand forth in the fullness of avenging power. Before the universe He will pledge Himself by the most solemn oath to bring down the pride of His enemies. In a death-dealing judgment, such as is seen only when the evil elements in the world have brought about a mere carnival of wickedness, and only universal death can cleanse, He will recompense upon evil-doers the evil they have wrought, and to a renovated world bring peace. There are few finer or more impressive imaginative passages in Scripture than this:-
"For I lift up My hand to heaven, And say, (As) I live for ever, If I whet My gleaming sword, And My hand take hold on judgment, I will take vengeance upon Mine enemies, And I will recompense them that hate Me. I will make Mine arrows drunk with blood, And My sword shall devour flesh, With the blood of the slain and the captives, From the chief of the loaders of the enemy."
With this great vision of judgment the poet leaves his people. For them the first necessity evidently was that they should be assured that Yahweh reigned, that evil could not ultimately prosper. With their whole horizon dominated and illumined by this tremendous figure of the ever living and avenging God, their faith in the moral government of the world and in the ultimate deliverance of their nation would be restored.
The poem closes with a stanza in which the seer and singer calls upon the nations to rejoice because of Yahwehs people. The deliverance worked for them will be so great and so memorable that even the heathen who see it must rejoice. They will see His justice and His faithfulness, and will gain new confidence in the stability and the moral character of the forces which rule the world.
(B) THE BLESSING OF MOSES
Deuteronomy 33
Besides the farewell speeches and the farewell song, we have in this chapter yet another closing utterance attributed to Moses. Here, as in the case of the song, we relegate critical matters to the note below.
We must notice in the first place the remarkable difference in tone and outlook between the blessing and the song of Moses. In the latter evil doing and approaching judgment are the burden; here the outward and inward condition of Israel leaves little to be desired. Satisfaction is breathed in every line, for both temporally and spiritually the state of the people is almost ideally happy. Nowhere is there a shadow; even on the horizon there is scarcely a cloud. Now even an optimist would need a background of actual prosperity to draw such a picture of idyllic happiness for any nation, and we may therefore conclude that the poem has in view one of the few halcyon periods of Israel, before social wrongs had ruined the yeomen farmers, or war and conquest had corrupted the powerful. The nation is as yet faithful to Yahweh, and possesses in peace the land which He had given them to inherit.
The central part of the poem is of course the ten blessings promised to the various tribes, but these are preceded by an introduction (Deu_33:2-5), in which the formation of the people is traced to Yahwehs revelation of Himself and His coming forth as their King. They are followed also by a concluding section (Deu_33:26-29), in which the God of Jeshurun is declared to be incomparable, and His people are depicted as supremely happy under His protecting care. The language is in parts obscure, and though the general scope is always plain, yet there are verses the meaning of which can only be conjectured. This is especially the case in the introduction. Of the five lines of Deu_33:2, the fourth and fifth as they stand are hardly intelligible; the fifth indeed is not intelligible at all. In Deu_33:3 again, while the first and second clauses are fairly clear, the third and fourth are as they stand untranslatable. But the general signification of the introductory verses (Deu_33:2-5) is that the Divine revelation of Himself which Yahweh bestowed upon His people as He came with them from Sinai, Paran, and Seir through the wilderness, and the establishment of the covenant which made Yahweh Israels King, together with the bestowal of an inheritance upon them, is the foundation and beginning of that happiness which is to be described. It is all traced back to the "dawning" of God upon them, His "shining out" upon them from Sinai, and Seir, and Paran. These are named simply as the most prominent ports in that region whence the people came out into Canaan, and where the great revelation had been bestowed. God had risen like the sun and had Shed forth light upon them there, so that they walked no more in darkness. The sight of God was, on this view, the great and fundamental fact in the history of the chosen people. They, like all who have seen that great sight, were henceforth separate from others, with different duties and obligations, with hopes and desires and joys unknown to all beside. And the ground of this condescension on the part of God was His love for His people. He loved them, and the saints among them were upheld by Him. By Moses He gave them a law, which was to hold from generation to generation; and He had crowned His gifts to them by becoming their King when the heads of the people entered into covenant with Him.
Then follow the blessings, beginning with good wishes for Reuben as the firstborn. But the tribe is not highly favored. It is however less severely dealt with than in Jacobs blessing. There instability and obscurity are foretold of it. Here it would seem as if the fortunes of the tribe were at the lowest ebb, and a wish is expressed that it may not be suffered to die out. From the earliest times the tribe of Reuben seems to have been tending to decay. At the first census taken under Moses the number of Reubenites capable of bearing arms was 46,500 men, {Num_1:21} at the second 43,730. {Num_26:7} Both passages are from P, and consequently this decadence of the tribe must have been present to that authors mind. In Davids day they had still possession of part of their heritage, but even then their best estate was past. They had allowed many Moabites to remain in the territory they conquered. These most certainly caused trouble and gained the upper hand in places, until before the days of Mesa, king of Moab, as we learn from his inscription, a great part of the cities formerly Reubenite were Moabite or Gadite hands. In Isaiah 15 and 16 again, Heshbon and Elealeh, cities still Reubenite in Mesas day, appear as Moabite, so that the bulk of the territory assigned to the tribe must have been lost. This record confirms the view that the blessing was written between Rehoboam and Jehoshaphat, and throws light upon our verse:-
"May Reuben live, and not die, So that his men be few."
The blessing of Judah follows, but in contrast with the great destiny foretold for this tribe in Jacobs blessing what is here said is strangely short and unenthusiastic:-
"Hear, O Yahweh, Judahs voice, And bring him to his people; With his hands has he striven for it (his people); And a help against his enemies be thou."
Some whose opinions we are bound to respect, as Oettli, think this refers merely to Judahs being appointed to lead the van of the invasion, as in Jdg_1:1; Jdg_20:8. In that case we should have to conceive that on some occasion Judah was absent leading the conquest, and got into dangerous circumstances, which are here referred to. But it would seem that any such temporary danger could hardly have a place here. In all the other blessings permanent conditions only are regarded; and the sole historical fact we really know that would explain this reference is the division of the kingdom. But, it may be said, all critics agree that the author of the blessing is a Northern Israelite: now we cannot suppose a Northern man to speak in this way of Judah, for it was the ten tribes that revolted from the house of David, not Judah from them. We must remember, however, that though that is how Scripture, which in this matter represents the Southern view, regards the matter, the Northern Israelites could look at the separation from another standpoint. To those even who were favorable to the Davidic house, and regretted the folly of Rehoboam, it might seem that Judah had first broken away from the kingdom as united under Saul; and the revolt under Jeroboam would appear to be only a resumption of the older state of things, from which Judah had again separated itself. What circumstance can be referred to in the request to hear Judahs voice cannot now be ascertained; but it is not at all unlikely that some indication of a wish for reunion, perhaps expressed in some public prayer, may have been given in the first period of the separation. The rest of the verse would fit this hypothesis as well as it fits the other, and I think with the light we at present have we must hold the reference to be as suggested.
With the eighth verse {Deu_33:8} the blessing of Levi (one of the two most heartfelt and sympathetic) begins. In it Yahweh is addressed thus:-
"Thy Urim and thy Thummim be to the men (\i.e., tribe) of thy devoted one (ie., Moses or Aaron), Whom thou didst prove at Massah With whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah."
In the last lines the relative pronoun is ambiguous, as it mawr refer either to "men," for which in Hebrew we have the collective singular ish, or to "thy devoted one." The last is the more probable; but in either case there is a superficial discrepancy here between the historical books and this statement. In Exo_17:1-7, as well as in Deuteronomy itself, it is the people who strove with Moses and proved or tempted Yahweh. On this account some would have us believe that a different account of the events at Massah and Meribah was in this writers mind. But that is the result of a mere itch for discovering discrepancies. It lies in the very nature of the case that there should be another side to it. The beginning was with the people; but just as the wandering in the wilderness is said to have been meant by God to prove Israel, so this insubordination of the people was meant to prove Moses or Aaron, and their failure to stand the proof made Yahweh strive with them. The verse, then, founds Levis claim to possess the chief oracle and to instruct Israel first of all upon their connection with Moses or Aaron, or both, since they had been exceptionally tried and had proved their devotion. The next verse, then, goes on to found it also on the faithfulness of the Levites, when they were called upon by Moses {Exo_32:26-29} to punish the people for their worship of the golden calf. In Deu_33:27 and Deu_33:29 of that chapter we find the same phrases,
Deu_33:9 -"Who (i.e., the tribe) said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; Who recognized not his brother, and would know naught of his son; For they kept Thy commandment, And kept guard over Thy covenant."
Being such-
Deu_33:10 -"Let them teach Jacob Thy judgments, And Israel Thy Torah; Let them put incense in Thy nostrils And whole burnt-offerings upon Thine altars."
Here we have the whole priestly duties assigned to the Levites. They are to perform judicial functions; to give Torah, or instruction, by means of the Urim and Thummim and otherwise; to offer incense in the Holy Place, and sacrifices in the court of the Temple. As early as this, therefore (on any supposition we need regard, long before Deuteronomy), we find the Levites fully established as the priestly tribe. Before the earliest writing prophets this was so-a fact of the greatest importance for the history of Israelite religion. The remaining verse beseeches Yahweh to accept the work of Levis hands, and to smite down his enemies. Evidently when this was written special enmity was being shown to this tribe; and, as has been said already, the religious proceedings of Jeroboam I would be sufficient to call forth such a cry to Yahweh.
In Deu_33:12 the tribe of Benjamin is dealt with, and it is depicted as specially blessed by the Divine favor and the Divine presence. Yahweh covers him all the day long, and dwells between his shoulders. There can hardly be a doubt that the reference is to the situation of the Temple at Jerusalem, on the hill of Zion, towards the loftier boundary of Benjamins territory.
Deu_33:13-17 contain the blessing of Joseph, i.e., of the two tribes Ephraim and Manasseh.
Deu_33:13 -Blessed of Yahweh be his land By the precious things of heaven from above, By the deep which crouches beneath;
Deu_33:14 -By the precious things of the sun, And the precious things of the moons;
Deu_33:15 -And by the (precious things of the) tops of the ancient mountains And by the precious things of the everlasting hills;
Deu_33:16 -And by the precious things of the earth and its fullness. And may the good-will of Him that dwelt in the bush Come upon Josephs head, And upon the top of the head of the crowned among his brethren.
Deu_33:17 -May the firstborn of his ox be glorious; And the horns thereof like the horns of the wild-ox; With them may he gore the peoples, even all the earths ends together. These (i.e., thus blessed) are the myriads of Ephraim, And these the thousands of Manasseh.
Supreme fertility is to be his, and the favor of Yahweh is to rest upon him as the kingly tribe in Israel. The curious phrase at the beginning of the seventeenth verse has been supposed to be a reference to some individual, Joshua, Jeroboam II, or to the Ephraimite kings as a whole. But the subject of the blessing is the Josephite tribes, and there seems to be no good reason why the reference should be changed here. It cannot, therefore, refer to less than a whole tribe, and as according to Gen_48:14 Ephraim received the blessing of the firstborn, it must be Ephraim which is Josephs firstborn ox. This view is confirmed by the last clause of the verse, in which the myriads of Ephraim are spoken of, and only the thousands of Manasseh. Obviously this must refer to times like those of Omri, when the Israelite kingship was in its first youthful energy, and was extending conquest on every hand.
The benedictions which remain are addressed to Zebulun, Issachar, Gad, Dan, Naphtali, and Asher. They need little comment beyond close translation.
Deu_33:18 -And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; And, Issachar, in thy tents.
Deu_33:19 -"They shall call the peoples unto the mountain; They shall offer sacrifices of righteousness: For they shall suck the abundance of the seas, And the hidden treasures of the sand."
The territory of Zebulun stretched from the Sea of Galilee to the Mediterranean, probably quite down to the sea near Akko, in any case near enough to give it an active share in the sea traffic. Issachar, whose tribal land was the plain of Esdraelon, also shares in it; but the contrast between "thy going out" and "thy tents" implies that Zebulun took the more active part in the traffic. The reference in Deu_33:19, clauses a-and b, is obscure. As the Septuagint reads "they shall destroy" instead of "unto the mountain," the text may be corrupt. It may perhaps be an allusion to the sacrificial feasts at inaugurated fairs to which surrounding peoples were called, as Stade suggests.
Deu_33:20 -And of Gad he said, Blessed be the enlarger of Gad: He dwelleth as a lioness, And teareth the arm, yea, the crown of the head.
Deu_33:21 -"And he looked out the first part for himself, Because there a (tribal) rulers portion lay ready; And he came with the heads of the people, He executed the justice of Yahweh, And His judgments in company with Israel."
At this time Gad was in possession of a wide territory, and was famed for courage and success in war. His foresight in choosing the first of the conquered land as a worthy tribal portion is praised, and his faithfulness in carrying out his bargain to accompany the nation in its attack on the west Jordan land.
Deu_33:22 -"And of Dan he said, Dan is a lions whelp, Leaping forth from Bashan."
This does not mean that Dans territory was Bashan, but only that his attack was as fierce and unexpected as that of a lion leaping forth from the crevices and caves of the rocks in Bashan.
Deu_33:23 -"And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtah, sated with favor, And full of the blessing of Yahweh: Possess thou the sea and the south."
The soil in the territory of Naphtali was specially fruitful, in the region of Huleh and on the shore of the Sea of Gennesaret. These are the sea and the hot south part which the tribe is called upon to take as a possession, and because of which the favor of Yahweh and His blessing specially rested upon it.
Deu_33:24 -And of Asher he said, Blessed above children be Asher; May he be the favored of his brethren, And dip his feet in oil.
Deu_33:25 -"Iron and brass (be) thy bars; And as thy days (so may) thy strength (be)."
The last line is extremely doubtful. The word translated "thy strength" is really not known, and that meaning probably implies another reading; "thy bars" in the previous line is also doubtful. The reference to oil probably implies that the olive tree was specially fruitful, in the country inhabited by Asher, but why he should be specially favored of his brethren can now hardly be conjectured.
In the concluding verses we have an exaltation of Israels God and of His people. Speaking out of the time when Israel had driven out its enemies and was in full and undisturbed possession of its heritage (Deu_33:28), the poet declares to Jeshurun how incomparable God is. He rides upon the heaven to bring help to them, and He comes in the clouds with majesty. The God of old time is Israels refuge or dwelling, covering him from above, and beneath, i.e., on the earth. His everlasting arms bear His people, up in their weariness, and shelter them there against all foes. He has proved this by thrusting out before them, and by commanding them to destroy, their enemies.
Deu_33:28 -And so Israel came to dwell in safety, The fountain of Jacob alone, In a land of corn and wine; Yea, His heavens drop down dew.
Deu_33:29 -"Happy art thou, O Israel: Who is like unto thee? A people saved by Yahweh, The shield of thy help And the sword of thy majesty! Thine enemies shall feign friendship to thee; And thou shalt tread upon their high places."
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary1892 · Public DomainOn v1The song composed by Moses and recited to the…
The song composed by Moses and recited to the people as a witness against them. “It embraces the whole future history of Israel, and bears all the marks of prophetic testimony in the perfectly ideal picture which it draws on the one hand, or the benefits and blessings conferred by the Lord upon His people; on the other hand of the ingratitude with which Israel repaid God for them all” (cf. Delitz). The poem divided into six parts.
Deu_32:1-3. Introductory, importance of doctrine delivered. Heaven and earth invoked not as matter of rhetoric, not to witness for God as cf. Deu_4:26; Deu_30:19; Deu_31:28, but indicative of the whole universe, which would be affected and sanctified by the righteousness of God manifest in heaven and earth. Doctrine Let my doctrine, a prayer. Bain with soft penetrating influence (Isa_55:10-11). Greatness equivalent to glory in Psa_29:1; Psa_96:7-8.
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Deu_32:4-6. The righteousness of God placed in contrast with the corruption, perversity and folly of Israel. Rock—first time God so called in scripture and used six times in this song. A name often found in phrases (for Heb. Tsur) like “strength” (Psa_73:26; Psa_141:1), or “Mighty One” (Isa_30:29). Perfect blameless, without fault. On contrary Israel acted corruptly (Deu_32:5). They have. The verb is singular. Render. “It (i.e. “the perverse and crooked generation,” understood from the context) hath corrupted itself before Him “(cf. Isa_1:4); they are not his children, but their blemish,” i.e., the generation of evil doers cannot be styled God’s children, but rather the shame and disgrace of God’s children” (Speak. com.) Crooked (cf. Mat_17:7; Luk_9:41.) Foolish (Deu_32:6; Deuteronomy cf.4, 6; Psa_90:12). Bought, acquired thee for His own. Made a nation.
Deu_32:7-14. Innumerable benefits conferred. Blessings given from the very first days of old (Deu_32:7). Divided (Deu_32:8) by His providence. Set bounds, reserved for His people a fit inheritance “according to the number,” proportionate to the wants of the population. Portion (Deu_32:9), lot or piece of land; here a figure applied to the nation (cf. Exo_15:16; Exo_19:5). (Deu_32:10; Deu_32:14) Helpless and hopeless condition of Israel, and love and care which God displayed. Waste, lit., in the land of the desert and the waste (“formless waste” as Gen_1:2) howling wilderness, amid ferocious beasts. Apple guarded as the tenderest part (cf. Psa_17:8; Pro_7:2). Eagle noted for its care and affection (Exo_19:4; Isa_63:9).
Deu_32:12. So the Lord alone delivered Israel and trained them.
Deu_32:13. Ride high positions in which they gained dominion (cf. Deu_33:29). Honey, richest provisions from fruitful fields and unlikely places.
Deu_32:15-18. Base ingratitude for benefits. Jeshurun only found here and in Deu_33:5, and Isa_44:2. A description of a nation right and just, “not the character which belonged to Israel in fact, but that to which Israel was called.” An epithet intended to convey keen reproof. Fat. The figure of an ox, fat and intractable in consequence (Isa_10:27 : Hos_4:16). Forsook, rejected. Esteemed, lit. to treat as a fool, to despise (Mic_7:6). Rock in Palestine, a refuge from enemies. Jealousy (Deu_32:16), language from matrimonial relationship (Exo_34:14; Isa_54:5; Jer_2:25). Devils (Deu_32:17), false gods, malignant and destructive (Lev_17:7). Not to God, Marg. Not God, i.e., which were not God. Gods who had not benefitted them. Newly up, from near, from Moab, Amon and Canaan in a local sense; or in contrast to Jehovah, who had manifested Himself of old (Deu_32:7).
Deu_32:19-22. God’s rejection of Israel. Abhorred, despised, cast them off. Provoked by sins. Daughters, women had full share (Isa_3:16; Jer_7:18). See, I will show what their end will be at last.—(Ainsworth). No faith, no dependence upon them Deu_32:21, The terms, “not God” and “vanities” (nothings) were preferred, and God moved to anger. God would therefore excite them to jealousy, and ill-will by a “no-people” and “foolish nation,” i.e., transfer blessings upon them instead of Israel. (Deu_32:22) When kindled divine anger would burn to lowest hell, the deepest destruction of sheol, the lower world, consume earth’s produce and set on fire foundations of mountains.
Deu_32:23-28. Evils threatened many and severe, like arrows which warriors shoot at foes (Psa_38:3; Psa_91:5; Job_6:4, Burning heat, i.e., fever of pestilence, famine, plague, wild beasts, poisonous serpents and war, would bring them to verge of destruction. (Deu_32:26) Scatter them away and blot out their remembrance. (Deu_32:27) Were it not that I feared, i.e., that I should be provoked to wrath when the enemy ascribed the overthrow of Israel to his own prowess and not to my judgments.—(Speak. Com.) Hand over hand was high, i.e., lifted up, shown itself mighty. For the reason they deserved not to be spared.
Deu_32:29-33. The reasons which lead to severity. They were foolish. Latter end, to which they were obstinately rushing, i.e., destruction if not adverted. (Deu_32:30) Chase. If wise, conquest would be easy and the promise (Lev_26:8) fulfilled. But abandoned for their apostacy “sold” and “delivered up.” (Deu_32:31) Their rock gods in whom heathens trust, were felt to be unequal to Israel’s God or Rock. Judges. “Having experienced so often the formidable might of God, they knew for a certainty that the God of Israel was very different from their own idols.”—(Calvin). Their vine worse than the vine of Sodom, universally corrupt, like Sodom and Gomorrah in wickedness. Bitter (cf. 2Ki_4:39-41; Isa_5:2-4; Jer_2:21). Figures which express that “nothing could be imagined worse, or more to be abhorred than that nation.”—(Calvin).
Deu_32:34-43. God’s purpose to have mercy upon Israel when chastened and humbled. This wickedness before mentioned and judgments upon it. Store remembered and sealed up in a bag as a treasure carefully kept (Job_14:17; Hos_13:12). Vengeance, active vindi ation of authority. Slide, they will totter and fall, firm as they think themselves to be (Psa_38:17; Psa_94:18). (Deu_32:36) Judge (cf. Psa_135:14; 1Pe_4:17). Repent himself, have compassion, help them. None, proverbial for all men (cf. 1Ki_14:10; 1Ki_21:21; 2Ki_4:8; 2Ki_14:6), bond and free; none to help. (Deu_32:37) Idols utterly worthless, to which Israel had brought sacrifices and drink offerings. Rise up (Jer_2:28). (Deu_32:39) “See now that I, I am.” Experience enough to convince them that idols were impotent and that Jehovah alone should be feared. Kill (1Sa_2:6; 2Ki_5:7). God smites and heals (Job_5:17; Hos_6:1; Isa_30:26; Isa_57:17). (Deu_32:40-42) These verses are closely connected. The full stop in the A. V. at the end of Deu_32:40 should be removed, and the passage should run thus: For I lift up my hand to heaven and say, as I live for ever, if I whet, etc. In Deu_32:40, in which God is describing as swearing by Himself (cf. Isa_45:23; Jer_22:5; Heb_6:17). The lifting up of the hand was a gesture used in making oath (cf. Gen_14:22; Rev_10:5-6). (Speak. Com.) (Deu_32:43) Rejoice in God’s retribution upon enemies in his wiping out the guilt which rested upon people and land and thus exterminating idolatry.
Deu_32:44-52. A supplement added by the author, who inserted the song to the law. Hoshea (Num_13:16). Set, give serious attention. Life (Deu_32:47), basis of all enjoyments and length of life. (Deu_32:48) Self-same day on which Moses rehearsed this song, and on which announcement of death renewed (Num_27:12-14). “In form this repetition differs from previous announcement, partly in the fact that the situation of Mount Nebo is more fully described (in the land of Moab, etc., as in Deu_1:5; Deu_28:68), and partly in the continued use of the imperative and a few other trifling points. These differences may all be explained from the fact that the account here was not written by Moses himself.”—(Delitz).
THE IMPORTANCE OF DIVINE INSTRUCTION.—Deu_32:1-6
The metaphors of this inimitable song of singular beauty, very suggestive and powerful. In many ways is the importance of Divine instruction set forth.
I. By its lofty theme. Israel’s God is made known in wonderful attributes. “I will publish the name of the Lord.
1. Perfect in character. No injustice and iniquity found in him. A rock of omnipotence and immutability. Perfect in holiness, word and work. A God of truth—we charge God foolishly, but He never errs, forgets nor retracts. “He cannot lie.” “Our rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”
2. Glorious in majesty. “Greatness,” royal splendour and power must be ascribed to him. We cannot add to His greatness. His perfections are infinite. We may acknowledge it and give Him glory due to His name. It is not the bright light of eternity, but the glory seen in the perfection of His works, the faithfulness of His word and the wisdom of His administration.
3. Righteous in government. “All His ways are judgment,” mysterious and incomprehensible, but “the ways of the Lord are right.” (Hos_14:9).
4. Immutable in purpose. We are inconstant and foolish, He unchangeable in plan, counsel and ways. “With whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning.”
II. By its adaptation to our moral condition. We need such a God to redeem and comfort, in whom we may trust and live.
1. As “the thirsty earth” (Psa_72:6). We need the rain, divine influence to soften our hearts and lives. We are barren and unfruitful in the works and ways of God. Ignorant of His truth and will, until “the doctrine drops as rain.”
2. As “the grass,” we require fertilising showers to refresh, quicken and cause the seeds of knowledge to grow. This doctrine of God is like the dew, gentle and insinuating, powerful and productive. The word “shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, etc.” (Isa_55:10-11).
III. By its interested witnesses. Heaven and earth appealed to as august spectators. Such appeals often in matters of high importance (Psa_50:3-4; Isa_1:2; Jer_22:29). This not a splendid instance of poetical apostrophe, but indicative of an interested universe. A summons to all intelligent beings to listen to the grand truths unfolded by this inspired ode. The doctrine concerns all mankind and should be known by all mankind. If neglected heaven and earth will witness to their stupidity and disobedience. “Heaven shall reveal his iniquity and the earth shall rise up against him” (Job_20:27).
IV. By its benevolent design. A charge is made against Israel, whose character was the reverse of that of Jehovah, whose condition was helpless and deplorable. God deals in rectitude and love, and the writer is an example in tender expostulation and heavenly aim, to the poet and the minister.
1. To impart wisdom. “O! foolish people and unwise.” Doubly foolish in forsaking God, who bought, made and established them. “Fools indeed, to disoblige one on whom you have such necessary dependence. To forsake your own mercies for lying vanities.” “Who hath bewitched (fascinated, demented) you?” Gal_3:1.
2. To rectify judgment. “A perverse and crooked generation” Perverted, froward, and untractable in thought and purpose; crooked, irregular and disorderly in life. God seeks to enlighten and correct them. That ye may be blameless and harmless (sincere) in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine, as lights (luminaries or beacons) in the world” (Php_2:15).
3. To restore the divine image. Likeness to God is the characteristic of His children. Sin defiles and degrades as spots in the face or dirt on the garment. It corrupts and destroys like putrefaction in the body. Grace delivers from sin, restores the divine image and makes us “sons of God.”
4. To kindle fervent gratitude. Israel’s base return for redemption and advancement, innumerable privileges and unprecedented honours. “Do ye thus requite the Lord?” We condemn the Jews, yet imitate their conduct. God has delivered and exalted us, yet we do not feel that gratitude is required, reasonable and just. God daily loads with benefits that we may render in return (Psa_116:12). Appeals to our sense of right for a natural and willing return for mercies so constant and so great.
THE REVELATION OF GOD.—Deu_32:4-6
The doctrine of this song is a revelation concerning God. A declaration of his name—a name expressing his qualities and distinguishing him from all other gods. This name must be published, for if the name drop out of use, the being Who owns it may be forgotten.
1. In the splendour of his perfections. Jehovah the Great I am—independent and self-existent. The infinite, eternal and immutable God. Perfectly just and infinitely holy. Each attribute is capable of distinct contemplation. All blended together constitute divine excellence, like colours of light in the rainbow.
2. In the rectitude of his moral government. “His ways are judgment,” that is accord with rectitude. He is essentially and absolutely just. Reason asserts that he can have no motive for injustice. Deeply fixed in the centre of conscience is this truth. The Bible continually sets forth that “there is no unrighteousness in him.” “Just and right is he,” in person and procedure. “A sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.”
3. In the assertion of his rights. “Is not he thy father that hath bought thee?”
1. Rights as Creator.—“Hath he not made thee?”
2. Rights as a Covenant God. “Thy father.”—We owe to him homage, love and obedience. “Thou O Lord, art our Father and Redeemer, thy name is for everlasting” (Isa_63:16). Let us think of God as here revealed, the absolute and the relative God, until our hearts are stirred to gratitude, reverence and devotion. “Behold God is great and we know Him not.”
Return, my senses, range no more abroad,
He only finds his bliss who seeks for God.
—Parnell.
The Dew of the Word.—Deu_32:2
“Distil as the dew.” Who hears the dew fall? What microphone could reveal that music to our “gross unpurged ears?” The dew distils in silence. So does the speech of God. In stillness God’s love is condensed into dewlike communications; not read, nor heard, but known by direct power of the spirit upon the soul. Not much in noise, turmoil, and bustle. Dew falls in wider silence, in quiet places of sorrow and sickness; more in the desert than in hot harvest fields or neat gardens, from which we have been called. The dew distils in darkness. Not in the darkness of external trial merely, but in times when we cannot see anything; when we do not seem to be walking in darkness, but, like Micah, “sit in darkness,” too feeble even to grope; times of reaction and weariness after special work, after great or exciting success, even after unusually vivid spiritual blessing. You look out some dark night: there is no storm, no rain, not the least token to your senses of what is going on. In the morning you see every blade and leaf tipped with a dew drop, everything revived and freshened, prepared for the heat of the day. So His words fall on your souls in darkness, not with sensible power; nothing flashes out from the page, nothing shines to shed pleasant light on your path. You do not hear sound of abundance of rain, but the words are distilling as the dew and preparing you for day. The dew falls not in one mass of water, but innumerable little drops. What one drop does not reach another does. It is not one overwhelmingly powerful word which does this holy night work in the soul, but the unrealized influences of many, dropping softly on the plants of the Lord; one resting here, another there; one touching an unrecognised need, another reaching an unconciously failing grace. “Each drop uncounted hath its own mission, and is duly sent to its own leaf or blade.” Sometimes God’s dew goes on falling many hours of night. Watches seem long and starlight does not reveal it. But none is lost; some is already doing hidden work as it falls around the very roots of our being, some ready to be revealed in sparkling brightness when the night is over; lessons learnt among the shadows to be lived out in the sunshine. The object of the dew is to maintain life in dry places and seasons. In rainless regions this better understood. Any dry week in summer we see enough to understand the beauty of the figure. This speech is spirit and life to souls, however feebly, yet really alive to God. Dew does nothing for stones, nor a dead leaf. It falls on little fading plants, whose leaves absorb life, renewing moisture, and closed blossoms open out again with fresher fragrance than before. Dryness is more to be dreaded than darkness. Be trustfully content to let the dew fall in the dark. Believe the Word, when you read the dim page or lie still through long hours of the night, with no power to meditate on halt-recollected verses that cross the mind and leave no influence.—F. R. Havergal.
Softly the dew in the evening descends,
Cooling the sun-heated ground and the gale;
Flow’rets all fainting it soothingly tends,
Ere the consumings of mid-day prevail.
Sweet, gentle dewdrops, how mystic you fall,
Wisdom and mercy float down in you all.
—Rev. W. H. Havergal, Last Hymn, 1870.
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_32:2. My doctrine.
1. Its nature.—Rain, dew, small rain, and showers.
2. Its operations. Drop, distil. Rain, emblem of Holy Spirit.
1. A timely blessing. When inheritance is weary. “He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass.”
2. Bestowed in special seasons. “Early and latter rain” In youth and manhood in conversion and maturity.
3. Beneficial in results. Softens earth and prepares it for seed. “Thou makest it soft with showers.” “Thou, O God, didst send (shake out) a plentiful (gracious) rain, whereby thou didst confirm (refreshedst) it, when it was weary, Psa_68:9.
Dew, an emblem.
1. In origin. “As a dew from the Lord that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.”
2. In method of operations, (a) silently and imperceptibly. Not with observation, not in “the thunder of his power”; (b) Efficiently and beautifully. Vigour and freshness to the Church, “the dew unto Israel.” Not in sweeping, destructive showers, but in gentle, penetrating influence; (c) resulting in good or evil. The savour of life or of death—cursing or blessing, Heb_6:7. “My speech, etc. My familiar, friendly, and affectionate speeches, shall descend gently and softly on the ear and. heart, as the dew moistening and refreshing all around. In hot regions dew is often a substitute for rain; without it no fertility, where rain seldom falls. In such places only can the metaphor here used be felt in its perfection.”—A. Clarke. No doubt these various expressions point out that great variety in the Word or Revelation of God, whereby it is suited to every place, occasion, person and state; “being profitable for doctrine, reproof, and edification in righteousness.”—Ibid.
Deu_32:4. God a rock.
1. An immovable foundation for hope. Foundations of rocks, hidden, unsearchable to mortal eye, depths past finding out.
2. An abiding security. Protection and safety from burning, heat of the sun and hostile invasion of enemies. “A hiding place from the wind, covert from the tempest,” &c. (Isa_32:2.) “An image of God’s omnipotent power, immutable purpose, faithfulness in mercy, truth and love,” Psa_119:89-90. “A firm and everlasting refuge, a ‘Rock of Ages, Isa_26:4. One age passeth away, and another, and a third, etc., but the rock remains. “The name of the Lord is a strong tower” (Pro_18:10); “munition of rocks” (Isa_33:16); “rocks so deep, no pioneer can undermine them; so thick, no cannon can pierce them; so high, no ladder can scale them” (Trapp).
Deu_32:5. Spots of God’s children. Impatience, anger, idolatry, sectarian bitterness and prejudices, etc. Sin generally.
1. Spots of deepest dye. Not on surface, but ingrained like leopard’s spots and Ethiopian’s skin.
2. Spots which corrupt—all flesh corrupt—universal prevalence of disease, “the whole head sick and the heart faint,” voluntary debasement and death.
3. Spots which cannot be washed away by man. Not even “with nitre” and “much sope,” Jer_2:22. Only the blood of Christ can take away the stain and make whiter than snow.”
Deu_32:6. Requite. Ingratitude for mercies innumerable, distinguished, affectionate, and long continued. “Good turns aggravate unkindness, and our guilt is increased by our obligations. It is ingratitude that makes a godly man’s sin so heinous, which otherwise would be far less than other men’s, since his temptations are stronger and his resistance greater” Trapp. Thy father? Consider. I. That God sustains a fatherly relation towards us. See him our Father in:
1. The work of Creation.
2. The redemptive plan.
3. The workings of Providence. II. That as such we owe him peculiar duties:
1. As our Father we ought to be like him.
2. We ought to obey him.
3. We ought to love him. III. That this relationship involves certain duties with regard to our fellow men. They are of the same family as we are. Then there should be:
1. Family union;
2. Family correspondence;
3. Family love. (Bib. Museum.)
RECOLLECTION OF PAST MERCIES.—Deu_32:7-14
“Remember days of old,” from the beginning until now what God has done—Proper review, true enquiry into past history will lead to gratitude and trust.
I. Special inheritance allotted to Israel by Divine Wisdom. God the Great Proprietor made and peopled the earth.
1. To each nation He assigned its portion. “Divided to the nations their inheritance.”—From the sons of Noah separate nations were formed (Gen_10:32). In growth and settlement they were not left to chance, permitted to scramble, nor to prey one upon another. Powerful states should never invade weak ones. Forced acquisitions are unjust, insecure; become sources of restlessness, corruption and revolt. “He hath determined the bounds of their habitation” (Act_17:26).
2. To Israel He had special reference, in this arrangement. Placed in the midst of the earth, Canaan was admirably suited for their residence. From this common centre, the report of God’s wonders and the glad tidings of salvation were easily spread to every part of the globe.
3. In this arrangement the interests of the people themselves were secured. The land gradually gained—its tribes depossessed “according to the number of the children of Israel.” They were preserved—became the most favoured, the most important nation upon earth. By position, training and divine wisdom made depositaries of revealed religion and prepared the world for the Messiah.
II. Special Honour conferred upon Israel by Divine choice. They were the Lord’s portion, and the lot of his inheritance. “The Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for a peculiar treasure” (Psa_135:4). Separated from heathens, elevated by privileges they were chosen “a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth” (Deu_7:6). Others were aliens, they were children sons of God. Honours bestowed, special relationship indicate obligation to God. We are not to engross divine favours, but intended to be mediums, diffusers of it; not only to be blessed ourselves, but to be blessings to others. “I will bless thee and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing.”
III. Special training of Israel by Divine Grace. The beautiful figure sets forth Jehovah’s care and method of training his people.
1. He sought them in solitude. What sovereign grace! Few and lonely God desired and chose them. “At this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.”
2. He instructed them in ignorance. Cut off from surrounding nations, God alone taught them: in laws and ordinances, rulers and prophets, events painful and pleasing. “He gave also his good spirit to instruct them” (Neh_9:20).
3. He guarded them in journeys. Led them about, not in the most direct, but in zigzag way, backwards and forwards. None are carried to heaven, directed in the way without hindrance, deflection and trouble.” I will bring the blind by a way they know not; I will lead them in paths they have not known.”
4. He preserved them in danger. “He kept him.” He healed the serpent’s bite; defended in assault; frustrated divination and enchantment; “reproved kings for their sakes, saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.”
5. Trained them in love. God’s diligence and tender compassion set forth. As the least touch of the eye would be painful, so God feels when the humblest is illused, afflicted or assailed. “He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.”
IV. Special exaltation of Israel by Divine Providence. “He made him ride, etc.” In Egypt they were oppressed and enslaved; in Canaan exalted and honoured.
1. In victory over our enemies. “With a high hand” were redeemed (Exo_14:8); and by the might of God did they conquer numerous foes. “I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father.”
2. In superabundant provision. The fields gave their increase and the rock its honey; oil from olives on rocky clefts, butter of kine and milk of sheep; lambs well-fed and cattle of finest breed; bread of the finest wheat and drink of purest grape” that he might eat.” Most abundant, most fruitful are the rewards of obedience. The service of God is a land of beauty and productiveness. “He maketh peace in thy borders and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat” (Psa_17:4-14; Psa_81:16).
THE ROYAL SIMILITUDE.—Deu_32:11
The king of birds combines more admirable qualities than any other fowl, and forms a royal similitude. It has strength to mount above all, swiftness to outstrip all, an eye that penetrates the very fountain of light, affection that draws forth its blood for its young, and a sagacity almost human in instructing and disciplining them, which is specially noted in our text.
Notice four things without doing violence to the similitude.
1. God uses Divine admonitions. “As the eagle stirreth up her nest.” When time for young to leave nest, she moves it with gentleness and affection; she sees them sleeping, and unwilling to leave their first home, makes a noise, strikes her wings against surrounding branches, and then, having awakened them, disturbs them still further, and finally “stirreth up,” turns the nest inside out, and compels them to take to crags of rocks, or boughs of trees. Thus did God to Israel, by moving the heart of Pharaoh against them when at ease by the fleshpots of Egypt. God now stirs up his people, who are unwilling to think of better things, and refuse to hear the call, “Rise and come away.” Sickness and death invade the dwelling, a darling child blighted in bud, or husband or wife dies in vigour of life, yet in vain. The sails of commerce rent; business blighted, schemes frustrated, and property wasted, to destroy the nest. God admonishes by knocking the world from under them, and places them in altitude to look for a better. “Arise, this is not your rest.”
2. God uses Divine allurements. The eagle “fluttereth over her young,” “hovers over them, and excites them to imitate her, and take their flight.”—Cruden. Thus the Lord moved Israel to leave Egypt, and thus speaks of their restoration from Babylon, and their conversion to Christ. “I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness” (Hos_2:14-15). He declares unwillingness that any should perish, reveals anxiety, and more than parental love for our salvation. Like the eagle rising to the sun, the Lord Jesus teaches us to rise to a better, brighter world. Enough in the Gospel to woo from sin and the world. Can you find a better portion than God and heaven?
Rise, my soul, and stretch thy wings,
Thy better portion trace,
Rise from transitory things
Towards heaven, thy destined place.
3. God assures of Divine assistance. “When the eagle sees its young weary or fearful, it takes them upon its back and carries them.”—Cruden. God “bare Israel on eagle’s wings, and brought them unto himself” (Exo_19:4). So strength is made perfect in weakness; God upholds and makes grace sufficient. But as the eagle “rejects as unnatural” its young that do not fix their eyes upon the bright orb of day, and rise, so God may swear “they shall not enter into my rest.”
4. God promises Divine protection. The eagle bears its young on its wings for protection as well as aid. The archer must first penetrate the body of the old bird before he can touch the young. Naturally it is more out of danger than other birds when in its proper element; security is doubled when on its mother’s wings. Difficult to kill an eagle. If down on earth, with its head on turf, and longer at fountains, then a noble mark and easy prey. Just as the heaven-born soul, if in his proper place, and after his proper object, is out of reach of the wicked—above the world, with its pomps and vanities, which fade away in the distance—fiery darts of Satan must penetrate Jehovah’s wings before they touch him. “The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.” We see, then, why God disturbs with the ills of life that we may obey his call. He sends winds and rain, takes away the warm down of earthly comforts, and pulls down our tabernacles, that we may leave to dwell in mansions above.—Rev. William Jackson.
GOD’S WORK OF GRACE IN THE REDEMPTION OF MAN.—Deu_32:10-12
I. The Condition of the Sinner. Set forth in expressive terms.
1. In a distant state. If found he must be lost. Lost to God, of no service to him; to self, missing the great end of life; to others, of no benefit, but injurious.
2. In a barren state—“a desert place.” The world, the unregenerate soul, a moral waste, sterile without God.
3. In a dangerous state. “Howling widerness,” great, terrible, and filled with “fiery serpents” (Deu_8:15; Jer_2:6). Howling with the roar of beasts and the blasts of tempest.
4. In a hopeless state. Away from the camp and company of God. Without a star in heaven or a footprint on earth. Fit emblem of the wretched, unregenerate condition of the sinner.
II. The Method of Deliverance. Strikingly illustrative of God’s method of redeeming men.
1. God seeks. “He found him.” He seeks discovers men in departure and sin. “Adam, where art thou?” His people are “sought out.” (Isa_62:12). “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.”
2. God guides “He led him”. When he seeks he is sure to find, bring to himself, guide through life and duty to heaven. “I did know (care for thee and love) thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought” (Hos_13:5.)
III. The Place of Destination. “A land flowing with milk and honey,” “the city of habitation.” No home, no rest nor shelter in the wilderness. A country prepared and in reserve. God brings the believer into a large and wealthy place of highest hopes and joys—a place where unpropitious circumstances yield unexpected blessings. But heaven the fulfilment, the perfection of all.
From Deu_32:11-12 learn—
I. Needful disturbance. “As an eagle stirreth up her nest.”
1. As to our outward condition in the world.
2. As to our selfrighteous confidence.
3. As to our departure from life.
II. Divine example. “Fluttereth over her young” to exite and teach them by example. The eye does more than the ear. God must be seen by example of parents, teachers and ministers. God in Christ, humanised example. Render religion attractive that men may see it.
And as the bird each fond endearment tries
To tempt her new-fledged offspring to the skies
Employ each art, reprove each dull delay,
Allure to brighter worlds, and lead the way,
III. All sufficient assistance. “Spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings.” This to aid and secure them. Not always aware of her design, away she sails with them and shakes them off her wings. She follows after, hovers near them, and when their pinions flag and they cannot fly, she darts and places herself under them, prevents their fall, succours their weakness and refreshes them for another flight Our dependence is entire, but “our sufficiency is of God.”
IV. God’s sole agency. “So the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.” God conforms himself to our modes of apprehension and expression. This necessary, but not degrading. He speaks unto us as unto children, with whom imitation is everything; and levies a tax upon the world of nature to furnish images of himself. He assumes relation of parents, the affection of a father, the tenderness of a mother. He borrows images from animals, and especially the feathered tribes. “As a hen gathereth her chickens.” Observe a divine agency—the Lord led him. See also exclusive application of this work. “The Lord alone did lead him.” A resemblance of the manner in which it was done. “So the Lord, etc.” How? “As an eagle stirreth up, etc.” Three things here ascribed to the mother eagle, not in providing for her young, but in educating them—in teaching them to fly she stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth her wings, taketh them and beareth them on her wings This applicable to God in dealing with us, and preparing as to seek things above.—(Condensed from Jay.)
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_32:8-9. The most high divided nations.
1. God originally divided nations their inheritance.
2. Divine purpose is revealed in this division.
3. Israel was discovered and distinguished from all other nations. A nation, the depository of God’s will, from which the Church and the Christ were to spring. Recognise a brother in every human being, for “God has made of one blood all nations upon the face of the earth.” In the worst of times God has preserved a few for himself.
Deu_32:9. The Lord’s portion. His purchase.
2. His conquest
3. His glory.
4. His heirs. The value God sets upon His people. As bought by blood, re-generated by grace, and designed for heaven. “What an astonishing saying. As holy souls take God for their portion, so God takes them for His portion. They are infinitely happy in and satisfied with God; He represents Himself as happy in them. This is what is implied on being a saint. He who seeks an earthly portion has little commerce with the Most High.”—A. Clarke.
Deu_32:10. I. The primary application of the text as a summary of all that had been suffered by the Israelites, and all that had been done by God on their behalf. II. The peculiar manner in which it adapts itself to our own times and to our own cases.
1. We have the picture of the believer in his natural state, in a desert land.
2. In his regenerate state, found of God, and instructed.
3. In his guarded state. “Kept.”—Hy. Melvill.
Deu_32:11. The method of Divine training. I. Its object. To secure development of our own powers, by action wise, divinely prompted, self-reliant, and adapted to constitution and circumstances. II. The means. Gentle, affectionate, stimulating, and exemplary. “The purpose of life is development; the process of development is discipline; the result of discipline is a full and many-sided manhood.”
For human weal, Heaven husbands all events.
ISRAEL’S INGRATITUDE, APOSTACY AND PUNISHMENT.—Deu_32:15-25
Israel requited God for benefits, by forsaking him, and serving worthless idols. God is offended by their conduct and resolves to punish.
I. Base Ingratitude to God. “Do ye thus requite the Lord?” The heathens deemed ingratitude a sin so great as to include every other. Lycurgus asked why his laws did not notice it, replied, “I have left it to the gods to punish.”
1. Ingratitude displayed in self-indulgence. “Thon art waxen fat, thou art grown thick.”
2. Ingratitude begetting pride. “According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled and their hearts were exalted, therefore have they forgotten me” (Hos_13:6).
3. Ingratitude ending in rebellion. “Waxed fat and kicked.” Like pampered and well-fed cattle they grew insolent, became wanton and ungovernable. “They were disobedient and rebelled against Thee and cast Thy law behind their backs” (Neh_9:25).
II. Shameful Apostacy from God. “Then he forsook God who made him.” Departure from God a tendency in fallen nature. But the sin is aggravated by light, privileges and advantages of instruction.
1. Forsaking God who made them. No regard to our Creator, no thought for the end of our being. How deplorable to ignore our maker—source of intelligence and joy—“in whom we live and move and have our being.”
2. Sacrificing to gods which cannot help them. Gods which were strange, new and vanities—Gods whom their fathers feared not and to whom they owed no obligation whatever—Gods termed “abominations” and “devils,” repulsive in their nature and destructive in their influence.
3. Exciting to jealousy God who loved them. “They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods.” “This jealousy,” says Calvin, “rests upon sacred and spiritual marriage tie, by which God had bound the people to Himself.”
III. Terrible punishment from God. God will severely visit his people for their apostacy. “The Lord saw it,” abhorred and resolved to reject Israel. This punishment is set forth in the form of righteous judgment—Retribution not always adequate, nor invariable, but real and manifest—an instinct of justice in the divine nature, a law of providence and of conscience. “Be sure your sin will find you out.”
1. They had offended God and other nations should offend them. “A foolish nation” would provoke them to anger (Deu_32:21). A people whom they deemed foolish, or who really were foolish though they thought themselves wise, would eventually be received against their wish.
2. They had provoked God, and God would provoke them to jealousy. Gentile nations, whom they despised, not only conquered them and became their masters, but entered a covenant from which they were excluded (cf. Mat_21:43; Rom_10:19).
3. They had rejected God, and God would reject them. “I will hide my face from them” (Deu_32:20). God would withdraw his favour and transfer it to a despised nation. As they had turned their back upon him he would turn his back upon them (cf. Jer_18:17; Jer_2:27). They thought lightly of God, forsook him and then made substitutes for him. A picture of sin’s progress, the sinner’s folly and the way to righteous judgment.
DIVINE ANGER.—Deu_32:19-27
These may be figurative expressions, but cannot be explained away, to make the Supreme Being incapable of feeling against sin and the sinner, destitute of pleasure or displeasure, without concern for His glory, or the welfare of the universe.
I. The anger of God is caused by the sins of men. “They have provoked me to anger.” It exists in Divine perfections, and is manifest in Divine government. God’s eye is a flame of fire, and its lofty jealousy rests upon every form of sin, negative and positive. “For the wrath of God is revealed (displayed in judicial vengeance) against all ungodliness (impiety, non-recognition of God) and unrighteousness (deviations from truth and moral rectitude) of men” (Rom_1:18).
II. Execution of anger is reserved to God Himself. “I will provoke,” “I will move,” agent’s secondary causes. God is the avenger. We are not to usurp His place, and recompense evil for evil. He knows how to punish without passion, and without injustice. “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
III. Anger, when roused in God, is terrible in its effects. Most severe judgments are threatened (Deu_32:22-25).
1. Judgments extensive in operation. Sweeping the earth, penetrating the lowest hell, and like a fire of universal conflagration.
2. Judgments irresistible in might. “Set on fire the foundations of mountains.” Strong fortresses subverted, holy cities destroyed, and the Jewish Constitution overturned. “Who knoweth the power of Thine anger? Even according to Thy fear, so is Thy wrath,” i.e., equal to all that a man can fear from it (Psa_90:11).
3. Judgments destructive in results. Swept together, heaped up, and falling upon young men and maidens, children and old men—swift as arrows, and hot as fire; in the field and in the home destruction came. It falls upon men like wild beasts upon victims—to crush, destroy, and carry in triumph. This is not an overdrawn picture of the danger and the anger of God against presumptuous sins. “Consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver”—
For guilt, no plea! to pain, no pause, no bound!
Inexorable all! and all extreme.
—Young.
IV. The anger of God is often restrained by mercy. “Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy” (Deu_32:27). God can make a full end, but desires not the death of sinners. In the midst of wrath He remembers mercy.
1. Restrained in regard for His own honour. “Lest their adversaries should say, ‘Our hand is high,’ ” etc. If God destroyed Israel, the enemy would take the credit to themselves—become proud and boastful. Hence He regards His own name; will not permit its profanation and pollution (cf. Exo_32:12; Num_14:13; Isa_10:5).
2. Restraint in the interests of His people. Unworthy as they are, “a nation void of counsel,” He was concerned for their welfare. (a) For their protection. Their adversaries would injure them, behave themselves strangely; but He defends, restrains the wrath of man, and causes remainder to praise Him. (b) For their correction. He desires to teach and make them wise (Deu_32:28). “My people is foolish; they have not known Me.” (c) For their continuance (Deu_32:26). No desire to blot out their name, but to perpetuate their existence, honour, and bless them for ever.
THE DANGERS OF PROSPERITY.—Deu_32:15-18
Consider I. How men are affected by abundant prosperity in their social capacity, and with respect to their general worldly interests. History is full of instances to show how national character has deteriorated as the wealth and power of a nation have increased. II. How our churches are affected by such prosperity. Note the various religious errors of the century; antinomianism, &c. Note also the pride of enlightenment, which is the besetting temptation of the present day. III. How the injurious tendencies of long good fortune may be corrected. Let us:
1. Constantly recollect with gratitude the source and giver of our prosperity;
2. Use our resources and advantages as God intends they should be used;
3. Not desire prosperity for itself.—A. Thomson, M. A.
Another outline may be given.
I. Prosperity is not real happiness. Nature knows nothing of moral distinctions; treats all alike. But distinguished rank, long life, abundant wealth and ripe scholarship, do not satisfy inward craving. A millionaire may be miserable. “Prosperity is like salt water, the more you drink of it the thirstier you are” (Talmage).
II. Prosperity profits very little. The wealth of empires cannot add to stature of body or mind, nor secure health and virtue. It is insecure and exposes to envy. “Envious at the prosperity of the wicked.” Earthly possessions—vanity—do not fill, protect nor continue.
III. Prosperity is spiritually dangerous. “The prosperity of fools shall destroy them,” (Pro_1:32.)
1. In leading to self-dependence.
2. In begetting contempt for God. “Lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.”
3. In causing apostacy for God. “Then he forsook God.” Guard against selfishness. Be watchful and humble. “In all time of our wealth, good Lord deliver us.”
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_32:15. Jeshurun. A dishonoured name given to Israel several times (ch. Deu_31:16, Deu_33:5; Deu_33:26), meaning upright, righteous; a term also of endearment and indicating close relation to God.
1. They forsook God, who is just and right and had chosen them to walk in righteousness (Isa_64:2.) “By placing the name of righteous before Israel, he censured ironically those who had fallen away from righteousness, and by thus reminding them with that dignity they had been endowed, he upbraided them with the more severity for their guilt of perfidy.”—(Calvin).
2. They degraded themselves. Forsook the ways and the God of their fathers, became corrupt in manners, unworthy of confidence, and abominable in conduct. “A rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord.” (Isa_30:9.) Waxed fat and kicked. “The figure is admirably supported, through the whole verse. We see first, a miserable, lean steed, taken under the care and into the keeping of a master, who provides him with an abundance of provender. We see secondly, this horse waxing fat under this keeping. We see him thirdly, breaking away from his master, leaving his rich pasturage, and running to the wilderness, unwilling to bear the yoke or harness, or to make any returns for his master’s care and attention. We see fourthly, whence this conduct proceeds, from a want of consciousness that his strength depends upon his master’s keeping, and a lack of consideration that leanness and wretchedness must be the consequence of leaving his master’s service and running off from his master’s pasturage. How easy to apply these points to the Israelites! and how illustrative of their former and latter state and how powerfully do they apply to many called Christians, who having increased in riches, forget that God, from whose hand alone those mercies flowed.”—A. Clarke.
Deu_32:17. Not to God.
1. Man, a religions being, will worship, must have a God. “If there be no God, we must invent one,” cried a leader in the French revolution.
2. Right conception of God restrains, elevates, and preserves.
3. When God is cast off, abominable wickedness and awful degradation ensues. Things that are no Gods, devils chosen as substitutes. “Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth.” (Jer_2:26.)
Deu_32:18. Unmindful.
1. Men outwardly prosperous, but spiritually destitute.
2. Men enjoying every favour, but acknowledging no obligation to God.
3. An offence most unnatural, unreasonable, and provoking. “Thou hast forgotten the rock of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy Strength.” (Isa_17:10.) “My people have forgotten me days without number.” (Jer_2:32.)
Deu_32:19. Lord saw. Divine inspection of Human Life.
1. God remembers the sins of men. Remembrance minute, constant and universal.
2. Men think God is indifferent to their sins. Forget him in thought and disregard him in conduct.
3. When men disregard God in their ways, they become more sinful in their lives. Proud and corrupt, false and unjust, “children that are corrupters, they have forsaken the Lord,” Isa_1:4.
“For want of faith,
Down the steep precipice of wrong he slides,
There’s nothing to support him in the right.”
—Young.
Deu_32:21-22. Mine anger.
1. An element of wrath in Divine Government.
2. This wrath may overtake men suddenly.
3. When it does overtake men they cannot escape. “When a great ransom cannot deliver thee.”
Deu_32:23-25. God’s arrows. Judgments from the gods represented by arrows in Scripture and heathen writers. Apollo is pictured as bearing a bow and quiver full of deadly arrows, and in answer to prayer coming to smite the Greeks with pestilence (Hom. II. I. 5:43).
1. Innumerable in variety. Famine, pestilence, wild beasts, poisonous reptiles, and war.
2. Direct in their aim. Never fall on wrong persons, never miss the Mark 3. Deadly in their effect. Wounds of poisoned arrows intensely painful and internal. No greater suffering than arrows “sharp in the hearts of the King’s enemies,” (Psa_45:5). “The arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit (destroying vital energy, certain death)” (Job_6:4).
Deu_32:26-27. Influence of Man’s conduct on the Divine Mind. If God sees, he must, speaking after the manner of man, feel and act. I. Man’s sin rouses Divine opposition. God’s anger not a passion but a principle, not against existence but against the sins and sufferings of existence. Op-position, hatred and sin revealed in judgment upon individuals and communities. II. Man’s sin restrains Divine procedure. Jealousy indicates love. “The wrath of God,” says Meyer, “is the holy love of God (who is neither neutral nor one-sided in his affection) for all that is good in its energy is antagonistic to all that is evil.” The expression the wrath of God simply embodies this truth that the relations of God’s love to the world are unsatisfied, unfulfilled. The expression is not merely authropopathic, it is an appropriate description of the Divine pathos necessarily involved in the conception of a revelation of love, restrained, hindered and stayed through unrighteousness” (Martensen’s Christian Dog.)
1. If not loved and obeyed he feels wronged, therefore does not show mercy.
2. If wronged or insulted he does not revenge himself, lest the enemy should rejoice, his people be destroyed, and his glory tarnished. Let the righteous hope, the wicked trumble, for Divine wrath is only partially poured out in this world. It will be perfectly displayed in the final judgment.
MARKS OF WISDOM.—Deu_32:28-30
God complains of Israel’s folly. If they had been more considerate, wiser, they would have foreseen and avoided evil. “A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.”
I. Wisdom gives understanding in the events of life. Wise men value and improve life. Their wisdom is not intuitional, abstract, and speculative. “The inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding” (Job_32:8). Hence it is sound and practical; fixed on a right end (Php_3:13), and regulated by right principle (Psa_119:105). The prudent man regards the events of life, discerns the signs of the times, learns coming judgments from the Word of God, and prepares to meet them. It is reckless folly to walk blindly, carelessly, in the midst of greatest evils. “Men that had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do” (1Ch_12:32).
II. Wisdom is superior to natural strength in the conflicts of life. “One chase a thousand and two put ten thousand to flight” (Deu_32:30). A few taught by God are “mightier than they in arms.” As Gideon (Jdg_7:22) and David’s worthies (2Sa_23:8). “Knowledge is power” is Bacon’s famous aphorism. Physical and mechanical forces increase the power of man. Intellect wisely applied gives moral ascendancy. But “a wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength” (Pro_24:5); by faith and dependence upon God “puts to flight the armies of the aliens.” “The battle is not to the strong.” “Wisdom is better than strength.” “Athanasius against the world!” “Wisdom is better than weapons of war” (Ecc_9:18).
III. Wisdom leads to consideration of the end of life. “That they would consider their latter end” (Deu_32:29). We know not the end, but it will come. To each, time will close. The last day, the most solemn of all, fast approaches. Instinct leads animals to prepare for the future. Worldly wisdom urges readiness for emergency. God loudly speaks in Providence, and warns in Scripture. “O that they were wise.” “Oh, that My people had hearkened unto Me, and Israel had walked in My ways” (Psa_81:13).
Be wise to-day; ’tis madness to defer;
Next day the fatal precedent will plead;
Thus on, till wisdom is pushed out of life.
—Young.
GOD’S REPROOF OF HUMAN FOLLY.—Deu_32:28-29
I. As a fact men are extremely foolish. Sinners are shortsighted, regardless of the inevitable consequences of their conduct.
1. They are wilfully ignorant. “That they understood.” We are naturally ignorant, limited in thought and being; but not forced to err and sin. Ignorance may be removed by Scripture and the Holy Spirit. But the careless worldling, immersed in pleasure and playing with trifles, is a man without understanding, and like the beasts that perish. Wilful ignorance is the centre of all evil and the precursor of ruin. “Fools die for want of wisdom” (Pro_10:21).
2. They are strangely conceited. Trust to reason; resist Divine teaching because authoritative and practical and would be their own guides. “Vain man (empty and ignorant) would be wise” (Job_11:12), forgets that all knowledge is disjointed, partial, and worthless, without the fear of God. Sages of antiquity “professing themselves wise became fools” (Rom_1:22). “Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? There is more hope of a fool than of him” (Pro_26:12).
3. They are habitually indifferent. Accustomed to sin, deaf to the voice of God; nothing stirs or restrains. Rooted habit has become ruling principle. The heart not kept, thoughts not rightly centered, control is lost over actions. “O that they would consider!”
II. God seeks to make foolish men wise. He does not compel, but reproves, expostulates. Wisdom in its very nature cannot be given by force. “Wisdom is the principle thing, therefore get wisdom, and with all thy getting, get understanding.”
1. By striking providences. Such mentioned here (Deu_32:24-25). Affliction and misfortune, inward darkness, distress, and insanity. Providences which alarm and make us think. Providences which create joy and gratitude. all overruled for good and designed to instruct.
2. By inspired teaching. The Bible, an inspired guide, declares the providence and justice of God. A teacher unerring, free, and common to all. “Written for our learning,” and recording events which are warnings. “All these things happened unto them for ensamples (types), and they are written for our admonition, &c.” (1Co_10:11). “O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments!”
THE CONSIDERATION OF DEATH.—Deu_32:29
I. Take account of the general insensibility of men to the grand fact that they are mortal. Note:
1. How little effect the fact that whole races are dead since the beginning of time till now has upon us.
2. How seldom we are struck with the reflection that many things and small things too might cause our death.
3. How soon a recovery from danger sets aside the serious thought of death.
4. How schemes are formed for a long future time, without any thought of possible death. II. See what can be brought in explanation of this.
1. The insertion in the human mind, by the Creator of a principle counteractive in some degree to the influence of this prospect of death.
2. The fearful, radical depravity of our nature.
3. The perfect distinctness of life and death.
4. Even the certainty and universality of death.
5. Our utter inability to form any defined idea of the manner of existence after death.
6. A general presumption of having long to live.
7. The endeavours of men, by occupying their whole thoughts with other things, to preclude a thought of their end. III. Briefly remonstrate against it. To end our life is the mightiest event that awaits us in this world, and it is that which we are living but to come to. To have been thoughtless of it, then, will ultimately be an immense calamity. (John Foster).
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_32:28-29. The Folly of Men. I. Men are not wise.
1. They prefer shadows to substance, worldly happiness. “What shadows we are and what shadows we pursue” (Burke).
2. They avoid not danger when before them.
3. Admit facts, yet live as if they were not facts. II. God’s provision to make men wise. Life the school of God, who provides teachers and gives lessons.
1. In tender appeal.
2. In wonderful events. In patience, perseverance and affection, “who teaches like him?”
Deu_32:29. Latter End. End of certain actions, end of sin, end of life generally considered not. “What will ye do in the end thereof?” (Jer_5:31). “She remembereth not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully (in astartling, singular way)” (Lam_1:9).
“Heaven gives the needful, but neglected call,
What day, what hour, but knocks at human hearts,
To wake the soul to sense of future scenes.”
GOD A ROCK OF CONFIDENCE.—Deu_32:31
The gods of the heathen not wise, powerful and gracious, like Jehovah. Enemies and friends can prove that He alone is worthy of confidence.
I. Men chose a rock in whom to have confidence. Wealth, the world and our fellow-creatures. Friends lack sympathy, prove unfaithful and pass away, confidences vain and false, abound and disappoint. Broken reeds which fail, pierce and wound the hand that leans upon them (Isa_36:6).
II. God alone is worthy of confidence. A rock the most abiding and unchanging object in nature. God the same yesterday, to-day and for ever. None like him proved.
1. By testimony of friends. Who enjoy shelter, comfort and rest. “Who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord?” “Not any rock like our God” (1Sa_2:2).
2. By the testimony of enemies. “Our enemies themselves being judges.” Compelled by dear experience to acknowledge God’s power and supremacy. Egyptians (Exo_14:25), Balak and Balaam (Numbers 23), Philistines (1Sa_4:8). “O, Galilean, thou hast conquered!” was the forced confession of the Emperor.
III. God as a rock of confidence should be recommended to others Accessible to all; no steep rugged height to climb to reach it—a fit shelter from the wind and covert from the tempest (Isa_32:2). Millions h sheltered and yet room. Blessedness beyond description to those who flee and find. “Blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted” (Psalms 18; Psa_31:21; Isa_17:10.
DEMORALIZATION OF MEN.—Deu_32:32-33
I. In falling short of the end of Existence. Israel well-pleasing to God at first, a noble vine became a degenerate plant (Isa_5:2-7; Jer_2:21). Like the vine of Sodom emblems of utter depravity (Isa_1:10; Jer_23:14). Not merely frail, but morally corrupted, degraded; unprofitable and unable to answer the end of existence; not living “to the praise of his glory,” but for selfish, useless ends. Sin is degradation of character, perversion of life’s purpose. Other creatures fulfil their mission. All God’s works praise him. But all men “have sinned” (Jew and Gentile, best and worst) and come short of (failed to attain to, disqualified for) the glory of God (Rom_1:23).
II. In becoming pernicious in life. These terms most expressive, indicative of principles and practices most abominable.
1. Offensive in character. “Grapes of gall;” worse than wild grapes, bitter and vexatious to God and man.
2. Mischievous in conduct. “Poison of dragons,” secreted malice, ready to dart forth upon others. “They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent (to sting); adder’s poison (most destructive) is under their lips” (Psa_140:3; cf. Psa_58:4; Rom_3:13.
3. Fatal in influence. Asps a species of snake whose bite is immediately fatal. “Nothing could be imagined worse or more to be abhorred than that nation” (Calvin). But this wickedness ripens for judgment. The thought of Sodom’s destruction is suggested. Those who imitate Sodom bring forth the worst fruits of impiety, and will perish like Sodom. When great cities sink and great nations morally degenerate, they are doomed to judgments, righteous and complete overthrow. “Turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample (not an exception to the regular laud of the Divine Government) unto those that after should live ungodly,” (2Pe_2:6.)
GOD’S SUPREMACY IN THE WORLD.—Deu_32:34-43
God is represented as killing and making alive (Deu_32:39); as judging men and punishing gods; as swearing to heaven and calling upon nations to rejoice in His supremacy.
I. Supremacy asserted in the Physical World. God is not quiescent but active in the world, “doing marvellous things without number.”
1. In appointing agents to maintain it. All creatures under His command, mightiest and meanest; gods and men; the “glittering sword” and “arrows drunk with blood;” life and death. He arranges and directs all agencies to work in the circumstances, bodies and souls of men; in the departments of creation and the history of nations.
2. In fixing times to display it. Days of calamity and of joy. In “the wheel of nature” (Jas_3:6), in the revolutions of time, “to every thing there is a season.” The world not ruled by chance, fate, or accident. Events most casual under control. Every work its part, and “a time to every purpose under heaven.” “He changeth the times and the seasons.” “God hath determined the times appointed” (Act_17:26).
II. Supremacy vindicated in the Moral World. In the physical world law, abstract principles set up in opposition: in the moral, reason, heathen gods, “humanity,” and the heavenly bodies. “The heavens do rule”—
1. In the experience of men. Nebuchadnezzar’s royal testimony, Belshazzar’s judgment, and Napoleon’s downfall. Man is subject to law as well as creation. “In whose hand is the soul (life) of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind (flesh of man),” Job_12:10.
2. In the customs of society. Social and religious—society is barbarous or civilised, progressive or stationary, degraded or elevated, as it recognises and depends upon God.
3. In the history of nations. God the Supreme Ruler and Proprietor. Nations increase as Rome, Israel, England, and America; or decay as Israel for its idolatry, Rome for its luxury, Spain for its persecutions—according to His purpose. The rise, growth, and ruin of nations with Him. “He increaseth the nations and destroyeth them: He enlargeth the nations and straiteneth them again” (Job_12:23).
III. Supremacy in its influence in the world. Two effects chiefly.
1. A source of joy to God’s people. “Rejoice, O ye nations, with His people” (Deu_32:43). His rule is not lawless authority, tyrannical and evil, but just and benevolent. Hence “the Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof.”
2. A source of terror to his enemies. “Render vengeance to his enemies” (Deu_32:43). When He “wounds” by loss (Deu_32:39); strikes according to the manner in which He swears (Deu_32:40); and becomes the archer and the arrow, who can resist? “Say to the righteous—it shall be well with him. Woe unto the wicked, etc.” (Isa_3:10-11).
VENGEANCE IN STORE.—Deu_32:34-38
“This” (Deu_32:34) not only includes the sins of the nation, but also the judgment of God. The apostacy of Israel, as well as the consequent punishment, is laid up with God—sealed up in His treasuries; therefore they have not yet actually occurred—an evident proof that we have prophecy before us, and not the description of an apostacy that had already taken place, and of punishment inflicted in consequence (Keil).
I. In store, as a natural consequence of a sinful course. Natural for sin to produce results—results destroyed, checked, or treasured up. Sins stored up in human conscience (Psa_51:3) God’s providence, and at day of judgment, (Rom_2:5). None lost or left unpunished—all repaid. “Dost thou not watch over my sin (to visit it)? My transgression is sealed up in a bag (as evidence preserved against me); and thou sewest up mine iniquity (to keep it carefully and punish it justly),” Job_14:16. “The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is hid.” (Hos_13:12).
II. In store, to be revealed in due time. Justice pledged to avenge broken law upon disobedient. Time and manner may be sealed up. Long suffering must not be taken for forgetfulness. “Recompense in due time.” Retribution.
1. Terrible. “Kill,” and none can make alive.
2. Near. “At hand.” Instruments of judgment, like weapons of war, are “taken in hand.”
3. Swift. “The things make haste.” Judgment lingereth not (2Pe_2:3).
4. Certain. “Shall come.” “I will render vengeance.” As surely as I live for ever.
III. The revelation of stored up vengeance will be just and wise. “True and righteous are His judgments.” Restrained and educational; yet sufficient.
1. To convince God’s people of their folly. In forsaking Him for idols which are vain and impotent—in relying upon earthly props which are destroyed—in showing Himself to be the arbiter of life and death.
2. To warn the wicked of their sin. “Reward them that hate me.” No power can avert or escape His anger. They may think themselves to be immovably fixed, but “their foot shall slide.” They shall totter and fall. Refuge, strength, and hope shall fail them. In God only can these be found. “The Eternal God is thy refuge.” Flee to Him.
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_32:31. God a rock. A contrast between God and idols—in existence, attributes, and conduct.
Deu_32:35. Sliding feet. Risks of carnal security.
1. Men fix themselves firmly, feel secure, and think nothing can shake them.
2. This is tremendous risk. Contempt for misfortune of others first sign of insecurity (Job_12:5). Sin overbalances, providence shakes the feet, and the fall begins.
3. Results most sad. Imagine a slip into the abyss from alpine heights! “To slide and fall is in a thousand places certain destruction; and no threatenings against the workers of iniquity are more terrible than that they shall be set in slippery places, that their feet shall slide in due time” (Dr. Thom. Ld. and Bk.).
4. God alone can prevent sliding. “Hold thou me up,” etc. (cf. Psa_38:17; Psa_94:18).
Deu_32:35-36.
1. A warning against self revenge. “Avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto (the) wrath (let it spend itself and have free space; or give place, by stepping aside as a man attacked by a wild beast); vengeance is mine (Rom_12:19).
2. God has power to punish. “I will repay, saith the Lord.” Put off indulgence, make room for the judgment of God, who will execute in due time.
“Anger is like
A full hot horse; being allow’d his way,
Self-mettle tires him.”—Shakespeare.
Deu_32:36. The Lord shall judge. Judicial acts of God.
1. As judge for His people in mercy.
2. As judge against or upon them to correct.
3. As judge of all men in righteousness.
Deu_32:34-35. Iniquity reserved for future punishment.
1. Treasured up. Noticed, not forgotten, never forgiven without repentance.
2. Treasured up to be punished. “Evil pursueth sinners.” An order of sequence in moral as physical law. Punishment fixed, certain and near. “Avenging deities are shod with wool,” but never pause nor mitigate their judgments.
3. Be wise and escape. Fatally unwise to delay repentance and return to God!
Defer not till to-morrow to be wise,
To-morrow’s sun to thee may never rise.
Deu_32:36-38. Learn—
1. Afflictions of God’s people. Their power gone, reduced to shame and helplessness. Gods whom they worshipped and supported despised and unable to defend them.
2. The pity of God for His afflicted people. Judge, i.e., plead their cause, protect and deliver them. Repent of evils brought against them, and deal in mercy, not in judgment, with them.
3. Lessons to be learned from this experience. The folly of forsaking God. The impotence of idols. The insecurity of any hiding place against the justice of God. The design of mercy to awaken a sense of ingratitude and rebellion. “Experience is the best master.” “Experience teaches fools; and he is a fool, indeed, that does not profit by it.”
Deu_32:39. Learn—
1. God’s self-existence.” I am He.”
2. God’s sole rule. “No God with me.”
3. God as arbiter of life and death. “I kill and I make alive,” etc.
4. God’s absolute power. “Neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.”
Deu_32:40-42. A terrible God.
1. Threatening vengeance.
2. Ratifying sentence with an oath.
3. Preparing to execute.
4. No resistance when vengeance comes! “The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserveth wrath for His enemies.
THE LAST DISCOURSE.—Deu_32:44-47
These are the last words, the repetition of the law of Moses, the ultimatum to the people.
I. The subject of the discourse. “All the words of this law.” Words of warning, promise and command. The law with its claims and authority. Religion represented by law.
1. Its fulness. “All the words” needed. Nothing kept back. Testimony clear and sufficient, enough to satisfy intellect and heart, to guide and bless.
2. Its importance. “Not a vain thing,” an empty, worthless profession; a mere shadow of the good and true, but the highest and only good. The “one thing needful.”
3. Its necessity. “Your life.” Not a philosophy, a mere system of morality, but a power of spiritual life. “The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus.” “Christianity is not a theory or a speculation, but a life; not a philosophy of life, but a life and a living process.”—(Coleridge). It is the highest life possible to men, an impartation of power by which eternal life may be finally attained.
II. The attention which the discourse requires. Attention and interest should be according to the importance of a thing.
1. A fixed purpose of mind. “Set your hearts.” Heart and mind must be centered on it. Constant thought and application, a firm and earnest resolve. Through decision, not passing feelings and vacillating purpose. “His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord” (Psa_112:7).
2. A due performance in life. “Observe to do.” Hear and practice. Business men say life means energy and work. Idleness and sloth are marks of death. Christ quickens, constrains and becomes the principle of action and obedience. When Christ lives within us, obedience is prompt and loyal. “Keep My commandments and live.”
III. The blessings of thus heeding this discourse. If religion is the essence of wisdom possession must be advantageous.
1. It gives enjoyment of life. “Your life” in its joy, happiness and usefulness. Life—miserable existence without God. Noble and glorious the life of him who loves God and feels that God loves him.
2. It prolongs life. “Prolong your days.” If this promise does not really belong to us, yet religion tends to length of life, in preserving from sins which shorten it, in promoting health, cheerfulness and activity. “The fear of the Lord prolongeth days, but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.”
3. It prepares for eternal life. Heaven not only eternal existence but eternal enjoyment. True religion an earnest and foretaste of it. More than dry formalism, cold assent, barren orthodoxy. It is essentially “the fountain of life,” “the kingdom of God within.”
THE SUPREME IMPORTANCE OF OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S COMMANDS.—Deu_32:46-47
I. Earnest purpose is essential to personal obedience to God’s law. “Set your hearts,” etc. Without a purpose no strength in the will, no direction in effort. Power and activity valueless without a clear aim. To fix our hearts on one great end, to make thought and duty define position and relation to this centre principle are chief means of improvement, advance and obedience in life. “My heart, O God, is fixed (prepared, set up) my heart is fixed” (Psa_57:7).
II. Obedience to God’s law will secure happiness and prosperity. “It is not a vain thing for you.” The life of individuals, the security and elevation of the nation. Obedience better than gigantic schemes of trade, and colonization than enlargement of frontier and increase of armies. “If thou wilt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all His commandments, which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth.”
III. It is our duty to render obedience ourselves and to teach our children. “Ye shall command your children.” Instruct by precept and personal example. Affection and divine law should urge to this. This will secure their interests here and welfare hereafter. Not mere talk, teaching to read, but practical training required in present day. “Train up (instruct, dedicate) a child in the way he should go” (Pro_22:6).
THE LAST DAYS OF MOSES
I. The last days of Moses were marked by sublime self-forgetfulness, and deep solicitude for the well-being of the people. When informed that the time of his departure was at hand, he exhibits no concern for himself, utters no regret because of his great privation, or anxiety as to future destiny. Sublimely he rises above personal and selfish considerations, and applies mind and heart in a last effort to promote good of the people. Asks Jehovah to appoint a successor in his great office (Num_27:15-22); solemnly recapitulates the law to the people (Deu_31:7-8; Deu_31:23); pours forth this lofty and solemn song (Deu_32:1-43); and blesses the several tribes (Deuteronomy 33.).
II. The last days of Moses were shadowed and saddened by sin. Why die at this time? Why not permitted to complete his work by leading the people into the promised land? Not because physical strength exhausted or body worn out or diseased (Deu_34:7). Because he sinned against God (Deu_32:31, cf. Num_20:2-13). Sin imparted mournful interest to last days of Moses.
III. The last days of Moses were relieved and cheered by the mercy of God. God’s kindness exhibited in three things.
1. In the aspect in which He represents his death to him. “Die … and be gathered unto thy people.”
(1.) Death is not the end of our life. “Gathered,” etc., not a poetical phrase for death; often used in addition to the record of death as a fact (cf. Gen_25:8; Gen_25:17; Gen_35:29; Gen_49:33; Num_20:26). Nor does the expression relate to burial. In this sense not true of Moses, Aaron, or Abraham (cf. Gen_15:15; 1Ki_2:10; 1Ki_11:43). “The only assignable sense” says Alford, “is that of reference to a state of further personal existence beyond death.”
(2.) To the people of God death is the way to congenial social life. Moses about to pass neither into isolation nor uncongenial society of strangers, but to His own people—persons of kindred sympathies, purposes, and interests.
2. In reminding him of the death of Aaron. Moses witnessed the close of Aaron’s course on Mount Hor. Recollection of that scene would tend to make his own death less formidable and more familiar. Aaron passed away peacefully; why should Moses dread the some journey?
3. In permitting him to see the promised land (Deu_32:52). Surely this sight, “one of the fairest and widest prospects in all the eastern lands,” must have been a source of consolation and joy to the departing spirit of the man of God. Conclusion.
1. See the beauty and nobility of overlooking self in doing good to others; and imitate it.
2. See how one sin may cause grief and loss to a good man; and abstain from every form of evil.
3. See how in God’s dealings with men mercy is mingled with judgment, and thankfully trust Him.
4. Our last days will come; by the grace of God let us endeavour so to live, that they be like those of Moses—godly, useful, and inspiring in their prospects.—William Jones.
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_32:46-47. True Religion.
1. Not empty profession.
2. A life conformed to God’s will.
3. Real enjoyment. “Religion is the dominion of the soul. It is the hope of life, the anchor of safety, the deliverance from evil” (Napoleon I.) Duty and its Enforcement.
1. What the duties? Personal religion and instruction of posterity.
2. What are the arguments to enforce it? a Importance of the thing. “Your life.” b. Advantage of it, &c.
The path of duty is the way to glory.
—Tennyson.
Deu_32:49-50. Moses on Mount Nebo, or a Ministers death scene. This is the record of a striking death scene. It presents to us—I. The common destiny of our race, “Gathered unto thy people.” This phrase denotes the twofold change which death effects in our condition.
1. The corporal;
2. The spiritual. II. The rigorousness of moral rule. The reason why Moses was required to die now, was because he had committed a sin at Meribah. III. The agency of God in man’s dissolution. Moses died from the determination of the Divine mind. All existence depends upon God’s will. IV. The termination of life in the midst of labour. V. The promptitude of Providence in supplying the place of the dead. This fact is—
1. Encouraging to our faith;
2. Humbling to our pride. VI. The tears of a congregation over the grave of their minister. Well might they mourn (cf. Deu_34:8-9).—Adapted from Dr. Thomas.
Deu_32:51. Trespassed.
1. In strange unbelief.
2. In unrestrained passion.
3. In open rebellion.
4. In publicly dishonouring God. Learn the jealousy of God; the possibility of failure in qualities in which we excel. Never think you are secure; guard temper. Though God pardons sin, yet will He mark His hatred even in His servants. A small sin may be followed by great punishment.
Must I then forward only look for death?
Backward I turn mine eye and find him there.
—Young.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 32
Deu_32:2. Dew and rain. It is the transformation of death unto life, and the raising of that which lives into higher and fairer form which is the end in view. The morning sun and the morning rain-cloud may seem wide apart in their purpose, may appear at times to obstruct each other, but they have one great aim. The sun and the rain come to the dying seed, and both together draw it from darkness to light and build it up into the blade, the ear, and the full corn in the ear, that God’s world may live and praise His name. Both are rich in times of refreshment; the sun after the dark night, the rain after the parched day; and after both, the flower raises its head, and the birds sing, and men are glad.—J. Ker.
Deu_32:7. Days of old.
“The past lives o’er again
In its effects, and to the guilty spirit
The ever-frowning present is its image.”
S. T. Coleridge.
Deu_32:10. Apple of his eye. Tender guardianship. This organ more watched than any other. “Does it not appear to thee,” says Socrates to Xenophon, “to be a work of providence that, considering the weaknesss of the eye, He has protected it with eyelids, as with doors which, whenever there is occasion to use it, are opened, and are again closed on sleep? And that it may not receive injury from the winds, He has planted on it eyelashes like a strainer; and over the eyes has disposed the eyebrows, like a penthouse, so that the sweat from the head may do no mischief.”
Deu_32:15. Fat. The great bulk of mankind resemble the swine, which in harvest gather and fatten upon the acorns beneath the oak, but show to the tree which bore them no other thanks than rubbing off its bark, and tearing up the sod around it.—Seriver.
Deu_32:23-26. Mischiefs. Every action becomes more certainly an eternal mother than it is an eternal daughter. Richter. Vice ever carries with it the germ of its own ruin, and a retribution which is all the more inevitable from being often slow, awaits every violation of moral law.—Farrar.
Deu_32:29. Wise. If you ask me which is the real hereditary sin of human nature, do you imagine I shall answer—pride or luxury, or ambition, or egotism? No; I shall say—indolence. He who conquers indolence will conquer almost everything.—Lavater.
Deu_32:34-35. In store. Anne of Austria, Queen of France, once said to Cardinal Richelieu, her implacable enemy”—My Lord Cardinal, there is one fact which you seem entirely to have forgotten; God is a sure paymaster. He may not pay at the end of every week, or month, or year; but I charge you, remember that He pays in the end.”
Deu_32:39. I kill.
Make then, while yet ye may, your God your friend.
Deu_32:46-47. Your life. Faraday’s “religion was a living root. His standard of duty was supernatural. It was not founded on any intuitive ideas of right and wrong, nor was it fashioned upon any outward expediences of time and place; but it was formed entirely on what he held to be the revelation of the will of God in the written word; and throughout all his life his faith led him to act up to the very letter of it.”—Memoir by Dr. Bruce Jones.
Deu_32:46. Children. John Eliot, on the day of his death, was found teaching an Indian child the alphabet as he lay on his bed; and when one tried to persuade him to rest, he said—“I cannot preach now, but I have prayed God to keep me useful, and He has left me strength to teach a child.”
Deu_32:50. Die. Life’s evening, we may rest assured, will take its character from the day which has preceded it; and if we would close our career in the comfort of religious hope, we must prepare for it by early and continuous religious habit.—Shuttleworth.
Deu_32:52. Not go. The death of Moses, though it was to him an entrance into glory, was also a chastisement of his infidelity. How many noble proofs had he given of his courage and strength of faith! I How many gracious services had he done for his Master? Yet, for one act of disobedience, he must be gathered to his fathers. All our obedience cannot bear out one sin against God. How vainly shall we hope to make amends to God for our former trespasses, by our better behaviour, when Moses hath this one sin laid in his dish, after so many and worthy testimonies of his fidelity! When we have forgotten our sins, God remembers them; and although not in anger, yet He calls for our arrearages. (Bp. Hall.) See the land. It is the horizon that gives dignity to the foreground; a picture without sky has no glory. This present, unless we see gleaming beyond it the eternal calm of the heavens above the tossing treetops with withering leaves, and the smoky chimnies, is a poor thing for our eyes to gaze at, or our hearts to love, or our hands to toil on. But when we see that all paths lead to heaven, and that our eternity is affected by our acts in time, then it is blessed to gaze; it is possible to love the earthly shadows of the uncreated beauty—it is worth while to work.—Maclaren.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible1900 · Public DomainOn v1Deu 32:11-12
Deu 32:11-12
Without attaching any mystic meaning to this figure of the eagle, we may readily discover the great principles of God’s action that it was intended to illustrate.
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I. The Divine discipline of life is designed to awaken man to the development of his own powers. The instinct of the eagle in breaking up her nest is to arouse the native energies of her young. The power of flight is in them, but unknown, because it has never been called into play; it is a slumbering faculty, and must be awakened into action. Man’s soul is formed into God’s image by the right action of his spiritual powers, and these powers are only awakened by the activity of God. (1) The great purpose of all spiritual discipline is to render men Divine. By the very constitution of the soul, the Godlike image must be formed by awakening the energies that lie slumbering within. The soul contains in itself the germinal forces of the life it may possess in the future ages. (2) The image of the text suggests two methods of Divine action: the stimulating and the exemplary. The eagle breaks up her nest, and is not the voice of life’s experiences God’s summons to man to rise and live to Him? God sends a shock of change through our circumstances, and rouses us from repose.
II. Discipline attains its end only when regarded as under the control of a father. It is obvious that the instinct of the eagle is that of parental affection. (1) Believe in the Father, and you submissively accept the mysterious in life. (2) Believe in the Father, and you shall strive to realise the purpose of this discipline. We have no impulse to any spiritual aspiration, to any true self-sacrifice, to the exertion of any spiritual energy, which is not awakened by the touch of the Eternal Spirit. Let us then awake out of sleep. God is breaking up our material resting-places in order that we may aspire towards the imperishable and the immortal.
E. L. Hull, Sermons, 3rd series, p. 131.
I. This passage suggests the thought of Divine incitements. The world is all alive with nest-building. Men seek comfort, satisfaction, and rest in outward things. In a scene where all is flowing they try to make fixity. God shatters what man builds, drives away what man gathers, takes what man in vain tries to hold.
II. Divine example. "As an eagle fluttereth over her young," as showing them the way to fly, so God sets before us the example of the good, the strivings of the great, the lives of the saints, and chiefly the perfect pattern, the perfect life of His incarnate Son. With the disturbances and dislodgments of life will be found very often invitations, and possibilities, and enlargements.
III. Divine protection. "The eagle spreadeth abroad her wings." The spreading of the wings is the promise of protection to the young birds, both while in the nest and while attempting to fly. So here we have the Divine protection amply promised and assured to us by the word of God.
IV. Divine compulsion. "As an eagle... taketh them," if they will, in helpfulness; if they will not, in compulsion; in one way or another they must be got out of the nest. God takes oftentimes one and another in quiet, common life, and by a kind of sacred violence forces them into new scenes and almost into better states.
A. Raleigh, Front Dawn to the Perfect Day, p. 219.
References: Deu 32:11, Deu 32:12.—W. Haslam, The Threefold Gift of God, Part I., p. 41; T. Cuyler, Christian World Pulpit, vol. i., p. 529; W. M. Taylor, The Limitations of Life, p.. 78. Deu 32:13.—H. Melvill, The Lothbury Lectures, p. 19. Deu 32:20.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxx., No. 1784.
Deu 32:29
I. That there is very generally a strange want of reflection and concern respecting our condition as mortal is most apparent in many plain, familiar proofs. Perhaps nothing in the world, that appears so out of consistency, is so obvious. Notice: (1) The very small effect of the memory of the departed in the way of admonition of our own mortality. (2) How little and seldom we are struck with the reflection how many things we are exposed to that might cause death. (3) How soon a recovery from danger sets aside the serious thought of death. (4) How many schemes are formed for a long future time with as much interest and as much anticipating confidence as if there were no such thing in the world as death.
II. When it is asked, How comes this to be? the general explanation is that which accounts for everything that is wrong, namely, the radical depravity of our nature. There are doubtless special causes, such as: (1) The perfect distinctness of life and death. (2) Even the certainty and universality of death may be numbered among the causes tending to withdraw men’s thoughts from it. (3) The general presumption of having long to live is a cause of a more obvious kind. (4) Another great cause is that men occupy their whole soul and life with things that preclude the thought of its end. (5) There is in a large proportion of men a formal, systematic endeavour to keep off the thought of death.
III. Let us remember that to end our life is the mightiest event that awaits us in this world. And it is that which we are living but to come to. To have been thoughtless of it, then, will ultimately be an immense calamity; it will be to be in a state unprepared for it. And consider that there is a sovereign antidote to the fear of death. There is One that has Himself yielded to death, in order to vanquish it for us and take its terrors away.
J. Foster, Lectures, 2nd series, p. 241.
References: Deu 32:29.—Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iii., p. 120; Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. vi., No. 304; J. C. Hare, Sermons in Herstmonceux Church, p. 415. Deu 32:31.—D. Moore, Penny Pulpit, No. 3342; R. Glover, By the Waters of Babylon, p. 153. Deu 32:32.—H. Macmillan, The Olive Leaf, p. 280. Deu 32:35.—A. Tholuck, Hours of Christian Devotion, p. 128; Expositor, 3rd series, vol. v., p. 455. Deu 32:36.—Spurgeon, My Sermon Notes, p. 45. Deu 32:37, Deu 32:38.—Expositor, 2nd series, vol. iii., p. 225.
Deu 32:39
The text declares with a magnificent fulness the personality and the power of God.
I. God as healing is made visible to us in Jesus. The miracles of Jesus were mainly connected with the bodies of men. There were two great reasons for this. (1) One reason is to show the close connection of sickness with sin. One indication of this we have in a great fact of our Saviour’s life. He was incarnate that He might have sympathy with us. Yet He was never sick. He had no particular sickness because He had no sin. (2) Christ’s miracles of healing were not the luxury of a Divine good-nature. They were not random alms that cost Him nothing. A perceptible exhaustion of vital energy accompanied the exertion of His power. Here then is a second cause for our Lord’s miracles of healing: to teach us self-denial and thought for the sick. He took to Himself God’s motto, "I heal," for one of the highest of theological and for one of the tenderest of practical reasons.
II. We now consider God as wounding. As to the wounds of suffering humanity—sickness—two considerations practically diminish the perplexity which they bring to us when we consider them as existing under a rule of love, (1) One of these considerations is the intention of sickness as a part of the spiritual discipline of the Christian life. (2) Another moral object of sickness is to draw out the fulness of Christian sympathy, scientific and personal.
III. As we enlarge our view, the Divine pity predominates. There are, indeed, voices of anguish on every breeze; there are shadows in the foreground of the picture of the history of humanity. But these voices of anguish are only surface discords, underlying which is a wondrous harmony. All those shadows do but set off the picture that closes with the long golden distances of sunlit hills whose atmosphere is perfect wisdom, whose magic colouring drops from the tender pencil of perfect love.
Bishop Alexander, The Great Question, p. 30.
References: Deu 32:39.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxv., No. 1465. Deu 32:44-52.—Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ii., p. 443. Deu 32:47.—J. C. Jones, Penny Pulpit, No. 664; Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. viii., No. 457; G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 124. Deu 32:48-52.—H. Wonnacott, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xiv., p. 158; H. Batchelor, The Incarnation of God, p. 193. Deut 32—Parker, vol. iv., pp. 350, 365, 375. Deu 33:1-5.—F. Whitfield, The Blessings of the Tribes, p. 23. Deu 33:1-12.—Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. iv., p. 281. Deut 33—M. Dods, Israel’s Iron Age, p. 173.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow1909 · Public DomainOn v1The Song of Moses
The Song of Moses
The theme of this noble Song is the goodness of Jehovah in choosing Israel and bringing them into a rich land. When they provoke Him with their forgetfulness and unfaithfulness, He disciplines them. But He does not utterly reject them; when they repent He takes part with them against their enemies and delivers them. It will be observed that the exodus begins and concludes with a Song of Moses: see Exo_15:1-18. Psalms 90 is also attributed to him.
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1-6. Heaven and earth are called to witness the perfect righteousness and faithfulness of Jehovah which Israel has requited with ingratitude.
2. As the dew] in its gentleness and beneficent results: cp. Isa_55:10-11; Psa_133:3; Job_29:22, Job_29:23.
3. Name of the Lord] i.e. His character: see on Deu_28:58.
4. The Rock] This frequent name of Jehovah expresses His absolute and unwavering faithfulness: see e.g. Psa_18:2. Observe the number of words in this v. all emphasising this attribute of the divine character, and serving to throw into stronger relief the fickleness of Israel.
5. The first part of this v. is obscure, and various emendations have been suggested. RV has 'they have dealt corruptly with him (i.e. with Jehovah), they are not his children, it is their blemish; they are a perverse and crooked generation,' which seems to express the general meaning of the original.
7-14. Think of the goodness of Jehovah in choosing Israel, rescuing them in the wilderness, and bringing them into a rich land. 8. Jehovah is not the God of Israel only, but of all the nations of the earth. He has, however, a special f avour towards Israel; and, when He divided the world among the nations, He left room for the people whom He had chosen.
9. The converse is also true. Jehovah is the portion of His people: see e.g. Num_18:20; Psa_16:5-6; Psa_73:26; Psa_142:5; Jer_10:16.
10. He found him] like a lost child or wandering sheep. Led him about] RV 'compassed him about.'
11. The image is that of the old eagle encouraging her timorous young to fly. So Jehovah disciplined Israel in the wilderness, preparing the people for their life in Canaan: see on Exo_19:4.
12. There was no strange god with him] i.e. with Jehovah. He did everything for Israel. No other god, therefore, has any claim upon their gratitude and obedience.
14. Rams.. of Bashan] see on Num_21:33-35. Fat of kidneys of wheat] the finest and most nourishing of wheat, the kidneys being enclosed in the best fat of the animal: cp. Num_18:12, where the Heb. is 'all the fat of..'
15-18. All this grace Israel has requited with forgetfulness and unfaithfulness.
15. Jeshurun] (cp. Deu_33:5, Deu_33:26; Isa_44:2) is a poetical name for Israel, meaning probably 'the righteous one': see on Num_23:10. Prosperity made Israel self-willed and forgetful: see on Deu_4:25, and cp. Deu_8:10 to Deu_18:16 Jealousy] see on Exo_20:5.
17. Unto devils, not to God] RV 'unto demons which were no God': cp. Deu_32:21. The 'demons' may mean the divinities worshipped in Assyria in the form of colossal bulls: cp. Psa_106:37.
19-33. In consequence of this perversity Jehovah is provoked and corrects them in His anger.
20. No faith] i.e. no faithfulness or fidelity. They have broken their covenant with Jehovah.
21. Vanities] i.e. false gods: see e.g. Isa_41:29; Isa_44:10; Jer_8:19; Jer_10:15; 1Co_8:4; Not a people] i.e. most probably an undisciplined horde of barbarians, whom God will permit to gain the mastery over Israel. In Rom_10:19 this passage is applied to the Gentiles, whose acceptance of the gospel will have the effect of provoking the jealousy of the chosen people and moving them ultimately to follow their example.
22. Lowest hell] RV 'pit': Heb. Sheol. God's righteous indignation reaches to the deepest and remotest part of the universe: cp. Amo_9:2.
27. Behave themselves strangely] RV 'misdeem,' draw a false conclusion from Jehovah's treatment of Israel by taking credit to themselves for its humiliation: see Num_14:15-17 and note there, and cp. Deu_9:28.
28. They] Israel.
29. Their latter end] the consequences of their conduct.
30. Shut them up] delivered them into the hand of their enemies.
31. Their rock] the gods of the heathen.
32. Their vine] The analogy with their rock in Deu_32:31 suggests that the reference is to the enemy, but more probably it is to Israel itself, whose apostasy is thus severely condemned. Israel is frequently compared to a vine of God's planting, which instead of bearing fruit is either fruitless (Hos_10:1) or bears wild grapes (Isa_5:2-7). Sodom and Gomorrah are types of wickedness, and the vines ascribed to them may be no specific plants, but figurative growths or outcomes.
33. Dragons] i.e. serpents.
34-43. When Israel is reduced to extremities Jehovah will be merciful to them and avenge them.
34. This] referring to the vengeance of God (Deu_32:35), which for the present is laid up in store against the day when it will be manifested.
35. RV 'vengeance is mine and recompence, at the time when their foot shall slide.'
36. Shut up, or left] i.e. left at large, a proverbial expression meaning everybody: see 1Ki_14:10; 1Ki_21:21; 2Ki_9:8; 2Ki_14:26.
37. Cp. Jdg_10:14; Jer_2:28.
39. No god with me] This is almost equivalent to 'no god beside me.' Jehovah alone is able to work and save: cp. Isa_43:10-13.
40. Lift up my hand] The usual attitude of taking an oath: see Gen_14:22; Num_14:30 mg. Rev_10:5, Rev_10:6. I live for ever] rather, 'As I live for ever.'
41. Mine enemies] the heathen.
42. From the beginning.. enemy] RV 'from the head of the leaders of the enemy.'
43. Read, with RM, 'Praise His people, ye nations, for.. He will make expiation for His land, His people (or, for the land of His people),' i.e. He will make atonement for the blood shed in the land by the slaughter of those who shed it. Then those who witness this righteous judgment will recognise that Israel is the people of Jehovah and will bless, or congratulate, them.
44. Hoshea] see on Exo_17:9.
48-52. See Num_27:12-14 and notes there. On the death of Aaron see Num_20:22-29.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein1922 · Public DomainOn v12. The Song of Moses
2. The Song of Moses
CHAPTER 32:1-43
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1. The introduction and the theme (Deu 32:1-4)
2. The foolish people (Deu 32:5-6)
3. How Jehovah loved them (Deu 32:7-14)
4. Their apostasy (Deu 32:15-18)
5. The results of the apostasy (Deu 32:19-33)
6. Jehovah’s final dealing with Israel (Deu 32:34-42)
7. The glorious consummation (Deu 32:43)
The song of Moses is a great prophecy. The first great prophetic utterance is found in the parables of Balaam. The second prophetic discourse is this song. The song of Moses embraces the entire history of Israel, past, present and future. It bears in a most remarkable way every mark of being a prophetic testimony from the inspired leader of God’s people. The men, who deny this and who boast of literary ability, must be wilfully blind. The critics have denied to a man, that Moses wrote a single word of this song. But they have not informed us who wrote this wonderful ode. “The assertion that the entire ode moves within the epoch of the kings, who lived many centuries after the time of Moses, rests upon a total misapprehension of the nature of prophecy” (Keil).
Moses began his song by calling heaven and earth to hear the words of his mouth. What he was about to say concerned indeed heaven and earth. Isaiah too began his book with the same call (Isa 1:2). The name of Jehovah is exalted. He is the Rock and His work is perfect. He is a God of truth, just and right. But His people, what are they? Their character is described in verses 5 and 6. How He uncovers the true nature of the people, who had acknowledged Him as Jehovah! Corrupt, perverse, crooked, foolish, unwise, are the terms used to describe their character. The failure they would be, their apostasy and the necessity of disciplinary dealings of Jehovah with them, are thus mentioned in the first stanza of this song.
The third section, verses 7-14, reveals the goodness and the love of the Lord for them. The eighth verse has a deep meaning. “When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.” This verse carries us backward. The boundaries of the nations were made by God with a direct reference to the children of Israel. The name of God used here, “the Most High,” is the millennial title, which He will have when His blessed Son our Lord receives His Kingdom. (See Gen 14:19.) When that time of blessing comes and Israel converted is no longer the tail but the head of the nations, this divine division will then be fully made known. And how they are reminded again what Jehovah did for them! “He found him, He led him, instructed and kept him.” Verses 9-14 are wonderful words. And they apply to us spiritually as they described Jehovah’s goodness to Israel.
But how great is the contrast when we reach the fourth section of this prophetic song? (See verses 15-18.) The first step in their apostasy is the forsaking of God and the worshipping of false gods. The next step is, they “lightly esteemed the rock of His salvation.” No doubt this latter statement refers to the rejection of the son of God, when He appeared in the midst of His people.
The awful consequences of this rejection are seen prophetically. Here again we have history prewritten. But these predictions were so minutely fulfilled, the unbelieving heart of man refuses to accept these words as being the words of Moses. Here again we have a striking evidence of inspiration. God foretells through Moses the future of an apostate people. Compare verse 21 with Rom 10:19; Rom 11:10-11. The call of the Gentiles is anticipated in Moses’ song; salvation came to us Gentiles by their fall. It seems almost as if they are going to perish completely as a nation. But the song changes suddenly. Jehovah will yet arise in their behalf. It will be in a time when their power is gone, when they are helpless and their enemies press down upon them as never before in their long, dark night of suffering and tears. That will happen in the end of this present age, during the predicted time of great trouble, which is to come upon them. Compare verse 39 with Hos 5:15; Hos 6:1-3. The judgment, which is announced by Moses in verses 40-42 is the judgment which will fall upon Gentile nations in the day when the Lord appears in His glory. To follow this throughout the entire prophetic Word is as helpful as it is interesting.
The last verse of this song (verse 43) shows the glorious consummation. After the storm of judgment and indignation, peace will come to this earth. The nations will learn war no more; they will learn righteousness. Then the world will be converted. The Lord will be merciful unto His land and to His people. The blessings and glories promised to Israel have come. Therefore the nations will rejoice with His people. The song of Moses is the key to all prophecy.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann1924 · Public DomainOn v1Israel’s Position and Apostasy
Israel’s Position and Apostasy
v. 1. Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth! Heaven and earth are not only called upon as witnesses in the event of Israel’s future apostasy, but they are concerned also inasmuch as God’s faithfulness and righteousness are revealed in heaven and in earth, the entire universe being filled by every exhibition of His glory.
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v. 2. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, the gentle and persistent rain which brings forth fruit in abundance; my speech shall distil, gently flow, as the dew, as the small rain, mild showers, upon the tender herb, as it breaks forth from the buds in the spring, and as the showers upon the grass, upon the young vegetation. That was to be the effect of Moses’ song upon the hearts of the people, like that of a mild and fructifying rain.
v. 3. Because I will publish the name of the Lord, proclaim, preach of His name; ascribe ye greatness unto our God; in their entire life, in words and deeds, they were to show that they acknowledged His exalted nature, His glory as Jehovah.
v. 4. He is the Rock, the unchangeable, unshakable Refuge, Protection, and Security for the forsaken and for all those that believe in Him; His work is perfect, without a single defect; for all His ways, His manner of dealing with men in the world, are judgment, in perfect agreement with justice; a God of truth, upon whom one may depend in all the vicissitudes of life, and without iniquity, just and right is He, falseness, crooked dealing, is absolutely foreign to Him. But the very opposite is true of the children of Israel.
v. 5. They have corrupted themselves, namely, in the various apostasies and rebellions charged against them since the days of Sinai; their spot is not the spot of His children, literally, "not His children, but their blemish," that is, all the rebellious people did not really belong to the children of Jehovah, but were properly considered a stain and a blemish upon the congregation of the Lord; they are a perverse and crooked generation. Cf Isa 1:4.
v. 6. Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? Instead of showing their appreciation of God’s kindness and mercy by worshiping Him and clinging to Him, they showed themselves an arrogant people, devoid of all real understanding. Is not he thy father that hath bought thee, acquiring them as His own by the many manifestations of His goodness? Hath he not made thee and established thee? The miraculous deliverance of the children of Israel from the power of Pharaoh had been followed by the covenant of Sinai and by their acceptance as His peculiar people.
v. 7. Remember the days of old, the period of the Egyptian bondage and beyond, consider the years of many generations, the experiences which one generation after the other had had under the guidance of Jehovah; ask thy father, and he will show thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee, they were in a position to tell the younger generation of God’s wonderful dealings with them, all of which were to be kept in mind always by all members of the nation.
v. 8. When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. From the very beginning it was a work of God’s providence, of His government of the earth, to give to each tribe and nation as it was formed and as it grew, a place, a country, with boundaries; and He always had in mind the needs of that people whom He intended to choose for Himself, so that Israel should possess a land corresponding to its population.
v. 9. For the Lord’s portion is His people, Jacob is the lot, the surveyed land, the possession, of His Inheritance. In this people, therefore, He took a special interest, to it He gave countless proofs of His fatherly love and care.
v. 10. He found him in a desert land, in a most helpless and disconsolate position, and in the waste, howling wilderness, where only the dismal and terrifying cry of wild animals could be heard, all of which is added to emphasize the position of Israel at that time. He led him about, He compassed him with the fullness of His loving care; he instructed him, without letting him out of His sight for as much as a moment; He kept him as the apple of His eye, with the most delicate tenderness.
v. 11. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, in encouraging the young to make an attempt at flying, fluttereth over her young, ready to save the weak and helpless, whose wings are not yet fully grown, from a bad fall, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings,
v. 12. so the Lord alone did lead him, the people of Israel, and there was no strange god with him. Jehovah being their only Helper and Stay, the children of Israel were under obligation to serve Him alone as God. It is a remarkable picture showing the loving care of Jehovah in leading the people forward to the proper independence.
v. 13. He made him ride on the high places of the earth, as the victorious conquerors of the land, that he might eat the increase of the fields, the rich products, all the wealth of the fruitful land; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock, an expressive description of the productiveness of Canaan’s soil;
v. 14. butter of kine, including all the products gained from milk, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, noted for their excellence in every respect, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat, figurative for the finest and most nourishing grain; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape, unexcelled vine, full of fire and refreshment. Thus the various acts of God’s mercy and goodness are enumerated, in sharp contrast to the apostasy which is now described.
v. 16. But Jeshurun, the people of righteousness, as they are called to remind them of God’s loving and honoring plans for their permanent advancement as the just and righteous among the nations of the world, waxed fat, and kicked, like an ox that is fed too well, like a horse that feels his oats, Isa 10:27; thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness, as Moses, in turning directly to the people, applies the figure; then he forsook God, which made him, deliberately rejecting his Creator, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation, who not only had delivered them from the bondage of Egypt, but wanted to be their Redeemer from all spiritual dangers as well.
v. 16. They provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods, by forgetting the relation of faithfulness which the covenant laid upon them, with abominations provoked they Him to anger.
v. 17. They sacrificed unto devils, to demons, to wasters or destroyers, for thus the evil and harmful character of the heathen deities was often indicated; to gods whom they knew not, who neither by benefit nor by blessing had manifested themselves as true gods, to new gods that came newly up, but recently invented and accepted by the Israelites, whom your fathers feared not, for whom they felt no reverential awe, since they are mere products of the imagination.
v. 18. of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee. They had shown themselves coolly neglectful against Him whose care had partaken of the love of both father and mother toward them. They were thus unnatural children, an evil and perverse generation, a warning to all believers who are growing cold toward the rich blessings of God’s grace.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv1, 3General Information:
General Information:
Moses speaks a poetic song to the people of Israel. (See: Parallelism)
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Give ear, you heavens ... Let the earth listen
Yahweh speaks to the heavens and earth as if they are there listening. Possible meanings are 1) Yahweh is speaking to the inhabitants of heaven and earth or 2) Yahweh is speaking to the heavens and earth as if they are persons. (See: Apostrophe)
Let my teaching drop down like the rain ... and like the showers on the plants
This means Yahweh wants the people to eagerly accept his helpful teaching. (See: Simile)
distill
Use the word in your language for the process by which dew appears.
dew
water that forms on leaves and grass on cool mornings
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv1–232:1 Listen, O heavens. . . . Hear, O…
32:1 Listen, O heavens. . . . Hear, O earth: Moses appealed to the witnesses of the covenant to note Israel’s confession and commitment as well as its anticipated disobedience and disloyalty (see 30:19).
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1–2 As witness of this people’s ingratitude.
As witness of this people’s ingratitude.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Deu 32:1 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I…
Deu 32:1 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
Ver. 1. Give ear, O ye heavens,] q.d., Such is this people’s stupidity and obstinacy, that I may as soon gain audience of these inanimate creatures as of them. See Isa 1:2 Jos 24:27 Jer 22:29. We may cry till we are hoarse; speak till we spit forth our lungs, and to no more purpose than Bede did, when he preached to a heap of stones. Holy Melancthon, being himself newly converted, thought it impossible for his hearers to withstand the evidence of the gospel. But after he had been a preacher a while, it is said he complained, that "old Adam was too hard for young Melancthon."
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1–3 O ye heavens, and, O earth: either,
O ye heavens, and, O earth: either,
1. Angels and men; or,
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2. You lifeless and senseless creatures, heaven and earth, which he calls upon partly to accuse the stupidity of Israel, that were more dull of hearing than these; and partly as witnesses of the truth of his sayings, and the justice of God’s proceedings against them.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v1 Here is, I. A commanding preface or introduction to…
Here is, I. A commanding preface or introduction to this song of Moses, Deu 32:1, Deu 32:2. He begins, 1. With a solemn appeal to heaven and earth concerning the truth and importance of what he was about to say, and the justice of the divine proceedings against a rebellious and backsliding people, for he had said (Deu 31:28) that he would in this song call heaven and earth to record against them. Heaven and earth would sooner hear than this perverse and unthinking people; for they revolt not from the obedience to their Creator, but continue to this day, according to his ordinances, as his servants (Psa 119:89-91), and therefore will rise up in judgment against rebellious Israel. Heaven and earth will be witnesses against sinners, witnesses of the warning given them and of their refusal to take the warning (see Job 20:27); the heaven shall reveal his iniquity, and the earth shall rise up against him. Or heaven and earth are here put for the inhabitants of both, angels and men; both shall agree to justify God in his proceedings against Israel, and to declare his righteousness, Psa 50:6; see Rev 19:1, Rev 19:2. 2. he begins with a solemn application of what he was about to say to the people (Deu 32:2): My doctrine shall drop as the rain. "It shall be a beating sweeping rain to the rebellious;" so one of the Chaldee paraphrasts expounds the first clause. Rain is sometimes sent for judgment, witness that with which the world was deluged; and so the word of God, while to some it is reviving and refreshing - a savour of life unto life, is to others terrifying and killing - a savour of death unto death. It shall be as a sweet and comfortable dew to those who are rightly prepared to receive it. Observe, (1.) The subject of this song is doctrine; he had given them a song of praise and thanksgiving (Ex. 15), but this is a song of instruction, for in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, we are not only to give glory to god, but to teach and admonish one another, Col 3:16. Hence many of David's psalms are entitled Maschil - to give instruction. (2.) This doctrine is fitly compared to rain and showers which come from above, to make the earth fruitful, and accomplish that for which they are sent. (Isa 55:10, Isa 55:11), and depend not upon the wisdom or will of man, Mic 5:7. It is a mercy to have this rain come often upon us, and our duty to drink it in, Heb 6:7. (3.) He promises that his doctrine shall drop and distil as the dew, and the small rain, which descend silently and without noise. The word preached is likely to profit when it comes gently, and sweetly insinuates itself into the hearts and affections of the hearers. (4.) He bespeaks their acceptance and entertainment of it, and that it might be as sweet, and pleasant, and welcome to them as rain to the thirsty earth, Psa 72:6. And the word of God is likely to do us good when it is thus acceptable. (5.) The learned bishop Patrick understands it as a prayer that his words which were sent from heaven to them might sink into their hearts and soften them, as the rain softens the earth, and so make them fruitful in obedience.
II. An awful declaration of the greatness and righteousness of God, Deu 32:3, Deu 32:4.
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1. He begins with this, and lays it down as his first principle, (1.) To preserve the honour of God, that no reproach might be cast upon him for the sake of the wickedness of his people Israel; how wicked and corrupt soever those are who are called by his name, he is just, and right, and all that is good, and is not to be thought the worse of for their badness. (2.) To aggravate the wickedness of Israel, who knew and worshipped such a holy god, and yet were themselves so unholy. And, (3.) To justify God in his dealings with them; we must abide by it, that God is righteous, even when his judgments are a great deep, Jer 12:1; Psa 36:6.
2. Moses here sets himself to publish the name of the Lord (Deu 32:3), that Israel, knowing what a God he is whom they had avouched for theirs, might never be such fools as to exchange him for a false god, a dunghill god. He calls upon them therefore to ascribe greatness to him. It will be of great use to us for the preventing of sin, and the preserving of us in the way of our duty, always to keep up high and honourable thoughts of God, and to take all occasions to express them: Ascribe greatness to our God. We cannot add to his greatness, for it is infinite; but we must acknowledge it, and give him the glory of it. Now, when Moses would set forth the greatness of God, he does it, not by explaining his eternity and immensity, or describing the brightness of his glory in the upper world, but by showing the faithfulness of his word, the perfection of his works, and the wisdom and equity of all the administrations of his government; for in these his glory shines most clearly to us, and these are the things revealed concerning him, which belong to us and our children, Deu 32:4. (1.) He is the rock. So he is called six times in this chapter, and the Septuagint all along translates it theos, God. The learned Mr. Hugh Broughton reckons that God is called the rock eighteen times (besides in this chapter) in the Old Testament (though in some places we translate it strength), and charges it therefore upon the papists that they make St. Peter a god when they make him the rock on which the church is built. God is the rock, for he is in himself immutable immovable, and he is to all that seek him and fly to him an impenetrable shelter, and to all that trust in him an everlasting foundation. (2.) His work is perfect. His work of creation was so, all very good; his works of providence are so, or will be so in due time, and when the mystery of God shall be finished the perfection of his works will appear to all the world. Nothing that God does can be mended, Ecc 3:14. God was now perfecting what he had promised and begun for his people Israel, and from the perfection of this work they must take occasion to give him the glory of the perfection of all his works. The best of men's works are imperfect, they have their flaws and defects, and are left unfinished; but, as for God, his work is perfect; if he begin, he will make an end. (3.) All his ways are judgment. The ends of his ways are all righteous, and he is wise in the choice of the means in order to those ends. Judgment signifies both prudence and justice. The ways of the Lord are right, Hos 14:9. (4.) He is a God of truth, whose word we may take and rely upon, for he cannot lie who is faithful to all his promises, nor shall his threatenings fall to the ground. (5.) He is without iniquity, one who never cheated any that trusted in him, never wronged any that appealed to his justice, nor ever was hard upon any that cast themselves upon his mercy. (6.) Just and right is he. As he will not wrong any by punishing them more than they deserve, so he will not fail to recompense all those that serve him or suffer for him. He is indeed just and right; for he will effectually take care that none shall lose by him. Now what a bright and amiable idea does this one verse give us of the God whom we worship; and what reason have we then to love him and fear him, to live a life of delight in him, dependence on him, and devotedness to him! This is our rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him; nor can there be, Psa 92:15.
III. A high charge exhibited against the Israel of God, whose character was in all respects the reverse of that of the God of Israel, Deu 32:5. 1. They have corrupted themselves. Or, It has corrupted itself; the body of the people has: the whole head sick, and the whole heart faint. God did not corrupt them, for just and right is he; but they are themselves the sole authors of their own sin and ruin; and both are included in this word. They have debauched themselves; for every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust. And they have destroyed themselves, Hos 13:9. If thou scornest, thou alone shalt bear the guilt and grief, Pro 9:12. 2. Their spot is not the spot of his children. Even God's children have their spots, while they are in this imperfect state; for if we say we have no sin, no spot, we deceive ourselves. But the sin of Israel was none of those; it was not an infirmity which they strove against, watched and prayed against, but an evil which their hearts were fully set in them to do. For, 3. They were a perverse and crooked generation, that were actuated by a spirit of contradiction, and therefore would do what was forbidden because it was forbidden, would set up their own humour and fancy in opposition to the will of God, were impatient of reproof, hated to be reformed, and went on frowardly in the way of their heart. The Chaldee paraphrase reads this verse thus: They have scattered or changed themselves, and not him, even the children that served idols, a generation that has depraved its own works, and alienated itself. Idolaters cannot hurt God, nor do any damage to his works, nor make him a stranger to this world. See Job 35:6. No, all the hurt they do is to themselves and their own works. The learned bishop Patrick gives another reading of it: Did he do him any hurt? That is, "Is God the rock to be blamed for the evils that should befal Israel? No, His children are their blot," that is, "All the evil that comes upon them is the fruit of their children's wickedness; for the whole generation of them is crooked and perverse." All that are ruined ruin themselves; they die because they will die.
IV. A pathetic expostulation with this provoking people for their ingratitude (Deu 32:6): "Do you thus requite the Lord? Surely you will not hereafter be so base and disingenuous in your carriage towards him as you have been." 1. He reminds them of the obligations God had laid upon them to serve him, and to cleave to him. He had been a Father to them, had begotten them, fed them, carried them, nursed them, and borne their manners; and would they spurn at the bowels of a Father? He had bought them, had been at a vast expense of miracles to bring them out of Egypt, had given men for them, and people for their life, Isa 43:4. "Is not he thy Father, thy owner (so some), that has an incontestable propriety in thee?" and the ox knoweth his owner. "he has made thee, and brought thee into being, established thee and kept thee in being; has he not done so? Can you deny the engagements you lie under to him, in consideration of the great things he has done and designed for you?" And are not our obligations, as baptized Christians, equally great and strong to our Creator that made us, our Redeemer that bought us, and our Sanctifier that has established us. 2. Hence he infers the evil of deserting him and rebelling against him. For, (1.) It was base ingratitude: "Do you thus require the Lord? Are these the returns you make him for all his favours to you? The powers you have from him will you employ them against him?" See Mic 6:3, Mic 6:4; Joh 10:32. This is such monstrous villany as all the world will cry shame of: call a man ungrateful, and you can call him no worse. (2.) It was prodigious madness: O foolish people and unwise! Fools, and double fools! who has bewitched you? Gal 3:1. "Fools indeed, to disoblige one on whom you have such a necessary dependence! To forsake your own mercies for lying vanities!" Note, All wilful sinners, especially sinners in Israel, are the most unwise and the most ungrateful people in the world.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak;…
Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth,
the words of my mouth. This song is prefaced and introduced in a very grand and pompous manner, calling on the heavens and earth to give attention; by which they themselves may be meant, by a "prosopopaeia", a figure frequently used in Scripture, when things of great moment and importance are spoken of; and these are called upon to hearken, either to rebuke the stupidity and inattention of men, or to show that these would shed or withhold their influences, their good things, according to the obedience or disobedience of Israel; or because these are durable and lasting, and so would ever be witnesses for God and against his people: Gaon, as Aben Ezra observes, by the heavens understands the angels, and by the earth the men of the earth, the inhabitants of both worlds, which is not amiss: and by these words of Moses are meant the words of the song, referred to in Deu 31:29; here called his words, not because they were of him, but because they were put into his mouth, and about to be expressed by him, not in his own name, but in the name of the Lord; and not as the words of the law, which came by him, but as the words and doctrines of the Gospel concerning Christ, of whom Moses here writes; whose character he gives, and whose person and office he vindicates against the Jews, whom he accuses and brings a charge of ingratitude against for rejecting him, to which our Lord seems to refer, Joh 5:45; the prophecies of their rejection, the calling of the Gentiles, the destruction of the Jews by the Romans, and the miseries they should undergo, and yet should not be wholly extirpated out of the world, but continue a people, who in the latter days would be converted, return to their own land, and their enemies be destroyed; which are some of the principal things in this song, and which make it worthy of attention and observation.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1–3 The song of Moses contains the preface, ver. 1,…
The song of Moses contains the preface, ver. 1, 2. A high character of God, ver. 3-6. A recital of the great things God had done for them, and as their carriage toward him, ver. 7-18. A prediction of judgments for their aggravated impieties, ver. 19-35. A promise of vengeance upon their enemies, and deliverance for a remnant, ver. 36-43. An exhortation annext, ver. 44-47. Orders given to Moses, to go up to the mount and die, ver. 48-52.
O heavens, O earth - You lifeless and senseless creatures, which he calls upon partly to accuse the stupidity of Israel, that were more dull of hearing than these: and partly as witnesses of the truth of his sayings and the justice of God's proceedings against them.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1–2 The prophetical and historical song of Moses, showing forth…
CHAPTER XXXII
The prophetical and historical song of Moses, showing forth the
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nature of God's doctrine, 1-3.
The character of God, 4.
The corruption of the people, 5, 6.
They are called to remember God's kindness, 7,
and his dealings with them during their travels in the
wilderness, 8-14.
Their ingratitude and iniquity, 15-18.
They are threatened with his judgments, 19-28.
A pathetic lamentation over them because of their sins, 29-35.
Gracious purposes in their behalf, mixed with reproaches for
their manifold idolatries, and threatenings against his enemies,
36-42.
A promise of salvation to the Gentiles, 43.
Moses, having finished the song, warmly exhorts the people to
obedience, 44-47.
God calls him up to the mount, that he may see the good land and
then die, 48-52.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXXII
Verse 1. On the inimitable excellence of this ode much has been written by commentators, critics, and poets; and it is allowed by the best judges to contain a specimen of almost every species of excellence in composition. It is so thoroughly poetic that even the dull Jews themselves found they could not write it in the prose form; and hence it is distinguished as poetry in every Hebrew Bible by being written in its own hemistichs or short half lines, which is the general form of the Hebrew poetry; and were it translated in the same way it would be more easily understood. The song itself has suffered both by transcribers and translators, the former having mistaken some letters in different places, and made wrong combinations of them in others. As to the translators, most of them have followed their own fancy, from good Mr. Ainsworth, who ruined it by the most inanimate rhyming version, to certain latter poets, who have cast it unhallowedly into a European mould. See the observations at the end of the chapter. See Clarke on De 32:52".
Give ear, O ye heavens] Let angels and men hear, and let this testimony of God be registered both in heaven and earth. Heaven and earth are appealed to as permanent witnesses.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Deu 32:1. “This very sublime ode,” says Dr. Kennicott,…
Deu 32:1. “This very sublime ode,” says Dr. Kennicott, “is distinguished even by the Jews, both in their manuscripts and printed copies, as being poetry. In our present translation it would appear to much greater advantage if it were printed hemistically: and the translation of some parts of it may be much improved.” We subjoin his translation of the following verses as a specimen.
“1. Let the heavens give ear, and I will speak; and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
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2. My doctrine shall drop, as the rain; my speech shall distil, as the dew, as the small rains upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass.
3. Verily, the name of JEHOVAH will I proclaim; ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
4. He is the rock, perfect is his work; for all his ways are judgment; a God of truth, and without iniquity: just and right is he.
5. They are corrupted, not his, children of pollution, a generation perverse and crooked!
6. Is this the return which ye make to JEHOVAH?
O people foolish and unwise!
Is not he thy Father, thy Redeemer?
He who made thee, and established thee?”
Give ear, O ye heavens — hear, O earth — By appealing, in this solemn manner, to the heavens and the earth in the beginning of this song, Moses intended to signify, 1st, The truth and importance of its contents, which were such as deserved to be known by all the world: and, 2d, The stupidity of that perverse and unthinking people, who were less likely to hearken and obey than the heavens and the earth themselves. 3d, He hereby declares also the justice of the divine proceedings toward them, according to what he had said, Deu 31:28. See Job 20:27. Or, heaven and earth are here put for the inhabitants of both, angels and men: both will agree to justify God in his proceedings against Israel, and to declare his righteousness, Psa 50:6; Rev 19:1-2.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On v1 Song of Moses
Song of Moses
If Deu 32:1-3 be regarded as the introduction, and Deu 32:43 as the conclusion, the main contents of the song may be grouped under three heads, namely,
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(1) Deu 32:4-18, the faithfulness of God, the faithlessness of Israel;
(2) Deu 32:19-33, the chastisement and the need of its infliction by God;
(3) Deu 32:34-42, God’s compassion upon the low and humbled state of His people.
The Song differs signally in diction and idiom from the preceding chapters; just as a lyrical passage is conceived in modes of thought wholly unlike those which belong to narrative or exhortation, and is uttered in different phraseology.
There are, however, in the Song numerous coincidences both in thoughts and words with other parts of the Pentateuch, and especially with Deuteronomy; while the resemblances between it and Ps. 90: “A Prayer of Moses,” have been rightly regarded as important.
The Song has reference to a state of things which did not ensue until long after the days of Moses. In this it resembles other parts of Deuteronomy and the Pentateuch which no less distinctly contemplate an apostasy (e. g. Deu 28:15; Lev 26:14), and describe it in general terms. If once we admit the possibility that Moses might foresee the future apostasy of Israel, it is scarcely possible to conceive how such foresight could be turned to better account by him than by the writing of this Song. Exhibiting as it does God’s preventing mercies, His people’s faithlessness and ingratitude, God’s consequent judgments, and the final and complete triumph of the divine counsels of grace, it forms the summary of all later Old Testament prophecies, and gives as it were the framework upon which they are laid out. Here as elsewhere the Pentateuch presents itself as the foundation of the religious life of Israel in after times. The currency of the Song would be a standing protest against apostasy; a protest which might well check waverers, and warn the faithful that the revolt of others was neither unforeseen nor unprovided for by Him in whom they trusted.
That this Ode must on every ground take the very first rank in Hebrew poetry is universally allowed.
Deu 32:1-3
Introduction. Heaven and earth are here invoked, as elsewhere (see the marginal references), in order to impress on the hearers the importance of what is to follow.
Deu 32:4
He is the Rock, his work is perfect - Rather, the Rock, perfect is his work. This epithet, repeated no less than five times in the Song Deu 32:15, Deu 32:18, Deu 32:30-31, represents those attributes of God which Moses is seeking to enforce, immutability and impregnable strength. Compare the expression “the stone of Israel” in Gen 49:24; and see 1Sa 2:2; Psa 18:2; Mat 16:18; Joh 1:42. Zur, the original of “Rock,” enters frequently into the composition of proper names of the Mosaic time, e. g., Num 1:5-6, Num 1:10; Num 2:12; Num 3:35, etc. Our translators have elsewhere rendered it according to the sense “everlasting strength” Isa 26:4, “the Mighty One” Isa 30:29; in this chapter they have rightly adhered to the letter throughout.
Deu 32:5
Render: “It” (i. e. “the perverse and crooked generation”) “hath corrupted itself before Him (compare Isa 1:4); they are not His children, but their blemish:” i. e., the generation of evil-doers cannot be styled God’s children, but rather the shame and disgrace of God’s children. The other side of the picture is thus brought forward with a brevity and abruptness which strikingly enforces the contrast.
Deu 32:6
Hath bought thee - Rather perhaps, “hath acquired thee for His own,” or “possessed thee:” compare the expression “a peculiar people,” margin “a purchased people,” in 1Pe 2:9.
Deu 32:8
That is, while nations were being constituted under God’s providence, and the bounds of their habitation determined under His government (compare Act 17:26), He had even then in view the interests of His elect, and reserved a fitting inheritance “according to the number of the children of Israel;” i. e., proportionate to the wants of their population. Some texts of the Greek version have “according to the number of the Angels of God;” following apparently not a different reading, but the Jewish notion that the nations of the earth are seventy in number (compare Gen 10:1 note), and that each has its own guardian Angel (compare Ecclus. 17:17). This was possibly suggested by an apprehension that the literal rendering might prove invidious to the many Gentiles who would read the Greek version.
Deu 32:9-14
These verses set forth in figurative language the helpless and hopeless state of the nation when God took pity on it, and the love and care which He bestowed on it.
Deu 32:10
In the waste howling wilderness - literally, “in a waste, the howling of a wilderness,” i. e., a wilderness in which wild beasts howl. The word for “waste” is that used in Gen 1:2, and there rendered “without form.”
Deu 32:11
Compare Exo 19:4. The “so,” which the King James Version supplies in the next verse, should he inserted before “spreadeth,” and omitted from Deu 32:12. The sense is, “so He spread out His wings, took them up,” etc.
Deu 32:12
With him - i. e., with God. The Lord alone delivered Israel; Israel therefore ought to have served none other but Him.
Deu 32:13
i. e., God gave Israel possession of those commanding positions which carry with them dominion over the whole land (compare Deu 33:29), and enabled him to draw the richest provision out of spots naturally unproductive.
Deu 32:14
Breed of Bashan - Bashan was famous for its cattle. Compare Psa 22:12; Eze 39:18.
Fat of kidneys of wheat - i. e., the finest and most nutritious wheat. The fat of the kidneys was regarded as being the finest and tenderest, and was therefore specified as a part of the sacrificial animals which was to be offered to the Lord: compare Exo 29:13, etc.
The pure blood of the qrape - Render, the blood of the grape, even wine. The Hebrew word seems (compare Isa 27:2) a poetical term for wine.
Deu 32:15
Jesbarun - This word, found again only in Deu 33:5, Deu 33:26, and Isa 44:2, is not a diminutive but an appellative (containing an allusion to the root, “to be righteous”); and describes not the character which belonged to Israel in fact, but that to which Israel was called. Compare Num 23:21. The prefixing of this epithet to the description of Israel’s apostasy contained in the words next following is full of keen reproof.
Deu 32:16
They provoked him to jealousy - The language is borrowed from the matrimonial relationship, as in Deu 31:16.
Deu 32:17
Devils - Render, destroyers. The application of the word to the false gods points to the trait so deeply graven in all pagan worship, that of regarding the deities as malignant, and needing to be propitiated by human sufferings.
Not to God - Rather, “not God,” i. e., which were not God; see the margin and Deu 32:21. Compare Deu 13:7; Deu 29:25.
Deu 32:19
The anger of God at the apostasy of His people is stated in general terms in this verse; and the results of it are described, in words as of God Himself, in the next and following verses. These results consisted negatively in the withdrawal of God’s favor Deu 32:20, and positively in the infliction of a righteous retribution.
Daughters - The women had their full share in the sins of the people. Compare Isa 3:16 ff; Isa 32:9 ff; Jer 7:18; Jer 44:15 ff.
Deu 32:20
I will see what their end shall be - Compare the similar expression in Gen 37:20.
Deu 32:21
God would mete out to them the same measure as they had done to Him. Through chosen by the one God to be His own, they had preferred idols, which were no gods. So therefore would He prefer to His people that which was no people. As they had angered Him with their vanities, so would He provoke them by adopting in their stead those whom they counted as nothing. The terms, “not a people,” and “a foolish nation,” mean such a people as, not being God’s, would not be accounted a people at all (compare Eph 2:12; 1Pe 2:10), and such a nation as is destitute of that which alone can make a really “wise and understanding people” Deu 4:6, namely, the knowledge of the revealed word and will of God (compare 1Co 1:18-28).
Deu 32:24
Burning heat - i. e., the fear of a pestilential disease. On the “four sore judgments,” famine, plague, noisome beasts, the sword, compare Lev 26:22; Jer 15:2; Eze 5:17; Eze 14:21.
Deu 32:26, Deu 32:27
Rather, I would utterly disperse them, etc., were it not that I apprehended the provocation of the enemy, i. e., that I should be provoked to wrath when the enemy ascribed the overthrow of Israel to his own prowess and not to my judgments. Compare Deu 9:28-29; Eze 20:9, Eze 20:14, Eze 20:22.
Behave themselves strangely - Rather, misunderstand it, i. e., mistake the cause of Israel’s ruin.
Deu 32:30
The defeat of Israel would be due to the fact that God, their strength, had abandoned them because of their apostasy.
Deu 32:31
Our enemies - i. e., the enemies of Moses and the faithful Israelites; the pagan, more especially those with whom Israel was brought into collision, whom Israel was commissioned to “chase,” but to whom, as a punishment for faithlessness, Israel was “sold,” Deu 32:30. Moses leaves the decision, whether “their rock” (i. e. the false gods of the pagan to which the apostate Israelites had fallen away) or “our Rock” is superior, to be determined by the unbelievers themselves. For example, see Exo 14:25; Num. 23; 24; Jos 2:9 ff; 1Sa 4:8; 1Sa 5:7 ff; 1Ki 20:28. That the pagan should thus be constrained to bear witness to the supremacy of Israel’s God heightened the folly of Israel’s apostasy.
Deu 32:32
Their vine - i. e., the nature and character of Israel: compare for similar expressions Psa 80:8, Psa 80:14; Jer 2:21; Hos 10:1.
Sodom ... Gomorrah - Here, as elsewhere, and often in the prophets, emblems of utter depravity: compare Isa 1:10; Jer 23:14,
Gall - Compare Deu 29:18 note.
Deu 32:35
Rather: “Vengeance is mine and recompence, at the time when their foot slideth.
Deu 32:36
Repent himself for - Rather, have compassion upon. The verse declares that God’s judgment of His people would issue at once in the punishment of the wicked, and in the comfort of the righteous.
None shut up, or left - A proverbial phrase (compare 1Ki 14:10) meaning perhaps “married and single,” or “guarded and forsaken,” but signifying generally “all men of all sorts.”
Deu 32:40-42
Render: For I lift up my hand to heaven and say, As I live forever, if I whet, etc. On Deu 32:40, in which God is described as swearing by Himself, compare Isa 45:23; Jer 22:5; Heb 6:17. The lifting up of the hand was a gesture used in making oath (compare Gen 14:22; Rev 10:5).
Deu 32:42
From the beginning of revenges upon the enemy - Render, (drunk with blood) from the head (i. e. the chief) of the princes of the enemy.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Speak. Hebrew and Septuagint, "Heaven attend, and I will…
Speak. Hebrew and Septuagint, "Heaven attend, and I will speak." (Haydock) --- Never was there an exordium more pompous, or better adapted to the subject. Moses calls those who never die to witness what he asserts, as if to insinuate that these truths ought never to be forgotten. See Numbers iv. 6. Virgil (Æneid xii.) imitates this style, Esto nunc sol testis & hæc mihi terra precanti, (Calmet) which puts inthe moth of Æneas, to whom Latinus replies, Hæc eadem Ænea, terram, mare, sidera juro.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v1 Deuteronomy 32-34
THE SUPPLEMENTS
Deuteronomy 32-34
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THE DIVINE SONG OF MOSES
Deuteronomy 32
1Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak;
And hear, O earth [hear shall the earth] the words of my mouth.
2My doctrine shall drop [Let my doctrine drop] as the rain,
My speech [words] shall distil [flow] as the dew,
As the small rain [showers] upon the tender herb [grass],
And as the showers [rain-drops] upon the grass [herb];
3Because [For] I will publish the name of the Lord:
Ascribe [give] ye greatness unto our God.
4He is the rock, his work is perfect [The rock, perfect is his work];
For all his ways are judgment [right];
A God of truth [faithfulness] and without iniquity [deceit],
Just and right is he.
5They have corrupted themselves 1[corruptly act against him],
Their spot is not the spot of his children [sons]:2
They are a perverse and crooked generation.
6Do ye thus requite the Lord,
O foolish people and unwise?
Is not he thy father [?] that hath bought thee?3
Hath he not made and established [prepared] thee?
7Remember the days of old,
Consider the years of many generations [of generation and generation]:
Ask thy father—and he will show thee;
Thy elders [thine old men] and they will tell thee.
8When the Most High divided to the nations [Gentiles] their inheritance,
When he separated the sons of Adam [men],
He set [firm] the bounds of the people
According to [with reference to] the number of the children of Israel.
9For the Lord’s portion is his people;
Jacob is the lot [cord] of his inheritance.
10He found him in a [the] desert land [land of the desert],
And in the waste4 [waste, the] howling [of the steppe] wilderness;
He led him about [surrounded him], he instructed him,5
He kept him as the apple of his eye.
11As an [As the] eagle [, he] stirreth up her [his] nest,
Fluttereth [settles] over her [his] young,
Spreadeth abroad her [his] wings,
Taketh them, beareth them on her [his] wings [pinions]:
12So [om. So] the Lord alone did lead him,
And there was no strange God with him.
13He made him ride [drive] on [over] the high places of the earth,
That he might eat [And eat] the increase [fruits] of the fields;
And he made him to suck honey out of the rock,
And oil out of the flinty rock;
14Butter [cream] of kine, and milk of sheep [the flock],
With [the] fat of lambs,
And rams of the breed [sons] of Bashan, and goats [bucks],
With the fat of the kidneys of wheat;
And thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape [blood of the grape, even wine].
15But Jeshurun waxed [was] fat, and kicked.
Thou art waxen [Thou becamest] fat, thou art grown thick,
Thou art covered with fatness [art full, gross];
Then he forsook [And forsookest, rejected] God, which made him,
And lightly esteemed [despised] the Rock of his salvation.
16They provoked him to jealousy, with [through] strange gods,
With abominations provoked they him to anger.
17They sacrificed to devils [shedim6], not to God [which were not God],
To gods whom they knew not,
To new gods that came newly up [from near at hand],
Whom your fathers feared not [did not shudder at].
18Of the Rock that begat thee [The Rock, he bare thee] thou art unmindful [thou forsookest],
And hast forgotten God that formed thee [turned thee round].
19And when the Lord saw it, he abhorred them,
Because of the provoking of his sons and of his daughters,7
20And he said, I will hide my face from them,
I will see what their end [their last] shall be,
For they are a very froward [a generation of perversities] generation,
Children [sons] in whom is no [faithfulness] faith.
21They have moved me to jealousy, with that which is not God [through no God];
They have provoked me to anger [angered me] with their vanities;
And I will move them to jealousy, with those which are not8 a people [a no people].
22For a fire is kindled [burns] in [through] mine anger,
And shall burn9 [burns] unto the lowest hell [Sheol],
And shall consume10 [consumes] the earth with [and] its increase,
And sets on fire [devours] the foundations of the mountains.
23I will heap mischiefs [evils] upon them;
I will spend mine arrows upon [against] them.
24They shall be [or are] burnt [wasted, made lean] with [by] hunger,
And devoured with burning heat [fever heat], and with bitter [poisonous sting] destruction:
I will also send the teeth of beasts [wild animals] upon them,
With the poison of serpents [the creeping] of the dust.
25The sword without [From without the sword shall sweep thee away],
And terror within [From within—from the chambers of terror]
Shall destroy both the young man and the virgin,
The suckling also, with the man of gray hairs.
26I said, I would scatter them into corners11 [will blow them away],
I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:
27Were it not that I feared the wrath of [upon] the enemy,
Lest [That] their adversaries should behave themselves strangely,
And lest [that] they should say, Our hand is high,12
And the Lord hath not done all this.
28For they are a nation void [ruined as to counsel];
Neither is there any understanding [judgment] in them.13
29O that they were wise, that [If they were yet wise, they would] they understood this,
That they [They] would consider their latter end!
30How should one [yet] chase a thousand,
And two put ten thousand to flight,
Except their Rock had sold them,
And the Lord had shut [delivered] them up?
31For their rock is. not as our Rock,
Even our enemies themselves being [And our enemies are] judges.
32For their vine is of the vine of Sodom,14
And of the fields of Gomorrah:
Their grapes are grapes of gall [poisonous grapes],
Their clusters are bitter [Bitter clusters have they]:
33Their wine is the poison of dragons,
And the cruel venom [gall] of asps.
34Is not this laid up in store with me,
And sealed up among my treasures [in my treasure-chambers]?
35To me belongeth vengeance and recompense [retribution for the time],
Their foot shall slide [When their foot shall slide] in due time,15
For the day of their calamity [destruction] is at hand,
And the things that shall come upon them [prepared for them] make haste.
36For the Lord shall judge his people,
And repent himself for [have compassion upon] his servants,
When [For] he seeth that their power [hand] is gone [vanished],
And there is none shut up, or left [set free].
37And he shall say, Where are their gods, [?]
Their rock [?] in whom they trusted [they trusted on him],
38Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices,
And drank the wine of their drink-offerings?
Let them rise up and help you,
And be your protection [covering upon you].
39See now that I, even I [for I, I] am he,
And there is no God with [besides] me;
I kill, and I make alive, I wound [crush] and I heal;
Neither is there any that can deliver [any deliverer] out of my hand.
40For I lift up my hand to heaven,
And say, I live forever!16
41If I whet my glittering sword,
And mine hand take hold on judgment,
I will render vengeance to mine enemies [adversaries],
And will reward [requite] them that hate me.
42I will make mine arrows drunk with blood,
And my sword shall devour [eat] flesh;
And that with [From] the blood of the slain and the captives,
From the beginning [the head] of revenges [of the hairy] upon the enemy.17
43Rejoice [Praise], O ye nations, with his people [Schroeder: om. with]].18
For he will avenge the blood of his servants,
And will render [repay] vengeance to his adversaries,
And will be merciful unto his land, and to his people [expiate his land, his people].
44And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he and Hoshea the son of Nun. 45And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel: 46And he said unto them, Set [place, direct] your hearts unto all the words which I testify among [against] you this day, which ye shall command your 47children to observe to do, all the words of this law. For it is not a vain thing [word] for you: because it is your life; and through [in] this thing [word] ye shall 48prolong your days in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it. And the Lord spake unto Moses that self-same day, saying, 49Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against [before the face of] Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession: 50And die in [upon] the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people: 51Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel. 52Yet thou shalt see the land before thee, but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.
PRELIMINARY REMARKS
Literature.—See Introd. pp. 44, 45.
Criticism.—Knobel: “The hints as to the religious and political condition of the people leave no doubt that it belongs to the post-Mosaic time. So also Vater, Gesenius, De Wette, Ewald, Bleek, and others. Fundamentally out of the assumption that there is no prophecy, and out of dogmatic prejudices (comp. Deu_31:16 sq.; Introd. §4, I. 18; Hengstenberg, Chris., 2d Ed., II., p. 196 sq.). The particulars cited by V. Lengerke, Ewald, and others, are either to be understood generally, or are directly a misunderstanding. For the rest, the striking remark of Lange upon the blessings of Jacob (Genesis, p. 650), as to “the reckless disposition of our time,” is of force here also. Knobel supposes it to be a remodelling; by the second Jehovist author, in the Syrian time, of a song found by him, and held to be Mosaic. Bunsen (Bibelwerk V.): “It is an address at the time of the Mesopotamian captivity (Jdg_3:7 sq.).” Bleek: “The Deuteronomist has first given to this song, not originally published as Mosaic, its present relation and position.” Comp. further Introd. § 3.
The Mosaic Authorship.—“The most important thing here is that it breathes throughout the spirit of Moses, and in a measure seems to exclude any imitation. The manifold coincidences in the manner of representation, and in style with Deuteronomy are very noticeable—not indeed for those who believe that the authorship of this book by Moses must be rejected on independent grounds, but for those to whom these grounds or reasons are not satisfactory, and who find in the similarity as to style between this book and this song a proof of the Mosaic origin of Deuteronomy, while the Mosaic authorship of the song is not indeed for them conditioned or determined through that of the book, since that speaks indeed for itself.” Sack. The ever-recurring figure which rules the whole song is that of the Rock, the firm, the faithful; without a figure, Jehovah (Exo_3:13 sq.; Deu_6:3 sq.). It is thus throughout, as is fitting the Song of God, as it were, a self-revelation of Jehovah. But that which thus corresponds to the divine origin testifies not less to the Mosaic authorship. The unity and simplicity of this fundamental thought, in the first place, guarantees the great antiquity of the song. With the sacred “earnestnestness, to which nothing in the world approaches, save one only,” the “fitting yet overwhelming energy,” the “profound losing of himself in God and his glory” (Schultz), appear precisely in the second place, as specifically Mosaic. Herder: “No shepherd people, no mere shepherd ideas of God and the circle of life; a man born and educated in Egypt, to whom Arabia is a second fatherland, the scene of his preparation, deeds, journey, and wonders, stands out clearly before us. The spirit of poetry takes from thence also its form and imagery. No one can mistake the altered style compared with the patriarchal history. The desert of Arabia gives the tone throughout: God is a rock—a burning, consuming fire. He whets the glittering of His sword—He shoots his arrows, which thirst for blood—His angry messengers are serpents, etc. The poetry of Moses is stern, earnest, simple, as were also his life and character. It gleams as his countenance, but a veil hangs before it. The spirit is widely different from that of Job, David and Solomon. Here the rugged, zealous soul of Moses, vexed even unto death, reveals itself in his last flaming song. In this poem appear the flaming mountain, the pillar of fire and cloud which went before Israel, and in if, the angel of his face.” The “rock” is his dwelling-place (Deu_33:27), Psa_90:1. “The long residence of Moses upon the lofty rocks of Horeb, and the finding of his God upon it, is urged by Schultz in favor of this Mosaic authorship. Comp. also further Schultz, p. 648–650. Lastly, the fact that this song, with its peculiar, fixed, and very perfect method, remains and gives tone to the post-Mosaic poetry, speaks in favor of its Mosaic authorship. “The highest poetic images in the Psalms and the Prophets,” says Herder, “are derived especially from this last song of Moses; for this is, as the primitive prophecy, the type and canon of all the prophets.”
[The objections urged against the Mosaic authorship rest either upon the style, or the ideas of the song. The differences in style between this song and the preceding chapters in Deuteronomy are obvious and striking, but they prove nothing as to its authorship. They are just such differences as would be natural in a passage of this kind, and which appear in all languages between the prose and lyrical passages of the same writer. They may fairly be urged in favor of the Mosaic authorship, since they indicate, as the critics themselves concede, a very great antiquity. In many cases, too, these peculiarities point back to similar expressions in other parts of the Pentateuch. Thus, as Keil says, “The figure of the eagle, Deu_32:11, refers to Exo_19:4; the description of God as a Rock in Deu_32:4; Deu_32:15; Deu_32:18; Deu_32:30-31; Deu_32:37, recalls Gen_49:24; the fire of the wrath of God, Deu_32:22, points to Deu_4:24; the expression “move to jealousy” in Deu_32:16; Deu_32:21, recalls the jealous God, Deu_4:24; Deu_6:15; Exo_20:5; Exo_34:14, etc.” The obvious similarity between this song and the 90th Psalm also confirms its Mosaic authorship. The Psalm claims to be the prayer of Moses, and in the judgment of the critics themselves there is no sufficient reason for denying the validity of this claim. Kamphausen indeed admits “that if it were really certain that Deuteronomy was composed b]bout the authenticity of the song would be decided in the traditional way.”
The objection drawn from the ideas taught in the song rests mainly upon the assumption that any foreknowledge and prediction of the future is impossible, and therefore does not lie against this part of Deuteronomy any more than against those other passages, both of this book and the other books of the Pentateuch, which so distinctly contemplate the apostacy of Israel, its fearful punishments, and its ultimate return and blessedness. These are more vividly set forth in this song, as its poetical character demanded; but they are no less certainly predicted elsewhere. And the question therefore, so far forth, as to the Mosaic authorship of the song, resolves itself into the wider question, whether predictions of the future are possible. The fitness of the song in its style and character, its imagery and ideas to the person, position and life of Moses; its relation to the later poetry of the Bible; its adaptedness to the end sought, i.e. to protest vividly and impressively against apostacy, and to testify to the faithfulness of God; and still more the divine seal set upon this song as the work of Moses, Rom_10:19, place its Mosaic authorship beyond reasonable question.—A. G.]
The poetical form is in general the symmetry of the so-called parallelism of the clauses. This simple and elevated rhythm of the thought, as it was suited to the Hebrew poetry, was well calculated in the case before us to make a strong impression, to fasten on the memory, and also to aid to a better understanding, and on the other hand also fitted for the enunciation in song and with music. But in particular, three words (feet, מדות) nearly always form a clause, the small words, or those joined by Makkeph, not being reckoned; the two-membered strophes are partly used as grace-notes (Deu_32:1; Deu_32:3), and partly (Deu_32:9; Deu_32:12) they alternate parenthetically with the doubled four-membered strophes. The whole is arranged as a double song or dialogue between Moses and Jehovah. Comp. Deu_32:20; Deu_32:34; Deu_32:37.
The prophetical character. “The song is poetry in this highest style, only possible in Israel” (Sack), i.e. it has a prophetic character. If Genesis 49 is “the prophetic life-picture of the future of Israel” (Lange), so here Israel as a nation; the patriarchal family-prophecy gives place to the legal national prophecy. Israel’s position in the world is the prophetic element in this song, i.e. in particular, his being set for the world, his introduction into the world (Deu_32:6 sq.), his appearance in the world, his position yet to be presented to the world; the future position of the world to Israel in respect to retribution and promise (Deu_32:26 sq.). As in the succeeding prophets, the final judgment upon all the enemies of God is perfectly clear, so here already the prospect of it dawns upon us (Deu_32:34-35; Deu_32:41 sq.)—personally presented here, because as to form, the fundamental tone of the song is Jehovah, and as to substance the realization of the idea of God through the kingdom of God in Israel was assigned to the following prophecies (at the same time there is a progress here in comparison with chap. 30)—and this final judgment concerns every enemy both inward (Deu_32:35 sq.) and external (Deu_32:41 sq.), and is partly a retributory sifting, and partly a retributory destruction. The prophetic contents of the song close with this horizon, not avowedly, but essentially Messianic, namely, in the wider sense of that word.
Its character as to its contents. The point of departure, the basis in the present, that which Moses had sufficiently experienced, namely, the apostacy of the people still for the last time proclaimed, more especially the rejection of the first generation, is recalled to mind. Next follows the picture of the future. The approaching already manifoldly described enjoyment of the promised land, with its results in pride and idolatry, also already frequently repeated, is spoken of in the most fearful and monitory method, a real prophecy from Israel’s nature and way. The time of the judges gives already a satisfactory commentary upon it. The symbolical significance of this picture of the future for the wider history of salvation. The entire rejection, but also the restoration of an Israel, which shall be the true Israel, and indeed out of the Gentiles. Comp. Doctrinal and Ethical.
Deuteronomy 32 and Exodus 15. The distinction: here upon the threshold of Canaan, there upon that of the desert; there at the morning after the night filled with salvation, here with the look at the night, approaching with Canaan, of the corruption of Israel; there pre-eminently the subjection and terror of the heathen, here the judgment upon Israel and its consequences. The unity: as there so here, the rejoicing at the close of the song, because in both Jehovah is the fundamental thought (comp. Deu_32:3 and Exo_15:1 sq.). As “the hallelujah has passed from Exodus 15 over to the Psalms” (Herder), so the succeeding prophecy of Israel from Deuteronomy 32. If the song of Moses, Rev_15:3, has its bud and blossom in Exodus 15, the song of the Lamb finds the same in Deuteronomy 32. (We might say with Ziegler in reference to Exodus 15 and Deuteronomy 32 : “that the latter is to the former as the old wine is better than the new.”)
The Division.
Deu_32:1-5, the introduction and theme; Deu_32:6-14, Israel’s position through Jehovah; Deu_32:15-18, Israel’s apostacy; Deu_32:19-25, Jehovah’s sentence; Deu_32:26-43, the execution of the judgment in vengeance and mercy.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. Deu_32:1-5. The introduction must indeed reconcile the actual divine address to Moses, with his human historical individuality. Hence, Deu_32:1, the truly deuteronomic invocation of the heavens and the earth. Comp. upon Deu_4:26 (32); Deu_30:19 (12); Deu_31:28. That they are summoned directly by the law-giver as witnesses is intelligible from his legal character (Deu_17:6; Deu_19:15); and still more historically from Deu_4:36, since they were participants in the law-giving, in the most solemn natal hour of Israel as a people. They were here invoked only as attentive hearers, as also in Isaiah 50, which is entirely appropriate, since not merely threatening, but promise also, appears in what follows. אָזַן, in Hiph. is not used in the sense of to be pointed, to sharpen, prick up the ear, rather in the sense of ready, quick, to fasten, to hold fast, (hence the ear as that which receives, catches up); to hearken. Moses here, as Christ, Joh_15:22 : Had I not spoken unto them? The figure of the rain, dew, sq., is suggested by the mention of the heavens, as also that of the grass and the herb, through the mention of the earth. His song comes from above, whence all good comes which does good, all blessings which produce fruit. The earth should not receive the curse, nor misery, the law is not given for this (Rom_7:12), still less should this most peculiar, testamentary work of Moses, and indeed this dying strain of Deuteronomy tend to this end. (לֶקַּה) to seize, grasp; but the reception is necessary (1Th_2:13; 1Ti_1:15; 1Ti_4:9), and hence the term occurs here; and not “merely to make prominent the dignity and worth of his word, as one received, 1Co_11:23; 1Co_15:3” (Schultz). Power generally, the heavenly (rain), the gentle, secret flow (dew), the mighty, copious (showers, or storm-torrents, heavy rain, thick rain-drops רביבים from the multitude of the drops); are the points of comparison, not the refreshing, fertilizing, enlivening, and the like (Keil, Knobel), which relate rather to the effects of the rain, dew, etc. (יערף, only elsewhere, Deu_33:28; שׂעירם, only here.) Comp. Job_29:22-23; Isa_55:10-11; Psa_72:6; Hos_14:5; Mic_5:9. Deu_32:3 gives the reason for the demand, Deu_32:1, as also for the fulness of power which he wished, Deu_32:2, Let my doctrine drop. Luther: “It is as if he had said, I will sing a song, which I will begin in so high a strain that no one under the sun can strike a higher strain, or be able to make a nobler song. My best song and best doctrine shall be the first commandment.” שׂם קרא (not בשם, to invoke as the poets the muses, Ewald, not even to praise), but to proclaim, to make known to all the world, what he had said, the revelation of his being whereof heaven and earth should make confession, in case Israel should neglect it, who therefore is not directly addressed in the following clause: Ascribe, sq. Comp. Deu_3:24; Deu_5:21; Deu_9:26; Deu_11:2. This greatness is not His majesty generally, or as Luther: “Ye shall not honor other gods, or ascribe greatness to any creature, all other gods are vain, false and nonentities,” but in the transition to what follows, points out already as with all the fingers, His exalted nature, his glory as Jehovah. הצור, the Rock, placed first absolutely, and thus given the greater prominence. צוּר, the thick, strong, firm. Herder: “Derived without doubt from Sinai, where the covenant was made which on the side of God as the Rock was everlasting.” It reminds us of Gen_49:24. It is the refuge, protection, security, for the forsaken. It presents the name Jehovah by a striking comparison (Isa_17:10; Isa_26:4; Psa_18:2; Psa_18:31). As alone in His being, so perfect in His work; without defect, without stain, nothing to be supplied, and nothing to be removed, both with respect to creation and providence (Herder: “Israel often blamed the providence, in its way through the desert”). For his ways are only right, as this is still more personally expressed in the fourth member parallel to the second. אמונח, firmness, the nature of the rock. עול (Deu 35:16) crooked, perverted nature, imperfection, vileness. (The prayer of the Jews in their burial-service begins as Deu_32:4, which is also found engraved upon their cemeteries and tables.) [How deeply the idea of God as the Rock (Tsur) penetrated the Jewish mind and life, is apparent from its frequent recurrence in names as Pedah-zur, Eli-zur, Zur-iel, Zur-ishaddai, etc.—A. G.]—The theme of the song finds its necessary completion, Deu_32:5, in the opposite description of Israel. Hence שׁחת לו cannot possibly refer to Jehovah; He deals not corruptly with him (Schultz), as already J. H. Michaelis: Num deus corrupit sibi (ipsi Israel) sc. vias suas? num ille est Israelitis causa exitii?Cocceius: Num corruptio ipsi? Nequaquam minime. The subject is clearly the generation, sq. Whether לו refers to Israel (Num_32:15), or to Jehovah in the Dat. Comm. may be doubtful; the latter appears to suit the connection better. Not Jehovah in His nature, work, ways, attributes (Deu_32:4), but Israel in its work, ways, nature, attributes, Deu_32:5, is an antithetic parallel to Deu_32:4. Comp. Deu_9:12. We are to recall the apostacy immediately at Sinai, and still further in the wilderness (Numbers 13 sq.). The clause in apposition with generation occurs parenthetically before it. Your ways should have appeared as that of His children (Deu_14:1). Sack “they are not His children” is almost too strong. לא before בניו, as frequently in this song before the substantive, is an observable idiomatic peculiarity. Their spot (the apposition and the opposition once more), rather: the children of Jehovah, as they should be, and His children as they are actually.—[Keil: They are not the children of Jehovah, but their stain, i.e. the stain or disgrace of God’s children.—A. G.]—(Others: to their own blemish, shame.) Schultz: His children are their own disgrace. [Regarding Jehovah as the subject, has He dealt corruptly with them? No, His children, etc.—A. G.]—The historical explanation of Knobel, referring it “to Judah and the faithful in Israel,” is needless, since even earlier the children of God (comp. Gen_5:22), e.g. Noah, the patriarchs, Caleb, Joshua, are thus distinguished, and the idea was always made prominent as simply set over against the actual evil character (Php_2:15; Mat_17:17).
2. Deu_32:6-14. Upon the ground of such a theme, of this opposite actual character, there is raised for the future, as the present, the question in Deu_32:6. גמל, to show, to cause, do, with reference to the recompense, retribution. נבל, as the following context shows (Deu_32:29), is foolish. Gesenius, Hupfeld, of the insipid, stale conduct, wanting the salt of divine wisdom, here used of the forgetfulness of God, godlessness. The derivation from, to swell, distend, and hence to be haughty, arrogant, agrees well also with the context. Comp. Deu_1:13; Deu_4:6. The fatherhood of Jehovah is set over against the not His children, Deu_32:5 (comp. Deu_32:20; Deu_14:1; Exo_4:22 sq.). The thought that Abraham was only their father in the beneficent strength of the divine promise, seems apparent from the emphasis placed upon הוא (see Genesis 17). קנה combines the ideas, to prepare, to form (not precisely, create, Gen_14:19; Gen_14:22), to acquire, possess. If קנה marks the descent from Abraham, then עשה denotes fitly the constituting of the people in Egypt, and כון, the forming or preparation in the wilderness. Comp. upon the verse Isa_63:16; Isa_64:8; Isa_1:2; Mal_2:10. In the יְמוֹת עולם, Deu_32:7 (this form occurs only here as the similar poetical term, שׁנוֹת, Psa_90:15, agreeing with it), the עולם designates the covered time either before or behind the speaker (Deu_4:32). From the hoary antiquity the tradition here comes down through generation and generation (the repetition used poetically for the plural), forming the revolution or succession of old men (דוּר, the circle or revolving period), Psa_90:1. Thus it comes to the fathers and elders (from the bowed, decrepid age, זָקֵן). עם in Deu_32:6 is collective, and hence the alternating singular and plural verbs. בִּינוּ (to separate, distinguish and understand). נגד, in Hiph.: to bring near, to bring over, to point out, declare. Deu_32:8 contains the result of the tradition; a retrospect to Genesis. The separation of the people as described Genesis 11עליון occurs constantly without the article, and here used instead of Jehovah, and equivalent to the Exalted One, the Highest. When He divided to the nations all their inheritance determined in Genesis 10; when He, the sons of Adam, (comp. Gen_10:1; Gen_10:32) dispersed, separated, Genesis 11 (Act_17:26), He did so למספרaccording to the number, sq., i.e., so that Israel should possess a land corresponding to its population. Comp. also Gen_9:25 sq.; Deuteronomy 2. Baumgarten combines the number seventy of the genealogical table, with the seventy ancestors of Israel, (Deu_10:22). [So Wordsworth also.—A. G.]. Deu_32:9 gives the reason for this earliest provision and care. Comp. Deu_7:6; Deu_10:15; (Act_14:16). חכל a cord, measure, then that which is measured by it. Comp. Deu_3:13. This two-membered strophe forms a beautiful pause or interruption. Thus it is from the beginning placed for the world, Exo_19:5 sq. It follows now, Deu_32:10, how it was introduced into the world, to the ideal follows the real provision on the part of God. The connection is directly with Deu_32:6. The words form a description of that frequently enforced (Deu_1:27; Num_14:11; Num_14:4; Exo_16:2) helpless condition of Israel. Thus even after the redemption from Egypt, thus always indeed with respect to Israel. Instead of Canaan, to which Deu_32:8 points, the land of the desert was the land where He found Israel. The reference to Egypt, with Keil, is artificial. As ארצ is clearly defined from the preceding, so it is placed also in reference to what follows, e.g., Deu_32:13. Tha prominence given to the leading through the wilderness is genuinely Deuteronomic. Comp. Deu_8:2 sq., 15 sq.; Deu_11:5; Deu_29:4 sq.; Deu_1:1. As the deliverance from Egypt was evidently presupposed, it is the more readily passed over here in silence because Israel is here spoken of as a nation, and Israel’s national existence dates from Sinai, from the wilderness. Found either after he had sought him in Egypt, the one that was lost (Luk_15:4) without him, or had found out, selected (Psa_89:20) since he had closed the covenant with him at Sinai, or simply met with him; thus Israel found itself, began its conscious existence, when Jehovah took it into His school, to train and educate it to a people, (Hos_9:10, a description as to the other side). Schultz emphasizes the fact that the Lord first appeared to Israel in the pillar of fire and cloud in the desert, Exo_13:20 sq. The emphasis, he remarks correctly, does not lie upon the finding, but upon the desert land, which is made still more explicit by the (וְ). The waste (Gen_1:2), from תהה literally; the dense, close wilderness, where no way is, Psa_107:40. Comp. upon Deu_1:1; Deu_1:31. Howling: emphasizes the horrible howling of the beasts of the desert, especially in the early part of the night. Led him (compassed him) about—near Him in his love, to care for, (Psa_26:6) but also to protect as a shield; (the pillar of fire and cloud, Zec_2:8). נצר; to keep, watch, preserve. אִישׁוֹןGesen.: the pupil (of the well-known little man, pet, the daughter, for the miniature image of him who looks in the eyes of another), literally the man (איש) of the eye. Or should one go back to the signification of אָנֵשׁ from which אישׂ is derived to bend, thus the arched eye-ball. Others: the eye-lid. Generally the comparison intimates that Jehovah had not left Israel out of His sight; the most careful, thoughtful protection, Psa_17:8; Zec_2:12. On account of the desert, of the hostile nations, but especially after the rejection of the old, for preservation of the new generation. The first and second, and third and fourth clauses are parallel to each other, as also in Deu_32:7. [“The whole description of what the Lord did for Israel, Deu_32:10-14, is figurative.” Israel is represented as a man ready to perish in the wilderness, and so found and rescued by God. But there is no design or attempt to bring out in their succession, the events in Israel’s history, or what God had done for them. Only those are selected which bear upon the general theme and purpose of the song.—A. G.]. Deu_32:11 gives the desert figure of the eagle. Israel is the eagle’s brood in the nest (קֵן a separated mountainous place) in the rocks at Sinai. Jehovah stirs it up, as He came down over it in the giving of the law (her young, from גזל, the stripped, naked, featherless young). Farther: the pillar of fire and cloud was like the outspread wings! Indeed He took it and bare it in His power and love, and with what patience? As the eagle is the subject, the suffixes refer to the nest, or to each individual one of the young. Deu_32:12 is a continuous exposition of the figure used. (Others refer alone and with him to Israel). For the rest comp. Exo_19:4. (As out of Egypt so in the way to Canaan), Gen_1:2; Deu_1:31. It is only a two-membered strophe, as Deu_32:9. [Keil: “If no other god stood by the Lord to help Him, He thereby laid Israel under the obligation to serve Him alone as its God.”—A. G.]. Deu_32:13 treats of the partly begun and partly approaching occupation of the mountainous Canaan. With the high places was the “earth,” (land) promised to Israel, assured. The occupation of Gilead was the beginning of the victorious dominion (chap. 3). So the enjoyment of Canaan is described with prophetic foresight, as in Deu_8:7-10. Comp. upon Deu_6:3. Palms, date trees growing upon the mountains, as well as bees building their hives in the rocks introduce honey into Palestine; olive trees are found in apparently the most unproductive places. A pleasant, childlike enjoyment, because throughout a blessing. Deu_32:14 is a continuation. The specification “testifies to the general faithfulness of the song,” (Herder) the East Jordan land was an earnest of the farther side. חָלָב: that which is drawn out through strokes or rubbing, the milk from the milking. חֵלֶב the selected, picked out; hence the fat, generally the best, (Num_18:12) here strengthened still further by the kidneys, the very finest wheat (in reference to the flour) or in the size of the grains. Lastly the bubbling, foaming red wine (Gen_49:11). The last clause here, as in Deu_32:7, takes the form of an address. The five-membered strophe also shows the poetic fervor. For the rest comp. Num_32:1; Eze_39:18. (It may be regarded as a four-membered strophe thus: butter of kine and milk of sheep with the fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat. And thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape). [Fat of kidneys was, as the best fat, specified as a part of the sacrificial animals which were to be presented to the Lord, and hence the figure here—for the finest, most nutritious wheat.—A. G.].
3. Deu_32:15-18. The apostacy of Israel comes to pass as was already foreseen, Deu_6:11; Deu_8:12 sq.; Deu_31:20. Deu_32:15. Jeshurun, found twice elsewhere in Deut. (Deu_33:5; Deu_33:26) and in Isa_44:2. Beyond question from ישׂר; comp. Jesharim, Num_23:10 (Jos_10:13; 2Sa_1:18). It is not a diminutive (Gesenius: the pious, precise, blameless little people), which is destitute of philological (comp. Hengst.: Balaam, p. 98), proof (the אִישׁוֹן, Deu_32:10, referred to, is correctly with (Delitzsch) rather: the man, if not man-like), and an appellatio blanda et charititiva does not accord well with the serious character of the passage in which “a loving being, but no mere lover speaks,” but is perhaps a nomen proprium; the just, honorable man, the just, the righteous; but by no means the happy or the like, not even the justified (Calvin) although that is nearer the truth. The legal character, the national essence or nature of Israel was expressed in this term. (Comp. Deu_32:4). Over against the idea of the nation, as it rests in Jehovah, enters so much more offensively the character in which Israel actually appears in the world. A prophetic preterite. Johlson sees in Jeshurun a pun, which the figure of the fat and kicking ox (שור) completes. Comp. Act_9:5 (Hos_4:16; Hos_13:6). The direct address in the second person vividly interrupts, and gives greater energy to the statement begun in the third person. It is not jocosely spoken, as Ewald, but the keenest sacred irony. [By reminding them of what they were in idea, of what they were called to in character and dignity, he censures more severely their guilt and perfidy.—A. G.]. אֱלוֹהַּ is the pathetic form for אלהים both in the old and in the later Aramaic Hebrew. Comp. Deu_32:6; Deu_32:4. [Lightly esteemed, from נָכָל to treat as a fool.—A. G.]. Deu_32:16. The plural form, which gives the poetical coloring, occurs instead of the previously used singular, as in Deu_32:7. Upon the provocation of the divine zeal (jealousy), comp. Deu_4:24-25; Deu_5:9; Deu_6:15. The covenant is a marriage covenant, (Deu_31:16). זרים, “those standing beyond marriage, and the relationship effected by it, Deu_25:5,” Schultz. For the rest comp. Deu_7:25; Deu_27:15. A two-membered strophe, as Deu_32:9; Deu_32:12. Deu_32:17. שֵׁשדִים. Baalim, lords (1Co_8:5), Demons? Further comp. Deu_11:28; Deu_13:7; Deu_29:25. [Wordsworth: “Wasters, destroyers” Bib.Com: “As indicating the malignant character of the deities in heathen worship”—A. G.]. New.—Lately risen in a temporal, as the following clause in a local sense. In both references not God, Jer_23:23 sq. (Schultz figuratively; not worth much). Baumgarten: Israel had no historical relations with them. To understand the second clause, came newly up, temporally also, is tautological, and is not demanded by the parallelism. The third member is parallel to the first, the fourth to the second. In Deu_32:18 he renews at the close what was said in Deu_32:15; there using the masculine, and here the feminine termination. צור, as: to make thick is also to form (ציר in the plural: birth-throes) thus in a verbal way reconciling the figure of bearing (ילד to break through, of the birth) with the rock; with respect to its source, e.g., the noble metal, may be actually said to be born of the iron stone of the rock. תשׁי from נשׁה, to forsake, forget, Knobel, Schultz, Keil; from שיה, to neglect. The direct address appears again as at the close of Deu_32:14. God as the woman in birth throes (Psa_2:7; Psa_90:2; Isa_49:15; Gal_4:19). [“To bring out more prominently the base ingratitude of the people, he represents the creation of Israel by Jehovah, the Rock of its salvation, under the figure of generation and birth, in which the paternal and maternal love of the Lord to His people had manifested itself.” Keil.—A. G.]
4. Deu_32:19-25. The judgment of Jehovah upon His apostate people, proceeds upon a personal observation. He needs no testimony, Deu_32:19. A comprehensive two-membered strophe, as Deu_32:16; Deu_32:9; Deu_32:12. (Comp. Deu_1:34). Schultz: “From indignation at, sq.” Herxheimer: “On account of the provocation of, sq.” [Our version brings out the force of the preposition as well, and is equally as intelligible as those suggested.—A. G.]. Deu_32:20. The declaration of the judgment. Comp. Deu_31:17-18. He speaks after the manner of men (Gen_37:20). They are no more regarded with favor; He will only see what their end, their last sins and last punishments will be. The reason is their wicked and faithless (Deu_32:4) way, which with them comes to the uttermost (1Th_2:16). Deu_32:21. The retribution will at last correspond to the offence. Not God, is not a monster (1Co_8:4 sq.; Deu_10:19 sq.), to which in a corresponding way “not people,” would signify “an inhuman people, repulsive and frightful,” (Ewald, in order to bring into the text in a historical way the Assyrians), but: as idols to which the heathen correspond. Moreover the no-gods are explained through the term vanities (nothingness); they are as the breath of men, fugitive human forms (Mat_15:9); and no-people through גוֹי, and the alliteration between נבל and הבל The designation occurs with more express reference to Israel, and is thus, as even Knobel concedes, “not to be pressed,” not even “to the Syrians under Baasha and Ahab,” generally not to any particular nation. No-people in the view of Israel, a foolish nation according to Israel’s own conscience, is a godless nation, one which has gone hitherto its own way, etc. (Eph_2:12). The Acts of the Apostles is a biblical commentary upon this passage. Comp. also Deu_32:6; thus it is such a nation or people, who (notwithstanding all the grace they had received) are, as they are by nature (comp. Deu_4:6 sq.). The emphasizing of the Gentile world for the end of Israel, Rom_10:19 (1Th_2:15-16). The reception of the Gentiles in the place of Israel is certainly and literally contained in this verse. [No-people is not a people which does not deserve to be called a people, because it is behind the Israelites in its outward organization, or in its culture and general civilization, but because it does not rest as to its existence and growth upon the choice of God, because it does not “recognize Him as its Head and King,” because it does not submit itself to His statutes and judgments, (Deu_4:6) which alone make a wise or understanding people. The designation does not imply any inferiority in worldly or secular respects on the part of those to whom it is applied.
The Apostle Paul, quoting (Rom_10:19), the precise words of the Sept. here, gives the true interpretation, and puts their significance, as teaching the adoption of the Gentiles in the place of the Jews beyond question, by any one who accepts the teaching of the Apostle as inspired. His use of this passage, too, ought to settle the question as to the inspiration of this song, and as to its Mosaic authorship.—A. G.]. It is nowhere said in Deu_32:22 sq., that the Lord would use the Gentiles only as a rod against Israel comp. Deu_32:31, as Kamphausen asserts;and what else is “the provoking and angering,” (Deu_32:16) in this connection, than what J. H. Michaelis “illustrates metaphorically by the spirit of a loving husband, who sees himself scorned by his wife, and takes some poor maiden in her place, as Ahasuerus Esther in the place of Vashti.” The description which underlies and grounds the judicial sentence, Deu_32:22, corresponds to these awful extremities (Deu_4:24; Deu_6:15). Comp. upon Deu_29:19. The dimension even to the lowest (sheol) hell (the chasm, abyss; see Hupfeld upon Psalms 66) according to which this stands as the underworld in opposition to heaven,—here the lowest depth (Deu_30:13) may be intended,—presents the judgment first of all as a destruction reaching beyond the earthly life, and continuing in Sheol, (Num_16:30 sq.). The intensive extent or compass in the next place, when the fire which is kindled (Deu_11:17) consumes indeed the foundations of the earth, expresses the judgment, as in the analogy of Sodom (Deu_29:22 sq.), extending from Palestine, and spreading out to one which concerns the whole world. [The judgment thus described was not to fall upon Israel alone. It was first to suffer. “But the words were not intended to foretell one particular judgment, but refer to judgment in its totality and universality, as realized in the course of centuries in different judgments upon the nations, and only to be completely fulfilled at the end of the world.” Keil.—A. G.]. (2Pe_3:7). Thus only does it correspond with the universal idea of Israel. Since the land of promise loses its peculiar significance through the curse of God, the heaven of Israel passed away with the temple, there exists in Christ with the new Israel, which is entirely, completely spiritual, already a new heaven and a new earth, according to the Spirit. Israel is the nearest object of the Divine love-judgment, Deu_32:23 sq. The transition to another figure, comp. Deu_31:11; Deu_31:21. In masses one upon another; as a warrior against his enemies, exhausting his arrows to the very last one in his quiver, heaps them together around the enemy. Deu_32:24. מָזָה, to draw, exhaust, or simply to extend, make thin. רֶשֶׁף the licking, lapping flame, used of fever, burning pestilence. קטב, cut, thrust, blow. Comp. Lev_26:22. [Keil paraphrases “when hunger, pestilence, plague, have brought them to the verge of destruction I will send, sq”.—A. G.]. Deu_32:25. שׁכל in Piel: lonely, bereaved, made childless, (Gen_43:14). חֶדֶר the closed, within the tent, house, where especially are the wives and children. בָחוּר, the chosen, manly youth, especially soldiers. שׂיב to have gray hairs, (Lev_19:32).
5. Deu_32:26-43. In such a position to the world would God bring them, but they should not disappear entirely from the race. In Deu_32:26, in which he passes from the sentence to its execution. I said occurs as “he said“(Deu_32:20) and with a similar purport. פאה, used only here, may mean: to drive into every corner, or: to cast out from every corner (Schultz); the last signification may agree with the connection, but not the first.—To blow away agrees still better, so that they are dispersed. Vulg., Luther, according to the Rabbinical solution אפּ אי הם: where are they? i.e., destroyed beyond any trace, so that one seeks after them in vain. Others: to make an end. Others still: they are exposed, abandoned as the corners of the fields to the poor. Or deriving it from אף anger, to let this have success or control). שׁבת in Hiphil: remove the Sabbath from their memory (Lev_26:43). Comp. Deu_25:19. Once more a two-membered strophe. Deu_32:27. What restrains Jehovah from this utter destruction is not anything in Israel, not even anything in Him in reference to Israel,—this is the icy character of the passage,—but Jehovah fears His wrath of (upon) the enemy, i.e., because the oppressors of Israel, if they should ignore (misunderstand) the fact, that Jehovah and not their power (Isa_26:11) had destroyed Israel, would excite His wrath. Comp. Cicero; pro Flacco, c. 28, cited by Baumgarten. The impeachment of His honor or glory through the enemy is to be explained perhaps as Deu_9:28. There may, however, be an intimation also of the gracious purpose of God toward the Gentiles. The blessedness of all is indeed the glory of God. The world should not occupy such a position to Israel on its own account; it should execute and recognize the judgment of God upon Israel; therefore it is arrested, however little the nation deserves it. As Israel, e.g., Deu_9:4 sq., could not assert its own goodness as a motive, so with the gentile world its power; there the heart, here the hand. In what follows, the correct reasons are presented against these possible false reasons: not the gentile power, but Israel’s corruption, which presents it as ripe for overthrow, is the reason, for its destruction by Jehovah. Thus Deu_32:28 gives the reasons for Deu_32:26, so that Deu_32:27 forms the conclusion to Deu_32:26. We have still the words of God, as also in the reasons given for the declaration of the judgment (Deu_32:20); Knobel: “the author here proceeds with his own words.” That the discourse treats of Israel is not doubtful, as Sack thinks, because the גוֹי, which is more commonly used for the gentiles, occurs here. It stands for Israel also, e.g., Deu_4:6 sq., agrees well with the more general style here, and moreover when emphasized could well serve to present the equality of Israel and the Gentiles. Void of counsel, generally; not knowing what to advise, they have lost the power of wise consideration, counsels, or: lost, ruined, truly with respect to that with which they might consult; they do not take advice from the law of God (Deu_4:6 sq.). תבונה, comp. with בינו Deu_32:7. The moral corruption has wrought intellectual. With reference to this sign of deserved destruction, Moses breaks out, Deu_32:29, in a sad lamentation: לוּ! (it will not be so, surely not in the whole people). [The particle expresses here the simple condition without any wish, implying that the condition does not exist, or is uncertain.—A. G.]. Luk_19:42. Comp. Deu_32:6-7, and upon Deu_32:20. זאת especially what follows, that Israel could not have the victory, but that its end was near. Deu_32:30 is usually understood of the unsuccessful wars of Israel, from which either the Gentiles could perceive (this is expressed Deu_32:27 sq.), how Jehovah gave over His people, or that Israel should perceive and consider. More correctly: the review of the earlier history, which they were not considering (Deu_32:29 comp. with Deu_32:7) would prove to them how mighty Israel could be, (Lev_26:8; comp. Jos_23:10). But, since the actual case is altogether the reverse, the self-judgment of their end must follow upon this review, (אי, how would it still כהthus be, namely: it would, sq. אמ־לא כי־except (according to the usual interpretation) their Rock, sq., or: the actual case was that, sq.). Their Rock, as is clear from the parallel clause, is Jehovah (Deu_32:4). Deu_32:31 gives the proof through a comparison of Jehovah with that which the Gentiles call their rock. Their gods could only be called rock, never be so, (Deu_32:21). Moses includes himself with his people (according to the idea, [i.e., the true Israel]). פליליםSchultz: Against the faithless ones who had proved the vanity of idols. Most: Since they even had experienced the omnipotence of Jehovah, and the weakness of all gods besides Him, as e.g., of Egypt, Moab, Midian. (Num_23:24). Perhaps still more simply:—And our enemies are judges. Israel’s judges (Exo_21:22) instead of Jehovah, carry out His judicial sentence, and do nothing more. Thus Deu_32:31 connects itself with the close of Deu_32:30 : because the rock of the heathen, the gods whom they worship, are not as Jehovah, so the Rock of Israel must have given it into their power. Otherwise Israel would, as of old, have been victorious in the field, instead of as now recognizing its enemies as its judges. Deu_32:32 holds a similar relation to Deu_32:31, and Deu_32:30, as Deu_32:28, to Deu_32:26-27. Israel had placed itself on an equality, in pleasure and pride (Deu_32:15), with the Gentiles, and indeed with those of Canaan, against whom a previous judgment of God had long ago warned, and is soon therefore to be upon an equality with them, in punishment likewise, (Deu_29:22). Against Sack and those who with him apply Deu_32:32-33 to the Gentiles, Keil asserts “that throughout the Old Testament the corruption of the lsraelites, and never that of the Gentiles, is compared with that of Sodom, sq.; Isa_1:10; Isa_3:9; Jer_23:14; Eze_16:46 sq.” Their vine, so far as it is to be compared with any such, is of the vine of Sodom, is a scion from that, (רוֹש as Deu_29:17). Deu_32:33. “The sweetness of the luxuries was a bitter, fatal poison to the dwellers in the garden of God”. Baumgarten. As Deu_32:29 Moses, so now Deu_32:34 Jehovah breaks up the thought into the form of a dramatic dialogue. The position of the world to Israel should thus not be for the glory of its power, but for the glory of the Lord; Israel should be judged through the world, but from the Lord. הוא refers to the immediately foregoing, only so far as the corruption of Israel involves guilt which demands punishment, for as corruption is it plainly discovered, manifested, Deu_32:32 sq., thus in any case not “concealed,” as Schultz renders כמם, which is found only here. But the rendering also by “preserved,” or: “coiled up,” “shrivelled, bound,” (Isa_8:16) does not accord well with the sins of .the people as such; but does agree well with the guilt, the recorded guilt registers which were rolled together, so that nothing might fall out and be lost, Job_14:17; Hos_13:12, and Dan_7:10; but Psa_139:6; Mal_3:16, do not belong here. The sense is perfectly clear from the parallel sealed up, i.e., still secret, but to be opened in due time. (Dan_12:9). The treasures (treasure chamber) according to Deu_28:12 is heaven. Comp. upon the whole Deu_29:28. Deu_32:35. What it is which this refers to is designated here more precisely under the known prominence of the literal Supreme Judge, (Gen_18:25). לי not: “vengeance, as well as punishment, is prepared with me” (Herxheimer), which would be the same as Deu_32:34; but it belongs to me, is my part. The judge, the avenger am I peculiarly (Rom_12:19; Heb_10:30). נקם is destination, judicial sentence, decision, and hence first vengeance. שלם Piel: consummation, restitution, reaches to the end of Israel. When your support gives way, your pride, your secure confidence wavers, then is the time of God; for now, only kept sealed, but then also manifested where it was perhaps little expected, the day of their calamity is at hand. איד literally: crushing, oppressive burden. The singular includes all that shall come upon them, as that which is prepared (Deu_7:10). Deu_32:36. In which Moses again is the speaker, gives a new reason for the judgment in due time, and introduces also a new element. The mere fact that Jehovah appears as the one judging, allows us to infer a separation (Gen_18:23 sq.), or distinction. The solemn and formal עַמּוֹ, while hitherto גוי (Deu_32:28) or at most עם נבל־ Deu_32:6 had been used of Israel, renders that inference more probable. The parallel עבדיו strengthens it, since the word refers to the true servants, those who are faithful in Israel. The judgment as a sifting. The people of the Lord indeed in name, but in nature apostate (so also Heb_10:30) causes and experiences the judgment, which not only procures their right, does not prevent their punishment, but as generally, it procures right to the true Israel, who correspond to its idea, so especially by such a distinction it helps that part of Israel which constitutes this people of the Lord, to its vindication (Romans 11). Thus also the name of Israel in the best sense, is not extirpated, comp. Deu_32:26; as a sign of judgment so also of mercy. יתנחם. The sorrow of His own gives Him sorrow (Psa_90:13; Mat_24:22). His seeing corresponds with Deu_32:19 : there the apostacy, here the result of the execution of the judgment, which is such that it excites to compassion: power, with national strength, namely, run out, dried up, exhausted. אפם a noun which takes the place of a verb and signifies to cease, i.e., is no more. The fourth-time occurring paranomasia עצור ועזוב.—There is none shut up or left. Keil, Knobel: the married and single, i.e., all men. Baumgarten: the captive and freed-man. Ewald: close and liberal, i.e., all, as our thick and thin, is in any case a proverbial designation of persons; but scarcely of boys who were still at home, and those of age; scarcely also of the impure, who must remain at home, and in this reference the free, but either servants and freed-men, (עצור the ruled), or the men of rank (who remain in the house) and the common people. Schultz, Meier: the vassal and the lord, the borrower and the lender, or one bound to service, and the free. Understanding the expression of things, some render it: the shut up (treasures) and the left free (the herd in the field), the precious and the trifling, and the like. Israel’s nationality is at an end. Deu_32:37 corresponding to Deu_32:20. It is naturally not the servants of the Lord, Deu_32:36, who are addressed, since they have held fast to Him as their Lord, but the question concerns the larger part of Israel. Their gods, and with this the rock used ironically here is not easily misunderstood. Literally, Jehovah alone could be the Rock (Deu_32:30), but they have despised Him (Deu_32:15), and strange gods, Deu_32:16 sq., have become their rock, even a rock as that of the Gentiles, Deu_32:31. The theme of the song in all its variations is repeated. Deu_32:38. Sept., Vulg., Luth., Schultz, “Whose sacrificial fat they ate, the wine of whose drink-offerings they drank,” as if it was said of the Israelites, while yet both the fat is burned for the deity (Lev_3:3 sq.) and the libations are poured out before it (Num_15:5), and this is certainly to be specially retained here, with respect to the way of the Lord, in order to bring out more prominently the qui [quid] pro quo right. The gods ate and drank in this way (Deu_4:28); had in Israel so good an entertainment. Upon יקומו comp. Num_10:35. A covering and defence they could still claim from them, in any case it is the cloud pillar of Jehovah over His people which is referred to.
Deu_32:39. The connection through their own sight, especially with respect to that upon which they were visibly trusting, is an altogether fitting connection. Now, after the strange gods have proved their powerlessness. אני אני ,הוא, an emphatic repetition, and at the same time an exposition of the name Jehovah. There is no God besides (with) me (Deu_32:12; Deu_3:24), thus הוא is equivalent to האלהים; Jehovah alone the true God (Joh_8:24). Schultz: “Jehovah could not be the true being, having the cause of His being in Himself, purely dependent upon Himself alone, if He had any one beside Himself, which He Himself could not be.” Baumgarten: “Jehovah the absolute subject.” What this exclusiveness and unchangeableness of His being says in the sphere of His deity, that, the killing and the making alive (וַאֲחַיֶּה alluding to Jehovah, in any case to the immediately following חַי, Deu_32:40) the wounding and healing, say in the sphere of the becoming (Werdens) and the mutable, the creature. Kill, wound, at first because of the judgment; make alive, heal, in reference to the true people of God, the servants of the Lord, (Deu_32:36) by which contrast it was intimated that the suffering which they endure here,is salvation through the hand of God. Moreover ידי here and in Deu_32:40 forms an antithesis to יד Deu_32:36. The declared execution of the judgment in vengeance and in mercy is confirmed Deu_32:40, for men, and hence, in the divine condescending love after the manner of men, by the oath. To heaven— the throne of God, essentially as if it was: by myself, but formally as men are accustomed to swear, who by the lifting up of the hand confess and invoke Him (Gen_14:22). חי the oath formula: as truly as I live, by my life. What is sworn follows. The oath reaches over the whole world to heaven. Jehovah has to show the judgment, inwardly, with respect to Israel itself, in vengeance and mercy; and in the like manner also outwardly, so far as the future position of the world to Israel should be the right position, perfectly right; and hence it must be a final judgment over the collective enemies of the Lord. Otherwise it might occur, that as with Israel, their intractable pride grew out of their possessions and their apparent goodness, so with the others, the Gentile world, it might arise from their apparent powerful position. Comp. Deu_32:27; Deu_32:15). Deu_32:41. The warlike figure as in Deu_32:23 (sword, Deu_32:25). Entirely personal: my, sq., on account of the fundamental thought (Jehovah) of the prophetic stand-point of the song, and because the enemies of Israel as such could not come into view here, since it also is the very object of the divine judgment. Israel itself even is become an enemy of Jehovah (Deu_32:15 sq.).—Glittering (the flash) of the piercing (ברק) point of that in the hand of the heavenly hero, as the quivering flash of his sword.—Whet, denoting its preparation with all the earnestness of his zeal or anger. The judicial procedure (משפט) explains the sword which God grasps, and which He (ב) holds fast, until the judgment is completed. אשיב is explained through אשלם (Deu_32:35), as a retributive destruction. Deu_32:42. There is no exemption even of the captives. The divine arrows would become drunk as they drink the blood of the slain, as the divine sword would eat the flesh. פרע, to break forth, to be at the head, or in the front; hence Schultz: of the head, chief of the princes; Ewald: of the supreme ruler (King) of the princes; Keil, Knobel: of the hairy head (because פרע designates the hair of the head); others: “from the head of the uncovering (Lev_10:6) of the enemy, i.e. the uncovered enemy;” thus the destruction of the people as of their rulers (comp. Psa_110:5-6), or as a supplementary portraiture of the destroyed power of the enemy; the hair, as already the head, naturally symbolizing youth, wanton strength, pride, haughtiness, and the like. Comp. Hupfeld upon Psa_68:21.—[The rendering in our version has no foundation in the language itself, is not supported by other passages in which the word occurs, and breaks up the parallelism of the verse, the third clause being obviously related to the first, and the fourth in like manner to the second.—A. G.].
Deu_32:43 forms the conclusion, but in which also the divine mercy is announced in connection with the divine vengeance in reference to the world, those without or beyond Israel. As at the beginning, as especially at Deu_32:36, so now also at the close Moses takes up the word. If it was vengeance only which was in view for the Gentiles, the solemn, sacred summons to rejoice, which is directed to the Gentiles (thus at the end, as at the beginning, to heaven and earth with regard to Israel), would be simply fiendish. Comp. Rom_15:10 (Rev_12:10; Rev_12:12; Rev_15:3); Gen_12:3. The object of this loud rejoicing is His people, but is immediately set in its true light by His servants, as in Deu_32:36. (רנן in Hiph. with the accus. of the object is unusual, but surely to take עמו as in apposition with גוים, “nations which are His people” (e.g.Header) is still more unusual, and the way is not sufficiently prepared for it through Deu_32:21, or other passages. Sept.: μετὰ τοῦ λαοῦ αύτοῦ.)—[Our version follows the Sept., as does St. Paul in Rom_15:10. Nor does this rendering differ essentially from that which makes His people the direct object of the joy. “For the heathen here called upon to laud God’s people can only be required to do so when they have themselves received a share in God’s mercies to His land and His people, and had cause therefore themselves to rejoice with His people. It is apparent also that since the praise is to be addressed in the first instance to ‘His people,’ and not directly to God Himself, the mercies must be regarded as overflowing to the rejoicing Gentiles through and from the Jews. Nor can we imagine such praise to be bestowed by the Gentiles upon the Jews for such mercies whilst the Jews were themselves excluded from the same. It seems then that in this profound passage there is shadowed forth the purpose of God to overrule (1) the unbelief of the Jews to the bringing in of the Gentiles, and (2) the mercy shown to the Gentiles to the eventual restoration of the Jews (comp. Rom_11:25-36).” Bib. Com.—A. G.]—The blood of His servants appears as the blood of martyrs who have sealed their faithfulness to Jehovah with their blood (Mat_23:31; Mat_23:34-35; Luk_18:7; Rev_6:10; Rev_18:20; Rev_18:24; Rev_19:2). For the rest comp. Deu_32:41. Genuinely Mosaic is it to the last: to His land and people, the two fundamental references of the Pentateuch from Genesis onward. To which the remark of J. H. Michaelis well agrees, that in this song the enemies of God are peculiarly Israel after the flesh. How else indeed could the song be a testimony against Israel? At all events it relates to the guilt of blood, pressing as a burden upon the land, and at the same time the stain which through it comes upon the people, first of all upon Israel. Comp. Deu_21:8; Lev_16:33; Num_35:33; Zec_3:9. With this wonderful, mysterious tone the song ceases. (The close of the Old Covenant reflects itself in the way in which this song closes, Psa_22:27 sq.” Schultz.)
6. Deu_32:44-52. This passage commends itself to us as from a different hand than that of Moses (Introd. § 2). It is not against this view, but rather in its favor, that it is from the same hand which has added also chaps. 33 and. 34הושׁע, Deu_32:44, instead of the earlier constantly used יהושע, is remarkable. The former, his domestic name, denotes simply help, salvation; the latter, his more public official name, denotes that Jehovah is this or his help. The first natural name of Joshua would be most appropriate if he was the person who has added this section and the following chapters, especially that at the first opportunity at which it could occur, he should thus at the beginning designate the tone corresponding to his modesty. He was Hoshea, as he was the servant of Moses, and so he names himself again when he, in this writing, actually serves him. Comp. further Deu_31:30; Deu_31:19.—And Hoshea, thus according to the divine direction; Joshua only assisted. Comp. Deu_32:45. In this way Israel could reach the conviction of the entire accord between the predecessor and his successor. Deu_32:45. Comp. Deu_31:24. Deu_32:46. Testify, more exactly, which I take to witness, or better still, through which I lay down my testimony; a reference to Deu_31:26, but especially to Deu_31:19; Deu_31:21. It is the song pre-eminently which is intended, which should help to faithfulness to the law. Comp. Deu_6:7; Deu_11:19. Deu_32:47. The proof as Deu_30:11. רֵק, from רוּק (ריק), contracted from רחק, to remove, put far away. Hence מִכֶּם is neither: “so that it had no importance for them” (Schultz), nor as equivalent with “not more vain and empty than you yourselves” (Knobel). For the rest comp. Deu_30:20. Deu_32:48. The day of the song; thus this was his dying (swan) song. Deu_32:49. (Num_27:12 sq.) The particularity in the description of the locality should not escape notice; more appropriate for Joshua: than for God. Keil calls attention also to the imperatives. Comp. upon Deu_3:27. The plural, העברים, designates the mountain range on that side, east of the Jordan. The particular (הזה) mountain of this mountainous border of Moab is the הר־נבו. Hengstenberg, Hist. of Balaam. In this region (Buckingham, Travels) there are outlooks stretching from thirty to sixty miles in breadth, e.g. at Heshbon, from whence one can see Jerusalem directly to the west, and still more clearly Bethlehem. Deu_32:50. Comp. Gen_25:8; Gen_25:17; Num_20:25 sq. (Deu_10:6)—[Unto thy people seems to indicate something more than that the body of Moses was gathered with the buried dust of his fathers, and if not a proof of the immortality and consciousness of the soul after death” (Wordsworth), it is one of those passages which imply that truth.—A. G.]
Deu_32:51. מָעַל, to separate, to be rebellious, to act faithlessly. Num_20:12; Num_27:14; Num_20:13; Num_20:24.
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. What is said, Num_12:8, as to the distinct position of Moses, from the literal prophetic order, receives its full confirmation in this chapter. As God speaks to Moses without any reserve what related to the destiny of Israel and the world, literally “mouth to mouth,” it is a conversation or dialogue. The servant faithful “in all the house,” introduces the song in inspired faith and with burning zeal, accompanies and closes it with painful lamentation (Deu_32:29 sq.), yet not without blessed hope (Deu_32:43).
2. If Moses nevertheless is a prophet in the more general sense of the word, the בַּמַּרְאָה which is denied to him in distinction from the literal prophets, Num_12:6-7, and the וּמַרְאֶה granted to him, Deu_32:8 (although the latter is qualified and explained by בְחִירֹת (riddles) and וְלֹא), is intelligible through the figurative and generally poetical style of this chapter. We may say: the figurative term הַצּוּר for Jehovah, is perhaps from the תְּמוּנָה, which, according to Num_12:8, Moses saw.
3. Poetry and prophecy in their relationship and their difference. The relation is not a barely formal one. Goethe: “Poetry is inspiration,” which he explains more fully by “genius;” with which, for the Christian view of the world and life, there arises at once a distinction—a distinction like that between nature and grace. Comp. the excellent work of Sack (Songs in the Historical Books of the Old Testament, p. 3 sq.). Steinbeck, the Poet a Seer, Leipsic, 1836. Comp. Lange, Phil. Dogm., p. 367, 374.
4. But it is not poetry alone, music also, which here appears in the service of religion; the song, chap. 32, is not only a poem, it is at the same time a song. In the song we have the unity of poetry and music. Comp. the thoughtful treatment of the point in view here, in Lange as cited above, p. 375 (2Ki_3:15).
5. The parallel between the ancient classical poetry and the Old Testament poetry and prophecy. “The form, the beautiful, festive appearance,” rules in the former; “the living realities,” the vehement, struggling conflict which marks the progress of history (des werdens), for the latter. “There the beautiful is prominent; here the sublime, exalted.” Lange (Herzog’s Realencycl. 11 773).
6. It is as a festive celebration of the beautiful with the good (the kalokagathie), that not only the deuteronomic discourses, but the entire historical activity of Moses closes in poetry and song. In correspondence with this is the look at Canaan from Nebo, closing his life—the most beautiful image.
7. “The contents and connection,” Sack correctly calls “so great and comprehensive,” that he speaks here of the “prototype of all prophecy in a certain measure of the connection of the Old and New Testaments.” That which forms the contents of the word of God, the contents of prophecy in the narrower sense, that also forms the contents of this song: the law and the gospel. The thread of its idea runs from Israel, the people of God in truth (Deu_32:36), in order to reach the nations generally in the future (Deu_32:43). Tholuck designates it “as a prophetical theodicee of God in history.”
8. Whoever is accustomed to place the divine anger in opposition to the divine love will never win an understanding of the deepest and truest nature of this song. The “perception of the burning zeal of God proceeds from the zeal of His love” (Sack).
9. “The righteousness of God is not especially a judicial, punitive righteousness, but a forthgoing in the direct way of that justice, grounded in His eternal holiness and love, according to which His creatures must regulate their lives,” etc. (Sack).
10. The fact that the adoption belonged to the Israelites, Rom_9:4 puts beyond question. The parallelism there is in any case between υἱοθεσία and νομοθεσία, and so much the more truly, as throughout the (morally) filial relation, outward or inward, formal or essential, must be formed according to the conduct in reference to the will of the Father, i.e. the law. If we hold to the objective side, then the law demands love. Thus it includes the gospel, love; and there remains thus between the Old and the New Testaments a difference only of method; there the demand, here the fulfillment, of which the antelegal time forms the promise. Thus the law is an institution, and the Israelitish adoption is also an institution, not, however, a ceremonial, but political, i.e. Israel as a nation is the adoption of God, placed as His right, His house, His glory among the nations. “Limited to Israel as the chosen people, the idea is therein proclaimed, that God is the creative founder and builder of its theocratic life, cherishing and training Israel as a child. It is (Gal_4:1 sq.) the relation of a minor child, when in respect to the father, as is fitting the time of life, he is conscious only of that life-support in the form of care and guardianship, not the free spiritual communion which inwardly develops itself in riper years” (Beck, Christ. Lehr-wissensch. I., p. 344 sq.). It is not barely in a figurative (comparative) method (Hengstenberg); neither only typical (Lange). The typical in the Old Testament idea of adoption refers to the true Israel, and to Israel according to the truth. As to the subjective realization of the adoption of God, it does not require to be spoken to here upon this chapter: but its treatment properly belongs to the Psalms. It is not to be forgotten that the kernel of Israel, which comes into account here as to the adoption, appears rather as the servant of Jehovah (Deu_32:36; Deu_32:43). The stage of the Holy Spirit’s manifestation alluded to (Joh_7:39) is that of consummation (comp. Del., Bibl. Proph. Theol., p. 233 sq., 243 sq.), or better still, that of the seal, of confirmation, but not first of efficient working.
11. “The existence of Israel as a nation is indeed like that of other nations brought about in a natural way, not through a spiritual new birth, but still Israel has its remotest ground in the supernatural mighty word of promise given to Abraham (Gen_17:15 sq.); and a circle of wonderful, mighty proofs and gracious leadings have brought Israel from this starting point of its existence, to the goal to which it attained with the exodus from Egypt” (Del. upon Isa_1:2).
12. It is very strange when Sack in opposition to Schultz, calls “the distinction of a better kernel in Israel, conceded to the later prophets,” here “a forced distinction, and one which in this Mosaic work has no place, is not even intimated in the song.” So essential a view could not fail entirely in “the very magna charta of prophecy” (Hengstenberg); it must at least be intimated, although its actual carrying out may be handed over to that which follows. The distinction between the nation, and the people of God, the separation of the servant of Jehovah is truly Mosaic; not merely according to the narrative of the primitive and preliminary history of Israel (comp. upon Deu_32:5), which Moses gives, but directly through the events with reference to Caleb, Joshua (Deu_1:36; Deu_1:38), Phinehas (Num_25:7), the Levites (Deu_10:8; comp. Exo_32:26), and indeed through his own existence as the servant of the Lord above others (Num_12:7). On the other hand Schultz remarks upon Deuteronomy 30 : “In the most eventful moments of his life he had experienced that the Lord even then, when His anger burned most fiercely, and when He was ready to condemn Israel without any restraint, would spare at least him, the one, etc. He must have had the consoling conviction, without which he would not have had strength, even from the beginning, over against the general obstinacy of the people, that there was a sacred seed still existing, in order to produce from itself a new and better sowing for victory and glory. In the very being of God Himself, it lay concealed,” etc., etc. The exposition has pointed out the intimations in the song.
13. Sack, Deu_32:10 sq., opposes very finely “the view which has never yet entirely vanished, according to which the God of the Old Testament is pre-eminently a frightful and terrible God.” “It is the fundamental thought of the divine education of Israel to religious, godly sorrow, or a sorrow which works a change of mind, agreeing on one side with the drawing of the first man to love and obedience through the fullness of the surrounding glorious creation, and on the other side with the evangelical motive: Let us love Him, for He has first loved us.”
14. A superficial view only of the history of Israel reveals merely the opposition to Jeshurun; a closer examination will justly bring out the variance between the idea in Jeshurun and the reality in the manifestation of Israel. The history of the people is the history of this variance, reaches its greatest crisis when the Gentile judge repeatedly proclaims Him the Jeshurun, and Israel, on the contrary, cries: Crucify Him! crucify Him! A purpose fixed by God, which He realizes in the fullness of time through the Messiah, must verify itself also by the way, as drawing nearer this goal, however separated into its parts or elements in its realization. This is the truth of the divine word. “A deeper view of the history of Israel,” says Hengstenberg, “reveals to us, even in the most corrupt times, the existence of an ἐκλογὴ, to whom the predicate perfect belongs (?); the best evidence of whose existence is found in the judgment upon the dishonesty and unrighteousness of the people, which at all times comes forth from its own bosom. Where do we find such a morally reacting force among the Gentiles? So also the history shows that the times of corruption, in which honesty and righteousness are confined to the little flock, are ever followed by times of reformation, in which honesty and righteousness more or less penetrate the whole life of the nation. (The period of the judges already.) Israel is, especially in relation to the Gentiles, Jeshurun.”
15. The results of the sanctifying ordinances and institutions of Jehovah among His people entitle it to this name “Jeshurun;” of the law as giving the knowledge of His will; of the sacrifice especially as procuring the pardon of sin, of the Spirit working in the people, giving the experience of communion with God, the covenant-communion. It is equally erroneous to ground salvation upon a state or disposition attained subjectively by one’s own strength, and to regard this inward state as unnecessary (Hengstenberg).
16. The thought, Deu_32:26-27, is the more striking, inasmuch as after Israel, as this people, has come to an entire end, it presents its evil condition historically, and legitimates itself as a thought of God through the continuous existence of the Jews. Over against the hatred of the nations, foaming out in persecutions of the Jews (since the time of the Romans, especially in the Christian middle ages), its existence willed by God was strongly assured both through the remarkable outward means of existence (Deu_15:6; Deu_28:12), and through the peculiar inward and intellectual endowments which characterize it even to this day. (Keith, Witnesses, supposes their prosperity, indeed their wealth, to serve as the object of the threatened spoiling (28, 29?), and also for the approaching enrichment of the Israel of the future, formed again to a people; accompanied with the very singular remark, that their ill successes were limited to Canaan during the lime of the divine judgment upon them, as if under the Turkish power they could not prosecute their pursuits there as they could elsewhere!)
17. Israel’s end as to the flesh, Deu_32:29 (20), must be at the same time Israel’s completion as to the Spirit, and this is the Messianic horizon which environs this song.
18. The rejoicing of the nations, with which the song closes, sets in a clear light the conversion of the Gentiles as the consequence of the judicial sifting and destructive mighty deeds of the Lord upon Israel and upon the world at large (e.g. Heathen Rome). The first song of Moses already (Exo_15:14 sq.) dwelt upon the issues of the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. The resulting impression upon the contiguous heathen nations at first indeed an impression of alarm. The other side of the results of the falling away of Israel, both for the world and the Gentiles, is set forth by St. Paul, Rom_11:11 sq. Whether the πλήρωμα, Rom_11:12, brings into view another complement of Israel than that through the Gentiles, a rescuing, namely, even of the unbelieving part of Israel, and thus the entire conversion of the people is intended, or whether the gain by means of the whole Israel, which is the new true Israel composed of Jews and Gentiles, for the yet wider world and all the Gentiles, and thus the conquest of the race through the Church of Christ is intended, may be left undecided. Comp. Doct. and Eth. upon chap. 30.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
Deu_32:1. Luther: “It happens also that when God visits unbelievers, and lays hold upon them, they imagine that all the creatures have become their enemies. The whole creation agrees as a witness of the law with the law. Moses shows in this whole song the method of the law (Rom_4:15; Rom_7:7), and acts as a true preacher of the law. But he summons heaven and earth to witness, because he treats of so great a matter, which does not concern a kingdom, or gold and silver, but that which is of the utmost moment to every one, namely, either to have God, the fountain of all good, and with Him all eternal and temporal salvation, or to be eternally without either.” R. Bechai: “He begins with the creation of the world, and from thence onwards until he closes his discourse with the days of the Messiah.”—Heaven and earth as spectators, hearers and witnesses.—Jahn: “There is nothing elsewhere comparable to these first two verses in the boldness of expression.”
Deu_32:2. Luther: “When God’s word is preached purely then it is not as with human statutes, clouds without rain, 2Pe_2:17. But he sets the herb and the grass over against the stony ground and the sand; for it belongs to the word, that the doctrine should be healthful, and the hearers thirsty and docile.” V. Gerlach: “The richness and fullness can only be a fullness of blessing. For the severest punitive testimony of the law has a life-giving and invigorating efficacy for the true servant of his covenant God.”
Deu_32:3. Luther: “But the little flock, the believers and saints upon the earth, give the glory to God the Lord alone. But hypocrites and other godless persons, whatever they may confess in words, in heart rely upon their own goodness, wisdom, power, or look to men for help and consolation.”
Deu_32:4. Teller (Engl. Bib.): “It declares the eternity of God, the unchangeableness of His purposes, and the insuperable power of His majesty.” Baumgarten: “He had proved Himself as the Rock, both in Egypt and the wilderness, as He had manifested Himself as the only support in heaven or upon earth, for Israel.”—The Rock of Israel: Jehovah according to His work, ways, nature and attributes.—Starke: “The name of the Lord is a strong tower, Pro_18:10; Nah_1:7.” Zinzendorf: “Jesus is the true one, faithful unto death, in respect to His merits for us over death and the grave. A husband, who is perfection in His nature, has such an evil bride.” Schultz: “It is a great consolation that God is immutable in His power and will (faithfulness); that His way is right, He Himself without injustice, therefore, it is inculcated, because with this knowledge the punishment would not be received with incredulity.”
Deu_32:5. Richter: “The reformation corresponds with the redemption from Egypt; to the rejection of Jehovah corresponds, alas! the modern unbelief and apostacy.”
Deu_32:6. Herder: “God remains the father; but they cease to be His children, first by their wickedness, then in their destiny.”—[Wordsworth: “This is more fully verified in Christ, who hath purchased His Church with His own blood (Act_20:28; 1Co_6:20). Dost thou, O Christian, who sinnest against Christ, thus requite the Lord who bought thee (Judges 4)?”—A.G.]
Deu_32:7. Richter: “How many Christian fathers, alas! would now grow dumb at such questions!” Cramer: “The Church the witness of the truth.”
Deu_32:8. Schultz: “His own people must at last possess the whole earth, or bear away the spoil thereof; for the meek shall inherit the earth.”—God is the Highest; why should men flatter others and call them by this title?
Deu_32:10. Starke: “God finds us; His grace is all, and in all. He here appears as the bridegroom who goes out to seek His bride. Israel unmarried was without law, etc. He named him after His own name,” etc. V. Gerlach: “The wilderness is the point of departure, because of the vivid contrasts to the fullness of blessing of the land of promise. He finds Israel as a lost sheep.”
Deu_32:11. Bochart: “In the Old Testament the figure of the eagle; in the new that of the hen.”—Here Israel, the eagles brood, over the carcass of Canaan; later the Romish eagle over the carcass of Israel.
Deu_32:12. Jehovah alone; thus the song sings, thus the whole history of Israel proclaims, and thus the experience of all the children of God attests.
Deu_32:13 sq. When the Lord is the leader then is the victory and the blessing. The lofty flight of His people to victory, to proud security, to a full enjoyment of all.
Deu_32:15. Cramer: “Good times and plenty often lead to a contempt of the word of God and to many sins.”—[The temptations and dangers of prosperity.—A. G.]
Deu_32:20. Richter: “Hidden as the sun behind the clouds.”
Deu_32:21. Baumgarten: “In so far as all the Gentile nations rest upon the ground of nature, their national character is transient and no people; thus in the light of the full eternal truth all and every one of the Gentiles are foolish nations, because they are without the source of all wisdom, the knowledge of God, because they do not possess the law of Israel.” Deu_32:22 sq. Herder: “With such a prophetic outlook must the law-giver of the people close his wearied life.” Deu_32:29. Cramer: “Blindness and security precede the divine punishments.” Berl. Bib.: “Who is there who has shown sufficient earnestness, diligence and care in a preparation for his latter end? Where is the dying before one dies, the judging before one is judged?”
Deu_32:37 sq. Cramer: “There is no protection or help in false doctrine.”
Deu_32:40. What consolation still is heaven for the earth!
Deu_32:43. The penitential Psalm becomes a song of rejoicing, as true repentance ends ever in shouts of triumph. True repentance is true joy. The history of the world is not first a world-judgment, but truly a judgment of Israel. The thoughts of peace of the Eternal One as to the times, in the calling of Israel, in the fullness of the Gentiles.
Deu_32:46. Berl. Bib.: “The command is without force if the example is worthless. We understand correctly; for hypocrisy makes hypocrites. The divine life and work conceals and carries with it also a divine authority more than in all blows, cries and words.”
Deu_32:47. Sin is suicide.
Deu_32:48 sq. Berl. Bib.: “Thus the Lord prepared Moses for his death.”
Deu_32:52. Berl. Bib.: He shall not go in thither; as David also should not build the temple whose model he was permitted to see.
Footnotes:
[1][Deu_32:5. Margin: He hath corrupted himself.—A. G.].
[2][Deu_32:5. Margin: That they are not his children; that is, their blot. Schroeder, more literally: not his children—their spot—taking מום in the moral sense, as equivalent with stain or blemish.—A. G.].
[3][Deu_32:6. The word used here denotes rather the founding, or perhaps redeeming, and thus acquiring for himself.—A. G.].
[4][Deu_32:10. ובתהו, without form, Gen_1:2—A. G.].
[5][Deu_32:10. Literally: took thought for him. Schroeder supplies nothing after the נשׁר, and makes כְּ open the sentence, and the apodosis begin at once: as the eagle, He, etc.—A. G.].
[6][Deu_32:17. Shedim. Schroeder transfers the Hebrew. The root seems to mean to waste, destroy. Gesen. derives it from the root meaning to rule, and hence renders idols, lords. It is used here most probably with reference to the malignant, destructive character of idol worship.—A. G.].
[7] [Deu_32:19. Our version, while substantially correct, is needlessly verbose, and weakens the force of the original. Better:
And the Lord saw, and rejected,
Out of indignation, his sons and his daughters.—A. G.].
[8][Deu_32:21. The italics are not only needless, but impair the force of the original.—A. G.].
[9][Deu_32:22. Margin: hath burned.—A. G.].
[10][Deu_32:22. Margin: hath consumed.—A. G.].
[11][Deu_32:26. The verb פּאה occurs only here, and is derived from a root to which Ges. and Fuerst assign the meaning—to breathe, blow,—thus utterly to scatter them.—A. G.].
[12][Deu_32:27. Margin: Our high hand, and not the Lord, hath done all this.—A. G.].
[13][Deu_32:28. Schröder views this as the close of what Jehovah began to say in the twentieth verse, regarding the intervening verses as in a special sense belonging to the Lord.—A. G.].
[14][Deu_32:32. Margin: is worse than the vine of Sodom, taking the מו in its local, comparative sense, rather than as a partitive.—A. G.].
[15][Deu_32:35. Literally: To me is vengeance, and retribution for the time their foot shall shake. Deu_32:34-35 are marked by Schroeder as in a peculiar sense the words of Jehovah.—A. G.].
[16][Deu_32:40. Keil and Bib. Com. remove the stop at the end of this verse, and make 40–42 one sentence. There is no necessity for this, as the sense is equally clear with the present pointing.—A. G.].
[17][Deu_32:42. Others, following Gesenius, take פרע here for princes, and render, from the head of the princes of the enemy. But see Psa_68:22, which seems to confirm the rendering of Schroeder: the hairy head of the enemy.—A. G.].
[18][Deu_32:43. Or, Praise, O ye nations, his people. Keil: Rejoice, nations, over his people. The rendering of Schroeder is preferable. It preserves the distinction between nations and people which is insisted upon in the song, and supplies nothing to the text. The transitive sense of the verb, if not usual, is permissible.—A. G.].
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v2 My doctrine shall drop, &c.--The language may justly be…
My doctrine shall drop, &c.--The language may justly be taken as uttered in the form of a wish or prayer, and the comparison of wholesome instruction to the pure, gentle, and insinuating influence of rain or dew, is frequently made by the sacred writers (Isa 5:6; Isa 55:10-11).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv2–3 2. My doctrine shall drop as the rain —…
2. My doctrine shall drop as the rain — This may be rendered,
Let my doctrine drop as the rain,
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And my words fall as the dew.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–3 1. heavens … earth] To these he appeals, not…
1. heavens … earth] To these he appeals, not as witnesses of the divine events which he is about to declare (so Deu_4:26; Deu_31:28), nor as proofs of the regularity or goodness of the divine action (so frequently in the Prophets and Psalms 1[150]), but in the feeling that so great a theme—God’s dealings with His people—demands no less an auditory! The faith of the prophets (of so small and so irresponsive a people) in the infinite interest of their message, in its power of reverberating through the universe, is very striking. And such an assurance, because spiritual and not material, remains steadfast (Carlyle in some of his moods notwithstanding) whatever views be taken of the Universe, whether pre-Copernican or post-Copernican. It is the conviction of man which commands Nature, and not Nature which crushes the conviction. The Universe cannot silence, but must listen to, the spiritual truth. M. Henry interprets less probably: Heaven and Earth will listen sooner than this unthinking people, for they revolt not from their obedience to their Creator, Psa_119:90 f.
[150] Cp. Carlyle: ‘The stars in the heavens and the blue-bells by the wayside shew forth the handiwork of Him who is Almighty, who is All Good. In a bad weak world what would become of us did not our hearts understand at all times that this is even so?’ (Life i. 338).
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1–3. The Exordium
1 Give ear, O Heavens, let me speak,
And let Earth hear the words of my mouth.
2 May my message drop as the rain,
My speech distil as the dew,
Like mists on the grass,
And like showers on the herb.
3 For the name of the Lord I proclaim,
To our God give the greatness!
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–3 (1) Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will…
XXXII.
(1) Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.—Comp. the opening of Isa_1:2, which is almost identical, excepting that the two words for “hearing” are transposed.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. H. Mackintosh 1880 · Public Domain On v1 Deuteronomy 32
Deuteronomy 32
"And Moses spake in the ears of all the congregation of Israel the words; of this song, until they were ended." It is not too much to say that one of the very grandest and most comprehensive sections in the divine Volume now lies open before us and claims our prayerful attention. It takes in the whole range of God’s dealings with Israel from first to last, and presents a most solemn record of their grievous sin and of divine wrath and judgement. But, blessed be God, it begins and ends with Him; and this is full of deepest and richest blessing for the soul. If it were not so, if we had only the melancholy story of man’s ways, we should be completely overwhelmed. But in this magnificent song, as indeed in the entire Volume, we begin with God and we end with God. This tranquillises the spirit most blessedly, and enables us, in calm and holy confidence, to pursue the history of man; to see everything going to pieces in his hands, and to mark the actings of the enemy in opposition to the counsels and purposes of God. We can afford to see the complete failure and ruin of the creature, in every shape and form, because we know and are assured that God will be God, in spite of everything. He will have the upper hand in the end, and then all will be, must be right. God shall be all in all, and there shall be neither enemy nor evil occurrent throughout that vast universe of bliss of which our adorable Lord Christ shall be the central sun for ever.
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But we must turn to the song.
"Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth." Heaven and earth are summoned to hearken to this magnificent outpouring. Its range is commensurate with its vast moral importance. "My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass; because I will publish the name of the Lord; ascribe ye greatness unto our God."
Here lies the solid, the imperishable foundation of everything. Come what may, the Name of our God shall stand for ever. No power of earth or hell can possibly countervail the divine purpose, or hinder the outshining of the divine glory. What sweet rest this gives the heart, in the midst of this dark, sorrowful sin-stricken world, and in the face of the apparently successful schemes of the enemy! Our refuge, our resource, our sweet relief and solace are found in the Name of the Lord our God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Truly the publication of that blessed Name must ever be as the refreshing dew and tender rain falling upon the heart. This is, of a truth, the divine and heavenly doctrine on which the soul can feed, and by which it is sustained, at all times, and under all circumstances.
"He is the Rock" - not merely a rock. There is, there can be no other Rock but Himself. Eternal and universal homage to His glorious Name! - "His work is perfect;" - not a single flaw in anything that comes from His blessed hand, all bears the stamp of absolute perfection. This will be made manifest to all created intelligences by-and-by. It is manifest to faith now, and is a spring of divine consolation to all true believers. The very thought of it distils as the dew upon the thirsty soul. "For all his ways are judgement; a God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right is he." Infidels may cavil and sneer; they may, in their fancied wisdom, try to pick holes in the divine actings; but their folly shall be manifest to all. "Let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged." God must have the upper hand, in the end. Let men beware how they presume to call in question the sayings and doings of the only true, the only wise and the almighty God.
There is something uncommonly fine in the opening notes of this song. It gives the sweetest rest to the heart to know that however man and even the People of God may fail and come to ruin, yet we have to do with One who abideth faithful and can not deny Himself, whose ways are absolutely perfect, and who, when the enemy has done his very utmost, and brought all his malignant designs to a head, shall glorify Himself and bring in universal and everlasting blessedness.
True, He has to execute judgement upon man’s ways. He is constrained to take down the rod of discipline and use it, at times, with terrible severity upon His own people. He is perfectly intolerant of evil in those who bear His holy Name. All this comes out, with special solemnity in the song before us. Israel’s ways are exposed and dealt with unsparingly; nothing is allowed to pass; all is set forth with holy precision and faithfulness. Thus we read, "They have corrupted themselves; their spot is not the spot of his children; they are a perverse and crooked generation. Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?"
Here we have the first note of reproof, in this song; but no sooner has it fallen on the ear than it is followed by a most precious outpouring of testimony to the goodness, loving kindness, faithfulness, and tender mercy of Jehovah, the Elohim of Israel, and the Most High, or Elion of all the earth. "Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations; ask thy father, and he will show thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee; when the Most High [God’s millennial title] divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel."
What a glorious fact is here unfolded to our view! A fact but little understood or taken account of by the nations of the earth. How little do men consider that, in the original settlement of the great national boundaries, the Most High had direct reference to "the children of Israel"! That thus it was, and the reader should seek to grasp this grand and intensely interesting fact. When we look at Geography and History from a divine standpoint, we find that Canaan and the seed of Jacob are God’s centre. Yes; Canaan, a little strip of land, lying along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, with an area of eleven thousand square miles, about a third of the extent of Ireland is the centre of God’s geography; and the twelve tribes of Israel are the central object of God’s history. How little have geographers and historians thought of this! They have described countries, and written the history of nations which in geographical extent and political importance far outstrip Palestine and its people, according to human thinking, but which, in God’s account, are as nothing compared with that little strip of land which He deigns to call His own, and which it is His fixed purpose to inherit through the seed of Abraham His friend.*
{*How true it is that God’s thoughts are not man’s thoughts, or His ways as man’s ways? Man attaches importance to extensive territories, material strength, pecuniary resources, well-disciplined armies, powerful fleets. God, on the contrary, takes no account of such things, they are to Him as the small dust of the balance. "Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in; that bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. Hence we may see the moral reason why, in selecting a country to be the centre of His earthly plans and counsels, Jehovah did not select one of vast extent, but a very small and insignificant strip of land of little account in the thoughts of men. But oh! what importance attaches to that little spot! What principles have been unfolded there! What events have taken place there! What deeds have been done there! What plans and purposes are yet to be wrought out there! There is not a spot on the face of the earth so interesting to the heart of God as the land of Canaan and the city of Jerusalem. Scripture teems with evidence as to this. We could fill a small volume with proofs. The time is rapidly approaching when living acts will do what the fullest and clearest testimony of scripture fails to do, namely, convince men that the land of Israel was, is, and ever shall be God’s earthly centre. All other nations owe their importance, their interest, their place in the pages of inspiration simply to the fact of their being, in some way or other, connected with the land and people of Israel. How little do historians know or think of this! But surely every one who loves God ought to know it and ponder it.}
We cannot attempt to dwell upon this most important and suggestive fact, but we would ask the reader to give it his serious consideration. He will find it fully developed and strikingly illustrated in the prophetic scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. "The Lord’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye" - the most sensitive, delicate part of the human body - "As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them upon her wings;" - to teach them to fly and keep them from falling "so the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him. He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock; butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape."
Need we say that the primary application of all this is to Israel? No doubt, the church may learn from it, and profit by it; but to apply it to the church would involve a double mistake, a mistake of the most serious nature; it would involve nothing less than the reducing of the church from a heavenly to an earthly level; and the most unwarrantable interference with Israel’s divinely appointed place and portion. What, we may lawfully inquire, has the church of God, the body of Christ to do with the settlement of the nations of the earth? Nothing whatever. The church, according to the mind of God, is a stranger on the earth. Her portion, her hope, her home, her inheritance, her all is heavenly. It would make no difference in the current of this world’s history if the church had never been heard of. Her calling, her walk, her destiny, her whole character and course, her principles and morals, are, or ought to be heavenly. The church has nothing to do with the politics of this world. Our citizenship is in heaven, from whence she looks for the Saviour: She proves false to her Lord, false to her calling, false to her principles in so far as she meddles with the affairs of nations. It is her high and holy privilege to be linked and morally identified with a rejected, crucified, risen and glorified Christ. She has no more to do with the present system of things, or with the current of this world’s history, than her glorified Head in the heavens. "They," says our Lord Christ, speaking of His people, "are not of the world, even as I am not of the world."
This is conclusive. It fixes our position and our path in the most precise and definite way possible. "As he is so are we in this world." This involves a double truth, namely, our perfect acceptance with God, and our complete separation from the world. We are in the world, but not of it. We have to pass through it as pilgrims and strangers looking out for the coming of our Lord, the appearing of the bright and morning star. It is no part of our business to interfere with municipal or political matters. We are called and exhorted to obey the powers that be, to pray for all in authority, to pay tribute, and owe no man anything; to be "blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation" among whom we are to "shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life."
From all this we may gather something of the immense practical importance of "rightly dividing the word of truth." We have but little idea of the injury done both to the truth of God and to the souls of His people by confounding Israel with the church, the earthly and the heavenly. It hinders all progress in the knowledge of scripture, and mars the integrity of Christian walk and testimony. This may seem a strong statement; but we have seen the truth of it painfully illustrated, times without number; and we feel that we cannot too urgently call the attention of the reader to the subject. We have, more than once, referred to it in the progress of our studies on the Pentateuch, and therefore we shall not further pursue it here, but proceed with our chapter.
At verse 15, we reach a very different note in the song of Moses. Up to this point, we have had before us God and His actings, His purposes, His counsels, His thoughts, His loving interest in His people Israel, His tender gracious dealings with them. All this is full of deepest, richest blessing. There is - there can be no drawback here. When we have God and His ways before us, there is no hindrance to the heart’s enjoyment. All is perfection - absolute, divine perfection, and as we dwell upon it, we are filled. with wonder, love and praise.
But there is the human side; and here alas! all is failure and disappointment. Thus at the fifteenth verse of our chapter we read, "But Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked" - what a very full and suggestive statement! How vividly it presents, in its brief compass, the moral history of Israel! - thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not. Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee."
There is a solemn voice in all this for the writer and the reader. We are, each of us, in danger of treading the moral path indicated by the words just quoted. Surrounded, on all hands, by the rich and varied mercies of God, we are apt to make use of them to nourish a spirit of self-complacency. We make use of the gifts to shut out the Giver. In a word, we, too, like Israel, wax fat and kick. We forget God. We lose the sweet and precious sense of His presence, and of His perfect sufficiency, and turn to other objects as Israel did to false gods. How often do we forget the Rock that begat us, the God that formed us, the Lord that redeemed us! And all this is so much the more inexcusable in us, inasmuch as our privileges are so much higher than theirs. We are brought into a relationship and a position of which Israel knew absolutely nothing; our privileges and blessings are of the very highest order; it is our privilege to have fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ; we are the objects of that perfect love which stopped not short of introducing us into a position in which it can be said of us, "As he [Christ] is, so are we in this world." Nothing could exceed the blessedness of this; even divine love itself could go no further than this. It is not merely that the love of God has been manifested to us in the gift and the death of His only-begotten and well-beloved Son, and in giving us His Spirit; but it has been made perfect with us by placing us in the very same position as that blessed One on the throne of God.
All this is perfectly marvellous. It passeth knowledge. And yet how prone we are to forget the blessed One who has so loved us, and wrought for us, and blessed us! How often we slip away from Him in the spirit of our minds and the affections of our hearts! It is not merely a question of what the professing church, as a whole, has done, but the very much deeper, closer, more pointed question of what our own wretched hearts are constantly prone to do. We are apt to forget God, and to turn to other objects, to our serious loss and His dishonour.
Would we know how the heart of God feels as to all this? Would we form anything like a correct idea of how He resents it? Let us hearken to the burning words addressed to His erring people Israel, the overwhelming strains of the song of Moses. May we have grace to hear them aright, and deeply profit by them!
"And when the Lord saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of His sons and of His daughters. And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be;" - alas! alas! a truly deplorable end - "for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith. They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities; and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and shall set on fire the foundations of the mountains. I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them. They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction; I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust. The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs." (Vers. 19-26.)
Here we have a most solemn record of God’s governmental dealings with His people - a record eminently calculated to set forth the awful truth of Hebrews 10: 31, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." The history of Israel, in the past; their condition, at present; and what they are yet to pass through, in the future, all goes to prove in the most impressive manner that "our God is a consuming fire." No nation on the face of the earth has ever been called to pass through such severe discipline as the nation of Israel. As the Lord reminds them in those deeply solemn words, "You only have I known of all the families of the earth, therefore will I punish you for your iniquities." No other nation was ever called to occupy the highly privileged place of actual relationship with Jehovah. This dignity was reserved for one nation; but the very dignity was the basis of a most solemn responsibility. If they were called to be His people, they were responsible to conduct themselves in a way worthy of such a wondrous position, or else have to undergo the heaviest chastenings ever endured by any nation under the sun. Men may reason about all this; they may raise all manner of questions as to the moral consistency of a benevolent Being acting according to the terms set forth in verses 22-25 of our chapter. But all such questions and reasonings must, sooner or later, be discovered to be utter folly. It is perfectly useless for men to argue against the solemn actings of divine government, or the terrible severity of the discipline exercised towards the chosen People of God. How much wiser, and better, and safer to be warned by the facts of Israel’s history to flee from the wrath to come, and lay hold upon eternal life, and full salvation revealed in the precious gospel of God!
And then, with regard to the use which Christians should make of the record of His dealings with His earthly people, we are bound to turn it to most profitable account by learning from it the urgent need of walking humbly, watchfully and faithfully in our high and holy position. True, we are the possessors of eternal life, the privileged subjects of that magnificent grace which reigns through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord; we are members of the body of Christ, temples of the Holy Ghost, and heirs of eternal glory. But; does all this afford any warrant for neglecting the warning voice which Israel’s history utters in our ears? Are we, because of our incomparably higher privileges, to walk carelessly and despise the wholesome admonitions which Israel’s history supplies? God forbid! Nay, we are bound to give earnest heed to the things which the Holy Ghost has written for our learning. The higher our privileges, the richer our blessings, the nearer our relationship, the more does it become us the more solemnly are we bound to be faithful, and to seek, in all things, to carry ourselves in such a way as to be well-pleasing to Him who has called as into the very highest and most blessed place that even His perfect love could bestow. The Lord, in His great goodness, grant that we may, in true purpose of heart, ponder these things in His holy presence, and earnestly seek to serve Him with reverence and godly fear!
But we must proceed with our chapter.
At verse 26, we have a point of deepest interest in connection with the history of the divine dealings with Israel. "I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men." And why did He not? The answer to this question presents a truth of infinite value and importance to Israel - a truth which lies at the very foundation of all their future blessing. No doubt, so far as they are concerned, they deserved to have their remembrance blotted out from among men. But God has His own thoughts, and counsels, and purposes respecting them; and not only so, but He takes account of the thoughts and the actings of the nations in reference to His people. This comes out with singular force and beauty at verse 27. He condescends to give us His reasons for not obliterating every trace of the sinful and rebellious people - and oh! what a touching reason it is! "were it not what I feared the wrath of the enemy lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the Lord hath not done all this."
Can anything be more affecting than the grace that breathes in these words? God will not permit the nations to behave themselves strangely toward His poor erring people. He will use them as His rod of discipline, but the moment they attempt, in the indulgence of their own bitter animosity, to exceed their appointed limit, He will break the rod in pieces, and make it manifest to all that He Himself is dealing with His beloved, though erring people, for their ultimate blessing and His glory.
This is a truth of unspeakable preciousness. It is the fixed purpose of Jehovah to teach all the nations of the earth that Israel has a special place in His heart, and a destined place of pre-eminence on the earth. This is beyond all question. The pages of the prophets furnish a body of evidence perfectly unanswerable on the point. If nations forget or oppose, so much the worse for them. It is utterly vain for them to attempt to countervail the divine purpose, for they may rest assured that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will confound every scheme formed against the people of His choice. Men may think, in their pride and folly, that their hand is high, but they will have to learn that God’s hand is higher still.
But our space does not admit of our dwelling upon this deeply interesting subject; we must allow the reader to pursue it for himself, in the light of holy scripture. He will find it a most profitable and refreshing study. Most gladly would we accompany him through the precious pages of the prophetic scriptures, but we must just now confine ourselves to the magnificent song which is in itself a remarkable epitome of the entire teaching on the point - a brief, but comprehensive and impressive history of God’s ways with Israel and Israel’s ways with God, from first to last - a history strikingly illustrative of the great principles of grace, law, government and glory.
At verse 29, we have a very touching appeal. "O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end? How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up? For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges." - There is, there can be but the one Rock, blessed, throughout all ages be His glorious Name! - "For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter; their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps."
Terrible picture of a people’s moral condition drawn by a master hand! Such is the divine estimate of the real state of all those whose rock was not as the Rock of Israel. But a day of vengeance will come. It is delayed, in long-suffering mercy, but it will come as sure as there is a God on the throne of heaven. A day is coming when those nations which have dealt proudly with Israel shall have to answer at the bar of the Son of man for their conduct, hear His solemn sentence, and meet His unsparing wrath.
"Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures? To me belongeth vengeance, and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste. For the Lord shall judge [vindicate, defend or avenge] his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up or left." Precious grace for Israel, by-and-by - for each, for all, now, who feel and own their need!
"And he shall say, "Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted: which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you and be your protection. See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound and I heal:" - wound in governmental wrath, and heal in pardoning grace; all homage to His great and holy Name, throughout the everlasting ages! - "neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand. For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever." - Glory be to God in the highest! Let all created intelligences adore His matchless Name! - "If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgement," - as it most assuredly, will - "l will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me" - whoever and wherever they are. Tremendous sentence for all whom it may concern - for all haters of God - all lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God! - "I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy."
Here we reach the end of the heavy record of judgement, wrath and vengeance, so briefly presented in this song of Moses, but so largely unfolded throughout the prophetic scriptures. The reader can refer, with much interest and profit, to Ezekiel 38 and 39, where we have the judgement of Gog and Magog, the great northern foe who is to come up, at the end, against the land of Israel and there meet his ignominious fall and utter destruction.
He may also turn to Joel 3 which opens with words of balm and consolation for the Israel of the future. "For behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land." Thus he will see how perfectly the voices of the prophets harmonise with the song of Moses; and how fully, how clearly, and how unanswerably, in both the one and the other, does the Holy Ghost set forth and establish the grand truth of Israel’s future restoration, supremacy and glory.
And then how truly delightful is the closing note of our song! How magnificently it places the topstone upon the whole superstructure! All the hostile nations are judged, under whatever style or title they appear upon the scene, whether it be Gog and Magog, the Assyrian, or the king of the north - all the foes of Israel shall be confounded and consigned to everlasting perdition, and then this sweet note falls upon the ear, "REJOICE, O YE NATIONS, WITH HIS PEOPLE; FOR HE WILL AVENGE THE BLOOD OF HIS SERVANTS, AND WILL RENDER VENGEANCE TO HIS ADVERSARIES, AND WILL BE MERCIFUL UNTO HIS LAND AND TO HIS PEOPLE"
Here ends this marvellous song, one of the very finest, fullest and most forcible utterances in the whole Volume of God. It begins and ends with God, and takes in, in its comprehensive range, the history of His earthly people Israel, past, present and future. It shows us the ordering of the nations in direct reference to the divine purpose as to the seed of Abraham. It unfolds the final judgement of all those nations that have acted or shall yet act in opposition to the chosen seed; and then when Israel is fully restored and blessed, according to the covenant made with their fathers, the saved nations are summoned to rejoice with them.
How glorious is all this! What a splendid circle of truths is presented to the vision of our souls in the thirty-second chapter of Deuteronomy! Well may it be said, "God is the Rock, his work is perfect." Here the heart can rest, in holy tranquillity, come what may. Everything may go to pieces in man’s hand; all that is merely human may and must issue in hopeless wreck and ruin; but "The Rock" shall stand for ever, and every "work" of the divine Hand shall shine in everlasting perfection to the glory of God and the perfect blessing of His people.
Such, then, is the song of Moses; such its scope, range and application. The intelligent reader does not need to be told that the church of God, the body of Christ, the mystery of which the blessed apostle Paul was made the minister, finds no place in this song. When Moses wrote this song, the mystery of the church lay hid in the bosom of God. If we do not see this, we are wholly incompetent to interpret or even to understand the holy scriptures. To a simple mind, taught exclusively by scripture, it is as clear as a sunbeam that the song of Moses has for its thesis the government of God, in connection with Israel and the nations; for its sphere, the earth; and for its centre, the land of Canaan.
"And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun. And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel; and he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law. For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life; and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it" (Vers. 44-47.)
Thus, from first to last, through every section of this precious book of Deuteronomy, we find Moses, that beloved and most honoured servant of God, urging upon the people the solemn duty of implicit, unqualified, hearty obedience to the word of God. In this lay the precious secret of life, peace, progress, prosperity, all. They had nothing else to do but obey. Blessed business! Happy holy duty! May it be ours, beloved reader, in this day of conflict and confusion in the which man’s will is so fearfully dominant. The world, and the so-called church are rushing on together, with appalling rapidity, along the dark pathway of self-will - a pathway which must end in the blackness of darkness for ever. Let us bear this in mind, and earnestly seek to tread the narrow path of simple obedience to all the precious commandments of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Thus shall our hearts be kept in sweet peace; and although we may seem to the men of this world, and even to professing Christians to be odd and narrow-minded, let us not be moved, the breadth of a hair, from the path indicated by the word of God. May the word of Christ dwell in us richly, and the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, until the end?
It is very remarkable, and indeed eminently impressive, to find our chapter closing with another reference to Jehovah’s governmental dealing with His beloved servant Moses. "And the Lord spake unto Moses that self-same day" - the very day in which he uttered his song in the ears of the people - "saying, Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession; and die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people; because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel. Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel." (Vers. 48-52)
How solemn and soul-subduing is the government of God! Surely it ought to make the heart tremble at the very thought of disobedience. If such an eminent servant as Moses was judged for speaking unadvisedly with his lips, what will be the end of those who live from day to day, week to week, month to month, and year to year, in deliberate and habitual neglect of the plainest commandments of God, and positive self-willed rejection of His authority?
Oh! for a lowly mind, a broken and contrite heart! This is what God looks for and delights in; it is with such He can make His blessed abode. "To this man will I look, even to him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word." God in His infinite goodness, grant much of this sweet spirit to each of His beloved children, for Jesus Christ’s sake!
C. H. Mackintosh, Notes on the Pentateuch — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1–3 In accordance with the Divine injunction, Moses composed an…
SONG OF MOSES AND ANNOUNCEMENT OF HIS DEATH.
In accordance with the Divine injunction, Moses composed an ode, which he recited in the hearing of the people, and committed to writing, to remain with them as a witness for God against them. With this end in view, the ode is directed principally to a contrasting of the unchanging faithfulness of the Almighty with the anticipated perversity and unfaithfulness of his people. The poem may be divided into six parts.
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1. An introduction (vers. 1-3), in which the importance of the doctrine to be delivered is announced.
2. The blamelessness and excellency of Jehovah are placed in contrast with the corruptness and perversity of Israel (vers. 4, 5).
3. The folly and ingratitude of the rebellious people is dwelt upon (vers. 718).
4. The purpose of God to punish and reject the rebellious generation is declared (vers. 19-23).
5. The fulfillment of this purpose in the judgments which should come upon the rebels, whilst mercy and favor should be showed to those that repented and were humbled under the hand of God (vers. 24-34).
6. And finally, the judgment which God would execute on the enemies of Israel, and the mercy he would show to his servants (vers. 35-43).
In this ode plane divine" (Lowth) Moses displays the genius of the poet, as in the other parts of this book he has showed the sagacity of the legislator and the skill of the orator. Vigor of diction, elevation of sentiment, vivacity of representation, beauty and sublimity of imagery, characterize this ode throughout. Nor is the piety less noticeable than the poetry; zeal for God, earnest desire far his honor, and devout reverence of his majesty pervade and inspire the whole. Remarkable also is this ode in relation to the later prophetic utterances in Israel. "It is the compendious anticipatory sketch and the common watchword of all prophecy, and stands related to it as fundamentally as the Decalogue to all laws, and the Lord"s Prayer to all prayers. The legislator has here condensed in a song the prophetic contents of his last address, (De 27 De 28 De 29 De 30) wherewith he lives on in the memory and mouth of the people. He here sets before them their whole history to the end of the days. In this ode, each age of Israel has a mirror of its present condition and future fate. This mirror prophecy holds up before its contemporaries" (Delitzsch, "Jesaias," s. 33).
Heaven and earth are summoned to hearken to his words, both because of their importance, and because heaven and earth were interested, so to speak, as witnesses of the manifestation of God"s righteousness and faithfulness about to be celebrated. (cf. Deu_4:26 Deu_30:19 Deu_31:28, Deu_31:29; Isa_1:2; Jer_2:12 Jer_22:29)
Vers. 1-4. God the believer"s Rock.
change: principles never." So have we had often to remark in discovering in and developing from this book the everlasting principles which are therein set in archaic forms. The song of Moses here recorded will yield us many illustrations of this kind of teaching. Its first four versos suggest three lines of thought.
I THERE IS HERE A REVEALED DOCTRINE CONCERNING GOD. In the last song which the old man utters ere he climbs the mount of Nebo to die, he declares, "I will publish the Name of the Lord.
1. This Name is "Jehovah." The word involves self-existence, self-sufficiency, immutability, pure being, personality. "I am that I am" expresses all this. It would be a burning shame for any one to apply the term "anthropomorphic" to such a revelation as this. Such a conception may be revealed to man, but assuredly it borrows naught from him.
2. To this Being, greatness is ascribed; i.e. royal magnificence and splendor. The sovereignty of heaven and earth is there!
3. All moral perfections are in the" Name "of God (cf. Exo_34:6, Exo_34:7)
4. His work is perfect. The revealed attributes of God warrant us in drawing this conclusion. The intention of Moses here is to set the perfection of God"s work over against the sin of man"s.
5. His ways are judgment; i.e. they are according to justice.
6. He is the Rock. This epithet is a "piece of Mosaic." It was indeed used by others long after. But the use of it began with Moses. On the rocks of Sinai was the Law proclaimed. In the rock-cleft was Moses hidden. From the smitten rock the waters gushed forth. How natural for Moses to apply this figure to the eternal God! In ver. 31, Moses speaks of God as our Rock." He was known to Israel as theirs, their own firm, changeless ground of strength, through all the changing years!
II THIS DOCTRINE OF THE LIVING GOD AS THE ROCK IS FRAUGHT WITH COMFORT AND REFRESHMENT FOR MAN (ver. 2); i.e. what the rain is to the herb, what the showers are to the grass, that is this teaching concerning God to the soul of man.
1. Our heart wants God. (Psa_84:2)
2. Such a God this God is as rain and as dew: refreshing, enlivening, restoring.
3. This doctrine of God is meant to make the heart productive of holiness. God"s revelation of himself is meant to draw men to himself; in doing this God saves them!
III THE DOCTRINE THUS PROPOUNDED DESERVES TO BE UNIVERSALLY HEARD, LISTENED TO, AND BELIEVED. (Ver. 1.) Moses would summon all to hear it. It is
1. For all classes.
2. For all lands.
3. For all the ages.
The day will never come when this doctrine of God will be obsolete never!
HOMILIES BY J. ORR. Vers. 1-3. Beneficial teaching.
Moses was directed to instruct the people by composing for their use. (Deu_31:19, Deu_31:21) A song is:
1. Memorable.
2. Easily handed down from mouth to mouth.
3. Of singular power to awaken sympathetic feeling (cf. influence of ballads, of Jacobite songs, of the "Marseillaise," of popular hymns). The action of song is not violent, but gentle and persuasive. It steals about the heart like rippling water or like sunlight, trickles into its pores, works as if by spirit-influence on its seats of laughter and tears, explores its innermost labyrinths of feeling. Here compared (ver. 2) to the gently distilling dew and rain.
I THE DEW AND RAIN AS EMBLEMS OF THE TEACHING MOST LIKELY TO PROVE EFFECTIVE. Their action is:
(1) gentle,
(2) silent,
(3) pervasive,
(4) kindly; yet:
1. Invigorative. They revive, refresh, stimulate.
2. Powerful Rocks shattered by drops of water in their pores and crevices.
3. Deep-reaching. They act on plants by watering their roots. Take a lesson from them. It is not the best kind of teaching which is loud and violent, which tries to force men"s convictions. Convictions must have time to grow. Teaching must be loving. The earthquake, the whirlwind, the fire, have their own place, but "the still small voice" is needed to succeed them. The Lord is peculiarly in that. Angry scolding, petulant rebuke, biting censure, clever satire, seldom do much good. Love alone wins the day.
II THE DEW AND RAIN AS EMBLEMS OF THE TEACHING MOST SUITABLE IN THE INSTRUCTIONS OF RELIGION. Moses employed it here. Christ employed it. "He shall not strive nor cry," etc.. (Mat_12:19) Paul commends "truthing it in love". (Eph_4:15) "The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves". (2Ti_2:24, 2Ti_2:25) This kind of teaching harmonizes best:
1. With the subject of religion Name of the Lord" (ver. 3). God had revealed his Name to Moses, (Exo_34:6, Exo_34:7) and the attributes of mercy preponderate.
2. With the end of religion the ascription of greatness to God (ver. 3). Religious teaching fails if it does not inspire men with such convictions of God"s greatness as will lead them to fear, honor, worship, praise, and serve him.
3. With the special theme of the gospel peace, love, good will to men. This song of Moses has to deal with stern truths, but even in its sternest passages it breathes the pathos of tender and sorrowful affection. It dwells largely on God"s kindnesses and the people"s ingratitude, and ends with loving promises. The song has numerous echoes in Isaiah. J.O.
HOMILIES BY R.M. EDGAR Vers. 1-14. The fatherhood of God.
In this first section of the Divine song, the predominating idea is God"s fatherhood. It comes out in ver. 6 in express terms; it is implied in the care that is attributed to him for his children of Israel; it passes into the still tenderer idea of motherhood in the illustration of the eagle (ver. 11); and may fairly be taken as the idea dominating the whole. It has been thought that the fatherhood of God is almost altogether a New Testament idea; but we have it here expressly stated, and it underlies many portions of the Old Testament. This whole song is, in fact, a paternal expostulation with children that have been wayward in the wilderness, and will be more wayward still in the land of promise. We shall notice in order the ideas suggested by this section.
I FERTILIZING DOCTRINE. Divine doctrine, even in its severest forms, has a gracious and fertilizing influence like rain or dew. It comes down upon the wilderness of human nature, and makes it a fruitful field. It comes down upon the tender herb of implanted graces, upon the grass of humble and useful piety, and makes all to grow more luxuriantly. Nothing is so important as "good doctrine.
II THE ROCK-STABILITY OF GOD. This is the first inquiry. Can God be trusted as truly stable? The answer is that he is a Rock, and that upon his veracity and justice and helpfulness we can constantly rely. Moses and the Israelites had experienced this; as they wandered amid the rocky fastnesses of the desert, they had found him as firm and as reliable as the rocks. Up to this time, the figure had not been applied to God. The Israelites have, indeed, from the hard and flinty rock, had refreshing streams; the rock was to them a fountain of waters; and doubtless when here the figure is for the first time applied to God, they would find it delightful to associate refreshment and shelter with him. Then in course of time it became a favorite figure, as the Psalms in many passages show. (cf. Psa_28:1 Psa_31:2, 3 42:9 62:2, 7 78:20, 35 95:1, etc.) And we rejoice to call our Redeemer "Rock of Ages," in the clefts of which, according to Toplady"s idea, taken from Exo_33:22, we can take shelter and feel safe.
III PATERNAL APPEAL. Although God is so worthy of trust, the Israelites have corrupted themselves; they are unwilling to have upon them the mark or spot of the children of God, but the mark of some other tribe; and so as a Father he appeals to them because of their ingratitude. Has he not made them, bought them, and established them, and, in consequence, earned a right to different treatment from this? Fatherhood has rights by reason of service which no grateful child can overlook.
IV PATERNAL FORESIGHT. He speaks next of the days of old, of the years of many generations, which the fathers and elders could testify about, during which time the Father was but evolving his glorious plan, separating and scattering the sons of Adam according to the interests and number of the children of Israel. At Babel and the subsequent migrations of men, "God so distributed the earth among the several peoples that were therein, as to reserve, or in his sovereign counsel to appoint, such a part for the Israelites, though they were then unborn, as might prove a commodious settlement and habitation for them." Noble foresight, worthy of an everlasting and infinite Father.
V PATERNAL INSTRUCTION. One element in fatherhood is a sense of possession in the children. The father rejoices that the children are his, and will not part readily with his portion. So with God. "The Lord"s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance." Out of this sense of property comes the improvement of the children by faithful instruction. Hence Israel were led into the wilderness, and their Father found them there, and led them about, instructing them, and keeping them as "the apple of the eye." It was the Father educating them through his own companionship, and leading them onwards in safety towards their home.
VI PARENTAL DISCIPLINE. The song introduces (ver. 11) the figure of the eagle, and the motherly discipline to which she subjects her brood. Naturalists tell us that when her young are old enough to fly, the eagle breaks her nest in pieces, in order to compel them to use their powers of flight; fluttering over them, that by imitation they may learn how to employ their wings, but, when unwilling to fly, spreading abroad her wings, she bears them upwards in the air, and then shaking them off, compels them to use their own exertions." From this Mr. Hull deduces the truth that "the Divine discipline of life is designed to awaken man to the development of his own powers." We see thus the kindness of the parental discipline, and that it takes motherhood as well as fatherhood to illustrate the Divine relation. (cf. Isa_49:15)
VII PARENTAL BLESSING. Having exercised such parental care over the people, the result was abundant temporal success and blessing. This is beautifully brought out as a "riding upon the high places of the earth." And then the whole panorama of agricultural prosperity is presented, "the increase of the fields" providing bread, the rocks affording shelter for the bees which extracted abundant honey from the flowers, the olives clinging to the flinty rocks and affording abundance of oil, while the kine in the fat pastures gave butter, and the sheep milk, and the lambs were choice food, and the rams of the breed of Bashan, while the finest wheat and the purest wine made the lot of Israel princely. It was a land of promise surely which supplied their wants in such a fashion. God"s goodness was exceeding great.
The "fatherhood of God" had thus its grand exemplification in the history of Israel. A Father who was firm as the rocky fastnesses around them and as reliable; who provided for his children long before they were born; who instructed and disciplined them, and brought them eventually to a splendid inheritance, might well look for their trust and obedience. The Lord shows a similar fatherly care still to all men, even those who do not return a filial spirit; and if, in his grace, they yield at length to his paternal appeals, then he comes and gives them a fellowship such as they never dreamed of. "He that loveth me," saith Jesus, shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him". R.M.E. (Joh_14:21)
HOMILIES BY D. DAVIES Vers. 1-6. God"s vicegerent as poet.
The true poet is God"s messenger. He that sings not of truth and goodness is not a genuine poet; he is but a rhymester. As the swan is said to sing sweetly only in the act of dying, so, on the eve of his departure, Moses sings his noblest strains.
I OBSERVE THE POET"S AUDITORY. He summons heaven and earth to hear. We read in ancient story that when Orpheus made music with his lyre, the wild beasts listened, and the trees and rocks of Olympus followed him about. This may serve as a just reproof to some men, who, having ears, act as if they had them not.
1. Heaven and earth may denote both angels and men. For even "the principalities of heaven learn from the Church the manifold wisdom of God.
2. Heaven and earth may denote all classes of the people, high and low. Frequently in Scripture great men are represented as the stars of heaven. The man of ambition is said to lift his head to the stars. The righteous are to shine as the brightness of the firmament.
3. Heaven and earth may denote the intelligent and the material creation. On account of man"s sin, "the whole creation groaneth;" and the effect of man"s obedience will be felt beneficially on the material globe. It will increase its fertility, its beauty, its fragrance, its music. "Truth" shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness shall look "down from heaven." "Then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice.
II THE POET"S BENEFICENT INFLUENCE. "My doctrine shall drop as the rain," etc. (ver. 2). This imagery teaches us:
1. The silent, unobtrusive power of truth. It finds it way, quietly and unobserved, to the roots of human judgment and feeling.
2. It is refreshing. What a draught of clear water is to a thirsty man, truth is to a healthy, active soul.
3. It is fertilizing. It nourishes all good affections, and strengthens every virtue.
4. It is most suitable. No fitness can be more manifest than dew for tender grass. Poetic truth is suited to every grade of human understanding.
III THE POET"S LOFTY THEME. His theme is God; but God is only known as he reveals himself in his Name.
1. He descants upon his majesty, his supreme power, and the splendors of his state.
2. He touches upon his eternal stability. What the unchanging rock is amid the shifting sands, God is unalterably the same.
3. He dwells upon the perfections of his character ("just and right is he"); upon the perfection of his works, which are incapable of any improvement; upon the perfection of his government ("all his ways are judgment"); and upon the perfection of his speech. He is "a God of truth." He alters nothing, retracts nothing.
IV THE POET"S MORAL PURPOSE. To restore harmony between man and God.
1. He proclaims man"s fallen state: "they have corrupted themselves." Human nature is not as it was when it came from the hands of God. Man holds this tremendous power of ruining his own nature.
2. The mark of sonship has disappeared. "Their spot is not the spot of his children." Childlike docility and submissiveness form the family lineament.
3. This depravity has spread like the virus of disease. The whole race is infected. "They are a perverse and crooked generation.
4. Such conduct is suicidal folly. It is most antagonistic to self-interest. No madman could have acted worse.
5. Such conduct is the basest ingratitude. "Do ye thus requite the Lord?" Consider his claims. Did he not create thee? Has he not been a Father to thee? Has he not redeemed thee? Tender expostulation with the conscience is the poet"s mission. For this vocation he has been specially inspired by God. A heavenly spirit breathes through his every word. No higher honor can man attain on earth. D.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv1, 3 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak.
Deu_32:1-2
Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak.
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Moses adjuration
Isaiah makes a similar sublime commencement to his prophecies, apostrophising heaven and earth in nearly identical language. Moses had already used the same sentiment in simple didactic form when he said, I call heaven and earth to witness this day, that I have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse, and thereby he explains the meaning of this more highly poetic style of adjuration. Such an adjuration indicates great intensity, elevation, and sincerity of feeling, while calling attention to the solemn importance of what is about to be said. It is like a heralds cry, the sound of the tocsin, or the summoning of an assize. For heaven and earth had both of them been witnesses of the covenant and giving of the law. By a sudden but suggestive transition we are introduced to the style and theme of the song. The change is from the awe-inspiring to the tenderest of moods; but it is made without derogating from the loftiness of the thought. The imagery of the gentle rain and the softly distilling dew is a fit sequel to the opening appeal to heaven and earth, and bespeaks attention to the source, the quality, and the design of the song.
1. Its source. The reference to dew and rain implies, first of all, that the whole subject, suggestion, and origin of the song is from above. Nothing but a voice Divine will ever avail to soften human nature, come home to the conscience, subjugate the will and reign in the affections. Ascribe ye greatness, therefore, that is, authoritativeness, unto our God.
2. Its quality. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew. The song is just the pith and substance of the Book of Deuteronomy; the distilled quintessence of the Deuteronomic law and covenant. It is a protestation that no community can ever thrive, surmount their dangers and slough off their corruptions, by simply confining their attention to earthly relations and requisitions. They need a higher motive and spirit of life as a sustaining and self-cleansing principle--in one word, a Gospel of God.
3. Its design. As the small rain upon the tender grass, and as the showers upon the herb; gentle, yet copious and penetrative; soft, seasonable and saturating; not like a sudden but soon spent thunderstorm, nor the beating of hail that dashes where it alights; rather like small rain, the softer it falls the deeper it sinks; or like the dew, the more insinuating it is, the more fertilising and lastingly effective. (A. H. Drysdale, M. A.)
My speech shall distil as the dew.
Gods doctrine as the dew
What a representation of gentleness! The doctrine shall not fall in torrents, but it shall drop; the speech shall not even be felt in its descent, for it shall distil. Yet who is it employs this gentlest of all gentle imagery? It is Moses: the self-same man who had pronounced the terrific judgments on Egypt. He had promulgated a system which was given forth in thunder, and lightning, and thick darkness, and a terrible tempest; the publication of this law was attended with the severest penalties. Notwithstanding every appearance to the contrary, it was true of every word which God spake by Moses, as well as of every word which Jesus spoke, that His doctrine dropped like the rain, and distilled like the dew. We need scarcely tell you that the term doctrine includes all Gods teaching in every portion of His revelation to man. It matters not whether truth be found in direct assertions of great principles, or whether it be wrapped up in the imagery of poetry, the shadows of the types, the facts of history, or the allegories of parables; it is all the same truth. Thus not only is every form of Gods Word doctrine, but in its fertilising effects on the soul may most appropriately be compared to the dropping rain and distilling dew. But in order to understand this gentle character ascribed by Moses to Gods doctrine, you must take heed that you do not fall into several errors which will perplex your belief in the dew-like influence of Divine truth. The first of these errors is to confound the effect of doctrine itself with that outward teaching by which it may often be set forth. The mere manner of teaching is no just criterion of the matter of teaching. There are differences of character which even demand differences of outward instruction. But, secondly, we must warn you against supposing that God does not sometimes adopt an internal as well as an external mode of teaching, which may appear to conflict with the statements of our text. How often do the threatenings of Divine wrath seem to lay hold on the spirit, and for a time keep it shrinking beneath the prospect of inevitable destruction! But notwithstanding these modes of teaching which God may often employ, yet we maintain that the substance of that teaching is what Moses describes it--gentle as the dropping rain, the distilling dew, the small rain, the soft shower. You will remark that the sacred writer declares that his doctrine is to be like small rain on the tender herb; and this sentence it is which explains the entire seeming anomaly we have noticed. Gods truth does not fall like small rain on the hardy, tough, strong herb, but like small rain on the tender herb. There must be a preparation--a softening of the soul to receive the gentle influences of the Gospel. And not only at our first conversion to God, but even afterwards, the herb may become hardened, and require occasional softening, before the small rain is given. The advanced Christian sometimes complains of waves and billows; he hears deep calling to deep at the noise of Gods waterspouts. But the sole reason of this is that there is some deficiency in the tenderness of the herb--some setting up of the head which needs the blast of the storm to bring it low, God loves not to see a proud look; He loves not a stiff-necked obedience; He loves not to find His servant chafing against the bit; He must have the herb tender. The ground being thus prepared, the doctrine of the Lord always drops as the rain and distils as the dew. But let us glance at a few brief practical truths which the imagery of our text suggests.
1. If you are watered by this heavenly dew, it must be all--pervading: Look at the grass after the dew has fallen; it is thoroughly covered with moisture; nothing saturates it so completely; a storm would not wet it half so effectually; the plant is all over the same; no leaf but it sparkles with dewdrops; no blade escapes; all are steeped in dew. Now, is it the same with you? The operation of the Spirit is always total and entire. All things become new where He works.
2. Then, secondly, recollect that another of the characteristics of this dew is its diffusiveness. Not only is the dew the most equal and general giver of moisture, but the plants which receive it pass it on to others. From leaf to leaf, and from blade to blade it falls, so that if you pass through a forest on a dewy morning it is one constant dropping. So must it be with the Christian. He is not only to be influenced by the Spirit himself, but by the aid of the same Spirit he must pass on that influence to others.
3. Thirdly, still another feature of this dew is its fertilising effects. It often falls most heavily at times of the year when drought prevails, and when the plants would otherwise be scorched and withered. Its final effect is not superficial; it does not merely wet the leaves and flowers, but it percolates to the very root. The dew thus develops itself in fruits: it waters the plant, and makes it bring forth abundantly. And so with our dew. Whenever the influences of the Spirit are felt, the fruits of the Spirit are seen.
4. But, lastly, another feature of this dew is that it will prove specially and abundantly operative in the time of trial. It is not when the sun shines that the dew falls; it principally descends when the day is wrapped in evening shades or when the morning is still hidden in twilight, or when dark night has already set in: so likewise is sorrow a time of special dew falling. When have the promises and love of God so gentle and yet powerful an influence as in afflictions sad hour? When are His cheering truths so sweet as when trouble embitters the soul? (D. F. Jarman, M. A.)
The dew of the Word
Distil as the dew. Who hears the dew fall? What microphone could reveal that music to our gross unpurged ears?
1. The dew distils in silence. So does the speech of God. In stillness Gods love is condensed into dew like communications; not read, nor heard, but known by direct power of the Spirit upon the soul. Not much in noise, turmoil, and bustle.
2. The dew distils in darkness. You look out some dark night: there is no storm, no rain, not the least token to your senses of what is going on. In the morning you see every blade and leaf tipped with a dewdrop, everything revived and freshened, prepared for the heat of the day. So His words fall on your souls in darkness, not with sensible power; nothing flashes out from the page, nothing shines to shed pleasant light on your path. You do not hear sound of abundance of rain, but the words are distilling as the dew and preparing you for day.
3. The dew falls not in one mass of water, but innumerable little drops. What one drop does not reach another does. It is not one overwhelmingly powerful word which does this holy night work in the soul, but the unrealised influences of many, dropping silently on the plants of the Lord; one resting here, another there; one touching an unrecognised need, another reaching an unconsciously failing grace. Each drop uncounted hath its own mission, and is duly sent to its own leaf or blade.
4. Sometimes Gods dew goes on falling many hours of night. Watches seem long, and starlight does not reveal it. But none is lost; some is already doing hidden work as it falls around the very roots of our being, some ready to be revealed in sparkling brightness when the night is over; lessons learnt among the shadows to be lived out in the sunshine.
5. The object of the dew is to maintain life in dry places and seasons. In rainless regions this is better understood. Any dry week in summer we see enough to understand the beauty of the figure. This speech is spirit and life to souls, however feebly, yet really alive to God. Dew does nothing for stones, nor a dead leaf. It falls on little fading plants, whose leaves absorb life, renewing moisture, and closed blossoms open out again with fresher fragrance than before. Dryness is more to be dreaded than darkness. (F. R. Havergal.)
Genuine religious teaching
I. Genuine religious teaching is gentle. Descends on the soul as the dew and small rain. The great religious teachers have been quiet talkers.
II. Genuine religious teaching is penetrating. Goes down through the intellect into the conscience and heart.
III. Genuine religious teaching is refreshing. Descends with quickening influence into the soul. (Homilist.)
Soothing nature of Christian doctrine
The lovely gentleness, the refreshing and cheering nature, of Divine doctrine is here most beautifully set forth. And, indeed, very useful is it that the amiable character of our blessed religion should be as much as possible presented to the view of men. For could they once see it they would be so in love with its beauty that their whole soul would be ravished with delight in thinking of it, and would teem with desire to be effectually possessed of it. But how is the beauty of religion to be shown to men? It cannot be really apprehended but by experience. Wherefore offer a fervent prayer to heaven for grace to dispose your hearts to receive this Word. We cannot be surprised at finding the yoke easy and the burden light of that Master who is thus meek and lowly in heart. He graciously promises that if we take this yoke upon us we shall find rest to our souls. This doctrine does, indeed, drop upon the souls of troubled sinners with the softness of a gentle rain falling upon a fleece of wool. Is, then, all forgiven? Am I cleansed from all my sin, relieved from all my guilt? Am I at peace with God? Do I partake of His love? Blessed is he whose unrighteousness is forgiven, and whose sin is covered. But when we come to consider the new life, the service of Christ, which must follow if we are to walk in favour with God, shall we then find this comfort and gentleness of Christian doctrine? Most assuredly we shall in the doctrine itself. The resistance which our passions and inclinations make to the Divine law causes all the discomfort and painfulness in submitting our hearts to be ruled by it. But it may be acknowledged that holiness of heart and life when attained may be comfortable, delightful; and yet a man may say, Doubtless it would be good for me to give up my unchaste and intemperate manner of living, but I cannot endure the self-denial necessary for it. A man may say, It would be good indeed for me to be a devoted servant of Jesus, but I don t know how to tear myself from my old habits, and leave my feigner companions. Could I see all this done, see myself become a new creature, and become associated with religious people, I believe that I could be happy. But now think of this one thing. What kind of Master are you called upon to serve? Is it not Jesus Christ, the kind and forbearing? Will not He be a gentle Master to you? With what gentleness is He represented administering spiritual food to the souls of His people! How considerate is He set forth of the different spiritual condition and circumstances of men, how tender to those who are in weakness, or in a great trial and difficulty! By the gentle influences of the Holy Spirit He can convert the soul, and change all its dispositions and affections. Thus will Jesus, in the most-gentle and yet the most powerful manner, lead those who commit themselves to Him. (R. L. Cotton, M. A.)
Doctrine as rain; speech as dew
The earth without rain cannot grow one tiny grass blade; when the clouds keep away the flowers hang down their heads, and shrivel and burn, and represent the very spirit of necessity and pain. We must have the black clouds; how welcome they are after a time of drought and scorching, when the earth is opening its mouth and asking for a draught of water! So Gods doctrine is to be poured out upon thirsty souls, burnt and scorched lives, ruined and unproductive natures. The rain plash is a sweet music, a tender appeal, a liquid persuasion. The rain will accommodate itself to all forms and shapes, and it will impartially visit the poor mans little handful of garden and the great mans countless acres. Such is the Gospel of Christ: it is impartial, gentle, necessary; it finds the heart when the heart is scorched, and asks to heal its burning, and to make the barren land of the inner life beautiful with summer flowers. We cannot tell how the Word gets into the heart--how softly, how silently: it is there, and we knew it not; we expected it, and at the very time we were looking out for it, it was already there; it is the secret of the Lord, and it moves by a noble mystery of action, so that no line can be laid upon it, and no man may arbitrarily handle the wealth of gold. As the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass. There shall be adaptation between the one and the other: if the herb is tender the rain must be small. Do not thunder upon us with Thy great power; do not plead against us with all the winds of Thine eloquence, for who could stand against the storm? On the other hand, the tenderer the grass the better it can bear even the scudding shower and the heavy downpour. Great trees are torn, or wrenched from their roots, or are thrust down in contempt, but all the grass of the meadow is but the greener for the winds which have galloped over it, or the great rivers that have poured themselves upon the emerald bed. Jesus will bless the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peace loving; but as for those who in heathen vanity set themselves up against Him, He will dash them in pieces like a potters vessel. The Word does not always produce an instantaneous effect: the Word has sometimes to filter well down into the thought and into the heart and life; and the Word does not report itself in the mere quantity of the doctrine, but in the greenness of the young grass, in the beauty and fruitfulness of the tender herb: no statistical return shall be made of the number of discourses heard, or the number of chapters read, but the life shall be the more verdant in spring-like beauty, and the more splendid in all the colouring of summer. (J. Parker, D. D.)
As the small rain upon the tender herb.--
Small rain for tender herbs
The highest power is consistent with the lowliest tenderness. He that is mightiest in word is mighty, not so much in thunder, and earthquake, and fire, as in a silent persuasiveness.
I. Moses meant to be tender. Moses intended, in the sermon he was about to preach, to be exceedingly gentle. He would water minds as tender herbs, and water them in the same fashion as the small rain does. He would not be a beating hail, nor even a down-pouring shower, but he would be as the small rain upon the tender herb.
1. And this is the more remarkable, because he was about to preach a doctrinal sermon. Does he not say, My doctrine shall drop as the rain?
2. It is equally remarkable that this discourse of Moses was a sermon of rebuke, lie rebuked the people, with no small degree of sternness, when he said, Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked; thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick; then he forsook God which made him. He warned the people of their great sin, and he did not hesitate to say, They are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them. Yet he felt that he had rebuked with the utmost meekness, and had still been as the soft dew and gentle rain. Upbraiding must be done in tenderness.
3. Furthermore, his style of speech was compassionately considerate, even as the dew seems to consider the withered grass, and the small rain to adapt itself to the tender herb. In his teaching he evidently thought of the feebler sort, and suited himself to those depressed by grief.
4. Furthermore, note well that the truth which our Lord spoke had always a refreshing effect upon those who were spiritually alive,. Our blessed Masters sermons were as the small rain upon the tender herb, not merely for the softness of their descent, but for the wondrous efficacy with which they came. His words fell not as fire flakes to destroy, nor as the dust from the wilderness to defile, but ever as the warm shower to cherish. So we learn that Moses meant to be tender, and Jesus was tender. What else do we learn?
5. Why, that all the servants of Jesus Christ ought to he tender; for if Moses was so, much more should we be.
II. Moses hoped to be penetrating: as the small rain upon the tender herb. Now, small rain is meant to enter the herb, so that it may drink in the nourishment and be truly refreshed. The rain is not to drench the herb, and it is not to flood it; it is to feed it, to revive it. This was what Moses aimed at. That is what all true preachers of Christ aim at. Why is it some people never seem to take in the Word, as the small rain upon the tender herb?
1. I suppose it is, first, because some of it may be above their understanding. If you hear a sermon, and you do not know at all what the good man is about, how can it benefit you?
2. Many do not drink in the sacred Word because it seems to them too good to be true. This is limiting the goodness of God: God is so good that nothing can be too good to be looked for from Him.
3. Many persons do not receive the Gospel promise to the full because they do not think it is true to them; anybody else may be blessed in that way, but they cannot think it probable that they shall be. Though the Gospel is particularly directed to sinners, yet these good folks think, Surely grace could never reach to us. Oh, how we lose our labour, and fail to comfort men, because of the unbelief which pretends to be the child of humility, but is really the offspring of pride! The small rain does not get at the tender herb, because the herb shrinks from the silver drops which would cherish it.
4. No doubt many miss the charming influences of heavenly truth because they do not think enough. Is it not strange that people should think sermons worth hearing, but not worth meditating upon? It is as foolish as if a man thought a joint of meat worth buying, but not worth cooking; for meditation is, as it were, a sort of holy cookery by which the truth is prepared to be food for the soul.
5. And, once more, we ought to pray that when we hear the Word we may be prepared to receive it: it is of great importance that we should open the doors of our soul to let the Gospel enter us. Hospitality to truth is charity to ourselves.
III. Moses hoped to see results. As the small rain upon the tender herb. Now, observe, in looking about among mankind, that whenever wise men expect any result from their labours, they always go to work in a manner adapted to the end they have in view. Finding the people to be comparable to tender herbs, he adapted his speech to them, and made it like the small rain. Now, what will be the result if we do the same? It will come to pass there will be among us young converts like tender herbs, newly planted, and if we speak in tenderness we shall see the result, for they will take root in the truth, and grow in it. Paul planted, and then Apollos watered. Why did Apollos water? Because you must water plants after you have planted them, that they may the more readily strike into the earth. Happy shall you be if you employ your greater experience in strengthening those whose new life is as yet feeble. Next, when a mans discourse is like small ram to the tender herb, he sees the weak and perishing one revive and lift up his head. The herb was withering at first, it lay down faint and ready to die; but the small rain came, and it seemed to say, Thank you, and it looked up, and lifted its head, and recovered from its swoon. You will see a reviving effect produced upon faint hearts and desponding minds. You will be a comforter, you will cheer away the fears of many, and make glad the timid and fearful. What a blessing it is when you see that result, for there is so much the more joy in the world, and God is so much the more glorified! When you water tender herbs, and see them grow, you have a further reward. It is delightful to watch the development and increase of grace in those who are under our care. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v1 Deuteronomy 32
THE SONG AND BLESSING OF MOSES
(A) THE SONG OF MOSES
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Deuteronomy 32
CRITICS have debated the date, authorship, and history of this song. For the present purpose it is sufficient, perhaps, to refer to the statement on these points in the note below.
But in discussing the meaning and contents of the song the differences referred to cause no difficulties. On any supposition the time and circumstances, whether assumed as present, or actually and really present to the prophets mind, can clearly be identified as not earlier than those of the Syrian wars. Accepted as dealing with that time, this poem takes its place among the Psalms of that period. Its subject is a very common one in Scripture: the goodness of Yahweh to his people, and their unfaithfulness to Him; His grief at their rebellion; His punishment of them by heathen oppressors; and His turning in love to them, along with His destruction of the nations who had prematurely triumphed over the people of God. Practically this is the burden of all the prophecies, as indeed it may be said to be the burden of the whole Book of Deuteronomy itself. Here it is stated and elaborated with great poetic skill; but in the main, the essential thought, there is little that has not already been elucidated.
As regards form the poem is among the finest specimens of Hebrew literary art which the Old Testament contains. Every verse contains at least two parallel clauses of three words or word-complexes each, and the parallelism in the great majority of instances is of the "Synonymous" kind; that is to say, "the second line enforces the thought of the first by repeating, and as it were echoing it in a varied form." But into this as a foundation there is wrought a great deal of pleasing variation. The two-clause verses are varied by single instances or couplets or triplets of four-clause verses; while in two cases, at the emphatic end of sections, in Deu_32:14 and Deu_32:39, the rare five-clause verse is found. Further, the synonymous parallelism is relieved by occasional appearances of the "synthetic" parallelism, in which "the second line contains neither a repetition nor a contrast to the thought of the first, but in different ways supplements and completes it," e.g., Deu_32:8, Deu_32:19, and Deu_32:27.
The contents of the song are in every way worthy of the origin assigned to it, and higher praise than that it is impossible to conceive. Beginning with a fine exordium calling upon heaven and earth to give ear, the inspired poet expresses the hope that his teaching may fall with refreshing and fertilising power upon the hearts of men, for he is about to proclaim the name of Yahweh, to whom all greatness is to be ascribed. In Deu_32:4 ff. the character and dealings of Yahweh are set over against those of the people:-
"The Rock! His deeds are perfect, For all His ways are judgment; A God of faithfulness and without falsity, Just and upright is He."
They, on the contrary, were perverse and crooked; and, acting corruptly, they requited all Yahwehs benefits with rebellion. To win them from that perverseness, he calls upon his people to look back upon the whole course of Gods dealings with them. Even before Israel had appeared among the nations, Yahweh had taken thought for His people. When He assigned their lands to the various nations of the world He had always before Him the provision that must be made for the children of Israel, and had left a space for them from which none but Yahweh could ever drive them out. For He had the same need of and delight in His people as the nations had in the lands assigned to them, the lot of their inheritance. And not only had He thus prepared a place for Israel from the beginning, but He had led him through the wilderness, through the waste, the howling desert.
"He compassed him about, He cared for him, He kept him as the apple of His eye."
To depict the Divine care worthily, he ventures upon a simile of a specially tender kind, rare in the Old Testament, but to which our Lords comparison of His own brooding affection for Jerusalem to that of a "hen gathering her chickens under her wing" is parallel.
"As an eagle stirs up her nest, Flutters above her young; He, Yahweh, spread abroad His wings, He took him, He bore him upon His pinions."
All the hardship and the toil were of Gods appointment to drive His beloved people upwards and onwards. Whatever they might think or believe now, it was Yahweh alone, without companion or ally, who had done this for them, borne them up through it, and had bestowed upon them all the luxury of the goodly land once promised to their fathers. Even from the rocks He had given them honey, and the rocky soil had produced the olive tree. They had, too, all the luxuries of a pastoral people in abundance, and the wheat and foaming wine which were the finest products of agriculture.
In every way their God had blessed them. They had all the prosperity which a complete fulfillment of the will of God could have brought, but the result of it all was unfaithfulness and rejection of Him. Jeshurun, the upright people, as the sacred singer in bitter irony calls Israel, waxed fat and wanton. Instead of being drawn to God by His benefits, they had been puffed up with conceit concerning their own power and discernment. Full of these, they had mingled idolatrous rites with their worship of Yahweh. He had suffered them to read the results of their own unfaithfulness in defeat at the hands of their foes.
Instead of seeking the cause of their ill-success in themselves, they had found it in the weakness of their God. All the victories Yahweh had given them over foes whose strength they had feared were forgotten, and they "despised the Rock of their salvation." They had adopted new and upstart deities whom their fathers had never heard of, who as they had come up in a day might disappear in a day, and neglected the Rock who begat them.
Yahweh on His part saw all this, and scorned His people and their doings. In a vivid imaginative picture the poet represents Him as resolving to hide His face from them, to see what their end would be. Without the shining of Gods countenance there could be but one issue for a people who were so faithless and perverse. He will recompense them for their doings.
"They made Me jealous with a no-God, They vexed Me with their vain idols, And I will make them jealous with a no-people, With a foolish nation will I vex them."
For the fire of Divine wrath is kindled against them. It burns in Yahweh with an all-consuming power, and fills the universe even to the lowest depths of Sheol. Upon this sinful people it is about to burst forth; Yahweh will exhaust all His arrows upon them. By famine and drought; by disease and the rage of wild beasts, and of "the crawlers of the dust"; by giving them up to their enemies, and by overwhelming them with terror. He will destroy this people, "the young man and the virgin, the suckling and the man of grey hairs" alike. Nothing could save them, save Yahwehs respect for His own name.
"I had said, I shall blow them away, I shall make their memory to cease from among men: Were it not that I feared vexation from the enemy, Lest their adversaries should misdeem, Lest they should say, Our hand is exalted, And Yahweh hath not done all this."
Nothing but that stood between them and utter destruction, for as a nation they had no capacity for receiving and profiting by instruction. If they had been wise they would have known that there was but a step between them and death; they would have seen that their deeds had separated them from Yahweh, and could have but one issue. Their frequent and shameful defeats should have taught them that, for
"How could one chase a thousand, And two put to flight ten thousand, Were it not that their Rock had sold them, And that Yahweh had delivered them up?"
There was no possible explanation of Israels defeats but this; for neither in the gods of the heathen nor in the heathen nations themselves was there anything to account for them. Their gods were not comparable to the Rock of Israel; even Israels enemies knew as much as that. Israel might forget and doubt Yahwehs power, but those who had been smitten before Him in Israels happier days knew that He was above all their gods. Nor was the explanation to, be sought in the heathen nations themselves. For they were not vines of Yahwehs planting, but shoots from the vine of Sodom, tainted by the soil of Gomorrah. They were, perhaps, in race, of the old Canaanite stock; in any case they were morally and spiritually related to them, and their acts were such as brought death and destruction with them. In themselves, consequently, they could not have been strong enough to discomfit the people of God as they were doing, nor could they have been helped to that by any favor of His. Only the determination of Yahweh to chastise His people could explain Israels unhappy fate in war.
But Yahwehs purpose was only to chastise. He was in no way finally forgetful of His chosen, nor of the ineradicable evil of their enemies nature. The inner character of men and things is always present to Him, and their deeds are laid up with Him as that which must be dealt with, for it is one of the glories of Deity to sweep evil away and to restore anything that has good at its heart. Recompense is Gods great function in the world, and evil, however strong it may be, and however long it may triumph, must one day be dealt with by Him. It is laid up and sealed
"Against the day of vengeance and of recompense, Against the time when their foot shall slip; For the day of their calamity is at hand, And hastening are the things prepared for them."
Without that, justice could never be done to the people of God; and justice should be done to them when they had been brought to the verge of extinction, when, according to the antique Hebrew phrase, there "was none fettered or set free," none left under or over age. Then when all but the worst had come, Yahweh would demand, "Where are their gods, with whom they took refuge, and who have eaten the fat of their sacrifices, and drunk the wine of their drink offerings?" He will challenge them to arise and help in this last disastrous state of their votaries.
But there will be no response, and it will be made clear beyond all doubting that Yahweh alone is God. He will declare Himself, saying:-
"See now that I, I, am He, And there is no god with Me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: And there is none that delivereth out of My hand."
In that great day of Yahwehs manifested glory He will stand forth in the fullness of avenging power. Before the universe He will pledge Himself by the most solemn oath to bring down the pride of His enemies. In a death-dealing judgment, such as is seen only when the evil elements in the world have brought about a mere carnival of wickedness, and only universal death can cleanse, He will recompense upon evil-doers the evil they have wrought, and to a renovated world bring peace. There are few finer or more impressive imaginative passages in Scripture than this:-
"For I lift up My hand to heaven, And say, (As) I live for ever, If I whet My gleaming sword, And My hand take hold on judgment, I will take vengeance upon Mine enemies, And I will recompense them that hate Me. I will make Mine arrows drunk with blood, And My sword shall devour flesh, With the blood of the slain and the captives, From the chief of the loaders of the enemy."
With this great vision of judgment the poet leaves his people. For them the first necessity evidently was that they should be assured that Yahweh reigned, that evil could not ultimately prosper. With their whole horizon dominated and illumined by this tremendous figure of the ever living and avenging God, their faith in the moral government of the world and in the ultimate deliverance of their nation would be restored.
The poem closes with a stanza in which the seer and singer calls upon the nations to rejoice because of Yahwehs people. The deliverance worked for them will be so great and so memorable that even the heathen who see it must rejoice. They will see His justice and His faithfulness, and will gain new confidence in the stability and the moral character of the forces which rule the world.
(B) THE BLESSING OF MOSES
Deuteronomy 33
Besides the farewell speeches and the farewell song, we have in this chapter yet another closing utterance attributed to Moses. Here, as in the case of the song, we relegate critical matters to the note below.
We must notice in the first place the remarkable difference in tone and outlook between the blessing and the song of Moses. In the latter evil doing and approaching judgment are the burden; here the outward and inward condition of Israel leaves little to be desired. Satisfaction is breathed in every line, for both temporally and spiritually the state of the people is almost ideally happy. Nowhere is there a shadow; even on the horizon there is scarcely a cloud. Now even an optimist would need a background of actual prosperity to draw such a picture of idyllic happiness for any nation, and we may therefore conclude that the poem has in view one of the few halcyon periods of Israel, before social wrongs had ruined the yeomen farmers, or war and conquest had corrupted the powerful. The nation is as yet faithful to Yahweh, and possesses in peace the land which He had given them to inherit.
The central part of the poem is of course the ten blessings promised to the various tribes, but these are preceded by an introduction (Deu_33:2-5), in which the formation of the people is traced to Yahwehs revelation of Himself and His coming forth as their King. They are followed also by a concluding section (Deu_33:26-29), in which the God of Jeshurun is declared to be incomparable, and His people are depicted as supremely happy under His protecting care. The language is in parts obscure, and though the general scope is always plain, yet there are verses the meaning of which can only be conjectured. This is especially the case in the introduction. Of the five lines of Deu_33:2, the fourth and fifth as they stand are hardly intelligible; the fifth indeed is not intelligible at all. In Deu_33:3 again, while the first and second clauses are fairly clear, the third and fourth are as they stand untranslatable. But the general signification of the introductory verses (Deu_33:2-5) is that the Divine revelation of Himself which Yahweh bestowed upon His people as He came with them from Sinai, Paran, and Seir through the wilderness, and the establishment of the covenant which made Yahweh Israels King, together with the bestowal of an inheritance upon them, is the foundation and beginning of that happiness which is to be described. It is all traced back to the "dawning" of God upon them, His "shining out" upon them from Sinai, and Seir, and Paran. These are named simply as the most prominent ports in that region whence the people came out into Canaan, and where the great revelation had been bestowed. God had risen like the sun and had Shed forth light upon them there, so that they walked no more in darkness. The sight of God was, on this view, the great and fundamental fact in the history of the chosen people. They, like all who have seen that great sight, were henceforth separate from others, with different duties and obligations, with hopes and desires and joys unknown to all beside. And the ground of this condescension on the part of God was His love for His people. He loved them, and the saints among them were upheld by Him. By Moses He gave them a law, which was to hold from generation to generation; and He had crowned His gifts to them by becoming their King when the heads of the people entered into covenant with Him.
Then follow the blessings, beginning with good wishes for Reuben as the firstborn. But the tribe is not highly favored. It is however less severely dealt with than in Jacobs blessing. There instability and obscurity are foretold of it. Here it would seem as if the fortunes of the tribe were at the lowest ebb, and a wish is expressed that it may not be suffered to die out. From the earliest times the tribe of Reuben seems to have been tending to decay. At the first census taken under Moses the number of Reubenites capable of bearing arms was 46,500 men, {Num_1:21} at the second 43,730. {Num_26:7} Both passages are from P, and consequently this decadence of the tribe must have been present to that authors mind. In Davids day they had still possession of part of their heritage, but even then their best estate was past. They had allowed many Moabites to remain in the territory they conquered. These most certainly caused trouble and gained the upper hand in places, until before the days of Mesa, king of Moab, as we learn from his inscription, a great part of the cities formerly Reubenite were Moabite or Gadite hands. In Isaiah 15 and 16 again, Heshbon and Elealeh, cities still Reubenite in Mesas day, appear as Moabite, so that the bulk of the territory assigned to the tribe must have been lost. This record confirms the view that the blessing was written between Rehoboam and Jehoshaphat, and throws light upon our verse:-
"May Reuben live, and not die, So that his men be few."
The blessing of Judah follows, but in contrast with the great destiny foretold for this tribe in Jacobs blessing what is here said is strangely short and unenthusiastic:-
"Hear, O Yahweh, Judahs voice, And bring him to his people; With his hands has he striven for it (his people); And a help against his enemies be thou."
Some whose opinions we are bound to respect, as Oettli, think this refers merely to Judahs being appointed to lead the van of the invasion, as in Jdg_1:1; Jdg_20:8. In that case we should have to conceive that on some occasion Judah was absent leading the conquest, and got into dangerous circumstances, which are here referred to. But it would seem that any such temporary danger could hardly have a place here. In all the other blessings permanent conditions only are regarded; and the sole historical fact we really know that would explain this reference is the division of the kingdom. But, it may be said, all critics agree that the author of the blessing is a Northern Israelite: now we cannot suppose a Northern man to speak in this way of Judah, for it was the ten tribes that revolted from the house of David, not Judah from them. We must remember, however, that though that is how Scripture, which in this matter represents the Southern view, regards the matter, the Northern Israelites could look at the separation from another standpoint. To those even who were favorable to the Davidic house, and regretted the folly of Rehoboam, it might seem that Judah had first broken away from the kingdom as united under Saul; and the revolt under Jeroboam would appear to be only a resumption of the older state of things, from which Judah had again separated itself. What circumstance can be referred to in the request to hear Judahs voice cannot now be ascertained; but it is not at all unlikely that some indication of a wish for reunion, perhaps expressed in some public prayer, may have been given in the first period of the separation. The rest of the verse would fit this hypothesis as well as it fits the other, and I think with the light we at present have we must hold the reference to be as suggested.
With the eighth verse {Deu_33:8} the blessing of Levi (one of the two most heartfelt and sympathetic) begins. In it Yahweh is addressed thus:-
"Thy Urim and thy Thummim be to the men (\i.e., tribe) of thy devoted one (ie., Moses or Aaron), Whom thou didst prove at Massah With whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah."
In the last lines the relative pronoun is ambiguous, as it mawr refer either to "men," for which in Hebrew we have the collective singular ish, or to "thy devoted one." The last is the more probable; but in either case there is a superficial discrepancy here between the historical books and this statement. In Exo_17:1-7, as well as in Deuteronomy itself, it is the people who strove with Moses and proved or tempted Yahweh. On this account some would have us believe that a different account of the events at Massah and Meribah was in this writers mind. But that is the result of a mere itch for discovering discrepancies. It lies in the very nature of the case that there should be another side to it. The beginning was with the people; but just as the wandering in the wilderness is said to have been meant by God to prove Israel, so this insubordination of the people was meant to prove Moses or Aaron, and their failure to stand the proof made Yahweh strive with them. The verse, then, founds Levis claim to possess the chief oracle and to instruct Israel first of all upon their connection with Moses or Aaron, or both, since they had been exceptionally tried and had proved their devotion. The next verse, then, goes on to found it also on the faithfulness of the Levites, when they were called upon by Moses {Exo_32:26-29} to punish the people for their worship of the golden calf. In Deu_33:27 and Deu_33:29 of that chapter we find the same phrases,
Deu_33:9 -"Who (i.e., the tribe) said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; Who recognized not his brother, and would know naught of his son; For they kept Thy commandment, And kept guard over Thy covenant."
Being such-
Deu_33:10 -"Let them teach Jacob Thy judgments, And Israel Thy Torah; Let them put incense in Thy nostrils And whole burnt-offerings upon Thine altars."
Here we have the whole priestly duties assigned to the Levites. They are to perform judicial functions; to give Torah, or instruction, by means of the Urim and Thummim and otherwise; to offer incense in the Holy Place, and sacrifices in the court of the Temple. As early as this, therefore (on any supposition we need regard, long before Deuteronomy), we find the Levites fully established as the priestly tribe. Before the earliest writing prophets this was so-a fact of the greatest importance for the history of Israelite religion. The remaining verse beseeches Yahweh to accept the work of Levis hands, and to smite down his enemies. Evidently when this was written special enmity was being shown to this tribe; and, as has been said already, the religious proceedings of Jeroboam I would be sufficient to call forth such a cry to Yahweh.
In Deu_33:12 the tribe of Benjamin is dealt with, and it is depicted as specially blessed by the Divine favor and the Divine presence. Yahweh covers him all the day long, and dwells between his shoulders. There can hardly be a doubt that the reference is to the situation of the Temple at Jerusalem, on the hill of Zion, towards the loftier boundary of Benjamins territory.
Deu_33:13-17 contain the blessing of Joseph, i.e., of the two tribes Ephraim and Manasseh.
Deu_33:13 -Blessed of Yahweh be his land By the precious things of heaven from above, By the deep which crouches beneath;
Deu_33:14 -By the precious things of the sun, And the precious things of the moons;
Deu_33:15 -And by the (precious things of the) tops of the ancient mountains And by the precious things of the everlasting hills;
Deu_33:16 -And by the precious things of the earth and its fullness. And may the good-will of Him that dwelt in the bush Come upon Josephs head, And upon the top of the head of the crowned among his brethren.
Deu_33:17 -May the firstborn of his ox be glorious; And the horns thereof like the horns of the wild-ox; With them may he gore the peoples, even all the earths ends together. These (i.e., thus blessed) are the myriads of Ephraim, And these the thousands of Manasseh.
Supreme fertility is to be his, and the favor of Yahweh is to rest upon him as the kingly tribe in Israel. The curious phrase at the beginning of the seventeenth verse has been supposed to be a reference to some individual, Joshua, Jeroboam II, or to the Ephraimite kings as a whole. But the subject of the blessing is the Josephite tribes, and there seems to be no good reason why the reference should be changed here. It cannot, therefore, refer to less than a whole tribe, and as according to Gen_48:14 Ephraim received the blessing of the firstborn, it must be Ephraim which is Josephs firstborn ox. This view is confirmed by the last clause of the verse, in which the myriads of Ephraim are spoken of, and only the thousands of Manasseh. Obviously this must refer to times like those of Omri, when the Israelite kingship was in its first youthful energy, and was extending conquest on every hand.
The benedictions which remain are addressed to Zebulun, Issachar, Gad, Dan, Naphtali, and Asher. They need little comment beyond close translation.
Deu_33:18 -And of Zebulun he said, Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; And, Issachar, in thy tents.
Deu_33:19 -"They shall call the peoples unto the mountain; They shall offer sacrifices of righteousness: For they shall suck the abundance of the seas, And the hidden treasures of the sand."
The territory of Zebulun stretched from the Sea of Galilee to the Mediterranean, probably quite down to the sea near Akko, in any case near enough to give it an active share in the sea traffic. Issachar, whose tribal land was the plain of Esdraelon, also shares in it; but the contrast between "thy going out" and "thy tents" implies that Zebulun took the more active part in the traffic. The reference in Deu_33:19, clauses a-and b, is obscure. As the Septuagint reads "they shall destroy" instead of "unto the mountain," the text may be corrupt. It may perhaps be an allusion to the sacrificial feasts at inaugurated fairs to which surrounding peoples were called, as Stade suggests.
Deu_33:20 -And of Gad he said, Blessed be the enlarger of Gad: He dwelleth as a lioness, And teareth the arm, yea, the crown of the head.
Deu_33:21 -"And he looked out the first part for himself, Because there a (tribal) rulers portion lay ready; And he came with the heads of the people, He executed the justice of Yahweh, And His judgments in company with Israel."
At this time Gad was in possession of a wide territory, and was famed for courage and success in war. His foresight in choosing the first of the conquered land as a worthy tribal portion is praised, and his faithfulness in carrying out his bargain to accompany the nation in its attack on the west Jordan land.
Deu_33:22 -"And of Dan he said, Dan is a lions whelp, Leaping forth from Bashan."
This does not mean that Dans territory was Bashan, but only that his attack was as fierce and unexpected as that of a lion leaping forth from the crevices and caves of the rocks in Bashan.
Deu_33:23 -"And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtah, sated with favor, And full of the blessing of Yahweh: Possess thou the sea and the south."
The soil in the territory of Naphtali was specially fruitful, in the region of Huleh and on the shore of the Sea of Gennesaret. These are the sea and the hot south part which the tribe is called upon to take as a possession, and because of which the favor of Yahweh and His blessing specially rested upon it.
Deu_33:24 -And of Asher he said, Blessed above children be Asher; May he be the favored of his brethren, And dip his feet in oil.
Deu_33:25 -"Iron and brass (be) thy bars; And as thy days (so may) thy strength (be)."
The last line is extremely doubtful. The word translated "thy strength" is really not known, and that meaning probably implies another reading; "thy bars" in the previous line is also doubtful. The reference to oil probably implies that the olive tree was specially fruitful, in the country inhabited by Asher, but why he should be specially favored of his brethren can now hardly be conjectured.
In the concluding verses we have an exaltation of Israels God and of His people. Speaking out of the time when Israel had driven out its enemies and was in full and undisturbed possession of its heritage (Deu_33:28), the poet declares to Jeshurun how incomparable God is. He rides upon the heaven to bring help to them, and He comes in the clouds with majesty. The God of old time is Israels refuge or dwelling, covering him from above, and beneath, i.e., on the earth. His everlasting arms bear His people, up in their weariness, and shelter them there against all foes. He has proved this by thrusting out before them, and by commanding them to destroy, their enemies.
Deu_33:28 -And so Israel came to dwell in safety, The fountain of Jacob alone, In a land of corn and wine; Yea, His heavens drop down dew.
Deu_33:29 -"Happy art thou, O Israel: Who is like unto thee? A people saved by Yahweh, The shield of thy help And the sword of thy majesty! Thine enemies shall feign friendship to thee; And thou shalt tread upon their high places."
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 The song composed by Moses and recited to the…
The song composed by Moses and recited to the people as a witness against them. “It embraces the whole future history of Israel, and bears all the marks of prophetic testimony in the perfectly ideal picture which it draws on the one hand, or the benefits and blessings conferred by the Lord upon His people; on the other hand of the ingratitude with which Israel repaid God for them all” (cf. Delitz). The poem divided into six parts.
Deu_32:1-3. Introductory, importance of doctrine delivered. Heaven and earth invoked not as matter of rhetoric, not to witness for God as cf. Deu_4:26; Deu_30:19; Deu_31:28, but indicative of the whole universe, which would be affected and sanctified by the righteousness of God manifest in heaven and earth. Doctrine Let my doctrine, a prayer. Bain with soft penetrating influence (Isa_55:10-11). Greatness equivalent to glory in Psa_29:1; Psa_96:7-8.
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Deu_32:4-6. The righteousness of God placed in contrast with the corruption, perversity and folly of Israel. Rock—first time God so called in scripture and used six times in this song. A name often found in phrases (for Heb. Tsur) like “strength” (Psa_73:26; Psa_141:1), or “Mighty One” (Isa_30:29). Perfect blameless, without fault. On contrary Israel acted corruptly (Deu_32:5). They have. The verb is singular. Render. “It (i.e. “the perverse and crooked generation,” understood from the context) hath corrupted itself before Him “(cf. Isa_1:4); they are not his children, but their blemish,” i.e., the generation of evil doers cannot be styled God’s children, but rather the shame and disgrace of God’s children” (Speak. com.) Crooked (cf. Mat_17:7; Luk_9:41.) Foolish (Deu_32:6; Deuteronomy cf.4, 6; Psa_90:12). Bought, acquired thee for His own. Made a nation.
Deu_32:7-14. Innumerable benefits conferred. Blessings given from the very first days of old (Deu_32:7). Divided (Deu_32:8) by His providence. Set bounds, reserved for His people a fit inheritance “according to the number,” proportionate to the wants of the population. Portion (Deu_32:9), lot or piece of land; here a figure applied to the nation (cf. Exo_15:16; Exo_19:5). (Deu_32:10; Deu_32:14) Helpless and hopeless condition of Israel, and love and care which God displayed. Waste, lit., in the land of the desert and the waste (“formless waste” as Gen_1:2) howling wilderness, amid ferocious beasts. Apple guarded as the tenderest part (cf. Psa_17:8; Pro_7:2). Eagle noted for its care and affection (Exo_19:4; Isa_63:9).
Deu_32:12. So the Lord alone delivered Israel and trained them.
Deu_32:13. Ride high positions in which they gained dominion (cf. Deu_33:29). Honey, richest provisions from fruitful fields and unlikely places.
Deu_32:15-18. Base ingratitude for benefits. Jeshurun only found here and in Deu_33:5, and Isa_44:2. A description of a nation right and just, “not the character which belonged to Israel in fact, but that to which Israel was called.” An epithet intended to convey keen reproof. Fat. The figure of an ox, fat and intractable in consequence (Isa_10:27 : Hos_4:16). Forsook, rejected. Esteemed, lit. to treat as a fool, to despise (Mic_7:6). Rock in Palestine, a refuge from enemies. Jealousy (Deu_32:16), language from matrimonial relationship (Exo_34:14; Isa_54:5; Jer_2:25). Devils (Deu_32:17), false gods, malignant and destructive (Lev_17:7). Not to God, Marg. Not God, i.e., which were not God. Gods who had not benefitted them. Newly up, from near, from Moab, Amon and Canaan in a local sense; or in contrast to Jehovah, who had manifested Himself of old (Deu_32:7).
Deu_32:19-22. God’s rejection of Israel. Abhorred, despised, cast them off. Provoked by sins. Daughters, women had full share (Isa_3:16; Jer_7:18). See, I will show what their end will be at last.—(Ainsworth). No faith, no dependence upon them Deu_32:21, The terms, “not God” and “vanities” (nothings) were preferred, and God moved to anger. God would therefore excite them to jealousy, and ill-will by a “no-people” and “foolish nation,” i.e., transfer blessings upon them instead of Israel. (Deu_32:22) When kindled divine anger would burn to lowest hell, the deepest destruction of sheol, the lower world, consume earth’s produce and set on fire foundations of mountains.
Deu_32:23-28. Evils threatened many and severe, like arrows which warriors shoot at foes (Psa_38:3; Psa_91:5; Job_6:4, Burning heat, i.e., fever of pestilence, famine, plague, wild beasts, poisonous serpents and war, would bring them to verge of destruction. (Deu_32:26) Scatter them away and blot out their remembrance. (Deu_32:27) Were it not that I feared, i.e., that I should be provoked to wrath when the enemy ascribed the overthrow of Israel to his own prowess and not to my judgments.—(Speak. Com.) Hand over hand was high, i.e., lifted up, shown itself mighty. For the reason they deserved not to be spared.
Deu_32:29-33. The reasons which lead to severity. They were foolish. Latter end, to which they were obstinately rushing, i.e., destruction if not adverted. (Deu_32:30) Chase. If wise, conquest would be easy and the promise (Lev_26:8) fulfilled. But abandoned for their apostacy “sold” and “delivered up.” (Deu_32:31) Their rock gods in whom heathens trust, were felt to be unequal to Israel’s God or Rock. Judges. “Having experienced so often the formidable might of God, they knew for a certainty that the God of Israel was very different from their own idols.”—(Calvin). Their vine worse than the vine of Sodom, universally corrupt, like Sodom and Gomorrah in wickedness. Bitter (cf. 2Ki_4:39-41; Isa_5:2-4; Jer_2:21). Figures which express that “nothing could be imagined worse, or more to be abhorred than that nation.”—(Calvin).
Deu_32:34-43. God’s purpose to have mercy upon Israel when chastened and humbled. This wickedness before mentioned and judgments upon it. Store remembered and sealed up in a bag as a treasure carefully kept (Job_14:17; Hos_13:12). Vengeance, active vindi ation of authority. Slide, they will totter and fall, firm as they think themselves to be (Psa_38:17; Psa_94:18). (Deu_32:36) Judge (cf. Psa_135:14; 1Pe_4:17). Repent himself, have compassion, help them. None, proverbial for all men (cf. 1Ki_14:10; 1Ki_21:21; 2Ki_4:8; 2Ki_14:6), bond and free; none to help. (Deu_32:37) Idols utterly worthless, to which Israel had brought sacrifices and drink offerings. Rise up (Jer_2:28). (Deu_32:39) “See now that I, I am.” Experience enough to convince them that idols were impotent and that Jehovah alone should be feared. Kill (1Sa_2:6; 2Ki_5:7). God smites and heals (Job_5:17; Hos_6:1; Isa_30:26; Isa_57:17). (Deu_32:40-42) These verses are closely connected. The full stop in the A. V. at the end of Deu_32:40 should be removed, and the passage should run thus: For I lift up my hand to heaven and say, as I live for ever, if I whet, etc. In Deu_32:40, in which God is describing as swearing by Himself (cf. Isa_45:23; Jer_22:5; Heb_6:17). The lifting up of the hand was a gesture used in making oath (cf. Gen_14:22; Rev_10:5-6). (Speak. Com.) (Deu_32:43) Rejoice in God’s retribution upon enemies in his wiping out the guilt which rested upon people and land and thus exterminating idolatry.
Deu_32:44-52. A supplement added by the author, who inserted the song to the law. Hoshea (Num_13:16). Set, give serious attention. Life (Deu_32:47), basis of all enjoyments and length of life. (Deu_32:48) Self-same day on which Moses rehearsed this song, and on which announcement of death renewed (Num_27:12-14). “In form this repetition differs from previous announcement, partly in the fact that the situation of Mount Nebo is more fully described (in the land of Moab, etc., as in Deu_1:5; Deu_28:68), and partly in the continued use of the imperative and a few other trifling points. These differences may all be explained from the fact that the account here was not written by Moses himself.”—(Delitz).
THE IMPORTANCE OF DIVINE INSTRUCTION.—Deu_32:1-6
The metaphors of this inimitable song of singular beauty, very suggestive and powerful. In many ways is the importance of Divine instruction set forth.
I. By its lofty theme. Israel’s God is made known in wonderful attributes. “I will publish the name of the Lord.
1. Perfect in character. No injustice and iniquity found in him. A rock of omnipotence and immutability. Perfect in holiness, word and work. A God of truth—we charge God foolishly, but He never errs, forgets nor retracts. “He cannot lie.” “Our rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”
2. Glorious in majesty. “Greatness,” royal splendour and power must be ascribed to him. We cannot add to His greatness. His perfections are infinite. We may acknowledge it and give Him glory due to His name. It is not the bright light of eternity, but the glory seen in the perfection of His works, the faithfulness of His word and the wisdom of His administration.
3. Righteous in government. “All His ways are judgment,” mysterious and incomprehensible, but “the ways of the Lord are right.” (Hos_14:9).
4. Immutable in purpose. We are inconstant and foolish, He unchangeable in plan, counsel and ways. “With whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning.”
II. By its adaptation to our moral condition. We need such a God to redeem and comfort, in whom we may trust and live.
1. As “the thirsty earth” (Psa_72:6). We need the rain, divine influence to soften our hearts and lives. We are barren and unfruitful in the works and ways of God. Ignorant of His truth and will, until “the doctrine drops as rain.”
2. As “the grass,” we require fertilising showers to refresh, quicken and cause the seeds of knowledge to grow. This doctrine of God is like the dew, gentle and insinuating, powerful and productive. The word “shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, etc.” (Isa_55:10-11).
III. By its interested witnesses. Heaven and earth appealed to as august spectators. Such appeals often in matters of high importance (Psa_50:3-4; Isa_1:2; Jer_22:29). This not a splendid instance of poetical apostrophe, but indicative of an interested universe. A summons to all intelligent beings to listen to the grand truths unfolded by this inspired ode. The doctrine concerns all mankind and should be known by all mankind. If neglected heaven and earth will witness to their stupidity and disobedience. “Heaven shall reveal his iniquity and the earth shall rise up against him” (Job_20:27).
IV. By its benevolent design. A charge is made against Israel, whose character was the reverse of that of Jehovah, whose condition was helpless and deplorable. God deals in rectitude and love, and the writer is an example in tender expostulation and heavenly aim, to the poet and the minister.
1. To impart wisdom. “O! foolish people and unwise.” Doubly foolish in forsaking God, who bought, made and established them. “Fools indeed, to disoblige one on whom you have such necessary dependence. To forsake your own mercies for lying vanities.” “Who hath bewitched (fascinated, demented) you?” Gal_3:1.
2. To rectify judgment. “A perverse and crooked generation” Perverted, froward, and untractable in thought and purpose; crooked, irregular and disorderly in life. God seeks to enlighten and correct them. That ye may be blameless and harmless (sincere) in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine, as lights (luminaries or beacons) in the world” (Php_2:15).
3. To restore the divine image. Likeness to God is the characteristic of His children. Sin defiles and degrades as spots in the face or dirt on the garment. It corrupts and destroys like putrefaction in the body. Grace delivers from sin, restores the divine image and makes us “sons of God.”
4. To kindle fervent gratitude. Israel’s base return for redemption and advancement, innumerable privileges and unprecedented honours. “Do ye thus requite the Lord?” We condemn the Jews, yet imitate their conduct. God has delivered and exalted us, yet we do not feel that gratitude is required, reasonable and just. God daily loads with benefits that we may render in return (Psa_116:12). Appeals to our sense of right for a natural and willing return for mercies so constant and so great.
THE REVELATION OF GOD.—Deu_32:4-6
The doctrine of this song is a revelation concerning God. A declaration of his name—a name expressing his qualities and distinguishing him from all other gods. This name must be published, for if the name drop out of use, the being Who owns it may be forgotten.
1. In the splendour of his perfections. Jehovah the Great I am—independent and self-existent. The infinite, eternal and immutable God. Perfectly just and infinitely holy. Each attribute is capable of distinct contemplation. All blended together constitute divine excellence, like colours of light in the rainbow.
2. In the rectitude of his moral government. “His ways are judgment,” that is accord with rectitude. He is essentially and absolutely just. Reason asserts that he can have no motive for injustice. Deeply fixed in the centre of conscience is this truth. The Bible continually sets forth that “there is no unrighteousness in him.” “Just and right is he,” in person and procedure. “A sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.”
3. In the assertion of his rights. “Is not he thy father that hath bought thee?”
1. Rights as Creator.—“Hath he not made thee?”
2. Rights as a Covenant God. “Thy father.”—We owe to him homage, love and obedience. “Thou O Lord, art our Father and Redeemer, thy name is for everlasting” (Isa_63:16). Let us think of God as here revealed, the absolute and the relative God, until our hearts are stirred to gratitude, reverence and devotion. “Behold God is great and we know Him not.”
Return, my senses, range no more abroad,
He only finds his bliss who seeks for God.
—Parnell.
The Dew of the Word.—Deu_32:2
“Distil as the dew.” Who hears the dew fall? What microphone could reveal that music to our “gross unpurged ears?” The dew distils in silence. So does the speech of God. In stillness God’s love is condensed into dewlike communications; not read, nor heard, but known by direct power of the spirit upon the soul. Not much in noise, turmoil, and bustle. Dew falls in wider silence, in quiet places of sorrow and sickness; more in the desert than in hot harvest fields or neat gardens, from which we have been called. The dew distils in darkness. Not in the darkness of external trial merely, but in times when we cannot see anything; when we do not seem to be walking in darkness, but, like Micah, “sit in darkness,” too feeble even to grope; times of reaction and weariness after special work, after great or exciting success, even after unusually vivid spiritual blessing. You look out some dark night: there is no storm, no rain, not the least token to your senses of what is going on. In the morning you see every blade and leaf tipped with a dew drop, everything revived and freshened, prepared for the heat of the day. So His words fall on your souls in darkness, not with sensible power; nothing flashes out from the page, nothing shines to shed pleasant light on your path. You do not hear sound of abundance of rain, but the words are distilling as the dew and preparing you for day. The dew falls not in one mass of water, but innumerable little drops. What one drop does not reach another does. It is not one overwhelmingly powerful word which does this holy night work in the soul, but the unrealized influences of many, dropping softly on the plants of the Lord; one resting here, another there; one touching an unrecognised need, another reaching an unconciously failing grace. “Each drop uncounted hath its own mission, and is duly sent to its own leaf or blade.” Sometimes God’s dew goes on falling many hours of night. Watches seem long and starlight does not reveal it. But none is lost; some is already doing hidden work as it falls around the very roots of our being, some ready to be revealed in sparkling brightness when the night is over; lessons learnt among the shadows to be lived out in the sunshine. The object of the dew is to maintain life in dry places and seasons. In rainless regions this better understood. Any dry week in summer we see enough to understand the beauty of the figure. This speech is spirit and life to souls, however feebly, yet really alive to God. Dew does nothing for stones, nor a dead leaf. It falls on little fading plants, whose leaves absorb life, renewing moisture, and closed blossoms open out again with fresher fragrance than before. Dryness is more to be dreaded than darkness. Be trustfully content to let the dew fall in the dark. Believe the Word, when you read the dim page or lie still through long hours of the night, with no power to meditate on halt-recollected verses that cross the mind and leave no influence.—F. R. Havergal.
Softly the dew in the evening descends,
Cooling the sun-heated ground and the gale;
Flow’rets all fainting it soothingly tends,
Ere the consumings of mid-day prevail.
Sweet, gentle dewdrops, how mystic you fall,
Wisdom and mercy float down in you all.
—Rev. W. H. Havergal, Last Hymn, 1870.
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_32:2. My doctrine.
1. Its nature.—Rain, dew, small rain, and showers.
2. Its operations. Drop, distil. Rain, emblem of Holy Spirit.
1. A timely blessing. When inheritance is weary. “He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass.”
2. Bestowed in special seasons. “Early and latter rain” In youth and manhood in conversion and maturity.
3. Beneficial in results. Softens earth and prepares it for seed. “Thou makest it soft with showers.” “Thou, O God, didst send (shake out) a plentiful (gracious) rain, whereby thou didst confirm (refreshedst) it, when it was weary, Psa_68:9.
Dew, an emblem.
1. In origin. “As a dew from the Lord that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.”
2. In method of operations, (a) silently and imperceptibly. Not with observation, not in “the thunder of his power”; (b) Efficiently and beautifully. Vigour and freshness to the Church, “the dew unto Israel.” Not in sweeping, destructive showers, but in gentle, penetrating influence; (c) resulting in good or evil. The savour of life or of death—cursing or blessing, Heb_6:7. “My speech, etc. My familiar, friendly, and affectionate speeches, shall descend gently and softly on the ear and. heart, as the dew moistening and refreshing all around. In hot regions dew is often a substitute for rain; without it no fertility, where rain seldom falls. In such places only can the metaphor here used be felt in its perfection.”—A. Clarke. No doubt these various expressions point out that great variety in the Word or Revelation of God, whereby it is suited to every place, occasion, person and state; “being profitable for doctrine, reproof, and edification in righteousness.”—Ibid.
Deu_32:4. God a rock.
1. An immovable foundation for hope. Foundations of rocks, hidden, unsearchable to mortal eye, depths past finding out.
2. An abiding security. Protection and safety from burning, heat of the sun and hostile invasion of enemies. “A hiding place from the wind, covert from the tempest,” &c. (Isa_32:2.) “An image of God’s omnipotent power, immutable purpose, faithfulness in mercy, truth and love,” Psa_119:89-90. “A firm and everlasting refuge, a ‘Rock of Ages, Isa_26:4. One age passeth away, and another, and a third, etc., but the rock remains. “The name of the Lord is a strong tower” (Pro_18:10); “munition of rocks” (Isa_33:16); “rocks so deep, no pioneer can undermine them; so thick, no cannon can pierce them; so high, no ladder can scale them” (Trapp).
Deu_32:5. Spots of God’s children. Impatience, anger, idolatry, sectarian bitterness and prejudices, etc. Sin generally.
1. Spots of deepest dye. Not on surface, but ingrained like leopard’s spots and Ethiopian’s skin.
2. Spots which corrupt—all flesh corrupt—universal prevalence of disease, “the whole head sick and the heart faint,” voluntary debasement and death.
3. Spots which cannot be washed away by man. Not even “with nitre” and “much sope,” Jer_2:22. Only the blood of Christ can take away the stain and make whiter than snow.”
Deu_32:6. Requite. Ingratitude for mercies innumerable, distinguished, affectionate, and long continued. “Good turns aggravate unkindness, and our guilt is increased by our obligations. It is ingratitude that makes a godly man’s sin so heinous, which otherwise would be far less than other men’s, since his temptations are stronger and his resistance greater” Trapp. Thy father? Consider. I. That God sustains a fatherly relation towards us. See him our Father in:
1. The work of Creation.
2. The redemptive plan.
3. The workings of Providence. II. That as such we owe him peculiar duties:
1. As our Father we ought to be like him.
2. We ought to obey him.
3. We ought to love him. III. That this relationship involves certain duties with regard to our fellow men. They are of the same family as we are. Then there should be:
1. Family union;
2. Family correspondence;
3. Family love. (Bib. Museum.)
RECOLLECTION OF PAST MERCIES.—Deu_32:7-14
“Remember days of old,” from the beginning until now what God has done—Proper review, true enquiry into past history will lead to gratitude and trust.
I. Special inheritance allotted to Israel by Divine Wisdom. God the Great Proprietor made and peopled the earth.
1. To each nation He assigned its portion. “Divided to the nations their inheritance.”—From the sons of Noah separate nations were formed (Gen_10:32). In growth and settlement they were not left to chance, permitted to scramble, nor to prey one upon another. Powerful states should never invade weak ones. Forced acquisitions are unjust, insecure; become sources of restlessness, corruption and revolt. “He hath determined the bounds of their habitation” (Act_17:26).
2. To Israel He had special reference, in this arrangement. Placed in the midst of the earth, Canaan was admirably suited for their residence. From this common centre, the report of God’s wonders and the glad tidings of salvation were easily spread to every part of the globe.
3. In this arrangement the interests of the people themselves were secured. The land gradually gained—its tribes depossessed “according to the number of the children of Israel.” They were preserved—became the most favoured, the most important nation upon earth. By position, training and divine wisdom made depositaries of revealed religion and prepared the world for the Messiah.
II. Special Honour conferred upon Israel by Divine choice. They were the Lord’s portion, and the lot of his inheritance. “The Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for a peculiar treasure” (Psa_135:4). Separated from heathens, elevated by privileges they were chosen “a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth” (Deu_7:6). Others were aliens, they were children sons of God. Honours bestowed, special relationship indicate obligation to God. We are not to engross divine favours, but intended to be mediums, diffusers of it; not only to be blessed ourselves, but to be blessings to others. “I will bless thee and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing.”
III. Special training of Israel by Divine Grace. The beautiful figure sets forth Jehovah’s care and method of training his people.
1. He sought them in solitude. What sovereign grace! Few and lonely God desired and chose them. “At this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.”
2. He instructed them in ignorance. Cut off from surrounding nations, God alone taught them: in laws and ordinances, rulers and prophets, events painful and pleasing. “He gave also his good spirit to instruct them” (Neh_9:20).
3. He guarded them in journeys. Led them about, not in the most direct, but in zigzag way, backwards and forwards. None are carried to heaven, directed in the way without hindrance, deflection and trouble.” I will bring the blind by a way they know not; I will lead them in paths they have not known.”
4. He preserved them in danger. “He kept him.” He healed the serpent’s bite; defended in assault; frustrated divination and enchantment; “reproved kings for their sakes, saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.”
5. Trained them in love. God’s diligence and tender compassion set forth. As the least touch of the eye would be painful, so God feels when the humblest is illused, afflicted or assailed. “He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.”
IV. Special exaltation of Israel by Divine Providence. “He made him ride, etc.” In Egypt they were oppressed and enslaved; in Canaan exalted and honoured.
1. In victory over our enemies. “With a high hand” were redeemed (Exo_14:8); and by the might of God did they conquer numerous foes. “I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father.”
2. In superabundant provision. The fields gave their increase and the rock its honey; oil from olives on rocky clefts, butter of kine and milk of sheep; lambs well-fed and cattle of finest breed; bread of the finest wheat and drink of purest grape” that he might eat.” Most abundant, most fruitful are the rewards of obedience. The service of God is a land of beauty and productiveness. “He maketh peace in thy borders and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat” (Psa_17:4-14; Psa_81:16).
THE ROYAL SIMILITUDE.—Deu_32:11
The king of birds combines more admirable qualities than any other fowl, and forms a royal similitude. It has strength to mount above all, swiftness to outstrip all, an eye that penetrates the very fountain of light, affection that draws forth its blood for its young, and a sagacity almost human in instructing and disciplining them, which is specially noted in our text.
Notice four things without doing violence to the similitude.
1. God uses Divine admonitions. “As the eagle stirreth up her nest.” When time for young to leave nest, she moves it with gentleness and affection; she sees them sleeping, and unwilling to leave their first home, makes a noise, strikes her wings against surrounding branches, and then, having awakened them, disturbs them still further, and finally “stirreth up,” turns the nest inside out, and compels them to take to crags of rocks, or boughs of trees. Thus did God to Israel, by moving the heart of Pharaoh against them when at ease by the fleshpots of Egypt. God now stirs up his people, who are unwilling to think of better things, and refuse to hear the call, “Rise and come away.” Sickness and death invade the dwelling, a darling child blighted in bud, or husband or wife dies in vigour of life, yet in vain. The sails of commerce rent; business blighted, schemes frustrated, and property wasted, to destroy the nest. God admonishes by knocking the world from under them, and places them in altitude to look for a better. “Arise, this is not your rest.”
2. God uses Divine allurements. The eagle “fluttereth over her young,” “hovers over them, and excites them to imitate her, and take their flight.”—Cruden. Thus the Lord moved Israel to leave Egypt, and thus speaks of their restoration from Babylon, and their conversion to Christ. “I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness” (Hos_2:14-15). He declares unwillingness that any should perish, reveals anxiety, and more than parental love for our salvation. Like the eagle rising to the sun, the Lord Jesus teaches us to rise to a better, brighter world. Enough in the Gospel to woo from sin and the world. Can you find a better portion than God and heaven?
Rise, my soul, and stretch thy wings,
Thy better portion trace,
Rise from transitory things
Towards heaven, thy destined place.
3. God assures of Divine assistance. “When the eagle sees its young weary or fearful, it takes them upon its back and carries them.”—Cruden. God “bare Israel on eagle’s wings, and brought them unto himself” (Exo_19:4). So strength is made perfect in weakness; God upholds and makes grace sufficient. But as the eagle “rejects as unnatural” its young that do not fix their eyes upon the bright orb of day, and rise, so God may swear “they shall not enter into my rest.”
4. God promises Divine protection. The eagle bears its young on its wings for protection as well as aid. The archer must first penetrate the body of the old bird before he can touch the young. Naturally it is more out of danger than other birds when in its proper element; security is doubled when on its mother’s wings. Difficult to kill an eagle. If down on earth, with its head on turf, and longer at fountains, then a noble mark and easy prey. Just as the heaven-born soul, if in his proper place, and after his proper object, is out of reach of the wicked—above the world, with its pomps and vanities, which fade away in the distance—fiery darts of Satan must penetrate Jehovah’s wings before they touch him. “The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.” We see, then, why God disturbs with the ills of life that we may obey his call. He sends winds and rain, takes away the warm down of earthly comforts, and pulls down our tabernacles, that we may leave to dwell in mansions above.—Rev. William Jackson.
GOD’S WORK OF GRACE IN THE REDEMPTION OF MAN.—Deu_32:10-12
I. The Condition of the Sinner. Set forth in expressive terms.
1. In a distant state. If found he must be lost. Lost to God, of no service to him; to self, missing the great end of life; to others, of no benefit, but injurious.
2. In a barren state—“a desert place.” The world, the unregenerate soul, a moral waste, sterile without God.
3. In a dangerous state. “Howling widerness,” great, terrible, and filled with “fiery serpents” (Deu_8:15; Jer_2:6). Howling with the roar of beasts and the blasts of tempest.
4. In a hopeless state. Away from the camp and company of God. Without a star in heaven or a footprint on earth. Fit emblem of the wretched, unregenerate condition of the sinner.
II. The Method of Deliverance. Strikingly illustrative of God’s method of redeeming men.
1. God seeks. “He found him.” He seeks discovers men in departure and sin. “Adam, where art thou?” His people are “sought out.” (Isa_62:12). “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.”
2. God guides “He led him”. When he seeks he is sure to find, bring to himself, guide through life and duty to heaven. “I did know (care for thee and love) thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought” (Hos_13:5.)
III. The Place of Destination. “A land flowing with milk and honey,” “the city of habitation.” No home, no rest nor shelter in the wilderness. A country prepared and in reserve. God brings the believer into a large and wealthy place of highest hopes and joys—a place where unpropitious circumstances yield unexpected blessings. But heaven the fulfilment, the perfection of all.
From Deu_32:11-12 learn—
I. Needful disturbance. “As an eagle stirreth up her nest.”
1. As to our outward condition in the world.
2. As to our selfrighteous confidence.
3. As to our departure from life.
II. Divine example. “Fluttereth over her young” to exite and teach them by example. The eye does more than the ear. God must be seen by example of parents, teachers and ministers. God in Christ, humanised example. Render religion attractive that men may see it.
And as the bird each fond endearment tries
To tempt her new-fledged offspring to the skies
Employ each art, reprove each dull delay,
Allure to brighter worlds, and lead the way,
III. All sufficient assistance. “Spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings.” This to aid and secure them. Not always aware of her design, away she sails with them and shakes them off her wings. She follows after, hovers near them, and when their pinions flag and they cannot fly, she darts and places herself under them, prevents their fall, succours their weakness and refreshes them for another flight Our dependence is entire, but “our sufficiency is of God.”
IV. God’s sole agency. “So the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.” God conforms himself to our modes of apprehension and expression. This necessary, but not degrading. He speaks unto us as unto children, with whom imitation is everything; and levies a tax upon the world of nature to furnish images of himself. He assumes relation of parents, the affection of a father, the tenderness of a mother. He borrows images from animals, and especially the feathered tribes. “As a hen gathereth her chickens.” Observe a divine agency—the Lord led him. See also exclusive application of this work. “The Lord alone did lead him.” A resemblance of the manner in which it was done. “So the Lord, etc.” How? “As an eagle stirreth up, etc.” Three things here ascribed to the mother eagle, not in providing for her young, but in educating them—in teaching them to fly she stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth her wings, taketh them and beareth them on her wings This applicable to God in dealing with us, and preparing as to seek things above.—(Condensed from Jay.)
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_32:8-9. The most high divided nations.
1. God originally divided nations their inheritance.
2. Divine purpose is revealed in this division.
3. Israel was discovered and distinguished from all other nations. A nation, the depository of God’s will, from which the Church and the Christ were to spring. Recognise a brother in every human being, for “God has made of one blood all nations upon the face of the earth.” In the worst of times God has preserved a few for himself.
Deu_32:9. The Lord’s portion. His purchase.
2. His conquest
3. His glory.
4. His heirs. The value God sets upon His people. As bought by blood, re-generated by grace, and designed for heaven. “What an astonishing saying. As holy souls take God for their portion, so God takes them for His portion. They are infinitely happy in and satisfied with God; He represents Himself as happy in them. This is what is implied on being a saint. He who seeks an earthly portion has little commerce with the Most High.”—A. Clarke.
Deu_32:10. I. The primary application of the text as a summary of all that had been suffered by the Israelites, and all that had been done by God on their behalf. II. The peculiar manner in which it adapts itself to our own times and to our own cases.
1. We have the picture of the believer in his natural state, in a desert land.
2. In his regenerate state, found of God, and instructed.
3. In his guarded state. “Kept.”—Hy. Melvill.
Deu_32:11. The method of Divine training. I. Its object. To secure development of our own powers, by action wise, divinely prompted, self-reliant, and adapted to constitution and circumstances. II. The means. Gentle, affectionate, stimulating, and exemplary. “The purpose of life is development; the process of development is discipline; the result of discipline is a full and many-sided manhood.”
For human weal, Heaven husbands all events.
ISRAEL’S INGRATITUDE, APOSTACY AND PUNISHMENT.—Deu_32:15-25
Israel requited God for benefits, by forsaking him, and serving worthless idols. God is offended by their conduct and resolves to punish.
I. Base Ingratitude to God. “Do ye thus requite the Lord?” The heathens deemed ingratitude a sin so great as to include every other. Lycurgus asked why his laws did not notice it, replied, “I have left it to the gods to punish.”
1. Ingratitude displayed in self-indulgence. “Thon art waxen fat, thou art grown thick.”
2. Ingratitude begetting pride. “According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled and their hearts were exalted, therefore have they forgotten me” (Hos_13:6).
3. Ingratitude ending in rebellion. “Waxed fat and kicked.” Like pampered and well-fed cattle they grew insolent, became wanton and ungovernable. “They were disobedient and rebelled against Thee and cast Thy law behind their backs” (Neh_9:25).
II. Shameful Apostacy from God. “Then he forsook God who made him.” Departure from God a tendency in fallen nature. But the sin is aggravated by light, privileges and advantages of instruction.
1. Forsaking God who made them. No regard to our Creator, no thought for the end of our being. How deplorable to ignore our maker—source of intelligence and joy—“in whom we live and move and have our being.”
2. Sacrificing to gods which cannot help them. Gods which were strange, new and vanities—Gods whom their fathers feared not and to whom they owed no obligation whatever—Gods termed “abominations” and “devils,” repulsive in their nature and destructive in their influence.
3. Exciting to jealousy God who loved them. “They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods.” “This jealousy,” says Calvin, “rests upon sacred and spiritual marriage tie, by which God had bound the people to Himself.”
III. Terrible punishment from God. God will severely visit his people for their apostacy. “The Lord saw it,” abhorred and resolved to reject Israel. This punishment is set forth in the form of righteous judgment—Retribution not always adequate, nor invariable, but real and manifest—an instinct of justice in the divine nature, a law of providence and of conscience. “Be sure your sin will find you out.”
1. They had offended God and other nations should offend them. “A foolish nation” would provoke them to anger (Deu_32:21). A people whom they deemed foolish, or who really were foolish though they thought themselves wise, would eventually be received against their wish.
2. They had provoked God, and God would provoke them to jealousy. Gentile nations, whom they despised, not only conquered them and became their masters, but entered a covenant from which they were excluded (cf. Mat_21:43; Rom_10:19).
3. They had rejected God, and God would reject them. “I will hide my face from them” (Deu_32:20). God would withdraw his favour and transfer it to a despised nation. As they had turned their back upon him he would turn his back upon them (cf. Jer_18:17; Jer_2:27). They thought lightly of God, forsook him and then made substitutes for him. A picture of sin’s progress, the sinner’s folly and the way to righteous judgment.
DIVINE ANGER.—Deu_32:19-27
These may be figurative expressions, but cannot be explained away, to make the Supreme Being incapable of feeling against sin and the sinner, destitute of pleasure or displeasure, without concern for His glory, or the welfare of the universe.
I. The anger of God is caused by the sins of men. “They have provoked me to anger.” It exists in Divine perfections, and is manifest in Divine government. God’s eye is a flame of fire, and its lofty jealousy rests upon every form of sin, negative and positive. “For the wrath of God is revealed (displayed in judicial vengeance) against all ungodliness (impiety, non-recognition of God) and unrighteousness (deviations from truth and moral rectitude) of men” (Rom_1:18).
II. Execution of anger is reserved to God Himself. “I will provoke,” “I will move,” agent’s secondary causes. God is the avenger. We are not to usurp His place, and recompense evil for evil. He knows how to punish without passion, and without injustice. “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
III. Anger, when roused in God, is terrible in its effects. Most severe judgments are threatened (Deu_32:22-25).
1. Judgments extensive in operation. Sweeping the earth, penetrating the lowest hell, and like a fire of universal conflagration.
2. Judgments irresistible in might. “Set on fire the foundations of mountains.” Strong fortresses subverted, holy cities destroyed, and the Jewish Constitution overturned. “Who knoweth the power of Thine anger? Even according to Thy fear, so is Thy wrath,” i.e., equal to all that a man can fear from it (Psa_90:11).
3. Judgments destructive in results. Swept together, heaped up, and falling upon young men and maidens, children and old men—swift as arrows, and hot as fire; in the field and in the home destruction came. It falls upon men like wild beasts upon victims—to crush, destroy, and carry in triumph. This is not an overdrawn picture of the danger and the anger of God against presumptuous sins. “Consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver”—
For guilt, no plea! to pain, no pause, no bound!
Inexorable all! and all extreme.
—Young.
IV. The anger of God is often restrained by mercy. “Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy” (Deu_32:27). God can make a full end, but desires not the death of sinners. In the midst of wrath He remembers mercy.
1. Restrained in regard for His own honour. “Lest their adversaries should say, ‘Our hand is high,’ ” etc. If God destroyed Israel, the enemy would take the credit to themselves—become proud and boastful. Hence He regards His own name; will not permit its profanation and pollution (cf. Exo_32:12; Num_14:13; Isa_10:5).
2. Restraint in the interests of His people. Unworthy as they are, “a nation void of counsel,” He was concerned for their welfare. (a) For their protection. Their adversaries would injure them, behave themselves strangely; but He defends, restrains the wrath of man, and causes remainder to praise Him. (b) For their correction. He desires to teach and make them wise (Deu_32:28). “My people is foolish; they have not known Me.” (c) For their continuance (Deu_32:26). No desire to blot out their name, but to perpetuate their existence, honour, and bless them for ever.
THE DANGERS OF PROSPERITY.—Deu_32:15-18
Consider I. How men are affected by abundant prosperity in their social capacity, and with respect to their general worldly interests. History is full of instances to show how national character has deteriorated as the wealth and power of a nation have increased. II. How our churches are affected by such prosperity. Note the various religious errors of the century; antinomianism, &c. Note also the pride of enlightenment, which is the besetting temptation of the present day. III. How the injurious tendencies of long good fortune may be corrected. Let us:
1. Constantly recollect with gratitude the source and giver of our prosperity;
2. Use our resources and advantages as God intends they should be used;
3. Not desire prosperity for itself.—A. Thomson, M. A.
Another outline may be given.
I. Prosperity is not real happiness. Nature knows nothing of moral distinctions; treats all alike. But distinguished rank, long life, abundant wealth and ripe scholarship, do not satisfy inward craving. A millionaire may be miserable. “Prosperity is like salt water, the more you drink of it the thirstier you are” (Talmage).
II. Prosperity profits very little. The wealth of empires cannot add to stature of body or mind, nor secure health and virtue. It is insecure and exposes to envy. “Envious at the prosperity of the wicked.” Earthly possessions—vanity—do not fill, protect nor continue.
III. Prosperity is spiritually dangerous. “The prosperity of fools shall destroy them,” (Pro_1:32.)
1. In leading to self-dependence.
2. In begetting contempt for God. “Lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.”
3. In causing apostacy for God. “Then he forsook God.” Guard against selfishness. Be watchful and humble. “In all time of our wealth, good Lord deliver us.”
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_32:15. Jeshurun. A dishonoured name given to Israel several times (ch. Deu_31:16, Deu_33:5; Deu_33:26), meaning upright, righteous; a term also of endearment and indicating close relation to God.
1. They forsook God, who is just and right and had chosen them to walk in righteousness (Isa_64:2.) “By placing the name of righteous before Israel, he censured ironically those who had fallen away from righteousness, and by thus reminding them with that dignity they had been endowed, he upbraided them with the more severity for their guilt of perfidy.”—(Calvin).
2. They degraded themselves. Forsook the ways and the God of their fathers, became corrupt in manners, unworthy of confidence, and abominable in conduct. “A rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord.” (Isa_30:9.) Waxed fat and kicked. “The figure is admirably supported, through the whole verse. We see first, a miserable, lean steed, taken under the care and into the keeping of a master, who provides him with an abundance of provender. We see secondly, this horse waxing fat under this keeping. We see him thirdly, breaking away from his master, leaving his rich pasturage, and running to the wilderness, unwilling to bear the yoke or harness, or to make any returns for his master’s care and attention. We see fourthly, whence this conduct proceeds, from a want of consciousness that his strength depends upon his master’s keeping, and a lack of consideration that leanness and wretchedness must be the consequence of leaving his master’s service and running off from his master’s pasturage. How easy to apply these points to the Israelites! and how illustrative of their former and latter state and how powerfully do they apply to many called Christians, who having increased in riches, forget that God, from whose hand alone those mercies flowed.”—A. Clarke.
Deu_32:17. Not to God.
1. Man, a religions being, will worship, must have a God. “If there be no God, we must invent one,” cried a leader in the French revolution.
2. Right conception of God restrains, elevates, and preserves.
3. When God is cast off, abominable wickedness and awful degradation ensues. Things that are no Gods, devils chosen as substitutes. “Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth.” (Jer_2:26.)
Deu_32:18. Unmindful.
1. Men outwardly prosperous, but spiritually destitute.
2. Men enjoying every favour, but acknowledging no obligation to God.
3. An offence most unnatural, unreasonable, and provoking. “Thou hast forgotten the rock of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy Strength.” (Isa_17:10.) “My people have forgotten me days without number.” (Jer_2:32.)
Deu_32:19. Lord saw. Divine inspection of Human Life.
1. God remembers the sins of men. Remembrance minute, constant and universal.
2. Men think God is indifferent to their sins. Forget him in thought and disregard him in conduct.
3. When men disregard God in their ways, they become more sinful in their lives. Proud and corrupt, false and unjust, “children that are corrupters, they have forsaken the Lord,” Isa_1:4.
“For want of faith,
Down the steep precipice of wrong he slides,
There’s nothing to support him in the right.”
—Young.
Deu_32:21-22. Mine anger.
1. An element of wrath in Divine Government.
2. This wrath may overtake men suddenly.
3. When it does overtake men they cannot escape. “When a great ransom cannot deliver thee.”
Deu_32:23-25. God’s arrows. Judgments from the gods represented by arrows in Scripture and heathen writers. Apollo is pictured as bearing a bow and quiver full of deadly arrows, and in answer to prayer coming to smite the Greeks with pestilence (Hom. II. I. 5:43).
1. Innumerable in variety. Famine, pestilence, wild beasts, poisonous reptiles, and war.
2. Direct in their aim. Never fall on wrong persons, never miss the Mark 3. Deadly in their effect. Wounds of poisoned arrows intensely painful and internal. No greater suffering than arrows “sharp in the hearts of the King’s enemies,” (Psa_45:5). “The arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit (destroying vital energy, certain death)” (Job_6:4).
Deu_32:26-27. Influence of Man’s conduct on the Divine Mind. If God sees, he must, speaking after the manner of man, feel and act. I. Man’s sin rouses Divine opposition. God’s anger not a passion but a principle, not against existence but against the sins and sufferings of existence. Op-position, hatred and sin revealed in judgment upon individuals and communities. II. Man’s sin restrains Divine procedure. Jealousy indicates love. “The wrath of God,” says Meyer, “is the holy love of God (who is neither neutral nor one-sided in his affection) for all that is good in its energy is antagonistic to all that is evil.” The expression the wrath of God simply embodies this truth that the relations of God’s love to the world are unsatisfied, unfulfilled. The expression is not merely authropopathic, it is an appropriate description of the Divine pathos necessarily involved in the conception of a revelation of love, restrained, hindered and stayed through unrighteousness” (Martensen’s Christian Dog.)
1. If not loved and obeyed he feels wronged, therefore does not show mercy.
2. If wronged or insulted he does not revenge himself, lest the enemy should rejoice, his people be destroyed, and his glory tarnished. Let the righteous hope, the wicked trumble, for Divine wrath is only partially poured out in this world. It will be perfectly displayed in the final judgment.
MARKS OF WISDOM.—Deu_32:28-30
God complains of Israel’s folly. If they had been more considerate, wiser, they would have foreseen and avoided evil. “A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.”
I. Wisdom gives understanding in the events of life. Wise men value and improve life. Their wisdom is not intuitional, abstract, and speculative. “The inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding” (Job_32:8). Hence it is sound and practical; fixed on a right end (Php_3:13), and regulated by right principle (Psa_119:105). The prudent man regards the events of life, discerns the signs of the times, learns coming judgments from the Word of God, and prepares to meet them. It is reckless folly to walk blindly, carelessly, in the midst of greatest evils. “Men that had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do” (1Ch_12:32).
II. Wisdom is superior to natural strength in the conflicts of life. “One chase a thousand and two put ten thousand to flight” (Deu_32:30). A few taught by God are “mightier than they in arms.” As Gideon (Jdg_7:22) and David’s worthies (2Sa_23:8). “Knowledge is power” is Bacon’s famous aphorism. Physical and mechanical forces increase the power of man. Intellect wisely applied gives moral ascendancy. But “a wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength” (Pro_24:5); by faith and dependence upon God “puts to flight the armies of the aliens.” “The battle is not to the strong.” “Wisdom is better than strength.” “Athanasius against the world!” “Wisdom is better than weapons of war” (Ecc_9:18).
III. Wisdom leads to consideration of the end of life. “That they would consider their latter end” (Deu_32:29). We know not the end, but it will come. To each, time will close. The last day, the most solemn of all, fast approaches. Instinct leads animals to prepare for the future. Worldly wisdom urges readiness for emergency. God loudly speaks in Providence, and warns in Scripture. “O that they were wise.” “Oh, that My people had hearkened unto Me, and Israel had walked in My ways” (Psa_81:13).
Be wise to-day; ’tis madness to defer;
Next day the fatal precedent will plead;
Thus on, till wisdom is pushed out of life.
—Young.
GOD’S REPROOF OF HUMAN FOLLY.—Deu_32:28-29
I. As a fact men are extremely foolish. Sinners are shortsighted, regardless of the inevitable consequences of their conduct.
1. They are wilfully ignorant. “That they understood.” We are naturally ignorant, limited in thought and being; but not forced to err and sin. Ignorance may be removed by Scripture and the Holy Spirit. But the careless worldling, immersed in pleasure and playing with trifles, is a man without understanding, and like the beasts that perish. Wilful ignorance is the centre of all evil and the precursor of ruin. “Fools die for want of wisdom” (Pro_10:21).
2. They are strangely conceited. Trust to reason; resist Divine teaching because authoritative and practical and would be their own guides. “Vain man (empty and ignorant) would be wise” (Job_11:12), forgets that all knowledge is disjointed, partial, and worthless, without the fear of God. Sages of antiquity “professing themselves wise became fools” (Rom_1:22). “Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? There is more hope of a fool than of him” (Pro_26:12).
3. They are habitually indifferent. Accustomed to sin, deaf to the voice of God; nothing stirs or restrains. Rooted habit has become ruling principle. The heart not kept, thoughts not rightly centered, control is lost over actions. “O that they would consider!”
II. God seeks to make foolish men wise. He does not compel, but reproves, expostulates. Wisdom in its very nature cannot be given by force. “Wisdom is the principle thing, therefore get wisdom, and with all thy getting, get understanding.”
1. By striking providences. Such mentioned here (Deu_32:24-25). Affliction and misfortune, inward darkness, distress, and insanity. Providences which alarm and make us think. Providences which create joy and gratitude. all overruled for good and designed to instruct.
2. By inspired teaching. The Bible, an inspired guide, declares the providence and justice of God. A teacher unerring, free, and common to all. “Written for our learning,” and recording events which are warnings. “All these things happened unto them for ensamples (types), and they are written for our admonition, &c.” (1Co_10:11). “O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments!”
THE CONSIDERATION OF DEATH.—Deu_32:29
I. Take account of the general insensibility of men to the grand fact that they are mortal. Note:
1. How little effect the fact that whole races are dead since the beginning of time till now has upon us.
2. How seldom we are struck with the reflection that many things and small things too might cause our death.
3. How soon a recovery from danger sets aside the serious thought of death.
4. How schemes are formed for a long future time, without any thought of possible death. II. See what can be brought in explanation of this.
1. The insertion in the human mind, by the Creator of a principle counteractive in some degree to the influence of this prospect of death.
2. The fearful, radical depravity of our nature.
3. The perfect distinctness of life and death.
4. Even the certainty and universality of death.
5. Our utter inability to form any defined idea of the manner of existence after death.
6. A general presumption of having long to live.
7. The endeavours of men, by occupying their whole thoughts with other things, to preclude a thought of their end. III. Briefly remonstrate against it. To end our life is the mightiest event that awaits us in this world, and it is that which we are living but to come to. To have been thoughtless of it, then, will ultimately be an immense calamity. (John Foster).
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_32:28-29. The Folly of Men. I. Men are not wise.
1. They prefer shadows to substance, worldly happiness. “What shadows we are and what shadows we pursue” (Burke).
2. They avoid not danger when before them.
3. Admit facts, yet live as if they were not facts. II. God’s provision to make men wise. Life the school of God, who provides teachers and gives lessons.
1. In tender appeal.
2. In wonderful events. In patience, perseverance and affection, “who teaches like him?”
Deu_32:29. Latter End. End of certain actions, end of sin, end of life generally considered not. “What will ye do in the end thereof?” (Jer_5:31). “She remembereth not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully (in astartling, singular way)” (Lam_1:9).
“Heaven gives the needful, but neglected call,
What day, what hour, but knocks at human hearts,
To wake the soul to sense of future scenes.”
GOD A ROCK OF CONFIDENCE.—Deu_32:31
The gods of the heathen not wise, powerful and gracious, like Jehovah. Enemies and friends can prove that He alone is worthy of confidence.
I. Men chose a rock in whom to have confidence. Wealth, the world and our fellow-creatures. Friends lack sympathy, prove unfaithful and pass away, confidences vain and false, abound and disappoint. Broken reeds which fail, pierce and wound the hand that leans upon them (Isa_36:6).
II. God alone is worthy of confidence. A rock the most abiding and unchanging object in nature. God the same yesterday, to-day and for ever. None like him proved.
1. By testimony of friends. Who enjoy shelter, comfort and rest. “Who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord?” “Not any rock like our God” (1Sa_2:2).
2. By the testimony of enemies. “Our enemies themselves being judges.” Compelled by dear experience to acknowledge God’s power and supremacy. Egyptians (Exo_14:25), Balak and Balaam (Numbers 23), Philistines (1Sa_4:8). “O, Galilean, thou hast conquered!” was the forced confession of the Emperor.
III. God as a rock of confidence should be recommended to others Accessible to all; no steep rugged height to climb to reach it—a fit shelter from the wind and covert from the tempest (Isa_32:2). Millions h sheltered and yet room. Blessedness beyond description to those who flee and find. “Blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted” (Psalms 18; Psa_31:21; Isa_17:10.
DEMORALIZATION OF MEN.—Deu_32:32-33
I. In falling short of the end of Existence. Israel well-pleasing to God at first, a noble vine became a degenerate plant (Isa_5:2-7; Jer_2:21). Like the vine of Sodom emblems of utter depravity (Isa_1:10; Jer_23:14). Not merely frail, but morally corrupted, degraded; unprofitable and unable to answer the end of existence; not living “to the praise of his glory,” but for selfish, useless ends. Sin is degradation of character, perversion of life’s purpose. Other creatures fulfil their mission. All God’s works praise him. But all men “have sinned” (Jew and Gentile, best and worst) and come short of (failed to attain to, disqualified for) the glory of God (Rom_1:23).
II. In becoming pernicious in life. These terms most expressive, indicative of principles and practices most abominable.
1. Offensive in character. “Grapes of gall;” worse than wild grapes, bitter and vexatious to God and man.
2. Mischievous in conduct. “Poison of dragons,” secreted malice, ready to dart forth upon others. “They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent (to sting); adder’s poison (most destructive) is under their lips” (Psa_140:3; cf. Psa_58:4; Rom_3:13.
3. Fatal in influence. Asps a species of snake whose bite is immediately fatal. “Nothing could be imagined worse or more to be abhorred than that nation” (Calvin). But this wickedness ripens for judgment. The thought of Sodom’s destruction is suggested. Those who imitate Sodom bring forth the worst fruits of impiety, and will perish like Sodom. When great cities sink and great nations morally degenerate, they are doomed to judgments, righteous and complete overthrow. “Turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample (not an exception to the regular laud of the Divine Government) unto those that after should live ungodly,” (2Pe_2:6.)
GOD’S SUPREMACY IN THE WORLD.—Deu_32:34-43
God is represented as killing and making alive (Deu_32:39); as judging men and punishing gods; as swearing to heaven and calling upon nations to rejoice in His supremacy.
I. Supremacy asserted in the Physical World. God is not quiescent but active in the world, “doing marvellous things without number.”
1. In appointing agents to maintain it. All creatures under His command, mightiest and meanest; gods and men; the “glittering sword” and “arrows drunk with blood;” life and death. He arranges and directs all agencies to work in the circumstances, bodies and souls of men; in the departments of creation and the history of nations.
2. In fixing times to display it. Days of calamity and of joy. In “the wheel of nature” (Jas_3:6), in the revolutions of time, “to every thing there is a season.” The world not ruled by chance, fate, or accident. Events most casual under control. Every work its part, and “a time to every purpose under heaven.” “He changeth the times and the seasons.” “God hath determined the times appointed” (Act_17:26).
II. Supremacy vindicated in the Moral World. In the physical world law, abstract principles set up in opposition: in the moral, reason, heathen gods, “humanity,” and the heavenly bodies. “The heavens do rule”—
1. In the experience of men. Nebuchadnezzar’s royal testimony, Belshazzar’s judgment, and Napoleon’s downfall. Man is subject to law as well as creation. “In whose hand is the soul (life) of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind (flesh of man),” Job_12:10.
2. In the customs of society. Social and religious—society is barbarous or civilised, progressive or stationary, degraded or elevated, as it recognises and depends upon God.
3. In the history of nations. God the Supreme Ruler and Proprietor. Nations increase as Rome, Israel, England, and America; or decay as Israel for its idolatry, Rome for its luxury, Spain for its persecutions—according to His purpose. The rise, growth, and ruin of nations with Him. “He increaseth the nations and destroyeth them: He enlargeth the nations and straiteneth them again” (Job_12:23).
III. Supremacy in its influence in the world. Two effects chiefly.
1. A source of joy to God’s people. “Rejoice, O ye nations, with His people” (Deu_32:43). His rule is not lawless authority, tyrannical and evil, but just and benevolent. Hence “the Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof.”
2. A source of terror to his enemies. “Render vengeance to his enemies” (Deu_32:43). When He “wounds” by loss (Deu_32:39); strikes according to the manner in which He swears (Deu_32:40); and becomes the archer and the arrow, who can resist? “Say to the righteous—it shall be well with him. Woe unto the wicked, etc.” (Isa_3:10-11).
VENGEANCE IN STORE.—Deu_32:34-38
“This” (Deu_32:34) not only includes the sins of the nation, but also the judgment of God. The apostacy of Israel, as well as the consequent punishment, is laid up with God—sealed up in His treasuries; therefore they have not yet actually occurred—an evident proof that we have prophecy before us, and not the description of an apostacy that had already taken place, and of punishment inflicted in consequence (Keil).
I. In store, as a natural consequence of a sinful course. Natural for sin to produce results—results destroyed, checked, or treasured up. Sins stored up in human conscience (Psa_51:3) God’s providence, and at day of judgment, (Rom_2:5). None lost or left unpunished—all repaid. “Dost thou not watch over my sin (to visit it)? My transgression is sealed up in a bag (as evidence preserved against me); and thou sewest up mine iniquity (to keep it carefully and punish it justly),” Job_14:16. “The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is hid.” (Hos_13:12).
II. In store, to be revealed in due time. Justice pledged to avenge broken law upon disobedient. Time and manner may be sealed up. Long suffering must not be taken for forgetfulness. “Recompense in due time.” Retribution.
1. Terrible. “Kill,” and none can make alive.
2. Near. “At hand.” Instruments of judgment, like weapons of war, are “taken in hand.”
3. Swift. “The things make haste.” Judgment lingereth not (2Pe_2:3).
4. Certain. “Shall come.” “I will render vengeance.” As surely as I live for ever.
III. The revelation of stored up vengeance will be just and wise. “True and righteous are His judgments.” Restrained and educational; yet sufficient.
1. To convince God’s people of their folly. In forsaking Him for idols which are vain and impotent—in relying upon earthly props which are destroyed—in showing Himself to be the arbiter of life and death.
2. To warn the wicked of their sin. “Reward them that hate me.” No power can avert or escape His anger. They may think themselves to be immovably fixed, but “their foot shall slide.” They shall totter and fall. Refuge, strength, and hope shall fail them. In God only can these be found. “The Eternal God is thy refuge.” Flee to Him.
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_32:31. God a rock. A contrast between God and idols—in existence, attributes, and conduct.
Deu_32:35. Sliding feet. Risks of carnal security.
1. Men fix themselves firmly, feel secure, and think nothing can shake them.
2. This is tremendous risk. Contempt for misfortune of others first sign of insecurity (Job_12:5). Sin overbalances, providence shakes the feet, and the fall begins.
3. Results most sad. Imagine a slip into the abyss from alpine heights! “To slide and fall is in a thousand places certain destruction; and no threatenings against the workers of iniquity are more terrible than that they shall be set in slippery places, that their feet shall slide in due time” (Dr. Thom. Ld. and Bk.).
4. God alone can prevent sliding. “Hold thou me up,” etc. (cf. Psa_38:17; Psa_94:18).
Deu_32:35-36.
1. A warning against self revenge. “Avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto (the) wrath (let it spend itself and have free space; or give place, by stepping aside as a man attacked by a wild beast); vengeance is mine (Rom_12:19).
2. God has power to punish. “I will repay, saith the Lord.” Put off indulgence, make room for the judgment of God, who will execute in due time.
“Anger is like
A full hot horse; being allow’d his way,
Self-mettle tires him.”—Shakespeare.
Deu_32:36. The Lord shall judge. Judicial acts of God.
1. As judge for His people in mercy.
2. As judge against or upon them to correct.
3. As judge of all men in righteousness.
Deu_32:34-35. Iniquity reserved for future punishment.
1. Treasured up. Noticed, not forgotten, never forgiven without repentance.
2. Treasured up to be punished. “Evil pursueth sinners.” An order of sequence in moral as physical law. Punishment fixed, certain and near. “Avenging deities are shod with wool,” but never pause nor mitigate their judgments.
3. Be wise and escape. Fatally unwise to delay repentance and return to God!
Defer not till to-morrow to be wise,
To-morrow’s sun to thee may never rise.
Deu_32:36-38. Learn—
1. Afflictions of God’s people. Their power gone, reduced to shame and helplessness. Gods whom they worshipped and supported despised and unable to defend them.
2. The pity of God for His afflicted people. Judge, i.e., plead their cause, protect and deliver them. Repent of evils brought against them, and deal in mercy, not in judgment, with them.
3. Lessons to be learned from this experience. The folly of forsaking God. The impotence of idols. The insecurity of any hiding place against the justice of God. The design of mercy to awaken a sense of ingratitude and rebellion. “Experience is the best master.” “Experience teaches fools; and he is a fool, indeed, that does not profit by it.”
Deu_32:39. Learn—
1. God’s self-existence.” I am He.”
2. God’s sole rule. “No God with me.”
3. God as arbiter of life and death. “I kill and I make alive,” etc.
4. God’s absolute power. “Neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.”
Deu_32:40-42. A terrible God.
1. Threatening vengeance.
2. Ratifying sentence with an oath.
3. Preparing to execute.
4. No resistance when vengeance comes! “The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserveth wrath for His enemies.
THE LAST DISCOURSE.—Deu_32:44-47
These are the last words, the repetition of the law of Moses, the ultimatum to the people.
I. The subject of the discourse. “All the words of this law.” Words of warning, promise and command. The law with its claims and authority. Religion represented by law.
1. Its fulness. “All the words” needed. Nothing kept back. Testimony clear and sufficient, enough to satisfy intellect and heart, to guide and bless.
2. Its importance. “Not a vain thing,” an empty, worthless profession; a mere shadow of the good and true, but the highest and only good. The “one thing needful.”
3. Its necessity. “Your life.” Not a philosophy, a mere system of morality, but a power of spiritual life. “The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus.” “Christianity is not a theory or a speculation, but a life; not a philosophy of life, but a life and a living process.”—(Coleridge). It is the highest life possible to men, an impartation of power by which eternal life may be finally attained.
II. The attention which the discourse requires. Attention and interest should be according to the importance of a thing.
1. A fixed purpose of mind. “Set your hearts.” Heart and mind must be centered on it. Constant thought and application, a firm and earnest resolve. Through decision, not passing feelings and vacillating purpose. “His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord” (Psa_112:7).
2. A due performance in life. “Observe to do.” Hear and practice. Business men say life means energy and work. Idleness and sloth are marks of death. Christ quickens, constrains and becomes the principle of action and obedience. When Christ lives within us, obedience is prompt and loyal. “Keep My commandments and live.”
III. The blessings of thus heeding this discourse. If religion is the essence of wisdom possession must be advantageous.
1. It gives enjoyment of life. “Your life” in its joy, happiness and usefulness. Life—miserable existence without God. Noble and glorious the life of him who loves God and feels that God loves him.
2. It prolongs life. “Prolong your days.” If this promise does not really belong to us, yet religion tends to length of life, in preserving from sins which shorten it, in promoting health, cheerfulness and activity. “The fear of the Lord prolongeth days, but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.”
3. It prepares for eternal life. Heaven not only eternal existence but eternal enjoyment. True religion an earnest and foretaste of it. More than dry formalism, cold assent, barren orthodoxy. It is essentially “the fountain of life,” “the kingdom of God within.”
THE SUPREME IMPORTANCE OF OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S COMMANDS.—Deu_32:46-47
I. Earnest purpose is essential to personal obedience to God’s law. “Set your hearts,” etc. Without a purpose no strength in the will, no direction in effort. Power and activity valueless without a clear aim. To fix our hearts on one great end, to make thought and duty define position and relation to this centre principle are chief means of improvement, advance and obedience in life. “My heart, O God, is fixed (prepared, set up) my heart is fixed” (Psa_57:7).
II. Obedience to God’s law will secure happiness and prosperity. “It is not a vain thing for you.” The life of individuals, the security and elevation of the nation. Obedience better than gigantic schemes of trade, and colonization than enlargement of frontier and increase of armies. “If thou wilt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all His commandments, which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth.”
III. It is our duty to render obedience ourselves and to teach our children. “Ye shall command your children.” Instruct by precept and personal example. Affection and divine law should urge to this. This will secure their interests here and welfare hereafter. Not mere talk, teaching to read, but practical training required in present day. “Train up (instruct, dedicate) a child in the way he should go” (Pro_22:6).
THE LAST DAYS OF MOSES
I. The last days of Moses were marked by sublime self-forgetfulness, and deep solicitude for the well-being of the people. When informed that the time of his departure was at hand, he exhibits no concern for himself, utters no regret because of his great privation, or anxiety as to future destiny. Sublimely he rises above personal and selfish considerations, and applies mind and heart in a last effort to promote good of the people. Asks Jehovah to appoint a successor in his great office (Num_27:15-22); solemnly recapitulates the law to the people (Deu_31:7-8; Deu_31:23); pours forth this lofty and solemn song (Deu_32:1-43); and blesses the several tribes (Deuteronomy 33.).
II. The last days of Moses were shadowed and saddened by sin. Why die at this time? Why not permitted to complete his work by leading the people into the promised land? Not because physical strength exhausted or body worn out or diseased (Deu_34:7). Because he sinned against God (Deu_32:31, cf. Num_20:2-13). Sin imparted mournful interest to last days of Moses.
III. The last days of Moses were relieved and cheered by the mercy of God. God’s kindness exhibited in three things.
1. In the aspect in which He represents his death to him. “Die … and be gathered unto thy people.”
(1.) Death is not the end of our life. “Gathered,” etc., not a poetical phrase for death; often used in addition to the record of death as a fact (cf. Gen_25:8; Gen_25:17; Gen_35:29; Gen_49:33; Num_20:26). Nor does the expression relate to burial. In this sense not true of Moses, Aaron, or Abraham (cf. Gen_15:15; 1Ki_2:10; 1Ki_11:43). “The only assignable sense” says Alford, “is that of reference to a state of further personal existence beyond death.”
(2.) To the people of God death is the way to congenial social life. Moses about to pass neither into isolation nor uncongenial society of strangers, but to His own people—persons of kindred sympathies, purposes, and interests.
2. In reminding him of the death of Aaron. Moses witnessed the close of Aaron’s course on Mount Hor. Recollection of that scene would tend to make his own death less formidable and more familiar. Aaron passed away peacefully; why should Moses dread the some journey?
3. In permitting him to see the promised land (Deu_32:52). Surely this sight, “one of the fairest and widest prospects in all the eastern lands,” must have been a source of consolation and joy to the departing spirit of the man of God. Conclusion.
1. See the beauty and nobility of overlooking self in doing good to others; and imitate it.
2. See how one sin may cause grief and loss to a good man; and abstain from every form of evil.
3. See how in God’s dealings with men mercy is mingled with judgment, and thankfully trust Him.
4. Our last days will come; by the grace of God let us endeavour so to live, that they be like those of Moses—godly, useful, and inspiring in their prospects.—William Jones.
HOMILETIC HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS
Deu_32:46-47. True Religion.
1. Not empty profession.
2. A life conformed to God’s will.
3. Real enjoyment. “Religion is the dominion of the soul. It is the hope of life, the anchor of safety, the deliverance from evil” (Napoleon I.) Duty and its Enforcement.
1. What the duties? Personal religion and instruction of posterity.
2. What are the arguments to enforce it? a Importance of the thing. “Your life.” b. Advantage of it, &c.
The path of duty is the way to glory.
—Tennyson.
Deu_32:49-50. Moses on Mount Nebo, or a Ministers death scene. This is the record of a striking death scene. It presents to us—I. The common destiny of our race, “Gathered unto thy people.” This phrase denotes the twofold change which death effects in our condition.
1. The corporal;
2. The spiritual. II. The rigorousness of moral rule. The reason why Moses was required to die now, was because he had committed a sin at Meribah. III. The agency of God in man’s dissolution. Moses died from the determination of the Divine mind. All existence depends upon God’s will. IV. The termination of life in the midst of labour. V. The promptitude of Providence in supplying the place of the dead. This fact is—
1. Encouraging to our faith;
2. Humbling to our pride. VI. The tears of a congregation over the grave of their minister. Well might they mourn (cf. Deu_34:8-9).—Adapted from Dr. Thomas.
Deu_32:51. Trespassed.
1. In strange unbelief.
2. In unrestrained passion.
3. In open rebellion.
4. In publicly dishonouring God. Learn the jealousy of God; the possibility of failure in qualities in which we excel. Never think you are secure; guard temper. Though God pardons sin, yet will He mark His hatred even in His servants. A small sin may be followed by great punishment.
Must I then forward only look for death?
Backward I turn mine eye and find him there.
—Young.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 32
Deu_32:2. Dew and rain. It is the transformation of death unto life, and the raising of that which lives into higher and fairer form which is the end in view. The morning sun and the morning rain-cloud may seem wide apart in their purpose, may appear at times to obstruct each other, but they have one great aim. The sun and the rain come to the dying seed, and both together draw it from darkness to light and build it up into the blade, the ear, and the full corn in the ear, that God’s world may live and praise His name. Both are rich in times of refreshment; the sun after the dark night, the rain after the parched day; and after both, the flower raises its head, and the birds sing, and men are glad.—J. Ker.
Deu_32:7. Days of old.
“The past lives o’er again
In its effects, and to the guilty spirit
The ever-frowning present is its image.”
S. T. Coleridge.
Deu_32:10. Apple of his eye. Tender guardianship. This organ more watched than any other. “Does it not appear to thee,” says Socrates to Xenophon, “to be a work of providence that, considering the weaknesss of the eye, He has protected it with eyelids, as with doors which, whenever there is occasion to use it, are opened, and are again closed on sleep? And that it may not receive injury from the winds, He has planted on it eyelashes like a strainer; and over the eyes has disposed the eyebrows, like a penthouse, so that the sweat from the head may do no mischief.”
Deu_32:15. Fat. The great bulk of mankind resemble the swine, which in harvest gather and fatten upon the acorns beneath the oak, but show to the tree which bore them no other thanks than rubbing off its bark, and tearing up the sod around it.—Seriver.
Deu_32:23-26. Mischiefs. Every action becomes more certainly an eternal mother than it is an eternal daughter. Richter. Vice ever carries with it the germ of its own ruin, and a retribution which is all the more inevitable from being often slow, awaits every violation of moral law.—Farrar.
Deu_32:29. Wise. If you ask me which is the real hereditary sin of human nature, do you imagine I shall answer—pride or luxury, or ambition, or egotism? No; I shall say—indolence. He who conquers indolence will conquer almost everything.—Lavater.
Deu_32:34-35. In store. Anne of Austria, Queen of France, once said to Cardinal Richelieu, her implacable enemy”—My Lord Cardinal, there is one fact which you seem entirely to have forgotten; God is a sure paymaster. He may not pay at the end of every week, or month, or year; but I charge you, remember that He pays in the end.”
Deu_32:39. I kill.
Make then, while yet ye may, your God your friend.
Deu_32:46-47. Your life. Faraday’s “religion was a living root. His standard of duty was supernatural. It was not founded on any intuitive ideas of right and wrong, nor was it fashioned upon any outward expediences of time and place; but it was formed entirely on what he held to be the revelation of the will of God in the written word; and throughout all his life his faith led him to act up to the very letter of it.”—Memoir by Dr. Bruce Jones.
Deu_32:46. Children. John Eliot, on the day of his death, was found teaching an Indian child the alphabet as he lay on his bed; and when one tried to persuade him to rest, he said—“I cannot preach now, but I have prayed God to keep me useful, and He has left me strength to teach a child.”
Deu_32:50. Die. Life’s evening, we may rest assured, will take its character from the day which has preceded it; and if we would close our career in the comfort of religious hope, we must prepare for it by early and continuous religious habit.—Shuttleworth.
Deu_32:52. Not go. The death of Moses, though it was to him an entrance into glory, was also a chastisement of his infidelity. How many noble proofs had he given of his courage and strength of faith! I How many gracious services had he done for his Master? Yet, for one act of disobedience, he must be gathered to his fathers. All our obedience cannot bear out one sin against God. How vainly shall we hope to make amends to God for our former trespasses, by our better behaviour, when Moses hath this one sin laid in his dish, after so many and worthy testimonies of his fidelity! When we have forgotten our sins, God remembers them; and although not in anger, yet He calls for our arrearages. (Bp. Hall.) See the land. It is the horizon that gives dignity to the foreground; a picture without sky has no glory. This present, unless we see gleaming beyond it the eternal calm of the heavens above the tossing treetops with withering leaves, and the smoky chimnies, is a poor thing for our eyes to gaze at, or our hearts to love, or our hands to toil on. But when we see that all paths lead to heaven, and that our eternity is affected by our acts in time, then it is blessed to gaze; it is possible to love the earthly shadows of the uncreated beauty—it is worth while to work.—Maclaren.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain On v1 Deu 32:11-12
Deu 32:11-12
Without attaching any mystic meaning to this figure of the eagle, we may readily discover the great principles of God’s action that it was intended to illustrate.
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I. The Divine discipline of life is designed to awaken man to the development of his own powers. The instinct of the eagle in breaking up her nest is to arouse the native energies of her young. The power of flight is in them, but unknown, because it has never been called into play; it is a slumbering faculty, and must be awakened into action. Man’s soul is formed into God’s image by the right action of his spiritual powers, and these powers are only awakened by the activity of God. (1) The great purpose of all spiritual discipline is to render men Divine. By the very constitution of the soul, the Godlike image must be formed by awakening the energies that lie slumbering within. The soul contains in itself the germinal forces of the life it may possess in the future ages. (2) The image of the text suggests two methods of Divine action: the stimulating and the exemplary. The eagle breaks up her nest, and is not the voice of life’s experiences God’s summons to man to rise and live to Him? God sends a shock of change through our circumstances, and rouses us from repose.
II. Discipline attains its end only when regarded as under the control of a father. It is obvious that the instinct of the eagle is that of parental affection. (1) Believe in the Father, and you submissively accept the mysterious in life. (2) Believe in the Father, and you shall strive to realise the purpose of this discipline. We have no impulse to any spiritual aspiration, to any true self-sacrifice, to the exertion of any spiritual energy, which is not awakened by the touch of the Eternal Spirit. Let us then awake out of sleep. God is breaking up our material resting-places in order that we may aspire towards the imperishable and the immortal.
E. L. Hull, Sermons, 3rd series, p. 131.
I. This passage suggests the thought of Divine incitements. The world is all alive with nest-building. Men seek comfort, satisfaction, and rest in outward things. In a scene where all is flowing they try to make fixity. God shatters what man builds, drives away what man gathers, takes what man in vain tries to hold.
II. Divine example. "As an eagle fluttereth over her young," as showing them the way to fly, so God sets before us the example of the good, the strivings of the great, the lives of the saints, and chiefly the perfect pattern, the perfect life of His incarnate Son. With the disturbances and dislodgments of life will be found very often invitations, and possibilities, and enlargements.
III. Divine protection. "The eagle spreadeth abroad her wings." The spreading of the wings is the promise of protection to the young birds, both while in the nest and while attempting to fly. So here we have the Divine protection amply promised and assured to us by the word of God.
IV. Divine compulsion. "As an eagle... taketh them," if they will, in helpfulness; if they will not, in compulsion; in one way or another they must be got out of the nest. God takes oftentimes one and another in quiet, common life, and by a kind of sacred violence forces them into new scenes and almost into better states.
A. Raleigh, Front Dawn to the Perfect Day, p. 219.
References: Deu 32:11, Deu 32:12.—W. Haslam, The Threefold Gift of God, Part I., p. 41; T. Cuyler, Christian World Pulpit, vol. i., p. 529; W. M. Taylor, The Limitations of Life, p.. 78. Deu 32:13.—H. Melvill, The Lothbury Lectures, p. 19. Deu 32:20.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxx., No. 1784.
Deu 32:29
I. That there is very generally a strange want of reflection and concern respecting our condition as mortal is most apparent in many plain, familiar proofs. Perhaps nothing in the world, that appears so out of consistency, is so obvious. Notice: (1) The very small effect of the memory of the departed in the way of admonition of our own mortality. (2) How little and seldom we are struck with the reflection how many things we are exposed to that might cause death. (3) How soon a recovery from danger sets aside the serious thought of death. (4) How many schemes are formed for a long future time with as much interest and as much anticipating confidence as if there were no such thing in the world as death.
II. When it is asked, How comes this to be? the general explanation is that which accounts for everything that is wrong, namely, the radical depravity of our nature. There are doubtless special causes, such as: (1) The perfect distinctness of life and death. (2) Even the certainty and universality of death may be numbered among the causes tending to withdraw men’s thoughts from it. (3) The general presumption of having long to live is a cause of a more obvious kind. (4) Another great cause is that men occupy their whole soul and life with things that preclude the thought of its end. (5) There is in a large proportion of men a formal, systematic endeavour to keep off the thought of death.
III. Let us remember that to end our life is the mightiest event that awaits us in this world. And it is that which we are living but to come to. To have been thoughtless of it, then, will ultimately be an immense calamity; it will be to be in a state unprepared for it. And consider that there is a sovereign antidote to the fear of death. There is One that has Himself yielded to death, in order to vanquish it for us and take its terrors away.
J. Foster, Lectures, 2nd series, p. 241.
References: Deu 32:29.—Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iii., p. 120; Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. vi., No. 304; J. C. Hare, Sermons in Herstmonceux Church, p. 415. Deu 32:31.—D. Moore, Penny Pulpit, No. 3342; R. Glover, By the Waters of Babylon, p. 153. Deu 32:32.—H. Macmillan, The Olive Leaf, p. 280. Deu 32:35.—A. Tholuck, Hours of Christian Devotion, p. 128; Expositor, 3rd series, vol. v., p. 455. Deu 32:36.—Spurgeon, My Sermon Notes, p. 45. Deu 32:37, Deu 32:38.—Expositor, 2nd series, vol. iii., p. 225.
Deu 32:39
The text declares with a magnificent fulness the personality and the power of God.
I. God as healing is made visible to us in Jesus. The miracles of Jesus were mainly connected with the bodies of men. There were two great reasons for this. (1) One reason is to show the close connection of sickness with sin. One indication of this we have in a great fact of our Saviour’s life. He was incarnate that He might have sympathy with us. Yet He was never sick. He had no particular sickness because He had no sin. (2) Christ’s miracles of healing were not the luxury of a Divine good-nature. They were not random alms that cost Him nothing. A perceptible exhaustion of vital energy accompanied the exertion of His power. Here then is a second cause for our Lord’s miracles of healing: to teach us self-denial and thought for the sick. He took to Himself God’s motto, "I heal," for one of the highest of theological and for one of the tenderest of practical reasons.
II. We now consider God as wounding. As to the wounds of suffering humanity—sickness—two considerations practically diminish the perplexity which they bring to us when we consider them as existing under a rule of love, (1) One of these considerations is the intention of sickness as a part of the spiritual discipline of the Christian life. (2) Another moral object of sickness is to draw out the fulness of Christian sympathy, scientific and personal.
III. As we enlarge our view, the Divine pity predominates. There are, indeed, voices of anguish on every breeze; there are shadows in the foreground of the picture of the history of humanity. But these voices of anguish are only surface discords, underlying which is a wondrous harmony. All those shadows do but set off the picture that closes with the long golden distances of sunlit hills whose atmosphere is perfect wisdom, whose magic colouring drops from the tender pencil of perfect love.
Bishop Alexander, The Great Question, p. 30.
References: Deu 32:39.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxv., No. 1465. Deu 32:44-52.—Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ii., p. 443. Deu 32:47.—J. C. Jones, Penny Pulpit, No. 664; Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. viii., No. 457; G. Brooks, Outlines of Sermons, p. 124. Deu 32:48-52.—H. Wonnacott, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xiv., p. 158; H. Batchelor, The Incarnation of God, p. 193. Deut 32—Parker, vol. iv., pp. 350, 365, 375. Deu 33:1-5.—F. Whitfield, The Blessings of the Tribes, p. 23. Deu 33:1-12.—Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. iv., p. 281. Deut 33—M. Dods, Israel’s Iron Age, p. 173.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 The Song of Moses
The Song of Moses
The theme of this noble Song is the goodness of Jehovah in choosing Israel and bringing them into a rich land. When they provoke Him with their forgetfulness and unfaithfulness, He disciplines them. But He does not utterly reject them; when they repent He takes part with them against their enemies and delivers them. It will be observed that the exodus begins and concludes with a Song of Moses: see Exo_15:1-18. Psalms 90 is also attributed to him.
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1-6. Heaven and earth are called to witness the perfect righteousness and faithfulness of Jehovah which Israel has requited with ingratitude.
2. As the dew] in its gentleness and beneficent results: cp. Isa_55:10-11; Psa_133:3; Job_29:22, Job_29:23.
3. Name of the Lord] i.e. His character: see on Deu_28:58.
4. The Rock] This frequent name of Jehovah expresses His absolute and unwavering faithfulness: see e.g. Psa_18:2. Observe the number of words in this v. all emphasising this attribute of the divine character, and serving to throw into stronger relief the fickleness of Israel.
5. The first part of this v. is obscure, and various emendations have been suggested. RV has 'they have dealt corruptly with him (i.e. with Jehovah), they are not his children, it is their blemish; they are a perverse and crooked generation,' which seems to express the general meaning of the original.
7-14. Think of the goodness of Jehovah in choosing Israel, rescuing them in the wilderness, and bringing them into a rich land. 8. Jehovah is not the God of Israel only, but of all the nations of the earth. He has, however, a special f avour towards Israel; and, when He divided the world among the nations, He left room for the people whom He had chosen.
9. The converse is also true. Jehovah is the portion of His people: see e.g. Num_18:20; Psa_16:5-6; Psa_73:26; Psa_142:5; Jer_10:16.
10. He found him] like a lost child or wandering sheep. Led him about] RV 'compassed him about.'
11. The image is that of the old eagle encouraging her timorous young to fly. So Jehovah disciplined Israel in the wilderness, preparing the people for their life in Canaan: see on Exo_19:4.
12. There was no strange god with him] i.e. with Jehovah. He did everything for Israel. No other god, therefore, has any claim upon their gratitude and obedience.
14. Rams.. of Bashan] see on Num_21:33-35. Fat of kidneys of wheat] the finest and most nourishing of wheat, the kidneys being enclosed in the best fat of the animal: cp. Num_18:12, where the Heb. is 'all the fat of..'
15-18. All this grace Israel has requited with forgetfulness and unfaithfulness.
15. Jeshurun] (cp. Deu_33:5, Deu_33:26; Isa_44:2) is a poetical name for Israel, meaning probably 'the righteous one': see on Num_23:10. Prosperity made Israel self-willed and forgetful: see on Deu_4:25, and cp. Deu_8:10 to Deu_18:16 Jealousy] see on Exo_20:5.
17. Unto devils, not to God] RV 'unto demons which were no God': cp. Deu_32:21. The 'demons' may mean the divinities worshipped in Assyria in the form of colossal bulls: cp. Psa_106:37.
19-33. In consequence of this perversity Jehovah is provoked and corrects them in His anger.
20. No faith] i.e. no faithfulness or fidelity. They have broken their covenant with Jehovah.
21. Vanities] i.e. false gods: see e.g. Isa_41:29; Isa_44:10; Jer_8:19; Jer_10:15; 1Co_8:4; Not a people] i.e. most probably an undisciplined horde of barbarians, whom God will permit to gain the mastery over Israel. In Rom_10:19 this passage is applied to the Gentiles, whose acceptance of the gospel will have the effect of provoking the jealousy of the chosen people and moving them ultimately to follow their example.
22. Lowest hell] RV 'pit': Heb. Sheol. God's righteous indignation reaches to the deepest and remotest part of the universe: cp. Amo_9:2.
27. Behave themselves strangely] RV 'misdeem,' draw a false conclusion from Jehovah's treatment of Israel by taking credit to themselves for its humiliation: see Num_14:15-17 and note there, and cp. Deu_9:28.
28. They] Israel.
29. Their latter end] the consequences of their conduct.
30. Shut them up] delivered them into the hand of their enemies.
31. Their rock] the gods of the heathen.
32. Their vine] The analogy with their rock in Deu_32:31 suggests that the reference is to the enemy, but more probably it is to Israel itself, whose apostasy is thus severely condemned. Israel is frequently compared to a vine of God's planting, which instead of bearing fruit is either fruitless (Hos_10:1) or bears wild grapes (Isa_5:2-7). Sodom and Gomorrah are types of wickedness, and the vines ascribed to them may be no specific plants, but figurative growths or outcomes.
33. Dragons] i.e. serpents.
34-43. When Israel is reduced to extremities Jehovah will be merciful to them and avenge them.
34. This] referring to the vengeance of God (Deu_32:35), which for the present is laid up in store against the day when it will be manifested.
35. RV 'vengeance is mine and recompence, at the time when their foot shall slide.'
36. Shut up, or left] i.e. left at large, a proverbial expression meaning everybody: see 1Ki_14:10; 1Ki_21:21; 2Ki_9:8; 2Ki_14:26.
37. Cp. Jdg_10:14; Jer_2:28.
39. No god with me] This is almost equivalent to 'no god beside me.' Jehovah alone is able to work and save: cp. Isa_43:10-13.
40. Lift up my hand] The usual attitude of taking an oath: see Gen_14:22; Num_14:30 mg. Rev_10:5, Rev_10:6. I live for ever] rather, 'As I live for ever.'
41. Mine enemies] the heathen.
42. From the beginning.. enemy] RV 'from the head of the leaders of the enemy.'
43. Read, with RM, 'Praise His people, ye nations, for.. He will make expiation for His land, His people (or, for the land of His people),' i.e. He will make atonement for the blood shed in the land by the slaughter of those who shed it. Then those who witness this righteous judgment will recognise that Israel is the people of Jehovah and will bless, or congratulate, them.
44. Hoshea] see on Exo_17:9.
48-52. See Num_27:12-14 and notes there. On the death of Aaron see Num_20:22-29.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 2. The Song of Moses
2. The Song of Moses
CHAPTER 32:1-43
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1. The introduction and the theme (Deu 32:1-4)
2. The foolish people (Deu 32:5-6)
3. How Jehovah loved them (Deu 32:7-14)
4. Their apostasy (Deu 32:15-18)
5. The results of the apostasy (Deu 32:19-33)
6. Jehovah’s final dealing with Israel (Deu 32:34-42)
7. The glorious consummation (Deu 32:43)
The song of Moses is a great prophecy. The first great prophetic utterance is found in the parables of Balaam. The second prophetic discourse is this song. The song of Moses embraces the entire history of Israel, past, present and future. It bears in a most remarkable way every mark of being a prophetic testimony from the inspired leader of God’s people. The men, who deny this and who boast of literary ability, must be wilfully blind. The critics have denied to a man, that Moses wrote a single word of this song. But they have not informed us who wrote this wonderful ode. “The assertion that the entire ode moves within the epoch of the kings, who lived many centuries after the time of Moses, rests upon a total misapprehension of the nature of prophecy” (Keil).
Moses began his song by calling heaven and earth to hear the words of his mouth. What he was about to say concerned indeed heaven and earth. Isaiah too began his book with the same call (Isa 1:2). The name of Jehovah is exalted. He is the Rock and His work is perfect. He is a God of truth, just and right. But His people, what are they? Their character is described in verses 5 and 6. How He uncovers the true nature of the people, who had acknowledged Him as Jehovah! Corrupt, perverse, crooked, foolish, unwise, are the terms used to describe their character. The failure they would be, their apostasy and the necessity of disciplinary dealings of Jehovah with them, are thus mentioned in the first stanza of this song.
The third section, verses 7-14, reveals the goodness and the love of the Lord for them. The eighth verse has a deep meaning. “When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.” This verse carries us backward. The boundaries of the nations were made by God with a direct reference to the children of Israel. The name of God used here, “the Most High,” is the millennial title, which He will have when His blessed Son our Lord receives His Kingdom. (See Gen 14:19.) When that time of blessing comes and Israel converted is no longer the tail but the head of the nations, this divine division will then be fully made known. And how they are reminded again what Jehovah did for them! “He found him, He led him, instructed and kept him.” Verses 9-14 are wonderful words. And they apply to us spiritually as they described Jehovah’s goodness to Israel.
But how great is the contrast when we reach the fourth section of this prophetic song? (See verses 15-18.) The first step in their apostasy is the forsaking of God and the worshipping of false gods. The next step is, they “lightly esteemed the rock of His salvation.” No doubt this latter statement refers to the rejection of the son of God, when He appeared in the midst of His people.
The awful consequences of this rejection are seen prophetically. Here again we have history prewritten. But these predictions were so minutely fulfilled, the unbelieving heart of man refuses to accept these words as being the words of Moses. Here again we have a striking evidence of inspiration. God foretells through Moses the future of an apostate people. Compare verse 21 with Rom 10:19; Rom 11:10-11. The call of the Gentiles is anticipated in Moses’ song; salvation came to us Gentiles by their fall. It seems almost as if they are going to perish completely as a nation. But the song changes suddenly. Jehovah will yet arise in their behalf. It will be in a time when their power is gone, when they are helpless and their enemies press down upon them as never before in their long, dark night of suffering and tears. That will happen in the end of this present age, during the predicted time of great trouble, which is to come upon them. Compare verse 39 with Hos 5:15; Hos 6:1-3. The judgment, which is announced by Moses in verses 40-42 is the judgment which will fall upon Gentile nations in the day when the Lord appears in His glory. To follow this throughout the entire prophetic Word is as helpful as it is interesting.
The last verse of this song (verse 43) shows the glorious consummation. After the storm of judgment and indignation, peace will come to this earth. The nations will learn war no more; they will learn righteousness. Then the world will be converted. The Lord will be merciful unto His land and to His people. The blessings and glories promised to Israel have come. Therefore the nations will rejoice with His people. The song of Moses is the key to all prophecy.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v1 Israel’s Position and Apostasy
Israel’s Position and Apostasy
v. 1. Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth! Heaven and earth are not only called upon as witnesses in the event of Israel’s future apostasy, but they are concerned also inasmuch as God’s faithfulness and righteousness are revealed in heaven and in earth, the entire universe being filled by every exhibition of His glory.
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v. 2. My doctrine shall drop as the rain, the gentle and persistent rain which brings forth fruit in abundance; my speech shall distil, gently flow, as the dew, as the small rain, mild showers, upon the tender herb, as it breaks forth from the buds in the spring, and as the showers upon the grass, upon the young vegetation. That was to be the effect of Moses’ song upon the hearts of the people, like that of a mild and fructifying rain.
v. 3. Because I will publish the name of the Lord, proclaim, preach of His name; ascribe ye greatness unto our God; in their entire life, in words and deeds, they were to show that they acknowledged His exalted nature, His glory as Jehovah.
v. 4. He is the Rock, the unchangeable, unshakable Refuge, Protection, and Security for the forsaken and for all those that believe in Him; His work is perfect, without a single defect; for all His ways, His manner of dealing with men in the world, are judgment, in perfect agreement with justice; a God of truth, upon whom one may depend in all the vicissitudes of life, and without iniquity, just and right is He, falseness, crooked dealing, is absolutely foreign to Him. But the very opposite is true of the children of Israel.
v. 5. They have corrupted themselves, namely, in the various apostasies and rebellions charged against them since the days of Sinai; their spot is not the spot of His children, literally, "not His children, but their blemish," that is, all the rebellious people did not really belong to the children of Jehovah, but were properly considered a stain and a blemish upon the congregation of the Lord; they are a perverse and crooked generation. Cf Isa 1:4.
v. 6. Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? Instead of showing their appreciation of God’s kindness and mercy by worshiping Him and clinging to Him, they showed themselves an arrogant people, devoid of all real understanding. Is not he thy father that hath bought thee, acquiring them as His own by the many manifestations of His goodness? Hath he not made thee and established thee? The miraculous deliverance of the children of Israel from the power of Pharaoh had been followed by the covenant of Sinai and by their acceptance as His peculiar people.
v. 7. Remember the days of old, the period of the Egyptian bondage and beyond, consider the years of many generations, the experiences which one generation after the other had had under the guidance of Jehovah; ask thy father, and he will show thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee, they were in a position to tell the younger generation of God’s wonderful dealings with them, all of which were to be kept in mind always by all members of the nation.
v. 8. When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. From the very beginning it was a work of God’s providence, of His government of the earth, to give to each tribe and nation as it was formed and as it grew, a place, a country, with boundaries; and He always had in mind the needs of that people whom He intended to choose for Himself, so that Israel should possess a land corresponding to its population.
v. 9. For the Lord’s portion is His people, Jacob is the lot, the surveyed land, the possession, of His Inheritance. In this people, therefore, He took a special interest, to it He gave countless proofs of His fatherly love and care.
v. 10. He found him in a desert land, in a most helpless and disconsolate position, and in the waste, howling wilderness, where only the dismal and terrifying cry of wild animals could be heard, all of which is added to emphasize the position of Israel at that time. He led him about, He compassed him with the fullness of His loving care; he instructed him, without letting him out of His sight for as much as a moment; He kept him as the apple of His eye, with the most delicate tenderness.
v. 11. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, in encouraging the young to make an attempt at flying, fluttereth over her young, ready to save the weak and helpless, whose wings are not yet fully grown, from a bad fall, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings,
v. 12. so the Lord alone did lead him, the people of Israel, and there was no strange god with him. Jehovah being their only Helper and Stay, the children of Israel were under obligation to serve Him alone as God. It is a remarkable picture showing the loving care of Jehovah in leading the people forward to the proper independence.
v. 13. He made him ride on the high places of the earth, as the victorious conquerors of the land, that he might eat the increase of the fields, the rich products, all the wealth of the fruitful land; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock, an expressive description of the productiveness of Canaan’s soil;
v. 14. butter of kine, including all the products gained from milk, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, noted for their excellence in every respect, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat, figurative for the finest and most nourishing grain; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape, unexcelled vine, full of fire and refreshment. Thus the various acts of God’s mercy and goodness are enumerated, in sharp contrast to the apostasy which is now described.
v. 16. But Jeshurun, the people of righteousness, as they are called to remind them of God’s loving and honoring plans for their permanent advancement as the just and righteous among the nations of the world, waxed fat, and kicked, like an ox that is fed too well, like a horse that feels his oats, Isa 10:27; thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness, as Moses, in turning directly to the people, applies the figure; then he forsook God, which made him, deliberately rejecting his Creator, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation, who not only had delivered them from the bondage of Egypt, but wanted to be their Redeemer from all spiritual dangers as well.
v. 16. They provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods, by forgetting the relation of faithfulness which the covenant laid upon them, with abominations provoked they Him to anger.
v. 17. They sacrificed unto devils, to demons, to wasters or destroyers, for thus the evil and harmful character of the heathen deities was often indicated; to gods whom they knew not, who neither by benefit nor by blessing had manifested themselves as true gods, to new gods that came newly up, but recently invented and accepted by the Israelites, whom your fathers feared not, for whom they felt no reverential awe, since they are mere products of the imagination.
v. 18. of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee. They had shown themselves coolly neglectful against Him whose care had partaken of the love of both father and mother toward them. They were thus unnatural children, an evil and perverse generation, a warning to all believers who are growing cold toward the rich blessings of God’s grace.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3 General Information:
General Information:
Moses speaks a poetic song to the people of Israel. (See: Parallelism)
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Give ear, you heavens ... Let the earth listen
Yahweh speaks to the heavens and earth as if they are there listening. Possible meanings are 1) Yahweh is speaking to the inhabitants of heaven and earth or 2) Yahweh is speaking to the heavens and earth as if they are persons. (See: Apostrophe)
Let my teaching drop down like the rain ... and like the showers on the plants
This means Yahweh wants the people to eagerly accept his helpful teaching. (See: Simile)
distill
Use the word in your language for the process by which dew appears.
dew
water that forms on leaves and grass on cool mornings
tender grass
"new plants"
showers
heavy rain
translationWords
heaven
earth
word
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1–2 32:1 Listen, O heavens. . . . Hear, O…
32:1 Listen, O heavens. . . . Hear, O earth: Moses appealed to the witnesses of the covenant to note Israel’s confession and commitment as well as its anticipated disobedience and disloyalty (see 30:19).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.