Deuteronomy 32:1-52
1 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
2 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:
3 Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.
4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.
5 They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation.
6 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?
7 Remember the days of old, consider the years of manya generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.
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.
9 For the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lotb of his inheritance.
10 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.
11 As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:
12 So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.
13 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;
14 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.
15 But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: 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.
16 They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.
17 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.
18 Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.
19 And when the LORD saw it, he abhorredc them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters.
20 And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.
21 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.
22 For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burnd unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.
23 I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.
24 They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat,e and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.
25 The sword without, and terror within,f shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.
26 I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:
27 Were it not that 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.
28 For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.
29 O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!
30 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?
31 For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.
32 For their vine is of the vineg of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:
33 Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.
34 Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?
35 To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; 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.
36 For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their powerh is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.
37 And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted,
38 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.
39 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: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
40 For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever.
41 If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.
42 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.
43 Rejoice,i 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.
44 And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hosheaj the son of Nun.
45 And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel:
46 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.
47 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.
48 And the LORD spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying,
49 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:
50 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:
51 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.
52 Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.
Deuteronomy: God’s Law of Love
Love and Obey the *LORD your God
Deuteronomy
Philip Smith
Chapter 32
v1 ‘Listen, heavens, and I will speak.
Oh earth, hear the words that I say.
v2 My lessons will come down like the rain.
My words will form on the earth like the mist in the morning.
They will be like showers of rain on new grass,
They will be like much rain on young plants.
v3 I will call aloud the name of the *LORD.
Oh, tell people that our God is very great!
v4 He is the rock that is strong. What he does is perfect.
He is a *faithful God. He does not do anything that is wrong.
He does what is right and fair.
v5 The people have not been *faithful to him.
They are not his children. They are *sinful and foolish.
v6 You should not deal with the *LORD in that way.
You are foolish and stupid people.
The *LORD is your father. He created you.
He made you into a nation and he made you firm.’
The song describes a *trial in a court. The place where God lives and the earth are like *witnesses in this *trial. Moses praises God. God is great and he is perfect. God made his people and he protects them too. God’s lessons are like the rain. The rain helps young plants to grow. In a similar way, God’s lessons should have a good effect on his people. God looks after his people. But the people have been foolish. They have not been *faithful or grateful.
v7 ‘Remember a long time ago. Think about the *generations in the past.
Ask your father. He will tell you what happened.
Ask your leaders to tell you the story.
v8 God, who is the great God, divided the land between the different nations.
He decided where the boundaries should be.
He made the boundaries of the *tribes of the *Israelites that depended on their size.
v9 The *LORD’s share was his people.
He chose Jacob’s *descendants as his special people.
v10 The *LORD found the *Israelites in a *desert.
It was empty and strong winds blew across it.
He guarded and looked after the *Israelites.
He protected them as he would protect his own eyes.
v11 He was like an eagle that teaches its young birds to fly.
The large bird called the eagle spreads its wings to catch its young birds.
And it carries them on its strong feathers.
v12 The *LORD alone led his people.
No false god helped them.
v13 God let them rule the mountains.
He fed them with the harvest that came from the fields.
He satisfied them with honey that came from the rocks.
He gave them oil from the hard rock.
v14 The cows and the goats in *Israel gave plenty of milk.
*Israel had fat sheep and male sheep from the region called Bashan.
And *Israel had goats and the finest wheat.
*Israelites drank wine from the juice of the *grape.’
This section shows what God had done for his people. God chose the nation called *Israel from among the nations. He prepared a special country for them. He brought them through the *desert. He looked after them like an eagle looks after its young birds. (An eagle is a very large bird.) He provided all that they would need in the country. There were no false gods to lead the *Israelites away from the right actions.
v15 ‘The *LORD’s people became rich and they refused to obey him.
They ate and they became fat.
They left the God who had made them.
God had protected them; God had saved them.
But they did not honour him.
v16 They made God jealous because they served false gods.
They made him angry because they *worshipped terrible *idols.
v17 They *sacrificed to devils and they did not *sacrifice to God.
The *Israelites had not known those false gods in the past.
Those false gods were new to them.
The *Israelite *ancestors did not *worship them.
v18 You did not follow the God who protected you.
He made you. You forgot the God who made you live.’
In this section, Moses accuses the *Israelites. They were like fat animals that would not follow their owner. *Israelites served false gods and they did not continue to trust God. Some false gods were the new ones that they had met in their new country. They had forgotten the God who had created them. Moses had seen that kind of thing happen before this. Remember the story about the young cow that Aaron had made out of gold. (See Exodus 32.) Moses knew what would happen in the future.
v19 ‘The *LORD saw it with disgust.
His sons and his daughters made him angry.
v20 “I will not continue to be with them,” he said.
“I will see what happens to them.
They refuse to obey me and I cannot trust them.
v21 They made me jealous with their false gods that have no value.
Their *idols have no value, and those *idols made me angry.
I will cause a nation that has no value to make *Israel jealous.
I will use a foolish nation to make *Israel angry.
v22 My anger will be like a fire.
It will burn down to hell.
My anger will *destroy the earth and its harvests.
It will make the base of the mountains burn with fire.
v23 I will send many *disasters upon *Israel.
I will use up all my arrows against them.
v24 The *Israelites will become weak because of hunger.
They will be very hot in their bodies and they will have terrible diseases.
I will send wild animals to attack them.
I will send poisonous snakes to bite them.
v25 There will be war in their streets and there will be terror in their homes.
Young men and young women will die. Babies and old men will all die.
v26 I said that I would scatter the *Israelites.
Nobody will remember them.
v27 But I was afraid that their enemies would be proud.
They would not understand.
Their enemies would say, ‘We have defeated them.
The *LORD has not done it.’ ”
v28 People in *Israel do not listen to advice.
They do not have any wisdom.
v29 If they were wise they would understand this.
Then they would know what would happen to them finally.
v30 One man could not possibly chase 1000 men.
Two men could not cause 10 000 men to run away.
That could happen only if God, their strong Rock, would not help them.
It could happen only if the *LORD had left them.
v31 The false gods of our enemies are not like our God, the strong rock.
Our enemies know that this is true.
v32 Their enemies are as bad as the people from Sodom and Gomorrah.
Their enemies are like plants that produce poisonous and bitter *grapes.
v33 Their wine is like the poison of snakes.
v34 “I will remember this.
I will store it in a safe place.
v35 I will get *revenge. I will punish those people who do wrong things.
The time will come when they will suffer defeat.
Their day of *disaster is near.
Their punishment will happen quickly.”
v36 The *LORD will make a judgement on his people.
He will have *mercy on his servants.
He will see that they have lost their strength.
Nobody remains, slave or free.
v37 Then he will say, “Their gods have not been able to do anything.
They were sure that their false gods would protect them.
v38 They fed those false gods with their *sacrifices.
They gave them wine from their *drink offerings.
Let those false gods come. And let them help you!
Let them protect you!
v39 I am the only God.
There is no real god apart from me.
I kill and I make alive.
I cause injuries and I will cure.
Nobody can rescue anyone from my hand.
v40 I am the God who lives for always. I raise my hand towards heaven.
I promise this to you.
v41 I will make my sharp sword to shine.
I will hold it in my hand to bring *judgement.
I will get *revenge on my enemies.
I will punish those who hate me.
v42 The blood of my enemies will cover my arrows.
My sword will kill those who oppose me.
Blood will flow from those who die and from the prisoners.
My sword will cut off the heads of the leaders of the enemy.”
v43 Oh nations, be happy with God’s people.
God will punish those who kill his people.
God will get *revenge on his enemies.
God will remove the *sins of his country and of his people.’
Verses 19-25 are the judgement of the judge at the end of the *trial. God is the judge and he decides how to punish *Israel. He will leave them. He will not help them. They will not be able to get away from his anger. They *worshipped false gods that had no value. So, nations that do not *worship God will attack *Israel. There will be hunger and disease. Wild animals, war and death will attack them.
(Romans 1:18-32 announces similar punishments for people who refuse to accept God’s truth today. Paul says that God allowed them to carry out their *sinful desires. Then they received in themselves the result of the wrong things that they did.)
But God will not ruin his people completely. God ought to send the *Israelites away so that people would forget them. That is what they deserved. God will not do that because his enemies might become proud. God allowed the enemies to be successful for only one reason. God used his enemies to punish his people, the *Israelites. God punished his people in a very hard way. But the punishment for God’s enemies would be greater. The enemy is as wicked as Sodom and Gomorrah. (God *destroyed those two towns in the time of Abraham and Lot. See Genesis 19:24.) God will remember their wicked actions. Then he will punish the *Israelites’ enemies. God will show his people that they were foolish to trust false gods. God promises to show *mercy on his people and to punish their enemies. People from all nations will join to give honour to God. He will take away the *sin of his people and he will cover it.
In Romans 15:10, Paul uses the first part of Deuteronomy 32:43. He describes how the Gentiles will trust God. (Gentiles are people who are not *Jews.)
v44 Moses and Joshua, son of Nun, spoke the words of this song so that the *Israelites could hear it. v45 Moses finished his speech to all the *Israelites. v46 Then he said this to them. ‘Remember every word that I have said to you today. Order your children to obey carefully all the words that have taught to you. v47 These commands are important words. They cause you to live. You will cross the River Jordan to possess the country. Obey what I have taught to you. Then you will live for a long time in that country.’
v48 The same day, the *LORD said this to Moses. v49 ‘Go up to *Mount Nebo in the Abarim mountains. It is in Moab, opposite Jericho. Look at the country called Canaan, which I am giving to the *Israelites for their possession. v50 You will die on the mountain that you climb. There you will join your *ancestors. In the same way, your brother, Aaron, died on *Mount Hor and he joined his *ancestors. v51 Neither of you were *faithful to me at the waters of Meribah Kadesh. That was in the *desert of Zin. There, you did not give honour to me in front of the people. v52 So you will see the country from a distance. But you will not enter the country that I am giving to the *Israelites.’
Moses ordered the *Israelites to remember the song and the law. If they obeyed the laws, they would choose to live. God told Moses to climb *Mount Nebo, where he would die. His brother had died on the top of a mountain too. God did not allow Moses to enter the country that he had promised to the *Israelites. That was because of what happened at Meribah. (See Numbers 20:10-13.) You can read more about this in the explanation on chapter 3 verses 23-29.
Lord ~ a name for God. It translates the word ‘Adonai’ in the Hebrew language, which means ‘my ruler’. The word ‘lord’ (without a capital letter) means an ordinary ruler.LORD ~ God gave this special name to himself. It translates the word ‘Yahweh’ in the Hebrew language. It is the Covenant name for God. It links to the words ‘I am’; it means that God has always been here.
covenant ~ the special promise that God made to his people. God’s covenant with the Israelites established a relationship between him and them. But they must obey him.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
faithful ~ when someone always does what they have promised to do; when someone is loyal at all times.
sinful ~ refers to an action or to a desire that is against God’s law; a wrong or wicked action; a person who does those things is sinful.
trial ~ an examination in a court to see if someone is guilty of a crime.
generation ~ a period of about 20 to 30 years. During that time, children grow up and they have their own children.
tribe ~ a group of people from the same race, who all came from one person. The tribes of *Israel were the 12 large families of Jacob’s sons.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
desert ~ a wild place where there are small bushes and not much water. It has poor soil and people cannot grow crops there. So, not many people live there.
grape ~ small green or purple soft fruit that people can use to make wine.
worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a sacrifice.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.
ancestors ~ people in your family who lived before you.
idol ~ an image of a false god that people give honour to; an object of wood, stone or metal that people worship.
worship ~ when people show honour to God, or to a false god. People may sing or pray. Or they may kneel down or give a sacrifice.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that people give to God, or to a false god; or, to make such a gift.
disaster ~ an event that makes people suffer and causes great damage and perhaps, death.
mercy ~ kindness instead of punishment.
judgement ~ when God or a judge says what is right or wrong.
revenge ~ to get revenge means to return an injury that someone has done to you. God’s revenge is his desire to give the punishment that a person deserves.
Jew ~ a person who belongs to the family of the Israelites. Jews are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Israelite ~ a person from the nation called *Israel; Israelites is another name for the Jews.
descendant ~ a person in your family who will live after you.
Mount ~ mountain. For example, ‘Mount Sinai’ means the mountain called Sinai.