Moses’ song: Israel’s response. But Jeshurun (Israel) became fat and kicked [at God]. You became fat, thick, sleek, and obstinate! Then he abandoned God who had made him, And scorned the Rock of his salvation. Deu 32:15
INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT
The Law Repeated for the New Generation
IV. THE FINAL SCENES IN MOSES’ CAREER, Deuteronomy 31-34
3. The Song of Moses and Directions to Ascend Nebo, Deu_32:1-52
34. What does it declare about Israel’s perverseness?
INTRODUCTION
This is again the Greek name for this book, and signifies the “second giving of the Law.” It contains the records of public addresses to Israel, delivered in the eleventh month of the fortieth year of their wanderings through the Wilderness. As Moses uttered them on the eve of his own speedy removal, he was able to speak with unusual emphasis and urgency. The allusions to the natural features amidst which these addresses were given are consistent with the place and speaker. It has been shown also by competent scholarship that Deuteronomy has all the peculiarities of Moses’ style; and any differences of hortatory entreaty and appeal may be accounted for by the mellowing effect of age.
The special references to this book in the New Testament are very significant. Our Lord quoted from it thrice in His Temptation, Mat_4:4; Mat_4:10. See also Rom_10:19; Act_3:22; Act_7:37. There are touches by a later writer, and an appendix, Deu_34:1-12; but the origin of the treatise as a whole must be ascribed to the great Lawgiver.
THE SONG OF MOSES
But Jeshurun (Israel) became fat and kicked [at God]. You became fat, thick, sleek, and obstinate! Then he abandoned God who had made him, And scorned the Rock of his salvation.
“They provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods [by denying Him the honor and loyalty that is rightfully and uniquely His]; And with repulsive acts they provoked Him to anger.
“They sacrificed to demons, not to God, To gods whom they have not known, New gods who came lately, Whom your fathers never feared.
“You were unmindful of the Rock who bore you, And you forgot the God who gave you birth.
“The LORD saw it, and rejected them, Out of indignation with His sons and His daughters.
“Then He said, ‘I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end shall be; For they are a perverse generation, Sons in whom there is no faithfulness.
‘They have made Me jealous with what is not God; They have provoked Me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
‘For a fire is kindled by My anger, And it burns to the depths of Sheol (the place of the dead, the nether world), It devours the earth with its yield, And sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.
‘I will heap misfortunes on them; I will use My arrows on them.
‘They will be wasted by hunger, and consumed by plague And a bitter destruction; And I will send the teeth of beasts against them, With the venom of crawling things of the dust.
‘Outside the sword will bereave, And inside [the chambers] terror– For both young man and virgin, For the nursing child and the man of gray hair.
‘I would have said, “I will cut them to pieces [scattering them far away], I will remove the memory of them from men,”
Had I not feared the provocation of the enemy, That their adversaries would misjudge, That they would say, “Our [own] hand has prevailed, And the LORD has not done all this.”‘
“For they are a nation devoid of counsel, And there is no understanding in them.
“O that they were wise, that they understood this, That they could discern their future and ultimate fate!
“How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock had sold them, And the LORD had given them up?
“For their rock is not like our Rock, Even our enemies themselves judge this.
“For their vine is from the vine of Sodom, And from the fields of Gomorrah; Their grapes are grapes of poison, Their clusters, bitter.
“Their wine is the venom of serpents, And the deadly poison of vipers.
‘Is it not laid up in store with Me, Sealed up in My treasuries?
‘Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; For the day of their disaster is at hand, And their doom hurries to meet them.’
Comments by
F.B.Meyer
On
MOSES’ SONG: ISRAEL’S RESPONSE
“Jeshurun” is a pet name for Israel, implying affection and endearment. The metaphor employed is derived from a pampered animal which, in consequence of rich and plentiful feeding, becomes mischievous and vicious.
Let us be warned by these denunciations against backsliding and willful sin. The greatness of our privileges will be the measure of the anguish of our doom. They who are exalted to Heaven by privilege must be cast down to Hades if they refuse and reject. The most fervent love becomes the hottest fire when it turns to jealousy. O my soul, it becomes thee to fear God as well as love Him. Remember Heb_10:26.
But what privileges await those who obey! When we abide in God, no enemy can stand against us. Five, strong in His miraculous fellowship, can chase a hundred, and a hundred, ten thousand. See Lev_26:8; also 1Sa_14:1, etc. God shows “Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him.” See 2Ch_16:9.
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