Deuteronomy 32: Song of Moses and Final Charge

Short answer: Deuteronomy 32 records the Song of Moses, which declares God's perfect justice and faithfulness while exposing Israel's future rebellion and the judgment that will follow. It ends with Moses charging the people to obey and God commanding him to die on Mount Nebo after viewing the land.

What Deuteronomy 32 says

The chapter opens with Moses calling heaven and earth to witness his teaching, which he describes as rain and dew upon tender grass. He proclaims the name of Yahweh and ascribes greatness to God, then declares that the Rock's work is perfect and all his ways are just. In contrast, the people have dealt corruptly and are a perverse generation. Moses asks how they could repay Yahweh so foolishly, reminding them that he is their father who bought, made, and established them. He urges them to remember the days of old and to ask their fathers and elders, who will recount how the Most High set the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel. Yahweh's portion is his people, and Jacob is his inheritance.

The song then recounts God's care for Israel in the wilderness. He found him in a desert land, surrounded him, cared for him, and kept him as the apple of his eye. Like an eagle stirring its nest and hovering over its young, God spread his wings, took them, and bore them on his feathers. Yahweh alone led him, with no foreign god. He made him ride on the high places, fed him with the increase of the field, and gave him honey from the rock, oil from flinty rock, butter, milk, fat of lambs and rams, and the finest wheat, along with wine from the blood of the grape. But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked, abandoning the God who made him and rejecting the Rock of his salvation. They provoked him with strange gods and sacrificed to demons, to new gods their fathers had not dreaded. They forgot the Rock who became their father and the God who gave them birth.

Yahweh saw this and abhorred it because of the provocation of his sons and daughters. He declared that he would hide his face and see what their end would be, for they were a perverse generation without faithfulness. They moved him to jealousy with what is not God and provoked him with vanities, so he would move them to jealousy with those who are not a people and provoke them with a foolish nation. A fire is kindled in his anger that burns to the lowest Sheol, devours the earth, and sets the foundations of the mountains on fire. He will heap evils on them and spend his arrows, wasting them with hunger, burning heat, bitter destruction, the teeth of animals, and the venom of vipers. Outside, the sword will bereave; inside, terror will strike young and old alike. He would scatter them and make their memory cease, except that he feared the provocation of the enemy, who might wrongly judge and say their own hand was exalted. For they are a nation void of counsel, without understanding. If they were wise, they would consider their latter end. How could one chase a thousand and two put ten thousand to flight unless their Rock had sold them? Their rock is not as our Rock, as even their enemies concede. Their vine is of Sodom and Gomorrah, their grapes poison, their wine the venom of asps.

God declares that vengeance and recompense are his, to be rendered when their foot slides, for the day of their calamity is at hand. He will judge his people and have compassion on his servants when their power is gone and none remain. He will ask where their gods are, the rock in which they took refuge, which ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offering. Let them rise and help and be their protection. But see now that he himself is he, and there is no god with him. He kills and makes alive, wounds and heals, and no one can deliver out of his hand. He lifts his hand to heaven and declares that as he lives forever, if he sharpens his glittering sword and grasps it in judgment, he will take vengeance on his adversaries and repay those who hate him. He will make his arrows drunk with blood, and his sword shall devour flesh, from the head of the leaders of the enemy. Then the nations are called to rejoice with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants, take vengeance on his adversaries, and make atonement for his land and people. Moses came with Joshua and spoke all the words of this song to the people. He finished reciting them and told Israel to set their heart to all the words he testified to them that day, which they were to command their children to observe, all the words of this law. For it is no vain thing, but their life, and through it they would prolong their days in the land they were about to possess. Yahweh spoke to Moses that same day, telling him to go up to Mount Nebo in the land of Moab, across from Jericho, and see the land of Canaan, which he was giving to the children of Israel for a possession. He was to die on the mountain and be gathered to his people, as Aaron his brother died on Mount Hor. This was because he trespassed against Yahweh among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, and did not uphold Yahweh's holiness among them. He would see the land from a distance but would not go there into the land given to the children of Israel.

Verses that carry the chapter

• “The Rock: his work is perfect, for all his ways are just. A God of faithfulness who does no wrong, just and right is he.” (Deuteronomy 32:4) — This verse anchors the entire song by declaring God's perfect work, just ways, and faithfulness, setting the standard against which Israel's corruption is measured.
• “But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked. You have grown fat. You have grown thick. You have become sleek. Then he abandoned God who made him, and rejected the Rock of his salvation.” (Deuteronomy 32:15) — This verse marks the turning point of the song, where prosperity leads to rebellion, showing how abundance can become a snare.
• ““See now that I myself am he. There is no god with me. I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal. There is no one who can deliver out of my hand.” (Deuteronomy 32:39) — This verse is the climactic declaration of God's exclusive sovereignty over life and death, wounding and healing, with no one able to deliver from his hand.
• “He said to them, “Set your heart to all the words which I testify to you today, which you shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 32:46) — This verse records Moses' final charge to the people to set their hearts on all the words of the law and to command their children to observe them.

Gospel connection

The song in Deuteronomy 32 sets the stage for the whole biblical story by showing that God's people cannot keep covenant by their own strength. Their future rebellion and the resulting judgment are not the end, however. God's declaration that vengeance is his and that he will judge his people with compassion points forward to a time when he will provide a perfect mediator. The song's insistence that there is no god besides Yahweh and that he alone kills and makes alive anticipates the New Testament's proclamation that Jesus is the one through whom God will judge the world and make atonement for his people. The final charge to obey and the command for Moses to die outside the land highlight the need for a greater leader who would not fail, one who would lead his people into a better rest. The song's call for the nations to rejoice with his people also foreshadows the inclusion of the Gentiles in the people of God through the work of Christ.

Application

This chapter asks the reader to take seriously the danger of forgetting God in times of ease. The song warns that prosperity can lead to self-sufficiency and rebellion, so we are called to remember God's past acts and to teach them to the next generation. It also invites us to consider our latter end, to weigh the consequences of turning away from the Rock who made us. The final charge to set our hearts on all the words of this law and to command our children to observe them is a call to lifelong obedience and discipleship. We are not to treat Scripture as a vain thing but as our very life. The chapter also reminds us that God's judgment is real and that he will not overlook sin, yet his compassion for his servants remains when their power is gone. We are to trust in his sovereignty over life and death and to find our refuge in him alone, not in the idols we create.

Biblical fidelity check

The chapter does not claim that Moses entered the promised land, nor does it record any repentance from the people after the song. It does not specify the exact timing of the events beyond Moses' final day, nor does it describe the method by which God would bring about the judgments mentioned. It does not name the specific nations that would provoke Israel to jealousy, nor does it detail the historical fulfillment of the song's predictions. The text is silent on how the people responded to Moses' final charge, and it does not say whether they obeyed. It also does not explain why God chose to show Moses the land from a distance rather than allowing him to enter, beyond the stated reason of Moses' trespass at Meribah. The chapter does not claim that the song was sung in a particular liturgical setting or that it was immediately put to music.

Questions for study

1. What does the song in verses 1-4 say about God's character, and how does that contrast with the description of the people in verses 5-6?
2. In verses 10-14, how does God describe his care for Israel in the wilderness, and what does that reveal about his relationship with them?
3. What happens to Jeshurun in verses 15-18, and what warning does this give about the dangers of prosperity?
4. How does God respond to Israel's rebellion in verses 19-27, and what does his response reveal about his justice and his concern for his own reputation?
5. What is Moses' final charge to the people in verses 45-47, and why does he call the law their life?

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Related studies: Deuteronomy 1 Bible Study, Deuteronomy 10 Bible Study, Deuteronomy 11 Bible Study, Deuteronomy 12 Bible Study.

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FAQ

Why does the song call Israel Jeshurun?

Jeshurun is a poetic name for Israel that means upright or straight, used here ironically because the people who were meant to be upright have grown fat and kicked against God.

What does it mean that God will move them to jealousy with those who are not a people?

This means God will use a nation that is not recognized as his people to provoke Israel to jealousy, showing that his blessing can be given to others when Israel rejects him.

Why was Moses not allowed to enter the promised land?

Verses 51-52 state that Moses trespassed against God at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh and did not uphold God's holiness among the children of Israel, so he was allowed to see the land but not enter it.