invocation of witnesses israel’s rebellion a word of ... · i. deuteronomy 32:1-43 is written as...

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Commentary and Questions by John C. Sewell

Landmark Publications, Inc., P.O. Box 160018, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.

INVOCATION OF WITNESSES ISRAEL’S REBELLION

A WORD OF JUDGMENT THE WEAKNESS OF OTHER GODS THE VINDICATION OF THE LORD

NARRATIVE INTERLUDE

INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT MOSES’ DEATH

DEUTERONOMY 32:1-52




INVOCATION OF WITNESSES ISRAEL’S REBELLION

A WORD OF JUDGMENT THE WEAKNESS OF OTHER GODS THE VINDICATION OF THE LORD

NARRATIVE INTERLUDE INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT MOSES’ DEATH

Text: Deuteronomy 32:1-52, 1. Listen, O heavens, and I will speak; hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. 2. My teaching will drop like the rain, my sayings will drip like the dew, as rain drops upon the grass, and showers upon new growth. 3. For I will proclaim the name of the Lord; you must acknowledge the greatness of our God. 4. As for the Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are just. He is a reliable God who is never unjust, he is fair and upright. 5. His people have been unfaithful to him; they have not acted like his children—this is their sin. They are a perverse and deceitful generation. 6. Is this how you repay the Lord, you foolish, unwise people? Is he not your father, your Creator? He has made you and established you. 7. Remember the ancient days; bear in mind the years of past generations. Ask your father and he will inform you, your elders, and they will tell you.




8. When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided up humankind, he set the boundaries of the peoples, according to the number of the heavenly assembly. 9. For the Lord’s allotment is his people, Jacob is his special possession. 10. The Lord found him in a desolate land, in an empty wasteland where animals howl. He continually guarded him and taught him; he continually protected him like the pupil of his eye. 11. Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that hovers over its young, so the Lord spread out his wings and took him, he lifted him up on his pinions. 12. The Lord alone was guiding him, no foreign god was with him. 13. He enabled him to travel over the high terrain of the land, and he ate of the produce of the fields. He provided honey for him from the cliffs, and olive oil from the hardest of rocks, 14. butter from the herd and milk from the flock, along with the fat of lambs, rams and goats of Bashan, along with the best of the kernels of wheat; and from the juice of grapes you drank wine. 15. But Jeshurun became fat and kicked, you got fat, thick, and stuffed! Then he deserted the God who made him, and treated the Rock who saved him with contempt. 16. They made him jealous with other gods, they enraged him with abhorrent idols. 17. They sacrificed to demons, not God, to gods they had not known; to new gods who had recently come along, gods your ancestors had not known about.




18. You have forgotten the Rock who fathered you, and put out of mind the God who gave you birth. 19. But the Lord took note and despised them because his sons and daughters enraged him. 20. He said, “I will reject them, I will see what will happen to them; for they are a perverse generation, children who show no loyalty. 21. They have made me jealous with false gods, enraging me with their worthless gods; so I will make them jealous with a people they do not recognize, with a nation slow to learn I will enrage them. 22. For a fire has been kindled by my anger, and it burns to lowest Sheol; it consumes the earth and its produce, and ignites the foundations of the mountains. 23. I will increase their disasters, I will use up my arrows on them. 24. They will be starved by famine, eaten by plague, and bitterly stung; I will send the teeth of wild animals against them, along with the poison of creatures that crawl in the dust. 25. The sword will make people childless outside, and terror will do so inside; they will destroy both the young man and the virgin, the infant and the gray-haired man. 26. “I said, ‘I want to cut them in pieces. I want to make people forget they ever existed. 27. But I fear the reaction of their enemies, for their adversaries would misunderstand and say, “Our power is great, and the Lord has not done all this!”’ 28. They are a nation devoid of wisdom, and there is no understanding among them.




29. I wish that they were wise and could understand this, and that they could comprehend what will happen to them.” 30. How can one man chase a thousand of them, and two pursue ten thousand; unless their Rock had delivered them up, and the Lord had handed them over? 31. For our enemies’ rock is not like our Rock, as even our enemies concede. 32. For their vine is from the stock of Sodom, and from the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes contain venom, their clusters of grapes are bitter. 33. Their wine is snakes’ poison, the deadly venom of cobras. 34. “Is this not stored up with me?” says the Lord, “Is it not sealed up in my storehouses? 35. I will get revenge and pay them back at the time their foot slips; for the day of their disaster is near, and the impending judgment is rushing upon them!” 36. The Lord will judge his people, and will change his plans concerning his servants; when he sees that their power has disappeared, and that no one is left, whether confined or set free. 37. He will say, “Where are their gods, the rock in whom they sought security, 38. who ate the best of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise and help you; let them be your refuge! 39. “See now that I, indeed I, am he!” says the Lord, “and there is no other god besides me. I kill and give life, I smash and I heal, and none can resist my power. 40. For I raise up my hand to heaven, and say, ‘As surely as I live forever,




41. I will sharpen my lightning-like sword, and my hand will grasp hold of the weapon of judgment; I will execute vengeance on my foes, and repay those who hate me! 42. I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword will devour flesh— the blood of the slaughtered and captured, the chief of the enemy’s leaders!’” 43. Cry out, O nations, with his people, for he will avenge his servants’ blood; he will take vengeance against his enemies, and make atonement for his land and people. 44. Then Moses went with Joshua son of Nun and recited all the words of this song to the people. 45. When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel 46. he said to them, “Keep in mind all the words I am solemnly proclaiming to you today; you must command your children to observe carefully all the words of this law. 47. For this is no idle word for you—it is your life! By this word you will live a long time in the land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess.” 48. Then the Lord said to Moses that same day, 49. “Go up to this Abarim hill country, to Mount Nebo (which is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho) and look at the land of Canaan that I am giving to the Israelites as a possession. 50. You will die on the mountain that you ascend and join your deceased ancestors, just as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and joined his deceased ancestors, 51. for both of you rebelled against me among the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the desert of Zin when you did not show me proper respect among the Israelites.




52. You will see the land before you, but you will not enter the land that I am giving to the Israelites.” (NET) Introduction: I. Deuteronomy 32:1-43 is written as poetry while Deuteronomy 32:44-52 is written as prose.

A. One characteristic of Hebrew poetry of this period is the parallel expression, repetition of the same idea or thought in different words, or the presentation of contrasting views.

1. This is clearly illustrated in verses 1-43.

2. Ancient Hebrew poetry was often written, as is this case with this song, in hemistichs or short half lines. (See Clarke.)

B. Clarke emphasized the unparallel excellence of this ode.

II. Coffman wrote, “The introduction to this long poem is actually the last verse of the preceding chapter, a chapter which not only credits Moses with the writing of the poem, but also states that he read it to the people in its entirety.”

1. Deuteronomy 31:30, Then Moses recited the words of this song from start to finish in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel. (NET)

III. There is no agreement among commentators as how best to outline Deuteronomy 32.




A. The NET divides this chapter as follows: . . .

1. Invocation of Witnesses (verses 1-14), . . .

2. Israel’s Rebellion (verses 15-18), . . .

3. A Word of Judgment (verses 19-25), . . .

4. The Weakness of Other gods (verses 26-38), . . .

5. The Vindication of the Lord (verses 39-43), . . .

6. Narrative Interlude (verses 44-47), and . . .

7. Instructions about Moses’ death (verses 48-52).

B. Hamilton following Nelson outlined Deuteronomy 32 as follows: . . .

1. Verses 1-6, . . .

2. Verses 7-18, . . .

3. Verses 19-25, . . .

4. Verses 26-38, . . .

5. Verses 39-43, . . .

6. Verses 44-47, and . . .

7. Verses 48-52.




IV. Moses, in keeping with God’s injunction, composed this ode and recited it in the hearing of the people. (The Pulpit Commentary)

A. This poem, verses 1-43, which contrasts the unchanging faithfulness of god with the unfaithfulness of the people, can be divided into six sections according to The Pulpit Commentary; viz., . . .

1. Introduction. Verses 1-3, . . .

2. God’s righteousness contrasted with the people’s corruption and perversity, Verses 4-5, . . .

3. The folly and ingratitude of the rebellious people, Verses 7-18, . . .

4. God purposed to punish and reject the rebellious generation, Verses 19-23, . . .

5. Judgments would come upon the rebellious while mercy would come upon the righteous, Verses 24-34, . . .

6. God will judge his enemies and show mercy on his servants. (Verses 35-43.

V. Hall wrote that God instructed Moses to write a song and teach it to the Israelites, which he did.




A. Deuteronomy 31:19, 22, Now write down for yourselves the following song and teach it to the Israelites. Put it into their very mouths so that this song may serve as my witness against the Israelites! So on that day Moses wrote down this song and taught it to the Israelites, (NET)

B. Deuteronomy 32:1-43 is a copy of that song.

C. This song is referenced elsewhere in the Old Testament, for example, . . . (See Hall.)

1. Isaiah 1:12-31, When you enter my presence, do you actually think I want this—animals trampling on my courtyards? Do not bring any more meaningless offerings; I consider your incense detestable! You observe new moon festivals, Sabbaths, and convocations, but I cannot tolerate sin-stained celebrations! I hate your new moon festivals and assemblies; they are a burden that I am tired of carrying. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I look the other way; when you offer your many prayers, I do not listen, because your hands are covered with blood. Wash! Cleanse yourselves! Remove your sinful deeds from my sight. Stop sinning! Learn to do what is right! Promote justice! Give the oppressed reason to celebrate! Take up the cause of the orphan! Defend the rights of the widow! Come, let’s consider your options,” says the Lord. “Though your sins have stained you like the color red, you can become white like




snow; though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet, you can become white like wool. If you have a willing attitude and obey, then you will again eat the good crops of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” Know for certain that the Lord has spoken. How tragic that the once-faithful city has become a prostitute! She was once a center of justice, fairness resided in her, but now only murderers. Your silver has become scum, your beer is diluted with water. Your officials are rebels, they associate with thieves. All of them love bribery, and look for payoffs. They do not take up the cause of the orphan, or defend the rights of the widow. Therefore, the sovereign Lord who commands armies, the powerful Ruler of Israel, says this: “Ah, I will seek vengeance against my adversaries, I will take revenge against my enemies. I will attack you; I will purify your metal with flux. I will remove all your slag. I will reestablish honest judges as in former times, wise advisers as in earlier days. Then you will be called, ‘The Just City, Faithful Town.’” Zion will be freed by justice, and her returnees by righteousness. All rebellious sinners will be shattered, those who abandon the Lord will perish. Indeed, they will be ashamed of the sacred trees you find so desirable; you will be embarrassed because of the sacred orchards where you choose to worship. For you will be like a tree whose leaves wither, like an orchard that is unwatered. The powerful will be like a




thread of yarn, their deeds like a spark; both will burn together, and no one will put out the fire. (NET)

2. Jeremiah 2:4-13, Now listen to what the Lord has to say, you descendants of Jacob, all you family groups from the nation of Israel. This is what the Lord says: “What fault could your ancestors have possibly found in me that they strayed so far from me? They paid allegiance to worthless idols, and so became worthless to me. They did not ask: ‘Where is the Lord who delivered us out of Egypt, who brought us through the wilderness, through a land of desert sands and rift valleys, through a land of drought and deep darkness, through a land in which no one travels, and where no one lives?’ I brought you into a fertile land so you could enjoy its fruits and its rich bounty. But when you entered my land, you defiled it; you made the land I call my own loathsome to me. Your priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those responsible for teaching my law did not really know me. Your rulers rebelled against me. Your prophets prophesied in the name of the god Baal. They all worshiped idols that could not help them. “So, once more I will state my case against you,” says the Lord. “I will also state it against your children and grandchildren. Go west across the sea to the coasts of Cyprus and see. Send someone east to Kedar and have them look carefully. See if such a thing as this has ever




happened: Has a nation ever changed its gods (even though they are not really gods at all)? But my people have exchanged me, their glorious God, for a god that cannot help them at all! Be amazed at this, O heavens! Be shocked and utterly dumbfounded,” says the Lord. “Do so because my people have committed a double wrong: they have rejected me, the fountain of life-giving water, and they have dug cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns which cannot even hold water.” (NET)

3. Micah 6:1-8, Listen to what the Lord says: “Get up! Defend yourself before the mountains! Present your case before the hills!” Hear the Lord’s accusation, you mountains, you enduring foundations of the earth! For the Lord has a case against his people; he has a dispute with Israel! “My people, how have I wronged you? How have I wearied you? Answer me! In fact, I brought you up from the land of Egypt, I delivered you from that place of slavery. I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to lead you. My people, recall how King Balak of Moab planned to harm you, how Balaam son of Beor responded to him. Recall how you journeyed from Shittim to Gilgal, so you might acknowledge that the Lord has treated you fairly.” With what should I enter the Lord’s presence? With what should I bow before the sovereign God? Should I enter his presence with burnt offerings, with year-old calves? Will the Lord accept a thousand rams, or ten thousand




streams of olive oil? Should I give him my firstborn child as payment for my rebellion, my offspring—my own flesh and blood—for my sin? He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord really wants from you: He wants you to promote justice, to be faithful, and to live obediently before your God. (NET)

4. Hosea 13:4-10, But I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt. Therefore, you must not acknowledge any God but me; except me there is no Savior. I cared for you in the wilderness, in the dry desert where no water was. When they were fed, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; as a result, they forgot me! So I will pounce on them like a lion; like a leopard I will lurk by the path. I will attack them like a bear robbed of her cubs—I will rip open their chests. I will devour them there like a lion—like a wild animal would tear them apart. I will destroy you, O Israel! Who is there to help you? Where then is your king, that he may save you in all your cities? Where are your rulers for whom you asked, saying, “Give me a king and princes”? (NET)

Commentary:

Invocation of Witnesses Deuteronomy 32:1-14, Listen, O heavens, and I will speak; hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. My teaching




will drop like the rain, my sayings will drip like the dew, as rain drops upon the grass, and showers upon new growth. For I will proclaim the name of the Lord; you must acknowledge the greatness of our God. As for the Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are just. He is a reliable God who is never unjust, he is fair and upright. His people have been unfaithful to him; they have not acted like his children—this is their sin. They are a perverse and deceitful generation. Is this how you repay the Lord, you foolish, unwise people? Is he not your father, your Creator? He has made you and established you. Remember the ancient days; bear in mind the years of past generations. Ask your father and he will inform you, your elders, and they will tell you. When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, when he divided up humankind, he set the boundaries of the peoples, according to the number of the heavenly assembly. For the Lord’s allotment is his people, Jacob is his special possession. The Lord found him in a desolate land, in an empty wasteland where animals howl. He continually guarded him and taught him; he continually protected him like the pupil of his eye. Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that hovers over its young, so the Lord spread out his wings and took him, he lifted him up on his pinions. The Lord alone was guiding him, no foreign god was with him. He enabled him to travel over the high terrain of the land, and he ate of the produce of the fields. He provided honey for him from the cliffs, and olive oil from the hardest of rocks, butter from the herd and milk from the flock, along with the fat of lambs, rams and goats of Bashan, along with the best of the kernels of wheat; and from the juice of grapes you drank wine. (NET)




I. (Verse 1) Listen, O heavens, and I will speak; hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

A. Hall noted that covenant lawsuits in the prophets have this feature of calling heaven and earth to listen to what is being said.

1. Isaiah 1:2, Listen, O heavens, pay attention, O earth! For the Lord speaks: “I raised children, I brought them up, but they have rebelled against me! (NET)

2. Jeremiah 2:12, Be amazed at this, O heavens! Be shocked and utterly dumbfounded,” says the Lord. (NET)

3. Micah 6:2, Hear the Lord’s accusation, you mountains, you enduring foundations of the earth! For the Lord has a case against his people; he has a dispute with Israel! (NET)

4. Psalm 50:4, He summons the heavens above, as well as the earth, so that he might judge his people. (NET)

B. Other Songs or Psalms of Moses should be compared with this Song of Moses. (SeeCoffman.)

1. Exodus 15:1-18, Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord. They said, “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously, the




horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a warrior, the Lord is his name. The chariots of Pharaoh and his army he has thrown into the sea, and his chosen officers were drowned in the Red Sea. The depths have covered them, they went down to the bottom like a stone. Your right hand, O Lord, was majestic in power, your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy. In the abundance of your majesty you have overthrown those who rise up against you. You sent forth your wrath; it consumed them like stubble. By the blast of your nostrils the waters were piled up, the flowing water stood upright like a heap, and the deep waters were solidified in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, ‘I will chase, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my desire will be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, my hand will destroy them.’ But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters. Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you?—majestic in holiness, fearful in praises, working wonders? You stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them. By your loyal love you will lead the people whom you have redeemed; you will guide them by your strength to your holy dwelling place. The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will seize the inhabitants of




Philistia. Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified, trembling will seize the leaders of Moab, and the inhabitants of Canaan will shake. Fear and dread will fall on them; by the greatness of your arm they will be as still as stone until your people pass by, O Lord, until the people whom you have bought pass by. You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of your inheritance, in the place you made for your residence, O Lord, the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established. The Lord will reign forever and ever! (NET)

2. Psalm 90:1-17, O Lord, you have been our protector through all generations! Even before the mountains came into existence, or you brought the world into being, you were the eternal God. You make mankind return to the dust, and say, “Return, O people!” Yes, in your eyes a thousand years are like yesterday that quickly passes, or like one of the divisions of the nighttime. You bring their lives to an end and they “fall asleep.” In the morning they are like the grass that sprouts up; in the morning it glistens and sprouts up; at evening time it withers and dries up. Yes, we are consumed by your anger; we are terrified by your wrath. You are aware of our sins; you even know about our hidden sins. Yes, throughout all our days we experience your raging fury; the years of our lives pass quickly, like a sigh. The days of our lives add up to seventy years, or eighty, if one is




especially strong. But even one’s best years are marred by trouble and oppression. Yes, they pass quickly and we fly away. Who can really fathom the intensity of your anger? Your raging fury causes people to fear you. So teach us to consider our mortality, so that we might live wisely. Turn back toward us, O Lord! How long must this suffering last? Have pity on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your loyal love! Then we will shout for joy and be happy all our days! Make us happy in proportion to the days you have afflicted us, in proportion to the years we have experienced trouble! May your servants see your work! May their sons see your majesty! May our sovereign God extend his favor to us! Make our endeavors successful! Yes, make them successful! (NET)

C. All in both the heavens and the earth are to listen, give heed to what God says in this poem through his servant Moses. (See Clarke.)

1. Deuteronomy 4:26, I invoke heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that you will surely and swiftly be removed from the very land you are about to cross the Jordan to possess. You will not last long there because you will surely be annihilated. (NET)

2. Deuteronomy 30:19, Today I invoke heaven and earth as a witness against you that I have set life and death, blessing and curse, before




you. Therefore choose life so that you and your descendants may live! (NET)

3. Deuteronomy 31:28-29, Gather to me all your tribal elders and officials so I can speak to them directly about these things and call the heavens and the earth to witness against them. For I know that after I die you will totally corrupt yourselves and turn away from the path I have commanded you to walk. Disaster will confront you in the days to come because you will act wickedly before the Lord, inciting him to anger because of your actions.” (NET)

4. Isaiah 1:2, Listen, O heavens, pay attention, O earth! For the Lord speaks: “I raised children, I brought them up, but they have rebelled against me! (NET)

5. Jeremiah 2:12, Be amazed at this, O heavens! Be shocked and utterly dumbfounded,” says the Lord. (NET)

6. Jeremiah 22:29, O land of Judah, land of Judah, land of Judah! Listen to what the Lord has to say! (NET)

II. (Verse 2) My teaching (doctrine) will drop like the rain, my sayings will drip like the dews,* as rain drops upon the grass, and showers upon new growth.




A. *NET Footnote: Or – mist, or light drizzle (also in 33:28,

Israel lives in safety, the fountain of Jacob is quite secure, in a land of grain and new wine; indeed, its heavens rain down dew. (NET))

B. Related passages: . . .

1. Psalm 45:1, My heart is stirred by a beautiful song. I say, “I have composed this special song for the king; my tongue is as skilled as the stylus of an experienced scribe.” (NET)

2. Isaiah 40:7-8, The grass dries up, the flowers wither, when the wind sent by the Lord blows on them. Surely humanity is like grass. The grass dries up, the flowers wither, but the decree of our God is forever reliable.” (NET)

3. Proverbs 7:21, She persuaded him with persuasive words; with her smooth talk she compelled him. (NET)

4. Proverbs 4:2, Because I give you good instruction, do not forsake my teaching. (NET)

C. God’s teaching blesses humanity as rain, dew and showers give life and health to crops in an arid land like Canaan. (See Hall.)

1. Proverbs 1:5, (Let the wise also hear and gain instruction, and let the discerning acquire guidance!) (NET)




2. Proverbs 4:2, Because I give you good instruction, do not forsake my teaching. (NET)

3. Proverbs 7:21, She persuaded him with persuasive words; with her smooth talk she compelled him. (NET)

4. Proverbs 9:9, Give instruction to a wise person, and he will become wiser still; teach a righteous person and he will add to his learning. (NET)

5. Proverbs 16:21, 23, The one who is wise in heart is called discerning, and kind speech increases persuasiveness. A wise person’s heart makes his speech wise and it adds persuasiveness to his words. (NET)

III. (Verse 3a) For I will proclaim the name of the Lord; . . .

A. At this point the speaker changes from God to Moses. (See Hall.)

B. Hall explained that “to proclaim the name of the Lord” was to announce his qualities.

1. Exodus 34:5-7, The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the Lord by name. The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger,




and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness, keeping loyal love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children and children’s children, to the third and fourth generation.” (NET)

IV. (Verse 3b) you must acknowledge the greatness of our God.

A. Hall noted that God’s greatness and majesty set Jehovah apart from Israel, all other gods and the remainder of the world’s people.

B. Those who heard Moses were mandated to acknowledge, join in the celebration of the greatness of God. (The Pulpit Commentary.)

1. Deuteronomy 3:24, “O, Lord God, you have begun to show me your greatness and strength. (What god in heaven or earth can rival your works and mighty deeds?) (NET)

2. Deuteronomy 9:26, I prayed to him: O, Lord God, do not destroy your people, your valued property that you have powerfully redeemed, whom you brought out of Egypt by your strength. (NET)

3. Deuteronomy 11:2, Bear in mind today that I am not speaking to your children who have not personally experienced the judgments of the




Lord your God, which revealed his greatness, strength, and power. (NET)

4. Psalm 150:2, Praise him for his mighty acts! Praise him for his surpassing greatness! (NET)

V. (Verse 4) As for the Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are just. He is a reliable God who is never unjust, he is fair* and upright.

A. *NET Footnote: Or – just or righteous.

B. Our God, our solid Rock on whom we depend, is perfect, fair, just, righteous, upright and reliable and his work is perfect.

1. Canaan is a land of rocks, huge solid ones to which God is compared as well as little ones like pebbles to which other gods are likened.

2. This shows God to be absolutely reliable and trustworthy. (Hall)

a. Psalm 18:30-31, The one true God acts in a faithful manner; the Lord’s promise is reliable; he is a shield to all who take shelter in him. Indeed, who is God besides the Lord? Who is a protector besides our God? (NET)

b. Psalm 19:7-11, The law of the Lord is perfect and preserves one’s life. The rules




set down by the Lord are reliable and impart wisdom to the inexperienced. The Lord’s precepts are fair and make one joyful. The Lord’s commands are pure and give insight for life. The commands to fear the Lord are right and endure forever. The judgments given by the Lord are trustworthy and absolutely just. They are of greater value than gold, than even a great amount of pure gold; they bring greater delight than honey, than even the sweetest honey from a honeycomb. Yes, your servant finds moral guidance there; those who obey them receive a rich reward. (NET)

3. Coffman noted the description of God as a Rock is repeated several times in this chapter and elsewhere.

a. Deuteronomy 32:4, 13, 15, 18, 30, 31, As for the Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are just. He is a reliable God who is never unjust, he is fair and upright. when he divided up humankind, he set the boundaries of the peoples, according to the number of the heavenly assembly. He enabled him to travel over the high terrain of the land, and he ate of the produce of the fields. He provided honey for him from the cliffs, and olive oil from the hardest of rocks, But Jeshurun became fat and kicked, you got fat, thick, and stuffed! Then he deserted the God who made him, and treated the Rock who saved him with contempt. You have




forgotten the Rock who fathered you, and put out of mind the God who gave you birth. How can one man chase a thousand of them, and two pursue ten thousand; unless their Rock had delivered them up, and the Lord had handed them over? For our enemies’ rock is not like our Rock, as even our enemies concede. (NET)

b. Psalm 19:14, May my words and my thoughts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my sheltering rock and my redeemer. (NET)

c. Psalm 28:1, To you, O Lord, I cry out! My protector, do not ignore me! If you do not respond to me, I will join those who are descending into the grave. (NET)

d. Psalm 31:2-3, Listen to me! Quickly deliver me! Be my protector and refuge, a stronghold where I can be safe! For you are my high ridge and my stronghold; for the sake of your own reputation you lead me and guide me. (NET)

e. Psalm 62:2, 7, He alone is my protector and deliverer. He is my refuge; I will not be upended. How long will you threaten a man? All of you are murderers, as dangerous as a leaning wall or an unstable fence. They spend all their time planning how to bring him down. They love to use deceit; they pronounce blessings with their mouths, but inwardly they utter curses. (Selah) Patiently wait for God alone, my soul! For he is




the one who gives me confidence. He alone is my protector and deliverer. He is my refuge; I will not be upended. God delivers me and exalts me; God is my strong protector and my shelter. (NET)

VI. (Verse 5a) His people have been unfaithful to him; they have not acted like his children – this is their sin.

A. The people of Israel were, however, unfaithful to their God, the opposite of God as just described. (Hall)

1. They didn’t act like God’s children and this was their prime sin.

2. This is the problem: Israel was unfaithful to God and ungrateful for all God had done for them. (Hamilton)

a. Deuteronomy 9:12, And he said to me, “Get up, go down at once from here because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have sinned! They have quickly turned from the way I commanded them and have made for themselves a cast metal image.” (NET)

b. Deuteronomy 31:29, For I know that after I die you will totally corrupt yourselves and turn away from the path I have commanded you to walk. Disaster will confront you in the days to come because you will act wickedly before the Lord, inciting him to anger because of your actions.” (NET)




3. Hall wrote that Israel was “a covenant breaker, unstable, unreliable, faithless, full of flaws, little interested in righteousness and justice.”

B. The fulfillment of this prophecy actually occurred long after the deaths of Moses and Joshua. (See Coffman.)

1. Coffman described this passage as “predictive prophecy at its best.”

C. These corrupt persons, Israelites claimed to be children of God, but they were rather a stain and a reproach to true children of God. (See The Pulpit Commentary.)

1. Job 11:15, For then you will lift up your face without blemish; you will be securely established and will not fear. (NET)

2. Job 31:7, If my footsteps have strayed from the way, if my heart has gone after my eyes, or if anything has defiled my hands, (NET)

3. Proverbs 9:7, Whoever corrects a mocker is asking for insult; whoever reproves a wicked person receives abuse. (NET) 4. 2 Peter 2:13, suffering harm as the wages for their harmful ways. By considering it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight, they are stains and blemishes, indulging in their deceitful pleasures when they feast together with you. (NET)




5. Isaiah 1:4, The sinful nation is as good as dead, the people weighed down by evil deeds. They are offspring who do wrong, children who do wicked things. They have abandoned the Lord, and rejected the Holy One of Israel. They are alienated from him. (NET)

VI. (Verse 5b) They are a perverse and deceitful generation.

A. In this condition, they were blemished and unfit to be a sacrifice to God. (See Hall.)

B. “The crookedness of Israel became a proverb in the whole world,” Coffman wrote.

1. When Jesus saw Nathaniel he said, “Look, a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit,” Which Coffman paraphrased to mean, “Look! Here’s an Israelite who is not crooked!”

2. Acts 2:40, With many other words he testified and exhorted them saying, “Save yourselves from this perverse generation!” (NET)

C. How would God describe our present generation?

VIII. (Verse 6) Is this how you repay the Lord, you foolish, unwise people? Is he not your father, your Creator? He has made you and established you.

invocation of witnesses israel’s rebellion a word of ... · i. deuteronomy 32:1-43 is written as...

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