One of the best ways to remember truth is to put it into a song. God gave Moses a song Israel could use to remember the Lord. Its message was timeless and applicable to every generation.

Call to Worship

Deuteronomy 32:1-4

Imagine Moses, the 120 year old man. Can you see how he stood in front of the congregation, perhaps leaning on his staff, with the tabernacle walls billowing in the wind behind him?

He raised his voice and silence fell over the Israelites. He called out,

“Listen, you heavens, and I will speak; hear, you earth, the words of my mouth.” Deuteronomy 32:1

Just as God sent the rain and dew to fall on the earth, so God gave Moses the words of this song. There was life and music in the words.

“Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.” Deuteronomy 32:2

The call to worship in the Song of Moses rang out with pure praise.

“I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong.” Deuteronomy 32:3-4

The Accusation

Deuteronomy 32:5-9

 Moses lowered his gaze back to earth and surveyed the throngs of people in front of him. How well he knew them after all of their years together. His song of praise became a lament.

“They are corrupt and not his children; to their shame they are a warped and crooked generation. Is this the way you repay the Lord, you foolish and unwise people? Is he not your Father, you Creator, who made you and formed you?” Deuteronomy 32:5-6

If Israel didn’t remember how good God had been to them, they could ask their parents. God delivered them from Egypt less than fifty years earlier and everyone in the camp knew the story.

“Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you. Your elders and they will explain to you.” Deuteronomy 32:7

They also knew that out of all the nations on earth God chose Israel to be his people. They were unique in all the earth.

“For the Lord’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted inheritance.” Deuteronomy 32:9

Israel was foolish and unwise to turn from God who had done so much for them.

God was Always Faithful to Israel

Deuteronomy 32:10-14

Moses raised his staff and motioned toward the wilderness from which Israel had so recently emerged. He sang about God’s goodness to Israel while they were there.

“In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye . . . the Lord alone led him; no foreign god was with him.” Deuteronomy 32:10, 12

God brought the Israelites out of the desert to Moab and Gilead where they found rich food and pastures for their flocks and herds, even before they reached Canaan. Reuben, Gad and Manasseh were already settling there.

Israel Abandoned God – God Rejected Them

Deuteronomy 32:15-27

Moses shook his head in sorrow and sang the next part of the song with anger in his voice. It was a prophecy about Israel’s folly.

“They abandoned the God who made them and rejected the Rock their Savior. They made him jealous with foreign gods, which are not God – gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your ancestors did not fear. You deserted the Rock that fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.” Deuteronomy 32:15-18

God had a zero tolerance policy toward idolatry.

“The Lord saw this and rejected them because he was angered by his sons and daughters. ‘I will hide my face from them,’ he said, ‘and see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children who are unfaithful.’” Deuteronomy 32:19-20

Yet, he was not willing to eliminate them entirely. God didn’t want his adversary to claim victory for destroying God’s people.

“I said I would scatter them and erase their name from human memory, but I dreaded the taunt of the enemy, lest the adversary misunderstand and say, ‘Our hand has triumphed; the Lord has not done all this.’” Deuteronomy 32:26-27

Israel’s Choice

Deuteronomy 32:28-33

Moses gazed into the distance and sang slowly,

“They are a nation without sense, there is no discernment in them. If only they were wise and would understand this and discern what their end will be!” Deuteronomy 32:28-29

Israel made friends with nations who practiced the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, and then they didn’t notice when God abandoned them. They had to flee from their enemies because he no longer defended them.

“How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up?” Deuteronomy 32:30

God had every right to punish Israel for their sins. When the time was right, he would act.

“It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.” Deuteronomy 32:35

But God loved his people too much to leave them forever in despair.

God Offers Himself to Israel Again

Deuteronomy 32:36-43

Moses looked directly at Israel and told them one more time that they belonged to God. The Lord would have pity on them after they suffered for their sins.

“The Lord will vindicate his people and relent concerning his servants when he sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free.” Deuteronomy 32:36

God would always remind Israel that he was the only God.

“He will say: ‘Now where are their gods, the rock they took refuge in . . . let them rise up to help you! Let them give you shelter! See now that I myself am he! There is no god besides me.” Deuteronomy 32:39

The Lord was going to let Israel’s enemies punish them for a time, but he would put a stop to it and deal with those enemies.

“I lift my hand to heaven and solemnly swear: As surely as I live forever, when I sharpen my sword and my hand grasps its judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries and repay those who hate me . . . Rejoice, you nations, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants; he will take vengeance on his enemies and make atonement for his land and people.” Deuteronomy 32:40-41, 43

When Moses finished reciting the words of the song, he told Israel to take them to heart and teach them to their children. He said,

“They are not just idle words for you – they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” Deuteronomy 32:47

Getting Ready to Say Farewell

God reminded Moses one more time about the plan for his departure. He was going to climb into the Abarim mountain range and stand on the summit of Mt. Nebo. From there he would look across the Jordan River and see Canaan in the distance. Then the Giver of life to all living things would take his breath away.

Moses probably wrote Psalm 90 around this time. It’s the Psalm of an old man who is surprised at how quickly life has flown by. As he searches his memories, he finds God was in everything – the great experiences and the hard ones. Moses leaves us with a testimony that is also a guide to knowing God.

“Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble. May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children.” Psalm 90: 14-16

Moses was used to meeting God in the morning. His tent was on the eastern side of the tabernacle and the rising sun probably found him already at the tent of meeting before dawn every morning.

In that place Moses learned to be glad in the Lord. Looking back he was glad for the years of affliction and the times of trouble. He was glad he had experienced God’s unfailing love – he was glad for all of his days. Morning after morning, Moses had been satisfied by God.

When do you like to meet with the Lord during the day?

What is your favorite place to read the Bible and pray?

I hope that your time in God’s Word is bringing you gladness in him. May you besatisfied with his unfailing love.