Unit 2: Out of Slavery to Nationhood
Key Verse:
Deuteronomy32:46 NLT
46 ...he added: “Take to heart all the words of warning I have given you today. Pass them on as a command to your children so they will obey every word of these instructions.
Beloved, God doesn’t change. We do. Let us continually humble ourselves before Him, eschewing the allure of the world for the reward of His eternal grace
What you need to know
Deuteronomy 31:1-3 NLT
1 When Moses had finished giving these instructions[a] to all the people of Israel, 2 he said, “I am now 120 years old, and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has told me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan River.’ 3 But the Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy the nations living there, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua will lead you across the river, just as the Lord promised.
For the sake of context, the Book of Deuteronomy was written at a specific time, for a specific group of people. The time is at the end of Moses’ life of one hundred and twenty years. This would be sometime in the late 14th century BCE or the early 13th century BCE. In essence, this book was the last book written by Moses. It was the final book of the Pentateuch.
The word Deuteronomy originates from the Greek word “Deuteronómion”, which means ‘the second law’, or more accurately, ‘the second reading of the law”. It was written to the children of the desert, the Hebrew people born in the wilderness during the forty years that they wandered there. Their parents died in that same wilderness because they sinned against the Lord. Even Moses was denied entrance into the promised land. So this second reading of the law was specifically intended to accompany the children of the desert, these heirs of Abraham, into the land promised to their patriarchs, the future home of the nation of Israel.
Deuteronomy 31:9-13 NLT
9 So Moses wrote this entire body of instruction in a book and gave it to the priests, who carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant, and to the elders of Israel. 10 Then Moses gave them this command: “At the end of every seventh year, the Year of Release, during the Festival of Shelters, 11 you must read this Book of Instruction to all the people of Israel when they assemble before the Lord your God at the place he chooses. 12 Call them all together—men, women, children, and the foreigners living in your towns—so they may hear this Book of Instruction and learn to fear the Lord your God and carefully obey all the terms of these instructions. 13 Do this so that your children who have not known these instructions will hear them and will learn to fear the Lord your God. Do this as long as you live in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.”
Going forward, for years on end, they were to read these words publicly, every seventh year during the feast of Tabernacles, a solemn, contemplative affair, where the Israelites were to build small shelters with no roof, thereby giving God access to their most intimate spaces during this time. It was a time of reflection where each individual consecrated themselves before the Lord in humility. This feast is celebrated to this day.
Deuteronomy 31:19:22 NLT
19 “So write down the words of this song, and teach it to the people of Israel. Help them learn it, so it may serve as a witness for me against them. 20 For I will bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors—a land flowing with milk and honey. There they will become prosperous, eat all the food they want, and become fat. But they will begin to worship other gods; they will despise me and break my covenant. 21 And when great disasters come down on them, this song will stand as evidence against them, for it will never be forgotten by their descendants. I know the intentions of these people, even now before they have entered the land I swore to give them.”
22 So that very day Moses wrote down the words of the song and taught it to the Israelites.
Of note is that this song was not an accusatory reminder of past events, but a prophetic foretelling of behaviors that had not yet occurred. In their future were conquests and victories of great renown. But what also awaited them was their abject failure to hear and obey the Living Word of God. They would miss God time and again, bringing disaster upon themselves and their nation.
Deuteronomy 31:24-30 NLT
24 When Moses had finished writing this entire body of instruction in a book, 25 he gave this command to the Levites who carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant: 26 “Take this Book of Instruction and place it beside the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, so it may remain there as a witness against the people of Israel. 27 For I know how rebellious and stubborn you are. Even now, while I am still alive and am here with you, you have rebelled against the Lord. How much more rebellious will you be after my death!
28 “Now summon all the elders and officials of your tribes, so that I can speak to them directly and call heaven and earth to witness against them. 29 I know that after my death you will become utterly corrupt and will turn from the way I have commanded you to follow. In the days to come, disaster will come down on you, for you will do what is evil in the Lord’s sight, making him very angry with your actions.”
The Song of Moses
30 So Moses recited this entire song publicly to the assembly of Israel:
Songs, hymns, psalms, poems, and ballads all find a way of abiding in our souls. Even funeral dirges leave a lasting memory. It is interesting that God would direct Moses to write prophetically, then set that tome to music so that it might remain in the hearts of His people for generations to come, ever providing a way out of darkness, into His marvelous light. Let us begin…
The Lesson
Deuteronomy 32:1-2 NLT
1
“Listen, O heavens, and I will speak!
Hear, O earth, the words that I say!
2
Let my teaching fall on you like rain;
let my speech settle like dew.
Let my words fall like rain on tender grass,
like gentle showers on young plants...
In typical fashion, when God decides to hold court, He assembles a cloud of witnesses to His cause. While His message is for the children of Israel, He begins by addressing all of the creation surrounding them. Why? Because all of creation is completely dependent on God for its subsistence. Creation is not in rebellion against God. Rather, creation is trapped, held in bondage to the penalty of Adam’s fall. Thus, all of creation stands as a witness to the case that God makes to His people.
Deuteronomy 32:3 NLT
3
I will proclaim the name of the Lord;
how glorious is our God!
First thing first, let’s get our praise on. Anytime you are trying to get your bearings, you begin by trying to find a familiar landmark, or by trying to identify true north astrologically. Once you gain your bearings, you regain your confidence and your sense of direction. The same is true spiritually. God provides His Word as a light to our path. Moses begins this psalm by declaring the glory of God’s great name. It is His name by which we will be saved and by which we will be made holy.
Deuteronomy 32:4 NLT
4
He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect.
Everything he does is just and fair.
He is a faithful God who does no wrong;
how just and upright he is!
God is our everlasting Rock. His ways are beyond reproach. Everything He does is wonderful. In fact, in some circles, He is known by that very name: Wonderful. However, not only is He Wonderful, His way is the way of justice. When his people go astray, one of the indicators that they have gone adrift is their rejection of the principles of justice toward their fellow man. Remember, this song is to be sung during a Sabbath (Rest) year, celebrated every seven years, a time when the land was allowed to rest, when debts were forgiven and when the poor were provided for.
Exodus 23:10-11 NLT
10 “Plant and harvest your crops for six years, 11 but let the land be renewed and lie uncultivated during the seventh year. Then let the poor among you harvest whatever grows on its own. Leave the rest for wild animals to eat. The same applies to your vineyards and olive groves.
Deuteronomy 32:5 NLT
5
“But they have acted corruptly toward him;
when they act so perversely,
are they really his children?[a]
They are a deceitful and twisted generation.
And so, it is during these times, when God’s people have lost their way, that God will show up and declare His case against them. His question: “Are you really my children?” Beloved, this is a loving call from God for us to look in the mirror of His Word to determine whether or not our behavior reflects the goodness and the grace that makes up His Character. Beloved, if all one can know about God is what they see in our character, are we the witness He desires us to be?
Deuteronomy 32:6 NLT
6
Is this the way you repay the Lord,
you foolish and senseless people?
Isn’t he your Father who created you?
Has he not made you and established you?
Are our memories so short that we’ve forgotten to whom we belong? By whose Name are we called? We are His people and the sheep of His Pasture. Our entire life should be a life of… praise. It is God who has set our feet on a solid Rock. Christ is that Rock upon which we are anchored. Let us not forget the depth of the darkness from which we were redeemed. Let us not return to waywardness.
Deuteronomy 32:10 NLT
10
He found them in a desert land,
in an empty, howling wasteland.
He surrounded them and watched over them;
he guarded them as he would guard his own eyes.
Remember, God is reminding His people where He brought them from. He called delivered His people out of Egypt, then He refined them in the furnace that was the desert. There, He watched over them, lovingly caring for them as His special possession. When they could not carry themselves, God carried them.
Deuteronomy 32:11 NLT
11
Like an eagle that rouses her chicks
and hovers over her young,
so he spread his wings to take them up
and carried them safely on his pinions.
Beloved, if we will place our trust in Him, and lean not on our own understanding, God will meet us in a quiet place. He’ll take us to a place where He will teach us what it means to mount up on the wings of eagles; to walk in the reflection of His majesty.
Deuteronomy 32:12 NLT
12
The Lord alone guided them;
they followed no foreign gods.
Their attention refocused, God’s people put away their attraction to foreign idols which are really just worthless images. It is this relinquishing of their lust for useless pleasures that marks their repentance, their return to God’s loving embrace.
Deuteronomy 32:13-14 NLT
13
He let them ride over the highlands
and feast on the crops of the fields.
He nourished them with honey from the rock
and olive oil from the stony ground.
14
He fed them yogurt from the herd
and milk from the flock,
together with the fat of lambs.
He gave them choice rams from Bashan, and goats,
together with the choicest wheat.
You drank the finest wine,
made from the juice of grapes.
Once God’s people return to His loving arms, He carries them aloft to a land of plenty. He nourishes them with honey from the Rock, with Oil (the Holy Spirit) from a Stone (Christ). It is in Christ that we find all that we need. When we rest in Him, he is revealed to us as Jehovah-Jireh, The God whose provision will be seen. He demonstrates that He will provide for us from the fat of the land. From the very best of His storehouse. He is willing and He is able.
Deuteronomy 32:18 NLT
18
You neglected the Rock who had fathered you;
you forgot the God who had given you birth.
The lesson closes with a quiet refrain. Be reminded that this is a prophetic psalm. We will all sin, missing the mark of the high calling of God. Whether our sins are intentional or unintentional, sins of commission or sins of omission, God’s love for us will never change. His mercy and grace are ever available to return us to the way of Wisdom, the way of the Spirit. Though Moses was directly addressing the people before him, they were not yet guilty of the sins of which he (Moses) accused them. But, they would be. And when, not if, but when they fell into sin, God would remind them, once again, that it was He that created them, for the praise of the glory of His grace. He will continually offer to us a way of repentance. May this lesson cause us to reflect upon our present behaviors as well as our future intentions, always allowing God’s Word to provide the course correction required to keep us on the narrow, often difficult path, the gateway to life everlasting...
Selah,
wb
2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.
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