This portion of Scripture, which is called the ‘Song of Moses,’ is another example of this tension that the Israelites were called to intentionally sit in, no matter how uncomfortable it may have been. They are equally reminded in this prophetic song of Yahweh’s faithfulness to them as a people over the last multiple decades, and of God’s charge for them to look forward and be sure to draw near to Him and only Him, because hardship and trials were coming. This is summed up perfectly in the last three verses of today’s Scripture:

45 And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. 47 For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”

But again--as we see time and time again throughout Deuteronomy--the New Testament believer ought to let the foreshadow of Jesus scream and shout in your head as we read through this. Oh, the better and more perfect Moses; the better and more perfect of ourselves [Hebrews 3.1-6].

[Deuteronomy 31.30-31.47]

The Song of Moses

31.30 Then Moses spoke the words of this song until they were finished, in the ears of all the assembly of Israel:

32.1 “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.

2 May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew,

like gentle rain upon the tender grass, and like showers upon the herb.

3 For I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God!

4“The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice.

A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.

5 They have dealt corruptly with him; they are no longer his children because they are blemished;

they are a crooked and twisted generation.

6 Do you thus repay the Lord, you foolish and senseless people?

Is not he your father, who created you, who made you and established you?

7 Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations;

ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.

8 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind,

he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.

9 But the Lord's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage.

10 “He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness;

he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.

11 Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young,

spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions,

12 the Lord alone guided him, no foreign god was with him.

13 He made him ride on the high places of the land, and he ate the produce of the field,

and he suckled him with honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock.

14 Curds from the herd, and milk from the flock, with fat of lambs,

rams of Bashan and goats, with the very finest of the wheat—and you drank foaming wine made from the blood of the grape.

15 “But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked; you grew fat, stout, and sleek; then he forsook God who made him and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation.

16 They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods; with abominations they provoked him to anger.

17 They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known,

to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded.

18 You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth.

19 “The Lord saw it and spurned them, because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.

20 And he said, ‘I will hide my face from them; I will see what their end will be,

for they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faithfulness.

21 They have made me jealous with what is no god; they have provoked me to anger with their idols.

So I will make them jealous with those who are no people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

22 For a fire is kindled by my anger, and it burns to the depths of Sheol,

devours the earth and its increase, and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.

23 “‘And I will heap disasters upon them; I will spend my arrows on them;

24 they shall be wasted with hunger, and devoured by plague and poisonous pestilence;

I will send the teeth of beasts against them, with the venom of things that crawl in the dust.

25 Outdoors the sword shall bereave, and indoors terror,

for young man and woman alike, the nursing child with the man of gray hairs.

26 I would have said, “I will cut them to pieces; I will wipe them from human memory,”

27 had I not feared provocation by the enemy, lest their adversaries should misunderstand,

lest they should say, “Our hand is triumphant, it was not the Lord who did all this.”’

28 “For they are a nation void of counsel, and there is no understanding in them.

29 If they were wise, they would understand this; they would discern their latter end!

30 How could one have chased a thousand, and two have put ten thousand to flight,

unless their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had given them up?

31 For their rock is not as our Rock; our enemies are by themselves.

32 For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah;

their grapes are grapes of poison; their clusters are bitter;

33 their wine is the poison of serpents and the cruel venom of asps.

34 “‘Is not this laid up in store with me, sealed up in my treasuries?

35 Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip;

for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.’

36 For the Lord will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants,

when he sees that their power is gone and there is none remaining, bond or free.

37 Then he will say, ‘Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge,

38 who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offering?

Let them rise up and help you; let them be your protection!

39 “‘See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me;

I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.

40 For I lift up my hand to heaven and swear, As I live forever,

41 if I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand takes hold on judgment,

I will take vengeance on my adversaries and will repay those who hate me.

42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh—

with the blood of the slain and the captives, from the long-haired heads of the enemy.’

43 “Rejoice with him, O heavens; bow down to him, all gods,

for he avenges the blood of his children and takes vengeance on his adversaries.

He repays those who hate him and cleanses his people's land.”

44 Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people, he and Joshua the son of Nun. 45 And when Moses had finished speaking all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. 47 For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”

[ WHAT ] is this passage saying and what is a key truth or thought that we learn?

+ Are the accusations in vv. 5-6 fair?

+ What does Yahweh say is coming for His Children as they cross into the Promised Land?

+ Why does He have Moses recount stories of faithfulness to the Israelites?

+ What are the consequences of Israel’s disobedience and future turning away? [vv. 19-27]

+ What are the circumstances for Moses right now? [i.e. health/age, status of entering the Promised Land, relationally w/the Israelites, etc.]

+ Is there hope for Israel?

+ Where can we see our Jesus in these verses?

[ HOW ] is the Lord calling me to action/obedience?

+ Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?

+ Might the Lord be calling me towards this same tension of remembering, yet looking forward? Can I share with my community this present or coming hardship/trial?

+ Why is Jesus a better Moses? [Read Hebrews 3.1-6] How can this bring me into a greater sense of worship towards Jesus? And in what areas of my life?

+ Continue reading in Hebrews 3, in vv. 7-19. Why is this important to me and how does this relate to today’s Scripture?

+ One of my favorite songs is ‘Song of Moses’ by Housefires. Here are some of the lyrics:

Though the storms of hell pursue

In darkest night we worship you

'Cause You divide the raging sea

From death to life You safely lead

O Praise the Lord, our Mighty Warrior

Praise the Lord, the Glorious One

By His hand we stand in victory

By His name we've overcome

[ WHO ] am I walking with and praying for to discover Jesus?

+ What is my next step?

+ Can any of my brothers or sisters in Christ be reminded of and encouraged by this Song?