Deuteronomy 32 – Commentary

¹Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.

² My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:

³ Because I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God.

⁴ He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.

Commentary Verses 1 – 4

The chapter starts out with showing respect and reverence to The Most High. In verse 4, the reference to “The Rock”, is believed by some, to be a reference to Christ. This is also the third time heaven and earth have been called to listen or witness between Deuteronomy chapters 28-32.

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⁵ They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation.

⁶ Do ye thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?

⁷ Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.

⁸ When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.

⁹ For the Lord’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.

Commentary Verses 5 – 9

Verse 5 begins the chastisement of Israel and the punishments they will endure in the future because of their rebellion against The Most High. In verse 7, The Most High urges Israel to remember the days of old and ask their fathers about the events of the past.

In verse 9, Jacob is referred to the inheritance of The Most High. In contrast, Psalms 2:7-8 tells the Son the following, “Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.”

Some believe that this reference to the Son inheriting the heathen is a foreshadowing of salvation being opened to the world after Israel’s rejection of the Messiah.

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¹⁰ He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.

¹¹ As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:

¹² So the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.

¹³ He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock;

¹⁴ Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape.

Commentary Verses 10 – 14

In these verses we get a glimpse of what may be referring to the origin of Abraham’s lineage. We are told that The Most High found him in a wasted desert wilderness and led him out. Not only do we see an origin story, but we also see what may be a foreshadow of the exodus story. Ezekiel 16:3 & 45 references the father of the nation being a Hittite and their Mother an Amorite, but there no consensus as to whether or not this reference is literal or figurative.

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¹⁵ But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.

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

¹⁷ They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.

Commentary Verses 15 – 17

The issue of worshiping false gods is a continual problem for Israel throughout scripture. It is important to note that these two verses point out that  Israel was sacrificing to new gods, strange gods, and devils.

Some people believe that these new and strange gods may be a reference to the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim that died in Noah’s Flood (Genesis 6).

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¹⁸ Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.

¹⁹ And when the Lord saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters.

²⁰ And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith.

²¹ They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

Commentary Verses 18 – 21

The problem of Israel worshiping other gods continues to be addressed, but in verse 21 we learn that The Most High gets jealous over worship going to other gods. This jealousy leads to The Most High saying he will hide his face from Israel.

There are some that believe The Most High is still hiding his face from Israel until they repent as a nation and turn back to him.

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²² For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

²³ I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.

²⁴ They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.

²⁵ The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.

Commentary Verses 22 – 25

The jealousy of The Most High leads to him carrying out the punishments mentioned in Deuteronomy 28:15-68. This punishment will fall on the young and old alike, and without discrimination because the covenant made in Deuteronomy 28 was to be in effect for multiple generations.

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²⁶ I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:

²⁷ Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the Lord hath not done all this.

Commentary Verses 26 – 27

Israel being scattered into all nations is a very important, but often overlooked part of Bible prophecy. Groups that claim to be Israel, but have no history of being scattered, probably aren’t who they claim to be. Another interesting aspect of verse 26 is the reference to making their memory cease among men. Psalms 83 alludes to a similar conspiracy among the nations to make Israel forget who they are and to get rid of The Most High’s hold over the nations.

Verse 27 speaks of The Most High fearing the wrath of the enemy, but it does not mean fear in the way that we think of. It was more of a concern that Israel’s adversaries would deny The Most High’s involvement, and take credit for Israel’s misfortune.

Cross References

Deut. 4:27 | Deut. 28:64

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²⁸ For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.

²⁹ O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!

³⁰ How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up?

³¹ For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.

³² For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:

³³ Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.

Commentary Verses 28 – 33

Verse 29 shows us that Moses wanted Israel to consider the end result of the disobedience vs the blessings they would receive if they were obedient to the Moab Covenant. Israel did not consider the ultimate outcome of disobedience because they were more concerned with chasing their feelings and living for the day.

In verses 30 – 33, Moses points out the difference between The Most High and the gods of other nations, but not even that is enough to keep Israel from following and worshiping other gods.

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³⁴ Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?

³⁵ To me belongeth vengeance and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.

³⁶ For the Lord shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.

³⁷ And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted,

³⁸ Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection.

³⁹ See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.

Commentary Verses 34 – 39

As The Most High pours out his vengeance on Israel, in verses 36 and 37, it appears that he mocks the false gods that they have chosen to worship. In verse 39, The Most High makes it clear that there are no other gods and nothing can save anyone from his judgement if he desires to do so.

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⁴⁰ For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever.

⁴¹ If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.

⁴² I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.

⁴³ Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.

Commentary Verses 40 – 43

The Most High redirects his focus from punishing Israel, to dishing out vengeance to his enemies. What follows are three of the most poetic verses in all of scripture. Even after all of the talk of vengeance upon his enemies, The Most High still says he will be merciful to his land and his people.

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⁴⁴ And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun.

⁴⁵ And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel:

⁴⁶ And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.

⁴⁷ For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.

Commentary Verses 44 – 47

In verses 46 and 47 Moses attempts to stress how important it is for Israel to adhere to the terms and conditions of the Moab covenant found in Deuteronomy 28. He goes as far as to say, “it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life…” Ultimately, Israel does not heed his or The Most High’s warning, which will lead to centuries of punishments that will lead to them being scattered all over the world.

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⁴⁸ And the Lord spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying,

⁴⁹ Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession:

Commentary Verses 48 – 49

Even though The Most High is not going to allow Moses to step foot in the Promised Land, he does allow him to see it from a distance as a reward for his efforts.

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⁵⁰ And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people:

⁵¹ Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.

⁵² Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.

Commentary Verses 50 – 52

As the chapter closes, The Most High tells Moses why he will be allowed to see the land, but not allowed to enter. Moses receives this punishment as a result of not carrying out The Most High’s instructions as they were given to him in Numbers 20:2-13. The overall message and warning behind Moses’ punishment is that when The Most High gives us instructions, we should follow them as given, and not deviate from his plan.