Deuteronomy 32 - Moses's Song

Deuteronomy 32 forced me to slow my pace.  It took me a couple of days to digest it all.  It is significant as the last chance for Moses to summarize all he had observed and prophesied throughout his life concerning the Jewish people.  And it is in essence a summary, though one in the form of a very poetic and artistic song.  It is the story, a very familiar story, of a chosen people, an ungrateful people, and a people implored to follow a very special Law.  Moses sings of the beginnings of God's dealings with His people, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  How fortunate were the Israelites, how they were chosen because of their sufferings, and how God gave them many blessings to help them rise above their tribulations, and how, sadly, once they had prosperity they quickly forgot God.  It ends with Moses's appeal that the people value their special Law, do not take it for granted, live by it, live in it.  

There is much that could be said about this chapter, but I will just mention a couple of verses that especially struck me.  First, there is Deuteronomy 32:15, which states: "The beloved grew fat, and kicked: he grew fat, and thick and gross, he forsook God who made him, and departed from God his Saviour."  This speaks of the Jews' propensity to become neglectful and worldly whenever they come upon temporal prosperity (which, ironically, is only a gift from God).  But there is so much more packed into this verse, for it radiates with a universality that shoots across the centuries and speaks to us today just as powerfully.  I know I am personally guilty of forgetting God whenever my life gets going on a smooth and prosperous path.  It is usually at my low moments that I remember Him.  It is most likely the case with all of us.  God provides when we are desperate, then when we are secure and content we indulge in that security and comfort and fail to give thanks to the One who gave it us!  The story of the Jews is the story of us.  Their 40-year journey through the wilderness has already illustrated that, but this Canticle of Moses shows it just as profoundly.

The other verse that caused me to pause was Deuteronomy 32:21, which reads: "They have provoked me with that which was no god, and have angered me with their vanities: and I will provoke them with that, which is no people, and will vex them with a foolish nation."  At the risk of being irreverent, this verse struck me as God being humorous.  Because the Jews have fallen into idolatry and worshiped gods that are not gods, God will do the same by choosing instead a people (the gentiles) who are not a people.  This verse must have packed a punch when those ancient Israelites heard Moses recite it!  How perfectly does God illustrate the Israelites' error?!  Worshiping false gods was the ultimate insult to God; and God choosing to give salvation to the Gentiles must have been the ultimate insult to the Jews.  God's justice is perfect.