Deuteronomy 32:7-17

7 Remember the old days. Think of the years already passed. Ask your father and he will tell you; ask your older leaders and they will inform you.
8 God Most High gave the nations their lands, dividing up the human race. He set up borders for the people and even numbered the Israelites.
9 The Lord took his people as his share, the people of Jacob as his very own.
10 He found them in a desert, a windy, empty land. He surrounded them and brought them up, guarding them as those he loved very much.
11 He was like an eagle building its nest that flutters over its young. It spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its feathers.
12 The Lord alone led them, and there was no foreign god helping him.
13 The Lord brought them to the heights of the land and fed them the fruit of the fields. He gave them honey from the rocks, bringing oil from the solid rock.
14 There were milk curds from the cows and milk from the flock; there were fat sheep and goats. and the best of the wheat. You drank the juice of grapes.
15 Israel grew fat and kicked; they were fat and full and firm. and rejected the Rock who saved them.
16 They made God jealous with foreign gods and angry with hateful idols.
17 They made sacrifices to demons, not God, to gods they had never known, new gods from nearby, gods your ancestors did not fear.

Deuteronomy 32:7-17 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 32

This chapter contains the song mentioned and referred to in the former, the preface to it, De 32:1-3; the character of the divine and illustrious Person it chiefly respects, De 32:4; the ingratitude of the people of the Jews to him, who were a crooked and perverse generation, aggravated by his having bought, made, and established them, De 32:5,6; and which is further aggravated by various instances of divine goodness to them, first in providing and reserving a suitable country for them, at the time of the division of the earth to the sons of men, with the reason of it, De 32:7-9; then by what the Lord did for them in the wilderness, De 32:10-12; after that in the land of Canaan, where they enjoyed plenty of all good things, and in the possession of which they were, when the illustrious Person described appeared among them, De 32:13,14; and then the sin of ingratitude to him, before hinted at, is fully expressed, namely, lightly esteeming the rock of salvation, the Messiah, De 32:15; nor could they stop here, but proceed to more ungodliness, setting up other messiahs and saviours, which were an abomination to the Lord, De 32:16; continuing sacrifices when they should not, which were therefore reckoned no other than sacrifices to demons, and especially the setting up of their new idol, their own righteousness, was highly provoking; and by all this they clearly showed they had forgot the rock, the Saviour, De 32:17,18; wherefore, for the rejection of the Messiah and the, persecution of his followers, they would be abhorred of God, De 32:19; who would show his resentment by the rejection of them, by the calling of the Gentiles, and by bringing the nation of the Romans upon them, De 32:20,21; whereby utter ruin and destruction in all its shapes would be brought upon them, De 32:22-25; and, were it not for the insolence of their adversaries, would be entirely destroyed, being such a foolish and unwise people, which appears by not observing what the enemies of the Messiah themselves allow, that there is no rock like him, whom they despised, De 32:26-31; which enemies are described, and the vengeance reserved for them pointed out, De 32:32-35; and the song closed with promises of grace and mercy to the Lord's people, and wrath and ruin to his and their enemies, on which account all are called upon to rejoice in the latter day, De 32:36-43; and this song being delivered by Moses, the people of Israel are exhorted seriously to attend to it, it being of the utmost importance to them, De 32:44-47; and the chapter is concluded with a relation of Moses being ordered to go up to Mount Nebo and die, with the reason of it, De 32:48-52.

Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.