Deuteronomy 32 Study Notes

32:28-33 The subject of these verses is unnamed, leading to some confusion. The CSB is probably correct in supplying Israel in v. 28. But Wright and McConville believe the subject is the enemies of God and Israel.

32:30 Moses predicted a time when Israel’s sin would be so blatant that they would be delivered over to incredibly powerful armies. Though hyperbole is used to describe the future defeat of Israel by a foreign foe (one pursue a thousand), the fact remains that when God no longer fights for his people and, in fact, fights against them, there is no chance of victory.

32:31 In contrast to the previous scenario, when the Lord fights for his people, they are certain to prevail because the “rock” on which the pagans rely does not exist and therefore has no real power.

32:32-33 The vine, the grapes, and the wine are the products of the enemies’ “rock” (v. 31)—the pagan fertility gods. The Lord, however, linked these imaginary gods to Sodom and Gomorrah, the epitome of corruption (Gn 18:20; 19:4-28; Is 1:10; 3:9; Mt 10:15; 11:23-24).

32:34-35 The vaults is a figurative image conveying the idea that all judgment originates with God and is stored up until the proper time of its administration. Vengeance belongs to God. Only he knows all the facts, and only he is absolutely just and righteous (Rm 12:19; Heb 10:30).

32:36 The other side of vengeance on the wicked is vindication of the righteous. The pledge here is that the Lord will be true to his everlasting covenant promises.

32:37-38 At the same time the Lord rescues them, he will taunt his people by asking where their gods, their supposed rock of refuge, have gone. The prophets also taunted idolaters and the gods they worshiped by sarcastically exposing their nonexistence (Is 40:18-20; 44:6-20; Jr 10:1-10).

32:39 The bottom line is that the Lord alone is God. Surely this puts an end to speculation about other gods and ought to render foolish the devotion that people—especially his own people Israel—pay to them.

32:40-42 Using a figure of speech called an “anthropomorphism” the Lord swears as heaven is his witness and as surely as he lives forever that he will execute judgment and vengeance on his adversaries and the heads of the enemy leaders who hate him. The familiar language of the courtroom is used here so Israel can better understand the legal and forensic nature of God’s relationship to them and to the nations at large. A second figure of speech—personification—describes the sword of the Lord as it devours flesh and his arrows that are drunk with blood. This gruesome scene reflects the other side of the coin of divine love and grace—holiness and justice.

32:43 When the Lord administers judgment to his adversaries, he will also avenge . . . his servants who have been abused. By judging his foes and vindicating Israel, the Lord will purify his land and his people.

32:44-46 The instruction to the people to take to heart all the words of Moses’s song and to command their children to follow all the words of this law (i.e., the book of Deuteronomy) calls to mind the admonitions following the giving of the Ten Commandments (5:32-33) and the Shema (6:4-9). These commands of the Lord must be handed down from one generation to the next.

32:47 Because Israel failed to heed these words of admonition, they were eventually uprooted from the land and forced into exile (2Kg 17:7-17; 2Ch 36:15-19).

32:48-52 The reason Aaron and Moses were unable to enter the land of promise is that they broke faith with the Lord. The verb translated “broke faith” has at its core in this context the idea of covenant treachery or disloyalty. Moses should have served as a model of kingdom citizenship in a time of stress, but he failed to do so (Nm 20:1-13).