DEUTERONOMY 32
Heaven and earth being called upon to hear the words of this song intimates that it contains what is instructive and profitable for both the heavenly and earthly people of God, And it is essentially of a refreshing and invigorating character. “My doctrine shall drop as rain, my speech flow down as dew, as small rain upon the tender herb, and as showers on the grass” (verse 2). When there is a work of God in the soul all His communications have that character, however exercising and humbling they may be. We manifest what we really are by the way we receive them, and the effect they produce in us. See Hebrews 6: 7, 8. The more we are searched by the word of God the more shall we be established; we shall judge ourselves, and pass over into the region of His thoughts. See Psalm 139. He brings out what He is, that in the light of it we may learn what we are, and flee for refuge to Him as the Rock of our souls, and rejoice in the stability of His thoughts as established in Christ.
This song celebrates the greatness of God in stability, perfection of working, righteousness and faithfulness (verses 3, 4). He will carry through the purposes of His love in spite of everything. The reminder of this is always refreshing to faith; God becomes the Rock of the soul. Only in the light of what He is could we bear to review the terrible history of failure.
But, in spite of all that God is, flesh remains flesh, and it comes out in “a crooked and perverted generation”, notwithstanding much past evidence that God is the origin of all good (verses 5 - 7). How many features have come out in each one of us that are not the spot of His children! God would have us to discern and judge those features under the influence of the pure and [p. 354] uncontaminated heavenly rain and dew that falls upon us, and which has its Source altogether outside the scene of failure. The object of ministry is that Christ may be brought into view, the flesh judged, and that we may have features which are acceptable to God. Have we the spot of God’s children, or are we still, in spite of all that we profess to know of God, marked by the crookedness and perversity of the flesh?
But, even if the latter should be the case, how will the blessed God proceed to deal with it? He will, in the first place, do as His servant Paul did in writing to the carnal Corinthians. He will put before us the place which His people have by divine calling, and according to His thoughts and His heart (verses 8 - 14). This might well be called a “song”, for it brings out God’s thoughts concerning His people, and His portion in them, and that is wholly apart from what is of the flesh.
All God’s providential disposition of things in the world has reference to what He has in mind for His saints; they are His portion, the lot of His inheritance. Nations rise or fall, kingdoms expand or diminish, but the Hand behind the scenes is moving everything with regard to those who are “called according to purpose”. So that, in truth, “all things” are ordered, and made to work together, for their good. How small is man! How great is God! Vast political movements going on, mighty changes being effected, the whole world having its very constitution re-fashioned, man fancying that he is doing it all! But God, the mighty unseen Disposer of all, assigning, separating, and setting bounds with reference to His present or future designs concerning His people, whether heavenly or earthly! Why should Claudius order all the Jews to leave Rome? It was, apparently, an arbitrary act of imperial power, but it was designed, under God’s hand, to bring two persons to Corinth just in time to receive Paul, in view of God [p. 355] having an assembly in that city (Acts 18). His providential orderings now are not less real, or less recognisable by faith, than the movements which grouped the nations round Israel.
There is no mention in this song of Egypt, unless it is implied in verses 6, 7. But “He found him in a desert land, and in the waste, howling wilderness”. God finds His people when they are entirely shut up to Him, and have no other resource, and He delights to become everything to them there, as we see in verses 10 - 12 — a beautiful and touching picture of God’s watchfulness, preservation and leading in wilderness conditions. Paul said, “For a time of about forty years he nursed them in the desert” (Acts 13: 18). What a sweet expression of the tenderness and solicitude with which He had watched over them! And we have all had experience of that loving and faithful care. Then verses 13, 14 describe the wealth of good things which constituted the plenty of the land.
But from verse 15 we have a sad history of departure after proving all this goodness on God’s part. And the name Jeshurun — the upright people — is used as though to mark in the strongest way their terrible defection. The tendency to depart had been there all the time. See chapter 31: 21, 27, 28. God knows what the flesh is, how ready it is to give Him up, to lightly esteem Him, to turn to every form of idolatry. We have all had to learn what the flesh is, even since we knew God, or were known of Him. It is evidence of a work of God when we really discern the perverseness and contrariety of the flesh, and begin to appreciate what is of God and His faithfulness. But before we learned the flesh God knew it; He testifies against it, and He shews plainly how His government will operate in regard to it; but He puts it all in the form of a “song”, which intimates that He will eventually secure, even through deep exercise and sorrow, His own happy “conclusion”. It will all end, marvellous to tell! in shouting for joy! (verse 43).
The middle part of the chapter is occupied with God’s necessary governmental dealings with His people as having departed from Him. There is no excuse for departure; if we act according to the flesh we shall reap accordingly. God will hide His face, He will move us to jealousy by allowing us to see others enjoying what we have missed (verse 21, and see the connection in Romans 10: 19), and His solemn governmental ways will take their course. At the present time departure from God is being visited by His displeasure. The loss of all spiritual blessing through worldliness, so that those who profess to be God’s people are indistinguishable from the world, is a sore affliction. Would to God that it were felt to be so!
But while God’s government takes its course He does not forget that the ruin of His people has been sought, and brought about, and rejoiced in by an enemy (verse 27). God vindicates Himself by judging the evil that manifests itself in His people, but, having done that, there remains a direct issue between Him and the adversary. Who is, after all, the greatest in power — the enemy who would destroy, or God who would bless, His people? That is the final issue, and the raising of it involves the ultimate triumph of God, and the full blessing of His people because of what He is. See verses 39 - 43.
How good for Israel, and for us, to know that God’s governmental dealings consequent upon unfaithfulness and departure, severe and inexorable as they are, are not His last word. He uses them to reduce His people, and to bring them to the point of utter helplessness as to themselves (verse 36), and utter hopelessness as to getting any help from the idols to which they had turned aside (verses 37, 38), they are made to realise that their [p. 357] own folly, and all its consequences, are the work of the enemy, that they may turn to Him who says in verse 39, “See now that I, I am He”. God remains in His own immutability, and He can be turned to in the very last extremity of need and distress. When His people realise their utter helplessness, His governmental dealings have done their work, and reached their end. Divine compassions can then flow righteously forth on a self-judged people; He can act on their behalf, for this is the force of “Jehovah will judge his people”. He will see that they are brought into all that His love would give after having been deprived of it by the enemy through their own folly.
“I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal”. His killing and wounding are but the prelude to His quickening and healing power being exercised. How many saints have proved this! We do not live spiritually without some experience of what it is to be killed; God brings the truth of our condition home to us in a painful way. But those under such a dealing of His mighty hand need not despair; the issues will be such that His saints can glorify Him even on this behalf. His woundings are the faithful woundings of a Friend, and they give occasion to prove how He can heal. It may be said that there is no necessity for saints to have such an experience as is described in this song. That is true. But where is the saint who has lived in unbroken continuity of enjoyment of the land? Who has never deviated from God, or never needed any correction or scourging? The natural tendencies of our hearts have to be learned; they are there; there may be much departure in heart without flagrant misconduct before others. In such a case it is pure mercy when God kills and wounds that He may quicken into true spiritual life, and heal the wayward and wandering heart. Compare 1 Samuel 2: 6.
God will ultimately defeat and destroy all the power of the adversary and enemy (verses 41, 42). The nations [p. 358] will shout for joy with His people (verse 43, quoted in Romans 15: 10 with a present application). He will avenge the blood of His martyred saints through the ages. And He will make atonement for His land and for His people; all will be secured and will stand on the ground of forgiveness through atonement. What a song is this! How humbling to us! HOW glorifying to God! For in all its principles it is as instructive to us as it will be in another day for Israel.
Moses and Hoshea came from the tent of meeting, and from the presence of Jehovah there, to teach this song to all Israel. It is most important that we should set our hearts “unto all the words” (verse 46). “For it is no vain word for you, but it is your life”. No part of the Lord’s instruction is a “vain word”. It is wonderful grace on God’s part to communicate His mind to us; now it is for us to set our hearts to His words. Christians are apt to ignore what they do not wish to obey. But “every scripture is divinely inspired”; it is not only absolutely dependable as being of God, but there is the breath of divine life in it. The letter of Scripture may be, in itself, empty of result, but if we set our hearts to the words as having the power of life in them they will convey to us the knowledge of God as revealed in Christ, and that will be life to us. This wonderful book unfolds in a typical way the conditions in which the brethren can enjoy the inheritance together. Let us set our hearts to it that it may not be a vain word for us, but that it may be our life. Our spiritual being needs to be quickened according to God’s words, so that they may be worked out in life amongst the brethren. What a conception it gives of the assembly to think of it as a company of persons capable of taking up the mind of God, and answering to it in a living way in collective enjoyment of “the land”!
It is far too often assumed that a great deal of Scripture [p. 359] is impracticable, but that is to say plainly that it is a “vain word”. If we do not set our hearts to the words they will be “vain” to us; they will not be our life. This accounts for the fact that comparatively few have the present gain of life eternal. John’s Gospel was written that we might have life eternal in the Name of the Son of God, and his Epistle was written that we might know consciously that we have it. This is really “the land ... over the Jordan”. Peter realised that Jesus had the words of life eternal; His words were instinct with the power of life.
The closing section of this chapter brings out in a striking way the governmental character which is impressed on the whole of this book. It gives us what is, perhaps, the most solemn and impressive instance of the government of God which Scripture contains. For Moses was a most eminent servant of God, who enjoyed personally great divine favour. But he was not allowed to go into the land because he trespassed in failing to hallow Jehovah at Meribah-Kadesh. The more eminent and faithful any servant of God may be the more incumbent it is upon him to hallow God at all times in the midst of His people. What a discipline for Moses, that faithful servant of Jehovah and true lover of Israel, to be forbidden to enter the “pleasant land”!
But it is encouraging to see that, while the government of God was not relaxed, even in favour of Moses, he got peculiar personal favour from Jehovah which must have been compensation to him in the deprivation which he felt so keenly. He was permitted to behold the land. Jehovah Himself shewed it to him in detail, as we shall see in chapter 34. The government of God may be severe, and its results may never be escaped from down here, but at the same time opportunity may be given to faithful hearts to get what they desire. God regarded,
[p. 360] amidst His governmental dealing, the faithfulness of His honoured servant, and He allowed him to see the land. Those fertile hills and valleys lay outstretched before his undimmed eyes. He had a clear view, in company with Jehovah, of all that was in Jehovah’s purpose, and had been the subject of His oath. Publicly he was debarred from entering the land, but privately he saw it all in communion with Jehovah.
This is, in the principle of it, great encouragement for the moment in which we live. Publicly privileges are forfeited; this was largely true before the apostles finished their course; the government of God is dealing out just retribution for many a trespass, and for much that has failed to hallow Him amongst His people. But faithful hearts may still have unique opportunities to see the land, and to know its wealth. Spiritually we may have as full a view of God’s purpose and grace in Christ Jesus as ever saints had. John wrote particularly for a day of public departure when many antichrists should be present. But he brings out the wealth of what can be enjoyed with God by those who love Him. In, his precious Gospel Jesus is seen as in the bosom of the Father, and His loved disciple is seen in His bosom. Personal intimacy remains, and can be enjoyed to the full by faithful lovers. In this connection we may note that the word “loveth” in Deuteronomy 33: 3 — a word which occurs nowhere else — means “to have in the bosom”. It suggests peculiar nearness. The faithful need not look to be publicly distinguished — to be anything outwardly — but a poor and afflicted people; that is the position that has to be accepted. But in private intimacy there is not a bit of “the land” that cannot be seen in spiritual vision. What a transcendent, privilege! The sovereign favour of God abounding, and conferring supreme blessedness, notwithstanding all that takes its course governmentally!
[p. 361] There is governmental scattering in chapter 32, but the results of the sovereign favour of God in gathering and blessing are seen in chapter 33. The man of God, who has learned personally the severity of God’s government, but also the sweetness of His sovereign favour, can bless the Israel of God according to all that is in God’s heart for them.