Song of Moses -- Part II -- Deuteronomy 32:8-14

Song of Moses -- Part II -- How God Treated His People -- Deuteronomy 32:8-14

After shaming the Israelites and us, by asking "how we could possibly turn against a God like ours?" Moses now continues to describe in some details God's relationship with mankind. (Again we will use the pronoun 'us' wherever applicable as we believe there is much for us in this Song as there was for the Israelites when it was first given to them. The numbers refer to the verses in chapter 32.)

8. One interpretation of this verse is that God set up the twelve tribes neatly in the Promised Land and just outside it with their inheritance, in accordance with their desire and their numbers.

Robert Jamieson, however, prefers to believe this refers to something much more and much earlier when he writes, "the division of the earth, which Noah is believed to have made by divine direction ( Gen 10:5 Deu 2:5-9 Act 17:26, 27 ), Palestine was reserved by the wisdom and goodness of Heaven for the possession of His peculiar people and the display of the most stupendous wonders."

Matthew Henry seems to agree with Jamieson. He writes:

"When the earth was divided among the sons of men, in the days of Peleg, after the flood, and each family had its lot, in which it must settle, and by degrees grow up into a nation, then God had Israel in his thoughts and in his eye; for, designing this good land into which they were now going to be in due time an inheritance for them, he ordered that the posterity of Canaan, rather than any other of the families then in being, should be planted there in the mean time, to keep possession, as it were, till Israel was ready for it, because those families were under the curse of Noah, by which they were condemned to servitude and ruin (Gen. 9:25), and therefore would be the more justly, honourably, easily, and effectually, rooted out, when the fulness of time should come that Israel should take possession."

And then Henry goes on to say that way back then, God also had in mind how he would place the twelve tribes in that land when the appointed time came. All of this continues to point to the infinite wisdom of God . . . from the beginning.

9. God's inheritance is the totality of His people, all those that came from their father Jacob to whom the promise of an inheritance was given.

10. God took care of the Israelites in the desert, protecting them and caring for them just as He would guard "His own eye". The phrase describing the barren land as "a waste howling wilderness" is a common Oriental expression for a desert infested by wild beasts.

11. He was and is like an Eagle hovering over its young, catching them when they are falling, and carrying them safely to the nest.

We have to remember that the mother eagle, because she loves her little eaglets, knows that for them to survive, they need to learn how to fly. And for them to do that, when the time comes, she needs to basically throw them out of the family nest. And then she watches them. She watches them struggle to survive and when she detects they are about to hit the rock below them, she swoops in and saves them. That's our God.

12. And during this time, the Israelites were only led by God. They had no foreign gods.

13. And God led the people to high places, He gave them the fruit of the fields to enjoy, and honey from the rock, and oil as needed. Robert Jamieson says "'The high places' and 'the fields' are specially applicable to the tablelands of Gilead."

14. He gave them curds from the cows, milk for the sheep, and meat from the lambs, rams, and goats, plus the best grains for bread, and the best grapes fo their wine.

What more could they ask for? That is what God was to them. This is what God is for us today.

David Guzik says this whole passage was to "both bring a greater conviction of sin, and to remind them of God's love and grace they could return to". If we are struggling and have been thrown out of our comfort zone may we look beyond our sin after we are convicted of it, and recognize that our God is hovering over us, fully aware of our situation. May we trust in His great love for us and may we gladly allow Him to carry us to safety. Friends, we cannot do it alone. We need God and the people that He brings into our paths. The Enemy is fully at work now more than ever. This is no time for personal heroics.

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