What is the significance of the Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:1–43)?

from the old testament

• Deuteronomy is Moses’ summary of God’s commands to Israel (Deuteronomy 1:1–5). As he was barred from entering the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 34:4–5), it was God’s final set of instructions through him to the people (Deuteronomy 31:1–2). In anticipation of Israel’s future rebellion in the Promised Land, God told Moses to write and teach this song as a witness against Israel when she sinned (Deuteronomy 31:19–22).
• Scholars note that the song's structure resembles ancient lawsuits, in which charges were brought against a party that had broken a covenant. The song, like other lawsuits, opens by stating who witnesses the lawsuit and the authority under which it is being brought (Deuteronomy 32:1–4). Creation is the witness (Deuteronomy 32:1–3), and the authority is “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he” (Deuteronomy 32:4).
• Following the introduction is the indictment against Israel (Deuteronomy 32:5–6). “They have dealt corruptly with [God]; they are no longer his children because they are blemished; they are a crooked and twisted generation” (Deuteronomy 32:5). The covenant has been broken because of their rebellion against Him.
• The lawsuit continues, showing that Israel had no foundation for their rebellion because God dealt kindly and greatly with them, blessing them, guiding them, and protecting them (Deuteronomy 32:7–14).
• Yet, “Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked; you grew fat, stout, and sleek; then he forsook God who made him and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation” (Deuteronomy 32:15). Instead of thanking God, they turned to false gods and abandoned their God (vv 16–18).
• This is why “the LORD … spurned them, because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters” (Deuteronomy 32:19). The judgment outlined in Deuteronomy 32:20–25 is in response to Israel’s rejection of Him. It included turning His face from them (Deuteronomy 32:20), provoking them to anger (Deuteronomy 32:21), heaping disasters on them (Deuteronomy 32:23), and famine and hunger (Deuteronomy 32:24). He ends by saying that it was only because of His name that He stopped short of destroying them completely (Deuteronomy 32:26–27).
• The next section argues why Israel has acted so foolishly despite God’s blessing: they are fools who serve gods with no power (Deuteronomy 32:28–38).
• God contrasts their false gods with Himself. In contrast, “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand" (Deuteronomy 32:39). Because He is the only true God, He will rise and take vengeance on the sinners and those who hate Him (Deuteronomy 32:40–42).
• The lawsuit ends with a call for the nations to praise what God will do (Deuteronomy 32:43). It’s not praise for the destruction to follow, but for the fact that He will set all things right.
• After teaching the song, Moses warned the people, saying, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess” (Deuteronomy 32:46–47). Their persistence in the land was contingent on them learning from these warnings and obeying God.

from the new testament

• Paul quoted from Moses’ song to show that the Jews should have known salvation was by faith. Their rejection, however, was caused by God’s judgment to bring salvation to the Gentiles. Quoting Deuteronomy 32:21, Paul writes, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry” (Romans 10:19).
• Paul also quoted from the song to remind His readers that, in the face of persecution, “never [to] avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord’” (Romans 12:19; cf. Deuteronomy 32:35).
• The song appears one more time in the New Testament, in a scene in heaven. There, those “who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name” (Revelation 15:2) stood together to “sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb” (Revelation 15:3a). The song contains a mixture of passages, including Deuteronomy 32. It reads, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed” (Deuteronomy 32:3–4).

implications for today

Moses’ Song is currently playing itself out in history. After Israel entered the Promised Land, as God said, they grew fat and rebelled against Him. He eventually removed them from the land. While God eventually released them from captivity, they have never since been the same. They continue to feel God’s judicial judgments for rejecting Him and, ultimately, their Messiah.

However, buried in the song was the hint that God planned to use Israel’s rebellion to save Gentiles. That part of the song is echoing now. After Israel rejected her Messiah (John 1:11), His Gospel was sent into the nations (Acts 13:46–47). Right now, people from every nation are hearing and receiving the Gospel because Israel stumbled (Romans 11:11–12).

However, the song also promised that God would avenge His people and rescue them. At some point, “the fullness of the Gentiles” will be saved (Romans 11:25), and God will remove His judicial partial hardening from Israel and save her (Romans 11:25–27). He will destroy all of His people’s enemies (Deuteronomy 32:41–43), and together, His people from every nation will sing Moses’ song in praise to God (Revelation 15:3–4).

This song teaches us that all that has happened to Israel and all the ways that their rejection brought great riches to the Gentiles are all part of God’s plan to save His people from every nation.

Thinking about this mystery being revealed in Christ, Paul exclaimed, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Romans 11:33). Let us also look at this song and marvel at our God’s eternal wisdom!