Singing of Rememberance
Deuteronomy 32
Moses must have remembered God’s abundant faithfulness towards him as he reflected on his life. Since he was a child, Moses experienced God’s saving mercy. Safely tucked in a simple woven basket, Moses received God’s protection amid a Hebrew genocide (Exodus 2:1-10). Though preserved and provided for while raised in Egypt, Moses remembered his heritage as one of God’s chosen people. Eventually, he fled from Egypt and was later called by the Lord to be an instrument for the deliverance of the Israelites from captivity under Egypt. As we may remember, the majority of the life of Moses was spent wandering in the wilderness with God’s people.
But God didn’t leave His children unattended and unprovided for. After freeing them from Egyptian slavery, God personally guided His children through the expansive wilderness. He provided food and water for them, healed them from sickness, gave them rules to live by, was their light in the night, and a cloudy cover by the day. And still, despite His abounding provision, they chose to disobey again and again.
Moses knew that this was the attitude of many of the people in the flock of Israel. Moses himself doubted and disobeyed the Lord in his ways. After all he had seen, Moses knew that Yahweh was a God of justice, power, and righteous anger. Encapsulated perfectly in His character, we know that the God of Israel is also one of great mercy and tenderness.
Notice the bending paths that Moses leads his listeners through throughout this song. First, Moses reminds them of God as their solid Rock (v. 4). God is perfect, just, faithful, and unchanging. He always has been and always will be.
Though God is unchanging, Moses truthfully and lovingly reminds the children of Israel that they have not reciprocated God’s faithfulness towards them. The Israelites often forgot and doubted God’s goodness towards them, dealing unfairly with Him to the point where they acted as though they were not even His children (v. 5).
Thus, after recalling much of Israel’s many shortcomings over forty years spent in the wilderness, Moses calls the children of Israel to remember God’s great acts of merciful kindness (v. 9-14).
The remainder of the song of Moses examines Israel’s disobedience and forgetfulness of their God, God’s rightful urge for justice, and His great benevolent mercy towards the people He lovingly picked as His chosen race. It becomes evident that it is not because Israel is holier than the nations around them that God loves them, but because He chose them, even in their wickedness. In His wisdom, God would allow His children to be humbled amid their waywardness from Him. And yet, He would never forget His beloved.
The closing words of Moses foreshadow God’s vengeance and justice over the enemies of God’s children. Soon, the great Enemy of God would truly be defeated. Through Jesus, who never forgot His Father’s faithfulness and lived in perfect obedience to him, the wrath of God was perfectly satisfied.
This song is truly a testimony of God’s faithfulness. He is our Rock and our salvation. Like Israel, we often forget the goodness of our Lord. Yet, His love is unwavering and not dependent on our remembrance. As Moses urged the children of Israel to remember God’s faithfulness towards them, let us also remember His goodness. Even greater, let us not forget the complete appeasement for our sins through the blood of Jesus. He is good, and this is enough.
How can you remember His faithfulness towards you today?
