“THERE IS NO GOD BESIDES ME”

Deuteronomy 32:28-52 / Keywords 32:39

"See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand.

32:28 They are a nation without sense,

    there is no discernment in them.

29 If only they were wise and would understand this

    and discern what their end will be!

30 How could one man chase a thousand,

    or two put ten thousand to flight,

unless their Rock had sold them,

    unless the Lord had given them up?

31 For their rock is not like our Rock,

    as even our enemies concede.

32 Their vine comes from the vine of Sodom

    and from the fields of Gomorrah.

Their grapes are filled with poison,

    and their clusters with bitterness.

33 Their wine is the venom of serpents,

    the deadly poison of cobras.

34 “Have I not kept this in reserve

    and sealed it in my vaults?

35 It is mine to avenge; I will repay.

    In due time their foot will slip;

their day of disaster is near

    and their doom rushes upon them.”

36 The Lord will vindicate his people

    and relent concerning his servants

when he sees their strength is gone

    and no one is left, slave or free.[d]

37 He will say: “Now where are their gods,

    the rock they took refuge in,

38 the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices

    and drank the wine of their drink offerings?

Let them rise up to help you!

    Let them give you shelter!

39 “See now that I myself am he!

    There is no god besides me.

I put to death and I bring to life,

    I have wounded and I will heal,

    and no one can deliver out of my hand.

40 I lift my hand to heaven and solemnly swear:

    As surely as I live forever,

41 when I sharpen my flashing sword

    and my hand grasps it in judgment,

I will take vengeance on my adversaries

    and repay those who hate me.

42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood,

    while my sword devours flesh:

the blood of the slain and the captives,

    the heads of the enemy leaders.”

43 Rejoice, you nations, with his people,[e][f]

    for he will avenge the blood of his servants;

he will take vengeance on his enemies

    and make atonement for his land and people.

44 Moses came with Joshua[g] son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people. 45 When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, 46 he said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. 47 They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

Moses to Die on Mount Nebo

48 On that same day the Lord told Moses, 49 “Go up into the Abarim Range to Mount Nebo in Moab, across from Jericho, and view Canaan, the land I am giving the Israelites as their own possession. 50 There on the mountain that you have climbed you will die and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people. 51 This is because both of you broke faith with me in the presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites. 52 Therefore, you will see the land only from a distance; you will not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel.”

Footnotes

d. Deuteronomy 32:36 Or and they are without a ruler or leader

e. Deuteronomy 32:43 Or Make his people rejoice, you nations

f. Deuteronomy 32:43 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint) people, / and let all the angels worship him, /

g. Deuteronomy 32:44 Hebrew Hoshea, a variant of Joshua

1. The song turns to lament: “If only they were wise…” God’s people’s lack of discernment causes them to miss the obvious: Who could stand against them unless the LORD had given them up? Even enemies of Israel saw the truth: Our rock is not like their Rock! Their gods were useless and could never defeat God’s people - unless God had allowed it. God’s use of such armies to subjugate his people should help them see he is sovereign over all the earth: “There is no god besides me.” God, the living Creator, puts to death and gives life. None can deliver themselves from God’s hand.

2. God’s song also plants hope into the hearts of the people, for God will avenge his servants’ blood. The final verse of the song emphasizes that God will atone for his land and people. God fulfills this promise in two ways: with the Israelites’ return from exile (Ezra 2:1) and most importantly with the coming of Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (Jn 1:29). To ensure the people hold onto this vision, Moses recited the song to the people and charged them to teach it to their children. Then, Moses went up to Mount Nebo and did not return. But God would continue to be with his people through his word of promise.

Prayer Father, there is no God but you, our Rock in whom we find salvation and shelter. Help me to see contemporary culture for what it is and to put my hope in Jesus, not the idols of our age.

One Word Our only hope is Jesus