And Jehovah said to Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the strange gods of the land into which they enter, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.
God's word to Moses is double: the leader will die, and the people he led will turn away. It comes before Israel has even crossed into the land. That raises the hard question of the chapter: why bring a nation into a place He already knows they will ruin?
The news arrives with a new leader already appointed. One writer notes what it cost Moses to hear it:
Israel had a new leader. Even so, God tells Moses that after his death Israel would become unfaithful. They would follow the idols of the nations, forsake God and break His covenant. This must have spoken deeply to the heart of Moses. He had spent time and labour declaring the law and pleading with Israel to keep it.
God did not discover Israel's failure later. He announced it in advance and went ahead anyway. That knowledge takes nothing off the people's account:
God knew men would break the law; yet He gave it, so that what was in man's heart might be shown. God knew that Israel would, by their sins, forfeit the land of Canaan, and would have to be scattered, as they are now. He told them that He knew this before He brought them in. Still, He brought them in. He knew that they would reject the prophets and messengers by whom He spoke to them, and offered them forgiveness and mercy, if they would only repent. Even so, He sent them, rising up early and sending. Did God's foreknowledge of how they would treat the messengers of His mercy lessen their responsibility? Surely not.
This is not a change of opinion about religion. The verse uses the language of a broken marriage:
The prophets dwell largely upon Israel's conduct as a wife, and upon the Lord's jealousy on that score... Her unfaithfulness has been made plain. She has broken her vows. She has gone aside from her Husband, the Holy One of Israel, whose burning jealousy has been poured out on the faithless nation. He is a jealous God, and cannot bear the thought that the heart He claims as His own should be given to another.
This was not a warning that might or might not come true:
Scripture clearly traces the line of Israel's history, and it followed the line predicted... Because of their sins, God gave the ten tribes into the hand of the king of Assyria, who took them captive. The two tribes He gave into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, who took them into Babylon.
What God said through Moses is not an oddity of one nation. The same shape appears wherever God entrusts something good to people:
How strange, how unlike man! God chooses instruments to bring in something from Himself, and those same instruments predict its failure in man's hands.
The same writer applies this to the age after the apostles. He quotes Paul: "I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them" (The Bible Treasury).
The prediction of ruin is not God's last word:
But Moses does not end without a song. This song rests on the secret things of God's grace, though it also takes in the judgments of the last days. Not ignorant of the evil, he looks on to the blessing that would surely come to them. He deeply feels what they would do against the Lord in their stubborn folly and ingratitude. But he sees in prophetic vision what He will do for them.
For anyone reading now, the practical edge is simple:
Their history in the past, their present scattering and desolation, and beyond all the great tribulation they have yet to pass through at the time of the end — all confirm and illustrate one truth. The sure and certain way to multiply our sorrows is to turn away from the Lord and look to any created resource.
- Told first. God announced the failure before Israel entered the land. Nothing that followed surprised Him.
- Still brought in. Foreknowledge did not stop the gift. He led them in anyway, and their responsibility still stood.
- Whoring, not wandering. The verse pictures idolatry as a wife leaving her Husband. That is why God answers with jealousy.
- Fulfilled to the letter. Assyria took the ten tribes, Babylon took the two. The same pattern appears again after the apostles.
- Grace outlasts it. Moses answers the forecast of ruin with a song. He sees not only what they will do against God, but what God will yet do for them.
And my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them, and they will say in that day, Have not these evils befallen me because my God is not in my midst?
Before Israel enters the land, God tells Moses what will happen after his death. The people will turn to other gods, God will hide His face, and they will name the cause of their troubles without turning back.
One writer stresses who is speaking and what He already sees:
The all-knowing One, who knows everything from the beginning, announced that the nation would fail and fall away. He had treated them with wonderful kindness. They had seen His power and glory for themselves. They would break the covenant and abandon Him. He would forsake them also, because they turned away from Him to run after other gods. He would hide His face. All the predicted and threatened evils and troubles would come upon them. Their past history, and their present history too, prove the solemn truth of these divine words.
Knowing this did not stop God from bringing them in, and it did not reduce their responsibility:
God knew that Israel would lose the land of Canaan by their sins and be scattered, as they are now. He told them He knew this before He brought them in. (See Deut. 31:16-21). Still, He brought them in. He knew they would reject the prophets and messengers He sent. Through them He spoke to Israel and offered forgiveness and mercy, if they would only repent... Did God's foreknowledge of how they would treat the messengers of His mercy make them any less responsible? Surely not.
The covenant itself had already set out what disobedience would bring:
It was fully in keeping with the old covenant itself that Jehovah should hide His face from His people. Their disobedience would provoke His anger. The result would be a course of discipline. Its sharpest edge was this: He took back the favour He had shown them, and without it they were defenceless prey before their enemies.
Commenting on the same warning elsewhere, one writer shows why God's presence could not stay with a disobedient people:
The presence of God should always have been their shield and defence. No weapon formed against them could succeed. But only an obedient people could enjoy that presence. Jehovah could not give His approval to disobedience or wickedness by His presence. The nations around them, who had no part in His covenant, might depend on their own strength and their armies. Israel had only the arm of Jehovah to depend on. That arm would never reach out to shield unholiness or disobedience.
Israel would name the cause of their trouble, and God would still hide His face:
God's anger would rise, and He would leave Israel to the painful results of their rebellion. Many evils would befall them, so they would realize that God was no longer among them (v.17). Yet, even then God would hide His face from them to make them feel their serious condition as they ought (v 18).
One writer presses how far confession alone falls short:
They confess, but God is faithful, and He must show them that getting away from Him is one thing, and getting back is quite another. It is one thing to have left Him and to admit the power of the enemy. But confession by itself will not undo my departure from God.
The chastening has lasted, but it is not the end. One writer marks the difference between God's government and His heart:
At a point like this we must mark the difference between God's ways in government with His people and His ways in grace. In the righteous government of God, the Jews have been and still are under His chastening hand, because of their sins and their refusal to repent. Yet the grace and love of His heart towards them stay the same and never change. Note the terms of the covenant: "And I will afflict the offspring of David because of this, but not forever."
But these words do not describe the Christian's place before God:
God's faithfulness is always true, of course. But the Spirit of prophecy here speaks about the people of Israel and their state — for example, God hiding His face from them. We know this does not apply to us in a literal way. He cannot hide His face from us. His face is shining on us in Christ. Does He hide His face from Christ?
- Foreseen. God announced Israel's turning away before they entered the land. He brought them in anyway, and it excused them nothing.
- Forfeited. His presence was their only shield. That shield was never stretched over disobedience.
- Felt. The hidden face means favour taken back. It left them open prey to their enemies, just as the covenant had said.
- Half-confessed. They could name the cause of their troubles and still not return; saying it is not the same as coming back.
- Fixed term. The affliction belongs to God's government, not to the end of His love — "not forever". For the believer, God's face now shines in Christ.
And I will entirely hide my face in that day for all the evils that they have wrought, because they turned unto other gods.
Moses is near death, and God tells him what Israel will do once he is gone: they will turn to other gods. Verse 18 raises the hardest question in the chapter — does hiding His face mean God has left them for good?
If God already knew Israel would fail, why keep warning them at all?
It is amazing how much care God took to make Israel see their responsibility to Him, from every angle. And He knew full well that they would rebel.
God's answer was a song. It turned Israel's role inside out.
Israel should have been a witness for the Lord before all nations. Instead, the song of Moses would be a witness for the Lord against the children of Israel. They were called to be His witnesses. Their task was to declare His Name and show His praise in the land He brought them into, in His faithfulness and sovereign mercy.
What did Israel actually lose when God hid His face?
Under the old covenant, the Lord hiding His face from His people matched the terms of the covenant itself. Their disobedience would provoke His anger. The effect would be a course of discipline. Its sharpest edge was the withdrawal of that visible favour. Without it they were defenceless prey before their enemies. So they would say when suffering this way: "Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?"
Notice that the hiding continues even after Israel says those words in verse 17. God's aim in verse 18 goes further than making them notice.
Yet, even then God would hide His face from them, to make them feel their serious condition as they ought.
The verse gives its own cause, and one commentator draws the lesson out for any reader.
"The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply." So says the Spirit of Christ in Psalm 16. Israel has proved, is proving, and will yet prove more fully how solemnly true these words are. Look at their history in the past, at their present scattering and ruin, and beyond all that at the "great tribulation" they must still pass through at "the time of the end". It all confirms one truth: the sure and certain way to multiply our sorrows is to turn away from the Lord and look to any created thing.
One book of the Bible never mentions God's name. Readers have long linked that silence to this verse.
This book especially teaches us God's invisible care for those of His people who chose to stay in the land of exile. They could have returned to Palestine ever since the days of King Cyrus of Persia. The Lord watched with tender goodness and care over this large part of the Jews. He could no longer recognise them as His people in front of the world. He hid Himself from them, as it were. This is why God is not mentioned once in this book. Long ago the Jews already saw this striking feature as the fulfilment of the prophecy in Deuteronomy 31:18.
A hidden face is not an absent God. The two truths stand together.
The importance of Esther is most evident, besides its typical instruction. Nothing could be more so in its place. It is the providential care of Israel scattered among the nations, when God could not own them at all outwardly or publicly. That is why He does not appear in the book. It is His unseen hand that does it, in a providential way.
The warnings run all through Scripture. One writer points to the time limit set inside them.
The law, the Psalms, and the prophets are clear about it. Israel would fail as God's witness so completely that He would disown them for a season.
And through the hiding, God is watching for the first sign of a turn back.
The Lord had to hide His face from His people. He handed them over for a time to the nations around them. Yet His loving heart was always turned towards them, always ready to notice and recognise the faintest traces of a repentant spirit.
- Foreknown. God said Israel would turn away before they ever crossed into the land. He brought them in anyway, and pressed their responsibility on them from every angle.
- Forfeited. Hiding His face means the loss of visible favour under the covenant. Without it they were defenceless prey. That was the sharp edge of His discipline.
- Felt. Verse 17 is Israel noticing; verse 18 is God continuing, so they would feel their condition as they ought.
- Followed. Even hidden, He is not absent. In Esther His name is never spoken, yet His unseen care guards a people He could not own before the world.
- Finite. The disowning lasts for a season. The heart behind the hidden face is watching for the faintest trace of repentance.
And now, write ye this song, and teach it to the children of Israel; put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel.
The command comes right after God told Moses that the people will turn away once he dies. Why would God give a nation words that convict them — and why as a song?
The word "witness" turns Israel's calling upside down.
How deeply moving, how solemn all this is! Instead of Israel being a witness for Jehovah, before all nations, the song of Moses was to be a witness for Jehovah against the children of Israel. They were called to be His witnesses. It was their responsibility to declare His Name and to display His praise in the land into which He brought them, in His faithfulness and sovereign mercy. But they failed completely and shamefully.
God could have given the warning as a command. Instead He gave it as a song, and joy is what lives in the heart.
A "song" means joy in itself, not sorrow: a battle-song means victory over enemies; a funeral song, victory over death. The song of Moses joins these together. Above all it is a song of joy in God, and that explains everything and assures us that all of it must be so. Because it is joy, it is made to live in the heart. And because it is a joy that does not ignore sorrow or make light of sin, the presence of sorrow and sin will only help to keep it alive and give it power over the soul. It is truly a "song in the night," and for the night, such as God alone could give — a witness to the Giver.
The song was not only written down. Learned by heart, it would still be there when the people grew rich and drifted.
Moses was to write it down for Israel to learn (v.19). When God has brought them into the land, they will become well fed and wealthy, turning to idols and provoking God. Then this song would testify against them. If they learned it by heart, they would remember it, and its words would at least shame them when they disobeyed.
The song predicts ruin. God gave it in the hope of preventing that ruin.
Moses is also to write out the song which Israel is to learn. For those who really learn it, it is the remedy against the evil it predicts. God's love would so gladly have its own prophecy proved untrue, if that were possible, and see the One who does not change His mind turn back from what He is forced to do.
The song exists because God already knew the outcome. Knowing it changed nothing about what He gave them or what they owed Him.
God knew that Israel would, by their sins, forfeit the land of Canaan, and be scattered, as they still are today. He told them that He knew this before He brought them in. Still, He brought them in. He knew they would reject the prophets and messengers through whom He spoke to them and offered them forgiveness and mercy, if only they would repent. Even so, He sent them, rising up early and sending them again and again. Did God's foreknowledge of how they would treat the messengers of His mercy make them any less responsible? Certainly not.
Moses had led Israel in song before, at the Red Sea. He wrote this one at the end of his life, and it reads very differently.
He and the children of Israel sang the first one at the start of his forty years of ministry, when they had crossed the Red Sea. From beginning to end it is full of what God is, what He had done, and what He was going to do to fulfil His purpose. He composed the second at the end, just before he died. It does not appear that anyone ever sang it… They would not be likely to sing it. The earlier part celebrates God's kind dealings with them, and the closing part His final intervention and deliverance. But the main weight of it is their folly in forsaking God and turning to idols.
The song is not only an accusation. Under the charges lies something Israel's failure cannot touch.
But Moses does not end without a song. This song is grounded on the secret things of God's grace, though it also takes in the judgments of the last days. He is not blind to the evil, yet he looks on to the blessing that would surely come to them. He feels deeply what they would do against Jehovah in their stubborn folly and ingratitude. But in prophetic vision he sees what He will do for them.
- Witness reversed. God called Israel to witness for Him among the nations. When they failed, a song had to witness for Him against them.
- Witness sung. God chose a song, not a rule. Joy lives in the heart, and a song that faces sin honestly keeps its power over the soul in the night.
- Witness memorised. Moses wrote it, taught it, and put it in their mouths, so their children would not forget it.
- Witness as remedy. For anyone who truly learned it, the song was the cure for the evil it foretold. God would gladly have seen His own prophecy proved untrue.
- Witness grounded in grace. The song rests on what God will do for them. He knew they would fail, yet He still brought them in — and they were still responsible.
For I shall bring them into the land which I swore unto their fathers, which floweth with milk and honey; and they will eat and fill themselves, and wax fat, and will turn unto other gods, and serve them, and despise me, and break my covenant.
God tells Moses about a day still far off. Israel will be settled in the promised land, well fed and prosperous — and will turn to other gods. He says this before the nation has even crossed the Jordan, which raises a hard question: why bring them in at all?
This is not a reaction to something Israel had already done. It is said in advance.
God knew that Israel would, by their sins, forfeit the land of Canaan, and be scattered, as they are now. He told them He knew this before He brought them in. (See Deut. 31:16-21). Still, He brought them in. He knew that they would reject the prophets and messengers He spoke to them through, who offered them forgiveness and mercy if they would only repent. (See Ezek. 3:7-9). Even so, He sent them, rising up early and sending them. Was their responsibility lessened because God foreknew how they would treat the messengers of His mercy? Surely not.
The collapse comes not in famine or war, but with a full stomach.
In Scripture, fat is always the symbol of a prosperous condition — though it may be the kind of material prosperity that ends in the opposite state of soul. "Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked," says Moses in his last prophetic song.
Hardship and plenty pull in opposite directions.
Sadly, then as now, and now as then, the very fullness of the blessing enjoyed might make them forget the gracious hand that gave it. Long ago, "excess of food" destroyed Sodom. Trial and need wake a man up to how much he depends on God. When he lacks nothing, he can easily lose the sense that he still depends on Him.
This danger is not Israel's alone.
There is a solemn voice in all this for the writer and the reader. Each of us is in danger of walking the same moral path these words describe. We are surrounded on every side by the rich and varied mercies of God, and we tend to use them to feed a spirit of self-satisfaction. We make use of the gifts to shut out the Giver. In a word, we, too, like Israel, grow fat and kick. We forget God.
God answers a failure He can see coming with a song.
Moses was to write it down for Israel to learn (v.19). God would bring them into the land. There they would become well fed and wealthy, turn to idols and provoke God. Then this song would testify against them. If they learned it by heart, they would remember it, and its words would at least shame them when they disobeyed (vs.20-21).
This turns Israel's calling inside out.
Israel should have been a witness for the LORD before all nations. Instead, the song of Moses was to be the LORD's witness against the children of Israel. They were called to be His witnesses. Their task was to declare His Name and to show His praise in the land He brought them into, in His faithfulness and sovereign mercy.
God treats the coming sin as something already present.
God told Moses what the people would do. Instead of choosing life so that they might live, they would turn to other gods, provoke Him, and break His covenant. He speaks of these future acts of evil as only the showing of what He already knew was at work in their hearts at that very moment.
Joshua must now lead the very people this forecast condemns.
He was to fix his eye not on Israel's ways, but on the eternal stability of God's covenant with Abraham. Had Joshua filled his mind with Israel, he would have thrown down his sword and given up in despair. Instead, he had to strengthen himself in the Lord his God, and serve in the power of a faith that endures as seeing Him who is invisible.
- Foreknown. God said Israel would turn away before they ever crossed the Jordan. That did not cancel His gift of the land, and it did not reduce their responsibility.
- Fed. The danger is not hardship but plenty. Need keeps us aware of God; having everything dulls that sense.
- Fat. A well-fed body pictures a prospering life that can end in the opposite state of soul. The gifts get used to shut out the Giver.
- Forgotten. They would forget God, so He gave them a song to learn by heart. The nation meant to witness for Him would carry a witness against itself.
- Faith. God sent Joshua into that future anyway. He was to look at God's covenant, not at Israel's ways, and serve by faith.
And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles have befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed; for I know their imagination which they are forming already this day, before I bring them into the land which I have sworn [unto them].
God tells Moses that Israel's turning away is not a possibility but a certainty. He says this while they are still outside the land He swore to give them. That raises a hard question. If God already knows their hearts, why bring them in at all? And why give them a song about it?
God does not speak of these future sins as surprises. One writer reads the verse as God's verdict on what is already at work inside the people, long before any idol goes up.
God declared to Moses that instead of choosing life so they might live, the people would turn to other gods, provoke Him, and break His covenant. And He speaks of these future acts of evil as only the display of what He knew was at that present moment working in their hearts. "I know their imagination."
(Older translations read "imagination" where the ESV has "what they are inclined to do.")
If God announced the failure in advance, does that make Israel less to blame? The same writer answers from what God did with the law and with the land.
God knew men would break the law. Yet He gave it, so that what was in man's heart would come out into the open. God knew that Israel would, by their sins, forfeit the land of Canaan and have to be scattered, as they are now. He told them that He knew this before He brought them in. Still, He brought them in.
He pushes it further. Did God's knowing in advance how they would treat the messengers of His mercy make them any less responsible? His answer: "Surely not."
Israel's calling was to testify about God to the nations. The song turns that testimony the other way round.
How deeply moving, how unusually solemn all this is! Instead of Israel being a witness for the Lord before all nations, the song of Moses was to be a witness for the Lord against the children of Israel. They were called to be His witnesses. Their responsibility was to declare His Name and to make His praise known in that land. He brought them into it in His faithfulness and sovereign mercy.
The verse says the song "will live unforgotten in the mouths of their offspring." One writer shows what a memorised song does to a person in the act of disobedience.
God would bring them into the land. There they would grow well fed and wealthy, turn to idols, and provoke God. Then this song would testify against them. If they learned it by memory, they would remember it, and its words would serve at least to embarrass them when they acted in disobedience. It is amazing how hard God worked to press their responsibility on Israel from every angle. And He knew perfectly well that they would rebel.
The song did not stop working when that generation died. Another writer says it still speaks.
It was a witness against them. It is so today. How striking that they read this great final book of the law! They read their own curses and their own history — past, present and future — and still remain in unbelief.
The song does more than convict. One commentator shows what it rests on, and what Moses saw beyond the failure.
But Moses does not end without a song. This song is grounded on the secret things of God's grace, though it also takes in the judgments of the last days. Not ignorant of the evil, he looks onward to the blessing that would surely come to them. He deeply feels what they would do against the Lord in their stubborn folly and ingratitude. But in prophetic vision he sees what He will do for them.
Joshua must now lead these very people into the land. The warning could have crushed him. Instead it gave him somewhere else to look.
Joshua was called to serve in the faith of it. He was to fix his eye not on Israel's ways, but on the eternal stability of the divine covenant with Abraham. Had Joshua occupied his mind with Israel, he would have had to throw down his sword and give up in despair. But no — he had to encourage himself in the Lord his God.
- Known — Their turning away is God's reading of a heart already at work, not a guess about an accident. He says He knows it before they enter the land.
- Given — Knowing it, He still brought them into the land He swore to give. Foreknowledge did not cancel the gift, and it did not reduce their responsibility.
- Sung — He put the warning in a song, so it would live in their mouths and their children's. It would stand against them when wealth and idols came.
- Reversed — They were called to witness for God before the nations. Instead, the song became a witness against them.
- Held — Under the warning runs God's grace. Moses saw not only what they would do against God, but what God would still do for them. That is the ground Joshua had to stand on.