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.
And Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the children of Israel.
God had just told Moses that Israel would turn away after his death. Instead of sending him to argue with them, God gave him a song to write — and this verse says Moses wrote it and taught it the same day.
One writer notes both halves of Moses' response, then turns the point on the reader:
Jehovah was to give Moses a song, and Moses was to teach it to Israel. The song is in the chapter that follows. It is built on the words of the Lord in verses 16-21. Moses obeyed. He wrote it the same day and taught it to the children of Israel. It was a witness against them. It is so today. How striking that they should read this great final book of the law — read their own curses, their own history, past, present and future — and still stay in unbelief.
God could have given another list of commands. Instead He gave a song. One commentator asks what a song is by nature:
The Song itself was to have a special place as a testimony for God and a warning to His people. Yet it is a "song," and that is significant. 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 brings these together, and above all it is a song of joy in God. That explains everything, and it assures us that all must be so. As joy, it is made to live in the heart. And as a joy that does not ignore sorrow or make light of sin, the presence of sorrow and sin will only do more to keep it alive and give it power over the soul.
Another writer finds the same choice of form in other parts of the Bible:
It is announced in the form of a song, because the spirit of praise must run through even the most solemn condemnations of evil. So the whole book of experience, the Psalms, is written as poetry, and the same is partly true of the Prophets.
"Taught it" is the key phrase here. The song went into Israel's memory, where it would do its work later:
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 heart, they would remember it, and its words would at least embarrass them when they disobeyed (vs.20-21). It is amazing how carefully God worked to impress on Israel from every angle their responsibility to Him, though He knew perfectly well that they would rebel.
Israel's calling was to testify to God before the nations. The song reverses the direction of that testimony:
How moving, how solemn all this is! Instead of Israel being a witness for Jehovah before all the nations, the song of Moses was to be a witness for Jehovah against the children of Israel. They were called to be His witnesses. They were responsible to declare His Name and to show His praise in the land where He brought them, in His faithfulness and sovereign mercy. But sadly, they failed completely and shamefully.
The next line of the chapter hands Joshua his commission — immediately after a song predicting the nation's collapse. The same writer explains how a man serves under those conditions:
He was to fix his eyes not on Israel's ways, but on the unshakable covenant God made with Abraham. He was to lead Israel across the Jordan and settle them in the good inheritance God had purposed for them. If Joshua had 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 energy of a faith that endures by seeing Him who is invisible.
Moses wrote; the book of the law was also laid beside the ark. The same pattern appears elsewhere in Scripture, and a principle is drawn from it:
In the same way Moses, just before he left them, gave the Levites the book of the law. Here it was to be a testimony against them when, after his death, they had corrupted themselves... On the evidence of these witnesses one all-important principle stands firm: God Himself, and the word of His grace, are all His people need in the darkest days of their history.
- Written — Moses obeyed the same day; the song of chapter 32 rests on God's own words in verses 16-21.
- Sung — a song carries joy, and joy lives in the heart; a joy that does not make light of sin holds power over the soul.
- Taught — learned by heart, the song would rise in Israel's own mouth and embarrass them when they disobeyed.
- Witnessed — a people called to be witnesses for God ended up with a song that was a witness against them.
- Kept — Moses left behind the written word, and one writer draws from it that God Himself and His word are enough in the darkest days.