GOD'S LOVE FOR HIS PEOPLE

Passage: Deuteronomy 31:30-32:14

Key verse: 32:10b

NIV

The Song of Moses

30 And Moses recited the words of this song from beginning to end in the hearing of the whole assembly of Israel:

32 Listen,(A) you heavens,(B) and I will speak;
    hear, you earth, the words of my mouth.(C)
2 Let my teaching fall like rain(D)
    and my words descend like dew,(E)
like showers(F) on new grass,
    like abundant rain on tender plants.

3 I will proclaim(G) the name of the Lord.(H)
    Oh, praise the greatness(I) of our God!
4 He is the Rock,(J) his works are perfect,(K)
    and all his ways are just.
A faithful God(L) who does no wrong,
    upright(M) and just is he.(N)

5 They are corrupt and not his children;
    to their shame they are a warped and crooked generation.(O)
6 Is this the way you repay(P) the Lord,
    you foolish(Q) and unwise people?(R)
Is he not your Father,(S) your Creator,[a]
    who made you and formed you?(T)

7 Remember the days of old;(U)
    consider the generations long past.(V)
Ask your father and he will tell you,
    your elders, and they will explain to you.(W)
8 When the Most High(X) gave the nations their inheritance,
    when he divided all mankind,(Y)
he set up boundaries(Z) for the peoples
    according to the number of the sons of Israel.[b](AA)
9 For the Lord’s portion(AB) is his people,
    Jacob his allotted inheritance.(AC)

10 In a desert(AD) land he found him,
    in a barren and howling waste.(AE)
He shielded(AF) him and cared for him;
    he guarded him as the apple of his eye,(AG)
11 like an eagle that stirs up its nest
    and hovers over its young,(AH)
that spreads its wings to catch them
    and carries them aloft.(AI)
12 The Lord alone led(AJ) him;(AK)
    no foreign god was with him.(AL)

13 He made him ride on the heights(AM) of the land
    and fed him with the fruit of the fields.
He nourished him with honey from the rock,(AN)
    and with oil(AO) from the flinty crag,
14 with curds and milk from herd and flock
    and with fattened lambs and goats,
with choice rams of Bashan(AP)
    and the finest kernels of wheat.(AQ)
You drank the foaming blood of the grape.(AR)

Footnotes
  1. Deuteronomy 32:6 Or Father, who bought you
  2. Deuteronomy 32:8 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint) sons of God
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

The Song of Moses

30 Then Moses spoke the words of this song until they were finished, in the ears of all the assembly of Israel:

32 “Give ear, (A)O heavens, and I will speak,
    and let (B)the earth hear the words of my mouth.
2 May (C)my teaching drop as the rain,
    my speech distill as the dew,
like gentle rain upon the tender grass,
    and (D)like showers upon the herb.
3 For I will proclaim the name of the Lord;
    ascribe (E)greatness to our God!

4 (F)“The Rock, (G)his work is perfect,
    for (H)all his ways are justice.
A God of faithfulness and (I)without iniquity,
    just and upright is he.
5 They have dealt corruptly with him;
    they are no longer his children (J)because they are blemished;
    they are (K)a crooked and twisted generation.
6 Do you thus repay the Lord,
    you foolish and senseless people?
Is not he (L)your father, who (M)created you,
    who (N)made you and established you?
7 (O)Remember the days of old;
    consider the years of many generations;
(P)ask your father, and he will show you,
    your elders, and they will tell you.
8 When the Most High (Q)gave to the nations their inheritance,
    when he (R)divided mankind,
he fixed the borders[a] of the peoples
    according to the number of the sons of God.[b]
9 But the Lord's portion is his people,
    Jacob his allotted heritage.

10 “He found him (S)in a desert land,
    and in the howling waste of the wilderness;
he (T)encircled him, he cared for him,
    he (U)kept him as the apple of his eye.
11 (V)Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,
    that flutters over its young,
spreading out its wings, catching them,
    bearing them on its pinions,
12 (W)the Lord alone guided him,
    (X)no foreign god was with him.
13 (Y)He made him ride on the high places of the land,
    and he ate the produce of the field,
and he suckled him with (Z)honey out of the rock,
    and (AA)oil out of (AB)the flinty rock.
14 Curds from the herd, and milk from the flock,
    with fat[c] of lambs,
rams of Bashan and goats,
    with the very finest[d] of the wheat—
    and you drank foaming wine made from (AC)the blood of the grape.

Footnotes
  1. Deuteronomy 32:8 Or territories
  2. Deuteronomy 32:8 Compare Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint; Masoretic Text sons of Israel
  3. Deuteronomy 32:14 That is, with the best
  4. Deuteronomy 32:14 Hebrew with the kidney fat
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

1. Praise the greatness of our God (31:3

-32:6)

God gave Moses a song to teach the people to remind them of who he is and who they are. God is great. He is the Rock; his works are perfect; he is faithful, upright and just. His people, on the other hand, proved to be weak, corrupt and unfaithful. How foolish it is for men to rebel against their Creator.

2. They were the apple of his eye (7-14)

God loved his people. He made them his special portion. Among all the nations of the earth, he chose them to belong to him. He shielded them in the desert and there he gave them 'eagle-wings' training (Ex 19:4), so that they might overcome their earth-bound slave mentality and learn to soar like eagles. God's training is one of his best blessings. He fed them and supplied all their needs in the desert, and kept his promise to give them a land flowing with milk and honey. God trains those he loves.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for making me one of your own people. Train me until I can trust and obey you wholly.

One Word: The apple of his eye