Bird's-eye view
This passage is a moment of stark and sober realism at a crucial transition point in Israel's history. As Moses, the great lawgiver, is about to die, God Himself intervenes to manage the transfer of leadership to Joshua. But this is no sentimental farewell. The central point of the scene is God's unvarnished, certain prophecy of Israel's future apostasy. He doesn't suggest they might stray; He declares that they will. They will be blessed with prosperity, and that very prosperity will become the occasion for them to gorge themselves, forget Him, and chase after foreign gods. In light of this guaranteed future rebellion, God commands Moses to write a song. This song is not a happy camp tune for the journey; it is a formal, legal instrument. It is to be a witness for God against Israel, a permanent testimony embedded in their own mouths that will convict them when the inevitable judgment for their covenant-breaking arrives. This is God, in His severe mercy, providing the very indictment that will one day explain their suffering to them and, ultimately, show them their need for a grace they could not earn.
In short, God is preparing His people for their future failure. He is lodging a perpetual witness in their national memory, ensuring that when the hammer of covenant curses falls, they will not be able to plead ignorance. The song will rise up from their own throats to testify that God is just, and that they are covenant-breakers from the very beginning. It is a stunning display of divine sovereignty and foreknowledge, and a powerful lesson on the deep-seated nature of human sin.
Outline
- 1. The Sovereign's Transition Plan (Deut 31:14-22)
- a. The Summons for Moses and Joshua (Deut 31:14)
- b. The Theophany at the Tent (Deut 31:15)
- c. The Prophecy of Israel's Apostasy (Deut 31:16-18)
- i. The Certainty of Future Harlotry (Deut 31:16)
- ii. The Consequence of Covenant Curses (Deut 31:17)
- iii. The Reason for the Hidden Face (Deut 31:18)
- d. The Commission of the Prosecuting Song (Deut 31:19-22)
- i. The Song as a Witness (Deut 31:19)
- ii. Prosperity as the Occasion for Sin (Deut 31:20)
- iii. The Song's Future Testimony (Deut 31:21)
- iv. Moses' Faithful Obedience (Deut 31:22)
Context In Deuteronomy
This section comes at the very end of Deuteronomy, which is itself a series of farewell sermons from Moses to the generation poised to enter the Promised Land. The book is structured as a covenant renewal document. Moses has reiterated the law (the name Deuteronomy means "second law"), recounted Israel's history, and laid out the blessings for obedience and the curses for disobedience in stark detail (Deuteronomy 27-28). Now, with his death imminent, the final arrangements are being made. Chapter 31 deals with the transfer of leadership to Joshua and the final exhortations to the people. This specific passage, 31:14-22, is a divine interruption that sets the stage for the great Song of Moses, which is recorded in the next chapter (Deuteronomy 32). It provides the rationale for the song: it is God's preemptive legal testimony against the very people He is about to bless. It is the capstone of the covenant warnings, a final, unforgettable reminder of the terms of their relationship with Yahweh.
Key Issues
- Divine Foreknowledge and Human Responsibility
- The Nature of Covenant Unfaithfulness as Spiritual Adultery
- Prosperity as a Catalyst for Sin
- The Law and its Artistic Expression (a song) as a Witness
- The Meaning of God "Hiding His Face"
- Corporate Guilt and Generational Sin
- The Inevitability of Old Covenant Failure
The Time-Release Indictment
One of the most remarkable things God does is prepare His people for realities they don't want to face. Here, on the sun-drenched plains of Moab, with the Promised Land shimmering in the distance, the mood should be one of unbridled optimism. But God injects a dose of what we might call sovereign realism. He knows His people. He knows that the unregenerate human heart, even one that has seen the miracles of the exodus, is a factory of idols. And so He doesn't just give them laws on stone tablets. He commissions a song, an artistic and memorable piece of litigation that will be woven into the fabric of their national life.
This song is a work of prosecutorial genius. It is designed to be a time-release capsule of truth. The people will sing it, their children will sing it, and for generations, it will be part of their culture. For a long time, they will sing it without feeling its sting. But when the prophesied apostasy happens, and the prophesied curses fall, the song will suddenly make a dreadful kind of sense. It will "answer them as a witness," testifying from their own mouths that God told them this would happen. This is not fatalism; it is the foundation of the gospel. The Old Covenant was designed to show Israel their profound need for a better covenant, one that would not just put a song in their mouths, but would write the law on their hearts.
Verse by Verse Commentary
14-15 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, the time for you to die is near; call Joshua and present yourselves at the tent of meeting, that I may commission him.” So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting. And Yahweh appeared in the tent in a pillar of cloud, and the pillar of cloud stood at the doorway of the tent.
The scene is set with a solemn finality. God speaks directly to Moses, not with euphemism, but with plain fact: "the time for you to die is near." The transition of leadership from Moses to Joshua is not a merely human affair, to be handled by a committee. It is a divine appointment, requiring a formal ceremony at the center of Israel's worship, the tent of meeting. God Himself will commission Joshua. The arrival of Yahweh in the pillar of cloud is a theophany, a visible manifestation of God's glorious presence. This is not a quiet suggestion from the Almighty; this is a formal, public, and authoritative act. The God who is King is personally overseeing the change in His administration.
16 And Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers; and this people will arise and play the harlot with the foreign gods of the land, into the midst of which they are going, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have cut with them.
Immediately following the confirmation of the new leadership, God delivers a devastating prophecy. He speaks to Moses, but it is about the people. First, Moses will die and be gathered to his ancestors. Second, the people will "arise and play the harlot." This is not a possibility; it is a stated certainty. The language is graphic and intentional. Covenant faithfulness is repeatedly pictured in Scripture as a marriage vow between God and His people. Idolatry, therefore, is not merely a mistake in theological judgment; it is spiritual adultery. It is whoredom. They will forsake the Husband of their youth and chase after the cheap thrills offered by the impotent gods of Canaan. In doing so, they will unilaterally "break My covenant," the very covenant being renewed on the plains of Moab.
17-18 Then My anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide My face from them, and they will be consumed, and many evils and troubles will find them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have found us?’ But I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they will do, for they will turn to other gods.
Actions have consequences, and covenant-breaking has covenantal consequences. God lays out the causal chain plainly. Their harlotry will kindle His righteous anger. This anger is not a petty tantrum, but the just and holy reaction of a spurned husband and king. His response will be to "forsake them and hide My face from them." This is the great terror of the Old Testament saints. The face of God signifies His favor, blessing, and protection. To have His face hidden is to be left to the natural consequences of a fallen world, to be exposed to your enemies. As a result, they will "be consumed," and "many evils and troubles will find them." Notice the personification: trouble will hunt them down. Their suffering will eventually lead them to the right question: "Is it not because our God is not among us?" God then confirms this. Yes, that is precisely why. I will hide my face because of all the evil which they will do. The judgment is not arbitrary; it is a direct, ethical consequence of their sin.
19 “So now, write this song for yourselves and teach it to the sons of Israel; put it in their mouths, so that this song may be a witness for Me against the sons of Israel.
Here is the divine strategy in response to this foreknown rebellion. "So now," in light of this coming apostasy, write a song. This is the commissioning of what we know as the Song of Moses in Deuteronomy 32. The purpose is stated with crystal clarity. It is not for their encouragement, but for their conviction. It is to be a witness for Me against the sons of Israel. It is God's evidence, Exhibit A in His future prosecution of His people. And the method is brilliant. He tells Moses to "put it in their mouths." A song is memorable. It is learned by rote. It is sung by children. It becomes part of the cultural furniture. God is embedding His own indictment into the memory of the nation.
20 For when I bring them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and are satisfied and become fat, then they will turn to other gods and serve them and spurn Me and break My covenant.
God even identifies the specific conditions that will lead to their fall. It will not be hardship that drives them away, but prosperity. God will be faithful to His promise to the patriarchs, giving them a land of abundance. And what will they do with this grace? They will eat, be satisfied, and "become fat." This is a picture of lazy, self-indulgent comfort. And in that state of material well-being, their hearts will turn. Full bellies lead to empty worship. They will turn to other gods, serve them, and in so doing, "spurn" Yahweh. To spurn is to treat with contempt, to reject with disdain. Their prosperity, a gift of His grace, will become the very instrument they use to show Him contempt.
21-22 Then it will be, when many evils and troubles have found them, that this song will answer them as a witness (for it shall not be forgotten from the mouths of their seed); for I know their intent which they are developing today, before I have brought them into the land which I swore.” So Moses wrote this song the same day and taught it to the sons of Israel.
Here the two threads are tied together. When the future judgment comes, the song will be triggered. It will "answer them as a witness." It will speak up and testify against them. And it will be effective because it will still be known; it will not be forgotten. Then comes the deepest theological statement of the passage: "for I know their intent which they are developing today." The Hebrew word for intent, yetzer, refers to the inclination or disposition of the heart. God is saying that the seeds of this future, full-blown apostasy are already present in their hearts right now, before they have even crossed the Jordan. Their hearts are already bent toward this sin. This is a profound statement on the nature of man's depravity and God's sovereignty. In response to this heavy commission, Moses's action is simple and immediate: he obeyed. He wrote the song that very day and began to teach it.
Application
This passage should land on us with a significant thud. The temptation that Israel faced is the perennial temptation of God's people, and it is particularly acute for those of us who live in the fat part of the world. God blesses us with abundance, with peace and prosperity, with full refrigerators and comfortable homes, and our fallen nature immediately begins to use those blessings as an anesthetic. We become fat, lazy, and self-satisfied, and our gratitude to the Giver wanes. We begin to flirt with other gods, the gods of materialism, of comfort, of self-fulfillment, of political power. We play the harlot.
The law, like this song, serves as a witness against us. It shows us the pattern of our own hearts. We are all covenant-breakers. The story of Israel is our story in slow motion. And this is why the gospel is such good news. The Old Covenant came with a song in the mouth to condemn. The New Covenant comes with a new song in the mouth (Psalm 40:3) and the law written on the heart by the Holy Spirit. The Old Covenant failed because the people's hearts were corrupt. The New Covenant succeeds because Christ provides a perfect righteousness for us and purchases for us a new heart that desires to obey.
This ancient song, therefore, should drive us to Christ. It stands as a terrifying witness against all who would try to stand before God on their own merits. It exposes our spiritual adultery. But in Christ, the curse of the covenant is exhausted. He was forsaken, and God hid His face from Him on the cross, so that we who trust in Him would never be forsaken. He took the full force of the covenant lawsuit so that we could be welcomed into the family of God, not as defendants, but as sons.