A Song Against the Future Text: Deuteronomy 31:14-22
Introduction: God's Foreknowledge and Man's Folly
We come now to a sobering and yet profoundly instructive moment in the life of Israel. Moses, the great lawgiver, the man who spoke with God face to face, is at the end of his run. His time is up. And as God prepares for the transition of leadership to Joshua, He does not offer sentimental platitudes or rosy forecasts. Instead, He gives Moses a task that is simultaneously a gift of grace and a sentence of judgment. He tells him to write a song.
This is not a happy little ditty for the campfire. This is a song that will be a witness against Israel. Before they have even crossed the Jordan, before the milk and honey have even touched their lips, God declares what they are going to do. He knows their hearts. He knows their intent, which they are "developing today." He knows that prosperity will make them fat, and fatness will make them foolish, and foolishness will lead them straight into the arms of foreign gods. This is a divine diagnosis of a spiritual disease before the symptoms have even fully manifested.
Our modern sensibilities chafe at this. We want to believe in the inherent goodness of man, or at least in his potential for self-improvement. We want to think that if we just get the external conditions right, if we provide enough prosperity and education, then man will naturally choose the good. But God, who is not a modern sentimentalist, knows better. He knows that the problem is not in the land of Canaan, but in the heart of man. The unregenerate heart is a factory of idols, and it does not cease its production just because it is surrounded by blessing. In fact, blessing often just provides more raw material for the factory.
So God, in His severe mercy, provides an antidote. He gives them a song. He embeds His testimony into their liturgy, into their very mouths, so that when the inevitable apostasy comes, they will be condemned by the very words they have been singing. This is a profound lesson for us. God's Word is not just for our encouragement; it is also for our conviction. It is a witness. And the songs we sing, the truths we confess, are not just expressions of our current feelings. They are anchors, reminders, and, if necessary, prosecuting attorneys in the court of our own conscience. This passage reveals the stark reality of God's sovereignty, the persistent sinfulness of man, and the covenantal genius of God in providing a witness that cannot be silenced.
The Text
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. 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. 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.
“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. 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. 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.
(Deuteronomy 31:14-22 LSB)
The Transition and the Prophecy (v. 14-16)
We begin with the orderly transition of power, immediately followed by a brutal dose of reality.
"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.”... 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..." (Deuteronomy 31:14, 16)
God's kingdom does not depend on one man. Moses is a giant, but he is a mortal giant. The work of God is bigger than any individual servant. The transition to Joshua is public and official, taking place at the tent of meeting, with God Himself appearing in the pillar of cloud to commission the new leader. This is to leave no doubt in anyone's mind about who is in charge. There is no politicking, no power vacuum. God appoints His leaders, and He does so with authority.
But notice the whiplash. In one breath, God is commissioning Joshua for a glorious task, leading Israel into the promised land. In the very next breath, He tells Moses that this same people are going to throw it all away. The language is graphic and pointed. They will "play the harlot." Idolatry is not a mere intellectual mistake; it is spiritual adultery. It is a violation of the marriage covenant between Yahweh and His people. They will forsake Him and break the covenant He "cut with them." This is not a minor infraction. It is a fundamental betrayal, a spiritual divorce initiated by the bride.
This is a direct assault on all forms of humanistic optimism. God is not crossing His fingers and hoping for the best. He is declaring what will be. This is not fatalism; it is divine sovereignty. God's foreknowledge is not passive observation, like a man watching a parade go by. His knowledge is decretive. He knows what will happen because He has ordained what will happen, including the free, rebellious choices of men. And He is already planning how He will use their rebellion to display His own righteousness and justice.
The Covenantal Curses (v. 17-18)
Because God is a covenant-keeping God, He is faithful not only to His promises of blessing for obedience, but also to His warnings of curses for disobedience.
"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... But I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they will do..." (Deuteronomy 31:17-18)
The consequences of their spiritual harlotry are severe. First, God's anger will be kindled. This is not the petty temper of a pagan deity. This is the righteous, holy wrath of a spurned husband and a betrayed king. Second, He will forsake them and hide His face. This is the great terror of the Old Testament. For God to hide His face is to withdraw His protective presence, His blessing, and His favor. It is to leave them to the natural consequences of their own choices. When God hides His face, "many evils and troubles will find them."
Notice the cause and effect. The evils don't just happen. They "find" Israel because God is no longer standing guard. The world is a dangerous place, and the only thing keeping chaos at bay is the restraining hand of God. When that hand is removed, chaos rushes in. And in their affliction, they will even manage a moment of theological clarity: "Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have found us?" They will correctly diagnose the problem, but as the book of Judges shows, this clarity will often be short-lived, forgotten as soon as the next cycle of deliverance and apostasy begins.
God reiterates the point in verse 18: "I will surely hide My face." This is not an accident. It is a deliberate, judicial act. He is not being moody; He is being just. Their turning to other gods is the cause, and His turning away is the effect. This is the terrifying symmetry of covenantal justice.
The Song as a Witness (v. 19-21)
Here we find God's masterful, preemptive strike against their future excuses.
"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." (Deuteronomy 31:19)
God commands Moses to write a song. Why a song? Because songs have a way of getting into our bones. You can forget a sermon, you can misplace a theological treatise, but a song will stick in your head for decades. God is weaponizing their liturgy. He is embedding His testimony into their corporate worship. He wants it "in their mouths." They will sing of God's faithfulness and their own predicted treachery. They will sing the curses of the covenant upon themselves.
This song will function as a "witness for Me against the sons of Israel." When the troubles come, and they are tempted to blame God or to claim ignorance, the song will rise up from their own memory to condemn them. It will be an internal, inescapable prosecutor. Verse 21 says the song will "answer them as a witness." It will refute their lies, silence their excuses, and vindicate the justice of God.
God's reasoning is laid bare. He knows that when He brings them into the good land, their prosperity will lead to apostasy. "They have eaten and are satisfied and become fat, then they will turn to other gods." This is a recurring theme in Deuteronomy. Blessing without gratitude breeds arrogance. Comfort without vigilance breeds corruption. This is a permanent danger for the people of God in every age. When our bellies are full, we are tempted to believe we filled them ourselves. When life is easy, we forget how desperately we need God.
And God's foreknowledge is not general, but specific. He says, "for I know their intent which they are developing today." Even now, on the plains of Moab, before they have seen a single grape from Canaan, the seeds of rebellion are already germinating in their hearts. God sees the treason before it is committed. This is why the song is necessary. It is a memorial stone, set up in advance, to mark the spot of a future crime.
Moses' Obedience (v. 22)
The section concludes with the simple, faithful obedience of God's servant.
"So Moses wrote this song the same day and taught it to the sons of Israel." (Deuteronomy 31:22)
There is no record of Moses arguing or complaining. He is given a heartbreaking task: to write the indictment of the people he has loved and led for forty years. And he does it. He does it "the same day." This is the mark of a true servant. He obeys God's Word, even when it is a hard word. He teaches the song to the people, putting the sword of witness into their own hands, to be carried by them and their children for generations to come.
This act of Moses is a profound picture of pastoral faithfulness. The faithful pastor does not just preach encouraging messages. He does not just tell the people what they want to hear. He preaches the whole counsel of God, including the warnings, the curses, and the hard truths about the sinfulness of the human heart. He equips the saints with the truth, knowing that this same truth will serve as a comfort to the faithful and a witness against the rebellious.
The Gospel in the Song
Now, we cannot leave this passage in the gloom of Old Covenant judgment. For this song, which is a witness against Israel, ultimately points us to a greater reality. The failure of Israel under the Old Covenant was not a surprise to God; it was part of the plan. Their inability to keep the covenant demonstrates the inability of any sinful man to be righteous before God on his own terms.
The repeated cycle of sin, judgment, and repentance that this song predicts is the story of the Old Testament. And it is a story that cries out for a better covenant, a better mediator, and a better sacrifice. The song is a witness against them, but it also witnesses to their need for a Savior.
And in the New Covenant, God gives us a new song. The book of Revelation tells us that the saints in glory sing "the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb" (Revelation 15:3). The old song of judgment is joined to the new song of redemption. The witness against sin is now fulfilled in the one who became sin for us. Jesus Christ is the true Israel who did not fail. He was brought into the wilderness and was not faithless. He was filled with the blessings of God and did not turn to idols. He kept the covenant perfectly.
When God hides His face, it is a terrible thing. And on the cross, the Father hid His face from the Son. Jesus cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" He endured the ultimate covenant curse. He was consumed by the anger of God that we deserved, so that we might never be forsaken. He took the full force of the judgment that the song of Moses warned about.
Therefore, we now have a new song to put in our mouths. It is the song of the gospel. It is a witness, not against us, but for us. It testifies that our sins are forgiven, that the covenant is secure not by our faithfulness but by Christ's, and that God will never hide His face from those who are hidden in His Son. The old song shows us the depth of our sin. The new song shows us the greater depth of God's grace. And we are called to sing it, to put it in our mouths, and to teach it to our children, so that it might be a witness to the world of the great salvation accomplished by Jesus Christ.