YEAR 2, WEEK 21, Day 6, Saturday, 24 May 2025

https://esv.literalword.com/?q=Deuteronomy+32

Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Saturday, 24 May 2025:

Deuteronomy 32:1-2 – “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth. May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like gentle rain upon the tender grass, and like showers upon the herb.”

Moses begins his song by calling all of creation to listen. His words are not just poetic, but prophetic, meant to nurture the soul like rain on the earth. This verse reminds us that God’s word is life-giving, essential, and nourishing. Scripture is not noise—it’s nourishment. How well are you being nourished daily by God’s word?

• Isaiah 55:10–11 – “So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty…”
• Matthew 13:23 – “As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it.”
• Matthew 4:4 — “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Deuteronomy 32:3-4 – “For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God! The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.”

Moses calls God “The Rock” – solid, unchanging, and trustworthy. In a world of instability, God remains steadfast. His ways are always right, even when we don’t understand them.

• 1 Corinthians 10:4 – “For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.”
• Hebrews 13:8 – “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
• Matthew 7:24, 25 — “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.”

Deuteronomy 32:5-6 – “They have dealt corruptly with him… Is not he your father, who created you, who made you and established you?”

Despite God’s perfection, His people responded with rebellion. Moses confronts their ingratitude and reminds them of their divine origin. When we forget who God is, we forget who we are. We completely disoriented and can’t make sense out of anything. Today, we live in an age of identity crisis and complete confusion. When your identity is in Christ, you have true purpose, meaning, love, joy, peace, contentment, and fulfillment because you are exactly what you were created to be and fully infused with the source of all life, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, Jesus. Like a branch connected to the Vine, your life is filled with His life and is vibrantly fruitful. (John 15) What the world needs now is Jesus!

• Romans 1:21 – “Although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him…”
• John 1:12-13 – “But to all who did receive him… he gave the right to become children of God.”
• John 15:11 — These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Deuteronomy 32:9-10 – “But the LORD’s portion is his people… he kept him as the apple of his eye.”

This reveals God’s deep affection for His people. Despite their failures, they were precious to Him. God watches over His people with tender and vigilant love. When you fail to be faithful and loving, God, your perfectly loving Father who gave His Son for you while you were still sinning, remains faithful and loving. Nothing, not even your failures, can separate you from His love.

• Zechariah 2:8 – “He who touches you touches the apple of his eye.”
• Luke 15:20 – “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion.”

Deuteronomy 32:15-18 – “But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked… they stirred him to jealousy with strange gods… You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you.”

Prosperity led to pride, and pride led to idolatry. When we become comfortable, we often forget the One who made us. This is a powerful warning: blessings can become stumbling blocks if they replace God in our hearts.

• Revelation 3:17 – “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered… not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor…”
• James 1:17 – “Every good gift… is from above.”

Deuteronomy 32:6, 15, 18 – Do you thus repay the LORD, you foolish and senseless people? Is not he your father, who created you, who made you and established you?… But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked; you grew fat, stout, and sleek; then he forsook God who made him and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation…. You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth.

All of us have failed to honor God as we should and have responded to His mercy and grace with selfishness and disobedience. The pridefulness of some religious people leads them to believe that through good deeds, they are somehow repaying God for what He has done for them without first acknowledging that it would be impossible for anyone to repay God and conceding the fact that even the ability to do goods deeds is a gift which comes from God. The psalmist asks, “What shall I render to the LORD for all his benefits to me?” (Psalm 116:12) Of course, there is no way we could ever repay the Lord, but Paul offers the appropriate response to God’s mercy and grace – “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” (Romans 12:1)

Deuteronomy 32:21 – “They have made me jealous with what is no god; they have provoked me to anger with their idols.”

God takes idolatry seriously. To place anything in God’s rightful place is an affront to His holiness. When we rely on anything more than Him, even good things, we fall into spiritual adultery. Most modern-day idolaters don’t see themselves as Idolaters; they don’t see the way things in live have control over them where God should. Don’t be confused, idolatry is not about bowing to statuettes or images, it is about being controlled by pride and fear and placing hope and desire in anything more than God, even for a moment. What are you allowing to lord over your thoughts, attitudes, decisions, and actions rather than the LORD?

• 1 Samuel 15:23 – “For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.”
• 1 Corinthians 10:14 – “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.”
• Matthew 6:24 – “No one can serve two masters…”

Deuteronomy 32:26, 27 – I would have said, I will cut them to pieces; I will wipe them from human memory, had I not feared provocation by the enemy, lest their adversaries should misunderstand, lest they should say, Our hand is triumphant, it was not the LORD who did all this.’

God works in your life primarily for His glory, which is your purpose – to glorify Him. God wants the world to see what He can do in your life, not what you can do through your own willpower, talents, and abilities. Therefore, God will place you in circumstances completely out of your control and give you assignments impossible for you to handle within your own abilities so there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that it wasn’t you; it was Him.

Deuteronomy 32:29 – “If they were wise, they would understand this; they would discern their latter end!”

Wisdom sees consequences. God laments that His people lack insight into their own destructive path. True wisdom is rooted in fearing God and walking in His ways.

• Proverbs 9:10 – “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.”
• Galatians 6:7 – “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”

Deuteronomy 32:30 – How could one have chased a thousand, and two have put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had given them up?

God will not bless disobedience, even among His children, especially among His children. When we choose to disobey God, He will allow us to face the natural consequences.

Deuteronomy 32:36 – “For the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants…”

Even amid judgment, God’s heart is mercy. He disciplines to restore, not destroy. His compassion does not waver, even when ours does.

• Lamentations 3:22-23 – “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases…”
• Hebrews 12:6 – “The Lord disciplines the one he loves…”

Deuteronomy 32:39 – “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal…”

God asserts His total sovereignty. He alone gives life and takes it. This is both a warning and a comfort—God is in control, and He alone has the power to heal and save.

• Revelation 1:17-18 – “Fear not, I am the first and the last… I have the keys of Death and Hades.”
• Romans 14:7-9 – “For none of us lives to himself… whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.”

Deuteronomy 32:46-47 – “Take to heart all the words… For it is no empty word for you, but your very life.”

God’s Word is not optional or ornamental—it is our life. Moses urges the people to treasure and obey every word. Faith is not just about knowing Scripture but living by it.

• Matthew 4:4 – “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word…”
• James 1:22 – “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only…”

Deuteronomy 32:47 — “For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”

For so many, the Bible is just empty words. But for the Christian, the Bible is the word of life which teaches the fear of the Lord which in turn produces wisdom (Proverbs 2:2-6), but most importantly, greater unity with Him. God uses His word to transform your heart (Proverbs 2:10) and to guide you along the right path in life (Proverbs 2:13-15). God’s word should be more valuable than silver, and its insights should excite you more than would finding a hidden treasure. Do you feel that excitement?

Deuteronomy 32:47 — “They are not just idle words for you—they are your life.”

Moses had come to the end of his service as leader of the people of Israel and to the end of his life. He gathered all the people to the edge of the Promised Land to give them his final words of wisdom as they prepared to embark upon their long-awaited historic conquest without him. It is impossible to imagine the emotion he must have felt at this moment. He had spent his whole life preparing to lead and leading his people, building them into a mighty nation. He had watched an entire generation perish in the desert through the process. He had given his all to his people; he had a genuine heart for his people, and there is no way to measure how deeply he cared for his people. So, from all his experience and with all of his love, what were the final words Moses wanted to leave with his people — “Be strong and courageous,” and “be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life.” Of course this is the same message repeated throughout the Book of Deuteronomy — “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).”

Jesus reiterated the importance of God’s word by reciting Deuteronomy 8:3 – “Jesus answered, ‘It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).’” Of course, Jesus modelled dedication to the study and practice of God’s word. I believe that our nation, our world, desperately needs to see God’s people return to God’s word. The Defenders Reading Plan, and associated website and Facebook Group, was created for the sole purpose encouraging Christians to do just that. What a blessing that people are reading the Bible together and sharing with each other from across to globe! For those reading along this year, let me commend you and thank you for your dedication. “They are not just idle words for you….”

“It’s puzzling that so many Christians try to live the Christian life without reading their Bible, except for sporadic perusals of God’s Word, seeking a pithy thought for the day. The Word of God is not merely a source of helpful suggestions, preventative warnings, or inspirational thoughts: It is life itself! God gathered the children of Israel at the edge of the Promised Land to review their pilgrimage with Him. They had spent forty years in a desert because their parents had not trusted God’s word. Their parents died without seeing the Promised Land because they had not believed God’s word. Even the revered Moses was soon to leave them because he had not shown proper reverence for God’s word. Many of them knew those who had been put to death as a consequence of their disobedience to God’s word. Over the years God’s word had become the most important thing in the life of the Israelites. God commanded His people to bind His words on their hearts, to teach them diligently to their children, and to regularly discuss them in their homes (Deuteronomy. 6:4–9). So essential was His word that it was to hold a prominent place in the daily lives of His people. Our reverence for God’s Word is revealed not only by what we say but also by what we do. Spending more time reading and studying the words of people rather than the Word of God, reveals our hearts’ condition. To blatantly disregard God’s Word is to reject life itself. To obey God’s Word is the surest way to experience all that God has in store for us.” (Henry T. Blackaby)

Deuteronomy 32:52 – “For you shall see the land before you, but you shall not go there…”

Moses’ disobedience had consequences, but he still got to see the fulfillment of God’s promise. Even in discipline, there is grace. Moses had run the race, and God was faithful to the end.

• 2 Timothy 4:7-8 – “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
• Hebrews 11:39-40 – “And all these… did not receive what was promised…”

“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 24 May 2025: Today, reflect on this phrase: “Take to heart all the words… for it is no empty word for you, but your very life.” Write down 1 area in your life where you treat God’s word casually. Read Deuteronomy 32:46-47 aloud three times. Pray and ask God to help you treasure His Word like your very life. Commit to memorizing one verse from this chapter. Share that verse with someone today and explain why it matters. Prayer: “Lord, Your Word is not empty—it is my life. Forgive me for treating it lightly. Help me to hear, love, and obey it. May my life be shaped by Your truth. Amen.