Song of Moses

October 9, 2022 Background Scripture: Deuteronomy 31 :30 - 32:47 Lesson Passage: Deuteronomy 32:3 - 6, 10 - 14, 18 I rarely think of Moses as a Psalmist. However, Psalm 90, one of the most memorable of the Psalms, is attributed to his authorship. In addition to Psalm 90, the Background Scripture of this lesson records the words of a song Moses spoke into the hearing of the Congregation of Israel when his death was imminent. The words of this song were more than the expressions of Moses' emotions. Moses was about to leave them, ascend Mount Nebo, and die. He gave the words of this song as a reminder of their history and a warning about things to come if they fail to obey and follow God. Moses knew very well the temperament of the people based on the forty years of leading them from Egypt to the plains of Moab. This song contained instructions for Israel for generations to come. They were God's chosen people, and He would punish them for disobedience and defend them from their enemies. In the end, they would survive because God ordained it to be so. Moses began this song by calling heaven and earth to bear witness of his proclamation. He talked about the attributes of God as a loving and nurturing Father. Then he contrasted God's character and faithfulness with that of His people, Israel. Israel had been perverse and unstable. God had given them blessing after blessing, and they responded by making idol gods for themselves. This was not hidden from even the youngest among them. Moses said they could inquire of their parents and receive the details of their crooked ways before God. God had delivered them from slavery in Egypt and given them a law to establish them as a sovereign nation in the world. Rather than submit to the will of God, they used their blessings to grow fat as they moved further from following God. God did not delight in punishing them, but divine justice demanded that His children be disciplined for their disobedience. God gave them more than they could have asked for, but they did not reciprocate with love for their Father. They provoked God to jealousy by worshiping idol gods they created. For forty years, Moses stood between Israel and God. Moses pleaded with God for mercy on behalf of Israel, while he rebuked Israel because of their faithlessness. As the servant of God, Moses had seen the highest and the lowest extremes in the relationship between God and Israel. He witnessed God's forgiveness and kindness towards Israel. Moses prayed for them when they didn't know to pray for themselves. Now, Moses was preparing to leave them, and Joshua had been chosen by God to replace him. So, Moses came before the people with Joshua and shared the words of this song. Songs have long been used as a tool for teaching. And they are still used today for that purpose. As children, we learned the "Alphabet Song" before we learned to recognize the letters of the alphabets. The song taught us the sound and order of the alphabets. We used to speak of it as singing our A, B, C's. As we grew older, we learned more complex songs of patriotism to learn about the history of our nation. The leaders in the local church taught us spiritual songs to help us learn about God and His love for us. The "Call and Response", or "Old 100' s" as we would call them, taught us various forms of prayer. When we later found ourselves in difficult situations, the words of those prayer hymns became our sincere prayers: "Father I stretch my hands to Thee ..." or "Guide me O Thou great Jehovah . Songs can teach us the fundamentals, history or they can strengthen our faith in God. When Moses was no longer able to lead Israel, he spoke to them the words of a song. Robert C. Hudson September 29, 2022