We are studying the song that the Lord told Moses to teach the Israelites to sing. They are to sing it later on down the road, in a time when many of them will have drifted into idolatry, in a time when the Lord has had to discipline them for going astray. As we've discussed before, the Lord is a good Father who disciplines His children for their own good. The ultimate goal of discipline is to get the wanderer back onto the right path.
Although it has not happened yet, the Lord knows it will happen, so He speaks of the fall into idolatry as if it has already taken place. "They made Him jealous with their foreign gods and angered Him with their detestable idols. They sacrificed to false gods, which are not God---gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your ancestors did not fear. You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth." (Deuteronomy 32:16-18) I once heard somebody say in a women's Bible class that when the Bible says the Lord is jealous it means the Lord is jealous for us. He is jealous for us in the sense that He wants the best for us, and being in fellowship with Him is what is best for us. It's what we were created for. It's the only thing that will help us. It's the only thing that will satisfy us. It's the only thing that will save us.
He says in the verses above that the people have forsaken the eternal God who created them for false gods who were created by man. Their ancestors didn't know these gods because the names of these gods hadn't been invented in their day. I am reminded of some passages from the book of Isaiah where the Lord is pleading with the nation to forsake false gods and turn back to Him. He reminds them that He is the only God there ever has been or ever will be. "'Before Me no god was formed, nor will there be one after Me. I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from Me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed---I, and not some foreign god among you. You are My witnesses,' declares the Lord, 'that I am God. Yes, and from ancient days I am He.'" (Isaiah 43:10b-13a) And again He says, "I am the first and I am the last; apart from Me there is no God...You are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one." (Isaiah 44:6b, 8b)
The people witnessed His power in Egypt. The false gods of Egypt were not able to stand before Him because they were not real. They witnessed the Lord's power at the Red Sea and in the wilderness when He made a way for them and provided for them for forty years. They will witness His power when they've crossed over the Jordan and He causes cities to fall before them and armies to flee from them. Have they ever witnessed the power of any other god? Has any god of any other nation ever done anything for them? No, because God alone is God. That's why He appeals to them to consider all that they have seen and heard of Him. He's provided enough proof to believe in Him and trust in Him.
The Lord has provided enough proof for me to believe in Him and trust in Him. No other god has done anything for me. I have only witnessed the Lord God of Israel---the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob---coming to my rescue. This is the only God who has made a way for me through the seas of adversity and who has provided for me when it looked impossible to pay my bills and who has healed me several times when the doctors weren't even sure what the problem was. This is the only God who answers when I call because this is the only God there is!
The Lord became angry when, in spite of all He'd done for the nation, the people rejected Him in favor of useless idols. "The Lord saw this and rejected them because He was angered by His sons and daughters." (Deuteronomy 32:19) Something we want to take note of here is that even though the Lord was angry with the nation, He still calls the citizens His "sons and daughters". He isn't going to break any of the covenant promises He's made to Israel. He isn't going to forsake Israel. He had to apply discipline here and there just as any father must discipline a rebellious child but that doesn't mean the Lord disowned Israel.
My earthly father had to discipline me from time to time but he never disowned me and forbade me to speak to him again. The purpose of my father's discipline was to get me back on the right track and to teach me---for my own safety---to obey his instructions without question. That's the purpose of the Lord's discipline too. He intends it for our own good and for our own safety. Obedience to Him is in our best interests because He knows all things. He knows what will be the result of us going astray. He knows what kinds of heartache and disappointment lie along the path of disobedience. He knows the spiritual, physical, emotional, and financial pitfalls of going the wrong way. He'd like to spare us troubles of our own making. When we keep going in the wrong direction He has to do something to get our attention and turn us around. That "something" often takes the form of discipline. Discipline isn't fun but it's necessary when we won't listen any other way. As the Apostle Paul said, "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." (Hebrews 12:11)
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