As we conclude the Song of Moses today the Lord counsels the nation of Israel to consider who gave them their victories. In a time when they have settled in the promised land, and when they have grown prosperous and have grown apart from the Lord, He will allow enemies to plunder them. In that day they are to ask themselves why they are being so easily defeated. He wants them to come to the conclusion that it is because they have pushed Him out of their lives. Because they have pushed Him to the side, He has taken a step back and removed His protective hand in order to allow hardship to turn them back to Him.
"They are a nation without sense, there is no discernment in them. If only they were wise and would understand this and discern what their end will be! How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up? For their rock is not like our Rock, as even our enemies concede. Their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are filled with poison, and their clusters with bitterness. Their wine is the venom of serpents, the deadly poison of cobras." (Deuteronomy 32:28-33) Earlier in Deuteronomy the Lord promised the people if they would remain faithful to Him no enemy could stand against them. "The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven." (Deuteronomy 28:7) But if they do not honor and obey the Lord, the opposite is to happen. "The Lord will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth." (Deuteronomy 28:25) In the day when they begin experiencing defeat, and in the day when their sudden downturn in circumstances are being talked about far and wide, the Lord wants them to remember what He said so they can acknowledge that, as the prophet Isaiah put it, "Your iniquities have separated you from your God." (Isaiah 59:2a)
As we've said time and again, the purpose of discipline is repentance. The Lord doesn't want to bring destruction; He wants to bring healing. Unpleasant consequences are intended to send the wayward running back to Him. For a time the Lord will use Israel's enemies as instruments of discipline but in due time He will avenge His people. He will judge the heathen nations for their treatment of the people of Israel. "Have I not kept this in reserve and sealed it in My vaults? It is Mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them. The Lord will vindicate His people and relent concerning His servants when He sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free." (Deuteronomy 32:34-36) Later in the Old Testament, when many of the Lord's people have fallen into idolatry, He will use nations such as Assyria and Babylon to discipline them. But the leadership of these nations will go above and beyond simply conquering the people and taking them captive. Power will go to their heads and they will give free reign to the cruelty lurking in their hearts. The Lord will bring those nations down to the ground, saying that He allowed them to conquer Israel for a time because "I was angry with My people" but that "you showed them no mercy". (Isaiah 47:6)
The gods of the heathen nations will have no power against the Lord Almighty. Their gods will not defend them from His wrath and He will allow their kingdoms to fall. When these kingdoms lie defeated in the dust, the Lord will ask them where their gods are now. "He will say: 'Now where are their gods, the rock they took refuge in, the gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up to help you! Let them give you shelter! See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides Me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of My hand. I lift My hand to heaven and solemnly swear: As surely as I live forever, when I sharpen My flashing sword and My hand grasps it in judgment, I will take vengeance on My adversaries and repay those who hate Me. I will make My arrows drunk with blood, while My sword devours flesh: the blood of the slain and the captives, the heads of the enemy leaders.'" (Deuteronomy 32:37-42)
Some of the citizens of other nations will turn to the one and only God when they behold His power over the idols. Those who give their hearts to the God of Israel will rejoice with God's people Israel when they see the Lord punishing Israel's enemies. "Rejoice, you nations, with His people, for He will avenge the blood of His servants; He will take vengeance on His enemies and make atonement for His land and people." (Deuteronomy 32:43) The Apostle Paul interpreted verse 43 as finding its ultimate fulfillment in the church age when so many Gentiles turned from idolatry to the living God and began to feel an affinity for Israel. (See Romans 15:8-12.) I believe Paul was onto something because who are Israel's greatest supporters in the world today? Is it not the Christians, the majority of whom are of Gentile ancestry? In particular we find the denominations that fall under the heading of Evangelical Christians praying for the peace and prosperity of Israel and mourning with Israel every time she is attacked by an enemy and rejoicing with Israel every time the Lord frustrates the plans of Israel's enemies. Millions of Christians all over the world rejoiced when Israel was reinstated as a sovereign nation in 1948. Millions of Christians all over the world want to see Israel remaining a strong and prosperous nation from now on. We rejoice in the blessings the Lord pours out on Israel.
The Song of Moses has concluded and it has concluded on a high note. The ancient Israelites were going to fall into idolatry for a time but they weren't going to remain there. The Lord would discipline the people for a time but they wouldn't remain under His discipline forever. The hearts of the people will be restored and the nation will be restored and in that day the Lord's wrath will turn upon those who were not merciful toward His people.
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