Are there other gods? If this is your question then you have come to a good place. Welcome!
On this website I address this concern again and again. From different places in the entire Hebrew Bible, from Genesis to Malachi and the entire Second Testament, from Matthew to Revelation.
Today’s blog is part of a deep dive into what traditionally has been known as the song of Moses. As I explain the words of the song, it becomes clear that there are other gods. In fact, the second line in the book of Ecclesiastes shows the exasperation of Qohelet [King Solomon] over his failed kingdom because of his following after and supporting the gods of his wives.
But now the focus will remain here, regarding the lyrics of the song that Yahweh gave to Moses to write and to teach.
The Singer of the Song is Yahweh. And the lyrics in “this song”, contain words of rejction, and the deep hurt that rejection has caused Yahweh.
I said in an earlier blog that I am persuaded that the composer of the song of Moses is Yahweh. This seems to be the intent: “Then Yahweh said to Moses, … ‘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’.” (Deut. 31:14, 9), LSB).
However true that may be, there is more to understanding the authorship of “this song”.
Here are some thoughts to digest before we get into “Yahweh being snubbed and rejected.
Abraham Kuyper in his monumental book, The Work Of The Holy Spirit he wrote this about Scripture:
The Word is, if we may so express it, a child of the Holy Spirit. He has brought it forth. We owe it entirely to His peculiar activity. He is its Auctor Primarius, i.e., its Principal Author. And thus it can not seem strange that He should exercise that motherly care over the child of His own travail whereby He enables it to fulfil its destiny. And this destiny is, in the first place, to be believed in …; secondly, to be understood … and lastly, to be lived[ Kuyper, A. (1900). The work of the Holy Spirit (p. 190). Funk & Wagnalls.] …
So, I extend my understanding to you that Yahweh gave this song for Moses to write. What we now read here in Deuteronomy chapter 32 results from the work of the Holy Spirit.
So, here is a thought to ponder. When Yahweh said, “Write this song,” did he sing the lyrics and then Moses wrote them down? Is Yahweh, the Eternal Son of God Most High, a singer?
Now, back to today’s blog.
We learn Yahweh grieves.
Yahweh faces rejection. The people sent him out the front door.
His people destroyed Yahweh’s hopes.
Yahweh experiences anger because of his people.
As we ponder being jilted at the altar; allow me to read this third speech of Yahweh:
19 “And Yahweh saw this and spurned them Because of the provocation of His sons and daughters.
20 “Then He said, ‘I will hide My face from them;
I will see what their end shall be;
For they are a perverse generation,
Sons in whom is no faithfulness.
21 ‘They have made Me jealous with what is not God;
They have provoked Me to anger with their bidols.
So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people;
I will provoke them to anger with a wickedly foolish nation,
22 For a fire is kindled in My anger,
And it burns to the lowest part of Sheol,
And it consumes the earth with its produce,
And it sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.
23 ‘I will heap calamities on them;
I will exhaust My arrows on them.
24 ‘They will be wasted by famine, and consumed by plague
And bitter destruction;
And the teeth of beasts I will send upon them,
With the venom of crawling things of the dust.
25 ‘Outside the sword will bereave,
And inside terror—
Both choice man and virgin,
The nursing baby with the man of gray hair. (Deut 32:19-25, LSB).
This fourth set of lyrics contains five turns or twists of thought:
32:19-20 Yahweh will see and He will spurn them
32:21 They will incense Me with no-gods
32:21 For a fire has flared in My wrath
32:23-24 I will sweep misfortunes on them
32:25 The sword shall deal without and terror within
And Yahweh Will See And He Will Spurn Them – Deuteronomy 32:19a
A Hebrew word search yields the following list of key passages of the Hebrew Bible. Establishing the setting and the background. Giving the reader a good understanding
Don’t worry, you need to know Hebrew to see what God saw.
- Gen 6:5וַיַּ֣רְא יְהוָ֔ה כִּ֥י רַבָּ֛ה רָעַ֥ת הָאָדָ֖ם בָּאָ֑רֶץ וְכָל־יֵ֙צֶר֙ מַחְשְׁבֹ֣ת לִבֹּ֔ו רַ֥ק רַ֖ע כָּל־הַיֹּֽום׃
Then Yahweh saw that the evil of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
- Gen 29:31וַיַּ֤רְא יְהוָה֙ כִּֽי־שְׂנוּאָ֣ה לֵאָ֔ה וַיִּפְתַּ֖ח אֶת־רַחְמָ֑הּ וְרָחֵ֖ל עֲקָרָֽה׃
And Yahweh saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
- Exodus 3: 4 וַיַּ֥רְא יְהוָ֖ה כִּ֣י סָ֣ר לִרְאֹ֑ות וַיִּקְרָא֩ אֵלָ֨יו אֱלֹהִ֜ים מִתֹּ֣וךְ הַסְּנֶ֗ה וַיֹּ֛אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֥ה מֹשֶׁ֖ה וַיֹּ֥אמֶר הִנֵּֽנִי׃
And Yahweh saw that he turned aside to look, so God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
- Deut 32:19וַיַּ֥רְא יְהוָ֖ה וַיִּנְאָ֑ץ מִכַּ֥עַס בָּנָ֖יו וּבְנֹתָֽיו׃
And Yahweh saw this and spurned them because of the provocation of His sons and daughters.
Notice that our passage Deut. 32:19 is last on the list
Showing that the three previous occurrences inform the Song of Moses.
“And Yahweh will see” first points back to Genesis 6:1-9.
It is a very sad, grievous situation early in the Book of Genesis: “Yahweh saw that the evil of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” The very forming of the thoughts of man was only evil all day long.
“And Yahweh regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.” (Gen 6:6, LSB).
“And Yahweh said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I regret that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of Yahweh.” (Ge 6:7–8, LSB).
“And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.” (Ge 6:12, LSB).
In the setting of Genesis chapter six, “corrupt” translates the same Hebrew word used later in the Song of Moses: “They have acted corruptly toward Him.”
What Will Yahweh See?
Deut 32:15 “But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—
You grew fat, thick, and sleek—
Then he abandoned God who made him,
And treated the Rock of his salvation with wicked foolishness.
16 “They made Him jealous with strange gods;
With abominations they provoked Him to anger.
17 “They sacrificed to demons who were not God,
To gods whom they have not known,
New gods who came lately,
Whom your fathers did not dread.
18 “You neglected the Rock who begot you,
And forgot the God who brought you forth.” (Dt 32:15–18, LSB).
What Will Yahweh Do?
And He Will Spurn Them – Deuteronomy 32:19b
Definitions for Spurned
Adjective
rebuffed (by a lover) without warning;
jilted at the altar
D.I. Block picks up on the marital rebuff:
“[regarding] The Preamble to Israel’s National Anthem (31:16–22) On first sight, verses 16–22 seem unrelated to the induction of Joshua. Here Yahweh introduces the Song (preserved in chap. 32) with a speech predicting Israel’s future apostasy (vv. 16–18) and describing his answer to the crisis this will create (vv. 19–21).
The problem: Israel’s apparently inevitable apostasy (vv. 16–18). Beginning abruptly by announcing Moses’ imminent death, Yahweh describes the consequences of this event as a chain of actions and responses… Yahweh describes the Israelites’ anticipated response to Moses’ departure with four verbs: (1) They will “rise” (untrans. in NIV) in rebellion against Yahweh; (2) they will “prostitute themselves” to foreign gods of the land they are entering (cf. Ex. 34:15–16); (3) they will “forsake” Yahweh (cf. 29:25[24]); and (4) they will “break the covenant.”
It is fitting that Yahweh should speak of Israel’s infidelity as “prostitution,” since his relationship with Israel is portrayed in marital terms, and his jealousy/passion is kindled whenever his people flirt with other gods. Furthermore, the gods competing for the people’s allegiance are lusty fertility gods, who will seduce the Israelites with promises of prosperity and security… Yahweh chose the covenant partner, he set the terms and graciously revealed them to his people, he graciously announced the consequences of fidelity/infidelity.
The three expressions Yahweh uses to describe his response to Israel’s apostasy reflect the intensity of his rage (v. 17a). While Moses had spoken earlier of Yahweh’s anger and his abandonment of his people, the idiom “to hide the face”35 occurs here for the first time. The expression signifies the withdrawal of favor. In ancient courtly contexts, for a king to turn his face from a subject signaled disaster,37 though the idiom was often applied to gods as well.
As in extrabiblical texts, when a deity hid his face the effects were devastating (v. 17b). Yahweh speaks of the resultant “disasters” and “difficulties” as carnivorous beasts that seek and devour prey. To the disasters the people will respond with a curious rhetorical question: “Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is not with us? ”
I will extend this dialogue in a future blog.
We have come to the end of today’s blog, InAllWisdom. A daily blog dedicated to wisdom for life.
Thank you for reading and pondering!
Please join me again for another interesting episode of Wisdom for Life.
Until he comes on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory,
may
“Yahweh bless you, and keep you;
Yahweh make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;
Yahweh lift up His face on you,
And give you peace.’”
Legacy Standard Bible (The Book of Numbers, 6:24–27, LSB).
