Deuteronomy 32 Background Information with Maps and Images (Picture Study Bible - Deuteronomy) Free Bible Online

Deuteronomy 32

1 - Give ear, you heavens, and I will speak.Let the earth hear the words of my mouth.

2 - My doctrine will drop as the rain.My speech will condense as the dew,as the misty rain on the tender grass,as the showers on the herb.

3 - For I will proclaim The LORD's name.Ascribe greatness to our God!

4 - The Rock, his work is perfect,for all his ways are just.A God of faithfulness who does no wrong,just and right is he.

5 - They have dealt corruptly with him.They are not his children, because of their defect.They are a perverse and crooked generation.

6 - Is this the way you repay The LORD,foolish and unwise people?Isn't he your father who has bought you?He has made you and established you.

7 - Remember the days of old.Consider the years of many generations.Ask your father, and he will show you;your elders, and they will tell you.

8 - When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,when he separated the children of men,he set the bounds of the peoplesaccording to the number of the children of Israel.

9 - For The LORD's portion is his people.Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.

10 - He found him in a desert land,in the waste howling wilderness.He surrounded him.He cared for him.He kept him as the apple of his eye.

11 - As an eagle that stirs up her nest,that flutters over her young,he spread abroad his wings,he took them,he bore them on his feathers.

12 - The LORD alone led him.There was no foreign god with him.

13 - He made him ride on the high places of the earth.He ate the increase of the field.He caused him to suck honey out of the rock,oil out of the flinty rock;

14 - butter from the herd, and milk from the flock,with fat of lambs,rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats,with the finest of the wheat.From the blood of the grape, you drank wine.

15 - But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked.You have grown fat.You have grown thick.You have become sleek.Then he abandoned God who made him,and rejected the Rock of his salvation.

16 - They moved him to jealousy with strange gods.They provoked him to anger with abominations.

17 - They sacrificed to demons, not God,to gods that they didn't know,to new gods that came up recently,which your fathers didn't dread.

18 - Of the Rock who became your father, you are unmindful,and have forgotten God who gave you birth.

19 - The LORD saw and abhorred,because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.

20 - He said, "I will hide my face from them.I will see what their end will be;for they are a very perverse generation,children in whom is no faithfulness.

21 - They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God.They have provoked me to anger with their vanities.I will move them to jealousy with those who are not a people.I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

22 - For a fire is kindled in my anger,that burns to the lowest Sheol,devours the earth with its increase,and sets the foundations of the mountains on fire.

23 - "I will heap evils on them.I will spend my arrows on them.

24 - They shall be wasted with hunger,and devoured with burning heatand bitter destruction.I will send the teeth of animals on them,with the venom of vipers that glide in the dust.

25 - Outside the sword will bereave,and in the rooms, terror;on both young man and virgin,the nursing infant with the gray-haired man.

26 - I said that I would scatter them afar.I would make their memory to cease from among men;

27 - were it not that I feared the provocation of the enemy,lest their adversaries should judge wrongly,lest they should say, 'Our hand is exalted,The LORD has not done all this.'"

28 - For they are a nation void of counsel.There is no understanding in them.

29 - Oh that they were wise, that they understood this,that they would consider their latter end!

30 - How could one chase a thousand,and two put ten thousand to flight,unless their Rock had sold them,and the LORD had delivered them up?

31 - For their rock is not as our Rock,even our enemies themselves concede.

32 - For their vine is of the vine of Sodom,of the fields of Gomorrah.Their grapes are poison grapes.Their clusters are bitter.

33 - Their wine is the poison of serpents,the cruel venom of asps.

34 - "Isn't this laid up in store with me,sealed up among my treasures?

35 - Vengeance is mine, and recompense,at the time when their foot slides;for the day of their calamity is at hand.Their doom rushes at them."

36 - For the LORD will judge his people,and have compassion on his servants,when he sees that their power is gone;that there is no one remaining, shut up or left at large.

37 - He will say, "Where are their gods,the rock in which they took refuge;

38 - which ate the fat of their sacrifices,and drank the wine of their drink offering?Let them rise up and help you!Let them be your protection.

39 - "See now that I myself am he.There is no god with me.I kill and I make alive.I wound and I heal.There is no one who can deliver out of my hand.

40 - For I lift up my hand to heaven and declare,as I live forever,

41 - if I sharpen my glittering sword,my hand grasps it in judgment;I will take vengeance on my adversaries,and will repay those who hate me.

42 - I will make my arrows drunk with blood.My sword shall devour flesh with the blood of the slain and the captives,from the head of the leaders of the enemy."

43 - Rejoice, you nations, with his people,for he will avenge the blood of his servants.He will take vengeance on his adversaries,and will make atonement for his land and for his people.

44 - Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he and Joshua the son of Nun.

45 - Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel.

46 - He said to them, "Set your heart to all the words which I testify to you today, which you shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.

47 - For it is no vain thing for you; because it is your life, and through this thing you shall prolong your days in the land, where you go over the Jordan to possess it."

48 - The LORD spoke to Moses that same day, saying,

49 - "Go up into this mountain of Abarim, to Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is across from Jericho; and see the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel for a possession.

50 - Die on the mountain where you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor, and was gathered to his people;

51 - because you trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you didn't uphold my holiness among the children of Israel.

52 - For you shall see the land from a distance; but you shall not go there into the land which I give the children of Israel."

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Deuteronomy Images and Notes

The Book of Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 28:1 - And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe [and] to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
Deuteronomy 28:2 - And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God.

Religious Jew Reading the Scroll of the Torah, notice the prayer shawl over his head and the phylacteries on his forehead and arm to remind him that he must keep the law with his head and his heart. He is reading the scroll of the Torah which was written on parchment and fastened to rollers.

The Old Testament - A Brief Overview

Bible Survery - Deuteronomy
Hebrew Name - elleh haddebharim "these are the words"
Greek Name - Deuteronomion "The Second Law"
Author - Moses
Date - 1451 BC Approximately
Theme - Reminders of God's Covenant
Types and Shadows - In Deuteronomy Jesus is prophet like unto Moses

Quick Reference Map

Map of the Possible Route of the Exodus (Click to Enlarge)

Summary of The Book of Deuteronomy

The word "Deuteronomy" comes from the Greek word for "the second law" or "the law copied or repeated." In the book of Deuteronomy Moses is writing a series of speeches to the people of Israel in the plains of Moab on the day before they entered the land of Canaan, the promised land. these messages are intended to speak to every member of the congregation of Israel, not just the religious. The purpose of Moses was to remind them of God's law, and everything that God did for them, and every promise God made to them. Moses explained to them that their new life in the land of Canaan would be blessed or cursed depending on their ability to walk after after God and His law. These words were spoken to them on the 11th month of the final year of Israel's wandering in the wilderness, the 40th year after they left Egypt.

In the first speech (Deuteronomy 1:1-4:43), Moses warns the people of Israel about the sins which had kept their fathers from entering the promised land. He repeatedly encourages them to obey God and reminds them about the events that took place in the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. He carefully explains what happens when there are difficult situations and they choose not to trust the Lord but rather act in obstinance, doubt, fear, and finally disobedience.

The second speech (Deuteronomy 4:44-26:19) goes into the details about the law. It is really the main message here that Moses gives them, the first speech was more of an introduction and preparation for this message. It deals mainly with the legal aspects of the law, moral, civil, and ceremonial. It deals first with the 10 Commandments (Deuteronomy chapters 5-11) and secondly the details behind God's law with the emphasis on following God statutes, religious ordinances, and living with one another as the people of God (Deuteronomy chapters 12-26).

The third speech (Deuteronomy 27:1-31:30) is primarily a message about the blessings of obedience and the curses of disobedience. Moses mainly directs his message to the elders, the priests, the Levites, and all the leaders who are responsible to carry out the ceremonies. The place chosen for the ceremonies was a spot in the center of the land of Israel where the first altar to God have been erected. Once they had crossed over the Jordan River they were commanded to set up great stones on Mount Ebal, with the law of God inscribed and to build a great altar. The 12 tribes of Israel were to be divided between the two hills. Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin were to gather themselves on Mt. Gerizim to recite the blessings which God promised them if they would obey him. Across on Mt. Ebal, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali were to speak the curses which God had promised them if they were to disobey him.

Moses finished his discourses and encourage the people to follow Joshua, their new leader, to cross the Jordan and to take the land which had been promised to their father Abraham. Moses wrote down the law in a book, gave it to the priests, who were to keep it as a perpetual reminder for the people of Israel (Deuteronomy 31:9-13). They were to read it every seventh year when the people assembled for the feast of Tabernacles.

God told Moses and Joshua to come before Him at the tabernacle and He told them of the future infidelity of the children of Israel and instructed Moses to leave the people a song as a witness against them which they were to learn. This song of Moses is recorded in Deuteronomy 32 and it speaks about the blessings which God has bestowed on his people and the corrupt ways in which they responded to those blessings. Deuteronomy 33 speaks about Moses' blessing on the people and Deuteronomy 34 records briefly the account of the death of Moses, the great leader of Israel.

Outline of The Book of Deuteronomy

1) The First Address of Moses

Historical overview (Deuteronomy 1:6-3)
Appeal for commitment to God (Deuteronomy 4)

2) The Second Address of Moses

God's covenant with Israel (Deuteronomy 5:1-21)
A Message about the First Commandment (Deuteronomy 6-9:6)
A Survey of the Laws Given on Mount Sinai (Deuteronomy 9:7-10:11)
Reminders of God's Laws (Deuteronomy 10:12-11)

3) The Laws

Sacrifice (Deuteronomy 12)
Giving in to Idolatry (Deuteronomy 13)
Acceptable and Forbidden Foods (Deuteronomy 14:3-21)
Tithes (Deuteronomy 14:22-29)
Year of Release (Deuteronomy 15:1-11)
Releasing Slaves (Deuteronomy 15:12-18)
Firstlings of Cattle and Sheep (Deuteronomy 15:19-23)
Yearly Pilgrimage Feasts and Festivals (Deuteronomy 16:1-17)
Leaders of the Nation (Deuteronomy 16:18-28:22)
Right of Asylum (Deuteronomy 19)
Conduct of War (Deuteronomy 20, 21:10-14, 23:9-14)
Marriage and Family Life (Deuteronomy 21, 22, 24:1-4, 25:5-10)
Certain Humanitarian Regulations (Deuteronomy 21, 22, 24, 25)
Blessings and Curses on the People (Deuteronomy 27)
Results of Observance and Neglect (Deuteronomy 28)

4) The Last Days of Moses

Third Address (Deuteronomy 29-30)
Last Words and Acts of Moses (Deuteronomy 31-33)
Death and Burial of Moses (Deuteronomy 34)

Quick Reference Maps - Deuteronomy

Canaan Before Joshua

The Island of Caphtor

Deuteronomy Resources

The Wilderness Wanderings

More About the Book of Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy in the Picture Study Bible
Timeline of the Ancient World
Back to the Old Testament
Back to Bible History Online

Bibliography Information

Free Bible Online - Picture Study Bible, King James Version. New York: American Bible Society: www.free-bible.com, 1995-2013. Bible History Picture Study Bible. Dec 22, 2024.

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