Deuteronomy 32:21

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 32:21-27, “They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.[22] For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.[23] I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them.[24] They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust.[25] The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.[26] I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men:[27] Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the LORD hath not done all this.”

Since God is God of the whole earth, and since He is Judge, there are consequences to turning away from the love and forgiveness that Christ offers you. “Be not deceived. God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.” Looking to the future, God made very clear what the consequences were that the Israelites would suffer. God’s holy righteousness requires judgment, but He hoped the Israelites would repent before the judgment came. The same principle exists today. The judgment is coming, but anyone can escape to the arms of Jesus while there is still time. Look at the words that were used to describe what would happen to the Israelites: “fire, anger, burn, hell, consume, mischief, arrows, hunger, devoured, bitter destruction, teeth of beasts, poison, sword, terror, destroy, scatter.”

With all of that happening to the Israelites, why did not God totally destroy them? He thought about it. God said in Deuteronomy 32:26, “I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men.” But one of the reasons that God did not totally destroy the children of Israel is based upon what God said in verse 27, “lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the LORD hath not done all this.” God does not want Israel’s adversaries to be able to boast about the destruction of Israel, and then to take the credit to themselves for what they had done. In other words there was one principle more important than even God’s jealousy against the Israelites: God’s displeasure with those who oppose Israel. God said that He would curse those who curse Israel, and that truth is always in play in the world, even today and even in the end times. The nations of the world should beware if any of them hate or oppose or attack Israel. God promised Abraham that He would curse those that curse Israel and bless those that bless Israel.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 32:28-29, “For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.
[29] O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!” These verses show that God did not want to have to punish Israel. But God has given free will to all people. He does not force anyone to serve Him. He does not force anyone to believe in Jesus. One of Israel’s problems as it says in verse 28 is that they lacked wisdom. A wise person will turn to Jesus. An unwise person turns away from God. God said in verse 29, “that they would consider their latter end!” Think things through. Understand what the true consequences of your decisions and your actions will be. That is one of the problems with the modern world: a lot of lies are being told. People are shown ungodly lifestyles without being shown the true consequences of what such lifestyles will bring. The last consequence of going away from God instead of turning to Christ is to end up in hell. If people would think about their eternal destiny and about the possibility of going to hell, perhaps they will get serious about turning to Jesus Christ and finding His forgiveness.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 32:30-38, “How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?[31] For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.[32] For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:[33] Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.[34] Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?[35] To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.[36] For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.[37] And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted,[38] Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection.” When verse 30 says, “How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight,” it is talking about fear. Faith in God can give courage that is stronger than anything people can attain to in the vain philosophies of life. Fear is one of the greatest enemies that man can have. If God allows fear to enter your heart, you will easily be chased by your enemies. It will get ugly. If you trust in God, you will have nothing to fear because He will fight your enemies for you.

Verse 30 has a phrase worth noting. It says, “their Rock had sold them.” When we become a believer, God redeems us. In other words we are purchased by Him. He owns us, and we become His possessions. Therefore, it is a very serious statement when God says that He “sold” the Israelites. Those who were His people in a sense became His people no more. God really put them on the shelf. They are still on the shelf. They have been that way for centuries. They have been that way since the Babylonians conquered them in 586 BC. But God still has a plan for them.

The Israelites had become so bad that God compared them to Sodom and Gomorrah in verse 32. That is not a good thing if God compares you to Sodom and Gomorrah. If God does think that of you, guess what will be coming your way: judgment. God says in verse 35, “To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time.” Christians really need to believe this truth and rely upon it because we will be persecuted. Vengeance is God’s job. He is not going to neglect His job. Our job is to show as much love and compassion to others that we can. The Lord knows what other people need in the matter of judgment, and we do not. The Lord’s goal is to work in their hearts. The final judgment is coming soon enough. No one will escape that.

Looking at verse 37, we can see that God’s purpose even in His judgments is that people will learn their lesson, come to their senses, and turn to Him. It says in verse 37, “And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted?” When people turn away from the Lord, they start trusting in someone or something else, and those other things in effect become their “gods.” Of course, it is not going to end well when they do that. They end up having no rock and no foundation. Just maybe, when it turns out badly for them, they will turn back to the Lord. Just maybe they will understand that they had no rock, and they will turn back to the true Rock. How much help and protection will come from false gods: zero. God has His ways of proving to people that they made a big mistake when they turned away from Him.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 32:39-43, “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.[40] For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live forever.
[41] If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.[42] I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.[43] Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.” God said in verse 39, “I kill and I make alive.” It would be good if people remembered this one simple fact. God gives life and God takes it. When a child is conceived in the womb and born into the world, God has given life. God is a life-giver. God is life and all other life emanates from Him. That is why Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the father but by me.”

All life on this earth is temporary. Everyone and everything dies. Why? Because it is God’s will. Once Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, God decided that one result would be that death would enter the world. Fortunately, God also has created life after death through faith in Jesus Christ. But people need to wake up to the fact that they are going to die, and everyone that they know and love are also going to die. And God decides when each person dies. It says in Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

In Deuteronomy 32:39-43 God is talking about His vengeance, His punishments, and His judgements that will come against individuals and nations. Look at the words and phrases that He uses in these verses: “I kill,” “I wound,” “neither is there any that can deliver,” “I whet my glittering sword,” “judgment,” “vengeance,” “will reward them that hate me,” “mine arrows drunk with blood,” “my sword shall devour flesh,” “revenges upon the enemy,” and “he will avenge the blood of his servants.” Let’s look at the last phrase here. Every Christian needs to remember this promise from the Lord. “Vengeance is Mine, saith the Lord, I will repay.” God knows what punishments to give and when to give them. We do not. We are supposed to pray for the poor lost sinners who are going to die and go to hell. They face a terrible future and a terrible eternity unless the grace of God reaches them and they turn to Christ.

Notice the last phrase of Deuteronomy 32:43. After talking about all the vengeance and judgment that God will bring, we are told that God “will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.” God delights in mercy. One of the reasons that God brings His judgments is so that people will turn and look for His mercy and find it through Jesus Christ. God is so very merciful. There is no sin so great that He cannot forgive it. There is no sinner so evil that he or she cannot be totally and completely forgiven. That is why Jesus said to the woman who was taken in adultery, “Neither do I condemn thee.” That is why the Apostle John wrote in First John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

If you do not know Jesus as your Savior, today you can bow before Him and receive His forgiveness. If you are a Christian who has drifted away from the Lord, today you can bow before Jesus and be forgiven of those sins and walk in fellowship with Him once again.

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