Deuteronomy 31:16-22

b. MOSES COMMANDED TO WRITE A SONG AS A WITNESS AGAINST ISRAEL (Deuteronomy 31:16-22)

16 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and play the harlot after the strange gods of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. 17 Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall come upon them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us? 18 And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evil which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods. 19 Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach thou it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel. 20 For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, flowing with milk and honey, and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxed fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and despise me, and break my covenant. 21 And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are come upon them, that this song shall testify before them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed; for I know their imagination which they frame this day, before I have brought them into the land which I sware, 22 So Moses write this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 31:16-22

544.

Please remember that the constant reference to death as a sleep has no reference to the spirit of man, but only to his body. What comfort is there in the adding of our decayed body to those of our fathers?

545.

God is concerned with the actions and thoughts of His people. Has He changed?

546.

Advertising by song is not new. We can remember more what is sung and what we sing. Who knew this before Madison Avenue?

AMPLIFIED TRANSLATION 31:16-22

16 And the Lord said to Moses, Behold, you shall sleep with your fathers; and this people will rise up, and play the harlot after the strange gods of the land where they go to be among them, and they will forsake Me, and break My covenant which I have made with them.
17 Then My anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?
18 And I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they have done in turning to other gods.
19 And now write this song for you, and teach it to the Israelites; put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for Me against the Israelites.
20 For when I have brought them into the land which I swore to their fathers, that flows with milk and honey, and they have eaten and filled themselves, and become fat; then they will turn to other gods, and serve them, and despise and scorn Me, and break My covenant.
21 And when many evils and troubles have befallen them, this [sacred] song will confront them as a witness, for it will never be forgotten from the mouths of their descendants; for I know their strong desire and the purposes which they are forming even now, before I have brought them into the land which I swore to give them.

22 Moses wrote this song the same day, and taught it to the Israelites. [See Deuteronomy 32:1-43.]

COMMENT 31:16-22

The song of Moses follows in chapter 32. The essence of Deuteronomy 31:16-18 we have seen repeated again and again in Deuteronomy: The forsaking of God and his commandments will have devastating consequences.

THEY SHALL HAVE EATEN AND FILLED THEMSELVES, AND WAXED FAT. AND BREAK MY COVENANT (Deuteronomy 31:20)See Deuteronomy 6:10-12, Deuteronomy 8:7-20, Deuteronomy 11:10-16, etc.

THIS SONG SHALL TESTIFY BEFORE THEM AS A WITNESS (Deuteronomy 31:20)The word of God stands as our guide, lamp, and source of life. But if we depart from it, it can only act as a witness and judge against us. The same words condemn or justify, depending on the lives of those who receive them. In the present case, God, in his foreknowledge, knew (as we have seen so many times) that Israel would rebel and disobey: FOR I KNOW THEIR IMAGINATION WHICH THEY FRAME THIS DAY, BEFORE I HAVE BROUGHT THEM INTO THE LAND (Deuteronomy 31:21)As we have attempted to explain elsewhere, the fact that God knows in advance that a person or persons will commit sin does not compel the individual to commit it. In the present case, it should be observed that Israel was already notoriously rebellious against God and his lawand the Lord knew this rebellion would persist. They were already making plans for various wicked practices in which they could participate as soon as they crossed over the Jordan. And nearly the entire book of Judges chronicles the historical accuracy of this prediction.

The above phrase brings to the memory such passages as Genesis 6:5; Genesis 8:21. Baumgartner would define yetser (imagination) in all these passages as form, purposethat is, of the mind. What powers has the mind! Powers to conceive, imagine, visualize, conceptualize, arrange, design. But conceive or design what? That is the greatest question of the ages! And that is why all are in need of a renewed mind (Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:22-24). Then the mind can imagine and scheme for Christ and the advancement of his kingdom!