[Deuteronomy 32] The Eagle Stirs Up the Nest. In this chapter we find the song of Moses. This poem of Moses gives a panoramic view of human history from Adam to mount Sinai in the metaphor of God as an eagle stirring up the nest, provoking her young to flight. God takes no pleasure in punishing man or in human suffering. His highest value was not placed on the law as an end in itself but as the means to bringing us to the end of ourselves that we might become that creature of flight – that spiritual being for which Christ died.
[Deu 32:1-52 KJV] 1 Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. 2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: 3 Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. 4 [He is] the Rock, his work [is] perfect: for all his ways [are] judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right [is] he. 5 They have corrupted themselves, their spot [is] not [the spot] of his children: [they are] a perverse and crooked generation. 6 Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? [is] not he thy father [that] hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee? 7 Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee. 8 When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according 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, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. 11 As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: 12 [So] the LORD alone did lead him, and [there was] no strange god with him. 13 He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock; 14 Butter of kine, and milk of sheep, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the fat of kidneys of wheat; and thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape. 15 But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered [with fatness]; then he forsook God [which] made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. 16 They provoked him to jealousy with strange [gods], with abominations provoked they him to anger. 17 They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new [gods that] came newly up, whom your fathers feared not. 18 Of the Rock [that] begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee. 19 And when the LORD saw [it], he abhorred [them], because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters. 20 And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end [shall be]: for they [are] a very froward generation, children in whom [is] no faith. 21 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. 28 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! 30 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. 39 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 for ever. 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. 44 And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun. 45 And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel: 46 And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law. 47 For it [is] not a vain thing for you; because it [is] your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong [your] days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it. 48 And the LORD spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying, 49 Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, [unto] mount Nebo, which [is] in the land of Moab, that [is] over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession: 50 And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people: 51 Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel. 52 Yet thou shalt see the land before [thee]; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.
In this chapter we find the song of Moses that scholars view as a strikingly original text that actually (in their opinion wasn’t included originally in the book of Deuteronomy at first but was inserted later). The scope of the writing goes further back than the history of the Hebrew people, encompassing the time of Babel when God separated the languages of humanity. In the first few lines we see very descriptive language about how Moses experienced hearing from God. In v. 2, we read:
Deut. 32:2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:
The voice of God in Moses life was not a disembodied voice from heaven. The word “distil” is defined as to “purify (a liquid) by vaporizing it, then condensing it by cooling the vapor, and collecting the resulting liquid; to extract.” So apparently Moses extracted the voice of God from a myriad of voices or thoughts that flowed through his mind. He filtered God’s words or thoughts from the stream of all other thoughts within himself. This makes hearing God’s voice very accessible and also a matter of faith. Many times, we realize in hindsight that we were hearing God about a situation but we didn’t take the effort to extract and purify what we were hearing as God’s voice. This description of Moses is extremely helpful to us in learning how to distinguish God’s voice in our lives.
Moses goes on to remind the people to remember the days of Genesis 6 when the languages were divided. We don’t have living memory of this but is that the only kind of memory? Noted psychologist Carl Jung posited the idea of collective, racial or as some call it – genetic memory – that is present at birth and extends back over eons of time. Both Carl Jung and Freud embraced the idea of cognitive generational memory. Solomon suggested in Ecclesiastes something even more far reaching:
Ecc. 3:11 (AMP) He has made everything beautiful in its time. He also has planted eternity in men’s hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy],
Verse 11 gives us a very different perspective of human history from Adam to Moses. It is that of an eagle stirring up the nest to provoke her young to fulfill their potential for flight. Because man looked beyond the environment God provided they were made to leave the nest as it were having been made subject to the laws of gravity in hopes that they would find the law of lift by looking upward to their mother eagle – God Himself. The implied truth of Moses ability to hear God’s voice is that God wants us to fulfill our created destiny not be dashed on the rocks of destruction because of disobedience to His law.
Beginning with v. 19 we see the consequences of disobedience and rejection of communion with God for which man was created. Again, the mention of the jealousy of God that burns over us when we look away from Him to other things. God is a God of passion and jealousy where we are concerned. This is a very much disparaged and mocked view of God primarily because men despise the idea of God’s existence at all. Notice the remark of “our enemies being our judges…” Jesus said in Matt. 7:1 … judge not that you be not judged. Always remember that Jesus almost always spoke and taught out of some reference to the Old Testament of which He was very familiar with. In Genesis accusation first begins not with Satan but with Adam when he pointed the finger at his wife and accused both her and God himself as the reason for yielding to temptation when he said “that woman you gave me…” Satan is indeed the accuser of the brethren but in the biblical record it was Adam who accused first. Our enemies are our judges. Judgmentalism is the definition of enmity. If you want to identify your enemy look at those who judge you by a standard that God does not judge by. If you truly comprehend God’s mind of judgment you will find it difficult to look beyond your own failings to assume you can correct the errors of others. When God looks at you He sees what motivated Jesus to go to the cross. What do you see when you look at others? Remember the words of Jesus – “judge not that you be not judged…” The only just and reliable judge is the Lord.
In verse 39 God takes responsibility for the affairs of men. He says that ultimately He takes responsibility for all of human history and his response is to send a Savior. He points out that there are no other gods. This was a very strong belief called syncretism that is still very much in evidence today when we hear people say “it doesn’t matter what you believe just so you are sincere…” Paul taught Timothy:
[1Ti 2:5 KJV] 5 For [there is] one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
What about extra-biblical supernatural, or spiritual things or beliefs? What about other religions? Are they just benign practices or something far worse? Paul makes it plain in his second letter to Corinth:
[1Co 10:20 KJV] 20 But I [say], that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.
Where do we draw the line? First and foremost, you have to listen to the witness of the Spirit. Listen to your first witness of unease or the answer of peace when you get the knock on the door or someone hands you a piece of literature. Do not be like Eve and allow yourself to enter into a dialog when in your heart something is setting off an alarm. Human fairness and civility becomes a snare when for the sake of politeness, you hesitate to break off an interaction with a false religion. They will use tactics that will take advantage of your unwillingness to cold shoulder them or be rude in any way. Never forget that you are dealing with demons. Paul even warned of a counterfeit Christ that we don’t often hear talked about:
[2Co 11:4 KJV] 4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or [if] ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with [him].
How do we tell the difference? Intimacy with the genuine. Remember what Paul said – “Christ in you the hope of Glory…” Col. 1:26,27. Any teaching or doctrine or ministry that fosters external dependencies rather than glorifying who God is in your heart is either immature, misled or completely false and you have to have the discernment and boldness to acknowledge it and distance yourself and your loved ones from that influence.
