THE SONG OF MOSES Under the leadership of the Holy Spirit of God, the prophet Moses presents to us his final song. This song is called the key to every prophecy; as it speaks about the birth of the nation, its childhood, then its denial and apostasy, and finally its chastisement and return. The prophet Moses presents to us a song that bears a living theological thought. As a prophet, he does not separate between music and theology. Music without theology turns into a kind of looseness and loss of time; and theology without music, makes man lose his delicacy and gentleness. If theology turns man into a living icon of God, that bears an image of joyful life; music is indispensable to theology, as it makes out of man a rejoicing and an incessantly thanksgiving being. The true life of faith is a music piece that proclaims harmony in man’s life, between his temporal behavior, and his taste for the deposit of eternity. Although the life of the prophet Moses has been an incessant series of continuous strife, during which he suffered bitterness from the cruelty of his people’s heart, yet his life was actually a rejoicing symphony of love; a series of praises and songs. As he set forth to the wilderness, after God granted him the conquest over Pharaoh, he, together with the people, sang a song, when they came to “the well dug by the nation’s nobles” (Numbers 21:17). And now, he ends his life with a magnificent praise, as he, on the bank of the River Jordan, was called to depart from this world, and his soul rejoiced seeing the heavenly Canaan with the eyes of faith. He saw God, like a father who holds the hand of His child along the way, guiding him and fulfilling his spiritual and material needs; As his soul saw Him, like an eagle that hovers over its young ones; carrying them on its wings; protecting, caring for them and letting them in no need of any other; sustaining them in the wilderness; bringing for them honey from the rocks, and oil from the stones, i.e. He makes what is impossible for them1. The prophet Moses recorded in that song what his depths bore toward God his Savior; beside bitterness and moaning, caused by the apostasy of his people from the worship of God, and their binding to the abominations of idolatry; that brought them under the divine chastisement. After a final provocation of his people to obey God, the Lord finally commanded him to ascend the Mount of Nebo, to behold from afar the land of Canaan, and then to die. 1. An introduction to the song 1–2. 2. God’s greatness and righteousness 3–4. 3. The diversion of the people and their breaking of the covenant 5–6. 4. Reminding the people of the works of God 7–14. 5. A denying people 15–18. 6. Chastening the denying people 19–43. 7. A call to obedience 44–47. 8. A divine command to Moses to ascend the Mount of Nebo 48–52. 1. AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SONG The prophet Moses, realizing the approach of his final departure of this world, 1 Cf. the author: Song of Songs, Alexandria 1980, p. 10 (in Arabic). 7 and delivering the leadership into the hands of his disciple Joshua, he offered to God a magnificent praise, in which he glorifies the great and mighty God (1-4), and parades His works, as the Creator, the Savior, and the advocate, who stays faithful to His covenant with His people, despite their wickedness. He begins his song, saying: “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. Let my teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as the dew. As raindrops on the tender herb, and as showers on the grass” (Deut. 32:1, 2) St. John Chrysostom1 believes, that, as there is no man who hears and testifies to the divine things, heavens are called to testify. The prophet Moses calls the angels, the heavenly hosts, as well as all the nations, to testify to what he utters concerning God’s dealings with His people; and the reaction of treason and denial of the people. St. Clement of Alexandria2 believes that God calls the believers with heavenly knowledge (the heaven), as well as those whose hearts are preoccupied with the earthliness (the earth), to testify. In Isaiah (1, 2), and in Micah (6, 2), we see a call to nature to testify in the trial of man, or in the controversy between God and His people. Moses asks heaven and earth to listen to him. He calls on the soul and body to sing together a song to God for His love and care despite man’s cruelty and rebellion. The words of God turns the wilderness into a paradise; and as dew, they give comfort and peace to the soul. The prophet Moses used the praise to thank and glorify God (Exodus 15). Here he uses it to preach. With the same spirit, came several of the psalms of the prophet David, under the headline ‘For teaching.’ And the apostle Paul says: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16). Moses’ teaching is not his own, but is like the dew coming down from heaven by the Lord. And as it came in Isaiah: “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth. It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10-11). It does not depend on the wisdom of men, but “shall be… like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass, that tarry for no man, nor wait for the sons of men” (Micah 5:7). Rain is the gift of God, “For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God” (Hebrew 6:7). Like rain, he utters his teaching that starts as few successive drops, then soon turn into huge overwhelming quantities. What Moses proclaims, is the word of God, which is, either like soothing dew, or sweeping destructive rain or flood, like that in the days of Noah. Teaching can be effective and active, when it is gentle like inaudible dew or light rain that disturb no one; bringing the word into the heart; “come down like rain upon the mown grass, like showers that water the earth” (Psalm 72:6). Do you want to know how believers are called clouds in the Holy Bible? The 1 In Heb. Hom 23:8. 2 Stromata 4:26. 8 prophet Isaiah says: “I will command the clouds, that they rain no rain on it” (Isaiah 5:6). Moses was a cloud; that is why he says: “Let my teaching drop as the rain” (2). The epistles of the apostles for us are spiritual rain. That is what the apostle Paul says in his epistles to the Hebrews: “For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it… receives blessing from God” (Hebrew 6:7); and again he says: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:6)1. St. Jerome If we as humans, are keen on watering our gardens, and sometimes exert effort to draw water from a well or a river; how much more should we care to provide with water the plants of our bodies, which are in the paradise of the Lord; namely in His Church; to draw water for the dry places, and the barren locations, from the rivers of the Holy Bible, the spiritual drains, or the wells of the early Fathers; then we have to uproot the harmful worthless herbs, and plant those of benefit instead. As it came in the apostle Paul, whom we are his successors, though of much less capabilities: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:6). With the help of God, it is fitting for us to consummate our duties; Let us continue planting and watering; because if we do, God will give the increase2. Fr. Caesarius of Arles 2. GOD’S GREATNESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS “For I proclaim the name of the Lord: Ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice. A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright He is” (Deut. 32:3-4) What is the teaching given by Moses, which drops like rain, to turn the earth into a fruitful paradise? (1) The greatness of God, apparent in His care for His creation. He is the “Rock, perfect in His work.” The word “Rock” came six times in this chapter, as He is the Rock for all the creation He made in the six days. He is the un-shaking Rock, on which the Church is built; so that no harm can come on it. (2) God’s work is perfect; All His work is good; and accordingly, He is perfect and good in His care for His creation. Everything He allows, is for the good of His people. And as the wise Solomon says: “I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it” (Ecclesiastes 3:14). The work of man, however good he may be, is not perfect, whereas that of God is very perfect. That is why the Lord Jesus says: “When you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘we are unprofitable servants” (Luke 17:10). (3) God is “Just and Righteous,” without injustice; and according to the prophet, “Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right; The righteous walk in them, But transgressors stumble in them” (Hosea 14:0). He is the Truth, without injustice, nor lies. He would never do wrong when He chastises, because He knows what is for the edification of man, and what is for the good of the congregation. He would never do injustice to anyone. And according to the Psalmist: Let them “declare that the Lord is upright; He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him” (Psalm 92:15). God is called “Righteous,” and so also man may be called. Pope St. Athanasius says that the word ‘righteous’ in the Holy Bible carries two meanings: the 1 On Ps. hom. 73. 2 Sermon 1:6. 9 first is having faith and confidence, which could apply to men; and the second meaning is being trustworthy, which applies to God. Abraham was righteous, because he had faith in the word of God; And God is Righteous, according to what David says in the psalm: “The Lord is righteous in all His ways” (Psalm 45:17 LXX). He would never lie1. 3. DIVERSION OF THE PEOPLE AND THEIR BREAKING OF THE COVENANT Despite God’s righteousness, the people diverted and foolishly broke their covenant with God. The prophet here presents a comparison between God’s attributes and those of His people. God is great in His love, justice, and wisdom. He is like a rock, unchangeable; on Him believers could comfortably lean; and in Him they could resort for protection against the stings of the creeping serpents. From a rock, we should also remember how God let water pour for the people in the wilderness. The people, on the other hand, corrupted themselves, and foolishly disregarded the fatherhood of God. Every man could have his weaknesses, even the children of God; but those are “perverse and crooked generation,” in need of remembering God’s work with their fathers, to turn back from the corruption of their hearts. “They have corrupted themselves. They are not His children, because of their blemish; a perverse and crooked generation. Do you thus deal with the Lord, O foolish and unwise people? Is He not your Father, who bought you? Has He not made you and established you?” (Deut. 32:5, 6) By their perverse behavior in their dealing with righteous God, they did him no harm; but they corrupted themselves; they are the source of their corruption and the cause of their perdition. It is said: “O Israel, you are destroyed, who can help you?” (Hosea 13:9); and, “If you are wise, you are wise for yourself, and if you are scoff, you alone will bear it” (Proverb 9:12). It is as though he admonishes them, saying, ‘you are destroying yourselves by your evil behavior; you are claiming to be the children of God, referred to Him. Is this how you pay back your Father, your God, who acquired you for Himself; He who created you, and who made you His own people and nation? He is an amazing Father; He created them, sustained them even in the wilderness, cared for them and bore their burdens! Could they not feel His heart flaring with love for them? What they are doing is out of denial and disregard of God’s love for them and His blessings over them. According to the prophet: “The Lord has a complaint against His people, and He will contend with Israel. O My people, what have I done to you? And how have I wearied you? Testify against Me. For I brought you up from the land of Egypt; I redeemed you from the house of bondage; I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab counseled; and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him” (Micah 6:2-5). It is really madness from a foolish and an unwise people! Here he discerns between sins caused by weakness, together with a true yearning for holiness, and a strife for the sake of righteousness in God; And sins which come intentionally and persistently, with no true intention for repentance and return to God. The first kind may come from loving and striving children of God; whereas the second come from opponents of the truth, who assume that they are children of God, when they are actually His opponents. “He made you and established you” (6). All humans are God’s creation; yet only those redeemed are His true children (John 1:12). 1 Discourses Against the Arians, 2:6. 10 4. REMINDING THE PEOPLE OF THE WORKS OF GOD Having accused the people of breaking their covenant with God, he calls on them to mend their ways by remembering God’s dealings with them, along the generations and since the old days; how God cared for them and provided them with every possibility. “Remember the days of the old, consider the years of many generations. Ask your father and he will show you; your elders and they will tell you; When the Most High divided their inheritance to the nations, When He separated the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel. For the Lord’s portion is His people; Jacob is the place of His inheritance” (Deut. 32:6-9) It is fitting for the believer to learn from his fathers, not only the word and commandments of God (Deut. 6:7; Exodus 12:26, 27), but also His works with them along the generations. And according to the words of the Psalmist: “We will not hide them from their children. Telling to the generation to come the praises of the lord, His strength, and His wonderful works that He has done. For He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a Law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children. That the generation to come might know them, the children who would be born, that they may arise and declare them to their children, that they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments” (Psalm 78:4-7). As it is fitting for the fathers to teach their children the commandments of God, and to tell them about His practical care for them; it is also fitting for the children to yearn to know these things, in order that they would become for them, the best leader and guide on their way. By turning to history, testified by the fathers and elders, we realize that when God separated the sons of Adam into nations and peoples, He established boundaries to be committed, so that no nation should attack another. But, as far as Israel is concerned, He gave a special status, counting them as His own people. Africa has been called the land of Ham (Psalm 78:51; 105:23, 27; 106:22); Europe was the portion of Japheth; and Asia was the portion of Sam; whereas Palestine was counted as the portion of God, offered to His own people. This division of the world into three sections among the three sons of Noah was called the ‘collective immigration,’ realized two centuries after the days of Noah, five centuries before the episode of Babel, when the world was separated into several peoples with many tongues. In the Septuagint version, it came, that when the Almighty God divided the nations among the sons of Adam, He set boundaries for peoples according to the number of God’s angels; as though He assigned every nation to one of His angels. But, concerning His people, He took upon Himself their leadership, being His own portion. In the Jewish tradition, as well as that of the early Church, it came that God assigned an angel for every nation or people; yet that angel was not to commit his nation to a certain way of behavior. Whereas, concerning the Church of the Old Testament, as well as that of the New Testament, God assigned them to the Archangel the chief of God’s hosts, to defend them; and to His Holy Spirit to be His own. Here, there is a testimony that there are angels assigned to the saints, and to all mankind1. 1 In Matt. hom. 54. 11 St. John Chrysostom Some see that saying “according to the number of the children of Israel” means Canaan, the son of Ham, the son of Noah, and his 11 sons (Genesis 10:15) = 12. So the Lord intended for the 12 tribes of Israel to inherit the land of Canaan and his sons. And saying that God “divided their inheritance to the nations… and set boundaries of the peoples,” he confirms that it is fitting for humanity not to have controversy among them. As according to the apostle Paul: “He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation” (Acts 17:26); and to the Psalmist: “The heavens are the Lord’s, but the earth He has given to the children of men” (Psalm 115:16). God gave the earth to mankind to live together in peace, each one to support his brother, and not to struggle against him. It is amazing how God, the Creator of heaven and earth, the Possessor of all, counts His people as His portion, and in them He find His pleasure, calling them: “the garden enclosed” (Songs 4; 12), where He is pleased to walk and finds comfort. We can say that God is the portion of the believer, the later being dependant on the Former, finding in Him his treasure, wealth, fulfillment, joy, and the pleasure of his heart; But to say that God, who is in need of nothing, counts man as His portion, that is a great honor to man, and an exalted fatherly favor, to count his child who has nothing, as His own and His portion. In case we intend to become the Lord’s inheritance and portion, let us be strong and courageous… let us have nothing weak, nothing shaken, and nothing unfit to be inherited; as Christ who is glorified in His saints, says: “My inheritance is perfect1.” St. Jerome It is as though God has brought His people out of bondage, and cared for them in the wilderness, not to give them a land that flows of honey and milk, but to grant them Himself, to become their portion, and for them to become His. “He found him in a desert land, and in the wasteland, a howling wilderness; He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye” (Deut. 32:10) What does he mean by saying “He found him in a desert land,” but that the land of Egypt was, despite all its riches was counted as a desert land, as its people were living in bondage, under the cruel hand of Pharaoh. Or he means the wilderness through which they crossed, on their way to the land of Canaan. In that howling wasteland, God encircled them, protected them as a cloud shading them by day, and guided them as a pillar of light by night; and as St. Steven the archdeacon says about the prophet Moses: “This is he who was in the congregation (the Church) in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai” (Acts 7:38) God allowed it for them to remain in the wilderness all those years to isolate them from the world, in order to forget the pagan abominations they learned in Egypt; and to learn that the Lord alone is their light, their shield, and their fulfillment, who provides them food from heaven, water from the rock, that with Him they are in no need of clothes, footwear or medications. The Psalmist says: “He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city for habitation” (Psalm 107:7). He has always led us by the right way, even if it 1 On Ps. hom. 61. 12 seems as though we are going in a closed circuit in a wilderness. He teaches us as ministers, the value of sure long range care of future generations, the way He cared for His people for forty years in the wilderness. “He kept him as the apple of His eye” (10). We can understand that God is the apple of our eye, by Whom we can see the unseen things, and enjoy the help of His divine secrets. But for us to become as the apple of His eye, this is surely an amazing and exalted thing, as far as how God appreciate man, is concerned. There is no greater love, that the Mighty Creator counts man as the apple of His eye, caring for him, keeping him, as man keeps his eyesight! St. Gregory of Nyssa, comparing the way the prophet Moses used to know God, face to face, to the yearning of a bride for the incessant kisses of her groom; singing: “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth” (Songs 1:2). As the soul encounters God and receives His kisses, she yearns for more kisses of His mouth. She seeks God, as though she has never seen Him before; and her yearning for Him will never stop. He says: [With every encounter and enjoyment of Him, it will increase more and more1.] “As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings, taking them up, carrying them on its wings, so the Lord alone led him, and there was no foreign god with Him” (Deut. 32:11-12) As the eagle stirs up its nest, then spreads and hovers its wings, to provoke its young to prepare to leave the nest and start practicing to fly; so did God, when He provoked His people by the ten plagues, to prepare to depart from Egypt, and to fly across the wilderness, toward the Promised Land. Or rather to bring them over to Him; saying: “I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself” (Exodus 19:4). The love of eagles for their young is demonstrated, not just to protect them, but also to teach and instruct them on how to fly. It is not an idle love that can be deadly to them, but it is a positive love, which supports them and grants them new possibilities. In a similar way, God stirs up our life, to set forth in the wilderness of this world, amid the sufferings; to fly to God’s bosom, where we find settlement and comfort. He does not stir us up toward a life of pleasure and looseness, but to protect us and encircle us, while flying to heaven, disregarding the afflictions and temptations of the world. We have previously talked about the two wings of God during our study of the book of Psalms (Psalm 17:8); and we saw that, according to St. Augustine, the two wings of God are: ‘Love’ and ‘Mercy2.’ Also they refer to the two wings of the Cherubim, which cover the Ark of the Covenant, where the glory of God used to appear. According to St. Gregory of Nyssa believes, it is fitting for the believer, not only to seek protection under the wings of God, but also to get back His wings, which he lost, through sin. The wings of God represent His power, blessings, non-corruption; and so on. All these divine attributes used to be in man when he was like God in everything. But our diversion to evil has deprived us of our wings. Now the proclamation of God’s grace to us, and our enlightenment through rejecting corruption and worldly pleasures, would let the two wings of holiness and righteousness grow in us anew3. St. Gregory of Nyssa We can interpret this phrase (Deuteronomy 32:11; Psalm 91:1), concerning the 1 Commentary on Canticle, hom. 1. 2 On Ps. 17 (16):8. 3 Commentary on Canticle, 15. 13 Savior who provided us with the cover of His wings on the cross … His arms were raised toward heaven, not to seek help; but to cover over us, we His miserable creation1. St. Jerome He alone has stirred up His people toward salvation, whereas the foreign pagan gods were helpless to save the Egyptians. “He made him ride in the heights of the earth, that he might eat the produce of the fields. He made him to draw honey from the rock” (Deut. 32:13) He provided his people with impossible things. He gave them fruits from the desert, honey and oil from the rock (13). Yet the most amazing thing He gave them was His precious blood: “You drank wine, the blood of the grapes” (14). By saying, “He made him ride in the heights of the earth,” he means that He brought him over to successive conquests; he knew no fall nor defeat; but perpetually lived on the high summits. Instead of the bread of humiliation he used to eat in Egypt under bondage, he sat on the summits of mountains to feed on the fruits of the desert, where freedom and honor are. He probably means by the heights of the earth, that the people set forth toward the mountains of Canaan, to enjoy the abundance of vegetables and fruits, the honey produced by bees among the rocks, and the oil from the olive trees. It is a living portrait of the Christian who sets forth to live on the heights as a pledge of heaven; where no sin has authority on him; where he feeds on the fruit of the Spirit amid the wilderness of this world; enjoys the sweetness of Christ like honey; and the oil of the Holy Spirit, which supports the soul, and fills her with health and peace. “Curds from the cattle, and milk of the flock, with fat of lambs, and rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats, with the choicest wheat; and you drink wine, the blood of the grapes” (Deut. 32:14) God presents us curds and fats as a spiritual food for the mature, and milk as drink for the little ones; and together with the spiritual food, He presents the spiritual drink – the wine, which refers to joy. He fulfills the needs of the mature and the little ones; and grants all the inner joy. What is the bunch of grapes hanging from the tree, but the One hanged from the tree in the later days, whose blood became a saving drink for the believer?! By the blood of grapes, he means the saving sufferings2. St. Gregory of Nyssa 5. A DENYING PEOPLE After parading in his song the amazing assortments of the gifts of God, the prophet Moses spoke of the apostasy of the children of Israel from God. “But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked. You grew fat, you grew thick, You are covered with fat. Then he forsook God who made him, and scornfully esteemed the Rock of his salvation” (Deut. 32:15) Jeshurun is a poetic name, translated in the Septuagint version as ‘the beloved.’ He says that Israel is like a horse that ate its full, grew fat thick, and covered with fat, then started to kick its owner. Foolishly, they scornfully esteemed God the Rock of his salvation; after He gave them of His goods, they kicked Him with their feet. And when He rebuked them through His prophets, they get furious like a wild 1 On Ps. hom. 68. 2 Life of Moses, 268. 14 cow and an ox, unused to carry a yoke. They are too proud to hear a word of rebuke, even from God who made them. The body and the food are not from the devil; but only the luxurious way of living1. Although sorrows take away mercy, and draw compassion; riches on the other hand lead us to foolish pride, slothfulness, and haughtiness. That is why the Psalmist says: “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I may learn Your statutes” (Psalm 119:71); and “The Lord is known by the judgment He executes” (Psalm 9:16)2. St. John Chrysostom The praise of the heretics is the oil, which they pour over the heads of men, with the promise of the kingdom of heaven, which makes the head thick with pride. In the Holy Bible being fat is something unacceptable. Being said: “Jeshurun grew fat and kicked, grew fat, grew thick, covered with fat” (15)3. St. Jerome The worst sign of rebellion against God is idolatry: “They provoked Him to jealousy with foreign gods. With abominations they provoked Him to anger. They sacrificed to demons, not to God. To gods they did not know, to new gods, new arrivals, that your fathers did not fear. Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful; and have forgotten the God who fathered you” (Deut. 32:16-18) Idolatry is the worst example of apostasy from God; through which they fall in the fallowing: 1. Instead of submission to God through the spirit of obedience and love, they provoke God to anger through rebellion and hatred; presenting their hearts, which are the throne of God, to become chairs for idols. 2. Instead of holiness, they practice abominations. 3. They reject God who is close to them, their Father who begat them, to bind to foreigners, who bear no spirit of fatherhood nor compassion for them. They exchanged the Father for foreigners. 4. Children might have some sort of excuse, if they fall into the same idolatry of their fathers. But to worship new gods, unknown to their fathers, that would be something un-excusable. 5. Verse 17, came as “They sacrificed to demons” in the Septuagint, Persians, Coptic, and Vulgate versions. 6. CHASTENING THE DENYING PEOPLE Out of His love and care for their salvation, God chastises His denying people by several ways: “And when the Lord saw it, He spurned them; because of the provocation of His sons and His daughters” (Deut. 32:19) Is it possible for God to spurn His own sons and daughters? When God saw that His sons and daughters have clothed themselves with sin, He considered that they not wishing to unite with Him, as no fellowship could be between holiness and sin. By that they got themselves spurned; according to the words of the Psalmist: “They were defiled by their own works; and played the harlot by their own deeds. Therefore the 1 In 1 Cor. hom. 39. 2 In Hebr. hom. 33:8. 3 On Ps. hom. 51. 15 wrath of the Lord was kindled against His people, so that He abhorred His own inheritance” (Psalm 106:39, 40). “And He said, ‘I will hide My face from them; I will see what their end will be; For they are a perverse generation; children in whom is no faith” (Deut. 32:20) By saying, “I will hide My face from them,” God proclaims His displeasure for their deeds; having given Him their back and not their face. He admonishes them, saying, “Saying to a tree, ‘You are my father;, And to a stone, ‘You gave birth to me,’ For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face. But in the time of trouble they will say, ‘Arise and save us’” (Jeremiah 2:27). Although they are children, yet they have lost their sonhood to God because their unfaithfulness, un-seriousness, and non-obedience in God, their Father. They became of no value, with no goal, undependable, and untrustworthy. They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God; They have moved Me to anger by their foolish idols. But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation; I will move them to anger by a foolish nation” (Deut. 32:21) God often says, “They provoked Me to jealousy.” Which is quoted by the apostle Paul in Romans 10:19; and in Hosea 1:9, its goal is drawing the hearts to return to Him. Having disregarded His compassionate fatherhood and became bound to abominations, God allows for their chastisement, using the same people from whom they learned the abominations: “I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation; I will provoke them to anger by a foolish nation” (21). What man assumes to be the source of his joy and pleasure would turn to become for his humiliation. Saying, “I will provoke them to jealousy” bears a sort of divine love, inciting them to repentance. The apostle Paul sees in this (Romans (10:19), a prophecy about the acceptance of the Gentiles to faith; and the return of the Jews at the end of days to accept the Savior Messiah. The way the Israeli people rejected God and worshipped what is not God; God, to provoke them to jealousy, also rejected Israel and called the Gentiles a holy nation for Him, hoping that, at the end of days, they might return to Him, and forsake their denial of the Savior. It is fitting for them to be able to reconsider and re-evaluate their actual situation; not only as far as their lack of faith is concerned, and their refraining from proclaiming peace, and glad tidings of good things (Isaiah 52:7), nor concerning the word which was planted all over the world. But concerning the fact that they turned to be in a lesser position than the Gentiles who earned a greater honor1. St. John Chrysostom “For a fire is kindled in My anger; and shall burn to the lowest hell; It shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains” (Deut. 32:22) If they depend on their great number; they will be consumed as though by fire, to burn to the lowest hell; namely, to extreme misery. And if they depend on their strength, the foundation of their mountains will be set on fire. There is nothing to hinder the divine chastisement that would befall the wicked, who oppose the truth. Some scholars believe that this phrase bears a prophetic thought about the burning of the temple in the days of ‘Titus’ the Roman leader; when no stone of its foundation was left upon another that was not thrown down (Matthew 24:2). “I will heap disasters upon them; I will spend My arrows upon them” (Deut. 32:23) 1 In Rom. hom. 18. 16 God’s judgments of chastisements are like arrows that fly with exalted speed, which cannot be opposed (Job 6:4; Psalm 21:8, 12; 38:2-3; 6:7; 91:5). If our Christ is the divine Arrow by whom the soul is shot; to cry out, saying, “I am wounded with love” (Songs 2:5). So are the chastisements of the Lord, shot toward the soul, to become crushed by repentance, to return to be healed by the Savior from all her wounds. The chastisements mentioned here are: (1) “They shall be wasted with hunger” (24). God allows for famine of the material bread, that man realizing his inner famine, would seek the bread that comes down from heaven. And as the prophet Amos says: “’Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord God, ’that I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8:11) (2) “Devoured by pestilence” (24), “and burning consumption” (24); when the water of the whole world would not be enough to grant the soul coolness and peace. Only the tears of repentance can remove that burning heat caused by corruption and flared by sin. (3) “Bitter destruction and poison” (24) (4) “I will also send against them the teeth of beasts, with the poison of serpents of the dust” (24): When the wild beasts would devour man, and serpents would sting him with their poison. Danger would surround him on all sides. (5) War with all its destruction: “The sword shall destroy outside; There shall be terror within, for the young man and virgin; the nursing child, with the man of gray hairs. I would have said, ‘I will dash them in pieces, I will make the memory of them to cease from among men; had I not feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should misunderstand, lest they should say, ‘Our hand is high, and it is not the Lord who has done all this’ “ (Deut. 32:25-27). Allowing the evildoers to chasten His children: When the Lord sees that they, filled with pride, say, “Our hand is high; and it is not the Lord who has done all this” (27), He chastens them also because they have insulted Him. The worst and bitter-most chastisement of all, under which man could fall, is to fall under the hand of his fellow man. In war, in captivity, or in bondage; who becomes sometimes more fierce than the wild animals, and more ferocious than death; when man may yearn for death to save him from the hand of his fellow man and does not find it. So the wicked puts himself in a bitter situation; when the merciful God becomes his Chastiser; when his body suffers from hunger and thirst; when he feels, as though in a furnace of un-quenchable fire; when his being faces destruction; when nature attacks him; and when his fellow man turns into a deadly arrow aimed at him. And once he realizes the great abyss into which he fell, he would then resort to God his Savior to lift him up and support him. When man bears the fear of God, he would fear all these things no more; but they would turn to his edification, and would become the cause of his victory and his crown. But God, who does not wish for the perdition of the sinner, but for his return to Him, does not chasten without limit, and His anger is not forever; but as His anger is love, and His chastisements are for salvation; He becomes merciful toward His people who return to Him. 1. He reverses His anger, lest the enemy assumes that the conquest he gained over His people, is because of his own might and power, and not through God’s allowance to chasten His people (27). 17 2. It is fitting for the people who fall under chastisement, to come back to reason, and to regain their spiritual insight, to realize the goal and significance of the chastisement. “For they are a nation void of counsel, nor is there any understanding in them. Oh, that they were wise, that they understand this, that they would consider their latter end” (Deut. 32:28-29) It is fitting for the people to understand that, what befell them of devastation is not because of the military might of the enemy, but because they rejected God their Rock in whom they sought refuge. He calls His people “a nation void of counsel, nor is there any understanding in them;” as once they forsook God, they lost wisdom, vision, and prudence. By human logic, “How could one chase a thousand; and two put ten thousand to flight?!” (30). That could not be, “Unless their Rock had sold them, and the Lord had surrendered them” (30). There is no other cause for their un-natural destruction except their forsaking of God their Protector and Defender, who temporarily delivered them to their enemies. Faithful is He, who, by one, can chase a thousand, and can put ten thousands to flight, as conquest in battle is not realized by number but by righteousness1. St. Gregory of Nyssa He compares between God the true Rock who protects His people, and the pagan gods in whom the Gentiles seek refuge, as their rocks; saying, “ “For their rock is not like our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges” (Deut. 32:31). Even our enemies themselves would judge that the Lord God of Israel could not be compared to the rocks of pagan gods. If God has allowed for the pagans to chasten His people, it is because they became evil: “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. Their wine is the poison of serpents, and the cruel venom of cobras” (Deut. 32:32-33). Their life became like that of Sodom, their deeds like those of Gomorrah. They turned into a people who bear inside them the deadly venom. Some believe that the vines here refer to the venomous teachings of the pagans that they adopted. 3. The loving God does not hasten to chasten, but He is very longsuffering. But if His people persist on their evil, He would present to them what they have put in the stores, and sealed through their stubbornness, to let them fall under bitter chastisements. “Is this not laid up in store with Me, sealed up among My treasures? Vengeance is Mine and recompense. Their foot shall slip in due time. For the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things to come hasten upon them” (Deut. 32:34, 35) Some believe that God is here speaking about the people of Israel and their worship of idols; for which He will remain longsuffering until the time is ripe to chasten them. Others believe that He means what they have done to the prophets whom they killed and persecuted along the generations. Whereas others believe that it also applies to the Canaanites and the other pagan nations, whom God did not hasten to chasten, but has ultimately scattered before His people. 4. The defeat that came upon the people had not been because of the might of 1 St. Gregory of Nyssa: Answer to Eunomius’ Second Book. 18 the enemy, but a judgment of the Lord their God, to bring them back to Him through repentance, like a physician who uses his scalpel to heal their ailments. “For the Lord will judge His people, and have compassion on His servants. When He sees that their power is gone, and there is no one remaining, bond or free, He will say, ‘Where are their gods, the rocks in which they sought refuge? Who ate the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offering? Let them rise and help you, and be your refuge.’ ‘Now see that I, even I, am He, and there is no God beside Me. I kill, and I make alive. I wound and I heal. Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand. For I lift My hand to heaven, and say, ‘As I live forever, if I whet My glittering sword, and My hand takes hold of judgment, I will render vengeance to My enemies, and repay those who hate Me. I will make My arrows drunk with blood. And My sword shall devour flesh, with the blood of the slain and the captives, From the heads of the leaders of the enemy.’ Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people, For He will avenge the blood of His servants, and render vengeance to His adversaries; He will provide atonement for His land and His people” (Deut. 32:36-43) He both judges His people, and has compassion on His servants; namely, He decides to chasten them, yet through His divine mercies. Or, once they return to Him, He would judge against the nations that humiliated them; who take pride in their gods, as rocks in which they seek refuge. God allows for wounding the soul by chastisements to heal her of her ailments and corruption. And when He wounds her by the wounds of divine love, she sings saying, “I am wounded by love” (Songs 2:5). The Lord Christ, the true Love, the Word of God and the two-edged Sword wound her. He wounds her by the arrows of heavenly spiritual knowledge, to moan day and night, and yearn for greater knowledge, when she sees God face to face. The Holy Bible teaches us that “God is Love” (1 John 4:8); having aimed His Only-Begotten Son “the polished Shaft” (Isaiah 49; 2) toward the chosen ones, planting His triple point in the spirit of life. The head of the arrow is faith that binds the striker of the arrow to those stricken by it. It is as though the soul ascends by means of divine lifts, to behold inside her the sweet arrow of love beautifying her with its wounds. It is a nice wound and sweet pain; by which “life” pierces the soul; as through the tears of the “shaft,” the soul opens up her entrance door1. St. Gregory of Nyssa If someone is flared at any time by the true love for the Word of God; if someone received one of the sweet wounds of this polished shaft, as it is called by the prophet; if someone is wounded by the shaft of His knowledge, worthy of every love; that he yearns and longs to it, day and night; that he cannot help talk of anything but it, listen only to it, and desire nothing but it; in such case, the soul truly says, “I am wounded by love.” She receives her wound from Him, of whom is said: “He has made me a polished shaft. In His quiver He has hidden me” (Isaiah 49:2). It is fitting for our souls to be hit by such healing wounds, to be wounded by such spears and shafts. As long as “God is love,” they say about their souls, “I am wounded by love.” 1 Sermons on Cant. 4. 19 Indeed it is the drama of love, when the soul says, “I have received the wounds of love.” The soul that flares with yearning to the wisdom of God; namely, that can behold the beauty of His wisdom, would say the same way: “I am wounded by wisdom” And the soul that contemplate on His exalted ability, and is amazed by the power of His Word, would say, “I am wounded by the ability…” And the soul flared with her love for God’s justice, and contemplates on the justice of His ordainments and care, would truly say: “I am wounded by the justice.” And the soul that beholds the greatness of His goodness and His compassionate love, would also utter the same way. But the wound that embraces all these things is the wound of love, by which the bride would proclaim, “I am wounded by love1.” Origen It was not possible for Saul of Tarsus, the Persecutor, to die, if he was not wounded from heaven (Acts 9:4). And it was not possible for Paul, the preacher, to rise up, except by the life he was given by the blood of Christ2. Saul was destroyed; and Paul was built. Jeremiah was told: “I have this day… to root out and pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant…” (Jeremiah 1:10). It was the voice of the Lord, saying: “I wound and I heal” (39). He strikes down the corruption of the work, and heals the pain of the wound; like what physicians do when they cut, wound, and heal; when they hold and use the knife to heal3. It is fitting for the un-healthy to be wounded to become healthy4. The Lord, our divine Physician uses His tools and His ministers also use them… according to His words, “I wound and I heal” (39)5. St. Augustine God confirms His love for man; and that when He opposes, He opposes the evil one; exposing the pagan gods that, although they devour the flesh of sacrifices and drink the blood of the drink offerings; yet are helpless to save those who worship them. The Lord says: “Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen; let them deliver you in your time of distress” (Judges 10:14). “Where are your gods that you have made for yourselves? Let them arise, If they can save you in the time of your trouble” (Jeremiah 2:28). God wishes that His bride would return to Him, unite with Him, and not remain in her adultery. He wishes that she would say: “I will go and return to my first husband, for then it was better for me than now” (Hosea 2:7). The enemy mockingly says to the people of God: “Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you” (Isaiah 37:10). “Who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” (Daniel 3:15) Whereas God proclaims His presence among His people, as the source of their conquest and victory, saying: “I, even I, am He, and there is no God beside Me… I live forever” (39, 40). He is the only God, of absolute authority; with no competitors, and in no need of any other; whoever acquires Him will acquire victory; “He kills but not forever; He wounds and heals” (39). As said by the prophet Jeremiah: “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because 1 Comm. On Cant. 3:8. 2 St. Augustine: On Ps. 102. 3 St. Augustine: On Ps. 51. 4 On Ps. 114:7. 5 St. Augustine: Letter 219:2. 20 His compassions fail not… Though he causes grief, yet He will show compassion,” according to the multitude of His mercies” (Lamentations 3:22, 32); and by the prophet Hosea: “Come, and let us return to the Lord. For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up” (Hosea 6:1). Debating with the Arians, Pope St. Athanasius compared Deuteronomy 32:39 with what came in (Hebrew 13:8) , that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever,” to confirm the deity of the Lord Christ1. Lifting His hands to heaven, God swears by His own Name, saying: “As I live forever” (40), to proclaim that He will turn the evil of His adversaries over their own heads. Moses ends his song by calling the people to rejoice in the Lord (43), giving three reasons for joy: Calling the future church of the Gentiles to practice her joy in the Lord; when the gentiles will come to be His people rejoicing by Him. God will grant His Church victory and conquest over the enemy. God proclaims His mercies. He probably means the return of the Jews to faith through their receiving the Lord Christ; to rejoice together with the Church of the Gentiles; for all to become one rejoicing church. 7. A CALL TO OBEDIENCE: Having delivered his farewell song, which although bearing bitterness because of its anticipation of the people’s rebellion and apostasy, Yet it ended with joy; and a call of many to the Lord. Now Moses calls them to obey all the words of this Law. “So Moses came with Joshua the son of Nun and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people. Moses finished speaking all these words to all Israel, and he said to them: ‘Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe – all the words of this law. For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross the Jordan to possess’” (Deut. 32:44-47) Moses came (44), most probably from the Tabernacle, where God provided him with this prophetic song to utter before all his people. Now he is calling them to receive those divine words as being their life; and to give them to their children, to experience the true life, particularly in the Promised Land. Joshua (44), his name was before ‘Hosea,’ meaning ‘salvation,’ then changed by Moses to ‘Joshua,’ meaning ‘God is salvation’ (Numbers 13:8, 16). The first name appeared in the Hebrew version. Moses bids his people farewell. His days came to an end; whereas how prolonged would be their days, depend on their obedience. It is Jesus alone who can say to them: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). 8. A DIVINE COMMAND TO MOSES TO ASCEND THE MOUNT OF NEBO “Then the Lord spoke to Moses that very same day, saying: Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, across from Jericho; view the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel as a possession; and die on the mountain which you ascend and be gathered to your people, just as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his 1 Discourses Against the Arians, 1:36; 2:10. 21 people; because you trespassed against Me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, because you did not hallow Me in the midst of the children of Israel. Yet you shall see the land before you, though you shall not go there, into the land which I am giving to the children of Israel” (Deut. 32:48-52) The Lord commanded him to ascend the Mount of Nebo to see the Promised Land from there, but not to go there, because of his and his brother Aaron’s transgression against the Lord at the waters of Meribah Kadesh (32:47; Numbers 27:14); because they did not hallow Him in the midst of the people. Most probably because Moses and Aaron did not glorify God’s name before striking the rock by Moses’ rod (Numbers 20:10). Although God forgave Moses for what he did, yet He persisted on reminding him of his weakness up till his last moments, to let him steadfast in his humility, remembering his weakness. Moses accepted his chastisement before his death. Yet he did enter the Promised Land the day the Lord Christ transfigured on the Mount of Tabor. Before his death he saw the Promised Land from afar. Yet his soul rejoiced, counting what his people gained, as his own. The great Moses, who previously escaped to Median for fear of Pharaoh; did not fear to go back to the land of Egypt, when he got the divine command to do so (See Exodus 3). Again, when he was commanded to ascend the Mount of Nebo to die there, he did not hesitate, but set forth with joy1. Pope St. Athanasius 1 Defense of His Flight, 18. 22 AN INSPIRATION FROM THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY (Chapter 32) LET ME TESTIFY TO YOU BY MY PERPETUAL PRAISE Moses expressed his joy in You by the incessant praises of his heart. He testified to You in the midst of Your people even in His praises. How great is Your love! You are the Rock of ages, where my soul seeks refuge. You are perfect in Your deeds; You are mere goodness. Your care for me surpasses any reason. Any corruption in me is of my own making; I drink of the same cup I mix. You remain good, and no harm can come to You. Every opposition or denial will come back to me. Save me from my corruption and my murmur, O You of perfect goodness. Your works to me along history surpasses every reason. You gave me everything. You granted me a portion of land, so as not to fight against my brethren. You granted me Yourself as a portion; to give You my life as Your portion. I need You, O the Source of riches. Yet You, with Your exalted love, count me as Your joyful portion! You keep me as the apple of Your eye, O You amazing in Your love. You stir my nest with afflictions; and hover like an eagle over me. So that I would forsake the nest of the world, and fly together with You in heaven. You will bear me to Yourself, O my glory. You stir my nest, so as not to remain in an idle childhood. And in my setting forth, You sustain me, so that I need nothing. You gave me in abundance; so I ate, became fulfilled, and grew fat. Instead of offering a thanksgiving sacrifice to You, I foolishly kicked. My heart was preoccupied with the goods, and denied their Giver. Who will take away my denial and the foolishness of my heart? Stretch Your hand to chasten me. I shall not be sure of any other hand. It wounds and heals. It kills and lets live. Aim the arrows of your chastisement toward me. They wound my heart, but not to kill, but to flare it with love. You wound the body with strike that seems cruel. To realize by Your grace the deadly wounds of my soul; When my sin makes me lose even my carnal blessings; Nature come to be against me; and turns into a deadly shaft to wound me. Who will save me from my sin but Your divine mercies? Let my soul rejoice together with Moses the great among the prophets. Let me anticipate my ascension as though on Mount Nebo, to enjoy my setting forth to You.
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