Praise the Lord!

I have been following a chronological Bible study proposed by Skip Andrews.  About this and the past few psalms, Mr. Andrews wrote, "Although we may not be able to precisely date these Psalms at this time, their general themes fit the topics we have just read in Deuteronomy."  Continuing with Psalm 135:

(Psalm 135:1) Praise the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord, praise, O you servants of the Lord!

The author of this psalm, as well as the occasion on which it was written, is unknown.  Some commentators believe that the first short sentence was meant to be the title of the psalm--Praise the Lord.  The psalmist indeed began his psalm by exhorting the people, God's own people, meant to be His servants, to praise their Lord.  

(2) You who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God, (3) Praise the Lord for the Lord is good; sing praises to His name for it is pleasant.

Those who stood in the house of the Lord, the priests and Levites, as well as the people who stood in the courts outside the temple, were exhorted to praise the Lord because He was so good.  They were exhorted to sing praises to His name because it was pleasant.  His very name was delightful to His people and cause for praise, but also it was pleasant to sing praises to Him.  Singing songs of praise very definitely lifts the spirit.  

(4) For the Lord has chosen Jacob to Himself, Israel for His special treasure.

The people were to praise the Lord because He was good, and also because He chose Jacob (Israel) to be His own special treasure, His chosen people.

(5) For I know that the Lord is great, and our Lord is above all gods.

The psalmist professed his knowledge that the Lord was great and above all other gods, that is, those who were falsely worshiped as gods, as there is really only one true God.  

(6) Whatever the Lord pleased, He did in heaven and in earth, in the seas and all deep places.

The Lord did and does whatever He pleases in the heavens, all the universe, and in the earth, in the seas and all the deep places of the earth.

(7) He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; He makes lightnings for the rain; He brings the wind out of His treasures.

The Lord causes the "nasi" to ascend from all over the earth.  As this verse speaks of weather-related things, "vapor" is the best translation here.  The Lord causes the mist to rise from the earth to water it.  However, interestingly, the word means more generally something raised or exalted and is literally 126 times out of 130 used in the Bible to mean a prince or some other type of ruler.  The Lord raises up all sorts of things and people for His purposes.  The Lord makes the rain and the lightning and the wind.

(8) Who destroyed the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast.

The Lord who raises up also brings down or destroys, as He did the firstborn of men and animals in Egypt.

(9) He sent tokens and wonders into the midst of you, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh and upon all his servants.

The Lord sent many signs and wonders, the miracles and plagues, in the midst of Egypt to Pharaoh and all his people.

(10) Who destroyed great nations and killed mighty kings, (11) Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan, (12) And gave their land a heritage, a heritage to Israel His people.

Their Lord was the one who destroyed great nations and mighty kings, including Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan, and all the nations and kings in the land of Canaan, and He gave their lands to His own people as an inheritance to them.

(13) Your name, O Lord, forever; Your memorial, O Lord, throughout all generations.

The Lord's name and His fame endures forever, throughout all generations, to the present when we still read of His glory and that will continue forever.

(14) For the Lord will judge His people, and He will repent Himself concerning His servants.

I believe the sense of "judge" here means that the Lord will rule and govern His people, more specifically, protect and defend them, because the verse went on to say the Lord would repent, which means to turn away, change Himself concerning His people who deserved complete destruction because of their many sins.  However, the Lord always repented from His plan to completely destroy them for their wickedness and always saved at least a remnant.

(15) The idols of the heathen, silver and gold, the work of men's hands.

The idols of the heathen nations were but silver and gold, something mere men fashioned with their hands.

(16) They have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes they have, but they do not see; (17) They have ears, but they do not hear; neither is there breath in their mouths.

Those manmade idols had mouths, but they couldn't speak; they had eyes and ears, but they couldn't see or hear.  They had no living breath in them; they were only objects made by man.

(18) They who make them are like them, and everyone who trusts in them.

Those who made those idols, as well as everyone who trusted in them, were as blind and stupid as those lifeless idols were.

(19) Bless the Lord, O house of Israel; bless the Lord, O house of Aaron.

The psalmist exhorted God's chosen people, Israel, to bless the Lord, and also the house of Aaron, the Levites and the priests, should also bless Him.  I often wonder how mere people can bless the Lord, as it is He who blesses us.  However, we can bless Him with our praise and worship and our adherence to His word.

(20) Bless the Lord, O house of Levi; you who fear the Lord, bless the Lord.

The psalmist indeed included the Levites among those who should bless the Lord, as well as all people who feared the Lord, those who respected and reverenced Him as Lord.

(21) Blessed be the Lord out of Zion who dwells at Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!

The Lord of Zion, representative of the kingdom of the Lord, also the physical city of Jerusalem, where He dwelt among His people, was to be blessed and praised.

This psalm briefly addressed the history of the Israelites but was mainly a psalm of praise.  It both began and ended with an exhortation to praise the Lord.  Matthew Henry called it one of the Hallelujah Psalms that praised the Lord.

The Lord's Continual Deliverance and Mercy

Continuing a chronologically ordered Bible study set forth by Skip Andrews, who stated, "Although we may not be able to precisely date these Psalms at this time, their general themes fit the topics we have just read in Deuteronomy":

(Psalm 106:1) Praise the Lord! O give thanks to the Lord for goodness, for His mercy forever.

The author of this psalm is unknown as is the occasion on which it was written, but like Psalms 78 and 105, it contains ancient history of the Israelites and was written for instruction in gratitude and admonition.  The psalmist begins by exhorting his listeners to praise their Lord God and thank Him for His goodness and mercy that endures forever.

(2) Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can show forth all His praise?

The psalmist asked who could ever have the right words or be able to enumerate the countless mighty acts of the Lord.  Who could ever have words worthy enough to praise Him?

(3) Blessed are they who keep judgment, he who does righteousness at all times. 

Blessed are the people who observe and execute the righteous judgment of God, the one who continually follows the righteousness of God in all times and circumstances.

This hits me hard at this particular time, a time in which people want to separate God from culture and politics.  Today is Election Day and the end of "election season."  There are Christians who won't vote because politics are dirty or won't vote for Donald Trump because he is an immoral man.  However, they would vote for the opposition who kills babies up to the point of live birth, oversees the slave trade of 325,000 lost children coming across our borders, facilitates the death of a million young men in a war that cannot be won in Ukraine, for that matter, is pushing us toward World War III, encourages the sexual mutilation of children without their parents' consent, and on and on and on.  How can any Christian follow the righteousness of God by turning a blind eye and not doing the one small thing he or she can do, vote against unrighteousness?  As far as not voting for Donald Trump because he is immoral, David was an adulterer and a murderer, but he sought the righteousness of God and was called a man after God's own heart.

(4) Remember me, O Lord, with the favor to your people; O visit me with Your salvation.

The psalmist asked that the Lord remember him with the favor that He had for His people.  He asked that the Lord come to him with His salvation.  This looks to be a prophetic reference to the coming of Christ who would bring salvation.

(5) That I may see the good of Your chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation, that I may glory with Your inheritance.

This is a prayer all Christians could pray.  We want to see the blessings of God's chosen people.  We desire to be called His people, and we do rejoice as His nation does.  And we rejoice in the blessings of His people and nation and are grateful that we were allowed to be grafted into it, and we are able to glory with God's inheritance.

(6) We have sinned with our fathers; we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedly.

The psalmist acknowledged that he with his nation of people had sinned and done wickedly just as their forefathers had done.

(7) Our fathers did not understand Your wonders in Egypt; they did not remember the multitude of Your mercies, but rebelled at the sea, at the Red Sea.

Their forefathers had not totally understood the meaning behind God's miracles in Egypt.  They were not just for the destruction of their enemies, but they proved the power of God, the one true God, over all the false gods of Egypt.  As the one and only true God, He deserved all their worship and gratitude, but they did not remember all His mercies and provision for them.  They often doubted God's power and providence when they had no reason to ever doubt it as He had always been there for them.  Even so soon after they had seen all the miracles in Egypt, when they saw Pharaoh and his armies coming behind them at the Red Sea, they doubted God's power to save them and wished to go back to Egypt (Exodus 14:10-12).

(8) Nevertheless He saved them for His name's sake, that He might make His mighty power to be known.

However, God saved His people, even though they had no faith in Him at that moment.  He saved them not for their sake, but that the world might know His mighty power to save His people.  And we who read about that event are able to know of God's mighty power that we may have faith in Him.

(9) He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up, so He led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.

The Lord rebuked the Red Sea and made it dry up for a path for the escaping Israelites.  He led them through the sea as if it were dry land just as the wilderness was.

(10) And He saved them from the hand that hated them and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy. (11) And the waters covered their enemies; there was not one of them left.

The Lord saved His people from the Egyptians who hated them.  Once His people had crossed through the sea, He brought the waters back down to destroy every one of their enemies.

(12) Then they believed His words; they sang His praise.

THEN they believed the Lord's words.  They had to see it once again to believe, and then they sang His praises.

(13) They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel, (14) But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness and tempted God in the desert.

However, once again, the people forgot His works of salvation and providence.  They did not ask God for His counsel, but followed their own desires and wishes, like when they lusted after meat when God had provided them with manna, the perfect nutritious food for their needs.

(15) And He gave them their request but sent leanness into their soul.

The Lord gave them their request when He gave them more quail than they could eat, but in their lust and gluttony, they ate till many were sick and died.  I believe the sense of the second part is that giving them what they desired rather than providing what God knew was better for them, it provided no good to them, but killed many and did nothing for their souls that would have greatly benefited if they had trusted in their Lord.

(16) They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron, the saint of the Lord.

The people were jealous and gathered themselves against Moses, and Aaron, the Lord's anointed high priest (Numbers 16:3).

(17) The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan and covered the company of Abiram.

The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan, one of the heads of the conspirators against Moses and Aaron.  Likewise, it did the same to the company of Abiram and others not mentioned here (Numbers 16:32 and Deuteronomy 11:6).

(18) And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.

The Lord sent a fire after that that consumed 250 men in their company of conspirators (Numbers 16:35).

(19) They made a calf in Horeb and worshipped the molded image.

The people urged Aaron to make an idol of a golden calf that they worshipped while Moses was on the mount with the Lord (Exodus 32:4).

(20) Thus they changed their glory into the image of an ox that eats grass.

The people had reduced their Lord, their glory, to a statue of a lowly ox that eats grass of the ground.  

(21) They forgot God their Savior who had done great things in Egypt, (22) Wondrous works in the land of Ham, terrible things by the Red Sea.

Because Moses had tarried so long on the mount with the Lord, the people had forgotten their Lord and all the wondrous things He had done for them and turned to a false idol of gold to worship (Exodus 32:7-8).

(23) Therefore He said that He would destroy them, had not Moses, His chosen, stood before Him in the breach to turn away His wrath, lest He should destroy them.

The Lord threatened to destroy the people and instead make a great nation from Moses (Exodus 32:10), but Moses beseeched the Lord to not destroy them, not for their sake, but for the sake of His glory in the eyes of the Egyptians and for the sake of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to whom He had made the promise, and the Lord turned away from His plan (Exodus 32:11-14).

(24) Yes, they despised the pleasant land; they did not believe His word, (25) But murmured in their tents and did not hearken to the voice of the Lord.

The people did not believe God's word about the fact that He was bringing them to their wonderful promised land flowing with milk and honey, but they murmured and complained that they should have never left Egypt (Numbers 14:2 and 14:27).  It's the reason the Israelites had to wander in the wilderness for forty years.

(26) Therefore He lifted up His hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness, (27) To overthrow their descendants among the nations and to scatter them in the lands.

God resolved to cut off the present generation of His people from entering the promised land.  That is the whole truth about why they had to wander in the wilderness for forty years.  He told them their children would have to bear their parents' sins against the Lord and wander in the wilderness for forty years until that present generation had died there.  Then their children would be the ones to inherit their promised land (Numbers 14:31-33).  However, their children's nation would be eventually overthrown in the Babylonian captivity, something I have not yet studied in my chronological study, and they would be scattered in foreign lands.

(28) They joined themselves also to Baal of Peor and ate the sacrifices of the dead.

God's people joined with the worshipers of Baal to worship him and eat the sacrifices of false dead idols (Numbers 25:2-3).

(29) Thus they provoked His anger with their inventions, and the plague broke in on them.

The Israelites provoked their Lord to anger with their imaginations and deeds.  The plague that broke out on them referred to a plague of death (Numbers 25:5).

(30) Then Phinehas stood up and executed judgment, and the plague was stayed.

When one Israelite had the audacity to bring a heathen woman into the camp and into his tent, Phinehas went into the man's tent and killed them both, and the Lord's anger was appeased, and the plague was stayed (Numbers 25:8 and 11).

(31) And that was counted to him as righteousness to all generations for evermore.

That action of Phinehas was counted to him as righteousness by the Lord, and He gave him a covenant of peace, to him and his descendants after him forever (Numbers 25:12-13).

(32) They angered Him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes, (33) Because they provoked His spirit, so that he spoke unadvisedly with his lips.

The people angered the Lord at the waters of Meribah, which means "strife."  Because Moses was angry with the people because they had once again provoked the Spirit of God to anger, he spoke and acted according to his own will and not according to the will of God (Numbers 20:10-12).

(34) They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom the Lord commanded them, (35) But were mingled among the heathen and learned their works.

The Lord had told His people to destroy the nations that inhabited their promised land (Numbers 33:52), but they did not completely destroy them.  This takes place later chronologically, but the Lord had warned about what would happen to them if they failed to completely destroy their enemies (Numbers 33:55-56), and that appears to be just what happened; they were mingled among the heathen they did not destroy and learned their ways.

(36) And they served their idols which were a snare to them.

The Israelites served the false idols of the heathen which proved to be a snare to them.  When we dabble in things we ought not dabble in, we open the door to trouble.

(37) Yes, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to devils, (38) And shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.

The Israelites actually sacrificed their sons and daughters to false gods.  They shed the innocent blood of their own children in sacrifice to the demon gods of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.  The first reaction is to wonder how they could actually do that!  But then immediately comes the realization that we do that in our country on a daily basis.  The innocent blood of babies, sons and daughters, sacrificed to demons of sexual lust and convenience.  Just yesterday I was thinking about this subject.  My niece has a beautiful baby boy, now about two years old.  She loves him dearly, more than life itself, but when she was pregnant and having some doubts and fears, she referred to him as a fetus.  That was her beautiful baby boy all along, growing inside of her, but that "fetus" could have been killed if his complications had been too great.  Would she ever dream of killing him now if he developed great complications?  Of course not!  Well, that was her sweet baby all along.  If a mother chooses to kill that baby just because she hasn't come to know and love him yet, that is pure selfishness for her own feelings with no thought for her baby who can feel the pain of abortion.  "There but for the grace of God go I."  I can just hear my immature selfish self in my 20's saying that the government shouldn't be able to tell me what I could do with my own body.  Totally cringe-worthy now; what about the body of that beautiful precious innocent baby growing inside of mine, totally dependent on me for life?  

(39) Thus they were defiled with their own works and went whoring with their own inventions.

God's people were defiled by their own actions because they sought demon gods to deliver them.  They were whoring after those false gods with their own imaginings of what they could do for them.  God's relationship with His people is often spoken of as a marriage relationship.  Jesus is often called the bridegroom and His elect are His bride.  One is being adulterous if he seeks after a false idol.

(40) Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against His people, insomuch that He abhorred His own inheritance.

Once again the wrath of the Lord was kindled against His people as a flaming fire to destroy them.  Once again we read that the Lord abhorred His own people as we read in Psalm 78:59.  And once again we must understand that God did not really hate His people, for God loves all His creation, including all sinners.  He certainly hated their actions, and He treated them as if He abhorred them, rejecting them for a time.

(41) And He gave them into the hand of the heathen, and they who hated them ruled over them.

Chronologically, these events haven't happened yet in my study, but we know that the Lord would indeed allow their enemies to take them, and they would once again be ruled by people who hated them, back in their same situation before God led them out of bondage.  How often does God lead us out of bondage only to have us return to it basically of our own accord?

(42) Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand.

Their enemies once again oppressed them, and they were brought into subjection under their hand.  While that surely means they became subjects of their enemies, Dr. John Gill pointed out in his Exposition of the Bible, that the meaning may be that they were brought into subjection to their Lord by their enemies.  By their enemies, they were humbled before the Lord and realized their need for Him.  God's punishment of His people is always about bringing them back to Him, their only salvation.

(43) Many times He delivered them, but they provoked Him with their counsel and were brought low for their iniquity.

Many times the Lord delivered His people, but they always wound up provoking Him again with their thoughts and plans.  Then they would be brought low again, only to call on the Lord again to deliver them.

(44) Nevertheless, He regarded their affliction when He heard their cry.

Their loving and merciful and oh so patient God, knowing how they would always return to their wicked ways, had compassion on them when He heard their cries.  What a beautiful promise!  Even when we are weak and keep falling back into our sins, if we sincerely call out to God for His deliverance, He will hear our cries.

(45) And He remembered for them His covenant and repented according to the multitude of His mercies.

It's not that God ever forgets anything, but for the sake of His people, He turned back toward His covenant and His promise.  That is the Biblical meaning of repenting, changing course, turning back.  He once again because of His unlimited mercy, turned back to His people to fulfill His promises.  

(46) He made them also to be pitied by all those who carried them captives.

The Lord turned the hearts of His people's captors to have pity on them.

(47) Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks to your holy name, to triumph in your praise.

Although we don't know the occasion that prompted this psalm, the psalmist was recalling all the times that the people had sinned against their Lord, but in His great mercy, He always came to their aid.  He was calling out to the Lord again to save His people and to gather them from the heathen where they might once again give thanks to their Lord for their triumph only in Him.  These words could have been said any time in history.  Think how pertinent they would have been after the Holocaust when God ultimately gathered His people back to their own state of Israel in 1948.

(48) Blessed the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting, and let all the people say, "Amen!" Praise the Lord.

The psalmist ended with praises to the Lord God of Israel who was and is to be blessed forever.  He is to be worshiped and praised forever for His mercies endure forever (Psalm 136).  Let all the people say, "Amen," which literally means "sure, truly, so be it, truth."  Praise the Lord!

Just like other psalms studied chronologically after Deuteronomy, this psalm included a history of the Israelites, but its main purpose was to show the mercies of God and to call on Him again.  As I type this on Election Day 2024, I call on Him to have mercy on our country, a mercy I know we don't deserve, but when has His people ever deserved His goodness and mercy?  Never!  He gives it out of His loving goodness, and I pray for that again.  Thank you, dear Lord! 

Praise the Lord for His Wonderful Works

Following a chronologically ordered Bible study set forth by Skip Andrews, who admits, "Although we may not be able to precisely date these Psalms at this time, their general themes fit the topics we have just read in Deuteronomy," I continue with Psalm 105:

(Psalm 105:1) O give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; make known His deeds among the people!

Although this psalm is thought to be made by David, it could have just as easily been made by Moses.  It speaks of the time of Israel from Abraham through the exodus from Egypt.  The psalmist exhorts the people to give thanks to their Lord, call upon Him in prayer, and proclaim His works among the people.

(2) Sing to Him; sing psalms to Him; talk of all His wondrous works.

He encouraged the people to sing to the Lord and play music for Him.  The original word "zamar" that was transcribed as "psalms" has a fuller meaning of making music and song.  They were to talk and sing about all their Lord's wonderful works.

(3) Glory in His holy name; let the heart of them rejoice who seek the Lord.

They were to rejoice in the Lord, those who sought the Lord with all their hearts and souls (Deuteronomy 4:29).

(4) Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face evermore.

The people were encouraged to always seek the Lord, seeking strength and mercy and favor from Him.

(5) Remember His marvelous works that He has done, His wonders and the judgments of His mouth.

The psalmist exhorted the people to remember all the wonderful things the Lord had done, His miracles and His judgments and commandments.

(6) O seed of Abraham, His servant, children of Jacob, His chosen!

He reminds the people that they are the descendants of God's servant, Abraham, descendants of Jacob, His chosen people.

(7) He, the Lord our God, His judgments in all the earth.

The God of Abraham and Jacob, the one true God, was their Lord God.  And as the one true God, His judgments were executed all over the earth.

(8) He has remembered His covenant forever, the word He commanded to a thousand generations.

The Lord had kept His covenant and promise to His people forever, up to that point and to future generations, even though His people often defaulted on their end.

(9) Which He made with Abraham, and His oath to Isaac, (10) And confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, to Israel an everlasting covenant.

The Lord had kept that covenant He had made with Abraham, reiterated with Isaac, and confirmed with Jacob, and promised it to be an everlasting covenant.

(11) Saying, "To you I will give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance," (12) When they were few men in number, yes, very few, and strangers in it.

The Lord's part of the covenant He had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, was to give them and their descendants the land of Canaan as an inheritance.  He made that promise when His people were small in number and strangers in their promised land.

(13) When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people, (14) He allowed no man to do them wrong; yes, He reproved kings for their sakes; (15) "Do not touch My anointed and do My prophets no harm."

Before they inhabited their promised land, the people wandered from one nation to another with no permanent place to call their home.  While they wandered about, the Lord protected them and even reproved kings for their sakes, telling them not to touch His anointed ones, also called His prophets, to do them any harm.

(16) Moreover He called for a famine on the land; He broke the whole staff of bread.

The Lord called for a famine in the land in the time of Jacob, which was the reason he migrated to Egypt.  The Lord had cut off their supply of food.

(17) He sent a man before them, Joseph, who was sold for a servant, (18) Whose feet they hurt with fetters; he was laid in iron, (19) Until the time that his word came; the word of the Lord tried him.

The Lord had sent Joseph before Jacob and Jacob's sons, Joseph's brothers.  His brothers had sold him into slavery, and he was imprisoned until the time that his vision came to pass that he would be exalted above his brothers.  That vision, that word of the Lord, tried Joseph's faith and patience before it was accomplished.

(20) The king sent and loosed him, the ruler of the people let him go free.

At that point, the king of Egypt had Joseph released from prison.

(21) He made him lord of his house and ruler of all his substance, (22) To bind his princes at his pleasure and teach his senators wisdom.

The king of Egypt made Joseph the lord of his house and ruler of all his possessions and affairs.  Even his princes would be under Joseph's command to learn from him.

(23) Israel also came into Egypt, and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.

Jacob (Israel) and Joseph's brothers also came to Egypt when they learned that Joseph was alive, and they all dwelt there in the land of Ham, the father of the Egyptians.

(24) And He increased His people greatly and made them stronger than their enemies.

God increased the people of Israel greatly in the land of Egypt.  He also made them stronger than the Egyptians who would become their enemies.

(25) He turned their heart to hate His people, to deal treacherously with His servants.

Whereas the Egyptians had once highly esteemed Joseph's family, the Lord allowed their hearts to be turned against them.  He may have actively turned them against His people in order to fulfill His will to lead them away and into their promised land.  However, I believe He just allowed it to happen naturally.  By enlarging and blessing His people, the Egyptians would naturally become jealous, and God allowed that to happen for His purposes.  The Egyptians made them slaves and put them to hard labor.

(26) He sent Moses, His servant, and Aaron whom He had chosen.

The Lord then sent Moses as His servant and Aaron, Moses's brother, chosen to be his spokesman (Exodus 4:16).

(27) They showed His signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham.

Moses and Aaron showed the Lord's signs and miracles in the land of Egypt.

(28) He sent darkness and made it dark, and they did not rebel against His word.

The Lord commanded Moses to stretch forth his hand toward heaven to make a darkness fall upon Egypt, and he and Aaron did just as He commanded (Exodus 10:22).

(29) He turned their waters into blood and killed their fish.

Continuing to describe the signs and wonders from verse 27, the psalmist tells how the Lord turned the Egyptians' waters into blood which killed all the fish (Exodus 7:19).

(30) Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the chambers of their kings.

The Lord caused a plague of an abundance of frogs that covered the land, even in the bedchambers of their kings (Exodus 8:3).

(31) He spoke and there came diverse sorts of flies and lice in all their territory.

The Lord spoke and brought a swarm of flies that corrupted the land of Egypt (Exodus 8:24), and He brought forth lice from the dust of the land (Exodus 8:16).

(32) He gave them hail for rain and flaming fire in their land.

The Lord caused it to rain hail on Egypt and caused lightning to run along the ground (Exodus 9:23).

(33) He struck their vines also and their fig trees and broke the trees of their territory.

The hail struck "every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field" (Exodus 9:25).

(34) He spoke and the locusts came, and caterpillars, and those without number, (35) And ate up all the herbs in the land and devoured the fruit of their ground.

The Lord told Moses to stretch out his hand over the land of Egypt to bring locusts to eat up every herb the hail may had left (Exodus 10:12).  They were so numerous that they could not be numbered, and they darkened the sky (Exodus 10:15).  Again we are told of caterpillars that were not mentioned among the plagues in Exodus.  I believe these must refer to young locust nymphs.

(36) He killed also all the firstborn in their land, the chief of all their strength.

The Lord killed all the firstborn of both man and beast in the land of Egypt (Exodus 11:5).  The firstborn were called the first or beginning of all their strength (Genesis 49:3).

(37) He brought them forth also with silver and gold, and not one feeble among their tribes.

God brought the Israelites out of Egypt with silver and gold from the Egyptians (Exodus 12:35), and there was not one person feeble and unable to travel.

(38) Egypt was glad when they departed, for the fear of them fell upon them.

The Egyptians were glad when the Israelites left them because they were afraid of what plague might be next.

(39) He spread a cloud for a covering and fire to give light in the night.

The Lord spread a cloud over the Israelites by day (Numbers 10:34) and a pillar of fire over them at night (Exodus 13:21).

(40) They asked and He brought quails and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.

This refers to the first time that the people asked for meat (Exodus 16:13), and the Lord brought the quails to them and satisfied them with manna the next morning.

(41) He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river.

The Lord opened the rock to bring forth water (Exodus 17:6), and it ran like a river through their dry places.

(42) For He remembered His holy promise and Abraham, His servant.

The Lord did these marvelous things for His people because of the promise He had made to their forefather, Abraham.

(43) And He brought forth His people with joy, His chosen with gladness, (44) And gave them the lands of the heathen, and they inherited the labor of the people.

It pleased the Lord to bring His people out of Egypt to lead them to their promised land, but this may refer more to the joy of the people when they were led out and how they gladly sang praises to their Lord for bringing them out (Exodus 15:1).  The Lord gave His people lands of the heathens in righteous judgment against those countries so that His people were able to dwell in houses already built and fields already worked and wells already dug, etc.

(45) That they might observe His statutes and keep His laws. Praise the Lord!

The Lord did all these things for His people as His part of His covenant with them.  All that was asked of His people was that they should be obedient to the One from whom all blessings flow.  Praise the Lord!  That was the full intent of this psalm.  It is similar to Psalm 78 in that it recited a history of God's people.  However, the 78th psalm pointed out the sins of the people and God's just punishment for those sins, whereas this psalm only pointed to the goodness of God, exciting the people to thanksgiving and praise to and for Him.

A Historical Lesson of Israel from Egypt to the Time of David

I am following a chronologically ordered Bible study set forth by Skip Andrews.  Again, he says, "Although we may not be able to precisely date these Psalms at this time, their general themes fit the topics we have just read in Deuteronomy."  I covered Psalm 91 in the last post.  Now, continuing with a chronological Bible study:

(Psalm 78:1) [Maschil of Asaph.] Give ear, O my people, to my law; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

Because Asaph penned this psalm, we know this wasn't recited at the time of Moses; however, it does speak to the times of Moses, and for that reason, it is suited to this position in a chronological study.  Asaph was a minister of song of David's.  A maschil was a psalm to give instruction.  Asaph started the words of his psalm by exhorting God's people Israel to really listen to the words of his psalm and of the law that he was about to give.

(2) I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, (3) Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.

Asaph would be speaking in what he called a parable, which in this sense meant a statement by analogy or comparison drawn from the ancient history of the people, which the people of his day had heard passed down from their forefathers and they knew.

(4) We will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength, and His wonderful works that He has done.

Those people of that generation as of Asaph, would not hide these sayings of old from the children and ongoing generations of the Jewish fathers.  They would continue to show future generations all the wonderful works and strength of their Lord God.

(5) 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.

The Lord had established a testimony, a covenant between God and men, in Jacob, and enacted a law in Israel, which He had commanded their fathers to make known and teach to their children.

(6) That the generation to come might know them, the children who would be born should arise and declare them to their children.

Their forefathers had been commanded to teach the law to their children who would in turn teach it to their children, and that would continue through the generations.

(7) That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments.

By teaching future generations about God's law and His wonderful works, those generations to come would be able to have hope in God because of the wonderful things He had done, and they would desire to keep His commandments.

(8) And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not set its heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God.

The hope and purpose of the psalmist in continuing to teach God's law and their fathers' history, they might learn not to be as their fathers had been, stubborn and rebellious, and not in harmony with God's Spirit and will.

(9) The children of Ephraim, armed, carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.

This is one of the times when I am not satisfied with this particular chronological order of the Bible, as I have not yet studied the event which the psalmist speaks of.  This psalm, it seems to me, belongs properly in the time of David, but as I began with this chronological study, I cannot change now, as I might miss something.  The psalmist speaks of a time when the tribe of Ephraim, as one of the largest tribes, was the chief tribe in a rebellion.  The commentators I study are not in agreement as to what rebellion this might be, and since I have not yet studied any such rebellion, I can't offer any opinion.  However, by reading the end of this psalm, together with the words of Albert Barnes in his Notes on the Bible, I have come to the conclusion that Ephraim, probably meaning his tribe and the nine other tribes with him, with Ephraim being the largest, "had turned away from the worship of the true God."  Ten tribes, excluding Judah and Benjamin, would eventually make up the Kingdom of Israel and Judah and Benjamin would make up the Kingdom of Judah.  In consequence of Ephraim's (the ten tribes') "apostasy, the government had been transferred to another tribe - the tribe of Judah" (verses 67-68).  Whether they were literally armed with weapons and turned back from a battle, or whether it meant they were armed with the truth and knowledge of God and turned away, I can't be certain; however, in light of the next verses, I imagine it was the latter, if not both.

(10) They kept not the covenant of God and refused to walk in His law, (11) And forgot His works and His wonders that He had showed them.

Those ten tribes (actually probably all of Israel at this point) did not keep the covenant of God and would not walk in His law.  They had forgotten all the wonderful things He had done and shown them.

(12) Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, the field of Zoan.

They had forgotten all the wondrous things He had done when they were in bondage in Egypt, in the territory of Zoan, an ancient city of Egypt.

(13) He divided the sea and caused them to pass through; and He made the waters to stand as a heap.

They had forgotten how the Lord had divided the Red Sea by a strong east wind that was raised, which caused the sea to go back, and divided the waters of it.  That allowed the Israelites to pass through the sea with the waters standing as walls on both sides of them.

(14) In the daytime also He led them with a cloud and all the night with a light of fire.

In their journey out of Egypt, the Lord led His people by a pillar of cloud in the daytime and by a pillar of fire at night.

(15) He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave drink as the great depths. (16) He brought streams also out of the rock and caused waters to run down like rivers.

The Lord provided water for His people from rocks as plentiful as if they drank from the sea.  He brought forth streams out of rock that flowed like rivers.

(17) And they sinned yet more against Him by provoking the Most High in the wilderness. (18) And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat for their lust.

This stubborn and rebellious people sinned even more against their Lord with their ingratitude.  While the Lord provided for all their needs in the wilderness, they wanted more.  I like the way the 1599 Geneva Bible Translation Notes explained what tempting the Lord meant, "to require more than is necessary, and to separate God's power from his will, is to tempt God."  They had manna and water which was sufficient for their sustenance, but they craved meat for their pleasure.  The Lord knows we need food and even taught it was right to ask for it in His model prayer that is called The Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:11).  However, as James said in James 4:3, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it on your lusts."  To want more when you have all you need is to be terribly ungrateful and selfish.

(19) Yes, they spoke against God; they said, "Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? (20) Behold, He struck the rock that the waters gushed out and the streams overflowed; can He give bread also? Can He provide meat for His people?"

The people began to speak against God, questioning His power.  They admitted that He had provided water, so could He not give them more?  Could He not provide bread and meat and a plentiful table in the wilderness?

(21) Therefore the Lord heard and was angry, so a fire was kindled against Jacob and anger also came up against Israel, (22) Because they did not believe in God and did not trust in His salvation.

The Lord heard their complaints and was angry.  His anger like a fire rose up against His people because they did not trust in His providence and salvation.

(23) Though He had commanded the clouds from above and opened the doors of heaven, (24) And had rained down manna on them to eat and had given them of the corn of heaven. (25) Man ate angels' food; He sent them food to the full.

The Lord was angry because He had literally opened the doors of heaven to rain down a perfect food for His people, giving them all the nutrition they needed, yet they were not satisfied and were ungrateful.

(26) He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven, and by His power He brought in the south wind. (27) He rained meat also on them as dust and feathered fowls like the sand of the sea, (28) And He let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations.

So the Lord caused winds to blow that brought quails and He rained them upon the people as numerous as the dust or the sand of the sea.  He let them fall into their camps, two cubits thick and as far as a day's journey on every side (Numbers 11:31).  

(29) So they ate and were well filled, for He gave them their own desire. (30a) They were not estranged from their lust.

The people ate and were actually more than well filled.  The original word "meod" that was transcribed as "well" actually meant "vehemently."  The Lord gave them their own gluttonous desire.  They ravenously ate as much as they wanted or lusted after.

(30b) But while their meat was yet in their mouths, (31) The wrath of God came upon them and slew the fattest of them and struck down the chosen of Israel.

While the people were still stuffing their faces, the wrath of God came upon them and killed the fattest of them.  I believe that might mean the most gluttonous of all.  With those, some of the most healthy and strong were struck down in their gluttony.  I am always struck by the thought that although God could have certainly and righteously actively killed those people, He didn't have to actively do it.  He can just let us be on our own in our own foolish lusts and we will kill ourselves.  Without the Lord's guidance, protection, and salvation, we would all perish.

(32) For all this they sinned still and did not believe in His wondrous works.

Even witnessing all that, the people continued to sin, and the Lord's wondrous works had no effect on them.

(33) Therefore their days He consumed in vanity and their years in trouble.

Because they continued to sin, God made their days full of fruitless wandering in the desert, in fact, years of wandering and trouble.

(34) When He slew them, then they sought Him, and they returned and enquired early after God.

When the Lord killed some of the people in His righteous wrath, the survivors would then seek Him first thing.

(35) And they remembered that God was their Rock and the High God their redeemer.

It was then that they remembered that God was their protection and strength and redeemer.  Even in God's anger, His actions are about bringing people back to Him, their only salvation.  Without Him, they die, so can His punishment be a bad thing if it brings us back to Him?

(36) Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, and they lied to Him with their tongues.

However, the people only honored God with their lips and apparently made promises they did not keep.

(37) For their heart was not right with Him, neither were they steadfast in His covenant.

Their hearts were not right with the Lord.  They were wavering and inconsistent in their faith and were not steadfast in their adherence to His covenant.

(38) But He, full of compassion, forgave iniquity and did not destroy; yes, many a time He turned His anger away and did not stir up all His wrath.

However, God, full of compassion and mercy for His people, forgave their iniquity and did not completely destroy them as they deserved.  Many times He turned His anger away and did not arouse all His anger, but the punishment was much less than the iniquity deserved.

(39) For He remembered that they were flesh, a wind that passes away and does not come again.

What a beautiful and loving thought!  God knew His people were only flesh, weak mortal creatures, easily destroyed and unable to come back.  In His love and mercy, He always saved at least a remnant of His people, never completely destroying them.

(40) How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, grieved Him in the desert!

The people very often provoked the Lord by their rebellion and many sins against Him.  They grieved His Holy Spirit.

(41) Yes, they turned back and tempted God and limited the Holy One of Israel.

The people often turned back away from God and limited Him.  Not that anyone can truly limit God's power, but we often try to put God in a box with our mere weak mortal ideas of what He should and can do.  We can't see the larger picture and know what a much greater work the Lord is doing.  Rather than praying for our silly insignificant wants, we should always desire His will as that is always much better than anything we can imagine.

(42) They did not remember His hand, the day when He delivered them from the enemy.

They did not remember the glorious works of His hand when He so remarkably delivered them from Pharaoh.  The parting of the Red Sea is perhaps one of the greatest miracles in the Old Testament, and the people so easily dismissed and forgot about it.

(43) How He had wrought His signs in Egypt and His wonders in the field of Zoan; (44) And had turned their rivers into blood, that they could not drink.

Just as remarkably awesome were all the miracles God did against the Egyptians each time Pharaoh refused to let God's people go.  He turned their rivers and streams into blood (Exodus 7:20), actual blood, not just the color of blood, so that they were unable to drink it.  John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible, pointed out something I had not thought of when I studied that passage in Exodus.  He wrote that that particular plague was a righteous retaliation for drowning all the boy infants of the Israelites in the river (Exodus 1:22).

(45) He sent diverse sorts of flies among them which devoured them, and frogs which destroyed them.

The Lord sent a grievous swarm of flies into Egypt (Exodus 8:24) which was said to have corrupted their land which surely destroyed some of the inhabitants because of lack of food and perhaps disease.  He also sent frogs (Exodus 8:5) which would have destroyed them in a similar fashion.

(46) He also gave their increase to the caterpillar and their labor to the locust.

The Lord sent locusts to devour all of Egypt's produce on which much labor had been expended.  In Exodus 10:13, we are told only about the locusts, not the caterpillars.  However, the meaning of the original word "chasiyl" that was translated as "caterpillar" means more completely "the ravager, that is, a locust; caterpillar."

(47) He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamore trees with frost.

The Lord rained down hail (Exodus 9:23) which covered the land like frost and killed the vines and the trees, actually every herb and tree of the field (Exodus 9:25).

(48) He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.

According to the account in Exodus 9:23, the Lord sent both hail and thunder and fire that ran along upon the ground, lightning, and it killed Egypt's cattle and flocks.

(49) He cast upon them the fierceness of His anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels.

The Lord had cast upon the Egyptians the fullness of His anger, that which He held back for the rebellious Israelites (verse 38 above).  He sent angels instructed by Him to destroy the Egyptians.  The Israelites, who had seen the full anger of the Lord, did not consider what He could justly do to them because of their rebellion.

(50) He made a way for His anger; He did not spare their soul from death but gave their life over to the plague; (51) And killed all the firstborn in Egypt, the chief of strength in the tabernacles of Ham.

The Lord forged ahead in His anger and did not spare their souls from death but gave them over to the plagues He sent.  He killed all the firstborn in Egypt, the pride and glory and heirs in Egypt, the posterity of Ham.

(52) But made His own people to go forth like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.

However, the Lord did not harm His own people in the plagues but led them out of Egypt and guided them through the wilderness.

(53) And He led them on safely so that they feared not, but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.

The Lord led His people safely through the midst of the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but the waters covered the Egyptians who were chasing them.

(54) And He brought them to the border of His sanctuary, this mountain His right hand had purchased.

The Lord brought His people to the border of the land of Canaan, the land He had promised to His people that was acquired by His own power and goodness.  The mountain is probably Mount Moriah or Zion, referring to the same mountain, the mountain on which the temple was built, as it is believed that this psalm was actually written "after it was made known to David, by the prophet Gad, the place where the temple should be built; namely, on the very mountain" (Dr. John Gill).

(55) He cast out the heathen also before them and divided them an inheritance by line and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.

The Lord cast out the heathen nations from their promised land and then divided the land into exact lots as an inheritance to each tribe.  Thus the Israelites dwelt in the tents of the heathens who had once lived there.

(56) Yet they tempted and provoked the Most High God and did not keep His testimonies, (57) But turned back and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers; they were turned aside like a deceitful bow.

After all the goodness and provision of their Lord, the people provoked Him to anger because of their wickedness and disobedience.  They turned away from God and were unfaithful just as their fathers had been when the Lord first brought them out of Egypt.  They were turned aside like a crooked bow, or a bow that appears that it will carry an arrow straight but does not.

(58) For they provoked Him to anger with their high places and moved Him to jealousy with their engraved images.

The people provoked God to anger with their elevated places they built for other deities.  They moved Him to jealousy because of their worship of false idols.  The Lord's jealousy is a righteous one.  He was not jealous of the false idols, but rather because of His passionate love for His people as if a bride to Him, He was jealous and zealous for the relationship and did not want them destroyed by false gods that could do nothing for them.

(59) When God heard, He was wroth and greatly abhorred Israel.

When God heard His people worshipping false gods, He was very angry.  The original word "maas" which was translated as "abhorred" does not mean that God hated them.  Rather, it means that He rejected them, cast them away from Him as if He abhorred them.  But of course, God always acted as He did because He loved His people and desired for them to return to Him which was their only place of salvation.

(60) So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He placed among men, (61) And delivered His strength into captivity and His glory into the enemy's hand.

Chronologically, this refers to a future event, when God abandoned the tabernacle that had been erected for Him in Shiloh and allowed the Ark of the Covenant, called His strength and glory, to be taken by their enemy.

(62) He gave His people over also to the sword and was wroth with His inheritance.

The Lord allowed His people to be killed by the sword, 30,000 of them according to 1 Samuel 4:10.  He was very angry and turned away from the people He had chosen for His inheritance.  Without His protection, they were killed by the enemy.

(63) The fire consumed their young men, and their maidens were not given to marriage.

As this psalm is not truly placed in proper chronological order, once again events are being mentioned which I have not yet studied.  However, I believe the fire mentioned is not a physical fire, but rather a destructive war of fiery swords or even perhaps the righteous anger of the Lord consuming them like a fire.  Because the young men had been killed, young maidens were not able to marry.

(64) Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation.

Even their priests were killed by the enemy and because of the fierce invasion, their widows were unable to have proper funerals or time for mourning.

(65) Then the Lord awoke as one out of sleep, like a mighty man who shouts because of wine. (66) And He struck His enemies in the hinder parts; He put them to a perpetual reproach.

It's not as if the Lord had truly been asleep and suddenly realized what was happening to His people.  But as one who had been asleep who suddenly awoke and shouted, the Lord decided the destruction of His people up to that point was enough, and He struck their enemies, making them defeated and scattered and unable to contend with Him.

That's the way I interpreted the verses, having no knowledge of what had actually happened since chronologically, this event had not yet occurred.  However, in studying commentators on these verses, the true meaning of striking the enemy in the hinder parts meant that He "smote them that troubled them with hemorrhoids in their posteriors" (Targum of the Jewish scriptures).  That brings a whole new meaning to their perpetual reproach or disgrace.  It seems in testimony of their humiliation, they sent golden "emerods" representing the disease as an offering to the Lord (1 Samuel 6:4).

(67) Moreover He refused the tabernacle of Joseph and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, (68) But chose the tribe of Judah, the Mount Zion which He loved.

The Lord refused to have His ark abide any longer in the tabernacle at Shiloh, a city in the tribe of Ephraim, the son of Joseph, when the ark was brought back by the Philistines.  He chose the tribe of Judah, out of which He chose David to be ruler and king, and He chose Mount Zion in Jerusalem for His temple of worship where the ark was placed.  Psalm 87:2 said that the Lord loved the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.  The Lord choosing Judah fulfilled prophecy in Genesis 49:8-10 which stated that indeed his brothers would praise him, and their descendants would bow down before him.  It prophesied that the king's scepter would not depart from that tribe until the Messiah came.

(69) And He built His sanctuary like the high, like the earth which He has established forever.

The Lord built His sanctuary exalted, as if it were on a high hill, prominent and permanent, not to be moved from place to place as the tabernacle had been, but established as firmly as the earth itself.

(70) He chose David also His servant and took him from the sheepfolds, (71) From following the ewes great with young, He brought him to feed Jacob His people and Israel His inheritance.

The Lord chose David, a simple shepherd boy, to be His servant and His people's king.  From attending and nourishing to bring up young sheep, the Lord brought David up to attend and shepherd His people, His inheritance, Israel.

(72) So he fed them accordingly to the integrity of his heart and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.

David fed the Lord's people according to the integrity of his heart which was upright and pure, according to the will of God.  He guided them by his counsel and defended them by his power.  

Although this psalm was placed here chronologically because it detailed much of the history of the Israelites from Egypt through their forty years in the wilderness, it was composed during the time of David or even after.  Its main purpose was to show why Ephraim, or the ten tribes, had been rejected and Judah had been chosen to be the head of the nation.  

Protection and Favor for Those Who Have God for Their Refuge

I am continuing a chronological Bible study put forth by Skip Andrews who wrote that "Although we may not be able to precisely date these Psalms at this time, their general themes fit the topics we have just read in Deuteronomy."  My last post ended the book of Deuteronomy with Moses's death.  Some commentators indeed believe that Moses may have written this psalm at the same time as the Prayer of Moses, Psalm 90.  Continuing my chronological Bible study: 

(Psalm 91:1) He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

The one who makes God his habitation and refuge, who dwells in an intimate communion with Him, will live under God's protection, as if under His wings, in their shadow.

(2) I will say of the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust."

The psalmist indeed spoke of the Lord as his refuge and more than a habitation, a fortress.  Thus he would always trust in his Lord God.

(3) Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler, from the noisome pestilence.

God would surely deliver His people from the traps of the wicked and from the spiritual plagues that are meant to destroy men's souls.

(4) He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall trust, His truth your shield and buckler.

Again with a picture of wings, God will shield His own with the feathers of His wings.  You can trust Him to always be your shield and protective armor.  

(5) You shall not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flies by day.

Because the Lord is your protection, you will not be afraid of any terrible things that might happen in the night, or any arrows that fly by day, which could mean any sort of troubles that might strike quickly.

(6) For the pestilence walking in darkness, for the destruction laying waste at noonday.

Under the Lord's protection, you will not fear the invisible pestilence, nor any destruction that lays waste visibly.

(7) A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; it shall not come near you.

Although thousands and tens of thousands may fall all around you, you will be safe and have nothing to fear.  This doesn't mean that every single person trusting in the Lord will never die on account of any sort of pestilence or destruction.  But we have faith that He can protect us, and He is our only real protection, and even if He chooses to have us leave this earth to be with Him, that is a joyful thing and nothing to fear.

(8) Only with your eyes shall you behold and see the reward of the wicked.

The one under God's protection will see the destruction of the wicked but will not have to experience it.

(9) Because you have made the Lord, my refuge, the Most High, your habitation.

Because you have made the Most High Lord God your habitation and your refuge, you will be protected and safe from destruction.  This can certainly be the general rule, but again, I don't think it can be said for 100% of the people who trust wholly in God for their protection against destruction on earth.  However, their souls are 100% protected and no one or no thing can destroy them and take them out of God's hand (John 10:28-29).

(10) There shall no evil befall you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.

When you trust God and make Him your refuge, no evil can harm you nor any plague come near your habitation that is in God.  Again, this is a general promise as it pertains to the world, but a rock-solid promise as it pertains to our souls.

(11) For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. (12) They shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.

God instructs His angels to watch over us!  How wonderful is that?!  There are angels protecting and preserving us wherever we go.  However, they aren't meant to protect us when we are doing evil against God's will.  Satan used this very verse when he tempted Jesus in Matthew 4:6.  He taunted Him by saying if He really was the Son of God He should throw Himself off the cliff because God's angels would lift Him up from hitting the stones.  However, Jesus told Satan that scripture also said in Deuteronomy 6:16 that you are not to tempt God.  The angels are there to protect us in our normal coming and going, but not when we test the Lord in foolish ways against His will.  We must remember that while we have angels watching over us, there are also Satan's demons trying to tempt us into evil.  That's why it is important to stay in God's word and follow Him to stay in His will.

(13) You shall tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the dragon you shall trample underfoot.

Because God has commanded His angels to watch over us, we are able to tread in dangerous places and be unhurt, but once again that means in our daily normal coming and going, or when directed by God's Holy Spirit, but never testing the Lord like so-called Christian snake handlers who do risky things for show to prove God will protect them.

(14) "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high because he has known My name."

The words in verse 14 and those following are meant to be the words of the Lord.  The reason He sends His angels to protect His own is because His own loves the Lord.  The Lord vows to deliver him from danger and to set him on high, which just by His acknowledging him as His own and treating him accordingly, puts him on high above those who do not enjoy God's favor and protection.  He does this because he knows God and loves him.

(15) "He shall call upon Me and I will answer him; I am with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him."

God's own will call upon Him in prayer and He will answer him.  What a beautiful promise in that He will be with us in trouble!  Not only is He with us, but He will deliver us and honor us if we are His, those who know and love Him.

(16) "With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation."

God will satisfy His own with long life.  Perhaps this is meant as a general rule for those who love and follow God, as we know there are times when good Christian men die too soon.  However, I like the interpretation of Albert Barnes in his Notes on the Bible.  He puts emphasis on man's satisfaction with his living and when he no longer has a strong desire for living on earth but looks forward to a peaceful and joyful rest from this life in heaven.  And of course, the most important thing is God's salvation!  Through Jesus Christ, He has provided a way for one to have that eternal rest in Him.  Thinking of this verse in that way, when one is satisfied with his life on earth, together with Isaiah 57:1 which says, "The righteous perishes and no man lays it to heart, and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come," brings me peace about the circumstances that brought both my dad and my husband to relatively early deaths at 56 and 59, respectively.  I can see that both being good Christian men dealing with many afflictions in life on this earth, could be satisfied with their lives in this world and ready to see their Lord whenever that time would come.  And God, in His love and mercy, would take them away from the evil still to come in their lives.

The Death of Moses

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Deuteronomy 34:1) And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead to Dan,

The Lord had previously told Moses he would not be able to cross into their promised land (Numbers 20:12, Deuteronomy 32:51-52), but that He would allow him to see it.  Now Moses went up from the plains of Moab where the Israelites had been for some time and went onto the mountain of Nebo to Pisgah, the highest point of Nebo.  This was across from Jericho on the other side of the Jordan River.  The Lord began to show Moses the promised land as He had promised He would.  First the Lord directed him to behold the land of Gilead on that side of the Jordan where he was, which was the possession of the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh (Numbers 32), then to Dan, which was not the possession of the tribe of Dan, but rather a city in the farthest north of the promised land as seen in this map:

(2) And all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, to the utmost sea, (3) And the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, to Zoar.

The Lord showed Moses the promised land from the city of Dan in the north, to the lands of the tribes as they would soon be assigned, Naphtali, down through Manasseh and Ephraim, to Judah, to the sea, and to the southernmost part of the land.  He showed him the valley of Jericho near to them on the other side of the Jordan River.  If you click to enlarge the map, you can see Jericho in the tribe of Benjamin across from Mt. Nebo.  He showed him the whole plain from Jericho, called the city of palm trees, to Zoar, which was at the southern tip of the Salt or Dead Sea, as seen in this map:

As the tribal lands had not yet been assigned in Canaan, Joshua either wrote this chapter some time after the fact, or perhaps he wrote by inspiration of the Holy Spirit about what was to be.

(4) And the Lord said to him, "This the land of which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, 'I will give it to your descendants,' I have caused you to see with your eyes, but you shall not go over there."

The Lord told Moses that He was showing him the land He had promised to his forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to their descendants.  The Lord said He "caused" Moses to see it with his eyes.  When you think about it, it would not be possible for Moses to physically see all that land without some supernatural help.  The Lord blessed and allowed Moses to see the entire promised land but told him again that he would not be crossing over into it.

(5) So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord.

Then Moses died there in the land of Moab as the Lord had said he would (Deuteronomy 32:50).  

(6) And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth Peor, but no man knows of his sepulchre to this day.

Amazingly, the Lord Himself buried Moses!  He apparently buried him in the land of Moab across from Beth Peor which may have been in the same vicinity of Mount Peor near Mount Nebo and Pisgah.  However, even at the time of the writing of Joshua, no one had ever seen Moses's grave.  Perhaps the Lord hid it so that the people would not be susceptible to idolizing it and Moses himself.  Some think that perhaps Moses was carried away like Elijah, pointing to the transfiguration of Elijah and Moses with Jesus in Mark 9:4, inferring that Moses must have been in the same state after death as Elijah.  However, the two verses above state that Moses died and the Lord buried him.  Some point to an interesting scripture in Jude 1:9 that tells about Michael the archangel contending with the devil, disputing about the body of Moses.  That does seem to suggest something extraordinary about Moses's burial place.  But as scripture states, no one really knows; however, there may be symbolism in Moses's burial place or lack thereof.  John Gill wrote in his Exposition of the Bible, "...the death and burial of Moses were an emblem of the weakness and insufficiency of the law of Moses, and the works of it, to bring any into the heavenly Canaan..."

(7) And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died; his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.

Moses was 120 years old when he died, and although he was in advanced age, his eyes were still clear and good, and his mind and body were sharp and strong.

(8) And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days; so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended.

The Israelites mourned and wept for Moses there in the plains of Moab for thirty days, which was the usual time of mourning for someone of high place.  After thirty days, the weeping and mourning for Moses ended.

(9) And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him, and the children of Israel hearkened to him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses.

At that point Joshua was filled with the spirit of wisdom as Moses had laid hands on him and prayed for such, and the Lord had delivered.  Therefore the people listened to him and did just as the Lord had commanded Moses, acknowledging Joshua as Moses's successor.

(10) And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.

At the time of this writing, Joshua or whoever wrote this last chapter of Deuteronomy, said that there had not arisen a prophet like Moses who had known the Lord personally and conversed with Him.  "Face to face" is not to be taken literally, because no man could see the face of God and live (Exodus 33:20), but it is meant to say that Moses had a very familiar relationship with God.

(11) In all the signs and the wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, (12) And in all that mighty hand, and in all the great terror which Moses showed in the sight of all Israel.

There had not arisen a prophet like Moses who had done all the signs and wonders which the Lord had sent him to do in Egypt to Pharaoh and his servants and his land.  There had not arisen a prophet with so mighty a hand as had divided the Red Sea or as had done in all the great and terrible things that the Lord enabled Moses to show in the sight of all the Israelites.

So ended the life of Moses and the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, commonly called the Law of Moses.  I believe that we might argue that there never has been another prophet like Moses even to this day.  There would arise great prophets, but I'm not sure any can compare with the long-term familiarity and friendship Moses shared with God.  Moses was probably the most highly privileged prophet in all the awesome signs and wonders that God worked through him.  Moses was allowed to see God's glory and His back only, as again, no one could see God's face and live.  That sight made Moses's face shine like the sun which terrified the people when he returned to them.  Moses was the Old Testament figure who was mentioned the most times in the New Testament.  It is probably safe to say that Moses indeed was the greatest prophet until Jesus Christ, of whom Moses himself said, "The LORD your God will raise up to you a Prophet from the midst of you, of your brethren, like me; to Him you shall listen" (Deuteronomy 18:15).  God Himself confirmed that prophecy when He said of Jesus, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear Him" (Matthew 17:5), a probable allusion to "to Him you shall listen."  Moses was an Old Testament symbol of Christ.  God sent him to save His people, and he gave them God's law to live by.  Jesus came to save people from the consequences of the law that they were unable to uphold.  Indeed, Hebrews 3 compares Moses to Jesus, but of course pronounces Jesus as superior to Moses.  However, Moses was worthy to be compared to Jesus!  That is the highest honor and privilege of all.  Moses was a faithful servant and forerunner of Christ the Son of God and God Himself.

The Blessing of Moses

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Deuteronomy 33:1) And this is the blessing with which Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death.

In the last chapter, Moses had recited the Song of Moses that the Lord had directed him to write and to teach to the people.  He now offered the following blessing to the people.

(2) And he said, "The Lord came from Sinai and rose up from Seir to them; He shined forth from Mount Paran, and He came with ten thousands of saints; from His right hand a fiery law for them."

Moses began his blessing by stating that the Lord had come from Sinai, where His first appearance to Moses was.  He showed Himself to the Israelites in Seir like the sun when it rose up and continued shining on them to Paran.  He came with tens of thousands of saints or holy angels of heaven who attended Him in His great and glorious work of delivering His fiery law which came directly from Him, a law which pierced and penetrated the consciences of men like fire.

(3) "Yea, He loved the people, all His saints in Your hand, and they sat down at Your feet and shall receive of Your words."

Moses declared that the Lord loved His people Israel, and now calls them His saints in His hands, in His care and protection.  His people sat at His feet, perhaps alluding to them being at the foot of Mount Sinai when He gave the law from the top of the mount, and they received His words.

(4) "Moses commanded us a law, the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob."

Moses spoke of himself in the third person and said he had commanded to the people the law that had been given to them by the Lord Himself, they the congregation of Jacob considered His inheritance, His own special people.

(5) "And He was king in Jeshurun when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together."

The Lord was king in Israel, Jeshurun being another name He sometimes gave Israel, when the heads and tribes of Israel were gathered at Mount Sinai to hear the law recited by Moses.

(6) "Let Reuben live and not die, nor let his men be few."

Moses's blessing was that the tribe of Reuben live and not die, although Reuben had deserved to be cut off or greatly diminished because of his sin against his father (Genesis 49:4).  

(7) And this of Judah, and he said, "Hear Lord, the voice of Judah, and bring him to his people; let his hands be sufficient for him and You be a help from his enemies."

Regarding Judah, Moses asked that the Lord hear the prayers of Judah, which John Gill believes "was eminently fulfilled in David, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and other kings."  Bring him back safely and victorious to his people and make him able to defend and provide for himself with the Lord's protection and preservation from his enemies.

(8) And of Levi he said, "Your Thummim and Your Urim be with Your holy one whom You tested at Massah, with whom you strove at the waters of Meribah, (9) Who said to his father and to his mother, 'I have not seen him;' neither did he acknowledge his brothers, nor knew his own children, for they have observed Your word and kept Your covenant."

Regarding Levi, Moses said that the Lord's Thummim and Urim, objects used to determine God's will worn by the high priest, be with Aaron of the tribe of Levi, the same Aaron the Lord had reproved and contended with at Massah and Meribah.  I believe the sense of verse 9 is that the Levite priests had no natural affection or respect for their parents and family over the Lord.  They followed God and His command fully and kept His covenant.

(10) "They shall teach Jacob Your judgments and Israel Your law; they shall put incense before You and whole burnt sacrifice upon Your altar."

The Levite priests would teach Jacob, that is Israel, the Lord's statutes and laws, and they were the only ones who could put incense on the altar before the Lord and offer whole burnt sacrifices on His altar.

(11) "Bless, Lord, his substance, and accept the work of his hands; strike through the loins of them who rise against him and of those who hate him that they rise not again."

Moses asked that the Lord bless Levi's substance because the Levites had no inheritance of their own and were wholly dependent on the Lord's blessing.  He asked that the Lord accept the work of the priests' hands in their administration of their priestly duties and thoroughly destroy those who would rise up against them.

(12) Of Benjamin he said, "The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him who shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between His shoulders."

Regarding Benjamin, the temple would be built in Benjamin's lot.  Benjamin was the beloved of his father Jacob and is so called the beloved of the Lord.  His tribe would dwell in safety near the temple of the Lord who would continually protect him and support him as a father might carry his son upon his shoulders.

(13) And of Joseph he said, "Blessed of the Lord his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that lies beneath, (14) And for the precious fruits by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, (15) And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills, (16) And for the precious things of the earth and its fullness, and the good will of Him who dwelt in the bush, let the blessing come upon the head of Joseph, upon the top of the head of him separated from his brothers."

Regarding the tribe of Joseph, his land was blessed by the Lord and extremely fruitful, blessed by the precious rain from heaven, by the dew, by the deep springs of water coming out of the earth, by the light and warmth of the sun, and by the coolness and moisture put forth by the moon.  He was blessed by the excellent fruits, grapes, olives, and figs, which grew in the mountains, and the precious minerals that were contained there.  He would be blessed by all the precious things of the earth, and by the good will of the Lord who dwelt in the burning bush and appeared to Moses.  Let all these blessings come upon the tribe of Joseph, he who had been separated from his brothers when they sold him into slavery in Egypt.

(17) His glory the firstling of his bullock, and his horns the horns of unicorns; with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth, and they the ten thousands of Ephraim and they the thousands of Manasseh.

Joseph's glory was like that of a firstborn bull, an emblem of power and strength.  His horn was like the horn of a unicorn.  The unicorn in the Bible is not what we picture today.  It was more likely a now extinct wild bull with a single horn, more like a rhinoceros.  Wherever it is mentioned in the Bible, it is an animal of great strength.  That is the animal that could push the people together to the ends of the earth, referring to his enemies.  The tribes of Joseph were in his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.  Although Manasseh was the eldest son of Joseph, fewer people were ascribed to him and more to the younger Ephraim, according to Jacob's prediction in Genesis 48:19.

(18) And of Zebulun he said, "Rejoice Zebulun, in your going out, and Issachar, in your tents."

Moses blessed the tribe of Zebulun as it went out to sea as it was a maritime tribe with its portion of land by the sea, also predicted by Jacob in Genesis 49:13.  He included his brother Issachar in the blessing, who would be just as blessed, but in his tents, or at home with his land and his livestock.

(19) "They shall call the people to the mountain; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness, for they shall suck the abundance of the seas and of treasures hid in the sand."

Referring again to Zebulun, his people would call people back to the mountain, to the temple of God, where they would offer sacrifices of righteousness.  They would grow rich by their traffic on the seas and by treasures hidden in the sand, but they would not forget their duty at home, and they would even call Gentiles to the true faith in the one true God.

(20) And of Gad he said, "Blessed He who enlarges Gad; he dwells as a lion and tears the arm with the crown of the head."

Regarding the tribe of Gad, Moses first acknowledged the Lord who enlarged Gad, delivering him out of his troubles mentioned in Genesis 49:19 that he would overcome at last.  He would then dwell as a lion, bold, courageous, and secure, and would destroy his enemies, both the arm of their strength and the crown, their kings and governors.

(21) "And he provided the first part for himself, because there a portion of the lawgiver, seated, and he came with the heads of the people; he executed the justice of the Lord and his judgments with Israel."

Gad provided the first part of the promised land for himself because he asked for and was given it by Moses, the lawgiver.  There he seated and secured his wives and children, while he would go with the heads of the people into war against Canaan.  He and the rest of the Israelites would execute the judgment of God against the Canaanites.

(22) And of Dan he said, "Dan, a lion's whelp; he shall leap from Bashan."

The tribe of Dan was like a young lion, bold and strong, and able to leap from Bashan, a mountain place inhabited by many lions.  This is not meant to be said of Dan himself as his tribe doesn't have any special relationship with Bashan, but with the strong lion that leapt from the mountain of Bashan upon its prey.  The tribe of Dan was courageous and strong like that lion.

(23) And of Naphtali he said, "O Naphtali, satisfied with favor and full with the blessing of the Lord; possess the west and the south."

Naphtali would have great favor, perhaps among men, but mainly with God, and he would have great blessing of the Lord.  Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, pointed out the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun enjoyed wondrous favor from the Lord as Jesus spent most of His time there in Capernaum (Matthew 4:13,15, 9:1).  Jesus called Capernaum "exalted unto heaven" (Matthew 11:23).  All the commentators I study agree that possessing the west and the south did not mean the tribe of Naphtali would inhabit the west and the south, as they did not.  The main definition of "yam" that was transcribed as "west," is more often "sea."  "Darom" transcribed as "south" also meant "south wind" and may be used here in a characteristic way here to mean warm and sunny.  Naphtali would possess a warm and sunny sea region.  Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, wrote, "The possession of Naphtali included nearly the whole west coast of the Sea of Galilee, the Lake of Merom, the modern Bahr el Hulch, and the well watered district near the springs of Jordan. It contained some of the grandest scenery and some of the most fertile land in Palestine."

(24) And of Asher he said, "Asher blessed with children, let him be acceptable to his brothers, and let him dip his foot in oil."

Asher would be blessed with large numbers, in union and harmony with the other tribes, and he would have such plenty that he would be able to dip his feet in oil, meaning not only anointing his head, but his feet also.

(25) "Your shoes iron and brass, and as your days, your strength."

It is said that mines of iron and copper were in Asher's portion, but this verse might also mean that the tribe was strong and steadfast.  Their strength would continue all their days; they would not become feeble with age.

(26) "None like the God of Jeshurun, riding upon the heaven to help you, and in His excellency on the sky."

There is no god who compares to the God of Israel.  Their almighty sovereign God of the heavens and the sky was there to help His people Israel.

(27) "The eternal God your refuge, and underneath the everlasting arms; and He shall thrust out the enemy from before you, and shall say, 'Destroy!'"

The eternal God was Israel's refuge and protection.  Underneath the everlasting arms of the eternal God, they were safe and secure.  God would thrust out their enemies from before them to clear the land for them and would direct them to carry out His righteous judgment by destroying them.

(28) "Israel then shall dwell in safety alone; the fountain of Jacob upon a land of corn and wine; also His heavens shall drop down dew."

Once their enemies were destroyed, Israel would dwell in safety alone.  I found the words of Adam Clarke on this verse to be profound, "This people shall not be incorporated with any other people under heaven. A prophecy which continues to be fulfilled to the very letter. Every attempt to unite them with any other people has proved absolutely ineffectual."  Even to this day there are attempts at a two-state solution in Israel which has never worked.  The descendants of Jacob that would spring forth as from a fountain would be in a fertile land abounding in corn and wine and all good things.  The Lord would continue to drop actual dew making the land fruitful, but also drop blessings as dew from heaven.

(29) "Happy, you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, the shield of your help and the sword of your excellency? And your enemies shall be found liars to you, and you shall tread upon their high places."

Israel should be the happiest in the world as there are no others like her, a people chosen and saved by the Lord, the one true God who shields and protects her and destroys her enemies and lifts her to excellency.  The Israelites' enemies would be found to be liars in that when they said they would destroy Israel, they would never be able to fulfill their intent.  Israel would possess their enemies' high places.

The Song of Moses in the last chapter highlighted the calamities that would befall Israel when she turned from God, but these blessings of Moses describe the glory and greatness that in God's love and mercy He would crown her.  Every tribe was blessed with the exception of Simeon.  Jacob had cursed Levi and Simeon as "instruments of cruelty" in Genesis 49:5 and said they would be scattered in Israel (Genesis 49:7).  In His mercy God chose the Levites to be His priests, but they would not have their own inheritance in the promised land.  Simeon was given only a select number of cities within Judah's inheritance (Joshua 19:1-9).

The Song of Moses

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Deuteronomy 32:1) "Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth."

In the last chapter the Lord told Moses to write this song and recite and teach it to the Israelites.  Chapter 32 contains his song.  It began with Moses calling on the heavens to listen and to the earth to really hear the words of this song, to be witnesses of the truth of his words against the people. 

(2) "My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distill as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass."

The purpose of Moses's instruction in his song was that it drop like rain and spring up as dew upon all the people of Israel to be absorbed by them to produce good results as the rain does for the grass and plants.

(3) "Because I will publish the name of the Lord; ascribe you greatness to our God."

Moses would proclaim the name of the Lord in his song, and he called on the people themselves to attribute greatness to their God.

(4) "The Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are justice, a God of truth without iniquity, just and right is He."

These may actually be the first words of the song, as verses 1 through 3 may have been Moses's words of introduction to the song.  God is the Rock; Jesus is the Rock of salvation.  His work is perfect.  His work of creation and Christ's work of salvation is all perfect.  His ways are always just and true and cannot be iniquitous.  This has more recently in my life become real to me.  We don't always have to fret and worry about situations in life and how to pray and what to pray for; we can just put our trust in God as what He does is perfect.  It may not be the answer that we think we want, but in the end it is always good.  Even death is good in that the person will be with the Lord and will be in a far better place than they were on earth.  When we come to realize that what He does is always good, we can trust and not worry.  The world will be evil and bad things will happen to good people because of it, but you can be assured that God will do good.  If we fear that someone died prematurely without salvation, God knows the heart and will give them a chance to accept Christ in their last moments, or He knows that they would have never accepted Him even if they lived to 100.  God knows everything, even things that have not happened yet, and He is always good, so trust in Him, and you don't have to figure out what's right.  As Jesus said, His yoke is easy and His burden is light; just give it to Him, trust in Him.

(5) "They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not of His children, a perverse and crooked generation."

The people have corrupted themselves.  They are stained with the spot of wickedness and iniquity and cannot be God's children as His children have no such stain.  That's not to say they are without sin, but by accepting Christ, their sins are covered by His blood.  Before Christ, God provided laws for atonement of sins.  The people had become a perverse and wicked generation.

(6) "Do you thus requite the Lord, O foolish people and unwise? Is He not your Father who has bought you? Has He not made you and established you?"

Do the foolish and unwise people repay the Lord in such a way, that is, by their perverse and wicked corruption?  Did they not acknowledge that He was their Father who had redeemed them from bondage in Egypt, and Christ who would redeem people with His blood?  Had He not created them and called them to Himself to be His special people?  Did they not remember how He had set them up in their own abundant land to be envied by all nations?

(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."

The song exhorted the people to remember the former times and consider the many generations before them.  Remember what God had done for them and remember what happened to them when they turned from Him.  It encouraged them to ask their father and their elders about those days of old and they would tell them.  That is what is meant here, but also if they asked their heavenly Father, He would show them truth and the way.

(8) "When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the boundaries of the people according to the number of the children of Israel."

After the flood, when the world began again to be populated, Noah and his sons, said to be all sons of Adam, were divided into their own nations (Genesis 10:32).  In the time of Abram (later Abraham) God set the boundaries of the land he would be giving to the twelve tribes of Israel (Genesis 15:18-21).

(9) "For the Lord's portion is His people; Jacob is the lot of His inheritance."

The Lord had so early set the boundaries of the land that He would give to the twelve tribes of Israel (Jacob) because they were His special people whom He had allotted for Himself.

(10) "He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; He led him about, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye."

The Lord found Jacob (Israel) in the desert land of Egypt and led him through the wilderness, a wasteland destitute of all the necessities and comforts of life, where He taught him and kept him and provided for him with the utmost care.

(11) "As an eagle stirs up her nest, flutters over her young, spreads abroad her wings, taking them, bearing them on her wings, (12) So the Lord alone did lead him, and no strange god with him."

As an eagle stirs up her nest and flutters over her young to excite them to fly, the Lord stirred the Israelites out of their bondage in Egypt where they often seemed reluctant to leave and desirous to go back to.  As an eagle might bear her young on her wings, so the Lord alone bore His people on eagles' wings (Exodus 19:4) to lead them out of Egypt.  There were no other gods helping Him do that; the Egyptian gods could not even save their own people.  

(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 suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock;"

Speaking of the future as it had already come to pass because it positively would come to pass, God would make His people ride high above the other nations, conquering the nations necessary to possess that abundant land flowing with milk and honey, where they would have honey from the bees that made hives in the rocks and oil from olives that grew on rocks.

(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 you drank the pure blood of the grape."

The people would also have butter from cows, milk from sheep, and fat lambs to eat.  They would have the best rams and goats, the best wheat with fat and full grains, and pure red wine of the grapes.

(15) "But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; you have grown fat, you have grown thick, you are covered with fat; then he forsook God who made him and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation."

Jeshurun, meaning upright, was a name God sometimes called Israel.  Perhaps the meaning was that the once upright Israel would grow fat and rebellious against God.  The people would grow fat, fat, fat, as it is repeated three times, due to their abundance of good things, and would forsake their Lord who had created them and made them His special people and had given them that abundance.  They would lightly esteem or give little value to the only God of their salvation.

(16) "They provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods; with abominations they provoked Him to anger."

Because they followed strange false gods, the people provoked God to jealousy and righteous anger.  As has been discussed before, God's jealousy is not an envious one.  His is more of a zealousness in love and care for His people.  It's a righteous jealousy for what is His alone; worship and service belong to Him alone.  For example, righteous jealousy would be the jealousy a man might have if he saw another man flirting with his wife, as that right of flirting belongs only to him.  Sinful jealousy is being envious of something that doesn't belong to you which might be said of the man who was doing the flirting with a woman who was not his wife, wishing she did belong to him.

(17) "They sacrificed to devils, not to God, to gods whom they did not know, to new gods newly arrived, whom your fathers did not fear."

The people sacrificed to demons, false gods, and even new gods that had only recently come into existence, gods their fathers had never known and followed, rather than to the one and only true God.

(18) "Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful and have forgotten God who formed you."

The firm Rock of their salvation, the Rock who had created them and made them His own special people, of Him the people had become unmindful and had forgotten Him.

(19) "And when the Lord saw, He abhorred, because of the provoking of His sons and of His daughters."

When the Lord saw that the people sacrificed to false gods and demons and that they had forgotten Him, He despised them and their actions because they so provoked Him to righteous anger.

(20) "And 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 faith.'"

The Lord would then determine to hide His face from His people and would see then what would become of them as they were a very perverse people with no faith in Him.

(21) "'They have moved Me to jealousy by what is not God; they have provoked Me to anger with their vanities, and I will move them to jealousy with those who are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.'"

That perverse generation of His people would so provoke the Lord because of their allegiance to false gods and even godlessness, that He would then call Gentiles in general, not a particular nation of people, to be His people in that He had chosen them to be taken into covenant with Him.  His people Israel would be provoked to anger and jealousy because He had chosen whom they considered to be inferior people to be His own.  The Apostle Paul would quote this very verse in Romans 10:19 and would go on to say that God would call those Gentiles His people and His beloved, those who had never before been His beloved people.

(22) "'For a fire is kindled in My anger and shall burn to the lowest hell and shall consume the earth with her increase and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.'"

The Lord's anger would be as a fire that would burn to a complete destruction as Moses had described in Deuteronomy 29:23.  That fire would consume all of Israel's increase and strength.

(23) "'I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend My arrows on them.'"

The Lord would heap one disaster after another on the people.  The Lord would be as an enemy to the people, having set His bow against them, and He would shoot every one of His arrows upon them.

(24) "'They will 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.'"

Still with the symbolic image of burning arrows, the people would be burnt with hunger and fevers and complete destruction.  The Lord would also send beasts and poisonous serpents to devour them.

(25) "'The sword without and terror within shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling with the man of gray hairs.'"

The actual swords of the enemies outside and the terror of them inside would destroy all the people, from nursing babies to young people to the very old.

(26) "'I said I would scatter them into corners; I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men.'"

The Lord had intended to "scatter them into corners," the original word "paah" meaning more like blowing them away.  He would have made the memory of them cease among men.

(27) "'Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should misunderstand, and lest they should say, "Our hand is high, and the Lord has not done all this."'"

It's not that the Lord feared any enemy, but had He completely destroyed all of His people, the enemy Satan and his servants would believe that they had been victorious over the Lord's people, and He had been unable to deliver them.  They would believe that they alone had destroyed God's people and that He had had nothing to do with their destruction.

(28) "'For they are a nation void of counsel, neither any understanding in them.'"

Their enemies would believe that way because they had no understanding of spiritual things in them.

(29) "O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end."

These appear to be the words of Moses, not of the Lord, although surely under a spirit of prophecy, that he wished the people were wise and would understand what their end would be if they turned away from the Lord and He in turn turned His face from them (verse 20).

(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?"

How else would it be possible that one enemy or two could chase thousands of Israelites away unless their God had given them over to be slaves of their enemies and had closed them off.

(31) "For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves judges."

The Israelites' enemies' gods were not like the true Rock of salvation of the Jews as even their enemies themselves had confessed as in Exodus 14:25.

(32) "For their vine is of the vine of Sodom and of the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters bitter."

It appears by what follows that Moses refers now to the Israelites, that they had become as Sodom and Gomorrah with their actions being only sin and abomination.

(33) "Their wine the poison of dragons and the cruel venom of asps."

The Israelites' doctrines and beliefs had become as poison and destruction to all who followed them.

(34) "'Is this not laid up in store with Me, sealed up among My treasures?'"

These would be the words of God, that the wicked deeds of His people had been stored in His memory, tucked away as would be treasures.

(35) "'To Me vengeance and recompense; their foot shall slide in time; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.'"

Vengeance and recompense is the Lord's.  Those who think they stand fast shall slide into destruction in due time.  The day of their calamity would be at hand and the evil things that God had determined in prophecy would come upon them quickly.

(36) "For the Lord shall judge His people and repent Himself for His servants when He sees that their power is gone, and none shut up or left."

Now were the words of Moses, that the Lord would judge His people.  However, He would change His conduct toward them when He saw that their power was gone and there were none remaining, neither slave nor free.

(37) "And He shall say, 'Where are their gods, the rock in whom they trusted?'"

The Lord would ask at that time where their false gods were, those gods they had trusted in instead of Him.

(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.'"

Where were those gods to whom they had offered sacrifices and drink offerings?  The Lord would suggest that those gods rise up and help the people and be their protection, as if they could.

(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 any who can deliver out of My hand.'"

The Lord would tell His people that He was the only God; there were no other gods but Him.  He had all power to kill and to make alive; He had all power to wound and to heal, and there were none who could deliver anyone out of His hand.

(40) "'For I lift up My hand to heaven, and say, "I live forever. (41) If I whet My glittering sword and My hand takes hold on judgment, I will render vengeance to My enemies and will reward them who hate Me."'"

The Lord would lift His hand up to heaven as in an oath, swearing as sure as He lived forever, that if He prepared for the execution of His righteous judgment, He would indeed follow through with vengeance on His enemies and He would repay those who hated Him.

(42) "'I will make My arrows drunk with blood and My sword shall devour flesh, with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.'"

By the numerous and various judgments God would bring upon His enemies, it would seem that His arrows would be soaked with blood, appearing drunk with blood.  His sword would devour the flesh of His enemies because of the blood of the slain whom they had killed and carried away captive.  The Lord would avenge His people for the beginning of the enemies' oppression of them to the present time.

(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 to His land and to His people."

Moses exhorted all nations of people to rejoice with God's people, indicating a future time when the Gentiles would be grafted into the vine of God's people.  God would avenge the blood of His servants by rendering vengeance on His adversaries, and He would be merciful to His land and to His people.

(44) And Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he and Joshua the son of Nun. (45) And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel.

Moses and Joshua spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of all the people.  Moses concluded the song.

(46) And he said to them, "Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you this day, which you shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law."

Moses then exhorted the people to lay up all his words in their hearts, not just the words of his song, but all the words of the law he had given them.  They were to teach them to their children and command that they also adhere to them.

(47) "For it is not a vain thing for you because it is your life, and through this thing you shall prolong your days in the land in which you go over Jordan to possess it."

Moses told the people it was not a vain trifling matter for them to keep those words in their hearts, for those words were the key to their very lives.  And by adhering to the words of the law, the people would prolong their days in the land the Lord was giving them.

(48) And the Lord spoke to Moses that same day, saying, (49) "Go up into this mountain Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab that is across from Jericho, and behold the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel for a possession."

Then the Lord spoke to Moses.  He told him to go up into a range of mountains called Abarim, onto Mount Nebo which had formerly belonged to Moab, and was across from Jericho which lay on the other side of the Jordan in Canaan.  There he would be able to see the land of Canaan that God was giving to the Israelites.

(50) "And 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-Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, because you did not sanctify Me in the midst of the children of Israel."

After Moses viewed the land the Lord was giving His people, Moses should plan to die on that mountain and be gathered with the souls of his people before him, just as his brother Aaron had died on Mount Hor and was also gathered with his people.  Moses would die on the mountain, not being able to cross over into the land God was giving His people, because he had not sanctified the Lord in the eyes of the Israelites at Meribah-Kadesh (Numbers 20:11-12).

(52) "Yet you shall see the land before you, but you shall not go there into the land which I give the children of Israel."

The Lord would allow Moses to see the land He was giving His people, even though he would not be able to go into it, as He had told him he would not in Numbers 20:12.

This Song of Moses was both a history and a prophecy of God's people Israel to be remembered by them.  It told of the great things the Lord had done for His people, but then how the people would turn from Him and follow false gods.  Judgments would come upon them because of their wickedness, but God would not completely destroy them.  God always saves a remnant and delivers them and destroys their enemies as He will continue to do till the very end.