19 And Jehovah saw it, and despised them, Because of the provoking of his sons and of his daughters. 20 And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be; For they are a perverse generation, Children in whom is no faithfulness. 21 They have moved me to jealousy with that which is no God; They have exasperated me with their vanities; And I will move them to jealousy with that which is not a people; With a foolish nation will I provoke them to anger. 22 For a fire is kindled in mine anger, And it shall burn into the lowest Sheol, And shall consume the earth and its produce, And set fire to the foundations of the mountains. 23 I will heap mischiefs upon them; Mine arrows will I spend against them. 24 They shall be consumed with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, And with poisonous pestilence; And the teeth of beasts will I send against them, With the poison of what crawleth in the dust. 25 From without shall the sword bereave them, and in the chambers, terror—Both the young man and the virgin, The suckling with the man of gray hairs.
26 I would say, I will scatter, I will make the remembrance of them to cease from among men, 27 If I did not fear provocation from the enemy, Lest their adversaries should misunderstand it, Lest they should say, Our hand is high, and Jehovah has not done all this. 28 For they are a nation void of counsel, And understanding is not in them. 29 Oh that they had been wise! they would have understood this, They would have considered their latter end! 30 How could one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Were it not that their Rock had sold them, And Jehovah had delivered them up? 31 For their rock is not as our Rock: Let our enemies themselves be judges. 32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, And of the fields of Gomorrah: Their grapes are grapes of poison, Bitter are their clusters; 33 Their wine is the poison of dragons, And the cruel venom of vipers. 34 Is not this hidden with me, Sealed up among my treasures? 35 Vengeance is mine, and recompense, For the time when their foot shall slip. For the day of their calamity is at hand, And the things that shall come upon them make haste. 36 For Jehovah will judge his people, And shall repent in favour of his servants; When he seeth that power is gone, And there is none shut up or left. 37 And he shall say, Where are their gods, Their rock in whom they trusted, 38 Who ate the fat of their sacrifices, [And] drank the wine of their drink-offering? Let them rise up and help you, That there may be a protection over you.
39 See now that I, I am HE, And there is no god with me; I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal, And there is none that delivereth out of my hand, 40 For I lift up my hand to the heavens, and say, I live for ever! 41 If I have sharpened my gleaming sword, And my hand take hold of judgment, I will render vengeance to mine adversaries, And will recompense them that hate me. 42 Mine arrows will I make drunk with blood, And my sword shall devour flesh; [I will make them drunk] with the blood of the slain and of the captives, With the head of the princes of the enemy.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:19-42
Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:19-25
(Read Deuteronomy 32:19-25)
The revolt of Israel was described in the foregoing verses, and here follow the resolves of Divine justice as to them. We deceive ourselves, if we think that God will be mocked by a faithless people. Sin makes us hateful in the sight of the holy God. See what mischief sin does, and reckon those to be fools that mock at it.
Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:26-38
(Read Deuteronomy 32:26-38)
The idolatry and rebellions of Israel deserved, and the justice of God seemed to demand, that they should be rooted out. But He spared Israel, and continues them still to be living witnesses of the truth of the Bible, and to silence unbelievers. They are preserved for wise and holy purposes and the prophecies give us some idea what those purposes are. The Lord will never disgrace the throne of his glory. It is great wisdom, and will help much to the return of sinners to God, seriously to consider their latter end, or the future state. It is here meant particularly of what God foretold by Moses, about this people in the latter days; but it may be applied generally. Oh that men would consider the happiness they will lose, and the misery they will certainly plunge into, if they go on in their trespasses! What will be in the end thereof? Jeremiah 5:31. For the Lord will in due time bring down the enemies of the church, in displeasure against their wickedness. When sinners deem themselves most secure, they suddenly fall into destruction. And God's time to appear for the deliverance of his people, is when things are at the worst with them. But those who trust to any rock but God, will find it fail them when they most need it. The rejection of the Messiah by the Jewish nation, is the continuance of their ancient idolatry, apostacy, and rebellion. They shall be brought to humble themselves before the Lord, to repent of their sins, and to trust in their long-rejected Mediator for salvation. Then he will deliver them, and make their prosperity great.
Commentary on Deuteronomy 32:39-43
(Read Deuteronomy 32:39-43)
This conclusion of the song speaks, 1. Glory to God. No escape can be made from his power. 2. It speaks terror to his enemies. Terror indeed to those who hate him. The wrath of God is here revealed from heaven against them. 3. It speaks comfort to his own people. The song concludes with words of joy. Whatever judgments are brought upon sinners, it shall go well with the people of God.