Deuteronomy 32:15-3115But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. 16They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. 17They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not. 18Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee. 19And when the Lord saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters. 20And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith. 21They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. 22For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains. 23I will heap mischiefs upon them; I will spend mine arrows upon them. 24They shall be burnt with hunger, and devoured with burning heat, and with bitter destruction: I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of serpents of the dust. 25The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs. 26I said, I would scatter them into corners, I would make the remembrance of them to cease from among men: 27Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the Lord hath not done all this. 28For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them. 29O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end! 30How 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? 31For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges. (Deuteronomy 32:15‑31)
The Lord, having reminded the people of His goodness to them and the marvelous provision which awaited them in the land of Canaan, knew only too well the effect it would have upon them. He knew that in spite of it all, they would soon forget Him and even rebel against Him. Their forty years of wilderness life had clearly shown this, for they had sacrificed to devils and not to God, and had forgotten “the Rock that begat them.” They had followed their evil ways until the Lord had had to deal with them in His governmental judgment, and this, He warned, would come upon them again until they were scattered and given to the sword. Even then, however, the Lord said He would not allow the enemy to consume them, lest their enemies would say that it was their own strength that had done it. Oh how faithfully He warned them, for it grieved His heart to see them follow their own sinful ways. And so it is with us who so often choose paths of self-will, to our own sorrow and loss. May all these things be a warning to us, for God has caused them to be written down for our learning (Romans 15:44For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. (Romans 15:4)).
The Latter End
Again the Lord pleaded, “O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!” (verse 29). The children of Israel were living for the present only as so many are today, and here they are called upon to consider where the path ended. How important this is! Have you considered your latter end? Do you know where you are going to spend eternity? Remember that unless you have personally accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour, you are lost and on the road to eternal hell. Why go on carelessly one moment longer? Come to the Saviour today and be saved before it is forever too late.
The people were then told that in warfare it was not a question of the strength of their enemies, but of the Lord being with them. If He went with them, then one would chase a thousand, and two would put ten thousand to flight, but if not, they would be defeated no matter how great their armies. How little is thought of this today. The nations build their mighty armies and weapons but leave God out, and because of this, we know that a time of war and bloodshed, far worse than the world has ever seen before, is coming upon the favored lands of Christendom (Romans 11:2222Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. (Romans 11:22); Hebrews 10:28-2928He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10:28‑29)). Judgment fell upon Israel for their disobedience, and since Christendom has not continued in the goodness of God, judgment will fall upon them too.
The Rock
The next verse (verse 31) is very striking. “Their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.” Even the enemies of Israel knew that when the Lord fought for His people, they could never prevail against them. And so the world sees and knows that the Christian has something they do not have. Especially in the presence of death, the one who is truly saved has a “Rock” which will never give way, while the poor unbeliever learns that his crumbling “rock” is not like ours. His reason, his religion, or his good works will never give him peace when he finds himself face to face with death and eternity. Be sure, dear reader, that you can say,
“On Christ the solid Rock I stand.”
Further Meditations
1. On whom did Israel’s victories in warfare depend?
2. The Psalms have a lot in them about Christ as our Rock. What are some of the references and how do they show Christ in contrast to the confidences of the world.
3. If you are thinking on the lovely subject of Christ as our rock you would probably enjoy the story behind the beautiful hymn Rock of Ages by Augustus Toplady.