Verses 36 through 43 say that when Jehovah saw that the support of His people was gone, He would vindicate them and have compassion on His servants. He would say, “Where are their gods...? / Let them rise up and help you; / Let them be a shelter over you. / See now that I, I am He, / And there is no god with Me. / It is I who kill, and I make alive; / I wound, and it is I who heal; / And there is no one who can deliver from My hand” (vv. 37-39). He would avenge the blood of His servants, repay His adversaries with vengeance, and cover the guilt of His land and of His people. This indicates that no matter how evil the children of Israel might be and no matter how much God might be provoked in His anger toward them, eventually the result, the issue, would still be good. God does not forsake His people. Eventually, He will come in to vindicate them.
Moses’ greatest concern was that the children of Israel would turn away from God and go after other gods. This is exactly what the children of Israel have done throughout the centuries. Even today, many of them are still turned away from God to the idols of money, advanced technology, weapons, and skills in fighting. Therefore, on the one hand, God is working to protect the children of Israel. On the other hand, because they have not yet repented and returned to God, He is still judging them.
God does not forsake Israel. On the one hand, God disciplines Israel and deals with her through His sovereign arrangement. On the other hand, God also protects Israel. Because of God’s protection, the Arab countries surrounding Israel are unable to destroy this small nation. According to prophecy, Israel will not be destroyed. She will remain until the Lord Jesus comes again as the lightening comes forth from the east and shines to the west (Matt. 24:27). At that time, the whole house of Israel will turn to the Lord.
From Horeb to the entry into the good land was an eleven-day journey. However, due to their unbelief, God caused Israel to wander in the wilderness for thirty-eight years until the entire generation of the unbelieving men of war was consumed from the midst of the camp. God also used these thirty-eight years to produce a new generation, training them and preparing them to enter into the good land. Because Moses was concerned that the new generation would repeat the failure of their forefathers, he made a covenant with them that included prophecies related to the children of Israel. At the same time, God also commanded Moses to write a song to review the past and prophesy concerning the future.
Moses enacted the covenant with the children of Israel and said that if the children of Israel forsook the covenant of Jehovah, the land would be cursed, and they would be plucked off from their land and sent to another land. If the children of Israel were not certain to keep all His commandments and statutes, they would be struck down before their enemies and with diseases, and their possessions would be robbed. They would also be cursed in being brought to a nation that was not known to them and would be a source of horror, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples. Finally, they would be cursed in being scattered among all the nations, and in living a life in captivity. However, God also promised through Moses that if while in captivity the children of Israel would return to Jehovah their God and listen to His voice with all their heart and with all their soul, Jehovah would be compassionate to them and gather them from all the nations. Moses called heaven and earth to witness against them because he had set before them life and death, blessing and curse. He also exhorted them to choose life in loving Jehovah their God by listening to His voice and holding fast to Him.
Jehovah also charged Moses to write a song and teach it to the children of Israel and put it in their mouth so that the song would be a witness against the children of Israel, for He already knew their intention even before He brought them into the land. The children of Israel would deal corruptly with Jehovah, forsake Him, and provoke Him to anger. When Jehovah saw that the support of His people was gone, He would vindicate His people, have compassion on His servants, repay His adversaries with vengeance, and cover the guilt of His land and of His people. On the one hand, God disciplines Israel by dealing with her through His sovereign arrangement. On the other hand, God protects Israel from being destroyed until the Lord Jesus comes again. At that time, the whole house of Israel will turn to the Lord.