Translation: ESV
Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
The Song of Moses sings of God's faithfulness and Israel's history before cosmic witnesses.
▸The Song of Moses (Ha-Azinu) begins.
The Song of Moses (Ha-Azinu) begins. Calling heaven and earth as witnesses is the standard form of ancient covenant documents, declaring the cosmic significance of this song.
May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like gentle rain upon the tender grass, and like showers upon the herb.
God's word is like life-giving rain that falls on a parched soul, reviving and causing growth.
▸This is a beautiful poetic expression comparing God's word to rain and dew.
The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.
God is the unchanging Rock; all his works are perfect and just.
▸This is a song of praise for God's character.
Do you thus repay the LORD, you foolish and senseless people? Is not he your father, who created you, who made you and established you?
As Creator and Father, God has the right to receive gratitude and loyalty from those he has made.
▸This verse rebukes Israel's ingratitude.
He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.
Even in dangerous wilderness situations, God cherishes and guards us as the apple of his eye.
▸The expression 'kept him as the apple of his eye' is a beautiful image of God's tender love and protection for Israel.
See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
Only the LORD God is the true God, and all life and death, all wounding and healing are under his sovereign hand.
▸This verse declares the uniqueness and absolute sovereignty of the LORD God.
Rejoice with him, O heavens; bow down to him, all gods, for he avenges the blood of his children and takes vengeance on his adversaries. He repays those who hate him and cleanses his people's land.
God's salvation extends beyond Israel to all nations, and the whole world will praise him together.
▸This is the climax of the Song of Moses—the remarkable declaration that even the nations of the earth will rejoice together with God's people.