The Song God Wrote

The Song God Wrote

 

“Now therefore, write down this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Israel; put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for Me against the children of Israel.  When I have brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey, of which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and filled themselves and grown fat, then they will turn to other gods and serve them; and they will provoke Me and break My covenant. Then it shall be, when many evils and troubles have come upon them, that this song will testify against them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten in the mouths of their descendants, for I know the inclination of their behavior today, even before I have brought them to the land of which I swore to give them.”.” – Deuteronomy 31:5-6

When I was a little girl, I can remember sitting on my Momma Pearl’s lap singing "Jesus Loves Me".  She taught me that song, and many others.  It very well may have been the first song I learned.  To this day I know the entire song, and I’m guessing many of you do as well.   Songs have a way of sticking with us – especially when we learn them as children. 

After forty years of wandering in the desert, literally moving in circles, God was ready to give His people, Israel, the Promised Land.  They had been freed from Egyptian slavery by His power.  Moses and Aaron had led them out, and they had seen God’s love through the many miracles and wonders He did for them. 

They had seen the plagues, which included the Jordan river turning to blood, frogs becoming so prevalent that they were everywhere, locusts coming in swarms, boils on their bodies, total darkness when God hid the sun, and their first born spared when He passed over them and saw the blood on the doorpost.  They had seen the Red Sea parted and they walked over on dry land, and watched as God closed it over the Egyptian army that pursued them.  They saw God rain down manna and quail on them from Heaven so they could eat.  They had seen water come from a rock.  But with all these signs and wonders, with all God did for them, they still could not fall in love with Him.

Aaron had already died, and Moses was nearing death.  Due to Moses’ sin in striking a rock to get water from it instead of speaking to it as God asked, He was not going to enter the Promised Land.  It may seem like a harsh punishment, but it wasn’t the literal striking of the rock that was the sin.  The sin was disobedience, and His taking credit for the water coming from the rock.  Moses said to the people in Numbers 20:10 “Must WE bring water for you out of this rock?” referring to Aaron and himself.  God not only wanted, but needed the glory for the miracle to encourage belief in Him among the people.

Moses would die on Mount Nebo, and the people would need a leader, so He made Joshua their leader.  But knowing their hearts, God knew that they would turn back to idolatry.  Consider how God felt.  A God filled with love for these people , filled with a desire to prosper them in a land of milk and honey, feeding them daily from Heaven for forty years, and yet, rejected. Does He rain fire from Heaven and destroy them?  Does He cause a flood and drown them?  Does he allow the Egyptians to find them and take them back into slavery? 

No.  He writes them a song.  Imagine a song written by God Himself.  The words crafted in His mind, a perfect mind.  Imagine Him writing it with an overwhelming love in His heart, as He reflects on a time yet to come when He will send His own son to die for these unfaithful people. 

In Deuteronomy 31:5-6 God tells them to write down the song that He will give them, and teach it to their children.  He wants them to learn it so that “this song will testify against them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten in the mouths of their descendants”.  The song is to be locked away in them, as “Jesus Loves Me” is in our hearts, so that in times of distress and trouble, when they have brought grief upon themselves, they will remember Him.

As a parent, we raise our children with the strong hope that they will never turn from God.  We train them up in the way they should go, and pray daily that they never leave it.  We ask God to bring His words to their memory in times of trouble and teach them to honor Him, and respect Him.  Little do we know that a simple song like “Jesus Loves Me” may come to their minds one day, and remind them of the God that loves them, and pull them back into His loving arms.  God chose to use a song to bring Himself to the minds of His children in the days of Moses, and He still works the same way today. 

So what does the song that God writes say?  What would God want His children to remember?  The song is about God’s love for us, and how we are the apple of His eye.  It’s about how jealous He is for our love.  It’s about how we turn away from Him, ignore Him, and run after everything else to make ourselves happy.  And It’s about Jesus, and how He loves us.  Yes, Jesus loves us! The song ends in Deuteronomy 32:43 by saying “He will provide atonement for His land and His people”, a foreword of the coming of Jesus Christ.

One day we will sing “The Song of Moses”, as it is known, in Heaven.  Revelations 15:3-4 it speaks of our singing “The Song of Moses” and we also sing “The Song of the Lamb” in Heaven: 

“Great and marvelous are Your works,
Lord God Almighty!
Just and true are Your ways,
O King of the saints!
Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You alone are holy.
For all nations shall come and worship before You,
For Your judgments have been manifested.”

And even on that day, I believe some of us will still be singing “Yes, Jesus loves me, Yes, Jesus loves me, Yes, Jesus loves me, the Bible taught me so.”

http://youtu.be/gTQrVZP9e0c