Deuteronomy 32:12

HOW GOD EXALTED ISRAEL (Deuteronomy 32:12-14)

"Jehovah alone did lead him,

And there was no foreign god with him.

He made him ride on the high places of the earth,

And he did eat the increase of the field;

And he made him to suck honey out of the rock,

And oil out of the flinty rock;

Butter of the herd, and milk of the flock,

With fat of lambs,

And rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats,

With the finest of the wheat;

And of the blood of the grape thou drankest wine."

These lines are highly-figurative references to the national prosperity that God gave Israel AFTER the entry into Canaan. They successfully drove out thirty-two kings, and, although they failed to exterminate the pagan religion and the followers of it, nevertheless they achieved a very great measure of material wealth and prosperity.

The mention of Bashan (Deuteronomy 32:14) is a recognition of the superior breed of flocks and herds that came from that area. One finds a number of references to this same truth in the minor prophets.

"Jehovah alone ...no foreign god with him ..." This is equivalent to the expression also found in the Pentateuch, "I am God, and there is none else besides me."