Deuteronomy 32:19

GOD'S ANGER FLAMES AGAINST ISRAEL (Deuteronomy 32:19-22)

"And Jehovah saw it, and abhorred them,

Because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.

And he said, I will hide my face from them,

I will see what their end shall be:

For they are a very perverse generation,

Children in whom is no faithfulness.

They 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 that are not a people;

I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

For a fire is kindled in mine anger,

And burneth unto the lowest Sheol,

And devoureth the earth with its increase,

And setteth on fire the foundations of the mountains."

These verses speak of the anger and abhorrence that sprang up in the heart of God Himself over the unfeeling ingratitude of those for whom he had done such wonderful things. This is a good place to remember that God's choice of Israel, from the very first, had in view the salvation of all men, not Israel only. See Genesis 22:18, which is a manifest reference to Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:16ff). Furthermore, God's was a wise choice, for there were qualities in the chosen people that simply were not duplicated anywhere else. God, of course, foresaw their rebellion, pride, arrogance, and faithlessness, and even the fact that the Gentiles would eventually be called as leaders of God's people on earth. The "no people" here is clearly a reference to the Gentiles (1 Peter 2:10; Ephesians 2:12). Thus, the prophecy embraces an incredibly long sweep through history. Before we are finished with these verses, we shall see that they include: the apostasy of Israel, God's rejection of Israel, the calling of the Gentiles, and finally the destruction of the entire earth in that great holocaust that shall conclude the dispensation (Deuteronomy 32:22).

"Burneth unto the lowest Sheol ... and setteth on fire the foundations of the mountains ..." We are disappointed that none of the commentaries we have consulted gets the point of these words at all. Here is a glimpse of the eschatological conclusion that shall at the last day terminate God's toleration of the rebellious race of Adam. See Zephaniah 1:2-3. Keil agreed that we do not have hyperbole here and that the judgment foretold cannot be restricted "To the Israelite nation only,"[15] but he then limited the "fire" which is here said to extend even to the foundations of the mountains, stating that, "The fire signifies really nothing else than God's jealousy."[16] To us it appears impossible to accept such an understanding of this passage. The mention of Sheol here, "the place of the dead," indicates that the "living and the dead" alike shall participate in that final judgment. Keil came very near to this understanding, but still missed it. A little earlier he noted that, "The adoption of the Gentile world into covenant with the Lord (foretold in this very passage) involved the rejection of the disobedient Israel; and this rejection would be consummated in severe judgments, in which the ungodly would perish!"[17] Indeed this is profoundly true, but there is more to it. All of the "severe judgments" throughout history (including the destruction of Jerusalem) are tokens, symbolical assurance of the Final Judgment that shall involve all of the Adamic race.