Judgment · They will forsake me; the Song as witness

Deuteronomy 31:16-21

Moses · ~1406 BC · Status: Fulfilled · Confidence: 65%
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.”
King James Version · the opening — all 6 verses are below

God foretells to Moses that Israel will forsake the covenant after his death, giving the Song (ch. 32) as a witness against them.

Read the whole passage — all 6 verses (KJV)

31:16And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them.

31:17Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?

31:18And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.

31:19Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel.

31:20For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant.

31:21And it shall come to pass, when many evils and troubles are befallen them, that this song shall testify against them as a witness; for it shall not be forgotten out of the mouths of their seed: for I know their imagination which they go about, even now, before I have brought them into the land which I sware.

Fulfillment References

Judges 2:11-13 Deuteronomy 32:1-43 2 Kings 17:7-23 Nehemiah 9:26

How Traditions Read This Prophecy

Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalGod foreknew the forsaking, yet His covenant purpose holds — fulfilled in the one Lord who keeps a faithful people.
JewishGod's foreknowledge of Israel's apostasy and the Song as a perpetual witness — read soberly in the history of the Judges and the monarchy.
CatholicGod's foreknowledge of covenant unfaithfulness, with the Song as a prophetic witness.
ProtestantA striking prediction of Israel's apostasy, fulfilled repeatedly (Judges; the divided kingdom); the Song stands as witness.
OrthodoxGod's foreknowledge and the prophetic witness against unfaithfulness.
DispensationalThe foretold apostasy of Israel, framing the covenant's outworking.
AcademicAn introduction framing the Song of Moses (ch. 32) as a covenant-lawsuit witness, central to Deuteronomistic theology.
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