Faith Daily Lectio Saturday, October 31, 2026 Old Testament
Saturday, October 31, 2026 · Reformation Day
Old Testament
Oratio (prayer)
Lord God, You alone kill and make alive, You wound and You heal. Send Your Holy Spirit as I read the end of the Song of Moses, that I may take Your Word to heart, for it is my life in Jesus Christ. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Meditatio (meditation)
Deuteronomy 32:28-52
28For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them.
29O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!
30How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?
31For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.
32For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah: their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter:
33Their wine is the poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps.
34Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?
35To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.
36For the LORD shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left.
37And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted,
38Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection.
39See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.
40For I lift up my hand to heaven, and say, I live for ever.
41If I whet my glittering sword, and mine hand take hold on judgment; I will render vengeance to mine enemies, and will reward them that hate me.
42I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.
43Rejoice, O ye nations, with his people: for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will be merciful unto his land, and to his people.
44 And Moses came and spake all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Hoshea the son of Nun.
45And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel:
46And he said unto them, Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day, which ye shall command your children to observe to do, all the words of this law.
47For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life: and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land, whither ye go over Jordan to possess it.
48And the LORD spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying,
49Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession:
50And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people:
51Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.
52Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.
Consider even rereading in another translation.
You could also consider listening to this chapter, narrated:
KJV (Max McLean) · ESV (Max McLean) · NIV (dramatized)
You might read the whole reading slowly, aloud, more than once.
Consider this verse, for example:
“For it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life” (Deuteronomy 32:47)
What other lines speak to you?
The Song of Moses mourns a people without understanding, who do not consider where their ways will lead. The LORD declares that vengeance belongs to Him, and that He will judge His people and have compassion on His servants when their strength is gone. He alone is God. Moses finishes the song and urges Israel to set their hearts on all these words, for they are their life. That same day the LORD tells Moses to climb Mount Nebo, view the land of Canaan, and die there, because he did not sanctify God at Meribah-Kadesh.
The Law Moses longs for his people: "O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!" (v. 29). Their false gods cannot save: "Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted" (v. 37). Even Moses falls under God's word, "because ye sanctified me not" (v. 51). He sees the land, but he cannot enter it. God's holiness is not to be taken lightly.
The Gospel The same God who wounds also heals: "I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal" (v. 39). He "shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone" (v. 36). When our strength is spent, His mercy comes. Moses could only look into the promised land, but Jesus Christ, the greater Prophet, has entered heaven itself and brings you in with Him. His Word "is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life" (v. 47).
Prayer Lord God, I confess that I have trusted in other rocks and have not considered my latter end. Forgive me for Jesus' sake. Heal what Your Law has wounded, and make me alive in Christ. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Tentatio (trial)
Some promises we may not see fulfilled in this life, as Moses saw the land from afar. Under trial it may help to hear God's words to him: "behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel" (v. 49). What God gives, He gives surely, and in Christ our true homeland is secure.
Prayer Lord, when I see only from afar what You have promised, keep me trusting in Your Word. Bring me at last into the land You have prepared. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version.
My church home: Peace Lutheran Church, McMurray, PA. Looking for a church? See About Daily Lectio.
