Deuteronomy 32:19-22
32:20 a The phrase without integrity indicates disloyalty to the covenant. Israel had promised to be true to the Lord but had consistently been unfaithful (see Exod 19:8 b).32:21 c roused my jealousy: The Lord was not petulant because of attention paid to false gods. Rather, Israel had broken their covenant with him by worshiping other gods, demonstrating their disdain for him and his sovereignty (see 32:16 d).
• people who are not even a people: God’s purpose for Israel was not just to redeem them, but through them to redeem all nations of the earth. In Israel’s eyes, other peoples were worthless, but through God’s attention to other nations, Israel would be drawn back to obedience (see Hos 1:9 e; 2:23 f; Rom 9:25 g; 10:19 h).
32:22 i The realm of the dead was thought to be in the depths beneath the earth, and the entrance to that world was the grave. God is omnipresent, and his judgment reaches the most inaccessible places (see Ps 139:7-12 j).
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