"The passage at hand is without comparison as a discourse on the doctrine of God."56
Moses' three rhetorical questions (vv. 32-34) clearly point out the uniqueness of Yahweh.
"In addition to His self-disclosure in event, in history, Yahweh revealed Himself as sovereign in theophany. In this manner the glorious splendor of the King contributes to His aura of majesty and power and is thereby persuasive of His dignity and authority. Almost without exception the theophanic revelation was in the form of fire and its opposite, darkness (Deut. 1:33; 4:11-12, 33, 36; 5:4, 22-26; 9:10, 15; 10:4; 33:2; cf. Pss. 50:2; 80:2; 94:1). . . . The darkness speaks of His transcendence, His mysterium, His inaccessibility. On the other hand, the fire represented His immanence, the possibility of His being known even if in only a limited way (cf. Ezek. 1:4, 27-28; Dan. 7:9; Rev. 1:14).57
Israel was not to miss the point (v. 35). The articulation of God's motivation in His great redemptive and saving acts for Israel as being His love for them (v. 37) brings this mounting crescendo of argument to its climax.58
"What is important to note here is that the exodus deliverance was predicated on Israel's prior election by the Lord. It was precisely because of his love and choice that he acted to redeem. . . . The exodus and even the ensuing covenant did not make Israel the people of the Lord. Rather, it was because they were his people by virtue of having been descended from the patriarchs, the objects of his love and choice, that he was moved to save them and enter into covenant with them."59
"From a literary point of view, these verses are among the most beautiful in Deuteronomy. They are prosaic in form, but poetic in their evocation of the marvelous acts of God."60
The earliest reference to Israel's election in Deuteronomy is in verse 37 (cf. 7:6-8; 10:15-16; 14:2; 26:18; Exod. 19:6).
"National election does not guarantee the salvation of every individual within the nation since only individual election can do that. Nor does national election guarantee the physical salvation of every member of the nation. What national election does guarantee is that God's purpose(s) for choosing the nation will be accomplished and that the elect nation will always survive as a distinct entity. It guarantees the physical salvation of the nation and, in the case of Israel, even a national salvation. It is the national election of Israel that is the basis of Israel's status as the Chosen People."61
This whole address by Moses (1:6-4:40), and especially the exhortation to observe the law faithfully (4:1-40), is one of the greatest revelations of God's character in the Old Testament. The address builds to a climax, as every great sermon does. The total impression God and Moses intended must have been awe and humble gratitude in the hearts of the Israelites.
"One of the principal means by which God has revealed Himself is in historical event, that is, by acts the community of faith could recognize as divine.62To Israel on the plains of Moab, these acts made up the constellation of mighty deeds Yahweh had displayed before them and on their behalf from the days of the patriarchs to their present hour. It was on the basis of such historical interventions, in fact, that Yahweh's claim as Sovereign could be made.
"Elsewhere in the Old Testament the foundational act of God is creation itself, but here the matter is less cosmic; the focus of Deuteronomy is not on God's universal concerns but on His special purposes for His people."63
The best way to motivate people to obey God is to expound His character and conduct, as Moses did here. Note too that Moses appealed to the self-interest of the Israelites: ". . . that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may live long on the land . . ."(v. 40; cf. 5:16; 6:3, 18; 12:25, 28; 19:13; 22:7; Prov. 3:1-2, 16; 10:27).
