Deuteronomy 4:32
For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?
Moses urges Israel to search all human history since creation and the whole heaven to see if anything compares to what God did for them. That unmatched work was rescuing one nation out of another by signs and wonders to bring Israel out of Egypt and give them an inheritance, and speaking to them from fire at Sinai without them perishing. By these acts He proved that He alone is God in heaven and earth, who loved and chose Israel and keeps His covenant. The memory of this history binds them and their children to keep His commandments and statutes for their good and long life in the land. The same chapters remain a present study for God's covenant people, warning from Israel's wilderness failure and pointing to the nearness of the final judgment.
Unmatched Work in History
The challenge is to search the entire span of past days since God created humanity upon the earth, and to ask from one side of heaven to the other, whether any such great thing has happened or has ever been heard of like it. That great thing is God taking a nation out from the midst of another nation and bringing Israel out of Egypt through signs and wonders and mighty acts, in order to give them an inheritance. It is also God speaking from the midst of the fire at Mount Sinai before a mighty host, which no other people had heard and lived through.
Its greatness includes having a messenger right from heaven guiding Israel in the way in the cloudy pillar, telling them where to rest and when to move, a thing never before seen or heard. These acts proved that the Lord alone is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath with none else, that He loved and chose Israel, and that He keeps His covenant. The question thus recalls God's unique deliverance and revelation as Israel prepares to enter Canaan, standing within chapters that recount God's dealings with Israel.
Study, Obedience, and Application
The call to survey all history since creation for anything like God's deliverance from Egypt and His speaking from fire presses Israel to remember His covenant and obey His commands. That obedience meant keeping His statutes and commandments for their own well-being, for their children after them, and for long life in the land, living as His holy people with promised blessings if they obeyed. The extraordinary acts proved the Lord alone is God in heaven above and on earth beneath with none else, that He loved and chose Israel, kept His covenant, and brought them out to give them an inheritance.
The whole fourth chapter and the surrounding chapters of Deuteronomy 4-8 are to be studied carefully by those who would be counted among God's covenant-keeping people, for their lessons belong to God's people in every age. That study centers on the sacredness of God's law and connects directly with observing the law He proclaimed at Mount Sinai before a mighty host, including the true Sabbath and His commandment. God's word in that chapter was verified when the people disobeyed and only two of the adults who left Egypt entered Canaan while the rest died in the wilderness. This stands as warning that God will vindicate His word today if leaders depart from His commandments.
Those chapters are to be read with profit now because the day of God's great final review is near, when the world must stand before the Judge of all the earth to answer for deeds. The present is the time of investigation before that review, when every character will have been investigated and every case decided for eternity. Deuteronomy 4 shows the work the Lord will do in these last days, calling for faith and works combined in practical medical missionary service and in educating workers for service. It calls for walking in given light rather than carelessly neglecting it, and for doing the specified work after the pattern of sowing and reaping shown at Jacob's well.
Those given such great light, opportunities, and privileges in having a messenger right from heaven guiding them in the cloudy pillar, telling them where to rest and when to move, should have known when God guided and should have praised and honored Him. They should have been careful and kind and tender to give the right example to their children and to all in that vast army.