Moses began by affirming Israel’s relationship with Yahweh: “Through all the generations (of Israel), you have been our home!” Moses uses the word “home” or “dwelling place” to bring forth the warmth, intimacy and protection one feels when at home with one’s family. That is what living with God is like.

Then he spoke of Yahweh being the Creator of everything. He poetically referred to Yahweh giving birth to all of creation. The eternal Yahweh who is outside of time and space, is the One who made the universe.

And as the Creator-Owner of everything, He holds all His creatures accountable for how they relate to Him. Moses referred back to Genesis, to the creation of the first man and woman. As the all-righteous Creator, Yahweh had the right to declare a death sentence on Adam and Eve for their rebellion against Him. He had told Adam, “For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:19.)

In recalling this event, Moses was declaring that the all-righteous God holds all of creation accountable to Him. He acknowledged that no sin was hidden from Yahweh. God knows all that people think and do.

This was also true for Israel. When the nation was rebellious, God was distant from them and disciplined them. Moses pleaded for God to take pity on them, forgive them and restore the close fellowship that the nation enjoyed with Him.

Moses also contrasted the eternal nature of Yahweh with the brevity of mortal human life. While a thousand years is nothing compared to God’s eternal nature, the lifespan of a human is compared to grass that springs up in the freshness of the morning then dies by the end of the day. Mortal human life is a like a dream that disappears when one wakes up. Human life is very brief, even if one lives till 80. And all through life, there is pain and trouble. The only way to have a satisfying life is to recognise that the Creator-God is the only One who can satisfy all human longing. Therefore, all humans should turn to God.

Knowing God well, that is, understanding His character and what He is like is important if we are to have a good relationship with Him and a satisfying life. Moses recognised that nothing that we think, do or say can ever be hidden from the Creator-God of the universe. Our sins are “spread out” before God. It’s not that God is a policeman watching our every move, waiting for us to fail, but Moses is saying that we might as well be totally honest before God since He already knows how we are behaving. When we are honest before God and seek Him, He will respond. With God as our home, our safe dwelling place, life is more meaningful. How do we make God our home? What can we do each day to grow closer to God?

Also, we ought to realise how short our mortal lives are compared with eternity. This sobering thought should spur us to use our lives wisely. What are we investing our time and resources in?