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 from the one end of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it? Did ever a people hear the voice of God, speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? Or hath God assayed to go and take Him a nation from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that Jehovah your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? Unto thee it was showed, that thou mightest know that Jehovah He is God; there is none else besides Him. Out of heaven He made thee to hear His voice, that He might instruct thee: and upon earth He made thee to see His great fire; and thou heardest His words out of the midst of the fire. And because He loved thy fathers, therefore He chose their seed after them, and brought thee out with His presence, with His great power, out of Egypt; to drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as at this day. Know therefore this day, and lay it to thy heart, that Jehovah He is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath; there is none else. And thou shalt keep His statutes, and His commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and thou mayest prolong thy days in the land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee forever."

Every line of these verses carries the signature of their author, namely, Moses. Only Moses could have made a speech like this. There is not even a hint of anything here that does not fit the conviction that Moses is the speaker. Of course, drowning men catch at straws, and the critics seize upon the expression in Deuteronomy 4:38, "as at this day." Can such an expression, so natural in the mouth of Moses who was present that day, and who so recently had seen the land of Moab and Bashan and Sihon inherited by some of the tribes of Israel, and indeed viewed all of Canaan as already in the hands of God's people, can such a natural expression, so appropriate to the occasion when Moses uttered it, - can such an expression prove that the author of Deuteronomy "has here forgotten the fiction of Moses' speech before the conquest?"[31] Ridiculous. This expression indicates no such thing. A "straw" like this will drown any man who trusts it.

This paragraph affirms in the most positive and dogmatic terms possible that there is only one God, namely, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob.

This is nothing new. In the Decalogue, God said, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." "It is clear that the expression `before me' really means `besides me,' or `apart from me.'"[32] In addition to that, look what is stated right here in this chapter:

"Jehovah He is God; there is none else besides Him (Deuteronomy 4:35). Know therefore this day, and lay it to thy heart, that Jehovah He is God in heaven above and upon the earth beneath; there is none else (Deuteronomy 4:39)."

Of course, critical enemies of the Bible must deny passages like this? How do they do it? Here is the way Phillips did it: "`There is no other' is best interpreted as `there is no other like him!'"[33] Any manuscript evidence of this? No! Any parallel passage elsewhere that supports such a view? No! Any evidence of any kind whatever that such a perversion ought to be allowed? NO! Why then are Phillips and all critical scholars determined to outlaw what the Bible plainly says? It denies their theories, therefore they must get rid of it. Should Christians allow such mishandling of the Sacred Text? A million times, NO!

If language means anything, monotheism is dogmatically affirmed by Moses right here in Deuteronomy, and, therefore, monotheism cannot be a post-Mosaic development, or discovery. Of course, some translations are being tampered with in order to make it appear otherwise. Moffatt, for example, rendered Deuteronomy 4:19 in this chapter thus: "The Eternal your God has allotted them (the host of heaven) for worship to all nations under the broad sky."[34] Such a corrupt rendition is a fraud on its face, ranking along with Moffatt's phenomenal "goof" regarding "The Reed Sea." The same goes for all the subsequent versions and translations that have fallen for this crooked translation. As given by Moffatt, it makes Moses affirm that the sun, moon, and stars were God-authorized objects of worship among the pagan nations.

This paragraph ending in Deuteronomy 4:40 closes the exhortations and admonitions section of Moses' first address. After this is described the appointment of three cities of refuge east of the Jordan (Deuteronomy 4:41-43); and the second address begins with Deuteronomy 4:44.