Tradition attributes the hymn given in this chapter to Moses, as it does the whole Book of Deuteronomy. Biblical scholars have more than once expressed doubts that it belongs to Moses, but in any case there can hardly be doubt that the tradition reflected in it goes back to Moses. The hymn became a continuation of the vivid description of the handing on of spiritual authority to the successor, which is described in the previous chapter. There, instructing his disciple and successor Joshua, Moses speaks about the inevitability of apostasy.

Here, in the hymn attributed to him, Moses sets forth the logic of the spiritual processes that he undoubtedly had to observe personally, and not only he: Joshua in his turn had to become convinced that his spiritual mentor was right. The hymn given in the book reflects the experience of both Moses and Joshua, and in this case it is no longer so important exactly when it was written. The logic of the spiritual processes reflected in the text of the hymn is quite transparent. On the way to the land promised by God, God repeatedly showed His people both His presence and His miracles. God's intervention in what was happening was too obvious for anyone to doubt it.

Obviousness, however, does not by itself guarantee trust, and the history of the people, the history of the path to the promised land, became a remarkable confirmation of this. The people believed while they saw, and when the miraculous events were behind them, they essentially became unbelieving again. This is not surprising: to change, it is not enough simply to live through one or another event, even a spiritual one. One must also become aware of it. Without awareness, any miracles remain real for a person only as long as they are happening, or as long as the emotions connected with them have not faded. The absence of awareness made easy apostasy possible: the life with which the people came into contact on the land promised to them by God, once they stepped onto it, became for them the only reality, along with all the paganism rooted in it. The people became pagan, partly without noticing it themselves, as happens with anyone who lives unreflectively and without awareness.

We are always called to glorify someone. But Moses explains in any case why. People are all in search of something: the intellectuals look for truth, the artists - for perfection, the believers - for justice and all are robust supports in life. And the hymn of Moses in Deuteronomy testifies: all this is in God, and with our glorification we express to Him our aspiration to approach Him and to reach the purpose of our researches.