Moses opens his discourse by telling the people that the what he is about to tell them should not be too much for them to take. He describes it as dew upon grass, a gentle rain on young plants. He tells them the God is stable as "the Rock". He tells them to remember the "days of old", when God allotted space to the nations of the earth leaving space for Israel to prosper.
The people are reminded how God gathered them from the desert and gave them the bounty of the promised land. They were reminded how in spite of all that God did for them they rebelled and ultimately forgot "the God who brought you forth."
Moses goes on to recount the anger of God. How the people were punished for their sins. He tells them how the enemies of God will fall and how in the end though punished the people will be avenged and the land will be cleansed.
Questions
When read through it seems as if this portion is a recounting of the history of the promised land after the people have lived there a while, long enough in fact to grow "fat and coarse" and forsake God. (32:15)
Traditional scholars would reject this possibility outright, claiming that the whole Torah was in fact written by Moses, while, on the other hand, modern scholars would have no trouble considering that our portion was written at a time well after the death of Moses.
In verse 7 the main section of the portion begins as the people are told to "remember the days of old."
