Moses uses three stacked questions to expose Israel’s moral absurdity in rebelling against their Creator-Redeemer, forcing them to confront the irrationality of their ingratitude before pronouncing covenant curses.

The text records no verbal response. Israel heard Moses’ rebuke as part of the Song of Moses, which concludes with Moses commanding them to take all these words to heart (Deuteronomy 32:46).

Moses asks three questions that build from relational betrayal to theological foundation. Do you thus repay cuts to the heart of covenant ingratitude, Israel’s rebellion against their Deliverer. The Hebrew verb gamal (repay) implies returning evil for good, a moral inversion. The next two questions establish why such ingratitude is inexcusable: Is not He your Father who created you? Hath He not made thee, and established thee? Moses uses questions rather than declarations to force self-examination. By making Israel answer in their own minds, he exposes the absurdity of their rebellion. The Father language is rare in the Pentateuch outside this passage, emphasizing both God’s creative authority and covenant intimacy. The threefold description, bought, made, established, encompasses redemption (exodus), creation (bringing Israel into being as a nation), and covenant stability (sustaining them through wilderness). This is not philosophical inquiry but prophetic indictment. Moses speaks as covenant prosecutor, establishing God’s just claim before announcing judgment in the verses that follow.