who rides through the heavens to your help,
through the skies in his majesty.
27 The eternal God is your dwelling place,
And he thrust out the enemy before you
and said, ‘Destroy.’
28 So Israel lived in safety,
Jacob lived alone,
in a land of grain and wine,
whose heavens drop down dew.
29 Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you,
a people saved by the Lord,
the shield of your help,
and the sword of your triumph!
Your enemies shall come fawning to you,
and you shall tread upon their backs.”
Deuteronomy 33:26-29 (ESV)
This passage is the last passage of the words of Moses,
God’s servant. The next chapter reveals of Moses’ death. The entire
chapter 33 is a blessing to the twelve tribes of Israel pronounced by Moses.
For sure we know that as much as these are Moses’ words, these are ultimately
God’s words that he speaks through Moses. But the event of Moses’ death
brings us to the conclusion of the importance of the blessing. Similar to
the event of Jacob’s death in Genesis 49, that before he died he blessed the
twelve sons of Israel, here
Moses too acts as a “second father” to Israel. The significance of
these blessings is that God has every good intention to the people he chose.
He intends to bless them. He intends to give them all the good things.
He intends to give them safety. He loves them. Moses blessing the
twelve tribes of Israel
is an echo of Jacob blessing his twelve sons, and Jacob’s blessing is an echo
of Isaac blessing Jacob, and Isaac’s blessing is an echo of Abraham blessing
Isaac, and Abraham’s blessing is an echo of God’s blessing to Abraham.
The blessing that God initiates and gracefully bestows is being realized from
generation to generation. Its significance we should not miss.
In our passage today we read the last portion of the
blessing. Right after blessing Asher, Moses proceeds to bring the
blessing to conclusion. And he concludes by blessing all twelve tribes
again, as he did in 33:1-5 when he introduces the blessing. Therefore,
the introduction of the blessing and its conclusion form an inclusio, which is
intended to highlight the entirety of Israel
being blessed by Yahweh and to envelop the twelve blessings to the individual
tribe of Israel.
This literary device emphasizes the unity and harmony of God’s unique blessing
to each individual tribe and therefore the blessing to all Israel.
Before we proceed to the blessing itself, let us take a look
at the word “Jeshurun” that is being used in the first line of verse 26.
This word appears earlier in verse 5, “Thus the Lord became king in Jeshurun.” Many of us might
wonder what it means. This word appears very rarely in the Bible.
This word “Jeshurun” is understood by OT scholars as the poetic name of Israel.
This name is assigned to Israel
only when the poetic form of address is used. It is a special name of Israel.
Whereas Israel
means the one who struggles with God, Jeshurun means “the upright one” in
Hebrew or “the beloved one” in its Greek translation. The word Jeshurun
has its root in the Hebrew word “יָשָׁר” which means
upright or straight. The word Jeshurun in its Greek translation “ὁ ἠγαπημένος” is also used to call Jesus in Ephesians 1:6 and the church
in Colossians 3:12, 1 Thessalonians 1:4, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, and Jude 1).
Knowing the meaning of the name Jeshurun applied to Israel,
God’s people, shows that God has expectation of Israel. His expectation is
for Israel
to be upright. The mark of God’s beloved people is uprightness.
With the meaning of Jeshurun clarified, we now can start
understanding the conclusion of the blessing in our passage today. There
is parallelism in the poem to highlight some important truths.
26 “There is none like God, O
Jeshurun,
who rides through the heavens to your help,
through the skies in his majesty.
27 The eternal God is your dwelling place,
and underneath are the everlasting arms.
And he thrust out the enemy before you
and said, ‘Destroy.’
28 So Israel lived in safety,
Jacob lived alone,
in a land of grain and wine,
whose heavens drop down dew.
29 Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you,
a people saved by the Lord,
the shield of your help,
and the sword of your triumph!
Your enemies shall come fawning to you,
and you shall tread upon their backs.”
Verses 26-27 parallels to 29. Verse 28 stands in the
middle right at the heart of the poem. The structure speaks volume to the
meaning of verse 28. If we ponder upon it we will find that Israel, as
described in verse 28, is surrounded by God. Being surrounded, protected
by God, becomes the source of Israel’s
safety. The highlight of this poem is that Israel’s protector and guarantor of
safety is Yahweh alone. And if we know the geography of Israel, we will
fathom the truthfulness of this statement. Israel’s location was literally
surrounded by many other nations. Israel’s geographical borders are
vulnerable to great threats from the neighboring countries. From human
perspective, Israel
was never a safe haven. So this poem puts God’s protection and total
dependence on Yahweh into perspective. For sure, not military might, not
economic strength, not cultural dominance, that provides security for Israel.
God and God alone is the protector.
With that being said, one must ponder now who God is. How can such claim
be made? No other gods ever made such bold claim. To answer this
question we need to look at the parallel verses. The first line in
particular points out the truth that has been carried out throughout the entire
Pentateuch—the five books of Moses, which is that there is no other God besides
Yahweh. The mightiest kingdom of the world at the time of Moses was Egypt, but Egypt could not stand before
Yahweh, even with their thousands of gods and their mighty army. Yahweh
stands alone, there is no other. So this claim is not an empty claim.
This is the claim of eternal truth. This is the claim of the One and Only
God. No one can protest this claim. No one can challenge this
claim.
And because there is none like Yahweh (26), Israel too is unlike any other
nations (29a). because Jeshurun is saved by this One and Only God.
This great God makes Israel
special for himself. Because of this special relationship, God, the one
like no other, is said to ride through heavens to Israel’s help.
This God cares. Other gods do not care. Other gods keep silent.
But not Yahweh. Yahweh cares. All other gods are non living.
But Yahweh is a living God. Just to help and save a small nation like Israel, God
rides through the heavens and skies. Such is the cause for Israel’s joy
(29a). For Jeshurun, God is their dwelling place and he sustains Israel with his
everlasting arms (27). God is for Israel the shield of their help,
and the sword of their triumph (29b). God is Israel’s
safe house, he is Israel’s
provider, he is Israel’s
defender, and he is the reason for Israel’s victory.
Yahweh subdues Israel’s
enemies. None will be able to stand before Israel. Because Yahweh
defends Israel.
Israel’s
enemies face destruction. Even though Israel is placed in a very
vulnerable geographical location, their safety is assured, for God, the One and
Only, is with them. Therefore, Israel may live in safety, they
live alone without disturbance, in the land of paradise. Such is the
conclusion of the mighty blessing for Jeshurun, the upright one of the Lord,
the beloved one of God. Therefore, with such protection, care, and love
that Yahweh provides Israel,
it is not too much for Yahweh to expect Israel to live their life in
uprightness, which is the mark of God’s beloved. After all, Israel is the
renewed people of God, created in His image, restored in Jesus Christ, saved in
his blood. Living an upright life is Israel’s natural constitution.
Uprightness is not against their new nature that they received in the blood of
Christ.
Brothers and sisters, this blessing is for us too. We are called the
Israel of God. We are called Jeshurun. Truly, In Christ we are
Jeshurun. This passage is a reminder for us of God’s mighty blessing to
his people throughout all ages all over the world. God is our protector.
He is our defender. He is our provider. He is our savior. He
is our victor. God’s everlasting arms hold us tightly and securely in his
loving care and eternal embrace. We are placed in this world for a reason.
We are born into this world for God’s purpose. Westminster Shorter
Catechism Q&A 1 spells: “What is the chief end of man? Man’ s
chief end is to glorify God, (1 Cor. 10:31, Rom. 11:36) and to enjoy him
forever. (Ps. 73:25–28).[1]”
And the way we glorify God is by living uprightly, especially after we are
saved in Christ Jesus and Christ the Righteous One himself dwells within us, it
is our natural inclination and eternal constitution to live as God’s righteous
people. Clearly, it is not too much for God to call us Jeshurun and
expect from us the fruit of the Spirit, which is manifested in upright living.
Brothers and sisters, we are placed in a world that is very challenging.
It has become even more challenging today to live an upright life.
Christian way of life is now being challenged from many directions. It is
a never ending challenge. Just as Israel was placed in a geographical
location that humanly speaking is unsafe even until today, we too are placed in
this world surrounded by people who oppose our God and thus our Christian way
of life. But just like the blessing points out to God’s protection and
care and love and salvation for us, his special people, we need not worry.
The introduction of the blessing in chapter 33 says in verse 5
Thus the Lord
became king in Jeshurun,
when the heads of the people were gathered,
all the tribes of Israel together.
Yahweh is Jeshurun’s King. As King, if his subject is
under attack, he will ride the heavens and the skies to save his subject.
We are his subject. We are his special people. We are his upright
people. We are his beloved. So Yahweh will not delay to save us.
In fact he has saved us in Jesus Christ. The last enemy, death, has been
defeated (1 Corinthians 15:26). Our eternal life is secured in Christ.
Therefore, even though our life is vulnerable to attacks from many directions,
we live in safety. For we have lived in paradise with Christ. In
the end, our enemies will be subdued by God himself. Our victory is
secured in the hands of God.
In the story of the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the
Wardrobe, the most famous book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, we know that
in the very end of the story, there is a great battle. The battle between
the army of Aslan and the army of the Witch. The army of Aslan is
vulnerable. From their perspective at the beginning of the battle, they
are not going to win. They are outnumbered big time. Their current
leader, Peter and Edmund, are very young inexperienced leaders. Susan and
Lucy, Peter and Edmund’s sisters are nowhere to be found either. And
Edmund is a new recruit, a newly repentant son of Adam, who betrayed his
brother and sisters and the entire Narnia to the Witch. But yet they are
the descendents of Adam, which make them the natural leaders of Narnia as the
prophecy foretold. The Witch is strong. Her army is way more
powerful than Aslan’s army. In the time they need Aslan the most, they
cannot locate where Aslan is. Rumor has it that Aslan is dead. The
Witch is confident. She spreads the event of the murder of Aslan.
She terrorizes Aslan’s army with the news of the death of Aslan. The
future seems bleak. All hope is lost. But surprisingly, not even
one of the Aslan’s army leave their posts. They stand there, firmly, even
with death at their horizon. Their faithfulness to Aslan is highly
commendable. Dying for Aslan is their choice rather than living for the
Witch. When the battle starts, it is obvious that the Witch’s army is
crushing Aslan’s army. Peter is wounded. And worse, Edmund is at
the brink of death. Death seems inevitable. But right there and
then, Aslan comes. He was resurrected without the knowledge of the Witch.
Aslan comes to save his people. And he devours the Witch. Aslan
demolishes the enemy right before their very eyes. And peace is restored
to Narnia.
Brothers and Sisters, Narnia is the spiritual world. CS Lewis brilliantly
portrays our spiritual battle in this world. Aslan, the Lion, is Jesus
Christ. He died to atone us. He is resurrected to give us life.
The battle is hard and difficult for the people of God. From the outset,
the devil outnumbers us. His army is strong. We are surrounded.
But like Aslan’s army, we too do not fret. We stand firm. We
continue to be faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ. Even if difficulties
and sufferings are at our horizon. And truly, just like Aslan comes to
destroy the enemies, Jesus Christ will come to our rescue. The conclusion
of the blessing has said it. His everlasting arms protect us, his
everlasting arms defend us. And shalom will be completely restored in
God’s world. That is the promise of God.
If we now reflect on our life in the past year, remember the everlasting arms
of God that are always there protecting us, embracing us, accompanying us.
At times we might feel God is not with us. But the word of God is true
that he is always with us. Many times our anxiety clouds our spiritual
eyes that blind us temporarily. Many times we allow ourselves to be
thrown into our troubled past that we couldn’t see and feel God’s presence.
But brothers and sisters, rest assured that God is always with us. He
doesn’t leave us. He has spoken. He has sworn by his own name.
And he is God, he does not lie, he does not change. He will fulfill his
blessing, he will fulfill his promise. Just like what is said in Numbers
23:29:
19
God is not man, that he should lie,
or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will
he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
And as we consider the New Year, think of this eternal
blessing of Yahweh to us, Jeshurun. Let us not fret. Let us
continue to live our Christian life as powerful witness of God’s holiness and
love. Enemies will surround us. I’m not going to lie to you.
They will surround us with every possible attack. But believe in God that
he has blessed us, and in his blessing he protects us, he defends us.
Living our Christian life as required by God is but natural for us, because we
are in Christ Jesus. So let us face the New Year with courage. Let
us face the New Year with joy. Let us enter and live the New Year bearing
the fruit of the Spirit for the glory of God. God is our portion, O my
dear brothers and sisters. In this way we may enjoy him forever.
Trust in God, my brothers and sisters, for He is faithful. His
faithfulness endures forever. And this is the message for us as we enter
into the New Year. Amen.
[1] The Westminster Shorter Catechism: With Scripture Proofs,
3rd edition. (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1996).
No comments:
Post a Comment