Parashat Ha'Azinu

(Deuteronomy 32:1-52)

This song (31:16), meant to be taught to our children, follows a classic pattern of Hebrew poetry, employing nearly synonymous phrases in parallel form to draw a contrast or make the range of meaning clearer by tightening the precision where there could be ambiguity. As advertisers know well, a song is the best way to help us remember something, and songs learned early stay in our minds for a lifetime. They sink in and engrain in our memory far better than mere words. This epic poem is not a legend or saga, but a covenant formula styled in the way of many contemporary covenants discovered by archaeologists. Just as legal documents do to this day, it begins by naming the witnesses so all will recognize it as legitimate. In 31:28, Moshe said he would call heaven and earth (which really encompasses all of creation, as described in Gen. 1:1) as witnesses to what he is about to say--a common practice when forging covenants. (4:26; 30:19; Yeshayahu 1;2; Yirmeyahu 2:12 and 6:19 together; Yirm. 22:29) Now here he actually does so. It is usually done in negative circumstances--when YHWH wants it clearly documented that His children are doing what He warned them not to do. Creation is horrified at how Israel responds in rebellion to the One who nourished them, for we were created for relationship to Him. The natural order "rejoices to do the will of its Creator". Seasons do not fail to change. He gave us the Torah to set us in the same kind of order. He appeals to both realms--the earthly and the heavenly, the seen and unseen, both the timeless and the temporary, the "natural" and "spiritual"--to hear what is being said here. There is more to everything than what we can see, though the two cannot be totally separated. Whatever is from YHWH is spiritual, but whatever He does, He manifests in the physical realm. YHWH is spirit, but we worship Him in spirit and in truth (Yoch. 4:24), not just one or the other. Our ancestors "ate spiritual food and drank from a spiritual rock." (1 Corinthians 10:4) But the manna was truly digested by their stomachs and the rock gave water that quenched physical thirst. We cannot benefit from or take part in spiritual things until they take on a physical manifestation. We cannot love YHWH without loving our physical neighbors. The eternal King is invisible (1:17); we can see Yahshua in the physical realm as the pattern of what exists in the realm beyond what we can see, for he is the earthly side of YHWH's salvation, as his name tells us. If he were not a physical man, we could never have partaken of YHWH's salvation. He was YHWH's messenger, who taught us and showed us how to lay down our lives; he has done his part, and sent us more empowerment (Acts 1:7-8; 1 Tim. 1:15ff) since we had shown that the threats of prophets were not enough to motivate us. It is our responsibility, as "next of kin", to continue accomplishing his spiritual task in the physical realm. There is no spiritual salvation until we take up our own execution stakes to continue the redemption that he began. There is no spiritual salvation without the element of physical deliverance to the Promised Land. There is no "spiritual Israel", though those not descended from Yaaqov can still join in and become part of the Israel that lives out the Torah literally. Whatever the leaders appointed by YHWH bind legally on earth, we will be held accountable for by "heaven". A king cannot expect his subjects to obey laws they do not know about, but once the messengers have proclaimed them, the local deputies will enforce them. Cup your ear: literally, bend your ear, an idiom for listening carefully, especially when there is much interference from other directions.

With flowery language (it is, after all, a song), he tells us up front that he's out to persuade us. He never stops teaching; we just have to have ears to hear. The root meaning of the word "persuasive teaching" is "to take in hand and carry away" or "acquire". In other words, it's something for the taking--a gift that will be a true acquisition, something to our advantage. Distil like the dew: Let it sink in! Like the rain, He can be gentle to those just beginning to grow, and lavish toward those firmly planted, who have the capacity for much more. (Compare Yeshayahu 40:7-8; Psalm 72:6; Prov. 19:12.) Like dew and rain, these words are to have a continuing effect as we teach them to our children. Like all of Torah, what he sings is meant to bring life and growth to the hearer, even though the majority of it is what we would call "negative". We sometimes need a lot of trouble in order to eventually have life. 31:26 told us that this would be a witness against us. But "against" can be positive or negative: One leaning against you can knock you over, but he can also prop you up if you are weak. (In Gen. 2:20, Adam's helper is described in these terms--opposing him so as to support him.) The song witnesses against us so that it can witness to us, and eventually witness for us as we begin to walk in it. All of YHWH's covcenants are covenants of life to those who choose it, but death if we do not.

This passage is read on the week of Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). Even during the periods in history when YHWH's name was not mentioned out of either reverence or superstition, on Yom Kippur it was uttered several times publicly by the High Priest. His true name will be made known; interestingly, however, when Yonah was preaching at Nin'veh (with the deadline for repentance being Yom Kippur), he used only the more generic name "elohim", possibly because he wanted to see how they responded before revealing His true Name to them. The word for "proclaim" has the connotation of suddenly encountering the person called, and seizing him, as YHWH's name did for Moshe at the burning bush. His Name was the proof to the Israelites that Moshe was the deliverer they were awaiting.

These two verses have named the first party to the covenant: YHWH, the great king. The attributes listed are related to the covenant. Perfect: complete, blameless. Faithfulness: or steadfastness; He is trustworthy. How could you want to trade Him for one of those capricious pagan deities? Crookedness: Hirsch, "misuse of power". The Hebrew word is avel, from which our word evil undoubtedly originated. Evil is not what is in obvious opposition to righteousness, but what distorts it, changing it a minor increment at a time, which is much harder to notice. This is why it is so tricky, because it looks almost like the real thing--the very thing counterfeiters always count on.

The first line is difficult in Hebrew; it could also be rendered, "It is corrupted--not his children; it is their blemish." This is an insultmeant to catch our attention: "You are one big corporate screwup!" In a way it is humorous, but sad at the same time. A generation: Yahshua alluded to this verse in Mat. 16:4, showing that the song was remembered by Yehudah for a very long time--at least 1,400 years. Psalm 78 also contains many references to this song. Generation: Heb., dor, from a word meaning to go around in a complete cycle. (We start a new one with each generation.) YHWH's festivals are also described in terms of a cycle (chag, which means to dance in a circle, for they fall on a yearly cycle as well). His calendar has been corrupted as well. Constantine "changed the times and seasons" for the Christian calendar nearly 1,700 years ago. Tied in knots: They were about to receive the Land, and the Hebrew term for land boundaries means "a rope". Tying a rope in knots shortens it--a picture of manipulating the boundaries established by this covenant or replacing them with our own wishes (such as those who say, "You really don't need to keep all of those laws"). Like a knotted, crooked extension cord, we sometimes have to go have to go nearly back to the other end before we can find the source of the tangle. (See note on v. 7.)

Is this how we treat Him, when He is the one who brought us to the dance? To just use that as an occasion to meet other lovers, to be led astray by the "harlotry to which our own and our own eyes are inclined?" It seems a contradiction to have to purchase something one has himself created, but YHWH gave us free will, and so He had to buy us back after we came to the end of our resources. But one who is bailed out is expected to repay the rescuer; we need to at least pay YHWH back by keeping the covenant.

Take the long view; look at the big picture. What did any of these "Johnny-come-lately" gods (see v. 17) ever do for you? Both houses of Israel are at fault for twisting His ways, and, in the context of being the generation that remembers His Torah after going astray (ch. 31), we have to look back to the ancient paths and discern where the twists and turns are, in order to right the wrongs. This highlights the fact that if we are fathers, we need to know about the days of old. This is what Passover is all about. Our immediate forefathers have no idea how to answer this question; they would at best tell us to read the Bible, if not to just go to church! We have to go back as many fathers as necessary to find the answers. "Time long past" here can also mean "eternity", and indeed we, who are at the end of the six "working days" of human history have the unique vantage point of looking back on them all, as archaeology is uncovering facts hidden for so many generations. We can piece things back together, but we must do it this way--by seeking not the modern way, but the ancient or eternal way (Yirmeyahu 6:16), because it alone holds the key to returning to where we are meant to be. Ancient writings are available today as never before, and they tell us how YHWH did things in the past. This is the only way to know Him. How He has acted before is how He will act again. Turn back to the Torah, because this is how He does things. The ancient way is not about one person or another, but about a people. All of us--at least a critical mass-- must walk in Torah before any of us can receive the inheritance.

Compare Num. 26:53. This confirms that the imagery in verse 5 is indeed about boundaries. In Genesis 10:32, seventy nations are listed as stemming from Noach's three sons, and at the time Yaaqov's clan entered Egypt (Gen. 46:27; Ex. 1:5), there were 70 members thereof. YHWH therefore created 70 nations to be places of exile, punishment, and learning for His people until they would get the point of what it means to be Israel. Yahshua sent out 70 disciples to symbolize the fact that the nations who have Israelites in their midst are offered mercy when they stand with Israel. Paul gives us more insight into this enigmatic verse in Romans 11, where he explains that through Israel's stumbling, the nations would have an opening for redemption, symbolized by the 70 bulls offered at Sukkoth. Since Israel was doing a very poor job at being a light to the nations, YHWH used a roundabout means to get this done: While preserving one segment of the nation faithful to His covenant, He chose to work differently through another segment: He let the natural bent toward being like the other nations get the better of them, then sent them out into all the nations. But when the children sang this song to their parents in exile, the message they would get was, "We are supposed to be in the Land of Israel. That is what was allotted to us." When the time of punishment for their spiritual adultery (outlined in Hoshea) had run its course, He sent a kinsman Redeemer from Yehudah so these individuals could be restored to the status of being "in covenant" and "His people". But to inform them, emissaries had to go out among all nations and locate those from Efrayim who had been "mixed with the nations", and others in each nation would, in the process, be allowed to join them in returning. But this was only plan B. When He first apportioned out the earth, long before Avraham existed, He chose His favorite parcel, the one He considered the finest, and had Israel in mind to allot them the best. He had to make it some distance, but a reasonable journey, away from where Avram would originate. It had to be big enough to accommodate all of Israel's tribes, so this meant other nations had to remain outside of this territory, except for a people that would inhabit it temporarily in order to keep it from becoming wild and overgrown and infested with wild beasts. So He allotted it to Kanaan, a people already condemned, so that He would be just in ousting it when Israel was ready to inhabit it. Thus He was able to deal with Kanaan's heinous offense in the process as well. In ancient cultures, usually there was no concept of land ownership by individuals, but only by kings. The ownership was corporate by the whole nation, but the king was "boss", so he could tax the rest, who only had, essentially, squatters' rights. With the Torah came a new concept: individual ownership. This tribe gets this piece of the Land, and this clan gets a part of it. One is cursed if he moves his neighbor's land boundary-marker, and YHWH Himself becomes involved. In the Yovel year, properties lost due to debt or sale revert back to the family that originally owned it. This makes us responsible, and people are usually willing to go much further to fight for their own land, and it spawns more of an entrepreneurial spirit. But where the Masoretic text here reads, "descendants of Israel", the oldest Hebrew versions (found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, or DSS, a thousand years older than the oldest Masoretic manuscripts) say "sons of Elohim". One somewhat common view is that they would be the territories supervised by or given into the jurisdiction of "lesser elohim", a class of non-human spiritual beings who since Bavel have put limitations on the nations placed under their jurisdiction so as to avoid a repeat of that scenario, and who may be exemplified in particular by the "prince of the kingdom of Persia" (Dan. 10:13) and "prince of Greece" (Dan. 10:20) that Gavriel said he had to contend with. The traditional association of "gods" with particular territories would not, then, be entirely unfounded. They are introduced in Genesis 6 as "sons of Elohim" in contrast with the "daughters of men", and are often considered to be a class of "angels" who act as a sort of "council" (Psalm 82, Iyov 1:6; 2:1) They are said to have shouted for joy when YHWH "laid the earth's foundation" (Iyov 38:7). Some of them apparently cohabited with human women and produced a class of giants (Gen. 6:4), which probably formed the basis for all the legends about demi-gods found in Greek mythology, etc. (This idea seems to be supported in Jude 1:6.) Dr. James Tabor points out, One interpretation makes these a group of 'angelic' beings, while the other sees them as part of a lineage that is traced in Genesis 5, from Adam through Enich [Hanokh], and finally down to Abraham. There is no doubt that other sections of the Hebrew Bible, such as Psalm 82, speak of certain 'angelic' beings or 'Messengers' as 'sons of Elohim', but even so, the English translation 'angel' can be quite misleading, since the root meaning of the Hebrew word, mal'ak, is simply 'messenger,' that is, one sent with a mission. In fact, the context ... seems to imply that the 'sons of Elohim' are in fact a lineage of human beings, the descendants of whom are the 'sons of Israel.' Thus we get the language of 'Is not He your father that has bought you?' earlier in the song, and the clear reference to 'avenging the blood of his sons,' which hardly seems to be a reference to so-called 'angels.' If such be the case the DSS version would not necessarily be different in meaning from that of the Masoretic Text--the 'sons of Elohim' would in fact be the chosen 'seed' of Abraham, that is, the 'sons of Israel'." Whether these minor deities ever existed or not, they were empowered them by energy people fed into them, and in that sense they did exist. Paul said, "An idol is nothing real--but don't eat anything dedicated to them." Why? Because if people thought they existed, they take on a life of their own. Security is only an imaginary thing (Show us a piece of it!), yet millions of people worship it today. When the nations were scattered at Bavel, different peoples settled in different types of climates. To those in the desert, the sparse rains each year were what made the difference between survival and annihilation, so they tried to placate the rain to ensure that it would continue. To those in very wet climates, the sun might be what makes the difference, so it was worshipped. While the Philistines recognized that YHWH was the highest, they had several gods that they worshipped directly as their own. Israel was privileged to have a direct relationship with YHWH if we would accept it. People who were dedicated to YHWH (like Avraham, Moshe, David, Eliyahu, and Yahshua) were in some sense His sons, and those reconciled to Him after a break in the covenant could again be called the same. (Hoshea 1:10; 1 Yochanan 3:1) Indeed, the Hebrew phrase "sons of Elohim" has a numeric value of 608, and the first word in the Torah that has this numeric value is the name of Terakh, Avraham's father, who was actually the first "Hebrew"--descendant of Ever who did "cross over", leaving his homeland for a place YHWH called him and his son to. Yet were any of these the people who rejoiced as they watched YHWH create the universe? Can the two main uses of the phrase be reconciled? Yahshua gave us a clue when he said that Avraham was not really dead, but living, because YHWH is only the Elohim of the living, not the dead. (Mat. 22:32) Time is a barrier YHWH has set up to keep us from the Tree of Life in our fallen state.(Gen. 3:22-24) Time did not matter to Adam until he was mortal. To move toward the Kingdom that has always existed in the "heavenlies", we need to get outside of time again. Who is able to do so? Those who love YHWH and follow His times and thus can get back into synchronization with His ways. When Avraham ended his mortal life, he was not dead, as YHWH sees it, but was outside the realm of time. To one who is no longer trapped in time, there is no such thing as a "beginning"; there is only what is eternal. This is hard to wrap our minds around while we are still limted by our concept of linear time, but if we take time out of the equatrion, why couldn't Avraham and all who became YHWH's sons by their acts of faith be the ones who rejoiced when He created the world?

We are His share, just as Levi has no portion, but YHWH is his inheritance. (10:9) Measuring-cord: Yaaqov would be the standard. His land therefore had to be one conducive to other nations traveling to it and through it, so that Israel could be a light to them. And indeed, while it has mountains, they are not the insurmountable type that one finds in the Alps, Himalayas, or Andes. There is ample flat land ideal for caravans. While there are deserts, they are not the windswept dunes like in the Sahara, where one would get lost easily. While there were swamps, they were not the impassable type found in the Everglades or even the Nile or Euphrates delta. While there were rivers, they had places shallow enough to ford. And location is all-important: It is not off in some out-of-the-way corner where it would hardly be noticed. It's at the most-coveted spot on earth. But YHWH promised the paradox that if we would obey Him, other nations would not bother us, yet we would still be in the midst of them--a table prepared in the presence of our enemies, for He put us right where the trade routes of three continents converge. Too often this would have the opposite effect of importing ideas rather than exporting them, but the intent was that the vigorous life within would overcome the power of those outside influences as one made the comparison made so often in this chapter and saw the obvious, overwhelming superiority of YHWH over any would-be rival. Love for YHWH, in response to His love, would be the "immune system" that should keep these foreign parasites from gaining a foothold among us. Also, wherever Yaaqov's descendants went, YHWH had a right to bring redemption, though there was a "god of this world" who had legitimate right to any who remained in rebellion against YHWH. Since they were scattered among all nations, Yahshua had "all authority in heaven and earth" (Matt. 28:18) to reclaim anyone within any of the nations, because Israel was present in every one in order to stake His claim, and thus they did not need to remain in ignorance, unable to respond to an elohim they had never heard of.

Found: or acquired. Him: that is, Yaaqov. He did not select one of the existing nations, but found someone "neutral". He birthed a nation out of another nation, and did so again when they were not a nation, but an enslaved people. (Imagine a woman wanting to keep inside her a baby that is ready to be born because it is somehow to her advantage!) He brought them to a neutral place that belonged to none of the nations, and gave him instruction (Torah), so that this amazing salvage of the human race gone bad could be carried out in seemingly impossible circumstances. Pupil of his eye: literally the deepest, darkest part. A carrion-eating bird will pick at the eye of an animal first, assuming that if it does not defend even its eye, it is dead. So YHWH guarded this choice weapon that He kept hidden in His quiver and used it in a surprise attack on the adversary. Howling: Possibly a reference to wild beasts; it may also refer to the strong winds present during the Exodus. (Ex. 14:21; Num. 11:31) He shielded us from the winds and dust-storms, as well as wild beasts.

A bird of prey fluttering over her young has a purpose in doing so: she creates a vacuum that sucks them up out of the nest when it is time for them to learn to fly on their own; the air forces them to them flapping their wings as well. The refuge under YHWH's wings is not so we can lazily sit around depending on Yahshua to do everything for us, but to teach us to be like him. YHWH did all of these things for Yaaqov, but everything He did for Yaaqov, He did for us, for as his descendants, we are Yaaqov as well.

YHWH alone: None of the others ever helped you--or even tried. There was no other with Him, because not only did He think their assistance would be negligible; He wanted to be alone with His bride. Foreign: the word can mean "recognized"--seemingly the opposite, but in this context it could fit, since He brought them into "no man's land" to make them a nation. In some ancient texts, verse 8 actually reads "according to the count of the sons of Elohim", a phrase usually meaning spirit-beings (cf. Gen. 6:2ff), a class of angels ("gods") who each had some authority over the earth and its particular communities of inhabitants (e.g., Iyov/Job 1:6; 2:1 and the princes of Persia and Greece in Daniel 10:20). Thus, here it could be restating the idea that YHWH fought against the "gods" of Egypt (Exodus 12:12) to redeem them, because they did not belong to any one of the nations, but only to Him as His direct heirs and emissaries, and brought them into a place that was under the jurisdiction of no constituted "deity"; He created a new nation to be a priest to the others and thus eventually redeem people from these spirits that were often no more benevolent to their worshipers than their human counterparts.

He took us from the worst conditions and put us in the best. The high ridges are a vantage point so one has ample warning of an enemy's approach and the advantage in battle, for one can pounce on the enemy, using gravity for us as well. Ridges are also hard to fight on, in comparison with level "playing" fields. Suck honey: some see this as a reference to petroleum deposits that are deep beneath Israel, which have not yet been exploited. Oil: often a symbol for the illumination and anointing of the Spirit of Holiness, as well as soothing ointment. Flinty rock: or hard, healthy; from the word for "dream" in Hebrew, hence seemingly a roundabout allusion to Joseph.

Bashan: Called the Golan Heights today, it is the finest pasture land in Israel, and thus one of the best breeds of rams comes from there. All of these things you had in your possession. You could choose to use the finest, rather than buying from anyone else at high prices although they had already skimmed off the cream for themselves. Of course, the best of the best goes to YHWH's special servants, but how unfair is that, when what is left is still better than others have? And part of the blessing is that we have the liberty to give Him the best, because we have control over all of our increase.

Yeshurun: the upright, straight, pleasing one--YHWH's "pet name" for Israel. It is only used when the whole nation is in unity. He was healthy and well-provided for, but became spoiled and rebelled. He thought he no longer needed YHWH. Yet why, then, would we think we had a need for the lesser elohim who could not even do as much for us? Only because they were exotic and more exciting to the flesh. So in contrast, it was not always better for us when we had the best. When we were needy in the wilderness, we still had YHWH, and things went very well. There was a unity that did not exist after we entered the Land and were separated out by tribes. Should we have asked YHWH not to disband the united camp?

Hirsch: "They made Him feel His rights had been violated." Disgusting things: idols and the lewd and often homosexual rites that accompanied many of them.

Devastators: some read this as "demons". In any case, they are things that destroy rather than creating and renewing. These were the modern ones--those just invented, with no solid history, no testing or proving, no history, and therefore no real existence. These were not even the ones the earth was divided unto (if we are to take v. 8 in that way), but puny ones pretending to have some kind of authority. But these did not even seem to be a threat to our ancestors. Did a later generation see that these elohim were also undefeated, yet fail to recognize that this was because they had never been tested in battle, being newcomers in our neighborhood? The fact that we were never acquainted with them is the litmus test: Did our fathers know this one as Elohim? If the answer is "no", worship of him is foreign and forbidden. Avraham turned away from idols, and knew only YHWH as Elohim. He never knew Fate, Fortune, or Destiny, so do not honor them. Neither he nor Yaaqov nor Moshe nor David nor Eliyahu ever recognized a man as Elohim, so neither should we.

Avraham is also called the "rock from which we were hewn." (Yeshayahu 51:1-2) The sense Hirsch brings out is that they had already forgotten YHWH while He was still giving birth to them. Many Christians are much more familiar with Yahshua than YHWH, but they brush this off by saying they are one and the same. But this is not something our ancestors were familiar with. (v. 18) They never knew a man as Elohim.

20. "He said, 'I will hide My face from them; I will watch what they will [turn out to be] later, because they are a fickle generation--children in whom there is no trust[worthiness].

Fickle: easily reversed or overturned; also fraudulent, fake, or counterfeit. They have already been called defective, perverse, and twisted, but this is the lowest of insults--that we can't be trusted. This includes anyone who pretends to be His children, but is not walking in His Torah. Those who can be depended on are special to any leader, but there is a problem, because they are fewm yet this is the standard for all Israel. What was expected of Avraham, Moshe, Shmu'el, and David is expected of us as well. We need to be children He can trust to get the job done in the way He told us. Later: Though without His face (or presence), they would eventually crumble, this word is also their salvation, because "later" still, He promised to restore them.

We can make YHWH jealous! We are now entering the section of the the covenant that lists the penalties if we do not uphold it. Provoked Me to anger: LXX, "exasperated Me". A non-people: to pay us back for following a "non-El". He will let someone who is just as unreal as what they say bring them. Is this the Filistines, who were not one of the original 70 nations? (Gen. 10) He does not specify, because it was a recurring theme; at different times, there were different "non-nations" to make them jealous. There were times of great recovery of focus as in the days of Yoshiyahu, and even revivals of faith for the northern Kingdom in exile. Yahshua himself used the Samaritans, apparently a conglomeration of people settled in northern Israel by the Assyrians, to make Yehudah jealous because they did end up with a reasonably strong Torah-based practice nonetheless. Rome was not one of the 70 nations, but was a mixture of Edom and Kittim, and it was succeeded by Christianity, which never wanted to identify itself as one nation. And what about America, the "melting pot" of nations, which nonetheless is not cohesive, with many of its citizens still identifying themselves by their ethnic origins? But since for 2,000 years, the only identifiable part of Israel was Yehudah and the northern Kingdom was called "not My people" and even identified as Gentiles for a time, yet later would be called His people again, we, though now we know we are Israel, can also fulfill this role of provoking to jealousy those in Yehudah who do not recognize us. (See Rom. 11:11.) Senseless: calling Yahshua, who is a man (a "non-El") an elohim does make YHWH jealous unless we do homage to him only as the king YHWH has set in place. Another level of interpretation may be that He will use a non-nation that claims to be a nation, the Palestinians, to vex Israel by their foolishness, exemplified by their paying grand sums of money to families who will set their women and children in the front lines of fire to become martyrs with false hopes of going to Paradise thereby, in a staged-for-TV ploy to make the world think the Israelis are the aggressors. What is nothing: or "their vanities"--one of YHWH's epithets for idols. They exist only in men's minds. Paul says that in other cases it is actually the demons behind the idols that are being worshipped. (1 Cor. 10:20)

Underworld: or simply "grave". Mountains: often specifically a reference to the holy sites of the Temple Mount, Mt. Sinai, and Mt. Tzion. The top of Mt. Sinai was scorched, but the people were standing under the mountain (Ex. 19:17). Past all the habitable layers, He burns; nothing can be left. And Yehudah found it still thus in the 19th century. When Israel violates the covenant, is not trustworthy, or fakes it, the whole earth is affected; all of creation pays a price. If you want to see peace on earth, keep the whole Torah. Yes, even the stonings. That is where true shalom will ultimately come from, so do not trade it for anything that might seem more appealing.

24. "Exhaustion from being famished, consumed by burning inflammation, a bitter cutting-off and teeth of beasts will I send on them, along with the poison of things that crawl in the dust.

Consumed: embattled or depleted. Burning inflammation...beasts: translated by some as "flaming demons". This could stand up in the context of "beasts", which the book of Revelation seems to link with demonically-led men or organizations. LXX, "the devouring of birds". Bitter cutting-off: LXX, "irremediable falling away".

Innermost rooms: could this refer to wars on the borders and terrorists in Yerushalayim? Fear attacks us from within, and kills us in a different way. The children keep singing, and this is getting more serious. This does not mean He will use all of the options every time, so we cannot imagine that everything is all right just because snakes are not biting us. He reserved the right to use any of them against us in any combination when we break His covenant. We can find instances of most of these specifics right in Scripture, let alone later in history.

Shatter: LXX, "scatter". Indeed, many of the scattered of Israel did forget who we were.

This sounds much like Moshe's own argument to Him in Num. 14:16. There were times when the only reason He did not destroy us was that someone else might take the credit for it. (Compare v. 30.) How shameful!

Hirsch: "a nation going to ruin in their own plans". This is a curse: nothing web could say could help them. For over 2,000 years, we did not even know who we were.

Comprehend: includes the sense of acting circumspectly. Perceive: discern or consider; Hirsch, "draw conclusions about". Their end: where they are headed, or what YHWH intends their final state to be; which it is is up to them. If only they were aware of what was around them, they would understand what was coming their way. If they only knew what they were designed for! Why must they sow wild oats in the meantime? Can't they see the dignity they are meant to have? They should live according to that instead of being drawn about by silly pursuits. If only we would see ourselves in these words, instead of just focusing on the daily grind, if we would look in a mirror and see who we are supposed to be, we would be more mature and think about how we are affecting the world and our own children in particular. Ig the Torah has one opinion, we should not have another.

Their rock: This is speaking about the enemies' elohim. Only if YHWH surrenders Israel can it fall. Hemmed them in: or "given them over".

Here through v. 38 the nations come under His wrath. Rock: an idiom for strength as residing in one's national elohim. Even the enemies recognize that YHWH is far superior.

Vine of S'dom: How could grapes grow well in such a sulfurous, salty environment?

This wine could also be a reference to hot blood, especially considering that most Palestinians do not drink wine! Cobras: or vipers.

35. "Vengeance is Mine, and complete repayment. In due time, their foot will slip, for the day of their calamity is near, and the impending things stored up for them are hurrying [toward them],

Paul quotes this in Romans 12:19. Slip: or be dislodged.

Vindicate: or "plead the cause of". Strength: literally, "hand". Is exhausted: or "has evaporated". I.e., when they run out of youthful vigor and are decimated to a shadow of what they once were. Detainees and abandoned: Only when Israel has no strength left to resist YHWH or are not proud of ourselves will He rescue us. Yehudah was decimated during the Holocaust--and just after that, they were allowed to return. The Northern Kingdom had to completely disappear as a people before YHWH sent Yahshua to call us back to Himself. Those whom YHWH summons back to worship Him in Yerushalayim in the last days are described in Yeshayahu 27:13 as outcasts and those who are about to perish.

38. "'who ate the fat of their offerings, and drank the wine of their libations? Let them rise up and support you, and be your shelter [now]!'

What one has sacrificed for is what he will trust to save him when times become difficult. This sounds like today: Where is your retirement plkan and your investments now? If it is the Kingdom you invest everything in, storing up in the spirit by putting our resources into what it needs now (Mat. 6:24-34), it will come to your aid when you need it. If we do not, it will not. Anything that is not of YHWH will be able to carry anyone through the coming trials. YHWH challenges these false securities to a "duel". Let's see if your bank account can really help you when all the computers go down! It's not even "only on paper" anymore; it's only software! It never really belonged to you in any real sense. Let's see if relationships that do not further the Kingdom will be able to sustain you when everyone is lacking resources; those people will be fending for themselves then and will not care about you!

There are no other options but Him if you want to receive the eternal promises He made to Avraham.

41. "'If I sharpen My flashing sword, and My hand takes hold of the procedures of justice, I will turn vengeance back on those who afflict Me, and I will make a complete compensation for those who hate Me.

He draws clear lines: one who does not love Him with all his heart is actually counted among those who hate Him. He does not want anyone lukewarm. (Rev. 3:16)

The Assyrians, Babylonian, or anyone He used as an instrument of YHWH's vengeance on Israel would be nextr in line to receive the same thing if they enjoy it at all.

This is how Moshe's song ends: "Gentiles, you had better understand who Israel is, and treat them accordingly, because if you do not, it will be your blood where theirs was before. Work to uphold them in who they are." He will tear us apart and bring many tears, but it will all work out in the end. Nations [Gentiles] who are His people: those both of the scattered House of Efrayim, who mixed themselves with and lost their identity among the nations, essentially becoming Gentiles for all intents and purposes, and those who actually have no Israelite blood in them, but have become Israelites in heart--for they are the ones in love with the Land and seeking atonement from Him. There is no separating His Land from His people. Both are holy things that have been defiled, both of which Yom haKippurim is there to bring a covering for.

In their ears: He taught them the words and the catchy tune that would keep it ringing through their heads as a deterrent to sinning. Hoshea: i.e., Y'hoshua. He is now the one writing, for Moshe had already given his part of the book to the priest. He is humble, not daring to call himself YHWH's salvation until his resolve is tested, and because there is a greater Y'hoshua coming, who will accomplish a greater exodus. (Yirm. 23:7)

46. he told them, "Direct your hearts toward all that I am causing to testify to you today--words which you shall order your children to guard and to carry out--all the words of this instruction,

Order: a much stronger term than merely tell or teach. The term means to command them like a military commander. Teach them they are part of an army and must be and remain joined together by the Torah. Drill who they are into them like a sergeant, so they can look into the mirror and see who they truly are.

Meaningless: or empty. It is not something we can afford to ignore. It is a matter of life and death to us. Our final salvation depends on being able to "sing this song" again. This song will help you stay in the Land. If your children understand that YHWH has always been there for us unless we were faking it, when they watch the news they will recognize the signs that the end of Gentile ways is coming.

50. "then [you are to] die on the mountain that you climb, and be gathered away to your people, just as your brother Aharon died on Mount Hor and was gathered away to his people

51. "because you acted unfaithfully toward me in the midst of the descendants of Israel at the Waters of Strife in Qadesh in the Wilderness of Tsin, in that you did not honor Me as holy in the midst of the descendants of Israel.

The story behind this is found in Numbers 20:17ff. He struck the rock a second time instead of in faith just speaking to it as YHWH had commanded. This teaches us to listen carefully! Anger got the best of him--an anger he was not allowed. He made it look like it was his own anger and effort that brought the water again, not YHWH. He did not show them that YHWH needs no assistance to carry out His promise--no prodding, no thrashing with a stick. Paul tells us that the rock was a picture of Messiah. (1 Cor. 10:4) We need merely ask in His Name (Yochanan 14:13-14), not crucify Him again. (Heb. 6:4) "Asking" might sometimes involve nothing more than obeying His commands.

View: includes the concepts of perceive, inspect, or consider. He can look, but not touch. He knew this long before this point, but still he had to keep being an example for the rest of us, and now he is also faithful to be an example of accepting the fact that his season is over. Moshe is the ultimate example of being trustworthy--so genuine that one small false step cost him his place in the Land. This sounds cruel, but he did what he had come to do, so his work was done. Now it is up to us to do our part, pack our own lunch, be responsible for things he used to do for us. It is time for Israel to grow up, and if Moshe remained with us, he would be an impediment to that. He deflected the full vengeance of YHWH from Israel while he was alive; now came the test of whether we could stand on our own without him. When no one is there to take up the slack for us, what is left? This is one reason Yahshua left the scene as well. He made the way, but as we have seen, when men project on him too large a role, his persona can stand in the way of our maturing and passing or failing the test for ourselves.