This week’s portion called Ha’azinu is from Deuteronomy 32.
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Christians and Jews share a reverence for the Word of God and a conviction that the Bible is an inexhaustible source of inspiration and guidance. This conviction is expressed, for example, in Pirke Avot, a compendium of early rabbinic wisdom. Speaking of the Torah, the fifth chapter of Pirke Avot instructs, “Turn it, and turn it over again, for everything is in it, and contemplate it, and wax grey and old over it, and stir not from it, for thou canst have no better rule than this.”
One especially rich section of scripture is Deuteronomy 32, a song written by Moses to help the children of Israel remember who they are and what God has done for them. The song warns that if the Israelites stray from God, they will go into exile. It then promises that God would not leave them there.
Deuteronomy 32 is foundational for the prophetic books of the Bible. The prophets unpack the latter chapters of Deuteronomy, and chapter 32 in particular, for their generations. Following the song of Moses, they expose Israel’s sins and predict that the nation will go into captivity if it does not repent. They also give assurance of God’s faithfulness to his people and describe Israel’s ultimate restoration.
Later the song of Moses provided special guidance to the apostle Paul. Paul struggled to understand why his message met with mixed reactions from his fellow Jews while being embraced by many non-Israelites. Searching the scriptures, he found an explanation in Deut 32:21: “They have made me
jealous with what is no god; they have provoked me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are no people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.”
In Romans 11 Paul asserts that Gentile Christians play the role of the “foolish nation” in Deut 32:21. Their acceptance by God has the effect of making Israelites “jealous” and eventually drawing Israel to Jesus (Rom 11:11-14; 25-27). “And in this way all Israel will be saved,” Paul states in Romans 11:26.
Paul’s application of Deut 32 is an example of something that Jesus described in one of his parables. In Matt 13:52, Jesus says that “every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” Paul saw something new in Deut 32 that helped him understand God’s plan more fully.
In our study of the Bible today, we also strive to be like the scribe in Jesus’ parable. We seek ancient wisdom, and we also look for guidance, through the Spirit of God, in applying that wisdom.
Psalm 119:17-24: Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.
19 I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!
20 My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times.
21 You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones, who wander from your commandments.
22 Take away from me scorn and contempt, for I have kept your testimonies.
23 Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes.
24 Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.
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