Parasha Ha'Azinu

Me

This week we read Parasha Ha’Azinu, Deuteronomy 32:1-52, the final Torah Parasha read in the synagogue Shabbat service in the Torah Cycle. Parasha V’zot HaBrachah (Deuteronomy 33:1-34:12), which is officially the final Parasha of Deuteronomy, is saved for Simchat Torah as we roll the Torah Scroll from the end of Devarim to the beginning of Bereshit.

Parasha Ha’Azinu is the second song attributed to Moses in the Torah, the first being Shirat HaYam, the Song of the Sea, which is found in Exodus 15:1-18 immediately following Israel’s crossing the Yam Suf. Much like Shirat HaYam, Shirat Ha’Azinu is a poem which covers a multitude of emotions and prophetic thoughts Moses is processing as he is preparing separate from B’nei Yisrael and to ascend Mount Nebo.

In August 2004 Danielle and I packed up everything we owned into a Penske moving truck and started our journey moving to New York. We both grew up in Mobile, we both graduated high school in Mobile, pretty much everyone we knew and was close with was in Mobile… We were making a life altering, cross-country move.

We knew without a doubt that this was the direction God was taking us. As most of you know, we were moving to New York for me to go to school in a new Messianic Jewish studies program that had just started at Nyack College. We had only ever been to New York once, that was earlier the same year when we flew up to visit the campus in Nyack and what would be our new synagogue home in Long Island. We were excited about the move, but we were also very nervous. Everything was going to be new… Everything was going to be strange… Everything was about to change forever.

On our way to New York, and I use that phrase extremely loosely, we decided to drive in our Penske truck that would be our home for the next few days from Mobile down to my grandmother’s house just outside Ocala, FL in the Villages. And, if you know anything at all about US geography you realized quickly that Ocala, FL is the wrong direction to drive if one intends to get to New York.

We actually made plans to drive to Ocala to visit with my grandmother for a day or so before we officially moved to New York. We hadn’t seen her in almost a year, and with our move and me starting school full time, and us knowing we would both have to work full time just to be broke college students in New York, we didn’t know when the next time we’d get to see her again would be.

We came to learn that we couldn’t have picked a better way to kick off this new journey. We spent the night at her house that night, we got to have dinner with her and just chat. She spoke so much wisdom into our lives as we prepared for this new venture. She warned us about a lot of potential downfalls we could come across. She encouraged us about our finances and gave us pointers on how to survive, stay on top of things, and thrive in our new lives. She encouraged me about going to school and about becoming a rabbi. She encouraged us about our relationship and how important it would be for us to stick together and be there for each other in our new life.

She encouraged us a ton, but she also spoke stern warnings about what could happen if we weren’t careful, how easy it is for things to go haywire and to get lost in a place like New York. But, she also reminded us that no matter what we always had God and family to turn to and everything would be ok.

We left her house the next day in no particular rush… And we had no reason to rush, we had a long, long, long drive ahead of us pretty much the whole way up on I-95… But, we left with a deeper respect and love for my grandmother, but also with a bit better focus on our future, and a clear reality check

We

We can all use a little reality check from time to time, do you agree?

It’s always exciting and gut checking to start a new venture or to make a tremendous life change out of no where.

Maybe launching a new business… Or chasing a new direction in calling that takes us across country… Perhaps it’s in a new relationship… Or maybe it’s starting a new education journey…

Whatever it may be, we all recognize how exciting facing a new reality can be, but also how intimidating it can be as equally as much. And if we’re honest, when we are ready to launch out but also quaking in our boots at the reality of what it all means, having a reality check to help recalibrate our hearts and minds can be extremely beneficial.

God

I believe this is exactly what we are seeing with Moses’ song in Parasha Ha’Azinu. He realizes his time caring for, nurturing, and leading Israel is coming to a rapid closure. He recognizes that Israel is desperately anxious for what awaits on the other side of the Jordan River. They are biting at the bit to get in the mix of the fight, to take possession of all that God has in store for them, to fully realize everything they have been waiting for since crossing the Yam Suf, everything they had been longing for since Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob first heard the covenant of the Promised Land.

But, Moses also knows how easy it is for Israel to be led astray. How even in the most excited, most devoted, most attentive state we have the propensity for disaster given the right circumstances. Parasha Ha’Azinu is a powerful and prophetic closing statement of Moses’ life to the nation he has fought with, cared for, and loved for so long. His heart’s desire is not to make their heads big, it is not to make them scared of what lies ahead, but also to encourage them of all that God has in store.

And it is in this reality that we see the cohesive thread that ties this altogether:

Sometimes, that which we we can benefit most is a little divine reality check to keep us on track or to get us back on track.

(Repeat)

Let’s look at the Bible together.

The Parasha begins with— Ha’Azinu hashamayim va’adabeirah, v’tish’ma haaretz em’rei-pi

Deuteronomy 32:1–2 TLV

“Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak! Let the earth hear the words of my mouth. May my teaching trickle like rain, my speech distill like dew— like gentle rain on new grass, like showers on tender plants.

Notice Moses uses familiar language here, calling on heaven and earth to serve as a witness before Israel of the covenant they have accepted with the Lord, much like we see with the Blessings and Curses. And Moses also reminds Israel poetically of his role in teaching and leading them, in nurturing the young nation after they were birthed out of Egypt. The poetic language used here of gentle rain on new grass and showers on tender plants draws intentionally on the idea of nurture, love, and care.

Moses continues on,

Deuteronomy 32:3–5 TLV

For I will proclaim Adonai’s Name, ascribe greatness to our God! The Rock—blameless is His work. Indeed, all His ways are just. God of faithfulness without iniquity, righteous and upright is He. Did it corrupt Him? No! The blemish is His children’s— a generation crooked and twisted.

Moses references to Adonai as HaTzur, the Rock, is repeated five times in Parasha Ha’Azinu. And more specifically here he says HaTzur tamim pa’alo—The rock blameless is His work or blameless are His deeds. Then the poetic flow continues by saying God is faithful in all His works, He is without iniquity. Tzedek v’Yashar Hu— Righteous and upright is He. But then Moses follows this by saying the blemish is in Israel, the Lord’s children. They are a generation who is easily led astray, freely chasing after the ways of the nations around them rather than being holy and devoted to HaShem as a light unto the nations.

As with the case with all poetry, not a line is wasted and not a word is misplaced or without vast meaning. Notice in verse 5 Moses says, Tzedek v’Yashar Hu— Righteous and upright is He. The wording is intentional and directly connected to verse 15 in which Moses uses the term of endearment Yeshurun (Jeshurun).

Deuteronomy 32:15 TLV

But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked— you got fat, you grew thick, you gorged! He forsook God who made him. He mocked the Rock of his salvation.

This is a term of endearment used by the Lord a few times in the Tanakh in reference to Israel, it is from the root word Yashar, meaning upright. The very same word used in verse 5 when HaShem is called Righteous and Upright, Yashar, is the root of the word Yeshurun. Moses is reminding Israel of who they are, of what they were called out for, of what He desires of them. God’s desire is for Israel to be Yeshurun (upright ones) as He is Yashar (upright), but Israel has throughout the wilderness journey and ultimately will again in the Promise Land walk away from their calling, their covenant relationship with the Lord.

As you read through Ha’Azinu you will notice the overwhelming loving way in which Moses relates all that God has done for Israel to date.

Deuteronomy 32:7–14 TLV

“Remember the days of antiquity, understand the years across generations. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders and they will say to you. When Elyon gave nations their heritage, when He separated the sons of man, He set boundaries for the people by the number of Bnei-Yisrael. But Adonai’s portion is His people— Jacob is the share of His inheritance. He found him in the wilderness land, in the void of a howling waste. He surrounded him, cared for him, guarded him as the pupil of His eye. As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, He spreads His wings, catches him, lifts him up on His pinions. Adonai alone guided him— there was no foreign god with him. He made him mount the heights of the land. so he ate the produce of the field. He suckled him with honey from a rock, with oil from a flinty boulder. Butter of cattle and milk of a flock, with fat of lambs, rams of the Bashan and he-goats, with fat of the kidneys of wheat, and blood of grapes you drank.

Moses’ reality check for Israel is not just a forewarning of what could happen, but it is also a reminder for Israel as they prepare to possess the Promised Land of how much the Lord loves and cherishes Israel. He focuses the language here on the nurturing relationship that God has with Israel. He called Israel out as the smallest nation of all the nations, He called Israel out to be His own inheritance. He brought them from the wilderness and cared for them, nurtured them, protects them, and guides them. He provides all our nourishment and sustenance. He is leading Israel to their own inheritance in the Promised Land.

Yet, even with all of this, even with the clear and obvious divine orchestration of Israel’s rise and journey, we still ultimately would choose to walk away from the Lord and act like the world around us. And this isn’t a far fetch forewarning when we consider the grumbling and yearning to return to Egypt just after miraculously crossing the Yam Suf, worship the golden calf just after hearing the Baht Kol speak the Aseret HaDibrot personally to us, joining into the idolatry of the Midianites, and story after story sounding very similar.

Moses is giving Israel this poem, this song as a memory tool of the way their relationship with HaShem should be. But, despite all the mistakes that Israel has up to this point and would continue to make going forward, the Lord’s promise is always the same. He will redeem Israel, He will restore Israel, He will save Israel. We see this exact prophetic promise at the end of Moses’ song here in Parasha Ha’Azinu.

Deuteronomy 32:39–43 TLV

See now that I, I am He! There are no other gods beside Me. I bring death and give life, I have wounded but I will heal, and none can rescue from My hand.’ “Yes, I lift My hand up to heaven and say, ‘As I Myself live forever, when I sharpen My lightning sword and My hand seizes it in judgment, I will return vengeance on My foes, and those who hate Me I will pay back. I will make My arrows drunk from blood, and My sword will devour flesh— the blood of the slain and the captive, the head of the leaders of the enemy.’ Make His people rejoice, O nations, for He will avenge the blood of His servants. He will return vengeance on His foes, and atone for the land of His people.”

The Lord promises, even if and when Israel fails, that He will restore His inheritance to Himself. He will heal them and atone and forgive their Land. Despite our lack of faithfulness, the Lord is ALWAYS faithful. No matter how much we fail Him, He will never fail His people, He will never forsake His people, He will never forget His people.

Remember I mentioned early that Moses refers to Adonai over and over again in Ha’Azinu as The Rock. He is our Rock and our Fortress. He is strong and never-changing. No matter how we change, no matter how far we go astray, He never changes. And, as our Rock and our Fortress, we can always come back to Him in T’shuvah.

In our Haftarah Parasha, II Samuel 22 (and it’s mirror writing from David in Psalm 18) we see David using very similar language in His poetry.

2 Samuel 22:2–3 TLV

He said: “Adonai is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer. My God is my rock, in Him I take refuge, my shield, my horn of salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my Savior—You save me from violence.

And again…

2 Samuel 22:29–33 TLV

For You are my lamp, Adonai. Adonai shines in my darkness. For with You I rush on a troop, with my God I can leap over a wall. As for God, His way is perfect. The word of Adonai is pure. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. For who is God, besides Adonai? and who is a Rock, besides our God? God is my strong fortress and He keeps my way blameless.

And again…

2 Samuel 22:47 TLV

Adonai lives! And blessed be my Rock! Exalted be God— the Rock of my salvation!

David recognized the same thing that Moses recognized. In our best of days and in our worst of days, our God is our stronghold, our Rock, and our fortress. We can depend upon Him and lean upon Him when we are walking in faithfulness with Him and trust Him for our care, our nurture, and our protection. And, should we find ourselves walking outside HIs will, walking contrary to His Ways, walking like the nations around us, He is our Rock and our fortress that we can run back to for forgiveness and restoration.

And this is important, especially in David’s perspective. Remember, Israel has rocky hills and mountains all over the place, many of these have been used as fortresses in battle or retreats from battle. David resided in the cave systems within these hills as he was running from Saul and found great refuge in these rocks. So David’s proclamation of HaShem as a Rock is more than just a statement on God’s strength and might, but it is an allusion to David looking to Adonai as His strength and defense in times of adversity and the good times.

Sometimes, that which we we can benefit most is a little divine reality check to keep us on track or to get us back on track.

See, the importance of calling HaShem Tzoreinu (our Rock) goes far beyond what we see in Ha’Azinu. We see the imagery of the Rock in the Wilderness from which HaShem provided water and sustenance for Israel. We see this imagery with Moses hidden in the cleft of the rock. We see this image of Adonai as the Rock of Israel over and over again throughout the Tanakh.

Paul speaks to this in 1 Corinthians 10…

1 Corinthians 10:1–5 TLV

For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers and sisters, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea. They all were immersed into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. And all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink—for they were drinking from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the Rock was Messiah. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert.

Now here Paul is clearly alluding to the rock from which the Lord provided water for Israel in the Wilderness. But, in doing so he is pointing us to the reality that that Rock is not just some mythical stone floating in the air over Israel providing them with a never-ending waterfall. No, the Rock is Messiah Yeshua. He is using similar language as he reminds us that Yeshua, the visible image of the invisible God is still our Rock and our fortress, our living Redeemer providing us waters of life that will never run dry.

To the same end, Peter makes reference to our Rock, the Stone which the builders rejected as he calls us as followers of Messiah, as both natural and unnatural branches grafted into the root and fatness of the Olive Tree, Jew and non-Jew in Messiah Yeshua to walk away from the ways of this world and to live righteous and upright lives.

1 Peter 2:1–9 TLV

So get rid of all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all lashon ha-ra. As newborn babes, long for pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow toward salvation— now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to Him, a living stone rejected by men but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house—a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Messiah Yeshua. For it says in Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen, precious cornerstone. Whoever trusts in Him will never be put to shame.” Now the value is for you who keep trusting; but for those who do not trust, “The stone which the builders rejected— this One has become the chief cornerstone,” and “a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they are disobeying the word—to this they were also appointed. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

The same reality check, the same wake-up call Moses was giving to Israel in Ha’Azinu is repeated over and over and over again in the Bible. The cry of the heart of God for His inheritance Israel has always been to be Yeshurun, to be upright ones as Adonai our Rock is upright (Yashar). And every time Israel failed He continually called them back to return to Him and be made new and upright. And through Messiah Yeshua we are in fact made upright ones, righteous through the Blood of Messiah, our Rock and our Redeemer, the Stone which the builders rejected.

Through Messiah we are restored as Yeshurun, upright ones, a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession!!!

Sometimes, that which we we can benefit most is a little divine reality check to keep us on track or to get us back on track.

One more thing to point out with regards to our Torah and Haftarah Parashot to bring our focus home just a little more is the fact that as we’ve already stated both Moses’ song in Deuteronomy 32 and David’s song in II Samuel 22 refer to God as both Tzor and Tamim (Rock and Blameless). The difference between the two is the reality of the example we see between the two. In Deuteronomy 32 Moses is reminding Israel that our Rock and fortress is Blameless and perfect, yet despite all He has done we have chosen time and time again to walk contrary to His Blamelessness, especially when things get tough. Whereas David’s recognition of Adonai as the Blameless Rock is his alluding to Him finding his own righteousness because he presses into Adonai as His Blameless Rock, whether in good time and victory or bad times and adversity.

You

What are you struggling with today? What areas of your life are you hearing the Lord calling You to return to Him as your Rock and Fortress?

God’s desire has always been to speak His own term of endearment over you as He has over Israel, to call you Yeshurun (upright one). But, His heart is so much more… He doesn’t just want you to try to live right, to be a good person, to be better than others… He wants to make you upright, righteous and holy through the Blood of Messiah Yeshua. He wants you to come running back to the stone which the builders rejected, to drink from the waters of life that will never run dry from the Rock of our Messiah.

This is your reality check… Wherever you find yourself today, however you are living your life… Today is the day for you to make the choice to run back to the Rock of your Salvation.

We

CALL WORSHIP TEAM UP AND UNMUTE THEM

After I pray we’re going to spend a few minutes in worship as we close out our service today. As we lift our voices in worship let us also heed our hearts to the reality check found in Ha’Azinu.

May we focus on the Rock of our Salvation. May we allow the Ruach HaKodesh to move within us to purify us and restore us.

In the same way that, as we began our new journey to New York years ago, my grandmother gave us a reality check of what laid ahead of us, may we recognize the reality check Moses spoke over Israel. May we recognize the call of God to be holy, set apart, Yeshurun.