Semicontinuous - Psalm 8; Exodus 2:11-15a; Romans 11:33-36
Complementary - Psalm 18:1-3, 20-32; Deuteronomy 32:18-20, 28-39; Romans 11:33-36
(What are semicontinuous and complementary readings?)
___
Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)
32:18 / You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.
The sin itself is readily apparent from the first verse. The people have forgotten God. God is a rock who has been involved faithfully and dependable in giving Israel life. God birthed Israel into existence. That they have forgotten God means they have betrayed their heavenly parent.
32:19 / The Lord saw it and was jealous; he spurned his sons and daughters.
God’s anger is portrayed in the metaphors of jealousy and rejection. God’s jealousy can best be interpreted as the jealousy of a covenant God in the intensity of God’s commitment. Israel belongs to God, and yet Israel has rejected their relationship to God. God is grieved over their rebellion. God, the adoptive father of Israel can no longer continue to bestow blessing upon them.
32:20 / He said, ‘I will hide my face from them; I will see what their end will be, for they are a perverse generation, children in whom there is no faithfulness.
For God to hide God’s face means the removal of the divine hand of protection. Israel had acted unfaithfully and will be punished accordingly. The words “faithless generation” highlighted how unlike the way God led was how his people acted; their problem was relational. They had received the steadfast love and faithfulness of God and they had acted faithlessly in response.
32.28 / They are a nation void of sense; there is no understanding in them.
The people do not possess wisdom; they do not understand. It is not merely that their minds are not capable but they have not processed the spiritual truth of their experience of God. Israel has observed God’s loyalty and has still come to the wrong conclusions. Biblical wisdom is living the right way based on the knowledge of God. Failure to understand what they live is a failure of their wisdom.
32:29 / If they were wise, they would understand this; they would discern what their end would be.
Wisdom would have given Israel insight into where they were going. They should surely have seen that a rebellion of that magnitude would bring Israel to this dead end. What is so sad is that Israel is wise enough to have seen the end of this trail; their lack is not in information but in action. Wisdom is the ability to perceive the nature of the road on which our decisions lead us.
32:30 / How could one have routed a thousand and two put a myriad to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, the Lord had given them up?
Israel’s great victories were never their own doing. It was only because God was fighting on their behalf that such incredible victories were achieved. In much the same way, their failures need to be understood in relation to their covenant with God. When God withdraws his supporting hand, it should remind Israel of their utter dependence upon God. It points, once again, to the danger of seeing success in terms of human might, power, or intellect.
32:31 / Indeed, their rock is not like our Rock; our enemies are fools.
What comparison is there between Israel’s Rock and the rocks of Israel‘s enemies? Whatever people believe in, their gods, armies, their political power, there is no comparison to Israel’s God. God has been steadfast and proven faithful time after time; and God insists that his people know the difference.
32:32 / Their vine comes from the vinestock of Sodom, from the vineyards of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of poison; their clusters are bitter;
The imagery of the vineyards reveals the evil of Israel’s opponents. They are compared to Sodom and Gomorrah. The roots of evil bear rotten fruit. One reaps what one sows. Whatever comes out of something corrupted will necessarily itself be corrupted. Sin itself is a form of God’s judgment.
32:33 / their wine is the poison of serpents, the cruel venom of asps.
The poisonous imagery continues. That which was called good, was blessed with the gift of life; now it is corrupt and now it is something harmful. Evil produces death, not life. Venom suggests a threat which is delivered silently; the consequences of which will only appear much later. Sinful choices may appear attractive for a time while carrying destructive consequences within them.
32:34 / Is not this laid up in store with me, sealed up in my treasuries,
God records the deeds of the unrighteous. Nothing is beyond the divine sight. Whether individuals overlook injustice, forget wrongdoing, or fail to see the necessity of accountability, none of it escapes the notice of God. In God’s timing, judgment will take place. God’s patience is not indifference. God knows all that has happened, and will bring justice when it is time.
32:35 / for the day of vengeance and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip? Because the day of their calamity is at hand; their doom comes swiftly.
Punishment and final recompense are left to God. There is a boundary drawn that limits human retaliation. Vengeance is God’s prerogative and God’s alone. The foot slipping highlights the sudden reversal of circumstances. Those who appear secure discover in a quick moment the danger they are in. Human beings are not the final arbiters of justice.
32:36 / Indeed, the Lord will vindicate his people, have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone, neither bond nor free remaining.
God’s people are now specifically in mind. After Israel is no longer able to survive on its own, divine mercy will be dispensed. The loss of human strength is essential, for in desperate conditions, Israel cannot rely on her own power. God’s saving power comes when it is evident that the people cannot save themselves. The link between judgment and mercy benefits God’s people. It means judgment never gets the last word. Endurance of God‘s people happens, God disciplines Israel, but divine discipline does not mean the abandonment of God’s people nor his covenant purposes.
32:37 / Then he will say, ‘Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge,
The rhetorical question shows how helpless idols are in affecting salvation. The gods who promised security to Israel are now trapped themselves in the same plight. These supposed deities cannot provide what Israel actually needs for security and reassurance. Whatever is presented as a substitute for God, proves weak and pathetic when the crisis is upon the people.
32:38 / who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their libations? Let them rise up and help you; let them be your protection!’
The irony is amplified as the false gods are being summoned for help; yet despite the appeals and sacrifices made toward them, they are mute in helping their devotees in times of trouble. This stands in stark contrast to the God of Israel. Israel’s God does not just receive from God’s people; the Lord acts on their behalf. Idolatry reverses that relationship by asking human beings to give themselves to powers that ultimately cannot give them life.
32:39 / See now that I, even I, am he; there is no god besides me. I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal; and no one can deliver from my hand.
The passage ends on a theologically triumphant note of God’s uniqueness. No other God exists like Israel’s who is Lord over death and life, sin and redemption. The language of suffering and healing are designed to trigger their memory that the God who judges is also the God who redeems. There is no power that will save Israel from the hand of judgment. The providence of God is not portrayed as something only to fear. God is also the Rock who created Israel and the compassionate God who ultimately vindicates God’s people.
SOURCES
Daniel I. Block, Deuteronomy (The NIV Application Commentary).
Peter C. Craigie, The Book of Deuteronomy (New International Commentary on the Old Testament)
Patrick D. Miller, Deuteronomy (Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching).
Edward J. Woods, Deuteronomy: An Introduction and Commentary (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries).
PRAYER: Through the waters of oppression and death, Lord God, you led a people into the burning presence of your love. As you fed them in the desert, now feed us with the finest of wheat, that we may know the liberating power of the paschal feast. Amen. (Revised Common Lectionary)
___
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.