Sharper Iron — The Law of God is Good and Wise: The Rock and Jeshurun

Rev. Philip Hoppe, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Colby, KS, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Deuteronomy 31:30-32:18.

Moses begins to give Israel the song that the LORD commanded in the previous chapter. He calls upon the heavens and the earth to listen as witnesses and prays that his teaching of God’s Word will bring growth as he proclaims the name of the LORD. Moses calls the LORD “the Rock,” for He is upright, just, and faithful. Though Israel should have been like Him, they have been corrupt and crooked toward their Creator. Moses recounts all of the LORD’s faithfulness to Israel in bringing them safely through the wilderness into the Promised Land. He calls Israel “Jeshurun” as a reminder that they should have been upright, like the LORD, but their idolatry made them crooked as they forgot the LORD.

“The Law of God is Good and Wise” is a series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Deuteronomy. Though Moses’ lengthy sermons in Deuteronomy may be tempting to skip, this influential book is essential reading for Christians. As Moses strengthened Israel on the plains of Moab before the people entered the Promised Land, so the book of Deuteronomy still strengthens the Church as we prepare to enter the Resurrection with Christ, the Prophet greater than Moses.

Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God’s Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen.

Sharper Iron is underwritten by Lutheran Church Extension Fund, where your investments help support the work of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Visit lcef.org.

Deuteronomy 31:30-32:18

The Song of Moses

³⁰Then Moses spoke the words of this song until they were finished, in the ears of all the assembly of Israel:

32 “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak,
    and let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
²May my teaching drop as the rain,
    my speech distill as the dew,
like gentle rain upon the tender grass,
    and like showers upon the herb.
³For I will proclaim the name of the Lord;
    ascribe greatness to our God!

⁴“The Rock, his work is perfect,
    for all his ways are justice.
A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,
    just and upright is he.
⁵They have dealt corruptly with him;
    they are no longer his children because they are blemished;
    they are a crooked and twisted generation.
⁶Do you thus repay the Lord,
    you foolish and senseless people?
Is not he your father, who created you,
    who made you and established you?
⁷Remember the days of old;
    consider the years of many generations;
ask your father, and he will show you,
    your elders, and they will tell you.
⁸When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,
    when he divided mankind,
he fixed the borders^[a] of the peoples
    according to the number of the sons of God.^[b]
⁹But the Lord‘s portion is his people,
    Jacob his allotted heritage.

¹⁰“He found him in a desert land,
    and in the howling waste of the wilderness;
he encircled him, he cared for him,
    he kept him as the apple of his eye.
¹¹Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,
    that flutters over its young,
spreading out its wings, catching them,
    bearing them on its pinions,
¹²the Lord alone guided him,
    no foreign god was with him.
¹³He made him ride on the high places of the land,
    and he ate the produce of the field,
and he suckled him with honey out of the rock,
    and oil out of the flinty rock.
¹⁴Curds from the herd, and milk from the flock,
    with fat^[c] of lambs,
rams of Bashan and goats,
    with the very finest^[d] of the wheat—
    and you drank foaming wine made from the blood of the grape.

¹⁵“But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked;
    you grew fat, stout, and sleek;
then he forsook God who made him
    and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation.
¹⁶They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods;
    with abominations they provoked him to anger.
¹⁷They sacrificed to demons that were no gods,
    to gods they had never known,
to new gods that had come recently,
    whom your fathers had never dreaded.
¹⁸You were unmindful of the Rock that bore^[e] you,
    and you forgot the God who gave you birth.

Footnotes

Deuteronomy 32:8 Or territories
Deuteronomy 32:8 Compare Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint; Masoretic Text sons of Israel
Deuteronomy 32:14 That is, with the best
Deuteronomy 32:14 Hebrew with the kidney fat
Deuteronomy 32:18 Or fathered

Rev. Timothy Appel

Although a mathematics degree may not be incredibly helpful to (proudly born-and-raised Texan) Rev. Timothy Appel while hosting Sharper Iron, his love of CFW Walther and the season of Easter will come in handy. His Call is shepherding the flock at Faith Lutheran Church in Godfrey, Illinois, and he’s also husband to wife Kristin and dad to their growing basketball team of children. When he’s not carrying out pastoral duties, you may find him reading “The Lord of the Rings,” snacking on Reese’s peanut butter cups, playing dominoes with his boys, or studying up on Texas history (including Sam Houston, of course).