An Unstoppable Force
Yahweh will keep his word, he will vindicate and comfort his people, his servants. But there is an unseen battle going on in the heavenlies and here on earth. That is what “this song” is all about.
As we ponder the vindication and comfort of Yahweh; allow me to read this sixth speech of Yahweh:
Deuteronomy chapter 32, verses 36-39
36 “For Yahweh will render justice to His people,
And will have compassion on His slaves,
When He sees that their strength is gone,
And there is none remaining, bond or free.
37 “And He will say, ‘Where are their gods,
The rock in which they sought refuge?
38 ‘Who ate the fat of their sacrifices,
And drank the wine of their drink offering?
Let them rise up and help you,
Let them be your hiding place!
39 ‘See now that I, I am He,
And there is no god besides Me;
It is I who put to death and give life.
I have wounded, and it is I who heal,
And there is no one who can deliver from My hand. (Deut 32:36-39, LSB.)
This sixth set of lyrics contains three turns or twists of thought:
32:36 An emphatic declaration, Yahweh will vindicate and comfort …!32:37-38 Mockingly, he will say, ‘Where are their gods’ …32:39 As an unstoppable power and force he announces, See now I am He…Yahweh Has Done All This
Everything leading up to the writing of “this song”, from Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning …, to include in Deuteronomy 32:11 he founded Israel, and made him as the apple of his eye, which he would protect and care for no matter what.
Yahweh will vindicate and comfort his people and his servants - 32:36bHe does what he says.
When he observes that their strength has vanished.
When he sees that there is no ruler or helper left
He is the God who sees:
In the true story of Sarai and Hagar, we read:
6 But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant-woman is in your hand; do to her what is good in your sight.” So Sarai afflicted her, and she fled from her presence.
7 Now the angel of Yahweh found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur.
8 And he said, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant-woman, where have you come from and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai.”
9 Then the angel of Yahweh said to her, “Return to your mistress and humble yourself under her hands.”
10 Moreover, the angel of Yahweh said to her, “I will greatly multiply your seed so that they will be too many to be counted.”
11 And the angel of Yahweh said to her further,
“Behold, you are with child,
And you will bear a son;
And you shall call his name Ishmael,
Because Yahweh has heard your affliction.
12 “And he will be a wild donkey of a man,
His hand will be against everyone,
And everyone’s hand will be against him;
And he will dwell bin the face of all his brothers.”
13 Then she called the name of Yahweh who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees”; for she said, “Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?” (Genesis 16:6-13, LSB).
Yahweh will say, ‘Where are their gods’ - 32:37-38Let them rise up
Let them help you
Let them be your hiding place
These are three jussives, desires on the level of a command. He is challenging the gods to help his people, whose strength is gone. Life’s hardships have worn them out.
Yahweh is an unstoppable force – 32:39
See now that I am He
There is no God with me
It is I who put to death and make alive
I will wound, and I will heal
There is no one in existence that can deliver from my hand
I have laid out a fair outline of things Deut 32:36-39. I want to establish things a bit. So that we better understand what is happening and what is not happening.
I plan to expand on these in a future blog.
We have come to the end of today’s blog, dedicated to Wisdom for Life.
Thank you for reading and pondering! Please join me again for another interesting article on Wisdom for Life.
Until he comes on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory,
may
“Yahweh bless you and keep you;
Yahweh make His face shine on you,
And be gracious to you;
Yahweh lift up His face on you,
And give you peace.”
Legacy Standard Bible (The Book of Numbers, 6:24–27, LSB).