Rock Songs

For parashah 53;  Ha’azinu

MMin Kevin “Oriyan” Phipps

Parashah 53 has some harsh words for the children of Isra’el. These words are in the form of a song, which Moshe wrote to be a witness to Isra’el in the future of why they are experiencing hardship in the land at the hand of God. What is the nature of this song, and what does this song tell us about God, and His relationship with Isra’el? What is God telling the citizens of His Kingdom today? How does this passage in D’varim compare to the Haftarah reading in Sh’mu’el, which also happens to be a song, though from David instead of Moshe?

This song by Moshe relates to future events, so is it a warning, or is it prophesy? The answer is, yes. In other words it is both. In this song, God is giving Isra’el a glimpse of what their future holds, which makes this prophesy. In some ways they had already begun to rebel against God, so their rebellion would only get worse in the midst of pagan nations. However, this prophesy is much like the t.v. show about the guy who gets the newspaper for the next day and knows what will happens tomorrow, today. He then has the ability to make changes in history so that at least one or two of the bad things in the paper don’t happen. In other words, this “prophesy”, is also a warning because Isra’el has the ability to change their ways through the atonement, which is mentioned at the end of the song (v.43). We know that ultimately, the prophesy would stick, at least until the Millennium when Yeshua will restore Isra’el, and their redemption is complete. God has a title in this song, as well as the one by David that I will talk about later. It is, “Rock”.

"Hear, oh heavens, as I speak! Listen, earth, to the words from my mouth! May my teaching fall like rain. May my speech condense like dew, like light rain on blades of grass, or showers on growing plants. "For I will proclaim the name of Adonai. Come, declare the greatness of our God! The Rock! His work is perfect, for all his ways are just. A trustworthy God who does no wrong, he is righteous and straight. "He is not corrupt; the defect is in his children, a crooked and perverted generation.  You foolish people, so lacking in wisdom, is this how you repay Adonai? He is your father, who made you his! It was he who formed and prepared you! "Remember how the old days were; think of the years through all the ages. Ask your father — he will tell you; your leaders too — they will inform you. "When `Elyon gave each nation its heritage, when he divided the human race, he assigned the boundaries of peoples according to Isra'el's population; but Adonai's share was his own people, Ya`akov his allotted heritage.  "He found his people in desert country, in a howling, wasted wilderness. He protected him and cared for him, guarded him like the pupil of his eye, like an eagle that stirs up her nest, hovers over her young, spreads out her wings, takes them and carries them as she flies.  "Adonai alone led his people; no alien god was with him. He made them ride on the heights of the earth. They ate the produce of the fields. He had them suck honey from the rocks and olive oil from the crags, curds from the cows and milk from the sheep, with lamb fat, rams from Bashan and goats, with the finest wheat flour; and you drank sparkling wine from the blood of grapes. "But Yeshurun grew fat and kicked (you grew fat, thick, gross!). He abandoned God his Maker; he scorned the Rock, his salvation. They roused him to jealousy with alien gods, provoked him with abominations. They sacrificed to demons, non-gods, gods that they had never known, new gods that had come up lately, which your ancestors had not feared. You ignored the Rock who fathered you, you forgot God, who gave you birth.  "Adonai saw and was filled with scorn at his sons' and daughters' provocation. He said, 'I will hide my face from them and see what will become of them; for they are a perverse generation, untrustworthy children.  They aroused my jealousy with a non-god and provoked me with their vanities; I will arouse their jealousy with a non-people and provoke them with a vile nation. " 'For my anger has been fired up. It burns to the depths of Sh'ol, devouring the earth and its crops, kindling the very roots of the hills. I will heap disasters on them and use up all my arrows against them.  " 'Fatigued by hunger, they will be consumed by fever and bitter defeat; I will send them the fangs of wild beasts, and the poison of reptiles crawling in the dust. Outside, the sword makes parents childless; inside, there is panic, as young men and girls alike are slain, sucklings and graybeards together. " 'I considered putting an end to them, erasing their memory from the human race; but I feared the insolence of their enemy, feared that their foes would mistakenly think, "We ourselves accomplished this; Adonai had nothing to do with it."  " 'They are a nation without common sense, utterly lacking in discernment. If they were wise they could figure it out and understand their destiny. After all, how can one chase a thousand and two put ten thousand to rout, unless their Rock sells them to their enemies, unless Adonai hands them over? For our enemies have no rock like our Rock - even they can see that! " 'Rather, their vine is from the vine of S'dom, from the fields of `Amora - their grapes are poisonous, their clusters are bitter; their wine is snake poison, the cruel venom of vipers.  " 'Isn't this hidden with me, sealed in my storehouses? Vengeance and payback are mine for the time when their foot slips; for the day of their calamity is coming soon, their doom is rushing upon them.' "Yes, Adonai will judge his people, taking pity on his servants, when he sees that their strength is gone, that no one is left, slave or free. Then he will ask, 'Where are their gods, the rock in whom they trusted? Who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offering? Let him get up and help you, let him protect you! See now that I, yes, I, am he; and there is no god beside me. I put to death, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal; no one saves anyone from my hand!  " 'For I lift up my hand to heaven and swear, "As surely as I am alive forever,  if I sharpen my flashing sword and set my hand to judgment, I will render vengeance to my foes, repay those who hate me.  I will make my arrows drunk with blood, my sword will devour flesh - the blood of the slain and the captives, flesh from the wild-haired heads of the enemy." ' "Sing out, you nations, about his people! For he will avenge the blood of his servants. He will render vengeance to his adversaries and make atonement for the land of his people."  (D’varim/Deuteronomy 32:1-43)

The Hebrew word for “rock” is “suwr”, which refers to a large rock, like a boulder or a mountain. It can refer to a cliff. When I think of a cliff, I think of something dangerous, something that one can easily fall off of to great harm or death. One of the things I like about Washington is the mountains, and last year I was able to go to Mt. Rainier. It was cloudy, so we never actually saw the top of the mountain, as we had hoped, but there was much I learned about that mountain, as well as other mountains. They are beautiful to look at and fun to explore, but they are full of danger. Rock slides

and mud slides are common. Weather is often unpredictable and can change quickly. Where there is snow, there are always avalanches to be careful of as well. An inexperienced mountain explorer can easily find himself in a life or death situation very quickly. Anyone who climbs a mountain or even lives near a mountain does so with great knowledge and respect of the mountain, especially when it is also a volcano, such as Mt. Rainier. There are rules that go along with being on or around a mountain. Breaking the rules can have grave consequences, including death. One way or another, you never

forget or take for granted that you are on a mountain if you are on one.

In the song of Moshe, Isra’el forgets their Rock. They forget they are living in the presence of the God of the Universe. They forget the rules that go along with that honor. There are many blessings that go along with belonging to God. But, to him which much is given, there is much responsibility that goes along with it. Even in the wilderness, Isra’el had begun to fail to maintain their respect and fear of their Rock. As a result, they would later have to deal with that Rock becoming for them a cliff, sending them to near death.

Notice, however, that towards the end of the song, the warning is not just to Isra’el, but all God’s enemies and the enemies of His people, who are still His people despite their rebellion. It is no accident that Jerusalem is built on a series of mountains, and is often referred to as Mt. Tsiyon. The foundation of Isra’el is God, which is their Rock. However, Jerusalem is a place for all nations to come to worship the God of Isra’el. Any who come to the mountain of the Lord must come with fear and respect of Isra’el and their God. To do otherwise, is to become an enemy of God, and fall victim to the dangers of the Rock of Isra’el.

“Adonai is my Rock, my fortress and deliverer, the God who is my Rock, in whom I find shelter, my shield, the power that saves me, my stronghold and my refuge. My savior, you have saved me from violence. I call on Adonai, who is worthy of praise; and I am saved from my enemies.” (Sh’mu’el Bet [2 Samuel] 22:2-4)

Now we see in the song of David, an entirely different side to the same Rock. This is a song written to God, as praise to Him for bringing David victory over his enemies. It just so happens to “suwr”, also refers to a refuge. So, it is a rock, which can refer to a cliff, or to a refuge. These are two opposite concepts relating to the same thing. Fact is that, though a mountain can be dangerous, it can also be the best way to escape and hide from an enemy. The U.S. military have been searching for one man for the last five years, and with all our intelligence and sophisticated technology, they cannot find

him. His hiding place? Caves of mountains.

For those who know the rules of the mountain, and maintain their fear and respect for the mountain, there can be much security, not to mention beauty for the mountain dweller or explorer. When in danger, the mountain is the best place to run. Likewise, in the presence of the God of the Universe, He promises to protect those who love Him and live in fear and devotion to Him as His servants. Jerusalem is a city of peace. Going up to the mountain of the Lord is a time of celebration and prosperity, as the people of God glory in the salvation from sin and protection from the Adversary that only God provides.

This song of David is one of the most powerful portrayals of God found in the Bible, and should be read often to remind the person who dwells in the presence of Adonai the greatness and power of God.

One must never forget the song of Moshe either. God is a truly powerful God who hates sin. It cannot be in His presence, whether it originates from His people or from the heathen. In the case of His people, however, God’s desire is not for total destruction, but of cleansing and restoration. One substance found in mountains is gold, however, in its natural state gold is not of much value or use. There are too many impurities. Gold has to be put over a refiner’s fire and melted. When this happens, the impurities float to the top where they can be removed. What is left is pure gold. That is us.

We who desire to be citizens of God’s Kingdom must be purified. Just as Isra’el was given a glimpse of their future, so are we. We are told in the New Covenant that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, and that the penalty for sin is death. If God examines us and finds impurities, we are useless to Him and cannot be accepted into His Kingdom. However, through the atonement that His Son, Yeshua provides for us as our refining fire, we can be cleansed of our impurities, also known as sin, and appear as the pure gold God desires for us to be.

Our God is a great and mighty God. He is the Rock of our salvation. However, He can also be the Rock of our destruction. The same fury which protects us, can just as easily destroy us if we fail to follow the rules of the Rock that we find in Torah. We belong to the Rock through faith, but belonging to the Rock and falling off a cliff through failure to follow the rules of the Rock are two different things. God promised to punish Isra’el for their sin, though they would still remain His people. Likewise, we are still God’s children, through faith, if we sin, but that does not mean we won’t be disciplined

as one of God’s children, so that we can be the men and women of God He intends for us to be. The menorah in the Temple was fashioned out of one piece of gold. It not only represents the Messiah, but it also represents God’s people who He forms into something which can be used to shed His light to a dark world. The menorahs of the Temple stood in the same place where the Dome of the Rock stands today. Some day the dome will be gone and a new Temple will stand. It is the Temple of the true Rock, which is Messiah.

“For, brothers, I don’t want you to miss the significance of what happened to our fathers. All of them were guided by the pillar of cloud, and they all passed through the sea, and in connection with the cloud and with the sea they all immersed themselves into Moshe, also they all ate the same food from the Spirit, and they all drank from the same drink from the Spirit – for they drank from a Spirit-sent Rock which followed them, and that Rock was the Messiah.” (1 Corinthians 10:1-4)

May your life be a song from your heart to the Rock of your salvation, a song which is a testimony to you and all who hear the song of your life to the perfect name and greatness of your God.