Haftarah Ha’azinu
“The Rock at the End”
2 Samuel 22:1–22:51
excerpted from TorahScope Haftarah Exhortations
Occasionally, life’s challenges tend to intersect with our weekly study of the Torah and Haftarah. This week is one of those times, so please allow me to share with you some intimate thoughts which have been on my heart and mind.
By the time one reaches this point in the annual cycle of Torah teachings, the Fall appointed times have commenced, and we anticipate the severity of Yom Kippur. The thirty days, of personal reflections during the month of Elul, are amplified, as the Ten Days of Awe complete the total time period of forty days, preparing the seeking heart for the Day of Atonement. It is appropriate that Torah students can contemplate and meditate upon some of the final words of Moses and David, two of the most significant people of their respective eras.
In the Ha’azinu Torah portion (Deuteronomy 32:1-52), Moses anticipated his departure, with a mellifluous poem of praise toward the Rock of salvation. In the selected Haftarah teaching, David lifted his voice in a praiseworthy psalm of deliverance and salvation toward that very same Rock. Quite gratefully, for those living in this current generation, that same Rock of our salvation is available for us as a shield, refuge, or for that matter, a comfort in times of trouble. Yet despite how mortals often cry out to the Almighty for help, consider how the Creation itself testifies to all people about the obvious existence of a Creator:
“For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity, that they may be without excuse” (Romans 1:20, WMB).
Without appropriating the Lord’s mercy by falling upon the stone or rock of His forgiveness—all are subject to the crushing ruin of the chief corner stone:
“But he looked at them and said, ‘Then what is this that is written, ‘The stone which the builders rejected was made the chief cornerstone’ [Psalm 118:22]? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but it will crush whomever it falls on to dust” (Luke 20:17-18, WMB).
This is a particularly difficult reality for me to personally consider this week, after spending the month of Elul in Boulder, Colorado, ministering to my non-believing sister as she struggles with a reoccurrence of breast cancer. For almost thirty days, the looming presence of the aptly named Flatirons—which shoot skyward, as the Front Range of the Rockies transcends into miles of towering craggy peaks and erosion formed valleys—overshadow this community of seeking souls. Yet, despite the undeniable truth that the Maker’s hand has fashioned the beauty of the mountain ranges, the sustaining flora, the indigenous fauna, and the cascading rivulets—many in this spiritual environment desperately continue to choose gods other than the Holy One of Israel. Lamentably as of this writing (23 September, 2009), the “cosmos” of the New Age still intrigues my beloved sister, as the ravages of disease continue to wreak havoc on her weakening body. Your prayers for her and for her physical recovery are greatly desired—as I will have returned to Boulder this week to minister to her, my parents, my brother, and the extended family.
The Torah and Haftarah readings we encounter this week, are very relevant to me and these upsetting circumstances, as the Torah cycle winds down to its annual conclusion. The connecting themes we read, revolve around two attributes of our Creator, which were evident to both Moses and David.
First, recognizing that he would not be permitted to enter into the Promised Land, Moses generated a valedictory poem to which all Israel was told to “Give ear” (ha’azinu) or listen (Deuteronomy 32:1). Evident throughout this discourse were the themes of God’s unparalleled strength as a rock (tzur) and everlasting perfection (tamim). Note the number of times Moses referred to the Lord as “rock” (Deuteronomy 32:4, 13, 15, 18, 30, 31, 37). Among His many high character traits, the Lord is considered to be perfect:
“The Rock [tzur]: his work is perfect [tamim], for all his ways are just. A God of faithfulness who does no wrong, just and right is he” (Deuteronomy 32:4, WMB).
Correspondingly in our Haftarah passage from 2 Samuel 22 (also seen in Psalm 18), King David lauded many similar themes about not only the power, protection, and stability of the Almighty, by multiple references to the Rock or tzur (2 Samuel 22:3, 32, 47). David also reiterated God’s integrity, blamelessness, and perfection by the use of the word tamim or “perfect”:
“I was also perfect [tamim] toward him. I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, According to my cleanness in his eyesight. With the merciful you will show yourself merciful. With the perfect [tamim] man you will show yourself perfect [tamim]. With the pure you will show yourself pure. With the crooked you will show yourself shrewd. You will save the afflicted people, but your eyes are on the arrogant, that you may bring them down. For you are my lamp, LORD. The LORD will light up my darkness. For by you, I run against a troop. By my God, I leap over a wall. As for God, his way is perfect [tamim]. The LORD’s word is tested. He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him. For who is God, besides the LORD? Who is a rock, besides our God? God is my strong fortress. He makes my way perfect” (2 Samuel 22:24-33, WMB).
As I read this passage from the heart of David—in light of the current circumstances with my sister—I am very concerned about her ultimate destiny, because of the clear testimony of the Scriptures which mean everything to me. My sister thinks it is just fine for her brother to believe in the God of the Holy Bible. In her very words, two quotes come to mind. In 1992 while conversing with one of her Jewish friends, it was simply a disdainful, “Whatever my brother believes, I believe in just the opposite!” In the last few weeks, however, while attempting to pray with and for her, her derisive tone was more of a watered down, “Your beliefs work for you, but they are just not for me.” Sadly, there has not been much movement in her beliefs in the past seventeen years. Still, with the prospect of death on the horizon, we are detecting a little softening, so we continue to pray!
When I consider the words of David, I am reminded of the testimony of those who preceded him, as recorded in the Torah. The first time where the Hebrew word tamim is used, is when it describes the attributes of Noah. Readers are told how Noah was not only blameless, but that he was also a righteous man. Genesis 6:9 says, “This is the history of the generations of Noah: Noah was a righteous man, blameless [tamim] among the people of his time” (Genesis 6:9, WMB). Apparently, this combination of righteousness and blamelessness, contributed to Noah being known as someone who walked with God. Additionally, based on the many years of building the Ark, Noah obviously had faith and belief in the instruction of God as it was revealed to him.
Later in Genesis 17:1-2, we find that the Holy One required a blameless walk by Abraham, in order to establish His covenant. The Lord spoke to him, “I am God Almighty. Walk before me and be blameless [tamim]. I will make my covenant between me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly” (Genesis 17:1-2, WMB). However, let us remember that many years before this covenant was established with Abraham, before Abram was renamed Abraham, it was asserted that Abram’s righteousness resulted from His belief or faith in God. It was Abram’s wholehearted belief in God’s promises, which prompted the Creator Himself to reckon him righteous: “He [Abram] believed in the LORD, who credited it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:6, WMB).
The Prophet Habakkuk said one of the most important remarks in the entire Scriptures, reflecting on this reality:
“Behold, his soul is puffed up. It is not upright in him, but the righteous will live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4, WMB).
The Apostolic Scriptures all confirm how this same principle is now extended to placing our trust in the accomplished work of the Messiah at Golgotha (Calvary). Heartfelt faith in the atoning blood of the Savior, will result in the righteousness which God desires for all humanity. Yeshua’s sacrifice as our blameless Lamb, receiving upon Himself the just payment for the sin of all people, atones for our sins. The graceful gift of salvation is received by faith and not individual works (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Turning back to our Haftarah selection generated some significant concern on my part, concern for those who lack faith in the Word of God. King David clearly understood God’s requirements for people to faithfully seek a blameless and righteous life—in order for the Rock to become a fortress, a deliverer, a shield, a horn of salvation, a stronghold, and a refuge. I become very concerned for those who do not look to the Rock, but rather rely upon their own personal estimation for their deliverance. These verses remind us of the need for humility, and how the Lord deals with the proud—who falsely believe that their own good works will merit themselves as proper, before a Holy and Righteous God:
“With the pure you will show yourself pure. With the crooked you will show yourself shrewd. You will save the afflicted people, but your eyes are on the arrogant, that you may bring them down” (2 Samuel 22:27-28, WMB).
Contrary to this, David considered his pursuit of God to be blameless and righteous:
“The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness. He rewarded me according to the cleanness of my hands. For I have kept the LORD’s ways, and have not wickedly departed from my God. For all his ordinances were before me. As for his statutes, I didn’t depart from them. I was also perfect toward him. I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, According to my cleanness in his eyesight” (2 Samuel 22:21-25, WMB).
David clearly understood how it was the Lord who was his Savior and Protector. It is the Lord who makes the way for those who pursue Him:
“For you are my lamp, LORD. The LORD will light up my darkness. For by you, I run against a troop. By my God, I leap over a wall. As for God, his way is perfect. The LORD’s word is tested. He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him. For who is God, besides the LORD? Who is a rock, besides our God? God is my strong fortress. He makes my way perfect. He makes his feet like hinds’ feet, and sets me on my high places” (2 Samuel 22:29-34, WMB).
The rhetorical questions asked by David—“For who is God, besides the LORD? Who is a rock, besides our God?”—generate a multitude of queries. This is because only the Almighty One is the Rock of our salvation! It is to Him who all must turn.
Yeshua the Messiah taught some important things about how people are required to seek the righteousness of the Heavenly Father, which we must receive in order to be blameless before Him. In describing the great contrast between pursuing the things of this world versus the things of the Kingdom of God, we find Yeshua describing the two contradictory paths available to all who live. One person pursues the things of this world, while another person seeks the Kingdom of God:
“Don’t lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don’t break through and steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t serve both God and Mammon. Therefore I tell you, don’t be anxious for your life: what you will eat, or what you will drink; nor yet for your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing? See the birds of the sky, that they don’t sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you of much more value than they? Which of you by being anxious, can add one moment to his lifespan? Why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They don’t toil, neither do they spin, yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not dressed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today exists and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won’t he much more clothe you, you of little faith? Therefore don’t be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘With what will we be clothed?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first God’s Kingdom and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore don’t be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day’s own evil is sufficient” (Matthew 6:19-34, WMB).
If we are able to seek God, and the righteousness available by the work of His Son, then we will have salvation. We will have our priorities straight, where the things of His Kingdom are primary to the things of this world. The good news or gospel is such a simple thing, but one which prideful people often willingly reject.
I have had to consider how people can look at the awesomeness of Creation—including the beauty of the jutting peaks and mountains overlooking Boulder, proclaiming God’s glory and magnificence almost every time they see them on a clear day—but deny His power to save them from their sins. Noah knew it, as did Abraham, Moses, and David. We often ask: How can people not see what is patently obvious to the Believer? Do they not recognize their own sinfulness and their need for a Savior? Do they not understand that believing in the Rock is necessary, if they hope to be redeemed?
I would be remiss if I did not interject into this discussion the testimony of the late Kimball McKee, Margaret’s first husband and father to John, Jane, and Maggie. Similar to my sister Marsha, Kim was diagnosed with terminal cancer (malignant melanoma). However, unlike Marsha, Kim was a very strong Believer, and was quite serious about his faith in Jesus Christ.
In Kim’s final days, his cancer had spread to his brain stem, and he was entering in and out of a comatose state. Before he went into his final coma, Margaret was sitting in his hospital room, praying for relief and for direction on how to proceed. One of the things she did was pick up a legal pad, and start to write his obituary. For a very brief moment, Kim came out of his coma, and sat straight up in bed, with a few choice words to proclaim to Margaret.
After hours of medicated sleep, Kim opened his eyes, looked right through Margaret pointing through the wall, and exclaimed, “I can see the Rock and hear the music!” Margaret was startled and confused. “What do you mean rock music?” she retorted. It was not until Kim slumped back in his bed, going into his final coma, that it dawned on Margaret how Kim had seen beyond this dimension and into Heaven. He then went into a coma, and after being kept alive by a ventilator for two days, was welcomed into the presence of his Lord.
While considering some of the final words of Moses and David, as they both looked to the Rock of their salvation, you might want to ask yourself just which rock (or Rock) is going to be most prominent in your mind as your life comes to a close. Will you be thinking of the beautiful vistas perhaps of the Rocky Mountains, or the Grand Canyon, or even a full Moon in all its glory? Or will you be looking beyond the temporal to the eternal Rock of your salvation? Will you hear the music, or will the loneliness of separation from the Lord be your destiny?
Will you follow in the footsteps of the holy ones or saints who have pointed to the Rock? Or will your pride of good works and self-righteousness be enough to stand before a holy and righteous God?
For ages, Yeshua the Messiah—the Rock—has been a great stone of offense. Quoting the Prophet Isaiah, the Apostle Paul taught the mixed assembly of Jewish and non-Jewish Believers in Rome, one of the main reasons why his fellow Jewish brethren had largely rejected Messiah Yeshua. Too many of them had forgotten the necessity of faith. Many from nations at large, contrary to this, had the necessary faith:
“What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, who didn’t follow after righteousness, attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith; but Israel, following after a law of righteousness, didn’t arrive at the law of righteousness. Why? Because they didn’t seek it by faith, but as it were by works of the law. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, even as it is written, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of offense; and no one who believes in him will be disappointed’ [Isaiah 28:16; 8:14]” (Romans 9:30-33, WMB).
Paul was by no means enthusiastic, about having to express how his own people largely did not have the faith to be redeemed. The faith to be redeemed, and then be empowered to walk blameless before God, is available to every man and woman. Yet people have got to want it.
Please pray that my sister will see the Rock and hear the music, by simply believing in the work of the Lord Yeshua who loves her![1]
NOTES
[1] Marsha Huey Moritz died on September 23, 2010. For a summary of her final testimony, consult the author’s article “Marsha’s Love Story: Snookering the Devil,” appearing in the October 2010 issue of Outreach Israel News.
