A yad (Torah pointer) is used to keep one’s place while reading from the Torah scroll toprotect the parchment and handwritten text.
Shabbat Shalom John!
Welcome to Ha'azinu (Listen), this week's Parsha (Torah Portion). Please join us as we focus on the Torah portion that will be read in synagogues around the world during this morning's Shabbat (Saturday) service.HA'AZINU (Listen!)Deuteronomy 32:1ÔÇô52; 2 Samuel 22:1ÔÇô51; Romans 10:17ÔÇô11:12So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.18 But I ask, have the people of Israel actually heard the message? Yes, they have:"The message has gone throughout the earth, and the words to all the world."(Psalm 19:4) But I ask, did the people of Israel really understand? Yes, they did, for even in the time of Moses, God said, "I will rouse your jealousy through people who are not even a nation. I will provoke your anger through the foolish Gentiles."(Deut 32:21) And later Isaiah spoke boldly for God, saying,"I was found by people who were not looking for me.I showed myself to those who were not asking for me."Isa 65:1 But regarding Israel, God said,"All day long I opened my arms to them, but they were disobedient and rebellious." Isa 65:2
God's Mercy on Israel
Romans 11 :1-12 I ask, then, has God rejected his own people, the nation of Israel? Of course not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham and a member of the tribe of Benjamin. No, God has not rejected his own people, whom he chose from the very beginning. Do you realize what the Scriptures say about this? Elijah the prophet complained to God about the people of Israel and said, "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too."(Kings 19:10,14) And do you remember God's reply? He said, "No, I have 7,000 others who have never bowed down to Baal!" (Kings 19:18) It is the same today, for a few of the people of Israel(Greek for remnant) have remained faithful because of God's grace-his undeserved kindness in choosing them.And since it is through God's kindness, then it is not by their good works. For in that case, God's grace would not be what it really is-free and undeserved. So this is the situation: Most of the people of Israel have not found the favor of God they are looking for so earnestly. A few have-the ones God has chosen-but the hearts of the rest were hardened. As the Scriptures say,
"God has put them into a deep sleep.To this day he has shut their eyes so they do not see, and closed their ears so they do not hear." (Duet 29:4 & Isa 29:10) Likewise, David said,"Let their bountiful table become a snare, a trap that makes them think all is well.Let their blessings cause them to stumble,and let them get what they deserve. Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see,and let their backs be bent forever."(Ps.69:22-23)Did God's people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves. Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God's offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it.
"Listen [Ha'azinu], Deuteronomy 32:1"Listen, O heavens, and I will speak! Hear, O earth, the words that I say! 
Shabbat Judaica: kippah or yarmulke (head covering), shabbat candles,yad (Torah pointer), tallit (prayer shawl) and a kiddish cup. The Hebrewinscription on the cup reads “Borei Pri Hagafen,” which is part of theblessing over the wine at Shabbat and holiday meals: Blessed is the LordGod, King of the Universe, who brings forth fruit from the vine.
Last week in Parsha Vayelech, Moses transferred the mantle of leadership to Joshua. He also finished writing the Torah, and entrusted it to the Levites.
In this week’s parsha, Moses gives the Israelites the Song of Moses, which indictsIsrael's sin, prophesiespunishment, and promisesGod's redemption.
Songs of praise seem to bookend Israel's journey to the Promised Land.
When Israel is on the banks of the Red Sea (Exodus 15), Moses sings a song of praise, and when Israel is on the banks of the Jordan River finally ready to cross over into the Land flowing with milk and honey, he again sings praise (hallel) to God.
A Jewish man dons a tallit (prayer shawl) andtefillin (phylacteries) for prayer at the Western(Wailing) Wall. Tefillin is a set of black leatherboxes containing verses from the Torah onscrolls of parchment. It is a literal interpretationof the Bible’s command to “bind them as a signupon your hand, and they should be a reminderbetween your eyes.” (Deuteronomy 6:8)
Even though Moses could not cross the Jordan with the children of Israel, he was content knowing that He had been faithful to his calling and had seen the Promised Land with his own eyes from atop the mountain.
He took joy in anticipating the glorious future that awaited Israel beyond their dry, barren, wilderness wanderings.
We see something of a parallel in Yeshua (Jesus). He endured the pain of the Roman execution stake by anticipating the joy of the resurrection Romans 12:2 Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Hebrews 2:9What we do see is Jesus, who was given a position "a little lower than the angels"; and because he suffered death for us, he is now "crowned with glory and honor." Yes, by God's grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone.
A sense of faith-filled anticipation should also be a hallmark of our lives, too.
We too can find joy in this life, even when expectations are not met and outcomes fall short of our heart's desire. We can do this not only by anticipating the great and glorious things that God will do in this world and the next, but also those things He has prepared for us in eternity.
Corinthians 2:9"No eye has seen, nor ear has heard and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him."
Isaiah 64:4 For since the world began, no ear has heardand no eye has seen a God like you,who works for those who wait for him!
Off duty soldier prays at the Western (Wailing) Wall.
The Rock of Israel
"The Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is He." (Deuteronomy 32:4)
In Moses' farewell song, the Song of Moses, God is called The Rock (Ha'Tzur) nine times (Deuteronomy 32:1-43).
God is also called El Tzur (God is our Rock)
2 Samuel 22:47"The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock! May God, the Rock of my salvation, be exalted!
and Tzur Yisrael (The Rock of Israel)2 Samuel 23: 3The God of Israel spoke.The Rock of Israel said to me:'The one who rules righteously, who rules in the fear of God,
Isaiah 30:29. But the people of God will sing a song of joy, like the songs at the holy festivals.You will be filled with joy,as when a flutist leads a group of pilgrimsto Jerusalem, the mountain of the Lord– to the Rock of Israel.
These names describe His character perfectly since He is solid, unchangeable, immovable and the ever-present reality and foundation. He is a safe place of refuge for all of us.
In the Brit Chadashah (New Testament), we are told that Israeldrank from the same spiritual rock, and that this Rock which accompanied them in the wilderness was Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah1 Corinthians 10:4and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ.
Just as Yeshua accompanied the Israelites in their wanderings, as Believers, we can take comfort knowing that Yeshua is with us in all of our wanderings. God not only knows our wanderings, He keeps our tears in a bottle Psalm 56:8You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.
The Hebrew Bible text of the beginning of Ha’azinu (Deuteronomy 32: 1-4)as it appears in the Torah scroll. It’s written in a two-column format toreflect the poetic structure of the text where each line is matched by asecond, parallel thought. God: the Loving Father of Israel
In this parsha (Torah portion), God's lovingkindness and unchanging faithfulness is contrasted with Israel's ingratitude and faithlessness. God is vindicated as a loving Father, while Israel is chastised as a wayward, disobedient child.
Israel's choice to sin is no blemish upon the goodness of God. He offered them life and blessing or destruction and cursing, and they chose the latter Deuteronomy 32:5"But they have acted corruptly toward him; when they act so perversely,are they really his children? They are a deceitful and twisted generation.
All the subsequent disasters that would befall the nation of Israel were just punishment for their rebellion against God.
But despite Israel's sin and rebellion, God promises to intervene on their behalf and save them, lest the enemies of Israel exalt themselves and claim that Israel is finished.
A Jewish youth praying at the Western (Wailing) Wall with tefillin wrappedaround his arm and on his forehead. It is a display of devotion thatacknowledges that the mind, heart and action must be unified if we are tosuccessfully follow God’s ways.
And if we are tempted to scorn Israel for their sin, we should remember that if it were not for the grace of God through Yeshua HaMashiach (the Messiah), we would all be doomed.
Thankfully, His mercies are new every morning, and that's why we are not consumed. "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness;his mercies begin afresh each morning.
Despite everything, Israel is called 'the portion of the Lord' and Jacob is His "allotted inheritance"Deuteronomy 32:9"For the people of Israel belong to the Lord Jacob is his special possession.
God is also Israel's portion Lamentations 3: 24 I say to myself, "The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!"
The Torah scroll contains the first five books of the Jewish Bible: Beresheet(Genesis), Shemot (Exodus), Vayikra (Leviticus), Bamidbar (Numbers),and Devarim (Deuteronomy).
In this parsha, Israel is likened to a child left to die in the wilderness whom God finds, rescues, and saves. God cares for the orphaned child, supernaturally supplying all of his needs through food (manna), protection (pillar of fire by night) and guidance (pillar of cloud by day).
"He found him in a desert land, and in the waste, a howling wilderness He kept him as the apple of His eye." Deuteronomy 32:10He found them in a desert land, in an empty, howling wasteland.He surrounded them and watched over them; he guarded them as he would guard his own eyes.(Hebrew as the pupil of his eye.)
And God’s loving protection has not diminished with the ages. Through the prophet Zechariah, He warns the nations that "he who touches you (Israel) touches the apple of His eye." Zechariah 2:8After a period of glory, the Lord of Heaven's Armies sent me against the nations who plundered you. For he said, "Anyone who harms you harms my most precious possession.
The apple of one's eye is the pupil, the most sensitive and delicate part of the body.
Consequently, then, if anyone tries to harm Israel, it's as if they are poking theirfinger into the very pupil of God's eye.
An Orthodox Jewish father teaching his son to read the Sacred Texts.
God is intimately involved with Israel. He is represented as both father and mother. And yet Israel turned to other gods and forgot the Rock who bore them.
"They 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. Deuteronomy 32:17ÔÇô18They offered sacrifices to demons, which are not God,to gods they had not known before,to new gods only recently arrived,to gods their ancestors had never feared. You neglected the Rock who had fathered you;you forgot the God who had given you birth.
Though God had every reason to give up on the nation of Israel, He had mercy instead, lest Israel‘s enemies exalt themselves. He saved Israel for His own name's sake that He would be known in all the earthPsalm 106:8Even so, he saved them- to defend the honor of his nameand to demonstrate his mighty power.
Likewise, when we fall back into sin, God's very name is on the line. When we think that we have blown it too many times, and that God has every reason to give up on us, may we remember that although God will deal with us, He is merciful, faithful and true.
Similarly, He desires that we also be long-suffering with others, extending the mercy and grace that we have received from Him to others.
Orthodox Jewish men at the Western Wall.The Power of Life and Death
From the calamities Israel suffers, God wants her to understand that He is the one true God with the power of life and death in His hands. Although He wounds, He also binds up those wounds.
Deuteronomy 32:39Look now; I myself am he! There is no other god but me!I am the one who kills and gives life; I am the one who wounds and heals;no one can be rescued from my powerful hand!
Moses concludes his last message to Israel with the exhortation to observe all of the words of the Torah, which is not just a book of meaningless, empty words. It is the instruction manual for a long, full, satisfying life of blessing, health, holiness and prosperity.
Deuteronomy 32:47These instructions are not empty words-they are your life! By obeying them you will enjoy a long life in the land you will occupy when you cross the Jordan River."
At the end of Moses' ministry, God commands him to ascend the mountain one last time. Even though Moses is still full of health and vigor, he climbs MountNebo in the Land of Moab to die and be buried.
Although this great man of God was not allowed to enter the Promised Land, but was only given a glimpse of it from afar off, Moses was as faithful to God in death as he was in life
Deuteronomy 32:52So you will see the land from a distance, but you may not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel."
From atop MountNebo: The Dead Sea is visible in the distance.Haftarah (Prophetic portion)
In the Haftarah for this week's study, David also recites a Song of Thanksgiving, which has parallels to the Song of Moses.
Like Moses, David praises God as his Rock, refuge, fortress and deliverer after He saves his life from King Saul.
"The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge ."
2 Samuel 22:2-3He sang:"The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. He is my refuge, my savior, the one who saves me from violence.
When we are being persecuted, pursued or in any kind of distress, we can do what David did and call upon the Lord our God.
He will save and deliver us out of our trouble. We can trust God to be our mighty Savior, even from those who are too strong for us.
Like David, we can say, "With Your help I can advance against a troop; with my God, I can scale a wall. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is aRock (tzur)except our God?" 2 Samuel 22: 30, 32In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall..For who is God except the Lord?Who but our God is a solid rock?
A nimble ibex stands atop the rocky mountains of the JudeanDesert.
When we are weary, wandering in a wilderness, faced with hard choices or even in the midst of a battle, we must remember that God is our Rock. He is our ever-present foundation and far bigger than the circumstances in which we find ourselves.
Here in Israel, the circumstances loom large. We want to live in peace and security; nevertheless, we find ourselves on the defensive from ongoing missile attacks and facing a possible war with Iran.
Today, as Israel stands poised to protect herself from the nuclear threat that Iran poses, she also faces hostile Arab neighbors committed to her destruction and dark spiritual forces rising against her.
Please pray that the hearts of the secular and even religious Jewish people here will return to God-that Israel will look to the ONE God of Israel, our Rock, our refuge, our fortress and strong tower to save and deliver us from those who are determined to destroy us.
"The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God, the Rock, my Savior!" 2 Samuel 32:47
Israel has such a wonderful Rock and Savior in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus), and yet so few of the Jewish People know Him.
Bibles For Israel needs your help today to bring the Jewish Messiah to Israel and Jewish communities throughout the world.
“One tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain from the fields or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD and must be set apart to Him as holy.” (Leviticus 27:30)
Shabbat Shalom from all the Bibles For Israel ministry staff!