Deuteronomy 32:10 - He and Him

0:02 Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. Good afternoon everyone. It is Tuesday, November twelfth, twenty twenty four. It is currently twelve thirty two pm Central Time, and I am coming to you live from the Theology Central studio located right here in Abilene, Texas. Now. Yesterday, I guess you could possibly describe our conversation, our discussion yesterday as being maybe somewhat discouraging, maybe somewhat depressing. And I kind of asked you a question right to kind of look over your Christian life and to see how maybe your way of thinking has changed, maybe your view of Christianity, how it has changed, maybe the reality of the Christian life has greatly impacted you. And I talked about my own journee, and we went back and we listened to part of a message from Chuck Swindahl, and I told you how I would possibly have heard that message in the past, how I hear it in the present, and how I'm much more. I guess you could call it. You may say that I'm critical, you could say that I'm jaded.

1:19 You could hear maybe my frustration, and it is frustrating to go back and listen to a pastor that you listen to forever as a young Christian and you were excited and you loved it and you took notes, and to go back and listen to a sermon from close to somewhere during that period of your Christian life. But now you hear it and your like, what in the world is this? Why? Why is this even happening? What is even going on? Look? Why are you doing that to the text and become very frustrated with it. And I kind of talked about my introduction yesterday was very long, but I talked about in some ways I almost longed those days where I was ignorant of so much. I had not gone to Bible college yet seminary, I had not gone to Bible institutes. I had no formal education, so I was still ignorant about many philological issues, hermonutical hermonutical issues. I had no way to process things. So that ignorance led to just being able to have zeal, passion, joy, excitement believing certain things, and then time and education and knowledge that made me realize, wait, they kind of lied to me. That's not what the text actually says. They're giving me promises that the Bible doesn't actually get. They're telling me that this is the way the Christian life is going to be, and clearly that's not true. And then then all of a sudden, it kind of just makes Christianity much more discouraging and frustrating, and it becomes

2:53 it can become very negative. So we talked about that yesterday, and we're going to return to the text and question. But before we do that, I saw an email this morning that was sent to me at seven eleven am seven eleven am this morning, and the title, the subject line is highly optimistic and I'm like, wow, okay, that is I need to check this out. Highly optimistic. Okay, maybe you're optimistic because you're high, right, Like, man, okay, I know You're like, well, that's horrible to say. I'm just saying, how how does one become highly optimistic? I want to hear this all right? So one this person, I don't know their age, but they said they they're highly optimistic and excited because they are closer to the end of life than in the beginning. Okay, and as time goes by, Christ means more to me than ever.

3:56 Well that's good. To know that. I guess when you reach us an agent, and you'll look back and you're like, well, you know, it's much closer to death than it's ever been in my life. Then I think then eternity becomes more important than anything else, right life. You realize life is about to end, so then eternity becomes your focus. I think when you're younger, life becomes the eternity seems like forever away when you get when in a sense, when you get on the other side of life, then eternity is all that's there. So okay, maybe maybe you're high, you become highly optimistic. When when you get done with life and you're about to face eternity, well things are looking much Put it this way, when you're that much closer to eternity, things definitely look better than maybe life does.

4:44 But I thought that was interesting. But they go on to say this. They say that they have been, you know, listening to lots of sermons, lots of sermons, and I'm paraphrasing a lot of this. I don't want to quote everything to you know, to give away anything personal, but they said that they've been finding messages on the sermon's two point on the sermon sermon's two point oh app sermon audio website that seems to focus on Christ, not on doctrinal systems, not on disputes, not on selling products and so on. They have conferences but amongst themselves and never for money. I'm like man that that that definitely would make me a little bit more positive. They said, it's refresh it's refreshing to hear this type of preaching, and after you listen, it's it's hard to listen to anything else. I still listen to other people, even people I disagree with, but that's not my main focus. Now.

5:37 I love this. I just ignore Christianity and let the world do whatever it wants to do. I can sympathize to some level with Nietzsche, who who was very critical of religion. He thought people used religion and morality to control others, and he wasn't wrong, and he did even know about Southern Baptist Unfortunately, he never seemed to have separated Jesus Christ the Savior from Christianity. Otherwise, what he says about religion is a good critique. I got to a point where honest atheists like Nietzsche and others made more sense than and then in quotes Christianity with megachurches, mansions, airplanes, big ticket conferences and all of that. Now, I do like that perspective. I think sometimes you reach a point where you're like, Okay, here's this thing called Christianity. I don't know what all of that is. It's got this, it's got that, it's got celebrities, it's about money, it's got industry, it's got the conference industrial complex, the publishing industrial complex, it's got the Christian music industrial complex. It's about money, business, politics, position, And you're on this team or you're on that team, and this team says your team is wrong, and it's fighting and arguing and church splits and and and raising money, and it's all about this.

7:08 And that's Christianity. And then over here we have christ, we have salvation, we have the Bible. And sometimes I think you reach a point you got to separate that from Christianity, because Christianity is filled with all of the negative. Christianity, because Christianity is is is people. Right. Wherever you find people, you get you get the negative, you get, the you get, the brokenness you get, the hurt, you get, the pain, you get, the you get every because people are we're sinners. So wherever christiansgether, that's Christianity. And then you get all of the you get the politics, you get the structure, you get all of those things, you get money, you get all of that because people are involved. But you can't not look. You can't let Christianity define Christ. You can't let Christianity define your relationship with Scripture, your relationship with God. I think so many times our identity is found within Christianity, then within Christ. So many times our life becomes Christianity. It doesn't become Christ. It's not to live is Christ and to die is gain our life it becomes my life is Christianity. It's the church. It's a denomination, it's a theological system, it's a celebrity. No, you're to live is Christ. Separate it from Christianity, remove

8:42 it from Christianity, because Christianity is all of this other stuff. Now. I do believe, obviously, at least from my perspective, I have to try to sometimes address what's going on in Christianity, at least I feel to some level right. But at the same same time, I think it's a very good reminder that we also need sometimes to step back from Christianity and look to the scriptures and look to Christ. So I try to find the balance. I've got to I've got to sometimes look to what's going on in Christianity so I can provide critique, a perspective challenge. But I try, even in our sermon reviews. I hope you catch this. I hope, I hope this turns out to be true, because that email was somewhat convicting, even to me.

9:32 It was convicting to me, because you know, do I get caught up with the Christianity and forget Christ? And I think I do that probably frequently. I do that frequently. I try in my sermon reviews. I try that when I have to look at how Christianity is handling the text, how Christianity is talking about it. And so what I attempt to do is, after I become greatly frustrated with it, is try to take the text and say, okay, guys, I'm leaving you to yourselves. I'm coming over here. Now, let's do something with it. Let's do something. And that's what we're trying to do with Isaiah forty through fifty five. That's what we did with Psaw eighty three, and I hope I can find a way to do that. I don't know if I if I can do it perfectly.

10:15 But at the same time, someone's got to be able to look at Christianity. But what in the world are you doing? And that's kind of what happened yesterday. So I'm going to just play a little bit of what we heard yesterday, because once again we have a text of scripture, in this case Deuteronomy chapter thirty two, primarily verse ten. We have a very famous pastor by the name of Chuck Swindle, who is massively influential in my life. Great memories of listening to his messages, great great memories. I mean, there's no way to say. I mean, I really do long for those days, but I didn't have any way of processing what I was hearing. But now when I look back on this message, and this is a message again on Deuteronomy thirty well it's actually a message somewhere in Exodus, but Deuteronomy thirty two ten became the focus. It's about his whole hypotheses is that you and I find ourselves in a desert sometimes in life, and it's a metaphorical desert, and the desert basically as anytime things go in a way that's not the way we don't like, and it's we don't like it. God put us in that desert to prepare us for some purpose.

11:20 And we talked about all of the problems with the entire approach, but the focus became Deuteronomy thirty two ten. And immediately what he did is he goes to Deuteronomy thirty two ten and he inserts us into the text and it becomes majorly problematic. So I did a lot of critiquing it. I did a lot of getting frustrated with it. What I want to do today is take a step back. I'm going to at least play a little bit just to kind of get you on the same page. But I'm going to go to Deuteronomy thirty two ten and I'm going to say, you know what, a stead of criticizing, instead of critiquing, let's go to Deuteronomy thirty two ten and let's try to demonstrate what it looks like to actually just look at the text and just be as fair and honest with the text as possible and see what we can gain from it.

12:11 I think that's a good approach, right, So that's what we're gonna do. So this is how it sounded yesterday when I started reviewing Chus Wendall about those deserts and our life. Here is how he introduced it. Here we go. In the journey of life. Sometimes we feel like we're trekking alone through the desert with sand in our shoes and the sun bearing down. It's lonely, it's quiet, and it feels like we're getting nowhere. Well Today, on Insight for Living, Chucks Wendall continues his biographical study of Moses in the Book of Exodus. We'll observe his decades of anonymity, shepherding his father in law's sheep the land of Midian.

13:01 Moses's time in the desert teaches us profound lessons about our own walk with God. Chuck titled his message the Desert School of Self Discovery. And right from the introduction it becomes about, Hey, we're gonna go to this and we're gonna find it about us. We're gonna take this and make it about us. And there's always major problems with that, especially when you go to the Old Testament, especially you go to sections that are very much about Israel. We take those things happening are based off a covenental promises, covenantal promises, and covenantal relationship, and we want to insert ourself into it over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. It drives me crazy.

13:43 So I'm gonna play a little bit more of what Chucks went on that that was there, you know, the introduction to the program. Now his his part will start. You'll hear it just almost instantaneously. It's about you, it's about me, it's about us. He even acknowledges at the very beginning, Hey, I know this is about Israel, but I'm going to just make it about us basically, And you're kind of like, what in the world. So what I wanted to do today is he he says in Deuteronomy thirty two ten, there are four things God basically does for us when we are in the desert. And I was going to go look at those four things, first apply it to where it should be applied to Israel, and then see if there's any way to apply it to us. But well then I started having a pronoun problem. Right, there were some pronouns here that I'm like, wait a minute, what what do we do with those? Maybe that's what I need to focus on. Okay, so you'll see it will all make sense in just a minute. But yeah, let's let him do a little bit more work here, just in case if you missed yesterday, you can be all caught up.

14:44 Here we go, Well, tonight, I want to talk about something that is painful, but it is essential in our walk with the Lord. I am referring to how the Lord handles some of his children. It seems the longer I live, the more I realize most of his children in preparing them for. His purpose. Specifically, I'm talking about times in the desert.

15:26 Now you can already see this is very much an isigesis approach, not an exegesis approsss an isogetical, not an exegetical approach, because he's placing something into the text, he's reading something into the text. So basically, you have these times in the Bible where people find themselves in a desert. And so what he's going to say, then he's just taking, now a universal principle basically say, well, for most of God's children, the way God prepares you for his purpose is he chooses the desert for you and places you in the desert. Now that desert can be all a pain suffering and which this raises all kinds of philosophical problems. But God puts you in the desert. Now he's just taking actual historical narratives about people and literal deserts and now making it all allegorical, spiritualizing it and reading into the text and placing something into the text that the text is not necessarily saying. And that is we're majorally problematic.

16:22 I mean, we want to be exegetical, not we want to do How can I say we want to do exegesis not isogesis. We don't want to read into the text if I can, you know, explain it that way, right, And I don't have time now to get back. And we defined it in the last episode Exegesis isigesis. We defined it, I explained it. And this entire message is very much an isogesis approach, not an exegesis approach. Right, So here we go, lets them do just a little bit more and then we can we'll get We'll get to the pronouns. That's that's what we need to focus on. I am referring to a school in which God places his children to prepare them for a particular task.

17:11 Now, there's no way that I can paint. This attractive or colorful, glamorous, beautiful. It was never designed to be. I'm talking about the desert, not in February. I'm talking about the desert in July. I am not talking about palm springs kind of desert, Okay, I'm talking about the kind of desert in the midst of the Mahave or the Sahara, the place of heat, the place of barrenness, the place where you are not productive.

17:57 As we get into the subject. It helps me, as it may help you, to know that the Hebrew word for desert is midbar. It's from a verb d'averaire, meaning to speak. I find that significant. The desert is the place where God speaks, communicates to us a message we could not otherwise hear what He has to say if it were not for the desert. So, and again, I'm not going to go back and review all of this. You can see the set up. The setup is, Hey, there's these texts in the Bible where people are in the desert. Now the desert becomes this metaphorical place where God puts you because you cannot hear from God until you're in the desert, because the desert is where he speaks. Because he strips all of the things that we keep you from hearing him, it becomes this. He creates this spiritual picture. Now, his look, his communication skills are excellent, they're perfect, they're amazing. His pacing, his toe, he pulls you in. It sounds spiritual, it's awesome.

19:05 You may be encouraged by it, you may love it, you may think it makes a major impact on your spiritual life. The only problem is the whole thing is a complete all. The way it handles the text is it's tragic. It's malpractice. If it was medicine, it's just it's just not good. As much as I respect Chucks Windall think the world of him, his ministry was profoundly impactful on my Christian life. And I mean again, I say all the time, the two people who discipled me were John MacArthur and Chuck's Windall. That's who discipled me. Right. MacArthur may have taught more about the exegetical approach, and Swindall taught me about the application and how these and how does this all work together? But man, after all of this time, now I look at this and I'm like, what in the world. Younger me would have been like, this is great. So he goes on. You can go back and listen to yesterday, but it left with Deuteronomy thirty two ten, because that's the text he's going to get to. Let me read it to you. Deuteronomy thirty two ten. He found him in a desert land and in the waste howling wilderness. He led him about, he instructed him, He kept him as the apple of his eye. Now, according to Swindall, when we are in the desert, these are the four things God does for us, And he breaks Deuteronomy thirty two ten into four specific things God does for us and the desert. Now you'll notice us is not there. You were not there, I am not there,

20:37 We are not there. It's not it's it's very specific pronouns. Look at the count them. Are you ready? Deuteronomy thirty two ten. He circle, He found him, circle him and a desert land, and in the waste telling wilderness. He led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. It's all about he and him, He and him, he and him. So that's what we're going to talk about I wanted to get into the four things that swhen d All says God does for us in the desert, and we were gonna look at them and see they are. Is there even even an application?

21:26 Let me make it very clear. Deuteronomy thirty two is it's called Moses' song and some of you can see that in Deuteronomy thirty two ten, this is all about God and is ray L what God has done for Israel. God. This is about God Israel and his covenantal relationship with them. Even though we want to insert us, we want to insert we, we want to assert I. It's not about us, it's not about eye, it's not about we. It's about them, and in this particular case, it's about He and him. So we're going to take the text apart and look at everything about the he and him and hopefully we can we can do this. So we're going to separate this from housewind All handled it or all the other sermons that handle it and probably do very crazy things with it. We're going to sense separate it from how Christianity deals with it. We're just going to go to the Bible and see what we can learn. Right, So, in Deuteronomy thirty two ten. The first word is he.

22:36 You see that he. We are going to start with identifying the he and everything we can learn about the he. Then we'll move to the him, and then we'll may move to the idea why is he using the mal pronoun? Why does he refer to him? And why does God refer to himself as he likes? There's some questions here, right, He and Deuteronomy thirty two ten. He found him? That he here refers to God, to Yahweh, the covenental god of Israel. This is the God of Israel, that God who has made covenant with Israel. That's who the he is.

23:20 This verse is a part of the Song of Moses, which is Deuteronomy thirty two. You can see this throughout right Deuteronomy thirty two Verse one, give ear, oh ye heavens, and I will speak and hear o earth the words of my mouth, and you can you can go here. Yeah, we can get into whole discussion here. But this is the song, Moses's song, if you want to state it that way, all right. It's a poet. It poetically describes God's care for Israel during the Wilderness period. Deuteronomy thirty two is a poetic expresses of God's care for Israel in the wilderness. Now, I know whe're at tempted to go.

24:05 We'll see. How God cared for Israel in the wilderness is how he will care for us. Now you gotta be careful with that, ladies and Gentlemen's God going to magically provide food? It's going to just rain down food? Is he going to bring is he going to? I mean, like, come on, all the things that happened in the wilderness, you know those were promises given to Israel based off covenantal relationship. We can't just immediately extract from it. We can try to, you can try to find ways to connect it. But if not, if you're not careful, you'll end up giving people promises that aren't meant for them. Right. But if this is a poetical description, a poetical expression of what God has done and has cared for Israel during the wilderness period. Now the idea of he, Why does God use a personal pronoun here? Why does he prefer?

25:00 Why is he referred to as he? He? You can you can see it in many places here, but you he found him? Why is Why is God referenced as He in this particular passage. Well, let's start with I think I'm very common, right, anthro pomorphic language, anthro pomorphic language. Anthro pomorphic language. Anthropomorphic is spelled A N T h r O p O m O r p h I C anthro A N T h r O pomorphic p O m O r p h I C anthro pomorphic.

25:45 Now I I can spell that from memory. Now I'm lying to you, I cannot spell that from memory. Give me a break. If that was in a spelling bee contest and they said spell anything, I would get it wrong. Okay, my spelling ability is trash, and there's no way I'm gonna get anthropomorphic correctly. Maybe I could, if I think about it, anthro pa morphic. Maybe if I really broke it down, I would get close. Sorry, anthropomorphic, but that's what we are referring to. When you see the he here, anthropomorphic language is being used. The use of He in this passage is an example of anthropomorphic language, which ascribes human characteristics to God. In the ancient Hebrew language and culture, God is often described with human like terms to convey are you ready relational qualities such as guidance, protection, and care, making his actions more relatable to the people. By using he, the text emphasizes God's personal involvement with Israel, showing that God is not distant or impersonal, but actively and lovingly engaged with his people. When it says him or he found him, that it's God in a personal way. He described as a person. He found him. It's very personal, it's relational. And this is very important because it's reminding

27:18 Israel again of this covenantal relationship that God entered in with them. It's making God personal, not some impersonal force, but God personally found him. So it's anthropomorphic language. So that's number one. Number two, there's a covenantal significance here. I'm gonna emphasize that over and over and over and over, the covenantal significance. Much of the Old Testament, we just insert ourselves into it. But it's like, no, you can't do that, because there's a covenantal relationship here. There's a covenantal signs gnificance. The passage refers to God's relationship with Israel and covenantal terms. God is portrayed as personal, protector, guide, and caregiver, which reflects his role as the initiator and sustainer of the covenant with Israel. You can't just start a sermon on Deuteronomy thirty two to ten and basically insert us into it. No, no, no, you can't, because this is God personally as the personal protector, guide, and caregiver.

28:34 He initiated and sustains the covenant with Israel. The personal pronoun reinforces the idea that Yahweh is not a generic or an abstract deity, but a relational God who is intimately involved in the lives of Israel, fulfilling specific promises made to them. When this language is used, it is anthropomorphic because it's emphasizing personal, but it's covenantal You've got to be very careful that you don't in a sense intercept find We'll say, we'll use this language. I'm used using this in an illustrative way. A love letter between two individuals, and you insert yourself and whatever one lover is saying to the other lover, you say, well, well, that promise is for me, that comfort is for me, that encouragement is no, no, no, it was meant for someone else. We love to insert ourself into this personal covenantal relationship where where we we're not being mentioned, all right, So number one, we have an anthropomorphic the use of he here and do aeronomy thirty two ten he it's an anthropomorphic language. Number two, it deals it with a

30:06 covenantal significance. Number three, it's a it's consistent with a broader biblical narrative. Throughout the Hebrew Bible, God is often referred to as He, highlighting his role as a personal being with whom Israel can have a relationship. Unlike the other ancient deities right, Unlike many other ancientnries culture, where gods might be seen as impersonal forces, Israel's God is a personal he who acts, speaks, and feels, a characteristic that underscores the uniqueness of Hulweh and the Biblical narrative. The Biblical narrative, God is presented very different. He's not impersonal, He's he. It's a personal pronoun, personally involved personally, anger, feelings, actions, speaking.

30:56 It's a very personal deity, not impersonal in any way, shape or form, and I think it's very It shows Yahweh is very unique. The personal language emphasizes that God's protection and guidance are rooted in his covenantal love, not merely in his power or sovereignty. This relational aspect is essential to understanding Israel's identity as his people. Israel has an identity as God's people. You cannot just ignore this. I know some theology wants to just say Israel's finished and done, and it's just not even really. Philological systems pastors just like to move us into the to the narrative.

31:38 This is all rooted in that this is consistent with the broader biblical narrative of God being spoken of in very personal terms, and it emphasizes once again that covenantal relationship. Now word of the philological implications the personal pronoun he helps to convey that God's actions and the wilderness were intentional and loving. He founded him in a desert land and cared for him expresses God's initiative and dedication to is r L not merely as a divine overseer, but as a compassionate protector and guide. This highlights God's paternal nurturing aspect, showing that his relationship with Israel involved care, discipline, and faithfulness, qualities that would resonate with the people as attributes of a trustworthy and caring leader or father. There's psiological implications to this. It shows that he is intentional, loving, personal.

32:50 He's there, but it shows his relationship with Israel in this particular context and Deuteronomy thirty two ten he. It is significant because it emphasizes God's personal and relational nature. It especially emphasizes and signifies his covenant relationship with Israel. You cannot ignore that the anthropomorphic language underscores that God is actively involved with his people as their protector, provider, conveying his faithfulness, care, and intimate connection with Israel. The personal pronoun he is more than a grammatical choice. It reflects a philological emphasis on God loving his covenantal commitment to his people. You cannot overlook that he is significant.

34:02 We don't just say, oh, forget that he, let's just get to us. No, stay with it. He It's weird. I know, I say this lots of times. Christians love to get yelled and scream about pronouns. Pronouns. No, I'm not gonna use he, I'm not gonna use her in this particular case, because he is actually her and her is actually and we get all met. I've got to use the right pronouns. I've got to use the right pronouns. I am not gonna play this game. I'm gonna use the right pronouns because I'm only gonna say that which corresponds to reality. I'm not gonna bend. I'm not gonna compromise. While we go to the Bible and somehow Hey him we in this particular case, especially in the next pronoun, we love to insert ourselves where we don't belong. We like to take pronouns about God or pronouns about others, and we want to make it about us. We want to insert us, me, I, we, instead of leaving it about him, him or he or them? Are they? If you want to worry so much about pronouns, instead of yelling at screaming about culture war, how about you worry about using their correct pronoun and hermeneutics. And this particular case that he here is God, This is God, This is God. But look at the next one. He found him, he God personal right, covenantal relationship. Found him. Doesn't say you,

35:38 doesn't say I, doesn't say me, doesn't say we, says him. In Deuteronomy thirty two ten, the pronoun him refers to Israel as a collective entity. Let's consider the significance of using him to describe Israel why that choice might be important. He God found him Hem. This is Israel as a collective entity. This is kind of interesting. What is significant about this? Well, first, let's just look at it from this perspective. It's a collective representation. It's a collective representation.

36:32 Even though Israel is a nation made up of many individuals, the use of him personifies the nation as a single entity. I don't think there's any way to get around that. He found him. The hym is Israel. Now, this is common in the Hebrew Bible, where Israel is often depicted as a single person, sometimes as God's sun Joseah chapter eleven, verse one, or servant Isah of forty one. Sometimes God, sometimes God speaks of Israel as as a single person. That's a good way to put it. He uses this idea of a single person, but it represents all of Israel as his son or his servant. But it's referring to all of Israel. By using the pronoun him, it highlights Israel's unity as one chosen people under God's under God's covenant. God made a covenant with the nation, so He refers to them as a collective unity, as an entity of one, as a son, as him. It shows that God's God's relationship is with Israel as a whole, not just isolated individuals. God made a covenant with the nation, not just individuals. He made it with a name. He

38:02 has a relationship with the nation, not just individuals. That's why I believe God made a promise with the nation, and he has to fulfill the promise to the nation. Because he referenced them as a collective entity. It's a collective representation he God. Verse ten found him. He found him Israel, the nation. So the collective representation number two, a covenantal identity, referring to Israel as him underscore, underscores and I think this is true. I think this is true.

38:49 It underscores maybe maybe I could come up with a better word. It emphasizes, maybe that's a better word. The nation's special covenantal identity. They're cove identity, They're special covenant identity. It emphasizes, it underscores it. God's actions. Then in this verse, depending on your translation, look at the first action Deuteronomy thirty two ten he found him. The first action he found him, he found him. Other translations will have He've found him, and circling, caring, and keeping. These actions then, because this is their covenantal identity, it refers to Israel as Him, underscores the nation's special covenant identity. It emphasizes that.

39:43 So then when we go to the actions in the verse, the finding, the encircling, the carrying, and keeping. Again, depending on your translation, some translations you can come up with four actions. I think some translations you may only come up with three actions. But there's actions here right look at it. He found him in a desert land and the waste howling wilderness. He led him about, he instructed him, he kept him. All of these actions, then, this is very important, are directed at Israel collectively as his chosen people, whom he set apart to receive his guidance and protection.

40:24 The singular pronoun emphasizes Israel's role as a unique, singular entity in God's redemptive plan. They're not just any nation, but are symbolically unified as God's beloved son and covenant partner. All those actions, then, by because of the pronouns he and him, these are God's actions towards him. How do you come in and say, no, these are God's actions towards me. Well, maybe you use the right pronoun. Not we, not me, not I, not you, but him. Israel as a collective entity, it's their covenantal identity. So number one's collective representation. Number two covenantal identity, which then takes the four actions being directed towards that their identity as God's covenant people. And listen, those actions very much, very much fit in perfectly with what God says he would do for Israel, for Israel. Now. Number three, using him shows a relational intimacy, shows a relational intimacy. The use of him rather rather than them. I think that's important. He uses the use of him rather than them. He could

41:55 have referred to them to them. It adds a layer of intimacy to God's relationship with Israel. It personalizes the narrative, making it feel as though God is caring for an individual, for one individual, which evokes a sense of deep fatherly love and dedication. It's supposed to give you this like it's an intimate thing. He found him like a very intimate thing. But the him is really the entire nation, showing God's intimate relationship with them, but to them it's such an intimate relationship it becomes a hymn. If that makes sense. This intimate language reinforces God's relationship with Israel is not distant or it's not bureaucratic. It's a deeply affectionate and caring relationship. It suggests that God treats Israel as a cherished child or companion. Isn't even as he leads them through challenging wilderness experiences. He's there with them, and it's so intimate that to them is now a him.

43:01 God uses a singular personal pronoun he, God, Him one individuals. That's very important, but that him represents all of them together. So why did why we use the hymn collectively? It's a collective representation and we'll see it that way. It's covenantal identity and its relational intimacy. How about the philological emphasis on God's nurturing role. There's a thiological emphasis why he and him in both cases there's philological significance here.

43:47 The personal pronoun him conveys that God nurtures and protects protects Israel with the attention and care one would give to an end of vidal God cares for the nation as one would care for an individual. He found him, He keeps him as the apple of his eye. A phrase it indicates a protection and a preciousness as one would have for a beloved child. He sees Israel as his beloved child, the apple of his eye. The nation the language I think we could say this reflects God's fatherly or shepherding role. It reminds the readers and of course the original people who would have heard Moses' song, his intimate commitment to Israel's well being. In spiritual growth, the nation's collective journey through the wilderness becomes an experience where God's personal care and covenantal faithfulness are displayed. There's the philological emphasis God's nurturing role, his protecting role, his fatherly his shepherding role to the nation so intimate that

45:17 it's referred to as him. As we've put all these points together, So what's the importance of the hymn here? What shows collective representation. It's covenantal identity, it's relational intimacy, and it's a philological emphasis emphasizing God's nurturing role. How about symbolic reflection of Israel's national identity he and him. By describing Israel as Him, the verse aligns with symbolic identity that Israel carries in scripture, whether they are portrayed as God's son, servant, or people in singular terms. The personification reinforces the theological concept that Israel's just not a collection of tribes, but a single, unified people with a specific purpose in God's redemptive history. That's why sometimes even when you get to the New Covenant, it's made with the House of Israel and the House of Judah, even though Israel has been taken into a Syrian captivity, it refers to them together, to them to as an individual.

46:24 God has got a plan for the nation as a collective entity. There is the He, and there is the hymn. There is the He, and there is the hymn. Now we could do this. We're at forty six minutes. We could do this. Is it significant? I'll a least kind of pose it as a question that it's a male pronoun.

47:06 Why didn't he refer to them as her or she? Why did he use the male pronouns? And Deteronomy thirty two ten, The male pronoun is used to refer to Israel, especially given that Israel is indeed now this is important. It is important to remember that Israel is indeed referred to with female pronouns or imagery and other parts of scripture. And other parts of scripture female pronouns are used. The choice of pronoun reflects different aspects of Israel's relationship with God and can convey particular theological emphasis depending on the context. So let's explore why he used the male pronoun and Deteronomy thirty two ten other places female pronoun here, mal pronoun well, I think number one male pronouns and ship and Deuteronomy thirty two ten. Israel's personified as him, which aligns with themes of sonship that appears throughout the Hebrew Bible.

48:10 Exodus Chapter four, Verse twenty two through twenty three. God declares Israel as my firstborn son, and Hoseiah eleven to one states out of Egypt, I called my son, now Hosea eleven to one. We may argue does that have prophetic messionic overtones, but we could get into that. The point is Israel is referred to as God's son, so this is staying. In this particular case. He found him as he found his son. In a sense, it's choosing that same that mal pronoun that mail a picture referring to Israel as him emphasizes the father son relationship and the ancient Near Eastern contact sonship implied inheritance, identity, and special covenanal bond, particularly involving guidance, discipline, and loyalty. The male pronoun reinforces the aspect of Israel as God's son, chosen and disciplined by God in the wilderness. Since this is talking about what God did for them in the wilderness, this is now emphasizing he found him its father son kind of description here. That's why the mal pronoun is being utilized. So that number one, it could show the male pronoun and sonship. Number two it could show covenantal loyalty and responsibility. Mal pronouns typically carries some type of connotation of responsibility and covenantal loyalty and the context of Israel's relationship with God. In the ancient context, a son

49:42 often bore the family name and was expected to carry on family responsibilities, which aligns with Israel's role as the bearer of God's name and law. By using a mal pronoun, the text might be, and I stress might be emphasizing Israel's covenantal duty to represent God among the nations, live in obedience and reflect holiness. This highlights Israel's role in upholding the covenant with God as his son in a way that points to honor, duty, and lineage. Hey, he found him, and you are my son, and you have responsibilities. Now they fell in all of their responsibilities. We know that. But maybe the use of the male pronoun here is saying, hey, you have you have a responsibility to be loyal to me, who made a covenant with you, my son he him. Now, if we contrast it with female imagery and other passages, Israel is depicted as a female figure, often a wife, bride, or even daughter. Isaiah fifty four five through six. Isaiah fifty four five through six refers to Israel as a barren woman restored by God. Her husband been Now we will have We could look at that in greater detail.

51:03 You can just write the reference down. I don't want to get too sidetracked, but Isaiah fifty four to five through six, Israel is referred to as a barren woman. Jeremiah three and Ezekiel sixteen portrays Israel as an unfaithful wife, using feminine imagery to emphasize Israel's unfaithfulness and their covenant relationship. Sometimes, when the female pronoun is used, it emphasizes I hate to say this, but it emphasizes Israel as being an adulteress. Do I dare use even stronger language that's used in some translations, a whore. Sometimes when the female pronoun is used, it's really to describe something much more negative. Not in every case, but in some cases, right, barren, unfaithful, adulterys okay.

51:51 The female imagery conveys Israel's relational intimacy with God, especially in terms of fidelity, love, and spiritual devotion. When Israel's portrayed as a bride or wife, the focus is often on their covenant loyalty or lack thereof, and their intimate relationship with God as a loving, devoted partner. All right, so I think that they're I think I think that that makes some sense. Now, what about contextual emphasis on strength and protection? Deuteronomy thirty two ten uses him in a context where God is actively protecting, guiding, and nurturing Israel through harsh wilderness journey. The male pronouns here could devote themes of strength and endurance, qualities traditionally associated with father's son relationship, where the father strengthens discipline and prepares the son for future responsibility. This language fits the image of God's protective and instructive role as he encircled and cared for Israel, preparing them as his son to inherit the Promised Land and present him among the nations. So maybe the contextual emphasis here is on strength and protection.

52:58 Therefore the male pronoun he found him made far more sense. Hey, he found him. He's strengthening and protecting you to prepare you for going into the Promised Land. Therefore, the father son language makes more sense, especially in that cultural context. How about the philological implications Using both male and female pronouns for Israel throughout scripture enriches the theological portrait of God's relationship with his people. The male imagery son conveys him, conveys inheritance, responsibility, covenant loyalty, while the female imagery emphasizes bride or wife, emphasizing relational intimacy and covenant faithfulness. Together, these images give a fuller picture of Israel's identity, as both beloved and responsible a people who are called to be close to God, but to uphold his covenantal commands, which of course we know they fail him. He found him, Him demonstrates their covenantal responsibility to obey his commands. The Him did not do that. So He God had to send him, his son to ultimately be the redeemer. Because well, none of us can fulfill that command. But God and his faithfulness to his son and to his daughter, to

54:31 Israel as daughter wife to his son. God's faithfulness to them. Now now I'm using them, but the Him and the her right the male and female pronoun God will demonstrate that faithfulness to them well that we believe ultimately fulfilled the promises given to them. So in Deuteronomy thirty two we got the four things, but we got to focus on He God personal, He personal pronoun demonstrating this relationship, this intimacy. He refers to Israel as a hymn, collective unity, a collective entity. And in all the lessons that we quickly went through in fifty five minutes, we could have gone through them much slower. But there's a lot there.

55:27 When God is referred to as He, it shows the anthropomorphic language shows the covenantal significance of Him being referred to He. It shows that consistent with a broader Biblical narrative where God is spoken of as a personal being. There's theological implications because it helps to convey that God's actions in the wilderness were intentional and loving. It shows a personal being. It shows that not some impersonal force. He refers to Israel as a hymn because it's a collective representation, it's a covenantal identity, it's relational intimacy. And then we talked about the philological emphasis that come from it.

56:13 Now why did I do all of that? Well, one, because I want you to see. If you're a good Bible student, you should have solved that pronouns and jumped all over that and say ooh there's something going on here. But two, you see what happens when you actually deal with the text versus just trying to get a sermon out of it. See what we've listened to with Swindle. It's all about a sermon. Now, it's a great He sets it up perfectly, and it draws you in and it's more interesting, it's more applicable. You may find it much more comforting, and you may walk away from church going, oh, that felt so good. The only problem is you didn't get anything from the actual text. The actual text here in Deuteronomy thirty two ten. Before you get to the four things that he supposedly did, it's to get to the he and the hem and identify the he and the hem and understand the significance of those two pronouns.

57:08 Please note how the pronouns change in verse eleven. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings. Please note the pronouns change in verse eleven. Why does the pronoun change because the imagery changes? Right? Isn't that a different imagery? In verse ten, God found, God found his son in a sense, and the wilderness right, and then he does all of these things because it's the father's son. He guides, directs, protects, strengthens, disciplines. It's father son.

57:49 Now what happens in eleven, her nest, her young, her wings? Why does it change in eleven? I think that's important to note. All right, now you can do more work on it. I still may come back and do something about the four things. I still may do something about the four things, but I couldn't get past the he and Him. I've been focused on it all day. But it's He and Him, it's not us. And just remember so many of the promises in the Bible are very much connected to the covenantal relationship between God and Israel, and those covenant promises are very different than promises we have.

58:37 Those promises tend to be very tangible, material physical land, food, harvest, you know, crops, fruit like, prosperity, very very material, very very tangible, very physical for us. We are engrafted in. Those covenantal promises remain for Israe. We can't steal them away and then spiritualize them. Those material promises ultimately would be fulfilled to Israel when they actually get the land. I have to believe that, or the Bible makes no sense. I'm grafted in by faith. Now. The promises God makes for me, I think are spiritual. Right, my sins have been forgiven. I'm now adopted as a child of God.

59:22 I'm a co heir with Christ. I will look all right now in this life. The promises and the comfort I have are all spiritual My sins are forgiven, my salvation is guaranteed. But any physical, tangible promise we know in this life we have no tangible physical promise. Right. We may get sick, we may die, we may be murdered, our house may burn down, on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on. Of all the things that happened in this life. You know it and I know it. But those spiritual promises we cling to because then it promises that there will come a time there will be no more pain, no more suffering, no more death, and then we will have eternity, a new hea in a new earth, and then there will be in a sense more tangible realities to it.

1:00:05 But right now we can't take those tangible material promises given to Israel and still them for us and somehow apply them to the now, because you'll find yourself disillusioned, discouraged, and not understanding why it doesn't work. We've got to keep the pronouns right, he and him, and that he is God and the him is an Israel, not us. Now we have a relationship with God. Yes, we are adopted as children of God. But again, we can't steal these promises for us. We have to look at the promises that are specifically made to us, and those specific promises to us, we have to understand them in a spiritual way because nothing else makes any sense, because we got the reality of life all around us. All right, I want to say more, but I'm out of time.

1:01:01 All right, hopefully that went well. I'm gonna go. My stomach is growling. I don't know if you can hear it on the microphone. I have not eaten and it is now one thirty, so I am going to die of starvation unless I go get physical food. I need physical food, all right, So I've had some spiritual food. On the significance of hearing him. Now, some of you may be disappointed. You're like, well, he and him, you made it all about them, What about me? Well, right, there is about he and him. But it demonstrates a lot of very important concepts about God and that covenant relationship, which may kind of set up a key hermoneutical principle that we have to remember. Right, So, all right, you can tell me what you think. We'll look at the four things maybe at some point. But this is the difference between just a sermon versus really trying to deal with the text. Thanks for listening everyone, have a great day.

1:02:03 God bless