Deuteronomy 32:4

Deuteronomy 32:4 . He is a rock — Stable in his nature, invincible in his power, fixed and immutable in his counsels, promises, and ways; so that if there should be a sad change in your affairs, remember that this proceeds from yourselves, and from the change of your ways toward God, and not from God, with whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning, James 1:17 . His work is perfect — All his works, whether of creation, providence, or grace, and all his actions are unblameable, perfect, wise, and righteous. All his ways are judgment — His dealings with you his people, and his administrations in the world toward all mankind, are just and holy in the highest degree. A God of truth — Ever faithful and constant to his promises. This seems to be mentioned in opposition to the infidelity and inconstancy of Israel, which he speaks of afterward. And with out iniquity — Although we are often ignorant of the methods and reasons of the divine procedure, yet it is as impossible there should be injustice or iniquity in God, as that infinite and unchangeable wisdom should act foolishly, or essential goodness should degenerate into malice, or, in the Scripture language, that light should become darkness. Just and right is he — Righteous in all that he doth. How should he do wrong, all whose actions are necessarily founded on perfect and immutable wisdom, justice, and equity?

(4) He is the rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. —No such combination of all the words for uprightness, sincerity, equity, and reliability is to be found elsewhere in all Scripture. This is the character of the Rock. This name of God ( Tzur ) is one of the characteristics of the song. The word occurs first in Exodus 17, where the Rock in Horeb was smitten; “and that Rock was Christ.” From that time we find that the very names of the leaders in Israel embody this confession. Elizur, my God is a Rock; Zurishaddai, the Almighty is my Rock; and Pedahzur, redeemed by the Rock ( Numbers 1:5-6 ; Numbers 1:10 ), are examples. So exclusively is the term in Hebrew ( Tzûr or Sêlagh ) used in this sense, that no man is ever described by it in the Old Testament. And the LXX., in this song and in many other places, do not translate it at all, but give it as God ( Θεός ) . In other places the word Petra (never Petros) is employed. This fact convinces me that the Petra of Matthew 16:18 could only have been understood by Jews as denoting Deity; and that it not only referred to Christ, but to Christ as God. No other interpretation will suit the language of Holy Scripture. This fourth verse, like the third, is a stanza of four lines. The first line is answered by the third, and the second line by the fourth.

Verses 4, 5. - He is the Rock, his work is perfect ; rather, The Rock! his work is perfect , i . e . blameless, without fault. God is called "the Rock" ( הַצוּר ), as the unchangeable Refuge and Stronghold of his people, by which they are sustained, and to which they can resort for defense and protection at all times. The epithet is applied to God four times besides in this song (vers. 15, 18, 30, 31); it occurs also frequently in the Psalms (cf. Psalm 19:14 ; Psalm 28:1 ; Psalm 31:2, 3 ; Psalm 62:2, 7 ; etc.). The Hebrew word, tsur , gut , or zur , appears in several proper names of the Mosaic period, as e.g. , Pedahzur , "Rock delivers" ( Numbers 1:10 ), a name of the same import as Pedahel , "God delivers" ( Numbers 34:28 ); Elizur , "God is a Rock" ( Numbers 1:5 ); Zuriel ( Numbers 3:35 ) and Zurishaddai , "the Almighty is Rock" ( Numbers 1:6 ; Numbers 2:12 ). "Jehovah," says Baumgarten, "is here called Rock , without any qualification, the reason is that he is the only true rock, and all the strength and firmness of earth's stones is but an ectype of his unchangeable faithfulness and rectitude. If one cleaves to the dualism of spirit and nature, and regards the figure as a merely subjective, arbitrary union of the two, such an expression is simply unintelligible; but if we would understand Scripture and religious speech, we must with all earnestness accustom ourselves to recognize the spiritual ground in nature, and apprehend this in the Biblical expression (comp.

Steffens' 'Religionsphilosophie,' 1. s. 101, 102)." It is remarkable that none of the ancient versions have retained this epithet here. The LXX. have Θεὸς : the Vulgate, Dens ("Dei opera"); the Targum of Onkelos, תַּקִיפָא , "Mighty;" while the Peshito has simply the pronoun "his" appended to "works," . For all his ways are judgment ; i . e . accordant with rectitude (cf. Psalm 145:17 ). A God of truth ; rather, of faithfulness ( אְמֶוּנָת , from אָמַן , to stay, or be stayed, to be firm). They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation. Of this difficult passage the following seems the best construction and rendering: - A perverse and crooked generation not his children , [but] their spot - has become corrupt towards him . The subject of the verb at the beginning of the verse is the "perverse and crooked generation," at the end of it, and between the verb and its subject there is interjected parenthetically the clause, "not his children, but their spot." Spot is here used in a moral sense, as in Job 11:15 ; Job 31:7 ; Proverbs 9:7 . These corrupt persons claimed to be children of God, but they were not; they were rather a stain and a reproach to them (cf. 2 Peter 2:13 ; Isaiah 1:4 ). The rendering above given is substantially that of De Wette, Knobel, Keil, and Herxheimer, by all of whom the "perverse generation "is regarded as the subject of the sentence.

The rock, or, a rock , as for the stability and everlastingness of his nature, and invincibleness of his power, so also for his fixedness and immutability in his counsels and promises and ways; so that if there shall be a sad change in your affairs from a high and prosperous to a calamitous and deplorable condition, as there will be, remember that this proceeds from yourselves, and from the change of your ways and carriages towards God, and not from God, in whom there is no variableness nor shadow of change , Jam 1:17 . His work is perfect; all his works and actions are unblamable, as being perfect, wise, and righteous, as it follows. All his ways are judgment; all his administrations in the world, and particularly all his dealings with you, are managed with judgment and justice. A God of truth, constant to his promises: you cannot accuse him of any levity or unfaithfulness towards you to this day.

He is the Rock, his work is perfect - Rather, the Rock, perfect is his work. This epithet, repeated no less than five times in the Song Deuteronomy 32:15 , Deuteronomy 32:18 , Deuteronomy 32:30-31 , represents those attributes of God which Moses is seeking to enforce, immutability and impregnable strength. Compare the expression "the stone of Israel" in Genesis 49:24 ; and see 1 Samuel 2:2 ; Psalm 18:2 ; Matthew 16:18 ; John 1:42 . Zur, the original of "Rock," enters frequently into the composition of proper names of the Mosaic time, e. g., Numbers 1:5-6 , Numbers 1:10 ; Numbers 2:12 ; Numbers 3:35 , etc. Our translators have elsewhere rendered it according to the sense "everlasting strength" Isaiah 26:4 , "the Mighty One" Isaiah 30:29 ; in this chapter they have rightly adhered to the letter throughout.

4. He is the Rock—a word expressive of power and stability. The application of it in this passage is to declare that God had been true to His covenant with their fathers and them. Nothing that He had promised had failed; so that if their national experience had been painfully checkered by severe and protracted trials, notwithstanding the brightest promises, that result was traceable to their own undutiful and perverse conduct; not to any vacillation or unfaithfulness on the part of God (Jas 1:17), whose procedure was marked by justice and judgment, whether they had been exalted to prosperity or plunged into the depths of affliction.

4 . The Rock ] Or a Rock . This name, Ṣûr , is applied in Deuteronomy 32:15; Deuteronomy 32:18; Deuteronomy 32:30-31; Deuteronomy 32:37 , both to Israel’s God and to others. It appears to have been a general Semitic figure for the divine unchangeableness and its refuge for men, and virtually a synonym for God; LXX, θεός as here, βοηθός , φύλαξ and even δίκαιος ( 1 Samuel 2:2 ). In Assyr. Bel and other gods are called ‘great mountain’; and with other Semites several theophorous names are compounded with ṣur , e.g. Bar-ṣur in the Senjerli inscription and others in S. Arabia (Zimmern, KAT 3[151], 355, 358, 477). [151] Die Keilinschriften und das AIte Testament , 3rd edition (1903), by H. Zimmern and H. Winckler. his ways are judgement ] Rather Law . Heb. mishpaṭ , which means now a single law or judgement and now justice, is here Law in the sense of order or consistency. So Isaiah 30:18 a God of mishpaṭ . Having laid down the lines of His action in righteousness and wisdom He remains in His dealings with men consistent with those. The idea is expounded in the next two lines: Iniquity is to be taken in its primary sense of breach or deviation, treason . For he LXX read Jehovah . 4–6. God’s Faithfulness, Israel’s Folly 4 The Rock—outright is His working! Yea, all of His ways are Law, The God of troth, without treason, Righteous and upright is He. 5 His sons have dealt corruptly with Him … (?), A twisted and crooked generation!