Deuteronomy 32:15: “But Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked. Thou are waxen fat and thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness, then he forsook God which made him and lightly esteemed the rock of his salvation.”
In the Jewish work Genesis Rabbah 77:1 we find that the word Jeshurun is a reference to the noblest and best among you. There are many interpretations as to what or who the writer is referring to in the word Jeshurun. Some commentators say it is a poetic reference to Israel. The word itself comes from the root word yashar which means to be upright or righteous. It represents someone or certain people who are chosen by God, given special favor by God to accomplish something for Him. Actually, I think that takes in all believers. Do you ever get that feeling that God has given you special favor, that He has endowed you with a something special from the Holy Spirit to carry out some special task? You should, because He has. I Peter 2:5 talks of the priesthood of all believers. This is not just a reference to your pastor or denominational head, or some TV teacher or preacher, it is a reference to you. You and I fit the bill or definition of a Jeshurun.
I know, some of us can be a pretty sorry excuse for a Jeshurun. I was reminded today of past mistakes that I made that changed the whole course of my life and I ended up today something I never dreamed I would end up as. It is all very nightmarish. As I bemoaned my present state of affairs, I could not help but think of the words of John Greenleaf Whittier: “For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these, it might have been!”
I am told by a farmer that a well fed cow will grow insolent and rebellious and will end up kicking you if you are not careful. The cow becomes spoiled and demanding. That appears to be the idea behind this verse. We can grow fat and lazy with God’s blessings and then when he removes one, we begin to whine and kick.
Yes, I have heard some aspiring Jeshurun stand up and testify: “God has given me a beautiful house, car etc.” and then smugly sitting back basking in in all their blessings. I remember once giving such a testimony and ending up like Deuteronomy 32:15, fat, spoiled and demanding like the old cow ready to start kicking if something interrupts your comfortable lifestyle. Perhaps that beautiful house, car etc. was given by God for a special purpose beyond your own pleasure. Perhaps He may just decide to take it away.
The root word for Jeshurun is spelled Yod, Shin Resh. When you look at the shadow of these letters you see Jeshurun telling you that can become ungrounded when you let the passions of this world consume you. There is a danger to the natural blessings of God and that is to become too attached to them. As Job said: “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21). I fell into a real funk today as I reflected on my past years and on all I had lost. As I considered all those blessings that just disappeared I discovered a dark self-pity mood setting in. The reason for this downer of a mood is that I had become too attached to the blessings of God.
C.S. Lewis described how parents will dote on a newborn baby and give it everything it wants. But when it grows older, much of that attention ceases as that child must learn to find its way. So too as new Christians we probably felt we found a genie in a bottle who granted our every prayer request. As we grow older in our relationship with God, however, that attention from God may not seem as intense. Perhaps God is saying: “It is time to look beyond yourself and see a world out there that is in need.” We get so use to God’s constant attention we start to become like the fat old cows and start kicking when we are not getting that immediate response from God. We become too attached to the blessings of God rather than to God Himself. I remember in the midst of my complaining to God I said, “How am I supposed to minister to some of these people, I don’t understand what they are going through.” You know what, I do understand today, I can weep for them today as I could not those many years ago. I can weep for them for I know their sadness, their broken hearts, and their disappointments. God simply answered my prayer, by withdrawing those blessing from this Jeshurun, putting this fat old cow on diet so he lost a healthy amount of blessings, Eventually I stopped kicking and screaming and began to appreciate the God I had forsaken and began to highly esteem rather than lightly esteem the Rock of my salvation.
Some misunderstand me when I say I God took everything away from me and all I got was Him in return. That is meant to be a joke. At the time I first said this I did not realize it was a joke. I was bemoaning my state to a pastor friend of mine and when I said; “It seems like I have lost everything and all I got was Jesus in return.” He clapped his hands and shouted: “Hallelujah.” At that moment I realized I would sell all I own to possess that Pearl of Great Price (ok I admit I am taking that story out of context, but I don’t think God minds in this case).
When you examine this passage very carefully within its proper syntax you notice something really wonderful. God is addressing these fat old cows as Jeshurun. Even though we allow ourselves to become fat old cows, kicking and screaming when we are forced out of our comfort zone, God still calls us His Jeshurun, His righteous, noble and best. We are still His poopsie doll. He may no longer be the celestial genie where our wish is His command. But he does become our heavenly Father, one with whom we have a love relationship and not a give me relationship.
Sometimes God has to put us fat old cows on a diet where we lose a few pounds of blessings so we can appreciate the Rock of our Salvation.
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