The God Who Rides and the Arms That Hold Text: Deuteronomy 33:26-29
Introduction: The Song Before the Silence
We come now to the final words of Moses, the man of God. He has led Israel for forty hard years through the wilderness. He has borne their murmurings, their idolatries, and their stiff-necked rebellion. He has been their lawgiver, their prophet, and their intercessor. Now, standing on the precipice of the promised land, a land he will see but not enter, he does not conclude with a final rebuke or a lament for his own fate. He concludes with a blessing. He ends with a song of high praise to the God of Israel. This is not just poetry; it is theology at its most potent. It is a final, thunderous declaration of who God is and, consequently, who His people are.
Our modern sensibilities are often allergic to this kind of particularity. We want a generic, benevolent deity who is equally disposed to all peoples and all outcomes. But the God of the Bible is not the god of the philosophers, nor is He the god of sentimentalists. He is the God of Jeshurun. He is the God of a particular people, chosen in sovereign grace, and He rides the heavens to their particular help. This passage is a cannon shot against all forms of theological egalitarianism that would flatten the distinctions God Himself has made. It is a robust, masculine, and glorious picture of a warrior God who saves His people, secures their dwelling, and guarantees their ultimate victory.
These verses are the capstone of the Torah. They are a summary of God's covenant faithfulness. They look back on the deliverance from Egypt and the sustenance in the desert, and they look forward to the conquest of Canaan and the coming of the Messiah. This is not just a blessing for the tribes gathered at Moses' feet; it is a promise that echoes down through the ages to all who are found in the true Israel, the Church of Jesus Christ. If you are in Christ, this God is your God. He rides the heavens for you.
The Text
“There is none like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to your help, And through the skies in His majesty. The eternal God is a dwelling place, And underneath are the everlasting arms; And He drove out the enemy from before you, And said, ‘Destroy!’ So Israel dwells in security, The fountain of Jacob secluded, In a land of grain and new wine; His heavens also drop down dew. Blessed are you, O Israel; Who is like you, a people saved by Yahweh, Who is the shield of your help And the sword of your majesty! So your enemies will cower before you, And you will tread upon their high places.”
(Deuteronomy 33:26-29 LSB)
The Incomparable Warrior God (v. 26)
Moses begins with a declaration of God's absolute uniqueness.
"There is none like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to your help, And through the skies in His majesty." (Deuteronomy 33:26)
First, notice the name: Jeshurun. This is a poetic name for Israel, meaning "the upright one" or "the beloved one." It is a covenant term of endearment. It is not a name they earned through their own stellar performance; far from it. It is a name bestowed by grace. This is who they are in God's sight because of His promise. And this God, the God of the beloved, is utterly without rival. The pagan deities of the surrounding nations were localized, petty tyrants. They were gods of the hills or gods of the valleys. But the God of Jeshurun rides the heavens. All of creation is His war chariot. He is not contained by the cosmos; He uses it as a vehicle for His purposes.
And what is His purpose here? He "rides the heavens to your help." This is not a God who sits aloof in some distant empyrean, contemplating His own navel. He is a God of action. He is a God who intervenes. He is a warrior God who comes to the aid of His people. The image is one of swift, sovereign, and overwhelming power. When your God comes to help, He doesn't sneak in the back door. He parts the clouds and comes in majesty. His intervention is not just effective; it is glorious. He saves in a way that displays His own magnificent splendor. This is a truth that should put steel in our spines. Our help is not earthbound; it is cosmic. The one who flung the stars into space is the one who stoops to our aid.
The Eternal Refuge and the Everlasting Arms (v. 27)
From the majestic picture of God in the heavens, Moses moves to the intimate reality of God with His people.
"The eternal God is a dwelling place, And underneath are the everlasting arms; And He drove out the enemy from before you, And said, ‘Destroy!’" (Deuteronomy 33:27 LSB)
The same God who rides the skies is our refuge, our dwelling place. The Hebrew word for dwelling place is related to the idea of a lair or a den, a place of ultimate security. He is not just our defender; He is our home. We do not just run to Him for safety; we live in Him. This is the heart of covenant life. The eternal God, who exists outside of time, makes Himself a place of habitation for His time-bound people.
And if that were not enough, "underneath are the everlasting arms." This is one of the most comforting phrases in all of Scripture. It speaks of a support that can never fail, a foundation that can never be shaken. No matter how far we fall, we can never fall out of His arms. They are everlasting. They were there before the world began, and they will be there when it is consumed with fire. This is the bedrock of our security. It is not our grip on Him that saves us, but His grip on us. His arms are underneath, bearing all our weight, all our sin, all our sorrow.
And these are not the soft, passive arms of a sentimental deity. They are the strong arms of a warrior. The verse immediately connects this comfort to conquest: "And He drove out the enemy from before you, And said, ‘Destroy!’" God's comfort is not a retreat from the battle; it is the very thing that empowers us for it. Because we are held secure, we can fight without fear. Notice the divine initiative. He drove out the enemy. And He gave the command, "Destroy!" This is holy war. God does not ask His people to coexist with the vile and idolatrous practices of the Canaanites. He commands their utter removal. This is offensive to our modern, pluralistic ears, but it is the logic of holiness. God is making a new, clean place for His people, and the filth must be purged. The same is true in our sanctification. God drives out the sin from before us and commands us to destroy it, to put it to death.
The Secure and Blessed Dwelling (v. 28)
The result of God's action is the security and prosperity of His people.
"So Israel dwells in security, The fountain of Jacob secluded, In a land of grain and new wine; His heavens also drop down dew." (Deuteronomy 33:28 LSB)
Because God is their refuge, Israel "dwells in security." This is the goal of all God's warring on their behalf. He fights so that they may have peace. This is not a security based on their military might or their strategic alliances. It is a security that comes from being in right relationship with the God who rides the heavens. The "fountain of Jacob" dwells "secluded," set apart. This is the blessing of being a chosen people, protected from the corrupting influences of the nations.
And this security is not in a barren wasteland. It is "in a land of grain and new wine." This is covenant blessing. God's salvation is not some ethereal, disembodied affair. It is earthy. It results in tangible, material blessing. Grain and new wine are signs of life, joy, and abundance. God is not a cosmic killjoy; He delights in the prosperity of His people. And this prosperity is sustained by His direct provision: "His heavens also drop down dew." The dew was essential for agriculture in that climate. It was a gentle, consistent, life-giving gift from above. This is a picture of God's constant and faithful provision for His people. He does not just give them the land; He sustains them in it.
The Unrivaled People of God (v. 29)
Moses concludes with a final exclamation of blessing, turning the focus from the land back to the people themselves.
"Blessed are you, O Israel; Who is like you, a people saved by Yahweh, Who is the shield of your help And the sword of your majesty! So your enemies will cower before you, And you will tread upon their high places." (Deuteronomy 33:29 LSB)
Just as there is no God like Yahweh, there is no people like Israel. "Blessed are you, O Israel." Their blessedness is not rooted in their intrinsic qualities but in their relationship to their Savior. They are "a people saved by Yahweh." Their entire identity is wrapped up in this fact. They are a saved people. Salvation is not something they achieve; it is who they are by grace. This is the foundation of all Christian identity. We are not just people who happen to be saved; we are a saved people.
And this salvation is comprehensive. Yahweh is their "shield of help", their defense. He is their "sword of majesty", their offense. He provides both protection from their enemies and victory over them. He is all they need for every aspect of the conflict. The result is total victory. "So your enemies will cower before you." The Hebrew word means they will come crawling and feigning submission. Their opposition will be broken.
And the final promise is one of ultimate dominion: "And you will tread upon their high places." The high places were the centers of pagan worship, the seats of idolatrous power. To tread upon them was a symbol of complete and total conquest. It was to demonstrate the superiority of Yahweh over all false gods. This is not just about a geographical victory in ancient Canaan. This is an eschatological promise. In Christ, we are promised that we will tread upon the high places of our enemies. We are promised victory over sin, over death, and over the devil himself. The God who holds us in His everlasting arms is the same God who places our feet on the necks of our enemies.
Conclusion: The Everlasting Arms in Christ
This magnificent poem is not a relic of an ancient tribal religion. It finds its ultimate fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the true Jeshurun, the beloved and upright One. He is the one who perfectly trusted in the everlasting arms, even as they held Him on the cross. And because of His perfect obedience, all who are united to Him by faith become the Israel of God.
There is none like our God, who in the person of His Son, rode not the heavens, but a humble donkey into Jerusalem to accomplish our help. He is our eternal dwelling place, our refuge from the wrath of God. And it is His everlasting arms, pierced for our transgressions, that hold us fast. He has driven out our ultimate enemy, Satan, and has commanded us to destroy the remnants of sin in our lives.
Because of Him, we dwell in true security, nourished by the true grain and new wine of His body and blood. We are the truly blessed people, saved by Yahweh incarnate. He is our shield and our sword. And because of His victory, our enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil, will ultimately cower before us. The day is coming when we will tread upon all the high places, when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Until that day, rest in this: underneath are the everlasting arms.