DEUTERONOMY 32

I recently finished reading Miracle in the Andes by Nando Parrado. It’s the story of how 16 people survived an awful plane crash in the Andes Mountains—not because they were rescued, but because Nando and his friend Roberto ultimately climbed out of the Andes and back to civilization.

As their ordeal wore on, one of the boys, Roy Harley, had begun to get on Nando’s nerves. He writes about how he would often be frustrated by Roy’s impatience and complaining. Yet, he was the only one who knew anything about radios, so when a group of the boys decided to make a mini-climb in order to find the plane’s tail (where the radio was), Roy went along.

On the way back from their expedition, they got blindsided by a sudden blizzard. In the frigid, white-out conditions, Nando knew that if the group didn’t continue back to the plane, they would all die. But Roy was exhausted. He decided he couldn’t take another step, so he laid down in the snow to die. In an incredible account, Nando tells about how he couldn’t bring himself to leave Roy there, but he knew that if he stayed, they would both die.

With the others in the group disappearing ahead of them into the snow, Nando began to beat, kick, and punch Roy, hollering at him above the roar of the storm to get up. Finally, Roy got up and Nando began to drag him step-by-step back to the plane. Eventually, when Roy didn’t have the strength to go another step, Nando picked him up and carried him the rest of the way. Still, Nando writes that whenever he thinks back on the ordeal—and especially getting caught in the blizzard—he always thinks of Roy as a hero.

I thought that was incredible, and I couldn’t help but think about that as I read this chapter of Deuteronomy. Here is God, through Moses, teaching the Israelites a song about their unfaithfulness. I mean, how do you put lyrics like Is this the way you repay the Lord, you foolish and unwise people to music? Yet, right in the middle of this song about Israel’s wickedness, God calls His people “Jeshurun.” (vs 15)

Jeshurun means upright one. Upright one! What?! In the middle of a song dedicated to memorializing Israel’s unfaithfulness, God calls His people upright? Isn’t He paying attention to His own song?

Actually, this seems to be a pattern of God’s. He called His wayward children Jeshurun. He called David (you know, the lying, murdering adulterer) a man after His own heart. And in Hebrews 11, He celebrates a list of people who exhibited great faith, including Noah (a drunk), Abraham (a liar), Gideon (who is known for his lack of faith), and Samson! (Have you read the story of Samson lately?)

These were not the most honorable people. Yet God has included them in His list of faith heroes. And Israel certainly wasn’t anything close to faithful, yet God called them by a name that meant righteous and faithful. This is what God does. Like Nando, who now thinks of his friend Roy as a hero, God looks at us—even with all our imperfections—and sees giants of faith. Instead of exalting Himself for how He has patiently dealt with us, He exalts us, celebrating us and honoring us for the ordeal we’ve been through.

When God looks at you, He doesn’t see a screw-up. He doesn’t see a mistake. He doesn’t even see an unfaithful or weak child. He sees a precious friend. He sees someone He is proud of. He sees a hero.