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Israel, the Gentiles & the Rock of Salvation
Sept 19 2026
Ha'Azinu "Give Ear"
TORAH: Deuteronomy 32
This week’s Torah portion, Ha’azinu, brings us to Deuteronomy 32, where Moses gives Israel a song that looks back on God’s faithfulness, warns about Israel’s disobedience, and points to the consequences of turning away from Him.
One image appears again and again throughout the chapter:
God is the Rock.
The Rock of Israel
Deuteronomy 32:4 declares:
“He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice...”— Deuteronomy 32:4
God is presented as Israel’s firm foundation—the One who is perfect, just, faithful, and dependable.
Later, Moses speaks of Israel forsaking:
“the God who made him, And scorned the Rock of his salvation.”— Deuteronomy 32:15
And in verse 18:
“Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful, And have forgotten the God who fathered you.”
The Rock was not simply Israel’s protection. He was their source, their salvation, and the One who brought them forth as a people.
“That Rock Was Christ”
The New Testament gives us an important connection.
Speaking about Israel in the wilderness, Paul writes:
“...for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.”— 1 Corinthians 10:4
Paul identifies the Rock connected with Israel as Christ.
This helps us understand another important New Testament picture: Jesus as the stone over which people stumble, but also the cornerstone upon which God is building.
Peter writes about Christ as:
“A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense...”— 1 Peter 2:8
Yet for those who believe, He is the precious cornerstone.
Israel Stumbled Over the Rock
Ha’azinu also describes Israel turning away from God through disobedience.
Deuteronomy 32:21 says:
“They have provoked Me to jealousy by what is not God... But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation; I will move them to anger by a foolish nation.”
That language becomes especially significant when we come to Romans 11.
Paul explains that Israel’s stumbling opened the door for salvation to go to the Gentiles:
“Through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.”— Romans 11:11
The Gentiles were brought near—but this inclusion was never meant to become a reason for arrogance toward Israel.
There was a purpose.
Why Were the Gentiles Brought In?
Paul tells us that salvation coming to the Gentiles was connected to God’s larger plan for Israel.
The Gentiles, who were once outside the covenant family, have now been brought near through faith. Jew and Gentile together are being built into a spiritual house upon the cornerstone, Jesus Christ.
But Romans 11 reminds Gentile believers that their inclusion should produce humility, gratitude, love, and mercy.
One of the purposes of the Gentiles being brought in is to provoke Israel to jealousy—not through pride or condemnation, but by displaying the love, mercy, faithfulness, and salvation of Israel’s God.
The mercy we have received should become mercy we extend.
One Family, One Cornerstone
Israel stumbled over the Rock, but God’s purposes have not failed.
Through Christ, Gentiles who were once far off have been invited into the family of God.
We have been brought near, adopted into the spiritual family of Abraham, and joined together with believing Jews upon the same foundation.
That foundation is not a philosophy, a nation, or a religious system.
It is the Rock.
Jesus Christ.
Ha’azinu reminds us that God is faithful even when people are not. He remains the Rock of salvation, and His purposes for Israel and the nations continue to unfold.
This Week’s Takeaway
The Gentiles were not brought in to replace Israel, but to participate in God’s redemptive purposes.
Having received mercy ourselves, we are called to demonstrate that same mercy—and to point both Israel and the nations back to the Rock of salvation.
NEXT PORTION Simchat Torah "Rejoicing in The Torah"
TORAH: Deuteronomy 33 - 34 - Genesis 1:1 - 2:3
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