What does it mean that God is the God of Jeshurun?

Answer

In Isaiah 44:1–2, God comforts His people with these words:

“But now listen, Jacob, my servant,

Israel, whom I have chosen.

This is what the Lord says—

he who made you, who formed you in the womb,

and who will help you:

Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant,

Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.”

The name Jeshurun means “upright one” or “blessed one.” In the parallelism of Isaiah’s poetry, Jeshurun is a synonym for Jacob in the previous line. So we see that Jeshurun is a poetic reference to the nation of Israel. It is a term of endearment; the Greek Septuagint translates Jeshurun as “beloved one,” using a form of the word agape. The name Jeshurun is used four times in the books of Deuteronomy and Isaiah. In each case, the name occurs in a poetic setting and refers to Israel, God’s beloved people.

In Deuteronomy 32, Moses rehearses the history of Israel to that point, including a time when the Israelites were unfaithful to God in the wilderness:

“Jeshurun grew fat and kicked;

filled with food, they became heavy and sleek.

They abandoned the God who made them

and rejected the Rock their Savior” «But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: Thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; Then he forsook God which made him, And lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation. », (Deuteronomy 32:15).

As Moses begins his final blessings on the tribes of Israel, he says,

“[The Lord] was king over Jeshurun

when the leaders of the people assembled,

along with the tribes of Israel” «And he was king in Jeshurun, When the heads of the people And the tribes of Israel were gathered together. », .

5″>(Deuteronomy 33:5).

Then, as Moses concludes the same series of blessings, he declares,

“There is no one like the God of Jeshurun,

who rides across the heavens to help you

and on the clouds in His majesty.

The eternal God is your refuge,

and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:26-27).

Israel could be referred to as “Jeshurun” because of God’s mercy and forgiveness. Isaiah begins his book with a denunciation of Israel’s sin, labeling the people as a “sinful nation . . . whose guilt is great” and a “brood of evildoers . . . given to corruption” «Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. », (Isaiah 1:4). Nevertheless, God affectionately refers to them as “Jeshurun,” the “upright one.” The children of Israel turned away from the Lord: “They have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him” (verse 4). Yet God lovingly calls them “Jeshurun,” the “beloved one.” Jeshurun exemplifies God’s grace.

“He will not always accuse,

nor will He harbor His anger forever;

He does not treat us as our sins deserve

or repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is His love for those who fear Him;

as far as the east is from the west,

so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:9-12).