Jeshurun got fat and disrespectful. (You got fat! You were stuffed! You were gorged!) They abandoned the God who made them and treated the rock of their salvation like a fool.
But Gad, Reuben, and half of the tribe of Manasseh were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors. They chased after the gods of the people of the land as if they were prostitutes. God had destroyed these people as the Israelites arrived.
But when he became powerful, his pride destroyed him. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God. He went into the Lord’s temple to burn incense on the incense altar.
The Israelites captured fortified cities and a rich land. They took possession of houses filled with all sorts of good things, cisterns, vineyards, olive trees, and plenty of fruit trees. So they ate and were satisfied and grew fat. They enjoyed the vast supply of good things you gave them.
But they were defiant and rebelled against you. They threw your teachings over their shoulders and killed your prophets who warned them to turn back to you. They committed outrageous sins.
“How horrible it will be for a nation that sins. ⌞Its⌟ people are loaded down with guilt. They are descendants of evildoers and destructive children. They have abandoned the Lord. They have despised the Holy One of Israel. They have turned their backs on him.
The Lord created Jacob and formed Israel. Now, this is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid, because I have reclaimed you. I have called you by name; you are mine.
The Lord made you, formed you in the womb, and will help you. This is what the Lord says: Don’t be afraid, my servant Jacob, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.
Make these people close-minded. Plug their ears. Shut their eyes. Otherwise, they may see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their minds, and return and be healed.”
“Consider the Lord’s word, people of this generation. Haven’t I been a desert, a land of thick darkness, for Israel? Why do my people say that they are free to wander around and no longer come to me?
This is what the Lord says: What did your ancestors find wrong with me that they went so far away from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.
They grow big and fat. Their evil deeds have no limits. They have no respect for the rights of others. They have no respect for the rights of orphans. But they still prosper. They don’t defend the rights of the poor.
“Why should I forgive you? Your children abandoned me. They took godless oaths. They committed adultery, even though I satisfied their needs. They traveled in crowds to the houses of prostitutes.
These people have become close-minded and hard of hearing. They have shut their eyes so that their eyes never see. Their ears never hear. Their minds never understand. And they never turn to me for healing.” ’
The Lord said to Moses, “Soon you are going to lie down in death with your ancestors. When these people enter the land and are living among the foreigners there, they will chase after foreign gods as though they were prostitutes. They will abandon me and reject the promise I made to them.
I will bring them into the land that I swore to give to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey. When they have eaten all they want and have become fat, they will turn to other gods and worship them. They will despise me and reject my promise.
The people of Israel again did what the Lord considered evil. They began to serve other gods and goddesses—the Baals and the Astartes—and the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines. They abandoned the Lord and did not serve him.
Why do you show no respect for my sacrifices and grain offerings that I have commanded people to make in my dwelling place? Why do you honor your sons more than me by making yourselves fat on the best of all the sacrifices offered by my people Israel?