“MY dad rides a Harley.” You’ll probably never hear my daughters say that. Mr. Stuht’s boys, on the other hand, can make that boast. What is it about Harley bikes that makes many ooh and aah when they find out that the person they are talking to is an owner of one those growly beasts of the road? It’s an image thing, isn’t it? The perception among many is that if you own a Harley, you must be one tough dude. What boy doesn’t want his friends to think that about his dad?
Your dad may ride a Harley, but have you ever considered what your God rides? In Japan many believe that their gods get around in ornate little palace-like temples called mikoshi. Mikoshis look great but they’re powered by humans. They can’t travel very far or very fast making one wonder just how powerful the god is who is supposedly riding inside. The Viking god, Odin, on the other hand allegedly rode an eight-legged horse called Slepner. Dear Christian, what about your God? What does he ride and what does it matter? In the Gospel lesson for the Festival of Ascension we heard how, 40 days after his resurrection, Jesus rose up to heaven until the clouds covered him. Angels then told his disciples that Jesus would return the same way – riding on the clouds. Yes, MY God rides the clouds and, according to our sermon text from the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, he does so to save me and to empower me.
Now when I say that the God of the Bible rides the clouds, I don’t want you to think that if you look this afternoon, you can catch a glimpse of the Almighty cruising atop a cumulus. While Jesus will descend on the clouds of heaven when he returns to judge the world, he doesn’t need the clouds to get around. Jesus is everywhere at once. Our text, however, uses the imagery of God riding on the clouds to poetically convey how powerful and glorious the true God is. The Israelites needed to be reminded of this truth because they were going to be losing Moses, their leader for 40 years. They were still in good hands, however, because their true leader was and would remain God - and what a God he is! Listen to the words of our text again: “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, (a nickname for Israel meaning “upright one”) who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty. 27 The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, ‘Destroy him!’ 28 So Israel will live in safety alone; Jacob’s spring is secure in a land of grain and new wine, where the heavens drop dew. 29 Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will trample down their high places” (Deuteronomy 33:26-29).
I think the ancient Greeks believed that their gods too rode on the clouds of heaven. They did so, however, to spy and to meddle. Greek gods were not beloved but tolerated and feared. Do you see how different the God of the Bible is? According to Moses he is a God who rides on the clouds to help and to save. Moses described him as a refuge above his people and underneath he held them with everlasting arms. Think back to the last time you nursed a child back to health. How long were you able to hold the child before your arms started to give out and you had to put her down or hand her to someone else? God’s arms which are holding you never tire or grow weak. Those arms are so big that there is room for the whole world including you. So why is life so tough right now? Could it be that God had to put you down because he is too busy holding others? No, Moses said that he is an eternal refuge. You may be suffering but your God is limiting the hurt and he’s using it for your benefit – like a physical therapist who, under his watchful care, gives you weights to lift to strengthen that weak shoulder of yours.
Moses invites us to marvel at how blessed we are. He said: “Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD?” (Deuteronomy 33:29b) A couple of weeks ago there was an article about a Londoner saved by the actor Dustin Hoffman. What did Hoffman do? Dive into the Thames to rescue a drowning child? Fight off a gang of thugs attacking a senior citizen? No. He called an ambulance when he noticed a man keel over in an apparent heart attack. That’s news? That makes Hoffman a savior? Compare Dustin Hoffman to Jesus. Jesus didn’t dial 911 when he saw us drowning in our sins and then stand by as paramedic angels risked their lives to save us. No, he himself rolled up his sleeves and gave his blood for us. He stood between us and God the Father’s wrath over our sins when he died on the cross. Appropriately Moses called God a shield. How blessed we are! How blessed the world is for Jesus paid for everyone’s sins. Let them know about this awesome God, for without faith in him now they will have to face him as an enemy come Judgment Day!
Moses wants us to know that this cloud-riding God didn’t just come to save us he also empowers us. Moses said of him: “He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, ‘Destroy him!’… He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will trample down their high places” (Deuteronomy 33:27b, 29b). Remember that Moses was talking to the children of Israel who were about to enter into the Promised Land. But this land wasn’t a vacant lot. The Canaanites lived there and had done so for hundreds of years. About forty years before this the Israelites had cowered in fear when ten of the twelve spies brought back the report that the land was filled with giants and that there was no way that they were going to triumph over them. For that lack of faith that generation ended up having to wander the wilderness until each one of them, except for Caleb and Joshua, died.
Moses wanted this new generation to be assured that God would empower them to drive out their enemies. What I find interesting about this text is how Moses is clear that God would do the driving out but he would do so through the Israelites. Likewise God has never promised to come down himself and fight our battles while we stand on the sidelines. We ourselves will have to fight Satan and his temptations but God has equipped us for the contest. The Apostle Paul made that point in our Epistle Lesson when he wrote about Jesus, “He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (Ephesians 4:10-12).
Yes, when Jesus ascended into heaven he did so as a conquering general. Now that general empowers his troops here. Make no mistake; our battle is a spiritual one. It was even that for the Israelites. When Moses said that the Israelites would trample the “high places” of their enemies (Deuteronomy 33:29), this could have referred to their fortress-like cities but it must have also alluded to their places of idol worship, for throughout the Old Testament these pagan shrines, often on hills, were simply called “high places.”
Unfortunately the Israelites got tired of fighting the enemy. They tolerated them and then began to befriend them and accept and then adopt their sinful way of living. Has that happened to us? Have we gotten tired of fighting the evil around us and have just given in? No longer do we object to those offensive images on the TV and computer but let our eyes and thoughts linger on them. We fret and worry about our future rather than turning to the Lord and his Word and being assured that all is well, for Jesus lives and rules for us.
Do you remember what happened to the Israelites because of their sins? God finally kicked them out of the Promised Land when the Assyrians and then Babylonians carried them off into captivity. Moses said that the Lord was Israel’s glorious sword (Deuteronomy 33:29). But when we ignore his Word and live for ourselves the Sword can turn against us – first to call us to repentance and then to eternally punish if we ignore him.
Yes, your God rides the clouds and has empowered you but not to go out and conqueror the world – that is to get top marks in school, or to be the next salesman of the year. He may choose to bless you in these ways but it’s not the blessing we need to the most. We need Jesus’ constant grace so that we may fight temptation and everything Satan would use to distract us from our real goal of heaven. God’s Word is our sword against Satan’s temptations and against those things that would cause us to doubt God’s love for us. Wield it constantly!
Your dad may ride a Harley but you’ve got something better to brag about. Your God rides the clouds. He does so to save and to empower. May Jesus keep sending us the Holy Spirit that we may never take for granted at how blessed we are to be his people – people saved and empowered by God himself! Amen.
