Ever feel like God's promises are... well, just promises? Like they're too good to be true, or maybe they got lost in the mail somewhere between then and now? Devarim Rabbah 3, a section of the commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy, tackles this very question, exploring God's faithfulness through some pretty amazing stories.
It all starts with the verse, “You shall know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God” (Deuteronomy 7:9). Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba uses a parable to unpack this idea. Imagine a king entrusted with a precious deposit from a friend. The friend dies, and his son comes to claim it. The king doesn't just hand it over. Instead, he says, “Have you found another better than I? Have I not guarded the deposit...and have I not folded it?”
Think about that "folded it" part. It's a detail, right? But it speaks volumes. It implies the king didn't just store the deposit away; he cared for it, maintained it. Similarly, when Israel sinned in the time of Jeremiah, God asks, “What injustice did your fathers find in Me?” (Jeremiah 2:5). God is essentially saying, "I made promises! I swore to bless your descendants (Genesis 22:17). Didn't I bless you through Moses (Deuteronomy 1:10)? Didn't I bring you out of Egypt with great wealth?" As Psalm 105:37 says, “He brought them out with silver and gold; none among His tribes faltered.” The point? God doesn't just make promises; He actively fulfills them.
Rabbi Levi offers another angle on this same verse. He compares God's relationship with Israel to another deposit, a pikadon in Hebrew. This time, the deposit is the seventy descendants of Jacob who went down to Egypt. We learn this connection from Exodus 3:16: “I have remembered [pakod pakadeti] you." To retrieve this "deposit" of the Jewish people, God says, in essence, "I need witnesses. Bring me two commanders and twelve advisers." These are Moses and Aaron, and the twelve heads of the tribes, as indicated in Numbers 1:3–4. God isn't just acting on a whim; He's doing it in a measured, deliberate way, ensuring accountability and demonstrating the weight of His commitment.
But here's where it gets really interesting. The text takes a surprising turn, suggesting we can understand God's faithfulness by observing the faithfulness of… human beings. It says, "from the faithfulness of mortal man you can know the faithfulness of the Holy One blessed be He." To illustrate, we're treated to a series of stories about Rabbi Pinḥas ben Yair and Rabbi Shimon ben Shetaḥ.
First, Rabbi Pinḥas is entrusted with two se'a (a dry measure) of barley. The owners forget about it for seven years! But Rabbi Pinḥas doesn't just store it. He plants it, harvests it, and carefully stores the yield. When the owners finally return, he presents them with their "storehouses." Then, he helps a town plagued by mice by encouraging them to properly separate their tithes. Finally, when a man who dug water channels for the public loses his daughter in a river, Rabbi Pinḥas declares that because of his good deeds, she cannot be lost to the water. And miraculously, she is saved!
Then we hear about Rabbi Shimon ben Shetaḥ, who buys a donkey from an Ishmaelite and discovers a precious gem hanging from its neck. His disciples urge him to keep it, citing Proverbs 10:22: “the blessing of the Lord, it will enrich.” But Rabbi Shimon refuses, stating plainly, “I purchased a donkey, I did not purchase a gem.” He returns it to the Ishmaelite, who exclaims, “Blessed is the Lord, God of Shimon ben Shetaḥ!”
What do these stories tell us? They reveal that faithfulness isn't just about grand gestures; it's about the small, consistent acts of integrity. It's about honoring commitments, even when no one is watching.
The passage concludes by linking this human faithfulness to God's promise of reward for performing mitzvot (commandments). It points to Exodus 12:17, “You shall guard the unleavened bread [ushmartem et hamatzot].” or perhaps Deuteronomy 7:11 "You shall observe the commandment [veshamarta et hamitzva]." The idea is that while we perform the commandments today, the reward comes later, "in the end [ekev]," as hinted at in the following verse (Deuteronomy 7:12).
So, what does this all mean for us? Perhaps it's a reminder that faithfulness is a two-way street. God is faithful, and we are called to be faithful in return. And maybe, just maybe, by striving to be faithful in our own lives – in the small things and the big things – we can gain a deeper understanding of God's unwavering faithfulness to us.