Deuteronomy 29 -- Oh, Now I See!

God directed Moses to reveal something additional about the covenant at Sinai.  My commentary said it wasn’t a new covenant, because Moses didn’t make any blood sacrifice.  He said, “But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands; you don’t really understand what you see with your eyes or hear with your ears.  I led you through the desert for forty years, and during that time neither your clothes nor sandals wore out.  You ate no bread and drank no wine or beer.  This was so you would understand that I am the Lord your God.”

They’d been amazed at the great displays of power God had shown them during the 40 years they’d traveled, but it sounds like they’d completely missed the fact that clothing and shoes hadn’t worn out during their 40-year journey.  As children grew, hand-me-downs didn’t wear out, and adults didn’t grow larger than their clothes, likely because of the diet God was providing!  God was giving them the gift of understanding now so that they could look back and see where He’d been at work.

As they readied to enter and take the land, God warned them again not to make anyone or anything their god, for He is God and He would not prosper them if they let anyone or anything else take His place in their lives.  Even during their time in Egypt and while they were being led through the wilderness by a pillar of fire and clouds, some were carrying Egyptian idols and practicing idolatry!  And now God warns, “These are the kind of people who hear these curses but bless themselves, thinking, ‘We will be safe even though we continue doing what we want to do.’  Those people may destroy all of your land … The Lord will not forgive them … The Lord will destroy any memory of them on the earth … Your children who will come after you … will see the disasters that come to this land … ‘Why has the Lord done this?  Why is He so angry?’ And the answer will be … ‘They went and serve other gods and bowed down to gods they did not even KNOW.”

They’d had no clue about the future ramifications from what they were doing, bowing down to anyone or anything other than God and giving them or it control of their lives.  They’d one day have children and their actions would affect their children!  And their children would look back and see what their parents’ idolatry had cost them.

Father, help each of us to see when we’ve made something an idol in our lives – when we’ve let anything or anyone become more important to us than You.  In Your love, stop us before we do it!  Give us minds that understand.  Remove Satan’s blinders from our eyes.  Enable us to see Your truth.

Your Brother In Christ,

Gary Ford