What Makes God's Covenant With Israel (or Us) Work? -- Deuteronomy 29:1-9

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How a Covenant Between Some Former Slaves & the Creator Can Work? -- Deuteronomy 29:1-9

Anyone who has studied the books that Moses wrote in the Old Testament would agree that his central topic is the Covenant between God and His chosen people, Israel. That Covenant is an agreement between two parties. It contains some conditions. For the most part, it is a matter of One party (God)  saying to the other (the Israelites), "If you do this, I will do that." And it is by any account, a great deal for Israel.

In the previous chapter, chapter 28, Moses has outlined both the blessings that Israel stood to gain "if they did" and the curses they would suffer "if they didn't". And what was it exactly that they had to do (or not do)? Chapter 28, verse 1 tells us. It was simply to "diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments".

Let's think about this a little before we dig into the passage. A small nation of people whose most recent claim to fame was being slaves in Egypt for 400 years was invited to be participants in a covenant with the Almighty. Is this a no brainer or what? I mean they had nothing more to lose and nothing really to offer. God, on the other hand, was and is all-powerful, He loved them a lot, but He also hated sin, especially idolatry. Could this really work with mere mortals prone to sin and a righteous God? If so, how?

It seems that God and Moses knew people back then, and even now, would be asking themselves the same question. So, thankfully, in the first part of this chapter, chapter 29:1-9, Moses relates God's words to the people, explaining exactly how this arrangement would work. Let's look at it.

Here's God's argument: "You've seen everything I did before your eyes in Egypt" (verse 2). He could have stopped there, but He goes on.  "You remember the great trials, as well as the great signs and wonders" (verse 3).

"But to this day, you still don't get it because I haven't given you a heart to know, eyes to see, or ears to hear" (verse 4). "For 40 years that I led you in the desert, your sandals and clothes have not worn out" (verse 5).

"You fasted, from bread and wine, in order to know that I am the Lord" (verse 6). "When we reached the promised land, 'we' met your enemies and defeated them" (verse 7). "We took their land as an inheritance for certain of your tribes" (verse 8).

That's it. That's His whole argument.  He concluded His argument with these words: "So keep the words of this covenant to do them, that you may prosper in all that you do."  And then He rested His case. Nothing more needed to be said to explain how this would work. Anyone with the ability to put two and two together, could figure out that God had not lost any of His power that He had exhibited. He could make this Covenant work on His power alone.

Moses was saying in essence, "If seeing is believing, then you had better believe and obey, because you have seen the mighty hand and power of God at work, and there's no denying it." I believe that is true of all  of us. If we stop to think about, and know a little about, how God operates, we too cannot deny that we have seen the hand of God at work in our lives.

But yet the Israelites still didn't get it and today, we don't get it, or we don't believe it. Why is that?  Well, perhaps verse 4 in this passage explains why the Israelites didn't get it and why we don't get it today. If no one gets it, it's because the Lord has not given us a heart to perceive. And why is that? David Guzik suggests the reason:

"The miracles in and of themselves could not accomplish anything in the heart of Israel. If God did not send His Spirit to change their hearts, then the greatest wonder imaginable would not make a difference. Some people today think the greatest help to evangelism would be to see more miraculous events. After all, who could not believe in the face of such displays of spiritual power? But seeing great wonders accomplishes nothing apart from a supernatural work of God in someone's heart."

That's what the Israelites needed and that's what we need today -- "a supernatural work of God in our hearts". And to get it, we need to really want God and God alone, not His blessings, but Him. We need to want a relationship with Him for Who He is, nothing else.

Matthew Henry wants us to be careful that we don't think God is to blame for the fact that He had not given the Israelites (or us for that matter) a heart to perceive. In fact, Henry writes:

"Moses laments their stupidity: Yet the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive, v. 4. This does not lay the blame of their senselessness, and sottishness, and unbelief, upon God, as if they had stood ready to receive his grace and had begged for it, but he had denied them; no, but it fastens the guilt upon themselves. 'The Lord, who is the Father of spirits, a God in covenant with you, and who had always been so rich in mercy to you, no doubt would have crowned all his other gifts with this, he would have given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see if you had not by your own frowardness and perverseness frustrated his kind intentions, and received his grace in vain.'

[And he continues.] Note, (1.) The hearing ear, the seeing eye, and the understanding heart, are the gift of God. All that have them have them from him. (2.) God gives not only food and raiment, but wealth and large possessions, to many to whom he does not give grace. Many enjoy the gifts who have not hearts to perceive the giver, nor the true intention and use of the gifts. (3.) God's readiness to do us good in other things is a plain evidence that if we have not grace, that best of gifts, it is our own fault and not his; he would have gathered us and we would not."

In conclusion, if we're not succeeding in perceiving Who God really is, it's not God's fault. It's because of our frowardness (our being difficult and ornery) and our perverseness (our contrariness, our deliberate and stubborn unruliness and resistance to guidance or discipline) that has frustrated His desire to give us that kind of heart, eyes, and ears.

If we can't perceive Him for Who He is, we cannot avail ourselves of His power -- the very Power that is the only thing that would make the Covenant between Israel and Him work; and the only thing that would make His covenant with us work.

We need to Know God and Let Him Be God, for us. How are we doing?

Note to reader: If you like the way we are studying scripture, why not subscribe to our posts by providing us just with your email? You can do that to the right of this column in the "Subscribe to" section.  You can also search our earlier studies in the "Blog Archive" section below that.  Finally, please encourage others to study along with us by sharing this link with your family and friends. Thank you and God bless.  Ken G.

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Handling Prosperity

Deuteronomy Chapter 8: The Command to Remember the Lord

Deuteronomy 8:1-20 – Highlights of The Passage and Some Thoughts

In verse 2 we have an insight into how God often works with people that we often miss. Moses was reminding the people of Israel how God humbled them, “testing you, to know your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.” Have you ever been humbled by God? I have. It’s not fun but it works. And as a result, by His grace, I’m still in a relationship with Him.

In verse 3, Moses says, “He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know.” What a statement. Sometimes life gets very hard – you go hungry; you go without a job; you get sick; you lose someone; you are greatly disappointed, and the list goes on. Stop and consider – is God testing me? If so, realize He is doing so because He loves you and cares about your heart and soul. And then notice the phrase, He “fed you with manna”.  God won’t let you die on earth if He wants you around to accomplish more for Him. And from this verse, we can assume that sometimes, how He saves us in a circumstance may be totally strange or unknown to us. That’s our God.

David Guzik reminds us that God’s education begins with us being humbled by Him. And then it moves to us being totally dependent on Him.

This verse also contains the famous “man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord” quote that Jesus Himself cited to Satan when the latter begged Him to “Command the stone to be made bread.”

In the meantime, between your pain or hunger and His provision for it, we are reminded (verse 4) that we will always have what we need. Moses tells the Israelites, “Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years.”  Wow, imagine that. When God is taking care of you, He’ll see to it that you’ll make it through.

Verse 5 is a reminder to all of us how God created us with a conscious. As a result of your need, Moses says, you will “know in your heart that the Lord your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son.” I don’t know about you, but I sure know when God is disciplining me. It’s not physical. It’s something that happens in my heart and in my mind.

In verses 6-9, Moses recounts the rewards of having been so dealt with by God. And in verse 10, he tells them (and us) that when we have availed ourselves of that blessing, we shall “bless the Lord (our) God” for what He has given us. Are you there yet? I am.

Verses 11-20 are cautions against forgetting God under different circumstances – including when one is well-fed, successful, etc. And this all happens when “your heart becomes proud” and “you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.” I have often said that perhaps God did not allow me to become rich and powerful because He was not ready to trust me with that kind of wealth and power. One could say, “that is so sad” and it is. On the other hand, I would say, “God loves me so much, and knows me so well, that I am so glad He did not make me rich or powerful. For if I were it might not need or want Him.”

Guzik reminds us that God is not against material things – except when they come between us and Him. He says, “God wanted to materially bless a spiritually obedient Israel.” However, let me be clear – this is not the prosperity gospel teaching. The fact that you or I are not materially blessed to our satisfaction or desire does not mean that we are not being obedient to God.

In the last two verses (19-20), Moses reminds the children of Israel that if they move towards worshipping other gods, they will surely perish as the nations that God made to perish before them. So, just listen to and obey the voice of the Lord your God.

Wrap-up

The main gist of this passage for me is that rather than pursue prosperity (wealth and power) with all our efforts, time, resources, and heart, we need to guard ourselves against it. God will apportion it to us as He sees and knows best. Our job is to find real joy and satisfaction with His choice for us in this regard. Otherwise, we will live and die, ever disappointed, ever sorry.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Moses shares his heart, his personal regret, and his hope for Israel.

Deuteronomy Chapter 3: Conquest of Og; the Granting of Land; and the Transition of Leadership

The Passage and Some Thoughts

Verses 1-11 relate the story of the Israelites conquering Og. Once again it was utter destruction and killing, just as in the case of Sihon earlier. And again, the Israelites took the animals and other spoils, as well as the land. Great details are provided. Chuck Smith reminds us that enemy was made up of giants (the remnant of the Rephaim) – really big men, terrible men, giants. They first appeared in Genesis 14:5 and you can read their story here, The Rephaim. And Moses is saying, “and God delivered even them into your hands”.

Verses 12-17 describe the granting of land to two and a half tribes. The land was given to the Reubenites and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh. (This was a repeat of Numbers 32:32-38).

In verses 18-20 we have Moses reminding them how God had promised these tribes this land described above but they had to go to war with their brothers across the Jordan to gain possession of the Promised Land and only when that was all successfully accomplished, could they return to their wives and children on this side of the Jordan.

Verses 21-29 describe the transition of leadership from Moses to Joshua. In verse 22 he encourages Joshua not to fear the enemies, “for the Lord your God is the one fighting for you.” Besides Moses was saying, “Look at what He did for you at Sihon and Og (those giants you conquered).” We need that kind of advice today as we battle the Enemy of God and his agents. He is at work in the riots of America. He is at work in the shutting down of churches in China. He is at work in the persecution of Christians all over India and Africa. May we not fear these enemies.  The battle is God’s. HE is fighting for us. And while we may seem to be losing from a human perspective as our freedoms are eliminated, our churches destroyed, our pastors killed, and even our own lives being at stake – we are indeed winning, for God is fighting for us and our reward is in heaven.

Then in verses 23-26 Moses records how he pleaded with God to let him cross over Jordan to stand in the Promised Land and God would not for He was angry with Moses on account of the Israelites. But in his pleading to God, we note several things:
1. He is now seeing the greatness and strong hand of the Lord in delivering their enemies into the hands of the Isrealites. Sometimes it takes a long time for even a man like Moses to recognize how mighty God is. We lose out on so much because we, even though we are His, we fail to see His power and might as early as we may have otherwise.
2. It is God that shows that to him. Man is often blinded to God’s greatness. So, our prayer for ourselves, our loved ones, others, is that God would reveal Himself to them.
3. His recognition that no one in heaven or on earth, man or god, can do what God has done, is doing, and will do. We need to come to that understanding ourselves and then watch God and let God do what He needs to do. The earlier we get there in our thinking, the greater will be our ability to serve Him and others mightily.
4. Finally, in verse 26, Moses recognizes when God is angry with him and wants to hear no more of his pleading on the matter of being allowed to enter Canaan. We too need to recognize when God has had enough of our disobedience. We need to stop, especially if we have asked for forgiveness and He has forgiven us. Let it go. You missed out on something great, but God has more for you to do. Don’t miss out on that. We can appreciate how much this hurt Moses, and so God saying ‘No’ to us may also hurt us. But we need to believe, as Moses did, that there was a just reason for God’s response and the integrity of God’s character and being is more important than our disappointment in getting a ‘no’ answer.

In verses 27-29, we read of Moses being told to go to the top of Mount Pisgah and look in every direction, and see the Promised Land with his own eyes, though he was not allowed to cross over the Jordan to feel it under his feet. [When Moses actually gets to do this is the point where this book we are studying, Deuteronomy, will actually end.  So, hang in there.] Moses was actually told to replace himself with Joshua and to do all in his power to encourage him in crossing over the Jordan. The chapter ends with Moses saying, for now, “we remained in the valley opposite Beth-peor.”

Wrap-up

In this chapter, we see again God’s magnificent power (He defeated the greatest of enemies), His love for His people (He delivered the lands of the enemies into their hands), and His adherence to justice (He would not change His mind with respect to letting Moses enter the Promised Land).

Can we all learn those three lessons? We need to. God is almighty. God loves us. God is just and His word will be accomplished.

If there is anything that we need to convey to others it is those three characteristics of God and the fact that we can enjoy their benefits through His Son Jesus Christ. May that be so with each of us.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Jesus Didn’t Die For You To ‘Be King'

The Missing Link: Your Journey with Peter from Self Power to Holy Spirit Power Author: Sam Hunter

Publisher: High Bridge Books, Houston, Texas, 2019

For those of you that have read Lloyd C. Douglas’s 1948 epic historical novel called The Big Fisherman, this book will bring back memories. However, while Douglas’s book was more novel than history, Sam Hunter’s is more history than novel. In The Missing Link, Hunter takes poetic license in how he delivers scriptural texts – when, who, in what order, etc., but sticks very closely to words uttered by Jesus and the various apostles in the New Testament. With those passages, he takes the opportunity to let his main character, the Apostle Peter, share some personal (Hunter’s) views on key issues facing Christians and the Body of Christ today. I’ll let you discover them for yourself. But as a teaser, let me just ask you, “Where is the Biblical support for (local) church membership?”

The book is indeed an account of a journey or should I say two journeys.

The first and obvious one is Peter’s journey of life with Christ (what he learned and what he did not learn while Jesus was with the Disciples) as well his account of facing life without Christ after His ascension. It was at that time that he tried to understand what Jesus had meant when he uttered the words, “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.” This first journey goes on to explain how that happened and what it meant to him, and to other followers of Jesus. Peter, now an old man in the story, provides a description that is historical in nature – all this had already happened.

The second and slightly less obvious, but still very intentional journey, is a portrayal of a potential or future journey – your journey and my journey of having the Holy Spirit live within us and allowing us to exhibit His Power.  Some readers may already be on that journey and they will easily identify with what Peter shared about his journey. To others, it may be all brand-new thinking.

In the book’s prologue, again writing as Peter, Hunter makes several keys observations, but his main one (attributed to Pastor Jack R. Taylor) is this: The Holy Spirit “is, in fact, the only God left on earth.” If that doesn’t get you wanting to read the book, nothing will.

Hunter does a masterful job of developing a character that is like so many of us – we want to be in charge of our lives; we think we’re pretty good; we’re often in a hurry; and we get things done. And then he shows us, through “king Peter” that being like that does not work if our desire is to be Holy Spirit filled.

The majority of the book’s background is the account of the New Testament book of Acts which Hunter (through Peter) says we’ve misnamed it ‘the Acts of the Apostles’. Peter says a much better name would be ‘the Acts of the Holy Spirit’ and Hunter shows us why.

The author focuses on Christ’s instruction to His disciples to “wait” and tells us what we are to wait for.

In part two of his book, Hunter describes how seeking and receiving the Holy Spirit is not for the faint of heart. In essence, when the Spirit comes to dwell in you, the Enemy strikes back. In effect, he shows us that we have two choices when that happens. We can either react in fear or respond in faith. With great detail he describes for us what that looks like. This section of the book would not be complete without an account of Jesus’ challenge to Peter and to us – “Who do you say that I am?” With whatever answer we give, Hunter (through Peter) moves us on to a section of handling tribulation, suffering, even ‘flogging’ in Peter’s case and ‘stoning’ in Stephen’s case.

The third and final part of the book is an account of the conversion of the persecutor of Christians (Saul) to being one of the greatest proponents of Christ (the Apostle Paul), and Peter’s relationship with him. It is a fascinating section that gives us an interesting perspective on Paul’s early life after his conversion. The weight of his past acts is, to say the least, a heavy burden for him.  Together, Peter and Paul and others learn about each of the Spirit’s Fruits.

And readers won’t want to miss Hunter’s treatise on the difference between ‘aphiemi’ forgiveness and ‘charizomai’ forgiveness.  That alone is worth the price of the book.

If you, like many of us, are stuck in your spiritual life, and your relationship with God is not growing, this book will move you to the next step – no matter where you are in your journey.  It is easy reading, but full of practical suggestions that could have a great impact.

Highly recommended. Very different from the other (at least 17 by my count) books out there with the identical or basically the same title. 

n  Ken B. Godevenos, President, Accord Resolutions Services Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Feb. 1, 2020, www.accordconsulting.com

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

I Thought I Was Reading An Updated Version of a Saul Alinsky Manual

We Need A Movement: Four Problems To Solve To Restore Rational Government

Author: John Jensen

Publisher:Self-published, San Bernardino, California, 2017

Full disclosure – I am a “conservative”.  Now, read on.

The book’s title intrigued me enough to agree to read it and review it. Certainly, many would agree that the West has lost any vestige of rational government. We’d also agree we want to fix the problems that result from such a loss. And I thought Dr. John Jensen, a clinical psychologist, educational consultant, and a former Catholic priest, would lead us through the waters of social change to the promised land we crave.  He certainly made a valiant effort.

His book is broken down into four main sections (really, they’re chapters). These cover the four problems he believes need solving -- Meaning, Selfish Power, Mediocre Thinking, and Organization.

While he offers many gems of wisdom, the organization of his material leaves much to be desired. For starters his four chapters are each, on average, 70 pages long. He engages points and subpoints, and bullets and sub-bullets to the point that the material becomes tedious for the reader.

Nevertheless, he is bang on when it comes to describing why we’re in the societal mess we are in – and clearly, to Jensen, we are in a mess. Our economic and success models are geared to raise one up at the expense of many others – sometimes unintentionally, often while unaware of doing so, and regularly, quite intentionally.

Early in his book he lists many issues and then asks, “Is it right?” But he’s very careful to only include issues of the political left, not the political right. For example, he raises concern for global warming, high rates of teen death and child poverty, poor child care, high rate of incarceration, inequality in education, inequality in the justice system, an over-funded military, etc. But there’s no mention of issues like abortion, euthanasia, broken marriages, single parenting, etc.  So right away he alienates his conservative readers.

He also uses words that are polemic to some.  For example, on his dedication page he warns us of only using 300-word quotations from the book, but it appears that “activists’use of the text for promoting ideas outlined within” is totally okay, with no limit. 

Jensen does many things well. For example, he explains the necessity for great care when we seek freedom from government interference, pointing out that if the government is not in control, others rush in to fill that gap.  He warns that many democracies have been or are ruled by autocrats and that Hitler took over his homeland when German democracy was ineffective.

I must admit Dr. Jensen may think he is writing an apolitical book, but his examples seem quite one-sided for one who follows American politics these days.  In fact, he has a unique way of criticizing the Trump phenomenon on several occasions. He writes things like, “We must not design society to violate justice and respect.”  And yet, to a conservative reader who believes he is a proponent of the left, he seems to be totally missing the fact that this is exactly what the side he favors is doing.  He makes a discrete point for increasing or widening the voter base, but in so doing, he speaks directly against what most Americans want – voter identification. He writes, “Every attempt to exclude individuals, demographic groups, or regions from the electoral process by making their participation harder, longer, or more confusing degrades democracy and leaves a minority in control.”  He lost me ideologically after that.

Sticking with his desire, Jensen identifies the issue before us as simple: “The issue,” he says, “is basic. Can society grow efficiently and profitably and still account for everyone? The data do not say. It appears to be a matter of choice.”  But while he gives us lots of details on how to change that society step by step, person by person, it’s not clear as to how successful such a process would be.  After all, there were many community and societal organizers (Saul Alinsky being one) before Jensen came along and look where we are.  He himself writes, “A ten-foot ladder does not free us from a twenty-foot hole.”

The author wanders into the issue of refugees and ethnic groups and objects to our seeing them as being our enemies simply because of where they were born and where we were born. Unfortunately, while as a Christian like him, I can, and I must love individuals from any part of the world, I don’t believe I can realistically expect everyone not to see some groups as enemies when they want to kill us.

The book has many redeeming values.  For example, there is a myriad of great lines.  Here’s one with regard to expecting assistance from those who know a crime has been or is being committed: “To turn in a family member (terrorist, murderer, etc. to the authorities), people must commit to the values of a society that values them (the people doing the informing).” [Italics mine.]

He includes a great deal of detailed instruction for almost each step of a movement’s creation and implementation. Those are most helpful to anyone working on any cause.  His list of “analytic tools” and their use is top-notch. As an example, there is a list of 153 questions to use in having a discussion when challenging people with your ideas.

There are also some great and very useful insights into how to argue with extremists.  If you don’t mind the author’s slant, even though he tries to hide it well, this is a great book for how “to do” what needs to be done to start any kind of movement, let alone a social one.

Jensen also seems to miss the real purpose of the Church instructing his readers on how to infiltrate it for your cause. (He calls it ‘appealing to the churches’, I call it ‘manipulating the Church’ based on the social teachings of Christ.). In so doing, ex-Father Jensen misses the higher calling of the Church – the salvation of mankind.

Nevertheless, I intend to keep it on my shelf as a reference not only to use when running discussion groups or formal meetings, but also to remind me of how political and social activists operate.

  

Ken B. Godevenos, President, Accord Resolutions Services Inc., Toronto, Ontario, June 4, 2018

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

How God Deals With Our Enemies and How He Deals With His -- Exodus 15:4-8

--> “Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; And the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea.  The deeps cover them; They went down into the depths like a stone.  They right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power, Thy right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.  And in the greatness of Thine excellence Thou dost overthrow those who rise up against Thee; Thou dost send forth Thy burning anger, and it consumes them as chaff.  And at the blast of Thy nostrils the waters were piled up, The flowing waters stood up like a heap; The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.”
 
Continuing in song, the Children of Israel give us glimpse of God’s capability in dealing with our enemies.  Not only were Pharaoh’s chariots and his army cast into the sea, but the text also says, “the choicest of his officers” were drowned.  Our enemies can put forth their very best – in personnel or efforts or technology – God can still defeat them all and always. (This theme resurfaces many years later in the account of David and Goliath – the very best the Philistines had to offer in their challenge to Israel.)  The Bible goes on to say here in Exodus that the choicest of warriors went “down like a stone” that would never again come to the surface.  When God is the One who truly destroys our enemies, they never resurface.

And then the song turns to pointing out some attributes of God Himself as the warrior.  He has a ‘right’ hand that is majestically powerful.  Perhaps the adjective was selected to impress upon us the fact that no one or no thing has more power, as “majesty” implies the highest in the land.  And with this power, God not only destroys the enemy, but He ‘shatters’ him.  In our English language, we have the range of marring something, or ruining it (from its original state), or destroying it (making it very difficult to repair as when after an accident, a vehicle is rendered to be ‘totaled’ or ‘a complete write off’), and then there’s “shattering” something or making it totally impossible to ever put back together again.  That is what God does with our enemies.

Now knowing how God deals with the enemies of His children is enough to make any sane person not want to go against them.  Something perhaps those who today have no use for the Jewish nation of Israel or for Christians, and who want to eliminate all of us, should well keep in mind.  But even worse than that is how God deals with those who actually are arrogant enough to rise up directly against Him, and to scorn Him personally.  Towards them, the text says, God applies the full force of the “greatness of His excellence” – the ultimate knockout-punch if you like.  The song tells us God emits His “burning anger” towards them and they are “consumed like chaff”.  I looked ‘chaff’ up in the dictionary to get a better idea of its meaning as a noun.  Chaff can mean the husks of corn or other seed separated by winnowing or threshing; or chopped hay and straw used as fodder; or worthless things; or trash.  What came to mind is that they all burn well.  The tie-in of this image of how God deals with His own enemies may well be a prelude of what the rest of Scripture depicts as the fate of all who ultimately reject Him as Lord and Savior.

Finally, God uses His power to suspend at His will the very laws of nature He ordained and controla in order to defeat our enemies.  In the case of the children of Israel, God breathes a blast and causes the waters that are normally subject to gravity, to pile up like a heap on either side of the passageway He opened for His children to cross the Red Sea on.  The “deeps” that otherwise were there due to the depth of the water were no longer visible, for they were “congealed” or solidified (transformed if you like) into a solid upon which Moses led his congregation over.

That is our God.  That is how He deals with your enemies and mine.  And that is how He deals with His own personal enemies.  But you say, “Fine, but God is not dealing with my enemies, He’s letting them make mincemeat out of me right now.”  I am glad you added the “right now” at the end.  And I am sure that the children of Israel felt exactly that way for 400 years (that’s longer than your whole lifetime and mine) while they served as slaves to the Egyptians.  You see God’s timing is not our timing.  You and I wear watches and follow clocks and calendars to give time some sort of order and make it easier for us to communicate.  But God who actually created ‘time’ is not at all ‘bound’ by it.  If we can somehow accept that, then we’ll be better able to realize that what matters is not “biding our time” but rather learning to “bide His time”.

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“Follow All the Instructions but I’ll Harden Pharaoh’s Heart” -- Exodus 4:21

And the Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.”

Either before Moses left for Egypt with his family, or on the way, God reminds him that he is to perform all the wonders that He had put in his power once he got to see the Pharaoh.  Following only some of the instructions would not suffice any more than when we are ill, taking only some of our prescribed medicines, or every other dose, ordered by the doctor, would allow the bacterial infection in our body to be cured. We cannot partially obey God if we are to receive His blessing in the particular endeavor we are involved in.

I find the phrase “wonders I have put in your power” of interest.  Few commentaries elaborate on it.  But think of it.  The Almighty God takes an ordinary person like Moses, you, or I; calls him to undertake a task on His behalf; and then actually gives him ‘wonders’ to be used in a prescribed way but under the man’s (or woman’s) own control to provide the power by which the task will be completed.  Entire books can be written about this, but here let us simply remind ourselves that it is possible.  Let us believe it.  Let us not seek it inappropriately or for the wrong reasons, but let us not miss it, either.

In this same passage we are confronted with one of the most difficult actions of God to explain to skeptics.  God tells Moses that He was going to “harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he would not let the Israelites go”.  Now why on earth (or in heaven for that matter) would God plan to do that, and furthermore, tell us about in advance?  Did He not know the troubles this would cause us as we went about fulfilling the Great Commission in the future?

Chuck Smith, writing on this in his C200 Series commentary, presents us with an interesting perspective as to what is going on here.  He suggests that the word Hebrew word we have translated as “harden” in this case is a word that literally means “strengthen”.  Smith continues,

““I will make strong his heart”. Now as we read of Moses’ dealings with Pharaoh [later on]. . . we read “Pharaoh hardened his heart”.  The word there in Hebrew is hardened.  “And Pharaoh hardened his heart”.  And then we read, “and the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh.”  Different Hebrew word.  “The Lord made firm the heart of Pharaoh”, or “the Lord strengthened the heart of Pharaoh.”  In other words, Pharaoh set his heart and God strengthened him in that position.  “You want to be stubborn?  All right, I’ll strengthen you in your stubbornness so I can really bop you good.”  That’s basically what it was. . . . Pharaoh set his heart against the Lord, and God strengthened him in his position . . . [so that] He’ll not let the people go.”

The commentator David Guzik in his study of Exodus reminds us that whenever God hardened (or strengthened) Pharaoh’s heart, He never did it against Pharaoh’s will.  He writes,

Pharaoh never said, "Oh, I want to do what is good and right and I want to bless these people of Israel" and God answered, "No, for I will harden your heart against them!" When God hardened Pharaoh's heart, He allowed Pharaoh's heart to do what Pharaoh wanted to do - God was giving Pharaoh over to his sin (Romans 1:18-32) . . . “God does not harden men by putting evil into them, but by not giving them mercy." (Augustine)
And Matthew Henry in his commentary on this passage, writes,

That Pharaoh’s obstinacy might be no surprise nor discouragement to him [Moses], God tells him before that he would harden his [Pharaoh’s] heart. Pharaoh had hardened his own heart against the groans and cries of the oppressed Israelites, and shut up the bowels of his compassion from them; and now God, in a way of righteous judgment, hardens his heart against the conviction of the miracles, and the terror of the plagues.

So there you have it.  I believe the skeptics will still not be satisfied but then again maybe nothing will satisfy them.  On the other hand, our goal is to have Christians be able to better understand some of the more difficult points in Scripture.  We do not have to defend God’s thinking or rationale or intentions; we just need to try and understand them.  What we still do not understand, we accept by ‘faith’ that it is indeed His Way.

Finally, I cannot leave this section without making reference to one of my favorite words in the Bible, that three-letter word once again – “but”.  God seems to be saying, “Moses do exactly as I tell you; but even though you do, I’ll still harden Pharaoh’s heart.”  Now what is that all about?  It seems that sometimes we do what God says and then He goes and thwarts our efforts. Matthew Henry may have an answer for that.  He warns us, especially those of us who are pastors or ministry leaders, to expect that our labor may often be in vain.  He writes, “we must not think it strange if we meet with those who will not be wrought upon by the strongest arguments and fairest reasonings.” And in Moses’ case, God even tells him in advance that this will happen.  Allow me to suggest something that is really difficult for us (especially those of us who are ‘type-A’ personalities who always want the ‘goal’ to be met) to accept.  The primary point of you following all of God’s instructions is often not the end result or impact your action will have on a situation – God can take care of that totally on His own.  The whole point of you following God’s instructions, and yes, sometimes with no success, is that you learn to be totally obedient to Him and trusting Him to do what is best for you, for others, and for the world.  We must get to the point where, as Charles Price said in a sermon from Isaiah 31, it becomes natural for us to “look to God” in order to “lean on God”, so that we can be able to “listen to God”.

Where are you and I on the path He wants us to travel?

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Mid-day Musings January 15, 2011

I find it really sad that we need to give a lunatic group airtime in exchange for not protesting at the funeral of a nine-year-old girl who was drastically murdered in the massacre in Tucson earlier this month.  Thank God for radio station 102.1 FM in Toronto and four other U.S. radio stations who made this offer.  It's also sad that the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) called on the radio stations to rescind their offers.  But one station already fulfilled its promise.  Fortunately, the U.S. government is considering legislation to ban such protesting at funerals.

Untied States Supreme Court currently is composed of six Catholics, three Jews, and no Protestants. I can live with that.  But it also says something about the link between the Protestant, the Evangelical, and the Southern Baptist movements (none of which necessarily are one and the same) and the "true power" that is in the United States.  Also what will that mix look like by the time the next election comes around, and four years after that.  The American system, not unlike Canada's and I'm sure many other democracies, is interesting in that Supreme Court judges can only be replaced when they die, or take retirement, or step down (I suppose they can also be impeached by the House of Representatives).  And they are replaced by the President.  So, if you have a liberal president, you will get liberal judges replacing any vacancies.  And if you have a conservative president, you will get more conservative judges.  It's always a gamble as to a) what kind of president will be in power when b) you get 'x' number of vacancies in the Supreme Court.  I am sure there is some influencing going on as to who retires when, etc.  But it is in this body of government -- the Supreme Court that the real power of the land resides.  Keep an eye on it.  Theoretically, right now, for the time being, we should be seeing some more conservative decisions.  Thank God for that.

Charles Stanley says, "We do not acquire feelings of self-worth by standing in front of a mirror and repeating to ourselves, 'I am worthy, I am worthy, I am worthy.'  We acquire feelings o self-worth when we stand in front of the cross and come to the realization of the greatest truth of all time, 'I am worthy because Go says I am worthy.  I am worthy because Jesus died in my place for my sins so that I might live in eternity with God.'"

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.