Deuteronomy 31 Journey Through the Bible Deuteronomy 33
King James Version
The Book of Deuteronomy
Chapter 32
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Commentary
Deuteronomy 32
This is a song of Moses, that the Lord had instructed him to sing unto the people for all generations concerning His laws and commandment. His precepts and His judgments are meant as a protection for the People against any who should come against them. This song is to remind the People, in their very hearts that God is always with them to bless them or to curse them. Sometimes the People wax so evil that God will purpose to utterly destroy them from off the face of the earth for their wickedness. He has not done so By the repentance of our hearts, God will repent His own purpose to destroy us, and instead He will increase us beyond measure. He will send an awe to the eyes of all who witness His greatness.
Can we remain in divine favor, as the apple of His eye? Can we remain students to the teaching of His law? Can we be apt to carry out His will, to do all that He commands us? At times this would seem so very simple, especially compared to some of the other things the People have experienced. They are warned, and they fully comprehend the pros and cons of obedience. In the balance of things, and no matter how a person looks at it, clearly it is better and easier to obey instead of rebel. However, it is not always the case with the People, nor is it the case today.
God still wants to show His infinite mercy to all who will follow His will. He still wants to prosper a nation that will be brought up in obedience to His precepts. He will make His name known through such a People. However, as the days wane on, and the times wax worse and worse, it may be difficult to the extent of borderline impossible that an entire nation would unify in the will of God to do all that He instructs, so that He can raise up this nation in the sight of the rest of the world, so that they can all see that God is real, and to what extent He will go to prosper them and protect them against all adversity. God wants the world to know that He is the same today, and that He will do for us what He has always done for people who follow His way.
God will not have it that any should perish, but He will not tolerate a lifestyle of sin and evil, either. He is a just God. He will punish evil, and not just for the sake of punishment. God will teach us the right way, if we will learn. When we experience difficult times, sometimes it is specifically because of our disobedience, or because of sin in our life. The trouble with today is that the people do not associate the situation with the wrong that has been done. Seldom do they look to God for answers to the situation that has brought such damage among the People. How will they know right from wrong if they never knew it, and if they can't see God's hand in it anymore?
As we learn how God dealt with people from all over the world, we begin to see how we have distanced ourselves from the understanding of God. We see very little association between God and man, when in the real scheme of things, everything that goes on in our lives is relevant to God's blessing or curse. Nothing is simply coincidence. Almost all of us know this, and still so few attribute our condition to God's work. Again, EVERYTHING that happens in our lives is either directly by God's own hand, or permitted by God's authority. These are not always what we esteem as qualities of God. That is to say, it don't always seem like something that the God we know would do or allow to be done to us. Sometimes is looks like pure evil.
What does our sin look like? What does our good look like? Who could answer this question? The thing is, God is the only One who can see all; even the heart. He know each of our mental capacity. He knows the intent of each of our hearts. The outcome is not as important as the motive behind it. The outcome can be made well after all, if our heart meant well from the beginning. This is only a glimpse of why no man can judge the actions of another man, except he be ordained of God; specifically and strictly the Levites. This tribe of Israel did work hand in hand with God to deliver instruction and reprimand to the People as instructed by God.
Today we have the law of the land and our own conscience to guide us. Just a glimpse at the law of the land will help you understand what is wrong. What about our conscience? Our hearts grow harder as we justify our actions, or as we ignore the wickedness that we have wrought. We ignore the calamity for so long that we forget the good life and we become tolerant of the waste land and the filth. We raise up children that don't know there is a better way, and never question why things are as they are. They don't seek the better way, because they don't know that there is a better way. Many of us just "stumble" upon a way that is better, and of those, precious few associate it all with the hand of the Lord... literally.
Those who are blessed with the ambition to seek out a matter will always find God involved in every detail. That, along with how God has always dealt with His own people, we can develop concept of God that will inspire us to live like He wants us to so that we can be blessed like He wants to bless us. Even the blessings are seldom attributed to the work of God today. I could try to explain this every chapter, as God deals with my heart to do so, but a person can only see what they can see with understanding. Anything else will simply blend in and be unnoticed.
We learn to ignore the sirens as the ambulance speeds past. Some people live in areas where even gunshots are ignored completely. This is an example of how we do learn to ignore God and His direction in our lives. We no longer see that the "stuff" we go through is because of our total disregard to God's will. Some people even live out their lives thinking that they are in the will of God, while dangling a cigarette from their mouth, or sporting an earring in their nose or ear. Some would even say, "what's wrong with that?" What do you say to a person like that? Can you really scare a person off by being too strict? Has God ever even hinted that His actions are based upon the risk of "scaring them off"?
The truth is, God decides the way of man. Man decides to follow or to go his own way. These are the only two "ways" that exist. If it is not God's guidance, it is not approved. On the other hand, God wants freedom to thrive among us, that the purity of our hearts will lead us to do whatsoever we desire, except that which God will not allow. This is the goal. This is what God wants for us. To do ANYTHING we want to except the things that He has taught us not to do. Some example are given in detail, and some are repeated many times during applicable situations. Before we can trust our heart to guide us into all truth, we must render our heart to the will of God fully. How do we know when our heart is fully submersed in the will of God? Can we possibly know when this has occurred?
Our heart will never be fully lined up with God's will until we come to a place in our lives where we simply assume that it isn't and as a result we keep trying to draw closer to Him. The companionship of a dog can help us see a little bit of this concept. You could abuse a dog several times, and that dog will still do your will, without question until one day he sees a squirrel or a cat. If he "naturally" chases the cat and you correct him, he will begin to understand that you don't approve of that behavior. With a dog, it is always about the will of the master, unless the dog don't have a committed heart.
As we journey through the Bible, we will try to dig deeper into the concept of surrender to God's will, as a dog to his master. Maybe we will learn other comparisons that shadow the concept of Godly living. It is not the opinion of your closest friend or loved one, as to the way of God in your life. It is between you and God, no matter how difficult it is for others to see. Follow with your heart and things will get better as you draw nearer to your promised destination.
Thursday, February 11, 2010 2:09pm
