A Voice in the Wilderness
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*** PORTIONS ***
Re: God Hides Himself (Deuteronomy 29:29)
"Jehovah our God hides Himself; but reveals Himself to us and to our
children forever, to do all the Words of this Law." (De29:29)
Now...the way we have been used to reading this verse is: "The secret
[things belong] unto the LORD our God: but those [things which are]
revealed [belong] unto us and to our children for ever, that [we] may do
all the words of this law." (KJV)
What is the difference? The word KJV (and others) render as "secret" is
a participle; a verb which is usually used as an adjective, nominatively
(things), instead of verbally (action). If we went only by the label
"participle", perhaps the KJV could be construed to be correct. But
notice all the 'added' words (italicized in your editions) to make it
work grammatically. Do those words "belong" belong there? They're not in
the texts.
Furthermore, the nominative use of this word seems to have been done
rather "selectively" for -this- verse, isolated. Throughout the rest of
the book, due to how languages translate from one to another, to keep
meanings accurately consistent, participles are treated regularly as
verbs (action). So, why change here, and make it nominative (thing)?
Two lessons for us from this verse: 1) the importance of translational
consistency, and 2) Why does God 'hide' Himself?
If we read the preceeding verses, what is the subject matter? Israel
will have been destroyed through God's anger at them for their apostasy,
and as the nations of the world are seeing what has happened to Israel,
they are bemused (let me paraphrase): Look at how desolate the land is!
(vs23), Why was God so angry? (vs24); because they (Israel) forsook
God's Law (vs25), They worshipped idols (vs26), thus God brought on them
the curses He had promised for their disobedience (vs27), and God
uprooted them and scattered them around the world. (vs28)
Now, in that context, are we suddenly speaking of God's "secrets" and
our "understanding"? We are blessed, thus -we- (WE) have a special
understanding? Well, no: the context is Israel, and their disobedience.
Thus, continuing that same context, God has "hidden" Himself. (Using
that word 'verbally' like the tense is everywhere else in the book)
And so, when God reveals Himself, why does He do so? For Israel
"to do all the Words of this Law." (vs29b)
Is this an isolated doctrine, taken out of all context?
God gave Israel His Law. He set before them "..life and good, death and
evil" (30:15) with His verbosely stated desire, "..I have set before you
life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore choose life, that
both you and your seed may live; to love Jehovah your God, to obey His
voice, and to cleave unto Him, for He is your life and the length of
your days; to dwell in the land.." (30:19-20)
But in His foreknowledge, He knew that they would break His covenant.
They would disobey Him, and go seeking other gods, to "..commit adultery
with the gods of the foreigners.." (31:16) And thus, He repeats...
"And I will conceal to hide My face in that day because of all the evil
which they have done, in that they have turned to other gods." (30:18)
This was God's 'prediction'. And what happened when Israel did disobey
and suffered God's wrath, and they found that God seemed so 'distant'
from them? "Behold, Jehovah’s hand is not shortened, that it CANNOT
save; nor is His ear heavy, that it CANNOT hear. But your iniquities
have separated between you and your God, and your sins have HIDDEN His
face from you, that He WILL NOT hear." (Is59:1-2) God -purposely- hid
Himself from them, and as He said elsewhere, "Therefore it has come to
pass that, just as He called, and they would not hear; so they called,
and I did not hear, says Jehovah of Hosts." (Zec7:13) When He called to
them "..you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not hear, but did evil
before My eyes, and chose that in which I have not delighted." (Is65:12)
So, we can look at Israel and shake our heads at -them- till the cows
come home... But what about us? All that is written -to- and -about-
Israel is 'not' merely -for- Israel. It is also as "examples" for us.
(1Cor10:6) For what purpose?
".., so that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.
Neither become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, The
people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Nor let us
commit sexual immorality, as some of them prostituted, and in one day
twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us test Christ, as some of them
also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor murmur, as some of
them also murmured, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these
things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our
admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let
him who thinks he is firmly established take heed that he not fall.
(1Cor10:6-12)
You think you are once-saved-always-saved, and eternally-securely
on-your-way to Heaven? But do you also have this 'void' within your
soul? Yes, you faithfully participate in the "guaranteed formula" for
Christian 'success'. You daily 1) read your Bible and 2) pray, and you
are 3) -at- 'church' everytime the doors are open and go 'soul-winning'.
But, when you are alone, by yourself, away from the cultish
indoctrinations of the group, you just cannot get away from the fact
that, when you look inside your own soul, there is this big emptiness; a
huge void. Yes, you "pray"...and do more and more of it, believing in
the so-called "power of prayer". But when you look honestly, you know
that your prayers are -not- 'answered'. So then, you look around, and
see the charismatics over there... they dance around, swoon, get slain,
babble off with their tongues, and people are getting "healed"...and so
you go over there to get some 'action' in your soul?
Well, remember, God said about the false prophets who prophesy
something, and their 'sign' actually comes to pass, but they also teach
false doctrines -away- from God's Law; that God allows them to exist.
For what reason? To test His -own- True Believers. "..for Jehovah your
God is testing you to know whether you love Jehovah your God with all
your heart and with all your soul." (Deu13:1-3) Yes, folks... God
allows charismania to continue for a season, to "test" those who claim
to be His -true- followers, to see if they are going to remain steadfast
in His Word, or be swayed over to the false doctrines which claim to
validate themselves with their signs and wonders. And many are swayed.
But you can know that they are not God's children -because- they are
swayed. They are not remaining true to His Word... to "sound doctrine".
(1Tim1:10, 2Tim4:3, Tit1:9, 2:1)
They continually speak of God "purifying" His Church; quoting Mal3:3
about "Levi" out of context. Well, for sure, one thing that is happening
is a winnowing and sifting, dividing between the wheat and chaff.
(Mt3:12) And here, too, the "few/many" (Mt7:13-14) analogy holds true.
For you who know anything about farming and combining/thrashing: When
the grain has been shaken out and augured into the hopper, there is far
less 'bulk' to the grain, than the chaff and straw. If a farmer bales up
the straw, it can totally fill the barn, but the grain makes a
proportionately -much- 'smaller' pile. And what does God promise
regarding the chaff? The "wind drives it away" (Ps1:4) and is reserved
to be "burned up" with "unquenchable fire". (Mt3:12)
So, back to our topic: What about that big 'void' in your soul? Why is
it there? One of two reasons: 1) You are not -really- 'saved', or 2)
You have sin in your life.
First of all, you need to ascertain the verity of your own salvation.
"Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.
Do you not know, yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you; unless indeed
you are unacceptable?" (2Cor13:5)
And then, if you know you are, truly, saved; but you have this void,
then begin seeking the Lord's face as to 'what' that -sin- may be.
Perhaps your conscience already knows what it is, but your own lust has
"seared" your conscience because you have been a "hypocrite"? (1Tm4:2)
You have been busy "lying". To others; and you've been doing it long
enough that you now even believe your own lies.
God hides Himself in the context of disobedience. But He reveals Himself
in the context of us "[DOING] all the Words of [His] Law". (De29:29)
"But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."
(Jacob1:22) "..for not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but
the doers of the Law will be justified.." (Rom2:13)
Amen!
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