SCRIPTURE: Deuteronomy 29
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. [Deuteronomy 29:29] This verse has often been a comfort to me when I’ve been perplexed by parts of the bible. The many difficult issues and unanswered questions have threatened to derail my confidence in the God of the bible. Why does God allow evil, how can God tolerate suffering? How can God endure seeing His rebellious children go through the curses described in Deuteronomy 28, even if they deserved it. How can the torment of hell be eternal – could He endure knowing that His children are experiencing excruciating agony, even if they deserved it?
These questions are the ‘secret things’ for me. It gets more complicated when we factor in predestination. What does Moses mean when he says that to this day the LORD has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear [Deuteronomy 29:4]? God keeps them from understanding? Then how can He hold it against them? AARRGGHH. Again, these things are secret things that only God knows the truth about. I struggle, I resist, I question – but in this verse I am reminded that I will never figure it all out. Interestingly, Moses is OK with this. And so is Jesus. In fact, Jesus sees this as reason to praise God: At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. [Matthew 11:25-26]
God allows the humble to understand things that the proud refuse to accept. He prefers it when we believe even when we don’t understand. Trying to figure out why, and assuming that God has good reason (not just because He’s mean or loves to belittle us), I think the reason is because we can be too smart for our own good. The smarter we think we are, the more stupid we become. In our arrogance, we demean God, we assume we know more and better. We act as if He needs to justify Himself to us, instead of the other way around. We become self-confident, self-reliant… and stupid. We delve into minute details, while missing the obvious.
There’s a lot we don’t understand, and never will. But there’s plenty we do know, enough to start with. Instead of tinkering with the difficulties of hell or predestination, delve into the practicalities of love. There’s more than enough in the bible that we do understand to keep us occupied for eternity. Start here. In time, if we need to know, He’ll explain the other stuff.
PRAYER:
Lord, help me to love, even when I don’t understand.
There is enough for me to deal with in the “revealed things” – I am grateful I am not held accountable to the “hidden things” -those belong to God!
It reminds me of the grieving process – for my husband and I, our minds could only comprehend one step at a time when our son was sick and through each season after his death, shock and memory blanks stepped in. It was like a protection against overload that our experiences were not vivid all at once. As time moves forward, slowly the unraveling occurs and we deal with our loss and slowly process it.
I believe God enables us to understand and perceive things in his perfect timing. For the children of Israel, now at the threshold of entering the land, God opened up their understanding to how he has provided for them all those years previously. The light comes on and they all start to “get it” – “Oh, yeah, my sandals never did wear out – now, I get it!” Now they are ready to enter the land. Entering the land has come with great preparation. Reminds me like the university grads – many years of preparation until finally one day, in the workforce, the light finally comes on and they say “Ok, now I get it!”
God is patient – he knows what we need at just the right season!
Yep!
Help me to love when I don’t understand, when my heart is breaking at the cost, when the awesome knowing that God is speaking appears to be turned upside down and not true…despite what things look like I will trust You God…despite what it says in Deuteronomy 29 I will trust that because of Jesus You will not abandon any when they fall…despite my own mistakes which I don’t even know what they are… I trust You.