You have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land—the great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders. Yet the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day. (Deuteronomy 29:2-4)
As this chapter begins, Moses reminds the people of the great signs God demonstrated in Egypt. They witnessed these things first hand, as well as the awe inspiring events that occurred in the wilderness. Yet for all that, according to Moses, the people didn’t really perceive God’s purpose nor comprehend His ways — “the LORD has not given you a heart to know, eyes to see, and ears to hear until today.” Making such a statement implies that, standing at the threshold of Canaan, the time had come for them to comprehend and understand because, if they did not, the conquest of the land was not going to go according to plan. Keep in mind, the people Moses was speaking to, at this point, were the children of those who did not believe God to enter the land some thirty-eight years earlier.
Centuries later, Messiah went about the Galilee and Judea preaching the Good News and doing good, yet was contested by the religious elite and a populace whose heart was hardened toward the things of God. On several occasions, He was compelled to rebuke entire cities, such as Chorazin and Bethsaida, for their refusal to believe what God was doing right before their eyes. In His words, those people fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which said, “Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed” (Matthew 13:14-15).
As for this generation — considering that we are living in the end of days — it is critical that we understand and perceive what God is saying and doing. If not, then we risk facing these perilous times guessing — not a good way to go into the final days of man’s tenure over the earth. Therefore, let us seek His face as never before and be filled with His Spirit and wisdom that we may know and understand how to navigate the times in which we live. Moreover, we need to know and understand what it is we are to do for His Kingdom in this time. He will always tell us what we need to know when we need to know it if we will seek His face. And so with this in mind, we’ll close with this familiar passage where Paul quotes Isaiah:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10).
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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