And the Lord said to Moses: “Behold, you will rest with your fathers; and this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them.” (Deuteronomy 31:16)
Even before the people entered the land of Canaan, God let Moses know that, in a matter of time, Israel would turn to other gods. In spite of all they had witnessed and experienced, they would forsake the covenant they had promised to keep. How could He have known they would do this even before crossing the Jordan? I think it’s as simple as this: He knows His children just as surely as you know yours. Furthermore, this is what He has experienced with mankind from the beginning. Instead of being satisfied with all the trees in the garden that were good for food, not to mention, partaking of the Tree of Life, Adam decided it was appropriate to turn from that tree in order to eat from the forbidden tree.
Moses warned Israel that, as a result of turning away from the Almighty, He would “hide My face from them…and evils and troubles befall them.” Their sin would provoke Him to conceal His face from them. And when His face was not directed toward them, troubles (צרות tzarot) come upon them. The word tzarot is the plural form of צר tzar which is phonetically related to the Hebrew term שר sar or “prince.” In other words, if they would not consider the Almighty as their prince and ruler, they would end us serving other princes (sars) — e.g. tsars, Caesars and Kaisars. Obviously, the latter group would not have the best interests of Israel in mind, thus the troubles that would befall them.
In spite of all this, the prophet Isaiah hinted there is hope that God would turn His face back toward His people. As it is written: “I will wait on the LORD, who hides His face from the house of Jacob; and I will hope in Him” (Isaiah 8:17). Also consider a declaration that is recited every day by the Jewish people — the Shema. Might it be that this situation we’re describing is what the Shema is all about? By that I mean, twice in the Shema, God alludes to turning His face toward His people: “The LORD make His face shine upon you … the LORD lift up His countenance upon you” Numbers 6:25-26). Obviously, to make His face shine upon them and to lift up His countenance upon them is opposite of hiding His face. Therefore it occurs to me that, for the promise of the Shema to occur, God’s people must turn their face back toward Him, and as they do, He turns His face toward them.
My point then is, it doesn’t benefit us to think we can turn away from God and to other gods, philosophies and interests because, without His Presence in our lives, another presence will come in and run roughshod over our lives. There is no other option. But if we will turn our face back to Him, and seek Him with all our heart, then He will turn His face toward us. His Presence will abide with us and our lives will be filled with peace, prosperity and protection. So may we always determine that our gaze and attention will always be fixed on Him — the Author and Finisher of our faith — that we might live according to His covenant.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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