Deuteronomy 29:29 – The call to live obediently

The covenant God had with the people of Israel had been ratified. It was evident that they would be His people and He would be their God. Also evident was that obedience would guarantee blessings and disobedience would result in curses. Whether they would walk in ways to inherit the blessings or the curses was a decision they could determine. All they had to do to be blessed was to obey.

There was no question that God could fail. But on the part of the children of Israel, there was no such certainty. Whatever the case, God alone knew their future. He already knew how they would behave from the start. This stamped from the fact that He always had a wholistic revelation. He knew the end from the beginning. But the covenant people, including us, only have a progressive revelation. Like us, they could only understand an event after it had come to pass. The marvelous grace of God was that He did not expect anything from them other than to obey all that had been revealed to them.

Did God know that they would be disobedient at some point? He certainly did. Would they be able to adhere to all the commandments and instructions? The clear answer would be a no. But God saw all that from the beginning. And whatever would happen, He had already made the provision for their failures. He had the sacrificial system installed. This was a clear indication that He would forgive when they repent. All they had to do when they had failed Him was to act obediently. They could just repent and receive His forgiveness through the sacrificial system. There was always the opportunity to realign and be restored.

Deuteronomy 29:29 is God’s gracious hint to His people, us included. He knows the innate nature of us fallen people. We have always been curious concerning our future. Many would resort to the horoscope, fortune-telling, palmistry, and such to ascertain their future. The truth is this: God alone holds the future of our lives. Today, the Written Word is His revelation to guide us to that future. They are truths from God for us to live by. We must learn to live by faith and obey His Word. All we need now is to ask the Holy Spirit to illuminate our hearts and our minds and lead us through the Written Word to Christ, our Living Word. He is the key to our future!