Search Me

Verse of the day: Deuteronomy 31:16 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.”

This is not only the sad commentary of Israel’s future rebellion against God, once again; but it is also a true statement that is still applicable to us today. How often we turn to other gods, forsaking our commitment to the Lord. We trust our own wisdom, money, status, and put others in the place where God belongs in our lives. God told Moses that in His anger He would hide His face from them, but He does not say that He will forsake them. Although His anger is kindled, His love and mercy remain. Psalm 30:5 says, “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning.” Psalm 103:8 also says, “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.” Until today, we see the consequences of Israel’s rebellion against God and rejection of the Messiah. However, God is still faithful to His promise that they remain His people, and that one day He will deliver them. As a matter of fact, God tells us in Romans 11 that Israel’s rebellion and blindness is in part for our benefit, and our salvation. In turn, the mercy God is showing us, in bringing salvation to us, is also the mercy He will have on them in the end. God’s mercy will go full circle. This is exactly what we are seeing in this chapter of Deuteronomy. Although God is announcing to Moses that He will hide His face from Israel, He is also giving Him a way for Israel to be reminded of God’s goodness to them. In verses 19-21 God says this to Moses, “Now therefore, write down this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Israel; put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for Me against the children of Israel. 20 When I have brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey, of which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and filled themselves and grown fat, then they will turn to other gods and serve them; and they will provoke Me and break My covenant. 21 Then it shall be, when many evils and troubles have come upon them, that this song will testify against them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten in the mouths of their descendants, for I know the inclination of their behavior today, even before I have brought them to the land of which I swore to give them.” Despite knowing they will turn from Him, He still brings them into the land He promised them. The purpose of this song is to remind Israel that they are the ones who have forsaken God, not God forsaking them. It was a reminder to them that God was good to them, yet they turned their back on Him. It was a reminder to them that they had no one to blame but themselves. However, it also served as a way to convict their hearts and turn them back to Him. This is where we see God’s love and mercy. Today, as born again believers, as God’s children, He has given us His Word. The Holy Spirit, who indwells us, uses the Scriptures to remind us of God’s goodness to us. He uses them to remind us that God does not turn His back on us, He does not forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), but it is our own rebellion that causes us to feel that God is far from us; when in reality He is always near. Just like God did with Israel, He reminds us in 1 John 1:8-2:1 that we can repent, confess, and come back to Him. Jesus reminded us in the story of the prodigal son, that our Heavenly Father not only waits for our return to Him, but runs to meet us when we do (Luke 15:11-32). What gods are we entertaining in our lives? What pet sin(s) are we holding on to? Today, let us ask God to show us what we are harboring in our hearts that we should be giving over to Him. Let us go to the Lord right now and say to Him as King David, a man after God’s own heart, said to Him in Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).