Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
Like Discourse Three, Discourse 4 only covers 2 chapters... Deuteronomy 29 -30. We have one verse in chapter 29 (all scriptures today taken as usual from the NIV 84):
Make sure there s no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart [H 3824] turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison. -- Deut. 29:18
I read that verse and it pulled me up to a full stop....'bitter poison' needs a selah.
What is compared to bitter poison in this verse? Worshiping the gods of other nations, other cultures. Foreign gods, which starts with turning away from the Lord, the deliverer and provider that the Israelites have known. Specifically, the heart turns away. Why, after seeing God move and work, would someone's heart...or the heart of a family or tribe...turn away from the Lord? What is the root that leads to the heart turning away? We will see a similar warning in Hebrews; I thought for a minute about throwing that into the discussion but, no, we'll talk about that when we get there. Just know that this concept shows up in the New Testament....that the people who seem to follow God can still have a heart that turns away.
But there is something in the core of some people that results in the heart turning away. A root. Disappointment, unbelief, entitlement, rebellion...it could be any number of things that, if not dealt with, will fester and result in a heart that turns away.
And we all know the consequences of turning away from God. 'Bitter poison' is a good analogy.
Is there anything in my heart that could produce a turning away from God? Selah.
Moving on...
When all these blessings and curses I have set before you come upon you and you take them to heart [H 3824] wherever the LORD your God disperses you among the nations, and when you and your children return to the LORD your God with all your heart [H 3824] and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he has scattered you. -- Deut 30:1-3
The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts [H 3824] and the hearts [H 3824] of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart [H 3824] and with all your soul, and live. -- Deut 30:6
The LORD will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your fathers, if you obey the LORD your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the LORD your God with all your heart [H 3824] and with all your soul. -- Deut. 30: 9b - 10.
No, the word is very near you; it is in our mouth and in your heart [H 3824] so that you may obey it. -- Deut. 30:14
But if your heart [H 3824] turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. -- Deut. 30:17-18
These verses make a very nice little condensation of the narrative... repentance, restoration, obedience, and a warning against idolatry.
And we see again a reference to a circumcised heart. In Deut. 10:16, the Israelites were instructed to circumcise their own hearts, here we see that God will circumcise their hearts...but that is after dispersion and repentance and restoration. And...I think I've mentioned it before, but it is worth noting that, after the return from the Babylonian exile, the Hebrews never again fell into national idolatry.
That's an interesting point to ponder.
Of course, this is all followed up by the well-known passage from Deuteronomy in which Moses exhorts the Israelites to 'choose life'...by loving and obeying the Lord.
Once more I am struck by the concept that the covenant was so simple...obey God and serve him only, and he would prosper and protect the people.
But...that root that led to turning away and following other gods poisoned it all...
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