March 16, 2018
In Deuteronomy 31-34, God directs Moses to give a farewell speech to Israel, in which God peels off a list of all the ways Israel will betray and abandon the One True God. It is stated matter-of-factly; God knows these people and knows what they will do. He has already decided how he will respond by refusing to hear their prayers, by sending drought and pestilence, and by giving them up into the hands of their enemies.
And yet, he refuses to abandon them completely. These are four amazing chapters in which God declares his faithfulness in spite of Israel’s faithlessness. Most of us have at one time or another had someone or multiple someone’s in our lives who started out well, declaring their loyalty, only to have them simply walk out of our lives at the least sign of trouble. Someone described a friend as someone who walks in when everyone else walks out. I’ve had both, and have had those who walked in later be the very ones who walked out. On one occasion, the man who had been my prayer partner listened to a trouble maker while we were on vacation. When I came back, he told me he couldn’t pray with me anymore. No explanation; just abandonment. Had I known at the beginning that he would turn on me, I would have been much more cautious in my friendship. In fact, I probably would have steered away right from the start.
God knew! And he knows every sin I will ever commit. Not only what I’ve already done, but he already knows when I will fall short, step aside, pursue my own desires. He sees it all, and it must cause him great pain. He knows this about every one of his children. Still, he chooses to claim us. There are times when he disciplines us, but he values our love so greatly that rather than orchestrate complete and unquestioned obedience, he gives us the freedom to choose whether or not we will follow him. And even when we don’t, he loves and remains faithful to us. It is incomprehensible, and I am eternally and humbly grateful for such prodigal love.
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