AP

Deuteronomy 29:18-19  Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart 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.  When such a person hears the words of this oath and they invoke a blessing on themselves, thinking, “I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way,” they will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry.

I am finding it difficult to deal with these verses, for two reasons, especially in the light of what follows them in the LORD speaking quite strongly and pointedly about the outpouring of his wrath against disobedience, likening it to the way he had dealt with Sodom and Gomorrah (see verse 23 and Genesis 19).

My first reason is that we know, from our historical perspective, what happened to the nation of Israel because they ignored Moses’ warning and, in effect, said among themselves: “I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way”.

My second, and more pressing, reason is that I find that a characteristic of our own culture today is the ingrained attitude: “I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way”.  The fundamental sin of rebellion against God’s revealed truth and replacing it with: ”I can make up my own mind about what is right and wrong and no-one, not even God, can tell me what to do” is alive and well.  The Apostle Paul foresaw the dire consequences of this mindset, as did Moses.  He wrote: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (see Rom.1:18-20)

There is significance in Moses’ warning, “make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.”  Satan’s strategy is to plant seeds in our hearts and minds that might seem quite harmless of themselves but which, if unchecked, can become ‘bitter poison’.  I struggle with writing this because of the dire nature of this warning for us, in the light of the consequences for ancient Israel.  But, because God is a God of compassion and mercy, it drives me to earnest prayer for the spread of the Gospel of Grace throughout our troubled world, that more and more people will have their eyes opened by the Holy Spirit to look to the One who on a cruel cross two thousand years ago was willing to submit to the harsh wrath of God in our place, in order to shield us from it!

“Great God, what do I see and hear: the end of things created!  The Judge of all the earth comes near on clouds of glory seated;  the trumpet sounds, the graves restore the dead which they contained before – prepare, my soul, to meet him!  … But sinners, filled with guilty fears, shall see his wrath prevailing; for they shall rise, and find their tears and sighs are unavailing!  The Day of Grace is past and gone; they, trembling, stand before the throne all unprepared to meet him!” (W.B.Collyer)

Two verses of Elizabeth Clephane’s hymn, ‘Beneath the Cross of Jesus’, say it all for me: “There lies beneath its shadow, but on the farther side, the darkness of an awful grave that gapes both deep and wide; and there between us stands the cross, two arms, outstretched to save, like a watchman set to guard the way from that eternal grave.  Upon that cross of Jesus my eyes at times can see the very dying form of One who suffered there for me; and from my stricken heart, with tears, two wonders I confess: the wonder of redeeming love, and my own worthlessness.”

– Bruce Christian