Tag: Hide My Face

53.f. Wilderness – 17.l. “The LORD saw it and spurned them?

 

 

Deu 32:19-25  “The LORD saw it and spurned them, because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters. And he said, ‘I will hide my face from them; I will see what their end will be, for they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faithfulness.  They have made me jealous with what is no god; they have provoked me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are no people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. For a fire is kindled by my anger, and it burns to the depths of Sheol, devours the earth and its increase, and sets on fire the foundations of the mountains. “‘And I will heap disasters upon them; I will spend my arrows on them; they shall be wasted with hunger, and devoured by plague and poisonous pestilence; I will send the teeth of beasts against them, with the venom of things that crawl in the dust. Outdoors the sword shall bereave, and indoors terror, for young man and woman alike, the nursing child with the man of gray hairs.

And when the Lord saw it,…. The disregard of the Jews to Christ, their forgetfulness of him, their disesteem and rejection of him; their continuance of sacrifices, when the great sacrifice was offered up; their setting up other messiahs and saviours, and the idol of their own righteousness, in opposition to the righteousness of Christ; all which not only as the omniscient God he saw, but took notice of, and considered, and did not at once pass judgment on them, at least did not immediately execute it, but waited some time to see how they would afterwards behave; for it was thirty years or more after the crucifixion of Christ that the utter destruction of the Jews came upon them: he abhorred them; in his heart, despised them, and at last rejected them with contempt and abhorrence, very righteously and in just retaliation, see Zechariah 11:8; as for what before observed, so for what follows: because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters; which is not to be understood of the Lord being provoked to wrath by the sins of those who called themselves or were called his sons and daughters; for these are such who were truly his sons and daughters, and different from those in Deuteronomy 32:20, said to be “children in whom is no faith”: these are no other than the disciples and followers of Christ, that believed in him, both men and women, and so the children of God, his sons and his daughters by special grace; and the “provoking” of them is the wrath of the enemy against them, as the same word is used and rendered in Deuteronomy 32:27; and should be here, “because of wrath”, or “indignation against his sons and his daughters” (m); meaning the affliction, distress, and persecution of them, through the wrath of the unbelieving Jews; for after the death of Christ they persecuted his apostles, they beat them and cast them into prison, and put some to death; a persecution was raised against the church at Jerusalem, in which Saul was concerned, who breathed out threatenings and slaughters against the disciples of the Lord, and haled men and women, the sons and daughters of God, and committed them to prison, and persecuted them to strange cities, and gave his voice to put them to death; and in the Gentile world, when the Gospel was carried there, the Jews stirred up the Gentiles everywhere against the followers of Christ, to harass and distress them; and this the Lord saw, and he abhorred them for it, and rejected them. (Gill)

When God’s people forsake Him, He withdraws the closeness of His presence. This is the opposite of the favor of God expressed in His face shining upon His people. (Guzik)

It is a dangerous and dreadful thing to be counted among those in whom is no faith. “I beg you to lay to heart this fact, that unless you have faith in Jesus you will perish just as surely as if you were an open denier of the word of God and a reviler of his Son. There are, doubtless, degrees in the terribleness of the punishment, but there are no degrees in the certainty of the fact that every unbeliever will be shut out from the blessing of the gospel of Christ.” (Spurgeon)

Nothing was or is hidden from God. Our thoughts, words, and actions are all known by Him. He has given us His Word, whereby we might gain understanding and knowledge of His holiness and our sinfulness, His promises and purpose, His righteousness, His grace, mercy and love, His wrath, anger, and coming judgment, His power, might, all-knowing, and ever-presence, His salvation through Christ, and His gift of the Holy Spirit. In light of this and as Paul stated; “What manner of persons should you be?”

10.w. “Your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.”

Micah 3:4  Then they will cry to the Lord, but he will not answer them; he will hide his face from them at that time, because they have made their deeds evil. Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry “Peace” when they have something to eat, but declare war against him who puts nothing into their mouths. Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without divination. The sun shall go down on the prophets, and the day shall be black over them; the seers shall be disgraced, and the diviners put to shame; they shall all cover their lips, for there is no answer from God.

Deuteronomy 31:17-18    Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’  And I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because they have turned to other gods.

Deuteronomy 32:19-20   “The LORD saw it and spurned them, because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters.  And he said, ‘I will hide my face from them; I will see what their end will be, for they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faithfulness.

Isaiah 59:1-15    Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;  but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

How sad, terrible, and overwhelming to have God hide His face from His people?  How big is the separation when there is no answer from God?  When there is sin in our lives and in our nations and we have known what it means to seek and follower after God but have willfully chosen paths away from Him can we expect and answer from Him?  The answer to this is yes and no.  When we come to our senses like the prodigal son He is there with expectant arms wide open.  It is in the time between our unfaithfulness and willing disobedience, and a drought of God’s Word in our life when we will find that it is not so much Him speaking into our lives but rather we are not listening.  The worst part of this is that we choose to not listen and then wonder why, when troubles find their way into our lives, God does not seem to be anywhere near us.  God orchestrates and/or allows troubles to come on individuals and nations.   He has used these times to draw them back to Him, recognizes their sin, repents, and turns away from that which was appalling to obedience to Him.  As a nation, we find ourselves in a time now that prudent minds would seek God with a humble heart.  But this isn’t what we do, is it?   We look to local, state, and federal governments to answer our questions and fix the troubles we are facing.  Could it be that God is taking away (hopefully temporarily) that which we hold so dear in this world?  I do know this unless we turn to Him with humbleness and repentant hearts our nation will go from worse to worse.  Seek Him, dive deep into His Word, and open the ears to your hearts, minds, and souls.

108. Woe to them, for they have strayed from me!

1 Samuel 18:12  Saul was afraid of David because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people. And David had success in all his undertakings, for the Lord was with him. And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him.

Psalms 53:5     There they are, in great terror, where there is no terror! For God scatters the bones of him who encamps against you; you put them to shame, for God has rejected them.

Psalms 51:11     Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

Hosea 9:12     Even if they bring up children, I will bereave them till none is left. Woe to them when I depart from them!

Deuteronomy 31:17    Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?

2 Kings 17:18     Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel and removed them out of his sight.

Jeremiah 15:7    I have destroyed my people; they did not turn from their ways.

Hosea 7:13     Woe to them, for they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me! I would redeem them, but they speak lies against me.

God’s warnings to man state very clearly God wants us to honor and serve Jesus, trust and obey Jesus, cling to and rely on Jesus with our whole heart, soul, and mind.  For those who live for Jesus, there are blessings of peace, rest, joy, courage, hope, refuge, strength, and steadfast love for life this side of eternity and the promise of eternity with Jesus.  For those who do not live for or believe in Jesus Christ, there is no inner peace, no inner rest, no lasting hope or satisfaction, no knowledge of His love now and for eternity.   Many want to and do believe lies that there is no God and no plan of salvation through Jesus Christ and their destiny is hell.  Many want to believe the lies that God’s love alone covers them without any need for repentance or forgiveness and their destiny also is hell.  

Chris Gowen, (Feb 2001) – You would think everyone wants to go to Heaven when the Lord comes. You would think everyone would take the steps to be ready to meet the Lord one day. Several years ago the warning went out for thousands of people living on the eastern coast about the coming of a Hurricane. Many people prepared by boarding up their homes, purchasing supplies, and making evacuations. There are some folks who did not take seriously the warnings and chose to go on as if nothing would happen. They are like many people who choose to disregard God’s warning in the Bible. The Warning is very plain from Scriptures. We must get the Word out! If you will look in your Bibles to Revelation, chapter 22, You will see God’s Final Warning! 10 And he said to me, ” Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy.’’ 12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. 13 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.’’ 14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.

Some folks foolishly think somehow they will be warned at that moment prior to the coming of the Lord, and then they will make preparation. That’s why Jesus says, “Behold, I come quickly.” When Jesus comes it will be over. It won’t be like looking on the television and seeing the coming storm. People begin to prepare for the hurricane or the possible tornado. When Jesus comes, he will become and go before a person will know it happened and at that very moment they will spend eternity in separation from Jesus and torment of their soul forever.

So the warning is this, don’t wait to come to Jesus.  Don’t wait to live for Jesus.  Don’t wait to be in and study His word. Don’t wait thinking there is all the time in the world to start living with an intentional choice to humbly serve, honor, follow, and obey Jesus.  You know if Jesus is first in your life or not and whether you are in his word each day with a heart and mind deep desire to live for Him.    Do something NOW. The time to do something is now. Don’t think God will flash a neon sign across the heavens which reads…”I am coming for you tomorrow, so get ready this very day.”

90. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!”

Judges 10:6   Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They served the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and the gods of Aram, the gods of Sidon, the gods of Moab, the gods of the Ammonites and the gods of the Philistines. And because the Israelites forsook the Lord and no longer served him, he became angry with them. He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites, who that year shattered and crushed them. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites. The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah, Benjamin and Ephraim; Israel was in great distress. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord, “We have sinned against you, forsaking our God and serving the Baals.”

The Lord replied, “When the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites and the Maonites oppressed you and you cried to me for help, did I not save you from their hands? But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!”

But the Israelites said to the Lord, “We have sinned. Do with us whatever you think best, but please rescue us now.” Then they got rid of the foreign gods among them and served the Lord.

Deuteronomy 31:16-18     And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them.  Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’  And I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because they have turned to other gods.

Deuteronomy 29:20-28    The LORD will not be willing to forgive him, but rather the anger of the LORD and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and the curses written in this book will settle upon him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under heaven.

Nahum 1:6     Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.

After 18 years of being oppressed, they cried out to God.  18 years!!!!  How stubborn do we have to be to wait 18 years before we confess our wayward ways and disregard for honoring, worshipping, and serving God?  How heavy must the oppression trial be before we see our state of affairs clearly?  How would you like to hear “But you have forsaken me and served other gods, so I will no longer save you. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble!” Go cry out to the things you are giving your heart and mind too.  Go cry out to the things you give your time too.

If we are not grounded each day in an intentional choice to humble know, serve, honor, follow and obey Jesus Christ, we risk becoming like those examples of the past who followed what seemed right in their own eyes.  They did not stay in God’s word.  They did not seek to know His word.  They did not find value in knowing His word.

If this is where you see your heart, soul, and mind, stop it,  confess it, repent, and turn away from being neglectful and complacent in your walk with Jesus.

63. For the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought.

Deuteronomy 31:16  And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them. Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’

Judges 2:14-15     So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies.  Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress.

Psalms 2:12     Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Psalms 90:11     Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you?

1 Chronicles 28:9    “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.

Psalms 104:29     When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.

Isaiah 64:7     There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.

There is nothing hidden from God past, present or future.  Just look at how he spoke with Moses and told him what was going to happen.  We can read over and over again how people who were close to God and living in and under His blessings soon turned away.  It is not as though they did not know God but rather they chose to go their own way and serve self-interests.  Beware of what our culture is selling.  It will surely lead you down a path where God is nothing more than a second thought.  Keep an earnest desire for Him and learn to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey Him.

God First

But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment

Nehemiah 9:25
So they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in your great goodness.
“Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against you and cast your law behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you, and they committed great blasphemies

Deuteronomy 31:16
Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them. Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us

Deuteronomy 32:15
then he forsook God who made him and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation

Numbers 15:39
And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God.

Ecclesiastes 11:9
Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment

Ezekiel 9:9
how I have been broken over their whoring heart that has departed from me and over their eyes that go whoring after their idols

Such examples and warnings from the past should remind us to be mindful of the trap of complacency.  Note that in their time of blessing they rebelled and followed the ways of their heart and eyes.  It is so easy to drift from God when things are going so well.  I wonder at times if we truly rely on God for each day but rather stand content in salvation and look no further for personal growth in understanding and living for God every single day.  Trust me I know all of the excuses – special projects at work, special projects at him, activities with friends, activities with family, activities with children, and after this we try to work God into the picture.  This is not how it is to be.  God should be first and all the rest second.  Would you be willing to do anything for the person who gave his son for you so that your death sentence was removed?  If that person asked anything of you, would you not do it out of thankfulness?  God not only gave His son but He also gave His Holy Spirit to us so that we would have an indwelling presence of Him and be able to live in a way that honors and glorifies Him for who He is, what He has done, and what He will do.  He also gave precious promises to us so that we would be encouraged to follow this path of honoring Him.  Make Him first.  Our heart needs to desire Him more than the world and our eyes need to seek to see the wonder of His hand every moment.