Nitzavim
Standing
“Secret Things Revealed”
Deuteronomy 29:9[10]-30:20
Isaiah 61:10-63:9
excerpted from TorahScope, Volume III
This week as our annual study of the Torah comes to the concluding chapters of Deuteronomy, with the relatively concise Nitzavim reading, the admonitions of Moses recall the consistency of the Holy One to adhere adamantly to His revealed, spoken Word. If there is one thing which can be said about our Creator, it is that He is unfailing to watch over His Word to perform it (Jeremiah 1:12). As the Israelites were preparing to enter into the Promised Land, Moses spoke to not only the Twelve Tribes and attendant sojourners in their midst, affirming that the words applied to this community—but he reminded followers of how this same God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, would in the future, require that His commands be taken seriously, or the consequences would be tragic:
“All of you stand today in the presence of the LORD your God: your heads, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, even all the men of Israel, your little ones, your wives, and the foreigners who are in the middle of your camps, from the one who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water, that you may enter into the covenant of the LORD your God, and into his oath, which the LORD your God makes with you today, that he may establish you today as his people, and that he may be your God, as he spoke to you and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. Neither do I make this covenant and this oath with you only, but with those who stand here with us today before the LORD our God, and also with those who are not here with us today (for you know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the middle of the nations through which you passed; and you have seen their abominations and their idols of wood, stone, silver, and gold, which were among them); lest there should be among you man, woman, family, or tribe whose heart turns away today from the LORD our God, to go to serve the gods of those nations; lest there should be among you a root that produces bitter poison; and it happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall have peace, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart,” to destroy the moist with the dry. The LORD will not pardon him, but then the LORD’s anger and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and all the curse that is written in this book will fall on him, and the LORD will blot out his name from under the sky. The LORD will set him apart for evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant written in this scroll of the Torah. The generation to come—your children who will rise up after you, and the foreigner who will come from a far land—will say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses with which the LORD has made it sick, that all of its land is sulfur, salt, and burning, that it is not sown, doesn’t produce, nor does any grass grow in it, like the overthrow of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath. Even all the nations will say, ‘Why has the LORD done this to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?’ Then men will say, ‘Because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt, and went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods that they didn’t know and that he had not given to them. Therefore the LORD’s anger burned against this land, to bring on it all the curses that are written in this book. The LORD rooted them out of their land in anger, in wrath, and in great indignation, and thrust them into another land, as it is today’” (Deuteronomy 29:10-28, WMB).
Moses reminded Israel of the way the Lord had dealt with vile sin in the past, in places like Sodom and Gomorrah. With the relatively recent experiential knowledge of observing the judgment on Egypt, His followers are told, without reservation, that He will conceal His ultimate plans for His Creation, from those determined to thwart them. Instead, God will only reveal His will to His beloved children, in order that they might willfully obey His Word:
“The secret things [ha’nistarot] belong to the LORD our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29, WMB).
This is a critical verse in the Torah, which makes it imperative for all of God’s people to constantly seek His face—through fervent prayer, meditation, and study of His revealed Word. The caveat, that true seekers adhere to the words of His Instruction, is a clear indication that the blessings of revelation will occur through obedience, and by His determination on when the secret things are to be discovered. For as would be noted centuries later by the Prophet Amos, “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7, WMB). So with this truth in mind, considering that the atoning work of Yeshua the Messiah, included many of the most well guarded secrets—it is most beneficial to note the confirmation found in the words of the Prophets, which inform us, albeit somewhat vaguely, what the Father intended via the arrival of His Son.
(Two Hebrew terms to be aware of, which I have noted for you in some of the passages following, are the verb satar and the related noun seter. These widely regard things which are concealed or hidden.)[1]
Starting with righteous Job, who questioned the Lord incessantly by attempting to understand why he had to endure such troubles, one can understand that the Almighty has a plan. Yet, it is often up to each of us to search it out individually, and through collaborative efforts, collectively uphold His Word:
“Behold, my eye has seen all this. My ear has heard and understood it. What you know, I know also. I am not inferior to you. Surely I would speak to the Almighty. I desire to reason with God. But you are forgers of lies. You are all physicians of no value. Oh that you would be completely silent! Then you would be wise. Hear now my reasoning. Listen to the pleadings of my lips. Will you speak unrighteously for God, and talk deceitfully for him? Will you show partiality to him? Will you contend for God? Is it good that he should search you out? Or as one deceives a man, will you deceive him? He will surely reprove you if you secretly show partiality [im-b’seter panim]. Won’t his majesty make you afraid and his dread fall on you? Your memorable sayings are proverbs of ashes. Your defenses are defenses of clay. Be silent! Leave me alone, that I may speak. Let come on me what will. Why should I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in my hand? Behold, he will kill me. I have no hope. Nevertheless, I will maintain my ways before him. This also will be my salvation, that a godless man will not come before him. Listen carefully to my speech. Let my declaration be in your ears. See now, I have set my cause in order. I know that I am righteous. Who is he who will contend with me? For then would I hold my peace and give up the spirit. Only don’t do two things to me, then I will not hide myself from your face [az m’panekha lo esater]: withdraw your hand far from me, and don’t let your terror make me afraid. Then call, and I will answer, or let me speak, and you answer me. How many are my iniquities and sins? Make me know my disobedience and my sin. Why do you hide your face [l’mah-panekha tas’tir], and consider me your enemy? Will you harass a driven leaf? Will you pursue the dry stubble? For you write bitter things against me, and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth. You also put my feet in the stocks, and mark all my paths. You set a bound to the soles of my feet, though I am decaying like a rotten thing, like a garment that is moth-eaten” (Job 13:1-28, WMB).
In this passage, one reads the heart of Job, who was desperately seeking answers to many questions posed to the Almighty. But in this text, one finds the awesome statement that even if the Father did not directly reveal His will for Job and slay him then (and by extension, various of His followers), Job would continue, regardless of the trials of life. Consequently, despite his pleas for revelation, Job ultimately came to the conclusion that the fear of the Lord is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding:
“Where then does wisdom come from? Where is the place of understanding? Seeing it is hidden from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the birds of the sky [u’meof ha’shamayim nistarah]. Destruction and Death say, ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.’ God understands its way, and he knows its place. For he looks to the ends of the earth, and sees under the whole sky. He establishes the force of the wind. Yes, he measures out the waters by measure. When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder, then he saw it, and declared it. He established it, yes, and searched it out. To man he said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. To depart from evil is understanding’” (Job 28:20-28, WMB).
Additionally, in reviewing other places in the Hebrew Tanakh where the terms satar and seter are found, one discovers how King David was also intimately aware of the fact that the Holy One conceals His secrets from humanity. His Psalms are replete with acknowledgement of this truth, as even the person noted for being one after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14), struggled with discovering the will of the Almighty:
“For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me [tas’tir et-panekha m’meni]? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart every day? How long shall my enemy triumph over me? Behold, and answer me, LORD, my God. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death; lest my enemy say, ‘I have prevailed against him;’ lest my adversaries rejoice when I fall. But I trust in your loving kindness. My heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because he has been good to me” (Psalm 13:1-6, WMB).
“By David. The LORD is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers came at me to eat up my flesh, even my adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell. Though an army should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war should rise against me, even then I will be confident. One thing I have asked of the LORD, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in the LORD’s house all the days of my life, to see the LORD’s beauty, and to inquire in his temple. For in the day of trouble, he will keep me secretly in his pavilion. In the secret place of his tabernacle, he will hide me [yastireini b’seter ahalo]. He will lift me up on a rock. Now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me. I will offer sacrifices of joy in his tent. I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD. Hear, LORD, when I cry with my voice. Have mercy also on me, and answer me. When you said, ‘Seek my face,’ my heart said to you, ‘I will seek your face, LORD.’ Don’t hide your face from me [al-tas’teir panekha]. Don’t put your servant away in anger. You have been my help. Don’t abandon me, neither forsake me, God of my salvation. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up. Teach me your way, LORD. Lead me in a straight path, because of my enemies. Don’t deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen up against me, such as breathe out cruelty. I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for the LORD” (Psalm 27:1-14, WMB).
Despite the pleadings of David, one should readily understand that David sought the face of the Lord with all his heart, understanding that his deliverance from his enemies, and even salvation despite his own personal sin—was found only in the providential will of his loving Father, the Creator God. Of course, David’s example is a wonderful illustration for all Believers wrestling with God, for more complete explanations about the various trials of life.
Of course, the Prophets of Israel like Isaiah, were also very aware of the Lord’s strategy to conceal His plans from those seeking to harm His people, despite overtly giving His Word to them, if they would just seek His face and ask Him for understanding. In this prophecy about Cyrus, Isaiah explained some actions and the awesome creative magnificence of the Holy One, and why for the sake of His servant Jacob, He desired to bless His people if they would simply comply with His Word:
“The LORD says to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held to subdue nations before him and strip kings of their armor, to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut: ‘I will go before you and make the rough places smooth. I will break the doors of bronze in pieces and cut apart the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, who calls you by your name, even the God of Israel. For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel my chosen, I have called you by your name. I have given you a title, though you have not known me. I am the LORD, and there is no one else. Besides me, there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not known me, that they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is no one besides me. I am the LORD, and there is no one else. I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create calamity. I am the LORD, who does all these things. Rain, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open, that it may produce salvation, and let it cause righteousness to spring up with it. I, the LORD, have created it. Woe to him who strives with his Maker—a clay pot among the clay pots of the earth! Shall the clay ask him who fashions it, “What are you making?” or your work, “He has no hands”? Woe to him who says to a father, “What have you become the father of?” or to a mother, “What have you given birth to?”’ The LORD, the Holy One of Israel and his Maker says: ‘You ask me about the things that are to come, concerning my sons, and you command me concerning the work of my hands! I have made the earth, and created man on it. I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens. I have commanded all their army. I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will make all his ways straight. He shall build my city, and he shall let my exiles go free, not for price nor reward,’ says the LORD of Hosts. The LORD says: ‘The labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, will come over to you, and they will be yours. They will go after you. They shall come over in chains. They will bow down to you. They will make supplication to you: “Surely God is in you; and there is no one else. There is no other god. Most certainly you are a God who has hidden yourself [akein atah El mistateir Elohei], God of Israel, the Savior.”’ They will be disappointed, yes, confounded, all of them. Those who are makers of idols will go into confusion together. Israel will be saved by the LORD with an everlasting salvation. You will not be disappointed nor confounded to ages everlasting. For the LORD who created the heavens, the God who formed the earth and made it, who established it and didn’t create it a waste, who formed it to be inhabited says: ‘I am the LORD. There is no other. I have not spoken in secret [lo b’seter dibarti], in a place of the land of darkness. I didn’t say to the offspring of Jacob, “Seek me in vain.” I, the LORD, speak righteousness. I declare things that are right” (Isaiah 45:1-19. WMB).
In Isaiah’s prophecy about Ariel, pointing out that the Lord would hide or conceal His plans from His people, primarily because of their propensity to speak about Him with their lips while their hearts were far removed—Isaiah’s admonishment needs to be taken to heart:
“Woe to Ariel! Ariel, the city where David encamped! Add year to year; let the feasts come around; then I will distress Ariel, and there will be mourning and lamentation. She shall be to me as an altar hearth. I will encamp against you all around you, and will lay siege against you with posted troops. I will raise siege works against you. You will be brought down, and will speak out of the ground. Your speech will mumble out of the dust. Your voice will be as of one who has a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and your speech will whisper out of the dust. But the multitude of your foes will be like fine dust, and the multitude of the ruthless ones like chaff that blows away. Yes, it will be in an instant, suddenly. She will be visited by the LORD of Hosts with thunder, with earthquake, with great noise, with whirlwind and storm, and with the flame of a devouring fire. The multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all who fight against her and her stronghold, and who distress her, will be like a dream, a vision of the night. It will be like when a hungry man dreams, and behold, he eats; but he awakes, and his hunger isn’t satisfied; or like when a thirsty man dreams, and behold, he drinks; but he awakes, and behold, he is faint, and he is still thirsty. The multitude of all the nations that fight against Mount Zion will be like that. Pause and wonder! Blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the LORD has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes, the prophets; and he has covered your heads, the seers. All vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is educated, saying, ‘Read this, please;’ and he says, ‘I can’t, for it is sealed;’ and the book is delivered to one who is not educated, saying, ‘Read this, please;’ and he says, ‘I can’t read.’ The Lord said, ‘Because this people draws near with their mouth and honors me with their lips, but they have removed their heart far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men which has been taught; therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men will perish, and the understanding of their prudent men will be hidden’ [tastatar]. Woe to those who deeply hide their counsel from the LORD [m’YHWH l’setir etzah], and whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, ‘Who sees us?’ and ‘Who knows us?’ You turn things upside down! Should the potter be thought to be like clay, that the thing made should say about him who made it, ‘He didn’t make me;’ or the thing formed say of him who formed it, ‘He has no understanding’? Isn’t it yet a very little while, and Lebanon will be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field will be regarded as a forest? In that day, the deaf will hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind will see out of obscurity and out of darkness. The humble also will increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. For the ruthless is brought to nothing, and the scoffer ceases, and all those who are alert to do evil are cut off—who cause a person to be indicted by a word, and lay a snare for one who reproves in the gate, and who deprive the innocent of justice with false testimony. Therefore the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, says concerning the house of Jacob: ‘Jacob shall no longer be ashamed, neither shall his face grow pale. But when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in the middle of him, they will sanctify my name. Yes, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. They also who err in spirit will come to understanding, and those who grumble will receive instruction’” (Isaiah 29:1-24, WMB).
Additional references to the Holy One concealing His Word, are found in Isaiah 54:8-17; 59:1-4; 64:1-12; and Jeremiah 23:20-40. But without belaboring the subject, one should assuredly understand the principle that the Lord often hides His plans for His unique purposes. With great confidence, we should each seek His face, to discover His will through a diligent study of His Word.
As our Torah portion continues, the following passage about the scattering of Israel to the ends of the Earth, and the complete restoration which is assuredly to come, should be better understood and recognized as a part of the perfect will and plan of the Holy One:
“It shall happen, when all these things have come on you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you shall call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God has driven you, and return to the LORD your God and obey his voice according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, that then the LORD your God will release you from captivity, have compassion on you, and will return and gather you from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you. If your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of the heavens, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there he will bring you back. The LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you will possess it. He will do you good, and increase your numbers more than your fathers. The LORD your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your offspring, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. The LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. You shall return and obey the LORD’s voice, and do all his commandments which I command you today” (Deuteronomy 30:1-8, WMB).
There is no doubt that the Lord will follow His Word. Consequently, due to the lack of obedience by Israel, He has been required to banish Israel to the nations. Yet, there is every confidence that He will fully restore Israel to its homeland, and that compliance with His commandments will become commonplace among the people. This is a wonderful prophecy, which ties in directly to words spoken centuries later, when inspired by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Peter made this declaration:
“When Peter saw it, he responded to the people, ‘You men of Israel, why do you marvel at this man? Why do you fasten your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his Servant Yeshua, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had determined to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, to which we are witnesses. By faith in his name, his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which is through him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. Now, brothers, I know that you did this in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But the things which God announced by the mouth of all his prophets, that Messiah should suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, so that there may come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send Messiah Yeshua, who was ordained for you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God spoke long ago by the mouth of his holy prophets’” (Acts 3:12-21, WMB).
Peter had been inspirationally revealed some of the secrets hidden from Creation, but he understood most crucially that what all of the Prophets had been declaring down through the centuries—had reached its climax in the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Yeshua the Messiah. All that still remained was the final culmination, or what he termed the restoration of all things.
Currently, we are all fervently anxiously awaiting the fulfillment of Peter’s word, which ties together so many prophecies and expectations from Genesis to Malachi and into the Apostles’ own writings. Via the emergence of the modern Messianic movement, we are doubtlessly participating in many of these things right now! The sobering challenge today, is the reality that, despite a rapidly growing number of Messiah followers being aware that such a restoration process is currently taking shape—many are not fixing their eyes upon Yeshua (Hebrews 12:2). Instead, many (presumed) “Messianic Believers” have been entrapped by fleshly, and likely also, demonically-contrived, peripheral and superficial issues. These are distractions which I believe are allowed by the Lord to test every heart. However, the fact that a growing number of Jewish and non-Jewish Believers are coming together, and are finally reading and studying God’s Torah, and discovering exactly what His “rules of engagement” are for conducting the spiritual warfare which is raging—there is great hope that in the Father’s perfect timing, His will for the complete restoration of His Kingdom and people will be fulfilled!
Still, there is the constant reminder—as will be considered in the coming weeks of Torah study, when Moses delivered some of his summary remarks, prophesying over the Ancient Israelites—that there was and tends to be a predilection for followers of the Messiah, to take their eyes off of the Rock of Salvation. This sadly can often result in the Father hiding His face from many of His own:
“‘Of the Rock who became your father, you are unmindful, and have forgotten God who gave you birth. The LORD saw and abhorred, because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters. He said, ‘I will hide my face from them [astirah panei m’hem]. I will see what their end will be; for they are a very perverse generation, children in whom is no faithfulness. They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God. They have provoked me to anger with their vanities. I will move them to jealousy with those who are not a people. I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. For a fire is kindled in my anger, that burns to the lowest Sheol, devours the earth with its increase, and sets the foundations of the mountains on fire. I will heap evils on them. I will spend my arrows on them. They shall be wasted with hunger, and devoured with burning heat and bitter destruction. I will send the teeth of animals on them, with the venom of vipers that glide in the dust. Outside the sword will bereave, and in the rooms, terror on both young man and virgin, the nursing infant with the gray-haired man. I said that I would scatter them afar. I would make their memory to cease from among men; were it not that I feared the provocation of the enemy, lest their adversaries should judge wrongly, lest they should say, “Our hand is exalted; the LORD has not done all this.”’ For they are a nation void of counsel. There is no understanding in them. Oh that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end! How could one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had delivered them up? For their rock is not as our Rock, even our enemies themselves concede” (Deuteronomy 32:18-31, WMB).
The stark comparison of those who neglect the Rock—versus those who seek counsel, wisdom, and understanding—should be a great reminder to those of us today, who desire to know the secret things of God, and what He is allowing to be done at this point in His timeline for the Creation. The Prophet Ezekiel gave some hope, that in spite of the difficulties which befell Ancient Israel and their exile, that their fortunes would be restored to them—in spite of God having hidden His face:
“I will set my glory among the nations. Then all the nations will see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid on them. So the house of Israel will know that I am the LORD their God, from that day and forward. The nations will know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity, because they trespassed against me, and I hid my face from them [v’astir panei m’hem]; so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they all fell by the sword. I did to them according to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions. I hid my face from them [v’astir panei m’hem]. Therefore the Lord GOD says: ‘Now I will reverse the captivity of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel. I will be jealous for my holy name. They will forget their shame and all their trespasses by which they have trespassed against me, when they dwell securely in their land. No one will make them afraid when I have brought them back from the peoples, gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and am shown holy among them in the sight of many nations. They will know that I am the LORD their God, in that I caused them to go into captivity among the nations, and have gathered them to their own land. Then I will leave none of them captive any more [v’lo-astir od panei m’hem]. I won’t hide my face from them any more, for I have poured out my Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord GOD” (Ezekiel 39:21-29, WMB).
Our Torah portion notably concludes with the statement that the commandments of the Lord are not too difficult for His people to follow. With Heaven and Earth as His two witnesses, it is incumbent upon the children of God to choose life, by obeying His voice and holding fast to Him for salvation:
“The LORD your God will make you prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground, for good; for the LORD will again rejoice over you for good, as he rejoiced over your fathers, if you will obey the LORD your God’s voice, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this scroll of the Torah, if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. For this commandment which I command you today is not too hard for you or too distant. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up for us to heaven, bring it to us, and proclaim it to us, that we may do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us, bring it to us, and proclaim it to us, that we may do it?’ But the word is very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. Behold, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and evil. For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you go in to possess it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away and worship other gods, and serve them, I declare to you today that you will surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you pass over the Jordan to go in to possess it. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore choose life, that you may live, you and your descendants, to love the LORD your God, to obey his voice, and to cling to him; for he is your life, and the length of your days, that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them” (Deuteronomy 30:9-20, WMB).
God has steadily revealed His secret plans for His people down through the generations, certainly through His Prophets—and with the ultimate revelation coming through the atoning work of Yeshua the Messiah. We see in the Gospels how the Messiah came, reminding His listeners that the hidden things were not for the worldly wise or intelligent, but rather for the infants in faith, who desired to know the will of the Heavenly Father:
“‘The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, “Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!” But wisdom is justified by her children.’ Then he began to denounce the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done, because they didn’t repent. ‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. You, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, you will go down to Sheol. For if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in you, it would have remained until today. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment, than for you.’ At that time, Yeshua answered, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in your sight. All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son, except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father, except the Son and he to whom the Son desires to reveal him. Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls [Jeremiah 6:16]. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light’” (Matthew 11:19-30, WMB).
This is why it was written of the Messiah in Psalm 78, that He would come and speak in clever parabolic statements—which are not understood by the carnal mind, but intelligibly revealed through the work of the Holy Spirit of God (John 14:16):
“Yeshua spoke all these things in parables to the multitudes; and without a parable, he didn’t speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, ‘I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world’ [Psalm 78:2]. Then Yeshua sent the multitudes away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the darnel weeds of the field.’ He answered them, ‘He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seeds are the children of the Kingdom, and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. As therefore the darnel weeds are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling and those who do iniquity, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun [Daniel 12:3] in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls, who having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some fish of every kind, which, when it was filled, fishermen drew up on the beach. They sat down and gathered the good into containers, but the bad they threw away. So it will be in the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked from among the righteous, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ Yeshua said to them, ‘Have you understood all these things?’ They answered him, ‘Yes, Lord.’ He said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe who has been made a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings out of his treasure new and old things’” (Matthew 13:34-52, WMB).
In the above passage, Yeshua issued a number of examples about the Kingdom of Heaven, which are only understood by those chosen to understand what He communicated. Such people would be the true seekers of the Holy One, who like children, yearned to know what the Good Teacher described.
Let us close this overview on the “secret things” of the Lord, described in Nitzavim, with another key teaching from the Gospels. In Luke 13, Yeshua described some related metaphors about the Kingdom of God, with some very sobering comments about those who did not understand what He declared—which should be seriously taken to heart, by everyone contemplating his or her relationship with the Holy One of Israel:
“As he said these things, all his adversaries were disappointed; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him. He said, ‘What is God’s Kingdom like? To what shall I compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and put in his own garden. It grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the sky live in its branches’ [Daniel 4:12, 21; Ezekiel 17:23; 31:6]. Again he said, ‘To what shall I compare God’s Kingdom? It is like yeast, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.’ He went on his way through cities and villages, teaching, and traveling on to Jerusalem. One said to him, ‘Lord, are they few who are saved?’ He said to them, ‘Strive to enter in by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter in and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen up and has shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, “Lord, Lord, open to us!” then he will answer and tell you, “I don’t know you or where you come from.” Then you will begin to say, “We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.” He will say, “I tell you, I don’t know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity” [Psalm 6:8]. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in God’s Kingdom, and yourselves being thrown outside. They will come from the east, west, north, and south, and will sit down in God’s Kingdom. Behold, there are some who are last who will be first, and there are some who are first who will be last.’ On that same day, some Pharisees came, saying to him, ‘Get out of here and go away, for Herod wants to kill you.’ He said to them, ‘Go and tell that fox, “Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I complete my mission. Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, for it can’t be that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem.” Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, like a hen gathers her own brood under her wings, and you refused! Behold, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me until you say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord [1 Kings 9:7-8; Jeremiah 12:7; 22:5]!”’” (Luke 13:17-35, WMB).
May we all discover more and more about the God we serve, seeking His salvation, understanding how He has a plan which is being executed to perfection. May we each be hoping and praying that He will continue to reveal His light and plans to us, so that we can be among the multitude which proclaims, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” May each of us, individually and corporately, continue to advance His Kingdom, until the restoration of all things…
NOTES
[1] Cf. R.D. Patterson, “satar,” in R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Jr., and Bruce K. Waltke, eds., Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (Chicago: Moody Press, 1980), 2:636.
