"Then He Forsook God"

by David Smith, of Ayr, U.K. | Category: General | Nov 1985

Two important musts lay over the people of Israel as they encamped in the plains of Moab waiting to move off on the last lap of their journey into the land. The Lord had said to Moses "Behold thy days approach that thou must die" (Deut. 31:14). A great and faithful servant was about to be removed from this scene by the must of inevitability, for even the greatest and most renowned are obliged to surrender to the sentence of death passed upon all men. The departure of one who for so long had been at the centre of God's dealings with Israel would, without doubt, deeply affect the life of all the people, and thoughts of uncertainty would spread through the camp. How could the people fare without Moses? How could the law and service operate without the great mediator? And how could they face the foe without Moses to go before them?

In His wisdom and provision, which is always in evidence in His dealings with His own, the Lord had placed on Joshua the must of responsibility, "thou must go with this people" (Deut. 31:7 AV). God always has His men in readiness, fitted and prepared for the work that has to be done. May we each be responsive and faithful, conscious of His calling, for the testimony of God must be borne by the ranks of the faithful through whom the Spirit can work.

Before this great transfer, Moses had a lengthy and stimulating song to recite in the hearing of all the people. Deuteronomy 32 is one of the most beautiful orations in the Old Testament, covering so many aspects of the purpose and working of God, including His dealings with Israel. It begins before Abraham was called or Jacob took his brother by the heel (Gen. 25:26; Rom. 9:11,12). "When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the children of men, He set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel" (v.8). It may be difficult to realize in this turbulent age of surging nationalism and changing frontiers that the title deeds of the nations have been granted by God and registered in heaven in relation to Israel as promised to Abraham and to his seed for an everlasting inheritance.

The Lord "ransomed Jacob and redeemed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he" (Jer. 31:11). Their true Messiah will reign and exercise dominion from sea to sea and from the great River to the ends of the earth (Psalm 72). For that was God's hidden purpose when He found Jacob in a desert land and advanced that great people till He made him '"ride on the high places of the earth". God wrought for Israel till He could say in retrospect "What could have been done more ... that I have not done" (Is. 5:4). But,

and it is a warning "but" to everyone of us, "Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked then he forsook God". A crisis point indeed, not brought about by poverty

or privation. As the ancient world had worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator (Rom. 1:25), 50 Israel transposed the gift for the giver, they supplanted God in their lives and made His blessing their god.

Isn't it often the case that the "desert" and "wilderness" trial has been the richest experience in spiritual things and often the most fruitful to God's glory? Many like Israel of old have shown commendable love and devotion in the days of their youth, only to wax cold in later life, having followed Him in circumstances like to a "land not sown" (Jer. 2:2). But when in His goodness He sets the feet of His saints on "the high places of the earth" and provides in abundance "honey from the rock" and oil from the flinty rock, when life becomes more favourable and perhaps more affluent, then spiritual fervour wanes and true love and faith succumb to other interests. Hence the searching question, "Lovest thou Me more than these?".

The love which the Lord Jesus has begotten in the hearts of His own and which He deserves from us for ever, faces constant competition from the world and the things of the world. Unrelenting pressure is put on the affection of God's saints, designed to draw their hearts away from the Lord and from His things. We all must face this danger with unyielding resolve, knowing that we can, sadly, withdraw our love for Him and replace it with something else. It is not our possessions that the Lord wants but our hearts. "As the Father hath loved Me, I also have loved you: abide ye in My love" (John 15:9), and "If a man love Me, he will keep My word: and My Father will love him" (John 14:23).

David Smith, of Ayr, U.K. | Nov 1985
General