Deuteronomy 29

Ye have seen all that the Lord did before your eyes…yet the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.

 The Israelites who wandered in the wilderness did so with a supernatural supply of food and guidance.  They were eye-witnesses to what God did to Pharaoh in Egypt (v2). Their clothes nor their shoes wore out for forty years (v5).  Later on Paul would quote this very verse (v4) in Romans 11:8 to categorize the blindness of the Jews in Jesus’ day in spite of receiving the reports of His resurrection.

Unbelievers and believers should observe a couple thoughts here.  In order for an unbeliever to be saved and have eternal life, they must first realize they are the kind of sinner the Bible describes.  A sinner is someone who could visibly witness the power of God, acknowledge His existence, but still does not possess the “heart to perceive” nor the “eyes to see”.  What these words mean that believing God does not merely mean acknowledgement, but it requires one to surrender his or her will to God, that God can govern your life. The motive one does this is because they trust God’s leadership is far superior to their own.  To refuse God’s leadership is to commit the Bible’s most heinous crime of idolatry.

For believers this means our lives are characterized by seeking out the heart that can perceive God’s will in all things.  Practically this means we set a course to dig into God’s word, meditate, and make His law our delight.  As the Holy Spirit reveals another discrepancy between our life and Jesus’ life, we “see” and “perceive” by submitting and correcting our sin.

The whole point to God rescuing them from Egypt was so He could have a people to Himself (v13).  Their sin and unbelief threatened that relationship (v18), and if they allow it to go unchecked, it would bring serious consequences (v24-25).  Their children persisted in unbelief and experienced God’s discipline (v22).   As Christians we have been rescued and from sin and it’s power to bring death, but we should take even more heed to daily submit to the Holy Spirit lest we bring His chastening upon us.  God forbid that my stubbornness to yield to God today would lead to the damnation of my children tomorrow.