Daily Thoughts from Deuteronomy 8:11-17: Remember (Zakar’tah)

10. Remember (Zakar’tah)

“Be careful not to forget Yahweh your God by not obeying his mitzvot, rulings and regulations that I am giving you today.  Otherwise, after you have eaten and are satisfied, built fine houses and lived in them, and increased your herds, flocks, silver, gold and everything else you own, you will become proud-hearted. Forgetting Yahweh your God — who brought you out of the land of Egypt, where you lived as slaves; who led you through the vast and fearsome desert, with its poisonous snakes, scorpions and waterless, thirsty ground; who brought water out of flint rock for you; who fed you in the desert with manna, unknown to your ancestors; all the while humbling and testing you in order to do you good in the end — you will think to yourself, ‘My own power and the strength of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.’”

(D’varim 8:11-17)

When he woke there was the man right at the outside of the cave.  He jumped back, startled, and the man quickly said, “Please, forgive me, I didn’t mean to scare you.  I saw your cave yesterday and wanted to meet you and after walking a ways to do so you were still asleep.  I didn’t want to wake you but I didn’t want to have to leave and come back either.  So I waited for you to wake.  Please, again, my pardons.  I am Nabil.  May peace come to you.”

Still in shock but compelled by good manners to respond he said, “I am Yeshua.  Peace be to you.  You are not of the Jews.”

“No, I am from the south, below the Negev.  My family are herders and traders.  I am on my way back there after some business in Jericho.”

“Why are you not following the road?”

“I occasionally like to take my own way and explore the beauty of the desert, and I occasionally make good finds like you, a fellow traveler, someone I might never have met otherwise.  And what, may I ask, has brought you here?”

“I am on spiritual pilgrimage.”

“Ah, so Aleh has sent you into the wilderness to seek Him.  I suppose my trek off the road is a sort of pilgrimage, also.  I am seeking, as well.”

He noticed that he did not mention what he was seeking.  “May I offer you some water?”

He received some water gladly and as he sat with him in the cave he noticed the scroll.

“What are you reading?”

“I am reading the words of Moshe that he spoke to Israel as they prepared to enter the land from this wilderness.  May I read some of it for you?”

“I would love to hear it, but is it not written in Hebrew?  I would need a translation.”

“I think I can provide that,” and he began translating.  After reading he set down the scroll with care.

“I take a somewhat different view of things than Moshe.”

“What do you mean?”

“It seems to me that it is the power of our own hands that has in fact gotten us anything that we get.  After all, if we did not till the soil, tend to the herds or work to accomplish a trade deal, they would not happen.  Why would Aleh want to take credit for our labor?”

“God is not taking credit for our labor as much as He is for our ability to labor and for the results of our labor.  Have you never planted only to see the crop come to ruin through lack of rain, or tended your herds only to see the mothers miscarry or the herds fall to disease?  Did you make the heart of your trading partner agree to your terms?”

“So when things did not work out it is because Aleh refused to help me and I am to blame, but when they do work out it is because He favored me?”

“Not necessarily.  You may not have deserved good things but He made them work out for you anyway.  He sends His rain upon the just and the unjust.  And there may be times when you were deserving but He chose not to grant you the blessing you sought, for He had a bigger purpose in the moment for you through the experience of some failure.”

“He sounds very fickle when you describe Him that way.  Why bother to seek Him at all?  He will do whatever He wants and it will not have anything to do with whether I am serving Him or not.”

It felt like he was offering pearls to swine.  Everything he said was trampled upon and made to look worthless.  He was trying to sow doubt in his Father’s goodness.  The conversation went on like this for some hours until he felt worn out trying to explain the truth to this “pilgrim”.  Something did not feel right about this man.

“Sir, the day is growing long and as you know I have nothing to offer you to eat.  Are you traveling on to your destination?”

“I am in no rush.  But I perceive that you are wearying of our talk.  I am intending to stay some time here in this beautiful place.  I would be grateful for the hospitality of your cave.  I can provide my own food but am lacking shelter from the sun and the cold nights.”

“Of course you may share what I have to share.  And if you do not mind I will need to rest for a short time.”

“Please, rest, and I will venture out and explore some of the wonders of this place and perhaps even find some food.  I will return after some time.”  And he left.

Yeshua lay down on his mat, exhausted.  The time in conversation was like labor for him, taxing his mental and physical resources.  “Father, why have You brought this stranger into my life?  He wearies me.  I feel as if I am in a battle when I speak to him.  At least he will be a comfort during the night with my wandering big cat on the prowl.”  Soon he was asleep.

It was dark when he awoke and not far off the first thing he noticed was those red eyes staring at him, but only for a moment and they went dark.  He was alone but Nabil had started a small fire and there were some bones of a small animal lying in the flames.  But where was Nabil?

Almost as if in direct answer to his question Nabil came into the cave on his right.

“Well, my sleeping friend, so you are finally awake.  I hope you do not mind that I started a fire.  It is beginning to cool down out here without our friend, the sun, to keep us warm.  Would you like some of the meat I have cooked?”

“Sir, you know well that I am fasting, but thank you for the offer.  Please, sir, tell me about your family.”

They spent the rest of the evening swapping accounts of their growing up days.  And not surprisingly, as the evening wore on he felt drowsy once again and fell asleep as Nabil hummed an odd tune.