Daily Thoughts from Deuteronomy 29:2-4: Things Hidden (Hanas’tarot)

31 Things Hidden (Hanas’tarot)

Then Moshe summoned all Isra’el and said to them, “You saw everything Yahweh did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his servants and to all his land; the great testings which you saw with your own eyes, and the signs and those great wonders.  Nevertheless, to this day Yahweh has not given you a heart to understand, eyes to see or ears to hear!

(D’varim 29:2-4)

He had only been awake a few minutes when he heard it.  The low rumbling growl that threatened and paralyzed him.  It was lurking outside his cave and moved into view, his agile limbs at full arrest now, but so powerful and ready to pounce that nothing could stop it.  Why did he not pounce at once and end the life in front of him?  His heart was beating faster than he thought possible and he was frozen in place, unable to think or act.

The eyes of the big cat were staring at him, merciless and cold until some noise Yeshua could not detect distracted him.  Suddenly the hooves of a huge ibex came crashing down on the back of the cat and he jumped into a defensive posture against the attacking creature.  He seemed startled and unsure of how much of a threat this ibex was or what he should do about it.  He was flinching, apparently hurt where the hooves had landed.  But he began to square around and with lightning speed lurched at the ibex to tear its throat out.

The unexpected move by the ibex startled Yeshua as well as the cat, because he somehow got his horns underneath the cat and deftly flipped him out of the way.  Such amazing dexterity and strength seemed uncanny for such a creature, and the cat had all it wanted and left in a hurry.

The ibex stood now, where the cat had stood, and stared straight into Yeshua’s eyes without the malice and cold of the cat, but rather with the strength of a protector. Then he too was gone.

Yeshua could hardly think of how to process what just happened.  From overwhelming terror to swift resolution in the most unexpected way, all within a few minutes and it was over.  His heart was still beating furiously, but he was starting to calm down and began thanking the Father for His deliverance.

It had been so bizarre the way the ibex had stared at him and, whereas he could see satan’s evil in the first set of eyes, he could see his Father’s ferocious love in the second pair.

When he had settled enough to read he took the scroll of Moshe and opened to his reading for the day.  Did his Father plan for this?  What he read seemed to coincide with what just happened.  Yahweh was reminding Yisrael of how He displayed His power on her behalf the whole time in their breakaway from Egypt and in the wilderness.  Yisrael had seen His signs and wonders.  Were they thankful for them at first like he was for this morning’s signs and wonders on his behalf?  They probably were, but as Yahweh said, they did not really have a heart to understand what they were seeing.  They still found themselves complaining to Moshe as if none of them had happened.  It was as if each new trouble found them with no previous experience of Yahweh’s protection or provision.  How could they be so forgetful?  Would he forget as well?

The last part of Moshe’s address stressed that the hidden things belonged to Yahweh but the things He had revealed belonged to Yisrael and her children forever, as an incentive to keep torah.  What did Moshe mean?

It was certainly a “hidden thing” that Yahweh had not given eyes to see or ears to hear what He had done in their midst.  Who could fathom the secret purposes of God?  Had Yahweh given him eyes to see and ears to hear?  He felt He had.  Would Yisrael listen to him?  Would God give him signs and wonders in hopes that their hearts would understand what those in the wilderness had not?  His heart told him that the Father would do just that.  After all, his birth was most miraculous and the things that happened surrounding his birth were equally so.  Father was doing something most special.  The words of the angels, of Zechariah, Hannah and Shim’on attested to this.

“Father, if you can deliver me from the fearsome shredder of flesh through the actions of the gentle ibex, You can do anything.  I will serve You with my whole heart and pray that You continue to give me eyes to see and ears to hear what you have revealed.  I will leave the hidden things to You and trust You that You have a purpose in keeping them hidden.  But may I never hide what You have revealed.”

“My son, I have indeed opened your eyes and ears and I will deliver you until it is time to be delivered no more.  You will bring testimony to My people of My greatness and love and I will open the eyes and ears of many to follow you.  You will see your offspring and prolong your days after you have poured out your soul to death.  Continue to read my prophet’s words and you will be sustained.”

Where there had been stress beyond compare there was now peace and serenity.  It flooded his heart like the dry wadi is flooded with the rain.  It rushed in but was welcomed and left him stronger than ever.

Then the nonsense syllables of the satan could be heard near his cave.  That fiend!  Without doubt he had somehow instigated the cat to attack.  He wanted to yell out, “I hope you are proud of yourself,” but thought better of it.  What was the point.  There was no changing of his leopard’s spots.  He was and would be the instigator of evil all his days.

Although it wasn’t as loud as when the satan was in his cave, it was loud enough and incessant enough to be annoying.  What on earth was his strategy?  Why was he there one day and not the next?  And why sometimes was he full of malevolent reasoning and others pouring out this nonsense?  He could not fathom it, but it was effective for wearing him down.  He felt weary of it as if it had never stopped and he was tempted to forget the marvelous rescue his Father had just engineered.

Hmm.  The satan was sly alright, sly as the serpent.  He must be wise in the same way satan was, only though from a good heart that overflowed for his people’s redemption.

He tried to ignore the satan.