What Have You Seen … by Pastor Dominick Cuozzo

Today’s Passage – Deuteronomy 32 – 34 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Colossians 1 – 4;  Proverbs 11; Psalms 51 – 55

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – 1 Timothy 1:17

Read the “0311 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Note – The following thoughts were developed from Deuteronomy 29:1 – 29, which was yesterday’s reading passage.

“And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land; The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles: Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day. (Deuteronomy 29:2-4)

It is no accident what God has allowed you and I to see in our lives. In this passage of scripture, the Lord is using Moses to remind His people of all that He has allowed them to see before they enter the Promised Land.

“The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29)

God has not revealed everything to us, but the things that He has revealed, He wants us to recognize that there is a reason He has revealed these things to us in our lives. So…what have you seen? Moses lists at least three things that God had allowed them to experience and what He wanted them to see in those experiences. He was worried that even though they had seen these things…that they were still missing the point that everything was from God. vs 4 – Moses knew what they had seen with their eyes, but He was worried about whether or not they were allowing God to reveal Himself to them in these experiences.

1. They saw all that God had done to deliver them from Egypt. (vs 2)
2. They saw God’s provision for their needs in the wilderness. (vs 5)
3. They saw the sinful abominations of the people of the nations they passed thru on their way. (vs. 17)

• Moses knew that they saw all that God had done to deliver them from Egypt. But had they perceived the reason? God delivered them so that He could be their God and they could be His people. vs 13. God wants us to see that the reason that He has delivered us, was not just to get us out of a bad situation, but to get us into a relationship with Him.
• Moses knew that they had seen God’s provision in the wilderness. But had they perceived the reason? God put them in a place where it was impossible for them to provide for themselves, so that they would learn to trust Him and rely on Him for their prosperity. He tells them in verse nine that all they have to worry about is keeping the covenant and obeying God and He would handle their provisions.
• Moses knew they had seen the abominable sins of the other nations and the dead idols they worshipped. But had they perceived the reason? God’s interaction with His people would include His judgement and chastisement. Because He is a living God, He takes action. Because He is a loving God, He cares about future generations. He allowed them to see the worthlessness of worshipping a false god so they would appreciate His active involvement in their lives.

In many ways, we are very similar to the people that Moses is speaking to here in Deuteronomy 29. We have seen God deliver us when He saved us. We have seen Him give us all that we need for life and godliness when He provided His word. And all of us have seen the fruitlessness and emptiness of lives lived apart from the living God. At some point, we must set aside the false notions of fate, chance or determinism and see past our circumstances. We must see the hand of God in our lives. He is at work. What does He want you to see in your life today? Are you looking to try to see Him at work in your life?