The Faithfulness of God and the Fickleness of Man

The Faithfulness of God and the Fickleness of Man
Duet. 31-34
“Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; for the day of their calamity is near, and the impending things are hastening upon them. For the Lord will vindicate His people, and will have compassion on His servants, when He sees that their strength is gone, and there is none remaining bond or free.”

The people gather that day in a small village of Enfield, Connecticut, to hear a guest speaker. The town was a small village, and the church was a small building only 38 feet wide and 38 feet long. It had two stories and a small belfry.  It was a church that had been unresponsive to the first Great Awakening, so the pastor had invited the speaker to come and preach to stir the people towards repentance. Although the building was small, it was packed with several hundred people who had come to hear the preacher, who was known for his powerful messages. On this day, Deuteronomy 32:35 was the text chosen for the sermon as a guest speaker arose to preach.  The speaker was known to speak with a high-pitched monotone voice and painstakingly read his manuscript, yet his message was captivating because it was spoken with passion and sincerity. His message was entitled, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”  The preacher was Jonathan Edwards, and the sermon would ignite the Great Awakening, in which revival would sweep across the country. It was reported that before the sermon was finished, there was a great moaning and crying throughout the building of people crying out for salvation.

The verse, couched in a song that would warn of Israel’s continual abandonment of god, served as a warning that God would bring swift and terrible judgment upon those who reject God.  In His final words to Moses, God warned of the fickleness of Israel, that even though God delivered them from Egypt, guided them in the wilderness, and gave them possession of the promised land, they would pursuit the worship of idols (31:16-17).  As a result, God would bring judgment upon them.  To warn the people, God had Moses teach the people a song for them to be reminded of the dangers of apostasy and the lure of false gods (chapter 32). A holy and just God cannot allow sin to go unpunished. Thus, he pronounces the swiftness of His judgment in verse 35.  

However, even as God forewarns of imminent and sift judgment when they rebel, He assures them of His faithfulness to them.  His punishment is corrective rather than destructive.  In verse 36, God also assures them that He will have compassion and that even as they suffer the consequences of their sin, He will still respond with mercy, grace, and forgiveness when they repent and seek Him.  The purpose of their judgment is in verse 39, “See now that I, I am He, and there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life.  I have wounded and it is I who heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.”  God will bring salvation, deliverance, and healing when we seek Him.  While His judgment is swift and terrible, His grace is restorative and complete. Despite man’s fickleness, He remains faithful.

This confronts us with the question, “How do we avoid judgment and experience God’s grace?”  The answer lies in 32:46-47. The answer is to “observe carefully even all the words of this law. For it is not an idle word for you; indeed it is your life.”  This is true for us today.  If we want to experience the joy of God's blessing and salvation, we must be immersed in His word and walk in obedience to Him.  The Bible is not just the idle words of men; it is the words of God that give us life.  If we desire to experience His blessing, we must be governed by His word.  Instead of looking to humanity for solutions for life, look to the words of Scripture.  They are life itself. They gave life to a small church in Connecticut, and they give life to us today.