Musing – Has the Lord Not Given You a Mind that Understands?

Hebraic Musing – Has the Lord Not Given You a Mind that Understands?

The obvious first blush answer is “Of course I have understanding” and we may continue “and it comes from God!”  This opening question in the title comes directly from a statement or accusation Moses made to the Israelite leaders in Deut. 29:4.  “But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear.”  NIV   Obviously this has to be put into context.

In Deuteronomy 28, Moses had just described to the Israelite leaders the blessings and curses “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will…”.  That’s the opening verse of Chapter 28 which contains a series of critical “if, then” promises.  Moses tells the leaders “If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today” then you will receive the wonderful blessings spelled out in the following thirteen verses.  And Moses continues in verse 15 “However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, (then) all these curses will come upon you …”  There were thirteen verses of blessings promised, while the next forty-four verses, verses 15–68, spell out a litany of promised curses.

Moses follows up with a recounting of the Lord’s mighty deeds.  “Your eyes have seen all that the Lord did in Egypt to Pharaoh, … and to all his land.  3 With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those miraculous signs and great wonders. 5 During the forty years that I led you through the desert, your clothes did not wear out, ….  You ate no bread …. I did this so that you might know that I am the Lord your God.  7 When you reached this place, Kings … came out to fight against us, but we defeated them. 8 We took their land ….” Deut 29:2-8, omitting vs.4.

And in the midst of those examples of wonders the Lord did on their behalf, Moses said in verse 4 “But to this day the Lord has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear.”   In today’s terminology, Moses is telling them “After all that the Lord has done for you, you still don’t get it!”

At this stage I have to ask myself “Do I get it?  Do I realize how important it is to “fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands?  Have I misused my God-given freedom of choice and decided to not fully obey?”  Ouch! 

I am reminded of the favorite song they to sing at services we do at the Assisted Living home.
♫ Count your blessings, name them one by one,   Count your blessings, see what God has done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,     And it will surprise you what the Lord has done. ♫

I have found that when I take the time to try to count my blessings, it becomes easier to “fully obey the LORD”; and to understand Him.

 Points to ponder

Are we too much like the Israelite nation?

God gave us our minds, eyes and ears,
but what do we have to do to get “a mind that understands
or eyes that see or ears that hear”?

 “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.” Ps 119:18 

Yosef   a.k.a.  Joe Brusherd                                                           October 3, 2017
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring the Hebrew roots of our faith” 
“Biblical Marriage”  Weekly “Hebraic Musings”    

Note – Thanks to Ardelle Brody the inspiration from her commentary on Ki Tavo  Sept 6, 2017