Food for Friday
For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon Him for? Deuteronomy 4:7
Moses is in today’s text pointing out to the children of Israel what a great position they were in compared to the rest of the nations around them. They were able to call upon all of the resources of the Almighty. What other nation could possibly be so great? Those other nations called unto gods of stone or wood with no ability to hear, let alone any ability to do even the tiniest bit of anything for those who called upon them. Not only did those nations not have any real gods of their own, but their evil lifestyles and rejection of the true God had them at enmity with the only One who could help. But Israel’s God was the source of all power, wisdom, and blessing! And He is our God, too.
Do we realise today how great are the resources of our God? As Dr. Lockyer could say, ‘No far-seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shoreless supply’. Or as we used to sing in Sunday School: He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the wealth in every mine, He owns the rivers, and the rocks, and rills, the sun and moon that shine. Wonderful riches, more than tongue can tell, He is my father, so they’re mine as well. He owns the catttle on a thousand hills, I know that He will care for me.
If they had such a great God upon whose resources they could draw, why were the Israelites so often in bondage and hardship? Disobedience. Why are we, the redeemed of the Lord, so often in distress and discouragement and spiritual poverty. Disobedience. God clearly told the Israelites that if they would be willing and obedient, they would eat of the fat of the land. (Isaiah 1:19) The same goes for us. When we are disobedient, we cut ourselves off from the only Help available.
Rather than taking our resources from the world and its false systems, let us today recognize the greatness of God and His supply. Obeying Him will make us prosper. -Jim MacIntosh