Deuteronomy Ch 29 vv 1-15

The Lord draws the people’s attention, firstly, to His care for them over the years that have passed. He freed them from captivity and cared for them during their forty years of wandering in the desert. We too need to look back to the way He has freed us from captivity to the godless world, our sinful natures, and the devil and see how He has cared for us over the years. Unbelief makes us blind to this (v 4) although there are blessings other than salvation for unbelievers associated in different ways with the people of God. The other side of the coin is that we can be near the Church and far from God.

The Lord not only cared for His people, He also gave them victory over their enemies. Their enemies were many and the Lord’s people were few, but by trusting in His power they were victorious. This is so true of Christian believers today. The enemies of our souls are strong and we are weak, but when we trust in God’s strength we can know victory day by day.

The high-point of our passage today is the oath that the Lord Himself makes in the covenant of grace with His people. Surely God didn’t need to swear an oath. Of course not! Yet He wants us to understand how firm is the covenant He makes with us - as the hymn tells us:

Heaven and earth may fade and flee,

First-born light in gloom decline;

But while God and I shall be,

I am His and He is mine.