Torah Portion: Deuteronomy 29:10-30:20

Nitzavim (‘ones standing’)

In this passage, the people of Israel were standing in the presence of the Lord to enter into a covenant with Him, their God who was unseen and yet who had led them and revealed Himself through miracles during the 40 years in the wilderness. They had come from Egypt, a land of many gods, and passed through countries full of many detestable idols with the enticement of fleshly religious practices.

The Lord had given Israel the teachings of the Torah: “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children for ever, that we may follow all the words of this law” (Deut 29:29). The commitment to which the Lord was calling them was “not too difficult or beyond your reach…No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so that you may obey it” (Deut 30:11, 14). They were challenged to choose life, for the Lord was their life.

Not Beyond Reach

Thousands of years later, in Athens, a city of many gods with all their images, Paul drew the citizens to consider another – the Unknown God (Acts 17:24-28). He spoke of the God who made the world and everything in it, the Lord of heaven and earth who gives all men life and breath and tends to their needs so that men would seek Him, although “He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being.”

We worship a God who is unseen and yet who reveals Himself to us. “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him” (Ps 25:14). It is those who revere and worship Him who know the sweet, satisfying companionship of the Lord, or what Job described as “God’s intimate friendship” (Job 29:4).

Just before our Lord Yeshua was arrested, He told His disciples that it was for their good that He should leave them. He described them as His friends because He had passed on to them what His Father had given Him.

In the future they would not be able to see Him but the Spirit was going to take from what was His and make it known to them. They were not ready to hear all He could have shared but the Spirit would guide them into all truth. (John 15:14, 15, 16:12, 13).

The Life of Faith

There are times when we may long to see the way ahead or to have a more tangible sense of the presence of God, but we need to learn to trust Him to reveal His secrets at the time that is best for us. His word is full of promises – and warnings – but we need to remember that sweet fellowship and companionship is offered to those who will trust, honour and revere Him, not giving in to the temptation to follow the alternatives offered in the world around us.

This life of faithfulness is only possible as the Holy Spirit dwells within us and as we continue to abide in Yeshua. At the time of Rosh Hashanah, the Hebraic New Year, choose daily to follow Him - whether you can see further ahead or not.

Author: Catharine Pakington