After hearing someone reference the Book of Enoch, I took about an hour to read through 7-8 chapters of the book. What I read reminded me of the Book of Mormon. Someone who claimed to be the Enoch of the Bible claimed to have been given special knowledge about the future and the current workings of God. The portion I read gave the names of angels who were appointed to look over certain things. There was a chapter dedicated to explaining the sons of God and daughters of men mentioned in Genesis 6. There were also fanciful explanations for where the winds came from, how certain angels were bound, and how certain stars were imprisoned for not shining in their appointed times. What I read came across as something written by a secret knowledge cult.
The truth is that there have always been people wanting to know more than God chose to reveal in the Bible. They read the Bible and ask questions. Who were the sons of men in Genesis 6? Where is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil today? What do angels do in heaven? How does God interact with fallen angels? These questions and more have been asked from the beginning. But are the answers to these questions something we should be seeking? My study of the Scriptures indicates that we should not be so interested in what God has not revealed. Instead, we should be interested in what God has already revealed.
- What does it say? (Deut. 29:1-29)
What follows are the covenant words which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab besides the covenant made in Horeb. Moses summoned Israel and told them that they had seen all that the Lord had done to Egypt, Pharaoh, his servants, and his land. They had seen the great wonders with their own eyes. Even so, the Lord had not given them the ability to understand with their hearts, eyes, and ears. Moses had led them forty years in the wilderness. Their clothes and shoes had not worn out. They hadn’t eaten bread or drunk wine so that they would know that God was the Lord their God. They had defeated two kings and taken their land. Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh had inherited their land. Because of all that, Moses told them to keep the words of this covenant so that they would prosper.
All of the people including leaders, elders, men, wives, children, and foreign help were there to take part in God’s covenant. It was designed to establish them as a nation for God. He would be their God just as promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The covenant was made with those who were there or were not there at the moment. (They were aware that Egypt and the surrounding nations had committed abominations and served idols of wood, stone, silver, and gold.) God’s desire was that no man, woman, family, or tribe would turn away from the Lord. He didn’t want any of them to serve the false gods of these nations, to think that he would have peace following what his heart told him, because this would be like associating a drunkard with a sober person. The Lord would not spare such a person. He would be angry and jealous, curse that man with the curses in the Book of the Law, and blot out his name. The end result would be that future generations of Israelites and foreigners would note the plagues and sicknesses which the Lord would send on them. People would note how bad the land looked and that it looked like Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim which the Lord overthrew when He was angry. People would question why the Lord had treated the land that way. Why was He so angry with them? The answer was that they had forsaken God’s covenant and served other gods which the Lord had not given them. What they saw was a result of God’s anger on them and the curses written in the book. So, the Lord uprooted them from the land and cast them into another land.
He ended by telling them that the secret things belonged to the Lord. However, what the Lord had revealed to them and their children was given to them so that they would do what the Law said. - What does it mean?
After all that God had done, they still didn’t have a heart for the Lord (Deut. 29:2-9).
Can you imagine what it must have been like for Moses to give this speech. He had been with Israel in Egypt when God sent the Ten Plagues. He had been with them when they crossed the Red Sea. He had been with them when God sent manna and quail to feed the people. He had been with them when they defeated other nations. But despite all of these miraculous works of God, the people still didn’t have a heart to believe the Lord. He actually says that the Lord didn’t give them this kind of heart for some reason. This must have been a heart break to him as he neared the end of his journey.
And yet, he still called on them to keep the covenant which God was making with them. During their time in the wilderness, God had given Moses the Ten Commandments and various other laws to keep the people from wandering away from Him. Now that they were on the verge of entering the Promised Land, Moses knew that they would need a change of heart. But he also called on them to make the right choice. If they chose to keep the covenant with the Lord, they would certainly prosper. But if not, there would be plenty of trouble.
After all that God had done, they had a choice to make (Deut. 29:10-28).
It is interesting that in these verses, Moses addressed not only the leaders but also each individual. He included the leaders, elders, officers, men, little ones, wives, and the strangers living among them. This covenant was for all of them. And the amazing thing was that the Lord wanted to make this covenant with them. There were blessings and curses involved with it. But His desire was to make a new nation from them for Himself. They were to be established as God’s people just as He had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
What were the people thinking when Moses spoke these words? The leaders had worked with him before. They knew what God wanted and were probably helping Moses lead the people. But what about the men, women, and children under their care? Were they ready to pledge themselves unreservedly to the Lord and His covenant? (Another thing I wonder is how over a million people could hear what Moses was saying—especially as He was close to 120 years old at that time.) But this choice was given to each of them and to the foreign helpers who lived among them. It was a choice that each person had to make.
The choice they chose to make as a people would determine how things turned out. In verses 14-28, Moses warned them that if they turned away from the Lord, things would not go well. Those who followed the dictates of their heart would not be rewarded. Instead, they would face God’s anger and be judged severely. The results would be that they would be cast out of the Promised Land and the land would be destroyed like other cities known for their wickedness.
After all that God had done, they needed to focus on what He had revealed (Deut. 29:29).
Moses told the people that what was hidden from them was for the Lord to know. But the things which God had revealed to them were for them and their children. Perhaps the people had questions about the future. What would the new land be like? How bad would the judgments be? How obedient did they need to be? These questions were to be set aside and left for the Lord to deal with. Moses simply wanted them to obey all of the commands found in the Law. And they needed to be content with what God had told them.
After reading the rest of the chapter, are you surprised at what Moses says in verse 29? It seems like a statement that could stand alone without the context of the rest of the chapter. But there was a reason for him saying these things. I have an idea why he did.
Most people are more interested in the things that they don’t know than what they already know. This is why there are so many online websites and videos dedicated to revealing what nobody else knows except them—at least that is what they claim. Throughout time, there have been various religions and cults that claimed to have extra revelation from God that was in addition to what God has revealed in the Bible. With that in mind, Moses’ warning about leaving secret things to God may have been a reference to false religions that claimed extra knowledge about mystical things.
Instead of thinking about what they didn’t yet know, the Israelites needed to focus on what God had already revealed. He had given them the Ten Commandments. He had made them His special people. He had given them specific laws by which they were to live. They had been promised prosperity and peace if they followed what God had revealed. They had also been promised great judgment if they turned away from God and disobeyed His commandments. Now was not the time to seek for additional knowledge offered by any other. Now was the time to focus on what God had already given them. - How does it apply?
Ask God to give you a right heart (Deut. 29:4).
Moses mentioned that the Lord had not given them a heart that understood. The many times that the multitude turned against God during the wilderness is evidence of that. They had not wanted to obey Him and He did not give them a change of heart.
As Christians, we have been given a new heart. God has changed us from the inside out. But there are times when our hearts want to wander back to what we used to do. Because of that, we need to pray that God would give us a heart to seek Him and understand His teaching. Without it, we will easily be convinced of false ideas. We may also follow the dictates of our sinful heart and go the wrong way. So, pray for God to work in your heart and in the hearts of those around you.
Choose to serve the Lord (Deut. 29:9).
Moses called on the people to serve the Lord. He placed options before them. They should serve the Lord by keeping the commands given in the covenant. If they, did, they would prosper in every area of their lives. But if they chose to turn away from the Lord, they would experience God’s wrath and be judged severely.
As Christians, we are not bound to obey the Law of Moses. But we are called to serve and obey the Lord. And this service is something we need to choose every day. Consider what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:15. “He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” Because of all that the Lord did for us and does for us today, we ought to willingly give our lives to Him for whatever He wants us to do.
Focus on what God has revealed (Deut. 29:29).
Moses told the people to focus on what God had already revealed to them. The hidden things that had not been revealed were to be left to God. He could be trusted to handle those. The Israelites needed to focus on what God had revealed for them to do and be.
As Christians, we must do the same. There are many questions you may have that are not clearly answered in the Bible. Did an angel really stir the water in John 5:3-4? Did angels marry women in Genesis 6? Are there secrets hidden from us today? We may never know the answers to these questions. But does that affect our ability to love and serve God each day? The answer is no. So, focus on what God has revealed and let God handle the hidden things.