Connect Deuteronomy 31:17 with other scriptures on God's response to disobedience. Setting the Stage: Moses’ Warning in Deuteronomy 31:17 “On that day My anger will burn against them, and I will abandon them and hide My face from them so that they will be consumed. Many evils and troubles will befall them, and on that day they will say, ‘Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is not among us?’ ” Key elements highlighted by Moses • Divine anger ignited • God’s face hidden and His presence withdrawn • Consequences cascading in “evils and troubles” • People eventually tracing their calamity back to their own abandonment of God Patterns of Divine Response throughout the Law • Leviticus 26:17-18 — “I will set My face against you… I will punish you sevenfold for your sins.” • Deuteronomy 28:15, 20 — “If you do not obey… all these curses will come upon you… because you have forsaken Him.” • Consistent progression: warning → disobedience → God withdraws → escalating discipline Echoes in Israel’s History • Judges 2:14-15 — “The anger of the LORD burned… He delivered them into the hands of plunderers… wherever Israel went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for calamity.” • 2 Kings 17:18 — “So the LORD was very angry with Israel, and He removed them from His presence.” • Psalm 78:59-61 — “He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh… delivered His power to captivity.” Prophetic Amplification • Isaiah 59:2 — “Your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.” • Hosea 5:6, 14-15 — “He has withdrawn Himself… I will return to My place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face.” • Jeremiah 2:19 — “Your own wickedness will discipline you; your apostasies will reprove you.” Wisdom Literature’s Confirmation • Psalm 89:30-32 — “If his sons forsake My law… I will punish their transgression with the rod.” • Proverbs 1:28-30 — “Then they will call me, but I will not answer… they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the LORD.” New Testament Continuity • Romans 1:24-28 — “God gave them over” to the very sins they pursued, mirroring the Old Testament pattern of divine withdrawal. • Galatians 6:7-8 — “Whatever a man sows, he will reap.” • Hebrews 12:6, 11 — “The Lord disciplines the one He loves… later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” • Revelation 2:4-5 — “I have this against you… remember… repent… otherwise I will come to you and remove your lampstand.” The Purpose Behind the Discipline • Divine withdrawal spotlights the emptiness of life without God’s presence. • Consequences are designed to awaken repentance, not to annihilate hope. • Hosea 6:1 — “Come, let us return to the LORD; for He has torn us, but He will heal us.” • Hebrews 12:11 — Painful discipline produces “the peaceful fruit of righteousness” in those who accept it. Living Alert to the Lesson Today • God’s character has not shifted; holiness still demands obedience. • Persistent sin invites the very separation and turmoil depicted from Moses to Revelation. • Repentance restores fellowship, demonstrating that divine discipline is ultimately redemptive. |
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