Deuteronomy 29

I just recently re-watched Hayao Miyazaki's first Studio Ghibli film, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. I don't know what I was expecting when I first saw it, but my reaction was, "It's OK." Watching it again, I saw just how complex, emotionally resonant, and flat-out entertaining it is. What was my younger self thinking? Anyway, the film takes place in a post-apocalyptic (there's that word again) wasteland. Toxic fumes emanate from a massive jungle, forcing the surviving humans to wear masks at all times. In the lush Valley of the Wind, however, a prevailing zephyr staves off the poisonous fumes, allowing people to breathe freely. Anyway, if you know any of Miyazaki's films at all, then you can probably guess that all the strife and the virulence of the landscape stems from human folly.

Likewise, if the Israelites fail to take advantage of or spurn God's oath with them, "they will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry" (verse 19). Verse 23 goes on to say that "The whole land will be a burning waste of salt and sulfur--nothing planted, nothing sprouting, no vegetation growing on it" (verse 23). In other words, even worse than Nausicaä's home. She had a cozy, verdant valley to call her domicile, and though the surrounding jungle was toxic, at least it was a jungle. Who wants to live in a landscape that doesn't support natural plant growth? (Before some wag mentions Los Angeles, I want to mention that LA, like most deserts, does have some natural plants. It's just a little sparser and seldom grows high enough to offer shade.)

Also of particular note is verse 4: "But to this day the LORD has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear." I must say that I haven't been given a mind to understand completely what this verse means. Does it refer to the unfathomable nature of God? Or is it saying that, despite the Israelites' awe of the miracles they've witnessed, they have no way of understanding just how glorious they are and what they mean for human history? They certainly wouldn't have been able to anticipate that their triumphs, failures, and experiences would be pondered and puzzled over by billions of people.

Moses closes with an equally abstruse little nugget: "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and our children forever, that we may follow all the words of the law" (verse 29). We have no way of knowing what the "secret things" are because, unlike a large portion of humanity, God doesn't blab His secrets. However, we should view what He has revealed to us as an invaluable gift, to be obeyed, cherished, and savored. I have to remember how marvelous it is that God has chosen to reveal just the merest modicum of knowledge to His creation.