Deuteronomy 29:1-16: a reflection

1These are the words of the covenant which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, in addition to the covenant which he made with them in Horeb. 2Moses called to all Israel, and said to them: Your eyes have seen all that the LORD did in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land; 3the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders. 4But the LORD has not given you a heart to know, eyes to see, and ears to hear, to this day. 5I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not grown old on you, and your sandals have not grown old on your feet. 6You have not eaten bread, neither have you drunk wine or strong drink, that you may know that I am the LORD your God. 7When you came to this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon and Og the king of Bashan came out against us to battle, and we struck them. 8We took their land, and gave it for an inheritance to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half-tribe of the Manassites. 9Therefore keep the words of this covenant and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do. 10All of you stand today in the presence of the LORD your God: your heads, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, even all the men of Israel, 11your little ones, your wives, and the foreigners who are in the middle of your camps, from the one who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water, 12that you may enter into the covenant of the LORD your God, and into his oath, which the LORD your God makes with you today, 13that he may establish you today as his people, and that he may be your God, as he spoke to you and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 14Neither do I make this covenant and this oath with you only, 15but with those who stand here with us today before the LORD our God, and also with those who are not here with us today 16(for you know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the middle of the nations through which you passed;

As Moses renews the covenant, he reminds Israel of God's care through their forty years in the wilderness, and he mentions a quiet, easily overlooked provision: I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes have not grown old on you, and your sandals have not grown old on your feet. Through all those years, God had sustained them in a quiet, unremarkable way: their very clothing and shoes did not wear out. It was not a dramatic miracle they would have noticed daily, but a quiet, sustained provision, easy to overlook, yet real and constant through all those years.

Notice the quiet, sustained provision God gave: their clothes and sandals did not wear out for forty years. This was not a dramatic sign that would have arrested their attention; it was a quiet, ongoing care, easy to take for granted or overlook, working steadily through all the years of their journey. God's provision was not only in the dramatic moments, the manna, the water from the rock, but in the quiet, constant sustaining of their daily needs, easy to overlook precisely because it was so constant. God sustained them quietly, day after day, year after year.

That quiet, sustained provision is worth taking to heart, for much of God's care for us is of this quiet, easily overlooked kind. We can notice God's care only in the dramatic moments, the striking answers to prayer, the obvious provisions, while overlooking the quiet, constant sustaining that carries us day after day; but God sustained Israel's very clothing for forty years, a quiet provision easy to overlook. Do not overlook the quiet, sustained provision of God in your life, noticing only the dramatic; much of his care is constant, quiet, easy to take for granted, yet real and faithful through all your years. Recognize and give thanks for God's quiet, sustained provision, the constant care that carries you day after day, as God sustained Israel's clothes and sandals through forty years in the wilderness, a quiet provision easy to overlook but real and faithful all along.

Lord, as Moses renews the covenant, he reminds Israel of your care through their forty years in the wilderness, and he mentions a quiet, easily overlooked provision: I have led you forty years in the wilderness; your clothes have not grown old on you, and your sandals have not grown old on your feet. Through all those years, you had sustained them in a quiet, unremarkable way: their very clothing and shoes did not wear out. It was not a dramatic miracle they would have noticed daily, but a quiet, sustained provision, easy to overlook, yet real and constant. Show me the quiet, sustained provision you gave: their clothes and sandals did not wear out for forty years. This was not a dramatic sign; it was a quiet, ongoing care, easy to take for granted, working steadily through all the years of their journey. Your provision was not only in the dramatic moments, but in the quiet, constant sustaining of their daily needs. You sustained them quietly, day after day, year after year. Take that to my heart, for much of your care for me is of this quiet, easily overlooked kind. I can notice your care only in the dramatic moments, the striking answers to prayer, while overlooking the quiet, constant sustaining that carries me day after day; but you sustained Israel's very clothing for forty years. Keep me from overlooking the quiet, sustained provision of you in my life, noticing only the dramatic. Help me recognize and give thanks for your quiet, sustained provision, Lord, the constant care that carries me day after day.