“They looked,
But there was no one to help,
even to Adonai,
But he didn’t answer.”
-2 Samuel 22:42
To modern-day believers, verse 42 (copied above) comes across as just a pious parable.
But to David, what’s expressed here is as real and tangible as the cornflakes or scrambled eggs you ate for breakfast this morning.
David tells us that the Gentiles who look to their gods for help might as well be speaking into a black hole of nothingness.
In the futile figments of their imaginations, the lights are on, but nobody’s home.
On top of that, Israel’s enemies don’t have a hope in a ham basket of turning Yahweh to their side, no matter how much they try to bribe him.
They can yell out, “Lord, Lord,” all they want.
But their cries will have been in vain.
Yehovah will simply respond with…
“I never knew you.”
Remember, everyone in the Biblical era absolutely believed in the existence of other gods.
And yes, this included Israel.
As I’ve said many times before…
When Israel referred to their God as the “King of Kings,” and “Lord of Lords,” it wasn’t just some elaborate expression reflecting the greatness of their God.
They believed it LITERALLY.
They really believed there were other “gods,” and other “lords.”
It’s just that over time, they came to believe that their one God was mightier than the deities of the nations.
So it was normal to acknowledge even your enemy’s gods.
More than that, efforts were made to know the names and functions of your enemy’s gods, and what pleased and didn’t please them.
Why was this important?
Because it was believed that if you could call a god or goddess by their name and petition them for something within their function, and you did it respectfully, you could get them to do your bidding.
So when David says that the Lord pays no heed to the enemies of Israel, no matter what they may offer Him, this fact provided great comfort to him.
Here’s your takeaway for today.
When the Lord says to Israel’s enemies, “I never knew you,” what He’s really saying is…
“It doesn’t matter if you know me or call me by name.
If you don’t worship me…
And demonstrate allegiance to me by obeying my commands…
You have never known me…
And I have never known you.”
The point here is that simply calling on God’s name does not constitute being in a relationship with Him.
To really know God in the Biblical sense…
Is to be grafted into His People Israel…
And to obey His commands…
Which is the Torah of Moses, by the way.
Ya feel me?
Done.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
““Not everyone who says to me,
‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven,
only those who do what my Father in heaven wants.
On that Day, many will say to me,
‘Lord, Lord! Didn’t we prophesy in your name?
Didn’t we expel demons in your name?
Didn’t we perform many miracles in your name?’
Then I will tell them to their faces, ‘
I never knew you!
Get away from me,
you workers of lawlessness!’[“
-Matthew 7:21-23
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