Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Singleness of Mind
(From Forerunner Commentary)
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Deuteronomy 27:11-26
Looking at the underlying commonality of the Ebal-curses—that they focus on secret sin—we may conclude that the six tribes on Ebal represent those church members whom we could call “wolves in sheep's clothing,” in whom God finds unrepented sin, individuals living a secret life, closeted in some way, hypocrites. Conversely, we may conclude that the six tribes atop Mount Gerizim symbolize those people in God's church who exhibit sincerity and wholeness of heart, unwavering commitment to keeping the principle inherent to the Feast of Unleavened Bread—and, by extension, living their entire lives—“not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (I Corinthians 5:8). Those on Gerizim, unlike their fellows on the Mount of Cursing, represent individuals who break their bread with “singleness of heart” (Acts 2:46), fully committed to abandoning all sin, no matter how stubbornly closeted it may have been at one point in their lives, no matter how tenacious its addiction, no matter how much carnal pleasure it might bring. On Gerizim stand, symbolically, those of God's people who, recognizing the damnation of the charade, have firmly rejected living a double-life. Those who so shun sham and find no pleasure in the mask really do stand on the Mountain of Blessing!
Charles Whitaker
Unity and Division: The Blessing and the Curse (Part Five)
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Deuteronomy 30:1-10
God's regathering of national Israel to the Land of Promise is a major theme of Scripture. (For examples, see; Isaiah 27:12; Jeremiah 16:14-15; Jeremiah 23:7-8; Jeremiah 50:4-5, 19-20; Ezekiel 36:33; Amos 9:11-15; compare Romans 11:11-36.) Considering only the Pentateuch, Deuteronomy 30:1-10 by far contains the fullest revelation of God's commitment to regather scattered Israel to the Promised Land. (Deuteronomy 4:30-31 also touches on the topic.) Remarkable in this passage is the repetition of the Hebrew verb shuv, which means "to return," "to restore," "to reverse," or "to revoke." It means "to go back.” Its first use is in Genesis 3:19, where God speaks of Adam's retu?rning to the dust of the ground. In this passage, sometimes God does the returning, and other times Israel does it. This interplay between actors—God and Israel—reveals a basic principle underlying the relationship between God and His people, the principle of reciprocity. To be dynamic and growing, a relationship with God requires action on the part of God and man. The various uses of shuv in Deuteronomy 30:1-10 illustrate this reciprocity, an interplay of actions and reactions. -
Verse 1: Collectively, the peoples of Israel will “call [shuv] to mind” not only the blessings they have enjoyed as a result of obeying God but also the curses they suffer when they disobey Him. They will come to recognize the cause-and-effect relationship between obedience and blessings and between rebellion and curses. In this verse, shuv carries the idea of bringing to mind, or remembering. Importantly, however, other scriptures show that it is God, not humans, who initiates the process of repentance. In II Timothy 2:25, the apostle Paul points out that God grants repentance; it is a gift from God. In John 14:26, Jesus teaches us that a function of God's Holy Spirit is to “teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” Christ will kickstart the whole regathering process by bringing Deuteronomy 28, which specifically relates blessings to obedience and curses to disobedience, to the mind of His scattered people. -
Verse 2: The people “return [shuv] to the LORD.” This is clearly something the people do in response to God's initiating repentance. The idea is that distressed Israel will turn to God, that is, repent, as the people reflect on the blessings they once enjoyed and on the curses they are now experiencing. -
Verse 3: As a result of Israel's repentance, God will “bring you back [shuv] from captivity,” the captivity they have suffered during the time of Jacob's Trouble (Jeremiah 30:7; Matthew 24:21). God here uses shuv in a general sense, meaning to “restore your fortunes” (Christian Standard Bible) or “reverse your exile” (Complete Jewish Bible). -
Verse 3: God is more specific in the next clause of verse 3. He does not “restore” by returning Israel to the lands of her exile. Rather, He will “return” for the purpose of gathering His people. The Living Bible has it, “He . . . will come [shuv] and gather you. . . .” Upon His return to earth (Zechariah 14:4), Christ will personally turn His hand to the task of regathering His people Israel to the Promised Land. -
Verse 8: Israel “will again [shuv] obey” God. The translators of the Common English Bible lay stress on Israel's repentance by translating shuv as “change”: “You will change and obey.” Frankly, shuv may have double meaning in verse 8, referring 1) to Israel's repentance, a change of mind and action, and 2) Israel's physical returning to the Promised Land. The folk will follow Christ as He leads them to the land, just as He led their ancestors so many centuries earlier, carrying them on metaphorical eagles' wings (Exodus 19:4) out of Egypt at the time of the Exodus. -
Verse 9: God, pleased at Israel's new spirit of obedience, “will again [shuv] rejoice” over His people. He will return to a state of joy. Compare Isaiah 62:5; 65:19; Jeremiah 32:41; and Zephaniah 3:17. -
Verse 10: As a sort of postscript, God reiterates what He said in verse 2, that Israel's repentance, her “turn[ing] to the LORD,” must be absolutely sincere, “with all your heart and with all your soul.” Such singleness of mind and purpose must be the bedrock of any relationship with God. Compare Deuteronomy 4:29; 6:5; and Matthew 22:37. Deuteronomy 30:1-10 may be the most concentrated exposition in the Scriptures of the reciprocity God expects in His relationship with His people. There, transaction after transaction illustrates the action-reaction interplay between God and His people.
Charles Whitaker
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Revelation 3:17-18
Jesus points out their blindness, of which the members are blissfully unaware. Their mammon (see Matthew 6:21-24) fills their minds and keeps them so distracted and comfortable that they do not realize their actual condition or their vacuous relationship with Him. We can easily apply the ringing words of Elijah here, as though the Head of the church is asking His people, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if mammon, follow him. Be hot or be cold; you cannot serve both.” The blindness Christ speaks of is primarily our doing because He expects us to anoint our own eyes. He has not caused this blindness, though He may give us over to it in His chastening. Nor has Satan caused this blindness. We are responsible for this condition, and we must cooperate with God to turn it around. We must work to clean up our vision and return to God with a singleness of focus. But how? Getting out of this condition is a mighty challenge by itself, but perhaps a more significant challenge is first discerning whether we are blind and thus whether we need to take that well-worn letter to heart. God gives us help here as well. I John 2:11 says that he who hates his brother has been blinded. This verse proves the connection between commandment-breaking and blindness, including breaking the spirit of the law. In II Peter 1:5-9, the apostle provides a list of attributes, concluding that if we lack them, we are approaching blindness: But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. To reiterate, if we lack faith, there is blindness. If we lack virtue, meaning good character, blindness ensues. If we lack knowledge, self-control, or perseverance, blindness follows. If we lack godliness, brotherly kindness, or love, we are shortsighted, even to blindness. If we do not see God as clearly as we should, it will show up in these areas and others. Peter's list indicates we are suppressing truth somewhere or in some way resisting God's presence in all our thoughts. When Passover approaches, we examine ourselves, which is right and good. But those who are married know that if we were to take stock of our relationship with our spouses only once a year, our marriages would be a shambles. Similarly, the letter to Laodicea is about a massive relationship problem, to which the members are blind. But if we can glimpse in ourselves a lack of faith, self-control, kindness, love, or other godly traits, we can recognize that our relationship with God is not as strong as it could be. We can analyze these areas and search for what mammon—what fleshly thing—is interfering with seeing God more clearly. God wants to help us overcome this blindness because He wants to dine with us (Revelation 3:20)—He wants to have such a close relationship. But first, we must choose to seek Him and submit to the truth despite the cost, that our eyes may remain open throughout our long walk to His Kingdom.
David C. Grabbe
Spiritual Blindness (Part Three): Choosing a Curse
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