Nitzavim (Standing)/Va'yelech (And He Went) Deut. 29:9-31:30

"Open My Eyes So That I May Behold"

Psalm 119:18 contains one of the most beautiful prayers in Scripture:

“Open my eyes, that I may behold wonders from Your Torah.”

The psalmist was not physically blind. He was asking ADONAI for something deeper—the spiritual ability to recognize the truth, wisdom, and transforming power contained within His Word.

At the conclusion of Ki Tavo, Moshe reminds Israel of everything they had witnessed. Deuteronomy 29:2–3 says:

“You have seen everything ADONAI did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, all his servants, and all his land—the great trials that your eyes saw, those signs and great wonders.”

Israel had physically seen the plagues, the deliverance from Egypt, the crossing of the sea, and ADONAI’s provision in the wilderness. The Hebrew expression atem re’item means, “You have seen.” They witnessed actual historical events with their natural eyes.

Yet Moshe immediately says in Deuteronomy 29:4:

“But to this day, ADONAI has not given you a heart to know, eyes to see, or ears to hear.”

They had eyes—but they could not see. They had ears—but they could not hear. They had witnessed miracles, yet still lacked the spiritual discernment to understand what those miracles revealed about ADONAI.

This teaches us that seeing something with our physical eyes is not the same as perceiving it spiritually.

The world teaches us to accept only what can be observed, measured, and explained through human reasoning. But we were created as both physical and spiritual beings. We must see horizontally—the reality around us—but we must also see vertically, recognizing what ADONAI is doing beyond what is immediately visible.

Moshe continues in Deuteronomy 29:5–6:

“I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandal has not worn out on your foot. You have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or strong drink, so that you might know that I am ADONAI your God.”

The wilderness stripped Israel of the comforts upon which people normally depend. They were humbled and tested, yet every essential need was provided.

The dry places often become the places where we see ADONAI most clearly. When our own strength fails, our dependence upon Him is exposed. The wilderness reveals what is in our hearts, but it also teaches us who He is.

Temptation in the wilderness does not originate with God. Ya’acov 1:13–14 warns:

“Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself tempts no one. But each one is tempted when he is dragged away and enticed by his own desire.”

ADONAI may test us to reveal and mature our faith, but He does not entice us to sin. The danger arises when our own desires become bait, pulling our eyes away from His truth.

Ezekiel 12:2 describes this condition:

“Son of man, you are living in the midst of a rebellious house. They have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house.”

Spiritual blindness is not always caused by a lack of evidence. Sometimes it is caused by an unwillingness to obey what has already been revealed.

Deuteronomy 29 warns that a poisonous root can grow within the covenant community. A person may hear the warnings of Torah and reassure himself, “I will have shalom, even though I walk according to the stubbornness of my own heart.”

That is one of the most dangerous forms of blindness. A person convinces himself that everything is fine because he maintains an outward appearance of faithfulness. He attends, participates, and looks religious, while privately climbing the high places of compromise.

Yeshua addresses this danger in Luke 11:34:

“Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is full of light. But when it is evil, your body is full of darkness. Therefore, watch out that the light within you is not darkness.”

A good eye sees others with compassion instead of contempt. It looks for opportunities to help rather than harm. Most importantly, it remains fixed upon the truth of ADONAI instead of the deceptive appearances of this world.

In Matthew 13:15–16, Yeshua describes those who had closed their own eyes:

“The heart of this people has become dull. With their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and return—and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.”

Notice the progression: seeing, hearing, understanding, returning, and being healed. Spiritual sight is intended to produce teshuvah. If what we see does not change the direction of our lives, then we have not truly perceived it.

Moshe therefore gives Israel the practical conclusion in Deuteronomy 29:9:

“Guard the words of this covenant and do them, so that you may prosper in everything you do.”

ADONAI opens our eyes so that we can obey. Spiritual insight is not given merely to make us feel enlightened. It is given so that we may walk faithfully, love generously, and recognize the path that leads to life.

May our prayer continually be:

“Open my eyes, that I may behold wonders from Your Torah.”

Give us hearts that know, eyes that see, and ears that hear. Remove every false light, expose every hidden compromise, and teach us to recognize Your presence—even in the wilderness.

Blessed are the eyes that truly see.