Deuteronomy 32:5 They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children, they are a perverse and crooked generation.
The children of Israel corrupted themselves through sin, unbelief, idolatry, and disobedience. The spot and blemish upon them identified them as not the children of God. From God’s point of view of holiness they were perverse and crooked. Israel was saved and called to be a holy nation, a peculiar people, but they fell far short. The ugliness and stench of sin corrupted them. This was their response to God’s salvation. Their blemish prevented them from even looking like children of God.
This description aptly portrays what God sees when He looks at us, all people born of Adam. Although we see sin in the world, we do not really see the depth of our own sin and the corruption of our character. We are born corrupt, and we corrupt ourselves. It’s no one else’s fault. The Word and Spirit must reveal to each of us our true depravity. It’s worse than we thought.
In like manner, the revelation of the Gospel of grace, forgiveness, and holiness in Christ is also necessary for us to see. What we see is an Unspotted Lamb dying in our place for our corruption. 1 Peter 1:18-19: “You were ransomed…with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” Jesus makes us holy and righteous, clean, bright, and shining. We can’t see that either until the Gospel shows it to us. By God’s grace, we respond not with corruption, but with clean living.