Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“Set out now and cross the Arnon Gorge. See, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his country. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in battle. This very day I will begin to put the terror and fear of you on all the nations under heaven. They will hear reports of you and will tremble and be in anguish because of you."
From the desert of Kedemoth I sent messengers to Sihon king of Heshbon offering peace and saying, "Let us pass through your country. We will stay on the main road; we will not turn aside to the right or to the left. Sell us food to eat and water to drink for their price in silver. Only let us pass through on foot - as the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, and the Moabites, who live in Ar, did for us—until we cross the Jordan into the land the Lord our God is giving us." But Sihon king of Heshbon refused to let us pass through. For the Lord your God had made his spirit stubborn and his heart obstinate in order to give him into your hands, as he has now done.
The Lord said to me, "See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his country over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land."
When Sihon and all his army came out to meet us in battle at Jahaz, the Lord our God delivered him over to us and we struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army. At that time we took all his towns and completely destroyed them—men, women and children. We left no survivors. But the livestock and the plunder from the towns we had captured we carried off for ourselves. From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge, and from the town in the gorge, even as far as Gilead, not one town was too strong for us. The Lord our God gave us all of them. But in accordance with the command of the Lord our God, you did not encroach on any of the land of the Ammonites, neither the land along the course of the Jabbok nor that around the towns in the hills.” Deuteronomy 2:24-37
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As we read the beginning of this chapter, Israel has traveled for 38 years since their sinful disobedience at Kadesh as they refused to follow God’s call to enter Canaan. Through their travels, God had led them where He wanted them to be and provided guidance as to how they were to deal with the people they would encounter.
You’ll recall that God told them to not try and take the land from the people of Esau in the Seir Valley. They were also not supposed to take any land from the Ammonites and Moabites because God had granted their land to them due to their relation to Esau (Seir Valley) and Lot (Ammonites and Moabites).
As we finish up Chapter 2, we see where God has presented a people that Israel was to go to battle with. God tells Israel, “Set out now and cross the Arnon Gorge. See, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his country. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in battle. This very day I will begin to put the terror and fear of you on all the nations under heaven. They will hear reports of you and will tremble and be in anguish because of you." In other words, not only would Israel be victorious but they would be an intimidating presence for other nations who would hear of their conquest. This is far from the Israel who cowered in fear at the prospect of conflict when they were to enter Canaan the first time. The difference was their trust in a God who always made good on His word.
Before actual conflict, we see where Moses tried to reach a peaceful resolution. For “from the desert of Kedemoth” he “sent messengers to Sihon king of Heshbon offering peace.” He said to Sihon, “Let us pass through your country. We will stay on the main road; we will not turn aside to the right or to the left. Sell us food to eat and water to drink for their price in silver. Only let us pass through on foot - as the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, and the Moabites, who live in Ar, did for us—until we cross the Jordan into the land the Lord our God is giving us." Sihon refused and brought his army out to “meet (Israel) in battle at Jahaz”. Moses shares that it was there in Jahaz where “God delivered (Sihon) over to (Israel) and (they) struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army.” Israel “took all his towns and completely destroyed them”, “leaving no survivors” and carrying off the plunder and livestock.
Israel would gain power and reputation as a power just as God said they would. Scripture tells is that “from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge, and from the town in the gorge, even as far as Gilead, not one town was too strong for (Israel). They vanquished every foe, not because of what they had done but what God had done for them. Moses gives Him full credit saying, “The Lord our God gave us all of them.” Indeed, the Lord had delivered Israel to victory by delivering their enemies to them. Just as when they had left Egypt, God once again showed that He was the deliverer of the people of Israel.
Today, God remains our Deliverer. In fact, He gave us our ultimate deliverance when He sacrificed His only Son Jesus on he cross, delivering us from certain destruction from our sins and opening the gates of heaven for us if we just believe and trust in His Son, the crucified and resurrected Christ.
Question: How has God delivered you in your life? Do you even know your Deliverer? Have you committed your heart, mind and soul to Jesus Christ, the only One by whom you can be saved…and the only One who can bring you to the Father? (John 14:16)
Friends what a blessing it is to know you are delivered! It gave Israel the confidence of knowing they could face any enemy and gain victory. And it gives us confidence as well…confidence to live this life without fear of defeat as we go forth to serve the Lord in whatever way He sees fit. We only have this confidence to live without fear because we know our future is secured already through Jesus. Victory was gained at the cross and death is no longer the end for those in Christ Jesus but only the beginning of a blessed eternal life that will be free of all the affliction we face in the world. We will be delivered from pain, delivered from suffering, delivered from illness, delivered from hardship and, most of all, delivered from sin.
Is this not reason to celebrate? Is this nor reason to rejoice and praise? As we begin a new day tomorrow, let us approach it with a renewed vigor and excitement for God has delivered us. Alleluia! Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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