We have talked about fighting the sin battle
and how it relates to God’s command of genocide of the people who were living
in the Promised Land. We have discussed why God ordered that because he did not
want their worship and their sin to infect his people. We have even examined
our own lives to see what is present that we need to eradicate just like we
would work to eradicate a virus from our bodies. Here is what I find awesome … God
offers to lead the battle.
In our reading today we find an
amazing promise from God …
“Hear,
Israel: You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations
greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky.
The people are strong and tall—Anakites! You know about them and have heard it
said: “Who can stand up against the Anakites?” But be assured today that the
Lord your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He
will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out
and annihilate them quickly, as the Lord has promised you.” Deuteronomy 9:1-3
NIV
God basically said, even though the
people you are about to go up against are bigger and stronger I am going to
fight your fight, I am going to devour them, and I am going to deliver them into
your hands. We have seen him do that already with the Moabites. When the pages
of Deuteronomy turn to Joshua we will experience that with Jericho and then
city after city. God certainly delivered on his promise.
Here’s the hope that I hold on to …
God made the promise of deliverance to the Israelites as they went into the Promised
Land. He asked them to do something and he helped them do what he asked. In
Christ we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. God has asked us to purify
our lives, to remove the things that keep us from him. But he does not ask us
to do it alone. Like he did for the Israelites he will do for us. Because of
the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we have a far greater power than ourselves
alone and we can conquer whatever separates us from God.
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