The Bible says in Deuteronomy 2:16-23, So it came to
pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people,[17]
That the LORD spake unto me, saying,[18] Thou
art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this
day:[19] And when thou comest nigh over
against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I
will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because
I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession.[20] (That
also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the
Ammonites call them Zamzummims;[21] A people great, and many, and tall,
as the Anakims; but the LORD destroyed them before
them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead:[22] As he did
to the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims from
before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even unto this
day:[23] And the Avims which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah, the Caphtorims, which came forth
out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.) The Lord is giving another example to the children of
Israel concerning other people to whom God gave the victory no matter what were
the odds against them. In all three of these cases, the Moabites, the
Ammonites, and the Edomites, God decided to give them the land where they
dwelt, and no one could keep that from happening. Now God was going to do the
same thing for the Israelites. God raises up whom He chooses to raise up, and
casts down whom He chooses to cast down. Just make sure that you are on the
path that God has for you. Jesus will give you the victory over the Anakims no matter how big they are.
The Bible says in Deuteronomy 2:24-30, Rise ye up,
take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into
thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess
it, and contend with him in battle.[25] This day will I begin to put the
dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole
heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish
because of thee.[26] And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of
Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,[27] Let
me pass through thy land: I will go along by the high way, I will neither turn
unto the right hand nor to the left.[28] Thou shalt sell me meat for
money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: only I
will pass through on my feet;[29] (As the children of Esau which dwell
in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did unto
me;) until I shall pass over Jordan into the land which the LORD our God giveth
us.[30] But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the
LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might
deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day. Sihon king of Heshbon was a problem. Even though the
Israelites sent him words of peace, the king of Heshbon did not want to let the
Israelites pass by his land. That was a big mistake. A wise person finds out
which way the Lord is going and goes with him, but a foolish person tries to
oppose the Almighty God and His will. Israel is Gods chosen people and Gods
chosen nation from the standpoint of their existence as a nation and their
inheritance of the land of Canaan. Whoever opposes Israel from that standpoint
opposes the will of Almighty God and will be ultimately destroyed. Notice that
it says about the king of Heshbon in Deuteronomy 2V30, the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart
obstinate. God is involved with everything.
God is the great Cause of everything. He has His purposes for everything. If
someone turns away from God, then God makes sure that they have a hard heart.
And then when they do things to oppose Gods will and Gods plan, they lose,
and the name of God is somehow glorified. The message for believers is clear:
all opposition is simply an opportunity to see how God will deliver and when
God will give the great victory. The bigger the opposition is, the harder they
fall, and they will fall. Every believer in Jesus should be confident and have
no fear because we are on the Lords side and He is on our side.
The Bible says in Deuteronomy 2:31-37, And the LORD
said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee:
begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land.[32] Then Sihon came
out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.[33] And the
LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all
his people.[34] And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly
destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left
none to remain:[35] Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves,
and the spoil of the cities which we took.[36] From Aroer, which is by
the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even
unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the LORD our God
delivered all unto us:[37] Only unto the land of the children of Ammon
thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river
Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the LORD our
God forbad us. This is one of the passages
where it is important to remember the difference between the Old Testament and
the New Testament. The Old Testament times were harsh times in some ways, but I
think the point to remember is that kind of harshness was done away with and
was replaced by something better. It says in John 1:17, For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came
by Jesus Christ. There are radical religions
who want to revert to the harsh and violent ways, but one of the reasons that
they are wrong is that the days for such things have passed. We are in the age
of grace when kindness and gentleness is supposed to prevail. Speaking of the
new age, Jesus said, Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.
The Bible says in Deuteronomy 3:1-11,
Then
we turned, and went up the way to Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan came out
against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.[2] And the LORD
said unto me, Fear him not: for I will deliver him, and all his people, and his
land, into thy hand; and thou shalt do unto him as thou didst unto Sihon king
of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon.[3] So the LORD our God
delivered into our hands Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people: and
we smote him until none was left to him remaining.[4] And we took all
his cities at that time, there was not a city which we took not from them,
threescore cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan.[5]
All these cities were fenced with high walls, gates, and bars; beside unwalled
towns a great many.[6] And we utterly destroyed them, as we did unto
Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children, of
every city.[7] But all the cattle, and the spoil of the cities, we took
for a prey to ourselves.[8] And we took at that time out of the hand of
the two kings of the Amorites the land that was on this side Jordan, from the
river of Arnon unto mount Hermon;[9] (Which Hermon the Sidonians call Sirion; and the Amorites call it Shenir;)[10] All
the cities of the plain, and all Gilead, and all Bashan, unto Salchah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan.[11]
For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his
bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon?
nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after
the cubit of a man.
In Deuteronomy 3:2 God gave a
commandment and made a promise. The commandment is one that Jesus gives to all
believers, Fear him not. Human beings are plagued by many, many fears; but
believers should not be. We certainly should not be afraid of the opposition
that we get because we are followers of the Lord. Why should we fear anyone or
anything when the All-powerful God is on our side? And God has promised to
bless us and give us the victory. God promised the Israelites, I will
deliver him, and all his people, and his land, into thy hand. The whole
world will be turned over to Christians and Jews one day. Not yet, but we are
getting there. Jesus said in Matthew 5:5, Blessed are the meek for they shall
inherit the earth. It says in First Corinthians 6:2-3, Do ye not
know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by
you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall
judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life? Notice also
the exchange between Jesus and His disciples concerning who would be in
positions of power and authority in the kingdom of God. It says in Mark
10:35-40, And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto him, saying,
Master, we would that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we shall desire.[36]
And he said unto them, What would ye that I should do
for you?[37] They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on
thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.[38] But
Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I
drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?[39]
And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink
of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal
shall ye be baptized:[40] But to sit on my right hand and on my left
hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared.
Once God gave the children of Israel
victory over these two kings, Moses did not take credit to themselves what God
did for them. Moses said in verse 3, So the LORD our God delivered into
our hands Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people.
The Bible says in Deuteronomy 3:12-19,
And
this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer, which is by the river
Arnon, and half mount Gilead, and the cities thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites and to the Gadites.[13] And the rest of
Gilead, and all Bashan, being the kingdom of Og, gave I unto the half tribe of
Manasseh; all the region of Argob, with all Bashan, which was called the land
of giants.[14] Jair the son of Manasseh took all the country of Argob
unto the coasts of Geshuri and Maachathi; and called them after his own name,
Bashan-havoth-jair, unto
this day.[15] And I gave Gilead unto Machir.[16] And unto the Reubenites and unto the Gadites I gave from Gilead even
unto the river Arnon half the valley, and the border even unto the river
Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon;[17] The plain
also, and Jordan, and the coast thereof, from Chinnereth
even unto the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, under Ashdoth-pisgah
eastward.[18] And I commanded you at that time, saying, The LORD your
God hath given you this land to possess it: ye shall pass over armed before
your brethren the children of Israel, all that are meet for the war.[19]
But your wives, and your little ones, and your cattle, (for I know that ye have
much cattle,) shall abide in your cities which I have given you;
One of the important truths to notice about these verses is the number of times
that God says to the children of Israel, I gave. God is the greatest of all
givers. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.
Jesus ascended to heaven and gave gifts unto men. The gift that God gave to the
Israelites was land. It says in Romans 11:29, For
the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. In other words God does not change His mind. If you
believe in Jesus, then you have one or more gifts that the Lord wants you to
use for His glory and for His service. The best way to serve Jesus is to find
out what that gift is, and then find opportunities to use your gift and to put
it into practice. God gave the Jewish people land. This land is their land. It
will always be their land no matter who tries to keep them from it or take it
away from them. No one will stop Gods final plan and purpose for the world.
Notice also that the land that is described in this part of Deuteronomy chapter
3 is on the other side of the Jordan River. In other words God has already
given to the Jews a great deal of land that is much more than the current
boundaries of the modern-day nation of Israel. Therefore, the modern-day nation
of Israel is not the fulfillment of Gods great promise to give the land to
Israel. It might be a good example of the fact that God is going to fulfill
that promise, but the great promise that was given to Abraham has not yet been
fulfilled. It will be fulfilled when Jesus returns to the earth, defeats the
armies of the world at the battle of Armageddon, and sets up His millennial
kingdom with headquarters in Jerusalem. If you want to be a part of that
kingdom, make sure that you have prayed to Jesus and bowed before Him as your
Savior.
___________________________________________________
Copyright; 2015 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved