Deuteronomy has one of my favorite names in the Bible. It's one of the books written by Moses, and is arranged as the fifth book in the Bible, though not chronologically. Moses led the nation of Israel out of Egypt, where they had been enslaved for about 430 years. God intended to bring them to a new land He had promised to them and their forefathers, but they hadn't gotten there yet, because of their own bad choices. Moses is now speaking to a new generation of Israelites, and, knowing that he won't be going with them into the Promised Land and that they will have new leadership, he is speaking to the people. One of the challenges they will face, however, will be the defeating of hostile nations that are stronger than they are. The land they are about to enter is already inhabited by wicked and sinful nations. This is a fairly intimidating obstacle. But listen to what Moses says:
"If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?’— you shall not be afraid of them, but you shall remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs and the wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out. So shall the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. Moreover the Lord your God will send the hornet among them until those who are left, who hide themselves from you, are destroyed. You shall not be terrified of them; for the Lord your God, the great and awesome God, is among you. And the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you little by little; you will be unable to destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, and will inflict defeat upon them until they are destroyed. And He will deliver their kings into your hand, and you will destroy their name from under heaven; no one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them." (Deutoronomy 7:17-24 NKJV)
What does this have to do with us? Well, there are a number of similarities to be shown between our lives and those of the Israelites. I'll chart them below:
Are you beginning to see the similarities? The Israelites had a pretty formidable enemy, but the Israelites had God among them. We face a formidable enemy as Christians, but God dwells within us. If God's power among the Israelites was great enough to let them possess the land He'd promised them and defeat their enemies, how much greater is His power within us to defeat the enemy and enter the eternal life He's promised us!
Let's take a closer look at this passage. Deuteronomy 7:18-19 says "you shall not be afraid of them, but you shall remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs and the wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out. So shall the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. Moreover the Lord your God will send the hornet among them until those who are left, who hide themselves from you, are destroyed. You shall not be terrified of them; for the Lord your God, the great and awesome God, is among you." (NKJV) God had already done great things for the Israelites. When He brought them out of Egypt, He did it in power, after teaching Egypt through some miraculous disasters that He was God. He had rescued them from hunger, thirst, hostile armies, and slavery. Now He was promising to do to Israel's new enemies as He had done to their old enemy, Egypt. He also promised to be with them.
Christians are given a similar promise. We have a formidable enemy, but when he tries to defeat and intimidate us with the pressures of life, spiritual attack, or insecurity, no matter what he throws at us, we can look back at the times God rescued us, protected us, saved us, and fought for us, and take confidence that He will do it again. Just for the record, the devil is afraid of you, because he knows that a Christian can do all sorts of things through God's power that would wreck his plans. That's part of why he fights you so hard. The Bible promises the devil's ultimate demise, in Revelation 20:10. "The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever." (NKJV) Be assured, as big as the devil talks, he knows he's lost, and will be thrown into hell, so right now he wants to take as many people as he can with him. But "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4)
Of course, this doesn't happen all at once. That can be frustrating. As encouraging as it is to know that I have ultimate victory over the devil, I still have to put up with his attacks, which are not as few and far between as I'd like them to be. But look at Deuteronomy 7:22-23:
"And the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you little by little; you will be unable to destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, and will inflict defeat upon them until they are destroyed." (NKJV) God knew that if He let Israel take over the land all at once it would be worse for them, since they'd have to deal with wild beasts. I don't know why God hasn't thrown the devil into hell yet, but I do know that He's smarter than me, and I also know that I learn to rely on God more when I'm fighting the devil. Here's what the Bible says: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28 NKJV) Even though we still have to fight the enemy, we can trust that God always knows what He's doing.
"If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?’— you shall not be afraid of them, but you shall remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs and the wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out. So shall the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. Moreover the Lord your God will send the hornet among them until those who are left, who hide themselves from you, are destroyed. You shall not be terrified of them; for the Lord your God, the great and awesome God, is among you. And the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you little by little; you will be unable to destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, and will inflict defeat upon them until they are destroyed. And He will deliver their kings into your hand, and you will destroy their name from under heaven; no one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them." (Deutoronomy 7:17-24 NKJV)
What does this have to do with us? Well, there are a number of similarities to be shown between our lives and those of the Israelites. I'll chart them below:
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Israel
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Christians
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They’d been promised a land flowing with milk and honey.
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We’ve been promised eternal life
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They’d have to fight hostile pagan nations.
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We have to fight the enemy of God and man
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They had God to help them do it.
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We have God to help us do it.
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They would win the war, but wouldn’t be able to do it all at once.
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We still have to fight battles with the enemy, even though our God
has won the war.
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Are you beginning to see the similarities? The Israelites had a pretty formidable enemy, but the Israelites had God among them. We face a formidable enemy as Christians, but God dwells within us. If God's power among the Israelites was great enough to let them possess the land He'd promised them and defeat their enemies, how much greater is His power within us to defeat the enemy and enter the eternal life He's promised us!
Let's take a closer look at this passage. Deuteronomy 7:18-19 says "you shall not be afraid of them, but you shall remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs and the wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out. So shall the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. Moreover the Lord your God will send the hornet among them until those who are left, who hide themselves from you, are destroyed. You shall not be terrified of them; for the Lord your God, the great and awesome God, is among you." (NKJV) God had already done great things for the Israelites. When He brought them out of Egypt, He did it in power, after teaching Egypt through some miraculous disasters that He was God. He had rescued them from hunger, thirst, hostile armies, and slavery. Now He was promising to do to Israel's new enemies as He had done to their old enemy, Egypt. He also promised to be with them.
Christians are given a similar promise. We have a formidable enemy, but when he tries to defeat and intimidate us with the pressures of life, spiritual attack, or insecurity, no matter what he throws at us, we can look back at the times God rescued us, protected us, saved us, and fought for us, and take confidence that He will do it again. Just for the record, the devil is afraid of you, because he knows that a Christian can do all sorts of things through God's power that would wreck his plans. That's part of why he fights you so hard. The Bible promises the devil's ultimate demise, in Revelation 20:10. "The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever." (NKJV) Be assured, as big as the devil talks, he knows he's lost, and will be thrown into hell, so right now he wants to take as many people as he can with him. But "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4)
Of course, this doesn't happen all at once. That can be frustrating. As encouraging as it is to know that I have ultimate victory over the devil, I still have to put up with his attacks, which are not as few and far between as I'd like them to be. But look at Deuteronomy 7:22-23:
"And the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you little by little; you will be unable to destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, and will inflict defeat upon them until they are destroyed." (NKJV) God knew that if He let Israel take over the land all at once it would be worse for them, since they'd have to deal with wild beasts. I don't know why God hasn't thrown the devil into hell yet, but I do know that He's smarter than me, and I also know that I learn to rely on God more when I'm fighting the devil. Here's what the Bible says: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28 NKJV) Even though we still have to fight the enemy, we can trust that God always knows what He's doing.
The conclusion we can draw from this is that there's no need to fear. God still fights for us as much as He fought for the Israelites long ago. Listen to words spoken to Israel later in their history when they had to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem while constantly threatened by hostile men. "Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10 NKJV, boldface added)
We take joy in our Savior, for the war is won, the victory is ours, and we are saved by grace.
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