One of the best ways to read the Old Testament is to read the text and then think about how it applies to your life today. Consider what situations in your life are similar to those in the Old Testament.
Today’s issue is something we all face—a task that seems impossible. Only with God’s help can we overcome it.
“Hear, O Israel! You are about to cross the Jordan today, to go in and dispossess nations larger and mightier than you, great cities, fortified to the heavens, a strong and tall people, the offspring of the Anakim, whom you know.
You have heard it said, ‘Who can stand up to the Anakim?’
Know, then, today that the Lord your God is the one who crosses over before you as a devouring fire; he will defeat them and subdue them before you, so that you may dispossess and destroy them quickly, as the Lord has promised you” (Deuteronomy 9:1-3).
The nations the Israelites were called to dispossess were larger, mightier, and filled with giants. How can they win? God said he is going before them and will win the battle for them. All they have to do is cooperate. That’s the answer.
How can we apply this to our lives? What battles are we facing?
Maybe it’s something at work. Perhaps you’re worried about a family member. Or it might be a temptation you keep stumbling over instead of overcoming.
These challenges may seem big, but God is bigger. The real question is, will we work with Him to achieve victory?
All of Grace
If you’ve been walking with God for a while, like I have, you might start to think you’re special to Him. However, God would remind you, as He did with the Israelites, that it’s not because you’re so righteous or upright that He’s working for you.
Instead, it’s because God has a purpose to accomplish through you, just like He did through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob’s descendants.
“When the Lord your God thrusts them out before you, do not say to yourself, ‘It is because of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in to occupy this land’; it is rather because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is dispossessing them before you.
It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you are going in to occupy their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is dispossessing them before you, in order to fulfill the promise that the Lord made on oath to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob” (Deuteronomy 9:4-5).
When we start reading the prophets in our Bible study, we’ll often hear them mention the next part in this chapter.
God described His people as stubborn and rebellious from the beginning. While God was giving them the Ten Commandments, they were worshipping a golden calf at the base of Mount Sinai.
“Know, then, that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to occupy because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people.
Remember; do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness; you have been rebellious against the Lord from the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place” (Deuteronomy 9:6-7).
Soren Kierkegaard shares a story about a man known for his wickedness. After a sort of conversion, this man left his old community and moved to a new one where he had a clean slate. One day, while walking down the street, he was reminded of his past and fell back into his old ways.
Reading Kierkegaard’s thoughts made me reflect on my own life. How many times have I repented and felt like I was once again God’s favorite, only to be triggered later and return to the same evil thoughts and wrong desires?
What God said to the Israelites in Deuteronomy was true in Kierkegaard’s time and remains true today.
Reflections
Much of the rest of Chapter 9 is about Moses discussing the people’s sin and his intercession.
In our YouTube video today, Rudy Ross reminds us of the power of intercession. Rudy is right. We should think about what’s happening in the world and in the lives of those close to us.
Intercession is very powerful. Moses showed us how, and we should follow his example.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 