September 5, 2013
GOD FIGHTS FOR US
Deuteronomy 2:16-37
Jeff Giddens
Central Truth
We spend far too much time worrying about the size of our problems and far too little time trusting that God will take care of them.
Key Verse | Deuteronomy 2:36
"From Aroer which is on the edge of the valley of Arnon and from the city which is in the valley, even to Gilead, there was no city that was too high for us; the Lord our God delivered all over to us." (Deuteronomy 2:36)
Deuteronomy 2:16-37
16 So as soon as all the men of war had perished and were dead from among the people, 17 the LORD said to me, 18 ‘Today you are to cross the border of Moab at Ar. 19 And when you approach the territory of the people of Ammon, do not harass them or contend with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to the sons of Lot for a possession.’ 20 (It is also counted as a land of Rephaim. Rephaim formerly lived there—but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim— 21 a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim; but the LORD destroyed them before the Ammonites, 1 2:21 Hebrew them and they dispossessed them and settled in their place, 22 as he did for the people of Esau, who live in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites before them and they dispossessed them and settled in their place even to this day. 23 As for the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and settled in their place.) 24 ‘Rise up, set out on your journey and go over the Valley of the Arnon. Behold, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession, and contend with him in battle. 25 This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.’
The Defeat of King Sihon
26 So I sent messengers from the wilderness of Kedemoth to Sihon the king of Heshbon, with words of peace, saying, 27 ‘Let me pass through your land. I will go only by the road; I will turn aside neither to the right nor to the left. 28 You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat, and give me water for money, that I may drink. Only let me pass through on foot, 29 as the sons of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for me, until I go over the Jordan into the land that the LORD our God is giving to us.’ 30 But Sihon the king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him, for the LORD your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that he might give him into your hand, as he is this day. 31 And the LORD said to me, ‘Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to take possession, that you may occupy his land.’ 32 Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Jahaz. 33 And the LORD our God gave him over to us, and we defeated him and his sons and all his people. 34 And we captured all his cities at that time and devoted to destruction 2 2:34 That is, set apart (devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction) every city, men, women, and children. We left no survivors. 35 Only the livestock we took as spoil for ourselves, with the plunder of the cities that we captured. 36 From Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and from the city that is in the valley, as far as Gilead, there was not a city too high for us. The LORD our God gave all into our hands. 37 Only to the land of the sons of Ammon you did not draw near, that is, to all the banks of the river Jabbok and the cities of the hill country, whatever the LORD our God had forbidden us.
Dive Deeper | Deuteronomy 2:16-37
In Matthew, long after these words from Deuteronomy were written, Jesus tells His followers to come to Him for rest, since His yoke is easy, and His burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30). The power that Jesus speaks with is the same power that utterly demolished kingdom after kingdom in this passage from Deuteronomy. The best part? God didn't require a ton of work and worry from His people to deliver them from these trials -- just that they obey His commands.
Look at the words God uses in these verses: He "destroyed" the Zamzummin in verse 21, "destroyed" the Horites in verse 22, "destroyed" the Avvim in verse 23, gave over the Amorites in verse 24, and put "dread and fear" of the Israelites upon everyone on earth . . . should I go on? This is powerful stuff here. I should mention at this point that the most repeated command in the Bible is "Do not fear." In light of God's power displayed in Deuteronomy, why is it so hard to avoid fear, worry, and anxiety? When we give in to fear, we show our secret concern that these enemies might be stronger than the God of Israel. This is the same God that just a few books earlier said, "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." (Exodus 14:14, NIV). It's the same God that just annihilated entire people groups through His word.
But He has to repeat this command not to fear, over and over again, because we have so little faith. It's time for us to take up His "light burden" (Matthew 11). He has made it clear: the only burden we bear is obedience. The rest of the work falls to the Lord, and He has pledged to fight on our behalf, if we only let Him. So let Him.
Discussion Questions
1. What is the thing you worry about the most every day? Identify it and give it over to the Lord.
2. How can you build time into each day to surrender your fears and anxieties to the Lord?
3. How can your community join in to help you in relinquishing control of your battles?