Deuteronomy 7:21-27 - Do not be terrified by
them, for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a great
and awesome God. The LORD your God will drive out those nations before you, little by
little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at
once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. But
the LORD your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great
confusion until they are destroyed. He will give their kings into your hand, and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one
will be able to stand up against you; you will destroy
them. The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire. Do not covet the silver
and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the LORD
your God.
Encamped beside the Jordan river…poised to
enter and devour the wonderful land the Lord had promised to give them…Moses
explained to them that the land would not be immediately theirs. They would need to destroy 7 great and
powerful nations…all the carved images contained in each…and every single human
that had learned to depend on other things besides Jehovah. It was a task that would happen little by
little….so that the terrain would not be overtaken by the wild animals that
roamed the acreage. God was very specific…nothing could remain of the nations
that worshiped other Gods…least the Israelites be ‘ensnared’ by their ways… forgetting
the God that brought them here.
They were told to not be afraid…to march
forward with confidence and the power that God would give them as they embarked
on each battle. They were to save no one…every last child….woman...man…king…and
servant of the 7 nations was to be completely wiped out. The silver and gold
from the idols in their homes was to be burned in the fires of destruction….nothing
kept….no trace of the evil that existed in the great land God had promised
them.
Now…allow me a sidebar for just a moment…for
there is meaning in the fact that I started writing this at 7:30…and it is now 5:13
as I pick up the task. While I was able
to write and post in spite of my chaperone duties yesterday at our annual youth
retreat in Pigeon Forge…this morning only allowed me enough time to get
started. I found myself quickly
distracted by goodbyes….a visit with a friend from home on the way out of town…then
a coffee and pit stop where there was no wi-fi…and of course by then I was
totally distracted and gave in to a few shopping stops.
Just like God to allow Life to test me
today…the small pieces of my day merging now into one message that God doesn’t
always hand us everything we need at one time.
He allowed life to distract me for a bit today…and thankfully he just
wouldn’t leave my mind when I got home till I sat down to finish what he started
this morning. Just like the Israelites…he did not give me a whole post this
morning… he allowed the thoughts to mellow in my brain all day…as they mingled
with the task of driving the two hours home.
God doesn’t always lay out for us our
entire schedule for our life at one time.
He knows exactly what will distract us…what will scare us into freezing
ourselves from making any more progress in our walk with him. So he gives us just what he knows we can
handle…and sometimes…like today…he keeps us focused enough on him to remember
we still had work to do. Other times…when he knows the things around us will be
too much for us ...he calls for us to completely destroy the things around us
that might take our eyes off of him just a bit too long…long enough for Satan
to trick us into his snare…and blind us from God’s will for our life.
Father…I thank you for the goodness of your
mercy…for the way that you alone can see the future…and how my heart will react
to everything I am exposed too. Reveal
to me the things around me that could keep me from you….and give me the courage
and strength to destroy them before they trap my heart…and trick me into to
thinking that you are too far away to help me.
Keep me focused on you….so I can receive my daily portion of the vision
you have for my future. Show me how to
love you with so much passion that even Satan can’t get near to my heart. Amen.
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