02/05/2019 - WHOEVER RESISTS GOD IS DESTROYED

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And the Lord will do to them as He did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites and their land, when He destroyed them. Deuteronomy 31.4

In the context of the verse above, Israel was not yet occupying the Promised Land, so it had to go through the territory of Sihon king of the Amorites. Moses asked this monarch to allow the Hebrews to pass, promising that they would not touch the fields, the vineyards, nor drink the water from their wells – they would only use the royal road. However, since this evil king was determined, he did not allow them to pass through and gathered his people and advanced against Israel, but he was defeated.

It is foolish to thwart the purposes of the Lord, because He will give due reward to whoever refuses to help His people. Besides not granting Moses’ request, this warrior king, who had taken part of the territory of Moab, thought to put an end to all Israelites. But he did not pay attention to the fact that the God of Israel is Lord, and is certainly not like the god made by the Moabites. Because of this, Sihon suffered such a defeat. How can one fight against God and prevail?

Israel fought with clean hands, for the Most High had forbidden them to touch the lands of Ammon, descendants of Lot, and the people respected the heavenly decree. After defeating Sihon, the Israelites came to the land of the Ammonites, but they did not touch it. According to the Bible, part of the descendants of Lot was steadfast, for God had given them as an inheritance (Deuteronomy 2:19), but they took the land that Sihon had taken from the Moabites (Deuteronomy 2: 24).

With Sihon´s wicked reply and his willingness to touch the people of God, Israel smote the Amorites with the edge of the sword, and took possession of their land, from Arnon to Jabbok, only stopping at Ammon, because they respected the Lord’s command. Their cities, homes and everything else became property of Israel. This was not Moses’ plan, but when he saw the king’s wicked reply he had no other choice but to defeat him.

Og, another king of the Amorites did the same thing. When he heard of Israel’s victory over Sihon, he acted just as foolish as his companion, and gathered all his people together and marched against the sons of Jacob. But because the LORD was with them, he was defeated and Israel took his land. With God by our side, there is no way one can rise up against us and prevail. It is wise to help the holy people and not harm them. The Most High is faithful!

As a part of the Body of Christ, expect the Lord to fight in your behalf, to give you victory in all situations. Today, we do not have to take anything from the wicked, but we need to get them to understand that in Christ they will also be successful. We do not fight against flesh or blood, but against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). So do not be afraid to do your part in the battle, because God will go ahead of you.

Forty years before, the Most High had commanded the Israelites to go up and take the land of the Amorites, but they were afraid and asked to send spies to go before them and look at the land. In those days, the Lord would send hornets that would cause the enemies to flee; but since the people of Israel were afraid, they had to walk unnecessarily for forty years in the desert.

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares