Marching toward God’s Promises

(Re-writing Deuteronomy chapter 2)

As soon as every rebellious and unbeliever died in the desert, the Children of Israel started moving again. They went in circles in Kadesh-Barnea for a long time until disobedience and unbelief died out.

“The time between our leaving Kadesh-Barnea and our crossing Vadi Zered was thirty-eight years - until the whole generation of men capable of bearing arms had been eliminated from the camp, as Adonai (the LORD) had sworn they would be.” (Deuteronomy 2:14)

God was ready with the Israelites 38 years ago but the Children of Israel refused to obey Him. God had to wait. They had to die. Ouch!

(Photo: Aroer, border town of Amorite king Sihon. This is part of the 50x50m trading post with large rooms.)

Often, we do not experience promotion until we develop full trusting in God. What hinders us from moving to greater heights is our self-life. The self-life, accustomed to the bodily senses, trusts what it sees, feels and hears more than the 'intangible' promises of God. 

“To see is to believe,” one might say. Yet upon closer scrutiny, this statement does not make sense. Do we really need faith for the things we already see and feel? Do we have to exercise faith for the things we already hold in our hands?

No, to "believe" after you have seen it or felt it is not faith but conceding what is true after all. "Believing" in this sense is not the exercise of faith because one is compelled to "believe." "To see is to believe" is a statement from a vantage point of doubt and not trust. On the other hand, God-given faith is in itself the evidence even when one does not see it yet. (Hebrews 11:1) Thus, you trust God for the things you do not yet have! You exercise faith for the things God showed you, things He will do, and things He promised while waiting for their fulfillment.

Our problem is that we trust more in what we see, feel and hear thinking that they define what is to come. We mistakenly infer that our circumstances will still be the same in the future. We fail to consider that our world can crash in an instant, the people we depend on can become weak, the economy can spiral out of control, and a host of other uncertainties. Contrary to what others would have us believe, we live in a very shaky world.

The only thing we can be sure of is trusting in the One who holds eternity in His hands. Trusting in Someone Who has perfect tract record in fulfilling His word. It makes a lot of sense to trust God more than in our circumstances. This was where the old generation of Israelites failed. They saw, heard and felt the prospect of entering the land of giants was impossible, but they failed to recognize that with God all things are possible.

“Moreover, Adonai’s hand was against them to root them out of the camp until the last of them was gone. When all the men who were able to bear arms had died and were no longer part of the people, Adonai said to me, ‘Today you are to cross the border of Mo’av at ‘Ar.” (Deuteronomy 2:15-18)

This reads as though the Lord had been itching till everyone in the old generation died out. There is a great spiritual lesson here. God cannot work in the presence of unbelief. God demands our trust before he will act. “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17) During his ministry years in his own hometown, Jesus could not work mighty miracles in Nazareth because of their unbelief. 

Mark 6:5 says, “And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief.” Their unbelief hindered the miracles. Jesus was so astonished as to why they won’t believe! 

Why does He demand faith from us? Does He lack attention that we need to acknowledge Him in all His works? I don’t think God needs any of our praise or acknowledgment. God is already blessed and full of it. He doesn’t need our hands to lift Him up or our encouragement to make Him feel better.

God requires us to trust Him for our sakes. God wants us to personally know Him and experience Him firsthand. The Lord desires a covenant love-relationship. Our part is to be a human subject, His part is to be our God Almighty. Our part is to trust Him, God's part is to manifest His glory in our lives.

Our faith proves that we belong to Him. In fact, we are His children, and if children, then co-heirs with Jesus Christ. When we live on trusting God, we show that we are His children. Furthermore, when we trust, we relive the experiences of great men and women of faith in the scriptures. We no longer just read the stories in the Bible, God recreates those stories and make them come alive in us today. When we believe, the impossible becomes possible. 

(Photo: Aroer, border town of Amorite king Sihon. This is part of the 50x50m trading post with large rooms. Fortifications during this time must have looked very intimidating.)

Going back to the Israelites, as soon as disobedience and unbelief were eliminated from the community. A new sense of direction, life and destiny came upon them. They began to conquer even before they even stepped into the promised land!

God gave them a foretaste of victory. They completely crushed mighty Sihon king of the Amorites and all his territory. Following the train of thought in Deuteronomy chapter two (v 20-24), king Sihon must have been a terrible giant who lived in a well-fortified city. Fearsome and impenetrable, this formidable territory must have been very intimidating. But with God and sheer trust in Him, they marched through and conquered!

Deuteronomy 2:34 says, “At that time we captured all his cities and completely destroyed every city… there was not one city too well fortified for us to capture - Adonai our God gave all of them to us.” We serve and Awesome God!

God said to the Israelites, “Today I will start putting the fear and dread of you into all the peoples under heaven, so that the mere mention of your name will make them quake and tremble before you.” (Deuteronomy 2:25)

To apply this in ourselves, when we get rid of sin, disobedience and unbelief, we will immediately experience God’s power and victory. Our sheer trust and in what the LORD can do through us sends chills to the devil’s spine. Satan knows that when our trusting in God no longer wavers, he is done for. There is no way he could ever win from that point on.

As you read the Bible, do not treat it as a history book or a philosophy book. Read it as a book of life! Read it with open eyes and a receptive heart. The Holy Spirit wants to make the scriptures real in your experiences today. As you fully trust in the Lord Jesus, never wavering in unbelief, you will inherit all His good promises. Amen:)