"And the Lord said to me, 'Do not fear him, for I have delivered him and all his people and his land into your hand; you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.'"
--Deuteronomy 3:2 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on March 30, 2013 of Psalm 66:8-20; Romans 1:1-17; Deuteronomy 2-3:20.
The entire nation of Israel is encamped in the plains of Moab just before they are to enter into the land promised to their fathers. It has been forty years since they escaped Egypt. But more to the point of this narration, it has been thirty-eight years since they were disobedient to God, when He promised that none among them of a fighting age would enter the promised land except for Joshua and Caleb. And now, after those thirty-eight years of wandering in the wilderness, only Moses, Joshua, and Caleb survive of that generation, and Moses knows his last days are at hand. Most of the people of Jacob alive at this time would have few or no memories of the long journey in the desert or the major events that occurred along the way. Since he would not be with them much longer, Moses wants to be sure the people know their history and understand their relationship with God. In today's verse, Moses is recalling their encounter with Og, the king of Bashan and the last of the remnant of giants.
Notice that God told Moses, "I have delivered him... into your hand". Delivered - past tense, already done. In this narration, the Israelis had not yet faced Og and his army, so for them this event awaited them in the future. In their perspective and ours, we might have said, "God will deliver him into our hand". Will deliver - future tense, not yet accomplished. But for God, from His viewpoint, He had already made it happen. God set everything in motion for a successful completion of His plan. A sense of the passage of time is a construct for humans, so we can mark the progression of our lives. For this reason God gave us day and night, the stars and the lights in the night sky to chart the seasons and the years. (Please see Genesis 1.) God Himself is outside of time. For Him there is no past or present or future as we think of them. He had already arranged that Og and his people were defeated, even though the children of Israel had not yet faced them. And just as He said, Og was conquered and God's people prevailed and their reputation began to spread throughout the land, as was God's will.
Since long before the beginning of time, God has worked a plan for all of mankind, His most beloved creation. And Jesus has been right by His side all along. God delivered death itself unto Jesus so that all mankind might return home to live with Jesus and God for eternity. He told us this through His prophets of the Old Testament, such as Isaiah and Daniel. He told us this at Jesus' birth, with the declaration of the angel and the gift of myrrh. He arranged (past tense) for everything to happen long before (future tense) we ever experienced it. This God did and will do, all for us. God delivered Og to the Israelis. Jesus took all our sins and delivered us from death. Praise God! Praise Jesus! Amen.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name! You laid plans for our victory even before the foundations of time. Every promise You made You've kept, everything You said will happen has come to pass. We stand in awe at how magnificently You manage all this, far beyond even our imaginings. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your great sacrifice, for taking all our sins upon Yourself, You without sin, the spotless lamb, for carrying all the sins of the world into the grave and leaving them there so that we might truly and finally be free! Thank You, Christ Jesus! In Your name we pray. Amen.
Notice that God told Moses, "I have delivered him... into your hand". Delivered - past tense, already done. In this narration, the Israelis had not yet faced Og and his army, so for them this event awaited them in the future. In their perspective and ours, we might have said, "God will deliver him into our hand". Will deliver - future tense, not yet accomplished. But for God, from His viewpoint, He had already made it happen. God set everything in motion for a successful completion of His plan. A sense of the passage of time is a construct for humans, so we can mark the progression of our lives. For this reason God gave us day and night, the stars and the lights in the night sky to chart the seasons and the years. (Please see Genesis 1.) God Himself is outside of time. For Him there is no past or present or future as we think of them. He had already arranged that Og and his people were defeated, even though the children of Israel had not yet faced them. And just as He said, Og was conquered and God's people prevailed and their reputation began to spread throughout the land, as was God's will.
Since long before the beginning of time, God has worked a plan for all of mankind, His most beloved creation. And Jesus has been right by His side all along. God delivered death itself unto Jesus so that all mankind might return home to live with Jesus and God for eternity. He told us this through His prophets of the Old Testament, such as Isaiah and Daniel. He told us this at Jesus' birth, with the declaration of the angel and the gift of myrrh. He arranged (past tense) for everything to happen long before (future tense) we ever experienced it. This God did and will do, all for us. God delivered Og to the Israelis. Jesus took all our sins and delivered us from death. Praise God! Praise Jesus! Amen.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name! You laid plans for our victory even before the foundations of time. Every promise You made You've kept, everything You said will happen has come to pass. We stand in awe at how magnificently You manage all this, far beyond even our imaginings. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your great sacrifice, for taking all our sins upon Yourself, You without sin, the spotless lamb, for carrying all the sins of the world into the grave and leaving them there so that we might truly and finally be free! Thank You, Christ Jesus! In Your name we pray. Amen.
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