Sunday 24th September
Read Numbers 21:32-35
“After Moses had sent spies to Jazer, the Israelites captured its surrounding settlements and drove out the Amorites who were there. 33 Then they turned and went up along the road towards Bashan, and Og king of Bashan and his whole army marched out to meet them in battle at Edrei.
34 The Lord said to Moses, ‘Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.’
35 So they struck him down, together with his sons and his whole army, leaving them no survivors. And they took possession of his land.” (NIVUK)
All the failures we have associated with Israel’s march to the promised land are reversed. Military defeat is no more (v35), the sending of spies into the land and the response of the people to their reports results in success (v32), and land is possessed rather than passed through (v35b).
At the heart of this success is trust and obedience (v34). No longer do the people fear those around them but they listen to God’s word and act accordingly. This language, though confronting in ancient military contexts, is applied just as forcefully to belief in the gospel. Paul conceives of his ministry in language reminiscent of what we have just read.
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5) (NIVUK)
Do you believe God’s word and gospel has such power today?
