Awesome Hands – Part 138: “He knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness”

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Awesome Hands – Part 138

”He knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness”

July 15, 2018

“Murmuring in our tents” is what we saw ourselves doing in our previous study. This was a reflection of what the Israelites did when they reflected on why the Lord brought them out of Egypt, from their perspective.

Deu 1:27  And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the LORD hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.

The Israelites murmured to themselves the wrong things which were opposite of the truth, and it was their own hearts and actions that caused them to wander in the wilderness for 40 years in the first place.

As we will see with the study today, the Israelites were completely wrong about being delivered to the hands of the Amorites, but more than that, their own hearts were deceiving them into doing things which caused them more anguish in the long run.

Lord willing, we can learn from this pattern and ready our own hearts and minds to properly understand what the Lord is doing in our lives.

There are several different verses that will be the focus of the study today, and they are spread through the second book of Deuteronomy. These verses will contain the Hebrew word “yad”H3027, but they will also show us the faithfulness of the Lord.

Deu 2:7  For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.

Before this verse in Deuteronomy, there were some interesting things that happened which we should file away in the “important lessons” file of our brains.

At the end of Deuteronomy 1, which was also the end of the last study, the Lord gave the Israelites specific commands to take their journey into the wilderness, but the Israelites decided they were ready to go to war.

I would like to point out that the people often answered Moses as if it were only Moses they were answering. Moses was the spokesman for God, and Moses was only conveying what the Lord commanded or did not command. Yet, the Israelites only pointed out what was being told by the Lord.

This is detrimental for the Israelites because they always bring the wrath of the Lord down on them when they have this mindset.

As we ended the last study, the Israelites were told that only the faithful spies Caleb and Joshua, and the little ones which had no knowledge of their parent’s actions, were permitted to enter the promised land.

Deu 1:39  Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.
Deu 1:40  But as for you, turn you, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.
Deu 1:41  Then ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the LORD, we will go up and fight, according to all that the LORD our God commanded us. And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill.

If you can relate to the Israelites in their stubbornness right now, then you are on the path to the mindset we must have in order to approach the Lord.

That mindset is one of recognition of our constant desires and actions to go AGAINST what the Lord says to do. Of course, the Israelites do NOT have that mindset right here in the moment they are in, but since we can recognize it NOW, we can see that we too have done this to the Lord in various ways.

It’s no different than my children doing this to me when they know I gave them clear directions to do something while they choose to ignore those clear directions.

What will be the result of this disobedience?

Deu 1:42  And the LORD said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies.
Deu 1:43  So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and went presumptuouslyH2102 up into the hill.
Deu 1:44  And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah.
Deu 1:45  And ye returned and wept before the LORD; but the LORD would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you.
Deu 1:46  So ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode there.

Yes, we will reap what we sow. The Hebrew used in English as “presumptuously” in Deu 1:43 is only used a few times in the old testament, and 5 of the 10 times it is used, it is used as 'proud' or 'proudly'.

In other words, the Israelites were dealing with the pride of their life.

Here are a few examples of this word being used elsewhere:

Neh 9:13  Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments:
Neh 9:14  And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant:
Neh 9:15  And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them.
Neh 9:16  But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,

Neh 9:28  But after they had rest, they did evil again before thee: therefore leftest thou them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and many times didst thou deliver them according to thy mercies;
Neh 9:29  And testifiedst against them, that thou mightest bring them again unto thy law: yet they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy commandments, but sinned against thy judgments, (which if a man do, he shall live in them;) and withdrew the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.
Neh 9:30  Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands.

Ultimately, the Lord has to teach His people hard lessons, but if we are honest with ourselves, then we will stop wanting to excuse ourselves and will own up to the truth that we bring things on ourselves just like the Israelite’s did.

We know that we do not have free will outside of God’s will, but we do have a will, and that will continuously have us going AGAINST the Lord.

The Lord will always win when there is a battle of wills, and the Israelites ended up doing exactly what the Lord commanded them to do in the first place.

Deu 2:1  Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as the LORD spake unto me: and we compassed mount Seir many days.

It’s funny, because I know this to be so true in my own life and in my own parenting. I regularly tell my children they will do what I say one way or another.

They can either do what I ask them to do, and get things done. They can also choose NOT to do what I ask them to do the first time I ask them to do it, get it trouble, and then do it anyway.

Either way, it is getting done, and maybe one day they will choose the easier of the two choices on a consistent basis.

Now that the Israelites have learned this lesson the hard way, that they were going to take their journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea, the Lord tells them “you can move along now”.

Deu 2:2  And the LORD spake unto me, saying,
Deu 2:3  Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.
Deu 2:4  And command thou the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir; and they shall be afraid of you: take ye good heed unto yourselves therefore:
Deu 2:5  Meddle not with them; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth; because I have given mount Seir unto Esau for a possession.
Deu 2:6  Ye shall buy meat of them for money, that ye may eat; and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink.
Deu 2:7  For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.

Being that this lesson of war with the Amorites is fresh in their minds, relatively speaking, the Lord tells them to go northward.

On this passage, they will be encountering the children of Esau, the Moabites, the Horites and the children of Ammon.

Notice how many times we are going to read about various GIANTS and the LANDS attributed to giants. This should tell us that the Lord gives us ample warning concerning the giants we are going to encounter, the “land” of the giants and the people there now and how to deal with them.

Deu 2:8  And when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain from Elath, and from Eziongaber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.
Deu 2:9  And the LORD said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle: for I will not give thee of their land for a possession; because I have given Ar unto the children of Lot for a possession.
Deu 2:10  The Emims dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims;
Deu 2:11  Which also were accounted giants, as the Anakims; but the Moabites call them Emims.
Deu 2:12  The Horims also dwelt in Seir beforetime; but the children of Esau succeeded them, when they had destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel did unto the land of his possession, which the LORD gave unto them.
Deu 2:13  Now rise up, said I, and get you over the brook Zered. And we went over the brook Zered.
Deu 2:14  And the space in which we came from Kadeshbarnea, until we were come over the brook Zered, was thirty and eight years; until all the generation of the men of war were wasted out from among the host, as the LORD sware unto them.
Deu 2:15  For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from among the host, until they were consumed.

So, we have been told not to try and TAKE THE LAND from our kinfolk whom had been given that land by the Lord Himself. Spiritually speaking, we are not to try to OVERTAKE the land of our brothers and kinfolk. We are NOT to try and conquer the giants in THEIR LANDS, especially when we can’t even make war with the giants in our own spiritual lands.

In fact, when we do try, the Lord just waits out the works we try to do on our own, as what happened when the Israelites went to war with the Amorites without the Lord being with them.

The Lord also waits out the “men of war” until they are “wasted out” and destroyed.

Then, when our “old man of war” is consumed, the Lord tells us it’s time to move to the step of His beat.

Deu 2:16  So it came to pass, when all the men of war were consumed and dead from among the people,
Deu 2:17  That the LORD spake unto me, saying,
Deu 2:18  Thou art to pass over through Ar, the coast of Moab, this day:
Deu 2:19  And when thou comest nigh over against the children of Ammon, distress them not, nor meddle with them: for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon any possession; because I have given it unto the children of Lot for a possession.
Deu 2:20  (That also was accounted a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time; and the Ammonites call them Zamzummims;
Deu 2:21  A people great, and many, and tall, as the Anakims; but the LORD destroyed them before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead:
Deu 2:22  As he did to the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, when he destroyed the Horims from before them; and they succeeded them, and dwelt in their stead even unto this day:
Deu 2:23  And the Avims which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah, the Caphtorims, which came forth out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.)
Deu 2:24  Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.
Deu 2:25  This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven, who shall hear report of thee, and shall tremble, and be in anguish because of thee.

These lessons of the Israelites are hard learned, but if we can learn QUICKER than they did, then we can move past the lessons that must be learned, into the land that the Lord gives us, by listening to His voice and commandments.

All of the lands over which the Lord will now give the Israelites victory have all been prepared for the coming of the people of God. Even in their disobedience, the Lord has provided that the “good fruit” of His people will prosper.

The other thing to note is that the Lord does not always use the same methods of victory for all situations, and that is okay. It is the waiting on the Lord that matters.

The Israelites had been told to “buy meat and water” from the children of Esau, but DO NOT MEDDLE with them. At this point in time these are people, in type, who are TWINS to the Israelites, similar to Jacob and Esau.

However, when the Israelites approach Sihon the king of Heshbon with a similar message of peace and trade, he refuses.

Deu 2:26  And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying,
Deu 2:27  Let me pass through thy land: I will go along by the high way, I will neither turn unto the right hand nor to the left.
Deu 2:28  Thou shalt sell me meat for money, that I may eat; and give me water for money, that I may drink: only I will pass through on my feet;
Deu 2:29  (As the children of Esau which dwell in Seir, and the Moabites which dwell in Ar, did unto me;) until I shall pass over Jordan into the land which the LORD our God giveth us.

The Israelites were only doing what they learned had been successful before, but the difference here is that the Lord hadn’t told them to do this. So, it is obvious that the Lord had other plans for Sihon and his people.

God’s people didn’t do anything wrong with this approach, but it just proves that the Lord has plans and things will work out according to those plans.

When we do away with our own prideful will and wait upon what the Lord is doing in our lives, then we can react to what we need to when we need to. This will bring us success.

Deu 2:30  But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.
Deu 2:31  And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin to possess, that thou mayest inherit his land.
Deu 2:32  Then Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to fight at Jahaz.
Deu 2:33  And the LORD our God delivered him before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people.
Deu 2:34  And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:
Deu 2:35  Only the cattle we took for a prey unto ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took.
Deu 2:36  From Aroer, which is by the brink of the river of Arnon, and from the city that is by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: the LORD our God delivered all unto us:
Deu 2:37  Only unto the land of the children of Ammon thou camest not, nor unto any place of the river Jabbok, nor unto the cities in the mountains, nor unto whatsoever the LORD our God forbad us.

The Lord makes His points very vividly for those who will listen and obey. These old stories are there to show us that what is best for us is NOT going to be wrought by our own ways and doings without the Lord stepping in to do it for us.

This “rule of thumb” is one that applies to the people of God. There are many blessings to being the people of God, but when we ignore His precepts He will get our attention.

For the rest of the world who do not yet know God, they obviously find success as well in the world and that, too, is of the Lord.

However, these lessons about which we are reading are to show us that when the Lord is on our side, NO ONE can be against us, and the Lord will fight for us.

We also must accept whatever the results of war in our lives mean because a lot of the time we do not get the results we think should happen. We can rest, however, knowing that the Lord will work it all for our good in the end.


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