The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Deuteronomy 2:5b,
"I [the Lord] have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own."
The Lord told Moses he had given the hill country of Seir to the descendants of Esau.
Other verses in this chapter where the Lord spoke of giving (and not giving) land to various nations include:
"Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any part of their land. I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as a possession." Verse 9.
"When you come to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them to war, for I will not give you possession of any land belonging to the Ammonites. I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot." Verse 19.
"The Lord destroyed them [the Rephaites] from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place." Verse 21b.
"The Lord had done the same for the descendants of Esau, who lived in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites from before them. They drove them out and have lived in their place to this day." Verse 22.
"Set out now and cross the Arnon Gorge. See, I [the Lord] have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his country. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in battle." Verse 24.
"See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his country over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land." Verse 31.
"From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge, and from the town in the gorge, even as far as Gilead, not one town was too strong for us. The Lord our God gave us all of them." Verse 36.
My point here is to highlight something most of the church does not seem to be aware of. When it comes to countries, their geography (borders), and the times they occupy that geography, is determined by the Lord for a very specific purpose.
We read of this in Acts 17:26 in Paul's famous speech in the meeting of the Areopagus in Athens. "From one man he [God] made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands."
Paul tells us God's purpose in this, "God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us." Acts 17:27.
God creates nations for himself and uses them for his redemptive purposes. It goes on today as he carries out his pursuit of us. God is busy building his kingdom of all who will place their faith and trust in him. He uses the reality of national identities to create an atmosphere where mankind will hopefully reach out to him through the tensions, frustrations, strivings, unrest and hostilities nationhoods engender. (Ever hear of foxhole conversions?)
John Lennon could not have gotten things more backwards in his song, "Imagine".
"I [the Lord] have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own."
The Lord told Moses he had given the hill country of Seir to the descendants of Esau.
Other verses in this chapter where the Lord spoke of giving (and not giving) land to various nations include:
"Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any part of their land. I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as a possession." Verse 9.
"When you come to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them to war, for I will not give you possession of any land belonging to the Ammonites. I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot." Verse 19.
"The Lord destroyed them [the Rephaites] from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place." Verse 21b.
"The Lord had done the same for the descendants of Esau, who lived in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites from before them. They drove them out and have lived in their place to this day." Verse 22.
"Set out now and cross the Arnon Gorge. See, I [the Lord] have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his country. Begin to take possession of it and engage him in battle." Verse 24.
"See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his country over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land." Verse 31.
"From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge, and from the town in the gorge, even as far as Gilead, not one town was too strong for us. The Lord our God gave us all of them." Verse 36.
My point here is to highlight something most of the church does not seem to be aware of. When it comes to countries, their geography (borders), and the times they occupy that geography, is determined by the Lord for a very specific purpose.
We read of this in Acts 17:26 in Paul's famous speech in the meeting of the Areopagus in Athens. "From one man he [God] made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands."
Paul tells us God's purpose in this, "God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us." Acts 17:27.
God creates nations for himself and uses them for his redemptive purposes. It goes on today as he carries out his pursuit of us. God is busy building his kingdom of all who will place their faith and trust in him. He uses the reality of national identities to create an atmosphere where mankind will hopefully reach out to him through the tensions, frustrations, strivings, unrest and hostilities nationhoods engender. (Ever hear of foxhole conversions?)
John Lennon could not have gotten things more backwards in his song, "Imagine".
"Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people
Livin' life in peace... "
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people
Livin' life in peace... "
Countries and religion are all wrapped up in the purposes of God to draw us to himself, to carry out his plan of redemption of all who will reach out to him. Just how many people reach out to God when everything is peaceful versus when everything is falling apart?
There exists one singular goal for our life here on earth: it is to find God and embrace him. Everything else serves to support that one singular goal. God goes more than half way to help us do just that. Creating nationhoods is just one of many things he has done in his pursuit of us.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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