Deuteronomy 3:4-5 "And we took all his cities at that time, there was not a city which we took not from them, threescore cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. (5) All these cities were fenced with high walls, gates, and bars; beside unwalled towns a great many."
Deuteronomy 3:11 "For only Og king of Bashan remained of
the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not
in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and
four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man."
God gave Moses great grace to be able to take this time to review the past 40
years with Joshua and the people of Israel. They were about to enter a land
that flowed with milk and honey - a land that had been forbidden to Moses. As I
began to read this morning concerning the victories that had been given to the
people, I realized something of great importance. This was not just a review of
past victories in which the people could sit back and say, "Look what we
have done." If you notice in the two passages that I selected this
morning, there are two specific things that were of great importance to the
people, and it should be of great importance to us also. The Lord made
mention of their victories over "these cities (that) were fenced with high
walls" and He made mention of "Og king of Bashan (who only) remained
of the remnant of giants." Victory had already been accomplished
when these were mentioned here by Moses.
Let's go back forty years to remember what the 10 spies had said when they came
back from the land of Canaan. "The people be strong that dwell in
the land, and the cities are walled, and very great. And there we saw the
giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own
sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight."
(Numbers 13:28, Numbers 13:33) The two things, that were stumbling
blocks to so many men, had now been defeated. God had blessed Israel to
overcome these even before they entered into Canaan. It was very important
for them to stop and realize what had already been accomplished. They were
going to face more walled cities and more giants once they entered the land,
BUT NOW, they knew the power of God to overcome these obstacles.
We all have things in our past that we should leave in the past, but there are
also great lessons to be reviewed in each of our lives. We all can look back in
our lives and see when God intervened directly on our behalf. We can remember
times of discouragement, or even fear, when the Lord took control and brought
us through the dark valleys. It is through these remembrances that we are
encouraged in the Lord and in the power of His might. It is then that we can be
reminded of our weakness. Yet in our weakness, the strength of Christ shines
through.
Jesus loves me! This I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong,
They are weak but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me!