Deuteronomy
33:27-29 "The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are
the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and
shall say, Destroy them. (28 ) Israel then shall dwell in safety
alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens
shall drop down dew. (29) Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like
unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the
sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and
thou shalt tread upon their high places."
This morning, I repeated verse 27 because the three verses seem to be an
"if and then" statement. First, we can say verse 27 is a
declarative statement on its own. The Lord is our refuge. We are safe
because His arms are underneath us. He is fully capable of thrusting out the
enemy and even destroying them if need be. Those statements are facts. We
have already been reminded there is none like our God. You might say this
is pertaining to the nation of Israel, and that is true. But we can see by the
Word of God that these promises apply to us also. We read in Galatians 3:13-14,
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for
us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: (14)
That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ;
that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." I'm
thankful that we can take the application to us also as we look at these
promises of blessing given to Israel. I can read these statements given
specifically to a nation and say, "Thank you Lord that, by the finished
work of Jesus Christ and through your Holy Spirit, these promises apply to me
as well.
Therefore I can say, "God is my refuge. His everlasting arms are underneath
me. He shall thrust out my enemies (which are mostly the internal, carnal
tendencies)." By His amazing grace the Lord God has given me the
ability to dwell in safety as I DWELL in His refuge and resting in His
everlasting arms. But, if I try to live life my way and do things my way and
have an attitude that I can get by on my own, then I am opening myself up to
the dangers of the evil in this world. God is gracious in affording the
blessing of His protection as we walk in the paths of righteousness which He
has set before us. He is gracious in giving us the spiritual ability to focus
on the very One Who is walking before us. The writer of Hebrews stated it in
this way: "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith."
I stated this was an "if and then" provision. If I walk with
the Lord, He has promised His protection. If I stray from Him, then I am out
from underneath those wings that cover me.
Moses gave us the motivation and understanding concerning our position in the Lord. Notice verse 29. Earlier, the statement was given, "There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun (Israel). But notice what the Lord says about His people: "Who is like unto thee O people saved by the LORD." That might seem like a question, but notice at the end of that sentence is an exclamation mark. God is making a declarative statement. There is none like unto our God AND there is none like unto His saved people! God has set His people apart to be different. Peter stated it in this manner to the strangers who had been scattered throughout strange lands, "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: (10) Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." (1 Peter 2:9-10) There is none like unto our God. There is none like unto His saved people. With that distinction having been given to us as God's children, should we not live in a manner that reflects the grace bestowed upon us?