Dealing with our enemies and God's enemies. Is there a difference?

Deuteronomy Chapter 7: The Command to Conquer Canaan

Deuteronomy 7:1-26 – Highlights of The Passage and Some Thoughts

In verses 1-2, Moses identifies all the seven nations that God will clear out of the way and have the Israelites destroy them as they take over the promised land to possess it. He points out that they are all “greater and stronger” than Israel. The sons of Israel were to make no peace deal or covenant with them, nor show them any favor.

These were the enemies of God. As Christians, we have to justify that approach with Jesus’ command to “love your enemies”. How do we do that? Is it possible to think of ‘enemies’ in two different ways?  First, nations that are ‘anti-God’ in every respect as in the case of the seven nations that Israel defeated. Second, our own personal ‘enemies’ – the mean neighbor next door, the terrible boss at work, the person who broke into our house and shot our loved one, etc. There may be other ways to do this, and if so, please share them with us.

More specifically, how do we do it now that we no longer have further written words from God after the writing of the book of Revelation in the first century A.D.?

In verse 3, the Israelites are told not to allow any intermarrying between themselves and God’s enemies, lest doing so would cause them to eventually serve other gods (verse 4). Instead, God wants the Israelites to destroy every aspect of the heathen religions that they find standing (verse 5).

Verses 6-11 relate some very key aspects of God. God had chosen Israel to be a holy people for His own possession out of all the nations on the earth. One often wonders why God would do that – not chose Israel so much but choose any nation as His own. Why not treat us all alike? I can think of two reasons: First, God knew, that in time, He would need to send the world a Savior and that Savior had to come from some lineage. He used Israel. Second, God wanted to show all mankind what a Father-child relationship should be like – and He chose Israel as His child (His children) for that purpose. With them, given their disobedience, He could show His ultimate love. Perhaps you can think of other reasons more valid. If so, please share them with us.

Chuck Smith has an interesting take on this:

Now some people get upset about the fact that God chooses but you really shouldn't. God has every right to choose who He wants to associate with even as you have the right to choose who you want to associate with. Why should I deny God the rights that I want for myself? There are some people I don't choose to associate with at all. Not that I'm snobbish or anything else but their lifestyles are so diverse from mine; there's nothing that we could share in common. I really choose not to have any fellowship, close fellowship, with people who smoke cigars. I can't stand the smell. Now I have that right to choose not to get in a car and be polluted. And God has a right to choose who he wants to associate with. That doesn't bother me at all. It thrills me to think that He chose me, that He chose to associate with me. That is what really excites me. You say, "But that isn't fair if God chooses not to associate with some people".

I don't know if it's fair or not but that's the right that God has and He has exercised that right. And who are you to challenge the fairness of God? You say but, "He may not have chosen me". "Oh, how do you know?" "Well, I'm not a Christian." "Well, why aren't you a Christian?" "I don't know. I've never seen a need to be one." "Well, do you want to be a Christian?" "No."

And I add, “Well, maybe that’s why He didn’t choose you.”

In verse 7, Moses reminds Israel that they weren’t chosen for their strength and numbers – in fact, they were the weakest and the smallest. But rather because He loved them and kept His promise to their forefathers (vs. 8). That’s why He brought them out of slavery and Egypt. And that should tell the Israelites that God is faithful, keeps His words and covenants, and shows His lovingkindness – now get this – to a 1,000^th generation – with “those that love Him and keep His commandments”. How great is that! Makes us want to count up all the generations since He made that covenant with Abraham to see if we’re all still okay. We are. But the condition is still there – to “those that love Him and obey His laws”.

But look at what happens to others. In verse 10, we are told “God repays those who hate Him to their faces” and He won’t delay it. We could well ask about the meaning of “to their faces” and we could well debate about His not delaying. Certainly, God will not be “slack” with His enemies. He will deal with them in His own good time. And verse 11, Moses sees that this knowledge should be enough to cause the children of Israel to keep God’s Laws.

Then all the blessings for doing so are listed in verse 13 – the Israelites will grow in number, they will bear children, but they will also be successful in their farming and ranching. But there’s more. In verse 14, we are told they will be blessed “above all peoples”. And here comes the closer I had never noticed before – “there shall be no male or female barren among you or among your cattle”.  Now, that’s big. I tried to look up some infertility rates by country – they are not to be found. If you do, please let me know. I do not think that we should be thinking here that not a single woman (or man) would be infertile in Israel ever.  That’s not what God was saying. He was assuring them that overall, they would grow in their numbers and find joy in reproducing offspring. And I believe that is still the case for many Jews today. And the same was to be true for illnesses among the Israelites as described in verse 15.

[Why do I believe that is what these verses mean and that they are not to be taken literally – meaning every single man and woman, and every cattle; or that no one would ever have an illness? Well, I look at the style of the writing elsewhere. For example, we read that these enemies being discussed here were to be “utterly and totally destroyed”. Well, if that is the case, then there would be no need for God to warn the Israelites about intermarrying with them as He does through Moses. But rather, some women, some men, would be saved and not utterly destroyed in the military takeover. Do see what I mean about how we are to consider Moses’ account of God’s message to us through him?]

In verse 17 onwards, Moses cautions them against doubting what God can do, and what they could do with God. There is to be no fear because of what God had done, was doing, and would still do for them. And in verse 21, we have these words, “You shall not dread them, for the Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God.”

Verse 22 talks about God doing all this for the Israelites on His own schedule and in this case, not all at once, but little by little, so that the wild beasts left wouldn’t overtake the Israelites. Robert Jamieson has this to say on that:

“The omnipotence of their Almighty Ruler could have given them possession of the promised land at once. But, the unburied corpses of the enemy and the portions of the country that might have been left desolate for a while, would have drawn an influx of dangerous beasts. This evil would be prevented by a progressive conquest and by the use of ordinary means, which God would bless.”

And in the last few verses of the chapter, they are reminded to get rid of everything that smacks of their heathen idolatrous religions and to be sure nothing of the sort is brought into their own homes. Do you get the idea that God’s anger with these nations was their heathen worship? I do. And I think that’s what is happening today around the world – so much worship of anyone and anything other than the real and only God Almighty. That’s true of major religions, national religions, the non-religious, and even individuals.

Wrap-up

This passage again focuses on the need to obey God’s Laws, to believe in His power and might, and to work with His schedule, not ours. It also assures of His faithfulness forever (‘1,000 generations’ is the phrase used). But we have to do our part – obey His laws. Even as Christians, we know that there are consequences to breaking God’s laws just as there are consequences to breaking civil laws. You run a red light or speed excessively, there’s a penalty or a consequence, if you get caught. Similarly, sin against God – idolatry, adultery, and so on – guess what, there’s a consequence because you are automatically caught.  God doesn’t ride around in police cruisers or need surveillance cameras or lie detector machines to convict you of your sin. He knows and you know. And while you may not lose your salvation, there is often a social, emotional, or even physical penalty to pay. Many of us know it.

The other key part of this passage for me is an affirmation that we need to stand up and speak out against those among our nation, or in our world, who are true enemies of God. I don’t know exactly what that means for each of us, but I know that we can no longer be silent.  What’s your take?  Please respond to the post you clicked on to read this, or please leave a comment right here below in the comment section.

Till next time, fear not.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

What Do Obeying God, Building a Model Airplane, and Assembling IKEA Furniture Have In Common?

Obedience to God? It Has To Be His Way, In His Specified Order, and On His Exact Timing

Exodus 40:17-33:

¹⁷ Now in the first month ^[a]of the second year, on the first day of the month, the ^[b]tabernacle was erected. 

¹⁸ Moses erected the tabernacle and ^[c]laid its ^[d]sockets, and set up its boards, and ^[e]inserted its bars and erected its pillars. 

¹⁹ He spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering of the tent ^[f]on top of it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 

²⁰ Then he took the testimony and put it into the ark, and ^[g]attached the poles to the ark, and put the ^[h]mercy seat ^[i]on top of the ark. 

²¹ He brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up a veil for the screen, and screened off the ark of the testimony, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²² Then he put the table in the tent of meeting on the north side of the tabernacle, outside the veil. 

²³ He set the arrangement of bread in order on it before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 

²⁴ Then he placed the lampstand in the tent of meeting, opposite the table, on the south side of the tabernacle. 

²⁵ He lighted the lamps before the Lord, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

²⁶ Then he placed the gold altar in the tent of meeting in front of the veil; 

²⁷ and he burned fragrant incense on it, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 

²⁸ Then he set up the ^[j]veil for the doorway of the tabernacle. 

²⁹ He set the altar of burnt offering before the doorway of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting, and offered on it the burnt offering and the meal offering, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 

³⁰ He placed the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing. 

³¹ From it Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet. 

³² When they entered the tent of meeting, and when they approached the altar, they washed, just as the Lord had commanded Moses. 

³³ He erected the court all around the ^[k]tabernacle and the altar, and ^[l]hung up the veil for the gateway of the court. Thus Moses finished the work.

Thoughts on the Passage

In verses 17 to 29 of this passage, we see Moses overseeing the actual assembly of the Tabernacle and all its furnishings.  Then we come to the last piece, the wash basin or lave in verse 30.  He placed it in its rightful spot and poured water into it “for washing”.

Whenever Moses, Aaron, or Aaron’s sons entered the Tent of Meeting or when they approached the altar, they had to wash their hands and feet just as God had commanded Moses. Guzik says this phrase (as God had commanded) is repeated over and over again in Exodus. Obedience is central to doing the will of God and to serving Him effectively. Every command from God requires obedience, not just those we feel like complying with.  He quotes Morgan, who writes,

“It reminds us that Divine Work must always be done according to the Divine pattern, and most strictly in the Divine way. The truth is so self-evident, that it would seem needless to stress it. Yet a perpetual temptation to the mind of man is to endeavor to improve upon a Divine plan.” 

That is often our problem in the church. We try to improve on God’s way of doing things. We think we know better as to what today’s society needs. [We believe we have an in on what teenagers need to stay in the church. And we’ve often been wrong. For example, teenagers today are not telling us we have to have a certain type of music or speak the way they speak. No, instead they tell us they want each of us to be genuine and stop being hypocrites.]

The passage also indicates that priests could not properly perform their duties without this ritual cleansing which indicates that God wants service from pure hands and feet. And though Moses was not properly a priest, Psalm 99:6 tells us that God numbered him among His priests, and Matthew Henry says “the Jewish writers call him ‘the priest of the priests’ [for] what he did he did by special warrant and direction from God, rather as a prophet, or law-giver than as a priest. He set the wheels a-going, and then left the work in the hands of the appointed ministry.” Maybe some elders on church boards need to take a lesson from Moses – he gave the instructions God gave him to well-selected individuals like Bezalel and then let them do their job, and afterward, he inspected it. He had confidence in those that were selected, and he did not get in the way of the actual work.

And then we come to the last verse of this passage or section of Chapter 40 – verse 33. Here we are told that after Moses raised up the court all around the Tabernacle and the altar, and after he hung up the screen of the court gate, we read, “So Moses finished the work.”

What a great feeling that must have been knowing that he had finished the work that God gave him to do. And little did he know at the time, that this Tabernacle he had built to God’s specifications would have such incredible symbolic meaning in the future when describing the work of our High Priest, Jesus Christ. Guzik writes,

“Hebrews 9:23-24 tells us that at some point in time (after the cross), Jesus entered the heavenly reality represented on earth by the Tabernacle, and appeared in the presence of God to offer a perfect atonement for our sins. Therefore, every time before this event, when the High Priest made atonement in the earthly tabernacle, it was “play acting” – and looking forward to – the perfect atonement the Son of God would offer.”

Matthew Henry says we should note that while the Israelites were hoping they were awfully close to the Promised Land, they did not say, (my words) “hey, let’s wait to set this thing up when we get there, since we’re so close and we don’t want to take a chance of anything breaking now”. No, they wanted to obey God in every instruction. So, set it up now they did. The lesson for us being, obey God today, worship Him today – don’t wait for what we think is a perfect time, a perfect setting.

Henry also notes that not only did Moses follow all the instructions, he followed them in the precise order that God wanted him to. We often try to get ahead of God’s pattern for us by doing some of the easier or more exciting things first, leaving the hard things for later. If so, we fail to grasp the fact that the Master Designer had a reason for the order that He gave us. I am reminded of building model airplanes as a child. Many times, I did things out of the order prescribed, only to find out why that wasn’t a good idea later on. But the glue was dry.  It also happens when putting together “assembly required” furniture (like that one buys from IKEA). Don’t follow the instructions and be prepared to undo all you have done to start again. That’s the way it is with God’s pattern for your life – obey each step, obey them in order, and them at the right time.

In verse 29 we read that the altar of the burnt-offering was set up and then there’s a reference to actual offerings (the burnt offering and the meal offering) taking place right there and then at the time the altar was set up. The commentators are not in agreement as to when that actually took place with some thinking it was done some time afterward. Henry thinks “he immediately began the ceremony of [the offering’s] consecration, though it was not completed for seven days.”

The argument that it did occur right away is supported by what we read in the next two verses regarding the laver. In verse 31, we are told that Moses and Aaron and the priests washed their hands and feet and that immediately follows the placed of the laver or wash basin in verse 30. So there appears to be a precedent there for do things immediately once the furnishings required were in place. However, linguistically as I read it, it can go either way.

If Henry is right, then this is an indication that when God gives us talents, we are to use them right away, but as prescribed by God.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Maybe There's Something For The Christian In New Year Resolutions

Moses Anoints The Tabernacle, Its Furnishings, as well as Aaron and his sons

Exodus 40:1-16:

¹Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

² “On the first day of the first month you shall set up the ^[a]tabernacle of the tent of meeting.

³ You shall place the ark of the testimony there, and you shall screen the ark with the veil.

⁴ You shall bring in the table and ^[b]arrange what belongs on it; and you shall bring in the lampstand and ^[c]mount its lamps.

⁵ Moreover, you shall set the gold altar of incense before the ark of the testimony, and set up the veil for the doorway to the tabernacle.

⁶ You shall set the altar of burnt offering in front of the doorway of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.

⁷ You shall set the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar and put water ^[d]in it.

⁸ You shall set up the court all around and ^[e]hang up the veil for the gateway of the court.

⁹ Then you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and all that is in it, and shall consecrate it and all its ^[f]furnishings; and it shall be holy.

¹⁰ You shall anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, and the altar shall be most holy.

¹¹ You shall anoint the laver and its stand, and consecrate it.

¹² Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the doorway of the tent of meeting and wash them with water.

¹³ You shall put the holy garments on Aaron and anoint him and consecrate him, that he may minister as a priest to Me.

¹⁴ You shall bring his sons and put tunics on them;

¹⁵ and you shall anoint them even as you have anointed their father, that they may minister as priests to Me; and their anointing will ^[g]qualify them for a perpetual priesthood throughout their generations.”

¹⁶ Thus Moses did; according to all that the Lord had commanded him, so he did.

Footnotes:

1. Exodus 40:2 Lit dwelling place
2. Exodus 40:4 Lit arrange its arrangement
3. Exodus 40:4 Or light
4. Exodus 40:7 Lit there
5. Exodus 40:8 Lit put the screen
6. Exodus 40:9 Or utensils
7. Exodus 40:15 Lit be for them

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

Thoughts on the Passage

Verses 1 to 5 of this passage explains how the furniture was to be arranged within the tabernacle.  So, the Tabernacle had to be not only built according to the pattern but assembled each time it was re-erected according to the pattern.

David Guzik points out that verse 1 indicates this was to be done on the first day of the first month, indicating it had been a year since Israel had come out of Egypt. You may ask, “How do commentators know that?”. Robert Jamieson writes,

“From a careful consideration of the incidents recorded to have happened after the exodus (Exodus 12:2, 13:4, 19:1, 20:18, 34:28, etc.), it has been computed that the work of the Tabernacle was commenced within six months after that emigration; and consequently that {an}other six months had been occupied in building it."

And what a year it had been for them, seeing God at work and growing spiritually as a people. Time can be a great ‘facilitator’ for the Christian – through it, we can either grow in our spiritual relationship with God or we can stagnate. Using time, we can take a realistic measure of where we stand.  For example, I’ve been a Christian for over half a century. So, I can well ask myself how I’ve done in my maturity as one during that period of time. You can do the same thing. Is there growth? Or have I plateaued?

Verses 6 to 11 tell us how the items in the courtyard were to be arranged.

Once everything was set up, it was now time to anointing Aaron, the Chief Priest, and his sons, the priests that were to minister in the Tabernacle (verses 12-16). We can read the details of this dedication ceremony in Leviticus chapters 8 and 9.

Robert Jamieson tells us that the anointing of the sons of Aaron involved the same sacred oil that was used in the anointing of Aaron himself. However, there may be some question as to whether the ceremony was identical. Jamieson himself believes that the pouring of the oil “over one’s head” was reserved strictly for the “high priest” and quotes several verses (Exodus 29:7,21; Leviticus 8:12,30 and Psalm 133:2) which talk about it being poured on the high priest.  Nonetheless, I could not find any references saying specifically that was “not” the case for his sons, or that it was “only for the High Priest”. I would point out that I also could not find any reference to oil being poured on the head of our ultimate High Priest, Jesus Christ although His body was anointed for burial and earlier Mary had anointed his feet while washing them with expensive perfume. This lack of parallelism with Christ would lead me, at least, to believe what took place with Aaron was not exclusive to him, but also included his sons. Still, I am willing to be corrected.

And once again our text (verse 16) tells us that Moses did exactly as God had asked him to. His obedience continued right through to the conclusion of the building project and its commissioning. What remains, as we will see later in chapter 40 of Exodus, is that real and rightful Owner to take possession of it – something Matthew Henry says He does “by the cloud” and no, he’s not talking about the place that backs up our electronic work these days.

With reference to our current passage, Matthew Henry wants us to consider that even though the people were all ready to see this completed work assembled, Moses had to wait for God’s expressed time – “the first day of the first month” – to do so. Moses is an excellent example in Scripture of wanting to have each step of his ways or actions “established by the LORD” (Psalm 37:23).

Henry also reminds us that in King Hezekiah’s time, many years later, the priests began to sanctify the temple “on the first day of the first month” (2 Chronicles 29:17). Thus, perhaps there is something to the idea of Christians considering new things for God an His service at the beginning of each new year.

As Christians, with the power of the Holy Spirit, we should be more successful than the general populace when it comes to keeping our “new year’s” resolutions – at least those we make with respect to service to God.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.