Deuteronomy (1 and 2)
Lesson 1 (God is in front)
Deuteronomy 7:1 ‘he will clear away many nations ahead of you:‘
God wants us to be bold in our approach to Him.We have seen that it is He who goes before us and prepares the way for us to begin to claim the uninhabited places in our lives for Him. Here in this chapter we have some interesting analogies as to what God would have us do in order for us to rightfully claim what is our inheritance, which is a life lived with and for God, a life sustained by Him, all for His good pleasure and His enjoyment. God wants relationships on an individual level. The important thing in life is that I am fully in accordance with the will of God for me. Life is lived individually yet corporately , it is relational yet individual which is why we have church gatherings. But it is not all about church, it is about who I am in God. It is when I begin to appreciate who I am in God and begin to live out my relationship in community that I then begin to understand what unclaimed riches there are in Christ. God is waiting for us to claim the uninhabited places of our lives, the places that are rightful our inheritance in God’s plan and design. God is already there are we as individuals prepared to go and claim them. Are we prepared to move into the unknown of God. It is only when we do will we see the hand of God at work. We all need to find the place or places where God is. Life eternal is about finding God throughout our lives and keeping Him and His purpose in focus. We all need a glimpse of the holy in order for us to appreciate who we are dedicating our lives too.
Lesson 2 (Be Ruthless)
Deuteronomy 7:2 ‘you shall crush them, completely destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them’ .
Deuteronomy 7:5 ‘But you shall deal with them in this way: you shall destroy their altars and break down their images, and cut down their groves and burn their graven images with fire.’
When we move out and follow God, the Almighty and Holy one, into the places prepared by Him for us then inevitably there will be situations that will require actions. Part of claiming our inheritance, the land prepared by God for us, the promised land of peace and fruitfulness outworked in our lives, is about bringing all things in line with God and His will.
So here in Deuteronomy 7:2 and Deuteronomy 7:5 the children of Israel are instructed to be completely ruthless with those people that inhabit the land at present. So, much like our own lives, the places that God does not inhabit are inhabited by something that is contrary to God’s will for our lives and if left unchecked will cause us to stumble. God is a jealous God and will not share us, He wants us for Himself, yet by the same token He is a tolerant God who allows us free will to choose Him. Choosing God for our lives will undoubtedly cause us some tough decisions. As in this story where God instructs the children of Israel to crush and completely destroy. Don’t make a pact with them or show any mercy. The only way to see God outwork His purpose for our lives is for us to be ruthless when it comes to sin. We need to acknowledge it, destroy it and show no mercy to it. We have the benefit of knowing that Christ died for our sin and became the go between. The children of Israel only had sacrifices and scapegoats and always had to offer something for their sin in order to be right with God. We, on the other hand need to come to the Father through the Son and acknowledge his forgiveness and then set our lives to overcome and inhabit the uninhabited places for our redeemer and king.
