Moses recalls Israel’s wandering years in the desert. In verses 1-7, he remembered God telling them not to war with the Edomites or take any of their land even though they were afraid of them. This implies Israel could easily defeat them. Any food or drinks they take they take they must pay for them as God wants them to respect them, not bully them. For they were the descendants of Esau (the brother of Jacob), also their distant relatives. Herod the Great was an Edomite who was hated by the Jews. He wanted to be remembered and respected, especially by their distant relatives. Thus, he embarked on many building projects and one of them was the building of the Jerusalem Temple. Treating those weaker than us is a measure of our good character as it is God’s desire to love those who are weak.

In verses 8-15, Moses remembers God telling them not to war with the Moabites or take their land as well. In verses 16-23, God told them He would not give the land of the Ammonites to them as well. instructed them when they were going through the land of the Ammonites. They were the descendants of Lot, the nephew of Abraham. Ruth was a Moabite who married Boaz, an Israelite who became the grandmother of King David, and an ancestor of the Messiah. The Moabites were defeated by a group of Canaanites known as the Emites, and also as the Ammonites to the Israelites. The Emites were “giants” but the term translated is the Hebrew word rephaim which means “fearsome ones.”

Thirty-eight years have passed but they still did not possess the land of Canaan as God waited for the generation of unbelief to pass before the generation of faith could enter the Promised Land. Unbelief will delay the blessings of God. Israel’s unbelief resulted in the loss of forty years of wandering in the desert. How many years are we losing to our unbelief for God to bless us as His people, the body of Christ?

In verses 24-37, Moses remembers the conquest of Sihon, king of Heshbon because he refused to let Israel pass through the land of the Amorites. This battle was recorded in Numbers 21. God hardened the heart of the king by merely allowing him to take his evil heart as far as he liked to take it. He did not change his heart from good to bad as it was already bad. Thus, God enabled Israel to defeat him, so the land of the Amorites was taken as the possession and inheritance of Israel. God does not need to make anyone bad; we are by nature bad as sinful men. What we need is for God to make us good, and He has offered it to us through His Son, Jesus Christ.

In verse 36, “Not one town was too strong for us” should be translated as, “There was not one city too high for us.” This was because the high walls of the Canaanite cities had intimidated Israel thirty-eight years before, they were now nothing before the LORD. If they had trusted God by faith earlier, they would not only defeat their enemies, but they would also not have wandered for the last thirty-eight years in the desert.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we will face “giants” in our lives. We will also face those who are weaker than us or those stronger than us as well. In all instances, we must walk by faith. Walking by faith is by obeying the instructions of God then we will not bully the weak or be intimidated by the strong as God will bless us when we trust and depend on Him.

My Prayer: Dear Lord, I will walk more by faith than by sight as I have the inclination and tendency to trust myself instead of you.