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THE CONQUEST OF SIHON, KING OF HESHBON (III)
SATURDAY, JULY 17
Deuteronomy 2:24-37

Proverbs 14:32-34

 

“Righteousness exalteth a nation:

but sin is a reproach to any people.”

 

THE CONQUEST OF SIHON, KING OF HESHBON (III)
 
Sihon chose to confront and fight Israel: Sihon would not let Israel pass through his land, and Israel was ready to fight. The outcome of the battle was already determined and Sihon’s nation was exterminated. The battle was fought in a place called Jahaz. It is God who puts nations in place and He also determines their boundaries. Moses and Israel knew this principle and thus were confident in battle.
 
Church history has examples of nations being preserved and even prospered because the people feared the Lord. The advent of the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century challenged many nations. Back then there was no separation of church and state, and the kings interfered greatly in the affairs of the church. Some supported the Reformation and others were against it and persecuted the Protestants. Those nations that supported the Lord’s course were greatly blessed and became pioneers of succesful global missionary activity.
 
Recent history, however, bears a different testimony. Liberalism and the rejection of God have taken root in many nations. General populations have in a big way rejected the Lord. There are groups and movements that advocate questionable ethics and unbiblical practices. Educational institutions promote the theory of evolution, thus rejecting God’s creation work. The end of these nations is inevitable. At the time of writing, the coronavirus is a threat to global health. God is speaking!
 
The God of Moses is the same God we worship today. He will always bring to pass His punitive will. He will even use war to punish those who disobey Him. The rejection of the peaceful approach that Moses offered led the Lord to punish this king of Heshbon. There was more to the confrontational approach of Sihon, thus God ensured the fall of Sihon.
 
THOUGHT: “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.” (Prov 21:1)

PRAYER: Father, give me heavenly wisdom to know Thy will.

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