When The Lord Allows Us to Be Defeated by our Enemies
Scripture Passage: Deuteronomy 32:26-35 (NASB)
26 I would have said, “I will wipe them out,
I will remove the mention of their name from humanity,”
27 Had I not feared the provocation by the enemy,
That their adversaries would misjudge,
That they would say, “Our hand is triumphant,
And the Lord has not performed all this.”’
28 “For they are a nation destitute of counsel,
And there is no understanding in them.
29 If only they were wise and they understood this;
If only they would discern their future!
30 How could one chase a thousand,
And two put ten thousand to flight,
Unless their Rock had sold them,
And the Lord had given them up?
31 Indeed, their rock is not like our Rock;
Even our enemies themselves judge this.
32 For their vine is from the vine of Sodom,
And from the fields of Gomorrah;
Their grapes are grapes of poison,
Their clusters, bitter.
33 Their wine is the venom of [serpents,
And the deadly poison of vipers.
34 ‘Is it not stored up with Me,
Sealed up in My treasuries?
35 Vengeance is Mine, and retribution;
In due time their foot will slip.
For the day of their disaster is near,
And the impending things are hurrying to them.
SUMMARY
Moses sings that God was concerned about the adversaries who would misjudge that they had victory over Israelites by their own power and not because God had allowed them to lose. However, God says that the enemies had a lack of understanding. Without God’s sovereignty over them, the Israelites could not be defeated. God says vengeance belongs to Him, and the enemies will not escape the judgment of God.
MEDITATION & REFLECTION
Through the song of Moses, God reveals Himself as almighty and sovereign God who controls over the nations. God cannot tolerate sins of the nations because He is righteous and faithful. Whoever sins against God is meant to be punished for their sins. From chapter 32 verses 15-19, Moses’s song describes what the Israelites had done against God. The Israelites “abandoned the God who made them,” “rejected the Rock their Savior,” “angered Him with their detestable idols,” “sacrificed to false gods,” “deserted the Rock,” and “forgot the God who gave [them] birth.” As a result, God gave them up to their enemies.
When we see that this world is falling into darkness and straying further from God, the enemies seem more powerful and they seem to win over God’s people. However, I learned from today’s passage that we need to repent and return to God. What if God has given us up because of our continuous disobedience and sin against God? Instead of having a fear or complaining over what is happening in this world or in our nation, we need to repent and ask God for His mercy over us. We need to repent for the sin of this nation, church, family, and each one of us. I believe that God will forgive us when we repent genuinely for our sins. God wants His people to repent and return to Him. The enemy was used as a rod to discipline His children. God still loves HIs children and waiting for them to return to Him. “For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” (Ps. 30:5)
APPLICATION
I will repent and ask God’s mercy and forgiveness because we followed the desire of flesh and conform to this world. I repent for the arrogance, complacency, and idolatry of this generation and nation. I also repent for my complacency which causes me not to seek God earnestly. I repent for praying only when I feel urgent and being lazy these days. I will pray more earnestly with the coming Arise 2020. I think God is giving me another opportunity before the end of this year to pray for this nation, church, my family and myself.
PRAYER
Father God, I pray that You forgive us for loving this world and the things in this world. Forgive our complacency and laziness in seeking You. Help us not to conform to this world but to transform and renew our hearts so we will understand what is your pleasing, good, and perfect will for this generation, this nation, our church, and for each one of us. I pray in Jesus' name, Amen.
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